A/N: Much is revealed! Hope you enjoy this next chapter of TFTNF! But if my beta don't start kicking it into gear soon, I might not be dishing 'em out as fast as I do. (I'm seeing a major decline in reviews...--)

Afraid With Amaranta

Draco Malfoy was sitting in the Slytherin dormitory, brooding on Amaranta's reason of absence. She had been avoiding him ever since that incident on Valentine's Day. He could still remember it clearly. Every hateful word that flew from her mouth, and the terrible mistake of opening his.

He had been running through the streets of Hogsmeade, trying to escape the pelting rain that hit him. Then he noticed the idol of all his affection standing, pressed against a wall corner, peering into a steamy window. She ignored the rain completely, not even bothering to put on her hood, which was only creating a pool of water.

He was about to call out to her, when he noticed what she was looking at. Harry Potter was sitting at a round table, with a pink,doily table cloth, a girl he recognized to be Cho Chang sitting across from, looking to her right, where a group of teens were kissing.

It felt like someone had produced the Fire Charm in his stomach. Anger rising, he walked up to Amaranta. She didn't notice him until he said, "Stalking Potter like a little Peeping Tom, aren't you, Amranta?"

She flicked around, horrified. "D-Draco! W-What are you-"

"I could ask you the same thing!" he roared, rain spitting out of his mouth. "Though it's quite obvious! Taking a teeny peek at Harry Potter, are you? You seem to be doing that a lot lately! Do you fancy him? Does a Slytherin dare to fancy a Gryffindor! I bet you like all those stories about him. The Boy Who Lived! Everyone thinks he is so great! So special! I bet you're hoping to snog him! I kissed you first, remember! Or do you want some more, you little slut!"

Amaranta, stared at him, completely shocked. Her hurt expression snapped him back to reality. Why? Why? Why did he always say things that hurt her! Slowly, her offended expression melted into a snarl and she whipped out her wand, pointing it dangerously at Draco. He was sure that it was tears streaming her cheeks and not rain.

"You-You. . .Draco, you arse!" She shouted and flung her wand at him, turned heel, and ran.

He had returned her wand that night, in the common room, but she ignored him, snatching her wand from his fingers coldly. Even though she wasn't looking at him, Draco could see her eyes were puffy and red. She had probably cried the rest of her Hogsmeade trip.

She became a mute to him from that moment onwards. He knew she talked with everyone else, but never even looked at him. He didn't even try to approach her for the first week, knowing what he had said was wrong. But after weeks and weeks, of thinking about it, he still couldn't stifle that anger that she was definitely watching Potter.

He was sure that the excuse for her usual absence tonight was that she was trying so much not to see him. She was more than likely in the library, studying. He felt miserable. A month without her made him realize how much he wanted her, and if he could ever receive her forgiveness, he'd never let her go, and never open his mouth either. If she just didn't watch Potter so much. . .

He jumped when Zacharias Smith burst into the empty dungeon, breathing hard.

"Umbridge. . .found. . .a secret. . .club. . .Potter. . .the leader. . ."

That was all Draco needed to hear. He followed Smith out of the Slytherin dungeons at a run. He soon joined up with the rest of the Inquisitory Squad, as they ran to the seventh floor. When he turned the corner into the hall, he saw kids running, but he cared not for them, he only had eyes for Harry Potter. This would be his chance to show Amaranta how much of a loser this scarred boy truly was. He spotted him, dashing to the right, but he had already turned his wand on him.

Potter appeared to have tripped, flying a good six feet on the floor. He turned on his back, grunting heavily, to see a smirking Malfoy. "Trip Jinx, Potter," he said. "Hey, Professor-PROFESSOR! I've got one!"

Umbridge came hustling around the corner, her grin so noticeable, it was hard to avoid it. "It's him!" she cried, ecstatic. "Oh, excellent, oh very good, Draco, fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him now." She crushed Potter's arm in her steel grip, dragging him along. "You hop along now, Draco. See if you can round up any of the others. Tell the others to look for anyone out of breath, check the library and the bathrooms. And you-" she turned to Harry Potter in her sweetest, most evil voice. "You're coming with me to the headmaster's office."

