*Lyrics from the song I'm Looking Through You*

You don't look different, but you have changed

I'm looking through you, you're not the same

Harry strode into Kingsley office without even stopping to knock and walked straight to Chloe. She was sitting in one the chairs facing the Minister, looking small and frightened. He dropped down on both knees and lifted her chin up with one of his hands, reaching for her hands with his other one.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

She nodded affirmatively, but her eyes betrayed her gesture.

"Tell me exactly what happened"

She did and by the time she was done, Harry was furious. It was one thing for whoever it was to threaten him, but not those he loves.

"I'm going to oversee things at the antique shop" Kingsley said "Please take as long as you both need"

Harry watched him leave before turning his attention back to Chloe. She was still staring straight at him.

"They are bringing the man in for questioning, and I will personally question him. I'll get to the bottom of things Chloe, I promise. No one is going to hurt you, ok?"

"I'm not worried about them hurting me…. The man said they are going to kill you Harry"

"They won't, Voldemort himself couldn't. I will be fine"

"He said there is nothing I can do to keep you safe…. I don't want to lose you"

"Chloe, aren't you worried or scared for yourself?" He asked, incredulous.

She blinked a few times as if his question had caught her off-guard.

"Of course I am, but I'm far more concerned about you"

"Please don't"

"Why not, you are concerned about me as well, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I have to. You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me"

"What are you talking about?"

"They are coming for you to hurt me. I ended things with Ginny the first time to avoid exactly this. Neither of you deserve to be used like that"

"Are you saying you are going to end things between us then?" She asked, her voice rising as she pulled her hands from mine.

"I… I hadn't thought about it until now, I needed to be sure that you were fine…. But perhaps it would be the right thing to do… for the time being"

"The right thing for whom?" She asked standing up and crossing her arms, all traces of fear taken over by anger.

"For you Chloe. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me"

"Rubbish! The right thing for me is to be with you"

"And risk getting yourself killed? Don't you understand how serious this is? That man could have killed you today"

"Do not patronize me Harry Potter. I am well aware of what could have happened this morning"

"Then you must agree that staying away from me is the best thing for you. Be logical"

"You want me to be logical? Fine then, let me be logical. It does not matter if we are together or not, we love each other and they can still hurt you trough me. It makes no sense for us to be apart when the results can be the exact same as if we were together"

"Not if we can let go. You work for the Obliviation department; this could be easily taken care of. You know what Hermione did to keep her parents safe"

The moment those words left his mouth, he knew he had crossed a line. Chloe's expression grew somber and angry, the likes he had never seen before.

"Well then, looks like you will get what you want after all. Good bye Mr. Potter" She said, in a calm and controlled tone, before pushing past him and leaving.

The moment she slammed the door behind her, Harry punch the desk, grabbed whatever was close by and threw it across the room. He calmed down soon enough and pulled out his wand to fix everything; it had been a long time since he had been this mad. He looked up at the door, contemplating whether or not to go after her, but decided against it. He needed time to think and, judging by the look on her face when she left, she needed time to wind down. While Harry fixed the Minister's office, Chloe ran all the way down to the atrium, occasionally running into people but she didn't bother to stop and apologize. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and she eventually did, apparating straight to her room once she was out of the Ministry. She threw herself in bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes, and let the tears fall freely. At one point, the sickle in her pocket grew warm and she pulled it out. Malfoy was asking if I was ok, he had just heard what happened. His gesture caught her off-guard, but she was not in the mood to talk so she wrote back yes and threw the sickle across the room. I skipped lunch and dinner, staying in bed for the day and visiting the loo a couple of times when she got sick.

Elliot came to see her soon after she had arrived home, and Chloe hated the look on his face; the last time she had seen him like that was the day mum died. He made her tell him exactly what had happened that morning, even though he told her the Minister himself had stopped by to see him, and besides her objections. She didn't tell him about her fight with Harry and she didn't talk very much beyond what she absolutely had to. He left her alone after a while, promising he would be coming to check on her later. Eventually, she cried myself to sleep. Hours later, she woke up still feeling bad. The clock on her nightstand showed eight thirty in the morning and she jumped up in shock; she just couldn't believe she had slept for so long as the last time she remembered looking at the clock had been at seven last night. It took her a while to convince herself to get up and shower, but she did and when she stepped out of the tub, she was feeling slightly better. Chloe left her room and walked to the living room, where one of her elves served her some tea; she ignored the bowl of cereal. They also handed her a few letters; the first from Evelyn, one from Ava, one from Dan and Oliver, one from Kingsley, and the last one from Hermione. She opened Evelyn's only and it said for her to take a few days off, much to Chloe's relief. She was reaching for a book to try and occupy her mind when her father walked in.

