I Do Not Own Harry Potter.

IT'S NOT OVER YET!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry if I confused anybody! I've still got a few chapters up my sleeve.
This Time Imperfect: I will definitely be checking out your fic. I'm so glad that you were inspired by my fic. I think language is one of the most powerful things in existence, and any interest I can encourage is great. :o) Yes, Snape is being a jellyfish, but that's just Snape. I'm in love with Draco as a real person and not the slimy git that he is sometimes portrayed as. I've had LONG discussions on the qualities of Draco Malfoy in the books and all the possibilities that Rowling leaves to her readers, and I think a nice Draco is not really hard to imagine.
Silent Midnight: Sorry about the cliffie! I hate them, too, but I didn't know how else to cut the chapter without making it too long. I'm posting this one quickly because I know how horrible those are. :o) Hang in there.
This is kind of a long chapter, but it sets up the next two, and from what my beta-reader said, you will love them. Happy Reading! Mattie :o)

Eva flew to Hogsmeade for some food to take with her on the trip. She had been famished last time she flew this distance and she wanted to stop for a bit and eat this time round. She was leaving the Three Broomsticks with a paper bag in one hand and her broom in the other, when a little old man walked up to her.

"Shouldn't you be in school, Dearie?" he asked.

Eva recoiled from the man. He didn't look or smell bad, but she just felt something unfriendly radiating from him. "I've finished my education at Hogwarts," was all she said before turning and flying away. She thought about the old man for a bit.

There was something oddly familiar about his voice. It was rather cultured for someone as old as he seemed to be. It had a definite upper-class accent. She just shrugged her shoulders and put the old man out of her mind, thinking, instead, on the quickest route home.

In the castle, however, things were not going as smoothly as her flight. Dumbledore had, indeed, checked on Ginny Weasley's condition and had ascertained that Pansy had undeniably used the Immemorata Charm on her. She had, by now, recovered from her encounter with Eva's fist and was hiding in the Slytherin dungeons. Ron and Hermione were sent to fetch her and bring her to Professor Snape and Dumbledore, who would be waiting in his office.

They had made it to the dungeons and had been allowed entrance, but found that Pansy had security guards in Crabbe and Goyle. Ron and Hermione had tried to reason with them, but they'd had no luck. Ron had tried pushing his way through them, but they just pushed him back. Hermione was catching him when they pulled their wands.

"No one to save you now, Granger," said Pansy.

Ron and Hermione stared, wide-eyed, at Crabbe and Goyle, they had no one else in this room who would defend them; they were in foreign territory. They did not know that someone had followed them, someone who had an interest in what happened to Pansy. From somewhere near the door they heard two shouts of "Petrificus Totalus!" and Crabbe and Goyle fell to the floor, stiff as boards.

Ron and Hermione looked behind them and there stood Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy wands pointed at the two bodies on the floor.

"Draco?" Ron and Hermione chorused.

"I thought you two wouldn't be able to handle getting her out of here, so I decided to tag along." He moved to stand over the bodies of his lackeys. "Haven't I told you that you shouldn't trust anyone, but me?"

"You filthy traitor!" exclaimed Pansy, lunging at him with her nails out, like a cat.

Hermione shouted a Restraining Charm, just as she was about to sink them into Draco's face. "Thanks," he said as he rubbed his hand on his cheek, just to make sure she hadn't left a scratch.

"Can't have that pretty face marred, now can we?" Hermione was surprised at what she'd just said and quickly added. "Eva would kill me if she knew I hadn't done something."

Ron watched with suspicion as the two looked anywhere but at each other. "Let's get her to Dumbledore."

"You go on ahead, I'll take care of Crabbe and Goyle," said Draco.

Hermione took the lead and walked with Neville beside her to the Headmaster's office. She heard Ron put a Silencing Charm on Pansy, so they wouldn't have to hear her complain all the way to the East Tower.

"Why did you follow us?" she asked Neville.

"I wanted to help Ginny," he answered shyly.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it, Neville," said Hermione. She smiled as she watched the boy next to her turn a deep shade of pink.

They deposited their charge in the Headmaster's office and were allowed to go to their morning classes. The Gryffindors all went to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and sat in their usual seats. Harry turned and watched them enter. When Ron and Hermione sat down next to him, he leaned closer. "Where's Eva?" he asked.

"I thought she was already here," said Hermione.

"Maybe she's in her room resting. It must have taken a lot out of her to heal this morning. She's only been out of the hospital for three weeks," reasoned Ron.

The other two nodded and turned their attention to the lesson, but Harry had a nagging doubt that things were not as bright as they thought they were.

Even though Dumbledore knew that the responsibility of punishing Miss Parkinson lay in his lap, he left the decision to Professors McGonagall and Snape. However hard they talked, they usually acted fairly. He excused himself and went to Miss Nocturino's rooms. He knocked, but the portrait informed him that she had just left, not an hour ago complete with broomstick. He entered the room and saw the mess she'd made in the bedroom. On his way out he noticed the letter lying on the table in front of the fire.

