Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter or the Wizarding World.

I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. I stare at a computer all day for my job, so sometimes my mistakes slip through. By the end of the day my eyes are tired. Apologies in advance!

It was two long weeks before I heard back from Narcissa. Two weeks of constant dodging Erik's questions about what I was looking for. Two weeks for my feelings for him to grow stronger and stronger. He never complained, and he was downright understanding. It was incredibly sweet and ridiculously attractive. So, when an owl, thankfully not the obvious Malfoy eagle owl, came swooping down during breakfast on a Saturday, dropping a letter right in front of me, my heart plummeted into my stomach. While the owl wasn't recognizable, the handwriting on the outside of the letter certainly was. Narcissa finally wrote back, and I was both eager and petrified to see what she said. Excusing myself from the table, I went outside and made my way towards the Black Lake. The water always soothed me, and there was a perfect tree to sit under and enjoy the day. I did just that, and stared at the letter in front of me, not yet open. I was nervous for two vastly different reasons. One, obviously being whatever Narcissa said about Erik. I've been impatiently waiting, and while whatever she said wasn't something I had to listen to, I value her advice and I know she wouldn't steer me wrong. Or at least before she wouldn't. If she said it was a bad idea to pursue anything, I probably wouldn't and would say I could only be friends with him. The second reason I was incredibly nervous was for the simple fact that I could open this letter to find that Narcissa never wanted to hear from me again, and I would officially have lost the closest thing I have left to a mother. Channeling my Gryffindor bravery, I opened the letter.

My Dearest Ana,

I admit I was surprised to see a letter from you. It has been a very long time since we've spoken, and for good reason. You have gone against everything that has been expected of you. You've turned your back on our way of life, without a care to centuries old traditions. If your mother was alive, I believe she would agree with me when I say you've become someone I cannot even recognize anymore, and I am so proud of you. It is not easy to leave everything you've once known behind. I know you have received horrid treatment from family and friends, and yet you still persevere. I will not pretend that I have always been so understanding, but through time I've come to change my own thoughts and opinions. I will always be here for you, my girl. We may not be able to see each other, and discretion will be required, but I will do what I can to help you. I still hold both you and your mother dear to my heart, and I only want to see you succeed. If only Draco would look to you for inspiration, instead of his father. I love Lucius, I do, but I can see the direction he is leading this family, and for that I am fearful. I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but as a mother I cannot help it. If it is possible, I beg of you to try and get Draco to see the error of his ways. If there is one person who can, it would be you.

Now onto the subject of your letter. I admit, I've always held out hope that it would be Draco to catch your interest and share in your first experiences. Alas, that is not the case, nor does it change my answer to you. Pureblood tradition demands innocence of the bride on her wedding day. It is for that reason that the girls of pureblood families were betrothed at birth, and married young at age 12. While our traditions do not change much, this is one area I am pleased to say has taken a more progressive standpoint. Innocence is no longer demanded, although still valued. However, it is decisively less desirable to have a bride who was promiscuous. With that said, if you feel comfortable and safe with this boy, and he is not pressuring you into anything, I think any desire you may feel and actions you may take are completely normal and acceptable. I do beg of you to not rush into anything, and only move forward in actions you are wholeheartedly willing to. If he doesn't respect your wishes or apprehension, he is not someone you should be with. Given the subject of conversation, it is important to know how to be safe. I'll be frank, Ana. Sex is not something to be ashamed of, and there is nothing wrong with wanting that experience, but it is critical to know how to practice it safely. I have had a house elf discreetly deliver a book to your dorm with all the information any female needs on how to practice safe sex. Included are the directions on how to properly brew the contraceptive potion, and how to correctly perform the contraceptive spell, among many other important facts regarding intercourse. My advice to you, is to always be the one to handle contraception. Because of this, and the situation you are in, along with the book I have provided you with a vault key from Gringotts. Your mother, always the perceptive one, had a feeling you may find yourself in need of money that is yours, and yours only. She opened a vault with just your name, and had been putting money back for years in case you ever found yourself in need. This is something your father does not know about, nor can he access or control this vault.

