A/N: WARNING! This chapter contains scenes of a sexual nature, skip to the middle if you want to avoid it.

Chapter Twelve: Tribulations

Arianwen had gone to bed on strange terms with Draco that night. He'd been distant from her throughout the rest of the day and didn't offer to walk her to her room in the evening as he usually did. In fact, she'd barely even been able to make eye contact with him.

It had taken her a long time to fall asleep that night, she couldn't stop herself from reliving the events of that day: her fear when Draco had been called away to the Dark Lord, her horror when she'd seen all those helpless people in St. Mungo's, and those eyes…those terrible eyes-

Arianwen sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat, a hand raised to her mouth to cover the terrified scream that had escaped her lips. She clutched the bed covers, trying to find comfort but only finding more fear as the darkness of her room closed in on her, suffocating her little by little.

She gasped for air desperately, chills creeping up her spine as she relived the little boy's screams. "Nooo!" She whimpered, pressing her hands over her ears and burying her face into her knees. "NO!"

She jumped as she felt large hands close around her wrists, pulling her hands away from her ears. "Ri, what the hell?" It was Draco. She stared at him through watery eyes.

"Draco," she whispered, "I'm scared" Her whole body started shaking as she shivered wildly.

"Okay," he said, blatant panic in his voice, "it's okay, I'm here. Let's get you out of this room" He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, striding through the dark as confidentially as if he had night vision.

He placed her gently down on his bed and illuminated the nearby lamps.

Her breathing had calmed enough for her to glance around his room, lavishly decorated in dark wood and deep green shades. She suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, she had clearly screamed so loudly that she'd awoken Draco, who had to save her from a nightmare, he must think I'm such a child.

"Here," he spoke gently, handing her one of his shirts, "I thought you might like to change."

She looked down at her nightgown, it was visibly wet with sweat. Her embarrassment grew tenfold. "Thanks." She murmured, taking the shirt and looking over at his bathroom door apprehensively, she couldn't even bring herself to go in there alone.

Draco seemed to understand her concerns though, as he offered to stay with her but turn around while she changed, an offer which she blushingly accepted.

"Okay," she said softly, "you can turn around now." She was standing awkwardly beside his bed, his shirt hanging baggily on her slender frame.

"What was that all about, Ri? You were screaming so awfully, I thought…I don't know."

She bit her lip anxiously, "I-I'm not sure."

"Was it because of what you saw in St. Mungo's?" He asked, a flicker of guilt flashing in his eyes.

She shook her head, "no, not exactly. It was these eyes…I've seen them before b-but" she stuttered, feeling fear coursing through her again.

"Eyes?"

She nodded uncomfortably, she knew it sounded completely ridiculous that she would be so afraid of some eyes, but he didn't know what it was like…that horrible feeling of being watched.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the thought of it, causing her to shudder. "Can we talk about something else?" She hated how lame and vulnerable she looked but equally didn't want to be left alone.

He nodded and plopped himself down on his bed, gesturing for her to join him. She faltered, I'm about to quite literally jump into bed with Draco Malfoy… Oh crap!

"Don't worry, I don't bite," he teased, pulling the covers back for her and patting the bed encouragingly.

She contemplated it a little longer before deciding that his idea was the lesser of two evils and climbed in carefully.

"Will your mother mind?" Arianwen asked, shuffling closer to Draco's body like a moth to a flame.

He shrugged, "we just won't tell her, it'll be fine. I'd rather this than you be left all alone next door."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "thank you." Snuggling closer, Arianwen placed a hand on Draco's chest only to realise that it was bare.

"Oh!" She squeaked, pulling the covers off him to expose his bare body, covered only by a pair of boxer shorts.

She found herself gaping at him, his large muscles were more defined than she expected, probably all the Quidditch. She could understand why so many girls threw themselves at him, he's absolutely…wow…just wow…

"Enjoying the view?" Draco asked smugly.

Arianwen felt as though her face had just exploded into flames, she was so painfully embarrassed that she couldn't even string a sentence together properly. "Oh sorry, I-uh…I-um…I-just thought-"

He silenced her with a kiss, pulling her partially on top of him and running his fingers over her back leisurely. She sighed happily and nibbled his lip before pulling away slightly so they could make eye contact.

"You've been a bit distant today honey, is everything okay?"

