AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another chapter for you, dears. I hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: Still not J.K. sorry.


"Come with me," Adrienne begged. If she'd been begging anymore she would have been on her knees kissing the boy's shoes. However, Draco just shook his head and turned the page in his Defense Against the Dark Arts book and continued to read. Adrienne was leaning against his side with a Potions book on her lap. Her book was closed on her thumb, as it had been for the past half an hour and she was looking up at him with her dark brown eyes. "Please?"

"Adrienne," he groaned, closing the book on his thumb as well. He then turned his body slightly to look at her. Adrienne fell back against his chest and looked up at him as he looked down at her. "I cannot go with you. I apologize," he said to her. Adrienne frowned and started to speak, but he continued cutting her off. "I would like to attend Slughorn's party with you, Adrienne, but I have something else to do. Detention with Snape," he lied.

"I don't wanna go by myself, we're meant to bring a date," she probed again.

"Adrienne," Draco said as he opened his book again, a small smile played on his lips.

Adrienne, knowing that she wasn't going to get Draco to attend the party with her, curled up against Draco's chest, causing him to have to readjust his book slightly. In the weeks since their accidental kiss, Adrienne and Draco had growen a lot closer. Some people said it was because they were forced to, because of their betrothal, others –like Melanie- said it was just bound to happen eventually. However, most agreed that it was because of the betrothal. Adrienne, on the other hand, tried her best not to think of the reasoning for their newfound liking for one another. She was too busy finding that she was enjoying it.

As Adrienne settled back into his chest, the entrance to the common room opened, and revealed a very nervous looking first year. "Are you Adrienne Zabini?" he asked her. In his hands were two identical letters with red writing on the front. She nodded and accepted one of the letters from him. After she nodded in thanks, he scurried off to his dormitory.

Adrienne looked at the red print on the outside of the letter. Urgent, it read. She used her well manicured nail to break the seal on the letter and read the short letter silently.

"Who's it from?" Draco asked, not looking up from his book as he turned the page. When Adrienne didn't answer, he looked over at her and closed the book on his thumb. "Adrienne, what's it say?" Adrienne stood, dropping the letter on the sofa as she did. She brushed her bang out of her eyes and exited the common room without a word. Draco sighed and picked the letter up off the sofa and read it.

Adrienne,

Your father has been killed. The service will be held the day you return from school.

Mum

"Where is she?" Blaise's voice shouted as he descended the stairs with the identical letter.

"Not sure," Draco said as he stood and dropped his book on the sofa. "Which father?" he questioned.

Since the Zabini twins were born they'd had seven different 'fathers'. Five of which mysteriously died leaving their mother with all of their gold. Her first husband, and father of the Zabini twin's older sister, died in a duel. Her second husband, the father of Adrienne and Blaise, divorced her saying that she was having an affair with another man, which she was. That man turned out to be her third husband.

"Our biological father," Blaise answered. Without another word, the two boys left the common room and searched the Dungeons for the missing Zabini. However, Blaise and Draco both knew that she wasn't there. Blaise, looking slightly flustered and worried, emerged from the Dungeons and started to go outside. "Check the castle."

Draco nodded as Blaise exited the castle. He then started up the stairs where he proceeded to check the usual places: the library, the astronomy tower, and back corridors. He had no clue where she'd be, so he walked aimlessly through the castle. During his wondering his feet carried him, subconsciously, to a back corridor in the castle, to a dead end. He immediately recognized it as the entrance to the Room of Requirement, an entrance that was revealing itself to him. Draco looked around quickly, hoping that there was no one around. He was sure that he hadn't been thinking about the Vanishing Cabinet, but maybe it had recognized him.

He entered the room and his ears were immediately greeted by the sound of a soft piano. Draco felt as though he was intruding on the player, however, he continued into the room curious as to why it had revealed itself to him. Then he spotted Adrienne. Her dark hair was pulled back out of her face, leaving only a sideswpet bang over her left eye. Her ebony fingers tickled the ivory keys producing a very beautiful sound. Draco leaned against the wall beside him and watched her. He'd never seen her play he remembered that she took lessons when she was younger – due to her mother's Victorian Era beliefs – but he never heard the result of the lessons. She was brilliant, her playing was brilliant. And then she stopped.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why'd you stop?"

Startled, her fingers hit the keys that they'd been hovering over. "How'd you get in here?"

"Not sure myself," he admitted. Whenever they talked, Adrienne turned to face him, and something about her facial expressions would tell Draco if he could come and sit with her. However, Adrienne kept her back toward him, so he kept his distance not wanting to upset the snake. "I'm sorry about you father." She nodded and played a choppy version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with one finger.

