-AN: I hope this story will be to your liking. It is like nothing I have ever written before. It will be a tragic story, and just maybe there might be a happy ending. The couple is Draco/Serena, and there is a considerable age difference between the two. The story takes place years after the war with Voldemort, but there is no sailor scouts, the characters may appear, they may not. This story is rated for its vivid content that will appear in later chapters, and I warn you ahead of time. There is Language, Violence, Character OOC. Very little humor.

Also, the chapter titles correspond with lyrics in a song by Avril Lavigne, called Nobody's Home. When I heard this song, it reminded me of this story, and so I inserted the lyrics into it.

Chapter four:
She's Falling Behind

Draco sat in silence long after Serena had left. He was seated comfortably in his couch, his muscles relaxed, as he thought over the encounter with his neighbor.

It had been a peculiar meeting. And then there was the fact that she had skirted around any topic pertaining to herself. Getting to his feet, Draco walked over to the window in his kitchen. Peering out through the only window he kept open, he studied the house next to his.

It was similar to his, maybe a room or two bigger. It was about eight o'clock and all the lights were out in the front of the house. Moving closer, he looked down the side of the house. And true enough he could make out a faint glow through the window that was right across from his bedroom.

Pulling away, Draco shook himself from his thoughts. It wasn't like it was any of his business. He paused before one of his kitchen cupboards and rifled through the mess he called his old life.

In the cupboard, he found a piece of parchment and a fresh inkbottle and quill. With these in hand, he made his way to a part of the counter he could have room to write.

When he wrote the letter, he addressed it to Mr. Potty, and signed the name Ferret below. It was bad enough that Harry was trying to defend him. That alone could get his only friend into trouble. But if anyone ever found out that he was hiding a fugitive, he feared that him being The-Boy-Who-Defeated-You-Know-Who wouldn't save him from prosecution.

Draco finished his letter all to quickly and rolled it up, before tying it into place.

Leaving the kitchen, Draco went to the back of his house where his bedroom was. Upon entering, Hegwig flew from her cage to great him. "You know where," he said simply, while treating her to a snack. He stopped before his window to tie the parchment to her leg.

When he was sure it was secure, he pulled the blinds up and lifted the window open. Hegwig cooed at him, her beak nipping at his cheek. "I know," he whispered in reply. Taking care not to harm her, he lifted her from his shoulder and set her free.

He watched her go, as her wings spread wide and she took to the skies. Dropping his gaze from where she disappeared, he looked at the bedroom just across the way from his.

He saw her there, just like he knew he would. She was seated on the end of her bed, her back pressing against the mattress, while her legs followed the length of the wall. The corner of his mouth lifted at the sight of her pajamas. They were pink with little white bunnies for decoration.

Draco shook his head, as he shut the window and locked it back in place. Taking the blinds' string, he lowered them down to obscure the view into his home.

----

Serena woke to a strange sound coming from outside her door. Sitting up, she listened carefully. When she heard it again, she realized someone was standing at her bedroom door.

Without looking away from the doorknob, she eased herself out of bed. Silently, she crossed the room, her feet gently padding against the carpet. Stopping at her closet, she pulled a shirt free from its hanger, wincing when it rapped against the back wall.

Her eyes narrowed on the door handle, daring it to move. It didn't. Just as quiet as before, she moved to her dresser, collecting clean underwear and jeans. She went back to her bed, where she dressed quietly, her eyes never leaving the door.

When she tugged the red sweater down to her waist, she heard the doorknob turn. Whoever was beyond her door turned it carefully, hoping not to be heard.

Her heart leaped to her throat, but relief came when the lock she had installed months ago, held. Not worried about being quiet now, she grabbed her backpack, checking to see if everything was there, before going to her window.

She slid it open and leaned out to look. It isn't all that far down, she thought mildly. Suddenly the window across the way from hers slid open, startling her. Blinking in surprise, she stared at her neighbor.

He nodded in acknowledgement, but Serena was distracted from returning the greeting, by the loud sound of her lock popping free. Without hesitating, Serena lifted one leg over the windowsill and looked back into the room to make sure she had all that she needed.

