Draco was in the hospital for a week. We were finally back together emotionally, but physically still apart.

Harry was taking what he had done to Draco pretty hard. I can't say I was sorry about that. I wanted to feel bad for him. Merlin, I even did feel bad for him. Draco had been an enormous arse to Harry, Ron and Hermione. But he did not deserve whatever the hell that spell Harry had used was.

Draco got the hospital and Harry got… Ginny and detention? There was something really off about all of that. I did not hate Harry, but damned if he was my favorite person at the moment.

And I had to threaten to disown my entire family if they so much as tried to mess with my marriage contract. In two years I could make my own decision anyway and an attorney Dad spoke to said with Mr. Malfoy in prison and with me fighting any reversal it would take at least that long to reverse the decision anyway, they decided to leave it alone.

So Draco and I were officially engaged. I wasn't wearing a big fancy ring, and there was no press conference, but I didn't need any of that. I wasn't planning on marrying him any time soon anyway.

To be honest I wasn't sure why Mr. Malfoy had done it. It was well known that the Malfoys considered us blood traitors. I just did not have the kind of devious mind it took to see what was in it for the Malfoys.

My grandmother was easier to see. The Malfoys had social clout. It had to be tough to be a social pariah.

Even when Draco got back from the hospital he and I didn't exactly live in each other's shadows. He still had his friends and I still had mine. But we were together again.

I told him I was giving him one week recovery time and then he and I were having a conversation about what was really going on. He reluctantly agreed.

Which was how we wound up on the seventh floor near the painting of Barney the Barmy. Draco closed his eyes and I watched a door appear. He held out his hand to me.

Without hesitation I took his hand as he smiled in to my eyes. "Are… are you sure Alya? Once we go in here, there is no turning back."

"There has been no turning back for me for a long time, Draco. At least this way we are in it together." He nodded and swept me in to his arms for a kiss before opening the door.

The room was familiar to me. I had been in there many times before. It was of course the room where I always found any lost object. I ran my hand lovingly over the rug where I had found the first lost locket.

Draco watched me curiously "You have been here before." It was not a question.

I nodded and explained my long association with this room. He shook his head. "You really are something else, Alya." He said with admiration. I glowed under his praise.

"OK, come on." He led me by the hand over to a cabinet.

I recognized it! "How did you get it here?"

"How did I…? What?" Oh Merlin… me and my big mouth.

"You didn't bring this here from Knockturn Alley, did you?" I sighed.

He looked at me closely "What were YOU doing hanging out in Knockturn Alley? It is a dodgy place, Alya, not the sort of spot I want you…"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I KNOW what kind of place it is! Harry got lost and I went to get him and we…" I shut up realizing that nothing I could say from this point would sound better.

"And you… what? Decided to do a little back alley shopping?" He was getting angry.

"No… not exactly… we ended up in Borgin and Burkes and we hid in a cabinet just like this and you and Mr. Malfoy had gone in and he wanted to sell some stuff and you were complaining that Harry was on the team and…" why was I babbling?

"Why didn't you turn him in?" he interrupted.

"Why didn't I… what?" I was confused.

"He was in there selling some really dark stuff, why didn't you turn him in?" Draco seemed genuinely confused "Or why didn't Potter?"

"Well… Harry didn't really understand enough yet and… you may have forgotten but I had sort of a…" I hesitated.

"Crush on my Dad? Yeah, I remember." He laughed.

"Not a crush, more like he was my hero." I slapped his arm.

"Whatever." He made kissy noises at me.

"Yeah… that isn't creepy at all." I shook my head. I swear he can just be such a dork at times. But it was so good to be laughing with him again. I grabbed him for another kiss and hug.

He just grinned. "I knew you couldn't keep your hands off of me She-Weasel!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about this cabinet, you weirdo!" I laughed.

He grew serious "The one you saw there… it is a twin to this one… except this one doesn't work." He opened it up. "And I have to make it work."

"Or get killed… yeah, I worked that out." I frowned.

"That is part of it." He looked down.

"Yeah… you also have to kill Dumbledore." He looked at me in shock.

"That wasn't what I meant by "part of it" how did you know that?!" he almost shouted.

"Never mind how I know. What do you mean that wasn't what you meant?!" What else could there be?

"There is a reason I was staying away from you, except it didn't matter in the end. The stakes have been raised." He looked positively miserable.

"What have the stakes been raised to, Draco? Your life is already being threatened. What could possibly be worse than that?" Wasn't it already bad enough that I was being threatened with losing him?

"They aren't just threatening ME Alya. It is you. If I fail to fix this cabinet and let them in to Hogwarts they will torture you before they kill you in front of me. Worse. They are going to Imperius me and make ME torture you before they kill both of us." He could not meet my eyes.

OK, that was worse. I sat down. "Who is they?" I asked.

"What?" he looked at me confused.

"Who are we letting in to Hogwarts?" I clarified.

"WE are not letting anyone in to Hogwarts. This is MY mission. You are staying out of it." He clearly believed his word was final. That was so cute.

"I am already in it Draco. I told you that. Even if I wasn't being threatened. And I am. So, we fix it." I jerked my head towards to cabinet.

"I tried, it can't be done." He sighed in defeat.

I held up the golden liquid "You didn't have this before."

He frowned at the vial.

And then taking it from my hand a smile spread across his face.