Draco laughed and resisted the urge to click his heels together, ran to order everyone to search the place. It took only a few minutes before Pansy Parkinson glided up to him, gleefully. "Look who I've got here, Draco."

He wanted to hex Pansy Parkinson for dropping that anchor in his stomach. Amaranta, red cheeked and breathing hard, was standing there in Parkinson's viselike grip, avoiding his gaze. It hit him like a chunk of lead. These meeting's of Potter's had been going on since the second month of school. She had been sneaking behind his back with Potter this entire time?

"Release her," he said calmly to Parkinson.

"What?" she looked at him dumbly.

"DID I STUTTER? I SAID LET HER GO!" His shouts echoed throught the hall.

Pansy Parkinson shrank back in fear, and cowered behind Crabbe and Goyle as soon as they came around the corner.

Amaranta did not make any move. She had been tied with a Restraining Jinx and continued to stare at the floor. Draco took a few minutes, trying to suppress his raging anger, knowing that it only ever got him in trouble. When he was sure he could proceed civilly, he said, "How long have you been attending these meetings?"

Amaranta made no noise.

"Since the beginning, am I wrong?"

Her sunken face of guilt told him the answer.

"So you had already betrayed me long before, huh?" He could not deny the venom seeping into his voice. No! He had to keep calm! Yelling at her would only drive her away!

"Draco, I-"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled. Now he couldn't stand to hear her voice. It'd only confirm how true all of this was. He glared at an empty suit of armor, but his perriferal vision showed her pained expression. Finally, he said "I'm going to tell him."

The other Slytherins looked confused, but Amaranta flung her head in his direction with a horror stricken face. "No! Don't!"

"Oh, but I think I will," he said, a sadistic grin spreading across his face.

Amaranta looked at him curiously. His raw anger had morphed into something twisted and grotesque. He was smiling at her, although his heart was crying out in pain. This was not him. He did not want to hurt her again! He leaned closer to her, so only she could hear his next words, that gross smile still on his face.

"You've been straying far, little sheep," his fingers grazed her cheek, and they twitched at the feel of her warmth. "I'm going to have to lock you up, if you stray too far from my sight."

"Are you the shepherd, or the wolf?" she frowned, her painful expression gone.

"I can be either, depending on your behavior," his hands moved down her cheek and to her neck. "Or, I can just send you back to your father. Tell him of all your good deeds."

Something in him delighted at the sight of her paling face, the fear that haunted her eyes. He was hurting her again! He had to stop!

But he didn't. Nails digging into her flesh, he pulled his hands back to his sides, relinquishing in the blood on his nails. "I will save you from Umbridge, but you have to spend detentions with me, from now on." He stepped away from Amaranta, and looked at the others. "Don't dawdle, you fools! Search for the rest. But Amaranta's capture shall remain a secret."

"So, you're going to play favorites and protect her again?!" Pansy shrieked, pointing a knobby finger at Amaranta. "What about her punishment?"

"Oh, she'll be punished, alright," Draco gave a toothy grin. "But I shall be her punisher. You need not worry about this one. Now, go search all the Girl's bathrooms. Now!"

Slightly afraid and freaked out by Draco's sudden turn of attitude, they left at a jog. Draco turned to Amaranta. "Now, we shall commence your punishment. Your club has been using a special room that modifies itself to your needs, am I correct?"

Amaranta glanced at him longways, and then shrunk away from him. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her near. "It would be wise to answer me, Amaranta."

"Yes, it's called the Room of Requirement," she answered after a shiver. "Draco, you're acting strange. Why-"

"Silence!" he smacked her face, leaving it burning red. "Only speak when I demand an answer. You are being punished, remember?"

She hung her head, and followed as he guided her along to the Room of Requirement. When she was ushered into the door, she was in a dungeon full of all sorts of torture items, and some that looked very physical. She turned to look at him, terrified.

That look crushed his heart. He wanted to stop. He wanted to comfort her, but that maniacal smirk remained. "Don't forget to scream."