The door swung open then and she turned her head to look despite herself. Standing in her doorway was Charlie, her mother's on again off again boyfriend. It hurt her that he was back again, after the last time her mom and him had been together. Didn't her mother care at all? Charlie curled his lip at her and started towards her. "Get back here, you little-" he growled.

Serena pulled back to avoid his reaching hands. With a yelp, she lost her balance, her fingers slipping from the frame on her window and she fell backwards. With a cry of pain, she landed hard on her back.

The pain that shot up along her spine, was nearly unbearable. But despite the agony, she forced herself to her feet.

Faintly, she heard a door slam from nearby. Looking, she found both windows empty. Knowing Charlie was coming for her, she started toward the back of the two houses. Cutting through her neighbor's backyard and the house beyond his, she reached the corner of Berklin Avenue and Fifth Street.

Crossing the road, she continued on into town. It wasn't until she reached her usual bus stop, did she realize she'd left her backpack behind.

----

Draco looked up from his newspaper when someone knocked on the front door. He wasn't all that surprised either. It was only noon and already the rain had begun to fall. It was just a slight drizzle, but it looked cold. Drawing his eyes away from the living room window, he stood when the knocking persisted.

After this mornings spectacle, he wasn't surprised to see his neighbor on his porch, when he opened the door. Her hair was in a disarray, her clothes stained and rumpled. He was sure she hadn't had time to get ready this morning, before falling out of her window. And she'd left her backpack behind, in her haste to get away.

Taking a step back, Draco allowed the girl in. "Your bag is on the couch," he said. He shut the door when she came in. Against his better judgment and because he'd always been a nosy bastard, he'd looked through her bag. What he'd found, hadn't been what he'd expected. Fresh set of clothes, a first aid kit, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a book, and also a sketch pad.

Draco watched the way she carried herself. It looked like to him that it hurt to walk. Her hesitant steps were worst today than yesterday. She was favoring her right leg. Running must have been a real bugger, he thought to himself.

His neighbor grabbed her bag, not bothering to even check if everything was still there. She started for the door, her movements careful and precise. He heard her stomach grumble, even from where he stood near the kitchen doorway.

"I have food, if your hungry that is," he offered and disappeared into the kitchen. He was not at all surprised to see her follow him a few seconds later.

Turning to the fridge, he pulled the door open and peered inside. He didn't have much besides leftovers. With what little money Harry was able to send him from the Malfoy vault, bought him what he needed.

Taking out leftover Chinese, he turned to find the girl standing awkwardly in his kitchen. She'd set her bag down, while she looked at the barren room. He found it pointless to fill it with useless things. He didn't cook, much. It wasn't that he couldn't, or didn't like to, he just hardly ate, so it seemed pointless to try and make full course meals for just himself.

Holding up the containers, he said, "This is what I have now. But if you want, I could-" he was stopped when he saw her shaking her head. "N-no its fine," she replied hastily. "Thank you."

She took the container he offered and the fork he produced from one of his drawers. "I could heat that," he started to say, but stopped again, when he saw her attack the container of Chinese food, as if it would be her last meal.

Raising a brow at the girl as she devoured the food, he leaned back against the counter behind him and watched her. She was awfully small, smaller than he first thought. The sweater she wore today was a little more fitting, but still not as small as some of the shirts he'd seen teens wearing around the city.

"How old are you," he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He wasn't one for small talk. When he was younger he had liked to brag, but after the war, he didn't find much to brag about anymore. So talking just didn't happen, at least until now for some reason.

"I'm seventeen," she answered after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. As if realizing what she had been doing, she set the container down on the counter, her hands shaking from the effort. "I'll be eighteen in about a month." Her voice seemed a little more chipper with that information she had given him.

Still just a kid, he thought. But older than his original thought. He'd guessed her to be fourteen. Her small size and fair face gave that impression. While her eyes, which gave off the image of a child, shone with hardship and years of knowledge.

He offered her the container he held, since she kept eyeing it. Her blue eyes darted up to meet his, but he remained silent.

