How's everyone doing?

Here I am again with another chapter! And before I start I'd like to thank; L.A.H.H., annouska, vampire-angel1996, Treacherous Darkness, xxkpxx, carpe-diem-1299, ninjaa michaela x, and SlytherinxPrincess, for reviewing the last chapter! And a thanks to those who favorite/added this their alerts! Means a bunch!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I still don't own the rights to Harry Potter, imagine that...

The first week of December had rolled in leaving behind the very uneventful yet eventful November behind. In the past weeks, Angeline had managed to avoid Pansy's multiple attempts of revenge. The girl was far too predictable. On top of that, Angeline keep a good eye on Draco...he was separating himself even more from people as the weeks went on. It was very rare when the two of them were alone and when they were neither of them said much. Their eyes would meet and he'd look away and go on with his business, it was as if he never wanted to be alone with her. Then there was Blaise, he'd given her, her space but she never missed a disapproving look he'd send her occasionally. Not that it matter to her, she was used to disapproving looks, her parents gave her them all the time. All Blaise was missing was the verbal (amongst other) assaults to put the cherry on top. But again it didn't matter to her.

Outside of her house problems she had witnessed the odd behavior between Gryffindor's favorite trio. More specifically, Hermione Granger avoiding Ronald Weasley while Harry Potter tried to keep some type of peace within the friendship. And from what Angeline had observed the source of the problem was Lavender Brown. Ron had started to date (if one could call it dating) Lavender following the Gryffindor win against Slytherin. Angeline was sure she wasn't the only one who found the coupling strange. And this said coupling had left Hermione rather...emotional. Angeline thought was the best way to describe her. It was obvious to Angeline (and probably the majority of the school except the Weasley himself) that the Muggle-Born Witch was undoubtedly in love with him. And if Angeline knew any better she was sure the Weasley felt the same, though he was far too stubborn to admit to himself let alone anyone else that he loved —loves— Hermione Granger, resident human library.

Love. Angeline thought to herself as she sat in the library absently twirling her wand between her fingers. She frowned at the thought, she wasn't sure she had ever experienced love before. Merlin knows her parents weren't the best when it came to the emotion. They loved one thing and one thing only, and it wasn't her.

But there was a time a few weeks following her fifteenth birthday and the return of the Dark Lord did her parents drag her along for a vacation in July. On this vacation she met this French wizard by the name of Clément Pelletier, he was a only a year and a half older than she was and he seemed to have understood her like no one else ever did and that had drawn her to him.

In short she thought she loved him in only a few days of knowing him, and it had seemed it was the same for him as well. But she realized later that it was never love, but just a silly school girl infatuation. That he never loved her, she doubted he even cared for her at all and all it cost her was what she cherished most, something she'd never get back...Angeline never believed in happy endings, and he just gave her more proof not to believe.

I'm such a stupid girl...

She was humiliated by him no longer than twelve hours later when he introduced her to his girlfriend. Angeline had trusted him. The look on his face, the utmost satisfaction at what he was doing made her so sick. He'd only used her. Angeline remembered running away in tears, and begged her mother and father to take her home. They obliged though unkindly and she paid for it later. Angeline clearly remembered that being the last time she begged for anything, and the last time she had ever cried.

Love...Love caused pain. I don't think I understand love. Love is complicated.

Angeline shook her head of the thoughts and closed her eyes briefly. She had longed stopped twirling her wand as she visited the unwanted memory. Sighing she put her wand back into her robes. Standing and stretching briefly, she began to put all things back into her bag deciding it was a good time to go to dinner, she'd wasted enough time. Grabbing her bag she mumbled a quiet farewell to the passing Madame Pince.

After dropping her bag off back in the Slytherin common room, Angeline headed to the Great Hall and as she thought she was practically the last one one in. There were a few from the other house strolling in behind her. She glanced at the Slytherin table and sighed when seeing the table almost completely full. The only seat left open was across from Pansy and to make this even better, in between Draco and Goyle. Running a quick hand through her hair she made her way to the seat. None of them looked at her until she had sat down.

Draco glanced at her as though curious before he went back to staring absently back at his plate. Goyle stared at her open mouthed and Angeline scrunched her nose up in disgust as she got a full view of whatever he had been eating.

And he has the nerve to call himself a respectable pureblood.

Blaise looked at her indifferently before he too had gone back to his plate. And then Pansy as she expected glared at Angeline for what Angeline thought clearly meant; "How dare you sit next to my Draco?" Angeline almost—almost—laughed as the Pansy like voice popped into her head.

I seriously need to get out of this school...

