"Shit," Ella murmured as she sat up in her bed, clutching her head. She cursed and swore loudly as she got to her feet and went to answer the thundering bangs at the door. "Coming!" She yelled irritably. She wasn't keen on mornings at the best of times, but with an almighty hangover added on top of that, she was practically a fire breathing Hungarian Horntail. "What is it?" She spat as she flung the door open. Her scowl only grew when she saw the Slytherin stood at her door with an evil smirk.

"Ah, Potter, what a lovely day it is," He said in a false cheeriness to wind her up further, pushing past her, into her room, causing her to scowl even more, if it was even possible, "Don't worry, I come baring gifts"

"It's too early, fuck off," She grumbled.

"It's past lunchtime," He gave a cold, mocking laugh that infuriated her further.

"I don't feel like eating," She huffed, slamming the door shut and throwing herself on the bed in the centre of the room.

"I wasn't talking about food," He drawled, "That doesn't cure a hangover. This," He said, pulling a small vodka bottle out of the brown paper bag he was carrying, "however, does." He gave a triumphant smile as Ella's eyes widened.

"Pass," She said shortly, taking the bottle from him and taking a large swig, "much better," She sighed as it left the foul taste in her mouth. The ridiculous amount of alcohol she'd consumed since arriving back from school the week previously, had given her, her first nights' sleep she'd had in a long while. "What time is it?" she asked staring at the bottle before taking another large swig. Each night so far, her and Draco had played their same ridiculous game of seeing who could the longest, normally resulting in Ella throwing up in the toilet due to her current reluctance to eat.

"Half three," He shrugged.

"WHAT?!" She coughed and spluttered. "How in Merlin's name have I slept that long?" She asked incredulously.

"Don't ask me," He shrugged dismissively as he turned to leave the room, "Meet you downstairs at six o'clock and remember first round's on you," He said with that satisfied smirk of his that made Ella want to slap him, just as she was beginning to think he was maybe alright.

~~~~~~C~~~~~~

Ella spent the next two and a half hours, after finishing off the bottle of vodka, sufficiently numbing her once more, roaming around Diagon alley. She'd never really been down the street before in her memory, so when she passed the Magical Menagerie, selling all sort of various pets and supplies, she couldn't resist not going in. She'd always found comfort and stability in animals and that's just what she needed now. They didn't care whether you were a horrible person, as long as you looked after them and gave them love, they'd give love back to you.

Inside the shop, a little black with four white socks, a bright pink nose and shiny gleaming eyes caught her eye immediately. The alcohol still in her bloodstream stopping her from thinking it through, she bought him along with a small bed, a cage and some food.

"What's his name?" Ella asked the shop woman as she magically shrunk her purchases and held the playful, squirming cat under her arm.

"He doesn't have one yet, you chose," the woman shrugged, clearly not able to give a toss about what the bleeding cat was called, she had far too many of them to care.

"Poor fella," Ella cooed as she tickled the cat's chin, "Well, I think you should be called Boots." She waved and thanked the woman as she left the shop, shrinking her purchases, bar the kitten, -one of the main advantages to have moved around countries so much being having no underage trace on you- and headed back for the Leaky Cauldron, where she was due to meet Malfoy in thirty minutes. What was she doing meeting up with Malfoy? He was a slimy arse hole with far too high an opinion of himself. Yet, he was actually good company when it came to drowning her sorrows and was quite generous in buying the rounds in.

On her way back to the pub, a sign in a window of a hairdressers caught Ella's eye. It read 'Change your look, change your life'. She knew it was a complete cliche and marketing devise but it got her thinking. She was bored of her natural brown, bosom length hair. Nothing good had ever really happened to her. So far everything had turned out in misery and heartbreak. She was sick of old, push over Ella who let people take her walls down just so they could get a shot at her. She was sick of looking at herself in the mirror, knowing that if she had stayed behind that statue as her brother had told her, she could be cradling her daughter in her arms right now. But she wasn't, so the hair was getting changed.

"Hello miss, what can we do for you today?" A plump, dyed red haired young woman asked her politely.

"I want something doing with my hair, something...different," Ella said vaguely.

"Anything in mind?" The hairdresser asked.

"Not really, just completely different from what it is now," Ella shrugged, slightly taken aback about how blase she was being about her former prize possess,"

"No problem," The hairdresser beemed.

Half an hour later, Ella stepped out of the hairdressers with short honey blonde hair, falling around her face in beach waves and a thick fringe covering her eyebrows. She didn't know what to think of it. She didn't really care, she was just glad for different.