"Have I?" He asked casually, playing with the ends of her hair with the arm that cradled her and tucked the other hand behind his head. "Sorry, I'm just tired."

She was fairly sure that there was more to it than just being tired but decided not to press the issue, instead she traced patterns between his abs.

"I suppose I'll be going home soon," she said with a sigh, "will you be able to visit?"

A small smile crept onto his face as he watched her eyes widen hopefully, as if I could deny you anything.

"If you wish," he said calmly, not wanting to appear too keen, "but I do wonder how you'll introduce me…" He spoke slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he saw the confused expression on her face turn into one of understanding.

"Oh! Um…maybe as my boyfriend?" She spoke softly, eyes fluttering to Draco's hopefully.

"That's decided then."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds before breaking into laughter. Arianwen kissed Draco happily before snuggling into him, resting her head on his chest. She felt his hot lips press a kiss to her head and let out a satisfied sigh. Unwilling to let it end there, Draco rolled Arianwen onto her back so that he could lie over her possessively. They exchanged a lustful stare before his lips came crashing down onto hers, more urgent and wanting than they had been before. Arianwen responded to his urgency, pressing her chest to his and running her hands down his torso and into his boxers.

Draco let out a low growl at her touch, "don't tease me Arianwen."

"I'm not teasing you baby," she replied seductively, pushing him down so his back slammed on the bed, she straddled him and undid the buttons of her shirt slowly.

Draco watched in awe as she removed her shirt and bent down so that her large round breasts were just millimetres away from his face. He kissed them hungrily, occasionally nipping at her skin to illicit a sharp intake of breath and a soft moan from her. She threw her head back and arched her back as he reached between her legs and toyed with her, he pushed his fingers inside of her and she whimpered with pleasure.

"Draco!" She moaned, sliding down his body to meet his lips. She tugged on his lower lip with her teeth gently, making him groan with anticipation. Kissing his neck as she moved down slowly, she slid his boxers off and started playing with his erect penis.

"Fuck." He whispered as she rolled her tongue down the length of his penis, eventually encasing it in her mouth. She started slowly, gently sucking as she slid up and down, using her hands to massage the base of it. His groans grew louder as she increased the intensity, moving harder and faster than before and releasing her own moans at the excitement. He entwined his fingers in her hair as he came, whispering expletives as she massaged the tip of his penis with her tongue. She released one final seductive groan as she swallowed his come, then slowly dragged her body against his until they were lying side by side. Draco was covering his face with his hands, still breathing heavily as he tried to bring himself back down to earth.

Arianwen kissed his arm gently and Draco pulled his hands away from his face, instead wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer so she was half on top of him. He kissed her deeply, his strong arms tensing around her possessively, "fuck Ri, that was…insane."

She giggled and kissed his cheek, "I just wanted to give you something to remember me by before I leave tomorrow." She whispered, her eyes full of emotion as she gazed into his.

He smiled and felt his stomach flipping at her words, he tightened his hold on her and kissed the tip of her nose gently, "I could never forget you babe, but thank you."

They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments longer before Arianwen shuffled down to rest her head on his chest, she felt his body tense under her.

"Ri!" His eyes were fixed concentratedly on a spot on the ceiling, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I really need you to put that shirt back on or I'm not gonna be able to control myself!"

Arianwen smiled and ran a finger lightly down the centre of his chest, "then maybe you shouldn't control yourself," she whispered alluringly.

He took in a sharp breath, his voice becoming more and more strained as her finger wandered lower, "yes I should. I want to do this right, Ri, you're not like the other girls…I need to treat you better than that."

She stopped teasing him with her finger and looked at him, how am I so lucky? Arianwen pulled her shirt back on and buttoned it up quickly, smiling to herself as Draco's eyes remained firmly glued to the ceiling. When she was fully covered back up she lay down next to Draco, rolling on her side so she could put an hand on his face gently. "You are the best boyfriend I could have ever wished for," she said softly, tilting his face towards hers to see his deep grey eyes and stroking his face slowly.

Draco gave her such a genuinely happy smile that she blushed, I'm falling for this girl way to fast. He smiled as she blushed, "so damn beautiful," he said quietly, brushing her hair behind her ear. He propped himself up so that he could move closer to her, bringing her into a slow, affectionate kiss.

The two settled into sleep quickly and with Draco securely holding Arianwen in his arms, she made it through the night without any further nightmares.

