Callie slunk off the train, the feeling of sadness for Draco not leaving her. She made her way to the castle and into the Great Hall for the welcome back feast. As she sat down various Ravenclaws greeted her but, as usual, she only mumbled a reply. She watched the first years glance around nervously and smiled wryly. They didn't know what they were in for, that damn sorting hat had a mind of its own. Literally. She sighed impatiently throughout the sorting process, silently cursing out each first year that got placed into Slytherin. She knew it wasn't their fault, and she was usually and extremely nice person. As the sorting hat had said, she had a heart of gold. But her years in Ravenclaw, wishing she was in Slytherin, have made her rougher.

She trudged her way to the Ravenclaw common room, leading all the first years. It was a difficult task, because they kept getting distracted by the live paintings. One of them almost had a heart attack when the stairs they were on moved, but she quickly calmed him down, her motherly instincts taking over. She pointed them all in the right direction of their dorms and collapsed onto the couch. She stared into the fire, wanted desperately to talk to Draco.

Callie pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled something on it. She mumbled to Theodore that she was leaving and made her way to the owlery to get Nuka. She gave him a biscuit, tied the note to his foot and sent him off in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons. Callie sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. She slowly dragged her feet back in the direction of her common room. After taking a very long bath in the prefect's bathroom, she headed up to her room. It was dark now, almost midnight. Faintly, she heard tapping at her window. She looked up to see Nuka back already. Shocked, she hurriedly ran to the window. She fed Nuka a biscuit and sent her back to the owlery.

Caine –

The clock tower. Now.

Draco

She gasped at the fact that he'd actually listened to her. Her letter had been a bit more warm, saying that she wished to speak to him before classes the next day, if that was possible she'd greatly appreciate it. Without thinking to change out of her shorts and camisole, she grabbed her wand and dashed out the door. She was running silently down the corridors when she hit something and fell back. "Lumos," she whispered, but even with the orb of light at the end of her wand, she saw nothing. She almost screamed when the disembodied heads of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley appeared in front of her. They silenced her and apologized for frightening her, explaining they were just in the library, and asked her why she was out at midnight.

"Oh…I…the…the clock tower. I'm researching for Astronomy! I'm headed to look at some stars from the clock tower, alone. Yeah, just me and the stars, ha ha!" she laughed with nervous hysteria in her voice. They seemed to realize she was doing something against the rules and removed what looked to be an invisibility cloak from their bodies, revealing their full forms.

"Well, being out after hours isn't good. The Gryffindor common room is just up the stairs, so you should take the invisibility cloak. So the 'stars' don't get you into trouble," Harry winked as he said stars. Callie grimaced briefly but graciously took the cloak from him, promising to return it soon.

"Nox," she whispered again, before putting on the cloak and taking off towards the clock tower.

Where was she? Draco thought. He saw the owl fly back from her room, so he knew she'd gotten his letter. Angrily, he considered the possibility that she wasn't going to show up. He began scolding himself aloud for listening to her petty whine to talk to him.

"Why should I have made any exception for her?! Plenty of girls would kill for the chance to talk to me!" he said aloud to himself, facing the expansive Hogwarts grounds.

"Well, I hope you haven't driven anyone to murder, Draco," he heard a voice say from behind him. He went to turn but realized whoever it was was right behind him, pinning him to the railing of the clock tower. He turned his head enough to see Callie remove the invisibility cloak, while still keeping him pinned. Draco smirked as the realization dawned on him. Callie totally wanted him. That's why she had wanted to meet here, she wanted him bad. He thought about it for a minute, and decided to give her what she wanted.

Draco broke the hold Callie had on him and spun around, still against the railing. Callie raised an eyebrow at him and opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly unable to. Draco's mouth was now covering her own, his lips soft, but fierce against hers. She widened her eyes in shock and pushed him away from her. He scowled at her with question in his eyes.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" she questioned him, loudly. It was fleeting, but Callie thought she saw shock appear in his eyes before he composed himself, smirking.

"Giving you what you came here for, Caine," he said seductively. Callie sneered at him menacingly.

