~Year 2005:

"I'll see you there, Celia. I don't see what the problem is." Draco edges around the couch in the Slytherin common room. He subtly picks up his rucksack and slings it over his shoulder.

"The problem is," you say, standing up and advancing on him, shaking a piece of parchment at him. "We were supposed to go together. You and me, not you and Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle."

"What, are you upset I made plans to go with her?" Draco flushes.

"No," you protest. You cross your arms and pout. "I have no one to go with now."

"Like I said, I'll see you there." Draco quickly trots up the stairs into his dorm and slams the door shut.

"Hey Celia," a voice says from behind you. Pansy is standing in the doorway to the common room. She slings her heavy winter cloak over one of the gold and emerald plated coat racks and takes a seat near the fire place.

"Hi Pansy," you say stiffly.

"Listen, I couldn't help but overhear," she whispers loudly. "You're welcome to meet Draco and I in Hogsmeade. I mean, if you want to bring some one else…it might be awkward otherwise."

"What's that mean?" You're perplexed. "I thought you and Draco were just going with Crabbe and Goyle."

"No," she laughs. "Draco and I are going on a date. It was really cute the way he asked me…"

You tune out her babbling and turn towards the dorm, towards Draco's door. He hadn't told you he was going with Pansy, he hadn't mentioned it at all. He had downright lied to you.

"So, are you going to come or not?" Pansy looks expectantly.

"I uhm…I don't know. I feel kind of sick," you reply. "Excuse me." You rush up the stairs and into your dorm. You indeed, feel sick to your stomach.

The next day, the day of the Hogsmeade trip, you wearily walk out of the dungeons around noon, when most every one is leaving.

"Hey, Celia," you hear some one say. You see Pansy, latched to Draco's arm, heading out the front doors. You smile with closed lips, and turn away before Draco can see you staring. Feeling upset, betrayed even, you run up the stairs of the Great Hall, wandering meaninglessly through the castle. On the fifth floor, you've just narrowly dodged Peeves, who is clutching a bottle of Frog Scum and threatening to pour it on student's heads, when you see something peculiar. Harry Potter is standing in front of the statue of the one-eyed witch. You stow yourself behind a thick, marble column and watch as he taps the hump on her back, which opens. He stows what looks like a map in his pocket, then slides into the hump, wooshing down the presumed passage. Acting on instinct, you follow. With a deep breath, you lift yourself into the statue. You let go of the edges, then zoom down the narrow tube, wincing into the dark. After what seems to be minutes, you tumble out of the tunnel.

"Ouch," some one yelps. You've just flown into the back of Harry Potter's legs.

"Oh, I'm sorry," you apologize, standing up. "I didn't know you were standing here."

"How did you…? Were you following me?"

"No," you say defensively, feeling your face heat up with embarrassment. "I just saw…I got curious…"

"Aren't you Malfoy's friend?" He asks curiously, looking disturbed. "His little girlfriend?"

"I thought I was," you say. "His friend, I mean. Not his girlfriend."

"Hmm. Interesting," he muses. "A slytherin."

"Yeah, and you're a Gryffindor."

"That I am," he agrees. "So, you're not going to rat me out to Snape, are you?"

"Why would I do that?" You ask. "I have nothing against you, personally."

"Interesting," he says again. "Alright, Celia. What are you doing in Hogsmeade?"

"I'm not sure yet. I was going with Draco, but he decided to go on a date with Pansy."

"A date?" Harry scoffs. "Not from what I heard."

"What?" You say sharply. "How would you know?"

"They were outside the Quidditch Pitch when I was," he tells you. "It didn't sound like a date. Pansy practically bullied him into it, but what can I say? She's kind of like that all the time."

"Hah," you say softly. "Well, I better get going."

"I'll see you around, Celia," he bids you as you dash up the basement stairs.

~Year: 2009

"I must escort you," Narcissa insists the morning of August 29th.

"Mum, we're sixteen, I think we can handle a trip to Diagon Alley," Draco rolls his eyes.

"After the mishap at the ministry?" Narcissa asks. "I don't think so."

Draco is silenced by her words. He glances at you and you shrug, avoiding Narcissa's gaze. You stare into the dredges of your coffee cup, watching the cream solidify.

"I…" she glances at you. "I'll take you two in half an hour. We'll take Floo Powder."

"What about apparating?" You ask, perplexed.

"We can't…we're not allowed…" Narcissa sighs, exasperated. "Sorry, you two. We're taking floo powder."

