A/N: Hazelnholy: thankyou so much! And no the Malfoy's aren't wizards, I decided that everyone and everything in this story would be strictly muggle, just because I thought it would be an easier way to set it out :D And thanks for the idea of explaning how Charlie and Lucius became friends, I guess that would be rather interesting to explore! Also, Thank you once again to everyone who has read and reviewed! (And I am aware that the ending of this chapter literally sucks, so sorry for that!)


BPOV

The week that passed was dreary. I spent many days inside the solitude of the mass library that was on the third floor. There were so many books, it was unreal. It was peaceful in there and I was only ever disturbed when Hermes came in to alert me to dinner. (Which, by the way, happened every day at exactly the same time - and the food was always delicious.)

It took me the whole week to be sure of my way around the manor. I got lost so many times that I stopped counting, however Draco didn't. He seemed to find it rather amusing, especially the time I managed to lock myself in the storage cupbaord.

The corridor was dark. I ran my hand along the wall, trying to find the light switch, but to no avail. The darn thing was just no where to be found! I sighed, exasperated, and continued walking slowly, clinging to the wall as if my life depended on it. It was about half three in the morning, I was having trouble sleeping and so had decided to go for a walk. Now I was trying to find my way back to my wretched bed room. After what seemed like a mile my hands skimmed something metallic that felt like door hinges. Thank God! I found the handle and just as I pushed it down, my hip whacked against something hard. "Ouch!" I cursed under my breath, steadying the object as it wobbled. Funny, I didn't remember there being anything next to my door... Ah well, I figured, I probably just wasn't paying much attention during the daylight hours. I opened the door and stumbled inside, the temperature was unusually cold. I shut the door behind me and hear a crash something fell to the floor on the other side of the door. "Ugh." I turned and pushed the door. It wouldn't budge. I tried the handle and it was stuck. I rattled it a couple more times but still nothing happened. "Oh this is just fantastic!" I groaned inwardly. Well, atleast I'm in my bedroom, I thought. I shook my head and reach out for a light switch. I found one, flicked it on and realized that I wasn't in my bedroom. In fact, I had absolutely no idea where I was! Now I was in trouble. I realized it was a storage cupbaord of some sort, mops and brooms were hanging all along the walls along with stacks of towels and cleaning equipment. I started pounding on the door, barging it with my shoulder, but still it wouldn't open. "Hello?" I called out, doubting anyone could hear me. It was worth a try though. "Somebody? Anybody?" After about fifteen minutes of this repeated process, I eventually gave up and sank to the floor, determined to get at least a couple of hours sleep.

When I awoke, light was filtering in through a small window in the top corner of the room. A clock hung next to it and the time read 9:27 AM. I had been stuck in this room for almost 6 hours. I stood up stretching, my joints feeling numb and cranky from their awkward sleeping position. I tried the door again, hoping it had been a dream and I had jsut wondered into here and fell asleep. I hadn't. "Now what am I going to do?" I whailed out loud. I started pacing up and down the small room, trying to figure out what to do. After what seemed like an inmeasurable period of time, I could hear faint footsteps approaching. I ran to the door and began pounding on it with my fist. "Hello! Is somebody there? I think I'm trapped!" The footsteps stopped and I waited, hoping they hadn't ignored me and walked away. I heard the heavy object gettign picked up, so instintcly I started trying the door again.

"Hold on a sec-" A voice grunted. Too late, the door swung open and I crashed out of it and to the floor, straight onto who ever had tried to move the heavy object. Which was, now that I could see, a suit of armour on a knight's stand. I groaned, looking around. "Bella," A voice said slowly, cooly. "Would you mind, I don't know, maybe getting off of me?" It snapped. I squealed and clambered up, blushing. I recognised the voice. It was Draco. "Were you in there all night?" He asked, incredulous. I quickly shook my head.

"N-no." I stammered. "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk, and I thought it was my bedroom, but clearly it wasn't, and then when I tried to get out I couldn't, something was blocking the door. I'm sorry." My voice rushed out, barely pausing for breath. Draco simply looked at me with a bemused expression, shook his head, and walked off. I sighed. Way to leave a good impression Bella.

It was Saturday, and I woke up feeling rather refreshed. I hadn't spoke to my father Charlie all week, so I added that on my list of things to do today, which was a pretty short list. Not quite fancying breakfast, I got dressed and headed for the library, deciding to read one of my all time favourite novels, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain.

I got halfway there when a picture in a trophy case caught my eye. I scoffed at all the trophies - there was quite a lot, the trophy case took up all of the backwall along the corridor. Every single one of them was either gold or silver. Clearly, the Malfoy's took pride in nothing less than second best and showing them off to visitors. Peering through the glass, I noticed it was a picture of my dad. And Lucious. They were standing at the edge of a lake, tree's were a blurred mess behind them, both of them helping to hold up a fish that could have easily weighed more than both of their twiggly bodies put together; they must have been about 10 or 11. There was a dog behind them, looking as if it couldn't make up its mind about if it wanted to go into the lake or not. I was surprised; I mean, I knew they were friends, but I figured it was from some Law enforcement group my dad had been in before he moved to Forks, not that they had been friends from school and possibly grew up together. For some reason, I didn't quite picture Lucious as the type for being Charlie's friend.

