So I should have realized a lot of things before

If this is love you've got to give me more

"We know she is alive" Elliot said, running his hands through his hair "That's a start…."

"And that she needs help" Harry said, looking down at Koda who was still frozen in place "Do you know why Malfoy came to see her?"

The elf shook his head "Mistress Chloe always told me to leave them be… but Draco Malfoy was upset this time, yes he was. Koda was afraid"

"I suppose he didn't come with good news" Harry said, with a dry chuckle.

"Come to think of it" Ava began "The two of them were very at ease with each other on the day the Malfoys stopped by your office, Mr. Elliot. We have established they have been in touch for a while, now we need to find out why"

"Ron, can you come with me to Malfoy Manor? We need to find out if Draco is there" Harry asked, and Ron nodded "Elliot, please stay home in case Chloe returns. I will come back soon"

"She is not coming back Harry" Elliot said gloomily "We must go to her, wherever she is"

"Tell Hermione to contact me once she is back, please" He said, refusing to acknowledge that Elliot was right.

Suddenly, the flames turned green and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, nearly running into Jasper who was walking by on his way to the loo.

"I have filled the report, and Landon has agreed to help us" She said "The Department of Security wants you to come at your earliest convenience, Mr. Elliot. They also want to see you, Harry"

"That will have to wait; Ron and I are going to Malfoy Manor now"

"What?" She said, looking at them both.

"I'll explain everything" Ava offered "go on Harry, Ron"

Harry nodded, and without another word or glance at anyone, left followed by Ron. They arrived at the Malfoy Manor's gates shortly after leaving Elliot's and were soon greeted by an elf. Although it was very early in the morning, it wasn't long before the elf returned to escort us them in. Ron and Harry followed the elf up the path, into the Manor and all the way into a spacious room on the second floor.

"Master Lucius will be here soon" The elf said, before leaving.

Neither of them spooke as they waited, and Harry let his eyes wonder around the room. It was ornate and well decorated, a perfect illustration of the Malfoy's expensive taste. The door opened, and in came Lucius, his expression distressed.

"I know this is not the time to stop by, but I need to see Draco immediately" Harry said, not wanting to waste any time.

"I don't know where my son is" Lucius said "Draco and Narcissa have been gone since yesterday afternoon, and I cannot find them. What is it that you need from Draco?"

"Is that common? For them to leave without letting you know?" Ron asked.

"No, it isn't. I have tried to contact them, and I have sent my elves looking for them but neither worked… is that why you are here?"

"No, we came to see your son. We had no idea he was missing" Harry said "Was Draco behaving oddly recently?"

"Why do you want to know?" Lucius said, eyeing him doubtfully "Why are you here Potter?"

"I'll keep the reasons to myself, for now. If your wife and son are not back by later today, I suggest you file a report at the Ministry. And if that happens, come find me Mr. Malfoy"

"They are not just going to come back; I believe something has happened to them"

"And why is that?"

"Blaise was just murdered; we were called in for questioning and now they are gone. My family has been spurned since the fall of the Dark Lord…. Perhaps, in the light of recent events, something has happened to them"

"Have any of you been threatened?" Ron asked, his hand moving furiously about the parchment as he continued to take notes.

"Not recently, but we were at first"

"How long since the last time?" Ron continued.

"A few months"

"Do as I said, Mr. Malfoy" Harry said, standing up and gesturing for Ron to do the same "And come find me once you are done with the reports"

"Will you really not tell me why you came to see Draco?" Lucius asked.

His eyes bore into Harry's and he instinctively protected his mind. He didn't trust Lucius, never had, but considering what Narcissa had done, the possibility that she and Draco had been taken was very real.

"Why didn't your elves find them? Elves have different rules for apparition; shouldn't they be able to apparate by Narcissa or Draco?"

"They tried, but something stopped them from doing so"

Ron and Harry exchanged a look, something Lucius didn't miss.

"Tell me why you are here Potter. My wife and son might be in danger; I must know what is going on"

"We will talk later Mr. Malfoy. And if they really are in danger, the Department of Security and the Aurors will see to it. Thank you for your time"

"An elf is outside the door, waiting to escort you out. We will be meeting again soon, Potter"

Once Potter and Weasley were gone, the secret door to Lucius' right opened and Alastair stepped out. Lucius was a little surprised to see him, but supposed that their spy had contacted him as well.

