A/N: About 1-2 more chapters left to go for 5th year! I was debating a lot about the last couple chapters, so it took a bit longer than I had liked because I had my finals going on, but I think I have everything figured out now! Next update should be before the end of this month! Hope you guys enjoy, and as always please review if you liked it, or even if you didn't so I know what to improve on!

Cell #408 [January 22nd]

It was the darkness that was the most unsettling. She had gotten used to the freezing air that slipped through the cracks in the walls, even if it felt like a whip against her skin. She no longer flinched at the loud sobs and heart-wrenching screams she could hear echoing in the distance. Even the disgusted sneers and angry threats of the wardens that passed by her cell had stopped affecting her.

The darkness, however, was terribly suffocating.

Surrounded by utter nothingness, she started to understand how an otherwise healthy person would be driven to insanity in Azkaban. Time was endless here. She wasn't sure how many days it had been since she had been dragged out of her home and woken up in her new cell.

Days?

Weeks?

Months?

Who knew how long it had truly been?

As she leaned her head back against the uncomfortable wall in her cell, Lily realized that it made no difference how long it had been. The concept of time simply didn't exist in Azkaban. It was a punishment that seemed to last forever.

She was well aware her sentence could quite literally last forever, or at least until she took her last breath. She doubted any trial they were holding for her case would end up in her favor. That is, if, they were even holding a trial for her in the first place. She would not put it past Albus to convince the Wizengamot to sentence her to a life in Azkaban without a fair trial. He always had a tendency to turn a blind eye towards the people that did not fall in line with his master plan.

If only she had realized his manipulative ways sooner. It had all started with Albus, hadn't it?

She would never have sent Harry away if James hadn't been so insistent on pleasing their old Headmaster. She never would have allowed Alexander to carry such a heavy burden if Albus hadn't emotionally trapped her family. He was just a boy.

This was a war that had been brewing since back when she had attended Hogwarts. It was a war that should have ended with them, not with their children. She wasn't sure whether it was willful ignorance or sheer desperation that made her friends and family so eager to use their children as pawns in this war. It was not a war for school children to fight. It was their burden. Their mistake. And now their children were paying the price for it.

Lily pulled her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs as tightly as she could.Her eyes stung with unshed tears and she blinked up at where she assumed the ceiling was in an attempt to stop her tears from falling. What had the world come to?

All she could do was sit in the darkness and think. Think about the past, think about her mistakes, think about her anger, her pain, her sadness…. There was nothing else to do, after all. She had slowly come to learn that the walls that trapped her in her cell were nothing compared to the prison of her own mind.

It wasn't as though she didn't deserve it.

She had essentially destroyed her family. Truthfully, it had been broken ever since she had been coerced all those years ago into abandoning her son. Then, she had watched quietly in the background as her husband took her only other son and spent years turning him into a weapon. She had tried to protect Alexander, but her son had been too seduced by the fame and glory that came with his title to see the true danger that lay ahead.

Lily knew she was not a strong woman. She had always been protected and rescued in her life. First by Severus, then by James–she had never learned how to truly fight for something growing up. Despite being an accomplished witch and duelist, she had never truly won a meaningful battle in her life. She should have fought harder to protect Alexander. She should never have let Harry go.

But when she discovered that Harry–her Harry –was still alive, she vowed to do anything to bring him back into her life. If it meant he would embrace her with open arms, she would have done anything to earn his forgiveness.

And she did.

At first, she had been appalled by what he had asked of her. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel the phantom touch of his hand squeezing hers in a cruel display of affection as he whispered what he wanted her to do.

But Harry had offered her a chance at redemption. How could she refuse him?

In her mind, her family had already been torn apart once by James. She would do whatever was necessary to put the broken pieces back together, even if it meant she would have to tear apart her family just a little bit more in the process.

As far as she was concerned, James had it coming.

It was all so strange. Every day for the past thirteen years of her life, she had woken up in the morning beside her husband. She had probably spent hours just smiling contently at the way the sunlight danced across his sharp nose and long lashes in the morning. There were countless times when she would hold back a laugh as he mumbled something indecipherable in his sleep.

