Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter character's or anything related to the works of J.K Rowling. I only own the plot and original characters you may notice as you read this chapter. I also do not own the lyrics to 'People Will Say We're in Love' or the source it came from. I own nothing!

I do not have a beta to help with any errors in this chapter and this is a long so it might have a bunch of errors. Let me know and I will fix it as soon as I can.

This story is rated 'M' for a reason-there is kidnapping in this chapter and fantasy based violence. You've been warned.

Thank you for reading this! Thank you to all those who favorite and follow this series! Please let me know what you think by leaving a review. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

November 18, 1943

Abraxas Malfoy was one who knew and followed the unspoken rules of the wizarding hierarchy. He had to, he was a Malfoy and acted as such. Purebloods were refined, poised, confident, rich and cultured. Most importantly, they were pure- which meant they would never dare touch, lust, or pine for anything that wasn't as pure as their blood.

Lestrange knew this. Dolohov knew this. Nott knew this. Avery knew this. All of the members in Slytherin knew this, for Merlin's sake. Though why, the very heir of Slytherin seemed to take more of an interest in a half-blood was beyond him. Malfoy should have known that Ophelia Darwin and Tom Riddle-the heir of Slytherin-would do more than 'study'.

The platinum haired male was almost irked that Lestrange was the one to make the observation first. Then Lestrange suggested to do away with Tom and that Malfoy and him should step up and take over things. Until, of course Tom came back to his senses….Abraxas wasn't an idiot like Nott but he also wasn't completely sold on the idea that Lestrange could take on Tom-fucking-Riddle. No, Abraxas had a plan to save his skin in case things went terribly, horribly, wrong.

Classes had long ended for the day and Ophelia found herself in the library, comfortably hidden from Margo in the event more questions about 'A Midsummer's Night Dream' came about. In the same breath, Ophelia also did not want to sit around and listen to Peter talk about Quidditch for the millionth time. So the library was where she'd waste her time today. The half-blooded witch didn't even have any assignments to read on or write about. The brunette girl was literally holed in a corner of the library with her gaze focused on the outside world she got to observe from a window.

This was one of the rare moments Ophelia didn't have to think or second guess herself, because she was sure she did that often enough. Her mind drifted off to her parents, to her Poppa, and their new home on the countryside.

Write a letter to dad, tell him about seeing a unicorn but leave out everything else….Write a letter to mum, ask her about Shakespeare...Write a letter to Poppa, ask him how boring new home on countryside is...Ask Poppa if he's heard any more new songs.

Ophelia began to absentmindedly twirl her brown hair with her pointer finger, and a song started to fill her head.

'...Why do they think up stories that link my name with yours?

Why do the neighbors gossip all day behind their doors?

I know a way to prove what they say is quite untrue

Here is the gist, a practical list of don'ts for you

Don't throw bouquets at me

Don't please my folks too much

Don't laugh at my jokes too much

People will say we're in love

Don't sigh and gaze at me

Your sighs are so like mine

Your eyes mustn't glow like mine

People will say we're in love

Don't start collecting things

Give me my rose and my glove

Sweetheart, they're suspecting things

People will say we're in love…'

"Darwin?"

Ophelia nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice that broke the song in her mind's jukebox. The teen whipped around in a quick second to see the owner of the voice; she saw bright blonde hair and a male figure and knew who called out her name. Ophelia titled her head off to the side-an act of confusion for sure. "Malfoy?" A small, half smile worked its way to her face. "Uh-hello?"

Malfoy looked at the Hufflepuff before him. "Yes, hello." He observed the girl before him for less than a minute. Honestly, what was her appeal? (Or could he just not see it because he prefered pure-blooded witches?)

A tense silence settled between the two of them. The Hufflepuff's half smile faltered and she only arched one of her eyebrows at the boy. She knew that Abraxas Malfoy wouldn't go out of his way to say 'hello' to her for no damn reason.

"Do you need something?" Ophelia took a careful step away from the boy, the look in Malfoy's eyes told her something was amiss. "Are you feeling ill?"

Malfoy drew out his wand and pointed it at the girl. "Sorry, you'll have to forgive me for this in the future."

Oh, shit! Ophelia tried to move as fast as she could the moment she saw the wand pointed at her.