"Well handled Lucius, it is important that you act as if you and your family are targets. I must admit I was concerned about the girl's involvement with your son, but they have given us a golden chance to be in position to easily spy on Potter and the Ministry"

"I suppose you are aware that Potter knows about Draco and Chloe?"

"Yes, I was just told. If that is brought up…"

"I'm to act as if I had no knowledge of it"

"Precisely. Do as the boy said; act as if complying with them and then report to me"

"Yes Master… what is the next move?"

"We wait…. Christmas is swiftly approaching, and I would like to surprise both Potter and Lewis on that day" He said, smiling mischievously.

"I don't understand"

"You will soon enough. Now Lucius, aren't you going to ask about your wife?"

Lucius tensed "I want nothing to do with her or Draco… yet"

"You are upset, as you should be. But if we are to bring them to our side, I need you to work on them, Lucius"

"Give me a day or so… Draco has gravely disappointed me"

"Your son needs a lot of work Lucius, and your wife's devotion to him should be your way of controlling her. She's better now; I gave Draco and Chloe rags and a potion with which to treat her"

"You didn't have to do that, Master, but I'm grateful nonetheless"

"As I said before, there are very few of us left and no need to waste magical pure blood. But don't think I have forgotten about your punishment; if I hadn't been informed of Draco's disloyalty in time to stop him, he could have gone to the Ministry and the consequences would have been very unfortunate for us"

"I understand"

"I'm needed elsewhere now, come see me by the end of the day"

"Yes, Master"

"And Lucius?"

"Yes?"

"If, when the time comes, your son does not kill Chloe… I will personally kill them both"

Draco knew she was trying to be quiet, but he could hear her crying. He continued to pace, not sure of what to do, and her sobs eventually stopped. He risked a glance her way and found her asleep, the covers gently raising and falling as she breathed. He wanted to sleep as well, and exhaustion was already threatening to overtake him, but his thoughts were in disarray. He had agreed to help Chloe, but he had never expected to try and protect her as he had done back in his room…. It had been weeks since she had approached him, and they had spent a lot of time together, but he still didn't know what had prompted him to care for her like that. He supposed one could say they were friends and that is why he acted the way I did, but he never really had any friends… the people in his past had been loyal followers, acquaintances, means to an end, but never truly friends.

He walked over to the mattress, carefully pulling away the covers and laying down next to Chloe. Draco couldn't quite figure out why the idea of sharing this bed with her was so disconcerting to him, and he wondered if Alastair had an ulterior motive to giving them only two beds. With his back to hers, he continued to think about their situations and how they could escape, eventually falling asleep. When he woke up, Chloe was no longer by my side. Sitting up and stretching, he saw her sitting next to his mother, tending to her with a clean rag.

"You must hate me now" Chloe said in a low voice, noticing that he was awake.

"What?"

"This is my fault… neither of you would be here if it wasn't for me"

"We are here because of a choice I made Chloe; it is not your fault"

"But it is"

"Stop with that, self-pity will get you nowhere"

"I'm truly sorry Draco; I should have never gotten you involved"

"Chloe" He began, getting up and walking over to her "Snap out of it! We are going to need each other if we are to endure this, and you are completely useless like this"

She looked up at him then, her eyes wide. He could tell that she was very upset by his words, but he didn't care so long as it worked.

"Your family and loved ones are out there, probably already aware that you are gone and doing whatever it takes to find you. Don't waste their time"

"You are being extremely rude right now Malfoy" She said, glaring at him.

"I'm well aware of that, but if you cannot handle me… well, you won't last very long. We don't know what they are going to do to us Lewis, I need you to snap out of it and prepare yourself, to help me figure out a way out of this"

"Do you think I'm a fool?" She asked, her voice low again "For risking everything for a boy I've known for less than a year? Do you think I should have walked away when he told me to?"

"Do you regret what you have done for him?"

"No"

"Then you are not a fool"

"Do you? Regret any of this…."

"I regret having gone to you first, instead of going home to get mother…. But I stand by all of my other decisions"

"Did you mean it? When you told Alastair you wouldn't let him hurt me?" She asked, her eyes boring deep into his as she searched for something.

"Yes" He replied truthfully.

"Why?"

"I don't know"

"Can I still trust you Draco? You are not going to turn your back on me, to save yourself, are you?"

Her question caught him of guard, and several seconds passed until he answered.

"You can still trust me. You and I need to trust each other Chloe, fully trust each other, or they will tear us apart and destroy us"

"I've told you since the first day we met that I trust you. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do"

"Then promise me we will weather this together, whatever happens"

"I promise"