But somewhere amidst their peaceful mornings, the war had turned her husband into a stranger she didn't recognize. The light would still slope across his handsome features the same way. He would still mumble into his pillow. But the man she woke up beside now was not the same one she had married. The man she married would have done anything to protect their family. The man she married would never have turned his back on their friends.

Lily laughed quietly to herself. What had happened to her perfect family?

Suddenly, there was a loud clang from somewhere near her cell and her eyes widened in the darkness. As she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor, she immediately edged back towards the furthest part of her cell and cowered against the wall–purely out of habit. She had come to learn that footsteps usually meant a guard was coming and that never resulted in a pleasant visit.

Though she tried her best to squint in the darkness, she couldn't see anything until a small flame flickered to life outside her cell. It was barely large enough to light up her cell, but it drew her away from the shadows out of pure curiosity.

When a few moments passed and she heard no other noise, Lily crept closer to the bars that separated her cell from the outside. She wrapped her fingers around the bars and frowned.

"Hello, Lily."

She gasped, almost tripping over her heels in her haste to back away from the bars. The small flame outside her cell seemed to burn brighter as James Potter stepped into view.

"What?" He cocked his head to the side with a small smirk, "You're not happy to see me?"

Lily swallowed hard, but she steeled her shoulders back and walked back into the soft glow provided by the light. Her features were heavily guarded as she admitted, "I didn't think you would want to see me."

"Don't be ridiculous," James Potter waved his hand unconcernedly, "Who wouldn't want to see their traitorous wife rotting away in prison for attempted murder?"

She took a deep breath and crossed her arms across her chest, "Why are you here, James?"

He smiled innocently, "I just wanted to see how Azkaban was treating you. I hope the accommodations are to your liking."

"They're just fine," Lily retorted, "Now, don't tell me you came all the way here just to gloat?"

"Perceptive as always, Lily," He rolled his eyes. "You're right. I also came down here to get a statement from you for your trial."

"A trial I won't be attending, I presume?"

James smiled, "You were always so intelligent. It breaks my heart to see you throwing it all away to enact your petty revenge on me."

Lily scoffed, "I didn't do it for revenge, James."

His eyes darkened suddenly, and he slammed his fist against the bars of the cell, forcing her to jump back in shock. His features twisted into a cruel expression as he glared at her through the magical barrier. His voice was eerily soft as he asked, "Then why did you do it, Lily?"

"I–" She stuttered, frightened by the disturbing gleam that passed through his eyes.

"Why did you try to poison me? Why would you try to kill me? Why did you ruin our family, Lily?" He hissed at her, "We were happy."

"No, you were happy, James," She cried out. "I haven't been happy since the day you forced me to abandon my son."

"We all had to make some sacrifices," He snapped.

"How can you stand there and justify what we did?" Lily shivered. "We killed our son. He was innocent. He trusted us and we turned him into a sacrifice. He was just a boy."

"I did not come all the way out here to hear this ridiculousness again, Lily," He huffed impatiently. "You know what? I am sick of this We are done with this discussion, once and for all." His voice suddenly assumed a formal tone as he barked, "In the case of the attempted murder of James Potter, how do you plead, Lilly Potter?"

Lily blinked.

"I asked, how do you plead?"

"Guilty," She finally whispered.

James sighed. "Thank you. Because of the nature of your crime, you must await the result of your trial in Azkaban. Good day–"

Just as he turned to leave, Lily heard the sound of rapid footsteps in the hall and her eyes widened as a tall figure stepped into the small light provided outside her cell.

"Alexander," She gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Alexander!" James barked. "I told you to wait outside. You aren't authorized to be in here."

Alexander Potter panted for a second, as running past a handful of guards and twisting staircases to find his father had left him slightly winded. When he finally caught his breath, he rolled his eyes, "What do you mean I'm not authorized to be in here? I'm the bloody Chosen One."

"Language," Lily chastised, out of instinct.

"Language?" Alexander repeated, turning to stare at his mother. He gave her an incredulous look, "You're in fucking Azkaban for trying to kill Dad and you're telling me to watch my language?"

He began to laugh, and James pursed his lips together in annoyance. "Alexander, why did you insist on coming? I told you to wait outside. Since when have you decided to start disobeying me?"

Alexander laughed harder, "Disobey you? May I remind you; Mum is in a jail cell right now. And you're angry because I disobeyed you?"

