A/N - Finally a new update! Took me a while to figure out how to get this chapter to where I wanted to end it off. Your comments and critique are more than welcome!

PART ONE:

THE BEGINNING

"Avada-"

"Expelliarmus!"

The pressure that had been digging into her neck disappeared and a loud crack resounded through the air, as the man's wand flew from his hand and into the outstretched grasp of a very familiar silhouette.

Patricia dropped to the ground for her wand with such a force, she could feel the skin on her knees tear open. She pushed herself sideways to avoid a jinx directed at her, and felt the tiny rocks in the dirt cut into her hands. Adrenaline hit, and her fighting instincts kicked in, her mind clicking almost mechanically back to her days of Auror training.

She fired aimlessly in the direction of the Death Eaters, trying to regain her composure as she pushed herself off the ground and back to her feet. Yelps of pain bounced off the brick walls of the alley as shots hit their marks. The sounds were quickly drowned out by the loud cracking of apparation and black fog began to fill the alley. The air seemed to become heavy with the gruesome fog, and Patricia's breaths seemed to become labored. They were done, this was it.

Though she knew some had joined her, she dared not cast a look over her shoulder as to see who, for in that two seconds, she knew her life could be taken. She unconsciously took a step back as, from the black fog, figures began to advance, brandishing their wands, prepared for a fight. Their masks glinting in the little light filtering through the black air, their dark cloaks casting shadows enough to make their eyes great, dark pits.

She stepped back, her mouth falling open slightly, as the army of Death Eaters advanced forward towards them. She had no idea that numbers such as the ones before them still existed, supporting Voldemort's fallen crusade. She heard someone, who, she thought, must have been thinking the same thing, gasp aloud.

"Come on! We can't hold them off any longer!" She heard what she faintly recognised as Ginny's voice and whipped around. Before her stood Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, behind her stood about a hundred Death Eaters and she felt her stomach drop, if something happened to them, they would be leaving behind too much.

She was pulled from her thoughts abruptly by a cool, gloved hand clamping down on her arm. Death Eater. She felt panic course through her veins but before she even had the chance to fight she felt a pull and a suck and the familiar sensation of being shoved through a tube.

Her knees buckled slightly as they found the ground again, but she kept her feet and spun, wrenching herself out of the grasp the hand still had on her. Her wand went to their throat without a second thought.

There were four resounding cracks behind her as she stared silently into the mask of a Death Eater, breathing heavily. The person's wand went to their face and with a quick swish the mask disappeared. She felt her head begin to spin and the deathly grip she had on her wand loosened.

Suddenly she didn't know whether she should feel sick, betrayed, happy or angry as she now stared at the all too familiar features she had worried over for days. Anger won out. "You evil cockroach!" she spat, digging her wand even deeper into his skin, her knuckles white and her hand shaking as she held the wand to his throat.

His grey eyes locked with hers, pleading for her to understand. "Please Patricia, let me explain!" he begged, an edge of sadness and a tinge of regret in his voice.

"Why should I?" She shrieked, "You sent them after me, you sent them!" she yelled, angry tears spilling down her face as she watched him, his features slowly changing as he took in what she was saying.

"No!" He gasped, "No, it wasn't me, please-"

"I thought I could trust you! I- I thought I meant something to you Draco!" She paused, tears flowing freely now as she watched him. "But I should have known, I should have known!" she screamed, violently brandishing her wand, the whistle of the wood slicing the air seemed to drown out any other sound and sparks violently jetted from her wand.

Draco's hands shot up in front of his face as Patricia wildly sliced the air with her wand, the tumultuous sparks bouncing everywhere before she let it fall from her grasp. She went at him, her hands curled in fists, happy with any contact she made with his body. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, Patricia going with him, sobs wracking her body so hard her hands were no longer fists and her punches grew feeble. "Damn you Malfoy!" She took one last weak attempt at him, her fight now gone.

Draco's hand locked around her wrist and he shifted himself to crouch before her. He reached out his other hand, and wiped a tear away and she thrashed in his grip. "Listen to me." He said calmly, but she wouldn't look at him. "Please, just listen to me Patricia." His voice cracked and he took an unsteady breath, "Please." He said quietly.

Patricia slowly turned to look at him, anger bubbling within her as she looked at his pale features. His blonde hair was unusually messy and his face unshaven, and she felt a twinge of guilt as she looked into his eyes, sadness in every bit of them.

She said nothing as she stared at him, and he stared back, both unmoving. She could feel his grip loosen on her wrist slightly, but he wouldn't let her go. He drew in a breath and opened his mouth to speak, pausing as if thinking of what to say, "I- I- this isn't what you think." He finally choked out. She scoffed at him, turning away once again.

