I lay on my bed, sobbing for hours. I was so scared, so upset. I was so mad at myself for letting him down, again. He would never want anything to do with me after this.

There was a tap on my door.

"Go away!" I screamed.

"It's me, Layla," Bellatrix said softly.

I didn't say anything back, only lay there, crying my eyes out. I heard my door open, then close softly, and felt the corner of my bed sink down. I just stared out of my windows, crying and clutching my pillow. I felt Bella's hand on my back, stroking it softly and comfortingly.

"Auntie Bells..." I choked out. "I knew I'd mess up! I knew I'd disappoint him, I knew I would!" I cried, turning to her, hugging her.

"Shhh...sweetheart...he's just upset, give him some time...How do you think you let him down again?"

"I slept with Draco...I went behind his back. I didn't live up to his expectations. I feel just like the night of the raid all over again, when those two asses caught me in the woods..."

"It happens to everyone, love," she said, continuing to rub my back. "Your father needed to save me on more than one occasion when we were younger..."

"Getting caught is one thing. I went behind his back. I disobeyed him on purpose..."

She sighed gently, resting her head on top of mine. "You need to talk to him..."

I pulled back some and looked up at her like she was mental. "What, now?

She shook her head. "In a little bit. Let him cool down. "

I nodded, leaning back on her as she stroked my back and hair. "I hurt Draco too..." I muttered softly.

"Oh, I'm sure he's just fine...Wasn't he just using you anyways?" Bella asked.

"I don't know, Bells...when we were dancing...he dipped me. And he looked down, right into my eyes. And he told me that love between us could be real...And then he kissed me...But he never stuck up for me after that...He's a coward, he's spineless...Merlin is he's just like his father..."

Bella started to laugh. "Darling, this is Draco that we're talking about here. He was trying to make you jealous. He's not going to stick up for you."

"Well, he should. That's what a man would do. I want a man, Bells, not a pathetic little boy."

She laughed again at that. "Then make him into a man..."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Make him see that it's you that he wants. Not some other girl. Make him see how amazing you are. Make him want you. Make him beg. Make him chase after you and prove to you that he's worthy of you."

I smiled a little and just held her. "I can do that..."

"I know you can, darling..." she said, kissing my head.

We sat all night just talking some. The following evening I made my way down to my father's study and tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in," I heard him say in his cool tone.

I pushed open the door and peaked my head in. He was sitting at his desk, looking over a book.

"I-I can come back if now's not good..."

"No, it's alright, come in, child."

I stepped in and shut the door behind me. I had my head hanging down and walked to him, falling to my knees in front of him. "My Lord..." I said softly.

"Layla..." he said, touching my head. "Explain this to me..."

"Which part?"

"Draco," was all he said.

I slowly looked up into his face. "Do...you know how you feel when your with my mother? You don't know if you should call it love, because you don't know what it is, but it's definitely stronger than lust and it makes you feel like you want to be around them, all the time, non stop..."

He nodded some. "Yes, I know that feeling," he said, turning to look at the fireplace.

"I get that when I'm with Draco...I got that when I locked eyes with him across the table at the first meeting. One look from him and it was like...nothing else mattered. W-we...we had sex, my first day here, a few times, and then a few times after that...But then you made that announcement and I got scared for me and for him. And I was so ashamed of what you might think of me for being so enamored...It wasn't a weakness. It was making me stronger... but I got spooked and I started...I started being obnoxious to him. He drug Pansy into this so I'd be jealous and that's what happened at the ball. He kissed me, told me that our love could be real, and Pansy flipped out and shoved me back onto the floor, then I lost my temper and tried to kill them both because he took her side and left me looking like an idiot..." I took a deep breath. "But...I've learned something, that love isn't real. It's something people make up as an excuse." My throat was tight. It was what I had to believe now. "I...I don't want him," I said softly. "I-I don't want any serious men."

He sighed some. "Layla, child, I love your mother. She is the only woman to make me feel that way.

My eyes were stinging and I rubbed furiously at them. "Damnit..." I muttered, sniffling. "I don't want him. I'm swearing off men. I want to focus on serving you, pleasing you...making you proud of me again.

"I am proud of you..."

"I don't see how," I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "I was a disgrace to your name."

"No, you weren't. Your behavior was uncalled for, but you didn't disgrace me.?

I nodded a little. "I...I don't have to be a Riddle..."

