A/N: You might all be wondering why suddenly, Draco had a cap in the third chapter.I forgot to mention that in the first chapter, Draco also bought a cap along with his new outfit. Sorry. I had only realized this a couple of minutes ago.

Thanks for those who reviewed! Keep em coming!

Chapter 4

Cho's POV

"Good Evening, Chang", said Draco in a serious tone.

Silence.

Cho was speechless. As if her words were taken out of her mouth. Draco's words echoed through Cho's head She knew her eyes were glued to his but she could not do anything. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Cho finally got herself back to her senses.

"What the fuck are you doing here in New York!" blurted Cho. Damn, did she sound rude.

"Why? Is there anything wrong about it? Do you own New York?" he spat

"No." she said in a soft tone

"I have a fucking right to go wherever I please. I may be homeless but I still have the money". After having said that, Draco stopped, realizing that he said something he should not have.

"You're homeless? The Draco Malfoy? The filthy rich murderer not living in the vast grandeur of his manor, anymore? You got to be kidding me"

"I'ts not funny Chang and for ther ecord I am not a murderer so don't you dare accuse me of being one. You're all the same. You know, I was hoping that I would find some solace in someplace and in someone. I've found that solace here in New York and I'm still hoping that someone here in this city would treat me differently, unlike the way all you wizards always have." His voice started to trail off. "I was hoping that you would be that someone Cho but I was wrong… yet again"

What Draco had just said stabbed Cho's heart. She never thought that a Malfoy would say such a statement. All this time she thought Draco was enjoying the reputation he made for himself. This made Cho feel guilty and awful.

"I'm sorry", she uttered under her breath

"Sorry! That's all you can say! I'm sick and tired of hearing those two syllables coming out of people's mouths."

"I really am, Draco. See, I never thought---"

"Never thought that what?", he interrupted. "That I was human, too? That I'm not a cold-blooded pureblood with arrogance which defies the infinite universe?" Cho noticed that tears started to fill Draco's eyes.

"You're all the same. All the fucking same", he said this as his voice faded

Cho sat down beside him, pulled him closer gently and embraced him. Draco clung to her like a lost child.

"I am not a killer. It was all a façade. I did not kill him. The Dark Lord controlled me." He said between sobs.

She could not help but feel pity for Draco now, but she did not want to cry. She was tired of crying no matter how hard it was to avoid the tears from falling down her cheeks.

"Be strong, Draco. Don't let it destroy you". These were the only words Cho had managed to say and with those words, she felt like a hypocrite. The nerve of her to tell other people to be strong when she couldn't stand up for herself. She was slowly destroying herself because she thought she deserved it. But she had to pretend to be strong even just for a while.. for Draco.

"You can tell me anything Draco.. anything"

Draco's POV

Draco held unto Cho. He didn't care if she thought of him as a helpless adult because in reality he wasn't. For some strange reason, he wanted Cho to see the real him because maybe she would care for him. He wanted to know how being comforted and acred for felt like. He wanted to savor the moment in which she held him in a warm comforting embrace and not let go of her small curvy frame.

"You can tell me anything Draco.. anything", she told him. With these words, Draco knew he would have to break free from the warmth Cho was giving him and so he did.

This is when Draco started his story.

"Remember the Astronomy Tower incident back when you were in your last year at Hogwarts?"

"Where Dumbledore was kiled by Snape", Cho replied with a bitter tone.

"Exactly but I'm definitely sure that you know every single detail yet not know if it is the truth or not"

Cho nodded. She knew how stories like those have a tendency to change as it goes around different groups of people. Upon hearing the story about Dumbledore's murder, she would not believe it but not knowing the truth didn't matter too. All that did was the fact that a great man had been killed.

"I never expected Snape to be at the scene. I was appointed by the Dark Lord to take away Dumbledore's life and I admit that I agreed to this because I had no choice!", his tone was starting to turn into a shout.

"Calm down, Draco. Life never runs out of choices. If you think you've ran out of these choices, it just means you have to look further and dig deeper. You don't always have to follow what Voldemort told you"

"But if the life of your mother was at stake, you would not consider any other option, right? My mother was the only person who truly loved me and cared for me and the Dark Lord threatened me. At first he said that he would free my father from Azkaban. I told him that I wouldn't do it cause I did not care about Lucius anymore. Lucius can rot in Azkaban for all I care." He said with much hate.

"So since Voldemort really wanted Dumbledore killed, he made a deal that if you did not kill Dumbledore, he would send your mother to Azkaban with your father as well. Am I right?"

