Christmas Day Rosanna and Draco give the performance of a lifetime. A terrible fight with screaming and real tears. Because they both know they can't be together anymore. After discussing the prophecy into the early hours of the morning, they both mutually decide that there is no other choice than to stay away from each other indefinitely.
"I can't believe I wasted years of my life on a filthy half blood! She was nothing more to me than a piece of arse, that's over now. And I'll prove it, when I take his mark." Draco tells his father. It's the most vile lie he's ever told, but he has no choice.
Rosanna and Draco don't speak after that. Not for the rest of the year, not over the summer. Not even after Lucius is put in Azkaban, awaiting trial for crimes against the ministry. Brushing passed each other at the train station without a glance.
Rosanna finds an empty train-car. Closing the sliding door behind her, making herself comfortable for a nap when someone barges in.
"What're you doing sulking in here? We've been trying to reach you all holiday." Ron demands as Harry and Hermione follow him in.
"I'm not sulking," Rosanna mumbles under her breath. "I'm tired."
"And where have you been all summer?" Hermione asks, "we've been worried sick about you."
"I went to visit my Grandma, you know, 'across the pond' or whatever you guys say." Rosanna explains.
"So you haven't been in contact with Malfoy?" Harry has never been quiet about disliking Rosanna's ex.
"No I haven't, and I'm not talking about him. So if that's the reason you're here, feel free to leave." Rosanna crosses both arms over her chest.
"We're here because we're your friends Ro, we miss you." Hermione tells her truthfully.
Rosanna relaxes marginally. "Why'd you ask about Draco anyway? Did something happen?"
"Haven't we just agreed not to speak about the bloke? Make up your mind." Ron says, having a laugh.
"Well if it's important-" Rosanna bites her lip, leaning forward.
"We saw him in Borgin and Burkes over holiday." Hermione tells her, petting Crookshanks in her lap.
"Ok? Half their furniture is from Borgin and Burkes. I mean to me, it's hideous and depressing but that's hardly a cause for alarm." Rosanna shrugs it off.
"There were death eaters there." Harry goes on. "It looked like some kind of ceremony."
"What kind of ceremony?" Rosanna's brows pull together.
"Quit being a toss pot Harry." Ron scolds. "There's no way Malfoy's a death eater. What would you know who want like someone like him anyway?"
"Unless it's got something to do with you." Harry eyes Rosanna pointedly. Her friends are the only people she's told about the prophecy. It hadn't made sense to them either.
"Come on." Rosanna rolls her brown eyes, slumping back into her seat.
"I'm sorry to ask, but do you still think you can trust him?" Hermione wonders, treading lightly as to not upset her friend.
"Yeah, actually I know I can." Ro nods.
"Then take my cloak, go talk to him. See what he has to say for himself. If you trust him, we trust you." Harry says, offering Rosanna his cloak of invisibility.
"Wish me luck." Rosanna raises her brows as she stands.
"Good luck." Hermione replies, with a soft smile.
"And no snogging that git." Ron adds, wagging a finger at her.
"No promises?" Harry cocks his head to the side, Rosanna disappearing under the material.
"Shut up." She hisses, sliding open the door and tiptoeing into the hallway. Finding Draco with Pansy and Blaise seated at one of the tables in the next car over.
Rosanna leans down and flicks the outside of Draco's knee. Immediately his head snaps toward her. Obviously he can't see her; but it's almost like he can feel her proximity.
"I'll be back." Draco tells his friends, headed for the toilets. Once they're both inside the small room he flicks the lock shut. Reaching blindly in front of him, finding the cloak and pulling it over Rosanna's head.
"Rosanna we-" he huffs, "we can't do this anymore." This is the first he's seen her in months. She looks the same, big brown eyes and thick black lashes; her cheeks peppered lightly with freckles and plush pink lips that tempt him to come closer. Her strawberry blonde waves are longer, held in two braids.
"I know..." Rosanna twists her hands in front of her.
