I unfortunately do not own the world of Harry Potter.

I would just like to say a quick thanks to Allen Pitt, Princess-Lazy-Chan, panneler-san, Celeste Belle, LadyGrimR., DaughterofBellatrixandVoldy, KayeStar, scara1, sci-fi-rocks, SlytherinChick24, neverasked4urlove, Loonynamelass, hermonine, narniagirl18, LonelyHeartz36, FluffyOverlord, PrimiGrl, and je ne suis aucun ange.

This is my first fan-fic. Hope you like it! (And if you haven't guessed by now, reviews are greatly appreciated!)

Just so you all know - I am also writing two other fan-fics - Mysterious Last Name (my second), and Caught Between Worlds (my third). I would really appreciate it if you would check them out. Thanks!

Sorry for the long wait! Hope this makes up for it! Enjoy!

Chapter 25:

Common Room Comments

At Breakfast a few days later, a tawny owl landed in front of Draco. He quickly grabbed the letter from its outstretched leg, and opened it, not knowing what to expect.

Draco –

So our little friend has been disrespectful again? It seems she has yet to learn her lesson.

Draco stiffened and hoped his father wouldn't be summoning Ariella to "speak" with her anytime soon…as much as he disliked Ariella…he couldn't help but remember the pain in her eyes as she faced him a few days earlier.

By your letter, it seems as if you have dealt with her fairly well…this time. In the future, leave her to me.

Draco breathed a short sigh of relief.

To answer your first question simply – no. I have only been reprimanding her as necessary. She's been give what she's deserved, and nothing else. The blood came from a self injury – while doing chores, perhaps? Do not worry about hurting her…there isn't anything for you to hurt.

Draco stopped reading for a second, and re-read that portion of the letter, stunned. He knew his father disliked Ariella, and he knew that she was beneath them, (obviously, she was their servant after all) but this? This was different, somehow. He didn't even think that of Granger, and that was saying something. He kept reading.

To answer your second question – yes. Something will happen to that wretched hippogriff, and perhaps that unfit teacher as well. I am working on the matter as I write.

Draco smirked at this.

Remember to keep up your grades.

Sincerely,

Your Father,

Lucius Malfoy

Draco scowled at this last comment, but was used to it by now. He was glad that this business was all cleaned up. He knew his father wouldn't do anything inhumane. As he headed back to the common room, laughing with his "friends", he kept his eyes open for his "little friend", as his father so kindly called her. She hadn't come to breakfast, and they had their first class of the day in a half an hour, a class that was, no less, one of the farthest away from the Slytherin Common Room. As he rounded the corner, he nearly crashed into someone. That person quickly stopped in her tracks and started to say

"Sorry. Did…" but Ariella stopped as she looked up saw exactly with whom she had nearly crashed into. Her eyes widened as they met Draco's, before she quickly looked down. Then, muttering something that Draco couldn't catch, she hurried off to the common room, and up to where the dormitories where. She came down a few minutes later, her arms full of their books. She was still a bit nervous around Draco, especially considering how things had ended last a few days ago. They then headed off along with the rest of the Slytherins to Double Herbology with the Ravenclaws. As she set his books down at his place, he leaned over to her, and whispered in her ear.

"Common room, ten–thirty. Don't be late." Ariella jumped as she heard his cold voice in her ear, but nodded twice before sitting down at her spot at the table, waiting for the class to begin. She wondered what Draco could possibly want to talk to her about, but she had her guesses. It was a) about the incident that happened a few days ago, b) about his father, (she had yet to be summoned by him) or c) both. The day seemed to pass far too quickly, in her opinion, as she was anything but anxious for this meeting to happen.

At exactly ten twenty-eight, Ariella walked into the common room. Draco was there already, and when he saw her, he motioned for her to join him. Warily, she walked toward him, and stopped only when she stood right in front of where he was seated.

"Well, sit down," he said coolly, gesturing to the chair beside him. Ariella looked a bit surprised, before glaring at the boy beside her, who presently started to speak.

"I wrote to my father about what happened the other day. He's letting you off this time only because I punished you first…or so he thinks. From now on, I'm supposed to write him directly if you do something wrong so that he can deal with you." He paused to let this sink in, but noticed the slight wince that seemed to shake Ariella's body, but it happened so quick that he thought he must have imagined it.

"Next thing, I'd like to know where that blood came from. And I order you to tell me." Ariella threw a hateful look at Draco, before replying, malice in her voice.

"What part of 'I am forbidden to tell you' don't you understand?" Whatever answer the boy across from her was expecting, this wasn't it.

"No, you told me you were forbidden to speak of what my father had done to you, not where the blood…" but trailed off as he saw where this was headed. He looked surprised, and that only grew when he looked up, only to find Ariella smirking.

"It's not serious, though, is it?" he questioned, remembering the small pool of blood. Her smirk faltered, then totally disappeared.

"Why do you care?" she asked hesitantly.

"You're my servant, I have a right to know what's going on." He said, shrugging, a note of authority in his voice. He saw her body stiffen, and she sat up a bit straighter, almost as if to make a move to get up. Her face had hardened again with the stiffening of her body.

"It's nothing I can't handle," she replied through clenched teeth. Draco stared calculatingly at the girl in front of him, before nodding. Ariella took this to mean that she was dismissed. She stood up, and was almost out of the common room, when she stopped, and turned to him, voicing a thought that had been bothering her since he mentioned writing to his father.

"Draco?" she said. The boy looked in her direction.

"Yes," he replied.

"What exactly did you tell your father?" Draco was silent for a moment, before standing up to face her, and replying,

"That I had been telling you off for being disrespectful to me when I noticed that you were in pain…that there was blood. I –"

Ariella's eyes went wide, (she hadn't really comprehended his question/order before) and she interrupted, as she said

"You noticed that?" before looking down.

