I'm thankful as always for my wonderful Beta, DracoWinchester! I do not own JK Rowling's ideas. Please enjoy!

Over two months of being in France with my mother did me a world of good. I felt more relaxed than I had in a very long time, and the only time I thought about Malfoy was when I woke up from a dream with gray eyes still burned onto the back of my eyelids. As Mum hugged me goodbye with the scarlet train whistling behind us, she started crying. I was beyond startled; I hadn't seen her cry since my brother's funeral. She wiped her eyes and said she was just being silly, giving me another hug and pushing me toward the train. I went into a compartment with Harry, Neville, and Luna and waved out of the window until she disappeared from view.

The four of us talked about our summers, and I felt a surge of happiness. I had missed them more than I believed possible. When Hermione and Ron joined us later after finishing their prefect duties, Hermione nearly knocked me off my seat with her hug. I realized with a jolt that I had always thought my mother was the only family I had left, but in reality I had several unexpected additions. My good mood lasted approximately five minutes, until Ron mentioned that Draco was just sitting in the Slytherin compartment, not doing his job. He and Harry were debating why he wasn't abusing his power, and my heart just sank lower at every word. Hermione cast me a sympathetic glance and seemed ready to interrupt them when the compartment door opened and did the job for her.

A trembling third year handed Harry, Neville, and I envelopes. They contained an invitation to have lunch with Professor Slughorn in his compartment. I was confused. Harry had said Slughorn liked to "collect" certain students, so why did he want me? I spent the walk through the train pondering this fact. Then an idea dawned on me that gave me a feeling of intense unease. Neville seemed to have no reason to be invited either, except that his parents had been in the Order. Surely Slughorn wasn't about to expose what I had spent the last year trying to hide….

I worried for nothing, however. When Slughorn introduced everyone and had them speak about themselves, he began by saying he had known my father through his job at the Ministry. I spent the rest of the time much more relaxed, though I hadn't particularly enjoyed it. A Slytherin boy, Blaise, whom I recognized as being friends with Malfoy, kept eyeing me when he thought I wasn't paying attention. It was starting to get on my nerves. The lunch ended soon enough however, and he stalked out of the compartment. Harry, Ginny, Neville, and I went out after him, Harry watching him with a peculiar expression. Before the rest of us could say anything, he said he would see us later and disappeared under his Invisibility Cloak.

The three of us shrugged and went back to our carriages, explaining to the others that Harry had disappeared. He didn't return, even once we had reached Hogwarts. We looked for him in some of the compartments on the way out, but never found him. We were all worried, but hoped he had went on without us. He wasn't in the Great Hall. Hermione, Ron, and I all sat down at the table, feeling anxious. It wasn't until the feast was almost over that he came into the Great Hall, covered in blood. Ron asked what had happened while Hermione cleaned him up, but he said he would tell us later. We talked about Slughorn and the upcoming year until Dumbledore stood to speak.

"The very best of evenings to you," he said, spreading his arms and revealing his right hand to be blackened and damaged. Hermione and I gasped, along with most of the Hall. He assured us it was fine, and continued with his speech. The next reaction from the student body came when he announced Professor Slughorn would be the new Potions master, and that Snape would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. At that, murmurs broke out over the Hall and Harry actually yelled "no." Dumbledore continued as though he hadn't noticed, and bid everyone goodnight. As Hermione ran forward to take care of the first years, Ron predictably stayed back with Harry and I to hear what had happened.

When Harry said Malfoy had broken his nose and left him there, I involuntarily cried out. I was thankful it seemed like a sympathetic gesture, but in reality, I was shocked. I had always known Malfoy could be cruel, but to resort to that level of violence was unlike him. I had more surprises coming, however. Harry went on to recount Malfoy boasting about receiving a mission from Voldemort, and how he believed him to have become a Death Eater. I actually tripped up the stairs at those words, but someone behind me grabbed my arm.

"Alright there, Ellie? Yeh mix in some firewhiskey with your pumpkin juice tonight?"

I turned to hug the grinning Seamus, laughing. "Of course, how else could I deal with Snape being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

He looped his arm through the one of mine he had just grabbed, now joking with Harry and Ron. I was grateful for his always optimistic presence after hearing what Harry had to say. I glanced around me as we trooped up to Gryffindor Tower, glad to be back in the castle. Something caught my eye, however, and I nearly stumbled again. Malfoy was leaning against the wall of the landing, glowering at Seamus. I anticipated the moment when he would look at me with a mixture of apprehension and excitement, but it didn't come. He merely spat out a nose joke at Harry before going back downstairs to the dungeons, ignoring me even when he walked less than a foot away from me.

"What the hell was he doing up here," Seamus asked, twisting around to watch him. I said nothing, thinking I had a pretty good idea.

The next day passed without incident, until it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry, Ron, and I had cleared our schedules with McGonagall and were thrilled to find ours were identical. We were still discussing them when we reached Snape's door.

