A.N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this out, but I was out of town and naturally forgot to move the file to my laptop. Anyways, here it is now. I also want to thank everyone who has submitted a review. Keep them coming. They keep me going. It's nice to know what you think of the story so far.

I suppose this chapter isn't much different from the last one. Astoria's still angry, but now she's starting to...well, you'll find out by reading it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and I suppose I never will.

Sorry for any grammar mistakes.

Astoria,

I read your letter and I must say I have no idea of what you were trying to say...

Draco stared at the words he had written down. They were not the words he wanted to say, but he couldn't tell Astoria how he felt about her letter, could he? Quickly Draco grabbed the letter he had began to write and tore it in to pieces. Then, he took a new piece of parchament.

Astoria,

I'm glad to tell you that I have recieved your letter. It was very... enlightening. You are right. Someone had to write that letter to me. I needed to hear, or more like see those words.

But there are some things in that letter that I need to set straight. First of all, I have not betrayed anyone. I never even liked Dumbledore, everyone knew that. Don't tell me that you were surprised.

Second, I'd like you to know that I do remember your words from that day. Every one of those words. But I also wish you to know that like I said before, I do not care. Do you think I care, Astoria, if no one will love me? Do you think I need that? Love is a weakness. People die for their loved ones. And I do not want to die for anyone.

And lastly, I would like to inform you that I shall do as you wished and think about the words in that letter tonight, although I do not see how it would make any difference if I remembered them now instead of tonight.

And also, promise me that everything that you know, or think you might know, will reach no one's ears. Because if you let someone know, then we're both in danger. And like I said: I don't want to die for anyone.

Draco M.

Draco was just about to give the letter to his owl when he realized something. There was one more thing that Astoria needed to know, but at the same time it was the only thing he couldn't tell her. The only thing he shouldn't tell her. What would she do with that information? There was no need for her to know that he hadn't been the one to kill Dumbledore, was there?

Without thinking any further, Draco wrote Astoria's name on to an envelope and put the letter inside. He then handed the letter to his owl. Astoria's owl, who had brought Astoria's letter, had left immediately after dropping the letter in to Draco's lap. Obviously Astoria wasn't waiting for a response. For a moment Draco stopped to wonder how his owl had found him in the first place. Had it known to fly straight to the manor? With a shake of his head, Draco decided to not even bother to think about it. Instead, he just sat on to his bed wondering when Astoria would get the letter.

The next morning everything was quiet. Some students were being taken home by their parents and other relatives while others (particularly the Gryffindors) refused to leave Hogwarts before Dumbledore's funeral. Astoria was sitting in the Great Hall, alone like always, when an owl landed right in front of her. At first she wondered why the owl thought that she was the person it was looking for, but then she noticed that the owl was indeed carrying a letter with her name on it.

Slowly, Astoria took the letter and opened it.

"Is it from father?" Daphne suddenly asked. Astoria hadn't even seen her move from her seat next to Theodore.

"I don't think so", Astoria said as she looked at the envelope, "It doesn't look like father's handwriting"

"Well, open it", Daphne encouraged.

Astoria opened the letter carefully. Then she looked at the bottom of the parchament where she saw Draco's name.

"No", she said quickly, "it's not from father"

Daphne frowned. "Then who is it from?"

"No one. It's...personal", Astoria said a bit too quickly.

"Personal? What do you mean personal? Is it from a boy?" When Astoria said nothing, Daphne's smile grew into a wide grin.

"It is, isn't it? It's from some boy. So, is that his owl? What house is he in? Slytherin? Please tell me he's not in Hufflepuff!" Daphne said.

"It's not from a boy", Astoria said, "And how can you even bother yourself with things like that? Dumbledore's dead! Do you understand Daphne? Dead! Oh and also, if this were from some boy, why on earth would he send it to me instead of just giving it to me in the hallway?" Astoria stormed out of the Great Hall and in to the grounds outside, hoping that Daphne believed her lie. She went as far as the lake, where she sat on to a rock and opened the letter again.

She read it over and over, for what seemed like a thousand times. The words were spinning in her mind. I never even liked Dumbledore. Love is a weakness. I do not see how it would make any difference...

