Aster was waiting by the library for Io, catching her just as she left. The twins walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class; Io was in a pleasant daze from Draco's brief affections while Aster considered talking about Hermione's odd demeanor following their conversation. The halls slowly crowded with students furiously studying their lessons in preparation for examinations. Some muttered lessons to themselves, attempting to memorize entire chapters, while others carelessly flourished their wands, practicing wand movements. The latter resulted in a few first years mysteriously tripping and a few books launching themselves in the air.

"Are you planning on telling people?"

"About?" Io chuckled.

Aster rolled her eyes. "About your new boyfriend if that's a word Draco can stand to call himself."

"I don't see who I'd tell, let alone who would be happy to find out."

"Fair word of warning then," Aster sighed as they approached the classroom. "I told Hermione about you two."

"Lovely," Io gritted her teeth. "I imagine she took it well considering it's been Draco's job to be an absolute menace the past five years. I've heard how he refers to her and Ron."

Aster chuckled, tossing Hermione's galleon to her sister. "Well, I figured it'd be best if she was the one who told Harry as opposed to him finding out during DADA. God forbid he and Draco got paired up to duel. We'd all be in danger."

Professor Snape was at his podium, silently watching the students fall into their seats. There was nothing written on the chalkboard, and he gave no indicator for the lesson. When the room was full, the door slammed shut, and everyone sat still.

Io and Aster looked about the room, catching the confused glances of others. It was eerily silent. Draco sat diagonally from them with Blaise, both waiting stoically.

Snape waved his wand.

They all expected something to appear out of the corner of the room, maybe a dark creature of some kind or another cabinet like the one with the boggart from third year. There was no mysterious guest or foul substance. One student stood, slowly walking up to the chalkboard and began to write.

"The Imperius curse?" Hermione Granger called out from the other side of the room, reciting what the dazed student scribbled.

"Don't speak out of turn!" The Gryffindor at the front of the class shouted with clear malice. Less than a second later, he blinked, staring at everyone until he realized he was no longer at his seat.

"Yes, Granger." Professor Snape descended. "The Imperius curse. Stop blubbering, O'Neal, and return to your seat."

Everyone tensed up. For some, it was the first time they'd ever seen one of the Unforgivables be used. For others who had the misfortune, they never expected that they'd see it being used on a student for the sake of a lesson.

"Today, you will be learning the effects and how to resist the Imperius curse." Snape walked down the aisles. "I do not expect any of you to have the competence to control your emotions, but that is critical when resisting. If you do not and you let your childish mood swings take over, you may as well fall into the hands of a Dark Wizard. Under the Imperius curse, the affected will lose all willpower, and is at the mercy of the wizard who cast it."

The twins did their best to stay quiet, both of them recalling how their mother had fallen victim to the Imperius curse by the Death Eater Dolohov. His crude face was now engraved into Io's mind, and she had nothing but malicious thoughts towards him.

Of the many horrible things she committed to memory from that night in the Pensieve, Dolohov seemed to be the one she held onto the most, not her father's words or her mother's smile - the man who nearly pushed Ion to the edge of sanity was the one who haunted her nightmares. As much as she hated to admit it, she would sometimes catch herself daydreaming about the day she would be face-to-face with him. What would he do? Is he just as cruel now as he was then? And if… or when the time came, would she be ready?

They hadn't found the time yet to practice casting Dark magic, but the bitter taste in Io's mouth led her to believe that, should it prove to be necessary, she would find no qualm in harming Dolohov.

"Visage," Snape said, approaching Io with heavy steps. "Stand."

Io rose diligently.

"You are a Legilimens, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"But not an Occlumens."

"I finished some of my Occlumency training, sir."

On either side of the room, Draco and Harry looked at her curiously. Harry, who had tried and only barely attempted to practice Occlumency, knew how much strength it took to be an Occlumens while Draco had successfully finished training with the help of his aunt. Io was already able to conceal her feelings, but she knew she still had much to practice in time.

Snape stood closely in front of Io, sternly glaring at her. "What a pity." He turned, addressing the rest of the class. "You all will be practicing how to resist the Imperius curse today. While you will most certainly not be casting it, you will practice blocking out your mind by resisting the spell 'Legilimens.' Partner up."