I decided to gift you, for being the daughter I never had, money directly from my Black Family vault. I never want you to want for anything, and you deserve all the best and more. Because I know you, I do not want you feeling any guilt for this. I did that because I love you, and I know you'll have further hardships because of the path you've taken. This is one thing I can do to help lessen that burden. As for your mother, she did the same for Theodore as she did for you. His vault key is also included with yours, and I do hope you'll pass along both the reasoning behind your mothers actions, and the key itself. She loved you two more than anything, and this was her final way of taking care of you.

Finally, I want you to know that you can reach out to me whenever you need. However, there may come a time when I cannot help you, and our correspondence must stop. If that ever does occur, please reach out to my sister Andromeda Tonks. She knows how it feels to go against everything she's ever known, and I believe she would be able to guide you through whatever may come. Please know, I will always want the best for you. Stay safe, and be happy. You deserve it.

All my love,

Narcissa

Taking a deep stuttering breath, I folded the letter up gently. I wasn't anticipating such an emotional response, and to say I'm floored is an understatement. My mother, my sweet self-sacrificing mother, took precautions for us even when we were young. She clearly knew Father would kill her some day. Just knowing how much she suffered for us makes me sick. And Narcissa knew. She had to have if she knew about the vaults. But then again, there isn't much she could have done to help. Not to mention the guilt she must carry from seeing her closest friend suffer and doing nothing, ultimately leading to her death. Both of their husbands were flawed, one more so than the other, but still they were forced to accept the lives their husbands decided to lead. Of bigotry and hate. Neither woman wanted their children to have the same beliefs. Mother had tried to show us how to be more accepting and loving, and I do think she succeeded. While I am clearly more open about it, I know Theo doesn't truly believe he is better than those with a different blood status. Draco, on the other hand, I'm not sure what he actually believes, but he publicly follows Lucius' footsteps. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to change his mind. We aren't friends anymore, and we don't talk. We're leading two very different lives. But after everything Narcissa just did for me, I don't see how I can't at least try to persuade Draco to change his ways. That's certainly something I'm going to have to think long and hard about, and plan extensively. Although, I definitely plan on showing Hermione and Ginny the book Narcissa sent, so maybe they'll help with Draco as well. That also means I may have to let Ginny know about my history with the Malfoy's. For Merlin's sake this just keeps getting more complicated. On the upside, Narcissa gave me permission to express myself how I see fit, and that does lift a weight off my shoulders. I also need to figure out how to approach Erik, and what next steps I'm comfortable with.

Shaking my head, I got up. The first order of business was getting the vault keys, and finding Theo. Just as I was dusting the dirt off of my pants, the three Slytherin kings were making their way towards me. I never rolled my eyes so hard when I found out Theo, Draco, and Blaise named themselves the Slytherin kings. Such prats. Figuring now was as good of a time as any, I made my way towards them, meeting halfway.

"Boys." I nodded in greeting.

"Ana! Always lovely to see you. You're looking fit as ever." Blaise winked at me, which caused both Draco and Theo to shoot him a glare.

"Ana. "Annie." Draco and Theo answered, respectively.

"Theo, may I have a word?"

He couldn't hide his shock when he visibly hesitated, but then said sure. Theo and I walked back towards my tree for a little privacy.

"Ann, before you begin, can I say something?" I nodded. "Look, I know I have no right to say this, and I also know you might be bloody pissed at me for saying this, but I'm your brother and I have to. I couldn't help but notice you've been spending time with Petkova, and I just want to make sure you know what you are doing. I've never seen you interested in anyone before, and now you're with a guy significantly older than you."

"Are you kidding me?" I scoff. "Theo, for one, Erik isn't that much older than me. Two, you don't know him, so you really shouldn't be making any judgements about him. Three, I don't say this to hurt you but the truth is you wouldn't know if I was interested in someone because we don't talk. I haven't actually had a real conversation with you in years! You have no idea what I've been up to, who I've spoken with, or what I'm interested in."

