Chapter 24
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world obviously belongs to JK Rowling and not me. Obviously.
… … … …
Leila awoke the next morning and slowly got ready for the day. The other girls had already left the room by the time she finally dragged her sorry butt out of bed. From her trunk she pulled out a button-up shirt, a cardigan, a skirt, and a Slytherin tie which she dressed in for the day. Walking barefoot over to the mirror, she squished the emerald green carpeting between her toes. When she looked into the mirror, she ran her fingers through her long hair, which she had left straight before pinning her side fringe back. .Leila examined herself once more over as she fidgeted with her tie. She wasn't trying to impress anyone specifically; she just wanted to look nice to feel somewhat normal again. Daphne walked behind her and stopped.
"You look nice. Is it for a special someone?" Daphne asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Leila retorted.
"Theo and I are still new to the dating thing, while you and Draco…" Daphne began.
"Aren't even really together," Leila said.
"You do remember that you're engaged to him," Daphne said.
"Only because we were forced into it," Leila responded.
"Breakfast?" Daphne asked changing the subject.
"I suppose, Draco's probably already waiting for me," Leila groaned.
"It's sweet," Daphne chuckled.
Leila rolled her eyes at Daphne before reaching for her book bag. She walked toward the door with Daphne as the blonde teenager looked Leila once over.
"You plan on going to class barefoot?" Daphne asked.
Quickly, her feet padded across the floor as she opted for a pair of knee-high socks with her shoes rather than a pair of tights. She reached for her Slytherin robe and then followed Daphne down to the common room. Draco stood leaning against the back of the sofa facing the entrance to the dormitories with his arms folded across his chest. He offered the girls a weak smile as they walked closer to him.
"Morning," Daphne greeted.
"Morning," Draco responded.
"I wasn't talking to you, but I suppose I could wish you a good morning," Daphne grinned.
Daphne walked past Draco to where Theo sat on the armchair. Draco turned around to watch as Daphne walked up to Theo and place a kiss on his cheek. Theo stood up and linked hands with Daphne before he they couple headed for the door. Draco's face blushed a pale pink at his mistake which caused Leila to chuckle and Draco to groan. At the door, Daphne turned around.
"Are you two coming or not?" Daphne asked.
"Be right there," Leila called.
"Do we have to?" Draco groaned.
"C'mon," Leila said.
Leila grabbed Draco by the arm and pulled him along after her so that they could catch-up to Daphne and Theo. The four seventh year Slytherins walked down the corridors to the Great Hall together. Draco remained rather quiet, but Daphne, Theo, and Leila conversed as they walked. Leila felt a slight twinge of guilt that she was actually having a decent time even though she was being held captive, but she knew that her mother wouldn't disapprove of her trying to be happy. She needed to stay positive if she was to help her brother, even if that meant befriending Theo and Daphne again. As they climbed the stairs to the Great Hall they were stopped at the top by a long line of students.
"What's going on?" Leila asked.
"Dunno," Draco muttered.
Leila stood on her tippy toes to try and see how far the line went, but she couldn't see much beyond a few people in front of her. Draco noticed Leila searching, but failing because of her height so he looked down the line.
"It goes until the Great Hall," Draco said.
"Carrows must be doing another search," Theo said.
Daphne looked to Draco who shook his head.
"We'll see what's going on when we get closer," Draco said.
The four teenagers waited in the long line until they finally came to the door. Both Carrows were taking wands and seeing what spell had been used last on them. Theo had his wand taken right before and checked out as Leila came to the front of the line. Without even looking up, Alecto stuck out his hand.
"Wand," Alecto Carrow drawled.
"You know I don't have it," Leila responded.
Carrow's eyes snapped up at her before he groaned. He reached out his hand and pushed Leila forward.
"Go on, Potter, I haven't got time to deal with your dawdling," Alecto said.
"Good morning to you too," Leila said sarcastically.
Leila walked in to the Great Hall where Theo and Daphne were waiting for her. They stood only a few feet inside the Great Hall. Leila quickly turned around and watched as Draco handed his wand over before she walked over to Theo and Daphne. Both of them stood staring at the wall behind the Slytherin table along with the rest of the Hogwarts student body present in the Great Hall. They were all staring for good reason. Writing in crimson paint or possibly even blood was smeared across the wall: Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting. Leila felt a small smile tug at her face, but it quickly turned into a laugh when she noticed Filch standing on a tall ladder miserably failing to remove the words. The old coot was plastered in whatever had been used to paint the walls. The more he scrubbed, the faster the words reappeared. Suddenly, Draco stood beside her with a slight grin on his face which he attempted to cover by putting his hand over his mouth.
