A/N: Well this one took a little while didn't it? I've been swamped so stayed up till 2:30am to get this finished for you guys, I hope you enjoy it - there's less Draco in this chapter but lots of important plot points so let me know what you think!

Thank you sooo much to ForeverTeamEdward13, Aurora, and my Guest reviewer for answering the questions that I put at the bottom of the previous chapter...your wish is my command! Thank you for sharing your opinions with me, I'm always curious to see whether you interpret the characters and events in the same way as I do.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Chapter Eighteen: Estranged

Arianwen stared into the fire in the Slytherin common room, silently praying that her uncle wouldn't be the one to collect her from Hogwarts. It was nine thirty on Friday morning and all of her fellow sixth years were in the common room for their free period before their Charms class at ten. She hadn't bothered to go to breakfast and had hoped that her classmates would leave her to be alone in the common room until she left to begin her suspension; they did not. Pansy had been released from the Hospital Wing the night before and Arianwen had heard her loudly whispering a plan to the other girls in their dormitory to stick around and humiliate her in front of her uncle.

Blaise was the only person Arianwen would speak to, he'd offered to stay with her for moral support but she denied him, advising that she'd rather just sit alone. He had instead placed himself on a sofa next to Draco and the other boys but she was still aware of him looking at her from time to time, as if he expected her to jump up and start attacking Pansy at any given moment.

She had managed to avoid Draco since their argument the day before but as Snape had told her that by no means could she leave the common room until she was picked up, she was forced to endure his presence.

The flames popped and crackled with a gust of wind, reflecting her sullen mood. The hem of her cloak fluttered lightly as someone walked passed and the sofa cushions shifted as they sat down beside her. She didn't bother to look up, glaring into the fire was far more satisfying.

"Where's that smile that could light up a city?" The person next to her spoke, his deep, jovial voice causing Arianwen's heart to skip a beat excitedly.

A wide, beaming smile radiated from her mouth and the man chuckled. "There it is."

"Earl Bedwyr! I didn't expect to see you!"

Gwyn's father smiled at her mischievously."No I'm sure you didn't. I thought it might make a nice change for you to come and stay with us over the weekend. I heard your uncle talking about your suspension and managed to convince him to agree after a few drinks."

"Oh how lovely, thank you." She knew it would take more than a few drinks to get her uncle to pass up an opportunity to put her to shame but she didn't want to question him.

"It's the least I can do, my dear. Your father would never forgive me if I allowed you to be in the presence of that vile man for an extended period of time. I suppose you moved to Pembroke Castle to get some distance from him."

Arianwen nodded while giving him a small smile, she wished that she could stay in Myddfai House but it would wreck her nerves knowing that she could run into her uncle at any time.

"Does Gwyn know that I'm staying with you?"

The man beamed and puffed his chest out as he always did when speaking of his cherished son. "Why of course! He practically begged me to allow it, not that it was necessary mind you." He smiled approvingly at Arianwen, "I must say that I was most disappointed when I heard that you were no longer in a relationship with Gwyn. He's still absolutely smitten with you, my girl, are you sure you won't pursue anything? Perhaps consider marrying him?"

Oh this is too perfect. Arianwen tried not to look at Draco despite feeling his eyes burning into the back of her neck.

She faked a blush and smiled coyly at the Earl. "One must never say never, my Lord."

The Earl clapped his hands together in excitement, as though Arianwen had just definitively affirmed an engagement with his son. "Excellent! You'll make a fine match, I've always said so. Dewi and I were beside ourselves when we first saw you taking an interest in one another. You'd have most of the South if you were joined, you know; then all you'd need to do is marry your heir off to the daughter of the Earl of Glamorganshire and you'd own the whole lot!"

Arianwen couldn't help but laugh, remembering a very similar conversation she'd had in the Three Broomsticks a few months ago. "Yes, Gwyn said the same thing."

Earl Bedwyr chortled for a little while, his tanned complexion crinkling more with each chuckle. "Right then, my Lady, shall we make a move?"

