Disclaimer: The dementor's have stolen Draco from me. –tears- they all work for JK Rowling…

AN: My computer is all better so hopefully I'll get 9 up quickly after this one. And here's a thanks to my faithful reviewer; I appreciate it.

Riddle Me This

Chapter 8-

The only thing in the news for two weeks was the attack on Birmingham, which was no surprise to Amara. That all changed one morning as she was buttering her toast and her owl swooped down and dropped a newspaper on her plate. With a usual sigh, she unraveled it and began to scan the headlines. Her eyes widened.

'Trio spotted in Little Hangleton'

The article was similar to the last one about the Trio but Amara read between the lines on this one. If they were in Little Hangleton, they were actually at the Riddle Mansion.

In a panic, Amara ran up to the owlery just in time to see her grandfather's large black eagle owl flying towards her, a letter tied to its leg. When it landed, she took it from its leg and opened it swiftly.

Bad news. The Trio was at my father's house. They found some old correspondences between Holliana and myself. They know about her and you. Sadly, that's not all they know. They read about the ring and I fear they will figure it out. I fear for you. Keep your eyes open, your wand at the ready, and your mind sharp. I'll contact you soon.

Grandfather

"Shit," she said, rubbing her temples.

"What's shit?" Draco had entered the room. Amara handed him the letter. His eyes scanned over it quickly and he put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. She pushed it away as she began to pace. "What are you going to do?" he finally asked.

"What he said for me to do, and you should as well. Meet me tonight in the Dark Forest, our usual time and place. We'll continue our studies." They had been practicing powerful dark spells deep in the forest under the cover of darkness for two weeks. Amara turned back to the window as she heard Draco exit.


That night, when Amara arrived in the Dark Forest, she saw Draco pacing nervously. When he saw her, he tensed. He went over to her, removed her dark hood and kissed her passionately, holding onto her shoulders.

Amara stepped back from his embrace.

"You're nervous. Why?" Draco wrung his hands; his eyes were paler than normal. Amara's gold eyes flashed. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he said, taking a step back, but he hit a root and stumbled. His arms flailed and he cried out before regaining his balance. He never acted that way. Something was defiantly up. Amara wasn't buying his 'nothing' story. To make things worse, Draco was now refusing to meet her eyes.

She was fed up. No more games. Amara pushed him against a tree and pinned him there. She forced him to meet her eyes and she thrust into his mind. She swam though his memories, pushing them out of her way. Finally she found a letter signed Wish us luck, Hermione.

Amara pulled out furiously, letting him drop to his knees and then pull himself up weakly.

"You're talking to them!" she spat angrily.

"You don't understand 'Mar-" he started, but she cut him off.

"They are trying to kill him and all you can say is I don't understand!"

"He's evil Amara! He should be killed!"

Amara glared at him. How dare he say these things to her? She felt the rage bubble inside her, mixing with another emotion she wasn't used to feeling. Hurt.

"If you knew half the things I've done, you'd say the same about me. Should I be killed as well Draco? Are you going to kill me? She held open her arms. "Take your best shot!" she screamed. "KILL ME!"

"No!" He groaned and took hold of her arms, forcing them back to her sides. "Just listen to me. He's killed my mother; my father is in prison because of him. People are dying and I can't just overlook that anymore. He's blinded you Amara." He looked into her livid golden orbs with his own watery gray eyes, pleading with her silently. Amara pulled away forcefully.

"I don't care. He's my grandfather. He saved me from a pitiful life and taught me to be stronger than even some of the most powerful wizards."

"Power isn't everything!" he yelled, releasing her arms.

"How dare you speak? All you've ever wanted was power!"

"Not anymore!" Amara fumed at him.

"You hypocrite. He was right about you." Amara paused then spat at his feet. "Traitor," she hissed before she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, dumbfounded. Her every step expressed her fury as she exited the Dark Forest. Finally she heard steady footsteps behind her when she reached the tree line and turned to see Draco jogging quickly as he dare in the maze of roots towards her.

He tried to speak but failed. Amara waited silently until he began.

"Amara. I'm sorry I yelled and I had been dreading that conversation for a long time, but you must have known it was coming. Coming from such different sides of the war and yet…" he paused. "We are like different sides of the same coin. We may fight and disagree but we are still meant to be together, and despite what we think we are not that different. We way may not see from the same point of view but we still share a common background."

Amara stayed silent through his whole speech.

"Please, let us put this behind us. We have more important things to worry about." Amara's gaze shuddered, and then dropped to the ground. Her mind was swimming but finally she forgave him and they shared an embrace. She kissed his cheek then whispered in his ear,

"They are going to kill him aren't they? And you are going to help them." Draco pulled back and looked into her snake-like eyes.

"Yes," he finally answered. Amara nodded slowly. A wave of nausea overcame her whole body. She quietly laid a gently kiss on his lips, then pulled her hood over her head and went back up to the castle.

When she reached her dormitory, she ran into the bathroom and threw up. Tears streamed down her face. How was she supposed to deal with this? The only two people in the world who care about her were at each other's throats. The only two people she loved were so full of hate for each other.

Amara cleaned herself up, and then washed her burning face. She changed into her nightclothes then crawled into her warm green sheets.

Amara opened her eyes and saw her grandfather sitting at the foot of her bed. She glanced around but her dormitory had blurred out. She looked back at the snake-like man across from her.

"Amara," he said, coming closer and brushing her black hair from her face lovingly. "You are full of sorrow. I can feel it. Why, my daughter?" Amara knew she couldn't lie to him so she didn't even try.

"I cannot tell you."

He leaned back. "Cannot or will not?" Amara looked at him with slight more confidence.

"Will not," she said firmly. He smirked.

"That's my girl. Be sure of yourself. Do not wallow in these empty miseries, for they are not for people like us. They serve no purpose. Do what you feel in here." He touched her forehead with his finger then leaned in and kissed it. A tear ran down her cheek and he brushed it away with his pale hand.

His gaze lingered at her face. "You have her eyes." The world went out of focus and Amara fell back on her pillows.