* In case you haven't already read the memo on my main page, this will probably be my last chapter for a while. My classes resume this week and I need to be on point, because I'm determined, as I always am, to ace everything to the best of my ability. I will not have time to be writing stories every other day, and my updates will probably be limited to the holidays with possible weekends but even then I'm busy. I've been so anxious that I hardly sleep anymore, so I doubt I'll be spending too much time daydreaming about the next step in my stories. This doesn't mean I'm gone, just on a hiatus. Thank you again for reading and reviewing. It's much appreciated.

Draco's POV

I could clearly see that Angelina was thoroughly upset by George's shortness with me. Even whilst I knew I couldn't blame him for reacting the way he did, it started to make me angry. He hadn't even given her a chance to explain. If he liked her so damn much, she at least deserved that. I got her to stop crying and we stood up. I went to the register where Madam Malkin still wore a worried look on her face as she craned her neck from over the counter in the direction of the dressing rooms where Lina was still standing, wiping her eyes.

"Are you sure she's alright?" Madam Malkin asked me. I knew she hadn't believed the story I'd told about Lina crying over how nice the robes suited me.

"She'll be just fine," I said, taking the organza bag in which I kept gold out of my pocket.

"Thank you for all your help today," I said, not waiting for Madam Malkin to give me the change before grabbing the bag she'd put my new clothes in and walking over to meet Angelina at the door. I grabbed her hand and she immediately disapparated to her house. She didn't wait for me to say anything before hurrying up the stairs to her room. I put the bag down and walked up the first three steps, before I heard the door to Angelina's bedroom close. I duly took the hint that she wanted to be alone. I sighed and sat there on the stairs, cupping my chin. And then I recalled her asking me why I kept shutting her out. It occurred to me that Lina just did the same thing to me. I wondered why she had to be so upset about George Weasley. I mean, I wasn't so cold that it didn't devastate me to think about how horrible it must've been for him to lose his brother, but if she was never in love with him…maybe that was it. Maybe she had loved him; otherwise I didn't understand why it hurt her so much for him to just take off like he had when he saw her with me. I couldn't help it, my instincts and jealousy started to get the best of me. I didn't want to picture her with George. I didn't want to think of him feeling about Angelina the way I felt about her. She was mine and I didn't want anything to interfere with that. George had a whole family to support him, but I, Angelina was all I had left. Once I'd turned my back on my father, I didn't dare go back, nor had I wanted to. I wasn't about to go back to that bastard. It was his fault I'd had to do all of the things I'd done. If he had just listened to my mother, I never would have ended up such a psychotic mess. But he'd been too concerned about maintaining status quo and power, a weak coward persuaded as easily as a moth to the flame to the dark side of magic, to Voldemort. My father hadn't known how much it would cost him, how much it would cost me, his only son…as I thought about all of the things I wasn't telling Angelina, I just felt worse and worse. I needed air. It felt like I would explode. I unlocked the front door of Angelina's house and stepped outside into the sun. I walked around until I came round a rather spacious lawn surrounding her house. I noticed that there was a greenhouse around back as I stepped through the stone path of a garden. It was peaceful and I calmed down the further I walked through the aisles of trees and bushes. It looked a bit overgrown but as I approached the greenhouse, it started to feel warmer. I opened the large, crystalline glass doors. There were plants as tall as the ceilings, bending against the roof in their attempts to break free. It was beautiful, except it needed a bit of work. There were edelweiss and violets, pink, red, orange, and yellow poppies and a bunch of other exotic looking flowers. I paused, gently touching a petal and recalling the flowers I'd sent to Angelina through a house elf at Hogwarts. It seemed like such a long time ago although it was only shy of a year earlier. I walked further into the greenhouse, pulling at my collar. It was growing so warm that I decided I'd just take my shirt off. I left it on an empty little glass table. I reached the end of the greenhouse where there was a second door leading further into the backyard. It was all much smaller than the manor I grew up in, but it was beautiful and intriguing in a mysterious way. I stared at all the plants and an idea hatched in my mind. I took out my wand and pointed at the plants scratching the roof. I took them down a bit, shaping them so that they no longer looked so overgrown. I hexed the flowers to give them a bit more life and they swayed around gently, as if dancing. I charmed the dust and grime off the stone floors and they shined. I produced little orbs of sunlight that gravitated towards the plants which then began sprouting towards them and reaching out for the light. It looked even prettier once I'd finished. I started to go back through the greenhouse and into the yard and made my way back into the house. I went up to Angelina's room, where I found the door still closed.