A sigh escaped the lips of Albus Dumbledore; he'd never had a student run away while he was Headmaster at Hogwarts, but, then again, Eva was more a guest than a student. He turned around and went back to his office. The professors had finished lecturing and punishing Pansy and she now sat fuming in the chair before Albus' desk. The older man asked what they had decided on.

"Detention for a month, no Hogsmeade trips for the rest of the year, her family will be owled and told what she did and that she is being considered for expulsion," Snape listed the punishment, making it sound like it was the most lenient one in the world.

"Very well, Miss Parkinson, you may go."

Pansy stood from the chair and bolted out the door. As soon as Albus saw that she was safely out of the door, he turned serious eyes to the two professors in front of him. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What is it, Albus?" asked Minerva.

"Miss Nocturino has left the castle." Albus looked at Severus, who seemed to be taking the news rather well. "Do you have any idea why she would have left, Severus?"

Professor Snape sat down in a chair that was in front of the Headmaster's desk. He did not think his legs would support him for much longer. "We have been having some . . . difficulties, lately. We had an argument over her behavior in the Great Hall this morning and she rushed off. I thought she was in class."

"She should be in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Minerva.

"If you would be so kind, Professor," said Dumbledore. Minerva nodded and was out the door in a flash. She often surprised students by the speed in which she walked the corridors.

"Where would she go?" thought Severus aloud.

"The only place she has to go to," said Albus. "Her home."

"But she knows it's not safe for her there."

"It is a great deal safer now, than it was when she and her mother left in August. I have had new wards placed on the property and some of the old ones have been modified. I was actually going to allow Saveage to go back at the end of next month."

Minerva entered the room again. "She's not in class. I brought some students who might know something."

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Draco all filed into the room looking rather nervous at being summoned. The Headmaster looked at them all and smiled. "I hope you have been having a good day," he said.

The students nodded. He pulled a letter from his robes, the one he had taken from Eva's room. "I thought you all might like to read this."

Draco took the proffered piece of parchment and read it with the four Gryffindors looking over his shoulder. "She's gone?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. It appears that Miss Nocturino left the grounds not two hours ago. We thought you might have some information that might help us ascertain where she was going."

The group of students thought about the last few weeks. They had all seen Eva go through a lot of emotional turmoil, but she'd never mentioned anything to them about running away, except . . .

"She did mention feeling trapped here, when she returned from St. Mungo's," said Draco.

"Why didn't you say something?" asked Professor Snape sharply.

"I didn't think she would actually leave. She even said she knew Nocturino Manor was not safe."

"She told me something similar, as well," added Hermione. "She was distraught about Ginny and we talked. She said she'd have nothing to gain from staying here, besides keeping in touch with her friends."

The Headmaster nodded his head and thought about what the students had told them. They probably had no idea where she was. However, if Eva did go to Nocturino Manor he would need some help moving around, he'd not seen the entire castle. "Mr. Malfoy, in the event that your help is needed to find Miss Nocturino, would you consent to assisting the search?"

"Of course, Headmaster," he answered.

"I want to help, too," chorused the group of Gryffindors.

"We cannot take you all to the Manor. There really is no need for it. I will wait until this evening to fetch Miss Nocturino. If she wanted to see her home this badly, then there is nothing wrong with allowing her to stay there for a few hours."

Severus was about to protest when the Headmaster looked at him sharply over his glasses. The Potions Master kept his tongue and Dumbledore turned to the students. "Thank you all for coming and for your offers of help. I will be informing you if there are any changes."

The five teens headed out the door. While the Gryffindors went to the stairs, Draco moved in the opposite direction, down the corridor towards Eva's rooms. "Oy, Draco! Where are you heading?" asked Neville.

"Since all they gave me to go on is a letter, I want to see for myself how she left." He continued down the corridor and stopped in front of the portrait.

"We don't know the password," said Hermione.

"Roses," chorused Draco and Harry. Draco turned to Harry and raised an eyebrow, Harry just stared right back and tried to hide the blush he felt creeping onto his face.

The group spent the next half hour going through Eva's room for clues of her departure and destination. When they found nothing but clothes and the occasional odds and ends they gave up.

"She had to have gone to the Manor, she's got nowhere else to go," said Draco, sitting down on the sofa.

Hermione looked at the four boys around her, she had an idea, but knew they would shrug it off; it was coming from her after all. She decided to bite the bullet and just ask. "Do you know how to get to Nocturino Manor, Draco?"

She was right. Four pairs of wide eyes turned to her. She just sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I just figured if we tagged along when they went to get her, she wouldn't put up so much of a fight. You're the only one who has been in her house before, Draco, so I figured you'd know how to get there."

Draco was the first to regain his composure. He was often surprised at the ideas that these Gryffindors came up with, it made him wonder why they weren't in Slytherin. "You have forgotten one simple point. What will we do when we get there? They will probably have the place surrounded by Aurors. How are we supposed to get in and find her?"

