"I am getting so bored." Penny complained from her bed. "This year really isn't as exciting as I thought it would be."

"What do you mean?" Greta asked, painting her toes with an enchanted bottle of purple nail polish.

"Katie Bell was cursed," Evelyn pointed out.

Penny rolled over so that her head was hanging off the side of her bed. "That happened weeks ago. Something new needs to happen."

"I'm rather okay with this year," Greta chirped. "I mean, things are going well with Robbie, so that's all fine by me."

"I wonder what Draco's been up to lately," Penny wondered aloud. I paused my reading as soon as I heard his name. But I didn't raise my head or give any indication that I was listening.

"I've barely seen him all year," Greta complained. I wanted to say, consider yourself lucky that you haven't. My mind reminded itself of the presence of the restricted book in my bag. After much time grappling with the decision, I forced myself to fetch the book two days ago, but only out of my own curiosity. I had read the Compendium of Toxins cover to cover. It was a nasty book filled with nasty poisons that could be used in all sorts of ways. Draco was definitely planning something, most likely to harm Harry Potter. Handing this book to him would give him all the information he would need in order to sneakily poison him. And today was the final day to deliver it to his dorm.

"Do you think Draco has someone he's been seeing?" Greta said suddenly. That piqued Penny's interest, as well as mine.

"That would explain why he hasn't been around lately…" she thought for a moment. "But who would it be?"

"Your sister, of course," Evelyn said.

"Not likely. She's been in a sour mood ever since the term started. She's got a wand up her ass, that one," Penny pouted.

Keeping my tone neutral, I suggested, "Perhaps he's just busy."

Penny looked at me. "So you've decided to join the conversation, huh Erica?" I flattened my lips. She said, "Funny how that always happens as soon as Draco is brought up."

I rolled my eyes. "Can't I state my opinion?" Digging for something to redirect the conversation from me, I offered, "Perhaps Draco is dating a 7th year."

"But why would he hide it?" Evelyn made a face.

Penny tapped a finger on her chin. "If he's hiding it, that means it's probably someone younger."

"Who?!" Greta demanded.

I set my book down somewhat forcefully. I spoke without bothering to filter my words. "You lot are tittering about nothing. Draco's love life is none of our business, and speculating is nothing more than half-formed gossip."

Penny, Evelyn and Greta looked at me with shock. This was the first time I had openly expressed my annoyance at their gossipping. Even though I had said what I really thought, I felt horrible. Before they could say something back, I decided to leave.

"...I'm sorry," I muttered. I grabbed my bag and slid into some shoes. "I'm going to the library."

Greta called after me, "Curfew starts in an hour-" but I closed the door without saying a word. I leaned against the wooden door for a moment, overhearing Penny say sourly, "What is her problem?"

I walked down the corridor in my jeans and long-sleeved shirt, pausing at the junction in the common room that separated the girls dorms from the boys dorms. I could go to the library and return the Compendium. Or, I could go down the corridor to my right, and hand the book to Draco.

He's expecting the book tonight, I reminded myself. There was no telling what Draco would do if I ended up not giving him the book- and I wasn't so sure if I wanted to find out. Although, it would send him a message. Giving him the book would be like telling him that I was his servant; that I would be complacent with whatever orders he gave me.

I am going to return the book, I decided. But Draco at least has to know why.

As if pulled by an invisible force, I walked down the boys' dormitory corridor until I arrived outside of Draco's room that he shared with Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. I didn't give myself time to think twice before knocking.

If he isn't here and I have to talk to one of his friends, I'm going to be mortified. I gulped, waiting for only a couple heartbeats before the door opened, revealing Draco looking frazzled.

He roughly pulled me by the arm into his bedroom, shutting the door with such might that the frame rattled. "Don't just stand in the hall," he barked at me. "Someone could have seen you."

I looked around his dim bedroom; similar shape to Adrian's, but considerably larger. Their room had a casual sitting space to the side, something that I guessed was a perk for the older students. Every bed was slovenly made, and there wasn't another soul present. Draco and I were alone.

He came over to me with a sense of urgency. "You sure took your sweet time. Hand over the book."

I pulled the book out of my bag, but hesitated before handing it to him. "I don't know what you were planning to do with this book, Draco. But I don't like it."

Draco attempted to snatch it from my hands, but I stepped back. Draco was in one of his frazzled moods again, and it reflected in his hair and his clothes. He wasn't wearing his black overcoat, and his white collared shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing his slender collarbones. He scowled at me.