He sighed, and his shoulders sagged. "You're right. I haven't been a good brother to you, and I'm sorry. I want to change things, but I'm not strong enough to. I do love you Ana. You're my little sister, and I only want you to be careful. I don't want to see you hurt. Not from some smarmy Bulgarian." He gave a crooked smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Technically, he's only half of a smarmy Bulgarian. The other half is a smarmy Englishman."

"Oh my apologies." He said sarcastically. "Look, the point is, I can't tell you what to do, or who to see, but I want you to know I care. I want you to be happy, and if he makes you happy, I can deal with seeing him drool over you in the halls." At my indignant sound, he reassured, "You can't argue with me on that! He drools, and anyone will tell you the same. But Ana, if he hurts you, I want to know. I'm more than willing to kick his arse for my baby sis. Yeah? Plus, you know Drake will help." Theo winked. Actually WINKED at me.

"Well brother, I've no idea what you mean by that, but alright. If he hurts me, I'll be sure to let you know, but you won't be first in line. I've got some pretty protective friends that aren't afraid to throw down." He shrugged and conceded, and I let the smile drop from my face. "What I wanted to talk about isn't easy, and it isn't fun. In fact, it isn't something you talk about at all, but it is important, okay? I wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't."

"Ana, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"There is a long story behind this, but I won't be telling you it all. What you need to know is that I've just found out that our mother was weary of our father for a long time. Because of that, she made sure you and I would be alright, even if she wasn't personally around to ensure. She started two vaults, one in each of our names, that are only ours. There is no public record of these vaults, and Father has no clue they exist. For years, Mother was adding money privately to each of our vaults, in the case we may need support and she wasn't around. I have no clue how much is in them, but I've got the vault keys in my room, and I was actually on my way up to get them and give you yours. I'm sure you have questions, but would you like to walk with me while I get them, and I can try to answer what I can?"

Theo's face was drained of color, and I could see him fidgeting with his hands, his nervous tick that always gave him away. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Lead the way."

"You might want to tell the boys you'll be walking with me." I suggested, and I heard him mutter under his breath something that sounded like, "Oh right" but I didn't say anything and watched him walk over to Draco and Blaise. Whatever he said, they looked confused but shrugged. Blaise watched Theo as he walked back towards me, but when I went to look at Draco our eyes met, as he was already watching me. He quirked an eyebrow in question, but I looked away and started making my way to Gryffindor Tower with Theo. We were silent for a few moments before he gained enough courage to ask.

"How do you know about the vaults? Who told you?"

"I can't say who exactly, but Mother advised one other person of what she was doing. That person let me know, and they are the one who sent the keys."

"Okay, but why did they reach out now? It doesn't make any sense. It's been years, and this person just now decided to come forward? It's not like your situation has been a secret. Almost everyone knows you and Father don't get along, and you aren't exactly allowed to do everything I am. Why didn't they do anything before?"

"I don't know, Theo. I really don't. Maybe they didn't think they could, or maybe they thought I wouldn't want them to, but either way it won't change the fact that they came forward now."

"Is this a trap?"

"I don't think anyone would want to involve you in a trap. If it was just me? Maybe. But you, I don't think so. Oddly enough, I do trust this person."

He was silent as we continued our way through the halls. Just when we were approaching the Fat Lady, he grabbed my arm to stop me.

"I think I know who gave you the vault keys. Mother would only trust one person with that type of information, and not to mention you trust this person as well. It has to be her."

I held my hand up to stop him. "Stop, Theo. Don't say anything else. I won't tell you, regardless of if you guess correctly. The less you know the better the chances are that this won't come back on the person that told me. I know it is hard, but please trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you. Trust that I wouldn't just naively accept what this person said and not look into it. I haven't even seen the keys, but I plan to run diagnostic charms on them to see if there's any curses or anything like that. I trust this person, but I don't trust anyone around them."

"Do you know any diagnostic charms?" Theo asked unconvinced.