"Why did you bring him here?" Lily pressed her fingers to her temple, "Why would you bring our son to a prison? You've never been responsible, James, but this was a stupid mistake, even for you to make."

"Perhaps you should have thought about my parenting abilities, before you tried to murder me!" He growled. "You tore our family apart and now you have the nerve to tell me how to raise my son?"

"Dad," Alexander interrupted. "Can you give me a minute alone with Mum."

"You're mad if you think I'm leaving you alone with this psychotic b–"

"Please," Alexander gritted out. "I need to talk to her."

James stared at his son for a brief moment before reluctantly nodding, "Fine. One minute."

Alexander smiled and he waited until his father had stalked back down the hallway before he turned to his mother. His smile fell slightly, and he fixed her with a blank stare. He cleared his throat, "I miss you, Mum."

Lily felt her heart ache and she moved to wrap her hands around the bars separating her from her son. Her eyes watered as she murmured, "I–I'm so sorry, Alexander."

"I'm sorry?" Alexander scoffed. His voice was heavy as he bit out, "That's it? That's all you have to say after you tried to murder dad. I'm sorry?"

Her shoulders sagged a bit. "I–I don't know what else to say."

"Why don't you explain why you destroyed our family? Why don't you explain why you would hurt me like this? Why don't you explain what was so wrong with our lives that you had to do this?" He shouted. "Why don't you answer me!"

"I can't," Lily gasped. "I'm trying to protect you, sweetheart."

"You're a monster," Alexander whispered. "You're looking me in the eye and you're lying to me. Your own son. Why?"

"Because I can't bear to see you be sacrificed too!" She blurted out, "You shouldn't have to fight in this war, Alexander. I was going to take you away from all this–you and your brother–we were going to–"

"My brother?" He cut in, knitting his brows together in confusion. His eyes widened as he suddenly recalled the name. "You mean Harry? The one who died when I was barely a tot?"

Lily nodded.

Alexander shook his head, "Y-You've gone mad. They-They all told me you were mental, but I never believed them." He paused and his lips curved into an angry snarl, "I defended you! I used to fight the people who dared to call you crazy, but they were right. You are insane."

Lily licked her lips and her gaze flickered to the hallway in paranoia. She pressed herself against the cell bars, despite the magical barrier sending small shocks up her spine every second. "Alexander, please, please just listen to me. I swear to Merlin, I'm not crazy. Your brother–he–he's still alive."

"No, he was killed by Death Eaters when I was little," Alexander interrupted her. "You and dad told me."

"Your father was lying. There were never any Death Eaters. They never killed Harry," She said hurriedly. Her eyes closed in shame as she finally revealed the secret that she had spent years being forced to hide, "Your father and I, we're the ones who sent Harry away under the request of Headmaster Dumbledore. We sent him away so you could focus on your training. We sent him away, it was our fault."

"No," Alexander shook his head. "You're lying. You wouldn't–" He trailed off as he saw the utterly broken look in his mother's eyes. His voice was hoarse as he said, "Y-You sent him away? You're the reason he's dead?"

Lily felt a tear fall down her cheek, "Yes. We all thought he was dead for so long, but by some miracle I discovered he's still alive. I spoke with him and I saw him. He's at Hogwarts with you, and–"

"Lily!"

She froze as she heard the stomping footsteps and James appeared beside Alexander with an angry look permanently etched onto his features. "Lily, what the hell are you telling my son? It's bad enough your delusions made you murderous, but I will not have you poisoning our son with your ridiculous lies!"

James turned to look at his son and pointed towards the hall, "Alexander, get out of here. I need to speak to your mother."

Alexander glanced back at his mother, "But dad, I–"

"I said, get out of here!" He roared and his son took a step back in fear. "I want you to go back to the waiting area. Take a long look, because over my dead body will you ever get to see your mother again!"

Alexander swallowed hard and his eyes watered as he looked back at his mother for what he assumed would be the final time. His lips twisted into a frown and he choked back a sob as she mouthed 'I love you' from behind the bars.

James waited till he heard his son run out of the corridor and he turned back to face his wife with an angry scowl. "I fucking told you to stop spreading your lies, Lily."

Lily hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stood up straighter in defiance. "He deserves to know the truth, James. He needs to know what we did."

