A/N Please review. Comments, questions, and constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. ^_^

Anyways, this chapter is officially edited as well. Y'all should be proud. It's the second one today and I did four... maybe more yesterday! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. JK Rowling does, however.

…. A Few Days Later...

(so around a week and a half since Hermione has been at the Leaky Cauldron)

Draco's POV

"Are you sure you'll be fine going to Diagon Alley on your own, Draco?" my mother asked for the umpteenth time.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. I had waited almost two weeks. They couldn't possibly expect me to not to go looking for her, not that they knew of course. They'd crucio me until I wasn't right in the head and then they avada me for ever daring to even take a second look at her. Although technically I never gave her a second glance. I hadn't been able to stop looking ever since I first laid eyes on her.

"Stop coddling him Narcissa," my father hissed as I reassured my mother, "I'll be fine mother. It's just a trip to Flourish and Blotts."

"... and the Leaky Cauldron and hopefully lunch at a cafe or even Fortescue's," I thought hopefully.

"You will be back before I arrive from the ministry in the evening."

"Yes, father."

"Very well," he drawled as he stepped into the green flames of the fireplace.

"I'll be back mother, don't worry yourself," I said as I stepped into the fireplace, a handful of floo powder in my hand. "Flourish and Blotts!"

I felt the tell-tale pull on my navel of magical transportation as I swirled through the flurry of fireplaces until I tumbled out at my destination. Freedom! Merlin that hurt!

"Ouch!" she cried as I stumbled, my body sending us both crashing to the floor.

The warmth I felt spreading throughout my whole body left no doubts as to who was pinned under me. I smiled at the impossibility of such a coincidence. It couldn't have possibly worked out any better... well I could have not nearly killed her, but I certainly wasn't complaining. I was rather enjoying this.

"We really should stop meeting like this," I said softly, as I brushed her hair off her face, "although, I can't really complain."

"Yes, well you aren't the one being smothered to death now are you," she retorted, her face blushing beautifully.

"My, I never thought I'd see the day! Hermione Granger being little miss melodramatic," I teased not moving, fully enjoying the proximity.

"Yes, well it seems to have rubbed off," she grumbled before starting a dramatic monologue. "But sadly I have been bested, and there's not much I can do," she said in a distraught tone, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. "After all, how will I, little miss melodramatic, ever get on the level of Hogwarts drama queen, Draco Malfoy," she finished not able to hold back a smirk that would put me to shame.

"Ouch! Seems like the brave little lion pulled out her claws," I chuckled.

"It was about time," she murmured to herself, evidently not thinking I would hear, but I did and I couldn't help but wonder what that was about.

"And it seems like the snake is petrified at the sight of the lion," she teased, her eyes sparkling with mirth. She was so damn beautiful.

"Not petrified, just breathless," I replied smoothly.

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously, cocking an eyebrow.

"One can't help but be rendered breathless by such beauty."

"Draco, seriously, get off," she mumbled blushing as redder than the Weasel's hair.

"Only if you promise not to run away from me," I replied a brilliant idea coming to mind.

"Fine, I won't run away from the oh so fearsome dragon," she sighed.I didn't know why, but I really like her calling me Dragon. It just fit. It made me giddy for some stupid, unexplainable reason. I smiled mischievously before grabbing her waist. Her eyes had barely widened in surprise as I rolled us over, making her body end up on top of mine. Her face flushed as she realized she was sprawled on top of me.

"Merlin, Draco, honestly," she gasped as soon as her blush subsided a bit.

"What?" I asked innocently. "I'm the one being smothered to death here, but I'll let you in on a secret," I whispered into her ear.

"Oh?"

"It's worth it."

"Huh?"

"If being smothered to death is what it takes to be close to you, then I think I'd be willing to die every day of my miserable existence," I breathed sitting up, causing her to straddle my waist.

"You- you- you," she spluttered, tears welling up in her eyes, hurt written all over her face, as she tried to scramble off me.

"Oh Merlin, what did I do? Please don't let me screw this up. We were going so well. That's it isn't it? I-I probably misunderstood something and- why do I have to be so bloody stupid? Talk about no people skills."

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to make you hurt," I said softly as I snapped up onto my feet and grabbed ahold of her wrist before she could make a run for it.