"Plenty. I'm living my life seconds away from a stray curse or hex. I made sure to learn this type of magic, and healing magic for that matter. I know what I'm doing. Now wait here while I go up and get them, okay?" At his nod, I made my way to the portrait, whispering the password and making my way up to my bed. The curtains were closed, which I know I didn't do before leaving. Peeking in, I found more than one book sitting in the middle of my bed, along with two well-worn vault keys. After doing a thorough job of inspecting the keys and books, I decided there wasn't much else I was going to be able to do to assure their safety. I grabbed both keys, and one immediately felt warm in my hand. I inspected the key, and found within the intricate carvings on the handle were my initials. This was clearly mine. For some reason, standing there holding this key, I became emotional. This was one of the only things left in existence that I knew my mother held. Her hands were on the metal, and her love and care were infused within the reason behind the key. I felt close to her for the first time in years. I could picture sitting on her lap at night, snuggled in bed, and listening to her read children's stories. I could smell her signature perfume of freesia, jasmine, and another scent I was never able to place. I didn't remember closing my eyes, or holding the key close to my heart, but when I cleared my head that's exactly what I was doing. Closing my curtains again, I rushed downstairs to find Theo. Except he wasn't alone. Erik was standing across from him, and both had their arms crossed. Theo looked less than pleased, and Erik appeared rather indifferent. Theo looked my way first and uncrossed his arms, and began walking towards me.

"Sister. Do you have it?" He asked plainly. No emotion showing at all. I shot him a questioning look, and took his hand and placed his key within his palm, so Erik couldn't see what I gave him.

"Thank you. I'll take my leave now. I'll see you around, Ana. Petkova." He sneered towards Erik and left, leaving just Erik and I in the hall. I crossed my arms and looked at him.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Princess. It's all fine." He smiled what I'm sure was supposed to be a charming smile, but I wasn't falling for it.

"Erik. I'm not sure what kind of girls you are used to, but I'm not clueless. I know something just occurred between you and my brother, and seeing as how he is my family, I'd say I should know. Especially because for some odd reason, I have a feeling it was about me. So cut whatever charming plan you had in place and just tell me."

"Wow. Full of yourself, aren't you? Just because you're related doesn't mean it was about you."

I rolled my eyes and glared. "Prove me wrong then. If it wasn't me you were talking about, then who?"

"Is it really that big of a deal?" He asked. He got closer to me, and leaned against the wall positioned in a way that his leg was touching mine.

"Yes. It is." I held my gaze to his, and didn't look away. After a few tense moments, he sighed.

"Fine. I can see you don't plan on giving up. It was a little bit about you, but not entirely. I just told him that I was aware of your family situation, and didn't appreciate him waiting outside of the common room for you. It seemed suspicious. So, I told him to stay away, and keep the slimy blonde he hangs out with away from you, because nothing good can come from either of them. I was just defending you." He was trying to be charming again, and put his hand on my arm, using his thumb to rub what I'm sure was placating circles. It was the wrong move. I yanked my arm away from him, and took a step back.

"That was completely uncalled for Erik. You haven't even known me for six months, but those two boys have known me my entire life. Don't act like you know me better than them. Theodore is my brother. BROTHER, Erik. He has every right to speak with me, or be seen with me. If he was screaming at me or hurting me, then I could understand and appreciate your concern and be thankful for you stepping in. This was neither of those things. I went to him. Not the other way around. I was looking for him, and asked him to come up here with me. He wasn't being suspicious; he was just standing there!"

"Oh yeah? You conveniently left out blondie. What about him?"

"One, his name is Draco, and you are well aware of that. And what do you mean I left him out?"

"In your rant about how completely off base I was. You said I can't possibly know you better than either of them. Your brother, I get. You never mentioned Draco."

I scoffed. "For Salazar's sake, you're jealous! You know he was my childhood best friend. He obviously knows a lot about me. Truthfully, I'm not really sure why you even brought him into the conversation, because it was, in fact, you who started it."

"He stares at you." I could see Erik's jaw tick in aggravation. I was shocked.