"Not quite. He wouldn't just send my mother to Azkaban. He would kill her in front of my very eyes if I did not fulfill his orders." Cho started to sense great anger in Draco's eyes upon hearing these words come from him. She didn't know what to say, thinking that by telling him that things will be better was a stupid idea. She felt helpless because all she could offer him was silence.

Draco could tell that Cho was speechless, yet again and so he continued with his story.

"It was all just a façade Cho. It pained me that I had to kill someone. I can still accept the fact that I make fun of Potter and his friends but taking away a person's life is more than I can handle. But there I was, at the Astronomy Tower, facing one of the most important decisions I have to make in life: to kill or not to kill."

"Oh God…" came out of Cho's mouth.

"But Snape just had to barge into the room, just when I gave my wand a flick. He had killed Dumbledore before I did. That asshole. The Dark Lord found out about this, that it was Snape who fulfilled the very important task he gave me. After that incident, I rushed back to the Manor only to be welcomed by Voldemort who seemed to have a tight and firm grip on my mother's arm. She was in pain, I could tell. Bruises and cuts were all over her frail body. I can remember her pleading "My dear Draco, runaway! Save yourself!" But I couldn't move. Voldemort said "Aren't you going to follow your mother's orders, you useless Death Eater! You are a disgrace!" and with those words, he threw my mother at my feet. As I stooped down to hold her in my arms, two evil wrods came out of Voldemort and with a flash of green light, mother was gone. I never got to hold her close alive. She was dead in my arms. Lifeless. I looked down at her face and wiped her cheeks which were still wet from the tears she had shed for me. My world crashed. Why didn't I do anything about it. When I looked up, Voldemort was gone."

He felt his voice quiver and tears starting to weld up in his eyes.

"My last year at Hogwarts was hell but I still decided to go through it because it would make my mother really proud of me. I walked the halls of that damn school everyday and was laughed at whenever I would pass by. People would either call me a murderer or a coward. Some students would mock me. Even Potter and his friends did so and they were enjoying it because finally the tables had turned. I didn't give a shit about anyone else in Hogwarts anymore so I concentrated on my academics. I graduated with honors and special awards but without my mother by my side. After the ceremony, I went home, packed my things and did what my mother last said to me… runaway. Now, I'm here in New York City, in your apartment."

"Mind if I ask why you stumbled on me?"

Draco grabbed the glass of lemonade, took a sip and continued his story.

"See, on my last year, Voldemort was killed by no less than Potter himself. The Death Eaters, all frustrated, were all in hiding after the death of that stupid lord bastard. With the power of an evil force still present in them, their desire to live up to Voldemort's legacy was strong. They wanted to relive his spirit, his deeds, his power and they all saw me as a possible leader. They never knew the whole truth which I just told you earlier, Cho. They didn't know that it was against my will to do such a task and they didn't know how much I loved my mother. They thought that, even if I failed Voldemort, I still had this strong influence on most of them since I walk around carrying the last name I dread. But I have decided that I do not want to be involved in any of their evil bullshit ways anymore but they were just so damn desperate, they followed me wherever I went. They would track me down although sometimes I was lucky enough to escape them and this would be one of those lucky days." Draco said with a smile.

Cho felt her cheeks redden. "You know what, I think it is. You can stay here now Draco. I think you'll be safe here in my place. I know how running away so many times feels like, don't worry. Forgive me for being so harsh" said Cho as she placed her hand over his. "Now go sleep because you need it. Your room is at the door to the left. If you want anything, my room's right infront of yours. Good night Draco. May you sleep in solace tonight", then she stood up and started to walk to the kitchen.

"Wait!" Draco exclaimed

She quickly turned around but what seemed to happen so fast wasn't how it seemed for Draco. When Cho turned around, it was as if everything was happening in slow motion. When her eyes were now gazing at his and a smile formed on her lips, Draco felt his heart beat in the most unusual way.

"What is it?"

No response from Draco.

"Hello! Earth to Malfoy! What is it?", Cho said while waving her hands in front of him

"Sorry. I spaced out. I just wanted to say thank you" but in reality, Draco was lured by the way Cho looked and somehow he kept on thinking what she meant by "I know how running away so many times feels like".

"Well, No problem. Goodnight"

Draco entered the room and plopped himself on the bed. He thought to himself "What did she mean? Was she running away from something, too? Doesn't matter now, at least I know I'm safe in here. No running away for a longer period of time.. hopefully"

After some moments of thinking he closed his eyes and had the best sleep after the longest time.