Malfoy Manor

"Alright Aeris, climb up onto the stool please," Narcissa said taking Aeris' hand in hers. Aeris did as she was asked.

She turned her head to the side, her reflection mimicking her in the mirror in front of her. She quickly straightened her neck when a tape measure started measuring her body on its own. Narcissa stood quietly next to her noting down her measurements. The tape measure rolled itself up and disappeared with a loud zapping noise.

"Well, you've got a small bust, and rather wide hips," Narcissa began, "But I'm sure I can work with that." Aeris wasn't sure if she should be offended or not.

"Let's see, your legs are definitely one of your best features, so those must be on display. We should add some jewels or beading to your bust to make it look as if you have cleavage," Narcissa said more to herself than to Aeris as she ran her hands along Aeris' hips.

"Will my dress be white?" Aeris asked. Narcissa quickly clenched onto her waist with her nails, making Aeris jump.

"Why wouldn't you be wearing white?" she asked the young girl quickly. Aeris furrowed her brow.

"I was just curious," she replied meekly. Narcissa loosened her grip and cleared her throat.

"White symbolizes purity, so you will be wearing white," she told her calmly before turning away from her.

"Oh I'm pure alright. I'm harboring a Dark wizards soul but no big deal," Aeris thought to herself.

"We need inspiration. I simply cannot create a dress without something to base it off of," Narcissa complained, her hand pressed lightly against the side of her face. The two turned at the sound of tapping on the glass door.

Aeris smiled at the white peacock who was pecking at the door. She watched it turn and spread its snowy white tail feathers slowly. Narcissa raised an eyebrow as she saw Aeris crack a smile at the bird.

"That's it!" she screamed, causing Aeris to wobble on the stool. "Feathers!"

"Feathers?" Aeris asked.

"Yes, they are in style right now. Oh this is perfect, I can create a dress for your walk down the aisle and for the reception," Narcissa explained as she rushed around the room. The two women turned their heads when the door opened.

"Narcissa, are you finished with Aeris?" Lucius asked. Narcissa nodded to her husband.

"Excellent. Aeris, would you come with me?" he asked. Aeris was extremely hesitant before she climbed off the stool.

She slid out of the door making sure to stay as far away from Lucius as she could. She kept her eyes narrowed on him as she followed behind him down the hallway. The moonlight was shining in through the large windows in the hallway and Aeris now felt uneasy. She followed Lucius into the ballroom.

"Why am I here?" she asked a bit more angrily than she had intended. Lucius chuckled.

"You need to learn how to dance for your first dance as a wife," he told her. Aeris narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, then where is Draco?" she asked, afraid that she knew his answer.

"Draco already knows how to dance, Aeris. I'll be your partner this evening," he replied with a smug smile. Aeris gritted her teeth.

"Don't you think that is a bit inappropriate, Mister Malfoy?" Aeris asked, her teeth clenched together tightly. Lucius, still smiling, raised his eyebrows.

"Oh Aeris, please call me Lucius. It's much more…informal, don't you think?" he asked before brushing his fingers over her cheek. Aeris pulled away from him instantly.

"Am I interrupting something?" a familiar voice asked. Aeris and Lucius looked to the now open door of the ballroom.

Maximus Alastaire walked into the room and Aeris felt instant relief. Lucius scowled at the muscular boy that approached the two of them. Maximus took Aeris' hand in his and kissed it before smiling down at her. Aeris gave him a smile in return. She wasn't exactly fond of this boy, but she was happy to be in the room with someone other than Lucius.

"Actually, you are. I'm just about to give Aeris here dance lessons," Lucius unhappily explained. Maximus scoffed before smirking.

"You know, I was always a brilliant dancer," Maximus said before spinning Aeris in a small circle. "I would love to teach Draco's soon to be bride."

"Fine. But if she embarrasses my son at the reception, I'll have your head," Lucius scolded before heading for the door.

"If she embarrasses little Draco, you can have my entire body!" Maximus yelled after him, mockingly. Aeris chuckled at this after Lucius shut the door.

"Thank you for the rescue," Aeris told him. He shrugged in response.

"It was nothing. He's always been a real creep," Maximus replied. Aeris nodded in understanding.

"So, why are you here Maximus?" Aeris asked.