"What do you mean? We don't even acknowledge each other anymore."

He let out a mocking laugh, but he actually seemed hurt. "Don't acknowledge each other? Maybe not face to face, but you certainly do look for each other. Sometimes you look to him before anyone else, almost as if you are checking to see if he's okay, or if he approves. Sometimes you even share some form of silent communication that no one else knows about, but I saw it Ana. I also see him staring at you, constantly. At every meal. In the halls. In the library. Everywhere! If you are around, he'll be looking at you." He sighed then. "I'm sorry. You're right. I am a bit jealous. But I don't think I'm that off base to be. I know you explained your history, and I understand it. I even accept it. Don't send me a disbelieving look because I do. What I don't accept is being strung along. If you still have something going on with him, that's fine. I'll back off. I want you to do what you want. Be with who you want, even if it isn't me, but don't make eyes with another guy and then come hang out with me and act like nothing is wrong. I've been trying to be patient, and I really don't mind for the most part. We get along great, and we flirt. I like being with you and I thought you liked being with me. I want to get to know you in every way possible, but I'm starting to think it's more one-sided affection. I try to give you hints. Hell, Ana, I've bluntly told you how I want you, and you blow it off. Act like it's not a big deal, and then ignore it. Like I said, if you don't want to pursue anything, that's okay. Just let me know, yeah? We can just be friends, and I'll back off with the flirting and everything. Just be honest with me about what you want. Please."

He was staring into my eyes, trying to show me just how earnest he was being. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't picking up on the fact that he was hurt and upset. At least not at first. No, I just thought he was being a caveman about things.

"You don't think I'm interested in you? Unbelievable Erik! Seriously? I can't stand you, yet I spend almost every free minute of my time with you. I've shared really personal things with you. More than I've shared with some of my friends. I didn't do that because I wasn't interested in you. And I don't just flirt with anyone! What kind of girl do you think I am? And another thing, oh wise one! If I wasn't interested in you, would I have written to a person I haven't talked to in ages to see how completely inappropriate it would be if I wanted to shag you? Think I want to shag all my friends? Merlin forbid I try to be responsible about things and distinctly try to NOT lead you on. I was just waiting on my return letter, Erik. I was buying time. I thought by spending time with you and flirting you'd know I was very much interested, but I clearly thought wrong." When I finished, I was a bit out of breath. It took a literal second for me to realize that I said I've thought about shagging him, and my face burned. Gaining as much courage as I could, I looked at Erik, meeting his eyes. The look he was giving me was heated, and he stepped forward, bringing one leg of his between mine, and effectively pinning me against the wall, body leaning all the way against me so that I could feel something hard poking my stomach. Two guesses as to what that was.

When he spoke, his voice was huskier than usual, and I could feel his breath against the shell of my ear. "You want to shag me, Ana?" He made a point to press his lower body even harder against mine, making his fully hard cock extremely apparent. "Oh Princess, you have no idea how much I want to shag you. But I was raised a gentleman, and I fully intend to show you just how appreciative of your affection I am." He ran the tip of his nose down my jawline, to the hollow of my throat, and back. He stuck my earlobe in his mouth, and raked it through his teeth. "I'll show you just how sorry I am for doubting you. Please, Princess, let me make it up to you?" He gazed into my eyes, the tips of our noses touching.

Breathing heavy with anticipation, I could do nothing but nod. He grinned devilishly. "I promise you won't regret it." He leaned in, still staring into my eyes, as he gently pressed his lips against mine in a gentle peck. He backed away, freeing my body from his, and ran his thumb softly against my cheek. "Good night, Ana. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he walked away, leaving me standing in the hallway like a dumbass. Gathering myself, I pushed my way back into the common room, closing a blushing Fat Lady as she was fanning herself from the heat of my conversation. I didn't even look to see if anyone was sitting in the common room, as I ran straight to the girls dorms, and jumped into bed fully intending on reading as much of the books Narcissa gave me as possible.

Well, what do you think? What do you think of Erik? Or Ana? Or Erik/Ana?