Arianwen rose to her feet elegantly, aware that Draco's eyes were still following her every movement. She smiled and waved to Blaise before allowing her eyes to rest upon Draco, his jaw was clenched as though pained, but other than that his expression remained completely neutral. As their gaze connected, she felt her stomach flip nervously but she did not allow her composure to waiver. With a curt nod, she tore her eyes away and strode defiantly from the common room.

Gwyn had invited their other friends to spend the weekend at his house with Arianwen. Owain, Carwyn and Brianne had all been very supportive of Arianwen when she explained the events leading to her suspension and they all agreed that they would have acted similarly.

Friday evening had been spent drinking and laughing with Gwyn's parents and sisters but by midnight they'd retreated to 'the den': a room adjoining the billiards room that they'd erected a make-shift tent in when they were younger. The five friends fell asleep there, Brianne snuggled between Owain and Carwyn and Arianwen cwtched up next to Gwyn.

As the weather was forgiving on Saturday, they went for a ride with some of the family's horses; venturing through the flower strewn forests of King's Wood and along part of Offa's Dyke Path. Arianwen smiled as she thought of Gwyn's teasing as they rode along the path.

"You can carry on going if you want Ri, love." He said as he slowed his horse to take in a magnificent view of the Black Mountains.

Arianwen slowed her horse as well, coming to a stop beside Gwyn. "What are you on about?"

"Well if you carry on for twenty odd miles, you'll get to Chepstow and then just forty more until you're in Wiltshire with your fancy little English bloke."

She laughed and swatted him mockingly. "He's not little, Gwyn, he's the same height as you but I'm obviously not going to ride all the way to Wiltshire because he wouldn't even be there, he's still in school."

"Pity." Gwyn said cheerfully, he pulled his horse around so he could face Arianwen front-on. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, his hand lingered on her cheek and his smile faded as he searched her olive green eyes intently. "I like having you all to myself again."

Brianne handed Arianwen a butterbeer and continued to question her about her argument with Draco. It was Sunday evening, and the five friends were back in the den, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace beyond their tent.

"I still don't understand why you're so angry with him, Ri?"

Arianwen sighed and took a long swig of butterbeer before attempting to explain again. "I just didn't expect him to defend Pansy so much. The bitch destroyed my photo album and all he could say was 'you could have really hurt her', well what about what she did to me, surely I should be his priority as his girlfriend?!"

Brianne paused for a moment, apparently choosing her words carefully. "It sounds to me like he was just warning you to be more careful, hun. I mean he stayed up and waited for you to get back from the headmaster's office, surely that shows you that he cares about you? Don't you think you're being a little harsh?"

You didn't hear what he said to Harry.

"Whatever. I'm done talking about this." Arianwen stood abruptly and walked out of the tent and through to the next room. She rested against the windowsill in the billiards room and stared up at the moon.

Brianne shook her head but didn't try to stop her friend from leaving. She turned her attention to the boys, addressing them in hushed tones.

"Did you get Draco's letter?"

The three boys nodded; Carwyn spoke first. "Yes, I've already sent mine back to him, and I sent a letter on to a few people at the Ministry. It's a good thing he's doing for her, she really ought to appreciate him more."

Brianne smiled, Carwyn was the fairest of them all and he had always been a good judge of character.

"She will." Owain reasoned. "She just needs to cool off for a bit."

"I don't know why you're all so keen on him. I thought he was fine but Ri can do much better, she doesn't need a man that's going to judge her actions all the time." Gwyn huffed.

"That's exactly what she needs." Carwyn stated matter-of-factly. "I can't say that I disagree with what she did to that girl, it sounds like she deserved what was coming to her, but she's going to have a lot of power when she's older and she'll need someone to question her motives when she gets out of hand or she'll lose her grasp on reality."

Gwyn rolled his eyes at Carwyn. "Oh please, she's perfectly capable of handling anything that comes her way. She doesn't need some pompous English bloke to put her down all the time." He looked around at his friends in frustration; Brianne and Owain wore matching smirks, whereas Carwyn simply frowned. He shook his head and made to follow Arianwen.

