Chapter 2

They came upon a building of merely 20 floors. A pretty decent building it was.

"Come in", she said as both of them headed towards the elevator, only to be welcomed with a big OUT OF ORDER sign carelessly written on a badly torn sheet of paper.

"I'm sorry. I guess we have to take the stairs, that is, if you actually still have some energy to climb all the way up to the 16th floor", said she. A grunt was the only thing Draco could manage to come up with as a reply. He had no choice and besides, "this might be a great opportunity for me to for once, escape from the harsh past which still continues to chase me", he thought to himself.

On the way up the stairs, Draco kept on wondering who this kind-hearted soul was. She went ahead of him and he couldn't help but stare at her long black hair with streaks of red all tied up in a messy bun. Her waist was small, her arms, muscular. "Must be an athlete", Draco thought, "a very attractive athlete". Draco halted realizing that what he had been thinking of was strange. But he felt like he was being drawn into this girl whose physique seemed so familiar. Though he still hasn't taken a good glimpse of her face, he felt as if he knew this appealing girl from before.

"We're finally here", she said. "Now make yourself comfortable. Sit or lie down or whatever anywhere you like. I'll be in the kitchen so I can prepare food for you cause you seem like you haven't eaten in days. Do you eat mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese? I'm sorry, but that's all I have"

"That would be great. I'd eat anything right now." Draco answered back, not ashamed of how hungry he had become after all that running and walking.

"Feel at home, then. Relax, you look like you need a lot of it. Don't worry, no one else lives here", she kindly said.

Draco looked around the unit. It was pretty big considering that she was living alone. There was a violet velvet couch in the corner of the room. In front of the couch was her entertainment unit which consisted of a flat television, a dvd player, audio cd's and dvd's. The unit was aesthetically attractive and it reflected the girl's attitude and image. He was actually starting to like the place. Strange as it may be, but he felt like he was home. He plumped himself on the violet couch and felt comfort he hadn't felt ever since he left the Malfoy Manor. Beside the couch was a bookshelf covered by red cloth. Draco felt curious about what books were hidden behind the cloth and besides, who covers a bookshelf with a piece of cloth. He knew it would be disrespectful of him to look behind the cloth but he couldn't resist. He peeked at the books inside and to his surprise, he saw books he hasn't seen in quite some time.

Arithmancy

Divination

Potions

Defense Against The Dark Arts

Transfiguration

Herbology

"Bloody Hell. Books from Hogwarts. The girl I'm with is a wizard! Unbelievable"

Seeing the books made Draco even more curious especially now that he's with someone who may possibly be with a former Death Eater.

"What if I'm actually in a trap? What if she is a Death Eater? Or what if she used to serve the Dark Lord?" These questions kept on racing in Draco's head so without hesitation, Draco pulled out one book, opened it and finally found out who this girl who was cooking dinner for him was.

"This book belongs to Cho Chang of Ravenclaw. If ever found, please return to the owner immediately."

"Nah, it couldn't be. Cho wouldn't dress up like the girl I'm with now. Cho's all sissy and girly. This mysterious girl is just too rebellious to be Cho. Maybe this girl just borrowed the book from Cho or maybe she found it but never returned it" Draco said to himself, still in utter disbelief. He placed the book back in place and sat down on the couch again, just in time before the girl approached him.

"It seems that you're pretty comfortable. Well, here's your food. Eat well and slowly cause if you don't you might choke.", she said. Draco stared at the girl, examining her face, looking for traces of the Cho Chang he knew from Hogwarts but then again, he couldn't remember much about the way his former schoolmate looked like.

"Excuse me, but, you're staring at me in the most awkward way possible. What's wrong?" she spat at him then she looked at the glass table on which she placed his food. Her pissed face turned into a smiling one. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to get you a drink. By the way, you can take off your cap now. No one's chasing you anymore." The girl uttered these words as she walked back into the kitchen.

Draco did what he was told. He ran his hands through his hair which almost covered his eyes. "Who could this girl be? Cho doesn't wear eyeliner. She doesn't have a pierced belly and it's impossible for Cho to have her jet black hair dyed." Without knowing who this girl was, Draco remained restless. He stood up from the couch and looked around for more evidences of who this girl really was.

There was a corridor on the opposite corner of where the couch was. Draco walked towards that corridor which happened to be dark, so he looked for the light switch. When the lights went on, he saw frames hanging on the walls and even a Nimbus 2001 broomstick. He walked further into the corridor and saw what the frames contained. There were moving photographs of Ravenclaw Quidditch Team and there were certificates from Hogwarts awarded to Cho Chang for excellence in academics and Quidditch.

Upon seeing that hall of fame, Draco let out a quick sigh of relief and for some unknown reason, thanked God that he was with someone like Cho.