Quick note: I'm so stoked seeing how much you are all enjoying this, it just makes me so excited about everything I have planned. I just want to let you all in on the twists and turns, but I also don't want to get too ahead of myself! This story is going to focus a lot on character growth (specifically Draco) and relationships and family and friendships and all that stuff, so there is a lot of feelings talk - which I hope is okay! Keep letting me know what you're thinking about everything, and what you're excited to see in the future!


Draco and Eleanor had rose early and retreated to the Cordarri Castle. Narcissa had a few friends over for tea that morning and Draco and Eleanor wanted to be free of their prying eyes. Once arrived at her childhood home, Eleanor made tea for the pair of them and they retreated to her room with some light reading in tow.

Draco was deep in a potions book. It wasn't required reading, which caused Eleanor to chuckle. Draco tried to play it off as if he were uncaring but he was always a brown-noser to Snape, and he was always fighting tooth and nail to dethrone Hermione as the top of their class. They tucked themselves under her lavender comforter. Draco lazily held the book in one hand while tracing soft designs on Eleanor's upper arm with the other. Eleanor's head was tucked into his shoulder, she held her book in both hands. It wasn't required reading for school, it was just a fun book that she had found at Flourish and Blotts the night before.

It was dangerous, the two of them being in the Castle. Draco and Hermione were the only two people who could possibly enter, so their chances of being interrupted were extremely slim. This fact wasn't lost on either party. Eleanor squirmed a little thinking about it. She wanted to jump him, throw away their books and stay in that bed forever. She knew they were capable of doing that, so she forced herself to keep her eyes on the words printed on the page.

She couldn't focus with his soft touch caressing her arm. Even intertwined with him in bed, she didn't feel close enough. She couldn't listen to that, though. She couldn't give in to the pull she was feeling towards him. They had been laying in this position for nearly an hour, Draco was making great progress on his book, while Eleanor had barely flipped the page more than two of three times. Her mind was preoccupied. It would wander to unmentionable places, at which point she would have to remind herself how her and Draco were not official, and how young she was, and how she had to be more responsible.

But his warmth, his hands, the memory of his lips. It all burned inside of her. She felt like she was going crazy. She shot up quickly, shocking Draco who had become quite comfortable and peaceful.

"El?" He asked with humor in his voice.

"Let's go to lunch." She suggested suddenly. "I need to get out of the house." I need to stop laying in bed next to you before I do something I regret was the more accurate reason, however Eleanor didn't dare say so. She climbed out of bed and into the bathroom. She changed into a patterned skirt and simple black top that left her shoulders bare. She slid her feet into sandals quickly and brushed her fingers through her hair. She looked presentable enough, though not up to the standard she would like. She felt added pressure to outshine every girl that Draco admitted to kissing, which was a near impossible task in her eyes.

"Where do you want to go?" Draco asked as she exited the bathroom.

"Oh, any old diner is fine." Eleanor shrugged with a wave of her hand, tearing her eyes away from Draco and his handsome face. "I'm famished."

Draco thought she was acting strange, but went along with it anyway. He knew better than to ask her what was going through her head, he would never get a straight answer. This fact frustrated him, but was one he had to accept for the time being. He hoped this was not a permanent facet of their relationship. Can I call it that? Draco thought to himself. Could he? What were they doing? He kissed her, and he liked doing it. Eleanor was fond of cuddling as well, which Draco had never liked but was starting to come around. They spoke as if they were in a relationship, but were they? He honestly couldn't tell.

The two Floo'd to Diagon Alley, but ended up walking around London. Draco knew of a small Wizard diner close to the entrance to the Ministry. He figured it was far enough out of the way so they wouldn't run into classmates. They sat at the counter and were able to peer out the window at the passersby on the street. Eleanor ordered a bagel and soup where Draco ordered a large sandwich. They split a vanilla shake. Draco preferred chocolate, but didn't complain. He also didn't complain when Eleanor reached over to his plate to take some of his chips. He just rolled his eyes and laughed at her. His hand rested gently on her bare knee under the countertop.

Eleanor was hyper aware of his hand. It was like her brain was now suddenly in her knee, it was the source of all the energy in her body it seemed. She couldn't stop thinking about it, focusing on it. Damn it all to hell, this is why she wanted to leave in the first place.

Then she saw a familiar face on the street. His eyes caught hers in the window and Eleanor waved happily to see her friend, who entered the diner upon seeing her. Eleanor hopped off the tall chair and gathered her friend in a hug, causing Draco to immediately form a frown on his face. He knew he had to hold his tongue, but it was going to be hard.

"Harry, it's so good to see you." She gushed happily. Draco was livid, she had just seen him literally the night before, why did Harry Potter have to take more of her time? Draco ground his teeth thinking about how stupid Potter could have been one of the many kisses she had had after Dean Thomas who supposedly "didn't matter anymore".

