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Review Responses:

Dark Comet - My Slytherins are a bunch of manic-depressives! Well, some of them aren't. Lucy doesn't seem too bothered by things and Draco's just not on this planet it seems at times but Narc and Sev aren't always the happiest of people! I think Dippy is just too cheerful for the manic-depressives to tolerate! Glad you love her, I can't help liking her even though she is very strange! Glad you enjoyed those lines, they just come from my head! Thanks for the review!

BellatrixBlack - Glad you liked the update, thanks for reviewing!

Bella - Glad you like the story still, the story will continue but will be off canon and you'll see about Narc and Lucy but I do have plans for Lucy! Thanks for the review!

Slytherin Starr-Athena - Ah yes, that's one crazy hyperactive house elf! I saw her as being the type to be fond of Christmas! Thanks for reviewing!

Lune Project - It's ok to review two chapters at once, I don't mind at all and I do understand the difficulty with getting on the internet! Draco's not as awe-struck by Fleur as Ron and Roger Davies but then he doesn't spend much time in her presence and I think Pansy would hex him into next week if he started staring at Fleur while he was supposed to by paying attention to her! Narcissa does see that there's something wrong with the Goblet incident, she is a sharp woman. Yes, Draco thinks Harry's revelling in the attention, don't just blame Rita though Draco's got his own prejudices where Potter's concerned! I answered the bit about Rita in my latest e-mail to you as I don't want to put spoilers for OotP in here in case someone reads them without wanting to! The badges won't be mentioned in this story, Draco doesn't tell his mother everything though yes I think it was him who made them. They'll be mentioned in the sequel to this but not by Draco! Say all the cruel things you want about Hermione, she's quite snappy with Ron and for that matter everyone else in OotP so I'm angry with her! It is harder to change your POV once you're an adult so let's hope Draco's is changed soon! Don't worry I have plans for him! Oh I can forgive Hagrid anything, he's so cute! Though, I don't think I'd be as forgiving had I run into a Skrewt! Lucius is busy, he's concerned that Voldy will return and be unhappy with him so he's trying to find all the information he can. Ah yes, Narc is a human mother and an overly sentimental one at that! She can't help it, she just wants to help Draco but her help is a little unappreciated. Blaise is a little different from his fellow Slytherins, he doesn't do well with people and has a reputation for being a bit odd. He's been through a lot though, as we can gather from what we hear of his family life. I'm sorry, I just assumed everyone would know what boxing day was! Just in case someone else doesn't I'm going to stick it in an author's note so read that for the explanation. Draco's satisfied with going with Pansy, she's his friend and he does like being admired! Copper coloured robes? I think he'd look rather good in those! Draco does mention Krum, remember his shock that he was going with Hermione? Yes Sev doesn't exactly have fun with Karkaroff! I think he'll be able to enjoy Christmas one day!

Thanks for reviewing The Blind Fight the Blind, it only got two reviews! I'm glad you liked it. Lucius was meant to be more human in it, I love the man too much to always portray him as a bastard! That and I think something must have made him become a deatheater and I don't address that in this story so I did it in that instead. I don't know what Sev can do to redeem Draco but I hope he finds a way! I like those lines what are they from? Thanks for both the reviews, I've sent you another e-mail.

Professor Charlotte Snape - Glad you enjoyed the chapter, I think Lucius could use a lobotomy! Thanks for reviewing!

Also thank you to Catmint for reviewing The Blind Fight the Blind and for pointing out a couple of spelling errors, no matter how hard you check some always seem to slip through!

I Built My Life Around You

A/N: In the last chapter I mentioned Boxing Day and I got a review asking what it was so I thought I'd explain it here in case anyone else didn't know. Boxing Day is the 26th of December and I believe it gets it's name from it being traditional to give servants Christmas boxes with money or small gifts in them on this day. I know they have it in Australia and I think maybe also New Zealand and obviously here in Britain but I don't know if anywhere else has it. There's no specific celebration on that day it's just still called that and it's a public holiday.

**Narcissa's Thoughts**

Chapter 31

Lucius came back a few days later, much to his wife's disgust. She was forced to spend New Year with him and the Crabbes and several other couples. Narcissa spent most of the evening taunting the stupider members of the party, much to Lucius' amusement.

If her husband had discovered anything about Voldemort's possible return on his trip he wasn't sharing it with her.

A week after Christmas she caught sight of an article about Hogwarts in the Daily prophet, about Hagrid being a half-giant and it appeared Draco had had something to do with it.

"'I was attacked by a Hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm,' says Draco Malfoy a fourth year student. 'We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything,'" she read aloud over breakfast. "Bad bite off a flobberworm? Please! How would he notice, you know what they say, where there's no sense there's no feeling!"

Lucius laughed, "You have a point, that child reminds me of his father! He takes stupid to new levels!"

"Hmm, why can't Draco ever just get on with school for a while without trying to get anyone sacked!?"

"Oh please! You have to admit he's doing the world a favour!" Lucius sneered.

**Ok, let's try this from another angle!** "Oh and you like the fact that a Malfoy is publicly admitting fear? Fear of an idiot without a wand no less?!"

Lucius frowned. "No I certainly don't, I think Draco needs reminding of what a Malfoy is."