The tables rearranged themselves, opening up the floor as each student stood scurried to find their friends before standing across from each other.

"And if you have anything you wish to hide, I suggest you pair up with someone who won't use your secrets against you." Snape returned to his podium.

Draco and Blaise joined the twins, but Aster could see Hermione looking in her direction. It would have been a nightmare trying to hide her thoughts from Hermione, so Blaise was her safest option. She wasn't the best at Occlumency, but she wasn't the worst. The last thing she needed was to reveal her emotional turmoil.

"Are you going to put that self-restraint to use, or are you going to let me take a peak?" Blaise smirked.

Aster managed half a laugh and rolled her eyes. "We'll see, Zabini. Can't have you traipsing through my mind for an hour."

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly interrupted by a rather annoying yet familiar voice.

Harry Potter stood awkwardly beside them. "Partner?"

Io couldn't have imagined a worse time for this conversation to take place. Before she could argue, Draco huffed, grabbing Theo by the collar and pulling him to one side of the room.

"Hi, Harry." Io grimaced. "Sure, we can be partners."

Harry curtly nodded with a small bow. He'd never seen Malfoy accept defeat so easily and fully expected him to put up a fight. Instead of the usual crude remark, Malfoy went right to work, immediately toying with Theo Nott's memories. Since this lesson didn't require much distance, they stood a foot or two away from each other. Everyone tried their best to hide their reactions to uncovering secrets.

Io kept awkwardly nodding her head, trying to catch anyone else's attention in the hopes of avoiding all of this. "Got any secrets for me?" She jested, forcing herself to make the mood brighter.

"Loads," Harry laughed.

At the sound of positive tones, Draco couldn't hide his glare. The gray cloud of sour thoughts grew slowly throughout the room.

"It's been a while since I've been to the library." He explained. "I've been meaning to talk to you about… well."

"I know. Aster told me."

Harry kept looking over his shoulder, trying to nonchalantly shake off his nerves. "I figured she would."

"If you have anything you want to say, you better do it now before we start." Io knew her words were cold. Even though she was ready to forgive Harry, there were doubts that she'd really mean it. An apology wouldn't wipe that day from her mind. She'd just have to live with it, being friends with the boy who almost killed Draco. "But then again, I'm not the only one you need to talk to."

Harry looked over at Draco who was doing his best not to eavesdrop.

"Very well, then. We'll talk about this later. Legilimens!" Io cast.

Inside Harry's mind, she could see so vividly. It was the moment when he kissed Ginny Weasley in the Gryffindor common room, Dean Thomas grimacing off to the side. Gryffindor house had a different mood than Slytherin. It was warm and comforting. The only time she could see it was that wonderful interaction with the Russian Blue, but at least, she was able to see it now when it was lively in celebration. Io caught herself smiling at the sweet gesture.

Harry shook his head, trying to center and control his emotions.

"Guess you've got a girlfriend now," Io said. "Ginny Weasley, yes?"

Harry gave half a smile. "Only recently. I should share the sentiment. I heard about you and Malf… Draco. It seems like you two are closer than I thought."

Hermione had only just managed to find the time to tell him about this. She didn't exactly seem too happy about it, talking about it very curtly. He thought back on the times he saw Io and Malfoy walk off together which had been two times too many considering Malfoy's propensity to treat people so coldly. It was a feat on its own that he was able to process any happy emotion at all when it wasn't at the expense of others.

"So I've been told." Io backed up a few steps. "Makes things a little more complicated, doesn't it?"

"Complicated?"

"Apologizing." Io tilted her head.

Harry huffed, trying to hold back his frustration and guilt. "Look I -"

" - it's your turn."

Shaking his head, he raised his wand. "Legilimens!"

Harry's peak into Io's thoughts was methodical.

Naturally, as the topic was brought up, so were her thoughts of meeting up with Malfoy at night. While her reaction to his memory was positive, Harry had to force a grin, still not fully understanding the extent of the relationship. These were expressions he'd never expected to see from someone so bitter. Their interactions were much different. While she and Harry had discussions about family, she and Malfoy spoke about their struggles. It made sense when he thought about her mention of duality.