But the words that angered Astoria the most were: Promise me. How dare he ask her to promise him anything? How dare he? With the letter in her hand, Astoria went back to the castle. If she had been angry with Daphne, it was nothing compared to the anger she felt now. She found her way to the dungeons and in to the Slytherin dormitories. There she grabbed her quill and...where the hell was her parchment? Astoria searched everywhere but she couldn't find any parchment. With Draco's letter still in her hands Astoria sat on to her bed. Then she got an idea.

She took one of her books and placed Draco's letter on top of it. Then she turned the letter around so that the blank side was now facing the ceiling. With feeling of victory, Astoria started writing yet another angry letter to Draco.

You git! How dare you ask me to promise you anything? How? Have you completely lost your mind? And the letter was brought by your own owl? Honestly? What if someone would have recognized it? Huh? I think you have no idea how much people hate you right now. They might not all know about your little adventures but the Gryffindors...I can tell you that if they catch you, you won't survive it. Therefore, I hope they do find you.

However, I can say that I won't tell anyone. I think it would cause more harm to me than to you if they knew. I'd be labelled a Death Eater as well. And I don't want that. Oh and nice touch, by the way, "love is a weakness". I don't know about you, but it seems to have gotten Potter pretty far! But then again, you're just a coward.

Astoria G.

Astoria looked at the letter with a smile on her face. Perhaps mentioning Potter was a bit too much, but it would make Draco furious and Astoria enjoyed the idea of him pacing in his room trying to prove to himself that he was better than Harry Potter. Not that Astoria even knew Harry Potter, or even liked him. In fact, she thought that sometimes his heroic acts were a bit over dramatic. And the way he had almost killed Draco had proved that he wasn't as good as people believed him to be. It made Astoria feel sick. The image of Draco lying in the hospital wing, all pale and weak made Astoria's heart ache.

Astoria stopped everything she was doing. Why did the idea of Draco getting hurt would make her heart ache? She didn't feel anything for him. Nothing but anger. He had killed Dumbledore! He could have been hurt! Or worse. Astoria felt like someone should slap her. What on earth was wrong with her? She shouldn't care whether or not Draco was dead!

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to make all the thoughts about Draco disappear. It didn't work. With a sigh she looked at the letter in her lap and with yet another sigh added a few lines.

PS. If you ever decide to write to me or anyone else, don't use your own owl. They might follow it and find you. And then you'll be dead.

It didn't take many hours for Draco to receive the letter. It was once again brought by Astoria's owl. He read the letter several times, noticing that this time there was no sign of tears. Just like Astoria had hoped, mentioning Harry Potter made Draco furious. But then he saw the last line of text. He sat down to his bed and stared at the line for a moment. They might follow it and find you. He kept repeating the words in his mind.

Draco hadn't planned to write Astoria ever again, but suddenly he found himself sitting by his desk, writing a letter. Or what was at least supposed to be a letter. Soon enough, Draco found that he simply couldn't find anything else to say. Now there was only one problem. Whose owl was he going to borrow?

It was the morning of Dumbledore's funeral and Astoria was standing outside, breathing in the fresh air. It was a beautiful day. Then out of nowhere an owl flew to her. It wasn't Draco's, that much was sure. Astoria took the parchament from the owl and noticed that it contained only a single line of text.

Worrying about me, Astoria? You shouldn't.

"Who are you worrying about?" asked a curious voice from behind her. Astoria turned around to find Daphne standing behind her back.

"What?", she managed to ask.

"The note says you're worrying about someone. Is it from that boy you won't tell me about?"

"No", Astoria said, "Of course not" She saw Theodore coming towards them. What did he want?

"Hey Theo, you're never going to believe me", Daphne said, "Astoria has a secret boyfriend" Astoria's eyes widened in horror. Why? Why did Daphne always have to be like this?

"Really?", Theodore asked with an amused look on his face. Daphne nodded and took the note from Astoria's hand.

"See what he wrote to her. Cute, isn't it?" Daphne said. Theodore stared at piece of parchment for a moment. Astoria could see that there was something bothering him. Had he recognized his friend's handwriting?

"Be careful who you start a relationship with, Astoria. Dragons tend to bite", Theodore said and handed the parchment to Astoria. Dragons tend to bite? What was that supposed to mean?

So, what did you think? I suggest you review and tell me, because unfortunately I can't read minds. Review!