~~~~~~C~~~~~~

"Potter, you're late," Draco drawled as he heard the girl approach behind him as she greeted the bar tender sullenly.

"Shove it, Malfoy," She sneered, letting out a bitter laugh as he turned to face her and looked very confused indeed.

"What happened to your hair?" He asked dumbly.

"Got it cut and dyed, got a problem?" She asked sourly.

"No, actually it looks quite alright for a Gryffindor's hairstyle,"

"A Gryffindor's hairstyle?" Ella scoffed. "I didn't realise each house now had a designated hair style. So, what is Slytherin's? Going on yours and Snapes, greasy and gelled firmly back?"She mocked.

"So the first time I'm not mean to you, you insult me? You're a weird chick Potter," He said in his lazy drawl, with a hint of amusement to his tone. Ella just glared at him before turning to the bartender.

"Two double firewhiskys please," She grabbed the two drinks, shoving one of the at Malfoy, before downing her own in two large gulps. "Your round next," She smirked a smirk much like his infamous one.

"Steady on, I've barely had chance to sniff mine yet," He laughed derisively.

"Urgh, hurry up," She groaned.

"Have you ever heard of not just drinking to get wasted?" He mocked.

"Yes but it's shit and pointless," She answered shortly as Malfoy ordered the next lot of drinks, "Who wants a conversation over drinks?"

"Me," He said with a wicked, cunning smirk, "So, Potter, are the rumours true? Were you sleeping with Karkaroff?"

"You're insufferable," She stated before explaining, "Not that it's any of your business whatsoever, but sort of yes,"

"Sort of? How does that work?" Malfoy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," She shrugged, not caring to go over it again, knowing full well it was only matter of days until she would have to repeat her story in court.

"I've got time," Malfoy said stubbornly, his voice cool and laid back

"Well, I used to go to Beauxbatons until the beginning of my 4th year when I ran away. I spent the year on the run, moving around to try and find work and working out various means of getting money. Long story short, after seeing me on the streets for the second time in six months, Igor took me in, enrolled me in Durmstrang and provided somewhere for me to stay, my clothes and my food," She paused realising this side of Igor was a side she hadn't thought about for a long time, but that didn't matter now, in her mind, he is one of the main reasons why her baby is dead and she hated him, "I was very grateful to him for everything he'd done and then one night in the middle of summer, he suggested a way in which I pay him back, if you know what I mean. It turned into a bit more than just a one night thing but when I tried to stop it in September, with him being my teacher then and being at Hogwarts, he got a little...hmm...well, annoyed and one day I pushed him a bit too far and I ended up in the hospital wing," Ella shrugged indifferently, the high level of alcohol in her bloodstream making her much more open about everything, with Malfoy not far behind.

"Fucking hell," He whistled, "and I always just thought you were some sort of Durmstrang bike," Ella gave a low chuckle.

"Sorry to disappoint, but no," She shook her head.

"What did you do for money while you were on the streets?" He asked and all of a sudden Ella saw him without his sly, cruel exterior that always made mocking jokes and derisive comments and just saw a boy, a normal boy, who was genuinely interested in what someone had to say. However, this question meant it was her turn to squirm slightly under his gaze.

"Well, little bits of odd jobs here and there. A month or two in a bar here and a stint in a pub there, and just little bits and pieces," She shrugged, hoping he had bought how vague she'd been.

"Like what?" He challenged, reveling in making her squirm.

"You know," Ella said shortly, getting irritable as she downed yet another drink, the alcohol further to her head as the room before started spinning and her limbs became satisfyingly numb.

"No," He replied equally as short, "I don't." Ella frowned realising she had met her match and he had platinum blonde hair and wore green serpent on his school uniform.

