I woke up in the middle of the night gasping and covered in cold sweat. I scrambled out of bed and ran into the common room.

"No..." I muttered crawling onto a chair and hugging my knees. "No...no...no...I c...can't..." My dream which was really a memory of the Yule Ball, which had been three days ago, played over and over in my head. I sobbed and let the memory win.

I came into the common room dressed in my dark green dress. My hair which was long once again was up in a high ponytail tied with a green ribbon. Everyone stopped to look at me. I loved the attention. Draco turned to me.

"How do I look?"

"Perfect. Like a princess."

"Makes sense since you're the Prince," Blaise commented. I beamed. I loved being the Princess of the Slytherins. Draco stepped up to me and handed me a box. Inside was a silver bracelet with dark green stones in it. I slipped it onto my right wrist.

"This too," Draco said handing me a smaller box. I blinked and opened it.

"Draco!" I gasped. Inside was a silver ring with an emerald and two small diamonds on either side.

"I knew you'd like it," he said. I kissed him.

"I love it." We walked down to the ball hand in hand. When we reached the Great Hall we chose a table with Blaise and Theodore. We ate dinner and then we began dancing.

"Draco what's up?" I asked. He hadn't been talking to me. He just stared across the hall.

"Nothing. I'll be back." He got up and walked off.

"Okay then," I muttered.

"Hey there Midge!" Becky panted plopping down in the seat next to me.

"What's up Schy?" Mitch asked. I jumped.

"G...Guys!" I cried.

"Having fun?" Becky asked. I nodded.

"Look I gotta go..."

"He told you to stay away from us," Becky said flatly. "Didn't he?"

"Well..."

"He found out about our meetings," Mitch said. I nodded and looked away from them.

"Stay away from me. I can't be around you anymore."

"Don't be stupid," Becky snapped. "Just because he found out..."

"Look I don't want to be friends with two stupid mudbloods!" I hissed. Then I ran away from them. I had just said the worst thing I could have to my two best friends. But what choice did I have? Draco would kill me next time if I didn't stay away from them. I hated myself for what I had done.

"Blaise do you know where Draco went?" I asked when I found him.

"Um...over into that empty room I think." I was puzzled. What was he doing in there? I walked over to the room and opened the door. And there was Draco making out with Pansy.

"Draco...?" I gasped. The two of them broke apart and looked at me.

"Oh hey babe," Draco said coolly. Pansy giggled.

"Why...?"

"Because I can do things for Draco that you could never do!" Pansy squealed.

"You son of bitch!" I screamed shoving him and Pansy apart and hitting him very hard across the face. I knew better then to hit Draco. I knew I would pay for it but I didn't care. I wanted him to hurt. Draco stumbled backwards.

"Get out Pansy," he snarled.

"But..." she began to protest.

"GET OUT!" Pansy ran from the room.

"You cheated on me! What the hell is wrong with you!? You said Pansy was a slut!"

"She is but she's the only one who can...well you just don't know how to 'satisfy' me the way she does." I began to cry.

"You had sex!?" Draco sighed.

"Of course we had sex."

"I hate you..."

"You don't. You wouldn't still be here if you did. You would have run away. It would have been good for you if you had." It was then that I heard the lock in the door click.

"Draco..."

"I was surprised when you hit me. I thought you knew better than that."

"I...I'm sorry..." Draco backed me against the wall.

"You never learn do you?" He grabbed me and began beating me. I had never had a beating this severe. By the end I could hardly move...

I snapped out of the memory and stared weakly into the fire. Draco had hidden the wounds with glamours and concealment charms. He hadn't even bothered healing them. Then he had just left me there all night. The bruises and cuts were still there. I was too sore to heal them and I couldn't tell anyone about them because I was afraid of Draco.

"Schyler?" a voice asked. I jumped.

"B...Blaise!" I cried. "I didn't hear you come in!"

"I didn't mean to scare you," he replied. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep."

"I've been meaning to ask you...where did you go the night of the Yule Ball? You never came back from looking for Malfoy."

"I...I was um...I went to the library...I must've fallen asleep..." Blaise gave me a skeptical look.

"What were you doing in the library?"

"Reading. I...look Blaise I'm tired. I should probably get back to bed."

"Well all right. If you're sure you're okay..."

"Yes I'm fine. 'Night." I hurried back to my dorm and got back into bed.