Chapter Six

I managed to avoid Leonardo for the next few weeks by spending an extraordinary amount of time with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and anyone else willing to spend half an hour with me. I even spent a couple of hours hanging around with Dean and Seamus. Leonardo wasn't about to approach me when I was with someone else, at least not until he got desperate.

As for Harry and Ron, they stopped pestering me about not telling them I was sick when I told them if I had waited any longer I would have thrown up on them rather than in the toilet. I promised them that I'd gotten help from Pomfrey and was completely fine now. My heart only twisted a little at the lie.

But that was nothing compared to the pain of losing Riccarda. There were moments I was so angry I felt like I was going to burst, and moments I was so overcome with grief I couldn't breathe. I just wanted to go home, and looking at Leonardo only reminded me that I still couldn't.

The only person that could really make me smile was Draco. He left me one of those amazing apples every morning, he asked a million of questions about life back in Italy, he joked with me, he did homework with me, and he held me the moments I felt like I was drowning. I never cried again, but he made me feel like it would have been okay if I had, if only around him.

Those odd thoughts and feelings kept creeping into my mind and heart, but I always shoved them away. I didn't want to think about what they could mean, especially since there was no way he was thinking and feeling the same things I was. Only three Sacerdotessa in the entire history of the world had managed to find a man that didn't get scared off. The odds were so stacked against me I couldn't see the top of the pile.

The Friday before the first Hogsmead weekend, we had all just sat down to lunch when Leonardo finally had enough of my avoidance tactics. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it just hard enough for me to know he wasn't happy with me. "Ms. Granger," he said smoothly. I clenched the glass of pumpkin juice in my hand, desperately trying to stay calm. I didn't want to talk to him.

"Yes, Professor?" I said as flatly as I could manage. My friends were staring at us like they thought someone was going to blow up at any second. I felt Draco's magic swirling around me and I looked up from the table to meet his eyes. They were watching the exchange worriedly.

"I need to speak with you."

"Why?"

"Not here. We'll go to my office."

I clenched my teeth. If I remembered correctly, he had no authority over me. Guida Suprema trumped Soldato. "Don't think I will, thanks."

His hand tightened on my shoulder and he leaned closer to me. "Qualcosa è successo," he whispered. I frowned. What did he mean, something's happened?

"Lead the way, Professor," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Leo rolled his eyes but didn't comment. I stood, pushing my sandwich toward Ron. "I'll be back."

"Wait, Hermione—"

"I'm just talking to a teacher, Harry," I assured him the best I could. "I'll be back in time for double defense against the dark arts. I'm sure it has something to do with an essay." I walked away before any of them could comment, but I let my eyes flick over to where Draco was still watching us. He raised an eyebrow and his magic was worried and curious. I gave him a half smile in an attempt at pretending I was okay. He didn't buy it. Leonardo was waiting for me outside the doors.

"Please, Ms. Granger, just—"

"My dorm," I hissed, passing him and going up the staircase. He followed without question. The second we stepped through the portrait hole I whirled to face him, waiting.

"There's been a development, Hemera."

I folded my arms. "What do you mean?" Leonardo sighed, but before he could answer Draco stepped through the portrait hole.

"Mr. Malfoy," Leonardo said in surprise, glancing toward me.

"Its okay, Leo. He knows."

Leonardo sighed again and nodded. "I was wondering if you told him. You should have just obliviated him, you know."

"The option's still there," I reminded him with a shrug. Draco's eyes flashed to me, wide with alarm, but I gave him a reassuring smile before he could freak out. "You were just about to tell me what happened," I pressed as Draco moved to my side, stopping just close enough that he could help if I needed it.

"Alexiares contacted me very early this morning."

"Alexiares?" Draco asked, turning to me. "Isn't that your brother?"

I nodded. "He's also the Padrone of my dinastia. What did he say, Leo?"

"He sent word that a Lupo assassino was apprehended by the British Ministry." I let my head fall, staring at the ground as my mind raced with this new knowledge. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"Please tell me assassino doesn't mean assassin," Draco said, moving ever so slightly closer to me.

"Do you want me to lie?" Leonardo asked, slightly annoyed. I didn't blame him. It wasn't a happy thing to have a Lupo assassin loose in Britain.

"The Lupo train the most brutal of assassins," I explained to Draco. "It's an art form for them."

"And there's only one reason why any of them would come to England while Italy is the midst of a well paying war," Leonardo said quietly, meeting my eyes. He was right. Why did he have to be right?

"So he's here for you," Draco said dully, taking a full step closer to me.

I gave a heavy sigh as I nodded. "It's the only thing I can think of that would bring him here."

"But the Ministry captured him."

"No," I responded, shaking my head, "if the Ministry apprehended him, it's because he wanted them to. He obviously wanted something in the building, probably files that could lead him to me. He'll get out the moment he's gotten whatever it was he wanted."

"Well shite, Hemera," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. I ignored the tiny thrill that went through me at the sound of my real name in his voice. This wasn't the place for those feelings. I had the presence of an assassin to worry about. I was suddenly very tired. All this war, all this running and fighting — it was exhausting.