It could go without saying, but, Ophelia was simply not fast enough to outrun magic.

"Petrificus Totalus."

No! No! No! Ophelia screamed in her head as her body suddenly went cold and stiff. With a loud bang, Ophelia's body fell to the hard floor.

Malfoy's footsteps drew in closer to her until Ophelia could see him stand over her inanimate body.

It was official. Ophelia definitely hated Tom's little gang of spoiled boys.

"Tom."

"Professor Dumbledore."

"A moment of your time, please."

The Slytherin easily raked an excuse. "I can't right now, Professor." Tom tried not to sound smug as he let the next sentence fall out of his mouth. "I have some pre-arranged engagements to attend to."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at the boy through his crescent spectacles. "None of them involving Ophelia Darwin, I hope?" His tone might have been even but there was an edge to it.

One Tom had heard that specific tone of voice multiple times over. The man was a nuisance! The teen did his best to keep calm and cool in front of the older male. "No," Tom started out, "She and I are only friends-."

Tom was not pleased when Dumbledore interrupted him.

"Is that what it is called now, 'friends'?"Dumbledore's eyes were glued intently on the young man. "Funny thing, I may be an old timer but I am almost sure 'friends' don't go sneaking about at night from the other's room."

A lie flew out of Tom's mouth on impulse. "She was tired from Herbology and she just happened to fall asleep in the Slytherin common rooms." It was a bit harder to keep calm.

Ophelia never mentioned she bumped into a professor that particular night! He could have fumed over the lack of knowledge of this one detail but thought it was better to keep his collected demeanor.

If Dumbledore were like any of the other professors at Hogwarts, Tom knew, Dumbledore would have believed him in an instant. Slughorn and Dippet would have believed Tom in a heartbeat...But Dumbledore was an annoying, old professor who had a knack for sticking his nose in affairs that did not involve him to begin with.

"Odd." Dumbledore said aloud. "Lestrange told me that Miss Darwin was ill as ill could be and stayed in her bed-not the Slytherin common rooms."

Tom clenched his teeth, stiffly put his hands behind his back, then balled his hands into a tight fist. Not once, did he tell Lestrange to do anything such as that. That stupid idiot. "It would seem," Tom began, "that something isn't right then. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I am not here to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth." Dumbledore didn't care about that. "Whatever your intentions are with Miss Darwin, it would be wise for both of you to stay in your own rooms like the rules mandate you both do."

Who the bloody hell are you to tell me what to do?

To the Slytherin prefect, the words that came out of the older wizard's mouth made one thing clear to him. Dumbledore was worried about Ophelia.

Tom said nothing and walked away from the old man he thought to be absolutely insufferable. He made his way to Forbidden Forest, Malfoy had told him earlier that Lestrange took the liberty to organize an impromptu meeting.

At first, Tom was pleased. He thought Lestrange would share some useful information or thought Lestrange took the initiative to haze the newer members of the Knights of Walpurgis. In other words, Tom thought Lestrange was making himself useful.

No, Lestrange was still a downright idiot.

Ophelia laid still on the dirty forest ground. If she could have, she would have screamed bloody murder. She hated the Forbidden Forest, she hated Tom's little gang, and she hated how all she could do was wallow in fear what the horrid group of Slytherin boys had planned.

She recognized all of them off the bat. None of them stood around her body but their voices could still be heard.

"I say we do the counter curse first, rough her up a good amount then when Riddle gets here, we kick it up a notch." That was Dolohov.

"We rough her up?" Rosier questioned. "No-let Riddle do it. That can be his punishment for-."

"For what?" Malfoy cut Rosier off, and whispered lowly. "All we know is that Lestrange is accusing our Lord for bedding this filth. Just like we all know that Lestrange would take the very same filth to bed if he had the chance." Although, Malfoy's reasoning sounded more forced.

Filth, Ophelia screamed in her head. I am not filth! How do you want me to forgive you in the 'future' if you're calling me filth on top of bringing me here in the first place! BASTARD!

"Sounds like you would too, eh, Malfoy?" That was Nott's voice. "Sounds like you're defending that mudblood."

"He might have a point." Avery started. "But I think even if he was wrong...We could take on Riddle."

