The next day we used Floo Powder to go back to school. I was quiet and didn't talk to any of the others. I went up to the sixth year dorm and pulled a photo album out of my trunk. I flipped through the pages until I found the picture that Cory had taken of Draco and I over the summer. We were in the garden behind the manor, sitting on a bench. Draco was leaning down and he had his arms around me. I actually had my hair down in this one.I had one of my hands on his arm and we were smiling. We both looked like we really loved each other. I felt my eyes fill with tears.
"How could you do this to me?" I whispered. "I don't understand. What did I do wrong?" I put my right hand over my mouth and felt a cool spot on my lips where the ring that Draco had given me last year touched my skin. I took my hand away and looked at it.
"Draco..." I whispered. I sobbed loudly and threw myself onto my pillow, burying my face in it.

A little while later I heard the sounds of the other Gryffindors as they began to come into the Common Room. I sat up and dried my eyes. I had to go down because dinner would be starting soon. I replaced the picture and the album and went down to the Common Room.
"Hey Schyler!" Harry called as I came down the stairs. He and the others were standing by the portrait hole, waiting for me. I walked over to them.
"We were just about to send out a search party," Cory said. I nodded and walked past them out of the Common Room. Usually that would have made me laugh or at least smile but not now. I was too upset. I walked down to the Great Hall and was about to go in when Draco stepped in my way.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked. I nodded and followed him to an empty room.

"You know they'll kill you if they catch you near me," I said. "Please don't come near me anymore." Draco looked shocked.
"Are...are you breaking up with me?" he asked sounding shocked and hurt. I looked away as tears came into my eyes.
"I'm sorry Draco," I said. "I don't really have a choice." I turned to go.

"Wait...please," Draco said reaching out and catching my wrist. "Let me talk. If you don't believe me when I'm done then you can go and I'll leave you alone. But hear me out before you decide that you don't love me anymore."
I could never not love you Draco, I thought as I nodded.

"I know that all those beatings that I gave you were wrong," he said. "I really am sorry but I don't want you to forgive me, I don't deserve it. There is one thing I want you to know, though. When I stabbed you...I hadn't wanted to do that, honest. Voldemort knew that you were going to tell the others and he didn't want you to. He told me to either stop you or kill you but I said no. See I agreed with you. I wanted you to tell the others so that someone would stop me from hurting you. When I told him that Voldemort got peeved and put me under the Imperious Curse and told me to kill you if you refused to keep quiet. I knew you were going to refuse and so did he. It was his way of getting back at us for what happened last year." I gasped. That glaze in his eyes! It made sense now! I rushed into his arms.
"Oh Draco!" I cried as I hugged him. "I knew that you would never do that on your own! I love you so much! I forgive you for all the stuff you did." I pulled away from and looked at him with a very serious expression. "As long as you swear that you will never do it again. And don't agree unless you really mean it." Draco nodded.
"I swear," he said. Then he leaned down and kissed me. All I felt were tingles. All over. I was so happy to feel those again!

We walked into the Great Hall. Immediately, the others came running over to us. Taylor got to us first and she grabbed both of Draco's wrists.
"Get away from her!" she cried as she tugged at him. Draco was bent over a little because Taylor was so much shorter than he was. I grabbed Draco around the waist and pulled him back.
"Tay, let go!" I said. "It's okay!"

"No!" Taylor yelled. "He stabbed you!"
"It wasn't his fault!" I said. Taylor let go in shock and Draco and I fell backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
"Ow..." I moaned as Draco helped me to my feet.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "How is it not his fault?" I sighed.

"Voldemort put him under the Imperious Curse," I explained. "Not everyone can fight it like we can, Harry."

"How can we be sure that he's not going to hurt you?" Cory asked.
"Because he swore that he wouldn't," I replied. "You'll just have to trust him." Cory snorted.
"Trust him?" he asked. "Are you nuts?"
"Well you'll have to," I snapped. "Because I love him. So there!" I walked over to our house table and sat down.
"Works for me," Taylor said as she came to join me. Harry, Hermione, Jordyn, Ron, and Ginny followed her.
"You're all bonkers," Cory muttered. Then he looked at Draco. Draco looked back at him.
"I really love her you know," Draco said.
"You listen to me Malfoy," Cory said. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on you. If you ever hurt my sister again I swear to God, I will kill you." Draco nodded.
"I know," he said.
"Keep that in mind," Cory replied. Then they went to sit at their tables.

From then on Draco and I were happy and got along very well. He didn't hurt me anymore and after a while Cory stopped watching Draco like a hawk. But I was not entirely safe. Little did we know that the worst thing to ever happen to us was looming closer with every passing day. Twilight Zone Theme