"What are Alex's orders?" I asked Leonardo. I could hear the fatigue in my voice, but I didn't try to cover it up. Finding out an assassin was hired to kill me managed to push me passed the point of caring what I sounded like.

"Stay put."

I felt like I'd just been slapped. "He wants me to sit here like a cow for slaughter?" I demanded.

Leonardo winced. "I'm not happy either, but an order's an order. We're to stay here until we receive a different order, even if the assassino finds us."

"Then what?"

Leonardo shrugged. "Kill him before he kills you." I didn't like that idea one bit. Going toe to toe with an assassino wasn't high on my priority list.

"Why can't we just go back now?" I asked, honestly curious as to why Alexiares was doing this. He had to have a reason.

"He's afraid of what will happen to you if you go back," Leo explained in a soft voice. "They took Riccarda right from under our noses. They kept her for a full year. He doesn't want that to happen to you."

"It won't."

"Can you swear by that?" I looked into Leonardo's eyes and I knew what he was asking. Technically, our lives were endangered by this order. If we both decided our lives were worse off here than back in Italy, the order would break and we could leave. But unless I knew for certain that my life wouldn't end as Riccarda's had then we couldn't.

"No, Leo. I can't swear to that."

"Then we stay."

I nodded, looking away. It hurt, but I knew it was the best decision. For now, we would trust my Padrone. "I'll set up protections and alerts around the school. If he gets within five kilometers of Hogwarts I'll know."

"I'll contact Alexiares again. Let him know what the plan is. Do you have anything you want to say to him?"

I held back a very un-ladylike snort. "Plenty. But none of it is appropriate to say to one's Padrone."

Leonardo smiled wanly. "I'll let him know you're thinking obscenities about him every few seconds, then. That do?"

"Perfect. Maybe it'll make him see reason."

"Not likely." Leonardo put his fist over his heart and bowed his head. "Guida Suprema." And with that he was gone, once again leaving me alone with Draco. Only this time I didn't feel the need to cry. This time I only wanted to sleep.

"Tea?" Draco asked into the long silence.

I smiled as best I could. "Yes, please." He touched my arm as he passed me on his way into the kitchen. I moved onto the couch, curling up in my favorite spot. A few minutes later, Draco sat beside me and handed me a cup of perfectly tempered tea. He pointed his wand at the fireplace and a fire instantly roared to life.

I closed my eyes and reached out towards the magic around me. I was careful not to use any more of Draco's, despite the fact that it almost begged to be touched, unsure of what it would do. I pushed the magic out, creating a few invisible barriers around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. If a Lupo crossed any of them I would be warned instantly. It was the best I could do. Hopefully it would help.

"So," Draco started. I opened my eyes to look at him. He was leaning forward, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared into the fire. "Is there any way this assassin could get close enough to kill you?"

I nodded, taking a sip of my tea. "There's definitely a good chance. Magic can't cover every loophole. I have spells up around the area that will tell me if a Lupo comes, but there are ways to cover your tattoo. It's dark magic not many attempt, but I wouldn't put it passed an assassino."

"What happens if he gets to you?" I shrugged.

"Then I fight him and hopefully survive."

Draco turned to me, his face shadowed by the firelight. "Hopefully." His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. His magic swirled around me, gaining speed. There were so many feelings flying through it that I couldn't put a name to a single one. "What happened to being the most powerful being in the universe?"

"I never said that." I frowned, desperately trying to figure him out. "He's trained to kill. I'm not."

"That's not—" He cut off abruptly. He turned away again, his hand going back up to his neck. Before I could think about it, I reached over and took that hand in mine. His eyes blinked up at me, his magic pausing.

"You're going to rub your neck raw," I murmured. His hand relaxed in mine, curling gently around my fingers.

"I do it when I'm worried and don't know what to say."

"I noticed."

"Hemera, I…"

I waited but he didn't say anything else. "Yes?" I prodded.

"I don't know if I could sit around and watch you die."

I smiled and felt his fingers twitch around mine. "I don't think you ever could have, even when you hated me." He gave a halfhearted smile in answer and looked away again. His magic started swirling again. I set down my tea, not interested in drinking it anymore. "What's wrong, Draco?"

"I just told you." I shook my head, moving forward so he was forced to look at me.

"There's something else."

He appraised me for a moment before giving a shake of his head. "How do you always know what I'm feeling?"

I shrugged, starting to feel uncomfortable as his magic pressed around me. How was I supposed to tell him that I'd borrowed his magic and now it gave away every feeling he had whenever I was around? Or, at least, on most occasions I was around. There were times we were in the same room and his magic didn't touch me. I thought it meant he probably wasn't thinking about me in that moment, but I didn't know for sure. "Intuition?" I suggested weakly.

He sighed heavily. "I need to say something, and you need to let me."

I blinked. Let him? We were friends now, weren't we? He could say whatever he wanted. "Of course." He was silent for a long time. He left his hand in mine as he stared into the fire. I knew he was ready to talk when his magic stopped whirling around the room. This was serious then.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you that night."