Arianwen awoke to someone shaking her gently. Draco was standing over her, fully clothed and smirking at her confused expression. "Good morning beautiful, I need to get you back into your room before Mother finds out you spent the night in here."

She nodded and sat up, stretching. "What time is it?"

"It's 6am." She groaned loudly and he laughed, "can't I sleep for a bit longer?" She whined, pouting and snuggling back into bed.

Draco shook his head and lifted her out of his bed effortlessly, "no you can't. Well not in here anyway." He carefully carried her back to her own room and placed her down on top of the duvet covers.

"I'm going to have breakfast early today so I'll get the house elves to bring yours up at about nine o'clock, okay?"

Arianwen nodded and wriggled her way sleepily into the bed, "thanks honey." She murmured, her eyes already closing. Draco kissed her forehead and bode her a good sleep before gently clicking the doors shut behind him.

Later that morning, Arianwen was searching the manor for Draco but couldn't seem to find him anywhere. Mrs Malfoy is nowhere to be seen either. She fretted, starting to worry that something had happened but just as she decided to find a house elf, she heard a familiar voice from the entrance hall.

Draco and Narcissa were walking through the manor, untying their thick winter cloaks as they went and passing them to the house elves. They wore matching expressions of seriousness and Arianwen faltered at the top of the stairs, unsure whether to quickly run back to her room and wait for Draco to summon her.

Narcissa however, who could probably hear a fly's heartbeat from a mile away, looked to the top of the staircase and ushered Arianwen down.

"Good morning, Mrs Malfoy, Draco," she smiled to them in turn, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude, I was just looking for Draco."

"Don't be silly dear, you're not intruding. Draco and I have just returned from visiting his father."

"Oh right…" Arianwen said softly, looking at Draco whose jaw was tightened in discomfort.

"Well I suppose I ought to get ready to leave, my friend will be here to pick me up soon."

Mrs Malfoy nodded, "okay dear. Draco why don't you go and give Arianwen a hand?"

"Certainly, Mother." He said courteously, leading Arianwen back to her room.

Once they were inside, Draco started organising her things together so they were ready to be packed into her trunk. Arianwen bit her lip nervously, she was worried that something might have happened at Azkaban as Draco had barely uttered a word to her.

"Draco," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm to stop him packing, "is something the matter?"

Draco turned to face her slowly, his expression purposefully blank, "no everything's fine, sorry I didn't mean to be quiet."

She knew that the visits to Azkaban were difficult for Draco, nobody should have to see their Father wasting away like that, but she knew that it would be best if he talked about it in his own time. Instead she simply wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tightly. He seemed a little taken aback for a moment but quickly joined in, burying his face in her hair and clinging to her slightly tighter than normal.

They stood in their embrace for a while, simply enjoying their closeness but Draco eventually pulled away and finished off her packing.

"Are you sure you won't come to Owain's New Year's party tonight?" Arianwen asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid I can't, Ri, but I'll be sure to visit you before term starts again." He couldn't help but laugh at her disappointed pout and the tension in the room instantly lifted. "That doesn't mean you can go around kissing other guys at midnight though." He raised an eyebrow at her in mock-seriousness.

"I wouldn't dream of it, honey." She smiled prettily at him, standing on her toes to brush her lips against his. He quickly took advantage of the situation, cupping her cheeks in his hands and holding her there to elongate the kiss.

Draco eventually allowed the kiss to end, planting a final kiss on her nose before calling a house elf to take her trunk and leading her downstairs. They went through to the drawing room and sat down on a sofa opposite Mrs Malfoy, who was reading the Daily Prophet and occasionally rolling her eyes at its contents.

A house elf popped into the room, "Mistress! A Mr. Elgar is here for Lady Arianwen!" He squeaked.

Narcissa fixed the elf with a cold stare, he squirmed under her gaze, "well bring him in then!" She said exasperatedly.

Moments later, the elf entered the room again with a tall, dark haired man whose deep blue eyes were fixed upon Arianwen. "Owain!" She skipped over to him and embraced him tightly.

He laughed and span her around, "ahh hello little one, how are you?"

She pulled away and beamed at him, "very well thanks, and look at you - you've grown!" She said, putting her hands on either side of his shoulders, trying to gauge how much they'd broadened.

He shrugged, still smiling at his friend, "I'm in the under 20s squad for the Cardiff Blues now, Coach has been working us pretty hard this season."

