A couple stood beneath a curving Parisian street light, their foreheads pressed together like they were sharing secrets. His hair was pale in the glowing full moon, hanging heavily above their heads, while hers was a blur of messy, dark scrawl, tangling down her back. The next was a close-up; lips, noses, closed eyes, lashes like fine brush strokes of calligraphy against their skin, the breath visible between their mouths. Finally, and here their features became clear in the daunting silver light, the couple whirled beneath party lights while a small band busked to the side; their hands, their smiles, their faces, her head inclined back in the ecstasy of their dance, his body bent to hers, supporting her in the dip, a look of wonder and possessiveness struck perfectly on his sharply refined features.

"Merlin, Godric and the Bloody Baron...these are beautiful" said Ginny, overcome by the emotion. Draco shifted a stack of photos to sit beside her, one leg drawn up and a wrist hanging over it, the other crossed before him. He had the ribbon draped over his fingers and showed it to her.

"Hermione and I went to Paris. It was the end of Fourth Year; I hadn't spoken to her in months, really. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returned, and we knew...things were going to get worse. So I took her to France...-" his smile was like a ghost of that crooked grin from the photograph on the grass; light, lopsided, but small and jaded-

"It was perfect. We lived like Muggle's for two weeks...-" a chuckle was startled from his throat as he thought about those days of brilliant happiness and disjointed perfection-

"She was so bloody worried about not having any adult supervision. I think her parents handled it better than she did..."

"Ah, hullo there Draco. Come to whisk my daughter away have you?" Dr Granger greeted the pale-skinned young man standing next to his daughter in the kitchen. He swallowed and reached out his unsteady hand to the older man.

"Yes I have sir, as long as it's still alright with you sir?"

"Ooh, darling, isn't he just a gem? He brought me flowers. You have to let her go" Mrs Granger laughed, waving the beautifully delicate bouquet towards her husband. Footsteps thudded on the stairs and a moment later, Hermione appeared, her hair wild, her eyes bright and a smile brilliant on her lips. Dr and Mrs Granger watched, proud and sad, as the polite, intense young man before them became a stiff-postured jelly mould.

"Hello Eltanin" he said as she stopped in front of him. She smiled and kissed his jaw quickly before turning to her parents.

Mrs Granger smiled and opened her arms. Hermione ran into them and returned the fierce hug of a mother who is about to let go of her child in more ways than simply waving her off the back porch to collect their Portkey to Paris.

"Mum...?" Hermione looked into her mother's eyes, identical to her own. Mrs Granger held her face in her hands.

"I trust you darling-" she looked over her daughter's head to Draco- "And after everything you've told us, we trust Draco to look after you"

"I swear I won't let anything happen to her" aforementioned young wizard assured them. Hermione still looked unconvinced because then she turned to her father, who simply nodded.

"Now you'll call us won't you? None of this owl business; I want to hear your voice every day, is that understood?"

"Thank you daddy!"

"What about yours? Your parents"

Draco's lips jerked brutally as he smothered a sneer.

"Mother...didn't really understand. She was just happy that I'd found someone. Lucius was...far more savvy. He knew as soon as he saw the colour of that damn ribbon. Besides, in his opinion, it was unhealthy to be happy in love so young. He was afraid something…so inappropriate would compromise my loyalties"

"What did they do?" she was almost afraid to find out.

"I refused to tell them who it was and they let themselves believe she was at least a Pureblood, so I didn't dissuade them. I think…I think my father knew but...he didn't say it aloud because...it would make it real"

He looked her dead in the eyes and frowned; "You don't understand how much he does for me and mum. He made some stupid mistakes when he was younger, but...becoming a father changes a man. He did-he raised me, the way he was raised to believe was right. The same prejudices, the same archaic beliefs. Don't believe what they tell you about him...least not everything. He's...a good father"

Ginny looked back down at the letters, trying to make the opposing images meld.

"A good father...but not a good man?" she inquired thinking about the difference before meeting his eyes. He laughed humourlessly to himself but didn't answer. Picking up the close-up drawing, he fiercely smudged the line of the boy's nose, almost raising a cry of dispute from Ginny and giving the image the appearance that the boy was crying.

"So,do you think I passed the test?" he asked her as they made their way,arm in arm,down the quiet Muggle street.Hermione giggled, turning back from the final farewell wave.

"I'm here with you, aren't I?" she pointed out. He glanced across at her, his eyes softening in a way they only ever did when she was with him.

"Merlin, I hope so" he muttered quietly and she stopped them to rise up on tiptoes and press a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. The brief taste of paradise wasn't enough for the sixteen-year-old Malfoy and he trapped her face in his palms and stole a long, breath-taking kiss. Hermione pulled away, catching her breath, and laughed at the cheated expression on his face.

"Come on or we'll miss the Portkey!"

