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

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Saturday morning arrived too fast for Sofia's liking. She hadn't been able to fall asleep till after four and she wanted nothing more than to sleep in, but Mia had come to wake her up at eight sharp. Barely awake, she made her way to her bathroom for a shower. The hot water on her back was very relaxing and by the time she got dressed she was feeling a lot better. She headed down for breakfast with her parents and as she ate, she finally remembered she would be seeing Draco soon. At the thought of him, she unconsciously smiled.

"Would you like to share what has you smiling so big Sofia?" Olivia asked, watching her daughter's dreaming stare and silly smile.

"What?" Sofia said, not having heard a word her mom had just said.

"I just asked why you are smiling like that"

"Oh… it's nothing really… just ready to go back to Hogwarts and see all my friends" Sofia mumbled.

"Oh I see. Tired of me and your mother already, huh?" Caleb asked with a sad voice and pretending to have been hurt by Sofia's words.

"Of course not, I would never get tired of mum. You on the other hand…"

She laughed as Caleb looked at her in disbelief and she laughed even harder when he threw a grape her way, hitting her head. She quickly grabbed a couple of grapes from her own plate and threw one right back, missing his head by inches and just as she aimed for the second time Olivia told them to hurry up and eat or they would be late. Sofia was really going to miss being around them, but she was ready to go back to school and she was specially looking forward to the competition in a few days. Four of her best friends from Beauxbatons would be there as well and she couldn't wait to see them.

Sofia and her parents left the house at ten and made it to Platform 9 ¾ forty five minutes later. They quickly found the Weasley's and Granger's and made their way towards them. As they walked, Sofia looked around searching for a sign of Draco, but she found none. She had just greeted everybody and was about to ask Harry a question when her dad grabbed hold of her hand and took her further down the Platform, away from everyone. As they stood facing each other, Sofia waited patiently for her dad to say something. He seemed to be looking for the right words, and when he finally spoke, his voice was full of emotion.

"Sofia, I just want you to know that I… we, me and your mother… well, we are so very proud of you sweetheart"

Of all things she had expected him to say, that wasn't one of them. It was so random she waited for him to continue, hoping he would make more sense.

"Look sweetheart, I know I can be over protective sometimes. And I know I haven't been easy on you, especially since finding out about you taking private lessons from Snape and with the Malfoy kid. I just want you to know that, regardless of it all, we are very proud of you."

"Thanks dad" She said, feeling incredibly grateful for having such wonderful parents that loved her so much.

"Just promise me you will be careful, ok?"

"Always" She said, smiling at her dad.

He smiled back and pulled her in for a hug. No matter what she said and thought, Sofia would always be his little girl and he would do everything in his power to ensure she was safe, healthy and happy. As the whistle rang from the train, signalizing it was time to leave, Sofia and Caleb made their way back to everyone. Sofia hugged her parents one more time, said goodbye to everyone and made her way inside the train with Harry, Ginny and Neville. Hermione and Ron had left for the Prefects compartment but not before Lavender Brown, Ron's girlfriend, had demanded she later joined him at another cabin.

The group spent most of the trip catching up on what each had done over the holidays. Hermione joined them as soon as she could, looking slightly irritated – at what Harry, Ginny, and Sofia knew was Ron's disappearance with Lavender – and halfway through the day Luna joined them, bringing copies of the Quibbler that she handed out to everyone. Sofia, Luna and Ginny spent over an hour talking about the articles in the magazine, and Sofia couldn't help but admire how Luna didn't seem to care about what people said or thought of her eccentric views.

Several compartments down from Sofia's, Draco sat by the window looking out at the ever changing scenery. He wanted nothing more than to find Sofia and spend some time with her, but that would have to wait until later. He hoped she wasn't upset with him for being gone the past few days, he had wanted to explain why he couldn't come to see her but he didn't want to risk anyone intercepting the letter. Things had been bad at the Malfoy Manor the past few days as Voldemort himself was currently staying at the Manor, much to Draco's dislike. Voldemort treated him and his parents, especially his father, as if they were nothing. He never missed a chance to humiliate Lucius and remind him of how he had failed to obtain the prophecy from the Ministry. Draco avoided him as much as possible by staying in his room, but more frequently than not, Voldemort had requested that Draco joined in when he addressed the Death Eaters.

Draco knew Voldemort was studying him and he did his best to shield his mind, as well as pretend to be honored by his presence. The truth however, was that he was sick and tired of the situation. He no longer believed in Voldemort and his plans and definitely no longer wished to become a Death Eater. How he was going to stay away from them was a problem, but thankfully he would not have to deal with it anytime soon as he was heading back to Hogwarts. He was still struggling against the way he had been brought up, he knew a person couldn't change overnight and he had done much in the past few years to attest to that but he could no longer deny to himself that he was changing.