"The Cardiff Blues? What position do you play?" Draco asked enthusiastically. Arianwen blushed, she'd completely forgotten to introduce Owain to the Malfoy's.

"Oh please excuse my manners! Mr. Owain Elgar this is Mr. Draco Malfoy, and his mother, Mrs Narcissa Malfoy." He shook hands with Draco and took Mrs Malfoy's hand, kissing it politely. She smiled slightly at him, she wasn't used to such manners from any of Draco's friends.

"Owain is the son of Viscount Elgar of Brecknockshire, you may have met him at one of my Father's functions."

A small look of recognition flitted over Mrs Malfoy's features, "ah yes indeed, a fine gentleman, your father!"

Owain inclined his head to her regally, before turning back to Draco, "I'm a Beater, though I think I'm getting more of a beating than the bludgers at the moment!"

The two men laughed and Arianwen smiled, she had hoped that her friends would like Draco and Quidditch was always a good way to win their hearts.

"Do you play, Draco? You've got the build of a Quidditch player." Owain said in his low voice, slapping Draco on the back as if to prove his point.

Draco grinned, "yeah I play for our House team at Hogwarts, I'm a Seeker.

"He's good, Owain, you boys should have a match!" Draco felt his grin widen at Arianwen's words and he caught his mother's eye, she was smiling at him knowingly.

Both Owain and Draco seemed to agree that a Quidditch match would be a good idea and Arianwen smiled happily at the both of them, pleased with herself. She turned to Narcissa, "thank you so much for having me over Mrs Malfoy, you've been so gracious, I can't express my gratitude enough!"

Narcissa smiled pleasantly at Arianwen and took her hands, kissing her on either cheek, "nonsense, darling, it was my pleasure. You must come and visit us again soon!"

Arianwen beamed at her, Draco is so lucky to have her for a mother. She turned to him and smiled sadly, "thank you for everything Draco, I've had such a wonderful Christmas… I'm quite sad to be going to be honest."

He chuckled and kissed her hand, "thank you too, I'll visit as soon as I can, I promise."

"Okay, I'll be at Pembrokeshire Castle when you're ready to stop by," she said in quiet disappointment, looking at him with wide eyes. Why am I hoping he invites me to stay for longer? Get a grip, Arianwen!

"Thanks for having Arianwen for so long Mrs Malfoy, very good of you!" Owain said loudly, breaking Arianwen's attention away from Draco. She smirked and shook her head, you sound like my Father.

To Arianwen's surprise, Owain had apparated them directly back to his house; a large 19th Century manor with a long straight drive, lined with bright red roses that had been crystallised by frost.

Noticing her confused expression, Owain explained, "Brianne was about to keel over and die if she didn't see you as soon as you left the Malfoy's. Don't worry though, she's organised all your things so you don't need to go back before the party."

"Oh okay then, is she in the house?" He nodded and she started tugging at his arm, "well come on then!" She exclaimed excitedly.

A high pitched scream came from the doorway and a streak of blonde ran towards them, jumping on Arianwen at full speed.

"Ahhh!" Both girls squealed and jumped around, exchanging hurried words about how excited they were to see each other.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Carwyn and Gwyn appeared at the door, looking bemused.

"Ohh.." They both said in unison, laughing as Arianwen engulfed them both in tight hugs as well.

"I've missed you all so much!" She admitted, clinging to the two boys.

Owain shook his head and chuckled, "come on, let's get inside."

Later that evening…

The group were gathered around a large fire pit in Owain's garden, they'd decided to take a break from the main party, it's loud thudding music pulsating around the gardens. Arianwen was snuggled up with Brianne under a thick woolly blanket. Brianne was quizzing her on her week away with Draco, and while they weren't strictly conversing with the boys, they were all listening in intently anyway.

"So you're together now?" Brianne asked eagerly.

Arianwen nodded and smiled, "yeah it's all gone pretty quick but yes we're a couple now!"

"Well you've been pining after him ever since you first met him so I don't think it's gone as quickly as it could've!"

Gwyn sat up boldly, clutching his chest and pulling a pained expression, "but you were supposed to be pining after me! My poor aching heart!"

"Shut up you buffoon!" She threw a cushion at him in annoyance but he caught it easily and winked at her.

"Anyway," Brianne stressed, impatient to find out more, "have you two, you know, done anything?"

