Apart from the OC, or otherwise cited, JK Rowling owns the rights to everything in the story.

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A huge thanks to Krista and Lauren for reading over the chapters and helping me edit them.

In between grieving, classes and homework, the next couple of days went by in a haze and before she knew it, it was Saturday night and Sofia had thirty more minutes to decide whether or not to go see Malfoy.

"I am going for a walk," She announced fifteen minutes later.

The trio asked if she was okay or needed them to come along, but she said she needed some alone time. Thanking them, she turned to leave but Harry got up as well.

"Here" he said, pulling something from his book bag. He handed Sofia a folded cloak, leaned in and whispered in her ear. "It is an invisibly cloak. This way you won't have to worry about getting caught after hours. But watch out for Mr. Filch's cat, we think she can see past the cloak"

Sofia gave him a smile before thanking him and leaving. She found Harry's cloak quite interesting, but she didn't like how inconvenient it was having to make sure that it was always covering her entirely. She had learned how to cast a Disillusionment Charm at the age of eleven – because of her father's insistence that she had a way of protecting herself if needed be - and although not as reliable as this cloak seem to be, she enjoyed being invisible herself and moving around freely. As she approached the tower she stopped, suddenly not sure she was doing the right thing. Her watch showed 8:59pm, and with one final deep breath, she began to climb up the stairs.

Draco looked down at his watch once more. 8:59pm. He continued to stare at the sky, thinking back at the nights when he and Sofia laid side by side star gazing and talking for hours on end. He could still remember how her eyes used to shine just as bright as the stars she watched so intensely. His back was turned to the tower door, but he heard her come in and he looked at his watch once more, 9pm. He smiled, punctual as always.

Sofia stepped outside and closed the door. It was a beautiful night, the sky covered with bright shinny specks. The cold winter air should be blowing hard this high, but she supposed Malfoy had casted a spell to keep them warm. She knew he was aware of her presence, and decided to wait for him to speak first as she made her way towards him and stopped by his side. She was nervous at first, but gradually relaxed as she focused on the night. Several owls flew by and she watched them as they hunted.

"I wasn't sure you would come… but I'm pleased that you did" Malfoy's voice startled her.

"I wasn't sure I would either…"

Malfoy waited for Sofia to go on. When she didn't, he took a deep breath and continued.

"I can't believe you still have the necklace I gave you, nor that you still wear it"

"Some people actually keep their promises Malfoy".

She halfway regretted the words as soon as she spoke them, it was the truth, but she didn't want to start a fight. Then again, if he wanted to talk he would have to deal with it.

"I had to do it Sofia, you don't understand. I am a Malfoy, I have certain rules to follow and I have to behave a certain way… "He wasn't pleading with her; his tone was flat, as if stating the obvious but with a slight hint of anger "and we were just kids, I couldn't turn my back on my family and everything I know"

"No, but you could turn your back on me, and it was exactly what you did. I thought we were best friends, I thought we had agreed on facing it all together…. I spent countless hours listening to you describe some of the things your dad had done or continued to do, and how you wanted to be different. You said you wanted to be better and turn your back on him, but bravery isn't really what Slytherins are known for, right?"

She abruptly didn't want to talk about it anymore; she didn't even want to be here for another second. Turning, she ran towards the door and just as her hand got hold of the door handle she heard a faint "I'm sorry". Sofia froze. She could not believe it, it couldn't be, Malfoy's don't apologize, ever! Right? She heard him walking towards her and turned to face him, their eyes meeting. His cold, grey eyes were troubled.

"I am… sorry for hurting you Sofia, but I am not sorry for what I did. I had to do it".

He spoke the words as if they tasted bad in his mouth, and they probably did. His eyes however, betrayed him. Sofia knew she was probably the only person to ever hear a Malfoy apologize, and hearing it from Draco about her, was even harder to believe. She also finally realized he had called her Sofia, and more than once.

"Thanks Malfoy… I… but… this doesn't change what you did and certainly doesn't change all that happened because of your decision. I might have been in France for the past few years, but I know what your father did to Ginny, how you tried to get Hagrid and Dumbledore gone, how miserable you made Harry's life and how your father has been manipulating the Minister of Magic all this time. I also know about some of the things he has done under Voldemort's orders in the past two years. That's not the Draco Malfoy I want to have as a friend and most certainly not the Malfoy I used to know. I'm afraid you turned out to be just as bad as your father" At her final words, Draco recoiled, as if her words had physically hurt him.

"I know it doesn't change what I have done and I realize I am just like my father in many ways, but I didn't ask you to come here because of the past. I asked you to come here to give me another chance".

