She wavered only slightly as she took him in. He was a walking shell of the man she had grown up with. The light that usually followed him had dimmed. There was no spotlight for him to stand in, the darkness of this room seemed to close in on them both. She could feel the claustrophobia setting in and breathed in and out slowly as he stood in front of her. This closet was enough to drive anyone crazy.

Their breathing was the only noise in the room. The single bird above them was ominously quiet as it watched the two of them below.

"This is Hogwarts, I have every right to be here as you do. Which is none mind you." She broke the silence and His eyes stalked her as she walks around the small room, coming to a stop in front of the one window. The view of the quidditch pitch hurt her in a way she did not understand. She could make out the figures practicing. "You gave up quidditch this year, didn't you?" he grunted back at her she could feel him approaching a kept her eyes forward on the pitch.

"why?"

"I'm failing my classes as is Granger, I couldn't exactly enjoy any extracurriculars if I even wanted to."

"So, you watch it instead, from a distance though, just like everything else. Always at a distance." She shook her head and pushed past him, tentatively she reached up and traced a finger along the marks of the cabinet. It was rather beautifully carved, in a menacing manner. She could feel a chill coming from behind the wood. The magic buzzed just below the surface and sent a shiver down her spine. He grabbed her wrist and she turned her head quickly to challenge him and stopped at the sight before her.

"Please," he looked pained "Don't touch it, there's something dark about it. Something seeping through I think."

"I know. You can feel it in the air" He looked at her as if her presence was physically hurting him somehow. This small space with its single window and ominous bird was where he spent his time. She could see now, the darkness that surrounded him in the real world. The pain behind his eyes connected to this room more than anyone would ever truly know.

"Why do you have a vanishing cabinet Draco?" she asked again as he pressed his eyes closed.

"I can't tell you. I can't tell you anything you want to hear. So please just leave."

"We've had that fight. We've had this talk many times this year. Are you not tired of this?" She laughed then and stopped quickly. This room wasn't for laughing.

"Why are you always here?" He asked looking through books on the table next to them. She gazed at the titles. Similar to the library. How long of a year had it been?

"Blaise told me I needed to find out what was going on with you, he later admitted he was simply using me as a pawn to help you." He banged a book down and dust from the table floated in the air as his piercing stare looked through her.

"What's wrong with you?" she squeaked out. "He cares about saving your neck. This was after the dreams started. I'm assuming he had seen the bruise before you tried to charm it." She lowered the hand that had been fiddling around her neck in remembrance.

"He hadn't but Nott had. So, was this a ploy? Get close and find out what was going on with me? To what report me?"

"No, I told him I wasn't going to help you, he however knew better." She shrugged as he wondered around the room still avoiding her. "He knew enough to know you were in trouble, he knows you're behind the student attacks. I think he just wants to help you."

"No one can help me. I will finish this task and die, or I will fail and die. Those are my options." He shrugged and stopped in front of her.

He wasn't really looking at her. Not completely at least. His gaze was somewhere over her shoulder, at the cabinet, when she moved in front of him his eyes purposely lost hers and wandered back to the cabinet.

"so, it was used to transport people during the first war?" She switched topics and watched as his eyes glanced at her quickly and his jaw clenched. "I read that book you gave me once or twice, it also mentioned that it was not very reliable in the destination. People seem to disappear as the magic wears off."

"I know, it's also possible to repair them. At least that's what I've been told." His lip curled up in a snarl. She leaned into focus and he matched her eyes for the first time. She could practically see the war behind them.

"But it doesn't work." She pried "You had said before that it didn't work. I'm assuming it still doesn't or people would be here right. Those on the other side."

"You know too much. Much more than me, I have no clue who is even on the other side. If there even still waiting or have moved on. Wouldn't surprise me if they've tried to find another way through. How long it has taken" He walked closer to her then and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach taking flight. He wasn't there, not really, the person in front of her mind was jumping place to place. She could see the war happening behind his eyes.

"Draco stops. Please stop talking, I really don't want to know everything." She whispered as he stroked the cabinet behind her head. Her pulse was drumming quickly in her ears.

"Why? I thought everyone wanted to know the details. Isn't that why none of you are leaving me to die." His jaw tensed and she reached a hand up and rested it on the side of his face, he relaxed into it momentarily before tensing again.

"Why is it so bad that we care for you? That I care that you stay alive?" He grabbed her wrist again and pressed his lips to the palm of her hand.

"Were walking on thin ice Granger, thinner ice than we've walked on before. This is the moment you have to decide. Are you all in or all out? Cause once you're in I can't protect you anymore than I can when you're out." He rested his forehead against her own. "I can't save you from them, I can't save you from myself. I can't even save myself from either." His lips ghosted along her flesh causing goosebumps to form along her skin.

"Were at an Impasse then. I can't save you either." She shook her head slightly. "Draco we can't do this. The year is almost up, if you don't complete the task, and you won't let me help you. You won't leave your mother behind either. Which I can't blame you for that, then what are we supposed to do. I can't even tell" His lips lightly pressed to hers silencing her for the moment.

"I can't fall for you and then lose you." He sighed "So I think you should leave."

A.N

Sorry for the posting Delay! This chapter was struggling to come together.

I am amazed at the love and support you all have shown these characters and know that it is appreciated. This is my first ever full out story and I could not ask for a better group that have taken this adventure with me. We still have some chapters to go but wanted to say this now! So thank you :)