A deep feeling of stress and despair consumed Ophelia: these boys were really as horrible as she thought them to be! The Hufflepuff heard a new set of feet arrive to the scene. Her heart fluttered in a combination of fear and hope. Tom?

"Hello, gorgeous."

The half-blood's heart sank to the pit of stomach as a new member hovered above her body. Lestrange looked at her with his beady little eyes-in his mind-he was undressing her. In his mind-Ophelia was enjoying every sordid thing he acted out on her. A greasy smile came to his face….Honestly if he wasn't a creep-Ophelia could have found him attractive.

Though now, nothing would ever change Ophelia's opinion of Lestrange. You ugly, vile, inbred, toad look-a-like! Don't look at me! She wanted to cry. Don't you fucking look at me!

Lestrange pointed his wand at her-in an instant the Petrificus Totalus spell went away.

Ophelia quickly sat up and crawled away backwards from Lestrange. Immediately, the other Slytherin boys leapt closer to her.

She could run-they could curse her. She could draw out her wand, but there was one of her and more of them. She could scream but who the bloody hell would hear her? She also wasn't sure if she was in a proper state of mind to apparate out of the situation at hand...What if they just kidnapped her all over again?

Get out, get out, get out, get out, get out, get out! Ophelia made up her mind as she crawled away. A rock scraped itself on her palm. Immediately, Ophelia brought the rock up with her hand, and threw it at random, towards no specified person.

A loud crack echoed around. "Ouch! You bitch!"

Ophelia jumped up and started to run; she didn't bother look back at who the rock hit.

"Bombarda!"

The Hufflepuff ducked behind a tree, bits of dirt and twigs zoomed around her. Ophelia choked back a panicked gasp and tried to control her breathing; her hand was shaky as she reached for wand. The Slytherin boys were coming in closer. In her mind, Ophelia counted to three before she jumped out. She pointed her wand up into the air for a quick second, then she twirled it counter clockwise before the wand pointed at the group of Slytherins. A wild rage of fire blasted in their direction.

"Protego!"

Ophelia ran again. Curses were still being thrown at her. She stuffed her wand in her robe pocket and sprinted away.

Tears streamed down her cheeks; her head pounded; her heart was frantic; and she could tell her legs had multiple scratches along them.

"Ophelia! Stop!"

A strong pair of arms descended on her and pulled the frightened girl into a firm body.

"Get off of me!" Ophelia screamed and slammed her hands repeated on the figure's chest. She knew that voice, she knew the hands of who grabbed her. This was all his fault!

Tom grimaced at the young lady who was practically throwing a physical temper tantrum. He moved his hands to wrist and held them close to his chest. "No! You need to stop!"

"This is all your fault!" Ophelia hissed as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "Let me go!"

"I haven't even done anything!" Tom roared back in disbelief. "You stupid witch! Stop your fussing!" He held onto her tighter. Why she is fighting me? Why is she even in the forest at this time?

Ophelia opened her mouth to let out an insult of her own but someone else's voice beat her to it.

"See lads?" Lestrange spoke, "I told you our beloved Master was getting up close and personal with the wrong type of witch. By no means, is that a wizard I would pledge my loyalty too."

Ophelia stopped fighting Tom's hold on her and froze. How did I even get in this mess?

Tom glared at the group of Slytherin boys in front of him. Did Lestrange really think this up?...Didn't think the cowards had it in him. Lestrange's cowardice must not have been outweighed by sheer idiocy-no matter-it wasn't like he was an actual threat to Tom...It did appear though, Lestrange was a threat to a certain Hufflepuff of his.

Tom released Ophelia's wrist and pushed her, rather forcefully into the trunk of the nearest tree. Without a thought to spare, instinctively, Tom grabbed his wand and had it at the ready.

A small gasp escaped her mouth as her back came into contact with the rough bark. Dull green eyes scanned the scene...Wait, Ophelia took another look. Malfoy's missing.

"Let me get this straight…" Tom took an aggressive step towards Lestrange. A dark and venomous aura filtered the area-all due to Tom and Tom alone. "You're upset...because I'm fucking the witch you want?"

Ophelia didn't know if she should have felt insulted or flattered...Insulted...Insulted for sure.