She took it after only hesitating for a moment. "Thank you," she murmured and using the fork from before started eating, but at a much more slower pace. "How old are you," she asked between bites, but flushed at her own question. "Um- well, I should probably ask your name before asking something like that. Sorry." She laughed nervously, setting the half eaten rice down.

"I'm Serena Blake," she said, introducing herself and holding out her hand.

He looked down at the extended hand, his brows creasing. "You're bleeding," he told her, before raising his eyes to hers. And probably bleeding all over his carpet and kitchen floor.

She started, her eyes dropping to look. "Oh," she whispered and the blush from before returned. "It was probably from when I fell."

He frowned, his eyes narrowing. He didn't see how she could have cut herself from that fall. She'd landed on her back. Seeing his expression, her blush darkened. "I-I dropped a glass out my window once, a-and I forgot to clean it up. I must have cut it when I was getting up."

She's lying, he thought. He wasn't sure of what, but her eyes were focusing on something to the side, meaning she was making up the story.

"Come on then," he said and left to go to his bathroom. She followed, holding her hand up to protect his floor, he could only assume.

They had to walk through his bedroom in order to reach the bathroom. He led her to the sink, where he ran the water. Taking her hand he ducked it under the faucet.

It was pretty bad, he could see. The cut was deep and the fact that it wasn't healing yet told him so. "How did you not notice," he asked, his eyes lifting to look at her. But she was staring at her shoes, the blush returning. He was sure it had to be bothering her.

Frowning, he let her hand go and opened his medicine cabinet. He studied the bottles, his frown creasing. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a dark bottle. "I want you to drink this, it will help," he instructed, handing her the flask. Dropping down he pulled out a first aid kit from beneath the sink. The previous owners had left it behind. Since he didn't have much use for muggle things, he had thought to get rid of it, but had never gotten around to it.

"What is it," the girl asked after sniffing the potion. She wrinkled her nose, her lips forming a frown.

"It'll help stop the bleeding," he told her, while opening the lid of the first aid kit.

She downed the potion without another word and he wondered why she trusted him so easily. He could have given her poison. "I can do that," she said with a grimace. Her face turned a little green. "Ugh that stuff is disgusting."

"Does anything that's good for you, taste good?" he drawled, and the girl gave him a sour look. "But that was worse than any cough syrup I've ever had," she replied.

He shrugged, since he had no idea what she meant by cough syrup and instead turned back to the first aid. He'd never used one of these and all the packets inside appeared to be out of his understanding.

"It's ok," she said and took out a small packet and a box of something called Gauze Wrapping.

He watched her, since he was a little curious. She tore open the little package that read Peroxide and pulled out a thin cloth. He winced when she hissed after applying it to the already healing wound. The potion was already working he noted, having stopped the bleeding. It was a handy little potion Snape had taught him before they both had become exiles.

She then wrapped the wound and a pad with the Gauze, before securing it. "Are you okay," she suddenly asked. Seeing his own reflection, he realized he'd turn a little green. It had been a long while since he'd seen injuries such as this. Not since the war, he thought to himself.

"I'm fine," he answered aloud. "Should we see if maybe you're hurt anywhere else, I'd like to spare my carpet."

Her flush was bright red and he wondered what he said, but she quickly replied, "Okay." Then to his own embarrassment, she pulled her shirt up over her head. It was his turn to blush, and even though she wore that muggle underwear he'd heard Hermione talk about, he still felt a little dirty for looking.

Clearing his throat, he indicated for her to turn around. She did, and he could barely contain his gasp. Hearing it, she whirled around, her eyes wide. "Oh um- I-I better go," she began and started for the doorway.

Draco stopped her, his hand grabbing her arm gently and he forced her to turn her back to him again. There he found bruises all along her back. Some had no real form to them, while others appeared to be the size and shape of fists.

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Well i hope this chapter was to your liking. You are now just getting to understand Serena Blake. But you dont quite know her yet. I hope you will come to love her like I have. She has a tough journey still ahead of her. All of you have a wonderful day, and glorious week.

LP out