Chapter 1: The Last Time

He laid his large canopy bed, his mind reeling over the following days events that would soon take place. With the blankets and sheets folded back, the cold draft from the northern wing just to the left of his bedroom was felt. His gray eyes shifted to the window, where he watched the sky. The stars had always mesmerized him from the first second he had spotted them. He knew that one day, they would be his escape from this place. He would no longer live in fear of his father, and the annoyance of his mother.

Rolling over, he feigned sleep, in hopes that his eyes would become tired from his restless mind.

Maybe her touch was too soft. But he would never know. She never had reached up and tucked away hair that had fallen from his eyes. She never wrapped her arms around him to comfort him, and she would not dare to show public affection towards her own son.

Perhaps her hair was too much like his fathers. They had the same shade of gray eyes. Their hair differed a few lighter shades, but others, and himself could still notice their resemblances. And frankly, Draco felt ashamed for being apart of a family that wanted to "keep money within the family", and feared that one day he would be betrothed to a distant cousin.

And perhaps she was a lot more scarier than Lucius. Her slap was harsher than a punch from his own father. A punch could be retaliated to, yet with a slap Draco must stand there and take it. He had never hit a women in his life, regardless of what she had done to him.

It was rather ironic, wasn't it? He should be a wife beater for everything that women has done to him, yet...he wasn't.

But as he stood in front of Narcissa, who's long blonde hair was gathered in a tight knot at the nape of her neck, and smooth green robes were wrinkled as she grasped them dramatically in her anger, he could find nothing frightful of her. A frown formed at her brow, and it didn't disappear as he stood in place.

"Where were you last night?" The voice was crisp and sharp, like a knife through the thick tension between the both of them.

"Since when do you care?" He asked with a sneer, his eyes alarming as they bored into almost identical orbs. He grabbed his coat from the stand that stood near the double doors. However, Narcissa stepped up, and snatched the cloak from his grasp, her lips drawn tightly together into a straight line.

"Must we always go through this?" He sounded remotely like a parent talking down to a child. And perhaps, that was the way it was now.

His mother never laid a hand on him from birth. When the privately-hired doctor had handed the bundle to her after giving birth to him, she pushed him away. His father stared down at him strangely, before reaching out and taking the bundle rather hesitantly. Lucius drew a line down the baby's left arm, his fingers tracing where the Dark Mark would soon be imprinted.

But his father never showed affection. After all, Draco was merely a heir to the Malfoy family. Nothing but somebody to carry on the precious name that came with pureblood fame and galore of money. But that meant no more to Draco than it did to anybody else, because of the hands that had touched the money and bared the name before him.

"What are you doing?" He snapped, his voice becoming increasingly furious. His mother had no right to try and keep him here. He had been disappearing for infinite amounts of time since seventh year, and he was now a grown man.

Nearly at the age of nineteen, the difference was great from the boy he was while attending Hogwarts. With broader shoulders, and much longer hair (that quite often was tied back due to the annoyance of it). His eyes were the same, intense shade of gray. He had grown a few more inches, before coming to his proper height for adulthood.

And yet, he still felt like a child at times. Like now, as his mother stood in front of the door, her eyes filled with an emotion he had not perceived before from her. The coat was thrown to the side, and he glared at her as she kept her head held high.

Her damn pride was what kept her from giving in.

"Narcissa..." He began, stepping forward, and letting his eyes soften slightly for his fearful mother, although he knew he shouldn't. Her guilt trip was a strong wrath when she finally released it.

"Don't call me that! I am still your mother." She shrieked, her eyes flashing at him.

"It's not as if you ever acted like you were. You only want me to stay to protect you from father. There's no way in hell I will stay here and be your body guard because of your mistakes. I have other matters to attend to." And with that, he pushed his mother out of the way gently, and deciding he didn't need the cloak anyways, began to walk towards to apparition point just feet from the end of their long driveway.

The other matters to attend to were beyond his mother's comprehension. He knew that he wouldn't be going back to the Malfoy mansion, and yet there was no feelings of regret or sadness take over. Instead, he felt pure relief, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He walked up to the apparition point, his feet walking on without a sense of direction. Stopping, he stood straight, and whirled as he Apparated to Knock turn Alley. It was dark, and the lights of lamps in shops that were setting up displays began to flicker on around him, illuminating the cobblestone alley.

But he walked directly to the end of the alley, his eyes focused on a small room over top of the Leaky Cauldron. The lamp was flickering dismally as the curtains blew in the cool wind, and Draco knew that she would be waiting for him, as she always was.

It took only a few minutes to walk up the creaky stairs, and he didn't bother knocking as he entered the room. There was need, with their open-relationship. Swinging the door open, he spotted her laying on the bed, her black hair falling in short strands around her falsely sweet smile.

"Draco." She said softly, setting the book on the bed stand, marking her place in the thick novel. He didn't bother replying to her greeting, but tore off his t-shirt quickly, throwing it to the side.

"Parkinson." The name rang off of his lips like a forgotten lie. One that melted every so often when he became distracted. Yet, now it was strong and full of something that wasn't quite lust. It didn't hold an ounce of passion within the name, but it did carry distraction with it.

And in all truth, Draco knew that Pansy wasn't the one. She was nothing more than a treat that was always ready for him when he was stressed. But this would be the last time, thank God. After tonight, he would not run after Pansy anymore. A new life began after tonight, and he fully intended to cut her out of the picture.

"What's wrong, Draco?" She asked innocently, her lips parted as she gasped at his intense stare. His eyes were full of a haze she knew all to well. Deciding to not ask any more questions, Pansy sat up, and pulled off the pink robe she had been hiding her body with. Standing before him, she gave herself over to him slowly, her resistance still intact as he kissed down her neck, his lips cold on her warm flesh.

Something happened that had never occurred before.

Pansy shuddered.

And Draco felt it under his lips and in his arms. It was a sickening feeling that creped slowly up her spine, a chill that made the hair on her neck prick up. She stiffened in his hold, and she was caught by surprise. He stopped kissing her, and pulled back to look into her eyes. They were cold and distant as he studied them.

Pansy's heartbeat sped up rapidly as he observed her. She felt sick at the stomach as she reached up and placed a finger on his lips, hushing any queries he would have about her reaction to her touch. As she leaned up to kiss him, she felt like tonight would be the last night for them.

She couldn't help but let a tear slip down her cheek at the thought.

(A/N: Review, please.)