Lestrange quickly fired back with a retort. "No! It has more to do with the fact that you are an heir of Slytherin and you taint your body with a witch who isn't pure! A master who doesn't follow his own teachings is-."

Tom's voice cut through the air abruptly. "Crucio!"

Ophelia flinched at the sudden swift of control, it scared her and she lost her balance. Ophelia nearly fell to the forest floor but she felt an unfamiliar set of arms catch her.

Dull green eyes narrowed"...Malfoy?"

The blonde male only gave her an uninterested glance of acknowledgement before he turned to watch what was unfolding in front of him. =

An inhuman scream littered the air as Lestrange crumpled down in a heap to the ground.

"Anyone else!" Tom screamed at the rest of the Slytherin boys. "Come on! You were all so tough standing next to that fool." He pointed his wand back down at Lestrange. "Crucio!"

Another blood curling scream shot through the air.

"Be tough…" A sinister smile came to Tom's face, he now pointed his wand at Dolohov. "I am sure you backed Lestrange up on this didn't you?"

Ophelia watched on with horror when Tom didn't even give Dolohov a chance to reply. With an elegant flick of Tom's wand-terrible welts formed on Dolohov's face.

He likes this...Ophelia thought as she watched her Slytherin put on painful curse after painful cure after another on the group that opposed him. It was a terrible sight to see...No doubt Nott, Avery, Rosier, and Dolohov were in pain but Lestrange had it worse for sure.

Carefully, Ophelia looked over to Abraxas Malfoy and realized he was terrified out of his mind as he watched along with her. Run! Her thoughts told, leave Malfoy to get a few curses and hexes thrown at him! He brought you here in the first place!

Yes...But Malfoy also was the least active in the group plot.

He just wanted to save his own skin!

So? There's nothing wrong with that!

Ophelia took a deep breath and let out a sigh when she thought Tom was done. Carefully, she walked towards the Slytherin prefect. "Tom?" Her voice was calm and low, the complete opposite of how she actually felt. "Tom."

Slowly the handsome young man turned around; an obvious look of unmeasured anger in his brown eyes. But his gaze went past her and straight to Malfoy. "Get over here you worthless prick! Malfoy!" Tom would have tore his way to the pure-blooded male but he felt a sudden pressure against his chest.

"Tom." Ophelia did her best to remain calm.

He snapped his gaze down at her and without thinking his hand went for her neck. He didn't apply pressure to the girl's neck, he wasn't trying to hurt her. Instead he carefully turned used the Hufflepuff's neck to turn the owner's head from side to side. Tom said nothing but he did have a crazed look in his eyes still.

"Malfoy," Ophelia started up, "he was the only one opposed to Lestrange's plan, you know."

Tom still said nothing, he turned his gaze to Malfoy then back to the witch he held by the neck. "Is that right?"

"Yes." Ophelia answered honestly. She didn't want to see any more curses or jinxes thrown and nodded her head feverishly. She could at least try to save Malfoy from some pain.

While he was certain Ophelia was being honest, he still used Legilimency on her to be sure. Malfoy was in the clear.

A swift and simple command escaped Tom's lips. "Leave us." He looked down at the bodies that laid on the ground. "I said leave us!"

Malfoy simply nodded his head and apparated in a blink of an eye (he didn't need to be told twice). Slowly, Nott and Rosier picked themselves off the ground and apparated off as well. Avery limped over to Lestrange and grabbed a hold of his robe and apparated shortly after.

It left one witch and one wizard alone in the woods.

Ophelia's gut twisted wickedly as Tom released his grip on her neck. She wasn't sure what to make of the events she'd witness.

Tom tried to calculate if he should drop an 'Obliviate' spell Ophelia as she drew her dainty hands away from his chest. He wasn't sure he wanted to make her forget what he'd done-he wanted her to remember his display of power, no matter how littler and brief.

They both decided to pretend nothing happened and that there was nothing to be done.

Ophelia was the first one to break the silence. "Could-could you walk me to my room?"

Tom didn't give her a verbal answer. Instead he reached for Ophelia's wrist (not her hand) and lead the way back to the castle-he kept her close to his side. Tom didn't let go for a second.