"What's the matter love." Draco's indifference falters.
"Harry thinks you're a death eater." Ro lets out a nervous chuckle.
"I have it. I have the mark." He can't lie, not to her; not even now.
"What?" The girl feels like the walls are closing in on her. "Draco I don't understand, this wasn't part of the plan."
"The plan was to convince everyone that we don't love each other anymore. That's what we decided, that's what I did. What more do you bloody want from me?" Draco snaps, he's not angry at her. He's angry at everything but, everything that was keeping him away from her.
"You took the oath, you have the mark, what does that mean for you?" Rosanna begins pacing in the small washroom.
"There's a vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement, it has a twin at Borgin and Burkes. They've ordered me to mend it. The death eaters are coming to Hogwarts as soon as it's fixed. I have to let them in. Then I have to kill Dumbledore." He tells her, matter of factly, because there is no alternative.
"Hey," Rosanna puts a hand on his shoulder. "Look at me. You're not gonna kill someone, that's crazy." She shakes her head, cupping his face in her hands. "We can go to Dumbledore, tell him what's going on. Maybe he can help you."
"I can't trust Dumbledore." He can't tell the man he's planning to kill him.
"Then who?" Rosanna demands.
"Snape." Draco decides, biting at the inside of his cheek.
"Out of everyone you trust Snape?" Rosanna scoffs in disbelief.
"He's a snake but he's not a narc." Draco defends his decision. "I don't pretend to think I can outsmart you know who. Dumbledore has to die. The cabinet has to be fixed. And as for us...you have to stay away from me."
"I'm trying." She needed to see him, so she could breathe again.
"I know this hard, it kills me, that I can't be with you. But this is bigger than us, it's bigger than what we want." Draco reminds her.
Rosanna nods, "yeah, I get that. I just...I had to see if you were ok."
He softens visibly at her words, "are you going to tell Potter?"
"I'm going to try tell him the truth. I didn't see a mark, but you told me to keep my distance. I'm going to tell him that you know who is getting closer to making a move, that we're not safe." Ro decides.
Draco traces her features with his eyes. "The cabinet will only take a few months to fully fix, that's being generous. If I stall any longer they'll know."
"You're gonna talk to Snape right away?" She presses, this is too important to put off.
"The second I can." Draco agrees with a nod.
"Take care of yourself." Rosanna whispers, straighten his tie. Which isn't crooked in the least, but this is all she's allowed.
Draco catches her hands with his own, bringing her knuckles to his lips. "I'll send for you when I have more information."
Christmas comes and goes without incident. Draco gets the message to Rosanna, on the return train to Hogwarts, to meet him in the room of requirement.
"It's nearly perfect." Draco tells her without preamble, the second she's within earshot. "I overheard Bellatrix and my mother talking. They are under explicit instructions to bring you to Malfoy Manor. It doesn't matter what we say, it doesn't matter what we do. They think...they think it's a child that brings the reign of the dark lord. Our child." The tears brimming in Draco's eyes slip onto his cheeks. "They're going to force us- I don't- I can't do it."
Rosanna stumbles backwards slightly as the wind is knocked out of her. She wracks her brain for any rational thought.
"We can try to run, if we leave now, no ones watching us." Draco offers, he'll leave his mother, his home, and all his possessions if it means keeping her safe.
"They'll find us, you know that." Rosanna says somberly.
"What do you want me to do?" Draco asks, moving to envelop her in his arms. Squeezing like she is his only light in the darkness, because she is.
"I've been talking to Hermione about the prophecy for a while. The wording is tricky but I think 'through love and by love' is not subjective to if we're spending time together; only if we love each other. So what if we weren't in love?" Rosanna understands that there is no getting out of this, but if they could make their suffering mean something...if they could stop Voldemort from rising to power; it would be worth it.
"Don't you think I've tried that already? To just stop loving you. It's not a bloody light switch I can turn on and off!" Draco tears himself away from her, she doesn't understand. Rosanna is the one person who always understood.
