It occurred to her that, if Draco were in the vicinity, he must have heard her calling by now. He was probably lurking in the shadows, watching her show of stoic bravery and knowing it for what it really was: fear. In the darkness, memories overwhelmed her, she was in a closet, she couldn't escape, and now there were hands and hot breathing— She clenched her teeth, shuddering with disgust. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm, and sort of jumped and bent into a shielded fetal position simultaneously. As soon as she had put two and two together, she stood up, feeling rather embarrassed. As she turned to face Draco, it became increasingly difficult to keep her malicious dimple-cheeked smile pinned on her face. Finally, she simply gave it up, and looked at him solemnly.

Draco looked like he was made for the night. His whole body was silvery, from his pale skin to his shining hair.

Oddly, one could have said the same for her. Her own fair skin took on the ethereal cast of the anonymous visitor in a dream. Her absolute- black hair only enhanced this, and her oceans-deep purple eyes sent tingles down the spine.

Draco gave a curt nod of acknowledgement, and she returned it. He attempted to assume command with a frustrated "get on with it" and she ignored him.

She found she had forgotten her pre-made melody. Accepting the foolishness of trying to map it out ahead of time, she did what she was best at: she took a breath and sang.

For the most part, her song was a soothing one (song-exorcism did not seem to be the proper approach). There were moments when it was almost a lullaby, and times when it seemed to fade into the indigenous sound, an atonal yet undeniably melodic hum that spun farther and farther away, ending only in oblivion. When her voice faded, the silence seemed only an extension. After a polite pause, during which Draco remained perfectly still with a semi-somnolent smile, Erin gave up with manners (this was Malfoy, after all) and jabbed him in the chest with her fingernail. His trance left him, and he jumped.

"Thanks," he said dreamily (for a Malfoy). Erin felt obligated to hold him as he began to wander off. At the constraining touch of her hand on his arm, he came fully to his senses. Well, to his usual state of mind, at any rate, she corrected herself. "Senses" might be overstating it a bit.

"Remove your hand at once." His tone was not very icy, though. Erin smiled to herself and obeyed, allowing herself to smile genuinely at him for the first time.

"I don't owe you anything." Neither could he summon a particularly scathing tone for this last assertion. "It was your fault that song was in my head in the first place.

Erin nodded agreeably. "Don't tell anyone," she cautioned, not very emphatically. "Oh, and I can't do that again; I'm not allowed. I only risked it this time because if I hadn't, it's very likely it would have eventually driven you completely bonkers." Her easiness was making her rather blunt, it seemed.

Draco looked shocked at this; even, what she knew to be an entirely new configuration for his facial features, grateful. And upset, although he tried to hide it.

"I don't think that one had tune you'd be able to remember, so I guess you're safe. She mounted her broom, and kicked off, giving him an absentminded smile as she wove her way through tree branches and up, out, into the free air above, waving blindly to the treetops above where he'd been.

He could still see her. He stopped himself from waving back.