Chapter 21

Draco sat back on the bed and Aeris tucked her legs under her body beside him. She watched Draco's expression harden as he rested his elbows on his knees. The light hair that fell into his eyes sent a dark shadow across his pointed face. Aeris was growing tired of his silence and demanded an answer.

"Tell me what is on your arm, now." She stressed the last word and Draco turned toward her a bit.

"You aren't going to like what you hear," he warned her in a calm voice. Aeris could feel her ears growing hot.

"That doesn't matter right now!" she yelled. "I want the truth and I want it now!" Draco scoffed as he rolled his eyes at her eagerness to hear his story.

Now Draco had two options to choose from in his current situation. He was in the perfect position to lie about the Dark Mark on his arm to Aeris. If he wanted too he could simply tell her it was a mark given to him so the Dark Lord could easily locate Aeris when the two were together. Then again, he could always be honest with his new bride and get this burden off his shoulders. Either way, Draco had the best weapon sitting in his corner, the truth.

"You want to know what this is on my arm? Fine, I'll tell you what this is then," he began angrily. "This is called a dark mark. It is the symbol that your father gives his followers."

"So, what? You're one of those Death Eaters now?" Aeris asked, her eyes narrowed. Draco studied her for a moment.

"This was my choice," he lied. "I needed your father to see that I am committed to this assignment, so I asked him to mark me." Aeris felt her heart lurch forward.

"Assignment?" she repeated. Draco furrowed his brow.

"What?" he asked as Aeris stood up from the bed, folding her arms over her chest.

"So that's what this whole thing still is to you?" she asked, her back turned toward him. "You know, I really believed you in the shrieking shack that night. The whole proposal thing, I thought you meant what you said then." Draco realized he was in hot water.

"I may have misspoke," he quickly inserted. Aeris ignored him.

"I really thought that after I saved your life that you had changed. Not completely, but I thought you saw me as a real person then. Apparently I was naïve to think so. Oh, and great job with those vows earlier. Those definitely had me fooled," Aeris turned toward him now. Her red cheeks distracted Draco for a moment, but he eventually stood up.

"You are being too sensitive right now. Just allow me to rephrase my previous statement," he explained, reaching out for her. Aeris took a step back.

"No, you don't need to rephrase anything Draco. I believe that we are on the same page," Aeris stormed across the room and shut herself in the bathroom. Draco groaned before falling back onto the bed.

Aeris slammed her back against the large wooden door as her molars grinded together. She slowly slid down the door until she was sitting with her legs curled under her on the cold floor. She grabbed her hair in her hands and tried to steady her breathing, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she did so.

Her eyes opened as soon as the image of Draco filled her mind. Once again Draco had found a way to hurt her and make her feel insignificant. In her mind, she imagined that he had planned things to go this way ever since the two of them met days ago. It was clever of him to wait until they were married so she couldn't just choose Maximus as a husband.

Aeris furrowed her brow as she felt the tips of her ears touch her fingers that were tangled in her hair. Quickly, she made her way to the mirror, clutching the sink below it tightly as she looked at her reflection. Sure enough, her anger was getting the best of her once more and she was starting to transform into the monster that she was. Aeris tried to calm herself after seeing this, but stopped as she noticed the whites of her eyes turning black.

"Why should I stop this?" Aeris thought to herself. "This is who I am. This is the whole reason that Draco could never see me as anything other than an assignment. Why should I try and hide this side of me anymore?" These thoughts were empowering for the young girl.

As her chin molded itself to a point, a smirk crossed her lips and she watched herself change, taking in every difference slowly. Normally, she would have been in a blacked out state by now, but for some reason she was able to stay fully aware of what she was going through now. She released the sink's edges as her nails came to points, lightly scraping the porcelain.

"This is me. This is who I am," Aeris repeated over and over in her mind. The thought of Draco flooded into her mind again.

No longer was she going to allow him to hurt her with his actions or with his words. Aeris had been down this road before with Chloe Match at the orphanage and she did nothing to stop that torment, but this time was going to be different. Draco needed to know that he was not the only person tied to this "assignment" anymore. It was time for Aeris to grow a backbone and stand up for herself. She stopped as she thought about Chloe a bit more.