"I was in Romania," he started, desperately trying to get her to listen.

"Then why are you here?" She asked coldly.

"Bochinsky." He blurted.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Bochinsky," he repeated, "Death Eater, lousy as he was, he's the reason I'm here. Could never keep his mouth shut, even if his life depended on it, I'm sure." Patricia said nothing, but stared at the grass poking up between her fingers.

"I was in a small inn, passing through and he came in, drunk I assume, and as usual, couldn't keep his mouth shut. As soon as he mentioned Dorse Doran I knew I had to get back, but I couldn't do it without being caught, they were scouring everywhere for me, couldn't stay anywhere longer than a day." A flicker of emotion crossed her features but as quick as it was there it was gone and she had composed herself, a blank, hard expression on her face and she glared at him coldly still.

"I spent a day and a half wondering how the hell I was going to get back here, when this blasted thing started burning." He said, motioning sourly towards his left forearm, and she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Without a word, she pushed his sleeve up, her finger slowly tracing the outline of the mark on his arm, carefully following the winding serpent, frowning as if in deep thought, as she stared at it.

"I knew exactly what I was going to do. I answered the call, no one knew any different, and it took me to you." He finished, frowning, now looking down, watching her finger trace the Dark Mark once more.

She didn't know whether to believe him or not, after everything that had happened in the last week, things certainly pieced together in a way that didn't paint him in a good light.

She heard a shuffling behind her, and that's when she remembered the cracks that had followed their arrival. She looked over her shoulder to see Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione. She quickly turned away, blushing furiously, embarrassed that they had witnessed her outbreak.

Her eyes slowly came back to rest on Draco, searching his face for any kind of emotion that would give her the truth, and was met by sincerity, much to her dismay. She quickly felt guilty about her attack, but knew she had more than enough reason to believe it true.

She let out a frustrated sigh and threw the grass she had ripped up at nothing in particular. She was torn, half of her said she should just give in; she should just trust him once before, and then the other side wondered if he had been playing her all along.

"Why don't we go inside, calm down and have some tea?" Hermione suggested cheerily from behind them, breaking the awkward silence that now rested upon them. With that, Patricia slowly pulled herself to her feet and brushed the grass from her robes. She watched as Draco stood, and she brushed past him towards the Weasley house.

The Weasley's living room, a usually calming, cozy place now set Patricia's nerves on edge. She watched as Draco sat, looking rather uncomfortably on the edge of his seat, quietly drinking his tea. Even though he was looking rather exhausted and ill-kept his black as night robes, dragon hide gloves and polished shoes looked expensive and out of sorts in a place like the Weasley's.

Patricia stared at her tea blankly, anger bubbling under her skin. So many possibilities running through her mind, was it a set up? Was she supposed to end up dead? Lucius hated her family, was Draco part of a plan? Something to kill her, get rid of her family?

She was snapped away from her thoughts as the clamor of running came rushing down the stairs and into the living room and stopped dead. James, Albus and Hugo stood in the middle of the room, brooms in hand. Their faces looked slightly startled as they stared at Draco, but filled again with anticipation as a flash of gold whizzed by them.

James was wearing his own set of crimson Gryffindor Quidditch robes, looking striking against his dark, already windswept looking hair. He held in his hand a slightly worn looking broom, though it was clear it had been looked after with the utmost care one could see it had seen much use. A Firebolt 3000. Almost like Scorpius'.

Scorpius.

Panic settled in as they ran out of the house and into the yard, taking flight as they stepped out the door. "Scorpius" she spoke quietly, and her mind began spinning once again. Draco's head snapped up at the mention of his son's name.

"Where is he?" he demanded. She could feel tears starting to come on as worry set in.

"I don't know." She whispered.

"What do you mean you 'don't know'?!" He shouted.

"I told him to go home."

"So where did he go?" They were both on their feet now, Patricia pacing, frantic. "Your place, he probably would have gone back to Dorse Doran!" he exclaimed.

"He wouldn't!"

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because your lot was just crawling there." She spat, "They were looking for us, we fled, he's not dumb Draco." He scoffed at her remark and turned, pacing.

"Then where were you before?"

"Luna Lovegood's."

"Luna-" he shook his head in disbelief. "And he wouldn't know how to get back there?" She shook her head, she hardly knew herself and she had been there many, many times.

"What about grandparents or something?" Ginny asked, and both Patricia and Draco scoffed. "Right… secret." She responded.

"He wouldn't have…" Draco stopped and looked up at Patricia.

"Malfoy Manor.".

A/N - So, was that chapter any good? Let me know what you think about it! Hopefully this is keeping you all interested!