"That's not what I'm saying." Rosanna shakes her head, thumbing away Draco's angry, desperate tears.
"What then?" He draws in a steadying breath.
"What if we never worked on that project together third year, if you'd never asked me out. If we didn't go to the Yule Ball, if we didn't spend our free time together, if none of that ever happened; we wouldn't love each other. We'd hardly know each other." Rosanna reasons.
"Lots can go wrong with a time turner. Muddling in the past is sticky business." Draco supposes it could work, or they end up worse than they started.
"I was thinking, we don't have to change the past. We just have to forget it." Rosanna tucks her hands into her robes.
"It's not a bad idea," he'll give her that, "but I can think of a few reasons as to why it won't work."
"Ok, lay it on me." Rosanna insists, rocking back on her heels.
"For starters memory charms aren't fool proof, they can be undone through the use of torture. That's besides the point, too many of my memories are wrapped up in us being together, information that you know who would know is missing." Draco says, tapping his fingers against his lips.
"Say we just get rid of mine." Ro bounces the idea off him.
"I don't know. I suppose it might work. But he's has been watching us since my father had me retrieve the prophecy. If all the sudden you're different-"
"What about the imperius curse?" She rubs at her temples furiously. "No one knows me better than you. This way I could get rid of those memories. I won't love you but I'd be acting like I do."
"You're mental. I would have complete control over you, your every thought, every move wouldn't be your own, only what I decide it should be. It's vile." Malfoy's skin crawls with the implications.
"But it'll work. If you have a better solution I'm all ears. Draco, I love you. I don't wanna do this; but like you said, this is bigger than what we want." Rosanna implores him to see reason. Closing any space between them, she drapes her arms around his neck; toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"You're a real piece of work." Draco shoots her a weak smirk. "Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Only the love of my life." Rosanna sighs, nuzzling his nose with her own. "It's alright though, he's a little bit of a tosser really."
"A bit of a tosser?" He laughs.
Rosanna chuckles in response, leaning forward to kiss Draco for the first time in months. Losing her fingers in his hair. "I want you."
"You have me." The boy breathes against her lips. Because there is no denying, he's always been hers.
She moves away slightly, to pull her sweater over her head; then he understands. Reaching for her for tie with trembling fingers.
"You're sure?" Draco asks. "We don't have to do this."
"I wanna love you as much as I can, for as long as I can." Rosanna whispers, holding his gaze.
He begins undoing the knot in her tie and slipping it over her head. "I've always been fond of this." Draco tells her tossing the silken material to the ground with her jumper. How he adores his Gryffindor in her school robes. He's often dreamed of taking them off, just like this.
"Feeling's mutual," she runs her finger over his own tie. Even fisting it in her hand to drag him in for another kiss before removing it.
By the time they're down to their undergarments, both panting heavily, the gravity of it all sets in.
"I'm nervous." Ro confesses, her lips swollen from their kisses.
"It's only me darling. I haven't a clue what I'm doing either." Draco reminds her, smoothing a hand over her hair.
Rosanna nods as he reaches behind her back to unclasp her bra. The room of requirement is well lit, there's no hiding herself from Draco's gaze. She doesn't have to, she realizes quickly, dropping her hands to her sides as he eases the straps down her arms and onto the floor.
"You're beautiful." Draco tells her truthfully, "Can I touch you?" He gives her a chance to change her mind.
"Please." This is what she wants.
Malfoy cups her cheek, turning her face and nipping at her jawline, open mouthed kisses down her neck, collar bones and shoulders. Caressing her cheek all the while with his thumb, keeping her nerves at bay. Occasionally she turns to kiss his palm, burying her hands in his snowy locks that she loves so much.
His lips find the top of her breasts. Her skin is soft and pale, but not nearly as pale as her lover's. She has a lovely pink to her complexion that Draco adores. He likes the contrast in coloring. He likes his hands on her.
