Disclaimer: Anything that looks like it belongs to J.K. Rowling does.

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The man looked from Lyn to Marcus. Then he pulled out his wand. "Crucio!"

The pain drove every thought from her head. Lyn collapsed onto the floor, pulling her arms and legs into a fetal position. What was going on? This was her rescuer? Suddenly, she heard her mother's voice in her head saying, "Find a happy place." She thought of her happy place—a beach with gentle, rolling waves, and the man she loved waiting to hold her. She concentrated on it with all her might, and suddenly, POP!

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The pain had stopped. Lyn slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was on the beach. Once again, she had forgotten how powerful a witch she was. Apparently, she had sent herself to her happy place—and not just herself. There was Draco looking oh so confused. He was cute when he was confused.

"How did I get here? Tyra, are you okay? What happened to you?" he asked, looking down at her bruised, tear-stained face.

For a moment, Lyn wanted to throw herself into his arms and weep. But then she remembered why she was there in the first place. She jumped to her feet and slapped him as hard as she could.

"How could you? How could you tell Pansy? You knew I wasn't thinking clearly! I wouldn't have done it if I'd known!" Lyn was absolutely furious. It was all Draco's fault she was in this predicament. She took another swing at him, but she was still unsteady after what she had been through. She overbalanced and would have fallen, but Draco caught her.

"Whoa, slow down. Why don't you tell me what happened." His look of concern melted her anger. She collapsed into sobs in his arms.

"Pansy told Marcus and Daddy," was all she needed to say. Draco's jaw tightened, along with his embrace. He held her while she cried. When her tears were spent, he gently wiped her face with his handkerchief.

"I'm so sorry, Tyra. I never thought she'd take it so badly. I…." Draco broke off as he stared into the deep cerulean pools that were her eyes. Suddenly, slowly, his mouth dropped to hers in a tender kiss.

Lyn was tempted to sink into the delight, but the memory of her recent ordeal was too close to the surface. She pushed him away.

"Draco, stop," she pleaded. "I want this more than you know, but youwere rightyesterday. You're dating my sister. And I'm engaged. If my father could see us, I'm sure he'd kill me."

Draco looked at her sadly. In that one look, all their true emotions were apparent. No words were necessary to convey the deepness of their longing.

"How am I going to deal with seeing you every day at Hogwarts?" Draco asked.

"We'll just have to find a way," said Lyn. Mustering all her strength, she sent Draco back home.

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For a long time, Lyn sat listening to the waves and thinking. How had things gotten so bad? This wasn't at all like she had imagined it would be. The longer she thought about it, the angrier she got, in spite of the soothing waves.

"How dare they treat me like this? I didn't do anything wrong! Okay, it was wrong, but I didn't know better at the time. I didn't know Pansy was my sister! And I never would have guessed I was engaged! I'm only 18! Marcus can rot for all I care. He's ugly and stupid and violent! And what kind of father sees his daughter being beaten and joins in? And what kind of sister intentionally tells on you to people she knows are violent? She's going to regret this. And to top it off, Snape thinks I suck! I'll show him. I'll show them all! I'm going to head straight to Diagon Alley and get every book I can find on DADA. And self-defense, too. No one is going to treat me like that ever again!"

And with that, Lyn got up and Disapparated.

"Ah, Miss Parkinson. I've been expecting you," she heard on the other side.

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A/N: Thanks to MzMalfoy, my one loyal fan! Anyone else, please review. Let me know you care!