"I hate floo powder," Draco says half-heartedly, throwing a spoon into his bowl of cereal, which splatters all over the table.

An hour later, the three of you are standing in the Leaky Cauldron, getting ready to head into the town to go shopping.

"It's nice to see you, Mrs. Malfoy, oh and Ms. Validus, how nice-"

"I'm sorry, Tom," Narcissa says pleasantly. "We have a lot to do today, and not much time to do it."

Tom inclines his bare, lumpy head and retreats into the back room, swinging a curtain shut behind him. You follow Draco through the back door, and he taps one of the bricks in the wall with his wand. The bricks wiggle and move aside, and you duck through the opening.

Diagon Alley is not what it once was. The streets are dark and almost completely empty. The only store on the block that looks the least bit lively is Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, which is shooting fireworks out of the chimney and displays bright purple posters in the windows.

"C'mon," Draco says, coming up to you. "What are you looking at?" You point into the window you're looking at. A small, battered poster of Draco's father is in the corner, Lucius is skulking in the corner of the picture.

"He's wanted," Draco snorts. Narcissa beckons to the two of you, standing outside Florish and Blots, but Draco waves her away. "So what? So it every one else that escaped going to Azkaban."

"You're not in danger, are you?" You ask, scared.

"No, not from that," Draco says. He pats you on the back.

"Okay." You nod your head. "Let's go, I think your mum is having a heart attack." He laughs and the two of you join Narcissa, who indeed, is looking around nervously. She grasps her robes more tightly around her and grips her wand tightly.

"Draco, didn't you have to go into Borgin and Burkes?" She asks pointedly, once you have bought your books, robes, and potion supplies.

"Er," he looks sideways at you as you admire the new owls blinking out of the emporium. "I do. Celia, would you mind doing me a favor? Go into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and buy me a skiving snackbox? That way we can kill two birds with one stone and get out of here faster."

"Uh, sure," you accept the two galleons he hands you and pocket them. Hurridly, Narcissa and Draco slide away into Knockturn alley, trying to skirt the large groups of Hogwarts students and their parents doing their shopping. The Weasley's shop is loud and crowded, with people pressed up against each other in their hurry to buy magical products. You reach the shelf full of the wide, orange colored-boxes. Fever Fudge, Nosebleed Nogat, Puking Pastilles.

"Bloody hell," you mutter out loud. You forgot to ask Draco what box he wanted. You turn right around and squeeze out the door, ducking under the awning to avoid the impending rain. You run down the narrow passageway to Knockturn Alley.

"Don't worry," croons a witch huddled over a suspiciously bubbling cauldron. A man missing a few fingers taps on the brick walls, scraping his few fingernails against the brick. Another witch laughs to herself as she hurries away with a bag of what appears to be a thick, silvery. You stop outside Borgin and Burkes and reach for the door, which is locked. You peer into the window, and through a spot of grime, and see Draco and Burke crowded around a large cabinet. Narcissa is no where to be seen. Draco flattens his hand against the wood and opens the doors, peaks inside, and then shuts them again, apparently satisfied. You take a step back, intending to wait, but hit a solid something.

"Ow," you hear some one whisper.

"What's that?" You ask, panicking, peering into the empty space. "Who's there?"

"Shh, please," the voice begs. There's a glimmer in the air, you blink, and suddenly, Harry Potter is standing before you, his hands behind his back.

"Harry," you recognize faintly. You step back again, and this time collide with the windows.

"Celia," he greets you, grinning.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly shouts. The door to Borgin and Burke's opens and some one steps over the doorstep. "Get away from her."

"Draco," you protest. He charges towards Harry, his wand raised. Harry grabs his own wand and points it directly into Draco's face. "Don't. He's not worth it." You flatten your hands against his chest and shove him back.

"Celia, do you know-?"

"Of course I know, I was there, remember?" You place a hand on his face and wipe away a bead of sweat trickling down the bridge of his nose.

"C'mon, Malfoy," Harry jeers from behind your back. "I would love to see you survive Azkaban."

"Shut up Potter," you yell, turning around. "He might not curse you, but I will." Harry's smile fades and he glares at the two of you. Finally, he turns away and trots back up to Diagon Alley.

"It's sweet of you to worry." You squeeze Draco's shoulder. He slaps a hand over yours and rubs the skin.

"If I ever see him near you again, I will kill him." He glares at Harry's retreating back. "That's a promise."