"Why are you sitting there?" Pansy questioned as Angeline started to place food onto her plate.

"Obviously trying to enjoy a meal, Parkinson. Is that a crime?" Angeline asked.

"You're not wanted here," Pansy said. Angeline shrugged her shoulders and picked up her fork.

"You sure everyone feels that way?"

"Draco feels that way." Pansy announced automatically. Angeline felt the blond next to her shift, his arm bumping hers as he brought it up to run a hand through his hair in a lazy manner.

"Shut up, Pansy," Draco drawled. His icy gaze actually causing Pansy to recoil in what looked like fear as he looked at her. "I could care less about where Jensen sits. So don't you dare say you know how I feel. Grow up." Angeline was shocked by how cold he sounded. She'd known Draco for more than half her life and she'd seen him act cold to people, she was usually one of those people his coldness was directed at (though not so much this year). And this was the coldest she had ever heard him sound.

What was going on?

There was silence amongst them all as they finished their dinner. Pansy would occasionally throw Draco a glance, but if he noticed he ignored her completely.

Pathetic Parkinson. Angeline thought, then smirked to herself. If she was really that shallow Angeline would have made sure the name stuck. But she let the name stay within the confines of her mind.

As the minutes ticked on in the silence around the sixth year Slytherin's Angeline could swear she saw Draco's eyes flicker her way from time to time, but she chose to focus on what remained on her plate than acknowledge this.

When dinner had ended they all had found their way out of the Great Hall immediately and were heading to the common rooms. Angeline watched as Draco immediately disappeared before she even made it through the doors of the Great Hall. Pansy had disappeared too apparently hoping to get him alone and do Merlin knows what. Angeline shuddered.

"What's the matter, Jensen?" A haughty voice questioned. Angeline sighed as she looked at Blaise Zabini. It was only a matter of time before he came back to bug her. No matter how much she complained about his attitude, he was possibly the only person she'd ever come close to calling a friend. Which Angeline found very comedic, because who could forget the Sorting Hat's song.

Or perhaps in Slytherin. You'll make your real friends.

"Just thought of something is all..." she replied. She glanced over at him and sighed for what must have been the tenth time that hour. "What do you want?" she asked.

"What makes you think I want something?" Blaise sneered.

"You've got that look on your face. The one you get when you want something, but you really don't feel like asking for it." Blaise narrowed his eyes at her as they entered the common room behind some fourth years. "Come on, out with it, Zabini. It's been a long day and I just want to rest." Blaise sighed this time.

"I'm sure you've heard about Slughorn's Christmas party."

"How could I not?" Angeline questioned crossing her arms over her chest. "You're supposed to have a date right?" She asked calmly.

"Precisely," Blaise answered. A look of distaste crossed his face. Angeline knew Blaise kept his social life a secret, but she also knew he had a girlfriend in Italy. Many would call Angeline a liar if she released this information. And Blaise would be most annoyed if she did. She had come across this little relationship by accident when she picked up the letter from Jessible.

Blaise Zabini didn't have a reputation for having girlfriends and he liked it that way. In fact there was always question about whether or not he liked females and that annoyed him greatly. When she asked him why he didn't just tell people she got a response she never thought he'd give. Just because his mother had more (dead) husbands than need be and had no problem sharing that with the public, didn't mean he wanted everyone to know his business. If Blaise ever gave Angeline a reason to respect him. That was it.

"Let me guess, I'm the least pathetic date you can possibly think of." Angeline stated.

"You know me well, Jensen," Blaise said.

"Not much to know,"Angeline replied. "I'll be your date, Zabini...I use the word very loosely by the way." She said. Blaise rolled his eyes.

"You of all people know I don't want to date you." Blaise said. "But the party's the twenty-first. It's formal so try to look nice will you?" It was Angeline's turn to roll her eyes.

"In other words don't embarrass you..." Angeline said. Blaise smirked.

"I knew you weren't completely useless." He said walking past her. Angeline shook her head and headed toward the girls dorms. Sometimes she just wanted to rip his head off.

Angeline laid in bed glaring at the top of her canopy bed. She pulled the watch she kept under her pillow out and nearly screamed when seeing the time. She stuffed the object back where it belonged. It was nearly three in the morning and Pansy had been on a rampage about how, Draco was pushing her away for no reason at all. It was evident that Daphne nor Millicent wanted to hear any of this, but Pansy always got what she wanted and right now she wanted them to listen to her.

"Then he pulled his wand on me!" Pansy shrieked. Angeline's hand instantly enclosed itself around her own wand. She had heard this same line about a hundred times in the last twenty minutes alone.