A new decree had hung itself on every wall in Hogwarts, stating that Umbridge was to be the new headmistress. Draco had heard that Dumbledore had fled Hogwarts from Proffesor Umbridge, and that the Ministry was doing all they could to find him. However, the headmistress spent all her afternoon on the first day of becoming headmistress trying to get rid of fireworks that had exploded all over the school. Draco had a sneaking suspicion that the Weasley twins had something to do with it, but since he had no proof, he didn't pursue the matter.

But the fireworks weren't the only disturbance. The next day, a swamp had emerged itself in one of the corridors. The entire school seemed to be crowded around it, with Umbridge pointing her wand at the two Weasley twins. Draco looked around to see if Amaranta was also watching, but he couldn't see her in the midst of all the children. After her "punishment" he had avoided her, and she gladly avoided him.

He was afraid now. The things he had done to her that night frightened even him. It was second only to the Cruciatus Curse. He had only added needless scars to her fragile body. It would be a miracle if she could ever forgive him now. But. . .something was wrong. He had not been himself. It was if he was watching someone else do those terrible things to her. As if he were being controlled. . .

"Accio Brooms!" the Weasley twins had shouted, and that brought Malfoy back down to earth. The twins had mounted their brooms, and were now flying around the corridor and out of the window, but not before yelling "Give her hell from us, Peeves!"

He looked around, as the crowd milled about, but still couldn't find her. He knew he had no reason to hurt her now, so he walked away from the crowd and searched through the other halls. He soon ran into none other than Potty, the Mud-Blood, Weasel King, and. . .Amaranta. She shrieked at the sight of him, and ran behind Potter, shivering dreadfully.

"I'm sorry, Draco!" she cried, her voice trembling with fear. "It's not what it looks like! I just met them in the hallway, that's all! Please don't hurt me!"

The obvious fear she had of him now, hurt him, but the fact she was hoping that Potter would protect her, awakened the beast in him. "'It's not what it looks like?'" he snarled. "What is it supposed to look like? Huh, Amaranta?"

"Hey, just back off, alright?" Granger stepped in. "She's obviously terrified of you, so why don't you just cool down."

"It's you who needs to cool down, Mud-Blood!" Draco snapped. "Though it seems Potty likes filthy, low-lives for company. He doesn't even realize that he's protecting his own enemy."

"What do you mean?" Weasley asked.

Amaranta was whimpering now, her face completely white now. "No, please don't, please!" she murmured, clutching the back of Harry's robes.

"Amaranta's father is the Dark Lord himself," Draco continued on with a smirk. He knew this would hurt her, but he had to keep her as far away from him as possible, even if she hated him for the rest of her life. He was not safe now. "He sent her here to spy on you and Dumbledore. She's been lying to you this whole time."

"You mean. . ." the three turned to look at the pathetic, whimpering Amaranta cowering behind Harry.

"She is Voldermort's daughter?" Harry asked Draco, but didn't keep his eyes off of Amaranta, whom he was slowly backing away from.

"Yes," Draco continued. "She is the spawn of your worst enemy. Her father gave you that scar, and is the reason your whole life is a mess. She has been plotting against you this whole time."

Amaranta had let go of Harry's robes, and was backing away from him, shaking like a leaf. "No, Draco, stop. You promised not to tell."

"So, it's true?" Ron said.

"Y-yes," her knees went weak, and she crumpled to the floor. "It's true, but I can explain-"

"There's no need to explain!" Harry shouted, suddenly angry. "You're a Death Eater, aren't you?"

"No! I'm not!" she pleaded desperately. "I haven't got The Mark! See!" She pulled up her sleeves, to reveal a scarred, but untattooed arm.

"But you've still been working for him!" Harry shouted. "You've been helping him all this time! Voldermort!"

"No! I-"

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted a Slytherin!" Ron spat acidly, and followed Harry when he turned and walked away.

Hermoine looked sympathetically at Amaranta, but followed the boys. Draco, didn't smile, he didn't sneer. He knew that he had just stolen the last bit of happiness from Amaranta, but it was for her own good. If she stayed near him, or near Potter any longer, he just might do something irreversable to her. With his heart crying to the heavens, he turned away from her, and left her crying in the empty corridor.