Astoria felt detached at work. Her mind continuously drifted to Draco's prophecy, something that seemed to have somewhat slipped her mind lately. She wanted to fix everything, but didn't know how. Astoria wasn't a "fixer." She had always been rather apathetic towards most things and it had so far gotten her far in life. She never meddled, she did what she was told, and she kept her mouth shut. Trying to figure out how to fix everything on her own seemed as difficult as learning Russian. Astoria had no friends, and she would be damned to turn to Daphne.

Worse yet was that she had no clue what was happening to Draco. She could tell that there was something wrong, but she couldn't seem to be able to put two-and-two together. She knew Nora was at the center of everything, but Astoria had no more information than that. She bit her lip. Nora couldn't possibly keep him from work, could she? She could, however, deny Astoria access. She felt like she wanted to throw something, but instead she kept the prophecy that she was processing in her hands delicately, showing no outward sign of distress.

"They still won't let me leave," Bill muttered. His eyes had purple under them and were sunken. It was clear that he had lost weight. He neglected to shave and appeared unkempt. Draco knew that his appearance would only delay his release even further.

The two communicated quite regularly. Draco couldn't bring himself to frequently be on the floor where he could run into Nora often. Instead, he shut himself in the psych ward with Bill Weasley. Bill wasn't his first choice of companion, but right now it was the best he had. Nora held her story over his head, and he couldn't risk her telling her lies. It would ruin his already poor reputation. She had rules… one of which was that he couldn't have any communication with Astoria or his family. She had isolated him and some days he wondered if it was all really worth it. Loneliness had crept over him in a way that he hadn't felt in a few years. He felt his demons creeping back into his veins and he had to suppress it as much as possible. He had no other choice. Lately he had the impulse to just quit work, but it was all he had. It was a prestigious position and he was unlikely to have this chance ever again. He only had one alternative outside of working as a Healer, and it was the path that he swore he would never walk again.

Draco looked down at his chart to not have to reply. He was the only one who bothered with Bill most days. Bill's room was immensely sparse as they believed him to be a danger to himself and others. Draco knew better but didn't know what to say as he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself. Most were surprised that he even wanted to work on Bill's case anymore considering Bill had been the one who had brutally attacked him.

"I know how that feels," Draco muttered as he shut the file and placed it on a nearby table.

"Excuse me?" Bill immediately retorted. "How would you be able to appreciate what I'm going through? Are you what people like you refer to as a 'half-breed'? Does everyone you know think you're mentally unstable while you have a newborn at home? A newborn… a newborn that y-you haven't even met?" His voice cracked and tears rushed to his eyes uncomfortably. He wiped his eyes in the inside of his elbow quickly.

Draco shook his head, defeated. "No. You're right."

Bill eyed Draco suspiciously, but took a moment to recover himself before he would speak again. His cheeks were splotchy from trying to repress his strong emotions. "Are you going to continue to be vague or am I going to have to pull it out of you?" He was clearly doing his best to appear friendly. He, too, had no one else to talk to.

Draco considered his companion. "I shouldn't say anything. It could ruin – "

"Healer Malfoy?" Nora's voice rang out in the room. Her pitch contrasted slightly with the men's and clearly startled both of them. She smiled gently. "Ironic how the two of you fear me." She let out a laugh that could have been seen as attractive if Draco didn't know her better. He didn't know how so much of a manipulative bitch could fit into such a small person. "We need you in emergency."

"Emergency." Draco repeated, flatly. "Yeah, alright." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" Nora sounded distinctly like a Hogwarts professor.

"It's nothing." Draco was ashamed about how much Nora cowed him. As he drew himself up next to her, he looked over his shoulder at Bill, his grey eyes saying so much but in a different language than Bill could ever understand.

Draco sat at home, perched on the edge of his couch as he stared at his coffee table without actually looking at it. His mind was busy and he didn't know how to control his thoughts. All he could see was Nora, pressed up against him, her eyes staring into his as if he were all she ever wanted, like he was there on his own free will. He could almost feel her hands on his body, pulling away his clothes as he stood there stoic. He didn't want to endure it even one more time. He felt embarrassed and ashamed. Who ever believed a man who claimed that a woman sexually assaulted her, especially one who did it on a regular basis? She had him blackmailed and she held his reputation and career at her mercy. Draco couldn't stand it anymore. He looked at his hands to discover that they were shaking.

He stood and walked over to his mirror. He vaguely thought that he looked just about as well as Bill Weasley had. He turned away from himself and wondered how much longer he had to wait before Nora arrived. He checked the time and knew it would be any moment. Draco went to the kitchen to make himself a tea, unsure of what else he could do. Theoretically he could contact Astoria, especially since she lived in the same building. The thought had crossed his mind many times, but what was she to do for him? Anything that she did he would be able to do himself. It all had the same consequences in the end. Would she even believe anything he said? He felt like she would. However, at this time he just wanted her company, but after this much silence and avoidance he didn't think that she would want that anymore. A few times she had knocked on his door but he pretended that he wasn't home even though every fiber of him ached to answer.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice Nora enter. His body stiffened as she shut the door quietly behind herself. Draco pretended that she wasn't there as he stirred his tea. Nora removed her heels and approached Draco and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"How was your day?" she asked as she nuzzled her face into his back.

Draco couldn't handle it anymore. All the rage that he felt all his life, all of the shame he had ever felt, rose to the surface. He turned and the force of it caused Nora to let go. He pushed her back strongly into the wall behind her, his hand at her throat. Sometimes it was easier to be bad.