Sofia had been right. Things were a lot more dangerous now that Voldemort was back. Draco knew he would have to play his cards very carefully from now on, or things could get very bad. From the corner of his eyes, he watched as his Slytherin colleagues carried conversations with each other, entirely at ease. None of them were going through something as bad as he was, and part of him envied their care free lives. He would have been just like them if it hadn't been for Sofia, if she had stayed away, he wouldn't be a complete different person now. A small part of his old self resented her, but he did his best to ignore it.

He knew he hadn't changed because of Sofia, she had simply brought out in him what had always been there buried under dark thoughts and feelings nurtured by his parents, especially his father. Almost everything good about Draco came from his mother and Lucius had all but destroyed them until the day he met Sofia. They were too young by the age of five to truly understand the animosity between their parents, but even so, all other kids knew better than to mess with him. During the countless Ministry parties or events held at the Manor, the other kids would either stay away from him or follow him around, obeying his every command.

Sofia had been different. She neither feared nor followed him, she was downright indifferent. Her indifference made him mad and one day he had confronted her about it. When he did, she immediately proceeded to tell him that she had no reason to fear him, as she could see right through him and that she wasn't about to follow him around because she actually had a mind of her own and needed nobody to tell her what to do. He had laughed at her, but she continued talking and what she said next made all the difference in the world. She mentioned things about him he had never said to anyone - but that she claimed to have noticed as she had observed him – and it almost sounded like she had read his mind. When she was finished, he stormed away. He was in a sour mood for days, denying her words and trying to convince himself he had hidden his true self from everyone, but deep inside he knew she had seen right through him exactly like she said she had. When they next saw each other, she had beckoned him away from everyone. He reluctantly went her way and she had asked if he was ok, since she knew her words had upset him. He had been hesitant to let his walls down around her for a while, but before long they became friends.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't noticed the train had arrived at Hogsmeade until Blaise had punched him in the shoulder as everyone started to get up and gather their belongings in preparation to leave the train. As he followed Blaise to one of the carriages waiting to take the students back to Hogwarts, he saw Sofia entering one with Hermione, the Weasley girl and Loony Lovegood. The sight of her was exactly what he needed to sooth his worries.

As all students placed their belongings by the stairs that lead to the castle, Draco let his owl out of his cage and gave him the letter he had written to Sofia earlier that day. He had addressed it to her room once again, so that it would be a surprise when she arrived there later. Knowing they would be together soon, he made his way to dinner with Blaise, feeling at ease for the first time in days.


"Draco, wait! Draco, hold on I need to talk to you… Draco!"

Malfoy was doing his best to ignore the girl who had followed him out of the Slytherin common room. She had been calling for him ever since he made his way towards the door, and she had followed him all the way to the entrance hall.

"What?" He finally snapped.

Pansy stopped a few feet from him, trying to catch her breath.

"We need to talk, something is off with you"

"Just leave me alone"

He turned to leave but she stepped in front of him, blocking his way. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and studied him before continuing.

"What is going on with you Draco? You have not been yourself lately"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he kept his defenses up and stared down at her with a venomous gaze. She seemed to hesitate for a brief moment, before collecting herself.

"Look, I am just worried about you all right? You have been distracted lately and haven't been acting like yourself. Blaise and I barely see you anymore and although the Dark Lord has been staying at your house, you haven't said a word about"

"What difference does it make whether I say something about it or not?"

"You never miss an opportunity to make sure everyone knows when something important happens to you, or your family. Is like you no longer care"

"Or maybe, is just that I have outgrown you"

Pansy took a step back, as if his words had hurt her.

"Go back to the common room Pansy, I have prefect duties and you are not part of them"

"Draco, let me help you. Things were so much better when we were together and you confided in me. Let's just get back together and everything will go back to normal, I can help you Draco"

Draco laughed a venomous laugh that caused Pansy to take even more steps away from him.

"Do you really think I need you for anything? Well, let me make something very clear. You and I are over and I don't need you, or anyone else, to help me. Now, go back to the common room before I make you"

He watched as she walked away, visibly upset. He waited a few more minutes before turning around and making his way to the empty room where he and Sofia would be meeting soon. Sofia waited until she could no longer hear Draco's steps before continuing her way down the stairs. She had been on her way down, under the Disillusionment charm, when she had seen Draco and Pansy come from the dungeons. She froze in place, not sure what to do and watched Draco as they argued and she wondered if Pansy had any idea of how mad he was and most importantly, how dangerous it made him.