"You thought I came here for…for that!?" she exclaimed, genuine surprise and shock coloring her tone. Draco scowled again, but this time only for a moment, before furrowing his brow in confusion and turning away from her. She moved to stand next to him and stared at his profile. "Draco, no. I came here to talk to you. I…I want to be your friend. You couldn't possibly like me as anything more than that anyway, there's nothing to like," she finished. Mentally scolding herself the second those words were out of her mouth; it sounded like she was fishing for compliments.

But if she was, he bit. "Nothing to like? Callista, you may not be Slytherin," she scowled at this statement, "but you beat out any girl in that house by a long shot," he said very quietly. She wasn't happy with the turn their conversation had taken. Callie had gotten over Draco. She'd been in love with him for eleven years. It took her eleven years to realize that he was scum. But if that was the case, then, why, every time she talked to him, was he nice to her? She thought about this as she copied him and stared out over the expansive grounds of Hogwarts.

As miserable as this place had always made her, it was beautiful. The rolling hills and pristine water. Callie looked once more at Draco, who now had his head buried in his hands. He lifted his head to meet her gaze. Unthinkingly, he leaned towards her. Only this time, Callie didn't lean away, she moved closer to him. Their faces were mere centimeters apart when Draco suddenly and quickly moved at least two feet away from her. He looked at her again, with pain in his eyes, and took on a lighter tone as he said, "So, what'd you want to talk about?"

Callie sighed and they spent the next few hours talking about his family, how his father had been distant for as long as he could remember, how his mother thought buying him things made up for the fact that she didn't love him. Callie argued this, because she knew for a fact that Narcissa loved Draco. Draco questioned her about how she knew this, but Callie only came up with a feeble lie saying that she "just knew". The clock chimed three in the morning and they both jumped. Yet, neither made any move to leave. They sat there in silence for a few minutes more before Draco got up. He offered Callie his hand and she stood as well. Callie wrapped them both in the invisibility cloak and whispered a goodbye to him when they reached the castle, where they both went their separate ways.

Callie was relieved when she received her schedule the next morning; she had almost all of her classes with Slytherin. That night, she and Draco met at the clock tower at midnight once again. She had returned Harry's invisibility cloak, so she had to be stealthier in avoiding Filch, but made it safely there and back. They'd talked for just as long the second night. This went on for many nights, by Christmas break, they knew most everything about each other.

The morning before Christmas break, Nuka dropped Callie a letter while she was eating breakfast.

Callista

I am sorry to inform you that your father will not be returning to England this winter, and has requested I tell you that you are to spend Christmas break with the Malfoy's. He and your mother send their sincerest apologies.

Phineus Lockhart

Callie read the letter over and over, trying hard to change the words she was seeing. They weren't coming back. And they hadn't even written her themselves. They'd gotten a ministry crony to do it. She was so hurt by this sudden news that she felt tears forming in her eyes. She tried unsuccessfully to hold them back. Classes were over until after break, so Callie simply got up and ran out of the Great Hall.

Draco looked up from his meal just in time to see Callie run through the doors, tightly clutching a letter in her hand. Worriedly, he wondered if her parents were alright. He decided that he'd find out for himself. He muttered something to Blaise and bolted from the room. He found that she hadn't even made it to the Ravenclaw common room. She was collapsed in a corridor against the wall. Her knees were tucked up to her face, which was buried in them. She heard his footsteps approach her, and she looked up to see who was disturbing her crying. When she lifted her head from her knees, he saw the large dark spots where her tears had soaked through her tights.

"Callista, what's the matter? Are your parents okay?" he questioned, his voice curious. These, however, were the wrong words. He'd asked the wrong question. She closed her eyes briefly before a loud sob escaped her throat. She simply pressed her face to her knees once more. Draco took her by the elbow and dragged her up from the floor. She didn't even question him, she was crying so hard. He led her through the corridors up to their spot, the clock tower. Once they were at the top, he set her down on the ground again, and began to rub her back in comfort. He couldn't have done this in the castle, where someone could have seen him, and was glad she'd willingly followed him. He asked his questions again, and this time she responded, barely.

"My…name…is…Callie," she hissed at him through the sobs she was emitting. He was taken aback by her tone, but she continued before he could say anything. "And my…parents…are…fine! They…don't even CARE," she was hiccupping sobs now, as she was becoming less tearful and more enraged. She shoved the letter than she had crumpled up into his hand and began sobbing again.