**A murdering bastard? Or are you the black sheep of this family?** "Tell him to stop talking to reporters! They'd love to dig up some dirt on us!"

"They wouldn't dare! You worry too much!"

"Still, I don't like him talking to that awful Rita Skeeter."

"She's an idiot but a useful one! Don't worry I'll write to him, you had a point about the fear part!" his tone was patronisingly proud as if she were a three year old who'd just begun to read.

She glared at his retreating back, **Yes that's it, you slink back to your study and think about how proud you are that your son's following in your footsteps, of course he needs nudge in the right direction every now and again but in general he's headed exactly the right way.** "OH!" Narcissa threw a bread roll at the teapot in frustration.

**And the winner for the futile gesture of the century is...Narcissa Malfoy! I don't believe I threw a bread roll like a child having a tantrum! She laughed, I get worse! I think Lucius has finally succeeded in driving me mad!**

*******

Hagrid was back and teaching by February, much to her son's disgust. The second task was all the papers could talk about and February 24th quickly arrived. Narcissa was watching the news with interest wondering who would win, being a woman of course she was rather keen on the idea of the Beauxbaton's girl winning. However, the second task finished with her in last place and Mr Potter, unsurprisingly, in first. Draco was livid but he certainly cheered up after a particular article appeared in Witch Weekly.

Narcissa was browsing through a newsagents in Diagon Alley a week or so after the second task when the magazine caught her eye. She didn't normally read it as it was full of trash but she had read it in her youth and so still flicked through it every now and again. As she flicked open the magazine to the contents page she caught sight of the words, 'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache: page 25.'

Curious, Narcissa bought the magazine and sat in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron reading it.

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life littered with personal loss.

Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has 'never felt this way about any other girl'.

However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms which have captured these unfortunate boys' interest.

'She's really ugly,' says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, 'but I bet she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it.'

Love Potions are of course banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.

Narcissa burst out laughing, getting several strange looks from the other people in the pub. **Oh now that isn't fair! We did far worse things than that in the pursuit of love when I was at Hogwarts and we never got into Witch Weekly! And since when has the fact that they're banned stopped the students of Hogwarts from brewing love potions?!**

The whole article was clearly ludicrous but the idea of it was so funny. It reminded Narcissa of when she had been at school, **Teenage romance is always so melodramatic! Pansy's probably just worried that Miss Granger will set her sights on the Malfoy heir next! Speaking of which, has the whole of the Slytherin fourth year decided to wage some kind of negative press campaign against Potter and his friends?**

Narcissa shook her head, imagining briefly the gleeful expression that was undoubtedly on Severus' face when had first heard about the article, which she was sure he had, **No way this could be kept quiet at Hogwarts!**

*******

According to Draco Severus had indeed been having some fun at the Gryffindors' expense. Narcissa however now had more serious things on her mind. She was busy keeping track of Lucius' every move, without his noticing it. **No easy feat!**

She was still determined to find the evidence which could save her and son if things ever turned nasty. She had thoroughly searched his study and had even opened up the chamber under the drawing room to find things she had only ever read about. Lucius had showed her the chamber when they were newly married, showing off the resources of the manor. She shuddered at the memory, not so much at him but at herself. **I thought this was amazing, it was all just some sort of game to me. Hiding from the ministry, helping Voldemort, it was exciting, until reality hit home.**

The chamber contained several very valuable Dark Arts objects, some of which she could not even identify. The ones that she could identify however left her feeling physically ill, the damage her husband could cause with these was something she definitely didn't want to dwell on. She knew very well that she was risking her life by investigating like this but she found that once she started she couldn't stop. She felt a burning desire to know, she wanted the truth and she wanted all of it, no matter how much it scared her she wanted to force herself to see it. **How else can I show the rest of the world?** She found letters in his study detailing raids by the ministry, death tolls, both aurors and deatheaters, accounts of initiations, but it was an account of Severus' initiation that floored her.

Lucius had kept a notebook which listed basic details of anything outside the everyday which happened to the deatheaters and one of the extracts was the initiation of her friend. It didn't say much, merely that he had been vouched for by Evan Rosier, which she had already guessed, and that he seemed very much in awe of the Dark Lord almost seeing him as a replacement father figure. Underneath that Lucius had written one word:

Promising.

**Promising? Oh god. Oh, why? Why are things the way they are? Why did that bastard deceive people?! Why did he do it? Why did this all have to happen?** She felt depression descend upon her like a cloud, she didn't cry, she felt beyond tears. She closed the notebook and put it back where she had found it. It was getting late and Lucius would be back soon, though at that moment she found that she really didn't care. **Let him come, let him find me! I'm sick of hiding!** She buried her head in her hands for a moment then got up from where she was sat on the study floor and made her way back through the hidden passage into Lucius' bedroom. From there she headed up to her own study, a letter from Severus lay on her desk, she hadn't had chance to reply since it had arrived that morning and now she no longer felt inclined to, instead she scrawled one line.

Meet me on Sunday afternoon in The Three Broomsticks for lunch. One o'clock.

********

Sev next chapter!

Chapter 32 should be posted on Sunday or Monday.

Please Review!!