"Fine if you must know I dabbled in certain industries like drugs," She gave up.

"Not bad, I must say I'm impressed. I didn't know you had it in you. What other 'industries' of that nature have you dabbled in?" He asked, one of his eyebrows shooting up his head.

"That's enough," Ella hissed before softening her tone marginally once again, "Now your turn. Why are you here?" She asked before adding, "Apart from the whole Mummy and Daddy left the country.

"Well precisely that, my mother and father are out of the country for the first half of summer," He shrugged dismissively, not counting on the grilling he was about to receive from the feisty girl he was sat with.

"Well why aren't you joining them?" She asked, it now being her turn to raise an eyebrow and smirk questioningly as he squirmed under her interrogation.

"It's a business trip," He said shortly.

"What? That they both have to go on? What sort of business?"

"Shut it, Potter," He said now close to a snarl, "I don't know,"

"Ah, but I think you do," She said sweetly, "I spilled my dirty little secrets, now it's your turn Draco darling," She smiled wickedly. The alcohol brought out another, much nastier side to her, and she was enjoying it far too much. Playing nice all the time really got boring.

"You know exactly what kind of business they're on just as I do, even though neither one of us has been directly told. If I'm right- which I always am-" He added arrogantly, I mean, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, "we both think they've joined Voldemort's followers even though I already told mother she shouldn't. It's too dangerous, but yes, I think that certainly father has," He said with a defeated sigh.

"I'm sorry but you're right, he is," Ella sighed, ordering another round.

"H...how do you know?" Draco stammered, taken aback by this revelation. Although he'd always guessed and assumed his father was a deatheater, the little boy inside of him clung to the hope that because he'd never had any confirmation of it, it might not true.

"I saw him, your dad that is, on the night that Voldemort," She ducked her head close to his and whispered his name so as not to alarm any of the other drinkers, "returned,"

"So it's true," Draco sighed, "He's back and my father is once again one of his followers,"

"Sorry," Ella offered, realising what a huge bomb shell she'd just landed on the boy. He knocked back his drink before replying.

"I think I might turn in," He shrugged, standing from his bar stool.

"Oh no you don't," Ella tugged at his arm, making him sit here, "It's only 7 o'clock, no way are you bailing on me. We're going to upstairs to our rooms, get showered, dressed up and head out to a muggle night club," She told him, no question in the slightest in her voice. He wrinkled his face in disgust, "Get over your blood purity, superiority crap; you're coming out," She said flatly as she downed the rest of her drink and started up the stairs. As they seperated to their different rooms, she turned to him with a quick, joking wink, "Pick me up in an hour," She then turned and headed back to her room to get ready.

~~~~~~C~~~~~~

Sure enough, at eight o'clock, there way a knock at Ella's door and she opened it to reveal the Slytherin boy dressed in smart dark jeans, a washed out, crisp mint green shirt and a black blazer. She, herself, was dressed in a short black, off the shoulder dress, paired with a pair of black stilettos, showcasing her legs that went on for miles and perky D cup breasts. With her new hair, and contrast to her baggy maternity clothing that everyone had gotten used to seeing her in, she would have looked like a completely different person if it wasn't for her dazzling emerald eyes that gave her away instantly.

"You clean up well, Potter," He smirked as he drunkenly leaned against the door frame, eyeing her outfit appreciatively. "Never realised what a lucky lad Weasle was," He smirked.

"You're a pig," She said pushing past him into the hallway,"and he's not, that's all over and done with," She said matter-of-factually, despite every time she, soberly, thought of Fred and how they were no longer together her chest would pang for him. She would long for his touch and the feeling of his lips working magic as theirs melted together as though they belonged there. She shook her head, he had been unforgivable and they'd fought so much, they'd broken up every other week, that it obviously wasn't worth fighting for.

"Oh, I thought I smelt trouble in paradise," He grinned slyly.

"Shut up and come on," She glared at him as they entered the underground station.

Within ten minutes they were queuing, waiting for a hip looking muggle club, that was heaving, to open. After waiting for what felt like an age in the humid British summer night, the club opened and the crowds flooded in, IDs, fake or real, at the ready.

"Got your ID?" Ella asked, suddenly realising that, as a pureblood from an extremist family, he might not know about the muggle world's strict security on these things.

"I'm not an idiot, I am a lad and all lads need a good shag every now and then and girls from our school will either want a full blown relationship, which really isn't my scene, or my parents wouldn't approve of them and my rep would be in tatters. Just imagine what people would say if they saw me with that mudblood Granger," He sneered.

"Oi, watch it. She is my brother's best friend and a lovely girl," Ella said in a warning.

"Lovely if you're into the buckteeth and frizzy hair," He said under his breath, but due to his bad luck and terrible whispering, Ella heard him.

"You only don't like her 'cause she slapped you in your third year in front of shit loads of people," She said truthfully, fondly remembering the time when her brother and his best friends had taken ages to tell her that story through their tears of laughter. That was one of the many brilliant things about alcohol, in Ella's opinion, not only did it allow you to feel completely numb and stopped you from thinking about things you really didn't want to, it also gave you the confidence and little inhibitions to just say whatever comes to your mind, no matter how harsh or brutally truthful.