Her eyes met mine. Her brown eyes melted into that beautiful myriad of colors I had seen nearly two weeks ago. Behind the colors I could see her sadness, her confusion, the hope and the betrayal, the wariness, the vulnerability. Tears brimmed her eyes, threatening to spill onto her cheeks. It broke my heart. My Hermione shouldn't be hurting, she was never supposed to hurt. I tore at me knowing that I had caused that pain.

"Please let me go Draco," she begged, trying to pull her wrist from my grasp.

"I can't Hermione," I said softly, only then realizing how true that was.

I couldn't let her go. I just couldn't. I couldn't let her go, when I had just gotten this much closer to her. I couldn't not when she wasn't pushing me away, not when she apparently didn't hate me as much as she should, especially not when she was hurting. I just couldn't.

"Please just tell me what I did," I begged.

-O-

Hermione's POV

"I can't Hermione, please just tell me what I did," he pleaded.

"It's not you, bloody hell, it's me. It's me! What's wrong with me?" I cried softly, the tears I had been holding back rolling down my cheeks.

"Tell me what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Draco, I-I it hurts, and I don't know why. Something in here," I motioned to my chest, "tells me to trust you with my life, but my mind, the part that wants to keep me from hurting, wants to push you out, tell you to sod off, and then hex you into oblivion, but then there's the other part of my mind that knows that you never hurt me, yet I feel like you betrayed me, like you abandoned me the second you were given the chance…" I trailed off mustering my thoughts before continuing. "And I feel so sodding vulnerable because no matter how hard I want to push you away, I can't. I can't Draco, and just thinking about it hurts, but thinking about how much it could hurt if I kept you close hurts too," I finished, tearing my eyes from his face, ashamed.

I sounded so pathetic, so weak. I had just bared my soul to him. I couldn't believe I had just done that. He must be so repulsed by me. The allegedly brave lion had proved to be nothing more than a frightened little bunny. I had to get away before-

"Hermione, don't," he whispered. "You promised you wouldn't run," he said as his hand cupped my cheek. "Don't be embarrassed, and don't deny it either. I can feel it Hermione. I can see what you're feeling, and now I know that it wasn't something I did now, but something I've been doing since we set foot in Hogwarts."

"Draco, you didn't do it though," I argued feebly.

"But it wa-" he blinked.

"Shit, you did it now Hermione. Now what are you going to do? He might not even know about it and there you go blabbing! First you go crazy and tell him all about your feelings and then you do this!"

"Hang on, how do you know?" he asked slowly, obviously not knowing how to react.

"I… it's a long story," I replied unable to meet his gaze. I had really done it now, hadn't I?

-O-

Draco's POV

"I… it's a long story," she said, suddenly very interested in the tips of her hair.

Oh no she didn't. She wasn't going to keep this from me. There weren't supposed to be secrets between us! Wait, where had that come from. It didn't matter right now, all that mattered was that it didn't feel right for her to purposefully keep things from me, and that there was a lot behind her sudden apparent stay in the magical world.

"I have time."

"Do you know what Occlumency is?" she asked evasively.

"I sure hope so, I've been practicing it since I was seven."

"Drats," she cursed under her breath.

"Hermione, how do you know?" I asked again, a bit more forcefully.

"I… remember last time we met?" she asked. How could I forget, but I nodded nonetheless and she continued, "Well, I saw something in your eyes that led me to the conclusion."

"Hermione, stop being so damn evasive!" I growled.

"We're in a book store! Excuse me for not conveying my secrets to you in such a public place!" she hissed, her temper flaring. Was it just me or did her hair just flash red for a second there?

"Your secrets!? I'm sorry, but I do believe this is my secret not yours," I answered harshly.

"Well contrary to what you so ardently believe, not everything is about you," she snapped.

"Fine, how about we compromise? We will purchase the books we came for. Then we walk around the alley while you enlighten me," I said in a tone that left little room for objection.

"Are you crazy? The point of all of this is laying low. You attract way too much attention," she snapped impatiently, evidently trying to get rid of me.

"I am sure that I won't be attracting attention if nobody knows it's me, and I'm sure altering our appearances isn't much too difficult," I replied sarcastically.

"You're impossible!" she groaned exasperated.

"Au contraire, I think you're making this much more difficult that it needs to be. Besides, I think I have a right to know, don't you?"She sighed, nodding resignedly.