"What I do with the book is none of your concern," Draco hissed. "It is merely for informative purposes."

"I read it," I said, my appall apparent in my tone. "The information inside could kill someone, Draco." I swallowed. The realization hit me like a train. "Is this… is this what you were tasked to do? To kill Harry Potter?"

Draco looked offended. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and snarled. "Perhaps asking you to do this for me was a mistake. I should have known you'd have a stupid moral dilemma." His shoulders rose and fell with his unsteady breaths as he squared himself before me. "I'll ask you once more. Hand me the book."

"No, Draco!" I objected, "I can't! Not when I have the good mind to know when something evil is occurring."

It was at this point that I began to suspect Draco may try to take the book from me by force. He eyed me, and then shifted down to the leather-bound item I clutched to my chest. He stood between me and the door, looking ready to lunge forward and wrench The Compendium from my hands.

In a final attempt to coerce him, I said pleadingly, "Whatever it is you think you have to do, you don't. Killing him won't solve anything. It will only make things worse."

I maintained eye contact with him, thinking that I may have finally changed his mind.

I thought wrong.

Draco rushed forward, causing me to yelp and clutch the book closer to my chest. His body collided into mine, his hands finding a grip around the sides of the book.

"No!" I grunted, twisting my body away to effectively loosen his grip. I stumbled to the ground, landing on my knees before him. There were tears in my eyes. I folded myself over the book to protect it, and to also hide the fact that I was now crying.

Draco panted above me. "It is not my intention to hurt you. But you're making this much harder than it has to be."

I took in a shaky breath, looking up from the floor. "You're not a killer, Draco," I said between tears. "I don't want to believe that you are."

Draco looked like I had just kicked him. He looked away from me, only giving me a fleeting glance at his hurt expression.

"You're wrong," he muttered. "And here is the proof."

Draco didn't look at me as he began to roll up the sleeve of his left arm. I knew what the mark on his forearm was before he had even finished revealing it; but I didn't want to believe my eyes. I began to tremble at the sight of the Dark Mark that blemished Draco's once-perfect skin.

"Do you know what this means?" he said through trembling lips. He was also shaking. "The Dark Lord himself ordered me to kill someone in this castle. He would not have done so if he thought I wasn't capable." His words were chilling. But his uncertain tone gave me the impression that Draco was grappling with the idea just as much as I was.

He lowered his sleeve again, but the Mark was still imprinted in my mind. "Do you see now?" he raised his voice, "This is the person you've chosen to heal. By doing so, you've been serving the Dark Lord without even knowing it."

Breath caught in my throat. He was right. If Draco was at Hogwarts to kill someone, then I had been aiding in his cause all along by healing his wounds. And I agreed to heal all future wounds… wounds that he may obtain while he attempted murder. But in-between all of that were the moments I spent with him just talking; confiding in each other about our fathers, discovering that he was more three dimensional than I previously thought. I wanted to believe that that was the real Draco. Not whoever it was that was standing before me brandishing their Dark Mark.

"... I can remove it," I breathed, rising from the floor. I left the book on the ground behind my feet.

Draco met my eyes for a moment before looking away. "It's impossible."

I stepped towards him. "I can try. I'll study every book in the library if I have to."

"I'm not asking you to remove it," Draco snapped. "If you did, it would only serve to endanger you further."

"Draco, you got me involved in this because you needed my help. So let me help you," I insisted, speaking to the side of his face. "The Dark Lord can come for me if he wants. At least I'll die knowing I did something good."

Draco's head snapped to look at me. His eyes boiled with rage. "Don't you dare," he started coming towards me. "I didn't want you to get involved in the first place. I've been trying to protect you all this time to keep you from getting hurt because of me."

I looked at him with a softened expression. His face was mere inches from mine.. Tension buzzed around us, seeming to pull our bodies closer together like magnets. I knew he could feel it, too. "If you got hurt because of me, I couldn't forgive myself," he breathed, his eyes lowering solemnly. "But it's too late now. You know too much."

He procured his wand. My breath accelerated. "N-no," I whispered, watching as his fingers wrapped around the wand.

"I have to obliviate you," Draco said, his voice pained. "It's for your own good."

"Don't," I sniffled, looking pleadingly into his eyes, "Please…" I searched for the words, but my mind was unable to come up with anything.
Draco remained unmoved. "I have to erase everything about me from your memory. Then you can leave, and continue your life as you should."

My body trembled uncontrollably at the thought of having no memories of Draco. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and clutching the fabric covering his chest. He looked surprised, but didn't brush me off.

