When Draco returned to the manor he couldn't decide how he felt. There were so many conflicting emotions running through him. He was angry and hurt and confused. They had promised to love one another forever; he had expected to spend the rest of his life with the fiery witch. He thought back to just over 6 months ago and how he was happier that he thought he could ever be, happier than he thought he would ever be allowed to feel. Well his mother had made damn sure that he would never be happy again. He had always thought it was his father pushing the blood purity hard and that he was the one spear-heading the Malfoy clan. He had been dead wrong. While Lucius had bought into the blood purity as he had been raised, it had been his mother who blindly supported that lunatic and had coerced his father with her 'love' into following Riddle into the abyss. Love, he scoffed at the thought, he doubted a pureblood family had even entertained the idea in hundreds of years. Not the kind of love he had yearned for. The all consuming, passionate love that made you ache for each other's company. He had envied Potter, that's right, envied the Boy-Who-Lived; he had envied the love he shared with the youngest Weasley. He had gone to his mother after the first war memorial with his hopes and he recalled her response to him with great clarity.

She scoffed at him. 'Don't be ridiculous Draco! You are a Malfoy, you are the product of the two finest and oldest families in the wizarding world! You will marry a beautiful, pureblood witch and grow to love her, just as I have grown to love your father.'

'But mother...'

'No Draco.' she interrupted him with a stern glare. 'You will forget this nonsense. There are no such things as soul mates. You will marry before your 21st birthday and carry on the Malfoy line. I will not hear another word about this. Leave me, I have suddenly gotten a headache.'

Draco looked at his mother with wide eyes. She had never so readily dismissed him, or his conversations in the past.

He left her room feeling confused and worried. Twenty one? That was so far, yet so close. He made the decision that day to get out and get some life experiences before he was tied down to a wife and family. He spoke to his father that evening and obtained his full support. Draco would be given a year to do as he pleased before he was required to return home and learn the family business and search for a bride. He would have full access to any amount of money, no questions asked, but he had to return, one year from today ready to become a responsible, contributing member to wizarding society.

Draco didn't know what to do with this freedom first. One year seemed like such a long period of time, but when he thought about what he wanted to do, he realized it was very short. He wanted to see the world, to experience everything, see all of the wonders, muggle and wizard, but he also wanted to relax. He had spent the greater part of the last seven years on edge, agitated and living in fear. He kind of wanted to do absolutely nothing for once in his life. After some great deliberation, he decided on spending some time relaxing on the Amalfi coast. It would satisfy his want to travel and his need to relax and he could spend some time deciding what his next move would be. He wasted no time owling his good friend Blaise Zabini to see if he was interested in joining him for some relaxing, not to mention Blaise's fluent Italian would come in handy.

In less than a week Draco found himself basking in the Italian sunshine and cramming his hours with nothing but beaches and reading.

'Draco, you need to put that book down and check out the talent all around us.' Blaise was very much enjoying his time in Italy. The parade of beautiful women eating breakfast with them had started the day after they arrived and Draco guessed it would continue for the duration of their stay. He dropped his book to the side and looked around the beach area. Blaise was not wrong, there were certainly a large number of beautiful women lounging and wandering around the beach, but Draco wasn't very interested in spending his beloved year doing anything but what he really wanted.

'I hear you Blaise, I just haven't seen anyone who blows me away.'

'Are you still on that man?' Blaise looked at Draco over the lenses of his sunglasses. 'I think you just need to get laid, and soon. I don't think I have ever felt as relaxed as I have these past few days.'

'We only just got here, I'm in no rush at the moment.' Draco took one more look around the beach while picking up his book again. He was stopped in his motions almost instantly by the ethereal sight of a gorgeous woman coming out of the ocean. From the angle Draco was sitting, her form was haloed by the sunshine and he couldn't see her face. His eyes started at her legs and lingered as he watched the water droplets run down the tanned expanse. As his eyes moved up past the coral coloured bikini bottoms, his mind played visions of that water being sweat as she writhed underneath his prone form. The droplets rolled over pert breasts, also encased in coral, and down her taut stomach. His heart beat faster as blood rushed south. He couldn't take is eyes off her body and he stood up unconsciously, dropping the book he held.

'All I am saying is you might feel more relaxed if you just spent a little time with someone. If you want I can help you find someone to distract...Draco?...Draco?...are you listening to me?' Blaise watched as his friend walked away towards a brunette. She was walking towards a red head sitting about ten yards in front of them.

'Never mind, looks like you've found something to distract yourself.' Blaise chuckled to himself. 'Now I need to find my own distraction.'