"I wonder who did it," Leila whispered.
"I have my suspicions," Draco said.
Both Draco and Leila looked over to the Gryffindor table where Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom sat with smug looks on their faces. Leila then looked to Draco with a concerned look on her face. But it was as if he could read what she was thinking.
"I'm not going to say anything. I dislike that Carrows just as much as everyone else. It's their problem to deal with, not mine," Draco whispered.
"Thank you," Leila whispered.
"Besides, watching the Squib trying to remove it is amusing," Draco said.
Leila rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. She didn't like how Draco referred to Filch by his status in the Wizarding World, but she didn't say anything because he was already covering his suspicions of Neville and Ginny. Draco and Leila followed Theo and Daphne over to the Slytherin table, but they made sure to sit side by side so that they could have the perfect view to watch Filch's comical scene in attempts to remove the words. As they ate, Professor McGonagall walked in and attempted to stifle a laugh before walking up to the staff table. It was hard to miss the glow of pride on the old woman's face as she sat at the staff table watching Filch. By the time the entire student body had been allowed into breakfast, no one had left the room because they were all too focused on watching Filch; until Snape stood up.
"I believe most of you have classes that you need to attend. Your professors will not be lenient with tardiness," Snape drawled.
Several students stood up, but most of those who had a first hour class remained seated. Snape narrowed his eyes.
"Classes, now!" Snape shouted.
Leila looked to Draco before they both stood up along with Theo and Daphne for their walk to Dark Arts. When they reached the class, Carrow was in a foul mood because he hadn't found the culprit behind the defacing of the Great Hall. His lecture droned-on about the punishments awaiting those caught for the dirty act before he assigned them a 13 inch essay on their ideas of appropriate punishment. This assignment was bound to be as worthless as their predictions in Divination. Leila assumed that just like Divination, the more outrageous it was written, the better the grade would probably be. They were then escorted to Transfiguration where Professor McGonagall lectured like normal as if nothing had happened, although during the middle of her lecture, Carrow accused McGonagall of instigating what had happened. Professor McGonagall blinked several times at Carrow before looking over her spectacles and then continuing with her lecture. When class was over, she called Leila, Draco, and Neville up to the front of the room. She handed each of them a piece of parchment.
"Mister Longbottom's tutoring session will be promptly after dinner tonight in the library," Professor McGonagall stated.
None of them said a word, but turned to leave. Draco and Leila slowly followed after Neville.
"So which one of us is tutoring him?" Draco asked.
"I am. You really think McGonagall would let you tutor him after last year?" Leila responded.
"Then why did I get a note?" Draco asked.
"You just have to be there according to Snape," Leila said.
"Is this what your little talk was about?" Draco asked.
"You don't miss a thing, do you?" Leila said sarcastically.
Draco rolled his eyes as they continued their walk to Ancient Runes. Ancient Runes was uneventful, especially compared to what transpired in Muggle Studies. Leila hadn't been paying much attention until Amycus called Neville out during class.
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you Longbottom?" Carrow hissed.
"Haven't a clue," Neville shrugged.
"Haven't a clue, ma'am," Carrow shouted.
"I'm not a bloody woman," Neville shot back.
"I know you were involved!" Carrow sneered.
"Then prove it," Neville baited.
"I will and when I do, you're going to wish you hadn't shown up to Hogwarts this year," Carrow said.
"But attendance was mandatory, I wasn't really given a choice," Neville said.
"Shut up!" Carrow shouted.
"Or what?" Neville asked.
"Detention!" Carrow hissed.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Neville questioned.
"Out! Get out of my class!" Carrow screamed.
"Gladly," Neville smirked.
Neville stood-up and walked out of the classroom with his head held high. He slammed the door shut behind him as Carrow seethed from the front of the classroom. The seventh years looked at each other unsure of what to do; but after a few moments, Carrow had composed herself enough to continue lecturing. At lunch the Great Hall seemed to be abuzz over Neville's scene in Muggle Studies. Neville sat at the table grinning as former (possibly current, but Leila wouldn't have any idea) members of Dumbledore's Army walked-up to Neville and heartily slapped his back. Draco and Leila both watched the scene as Filch walked back into the Great Hall with a mop for the wall.