"You too." Harry smiled, he seemed to be in an especially good mood. "What brings you here?" He asked, pretending like he didn't notice Draco sitting a foot away.

"Oh, just lunch." Eleanor smiled, placing a soft hand on Draco's shoulder. He stiffened at first, then melted under her touch. Damn it, damn it, damn it. No, he was supposed to be angry with her. "You?"

"Oh, well I was just on trial at the Ministry." Harry shrugged, jokingly nonchalant. Draco's ears perked at this, but he didn't dare turn around to look him in the eyes. Eleanor's hand left Draco's shoulder and immediately went to Harry's.

"What?" She almost yelled in disbelief. "Harry, what on earth happened?" Draco was confused listening to their conversation, had he not shared his upcoming trial with her the night before?

"It ended up being a big misunderstanding. I was expelled for a bit, but that got overturned. I'm supposed to meet Mr. Weasley here to take me back." Harry explained, Eleanor was not satisfied with his lame response.

"What kind of a misunderstanding gets you a trial at the Ministry?" Eleanor pressed, feeling simply awful for not sending a letter Harry's way. He had a hard summer too.

"A big one." Harry repeated, then shifted his eyes to Draco. "Saw your father." He nodded to the other boy, his teeth on edge and his entire demeanor changed from happy to angry and accusatory.

"You've seen more of him than I have lately, then." Draco shot back hotly, making brief eye contact with Harry, then looking away again. He was seething, absolutely livid. It seemed as though Eleanor had been lying to him, and he was not keen on being lied to. Eleanor could sense Draco's growing frustration and wanted to diffuse the situation.

"How've you been holding up this summer?" Harry's voice changed as he looked at Eleanor with empathy.

Eleanor shrugged. "It's been difficult, as you can imagine. Luckily, I've got some good friends to get me through it." She smiled. It had been awhile since anyone asked her about how she was doing. It felt less condescending coming from Harry. It felt like he understood. Harry smiled at her and nodded. "Are you staying with the Weasleys then?" Eleanor asked, changing the subject. She didn't like to linger on her parents. Draco clenched his fists under the table, he tried to calm himself down. What could she have possibly been doing last night that she needed to lie to him? His mind thought up the worst possible scenarios.

"And Hermione. It's a full house." Harry nodded, alluding to the Order, but unsure of how much Eleanor knew, and not wanting to let Draco in on too much.

"Ah, yes. Hermione has been keeping me updated on how full." Eleanor laughed, letting Harry know that she had an idea.

"You should come visit sometime." Harry offered. "Before school starts. Everyone would love to see you."

Eleanor thought of her best friends there, and she thought of Remus being there. She would have to see all of them soon, she did miss them. "I will have to take you up on that."

"I'll send an owl your way." Harry promised, sensing Draco's growing anger at his being there, and seeing a flash of red hair down the street. He decided he should make his departure. "Or, more likely, Hermione will send an owl your way." Harry laughed and Eleanor joined in.

"It was good seeing you, Harry. Congratulations at evading another bit of bad luck." Eleanor winked as her friend left through the front door with a wave. She was still smiling as she sat back at the counter next to Draco. She reached for another one of his chips good naturedly. Draco's jaw was set angrily. He didn't know what to say or what to even think. He tried to steady his breathing. He didn't want to yell at Eleanor ever, and especially not in this diner. He needed to calm down before he said anything.

Eleanor watched him with narrowed eyes. She knew he didn't like Harry, but this was a bit of an overreaction, even for him. Eleanor was growing annoyed that Draco was acting this way, but was trying hard to be the bigger person and not let this interaction spoil their good day.

"First time you've seen him in a while?" Draco finally asked through gritted teeth. Eleanor wasn't stoked about his tone, but was happy to see he was at least making an effort to talk about her friends.

"Yeah. I haven't seen him all summer." Eleanor said lightly, trying not to think too much about Draco's attitude.

"Hmm." Draco acknowledged, his blood boiling. She had to be seeing someone else. It was the only thing that would cause her to lie to him. It's why she put up such a fight about their being together. "So, where were you last night then?" He asked. His heart was hoping for any reasonable explanation, but he couldn't think of one. He felt his entire body turning green with insane jealousy.

Eleanor's heart dropped. She'd been caught. She would have to tell him about Remus now. Oh, Merlin, how could she have been so stupid? Her hands began shaking softly, and she clasped them together in her lap. "Oh." She choked out, unable to believe her own insane stupidity.

"Yeah. Oh." Draco shot back, his upper lip trembled as if he was fighting back a snarl. "This is fucking ridiculous, Eleanor. I won't be made a fool of." He hissed.

Understanding passed in Eleanor's eyes. Not only was she daft enough to get caught in her own lie, she didn't even think about what must've been going through Draco's mind. He must've thought there was someone else. "Oh, no. Draco, it isn't that at all. It isn't what you are thinking, I promise. Please, let me explain." She whispered desperately, grabbing at his hand. Draco pulled his fingers away from hers and glared at her. "It isn't. I know how it looks. It isn't that."