~~~~~~C~~~~~~~

Once they were inside, they stood by the bar, drinks in hand, talking and gossiping and Draco's little black book of Hogwarts' girls he'd had sex with. Everyone thought of Fred and George as the players of Hogwarts but it turned out that Draco was giving them a run for their money but in a much more secretive and subtle way.

"No way do you actually have a list of who you've shagged in a book," Ella laughed incredulously, "I never had you down as one of those," She laughed.

"So tell, what did you have me down as?" He asked with a smirk.

"A rich boy who enjoyed the high life which his parents' money bought. Girls on call that charge an hourly rate, unlimited supply of the drug of your choice and a never ending liquor cupboard," She half asked.

"Have you had much experience with these types of boys then?" He asked slyly.

"Far too much," She said, quickly covering her mouth as she realised what she'd said.

"And how did you know all these boys?" He asked amused at her squirming. Second time that night he'd had her under his thumb and he loved it.

"None of your business," She shot. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, a tall, handsome dark haired man came over to them, not taking his dark hazle eyes of Ella.

"Hey, I was just wondering whether you'd want to dance?" He asked Ella, completely ignoring the fact she was stood with another lad.

"Err...sur-" She was just about to agree.

"She would love to but I'm afraid she's already promised this dance to me," Draco sneered, finishing his drink and taking Ella's arm, swiftly leading her into the crowd, not forgetting to send a victorious smirk over to the tall, handsome stranger, which didn't go unnoticed by a completely confused Ella.

"What was that?" She laughed, tripping over as they began to dance, causing her to fall into Draco's arms.

"You think I'm going to let you dance with some stanger and watch you get taken away in an ambulance when he spikes the drink he buys you?" He raised his eyebrow.

"You always think the worst of people," She laughed bitterly. Although she was feeling the closest to normal she thought she'd ever feel again after everything that happened, she couldn't help but think of all the things she'd lost recently. It always played on her mind, every corner she turned she saw her daughter's face as she slowly slipped away from her.

"I do, and that's why I've never been hurt by anyone," He said, surprisingly wisely. The more she thought about it, the more he had a good point. Almost everyone she'd ever loved or trusted had, in turn, had turned on her, killing her emotionally in the process. She'd always liked to see the best in people and all that had done was lead to where she was now, drinking day and night, never allowing herself to be sober enough to feel the pain caring about others had caused her.

They danced, their bodies moving closely together, the proximity of someone who had previously been such an enemy would have given Ella goosebumps, had she not been so past the point of caring about anything. One danced quickly turned to ten and before they knew it, it was three o'clock and closing time was upon them.

Snaking an arm around her waist, Draco led an increasingly unsteady Ella of the club and through the crowds of the tube stations. Neither of the pair said a word until they reached the stairwell of the Leaky Couldren.

"I actually had quite a good time tonight," Ella laughed as she tripped over her own feet, causing Draco to catch her for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Granted, she could hold her drink quite well, she just really struggled to stay upright after a few drinks.