"Just call me Max. I just figured I would stop in to make sure that little Draco is doing his job and being a good fiancé," he told her. Aeris raised her eyebrow at this.

"Don't you think that is a job that my father should be doing?" she asked, wincing when she said father.

"Your father is not around right now, Aeris. Therefore I figured I should step up to the plate," he explained. "After all, I am your replacement husband."

Aeris felt her stomach churn. She had almost forgotten that Maximus was supposed to take Draco's place if something went wrong. Aeris rubbed her bare arms with her hands slowly as she tried to imagine what her life would have been like if Maximus was supposed to be her original husband and Draco her backup. Her heart sank in her chest when she thought this.

Draco wasn't always the nicest or the most caring person to be around sometimes, that was true. But she could not understand why everyone assumed that he was going to fail at being her husband. She was familiar with people constantly doubting her. It was painful and really defeated her at times. Maybe this was why Draco was so angry all of the time. She wasn't exactly making things easy on him either. She rarely spoke to him and until now it never really bothered her.

"I don't really feel like dancing," Aeris told Maximus as she brushed her hair behind her ear. Maximus grabbed her hand in his.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to jump on you," he told her calmly. "Let's try and be friends, alright? I know you are still adjusting to all of this and I'm sure you could use a friend." Aeris examined his dark eyes with hers.

"I'm marrying Draco, Max," she said bluntly. He smiled down at her.

"I know. I just want to dance with you, Aeris. That's all that I want," he explained. Aeris hesitated.

"Alright. You get five minutes," she told him. Maximus swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist and held her hand in the other.

Before she knew it, Aeris was waltzing across the marbled floor in perfect step with Maximus. His hand gripped hers tightly, but not in a rough manner. Her hair tossed around her shoulders as the two moved together, and she couldn't help but admire his footwork. The two remained silent as they continued to dance.


Draco stretched his arms over his head and let out a loud yawn as he exited his bedroom. He placed his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and started walking down the stairs. Halfway down he raised one foot into the air and hopped down the rest with the other. He smirked when he was off the stairs at the fact that he didn't fall. His black socks made his steps quieter than a cats as he walked through the large hallway of the manor.

The chime of an old grandfather clock echoed into the hallway indicating that it was now midnight. Draco furrowed his brow slightly as he realized the time. He had not seen Aeris since dinner a few hours earlier. He shrugged this off and continued quietly down the hallway. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed a stream of light coming from the ballroom.

Draco approached the slightly cracked doors and looked into the room with his right eye. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Aeris and Maximus Alastaire dancing together in the ballroom. Draco's ears grew hot and he gritted his teeth as he watched Maximus smile and Aeris laugh. Draco's cheeks were starting to grow warm now.

He watched quietly as the two stopped dancing. Aeris was laughing lightly and Maximus appeared to be out of breath. Aeris' t-shirt had risen up a bit, exposing her bare waist that had sweat glistening off it. Maximus put his palm into the air and Aeris slapped it happily. Draco had had enough and pushed the two doors open.

"What in the bloody hell is this?" Draco yelled as he stormed over toward the two. Aeris' smile quickly faded and Maximus rolled his eyes.

"Well now don't everyone explain at once!" Draco yelled, his face now red. He pushed himself in between the two, his back to Aeris.

"Would you calm down, kid?" Maximus said as he crossed his large arms. Draco glared at him.

"Would you get out of my home?" Draco shot back. He turned his head over his shoulder when Aeris touched his shoulder.

"Draco, just calm down for a moment," she said quietly. Draco shrugged her hand off his shoulder.

"I have nothing to say to you," he shot at her before turning his attention back to Maximus. Aeris lowered her head.

"You don't have to be such a jerk to her. She didn't do anything wrong. Your father said I could give her dance lessons for your reception so I did," Maximus explained. Draco rolled his eyes.

"You need to stay away from her. I'm the one who is marrying her, not you," Draco angrily said as he poked Maximus in the chest with his finger.

"Don't touch me kid," Maximus said as he pushed his chest into Draco's. The boys started pushing one another and Aeris got between them quickly.

"Both of you knock it off!" she yelled, causing them to both stare at her. "You're both acting like children and I've had enough of it!" Draco noticed her eyes becoming cloudy.

"Whatever," he said as he backed away from her and Maximus.