"We didn't do anything! I refuse to let you drag us both down because of your bloody hallucinations about Harry! He's dead! After all this time, why have you not accepted it?" He snarled.

"We need to pay for what we did," She insisted.

"You don't get to decide that! You have no right to punish me. Did you really think you could fix everything by trying to kill me?"

She avoided his heated gaze and James blinked. "This is unbelievable. Tell me, Lily, because

there is something I still don't understand. How does trying to kill me ease your conscience? You can't bring Harry back to life by murdering me."

"Perhaps that's exactly what I can do," She sneered at him. "I know one day I will be reunited with my son.

James stared at her for a second before he burst out laughing. "Harry is dead. The only way you'll be reunited with him is when you join him in death. If you ask nicely, I'm sure I can send you to him right now."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "You can laugh all you want, but I have hope that I will see him again someday."

"Sweetheart, the only thing you'll be seeing from now on is these cell walls. So, I suggest you get used to them and give up your delusions of seeing Harry."

"He promised," She whispered. "He promised he would forgive me if I killed you…."

James snorted, "So, you're telling me you tried to poison me because of the voices in your head? They told you our dead son would forgive you?"

"He is alive," Lily insisted hotly. "I saw him. I spoke to him. I felt him. He's real."

He shook his head at her in disbelief, "You don't understand, do you Lily?"

James stepped closer to the cell, gripping the bars in his hands with a smile. "Even if I believe that you're not hallucinating and our son is somehow still alive, why would you think he would forgive you?"

Her eyes darted to the side and she mumbled, "What–what do you mean?"

His smile widened. "Look around you, darling. You're in Azkaban. As far as I know, I don't think anyone else has come to see you. Do you really think he would come here to save you?"

She opened her mouth to respond but James continued on, "If his condition was to kill me, then you still failed him. Because last I checked, I'm still alive. Why would he forgive you if you haven't completed his demand?"

Lily paled as she registered his words.

"Lily, you beautiful, stupid witch, even if he were alive, do you really think he would ever forgive you? If he wanted me dead, what makes you think you deserve any better? You abandoned him. Why would he forgive you?"

He smirked in satisfaction when he saw the shattered look in her eyes. He stepped away from the magical barrier that separated him from her cell and raised an eyebrow, "I hope you're happy with what you've done, Lily," He paused for a second and shrugged, "Although even if you're not, the good thing is you have the rest of eternity in this cell to help you come to terms with it. Enjoy prison, sweetheart. You certainly deserved it."

Slytherin Dormitory [February 22nd]

"This is a waste of time," Hadrian announced, crossing his arms across his chest as he watched Draco fiddle with the mirror sitting on his desk.

"Come now, don't you think it's worthwhile to find out the truth?" Daphne rubbed his shoulders soothingly, "If we're right, this could change everything."

"I don't want to know," Hadrian insisted. He paused to think for a second and shook his head, "Actually, I don't care."

"Should I just put this away or…." Draco trailed off, glancing between his two friends with a frown.

"No," Daphne said firmly, "Call him."

Draco sighed and turned his attention back to the mirror. He cleared his throat and confidently called out, "Sirius Black."

The three of them stared at the mirror expectantly. When nothing happened, Daphne frowned. "Are you sure you did it correctly?"

"It's rather difficult to mess up saying one name, even if the name is Sirius Black," Draco replied snidely.

His eyes widened as the mirror suddenly flickered and slowly, they all began to see the rugged, yet handsome face of one Sirius Black.

Daphne snapped out of her amazement first, and she blinked before smiling at the man in the mirror. "Hello, Lord Black. Hadrian, Draco, and I apologize for calling you so late in the evening, but we wanted to ask you a few questions if it's alright with you, sir."

"Daphne, how many times have I told you to call me Sirius?" The man chuckled. "You know it makes me feel ridiculously old when you kids call me Lord Black."

"Sorry, sir," Daphne blushed.

"Don't call me sir either. Just Sirius will do," Sirius grinned. "Now what exactly are you lot up to that you had to call me for it? I've already told you that I don't remember shite about potions, so I can't help you with your homework."

"Sirius, I'm pretty sure a first year would know more about potions than you," Draco rolled his eyes. "That's not why we called. We had a few questions about the prophecy."

Sirius knit his brows together in confusion, "What prophecy?"