She grabbed his hand and tugged.

"I'll just book another one if we do" he grumbled, allowing himself to be pulled along like a disobedient child.

Meeting her parents hadn't been as bad as he'd thought it would be.Her father was downright scary,and her mother asked too many questions for him to feel in the slightest bit comfortable.His first thought was how normal they seemed and those built-in Pureblood prejudices had come slinking back into his head like a returned mutt. He'd quickly dispelled them and looking back now, Dr and Mrs Granger were very nice people concerned for their only daughter running off to spend a holiday with a stranger, a boy they hadn't met for longer than an hour. Hermione must have told them that the subject of their future was taboo, because they didn't ask him the expectedquestions about wha he was going to do when he left school, for which he was grateful.

After all, if things went the way he thought they would, he would be spending the years after Hogwarts behind bars, in hiding or dead.

The hotel Hermione and her mother had booked was lovely. By no means five star, the balcony had a captivating view of the Eiffel Tower, two bedrooms and a shared bathroom, a kitchen and a lounge room.

"I swear I said something about money not being an option" drawled Draco as Hermione swung open the door and bounced inside. Being the perfect Pureblood gentleman, he was toting their bags while Hermione was armed with the key. She laughed.

"Yes, because I feel ever so comfortable about taking a holiday courtesy of the Malfoy fortune. Besides, you haven't seen the balcony yet!"

She exited to the left, leaving Draco standing in the hall looking bemused.

"Funny, I could have sworn my last name was...Eltanin, love? What's this bloody thing?"

She came back in, brow furrowed, and discovered Draco looking intently at the large black box in the corner of the sitting area. She quickly smothered a giggle.

"It's called a television, Croyant. You watch things on it"

He arched one perfect eyebrow.

"Muggles and their bloody contraptions"

He turned to face her, with her hands on her hips in the wide, arched doorway and mimicked her stance.

"So mademoiselle, shall we explore this fair city?"

She grinned happily.

"Oh do lets!"

"We had our first real fight that week...it was brilliant" he said with a crooked smile. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Brilliant?"

He winked.

"Make up sex Weasley"

She looked horrified.

"Ugh! You were only sixteen!"

"It was 'Mione's first time" he looked aside as if a little ashamed. Ginny's jaw dropped.

"Merlin's beard! The minx! She swore to me black and blue her first kiss was Viktor bloody Krum!"

He looked at her.

"The Quidditch player from the Tournament? Not bloody likely. She only went with him to piss Ron off"

It seemed a strange thing to say, considering the context and Ginny frowned.

"You know, after Lavender...at the medical wing when Ron was poisoned...we thought the two of them..."

Draco looked pained and shrugged.

"Ask me anything in the whole bloody world..." he muttered darkly under his breath before rubbing his eyes, steeling himself to reply.

"It...we're not the most...like you see; we had this intense, problematic, heartrending, disaster to call ours. Weasley was always Hermione's...safe zone. Him and Potter were the ones she could rely on. She couldn't always rely on me, and what we had-have...it was borderline love and hate. Just pure, messy passion most of the time" he spat the word in a way reminiscent of Snape.

"After the Astronomy Tower...well. It wasn't always...I couldn't begrudge her. I'm not saying I wouldn't murder your brother if he manages to say the right bloody thing to her while they're off gallivanting around doing whatever they're doing, but...I just want her to be happy and if...if that's not with me anymore...fine"

She raised her chin curiously, causing Draco to stand and move away. She wondered if she should tell him out the great Horcrux hunt, but his back was turned before she had a chance.

"Keep reading..." he muttered.

1992

To Croyant

Do you like it? I bet you don't,but I do, so I'm keeping it.It's a lot more secretive that your last alias. It's rather a play on words,you see,because I'm not entirely sure whether you are or not,nor will I ever, I suppose.

Your words about what happened at Florish and Blotts were perfect. Oh, and don't go thinking that I think it's okay for you to be all mean and nasty just because and then make it up by saying sweet things, because I certainly don't! How you acted was petty and immature. I suppose you have said some perfectly awful things to your father about me. I don't mind if you have. I've written (and said) horrid things to my parents about you. How mean you act sometimes and the trivial little things that send you into a huge sulk. Don't deny it you know it's true.

I still haven't gotten the meaning of your name for me, as you have probably guessed. Since you refuse to tell me, can I not get some kind of clue? Anything would help, but an exact library location would be fantastic.

So are you looking forward to the new Quidditch season? Our house is going mad about it and I still find it all rather over the top. After all, having Harry is no guarantee that we will win. We didn't win last year, after all. Gave your lot a run for their money though.

Anyway, I'll see you in class in a moment anyway.

Love, Eltanin.

A/N: 'Croyant' is French for 'Faithful' which I thought made an interesting balance to the roots of the Malfoy name; 'bad faith'