"Morning Chloe, how are you?"

"I'm fine" She lied.

"Chloe, I've known you for nineteen years, I can tell when you are lying."

"Shouldn't you be at work?" She replied, eager to change the subject.

"I'm taking the day off, to say here with you"

"You don't have to do that dad, I'm fine, really" She said, even though she appreciated the gesture.

"Walk with me" he said, opening the French doors that led to the yard and stepping out.

Chloe stared after him for a few seconds before finally getting up and following him. He walked to the end of the yard, where it boarded the woods, and after turning back to make sure she was following, continued to walk. They walked deeper and deeper into the woods, in silence, for a few minutes. The sun rays were peaking thought the trees, and Chloe looked around in wonder, appreciating the beauty of it all. She wasn't sure how long they had walked in silence, but her father eventually broke the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"We already did"

"I'm not referring to what happened at the Antique shop"

"What are you referring to then?"

"The real reason why you are upset, Harry's absence"

"Oh" She said, looking down at the leaves covering the ground.

"It is very curious that he hasn't been around, don't you think?" Her father nudged.

"Not at all. We are no longer together; he has no reason to be here" She replied, dully.

"And why is that?"

"He doesn't want to risk my life; he doesn't want me to get hurt because of him"

"You know I have to agree with him on this"

"Fantastic" She said, cynically, but having known from the start he would be like that.

"Let me finish Chloe. I agree with him, yes, I don't appreciate the danger you are in because of him. But I also think that both of you are making a mistake"

"Both of us? I wasn't the one who wanted to end things"

"But you were the one to walk away"

"How…?"

"You ran past a lot of people on your way out of the Ministry Chloe, and there were reports of loud, crashing sounds coming from the Minister's office right after you left. It is hardly a secret something happened between the two of you"

"Bloody wonderful" She grumbled, looking down again.

"You should go talk to him"

"Not a chance. He should be the one coming to talk to me"

"And if he does?"

"Then we will work things out I guess…"

"Do you love him?" He asked bluntly.

"Yes" She replied, blushing slightly.

"Then fight for it darling"

Her father's words shocked her; she had not expected him to say that. She had expected him to say Harry had been right and that she should stay away from him until they caught whoever was behind all of this. Neither of them spoke again for a while, her dad humming to himself while she thought about what he had said. It sounded like something mum would have told her. They had stopped walking now, dad a few steps ahead of her. We were at a clearing, and all around us forest animals went about their business. It felt as if they had entered another world, one in which they didn't quite belong. She looked up as the breeze picked up, and suddenly she felt like flying.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Chloe"

"I went flying with Harry a few weeks ago"

"You did?" he said, turning around to face her with a look of genuine wonder "And how was it?"

"It was fine at first, it felt so good being in the air again… but then I saw mom the day she… and I began screaming and he took us down"

"I'm proud of you for trying; it wasn't ease on me either the first few times. You should give it another try"

"I know. I also dreamed of mum that night and she looked… peaceful. I really miss her"

"I miss her too darling" He said, wrapping Chloe in his arms.

"Thanks for the talk dad"

"Anytime Chloe. Would you like to go in and have some breakfast now?"

"Yes, that sounds lovely"

Chloe shouldn't have been surprised to find Malfoy in her room when she went back upstairs after breakfast, but she was.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" She asked, wondering why no one seemed to be where they should today.

"You didn't answer my messages" He replied, holding his sickle up and looking slightly annoyed.

"I did, I told you I was fine"

"And then you stopped replying"

"Why does it even matter?"

"How many times do I need to say this? There is no point in risking my life if Potter, and now you, get hurt. Would defeat the purpose"

"Fine, I get it"

"Where is your sickle?"