Hadrian leaned forward in exasperation, "You know, the one that ruined my life and made my parents abandon me and was the root of my childhood trauma?"

Sirius stared blankly at the mirror and Hadrian sighed. "The one about the Chosen One?"

Sirius visibly brightened, "Oh, that prophecy," He scratched his beard for second before responding, "I don't know much about it, but I can try to answer your questions. Shoot."

Draco cocked his head to the side and asked, "Is it true that the prophecy declared Alexander Potter to be the Chosen One?"

Sirius shook his head, "Technically, all the prophecy said was that one of the Potter twins would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. We all just assumed it was Alexander because–" He paused and gave Hadrian a sheepish look, "Well, we just assumed Harry–I mean, Hadrian, was a squib. He didn't show the explosive magic Alexander did."

Daphne bit her lip, "So then hypothetically speaking, you could have drawn the wrong conclusion from the prophecy? The Chosen One could have easily been Hadrian."

The man in the mirror froze for a second before slowly nodding, "I never actually considered it that way, but yes, now that you bring it up. Since Hadrian isn't a squib, he could be the Chosen One just as much as Alexander."

"What else did the prophecy say?" Hadrian pressed. "Does it say anything about having an heir?"

"I don't think so," Sirius closed his eyes as he tried to remember the exact details, "The only other part I remember quite frankly is that neither can live while the other survives."

Daphne exchanged a look with Hadrian, "So that means the Dark Lord can't live while the Chosen One survives? And the Chosen One can't live while the Dark Lord survives. They're destined to kill each other?"

Sirius nodded, "Yes," Suddenly, he started to laugh, "Well, I guess that means you're off the hook, Hadrian. Your father would have already offed you all those years ago if he knew you were the Chosen One."

"Yes," Hadrian smirked. "I suppose he would have."

"Thank Merlin," Sirius sighed in relief. "I thought for a minute we might have actually picked the wrong Savior. Trust me kiddo, you don't want to carry that burden."

Draco smiled, a little too brightly. "Yes, we certainly are lucky to escape that fate."

He grunted as Daphne discreetly stepped on his foot and asked, "Are you sure you can't recall anything else, Sirius?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't," He apologized. "The truth is, I never actually heard this prophecy directly, I only heard snippets of it from arguments between James and Albus," Sirius confessed.

"Well, is there anyone who has heard the true prophecy? Other than the Seer?"

Sirius pursed his lips, "Only Albus heard the full prophecy."

Hadrian leaned back in his chair with a huff, "So, we're pretty much back to square one then."

Sirius shrugged, "Not necessarily, you could always ask the Seer herself."

"How are we supposed to go about trying to find that madwoman?" Draco complained. "Seers aren't exactly known for being easy to track down."

"This one is," Sirius grinned. "She teaches divination a few floors above you."

It took a second for his words to register but eventually Daphne's eyes widened as it clicked, "Trelawney? She's the one who predicted this? She's an absolute fraud!"

Sirius huffed, "That's what I said nearly fifteen years ago too. But for some absurd reason, Dumbledore trusted her vision."

"So, all of this could very well just be a load of rubbish?" Hadrian raised an eyebrow. "Fantastic."

"You never know, Hadrian. Your own sister is a Seer, perhaps Trelawney was right just this once," Daphne reasoned.

"Sirius, is there any way we could see the prophecy?" Hadrian questioned. "I don't fancy having to ask Trelawney and then obliviate her," He muttered under his breath.

Sirius nodded slowly, "All the prophecies are housed in the Department of Mysteries. But I don't think it's possible to retrieve it. Only the people involved in the prophecy can remove it from there. Maybe if you asked your father?"

"I don't picture father wasting his time raiding the Department of Mysteries. He's so busy, he'd probably force me to do it."

"Well, you could always get Alexander Potter's help," Sirius smiled.

Hadrian snorted, "You know, something tells me he probably wouldn't be willing to help."

"Maybe if you asked him very nicely."

"That'll be the day," Draco scoffed. "We're not asking for that idiot's help."

"Why are you lot so interested in the prophecy all of a sudden?" Sirius asked. "It's been set in stone for over a decade."

Daphne's lips curved up into an innocent smile, "We were just curious. After Lily Potter got hauled away to Azkaban, we wondered what else was wrong with the Golden family."