"Inside."

So inside we all went, glancing around at the dark room. There were drawings of people in terrible pain all over the walls, and I felt intensely uncomfortable, even more so when Snape began to speak. He talked about the Dark Arts as though they were dear to him, like he loved them more than himself. I was even more determined to find out how a man like this had any relationship with my family. The trio said Dumbledore was convinced he was good, but I didn't see how a man like this could be. He had to have known my brother because of being a Death Eater. There was no other way, and for that, I began to hate him. I glared at him steadily throughout the rest of the class, and he eventually took notice. He returned my stare with interest, and Harry watched us with some degree of concern, but said nothing. He, Ron, and I returned to the common room for our break and began working on homework. I was quieter than usual, but thankfully neither seemed to notice. This was the upside to being friends with boys.

Time passed with little progress made, and then we were heading to Potions. I stopped dead when we reached the dungeons, and Harry did the same next to me. Out of all the Slytherins to continue to NEWT level, of course Malfoy had to be one of them. He entered the dungeon without looking at me, but I instinctively knew he was aware of my presence. This class was the most interesting so far, beginning with the introduction of three amazing potions. One, Polyjuice Potion, was something I was familiar with, thanks to my brother. The second smelled incredible, like a mixture of sea air and something rich and musky that I couldn't place, and at Professor Slughorn's announcement that it was a love potion, Malfoy and a boy named Nott laughed, causing my stomach to churn. The third was to be the prize for the day's competition ― Felix Felicis.

Harry's potion came out best, much to everyone's surprise. I wasn't surprised at my own dismal progress, however, as I had been watching Malfoy for most of the class. He had worked earnestly throughout, making me wonder why he needed luck so badly. I shoved down the foolish part of myself that hoped it had to do with me. As he stalked past me to leave the dungeon, I looked around to see if Professor Slughorn had opened the Amortentia again, because I could detect that unidentifiable scent. Suddenly, I was hit with a flood of memories of being pressed against walls and looked down at by silvery eyes. Fuck. Malfoy was in my love potion.

I spent the next week in a bit of a foul temper after that realization. My trio of friends was too preoccupied with their own issues to notice, and I was thankful. Harry had Quidditch tryouts coming up, and as Captain, he was feeling the pressure to make a good team. So that next Saturday, Hermione and I went down to the pitch to support Harry and Ron, who was trying out. Hermione was still miffed that Harry had kept his mysterious Half Blood Prince Potions book and that Lavender Brown had flirted with Ron, so we were both quiet as we watched.

When the Keepers finally lined up, Ron was a pale green color, and Hermione seemed almost as nervous as he did. Some wanker named McLaggen, who seemed to have the temperament and team building skills of a troll, was doing surprisingly well, making things seem dismal for Ron. McLaggen lined up for his last save, and from beside me ―

"Confundo."

I turned to Hermione in shock, and she turned bright red but had a determined look on her face. I burst out laughing and threw my arms around her, and we clung together as Ron flew up to the goals. Without further assistance from Hermione, he made all five goals and we ran down to the newly formed team in time to see McLaggen storming away. We congratulated Ron and headed towards Hagrid's with him and Harry. I had grown to like Hagrid very much over the past year, and he had been thrilled to have another person come visit him regularly. Now we headed towards his cabin with some degree of trepidation. He wasn't happy with us for dropping his class. The next couple hours were spent first with us trying to make amends, then with him mourning over Aragog, a giant spider, dying. We found it hard to express much sympathy for that. As we headed back up to the castle excited for dinner, we saw McLaggen run into the door of the Great Hall. Ron burst out laughing and walked ahead into the Hall, but Harry stopped Hermione and I.

"If you ask me, McLaggen looks like he was Confunded this morning. And he was standing right in front of where you two were sitting."

I tried to hide my fit of giggles while Hermione turned red once again. She sputtered out a defense until Ron came back out to see where we had gone. Before we could make it inside, Professor Slughorn stepped in front of us, exclaiming "Harry, Harry, just the man I was hoping to see!"

He went on to invite him to dinner, listing a few other "rising stars" that would be there, and saying he hoped Hermione and I would accompany him as well. He pretended Ron didn't exist throughout the entire exchange, and bid us goodnight. Ron remained in a bad mood for the rest of the evening, even snapping at Harry at one point. Hermione had read an article saying that Ron's father had lead a search of the Malfoy Manor, but had found nothing. The mention of Malfoy made my heart plummet, and even more so when Harry began musing on how Malfoy could have gotten the supposed item he had into Hogwarts. Ron eventually told him to drop it, rather waspishly, causing Harry to retort something about Slughorn's parties. Ron then stomped up to his dorm in a fit of temper, leaving the three of us to stare after him, all lost in our own thoughts.