Draco was lying on the bed, his hands resting behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. Aeris had been in the bathroom for nearly ten minutes now and he was growing tired. Granted, he should have used a different word when lying to Aeris to avoid this situation, but he was not willing to blame himself for this. He sat up when the bathroom door flung open.

His eyes widened as Aeris stepped out looking dangerous in her lingerie. Draco swallowed hard as he caught sight of her black eyes and sharp nails. His heart slammed against his chest as he realized that this must have been the reason for a back-up husband. Draco thought that Aeris was going to rip him to shreds.

"H-hey," he said, his voice catching a bit. Aeris strode over to him.

"Get up," she ordered, her eyes locked on him. Draco got to his feet quickly.

"You and I are going to take a trip," she whispered to him. Draco's bottom lip quivered.

"Please, can't we just talk?" he begged. Aeris gave him a coy smile before grabbing his chin between her thumb and index finger.

"There is nothing to talk about, love," she replied. "You're going to see exactly who you are messing with." Aeris pushed his head back a bit as she released him.

Draco massaged his chin and rotated his jaw a bit before Aeris threw his shirt to him. He slowly pulled it on and looked to her. Aeris grabbed him by his forearm and forced him over to the fireplace. Before she pushed him inside, Draco plucked his wand off the small silver tray that was set up next to the fireplace..

"You are to get us to the Helms Spring Orphanarium," she ordered, stepping into the fireplace next to him.

"Why?" he asked.

"You will see, now do it." Draco nervously grabbed a handful of floo powder from the tray just outside of the fireplace.

"Helms Spring Orphanarium!" he yelled as he threw the powder to the ground. The two were covered in flames and transported to the fireplace within the orphanage.

Draco shook the soot from his light hair as he stumbled into the room. Aeris' nose was wrinkled as she looked around the room that she remembered as Miss Brigham's office. She made her way over to the adjacent wall and pulled a picture from the rusty nail that was holding it in place. She ran her thumb across the glass, clearing a streak through the built up dust that covered the picture.

"What is that?" Draco asked, peering over her shoulder. Aeris tightened her grip on the small picture.

"A memory," she replied angrily before slipping it inside her garter belt around her waist. She had no other clothes at the Manor, so she had to deal with what she was wearing.

Draco looked around the small room. He assumed that this must have been where Aeris grew up, but he never imagined that it was in this bad of condition. Draco looked to the doorway where Aeris stood running her hand along the wooden frame. It was clear that being here was bringing back what he assumed to be bad memories.

Aeris shook her head slowly to pull herself out of her trance. She sneered at the doorframe before walking to the staircase. Draco hurried after her, his eyes narrowed so he could see through the darkness. He was unsure of where she was heading but he knew better than to let her go alone, especially in the state that she was currently in.

Aeris gripped the wobbly railing of the staircase as she replayed her past in her mind. She watched Chloe shove her down the staircase, wincing when she remembered slamming her head against the floor. With her heart pounding in her chest she made her way up the stairs. Draco was close behind, trying to be as quiet as possible, while Aeris did not concern herself with being caught.

As she stepped off the staircase she did not stop. Aeris knew exactly where she needed to go and she marched down the hallway. With nothing but a quick glance, she passed her old room that she shared with Chloe and went to the last room in the hall. Draco's eyes widened as she turned the knob and crept into the room. He slid in after her and quietly shut the door.

When Draco turned around he nearly jumped out of his skin. Aeris was sitting on the edge of a mattress on the floor, running the backside of her fingers over a little girls forehead. He looked around the small room, the scent of mold filling his nostrils, and he forced himself to not gag. Draco jumped when a small voice spoke.

"Aeris?" Melissa asked groggily. Aeris gave her a small smile as she pushed her red hair behind her tiny ear.

"Hey there," she replied quietly. After looking at Aeris for a second, Melissa shot up.

"Your eyes! Oh no, you're doing it again, you've changed." Draco furrowed his brow.