"He won't be grinning when Carrow is done with him," Draco muttered.
"It was a brave thing of him to do," Leila said.
"That doesn't change the fact that Carrow's going to go after him with everything she's got," Draco said.
Leila nodded and sighed as they silently continued to eat. Their afternoon classes were drama-free and after them Leila began to head in the normal direction for Snape's office when Draco grabbed her arm as he led her back up the grand staircase.
"Where are we going?" Leila questioned.
"Library," Draco answered.
"When McGonagall meant prompt, she meant on time not hours early," Leila said.
"Just come on," Draco replied.
Confused, Leila followed Draco to the library instead of Snape's office. They walked in and found it crammed full of fifth years already beginning to study for the O.W.L.'s but Draco led her through the library until they were at a table near what used to be the Restricted section. Under Snape's regime, the Restricted section had become open to all students. First years were made to do book reports on books that probably should have never even been opened for their Dark Arts class. Draco swung his bag down on the table and took a seat. Leila also sat down and began to pull her things out of her bag.
"Leila, could you go grab a book from the Restricted section for me?" Draco asked.
"Go get it yourself," Leila scoffed.
"Leila, please? You'll find it faster than I can," Draco argued.
"What do you need it for?" Leila asked.
"An assignment," Draco shrugged.
"For what?" Leila questioned.
"Please?" Draco pleaded.
"Fine, just give me the bloody title," Leila groaned.
Draco handed Leila a piece of parchment with the author and title written on it. She passed through the open doors and began to search through the shelves for the book Draco wanted. She was just about to take the book off the shelf when someone walked up behind her. A hand was placed on her shoulder which caused Leila to jump and turn to face the person. It was Ginny. She held a finger-up over mouth to tell her not to scream. Leila gulped loudly before Ginny threw her arms around Leila.
"I'm so sorry about everything," Ginny whispered.
"I—I don't understand," Leila said.
"I'm sorry I was such a bint to you. I should have known better," Ginny said.
"Yeah, you should have; but what made you realize the error of your ways?" Leila asked.
"He didn't tell you?" Ginny asked.
"Who are you talking about?" Leila questioned.
"I thought you knew that Draco…" Ginny began.
"That's why he wanted me to find this damn book," Leila sighed.
"He told me about your situation," Ginny said lowly.
"He didn't tell me," Leila commented.
"He's not the prat I remember him being," Ginny said.
"A lot has changed," Leila said.
Leila sighed and took a few steps away from Ginny making sure that her back was to the girl she had once trusted. So much had changed and it was only a matter of time before the elephant in the room reared its ugly head: Fred.
"I told Fred the truth," Ginny said.
"How is he?" Leila sighed.
"He misses you, but he didn't buy into the rumors the Prophet was spreading. He knew you'd never willingly betray him," Ginny said.
"I miss him too," Leila said, slightly choking up.
"But he understands the seriousness of your situation. He knows that you're most likely going to have to marry Draco; but he doesn't hold it against you," Ginny said.
"He's too good to me," Leila sniffled.
"I suppose it's better being forced to marry Draco the way he is now than when he was such a prat," Ginny sighed.
"You do know that I never wanted to hurt Fred, right?" Leila asked.
"I do and it took Draco Malfoy for me to believe it," Ginny said.
From where they were standing, Leila could see the back of Draco's head and she sighed. He had done a lot more than she had even given him credit for. Maybe Ginny was right, he really had changed. But she probably wouldn't be able to talk with Ginny for much longer and she didn't want to talk about Draco or Fred.
"So Dumbledore's Army?" Leila asked.
"Yeah, a few of us got together last night. We've been doing little things all year but that was the biggest spectacle we've done thus far," Ginny grinned.
"Do you have meetings like before?" Leila asked.
"Not to the extent that we used to," Ginny said.
"Good, I'm glad that it's back. Harry would be proud," Leila said.
"I miss him," Ginny sighed.
"I do too," Leila said.
"I worry about him a lot," Ginny said.
"He's got Hermione and Ron," Leila said.
"That he does," Ginny stated.
"Leila, did you find that book yet?" Draco called.
"And that's my cue," Ginny sighed.
Ginny wrapped her arms once more around Leila and held her tightly.
