Disclaimer: Unfortunately, not mine.

A/N: So was the last book smashing or what? I'm horribly sad that our beloved Harry Potter has come to an end. Sorry to all those people who loved spending the night in front of the bookstores. Anyway, sorry that it took me so long to update. I've been out of town and trying to pack for school but here's the update to everyone's favorite story. Thanks for reading.

Fifth Year

I walked over to Cree, who sat on a locker room bench, her eyes focused on the empty space in front of her and her hands clenching onto the handle of the broom that lay across her lap. She looked incredibly small in those gigantic Quidditch robes but they were the only ones we had had left.

Sitting down next to her, I gently pried her hands off of the handle. When she looked up at me, confused, I smirked and said, "You're going to break the broom if you're not careful."

"I wasn't going to break it," she muttered angrily. "I'm just – I was just running over the plays in my head."

"It's okay to be nervous, Shadow. It's your first game but I really don't see why you're worried. It's Ravenclaw for Merlin's Sakes. They have no chance in this game. It's Gryffindor you need to worry about later." I held out my hand to her, giving her an encouraging yet challenging grin. "Now come on. . . . Unless you're too scared to go out there."

She shot her glare up at me, reaching up to grab my hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm not scared."

"Good. Wouldn't expect you to be." Pulling her to her feet I pulled her over to the rest of the team.

The game went okay at first. We were up seventy to ten which was mostly contributed to Cree to be brutally honest. She was good. Better than a lot of other Chasers we've had before. . . .

This is probably why the Ravenclaw Chasers and Beaters focused on her.

It was incredibly hard for me to look for the Snitch when I kept worrying about Cree. She got fouled quite a lot, which wasn't at all fair seeing as how she was the fairest Slytherin player, I'm sure, anyone has ever seen.

During our time-out, Cree seemed just as worried as I had been.

"They're trying to take me out of the game, Draco," she said, practically panting. "I don't know how much more of this I'm going to be able to take."

"You're doing great, Shadow," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Just keep up the good work."

We got back out there, the Ravenclaws still playing one of the most vicious games Hogwarts has ever seen.

It was when I spotted the Snitch that Cree got hit with a Bludger from the back and the front.

I watched in horror as Cree fell lifelessly from her broom, the Quaffle in her arms falling with her. Madam Hooch blew her whistle while Ravenclaw Chaser caught her by the arm, sliding her up onto his broom as he flew closer to the ground.

My team was on the ground faster than you can say Quidditch. Crabbe pushed the Ravenclaw aside so that we could get to Cree.

"Out of the way, out of the way," came the hurried drawl of Professor Snape. Madam Hooch kneeled down beside Cree.

"Broken ribs," she said, pressing her hand to Cree's body, gently. "She needs medical attention right away."

Snape whipped out his wand, lifting Cree off the ground and rushing back towards the castle.

Madam Hooch immediately jumped to her feet. "Foul! A despicable foul! I have all the gumption now to make Ravenclaw forfeit! Fifty points from Ravenclaw House for incredibly foul play!"

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I spun around. The Ravenclaw Captain stood behind me, a grim look on his face. "Look, I'm really sorry about your Chaser. I never told my Beaters to do that and it was completely unexpected on both parts. I apologize."

I was angry enough to kill but I kept my mouth, nodding my head before I walked away. He'd saved her life after all.

"Hey," I said, slipping into the chair by Cree's bed.

She gave me a strained smile. "Hey. How the came come out?"

She was having trouble breathing, I could tell. I reached forward and took her hand in mine. "We won. But forget it right now. Are you all right?"

Cree looked away from me for a moment, taking in a deep labored breath. A stray tear fell across her cheek and down into her hair. "Madam Pomfrey says I will be but it doesn't feel like it. They thought for a moment that I'd have to go to St. Mungo's but I'm all – right."

She squeezed my hand tightly for a second before her grip loosened. "Sorry. It's the potion."

Using my other hand, I wiped away the tear track on her cheek. I didn't like seeing her in so much pain. It was terrifying and sad all at the same time.

"You're going to be okay, Cree."

I Apparated into the Manor, Blaise following after me, that crazy grin still on his face. I tried to keep my face stoic, tried not to show that I was scared out of mind. And I kept hoping desperately, telling myself that it wasn't her, she was somewhere else, but this wasn't her trapped in the Malfoy dungeons.

"I'll bet you'll be pleased," Blaise was saying. "Found her wandering around a couple days ago. Tried to fight back but we snapped her wand of course. She's a tough bint but I think you've all people should be able to break her down."

I followed Blaise down to the cellar, to the dungeons. No one was there. But I could see the wall of bars and inside the cell, a person was crouched up into a corner.

"I'll leave you alone. You have fun now." Blaise left, still smiling. I wanted to punch him so bad.

When he was gone, I slowly pushed open the cell door, casting a Silencing spell over the cell, walking over the person who sat unmoving in the corner.

It was Cree all right. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, her head down, and her long hair, now tangled and dull, fell around her in a black curtain.

"Cree," I said.

Her head jerked up and I stepped back slightly. Her face was bloody and had bruises where there wasn't blood. Her clothes, I could see now were torn in various places. It was horrible to think what all they might have done to her.

I began to move towards her but she pressed herself father into the corner, cringing away from me. I could see the tears falling down her face. "Please . . . don't . . ."

"Cree, I'm not going to hurt you," I told her, kneeling down in front of her. "Come on, Shadow, it's me."

"No," she said, sobbing, now. "You all want to kill me. . . . They – they told me you were going to kill me. . . . I don't want to die. Please, please don't kill me. . . . I'm sorry."

"Cree . . . Cree, listen to me. . . . Cree!" I grabbed her by her shoulders, trying my hardest not to shake her for fear of breaking her up more than she already was. "I'm not going to hurt you! I was never going to hurt you! I love you, Cree! And I realize Potter can probably give you a whole lot more than I could ever give you but I still love you, Cree! I always have. And I'm going to get you out of here, all right?"

She'd fallen silent, the fight gone from her. I pushed her hair out of her face, feeling stupid. Why had I just said all that? Because it was obvious she didn't feel the same way about me. I mean, I hadn't expected her to proclaim her love for me right then and there, but . . . I had been expecting her to do something.

"You've to trust me, okay?" I continued. "And you're going to have to do exactly what I say. Do you understand?"

She nodded, the tears still falling down her face.

"It's going to be all right. You're going to okay, Cree."