"Then what is it, Eleanor?" Draco was struggling to keep his angry voice level. His body was almost shaking with rage, and possibly sadness. He couldn't tell (or refused to believe) that he felt sadness running through his veins.

Eleanor struggled to form the words in her head, how was she supposed to tell him her entire life had been a lie? She wasn't a Pureblood, she wasn't a Cordarri by blood. She knew that those two things held a lot of appeal for him. He hated Remus. He wouldn't stay after she told him that she was his daughter. He would have no real reason. Eleanor's eyes filled with tears. Seeing this almost made Draco slip out of the defensive. Almost.

"I-It's my parents." Eleanor breathed out, tears falling from her eyes. She was careful to not cause a scene. "Th-they aren't -" She took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. "They weren't really m-my parents." She tried to rush out. "I-I've been seeing m-my birth father." The words felt like they were choking her as they left her mouth. Her voice was so quiet, she wondered if Draco had even heard her.

His shoulders lost a lost of their tension, and his jaw unclenched. He looked away from her, he had to. She wasn't seeing someone else, but she still lied. "Let's go home." Draco said emotionlessly. He dumped a few Sickles on the counter and handed Eleanor a napkin so she could dry her eyes. He held her hand but didn't look at her. Not even when they were back in her room.

"What is this about?" He demanded softly.

"They left me a letter with their will," Eleanor started, staring at Draco's back. She just wanted him to hold her. She wanted to feel accepted by him still, even though she wasn't who he had always believed her to be. "They told me that they couldn't have children. I was given up to them so they could raise me."

"They lied to you." Draco was trying to blame someone, where did the lies start? How could he end it? How couldn't she be a Cordarri?

"No, Draco." Eleanor shook her head. "They saved me. They gave me a better life." She stared wistfully at a picture of her two biggest fans on her night stand. If only they had been with her now. "In the letter they told me the name of my birth father. I'd been putting off talking to him all summer. I was trying to ignore it. But I couldn't ignore anymore, so we went to dinner. Last night was the first time we did that."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Draco asked, finally turning to see her. She looked defeated as she looked to the paper version of her parents. Her real parents.

"I don't know." Tears dribbled down her face. "I was afraid you wouldn't like me if I wasn't theirs. I didn't know if he was even going to be in my life. I wasn't ready to admit that my mum and dad weren't really my mum and dad." Eleanor tried to scrape together reasons, all of them were true, but felt insufficient in explaining herself.

Draco couldn't be angry. He had no reason to be. He wished he could see Eleanor differently after learning of her different heritage, but this didn't change any memories of them together. She still had the same childhood that he had witnessed and been apart of.

"Draco, I'm not a Pureblood." Eleanor breathed out, barely above a whisper. "I'm not. I'm not Slytherin. I'm not beautiful. I'm friends with Harry Potter." Draco wasn't sure where she was going. "I'm afraid you're going to leave. Maybe not right now, but I'm afraid that in the future you are going to realize that you need something different. I've always been afraid of that, but it's worse now."

Draco only hesitated for a moment before swallowing his pride and sitting next to her on the bed. He wrapped her in his arms, not because he particularly wanted to, but because he knew she needed it.

"You're not different." Draco stated. He wanted his voice to sound endearing, but he wasn't at that place at that moment. "You're still Eleanor."


Eleanor fell asleep soon after that conversation. Her own tears had lulled her into a nap. Draco couldn't sleep. His mind was racing, not so much about her having a different set of parents, when he thought about it, that part made a lot of sense. No, his mind was racing thinking about how he could make up for being so cold to her. He felt awful. He should have trusted her more.

Eleanor's eyes fluttered open eventually and she looked up at Draco. "Sorry." She let out lowly. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

Draco despised her for being able to apologize with ease. She lived her entire life in apology to others, which wasn't really a good thing, but was very indicative of her heart for other people. Draco's 'sorry' grew rotten in his throat, choking him like bile. He was unsure if he should spit it out or swallow it.

"It's fine." He shrugged off, he cleared his throat, deciding to ignore his apology. "Blaise is having an end of summer party next week, want to come?" He invited. A smile grew on Eleanor's face as she nodded quickly.

"If he'll have me back after last time." She joked, Draco cracked a smile.

"You were highly requested to return, actually." This cause Eleanor to blush, but smile wider. She got up from the bed and walked into her bathroom to brush her hair and change her clothes to something less 'slept in'. "Hey, uh," Draco cleared his throat in discomfort, feeling only slightly braver now that he didn't have to look at her. "I don't want you to think that what you told me earlier changes anything between us. It really doesn't." He left out the apology, he hoped she could sense it in his words.

She smiled from the bathroom, because she could.