"Max, you should go. I'll see you at the wedding," Aeris said calmly. Maximus nodded.

"At the wedding?" Draco asked. Aeris turned toward him.

"He's going to be my man of honor. I don't have any friends here other than him," she pointed out angrily. Draco groaned.

"See you in a few days," Maximus said before leaving. Draco shook his head angrily.

"You are bloody insane!" he yelled before storming out of the room. Aeris rolled her eyes.

"You're one to talk," she thought as she followed after him.


Malfoy Manor

The amount of tension between Aeris and Draco was unimaginable. Aeris sat with her legs hugged to her chest, the black satin sheet draped over her knees as Draco stormed from the closet to the bedroom area. He threw a glare her way before stomping into the bathroom, the door slamming after him. Draco continued to slam items around in the room and Aeris shook her head at the closed door.

She ran her hand through her gold locks before turning toward the balcony doors. She squinted her eyes slightly as she caught sight of an owl perched on the balcony railing. She threw the sheet off her bare legs and walked to the closed, glass doors. She squinted harder into the darkness only to see that the owl had a deep red letter in its beak.

Aeris turned her head to the still closed bathroom door and quickly walked out onto the balcony. She rubbed her arms as the cold air swirled past her body. The hem of her dark green nightdress skimmed over her thighs as she approached the owl cautiously. The dark brown bird tilted it's head at her before shifting slightly. Aeris stood in front of the bird, not sure how to retrieve the letter.

Her heart leaped into her throat when the bird dropped the letter onto the balcony before letting out a loud shriek. With a hand over her quick beating heart, Aeris watched the owl fly off into the dark night sky and she picked up the letter. On the front, Draco's name was written in very loopy cursive with a heart after it. With her eyebrow raised, Aeris flipped the envelope over in her hand. Her expression turned to disgust as she read the name "Pansy" to herself.

She tore the letter open angrily, the wax seal crumbling as she did so, and slid the letter out of it's casing. She took a deep breath before deciding to read the letter to herself. She was Draco's fiancé after all, it was her duty to find out what some woman was writing to him about.

"My Dearest Draco:

"I am completely outraged with you. How could you ever agree to marry a complete stranger? And while you and I are dating! I am completely distraught over this whole thing Draco Malfoy. I suppose that I am glad you told me, though. I feel that there is more about this girl that you are not telling me though. I understand that you find her repulsive compared to myself, but I wish I knew why your parents were making you marry her. Either way, you promised me it would only be until the end of the school year, so I will give you an answer to your question now. I will remain your girlfriend because your wife will not be attending Hogwarts. I must go now, but I cannot wait to see you again. XOXO -Pansy"

Aeris' fingers clenched around the edges of the letter that was placed between her slightly shaking hands. Her ears had grown hot and her heart was beating faster than it was before. Her blue eyes scanned over the letter once more before she placed the letter back inside of the envelope. She quickly returned back to the bedroom, shutting the glass door behind her.

The letter sat limply between her index finger and thumb as she shook her leg angrily, standing in the middle of the bedroom. She turned toward a mounted mirror on the wall, only to see that her cheeks were bright red and that the tips of her ears were pointier than she remembered them being. She looked down at the letter in her hands one last time before throwing it onto the bedspread. She had no idea what had come over her, but she put on a pair of white socks that climbed her legs all the way up to her knees before storming out of the bedroom.

Her shadow followed her along the wall of the hallways in Malfoy Manor. Aeris was not looking for anything in particular when she left the bedroom, but it appeared that fate was about to cross her path. Mitzi, the female House Elf that had crossed her path only days earlier, was walking toward her in the empty corridor. Aeris approached the small elf and stopped her in the middle of the hall.

"Mitzi?" Aeris asked, her voice sounding deeper than it normally did.

"Y-yes, Miss Aeris?" Mitzi replied, her large ears trembling.

"I need to send a letter to someone. Take me to where I need to go," Aeris demanded. The tiny elf swallowed hard before leading her down the hallway.


The Weasley's Home

Harry Potter shot straight up from the lumpy mattress he had been sleeping on as a roar of thunder shook the house. The dark haired boy grabbed his round glasses from the table next to him and placed them over his jade eyes. He turned his head to the window as a streak of lightning lit up the room, thunder booming almost instantly after it. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples and the back of his neck causing him to run a coarse hand over his neck.