"Well, that's why I asked you. I thought you might know some way to get into the Manor without being spotted."

Draco sighed loudly and leaned forward in his chair. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "Hermione, I don't know of any alternate entrance besides the kitchen door we would go through when we were kids. That place is built like a fortress; whoever is inside controls the whole area. Her grandfather put so many wards on it, I'm surprised Dumbledore could get in."

The students sat in silence for a while. They looked out Eva's windows and tried to think of a plan of action. Eva was probably halfway to her destination by now.

"It's too bad we can't just Floo into her room, like the professors do here," said Ron.

The others nodded or grunted at this, except Draco. His head lifted from his hands and he looked at the grate in the room. Had they found that connection?

"You thought of something," said Hermione, looking at the considering expression on his face.

"Sort of," said Draco. He sat looking at the grate for a while, gathering his thoughts. He felt all eyes on him and finally expressed his idea. "When Eva and I were kids, we used to talk to each other by Floo. It was usually me who stuck my head in the grate and it was the only connection Eva's room had. Her room is warded so that no wand, besides her own, will function properly. She's pretty much untouchable there, except from my room."

"The only problem there is, we would have to go through Malfoy Manor," said Harry.

"I've never heard of the Floo Network working like that," said Ron.

"Well, when you're Aurelius Nocturino and are not shy with your money, you can get what you want. Eva had a hard time convincing him to get the arrangement, but she's quite the persuader."

"That still leaves the problem of getting to Malfoy Manor," said Neville.

"We could Floo there," said Draco.

"I have another idea," said Hermione. She waited until she had their attention. "Professor Snape knows that Eva likes Harry," she rolled her eyes when Harry put his head down and blushed. "Oh, please, the whole school knows that you're practically an item." Draco scowled at Hermione, but kept his tongue. "Anyway, if Harry can go to Professor Snape and convince him that Eva will not come unless he goes along, which is really not that difficult to surmise, then at least he can go."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Draco.

"Well, if Harry goes, then we might be able to wangle you into it too, Draco, but the rest of us might have to stay behind."

The teens in the room thought about it. Harry and Draco seemed to lift their heads and consider the other at the same time. The animosity between the two had not diminished very much, it seemed to have just softened where Eva was concerned. An unspoken agreement seemed to have been reached for the time and both boys turned to Hermione and nodded.

"Good. I'm glad you are putting your differences aside for Eva's sake." Hermione smiled at both of them and sat down in her chair.

"I'd still like to go. I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about her being over there," said Neville.

"Of course you've got a bad feeling. She's not supposed to be there in the first place," retorted Draco.

"Not in that way, Malfoy. I mean the whole situation with getting her back here. I just feel like there are so many things that can go wrong. Like something already did go wrong."

"How can that be if they haven't even left Hogwarts yet?" asked Ron.

"I don't know; I can't really explain it."

They heard a creak that signaled the door was being opened and they all turned to see Professor Dumbledore enter the room. "I thought I might find you all in here. Is there a reason why you are not in classes?"

"We were trying to find a way to get Eva back from Nocturino Manor," said Hermione.

Professor Dumbledore looked at them all from over his half-moon glasses. "I thought I had made it quite clear that you will be informed if the need for your assistance arises."

"With all due respect, sir," said Draco. "We know that just means you will let us know how everything went after you get back from Nocturino Manor."

Professor Dumbledore smiled and shrugged. "It may be difficult to understand, but you must see that this is done for your best interests."

"You do know she won't go without a fight," said Draco.

"I am sure that Miss Nocturino will see the reasoning behind her placement at Hogwarts."

"You're wrong, Professor," said Draco.

Dumbledore studied the young man before him. Draco Malfoy had been a bit of a mystery to Albus since his start at Hogwarts. He seemed to be on the path to follow his father's footsteps, but there was always this sort of hesitation on his part. He fit the description of the stereotypical school bully, but there was something there that Albus could not quite put his finger on. "Do share your theory, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco sat back in his chair and spoke to the room in general. "Eva was brought here without an explanation. She has been completely cut-off from her Mother and her grandparents and her home. She is adjusting to having a father in one of the most public settings on the face of the planet and she's only got a handful of friends to speak of. She's never had a problem making friends, but she's a solitary creature by nature." Draco turned to Professor Dumbledore. "Thinking about it now, I'm actually surprised that she stayed this long. She's a much more powerful witch that anyone I know, she could have left the first day without a problem."

Dumbledore smiled at the Slytherin sitting before him. Draco had pretty much figured out why Eva had left, but was missing some key concepts. Mainly why she was brought to Hogwarts and that her grandparents were dead. "I applaud your deducing skills, Mr. Malfoy. Unfortunately, the decision to allow you to accompany us is still unchanged."

Loud groans were heard from the teens. Draco simply sat and stared at the grate a determined set to his chin. "I do hope you will obey our wish for you to be safe," the Headmaster said, specifically looking at Draco and Harry. He walked out of the room and hoped they would listen for once.