"Yes, I did, so I asked him if he knew where it had come from," he said, curious and questioning expression in his eyes, though his face stayed cold, as usual.

"And…? What did he say?" Ariella asked, prodding the young Malfoy to continue to speak.

"That you had gotten the injuries while doing your chores. … Is that true?" Ariella gulped, before answering him, not looking him in the eye, but instead choosing to look down as she said,

"No." After a pause, she asked hesitantly,

"May I go now?" Draco looked up, and turning to her, he spoke,

"In a moment. First you have to promise me something."

"Ye – Yes?" she asked warily.

"You will tell me the next time you are hurt. You are allowed to reveal that much information, am I correct."

"Yes, but…" Ariella started to reply, but was cut off by Draco saying,

"Good. Yes, you can go now," he finished, with a small flourish of his hand. Ariella's anger rose with this gesture and authoritative, monarchy–like dismissal.

"Just because I'm bound to serve you, doesn't mean you have to treat me like scum. One minute, you're asking me if I'm okay, and the next, you're acting as if I'm,…as if I'm… I don't even know! I…" but was cut off once again by Draco stepping forward, clapping a cold hand over her mouth, and pulling her right arm back, (her left was pinned to her side by him,) and holding it up against her back, at an angle that if he pushed up, would probably snap her arm in two. This time, he wore quite the expression on his face. It seemed to be a cross between outrange and amusement. He suddenly froze, and pulled her, a bit roughly, into the shadows of the nearest corner as footsteps echoed off the walls, signaling that someone came down the steps from the dormitories.

"Dra–key?" they heard a high, whining voice say. From where they were, Draco groaned, audible enough for Ariella to hear, but low enough so that Pansy Parkinson wouldn't.

"Dra–key, I know you're down here!" More footsteps were heard, and this time, a male voice came from the darkness.

"Pansy? What are you doing? It's after eleven!" Blaise Zabini was obviously annoyed, if his tone of voice revealed anything.

"I thought I heard Draco down here," she replied, still in her disturbingly high–pitched, whiny voice. No wonder Blaise sounded annoyed.

"No one is down here. Go back to sleep."

"How do you know," Pansy continued stubbornly, "was he in the dormitory?"

"Er–no. But that doesn't mean he's here." Pansy pouted, and took one more glance around the room, before finally giving up, and following going back up to the third year girl' dormitory. Blaise followed suit a moment later, and made his way up to the third year boys' dormitory. As soon as the footsteps faded, and they were sure that the two Slytherins weren't coming back, Draco removed his hand from over Ariella's mouth. After a pause, Ariella broke the silence by asking her question again,

"Draco, why in the world do you care so much?" Probably not the smartest thing to ask the boy who was holding her arm, which, at this question, he stiffened, and pushed up sharply a bit, causing Ariella to wince, before releasing it, and, grabbing the girl's shoulders, held her still in his grasp, and in a low voice, said,

"Look at me," when Ariella didn't comply, she could feel her arm starting to burn slightly, as Draco repeated his statement, punctuating the last three words,

"Damm it, Ariella, look at me!" Ariella obeyed this time, feeling the slight burn fading as she did so, and as she met his grey eyes, she was shocked to find that, amongst the usual coldness that was always present, there was something else…pity, maybe? Worry? She didn't know. All she knew was that suddenly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Like I said before, you are my servant," he started in a commanding, yet calm voice. Ariella's eyes narrowed somewhat.

"I have a right to know what's happening with you." Then, his voice lightening a bit, he continued, taking a deep breath before doing so. He really didn't want to tell her this.

"That's the first reason." Ariella's eyebrows arched in a question.

"I – I keep remembering the pain in your eyes, the wincing, the blood, and don't tell me it's nothing, because I know something is going on. And it's made me wonder what my father could have done so that you would be at least somewhat obedient and even frightened of me. Of me! You've never in all the years you've been working for us, been scared of me. I know you can't tell me, but I guess I was just, I was just … curios is all." As he was speaking, his hands had loosened their grips, so that now, as he dropped them, there was almost no difference. Ariella's eyes were opened as wide as they would go. She was speechless. And so confused. Did he pity her? Feel sorry for her? Or was Draco Malfoy of all people actually trying to be nice…well, civil at least to her?

"I – I -," she stuttered, trying to find the right words to say. He cut her off once more, this time with another request.

"May I see your arm?" he asked. Ariella gave him a confused and questing look, to which he elaborated.

"I know you can't directly show me any results of what happened, but you can show me your arm. Maybe I can see what happened." She nodded, still a bit stunned at how much he seemed to want to know. She unzipped her sweatshirt, and pulled her left arm out of it, shivering at the draft in the dudgeons. She put her arm forward hesitantly. He leaned forward, trying to see in the dim light of the torches that lit the common room. He slowly lifted his finger to the mark, and scanned it, his finger inches above her arm. Ariella's breathing slowed. He found his diamond, and pressed it with his finger. Instantly, the mark burned, and Ariella screamed out. Draco backed away, unsure of what to do, not knowing that touching the mark would cause her pain. Her screaming died away a moment later, as she fell to the floor, Draco catching her barely in time to prevent her head from hitting the floor, and for Ariella, all went black.

Hey, okay, so next chapter will be back on track with the story line.

Please let me know if you thought this chapter was too long! Hope you liked it anyway!

Thanks to all who are reading, and liking it. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please feel free to review/private message me. Also, if you have any ideas at all, or would like to see something happen, let me know, and I'll consider putting them into a chapter. Thanks! ~ Leanora