"I don't know what could have driven Lily to try to kill James," The man frowned. "I know James is quite an arsehole these days–sorry, Daphne–but I didn't think Lily would go to such lengths. It's shocking."

"Yes, we were all quite surprised," Daphne agreed. "Well, I have to head out soon to do my patrols, but thank you so much for your help, Sirius. You gave us some much-needed clarity."

"Happy to help kiddos," Sirius grinned "Do be sure to call if you have any more questions. I'm tired of having only Bellatrix and Rodolphus for company."

"They can't be that bad," Draco defended his aunt and uncle. "Uncle Rodolphus has some wicked stories."

"Yes, well, unfortunately they're all about maiming people," Sirius said wryly. He waved goodbye shortly after and Hadrian immediately felt Daphne relax from beside him.

"So now we know," She whispered. "You defeated your father. So, you're the true Chosen One."

Hadrian shook his head, "I don't think we should draw any conclusions until we see that prophecy for ourselves."

"But how are we going to get it?" Draco leaned back in his chair in thought. "You heard Sirius. Only the people involved in the prophecy can retrieve it. Your father is dead, so he's out of the question. If the Chosen One is Alexander Potter, then how are we going to know? It's not as though he'll help us."

"Isn't it obvious?" Daphne crossed her arms across her chest. When she was met with two confused expressions, she sighed and stood up from her seat, beginning to pace slowly. "If Hadrian is the Chosen One, then all we have to do is go to the Department of Mysteries and try to remove it. If it's not Hadrian…"

"Then we get the fuck out of there," Draco finished with a smirk.

Daphne frowned, "Not quite the wording I was going to use, but essentially, yes."

Hadrian stood up from his chair, "I'll write to your father, Draco. Perhaps he can put together a plan. Right now, we have to go help Neville and Blaise."

Draco groaned, "Why do we have to go again? It's not our week to teach. Daphne and I already did a two-hour training session last week."

"It's just for moral support," Daphne explained as she walked to the door. "You know it's not enough to just teach the rest of our house some inventive spellwork. We actually have to earn their loyalty, which means interacting with them–yes, even if it's not our week."

Draco sighed, following his friends out of Hadrian's room and back up the stairs that led to the common room. He had just barely set foot in the common room when suddenly a bright purple spell whizzed past his ear and he almost threw himself onto the ground in an effort to duck.

He gritted his teeth as he heard Hadrian laugh behind him. He took the hand that was suddenly offered to him with a huff and stood up from the marble floor, turning around to glare at his best friend almost immediately.

"And while the most practical thing to do when being faced with an unidentifiable spell is to cast a protection charm, Draco has done an excellent job demonstrating another defensive tactic: throwing yourself onto the ground!" Neville's magically amplified voice echoed through the Slytherin common room.

There was a little laughter from the room that fizzled out as soon as Draco turned his icy gaze onto the crowd of students. He rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Neville. I thought we said you would be sticking to only the wand movements today."

Neville nodded, "Yes, but we have such a talented house that most of them picked up on the correct movements and incantations rather quickly. It would've been a waste of time to keep them from actually practicing the spells, now wouldn't it?"

Draco sighed, "We have to be careful; we can't just go off launching spells."

Neville smirked, kneeling down to whisper something to the small first year standing closest to him. She looked back at him shyly and Neville nodded in encouragement.

Draco reluctantly felt his lips twitch with growing amusement as the little girl bounded over to him and smiled, blowing a loose piece of her curly blonde hair out of her big brown eyes.

"Neville said to tell you that you need to loosen up," She said, very matter-of-factly. "He said if you don't, then the broomstick up your–well, Mother said proper ladies aren't allowed to say this word–but he said it would get stuck there."

The smile completely wiped off his face as the little girl giggled and bounced back over to her friends, stopping to high-five Neville on the way. Draco turned back to face Hadrian and Daphne with a scowl as the rest of the room snickered at his expense.

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" He exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Daphne patted his shoulder. "They definitely laugh at Blaise more than you."

"That... doesn't make it any better, Daphne" Draco sighed.

"Neville just has a way with the younger years," Daphne smiled at her friend fondly. "Don't feel too bad, Draco, the third and fourth years like you just fine."