"Lina," I said, knocking. I waited about three seconds before she answered.

"I don't feel like talking, Draco," she said.

I could tell by her voice that she had been crying again. But I turned the knob and the door opened. Angelina was lying with her back to me atop her bed. I approached slowly and carefully. She lay still.

"Lina," I said again.

"I want to show you something. I think it'll cheer you up," I said, pausing right next to her. She didn't say anything. I put my hand on her shoulder and she turned her head a bit.

"Come on. I hate to see you like this," I said, kneeling on one knee. Angelina turned around so I could see her face. The whites of her eyes were reddened from crying.

"Come on. I've a surprise for you," I said, grinning. She closed her eyes.

"Can you bring it? I don't feel like getting up," she said.

"No, you have to come see it. It's outside," I explained, running my hand down her arm.

"Please?" I asked carefully.

"Draco, I really don't want to get up."

I stood and picked Lina up bridal style. She had been taken by surprise.

"D-Draco."

I grinned, immediately starting out of the room.

"You're going to drop me," she said somewhat worriedly.

"I won't."

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," I said, unable to stop smiling as I carried her outside and through the yard to the back of her house.

"Draco, I'm serious—"

"Just hang on," I said. I felt like I was carrying a queen to a sacred place, or something special as I casually flicked my wand at the greenhouse doors to make them open.

"Why did you take me out here?" Angelina trailed off when I stepped inside the greenhouse to reveal all the shininess and the lights I'd conjured, the work I'd done to preen the plants. I heard a small gasp escape Lina's lips as I walked slowly through the greenhouse, letting her take in the sight of things. At that point she sat up a ways in my arms, looking around.

"I can't believe I'd almost forgotten about this. My dad built it for my mum when he found out she was pregnant with me, as a gift…he's always tended to it, kept it beautiful...Draco, it must've been overgrown since my parents left."

"That was the surprise, see?" I said, reaching the back of the greenhouse and turning so Angelina could look about the entire glass palace-like house. She stepped down onto her bare feet and admired it, reaching for a white peony which grew towards her fingers and tickled the tips. A smile lighted her face and it didn't even matter that her eyes were still red.

"Draco, it's beautiful. What did you do in here? It's never looked this…magical," she said, moving her hand in different directions, the flower following her warmth longingly.

"It's so alive," she said, touching the petals. She looked so beautiful standing there, her hair a bit disheveled, the deep red cardigan she wore draping off her shoulders to reveal the chocolatey skin beneath. I stepped towards her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leant into me and her warmness was unlike any other I'd ever felt, despite the temperature inside the greenhouse. She clasped my hands.

"I love it. My parents would love it. Thank you," she said softly. I inhaled and she smelled sweet like the flowers moving mellifluously around us. I kissed Angelina's shoulder, pulling the cardigan a bit lower to reveal more of her skin. Angelina leant back against my chest and I kissed the side of her face. She rubbed her head against my shoulder and I was vaguely reminded of a cat stretching gracefully. Damn, the way she moved. I felt her grip my wrists and then she turned around, standing on her toes to kiss me full on the lips. I felt a deep arousal at her touch and couldn't help but pull her to me as closely as I could. I knew where this was going and grinned against her perfect full lips. She pulled back for a second and looked up at me with her mysterious deep eyes. There was always something so doe-esque and innocent about them that drove me insane in a good way. Angelina never stopped looking at me as she let the cardigan drop from her shoulders and fall to the earthy stone floor. I was glad I'd already removed my shirt and wasted no time starting on my belt, pulling it off so fast that I heard it snap like a whip, Lina before me dropping her skirt, stepping out of her stockings, her blouse following suit. She jumped up to me once she'd gotten completely naked and wrapped her legs around my waist. I caught her casually and slowly lowered to the floor until I was on my knees, leaning towards the ground and never dropping her as we kissed. I had hardly even touched her yet and she moaned into my mouth, and it pleased me. I was hard and desperate as I carefully laid Angelina on the floor. It was warm and she never shivered when I placed her there. She pulled at my torso eagerly. I grinned and let myself down between her legs. Angelina gripped my chest with nails. It never ceased to amaze me the way she tilted her head back and bit her lip upon my entrance. She felt so fragile in my arms, yet she was tight and deep and I moved slowly to make the moment last. I groaned, placing my hands on the warm stone floor on either side of Angelina, enjoying her reactions to my stillness, bucking her hips up against me eagerly, clawing and begging. She made this tantalizingly sensual whiney sound and it made me even harder.