As she made it to the door of the room Draco was waiting for her, she undid the Disillusionment charm, took a deep breath and walked in. Draco was sitting on a chair with his back towards the door but he turned around when he heard her come in and his expression instantly relaxed.

"Are you ready? I need to get away from this place" He said, getting up and making his way towards her.

She nodded affirmatively and waited as he placed the usual spells on them. They walked in silence, Draco thinking about what Pansy had said and Sofia wondering how best to approach what she had just seen. Once in the meadow, Sofia conjurated them both a mug and filled it with the hot chocolate Draco had brought and they sat down to drink it.

"Did you enjoy your time in London with Granger?"

"Yes, it was fun. And nothing happened, just like I said it wouldn't"

"I never said something would happen. I said something could happen" He replied, somewhat rashly.

"I know. You and father just worry too much" Sofia said, ignoring his tone.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, sounding affronted.

"It can be" Sofia answered simply.

"Umm…"

He stood up, leaving his half empty mug on the ground and offered his hand to Sofia.

"Would you care to ice skate with me? It has been a while since we had the chance to"

Draco conjurated their skates and sat with Sofia at the edge of the lake to put them on. Once ready he helped Sofia onto the lake and he skated next to her until he was satisfied she would not fall, and then began to skate ahead of her. Sofia watched Draco skate, trying to find the right words but there was no easy way to approach the subject, it just had to be done. She waited for him to say something, but after a while it became clear he wouldn't so she steeled herself and braced for his anger.

"Draco…" She began uncertainty.

He turned his head ever so slightly her way, as to indicate he had heard her, but continued to skate. Sofia didn't find it very encouraging but continued anyways.

"I… I was on my way down to meet you when I ran into you and Pansy. I heard your argument"

She watched as his body stiffened and he turned around to face her, both of them no longer skating.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have eavesdropped on you but I couldn't get myself to turn away" She said quickly.

"You should have left" He spat.

"I know"

"What did you hear?"

"All of it, I think. Is it true? About the Dark Lord staying at the Manor?"

"Yes" He began to skate in a circle around Sofia, his eyes lost in the distance

"Is that why you didn't come to see me last week?"

"Yes"

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked tentatively.

"There is nothing to talk about"

"Draco, the Dark Lord was at your house I am sure there is plenty to talk about. You can trust me, remember?"

"I know I can trust you, but I don't want to talk about it" He snapped again.

"Why not?"

"Because" he said, stopping right in front of her, anger in his eyes "You have done enough"

"What is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Sofia said, taken aback.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have to even think about whether or not to become a Death Eater. Ever since you came back I find myself struggling, fighting between you and my family"

"How dare you? Have you forgotten that it was you who came to me and asked for a second chance? You were the one that wanted to give it another try. Don't you dare blame it on me" Sofia said, getting angry herself.

"Do you have any idea of how bloody frustrating and hard it is? To go against all I have been taught, to live in a house with the Dark Lord having to pretend I still wish to follow him when that is no longer true?"

"No, I don't but I have heard enough from you about it. You knew the stakes from the beginning" She said, her voice growing louder and louder.

"Maybe I didn't fully comprehended it"

"That is not my fault"

"No… but sometimes I wish you had stayed at Beauxbatons… part of me resents you and wants you gone"

His words were met with a complete silence as he and Sofia stared at each other. Then, her expression impossible to read, Sofia spoke with a voice rather unlike her own.

"Well then, let me make things easier on you"

She turned around and skated back to the shore as fast as she could. As she sat down to take off her skates and put her boots back on, she her Draco stopping at the edge of the lake, right in front of her but she didn't look up.

"You don't have to leave" He said.

"I disagree"

"Sofia, don't! I am just tired and frustrated; I didn't mean it like that" He said exasperatedly.

"Of course you didn't" She said with sarcasm.

He tried to grab her hand when she stood up but she took a step away from him, shaking her head.

"Don't! I think we should stay away from each other for a while. We will practice together this week, but other than that, stay away from me"

"What? Sofia, no!"

"Stop it Draco. You need some time to sort things out… and so do I. Meet me at the top of the astronomy tower, a week from today and we will talk. Be ready to make a final decision then, and make sure whatever you decide is what you truly want. I won't give you any more chances Draco, I can't let you keep on hurting me like this"

Draco watch as Sofia left, his heart sinking. He knew he should go after her, that he should tell her he never meant to hurt her. He needed to make sure she knew just how important she was to him, but his legs wouldn't move. He shouldn't have said those things to her, no matter how hard things were for him. He watched her until the night engulfed her before returning to the lake. He lost track of time as he skated around the lake, lost in his thoughts. He knew he had crossed a fine line tonight… he only hoped he hadn't ruined things between them beyond repair.