"But… now it'll be two too many," she mumbled to herself. I ignored her.

"You do me, I do you?" I asked brightly, trying to lighten the mood. She rolled her eyes.

"That sounds incredibly wrong, you know?" she smiled whipping out her wand.

"Oh, I know," I chuckled.

"Prat," she laughed smacking my arm.

My heart soared at the accomplishment. She had such a beautiful laugh. It was music to my ears. I should have been making her laugh for the past four years, but instead I had made her cry and let others make her cry. I was such a worthless piece of shit!

"All done," she chirped after a minute.

"Please tell me you didn't make me hideous," I groaned.

"I don't think it's physically possible to be any more hideous than you usually are, but I must say I have performed a miracle!" she said, her eyes shining mischievously.

My blood went ice cold. Knowing just how good that witch was with a wand, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked uglier than a slobbering mountain troll! I wouldn't be able to go out anywhere with her if I looked like shit. She would be well within her rights to claim that I attracted too much attention.

"Thanks to me, I'd have to say you look rather dashing now!" she laughed after having let me squirm for a good thirty seconds.

I narrowed my eyes at her, and just as I was about to conjure a mirror, she took my wand from my hand.

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting a glimpse of your new look until I have mine," she chided, light-heartedly.

"Yes ma'am," I saluted.

I smiled as I started on her eyes. I turned them into the vibrant hazel I had seen her brown eyes transform into last time. I debated whether changing any of her facial features would be worthwhile, but I decided against it and settled for changing her bushy brown hair into sleek, slightly wavy, vibrant, fiery red hair.

"All done," I smiled, conjuring a small mirror.

-O-

Hermione's POV

He conjured a mirror, and we both took in our modified appearances. I laughed as I took in mine. I was beautiful. My eyes, Merlin, my eyes! From afar they would only be considered a very vibrant hazel, but, upon closer inspection, they proved to be bright pools of a myriad of colors: small pools of silver and gold, swirls of blue and green. My eyes flitted to my hair, the only other thing he altered. It was a vibrant red, darker and richer than any of the Weasleys'.

"You know, now all that teasing makes sense," I laughed, not able to resist the opportunity to tease him.

"What?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from his now curly black hair and healthier skin tone.

"You obviously have a thing for redheads. It would explain why you sneer at all the Weasleys so much," I teased.

He glared at me for a few moments before stealing another glance at his reflection and smirking.

"Well… I could definitely say something about your own preferences," he drawled.

"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you seem to have a certain infatuation with one fugitive mass murderer: Sirius Black," he deadpanned.

"W-what?" I sputtered.

"Well, if I recall correctly, you did say I looked rather dashing, and considering how I look like a carbon copy of Sirius at our age… I think it is quite easy to reach a conclusion don't you?" he continued nonchalantly.

"What books did you come for?" I asked changing the subject.

I certainly didn't want to even go down that alley. Sirius, blugh, no thanks! He was old enough to be my father, and he was Harry's godfather. He's like my honorary uncle, since Harry is like a brother to me!

"Nothing in particular, I just needed something to keep me from dying of boredom," he replied, "but I must say this outing turned out much better than any book I could have gotten."

"So in other words you planned on finding out why I was in the Cauldron, but a happy coincidence saw us bumping into each other," I replied snootily, mock glaring at him.

"I wouldn't call it a coincidence per se, more of a dream come true. I mean being graced to be in the presence of such an angel!"

Damn his charms, bloody git! I was not going to swoon like all those brainless, vapid twits at school!

"Merlin, no wonder you have the Hogwarts female population swooning after you," I chuckled, trying to hide my own swooning. He raised an eyebrow at my comment, a knee-weakening smirk already plastered onto his visage. Damn it!

"For Godric's sake you cannot possibly deny that you do lay the charm on thick!" I exclaimed, causing me to blush violently seconds later as I realized what I was practically admitting to.

"Oh do I?" he said innocently, his smirk morphing into a lopsided smile that made my stomach flutter wildly.

"Salazar, he's going to be death of me!"

"You know you do. Anyways, help me look for books that could possibly have information on how to test occlumency and legilimency," I said hastily.

"That's easy, you need someone who knows the art as well," he replied without hesitation. I rolled my eyes.