"Draco…"

I always liked to hear her say my name, but I thought it sounded best in these moments. She practically raised her lower back off the floor, goading me to delve deeper. I stopped teasing her and complied. Angelina pulled her hands through her hair slowly. I began to thrust, kissing her chin. I began to sweat almost instantly. It was already hot in the greenhouse. Angelina didn't care; she continuously smoothed her hands down my back, grabbing me all over. I found the most comfort inside of her. She was warm and squeezed me so tightly that I never wanted to come out. Lina rested her hands on my buttocks and finally looked up into my eyes. She wanted to speak but her mouth only sat agape, her breathing almost as heavy as mine. She smiled and a tear escaped her eye. Though I wasn't sure why, I knew I was pleasuring her as she brushed her hands over my head and gripped my shoulders. I didn't think there'd ever been as much passion between us as there was then and there. No words needed be spoken. It was like we were cast away in our own little world. No worries, no problems, only each other. I cradled the back of her head in my hand for a moment, kissing her forehead. She moaned more and more, dropping her hands on the floor and letting me take her completely. She finished with me and we were a mess of sweat and breathing on the stone floor. I lingered above her and admired her beautiful face. I'd never seen a more magnificent sight as her chest swelled red with blood that I could still see beneath her brown skin, her face full of the same afterglow I felt. I rested on my side a bit and held her with my free arm.

"Draco," she said.

I smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Angelina Johnson."

I slept well that night with Angelina's head on my chest and her hands on my stomach. When I woke up with her I felt like it was going to be an amazing day. I hadn't felt that way in a long time, even after Angelina had walked back into my life. We sat in the kitchen and ate breakfast, and I felt like I'd known her for fifty years instead of one, but it wasn't an old feeling; it felt in ways that I can't possibly describe. I just wanted to be with her until I died, and even after that. I was happy to see her smiling where she sat across from me. She had clearly forgotten all about George, at least for the moment. And then something crossed my mind.

"Lina, I'm ready to talk," I said. Slowly her smile faded a bit and she put her fork down. I knew she'd been waiting to hear me honestly talk about what I'd been dealing with. Though it was a nice moment, I didn't feel quite like I would ruin it by talking about things that weren't as nice.

"I'm listening," she said, pushing her plate aside and reaching across the table for my hands. I sighed and took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment.

"That scar on my back, the one you're always asking me about," I began. Angelina looked at me intently and nodded.

"I told you it was from my father…and it is. It isn't easy for me to talk about this, but I think you're right. I think I should, otherwise it'll trouble me forever…" I took another deep breath before continuing.

"It was only a few months before we started sixth year. I tried to…I tried to disobey my parents. I told my father I'd had enough. I never liked using dark magic. As I got older, and I really started understanding things for myself, I realized that I was just a pawn in my parents' attempts to hold favor with Voldemort. It was really my dad, though, he must've talked my mum into all of it. She started to worry for me, but it was at a point where she could no longer convince him to back out of it, just to turn our backs on Voldemort…then one day I got into a fight with my dad. I told him I wouldn't do things anymore, I wasn't going to do Voldemort's bidding and if he killed my dad for it, it wouldn't have mattered to me. He was a horrible father. I don't think he ever stopped to think how much he was putting on me, how much stress and danger, even. He got angry and when I tried to leave, he splinched me. I got the scar when I turned my back on him. I wasn't even facing him, the bastard."

Angelina's mouth fell open a bit, her eyes watering.

"So I fought back. He's my father but I had to defend myself…didn't matter anyway, I lost. I had to stay. I had to. It was more so because of my mother. I didn't want anything to happen to her if I…"

I choked up a bit and blinked back tears.

"Ever since, the relationship between me and my…dad…well, I wouldn't say that there is one. I wonder how he could have done all of this to me and my mum. He's a power hungry bastard. He never should have sided with Voldemort, then everything would have been fine! I would've had a better life!" I said, slamming my fist on the table unintentionally. Angelina got up and rushed to my side where I stood and met her as she hugged me tightly. I didn't cry but I felt infuriated.