"We'll be in touch soon," Ginny whispered.
"How?" Leila asked.
Ginny winked at Leila and then walked away out of the Restricted section. As Ginny walked away, she noticed that Alecto Carrow had entered the library which meant that Draco had purposely picked his spot to serve as a lookout. Slowly, Leila walked back to the table where Draco sat and she sat across from him. He looked at her and she shook her head with a slight smile on her face.
"Did you get the book?" Draco asked.
"I know it was a cover-up," Leila whispered.
"I still wanted that book," Draco said.
"Seriously?" Leila groaned.
Draco nodded his head and Leila stood-up and quickly grabbed the book before walking back out to Draco. He looked up at her with a smirk on his face, so she tossed the book to him which he easily caught. Even though he was no longer Slytherin Seeker, he still had the reflexes of one.
"Nice catch," Leila teased.
"It happens," Draco shrugged.
"Do you miss it?" Leila asked.
"Miss what?" Draco asked looking back at Leila.
"Quidditch," Leila said.
"I try not to think about it," Draco sighed.
Leila nodded and opened her Transfiguration textbook and began to read. They worked quietly on their homework until it was time for dinner. Leila stood up and began to pack-up her bag; but Draco stopped her reminding that they had to come back with Neville after dinner. So, they left their books and bags at the table and walked down for dinner. In the Great Hall, Alecto Carrow was screaming at Filch, who was still attempting to remove the graffiti. She pointed her wand at it to make it disappear, but it only caused a crimson flood to splurt all over her and the words to reappear. Leila had a faint idea that somehow Fred and George were the masterminds behind whatever they used; Ginny, Neville, and whoever else was involved. Draco and Leila sat down at the Slytherin table with Daphne, Theo, Tracey, Blaise, Hestia, and Flora. As she ate, Leila scanned the Gryffindor table for Neville, but there was no sight of him. She hoped that Carrow hadn't already gotten her revenge on him. When dinner was over, Leila and Draco returned to their nook in the library as they waited for Neville. Five minutes had passed since their scheduled meeting time when Draco looked at the clock.
"He's late," Draco hissed.
"I was a bit preoccupied, Malfoy," Neville said.
Both Leila and Draco turned as Neville approached them. His right away was bruised and almost swollen shut. His cheeks were flaming red with scratches, several of which were bleeding. Leila instantly stood up and walked over to Neville, but he slightly backed away.
"Carrow did this to you, didn't she?" Leila questioned.
"Either her or I had a run-in with Peeves. My memory's a bit hazy," Neville said.
"Coming from someone who temporarily lost her memory, that's not funny," Leila retorted.
"You're right, I'm sorry," Neville muttered.
"Are we going to study or not?" Draco interrupted.
"Because that's exactly what I want to do: study with you," Neville said rolling his eyes.
"I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here, Longbottom," Draco hissed.
"Boys!" Leila shouted.
Both boys looked at Leila who stood with her hands on her hips. She looked between them both as they muttered their apologies as Neville took a seat beside Leila. Draco raised an eyebrow at him before he and Neville narrowed their eyes at each other.
"This is never going to work," Leila muttered.
Draco's eyes instantly fell on Leila before he sighed.
"Wand on the table, Longbottom," Draco said.
"Why?" Neville questioned.
"Just do it," Draco hissed. "Please."
Neville rolled his eyes as he placed his wand on the table. Draco nodded and stood up.
"I'll be back, I need to find a book," Draco said.
Leila looked at Draco confusedly but he mouthed the words "You're welcome" to her before he walked away into what used to be the Restricted Section. She looked forward at Draco once to find him watching her, but when he noticed that she had spotted him he somewhat scowled before walking further into the stacks. Leila then turned to Neville who was reclining in his chair with his arms folded across his chest with somewhat of a smirk on his face.
"So Transfiguration?" Leila asked.
"I never thought I'd get a moment alone with him around," Neville responded.
"We should probably start with what you missed last year," Leila said.
"How have you been?" Neville asked.
"I'm doing better," Leila sighed.
"We've missed you at the D.A., Leila," Neville said.
"Doubtful, seeing as Hogwarts buys into all the Daily Prophet's lies," Leila answered.
"Well, Ginny, Luna, and I miss you," Neville said.
"Neville, I don't want to get you into more trouble, so why don't we just get working on Transfiguration," Leila said.