"No! Really?" I replied sarcastically. "I know that, I just don't have anyone who can test my own shields, and I need to test my legilimency, so I need to see if there are any alternativ-"

"Hermione, honestly, what am I, a sitting duck?"

"No, in all siriusness, you're a standing dragon," I joked.

-O-

Draco's POV

"Here I go," I said the second before attempting to penetrate Hermione's mind.

She had to be perfect in anything didn't she? Her mind was unreadable. All I could see was darkness, and her amused hazel eyes. Her hazel eyes, hazel, not brown. Holy shit!

"Care to share with the class?" her mind asked bemused, the echoes reverberating in the empty space.

"That bloody hurts woman!"

"Then get out," she said simply, before expelling me from her mind.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, how long have you been working at this?" I exclaimed.

"Almost two weeks, but it helped that I had naturally gone through the first two steps. I just had to work on fortifying my already present walls and creating mental traps," she answered blushing brightly. She was so cute when she blushed like that.

"How?"

"Well, the female species has this wonderful ability called multi-tasking, so I was able to work on my Occlumency constantly, and I've been dedicating some time on the side for Legilimency," she said matter-of-factly.

"Legilimency?" Damn this girl was really something, not that I hadn't known this before, but she was always amazing me.

"I don't think I'm very good at it since Tom has never practiced Occlumency, but…" she trailed off shrugging.

"Well, let's see how good you are," I smirked.

"Draco, I can't. It's no-"

"Hermione, I have my shields too, and don't worry. If you get through, you'll only see some things I think you'll find interesting," I cut her off.

Without warning I felt her stab into my mind. I raised my shields. I didn't know why, but everything in me was screaming at me to let her in. It was like every fibre in my being refused to keep her out. This only made her attack even stronger. Much to my amazement, I was able to keep my defences up for two excruciatingly long minutes.

She smirked before I felt her back off from her mental assault. I thought about lowering my shields, but thought better of it. Hermione was stubborn, she wouldn't give up after a couple of minutes, and something about that smirk completely discouraged the idea of lowering my shields. It wasn't long before I felt something flow under my walls. I wasn't able to stop the attack since it didn't feel like an attack. Hell, it was like my mind was welcoming her! I wouldn't have even reached the conclusion that she had gotten through, had it not been for her smirk.

"You sneaky minx!" my mind bellowed.

-O-

Hermione's POV

"You sneaky minx!" he bellowed.

I couldn't hold back a giggle. What did he expect, honestly? The prat challenged me! Of course I was going to get through his shields!

"Hermione, I'm going to show you what I wanted to show you okay?" he said as soon as he was done playing the indignant bit.

The memory of our last encounter played through his mind. The elation he felt when heard my voice, the pull he felt when looking into my eyes, much like the pull I felt, the morphing of my eyes into the vibrant hazel he had transfigured my eyes into. Sweet Rowena! He likes me! He really likes me!

"Now look at this," he said, allowing me to see his account of when he had attempted to penetrate my mind. It was all darkness, but instead of the brown eyes I had expected to see, they were hazel.

"Mia, I don't think this is normal," his mind whispered.

I withdrew from his mind and fell into his arms, exhausted. This was much more interactive than I was used to. I had prevented his infiltration, and shortly thereafter I had gotten through his walls, infiltrated his mind, and maintained the connection much longer than I had ever attempted.

"Mia?" I finally asked.

"Mia," he repeated, his eyes searing into mine.

"You do know that means mine in Spanish, don't you?" I asked, feeling my knees wobble.

"Of course, I do," he purred into my ear. "Now, stop evading our pending conversation. What are you doing here? Not here here, but here, and how did you get to that frightfully accurate conclusion?"

"Draco, I'm going to let you into my mind, okay? It's safer… we can discuss things over an ice cream, my treat yeah?" I proposed.

"No way!" he exclaimed indignant.

I felt my heart deflate at his horrified expression. Damn it hurt. I had thought that he liked me, at least a bit, but apparently I had a knack for misinterpretation and not seeing the obvious. I was still a mudblood and he was a pureblood. He wasn't going to lower himself to spending time with someone like m-

"I am paying and there's nothing you can do about it!" he said cheerfully as he dragged me out of the bookstore. I blinked completely befuddled. He wanted to spend time with me? He wanted to spend time with me!