"Me too," He smirked as he yet again had to catch as she fell sideways into the wall of the thin, dingey corridor, and reolved to just not take his arms from around her this time and support her whilst she walked,"Fancy coming back to my room for a few more drinks?"

"You're a bad influence on me, you know that?" Ella slurred with a cackle of laughter. He also laughed for a reason he couldn't really pinpoint. He hadn't had so much fun getting off of his face in a long while, even if it was with the last person he would expect.

~~~~~~C~~~~~~

"I bet you're the type of girl that keeps a little black book," Draco brought back their earlier conversation topic as he sat in the wobbly desk chair in his hotel room and Ella sat cross legged on the desk in front of him.

"Got me spot on there," She admitted with a laugh. She hadn't ever told anyone of her little book, not even Fred or Angelina. Over the past school year, there hadn't really been much to add other than Fred. Aside from Igor, which had started in the summer holidays, Fred was the only lad she'd had sex with that year and that was different. She'd loved him, she still did. His touch ignited her skin and their sex was different...as cliche as it sounded...it was magical.

"So who would I know in there?" He asked cunningly, propping his head up on his arm which was resting on the arm of his chair, in an attempt to stop the room from spinning so vigorously.

"Well there's Fred, Igor- you know about them," She closed her eyes as she thought hard to who he might know, "erm...do you know Antonin Dolohov? Oh, and Amycus Carrow?" She asked excitedly, not realising quite what she had just admitted to or, if Draco had been soberer, how close she was to unveiling something that only Igor Karkaroff knew about her.

"Dolohov and Carrow?!" He scoffed, laughing so hard that tears nearly came to his eyes.

"Yes," She said shortly, "Got a problem with that?" She asked pissed off.

"They're the same age as my Dad!" He mocked.

"Yeah, well that summer I stayed at Igor's I just went through a bit of an older man phase," She shrugged. Techincally she wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something from me?" The Slytherin asked suspiciously.

"Because I am," She said all too happily.

"I thought we were doing to whole complete honesty thing," He tried to get it out of her.

"Good try," She laughed, spilling her drink all over Draco in the process, "Oh my God, let me help you with that," She said jumping up, unsteadily swaying, to help the boy where he was patting down his crotch pretty uselessly. "here," She offered, running to the bathroom and returning with a hand towel and began pressing down on his crotch.

"Potter," She felt him stiffen awkwardly in front of her and smiled slyly as she realised the effect she was having on him. "Why are you smiling?" He asked paranoid .

"Oh, I was just thinking," She paused, seeing how far she could push him until he said something and sent her back to her own room, "that your trousers would dry a lot quicker over the radiator," She smirked, the two of them apparently forgetting they possessed any form of magical powers. Draco's shot up his forehead, obviously calculating, much slower than normal, whether she was joking or not. "Something wrong?" She asked sweetly, feigning innocence.

"Go on then," He motioned towards his firewhisky sodden trouser, taking up her earlier offer, seeing if two could play at this game. He was not going to be the one to back down, but unfortunately for him, she was the queen and unbeaten champion at this game.

Without any hesitation, Ella closed the distance between them, squatting down seductively, undoing his belt and letting his trousers slide down his legs, keeping her mouth tantilisingly close to her boxers, so as he could feel her hot breath. Slowly, she stood up, being careful to keep the little distance between them to see how he would react. She looked at him directly, eyes wide, biting her lip.

Before she knew what was happening, his lips were crashing clumsily onto hers and she was being pushed backwards towards his hotel bed. Although this had started out as a game for her, she didn't care that it was going further than she'd planned. It was a good distraction and it would feel good to be able to rid her last connection- or so she was telling herself- with Fred. Soon her clothes were in a pile on the floor, next to his and their naked bodies were pressed against each other's, as they lay making out of the bed. A short while after, they were lying in a tangle of limbs, panting to catch their breaths. He hadn't been bad, but there was no fire like she had with Fred. No burning passion, not for her anyway. It had just been sex and it served its purpose of being a good distraction. There could be a lot worse things that she was using a distraction, it was just harmless sex. But was sex ever just harmless?