Silence filled the air. Sofia and Draco stood inches apart, facing each other. More than once, he thought she was about to say something, but she never did. Inside her head, Sofia was struggling to decide whether or not she believed he deserved another chance. Finally, Sofia broke of their eye contact. Draco watched as she turned to leave, fear feeling him inside. As she was about to disappear thru the door, she hesitated and finally turned around.

"I'm also glad I came Draco" And she was gone.

December came bringing snow and freezing winds. Inside the castle, Hagrid and the other teachers had done an incredible job decorating for Christmas and Sofia was absolutely in love with the twelve trees in the Great Hall and found the singing armors in the hallways particularly amusing. The past weeks had flown by thanks to the enormous amount of homework and the intense potions training, and she couldn't wait for the break.

Harry had been meeting with professor Dumbledore a lot lately, and she wondered why. The trio had trusted her with many things, but she knew it would be a while before they could ever trust her the way they trusted each other. She had gotten to know Ron a lot better lately, as he would come to the library with her and Hermione when Harry was gone. They were all so busy, it was hard for the four of them to be together and not have to study or do any homework. There was one more visit to Hogsmeade the last weekend before the break, and the four of them agreed to spend it together, enjoying each other's company. There had been some discussion of cancelling the trips, after Katie's attack, but they were all happy that hadn't been the case. Sofia and Hermione decided to go shopping for the Ministry of Magic Christmas party and the Ball after their competition while there and the boys agreed on coming to meet them afterwards.

Saturday morning found the girls up early, putting on lawyers of clothes so not to freeze later on. The boys had decided to meet around lunch time and the girls wanted as much time to shop as possible before then. Once ready, they headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast and because it was still early, the Hall was almost empty. Apart from them, there were three students at the Ravenclaw table, five at the Hufflepuff's, and one person at the Slytherin table, Malfoy. Things between her and Malfoy hadn't changed much since their conversation in the tower, although she had overheard Harry telling Ron the other night that Malfoy seemed to be a little off, as he no longer made offensive remarks towards others as often as he used to. She wondered why Draco was up so early, but the smell of bacon and eggs brought her attention back to her table. After a quick breakfast, the girls made their way to Mr. Filch and once clear, to Hogsmeade.

After three stores, four hours and countless dresses, the girls met with the boys for lunch, tired but extremely satisfied. After lunch, they leisurely walked around, stopping to buy candy before heading back to Hogwarts. After dropping all they bought in the dorm, Sofia and the trio spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the snow with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Their boys against girls snow ball fight had been ferocious. Sofia learned just how painful a snowball to the side of her heard could be, as she caught a glimpse of blond hair in the distance, momentarily loosing focus in the fight. She redeemed herself a few minutes later, by hitting Harry twice in a row. Tired, wet and cold, they made their way back to the Gryffindor tower when it became too dark for them to see well enough to aim.

Before heading to dinner, Sofia decided to take a warm shower. As she sat in bed and reached for her trunk, she saw it: another piece of parchment, another black petal. Forgetting about her shower entirely, she grabbed the parchment and read it

I hope you are not too tired from this afternoon.

Meet me at the first room out of the Great Hall, to the left, 8pm.

Excitement and curiosity filled Sofia. As she put the letter away and headed to the shower, she could not help but to smile wondering what Malfoy had in store this time. After dinner, Sofia and the trio sat by the fireplace in the common room. Harry and Ron were playing chess, Hermione was reading and Sofia was talking to Ginny. At seven forty-five she excused herself for another walk and left. She made it to the room with a few minutes to spare, but Malfoy was already there.

"Ready?" He said.

Staring at him, she noticed how the left corner of his mouth raised a few inches, and she felt her stomach turn. She had always loved the way he smiled like that, mysteriously and mischievously.

"For what?" She finally said, noticing for the first time how he was dressed with many more layers than she was.

Draco silently casted three spells and he watched as Sofia's eyes traced his wand's movements.

"Disillusionment charm and two spells to keep us warm and erase our trace in the snow. And just in case".

He took off his jacket as he spoke and walked towards her, stopping behind her. He held the jacket up and waited for her to slide her arms in.

"Thank you. I would have come better prepared had I known we were going outside"

They left the castle together, Sofia following as Draco led the way. They made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forrest and Sofia stopped as Draco headed between the trees. Turning around, he noticed she was still at the edge and made his way back to her.

"I thought we weren't supposed to go in there Malfoy".

"We are not, and after I had a bad experience my first year I never thought I would come near this place again. But the castle can get crowded sometimes and I needed a place to myself" Noticing the skeptical look on her face at his mention of the castle being crowded, he smirked and went on "Ok, maybe not exactly crowded, but you can't truly be alone in there, so I found a place where I can. And you will be the first person besides me to see it."