"That was taken a very long time ago, you know." I jumped; startled. I turned around to see Lucius gazing at the picture. It looked almost as if he missed those times. His eyes flashed over me and he gave me a timid smile. We both stared at the picture in silence. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what would be most fitting.

Lucius eventually broke the silence. "He saved my life, once." He said quietly. I looked up at him, both curious and a little shocked. "Walk with me." It wasn't a question, but rather a command. He turned and walked off back in the direction I had come from. I had to almost jog to keep up with his long strides.

Soon, we emerged out into the vast gardens. Neither of us had said anything and the feeling was a little uncomfortable. Being the brave person that I was, I waited for Lucius to once again break the silence. "I was seven," He began. By this point, we had sat down upon a stone bench opposite a small lake. I vaguely wondered just how rich the Malfoy's actually were. "I was out for a walk with Lyra, the family dog. She was ferocious little beast, but loyal. Ever so loyal. I threw a stick for her, and she bounded after it." He smiled at the memory, and I realised that this dog put have been the cheeky looking Irish Wolfhound in the back of the picture. There was more silence as he relished in the memory and it took a moment for my brain to click that we were sat in front of the lake that they had been fishing in so many years ago.

"What happened next?" I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but I was too curious to simply fill in the blanks myself. Lucius glanced down at me, but I couldn't read his expression.

"I had seen your father many times at the local park with his father, either flying kites or model planes and every now and then feeding the ducks, but we had never spoken. My father repetitively drilled it into me that I was never to associate myself with those who I need not to. Something that I do, regrettably, enforce into Draco every now and then. He was alone that day, feeding the ducks. I remember thinking; 'What an odd sight that is, the lone boy is feeding the ducks by himself.'. Lyra began barking at the ducks, I couldn't understand why, for she had never before done that."

He paused for a moment, thinking. Even as Lucius Malfoy told his tale, he still spoke with a voice that rang with clear authority and formality. I wondered idly if he was editing the story slightly, before he began speaking once again.

"It... They... Came out of no where." Lucius' voice was no more than a dark whisper that sounded oddly pained. "One moment it was just myself, on the opposite side of the pond to Charlie and observing Lyra's ludicrous behaviour, the next, it was a stampede. Bulls, what looked like hundreds of them. Eyes as white as paper, wide, frenzied. Horns as sharp as pins. The ducks screeched and flapped their wings in a desperate attempt to flee, but all they managed to do was corrupt my vision, I couldn't see anything but their damn feathers..." I listened intently, hanging off the edge of my seat as I watched Lucius carefully. He had closed his eyes; it was as if they had been glued shut; they didn't even re-open when he continued speaking.

"There was chaos, lots of chaos, and myself, amongst it all. Something heavy squashed both my feet and I fell backwards, straight into the pond. I couldn't swim; honestly, I had never even been swimming before and so I kept choking on the water, with my hands only just managing to flail above the surface."

There was a short pause while I waited with baited breath for the next part.

"Then everything started fading and I was vaguely aware that I was being pulled to the surface. I regained conciousness about an hour later, Charlie and his father were peering down at me with anxious expressions. They explained what had happened, took me back to my home - here - and departed." Lucius gave me small smile. "There are certain things, Isabella, that people can not go through without becoming great friends - like saving a life, for instance." I smiled in response, absorbing the story in. I was beginning to like Lucius, and this was definately an event that I'd have liked to hear from my father.

We continued to sit on the bench in silence for what seemed like hours.

A distant chime echoed through the grounds, most likely coming from the kitchen. Lucius looked at me once more,

"Dinner shall almost be ready. Go freshen up." He waved once towards the house and turned back away, seeming to stare into something I couldn't see. Most likely another memory. I stood up and obeyed, walking slowly back into the house. I stopped once whilst passing a window to see that Lucius had not moved a single inch from his spot on the hard bench.

Sighing, I shook my head turned, continuing to walk straight into some one. There was a dark snicker, and I blushed. God dammit!

"Lost again, Bella?" Is cold voice sneered. I hadn't known it was possible for any one to sound so... soulless. But then I realised that I had, and my mind suddenly transferred back to when I was standing in the woods with Edward... The familiar pain that always appeared whenever I thought of him shocked through my body, numbing my limps. I could barely hear Draco continue his speech.

"Well?" He snapped impatiently. I struggled to unclench my left arm from my torso and re focus my eyes onto his face.

"Err," I let a huge gust of air that I hadn't even been aware of escape from my lungs. "I'm sorry." I apologised, "But what was the question again?" I groaned internally at my momentarily 'pause'. Draco rolled his eyes before glaring at me.

"You know what, just forget it. Goodbye." And off he went, striding away. A mini Lucius in the making. I watched in utter amazement, although why I was amazed I didn't know.