"Don't… don't erase those memories," I cried, "The only thing more painful than knowing you would be having you suddenly become a stranger." I pressed my face to his chest and continued to cry. "The memories I have of you are irreplaceable. You've become important to me, and I… I can't-"

Draco placed his hands on my shoulders. I lifted my head from his chest, looking up into a face that was riddled with doubt.

"You must think I'm pathetic for groveling like this," I whispered. "And I know I said before I would never tell you how I feel. But…I..." His eyes became wide. Suddenly, he tore himself from me, backing away.

"Don't say it." He warned.

I found the strength within me to summon the words to my lips. Words that weren't a lie to get me out of this situation, but the truth I had been hiding for so long. "I love you, Draco," I said to him, "And I don't know if you feel the same way. But I know at least some part of you feels something more for me than just physical attraction."

Draco looked at me. His expression was unreadable- just like at the lake, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking about at this moment.

"I'll go along with your plan," I said quietly. "I'll continue to help you whenever you need it. Because I can't leave you alone now, Draco. I just can't." I swallowed my morals, looking away guiltily. "But I'm not going to stand here and tell you I condone what you're going to do. I'm a healer. And you're using me to hurt people."

We were both silent. Our words hung heavy in the room, and I began to think that this was it- this was the end. But then, ever so slowly, Draco began to move towards me, and I tensed. I stood petrified as he stalked across the floor, coming closer and closer, his wand still drawn. He stopped before me, within arm's length, his expression still that unreadable smolder. The unpredictability of it all overwhelmed me, and I reached an arm up to defend myself if necessary- but he gripped my wrist with his free hand. I gasped.

He sheathed his wand with his right hand. After doing so, his arm came around to my side, creeping up my back and settling on my shoulder blade. He tightened us into a sort of embrace, and then rested his head on my shoulder.

"I regret getting you involved. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to leave you alone." He breathed down my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I was certain he could feel my heart thumping, as I could feel his beneath the thin layers of clothing that separated us. My gut pulsed to remind me to breathe.

He released my wrist, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I don't think I deserve someone like you. That's why after I kissed you, I left. Because I was scared to feel something for someone so... innocent."

I took a shaky breath. Draco removed his head from my shoulder, looking at me with intensity. I expected him to say something more, perhaps take back his words, but he didn't. My hands slowly positioned themselves on his upper arms, completing our embrace.

Draco's mouth swooped down to mine with such ferocity it made me wonder if he had been longing to do it this whole time. My grip tightened around his arms in pleasureful response, accepting his kiss whole-heartedly. Our mouths intertwined, and though I tried to control myself, it was as if Draco himself was controlling me and exactly how he wanted my lips to open and close. I succumbed, leaning into him further, allowing his hands to run all over my waist, grabbing and rubbing me in such sinful ways it would make a Dementor blush.

The kiss awakened something within me; that deep feeling of longing that I had always ignored, for it was unfamiliar and frightening. The spot between my legs tingled every time Draco's hands came close to the hem of my shirt, and I fought the urge within me to bring one of his hands down to my pants.

He parted my lips with his tongue, and the urge became an overwhelming wave. Our breathing became heavy; and Draco pressed his body into me, making me aware of a stiffness in his pants. I loosed one of my hands from his arm, and it made its way down between us, running across his stomach, and then down, down…

Draco pulled away when I did this.

"We can't," he groaned, breaking free from the embrace.

Dumb-stricken and blushing, I asked, "We can't do what?"

Draco's gaze slid to mine. His face was also slightly flushed. "I can't let this go any farther. You aren't ready."

Displeased that our makeout was put on hold, I retorted, "I don't think that's for you to decide."

"No," he breathed, adjusting his shirt collar. "I can't allow myself to defile you."

"You seemed to have no problem teasing me with that before."

Draco's eyebrows furrowed. "That was before I knew you loved me."

I wet my lips. "Would it really be so wrong?"

It seemed Draco was more open to persuasion in this area than any other. He took a long look at my body, his eyes flicking from my neck to my chest, and unbuttoned a few more buttons on his shirt.

"I'm not gentle," he warned, shedding his shirt and dropping it to the floor. I gazed at his chest in the dim light of his bedroom. It was so perfectly slim and defined; the only blemish being the Dark Mark that remained on his left forearm, which only served as a reminder of just who I was seducing.

I lifted my shirt over my head and discarded it as well. Standing before him in nothing but my jeans and bra, I said, "I wasn't expecting you to be."