"I'm going to go and find her."

He didn't have to search for long, she was staring out of the window in the next room, the large crescent moon enraptured her.

"Hi." He said softly, placing an arm across her shoulders comfortingly. "I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

He saw the corner of her mouth lift and the skin around her eyes wrinkle under the effect of her smile. She turned her head slowly to face him, moving her body closer to his; she placed her hands on his chest.

"I'm fine, I was just bored of being told to forgive him."

Gwyn smiled slightly and ran his fingers down her face, along her neck and across her collarbone, eventually resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to tell you to forgive him."

She laughed softly and tilted her head to one side. "I know. I knew I could count on you for that."

He slipped a finger under her chin and tilted it upward, so that their faces were mere centimetres apart. "You can count on me for much more than that."

He closed the gap between them, his lips meeting hers effortlessly.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts…

Draco's fist clenched around his copy of Monday's Daily Prophet, he had reached the society section and had been met by a large picture of Arianwen and Gwyn smiling and laughing together.

Upon noticing his surly exterior, Blaise smirked and took his opportunity to tease his friend, reading the article aloud.

'First student to be suspended from Hogwarts for over 30 years spends reflection time with boyfriend.

The Duchess-to-be, Marchioness Arianwen Gwydion, was spotted gallivanting with ex-schoolmates over the weekend rather than reflecting on her wrongdoing as the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, requested. Our photographer reported that the Marchioness kept close to another aristocrat, Lord Gwyn Bedwyr, son of the Earl of Monmouthshire and even stayed the night with him. This report comes amid claims that the heiress is spiraling out of control; we spoke to Lord Gwydion to find out more.'

"Utter bullshit as usual." Blaise shook his head, not bothering to read the rest of the article, he scrunched the paper up and tossed it aside. His eyes moved to Draco who was still in the same position, his fist clenching the paper and his face stony.

"She only spent the night with Gwyn because his father invited her round. Come on, you heard them talking in the common room, she's obviously not cosied up in bed with him." He said quietly, so only Draco would hear.

His words were apparently of little comfort to Draco as his fist clenched even tighter causing his knuckles to turn white; he remained otherwise silent, however.

"They've been printing loads about her recently, though they always make it sound like she's losing the plot." Millicent said, frowning at her own copy of the paper.

"Well she's hardly sane is she? Have you already forgotten what that psychopath did to me?" Pansy chimed in.

"No, I hav-"

"She's not a psychopath." Draco snapped.

Pansy raised her eyebrows at him disbelievingly. "But Dracie, you already admitted that she's been just awful to me, everyone heard you!"

His scowl deepened, he regretted defending Pansy when all Arianwen had probably wanted was to be comforted.

I shouldn't have said anything, I should've just been there for her.

"I just told her to watch out, that her actions have consequences. I never said that she's been awful to you and I never will, you've been a jealous bitch from day one and you know it." He growled. Even though a small voice in his head told him that he had to accept responsibility for his fall out with Arianwen, it felt much better to blame it all on Pansy.

Pansy looked outraged. "I am NOT a jealous bitch!"

"Really? Then why are we even having this conversation?" Draco drawled.

"You know what Draco? Fuck you! I'm tired of waiting around for you, we used to have loads of fun before that snobby whore got here; you should've appreciated me while you had the chance. I will never be…intimate... with you again!"

Am I supposed to be threatened by that?

"Thank Merlin for that! I've been trying to get rid of you for years, you were only ever adequate at best."

She reached over and slapped him hard across the cheek; tears were rolling down her face, leaving trails in her foundation. She turned and ran out of the Great Hall sobbing, with some of her friends in tow.

Blaise let out a low whistle. "Bit harsh, mate. Don't you think?"

"Absolutely not."