"You can sit," she said, still playing a choppy version on the song. Draco pushed himself off the wall and walked to the piano bench that she was sitting on. Adrienne took his hand and placed his thumb over the B natural key and his ring finger over the D natural key. "It's funny," she said quietly, pressing his hand down on the keys. "Count to four and then press down. You remember?" He'd also taken a few piano lessons in his childhood as well. Adrienne moved her fingers down to the lower keys and started to play. "It's funny how we don't expect people on our side to die."

Draco had no response of her. He'd never lost anyone close to him because of war or someone close to him at all. His grandfather had passed over the summer, from dragonpox, and he didn't know him that well anyway. However, Adrienne had spent countless summers and Christmas' with her father.

"It's like when your father was in Azkaban," she said quietly. "All these people walk about saying what they'd do to," she paused, "people like us, when they find them. How they'd rip them limb from limb, it's very much uncivilized way of living and thinking if you ask me, but they say it all the time and we hear people say that all the time. And we ignore it. We don't think that people on our side with be caught and killed. We work for him. He's supposed to protect us, and when he doesn't we don't know how to react." She'd stopped playing and a looked over the piano and sighed. "It's always a shock to us when people on the dark side die, because he's more powerful than anyone, save Dumbledore."

Draco looked over at her and exhaled slowly. This is the most emotion that she'd ever shown, except when she was a kid and she had to cry to get noticed by her mother. They were quiet for a long while. The room was silent for a long while. Adrienne leaned her head on his shoulder and he sighed. There was nothing that he could say to her to make this pain that she was feeling go away, no matter how much he wanted to. They sat like that for a long while, his fingers tangled in her dark ponytail and he laid his blond head on hers.

"Adrienne," he said finally, "you should sleep." She shook her head and closed her eyes. He started to say something else to her, but was cut off by a searing pain in his left arm. He inhaled sharply and closed his grey eyes. The pain usually only lasted a moment or two, but tonight the Dark Lord was either extremely angry or very restless, because the pain scorched his skin, like it had the day he placed the mark on his arm.

Adrienne recognizing the expression on his face, not the pain seeing as she didn't have a mark, gently pulled up his left sleeve to revealed the dancing Dark Mark. The pale skin around his Mark was bright red. Adrienne gently brushed the crimson skin with her fingertips, hoping to sooth the pain her betrothed felt. The unfamiliar touch startled the boy, causing him to bite his tongue. However, the pain in his arm did reduce. He couldn't tell if it was because of her touch or the fact that the Dark Lord had calmed a little. Adrienne ran her fingertips up the dancing mark, clearly amused by it. This was the first that she'd seen up close. Draco sighed softly, under her touch almost as if out of pleasure. He was sure that her touch wasn't dulling the pain that the Dark Lord was causing him. But her soft touch, over the most tarnished part of his being was clearing his mind, or taking his mind off the pain. It seemed like an eternity that her fingertips traced and danced over her Mark before the pain stopped. Even after the pain stopped, he said nothing, enjoying her soothing touch.

"Draco," she asked quietly. He opened his light eyes and looked down at her. "Does it still hurt?" she asked. He shook his head, unable to lie to her when she looked so innocent. "We should go," she said quietly, "Potions in the morning, yeah?"

Draco stood and offered his hand to her. She stumbled slightly as she stood and his hand never left hers. She leaned up to kiss him and then said, "Thank you." She didn't say what for; she just thanked him and started towards the exit of the room. She then stopped and turned to him. "Will you come with me? To the service, I mean." she clarified.

"Of course." he responded.

Having already thanked him, she exited the room and he followed. The two walked swiftly down the stairs to the Slytherin Common Room. Once there the password was muttered and Draco led the half asleep Zabini into the Common Room.

"Adrienne," he said. "Will you be okay alone?" He waited a moment not sure if he heard him or not. She shook her head. Draco looked up the stairs to the boy's dormitory and sighed. "You can stay with me tonight," he said as he pulled her up the stairs gently. He then led her to his bed. The sleepy Adrienne noted that it was under a window, and also noted that the girl's dorm didn't have a window. The girl flopped down on his bed and was immediately greeted by his scent. The citrusy scent entered her nose; just as it had all those night s she slept in his jumper. "Andy, move over," he whispered in her ear. She did as told and he slid into bed with her.

Adrienne rolled over and buried her face in his chest; the citrus scent invading her nose more. Draco sighed. "Night, Draco," she mumbled sleepily.

"Night, Adrienne."