"Shh, quiet now," Aeris cooed, placing her hand on the small girls shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you. I can control it now."

"Where have you been?"

"I was taken away from here. I went some place magical, Melissa. Magic exists." The small girl raised an eyebrow at Aeris.

"Sounds sketchy. Who's the boy?" Draco tensed up.

"Don't worry about him," Aeris turned to look at him. "He's just an assignment." Draco lowered his brows and scowled at her.

"So why are you here?"

"I'm going to take you someplace where you will have a good life."

"Is that so?" The young girls skepticism made Aeris smirk.

"I know someone who would love to have you in their life. I need you to trust me Melissa. Pack your things and meet me in the hallway." With that Aeris made her way over to Draco.

"Follow me," she whispered in his ear before pushing past him. Draco looked to Melissa one more time before following Aeris.

She was standing in front of a door that had chipped paint scattered across it with a look of pure hatred on her face. Draco watched silently as Aeris grabbed the doorknob and began to turn it, but she stopped. Before he knew what was happening, Aeris kicked the door in with enough force to snap the knob clean off, making Draco jump. He ran to the open doorway to see Aeris standing in the middle of the room, facing a flustered black haired girl.

"What the hell is this!" the girl yelled.

"Hello Chloe," Aeris said calmly with a slight turn of her head. "Did you miss me terribly?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Aeris chuckled.

"Oh now don't tell me that you don't remember me." Aeris kicked her old mattress with the side of her foot.

"Wait a minute, Air-head?" Chloe asked as she eyed Aeris. "Well what do you know! It is you."

"In the flesh."

"I'll say. Well it looks like the rumors are true about what happened to you. Everyone said that some guy adopted you and turned you into a hooker with a bad manicure." Draco narrowed his eyes at Chloe now.

"Is this him?" Chloe laughed, pointing at Draco. "Is this your man?"

"I'm her husband," Draco spit back at her. "My name is Draco Malfoy and Aeris is in no way a hooker." Chloe continued to laugh.

Without much effort, Aeris grabbed the girl by her throat and pulled her close to her face. Chloe dug at Aeris' hand with her fingers as she squirmed to get away from her. Aeris smirked as she familiarized herself with her own strength in this form. Draco stood warily behind her.

"Listen here, Chloe," Aeris began. "For years you tormented me, did me physical and emotional harm for no reason other then because you could. I am not that weak, little girl anymore. Nobody is going to harm me again. Unfortunately for you, I am going to get my revenge." With that Aeris slammed Chloe into the ground, the side of her head hitting the floor so hard that it knocked her out.

"Aeris!" Draco yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "What are you doing?!" Aeris sent him crashing against the wall with one push.

She left him and flipped Chloe's mattress. A small bag with a few pieces of clothing inside it rested there, and Aeris selected a few. She pulled a tank top that belonged to her over her head along with sliding a pair of ripped jeans over her legs that also belonged to her. Aeris knew that Chloe had been stealing her clothes when they roomed together but now she was brave enough to take them back. She pulled the photograph she was carrying from its frame and stuffed it into her front pocket. Aeris made her way across the room and pulled Draco's wand from the waistband of his pants.

"Incendio," Aeris said, fire shooting from the wand and covering her old mattress on the floor.

"Aeris!" Draco yelled again, grabbing both of her shoulders and shaking her. She smirked back at him.

"Stop this!" he begged as the fire started to grow. "This isn't you!"

"No!" she yelled back. "This is me, Draco. This is the person I was created to be. You had better realize that before the same happens to you!" Aeris pulled away from Draco and stormed into the hallway.

"What's going on?" Melissa asked, frightened, as she peered into the room. Aeris grabbed her in her arms and carried her down the hall.

A/N: So I have been terrible about updating this. I can't even begin to apologize enough for the delay. I just started college again and my homework is unbelievable this semester, plus I've had no inspiration. But I'm going to make it my goal to try and update at least once a week if not more. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, it really touches on a darker side of Aeris for us and gives you a glimpse at what she is capable of.