A/N: I said I had an update schedule, and here I am not keeping it. I promise I will do my best to stick to it. Right now I have about twenty planned and outlined chapters, with most of them containing either a rough draft or at least a summary of what will happen. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! They mean a lot to me, and as always, enjoy.

Draco Malfoy was not a morning person. He did not like waking up, he did not like being disturbed, and he especially did not like the people who loved mornings. Those people were too damn cheerful, and he was better off without them. In his days at Hogwarts, he would stay curled up in his bed until the last possible minute and always had his fingers crossed that he would not get too many morning classes.

His dislike for the morning also lent itself to his dislike for breakfast foods. On a rare occasion, the house-elves at Hogwarts would serve breakfast foods for dinner. While most students squealed and bounced at the sight of pancakes, French toast, Belgium waffles, piles of bacon, eggs, and sausage rolls, Draco would roll his eyes at the food. Like morning people, breakfast food was too damn cheerful.

Breakfast in the Janus Thickey ward was held at nine o'clock each morning. Draco tried to skip out on it as much as he could. He was still under heavy supervision and was required to leave his room each morning at 8:30. He usually took advantage of this time to curl up inside an empty storage closet or room. Sometimes he would fall asleep, but not very often. Once he ended up in a closet that was filled with thick, furry winter coats, and he liked that hiding spot best. The coats formed a layer of protection around him, and he knew they would conceal him if anyone should come looking for him.

On one early February morning, Draco was dozing in his bed. He had awoken a few hours earlier and had shivered and whispered quietly to himself until he fell back asleep. His dreams were not as frequent, but they were as vivid as ever. For the past hour, he had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and all of a sudden, he felt his bed sink down a little further. Someone had come to sit on his bed. Draco bit back a few curses before squeezing his eyes tighter. Perhaps if this person saw him sleeping, they might go away.

There was no movement. Draco tried to go to sleep, but his mind wouldn't stop drifting back to the figure on his bed. With great reluctance and annoyance, he slowly opened his eyes. The girl with green eyes sat towards the end of his bed. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and was smiling at him.

"Hi," her quiet voice greeted.

"What are you doing here?" he grumbled.

"I think you should come to breakfast this morning."

"No."

He rolled over away from her and pulled his covers closer to his chin. She didn't budge an inch, and he couldn't go back to sleep knowing she was watching him.

"Will you leave?" he said curtly.

"I really think you should come eat breakfast."

"I don't want it. Breakfast is a horrible meal," he snapped.

"Then will you come sit with me?"

He was taken aback.

"What?"

"Come sit with me. You don't have to eat if you don't want to."

He sat up. "You want me to sit with you?" he asked disbelieving.

She smiled at him. "Will you?"

He wasn't sure how long he stared at her, but soon he was pushing his covers back.

"One time," he mumbled. "Just the one."

She waited patiently as he went to the wardrobe to grab a fresh shirt. With his back to her, he slipped the old one off and the new one on before she could get a good look at his thin form. He wasn't ready for anyone to see him like that.

He followed her out of the room and down the hallway toward the dining hall. They blended in with the other patients who were making their way to breakfast. Many wore a single long gown and walked barefoot. He noticed how the girl was also barefoot.

She slid onto a bench at his corner table, and he sat across from her. She whispered softly and her food appeared before her: scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast with jam, and an orange. She grinned at the food and dug right in.

"This is the first day they're letting me use a fork," she said after finishing off her eggs.

He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because they think they know me."

He didn't say anything as she spread jam on her toast.

"They still won't let me," he finally said.

She nodded. "Still convinced you're a danger to yourself?"

"I am a danger to myself."

She swallowed. "You don't look like it."

"What d'you mean?" he asked.

"Anyone considered a serious threat to their own well-being is kept in solitary confinement. They wouldn't let you be out wandering around if it was still serious."

He thought on that. "I think they're monitoring me."

She gave a short, bitter laugh. "That's nothing new."

They both went silent as the girl bit into her toast with a crunch. Draco wasn't sure if it was just from watching her eat, but his stomach was starting to rumble. He didn't know if he wanted to throw up or eat something. He settled for crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know who you are," he said finally.

She wiped her mouth and took a sip of water. "I'd say not."

"I just..." he dropped off.

The girl finished her toast and emptied her water glass. She took the apple from her tray and placed it in Draco's hand. Her fingers brushed against the inside of his palm, and he felt a tingling sensation in his stomach.

"Thank you for sitting with me."

She smiled at him before rising and exiting without another word. His eyes followed her until she vanished. He looked back at the apple and turned it over in his hands. It was a bright red. He saw her eyes as he took the first bite. It crunched between his teeth and settled happily in his stomach.

Later that afternoon, he sat in a corner near the art table. A few patients were seated there, along with a supervising Healer. The Healer was plump and mother-like, and she absolutely doted on the work each patient did. The girl was sitting at the table, her green eyes full of concentration as she bent over with a quill in hand.

Draco had decided he liked watching her while she worked. There was just something there that held his attention. She bit down on her lip as her hand glided across the page. Occasionally, she'd nod her head and smile to herself before she continued. Draco wasn't sure what she was drawing. He kind of wanted to see it, but he was not about to get up to go to her. Not a soul had even looked at him since he had stationed himself in this corner. Moving now would draw unwanted attention to himself. He watched her for a few more minutes before she caught him. She picked up her drawing and lowered herself down next to him. Draco didn't understand how, but she always seemed to reserve a very soft and warm smile for him. She positioned her drawing in her lap, and he leaned over to see.

It was done in black ink, but he was taken aback by how beautiful it was. The drawing was a landscape of a large moor. The grasses looked to be blown about by a strong, unseen wind, and the hills and mountains in the distance were crooked and lumped in a way Draco had never seen.

"D'you like it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he whispered.

She rolled up the parchment.

"You can keep it if you want," she said, holding the parchment out to him.

He shook his head. "I couldn't."

"You sure?"

"You wouldn't want me to have something like that," he said as he averted his eyes from her.

She studied him before she put the drawing back in her lap.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing," he murmured.

"I think there's something bothering you. Like really eating away at you. But you won't talk about it with anyone, so it's getting worse."

"You don't know me."

"I do. I do know you," she said firmly. "Are you going to tell me?"

"No."

The anger was bubbling inside of him. He could feel it rising, and he didn't want this girl to be the person he took it out on. His fists clenched tightly, and he took a few deep breaths. The Healer said to always take deep breaths, count to twenty, and let go of his anger. Breath, count, let go. He did so for a few minutes, tuning out everything except the sound of his breathing. He felt the muscles in his body loosening, and his mind calmed down.

"Draco? Draco?"

He heard her words again and took his time to respond to them.

"I'm fine." He tilted his head back against the wall. "How'd you know my name?"

"I told you. I know you," she answered.

She stood up, placing the rolled up drawing on the floor space next to him. "I'll be seeing you."

He watched her walk away, and his mouth began moving before his brain could tell him to stop.

"What's your name?"

She turned her head back and gave him one last smile.

"Astoria."

February 13, 1999 was an important date for many people. Flower stands and greeting card shops always had their best business on February 13th. Last minute dates were always scheduled on the day. Single women around the world spent the day dreading the next morning and its emphasis on love.

For Draco Malfoy, the day marked something greater. February 13, 1999 would forever be the day Astoria Greengrass first visited him. It was the day he first saw her artwork. But above all, it was the day he first realized he did not like being alone.