Why didn't he use it on you? Angeline wanted to ask, but knew it wouldn't benefit her any. Pansy let out another shriek of complaint. Angeline's teeth gritted together as she lifted herself from her bed. Apparently she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Not that she usually did. But a few hours would have been nice.

Angeline pulled back the green canopy curtains in anger. The action apparently startled the other girls in the room as they jumped a little. Clutching her wand Angeline slid out of bed and slid her slippers on.

"And where do you think you're going?" Pansy asked. Angeline ignored her as she walked out of the room. She wasn't sure where she was going but she hoped that a walk around the castle would be enough to calm her down and give Pansy enough time to talk herself to death.

The corridors were cold, dark, and silent as Angeline made her way quietly through the castle. This wouldn't be the first time she'd walked the halls past curfew. She had made it a habit of hers in her third year only being caught twice, once by Filch and the other by Lupin. When Lupin caught her he didn't even take points away from her house. He simply told her not to wander any longer because it was dangerous. He was by far her favorite Defense professor and it didn't matter to her that he was a werewolf. There were somethings people didn't have control over and that was one of them.

With her wand clutched in her right hand she proceeded up the Grand Staircase, keeping to the shadows as much as possible and keeping a look out for Filch or any professors patrolling the halls. She had no idea where she was going, not even when she had made it to the seventh floor with no incident whatsoever.

Relaxing a little she still walked quietly down the long corridor. However she felt as though there was something off about that particular floor. As though there was something or someone there that shouldn't have been. But then again she was someone who shouldn't have been there. Angeline turned a corner and in the very moment she was pushed against the wall by some spell. She was in so much shock by the action she didn't even scream, she didn't even manage to raise the wand that now rolled away from her. But she did notice the hawthorn wand pointed in her face and the pale face of Draco Malfoy as he glared at her clearly annoyed.

"What if I'd been a teacher?" Angeline asked after a few moments passed between them. Draco didn't even make to lower his wand.

"No teacher walks around as quietly as you do. You could have been one of those good for nothing Gryffindors." Draco replied. Angeline barely heard him as she was more focused on the wand pointed at her.

"I'd appreciate it if you lowered your wand," she said.

"What are you doing up here?" Draco asked as he lowered his wand, but hadn't put it away.

"Your girlfriend is complaining about how you don't give her enough attention." Angeline replied squinting at the ground trying to locate her wand. Draco let out a frustrated groan.

"Jensen—"

"—she's not your girlfriend. I know." she interjected. "Do you mind lending me a little bit of light for a moment?" she asked. For an instant the corridor was lit. It was enough for Angeline to locate her wand made of ash wood. She scooped it up and turned to face Draco again. He wasn't looking at her but rather over her head, which wasn't very hard for him consider she was a good five to six inches shorter than he was. She looked over her shoulder but saw nothing so she turned to look at him again.

"What are you—" For the second time in that hour she was shocked when Draco grabbed her arm and dragged her into the empty Arithmancy classroom. "What did you do that for?" Angeline asked turning to face him. Draco leaned with his back against the door and fixed her with an annoyed stare.

"If you'd been quiet you would have heard the footsteps approaching us." he whispered. They were silent and Angeline could hear the sound of someone walking past the door. "Seriously, Jensen, I liked you a lot better when you didn't talk. What's with the sudden change?" Angeline hoisted herself up onto a desk, automatically swinging her legs back and forth.

"What's with your sudden change?" Angeline asked. Draco didn't look away from her like she expected him to do.

"My father's in Azkaban, my mother's worried sick, and I'm stuck here. You know your everyday situations." Draco said. Angeline looked away from him and to the window that let the moon shine through. That was one of the downsides of having your common room underneath a lake...You couldn't see the outside world.

"How is your mum?"

"Weren't you listening?" Draco snapped. Angeline slowly turned her head back into his direction.

"I don't mean to pry." she said. They stared at one another for a few moments as if daring the other to look away first. Usually Angeline never backed down from these unspoken challenges, but this time she had to back down and look away first. She felt as though her tired mind was finally catching up to her.

"But you can't help it," Draco began, "because if you didn't you'd be trapped with only your own thoughts. And you don't want that to happen, because they scare you." Angeline had stopped swinging her legs a long time ago, but was just becoming aware of the fact that she had stopped.

"I'm not scared of my thoughts, Malfoy." she said. She knew she sounded defensive. Because she also knew in a way Draco was right. She hated where her thoughts went, and it did scare her to a point.