He turned around to face me again. "You don't want to be a Riddle?"

"I don't want to be the black mark on your honorable name, sir."

He stared at me. "You are not a black mark. You are the embellishment under our name, making us better."

I looked up into his face. "R-really?"

He smiled some at me, the first time I'd ever seen it. "Yes..." He held open his arms to me.

I stood up and went to him, hugging him. "Father..."

"My daughter," he said, gently hugging me back. "Do you need anything?" I asked after a few moments.

"No. Why don't you go out for a little while?"

"G-go out?" I said, shocked. "Like...go into town? I...I can go?"

He nodded. "I'm sending Bellatrix to watch over you..."

I hugged him again and ran from his study and back up to my room, getting dressed and grabbing my cloak.

Bella came in and smiled. "Ready?"

I pulled my belt around my waist and hung my money pouch off of it. "Now I am!" I said, excited. I hadn't really been outside since I'd arrived at the manor.

Bella took my hand and we Apparated to Diagon Alley. Bella had a disguise on, so no one would really recognize her. We shopped around for a little while.

"He told me that I was an embellishment..." I told her softly, running my hand over a robe in one of the shops.

She smiled. "Really? He said that?"

I nodded. "Yeah...He did."

"Wow, he really loves you, Layla..."

I smiled a little. "He's my dad. He has to love me somewhere.

She laughed some.

We shopped for a while and went to get ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I sat with her at a table outside and licked my ice cream cone.

"So...what does Draco like to do? You're his aunt..."

She smiled. "Quidditch, working out. I believe he has an interest in potions..."

"Wow..."

"What, love?"

"Potions. That's a hard subject."

She nodded some, smiling. "He was Quidditch captain too, I believe.

I smiled dreamily. "Wow," I breathed again.

"What now?" Bella said with a giggle.

"Nothing..." I smiled some. "He's just..." I heaved a sigh. "He'll never talk to me again."

"Yes he will. Give him some time. "

"I have to learn to be a girl," I said after a few more down moments.

Bella laughed at that. "You take after your father..."

I grinned. "I know I do. Which is weird, considering I was never around him growing up." I smiled more. "But I do love being here with him. He lets me be me."

Bella touched my hand and smiled. "I'm glad you're here too. I've missed you..."

"I'm glad to be back here with you too, Auntie Bells."

She hugged me and kissed my head.

We got up and started to walk again. "Do you love your husband?"

"Now I do. When I was first married, it was out of convenience more than anything..."

"But you really love him? You never really talk about him."

"I was in Azkaban for years of my life. I'm not really one to talk about that sort of thing . But I do love him."

"And...you love me, right?"

She blinked at me. "Of course I love you, sweetheart..."

I smiled over at her. "How is it that you came from the Black family line? You're not like any of them that I know of."

She laughed some. "How so?"

"Well...Andromeda married that mudblood, ugh. And Sirius well...he was an all around disappointment. Narcissa married Lucius, and if you ask me, that whole family is a bunch of pussies."

She grinned. "I joined your father before Lucius, he married before he came to us. He is a bit of a pussy. Andromeda isn't a part of our family anymore. She didn't want to be involved with the Dark Lord, so she broke off. And good riddance I'd say. We always warned her to stay away from those mudbloods, but she had to go and fall in love and get pregnant with that Tonks bloke, and well, Narcissa and I haven't seen her since she took her vows to him. It's not a great loss if you ask me."

"Obviously...I spent a lot of time in the family archives and histories. In a way, we're all related to one another."

She nodded some. "Yes, we are. We have to be to keep the bloodlines pure."

We were out on the streets of London now, walking around and looking at all of the buildings. "Auntie Bells?"

"Yes love?"

"What's going to happen to all of this?" I asked, motioning around some. "I love England, and though I do admit that I agree very much so with taking back what is ours as a race, I don't want all of London destroyed..."

She nodded some. "We'll talk to your father about minimal damage to the buildings and the streets."

I looked up at her. I loved the way she looked when she talked about serving my father. She was completely in support of him and his beliefs. "You really are devoted to him, aren't you?"

She smiled more, looking almost dreamy as she spoke of him. "He is our future. I will serve him until I die."

I smiled as we rounded a corner into a long alley way. "Ready to go home?" she asked me as we walked.

I nodded, holding onto my bags of purchases tightly. "Yes."

She nodded and took my hand, Apparating us home.