"The part that scares me the most is that I'm just like my father. I'm as much a coward as he is. When he realized just how much shit he'd gotten us into, he only stayed by Voldemort's side out of fear. Look at me, I've run away because I can't stand to see myself turn into him, while he sits there acting like nothing's ever happened, like Voldemort never existed, like he'd never sworn to kill me if I failed to kill Dumbledore…I can't be like my father. I'll lose myself," I said, wondering if I hadn't already gone insane.

"No, you are nothing like him," Angelina said, holding my face in her hands.

"Do you hear me, Draco? You're not your father, and you never will be."

Anyone could have said this to me, but it never made me feel as good as it did when Angelina said it. I calmed down, her kisses on my cheeks and lips alleviating the pain.

"I'm so sorry I had to bring so much pain into your life," I said quietly.

"Draco, there's more to it than that. Look at us now," she said, grinning though her eyes were welled up with tears that she wouldn't let fall. I loved her more than I've ever loved anyone. The doorbell rang, pulling Lina and I out of our moment. It rang again and she started out of the kitchen. I followed her. She opened the door and before I could even see who'd been ringing the bell, she screamed and went flying back against the wall, hitting it so hard that she was knocked unconscious.

"Angelina!" I screamed, dashing towards her, but something hit me in the middle of my back and I froze, falling on my knees. I couldn't move at all, it was like I was glued in that position. I heard footsteps and a laugh, a familiar, abrasive, vain, unyielding, evil little laugh. Pansy Parkinson knelt in front of me.

"Ah, there you are, Draco," she grinned, and then her face dropped, "And what have you done to your beautiful hair?"

I tried to scream for Angelina to wake her but couldn't even move my lips. My eyes were the only thing able to move and as Pansy stepped away from me, I glanced over at Angelina who was knocked out cold on the floor. I wanted so badly to be able to just move my hands and get my wand. Goyle walked past me and leant over to pick Angelina up. I felt my heart sink when he turned around to show me his evil grin.

"This is where you've been all this time, you sneaky little ferret," he said, "Old friend, you really shouldn't have turned your back on us. You can't imagine how upset your father is. What about the rest of us? Weren't you going to join us? You traitor!" he stalked towards me, Angelina's head bobbing insecurely in his grasp, and kicked me in the center of my chest. It hit me like a ton of bricks and the wind was knocked out of me as I fell to the floor. I was reminded of the time when I'd stunned Harry and kicked him in the face, and at that moment I forsook myself. I still couldn't move.

"Greg!" Pansy screamed, rushing to my side and checking to see that I was alright.

"You don't have to hurt him!" she said through angry gritted teeth.

"Yet," Goyle added with a treacherous laugh that made my blood boil. Pansy cupped my cheek, and then she leant her head down to kiss it. I wished I could recoil but I was still frozen in place.

"I could've done the same. I knew there was somebody else, Draco," Pansy said angrily, looking up at Angelina in Goyle's arms.

"I knew that's why you rejected me. I don't even care that she's a pureblood—although you're lucky she is or I'd kill her myself right now! Tsk, tsk," she seethed.

"Looks like we've got leverage now, Greg," she said, an evil smile creeping across her sharp, wolflike teeth. I was finally beginning to be able to move my lips, the stun starting to wear off.

"I'll kill you," I spat.

"No—quite the opposite, really," Pansy said in a cheerful manner, placing her booted foot on my shoulder and turning me so that I was looking up at her and Goyle.

"But I don't have the heart for it. You're being given a second chance," she said.

"Consider this a warning. This bitch will be the one suffering if you don't resume your spot on the right side," Pansy snarled, jabbing her thumb at Angelina.

"Oh and one more thing; your family has been searching for you everywhere. You'd better go home. If you ever want to see her again, I'd do as I'm told."

I could move my toes, but it wasn't soon enough as Pansy started for the door, Goyle carrying Angelina as he followed. They slammed the door and I heard Pansy cackling outside, the glass windows shattering. I pictured her pointing her wand carelessly at Angelina's house. The way she cackled and caused destruction reminded me of my aunt Bellatrix and I felt so much devastation that my stomach hurt when I heard the crack as Pansy and Goyle disapparated, taking Angelina off with them.