I stiffened, letting go of his hand. He was right. I didn't want to talk about this. I'd told him that first night that I forgave him. Why couldn't he drop it? "Don't, Draco."

"No." He turned to face me full on, grabbing my shoulders so I couldn't avoid his gaze. "I need to talk about this, Hemera. I need to." His silver eyes were soft, desperate in a way I'd never seen them before.

I swallowed heavily. "What then?" I finally asked, my voice cracking slightly.

"You need to know that I wanted to help you three. I tried to tell them I didn't think it was Potter, but I knew my parents recognized you from the papers during the TriWizard Tournament."

"It's okay, Dra—"

"No, it isn't," he said harshly, eyes aflame. "And then you were being tortured and I so desperately wanted to help. I willed myself to reach out, to help you. But I wasn't brave enough. I didn't do it." And I suddenly understood: his magic had been right there for me to latch onto, even closer to my skin than Bellatrix's had been. I had figured that it was due to proximity, but no. It was because he was pushing it toward me, his soul begging to help in any way he could.

"But you did," I murmured, catching him mid rant. I didn't want him to feel miserable about it for the rest of his life. Maybe if I told him he would be angry with me rather than angry with himself.

He stopped, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? I just sat there and watched."

"One, you didn't watch. You had your back turned the entire time. Two, you did help. You just didn't know it."

"But how? You were tortured, Hemera."

I flinched and involuntarily glanced at the word carved into my arm. "But you're the reason I made it through." He just looked at me, disbelief in his eyes. "I told you that we Sacerdotessa essentially survive off of magic. When I was tortured I could feel my own magic seeping from me. It wasn't enough to fight against her. I needed more." I looked away from his probing eyes, unable to face him as I admitted this. "So I took yours."

"You what?" I winced at his flat tone.

"I think borrow is probably a better term," I rushed out, almost stumbling over the words. "Though I still really shouldn't have. In fact, I'm really sorry that I did. But I needed the extra boost. I wouldn't have made it out of there if I hadn't." He didn't say anything, so I kept babbling, "I used it like I use any other magic that isn't distinctly mine. I breathed it in, let it circulate, and let it back out. I haven't touched it since. I promise."

Draco was frowning, studying my face. "So I still have all my magic."

"Yes. It's all yours. I never took it, really. Just borrowed for a split second and gave it right back in the same condition as before. I have no control over it now." The last part wasn't entirely true — sometimes his magic practically begged to be used — but I refused to allow myself access to it. So it was basically true.

"Then why are you acting like you did something wrong?"

"Oh." I felt my cheeks heat up and looked away. "Um, well, its not really supposed to be done. It's considered an invasion of privacy. In Italy it's a punishable offense."

"Hemera," Draco murmured softly, almost chuckling. He gently pushed aside the hair hiding my face from him and tipped my chin up so our eyes met. "I'm glad you did it. I never would have been able to forgive myself if Bellatrix had killed you. My magic is yours whenever you need it." My skin tingled where it touched his and his eyes drew me in. I felt myself leaning closer without thinking.

"You don't need to say that, but thank you for understanding." He opened his mouth, but I didn't let him talk, "And for the record, I don't think I need to forgive you for not physically helping me, but I know you disagree. So before you ask you should know that I do."

"You do?" His voice was hoarse, his beautiful eyes watching me carefully.

"Yes. If you had physically helped me then Bellatrix would have killed you, and Voldemort would have killed your family. I forgive you." The second the words left my mouth he pulled me into his arms.

"Thank you," he said so softly the words almost weren't there. But they were. We held onto each other, enjoying our new freedom from guilt. His breath whispered over my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "So what next?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling away so I could see his face.

"What do we do about this assassin?"

My eyebrow went up. "We?"

"I'm helping, Hemera. I'm not saying I'm actually going take on a brutal assassin alone, but you shouldn't either." I couldn't disagree with that. "So do we tell McGonagall that an evil psychopath is headed straight for Hogwarts?"

"No. That would require telling her about who I really am."

"I get that, but is it smart to leave Hogwarts completely unprotected?"

"It isn't completely unprotected. I have my wards up now and they'll tell me if anyone not allowed on Hogwarts grounds enters. Besides, the only thing that will stop the assassino from coming is if we close down Hogwarts, and there's no way McGonagall is going to do that."

"True," Draco acquiesced, "So what then? We just wait?"

"We wait. And pray to whatever god you believe in that he never gets here."

"I don't like waiting."

I smirked. Of course he didn't. "How do you feel about school, then? We still have a couple hours of it, if I'm not mistaken. Should pass the time nicely."

Draco frowned at me. "You still want to go to class after learning that an assassin was sent across Europe to kill you?"

"Not at all, but it beats having to pretend to be sick again. Ron and Harry pestered me about that for days."

It was Draco's turn to smirk. "Finally tired of Potty and Weasel King?"

I rolled my eyes and stood, moving to where I'd dropped my bag. "Are you coming or not? I believe we have double defense against the dark arts together." Draco gave a melodramatic sigh but followed me out the door, grabbing his own bag off the floor.

Our relationship had just changed at its very basic fundamental level. What it changed to, I wasn't sure. But something was different. Something important.