The way Io and Malfoy responded to each other was nothing like him and Ginny, but in a way, they were alike. Where he admired Ginny's courage and strength to speak up when he couldn't, Io knew when Draco needed silence. Ginny embodied vitality; Io personified serenity.

Io backed away, quickly cutting off the window into the moment. "If you wanted to know more, you could've just asked." Her wand shot up, but instead of another glimpse of Ginny, she found another memory.

Harry was picking up an old tattered potions book, the one he was holding the day they met. There were scribbles in the margins, barely legible from the looks of it. She could see the nights he'd spend reading and studying, but something specific caught her eye. As her barrier against her own emotions faltered, she stumbled out of the vision.

Sectumsempra - for enemies

The guttural animosity started to build in her throat, that familiar, uncomfortable feeling of controlling her disposition took over. Io looked at the floor, gripping her wand so tightly it might've snapped at any second.

Harry stared at her, waiting for a reaction. He hadn't meant for her to see that. He'd already been stressing over trying to find the appropriate way to apologize, but how can anyone apologize for that? It was a miracle he only narrowly escaped expulsion and was only given detention.

He tried once more to open her mind, but was met with nothing, just a blank glare. She completely shut down, and kept him from seeing anything else.

Io walked over to him slowly, her face still and frightening. "Who's the Prince?"

"I don't know." This wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was the only response he could give. "Hermione has been trying to find out."

"Harry, who is the Prince?" Her voice was sharp with venom. "I know you were trying to figure it out on your own that day in the library - don't lie to me."

"Visage," Snape called from his podium, doing little to interrupt the conversation that was gradually festering with malice. "Step away before you hex Potter."

Draco stopped his lesson with Theo, and the two walked over. He grabbed Io's arm, still firmly gripping her wand. He could feel the heat pulsing off her skin.

"Not now, Draco." Io pushed his hand away, making him glare at her then to Harry. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she slowly spoke. She chose her words carefully, each syllable impossible to ignore or misunderstand. "Tell me, did you know what that curse would do or did you just think everything would work out in the end?"

All at once, that duel in the bathroom flooded her mind. The blood, the water dripping down her face, she could feel it all over again.

Harry tried to approach her, but she took two steps back into Draco's chest. "It wasn't… I didn't know."

"I think we're done here, Harry." Io finally looked at him. She laced her fingers with Draco who stood beside her in anticipation. "If I hadn't… I had to see all of that - I had to see him bleed out on the floor all because of your blind faith in a nameless author who hated someone enough to wish death upon them."

Harry hated to admit how her words sank in his chest.

"God forbid anyone should hate you just as much." She whispered, and walked over to the corner of the class to ease her rage, leaving Draco behind.

Draco leaned towards Harry. He spoke with spite on his breath. "Next time she feels like cursing you, I won't stop her."

Harry watched as Draco walked over to Snape. After exchanging a few words, Io left the classroom, Draco at her side.

"What happened?" Aster ran over to him. "Where's Io going?"

"Did Draco leave with her?" Blaise asked.

Theo jogged over. "Io is feeling lightheaded, so Draco is taking her to the hospital wing."

Harry ignored their comments, brushing them off. Hermione joined the small huddle, avoiding Aster's gaze. She put a hand on Harry's shoulder, realizing his chance to apologize was gone. Pulling him over to the side, she tried to reassure him.

"Just give it time," Hermione said.

"Or don't." Aster stepped beside them, knowing whatever Draco told Theo was an excuse. She looked at the two Gryffindors with mild disdain and disappointment. "Apologies can be given, but not accepted."

Hermione didn't know what to say. This was the harshest remark she'd heard from Aster though she knew it was true. "Maybe she's right, Harry."

"I don't know you, but I know my sister." Aster held her head high. "When she forgives, she doesn't forget. And when she doesn't forgive, it's not a decision made easily. I don't know what she saw in that head of yours, but it was enough. Just leave her be."

Blaise tapped Aster's shoulder, pulling her attention back to the class.