Sofia still had a hesitant look on her face, so Draco took a few more steps closer to her and held his hand out.

"Do you trust me?"

Those four words caused a true battle inside Sofia's head, with one side screaming NO just as the other side screamed YES. In the end, she wasn't sure why she decided to go, but she grabbed his hand and nodded positively. As they continued to walk deeper into the forest, Sofia expected Draco to let go of her hand but he didn't, not until they reached a particularly dense area. The trunks were so close together there was absolutely no way they could continue. Starting to wonder they might be lost and trying not to panic over that thought, she didn't notice as Draco took his wand out of his jacket and casted a spell.

Sofia's mouth was a perfect "O" as she watched the trunks unfold and move out of the way, creating enough room for them to pass. Malfoy went first and when Sofia stepped thru, her mouth opened even further. They were standing on the edge of a meadow, the size of half a quidditch field. Most of the area was taken over by a lake, currently frozen, and the remaining area was clear, except for a massive tree near the lake's edge. Without noticing, Sofia headed towards the tree, transfixed by the beauty of the place, as the ice reflected the moon and the ground seemed to shine. When she reached the tree, she noticed several blankets and pillows spread around.

She traced the tree with her hand as she walked around it, absorbing its enormous size. She heard Draco coming her way and once he stood by her side, she turned towards him.

"Malfoy, this, this is amazing!"

"Yes, it is. I really like this place and how quiet it is. I haven't changed a thing but adding the pillows and blankets and creating the magic protection."

"Do you come here a lot?"

"As much as I can, especially during the winter. Now, are you ready to ice skate? It is one of my favorite things to do when the lake freezes"

"Ummm..." She looked hesitant "I haven't ice skated in a while, I'm not sure I still can" She smiled nervously.

"I'll help you. Promise I won't let you fall and I came here earlier this morning to cast a spell on the lake, to ensure it won't crack. You will be perfectly fine".

They sat down to put on their skates and once ready Draco helped Sofia up and onto the lake. She was very hesitant at first, but with time she grew more and more confident. By the end of the hour, she had even skated without holding on to him for a while. At about ten thirty, they sat down for a mug of hot chocolate.

"Have you ever encountered any of the creatures that live in the Forest?"

"Yes, mainly Centaurs. They are not very friendly, but once I explained my intentions they were okay. After a while, I think they realized I really meant no harm and that I really wanted to be alone, so they don't approach me anymore. I can still see or hear them around sometimes though."

"And what was your scary experience here?"

"I am not sure I should tell you."

"C'mon Malfoy, tell me!"

Malfoy seemed to consider it for a while, before finally turning his attention back to Sofia.

"Ok. Potter and I where somewhere in this Forrest, late at night, as part of our detention and we ran into a creature drinking the blood from a dead unicorn."

Sofia made a disgusted face.

"Who would do such a thing? That is awful!"

"Voldemort." He watched as her expression hardened. "From what my father told me, Voldemort was trying to keep himself alive with the blood, while he tried to steal the Sorceress stone and produce the elixir that would keep him alive forever. When I saw him, I panicked and ran away. I had no idea of what I had seen or how Potter had escaped until Voldemort himself told his followers, and father then told me. That was almost two years ago, when father told me about it over the summer break, and as soon as I came back to Hogwarts, I decided it was safe to explore the Forrest."

Sofia sighed, still looking troubled.

"I am glad you did, this place is beautiful." She finally said, her face softening a little.

They fell silent once more and Sofia watched Draco, as he seemed to struggle with something.

"What's wrong Malfoy?"

"I… just… it's… I am wondering how things are going to turn out between us this time…"

"Whatever problems we had back then don't exist anymore. It's why we have this second chance, and we can't throw it away. Besides, you were the one who said we're not exactly the same as we were back then. If we're not the same, then things can turn out differently*."

Draco turned back towards Sofia and studied her intensively. She was right, they were no longer the same and things between them were definitely different. Reaching for her hand, he gently squeezed it. When they were done drinking their hot chocolate, Draco led the way out and back to the castle. Once inside the room where they first met, Sofia handed Draco his jacket back and thanked him for the night.

"I am glad you enjoyed it. I will take you there again if you want to. Have a great night Sofia" and with that, he closed the distance between them, kissed her in her forehead and left.

Sofia had no idea of how long she stood planted in place after Draco had kissed her, but by the time she finally made it back to the common room, everyone was already in bed. Well, almost everyone.

Sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, Hermione was holding a piece of paper that looked like a map, staring at Sofia in utter disbelief.

* Michelle Madow, Remembrance