"Somewhere over there" She said, pointing at the area where she remembered throwing it "Accio sickle"

"You must have been very upset" He observed, as the sickle flew over to her hand.

"Absolutely"

"The news going around is that you and Potter had a big fight"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Neither do I"

"Then why are you here?"

"I have already told you. I wanted to make sure you were fine and now that I have, I should really get going"

"Thanks for stopping by Malfoy, but you shouldn't worry about me"

"I know"

"I trust you don't know who that man was, or who sent him?"

"No, but I'm working on it. I will contact you if I have anything"

Later that day, Chloe watched the sunset from her favorite spot on the roof, although she hadn't been there in months. After spending most of her day with her dad, she welcomed the silence and solitude this little hideaway presented. Soon enough, darkness had engulfed her surroundings and the stars winked at her from above, the crescent moon shining the brightest among them. The distance sound of footsteps broke the peaceful silence and Chloe wondered who was climbing up the stairs to meet her. She figured it would be her dad, but it was Ava's brown hair that she saw peeking from the trapdoor. From the corner of her eye, she watched as her friend finished climbing up the stairs and sat down next to her on the roof.

"Your dad said he hasn't seen you in hours. And I hope you appreciate how hard it was for us to figure out you were up here, or how wearing it was for me to climb all those stairs"

"Ava, you climbed two extra flights of stairs to get here, quit whining" Chloe said, rolling my eyes.

"Why are you here anyways? I thought you were over this place"

"I don't think I will ever grow tired of this place. If you had seen the sunset I just did, you would understand"

"Perhaps… how are you doing? And I mean how you are really doing. Don't try lying to me, it won't work"

"I'm still shaken, I can't stop thinking about that man and his voice is constantly playing in my head. And I'm hurting"

"Because of Potter?" She said, adding an emphasis on his last name.

"Potter?"

"He doesn't deserve to be called by his first name. He hurt you and I don't take it lightly"

"Well then, yes, because of Potter"

"Tell me what happened"

After taking a deep breath, Chloe told her what had happened after the Minister left and, against her better judgment, laughed a couple of times as Ava huffed and puffed and made irritated faces.

"Your boyfriend is a twit"

"Ex-boyfriend"

"Don't be dim, you only had a fight" She said, with a wave of her hand.

"It wasn't just a fight and I pretty much walked away from him. It sounded very definite to me"

"You are a dimwit"

"Ava!"

"I'm your best friend Chloe, I will tell it as it is"

Chloe shook her head, a small smile on her face. Ava was bonkers, but Chloe loved her for it and she was unquestionably the best friend anyone could wish for.

"Can we talk about something else now?" Chloe asked.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, anything new going on with you?"

"Well, yes actually. Do you remember how I used to talk about writing books on the history of the wizarding world?"

"Vaguely, you only mentioned it every day during our sixth year" Chloe joked and Ava playfully hit her in the arm.

"Very funny Chloe, very funny. Well, I mentioned it to Jasper a few days ago and this morning he told me that he might have something for me. One of his best friends back in Wales, Henry Cromwell, is the son of a local publisher and owner of a bookstore. Henry asked his father to meet with me and he said yes. I'm going to Wales in a week to meet Mr. Cromwell"

"Ava, that is brilliant!"

"Yes, it is. Of course, I still have to write an outline for the book"

"Any ideas?"

"Many. I want to write about Harry and his fight against You Know Who. I know there are plenty of books out there addressing this, but none with lots of inside information because Harry and his best friends have declined any interviews. Before Potter messed up, I was going to ask you to talk to him for me, maybe he would agree if you asked"

"I'm not going to do that Ava, even if we were still together. It wouldn't be fair to him and I'm not getting between the two of you. If you want it, ask him yourself"

"I'm not asking him anything until he apologies to you"

"Don't count on it. If what Hermione has told me about him is true, he is not going to risk my safety so we can be together. And he said so himself yesterday"

"As I said, a twit"

"What happens if Mr. Cromwell decides to publish your book, would you leave the café?"

"I don't know. Maybe I would have to, but I would like to do both"

"What if he wants you to move to Wales?"

"He would have to pay me well enough that I could afford my own place. I'm not going back to my parents; you know I can barely handle them the few times I visit"

"They are not that bad Ava" Chloe said with a chuckle.