Harry turned to his right to see his ginger-haired, best friend snoring away in bed. Harry smirked at Ron before rubbing his lightning bolt shaped scar with his fingers lightly. He turned to the window once more to catch sight of an unfamiliar brown owl flying past. He quickly got out of bed, and quietly walked down the stairs so he would not wake Ron.

Harry met the large owl in the kitchen and sighed as he closed the window that was cracked open. The rain was dancing along the windowsill outside as Harry pulled a silver envelope from the bird's beak. She stretched her wings above her body before shaking slightly to remove the rain on her feathers as Harry examined the letter. The owl squawked loudly, and Harry opened the window quickly, letting it fly out into the rain once more.

The front of the envelope had Harry's name written on it in black ink, but the back of the envelope had no name. His green eyes widened as he examined the dark green wax seal on the back. He recognized the design as the one that the Malfoy family used. Fearing the worst, Harry quickly tore open the envelope and read the letter to himself.

"Harry Potter:

"I have been dreaming about you every night for my entire life. What I am doing is dangerous for you and for myself. I'm searching for you, Harry. Are you searching for me? -A"

Harry's heart pounded within his chest as he stared down at the letter in his hands. A? Was this from her? From the girl in his dreams? It had to be, that was the only logical explanation. As frightened as he was, Harry smiled at the letter, his chest rising and falling at a ridiculous rate.

"I knew you were real," Harry whispered to himself as he hugged the letter to his chest.


Malfoy Manor

Draco left the bathroom to find Aeris asleep in his bed, the sheets and blankets beneath her body. He scowled at her before sliding into bed next to her. He sat up, staring down at her unhappily. Her left leg was spread out on the bed while her right one was curled up next to her, the skin of her upper thighs showing. Draco sighed before running his hands over his pale face.

Maybe he had been a bit to harsh earlier. All of this stress over getting married in, now, two days to the most important horcrux in existence was getting to him. He watched Aeris sleep, blond strands falling into his cold eyes as he wondered what his life was going to be like. If the Dark Lord was successful in defeating Potter, then he would definitely be rewarded for protecting Aeris.

But then there was the possibility that the Dark Lord was going to fail. Draco would never admit it, but he secretly hoped that Harry would defeat him. He had nothing but bad blood with Harry Potter, but Draco did not wish to see him die. However, if that were to happen, then Aeris would have to die. He was unsure why, but the thought of watching this scrawny, orphan girl from America being torn to pieces made him ill.

Unthinking, Draco ran his fingers through the blonde pile of her hair that trailed behind her head on her pillow. He made sure not to comb his fingers through the strands too roughly, to insure that he would not snag her hair. Aeris was only 16 years old. She was completely uprooted from her horrible Muggle life and brought to his families manor to "live a better life".

Draco scoffed quietly at this thought. He knew all too well that Aeris was brought here because the Dark Lord was growing nervous. His diary horcrux had been destroyed by Harry, and his ring horcrux had been destroyed by Dumbledore. This left the Dark Lord with only five more horcruxes, and Aeris. Draco had overheard his father explaining to his mother that when the horcruxes were destroyed, it injured the Dark Lord.

As he twirled a piece of her blonde hair between his fingers, he caught himself smiling at her. When he was looking at her he did not feel the weight that he normally carried around with him. He bit the inside of his cheek as he moved his fingers from her hair and stroked the back of her bare arm. He quickly pulled his hand away from her tanned skin when he felt as if he had just been burned.

Draco held his hand with the other and scowled down at his fingers. He was being stupid and letting his mind get the best of him again. He knew that this girl was not really a girl that he was going to be able to love. She was nothing more than a pretty case that held a murderer's soul inside. She was going to be dead before he would ever get the chance to really make any kind of connection with her anyway. With that, Draco climbed further beneath his sheets and rolled to his side, facing away from her.

He jumped when he felt Aeris roll over in the bed, but his heart started to pound when he felt her wrap an arm over his body and link one of her legs over his that were under the blankets. He could not feel the heat from her skin with the blanket between them, so he let her cling to him for the night. He smirked softly to himself as he felt her squeeze his body a bit tighter, and he closed his eyes.