-O-

Draco's POV

"Mia, I think it's all related… everything. You're not who you think you are, your memories, Tom's, and Sirius's were modified, and I'm, as far as we know, under compulsion charms. It would be too much of a coincidence if it weren't related," I mused after having come down from cloud nine after seeing that my feelings were reciprocated, and having seen her thoughts on the subject.

She hadn't let me see why she was now in the Leaky Cauldron or what exactly led her to the conclusion of her obliviation, but she allowed me to see everything else. Her admiration for Tom, the love and warmth with which he treated her, the task she had been working on since she arrived, her studies of the Mind Arts, everything.

"I guess you're right," she sighed.

"Dragon?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, Mia," I asked, smiling at the nickname she had given me after arguing that it was only fair that I have one too.

"My eyes, what do you think… I mean they…" she struggled for words, but I knew what she was asking. After all, it was what was bothering me as well. The implications it could signify were quite horrendous.

"Mia, I think… well… I'm not sure, but I think that maybe you aren't who you think you are, who you were led to believe you are… I mean, it would make sense… why else would they have gone through the trouble of obliviating you, if it wasn't to hide something," I reasoned.

The second I said it out loud, I knew she had already reached the same conclusion, but was hoping the situation wasn't as mucked up as it obviously was. I sighed. Just when things had started looking brighter, they just had to get so much more complicated. Fate was really a bitch, she just had to bugger everything, didn't she?

"And here I was, hoping I was being paranoid , and you just have to mess everything up don't you?" she whined, pouting adorably. What I would give to kiss that pout away, and maybe leave her nice plump lips red and slightly swollen.

"Alright, who are you, and what have you done to Hermione Granger," I asked playfully, relishing in the excitement and contentment radiating from her.

I smiled as I let it wash over me, warming my entire being, down to the very depths of my soul. Merlin, what was happening to me? I felt like I would burst from feeling her joy and the joy I felt seeing her happiness. Suddenly, I felt her joy dampen monumentally.

"Dragon, we have to part ways," she sighed.

"But-"

"We're friends now, and neither distance nor anything you say because of your charming little problem can or will change that, but nothing can change," she said cutting me off, her voice filled with such finality, that I was immediately incensed.

We were friends now, just had a heart to heart... kind of, and she wanted to just drop it, just like that? What the hell?! I had just gotten her, and now she wouldn't allow me to be near her? This had to be one sick joke. Besides, it wasn't as if we were going to be friends for long, well not if I had a say on the matter.

"I said I wasn't letting you go, and I'm not Mia," I growled glaring at her.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not asking you to, isn't it?" she replied with sweet sarcasm. I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could utter a syllable she said, "Everything will remain the same. That's the only way we can bring this to an end."

"And why the hell can't we meet like we did today?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Because," Hermione replied stubbornly.

"Because isn't good enough, now give me a good reason," I hissed.

"Bite me," she snapped.

Godric, she was bloody impossible. I glared at her, closing the already small distance between us.I towered over her as she glared at me defiantly. She really thought she was going to win this one, didn't she? Well if she wasn't going to be reasonable, I most certainly wasn't going to play fair. With a smirk, I lowered my face to the crook of her neck, my breath caressing her exposed skin. I smirked wider as I saw her shiver. Thank Merlin she was attracted to me and for teenage hormones! That was the only way this would work.

"No, I don't think that'd be punishment enough," I breathed huskily, nipping her earlobe between every other word.

My breath caught in my throat as she angled her neck, giving me better access to her beautiful, tantalizing skin. My nose trailed across her cheek of its own accord, absorbing her sweet honey scent. She was so soft, smelled so good. She was quick-witted. She was kind and fair. She was absolutely brilliant and had a fiery temper. She was breathtaking. She was perfect; she was my perfection.

"You-you-you arse!" she spluttered suddenly, pushing me away.

-O-

Hermione's POV

"Because isn't good enough, now give me a good reason," he hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. Did he have to get so bloody angry?!

"Bite me," I snapped. I swallowed hard as his eyes hardened and he closed the already small distance between us.

Shite, I just had to snap, didn't I? Now he's pissed, and looks so sodding snoggable. I want-I want to throw myself at him and attack his lips viciously with mine, but I knew I couldn't. Was I bloody crazy? I had to be. We were moving too fast. I was falling too fast.