The only thing to look forward to over the next month was the Hogsmeade visit. But even that ended up being miserable, as the day of the trip was freezing cold and windy. The four of us made our way to the village wrapped in as many layers as possible. Ron pointed toward Honeydukes. We all piled inside, only to wish we hadn't when we spotted Professor Slughorn coming our way. Hermione and I had started to dislike those suppers. They had been bearable at first, but now between McLaggen flirting with Hermione and Blaise watching me, we were both uncomfortable. Slughorn, having finished harassing Harry for the day, waved goodbye, and we decided to head to the Three Broomsticks. This was not a much better experience, and as soon as we finished our drinks, we agreed to head back to the castle.

Ahead of us, Katie Bell and a girl I knew only as Leanne were fighting, Katie saying that something had nothing to do with her. She snatched a package back out of Leanne's hands and immediately rose into the air. Hermione and I gasped and grabbed each other, and I noticed she had a hold on Ron as well. Suddenly, Katie screamed awfully and came crashing to the ground, barely giving Harry and Ron enough time to catch her. Harry ran off to get help, returning soon after with Hagrid who carried Katie to the school. Harry stooped to pick up the package with a scarf, revealing a necklace inside. As we walked with a crying Leanne back to the castle, I heard Harry talking to Ron.

"Malfoy knows about this necklace. It was in a case at Borgin and Burkes four years ago, I saw him having a good look at it while I was hiding from him and his dad. This is what he was buying that day when we followed him! He remembered it and he went back for it!"

Ron expressed reservations about this idea, and I was glad. There was no way Malfoy was a Death Eater. I just felt it somewhere deep inside me. Harry just had to be wrong, I kept telling myself, as though the more I said it the more true it would be. We met with McGonagall back at the castle and gave her a brief explanation of what had happened. I sensed Harry about to say something next to me, and just knew he was about to accuse Malfoy. I couldn't stand to hear any more about him in one day.

"Professor, I can go with Leanne to the hospital wing."

She nodded her assent, and Leanne smiled gratefully. As we walked out of the room, I made sure the door shut immediately behind us, unwilling to hear a single word. I was being ridiculous, I knew, but it had been almost five months without speaking to Malfoy, and I was beginning to be ridiculous in many ways.

For instance, the following Tuesday in Herbology, the topic of the Slug Club Christmas party came up. In their typical fashion, Hermione invited Ron as her date after they got in a bit of a row. Harry and I grinned at each other knowingly. The two of them were clearly attracted to each other, and everyone seemed to know it but them. I found myself thinking about Malfoy during the discussion, more specifically about asking him to be my date. The moment the thought crossed my mind, I could tell that I had turned pink ― ridiculous. Hermione had caught my eye and there we were, two teenage girls blushing over boys. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed almost normal. I wished more than anything that it could be.

I was distracted slightly by Seamus in the coming weeks, however. He was cute, and I could tell he had feelings for me. What I couldn't tell was how I felt about him. I thought back to the night of OWLs so long ago when I had fallen asleep on him and how natural that had felt. From the first night I met him, he had been a constant source of happiness and made an effort to make sure I was okay. In the days following the Quidditch tryouts, he had been distant, and I knew it was out of disappointment. So when he overheard Harry asking Dean to replace Katie as a Chaser, he slammed his books into his bag and stalked out of the room. I felt sad for him, and wondered what I could do to help.

I was struck by sudden inspiration. I had been obsessing since the day in Herbology over how I wished things could be normal, and now here I was looking for a way to cheer Seamus up. I jogged out into the corridor after him, calling his name. He wheeled around with a sour expression on his face that brightened when he saw it was me.

"Sup, Ellie?"

I took a breath and pushed away any lingering hopes of being with Malfoy. "Hi, Seamus. Would you like to go to Slughorn's Christmas party with me? I mean if you already have plans, or don't want to, it's fine, I understand. I just ―"

Interrupting my awkward stammering, he grabbed me in a hug that lifted me off my feet and spun me around. "Course I'd like to go with you!"

I beamed at him, relieved that he had agreed so readily.

"How precious. What happens if two half-bloods shack up? Do you finally get a Pureblood or do things just get even….muddier?"

I would recognize that drawling voice anywhere. I spun around, but Seamus was quicker. He had his wand out and leveled at Malfoy's chest within seconds. His eyes were arctic gray and boring into me for the first time in months. I put my hand on Seamus's chest, pushing him back, and Malfoy's mouth twitched in contempt. "Seamus. Don't. He's not worth it."

He looked down at me and reluctantly lowered his wand. Malfoy let out a barking laugh. "I'm not worth it? Seems like I've heard that somewhere before."

Before I could say anything, he turned and disappeared down the corridor. Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach. I had never fucking said he wasn't worth it. So that's how the git remembered things happening?

"Seamus, I'll see you later."

And with that, I ran down the hall after Malfoy.