"You really don't see why I'm in the class, do you?" Neville chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" Leila asked.
"McGonagall didn't ask me to take Transfiguration again because she thought I suddenly gained an excellent understanding of the subject," Neville smirked.
"She asked you to take her class?" Leila questioned.
Neville put a finger over his lips, telling Leila that she was in on a secret. So McGonagall and Neville were in on something which she wasn't sure what it was; but either way, it looked like neither of them completely bought into the lies spread by the Daily Prophet. Leila shifted uncomfortably as Neville dug in his bag for a piece of parchment. Leila looked at him confusedly, he already had a piece of parchment out to take notes on but he placed this piece of parchment in front of Leila.
"Ginny, Luna, and I figured it out," Neville whispered.
"I don't understand," Leila said.
Leila looked at Neville confusedly but he only picked up his quill and began to write on his parchment.
"Take a look," Neville whispered.
"At what?" Leila asked.
Neville placed his hand on the piece of parchment he had placed in front of Leila. She looked at Neville with an odd expression before she turned her gaze to the parchment.
Now you'll never be alone.
Leila looked at the words before they disappeared. She confusedly watched Neville once more, but he only chuckled.
"Give it a try," Neville furthered.
She hesitantly picked up her quill and pressed it to the parchment.
And what exactly am I supposed to say?
Anything you don't want Malfoy in on.
Neville grinned at Leila as the words disappeared from their parchments.
"It only stays for a few moments. We knew that you didn't have a wand to clear it, like Harry did with that map," Neville said.
"You know about the map?" Leila asked.
"How else do you think we got to the D.A. meetings fifth year?" Neville asked.
"I didn't really have a problem with that," Leila said.
"I suppose you didn't, seeing as you were the only Slytherin," Neville said.
"What if we get caught with this?" Leila asked.
"I don't really are if I'm caught. It's for the cause," Neville said.
"I don't know if that's really brave or really stupid," Leila said.
"Let the Carrows do what they will. I'm going to do what I can to help bring him down," Neville said.
"And defacing the Great Hall does what?" Leila asked.
"It gets our name out there. People need to know that not everyone supports You-Know-Who," Neville answered.
Leila sighed and put her head in her hands.
"We have another meeting two nights from tonight," Neville whispered.
"I'm not exactly in a position to go, now am I?" Leila muttered.
"It's a planning meeting, on what we're going to do next," Neville said.
Her eyes met Neville's as she bit her bottom lip. Could she dare to Neville her plan? What would he think of it? She wanted to help and let people know that she was still on the light side, even if she was forced to keep company with those on the Dark side. Leila took a deep breath before talking lowly.
"The Sword of Gryffindor," Leila whispered.
"What about it?" Neville asked.
"That's what you can do next," Leila whispered.
"Now, I'm not the one following," Neville said.
Draco began to walk back over to the table, which both Neville and Leila noticed. Neville then tapped the piece of parchment.
"Be watching," he whispered.
As Draco walked closer, Leila shuffled the parchment Neville had given her into a stack of her other pieces of parchment. She flipped through the pages in the sixth year Transfiguration book that Neville had brought with him. When Leila knew that Draco was in ear-shot she spoke again.
"It looks like we have a lot of catching-up to do, Leila said.
"That's what McGonagall said," Neville sighed.
"Well, Leila's probably the best person to help you," Draco said as he sat down.
"Couldn't imagine anyone better," Neville responded. "It's such a shame that she's not allowed to use her magic."
Leila looked tensely between Draco and Neville as they watched each other's every movement.
"I completely agree with you," Draco answered.
"Well, on that note I ought to be going. I have detention with Carrow," Neville said.
"But I thought that you already…" Leila began.
"This?" Neville asked as he pointed to his face. "This is from the sister; I still have a detention leftover from last week with the brother."
Neville grabbed his wand and slung his bag across his shoulder as Leila sighed. Suddenly, Draco stood up as well.
"I'll see you out, Longbottom," Draco said.
"There's no need Malfoy," Neville said.
Neville took a few quick steps away from Draco, but Draco followed after him. He shoved him into an empty row of books as Neville tried to push him off. Draco scowled as Neville was about to walk away.
"You need to watch yourself," Draco hissed.
Longbottom stopped where he stood and turned to face Malfoy.
"I'm not scared of you anymore, Malfoy," Neville hissed back.
