A knock on my office door startled me back into reality. I had been daydreaming, which was not a positive sign my second day on the job. "Miss Alden? I have a message for you."

I smiled kindly at my secretary, a young intern who seemed intimidated by me no matter how hard I tried to put her at ease. "Call me Danielle, please, Rebecca. You know Miss Alden is too stuffy for me."

She looked down and said "Yes ma'am" rather unconvincingly.

I rolled my eyes. I was doomed to be Miss Alden forever, I supposed. "What was the message you had?"

"Oh, yes ma'am. A man named Draco Malfoy said that if you had free time at any point today, he would be extremely grateful if you could see him."

I dropped the glass I had been holding, shards flying everywhere. I swore as Rebecca dashed forward and began to pick up the pieces, looking at me with concern. "Miss Alden, are you alright?"

I didn't know how to answer that, so I only said, "Draco Malfoy? Are you sure?"

"Yes ma'am. He called about five minutes ago."

I sank back into my chair. "Cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day, and tell Mr. Malfoy I'll see him here in half an hour."

She nodded and exited my office, still eyeing me warily. The moment the door closed, I dropped my head on my desk. How the hell had he found me after all these years? I hadn't talked to him since we were seventeen, almost a five years ago. I kept my head pressed to the cool glass surface and closed my eyes, thinking back to my life so long ago when I had known Draco Malfoy….

We had been best friends since we were tiny. We frequented the same playground and lived near each other, and for children so young, that was automatic reason for friendship. His parents didn't like that we played together and began to try to keep him from seeing me. He was stubborn from a small age, however, and disobeyed them. It wasn't that hard, in reality. He told me that a nanny raised him for almost his whole life, his parents usually unaware of his day to day activities. Luckily, that included being unaware of me. We attended the same primary school, walking home together every day. By the time we were ten, Draco had already been in two fights keeping bullies away from me, permanently sealing our friendship.

When we were eleven, Draco told me he was being sent away to a special school. We were both terribly upset, but he promised to not forget me. True to his word, he came home from Christmas break that year and kissed me the moment he saw me. I don't know which one of us was more embarrassed. He was undoubtedly my first crush, however. He continued to leave every year, but always made a point of coming home to see me. I missed him terribly, and as I got older began to wonder if I loved him. During his sixth year of school, I became sure that I did. He was different that year, moody and withdrawn, and finally one day snapped at me, pushing me against a wall and telling me to leave him alone, calling me a funny word that I didn't understand. I burst into tears, and was shocked to find he was crying too. He pulled me into his arms and apologized, saying again and again that he wished he could explain what was wrong with him. I saw a strange tattoo on his arm and assumed he had gotten into trouble with a gang. When I asked him if that was true, he let out a hollow laugh and just kissed me. My heart broke for him, and that was when I knew how I truly felt. I couldn't help myself, and I said those three bloody words that changed everything.

He had looked at me in shock bordering on fear. He repeated "no" over and over again, and I still remember him saying he didn't deserve my love. He left for the start of the second term the next day, and I didn't see him again until the fall. He was different, with scars I didn't recognize on his skin and his heart. He seemed years older the day he had knocked on my door. I had been able to do nothing but stare at him. He declined my offer to come inside, but said he had just needed to see me. His white blond hair was longer than I had ever seen it, and those gray eyes were dulled. He told me that would be the last time I ever saw him, and apologized for not being able to give me what I deserved. He leaned down to kiss my forehead, and I had always sworn I heard him whisper "I love you too" before he walked away.

A little less than a year after that, I finished my schooling and went to the United States. There was an incredible law school called Harvard that I had always dreamed of attending. Four years later, I had returned to Britain to work in the Prime Minister's office in the highest position someone my age had ever held. I had only been back in my home country for a week and at this job for two days. I was incredibly unprepared to face a ghost from my past. I had all but forgotten about Draco Malfoy, as our strange relationship making it easy to pretend I had made most of it up. I took a drink of water, sloshing some of it down my front. I stared at my hands, surprised to find they were shaking.

I walked over to the mirror on my wall and stared down my reflection. You are okay, I told myself. You don't love him anymore. You can be strong. Wide blue eyes stared back at me, and I knew I wasn't fooling myself. I wasn't strong, I was bloody confused. I had taken him at his word that I would never see him again. So why was he coming to see me, and how had he even known I was here? I smoothed out my skirt as once again there was a knock on my door, causing my heart to leap into my throat.

"Miss Alden? Mr. Malfoy is here."