"They're old enough to be scared of me, you mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Just take the compliment," Hadrian suggested. "Now if you'll excuse us, Daphne and I are going to help out a bit before Neville wraps up."

Draco rolled his eyes and made his way over to one of the couches that had been pushed to the back of the room in an effort to clear the common room. He settled himself onto one of the cushioned loveseats and kicked his legs up onto a nearby ottoman.

"It takes a while for the little ones to come around," A voice said from beside him.

Draco jerked back in his seat in surprise just as Theodore Nott sat down on the other half of the couch.

"Nott? When did you get here?"

Theo leaned back into the couch, "Seriously, mate? I'm the one who helped you up when you faceplanted onto the ground."

"I did not faceplant," Draco automatically replied. "I simply–"

"Threw yourself at the floor? Sure." Theo laughed.

Draco flushed, "Well, thanks, anyways." There was a dreadfully long beat of silence before he spoke up, "Are you helping out with the training or something?"

Theo shook his head, "No, Daphne and I have to patrol soon so I thought I'd come up for a bit to watch before we had to head out."

"Who are you two patrolling with tonight?" Draco asked casually.

"Hermione and Goldstein, I think," Theo replied, barely taking his eyes off the lesson unfolding in front of them. "Do you think Neville wants help with the first and second years?"

"Blaise is supposed to be helping him," The blonde waved his hand unconcernedly. "But I'm not sure where he went off to." He paused for a moment, "So why do you patrol with Granger instead of Daphne?"

"What do you mean?" Theo raised his voice slightly as the room began to clear out as the training session wrapped up.

"Well, most of the prefects from the same house usually stick together. Why are you forcing Daphne to patrol with Goldstein? You know he's a tosser." He explained.

"I'm sure Daphne will be fine, she could duel someone like Goldstein in her sleep," Theo chuckled. "Besides, I enjoy Hermione's company."

Draco stared unblinkingly at his friends as they talked across the room. "Well," He began, "Perhaps you should find someone else's company to enjoy."

Theo stiffened and his lips curved up slightly as he turned to face the blond who seemed very intent on avoiding his gaze. "Why would I do that, Malfoy? I think Hermione enjoys my company as well."

"I'm sure she can live without it," Draco remarked.

"Why are you concerning yourself with what Hermione does? Don't you despise her?"

"I don't despise–I don't–you see– "

Theo decided to take pity on the poor lad, and he smirked, "So, are you two an item now?"

Draco froze. He squinted suspiciously at him, clearly debating something in his mind before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, so you can consider whatever stupid mission Hadrian assigned you as over."

"Finally," Theo exclaimed. "Merlin, it was literally torturous to watch you two idiots dance around each other."

The blond faltered, "Uh, Granger told you about…about us?"

Theodore Nott snorted, "You wish. It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out something had gone down between you two. Nobody–and I mean nobody– is that hostile to someone else unless there's some kind of unresolved sexual tension there."

Draco scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yes, well, I'm telling you this so now you can go back to ignoring her. Your job is complete. We don't need you anymore."

Theo rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to stop talking to her, Malfoy. We're genuinely friends."

"Listen, Nott," Draco fixed him with a frosty glare, "I don't need you hanging around trying to flirt with her with your stupid books and discussions in the library. Stay away from her. She will never want to be with you."

Theo stared at him for a second before he burst out laughing.

"What exactly is so funny?" Draco sighed. "I've been laughed at far too many times today, I'm warning you, Nott. I'm starting to lose my patience."

"Nothing," Theo said. "I can't believe that all this time, your problem with me has been that you're worried I'm going to steal Hermione from you."

"Don't call her that," Draco snapped, entirely unamused by his housemate's glee.

Theo arched a brow, "But that's her name."

"Doesn't matter, you don't have the right to say it."

"Whatever, Malfoy."

Theo rose up from the couch and began to walk towards the door, lazily stopping to pat him on the shoulder. "You don't have to worry about me stealing Hermione away from you. She's not exactly my type."

Theo made his way to the common room door and grinned, "You, on the other hand, would definitely fit the bill if you weren't so fucking annoying."

Draco's jaw dropped open slightly as Theodore Nott walked out of the door, the sound of his laughter echoing loudly throughout the common room.