The students around the table fell silent and Draco allowed his mind to wander back to Arianwen, he wondered what she'd been doing in Wales and how she was coping with it all. He felt a slight twinge of what he assumed was guilt in his stomach, a feeling that was quite foreign to him. He sighed and stood, he would go to the Owlery and send her a letter apologising for everything.

"Not still sulking about your girlfriend finally noticing how much of a prat you are, are you Malfoy?" Draco's eyes snapped to the Gryffindor table where Harry Potter was grinning at him mockingly and his friends were laughing more loudly than usual.

He remembered seeing Arianwen walking with Harry in the light of dawn, his cloak draped over her barely covered body. The same explosion of jealousy ripped through him as it had that day and he glared menacingly at the Gryffindor's.

Fuck apologising.

Wednesday afternoon in Wales…

Arianwen rapped the heavy brass door knocker against the thick iron-topped wooden door of Criccieth Castle. She waited patiently as she heard the scuffling of a house elf coming to let her in.

"Good morning, your ladyship. Please come in, Tadkey will inform his mistress that you have arrived." The elf bowed deeply before scuttling off to another room.

Arianwen waited in the hallway and smiled as she looked around, there was a gigantic painting at the end of the room, its frame stretching some twenty feet in the air and its oversized occupant staring down at her scrutinisingly. The plaque beneath it read: 'Prince Llewellyn the Great'.

"Who goes there?" The man in the painting boomed.

"Arianwen ap Dewi, your Highness; Marchioness of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire."

The man in the painting snorted. "Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire you say? Well, much has changed since my day." He shook his head distractedly. "And where is your father, Lady Arianwen? It is not good form for a young lady to go out unchaperoned."

She smiled politely at him. Good old sexist paintings. "No indeed not, your Highness. I'm afraid that the Duke has passed away, so I am forced to venture out alone."

"Ah." He nodded understandingly. "And who is the current presiding Duchy of your counties?"

"There is none currently, it could be myself of course - when I come of age in a few months, but there is another whom the title could pass to."

"Another! Whom?"

"My Uncle, Lord Dafydd Gwydion."

The man nodded again, scratching his beard subconsciously as he seemed to be trying to remember something.

"Dafydd Gwydion you say…" Something seemed to click as he jerked his index finger in the air. "Ah yes, your uncle has passed through these halls on numerous occasions, I recall him now."

Arianwen's eyes narrowed but she forced her tone to remain nonchalant. "Oh really? He's visited recently?"

The man nodded, waving his hand flippantly. "Oh yes, just the other week, in fact!"

Is that so… Aneirin hasn't mentioned anything.

The man looked down at Arianwen thoughtfully. "You know, my girl, in my day if you wanted something you just had to go out and take it for your own. Probably my finest example of that was when I forced King Henry to change the law so my only legitimate son David would inherit my fortune. And look where we are now! Not only did I save my wealth that day but the prosperity of the entire realm."

"With respect to your Highness, it was your alteration to that law that has landed me in this predicament today. Had you left it the way it was, there would be no question of my right to inherit the Duchy."

The man blinked a few times, seemingly shocked at her words; more confusing still, was the polite smile on the young woman's face, she was clearly well-versed in diplomacy. He couldn't suppress a chuckle, nor the twinkle from his eyes as he spoke again. "You'll go far, Lady Arianwen."

Arianwen heard a small cough come from somewhere around her feet and looked down to discover Tadkey the house elf trying to usher her through to another room. She looked back at the man in the painting and curtsied politely. "Good day, your Highness."

She followed the elf through to a sitting room and curtsied to the woman that would have been her aunt, had she not left Dafydd for Aneirin's father.

"Lady Arianwen." The elder woman greeted, she gestured for Arianwen to sit and she did so. "I must say I was somewhat surprised when Tadkey informed me that you were waiting in our hallway, I do not seem to recall extending an invitation to you."

Arianwen was a little taken aback, she hadn't expected the Duchess to be so unhappy to see her, after all if things had worked out differently they would be family.