"You say that because they are not constantly questioning you as to why you haven't chosen a career yet and saying you can't work as a waitress forever"

"My dad has no reason to question me about that, I so happen to have a career"

"Are you trying to make me feel worse?"

"No, but you know it's true. And you know your parents behave as such because they care about you. I think it would be far worse if they didn't care"

"Would be less stressful"

"Have you told them about meeting Mr. Cromwell?"

"Yes, they are overjoyed about it, like I already have the job. They will be a nightmare if it doesn't work out"

"It will work out. He is going to be very impressed with you and your ideas"

"Well yes, who isn't?" She said and it was Chloe's turn to hit her "Hey, I have an idea"

"I can't wait to hear it" Chloe said, in feign sarcasm.

"Let's go away this weekend, just you and I. We haven't done that in months!"

"That's actually not a bad idea… except I'm not sure my father will be happy about it. Let's not forget someone very clearly threatened my life yesterday"

"What if we could visit my uncle up north?"

"The one that lives in that huge castle?" Chloe asked, excitedly.

"Yes, we would be safe there with him and his castle is big enough that we would have our privacy. C'mon Chloe, say yes!"

"Let me ask dad first, I don't want him worrying"

"I don't think that's a good idea" A male voice said, and both Ava and Chloe jumped.

"Harry?" They said in unison.

"What are you doing here?" Ava inquired, rather menacingly.

"I came to see Chloe"

"What if she doesn't want to see you?" Ava asked, crossing her arms.

"Um Ava, I'm right here remember?" Chloe joined in "I can answer for myself, thank you. What do you want Harry?"

"To talk. In private"

"How long have you been listening to our conversation Potter?" Ava asked, completely ignoring what we had just said.

"I just heard the last bit"

"And how dare you just show up like this, after hurting my best friend?" Ava said, reaching for her wand "I should jinx you"

"Ava, its ok" Chloe said, before her friend could actually do it "Do you mind?"

"Yes, I do" She replied, but she stood up and headed for the stairs anyways "I will be waiting for you downstairs, call me if you need me to handle him, ok? I meant it; I will jinx him if I have to"

"I know that. Thanks"

With one last look at Harry, Ava disappeared down the trapdoor. As soon as she was gone, Chloe pulled out her wand and placed a silencing charm around them.

"So…. The roof?" Harry asked as he sat down next to me.

"Unusual, I know…. I flew up here once, a long time ago, after mum and I had a fight. It was late at night and my parents ended up finding me here, asleep, in the morning. Father was furious at me for falling asleep on the roof, not to mention keeping them up the entire night searching for me, so he flattened this area and placed the necessary enchantments to keep me from slipping down, and to protect me from the weather. It's been my hideaway ever since"

"And the trapdoor?"

"Dad conjured it and the stairs after mum died… he knew I wanted to come here but wouldn't dare fly. I come here every time I'm upset or hurt, which was all the time for a while after what happened to mum, but I hadn't been here in months"

"Until I managed to both upset and hurt you" He said with a sad voice.

"That's correct" She replied with a flat tone.

"I'm really sorry Chloe; I shouldn't have suggested erasing our memories"

"Or breaking up with me"

"I just want what's best for you; I want you to be safe"

"I'm willing to take the risk Harry"

"If you get hurt…"

"I won't"

Inching closer to her Harry put his hand on her face and gently turned it towards him. When their eyes met, Chloe heard the man's voice again, telling her that Harry would die, and her heart began to beat violently.

"Does the Ministry have him? The man from the shop?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, someone has tampered with his memory just as they did with the waitress. All we know so far is his name, Frank"

She involuntarily shivered at the man's name and edged closer to Harry.

"I have interrogated him, and so have Landon, Kingsley and Ron. Evelyn has also worked on him, but whoever enchanted his mind did a thorough job. The Auror's office has someone with him at all times as well; we are not taking any risks"

"I want to see him"

"No, you are not going anywhere near him"

"It is not up to you Harry Potter. I want to see him"

"And how is that going to help?"

"I don't know, but I need to do this Harry"

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking down at her with his piercing green eyes.

"Yes"

"Fine… but I'm coming with you"

"Okay" She said with a nod "And I do suggest you and Ava have a talk, you saw how mad she is at you"

"Do I really have to?" He asked with a groan.