Arianwen blushed hotly, which was all Brianne needed to giggle and slap her arm playfully, "Arianwen Gwydion you little minx!"

The boys all exchanged glances, wiggling their eyebrows at eachother.

"Oh will you all just shut up!" Arianwen huffed, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of her friends, who were now standing on the furniture and making obscene gestures to each other.

"But we didn't even say anything!" Gwyn whined, pouting playfully.

Arianwen couldn't help but roll her eyes at them and join in their laughter, where did I find such a bunch of lunatics?

Eventually they all sat back down and their laughter faded to the occasional chuckle. Brianne looked as though she was desperate to ask something else but she was interrupted by a rather more serious Owain.

"So, little one, what progress have you made in the case against your uncle? Have you collected enough names to petition to reform the law?"

He was staring at her intently, trying to read the answer from her mind before she spoke it…she gulped. "Um…I haven't made a lot of headway to be honest. I need to speak to Anei-"

Carwyn interrupted her, looking unimpressed, "you've become lackadaisical, Arianwen, and in the meantime your Uncle gains support in the Ministry. The more time you waist, the more likely it becomes that he'll win."

His words were spoken so harshly that she felt them like a knife to the chest. The feeling was made worse by the looks on Gwyn and Owain's faces, it was clear they agreed, and Brianne was staring at a spot of the floor awkwardly.

"You're right," Arianwen whispered ashamadely, "I know there's more at stake here than just myself, if Uncle Dafydd were to take my Father's title then he may well be able to take my appointment as Warden of the South, and that would be…" She tailed off, struggling to find the words to describe it.

"It would be an absolute fucking disaster. A shit on your face, burning poker up your arse catastrophe." Ah Gwyn, ever the eloquent one.

"Basically the guy is a complete fucking spoon, and we need you to prevent such idiocy from gaining power because it's our fathers that will have to follow his orders." Owain added.

"And we don't want them to have to follow him into battle with this so called 'Dark Lord'." Carwyn finished off.

They've definitely been rehearsing this.

"Okay okay, I get it. I'll meet with Nei this week and get something arranged with the Houses in the North."

The boys made sounds of agreement, Marquess Aneirin Elisedd of Gwynedd was a force to be reckoned with, like his father, and was highly regarded in the North of Wales. The group fell silent again, Arianwen's stony expression bringing the mood down.

"So," Brianne started, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, "is he big?"

Carwyn chocked on his own spit while the others cackled loudly.

"Trust you to bring everything back to her boyfriend's dick, Brianne." Owain grinned at her and she shrugged nonchalantly, her gaze focusing on Arianwen.

She smiled back at Brianne and raised a brow, really? In front of the boys?

Brianne nodded, Arianwen didn't need to say the words aloud for her to understand.

A small, tempting smirk took over Arianwen's mouth as she held her two index fingers a distance apart from each other to represent length.

They all erupted into cackled laughter; Draco Malfoy, it appeared, was rather well endowed.

New Years Day…

It was the early hours of the morning and Owain's house was slowly starting to quieten down as people trickled out. Arianwen was feeling the effects of the alcohol and leaned against a pillar for support as the group thanked people for coming. She let out a long breath, her eyes fixed on a terracotta plant pot as she tried to stop the room from spinning in her head.

"You look like you need to get to bed, love." Gwyn said, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Mmm…" It was all she managed to say before the nausea took over and she retched into the plant pot she'd been eying up.

Gwyn chuckled to himself and waited for her to finish before putting a steadying arm around her waist, "come on little one, let's get you home."

"How-" she gagged and Gwyn jumped away hastily, "no I'm okay, I'm okay," she muttered hoarsely, "how are you going to get me home? Shouldn't I get Owain-"

"I can apparate now, Ri, we all can! Haven't they given you lessons at Hogwarts yet?"

She shook her head, struggling to speak as a new wave of nausea threatened to overpower her. She allowed Gwyn to take her waist again and waved in the vague direction of the others to signal her departure.

They apparated onto a public path at the border of Pembrokeshire Castle and walked together up the long winding track that led up the hill to the enormous wooden front doors.

Arianwen placed her hand on the large dragon-shaped door knocker and whispered, "Agored!"

The doors creaked open as commanded and revealed the dark entrance hall.

"Jheeze, Ri, when was the last time you came here?! It's nothing like I remember!"