Unless she just hates the sight of any Gwydion after she left Uncle. Though that doesn't fit with what Prince Llewellyn said about him visiting. Weird.

She bowed her head humbly. "My apologies, your Grace, I did not intend to intrude, I merely wished to speak with Lord Aneirin. Is he home?"

This seemed to irritate the Duchess even further; she pressed her lips together and spoke through gritted teeth. "He has gone for a walk around the grounds, he left over half an hour ago though so you're unlikely to catch up with him."

Arianwen's smile grew; she'd dealt with her fair share of bitchy women over the years and had always gained some juvenile enjoyment from denying them their wishes. In this case, the Duchess wished for Arianwen to leave, so she was going to do the opposite.

"That's quite alright, I'm sure I can find him."

The Duchess' looked at her icily. "I wouldn't be so sure, Lady Arianwen, our grounds are vast and the terrain is much rougher than in the south; Aneirin is used to navigating it and will have covered much ground by now. It would be wiser to make other arrangements if you wish to see him."

"How kind of you to share a nugget of your wisdom with me, your Grace, I am truly humbled. That said, I do enjoy a good walk and haven't explored North Wales in a good while." She smiled brightly as the other woman glowered and stood up, making her way towards the door.

"If I do get lost though," she said, turning with one foot out of the door. "I'll be sure to let my rescuer know that you warned me off it, I wouldn't want people to think that you wanted me gone, after all. Good afternoon, Your Grace."

With that, she exited the room, leaving Aneirin's huffing mother behind her.

After hours of trudging through the countryside, Arianwen was just about ready to give up; the bottom of her robes was thick with mud and it was starting to get dark. She stopped at the top of a hill and walked to the very edge, looking down at the Castle which now appeared like a toy model in the distance. With a great gust, the wind changed direction and Arianwen was able to hear two male voices behind her. She walked towards the source of the noise and paused behind an overhanging bush so that she would be obstructed from view.

The talking stopped and Arianwen felt the pace of her heart beat increase. Is someone following me?

Deciding that she couldn't just hide behind that bush forever, she walked out into the open and gasped. There, pressed up against a tree was Aneirin and…it can't be.

"Who are you?" Arianwen blurted out. The two men jumped apart and stared around wildly, Aneirin reddened when he saw her and he held his hands out to her desperately.

"No no no no." He muttered. "No, Arianwen! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She said slowly, eying the person that Aneirin had been kissing.

"I-uh-well-we-uh-please don't tell anyone! This is Huw, he's my boyfriend."

Huw didn't smile, he could see the tension between Aneirin and Arianwen, and he didn't like how she was staring at him.

"No." Arianwen said, offering Aneirin a reassuring smile. "No, of course I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. I just wish you'd told me! What did you expect? That I would ostracise you for being gay?"

Aneirin winced at her words but managed to relax a little, his shoulders slumping. "It was a risk I wasn't willing to take."

She smiled sadly at him and closed the space between them, pulling him into a warm embrace. "Oh Nei, you are silly. I'm just happy that you've found someone." She glanced over his shoulder at Huw, who had his hands sunken into his pockets and was watching them awkwardly.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Arianwen whispered to her friend.

He smiled at her and introduced them; Arianwen gave Huw a warm smile and they talked for a while before he excused himself and went home.

"So," Aneirin started, looking much happier than he had before, "why have you come all the way out here to see me? Not just for a quick hello, I assume?"

Arianwen smiled guiltily. "Uh-no. I was looking over that parchment you gave me a few weeks ago, you know, the one with the list of councilors that will vote in the election." He nodded and she continued. "Well I think that I need to speak with Flintshire, I've arranged to go on tour around mid Wales and South Wales is obviously not an issue but I'm worried that if I don't get Flintshire on side, he and my Uncle will try and sway others to their cause."

Aneirin frowned. "I certainly agree that it would be wise to speak with Flintshire but I've already tried, he's refusing to see you!"

"I know but I was thinking that if we go together and just show up at his door, he can't refuse us, it would be too impolite."