"Of course"

"Fine, but only because you are asking"

"Thank you"

"I'm really sorry I hurt you Chloe. I love you far too much not to worry"

"I love you too"

They smiled at each other briefly before Harry leaned in and kissed her. They stayed on the roof a while longer, simply enjoying each other's company, but their little moment was soon interrupted when an impatient Ava came back up. Chloe laughed, perhaps too hard and earning an annoyed look from both, at their conversation. Ava bickered at Harry as the protective friend she was but Harry held his own surprisingly well. When they were done, the three of them headed down for dinner her Chloe's father. After Harry and Ava left, the former having promised to come meet her in the morning so they could go to the Ministry together, Chloe headed back her my room. She took a long bath before slipping into her nightwear and heading back to her room, wanting nothing more than to sit by the fireplace and read a book but as she reached for the book, she noticed the sickle had a message from Draco. He was coming to meet her in five minutes, if she was up to it. She quickly wrote him back and sat on the armchair to wait.

"You look better" He observed, stepping out of the fireplace and sitting next to her.

"Harry came to see me"

"Finally came to his senses, I take?"

"Yes. But what brings you here Malfoy?"

"I have something for you. I was invited to attend another meeting earlier today. There were less people there tonight and none with masks, for I already knew all of them"

"The Goyels? Parkinsons? Crabbles?"

"Exactly… but there was one more person… my father"

"What?" She said, much louder than necessary.

"Honestly, why are you so surprised? It was only expected. Besides, I found out that whoever has infiltrated our side is the one responsible for poisoning Landon and the man who tried to attack you"

"But you still don't know who it is?"

"No, I haven't been told that. And there is one more thing; my father performed the memory spells on both the waitress and Frank. The other person assisted father, especially at the dinner. He or she was there that night"

"Are you sure?"

"Father said so himself"

"And you trust he isn't lying?"

"I know my father Chloe; he was saying the truth"

"Thanks for letting me know"

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, but perhaps…. Tell me about your father"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Every time a person performs a memory charm, they leave behind certain footprints. If I can have a general idea of the person your father is, maybe I can find those footprints and break the enchantment"

"Is that really possible?"

"It has been done before. However, possible does not equal easy"

"I understand" He said.

He talked about his father then, telling her as much as he could and felt comfortable with. Chloe took notes as he spoke and when he was done, placed a protective spell on them before putting them aside.

"Malfoy, if I succeed, will you be ready?"

"I believe I answered this question the moment I agreed to our arrangement"

"Yes, but we didn't know then that your father is involved"

"He has made his choices Chloe, I have made mine" He said, standing up.

"Did I upset you?"

"No, I can't stay much longer. Keep me informed of your progress with Frank, and be careful. Trust very few"

Chloe watched him go, and with him went any chance that she might get much sleep that night. Thoughts of what he had said, how she could pass the information along, and how she would try to break the spell Lucius had put on Frank were floating around her head and she was anxious to get started. The next morning, when she arrived at the Auror's Department with Harry and made their way to the room where Frank was being held, they found the Minister, her father, and Evelyn waiting for them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes, I need to see him. And I want to work on him"

"Chloe, this is advanced, even for you" Evelyn said, with a sympathetic look.

"It doesn't matter, I want to do it"

"Let Ms. Evelyn go in with you" Father said "And Harry, of course"

"Only if I can get a few minutes alone with him first"

"That was not what we agreed on" Harry said.

"You are not going in there alone Chloe" Father agreed.

"Fine" She said, with a hint of irritation "Can we go in now?"

"I will warn you he hasn't said a word since we brought him in" Evelyn said and Chloe nodded.

"Ready?" Harry asked, reaching for her hand with his left one, his right hand on the door knob.

"Ready"

They walked in. Frank was sitting in a small and uncomfortable looking bed, staring at the celling. He didn't bother looking at them directly, until he seemed to notice Chloe. Slowly, he shifted his focus directly to her and his lips formed a smile, the same creepy smile he gave her the first time they saw each other.

"I wondered when you would come see me" He said, his voice just as full of malice as before and Chloe squeezed Harry's hand "Tell me, would you like to know exactly how you are going to die?"