Draco scoffed and leaned his head against the door, his piercing gray eyes never leaving her light green ones. "You're an incredibly frustration person, you know that? Have you ever sat down and really tried to figure out yourself?"

"Have you?" she snapped jumping from the desk. Draco smirked and lifted his head from the door.

"We both know I've got demons, you just wish you knew exactly what they were. And I drive you mental because I won't give you the satisfaction of knowing. But this isn't about me, Jensen. This is about you. I think it's about time you played your own game."

Angeline stood there almost frozen. She didn't know where this was coming from, but she had to get out of there.

"You don't know a bloody thing about me, Malfoy,"

"And you don't know a bloody think about me, Jensen,"

A conversation she had with him months ago. One of them was a liar, and Angeline was that liar. Draco knew things about her, things that she didn't even want to admit to herself...And Draco was right...she didn't know anything about him other than he was changing but even then it wasn't enough. She didn't know what he was thinking, or why he did the things he did recently. He wore his mask and he wore it well.

And he was right about another thing. He did in fact drive her mental. She had made something of an obsession out of figuring him out. Because she knew if she didn't she'd be trapped with her own self...

And you're always your biggest enemy...

"I've got to go," she said snapping out of her thoughts.

"Why in such a hurry all of sudden?" Draco questioned almost sounding sincere but she knew better. He was enjoying this to some point and that smirk on his face had never left. "I've figured why you'd want to be a Chaser, because it feels like your running from things. You can leave everything behind you. But like a well aimed Bludger, it'll hit you hard."

"Move..." Angeline couldn't believe how weak she sounded.

"You'd only be proving me right," he said as he slowly moved away from the door. "You hate it when I'm right."

Angeline barely heard him as she pushed past him, and out the door. The moment she was in the dark corridors she broke into a run. Proving him right, but she didn't care. Not this time.

Draco heard Angeline break into run the moment she was out into the hall. The smirk he had placed onto his face had slowly faded and was replaced with the one he wore most of the time lately. Tortured would probably be the best way to put it. He softly closed the door and leaned against it again. He wasn't ready to go back to the common room just yet.

Slowly Draco slid down to the floor as he reflected on what had just happened. He wasn't sure why he'd pushed her like he did, but he felt like he had to because if he hadn't he would eventually find himself talking to her. Actually telling her what was going on in his mind. And that would be giving her exactly what she wanted, and Draco Malfoy didn't do that. He didn't give anyone what they wanted. So he pushed her, knowing exactly how to do it. Just because he hadn't been a bully most of the term didn't mean he still couldn't do it. He was a Malfoy for crying out loud. Draco sighed and leaned his head against the door again, closing his eyes.

Doesn't mean much nowadays. He thought bitterly. But that still didn't take back from the fact he was still a Malfoy and always would be. So making someone feel uncomfortable and inferior wasn't very hard. And he really hadn't thought that it would have been so easy to get to Angeline like he had, he was sure she would have been as infuriating as she usually was.

Yet he had to do it, because even though he found her infuriating, whenever he was around her he always felt at ease, but at the same time felt as though he had to keep his guard up. Draco knew he couldn't feel at ease, he had to focus on the task at hand, the Vanishing Cabinet he'd been working on for months and everything else that went along with it. If he let his guard down, it wouldn't take long for Angeline to figure out what he was. It surprised him that she still hadn't figured it out yet, though he noticed how she could be a little naïve at times.

She wouldn't come to terms well to know he was working for the Dark Lord. He was sure just the thought alone made her cringe and make an excuse as to why he wouldn't be a Death Eater. Draco knew she didn't think he was evil. But she had no idea. No idea of what he was capable of. Of what he had already done...even if it was unintentional.

Draco let out a long sigh and opened his eyes. He'd never be able to get rid of her however. She was everywhere. That included his thoughts and he definitely didn't need her there. He wasn't even sure why. She just seemed to always be there.

She's the one driving me mental...Amongst other things...

Picking himself off the floor he felt like it was probably safe to go back to the common room. It would do him some good to get some sleep. Classes were in a few hours, but like any other night, he knew he wouldn't get any sleep. From the stress of the completion of his task to Angeline and how she sparked his natural curiosity. What was she really scared of?

You don't have time to dwell on that...Your family is as good as dead if you keep this up.

Running his hand through his blond hair, he left the Arithmancy classroom. But Draco knew there were somethings you just couldn't rid your mind of. Even if you got rid of the problem.

I rewrote this chapter, more times than I can remember. I'm not sure, how I like it...

I hope you liked it though.

Question: Would you like to have a little more of Draco's point of view?

Let me know!

Come on now, you know you want to review! ^_^

Much love!

TR