"Not since Mother died, I think." She shivered as their footsteps echoed through the room, a thin cloud of dust drifting through the air with every step on the dull flagstone floor.

Luckily the lanterns lining the walls had been magically enchanted to alight when movement was detected so their path was illuminated. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as multiple pairs of eyes watched them make their way through the house.

"These portraits are creepy as hell," Gwyn quietly voiced the words that Arianwen had been thinking.

"I know, I'm not sure if they recognise me. They probably think we're intruders." She whispered under her breath.

They halted in the middle of a hallway that housed numerous passageways and staircases. "I can't remember the way!" Gwyn hissed to Arianwen; they had played together in the castle when they were much younger but the dimly lit room did nothing to stimulate his memory.

"I think it's the left tower," Arianwen said, making her way over to a door on the far left of the room that was ajar. They ascended the narrow winding staircase and eventually emerged in front of a heavy wooden door with a rolled up piece of parchment hanging pinned to it.

Arianwen unrolled it slowly with trembling fingers, she felt as though some grave message would be enscribed upon it.

She released the breath she'd been holding.

"Yep, definitely your room, little one." Gwyn laughed, looking at the poorly drawn unicorn on the parchment, the name 'Whinnie' just about legibly scribbled underneath.

Arianwen gazed around her old room, everything was covered in white dust cloths but she still recognised it as if she'd been there a month ago. Gwyn yanked the large linen sheet from her bed and coughed as a dust cloud surrounded him.

"You need to get some house elves on this place, Ri!"

"Yeah, definitely. I wonder why Father stopped bringing me here…" She pondered as she slipped off her dress and climbed into bed in her underwear.

"Probably because Tŷ Myddfai is a thousand times nicer." Gwyn said, moving over to Arianwen's bedside and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Right, I think I'll leave this way," he gestured to the fireplace at the other end of the room, "goodnight, little one. I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're getting on."

He walked over to the fireplace and picked up a handful of flue powder, preparing to leave.

"Thanks honey. Love you." Arianwen mumbled as her head sank deeper into her pillow.

Gwyn sighed as he watched sleep come to her, "love you too, Ri."

He threw the powder down at his feet, "Tŷ Treowen."

Arianwen's dreams were troubled that night.

She stood over the image of herself, watching as she walked towards Hogwarts from Hogsmeade village. She ran to catch up with herself, calling out her own name in the hope that her other self would stop.

But she didn't. It was as though she wasn't aware of her presence at all.

She saw herself bending over Katie Bell, trying to muster up the energy to chant the old magic that would save her life.

"Come on, Arianwen! Do it!" She screamed at herself.

Her other self was becoming panicked, clutching at Katie's shoulder and waving her wand over her limp body.

"Do it! I know you-we can do it!" The other Arianwen just continued to panic, tears rolling down her face as Katie let out one final screech.

"DO IT OR SHE'LL DIE!" Arianwen screamed at her other self, desperate not to see Katie's life end.

To her horror, the other Arianwen's face shot up, eyes snapped on her own.

Only…her eyes were electric blue…and she was walking towards her menacingly, hand outstretched.

"Arianwen." The eerie blue eyed girl called to her. She stumbled backwards…

"Arianwen!"

She jumped wildly, eyes darting around her dark room as her heart raced, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Arianwen!" The voice called again, only this time it was more familiar and…deep. It was a man's voice.

"Who's there?" She called out, her voice a lot more confident than she felt.

"Ri, it's me." Came a hoarse voice by the fireplace - and it clicked.

"Draco?!"

She ran to the figure by the fireplace, his body slumped against the mantelpiece. The lanterns in her room lit with her movement and Draco's form came into full view.

She screamed.

He was covered in blood.

A/N: Well well, it looks like Draco's got himself into a pickle...

Thanks to Aurora for your lovely review on the last chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, it must have taken ages to read through all eleven chapters so thank you for persevering :)

Show me some love, people! I'm pleased to have gained a few more followers on this but nothing beats a little notification in my email saying that someone's left a review; I love hearing your opinions (even if you want to give me some constructive criticism)!

I may also put a little guide in the next chapter to advise how to pronounce all the Welsh names, if that's any help?

I'll try and update asap but am currently enjoying some lovely weather in Thailand so mainly just write when it rains/when I've sizzled my skin too much. I hope you're all enjoying your summer's too!