Finding a cot near the corner, he pauses to lie her down. His hips resting against hers, only the thin layer of their knickers between them. Draco can feel how warm she is, as she bucks her hips with a whimper.
Returning to her breasts, Rosanna let's out a wrecked sob as his mouth engulfs her left nipple. Laving it with his tongue as the other peak is rolled between his thumb and forefinger.
Her head tossed back, "baby- I- oh fuck." She groans in her sweet accent and Draco is sure it's the best thing he's ever heard.
His cock throbs almost painfully.
"Touch me, please touch me." Rosanna tugs his hair to get his attention. "I need-"
"Hush love, I've got you." Draco says reverently as he moves lower; down the plains of her abdomen. Finally mouthing at her, through damp panties, before gently pulling them down her legs.
She fights the urge to snap them shut as Draco's eyes rake over her most intimate area. His hands coming up to her knees, stroking the skin there. Softly, soothingly, because he loves her more than he can put into words.
"I need you to walk me through this, if you don't like something all you have to do is say so." Draco says, nipping at the skin of her inner thighs.
"Wait, I wanna see you first." Rosanna protests.
It's only fair really. He reaches down to the waist band of his boxers, freeing his erection. It bobs thick and heavy between them, looking almost painful. Rosanna sits up, reaching for him with new found confidence, her hand wrapped around his member stroking firmly.
"Ro-sanna," he chokes out, his forehead clunking against hers. "I can't... I won't last if you don't let up."
"Sorry," she breathes, pressing her lips to his as she releases him. Wishing more than anything that they could have more time. Why had they waited so damn long anyway?
Draco guides her to lie down once again, before licking a firm stripe up her slit.
She arches wildly, both of his hands moving to steady her hips.
"Easy," he mumbles against her heat.
Rosanna sobs into the night air. Trying to relax but she can't, the feeling of his mouth on her is so overwhelming, tears prickle at the corner of her eyes.
Draco's mouth kissing at her clit, sucking at it softly as she screams, bucking wildly against his face. Knuckles white from her grasp on his hair.
Feeling emboldened Draco slips a finger into her drenched opening. Giving her something to clenched around and she feels like heaven. He stretches her slowly, adding a second finger, he doesn't want to hurt her.
"Please, please, please." Rosanna cries, soundly absolutely wreaked.
"Come on darling," Draco encourages, "let go for me."
She does, the most intense release she's ever experienced washing over her. And then a tearing sensation follows, she's too full, stretched beyond her limits. Inner walls still convulsing with her orgasm as Draco's thumb circles her clit to draw out her high.
Forcing her eyes open, she realizes the part she'd been dreading is already finished. Draco had buried himself to the hilt inside her while she was distracted. It burns like hell as her pleasure wanes.
"I'm here," he murmurs, seeing the discomfort on her flushed face. "I'm sorry. I never want to hurt you."
"I'm ok, just give me a minute." Rosanna sighs; kissing his lips, his nose, his jaw, sucking at his neck. Feeling him twitch inside her.
Draco manages to hold himself steady as every cell in his body screams to move.
"You can-" Rosanna rolls her hips against his, after what feels like an eternity.
"You're sure?" Draco could never be anything but patient and gentle with her.
"Yeah baby, take what you need." She assures him.
Draco does, his thrusts are fast and sloppy. He's been on the edge of orgasm since he'd taken her clothes off.
He'd been waiting, for this, for her, for so long; it only takes about ten thrusts before he releases himself inside her. Speaking in tongues as he does, Rosanna clutching at his back, holding him fast to her as he falls apart. Nipping at his parted lips as he comes down.
They stay like this, together, as he softens before removing himself. Rosanna hissing at the soreness he leaves in his wake. Moving for his wand, he cleans them up, finishing up with a charm to prevent conception. Holding Rosanna close all the while.
This should be the beginning, Draco thinks bitterly, not the end.