His eyes quickly scanned over the letter. He could quickly see why she was upset, and knew what she needed. She needed to defy her parents. Do something they wouldn't approve of. She could, because they couldn't stop her; they were in Greece. And he was going to help her. "Accio brooms!" he shouted, sending both of their brooms into his waiting hands. He shoved her broom towards her and commanded her to get on. He quickly explained that she was going to do something her parents would never want her to do. This made her stop crying and nod hastily. She mounted her broom, wiping her tears with her sleeve. She removed her robes, so she was just in her blouse, skirt, and tights. She kicked off the ground and zoomed off towards the water. Draco was right behind her.

They zoomed all over the school grounds, and beyond. They circled back multiple times, and by the end, Callie was laughing and racing Draco. Once they had gotten back to Hogwarts, Callie sped towards the Black Lake. Draco looked up to the sky for a moment, perfectly content. When he looked back for Callie, her broom was hovering just above the dark water; but she wasn't on it. Frantically, he shouted her name. He flew to the shore and jumped off his broom. He removed his robes, shirt, and shoes as he ran towards the water. Just as he was about to dive in for her, she appeared at the surface, gasping for air. He felt his heart constrict as he saw her struggle to swim to the shore. He jumped in the water and assisted her, dragging her to land.

When she finally regained her breath, he realized she was laughing. Giggling, actually. Draco was furious. He scowled and put his hand under her chin, jerking her face to look at his. "What the bloody hell was that?!" he bellowed at her. She pulled herself out of his grip and continued to giggle to herself, almost psychotically. He was just about to mount his broom and leave when she stopped suddenly. She was completely and utterly silent. He stood about ten feet away, staring at her. Her tiny body was curled up again, with her knees against her cheeks. Her tiny body was soaked. Her clothes clung to her body, sopping wet. The water had turned her chocolate brown hair into a black, drenched mess. She was shivering now, and he realized that he had to get her back to the school as soon as possible. It was below freezing and she was dripping wet. He could see her breath come out in rapid puffs as he jogged over to her. He gathered his robes and draped them over her, but she was still trembling. Her lips were turning blue and she was getting very pale. He began to get worried, so he grabbed his shirt and got both of them on his broomstick before taking off towards the hospital wing.

She'd passed out from cold by the time he reached the hospital wing. He realized, as people, girls mainly, stared at him, that he was still shirtless, his hair was wet, and so were his pants and bare feet. Madam Pomfrey spotted him and jumped up, worried. She rushed him over to a hospital bed, where he gently placed Callie. Madam Pomfrey grabbed multiple blankets from a cabinet and scurried over to them. She draped the blankets completely over Callie, who was still unconscious. She then turned to Draco and narrowed her eyes.

"Now tell me, Draco, why are the two of you soaking wet in the dead of winter?!" she questioned furiously. He tore his eyes away from Callie's still figure and looked at her to explain.

"We were flying, Madam Pomfrey, to take her mind of her family. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back, she was in the water. There was nothing I could do," he explained somberly.

"What's wrong with her family, dear? What would cause her to jump knowingly into the Black Lake in December?" she persisted, impatient. Draco realized he still had the letter he reached into his pocket and pulled the sopping parchment out. He performed a quick drying spell and showed it to Madam Pomfrey. She read it and gasped. She then looked pitifully at Callie and nodded. "I see. I'm so very sorry for her. You must be very good to her when she is with you. If she can even leave by tomorrow. If she doesn't come out of the coma by tomorrow morning, I simply cannot let her leave. Now, you should be going," she said, and began ushering Draco out, but he resisted.

"No, I would like to stay with her. Overnight, if I can," he said, authority in his voice. Malfoy's always got what they wanted, and he wanted to stay with Callie. Madam Pomfrey huffed but nodded, getting him a chair.

He sat there for hours, skipping dinner, staring at her until he drifted off into a deep sleep in the hospital bed next to hers.

AN: Please review!! And thank you to Gamble with Desire, PheonixFeatherQueens, and .forever for adding this story to their Story Alert subscription!! I've got work tomorrow, but i might update again.