Hell, I already had fallen too fast. I shouldn't be reacting like this. Our interaction in school was limited to snide remarks and insults. Besides those instances, we didn't see each other unless it was a stolen glance from across a classroom or the Great Hall. It wasn't normal to feel so attuned to each other, and it was scaring the crap out of me.

What if it wasn't really me who was feeling these things for Draco? What if we were both being manipulated by the bastard who changed my appearance, erased my memory and Tom's and Sirius's, and had Draco under compulsion charms? Or worse yet, what if Draco was the only one being manipulated to feel what he appeared to feel for me?

The second we solved this whole mess, he would break away from me and see the bushy-haired, beaver-faced, boring bookworm and frustrating know-it-all that everyone else saw, and so I stared at him as defiantly as I could. Everything would stay the same until we put an end to all this nonsense, and then, only when I was sure of what this inexplicable, undeniable, much too strong pull is, would we be able to explore any possibilities, and so, I stood erect, tense, unwilling to cave.

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity, neither of us willing to back down. What was his problem? Couldn't he see the problem with all of this? Wasn't he afraid that this wasn't real, that this wasn't us? Suddenly, his eyes lit up, a smirk gracing his visage.

"Crap," was all I could think before my mind went blank.

I was oblivious to everything but his lips millimeters from my neck, the shivers his breath on my sensitive skin elicited, the frantic pounding of my heart beating wildly in my chest, the warmth pooling in my , I felt his teeth tugging at my earlobe as he said, "no, I don't think that'd be punishment enough." Holy Founders, that husky voice was sexy enough to turn any female into putty. His attention moved from my neck to my cheek, slowly, torturously, making his way to my lips.

"You-you-you arse!" I spluttered miraculously regaining my wits. I pushed him away, trying to get away from his intoxicating presence.

That arse was taking advantage of his good looks and his effects on me to make me cave! Oh that that that stupid... absolutely gorgeous, charming, witty... Godric! I should kill him! He was going to be the death of me!

"If you're not going to be reasonable, I hardly see why I have to play fair," he drawled, closing the distance between us once more.

"I'm being unreasonable!?" I hissed, trying to keep up my resolve, even though it was crumbling with every second.

"Yes, you are," he replied simply.

"Honestly Draco! I am not being unreasonable. Tell me I'm not the only one who sees this is not normal!" I pleaded.

He didn't reply, but his stubborn look told me enough. He didn't want to let go, and from his view I was simply trying to get away from him. My resolve had never been strong enough to go against something we both wanted, but I had to try.

"Dragon… listen okay? No- don't. Wait. You need to listen," I said before we started arguing again. We had argued on and off during the afternoon, but it had been silly, flirtatious bantering as opposed to this heated discussion.

"I don't want to get away from you. I want you to never let go. I want to be in your arms. I feel safe, happy, and free when I'm with you, but that's the thing. I mean think about it. We don't talk to each other at school unless it's to insult each other. We don't really see each other, excluding stolen glances, of course," I said wryly. "Dragon, this isn't normal. How can we feel so strongly for each other? How can we feel such happiness just from being in each other's presence. I mean this is really the first, well the second if you count the train ride, day we spend together? What if… when we solve this whole thing we realize that… it wasn't real? What if you end up see what everybody else sees? Draco, I can't risk that. I wouldn't be able to take it. It would only add to everything, and I don't think I'd be able to… I just can't, okay? I know it's selfish, bu-"

"Mia, stop. Stop fretting," he whispered. "Mia, I don't know what you've been put through, but I can tell you this: you don't see yourself clearly. You don't see how others see you. You only hear what they say, but you don't see how they see you. You see this as if it were a setup, something that was manufactured by the bastard who decided to meddle in our lives, but… I feel this is something, something that is being suppressed, something that they meant never to happen but was obviously meant to be. I know you're hurting. I know you're afraid, but don't let the pain and fear control you," he said softly, cradling my tear-smeared face. When had I started crying?

Pain and fear, those are the best means of manipulation available. They always had been. Fear induces rashness, while pain makes one blind to everything but itself. A world of pain and fear was a dark one, one without escape. I was launching myself into that world, thinking that he would introduce me into an even darker world, but I knew, with every fiber of my being, Draco, my dragon, would never hurt me intentionally. He was neither friend nor foe, he was so much more.

A/N Edited! Yay! I hope y'all enjoyed it! ^_^

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