"This isn't me threatening you. Consider it a favor; the Carrows are out for blood, especially yours," Draco said.
"I can handle them," Neville scoffed.
"Don't say I didn't warn you then," Draco said rolling his eyes.
"Why are you telling me this?" Neville asked.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," Draco said.
With that last statement, Draco walked away leaving a slightly confused Neville as he headed back to Leila who still sat at the table. When he came back to the table, Leila slightly smiled up at him.
"What was that about?" Leila asked.
"Just explaining things to him," Draco answered.
"Explaining what?" Leila questioned.
"It's nothing to be worried about," Draco said.
Leila simply nodded. As much as she wanted to know what was going on with him, she also knew that he was one of the few people whom had her best interest in mind. She didn't want to make him upset considering how good things had been going. A first year Slytherin walked up to them, with his eyes wide as he handed a piece of parchment to Draco. Draco muttered his thanks to the boy before he opened the piece of parchment. His eyes scanned the writing and he quickly began to pack his bag.
"I need to go see Snape," Draco said.
Leila knew that meant that she had to go too, so she began to pack up her bag, making sure that the special parchment from Neville was safely stowed away. They then walked together from the library to Snape's office. Draco said the password before they walked up the stone staircase and walked into the office. Snape sat at his desk with a solemn expression on his face. Draco walked over to Snape as Leila stopped to examine the sword of Gryffindor. Her plan still needed some of the details worked out, but she, Neville, Ginny, and Luna were going to steal the Sword of Gryffindor. She could give them the password so they could get inside to get it while she distracted Snape. How she was going to distract Snape she still hadn't figured out yet; but she was sure she could come up with something when she knew for sure that the others were on board with the plan. She looked from the sword over to Draco who stood in place with his face blanched. He looked to be holding back any emotions that threatened to expose his true feelings. He looked over to Leila with an expression of guilt on his face.
"I'm sorry," Draco muttered.
"Sorry for what?" Leila asked.
Draco crumbled the piece of paper in his hand.
"I need a moment to myself," Draco said.
He walked out the door without even looking back at Leila once. Now was probably the time that she had been waiting for, so she looked to Snape before walking out of his office. As Leila wandered the halls, she thought of where Draco would go to be alone. She could only think of two places in the castle where he would go to be alone; but one of them reminded him more of his guilt. Draco probably went to the Astronomy Tower to wallow in his guilt; it really was where everything had gone wrong and the night that changed everything. Leila walked quickly through the corridors, surprised that no one had stopped her yet for being on her own; but she really had nowhere to go outside of Hogwarts. First, she didn't have a wand so it would be practically impossible for her to get past the Death Eaters and Dementors keeping guard, not to mention get past the extra security surrounding Hogwarts. No, she would stay put and be the eyes and ears from the inside. Leila walked up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower and found Draco. He was leaning over the railing and his body was shaking with sobs. Leila touched Draco's back lightly with her hand.
"Draco," Leila whispered.
"I said I needed a moment," Draco hissed.
"Since when have I listened to you?" Leila questioned.
"You had every right to hate me now. Everything has become a nightmare. I never wanted things to be like this," Draco continued.
"I know," Leila whispered.
"If I could change things for you, I would. You don't deserve this," Draco responded.
"Will you shut up for one second?" Leila questioned.
Draco instantly backed away from Leila and looked into her eyes. He sighed and then turned on his heel to leave, but Leila grabbed his arm.
"I have something I need to say," Leila said.
Draco's eyes flashed with confusion as Leila took a deep breath.
"I—I forgive you," Leila whispered.
"You can't," Draco muttered.
"Well, I just did," Leila said.
"It's too much to forgive and you'll take it back once you see the letter," Draco sniffled.
Draco walked away from Leila. She sighed; she didn't forgive him because he deserved it. She forgave him because he needed it-because she needed it. She was done holding on to all that hatred. It would no longer consume her and allow her to spiral downward. No, she was going to find the hope in life and look forward to the future. She didn't come back to spiral down. No, she came back to be there for those who had been there for her, even if they had wronged her along the way. Forgiving him had been a long time coming, but she had been too stubborn and self-absorbed to do it. This didn't change anything about their relationship, but it did change her outlook on things. She felt that weight lifted off her shoulders even though the mention of the letter loomed in her head. But now that she had forgiven Draco in her heart, could she keep at it and could he forgive himself?