"Draco, remember that you must shield and cover for Ivy whenever she requires it. I'm serious. Don't give me that look," Narcissa said in a stern voice, pointing her finger in Draco's voice. Draco snarled and turned from his mother, boarding the train. Ivy gave a small nod to Narcissa and Lucius before boarding the train. They returned the gesture and the turned to leave the platform.

Ivy slid between two fourth years that were standing in the corridor, chatting about their summer and what boys they had recently snogged. Rolling her eyes, Ivy squeezed through and then turned to see Draco, Pansy, and Millicent sitting together, discussing what family parties they had attended in the past few months. Ivy sat down next to Millicent and they all stared at her. Pansy coughed and looked at Draco with a puzzled expression. "Some foster kid my parents are sheltering for the year," he explained. Sheltering? The word made Ivy feel as if she was a hound thrown into a kennel. Ivy looked down at her hands and tried her best to sit unnoticed by the other slytherins.

"So," Pansy started, looking in Ivy's direction. Ivy glanced up to realize she was now the topic of discussion. Great…

"Yes?" Ivy asked, trying to keep the edge off her voice. She never liked Pansy.

"Draco says you're a foster kid? Why didn't you mention that in the past?" Pansy had a smirk on her face that screamed evil.

"Because it's none of you damn business."

"Fiesty!" Pansy said with a giggle. Millicent smirked and threw her head back, as if she were laughing.

"Come off it," Draco murmured. Pansy looked at Draco as if she had been slapped.

"E-excuse me?" Pansy stammered, clearly bewildered. Draco just gave her a look that said don't mess with me. Pansy straightened herself out in her seat and then proceeded to look down at her feet.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was quiet. Pansy and Millicent occasionally shared glances that revealed their dislike for Ivy but other than that, no one spoke. Draco was the most silent. He just looked out the window. A hand on his forehead. When he breathed, a bit of frost covered the window. Ivy looked at him every once and a while as if to ensure he was in fact still there.

When they arrived at Hogsmead Station, Draco ran off the train as if a plague had just boarded. Ivy looked after him in utter confusion. First he helps her, now he can't wait to get away from her. "Whatever," she whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Pansy asked in her most venomous voice. Ivy just shook her head and carried her bag and herself off the train.

Ivy knew that it was wrong of her to skip the big feast in the Great Hall but she really wasn't feeling up to it. Upon entering the castle, she told Sprout she had to use the bathroom and parted from the crowd. Ivy headed up to the library and checked to see if Madam Pince was at her post. All clear. Ivy dropped her school bag by one of the desks and stuck her hands in her pockets under her cloak. She had been too lazy to change into the uniform so she just fastened her cloak and hoped that would conceal her jeans and tank top. Ivy thought about Draco's task from his parents to protect her. Was her absence from dinner causing Draco to panic that he had already failed? Ivy just exhaled and sat at the desk, resting her head in her palm. Ivy contemplated her task with the new school year and, dare she admit, her competence to succeed. The weight that stuck to her shoulders made her feel unbalanced, that she could fall at any moment.

After checking the clock on Pince's desk about thirty times, Ivy decided to go join the feast. She had nothing better to do and her hunger outweighed her reluctance to see all those smiling Hogwartian faces. Feeling as if she was going to get teeth pulled, Ivy left the library and headed down to the Great Hall.

When she entered, no one noticed. A head didn't so much as turn towards the doors. That made it easier for her to slip into an empty spot at the Slytherin table. Sitting down, she grabbed a helping of pie and a sweet roll and began to eat. Ivy wished she had just gone to the feast so she could eat the delicious meal in entirety. When she finished her pie, about everyone was in the Hall had finished and Dumbledore dismissed the students to bed.

Ivy entered the common room and looked around for Draco. He was in a chair, reading a book she didn't recognize. Ivy approached him. Pulling up a seat next to him, she began, "Draco, I don't know what to do…"

"Of course you don't. You have no clue what you're doing and because you are so ignorant you can't possibly succeed."

"Gee, thanks," Ivy said with a hurt expression. Draco sighed and shut his book angrily.

"I can't help you. If I do, Voldemort will know you didn't do it and he will punish you for not following his orders. Trust me, I know." Ivy just stared at Draco. The whole experience of being a Death Eater had clearly taken its toll on Draco. Upon closer examination, he looked tired, his eyes blood shot. He didn't look like himself. Ivy placed a hand on his arm and gave a small squeeze before standing up and turning in for bed.

The next day, Ivy woke up to Draco standing over her. "What the hell are you doing in here?" Ivy asked pulling the blanket up to her neck. All she had worn to bed was a tank top and a pair of boxers. "Get the hell out!" She yelled throwing a pillow at him. Draco held his hands up in surrender before speaking.

"Fine," he said. "Be late for class."

Shit! Ivy pushed the blankets off, not caring what he saw and dived for clothes. How could she be late on her first day? "Why aren't you in class?" Ivy asked.

"Free period," he said. He continued to stand there, smirking at Ivy's misfortune.

"You can leave now!" she said pulling a skirt up and an old shirt over her head. Quickly brushing out her hair, she grabbed her bag and darted out of the common room, up to transfiguration. Ivy could hear Draco laughing behind her but she just tuned him out and burst through the classroom doors.

All the students turned to the disturbance. Great, now you notice me. A few snickers surfaced among the students. "How nice of you to join us, Ms. Barns." Ivy turned bright red before she could even explain her late arrival. "Well, any excuse to entertain me with?"

"W-well, I was…um…" Ivy stammered for a good excuse, even possibly believable but nothing came to her. She just continued looking around at the students smirking up at her. The doors behind her opened and Draco came striding in with a triumphant smile.

"She was with my professor. We were cleaning up a potion that I had brewed that went horribly wrong. No one was hurt but it made a mess."

Ivy turned to stare at Draco with amazement. He'd stuck up for her twice in the past twenty four hours. That must be a record. Draco gave a slight bow and exited the room, while giving me an arrogant look. Looking over to McGonagall, I noticed she had gone back to her work, clearly as confused as me, and the rest of the students followed suit. Ivy slid into her seat and took out her parchment and quill, copying the words on the board.

Throughout the lesson, Ivy mindlessly copied the words but her mind was elsewhere. She thought of Draco covering for her, like his parents told him to but not in the way she expected. What was she doing? She kept her mind on pointless things like Draco covering for her for over sleeping instead of thinking about how she was going to complete the task. Ivy was beginning to think she wasn't even sure what the task was…