Aneirin gave her a wry smile but agreed. "Shall we go now then? No time like the present, eh?"

She grinned and took his outstretched arm enthusiastically. "Lets do it."

Aneirin apparated them to the border of Plas Teg, the stately home of the Earl of Flintshire and his family. They walked down the long path to the front door and Arianwen was reminded of Malfoy Manor; Plas Teg loomed above the land like the Manor did and offered a similar symmetry in the architecture.

Arianwen let Aneirin explain the purpose of their visit to the house elf, who looked most concerned to pass the news on to his master, and they entered the Earl's study where they found him engrossed in a game of wizards chess.

The Earl bowed to them reluctantly and fixed Arianwen with an irritable stare.

"What have you come here for?" He demanded gruffly.

Arianwen raised an eyebrow at him coolly. "I'm sure you are aware of the purpose of our visit, my Lord. Aneirin has written to you plenty of times and I'm sure you'll have been informed of the date of the upcoming Warden elections, so lets cut to the chase shall we?"

He nodded curtly. "Go on then."

"I want to know why you won't support me to become Warden of the South, I assume that you may have chosen to back my Uncle and I came to inform you of the stupidity of such an action."

He curled his lip at her in a sneer. "You want to inform me of my stupidity? You'll forgive me if I confess that I don't hold your opinion in any high regard. I would advise you to turn around and go back to the south, you're wasting your time."

Her polite smile faded, causing him to sit back in his chair smugly. "Be that as it may, I would still like to know why you have suddenly decided that I am not worthy of the position. My Uncle has hardly demonstrated any will to consider the wellbeing of our people; he would have us hand our power over to the English, to the 'Dark Lord' - as they call him. They say he wishes to dominate wizarding Britain, do you really want to be dominated by an Englishman?"

"Don't pretend to understand politics, Lady Arianwen."

Aneirin opened his mouth to protest for her but Arianwen was quicker.

"I need not pretend, I understand perfectly." She was struggling to keep her temper in check now. Remember what Governess Matthews taught you: remain calm, do not allow your emotions to cloud your judgement, do not allow others to use them against you.

"Tell me, my Lord, why is it that you refuse to elect Lady Arianwen, you had no issue with electing her father when he was in the role?" Aneirin asked calmly.

"Dewi Gwydion was a snake." Flintshire spat. "All he ever did was make false promises to get into that role, then when I actually needed him, he turned a blind eye."

Arianwen's brow furrowed as she tried to think of what he could be referring to, Aneirin seemed to be equally as confused, so he gestured for the Earl to continue.

"Your precious father refused to send aid to my county when my farmers' crops were plagued with Phytophthora, even though he was the only person with the capital to do so. My people suffered for years because of that man, the famine almost devastated us - that is until Lord Gwydion stepped in and used his contacts to get us enough of the antidote to revive the crops."

"Oh." Arianwen said, feeling a little surprised that his complaint was something quite reasonable. "I would not have turned my back on you, my Lord, I implore that you believe me! As Warden, I would do everything in my power to help any one of my subjects that needed it."

"Everything in your power?" He jeered. "What power? Women have no power, you exist purely to answer to the whims of your husbands. I would not have accepted help from you even if you were in the position to offer it, to do so would imply that you are more than just a cunt to play with."

Arianwen gasped and Aneirin jumped to his feet, his wand raised and pointing at the Earl.

"How dare you speak to Lady Arianwen like that? She holds a higher rank than you, Flintshire, you must treat her with respect. Apologise this instant!"

Arianwen stood also and placed a hand over Aneirin's wand arm. "Leave it, Nei. I don't need the support or respect of a man like him." She moved her gaze back to the Earl, her expression more menacing than it had ever been. "We will take our leave, Flintshire, but I assure you that your decision to act as you did tonight will not be forgotten. Mark my words, you will regret holding me in such contempt."

And anyone else that shares his opinion will suffer at my hand also.

A/N: Please review! I love to hear your opinions and if anything, it encourages me to update faster.