So sorry for the delay!

Narcissa almost fainted. She would have fallen to the floor in a heap of tears and wails if Lucius hadn't caught her. Annie. Baby Annie. Bella's little girl. Dying?

"Cissa? Narcissa, what's wrong?" Lucius' voice reached her through the thick fog of shock that was currently clouding her mind.

She looked up at him, blinking. "Anna-" She looked down as tears started to fall from her eyes. A harsh sob racked her and Lucius pressed her to his chest in alarm.

"What about Annabelle?" He asked.

Through gasps ans shudders she managed to say: "She's going to die."

She could hear the air sucked into his lungs. "What?" He breathed.

"Here." She broke away from his arms and shoved Draco's letter into his hands, walking away and letting herself fall to one of the large satin couches in their private comfort room. As soon as she sat, she buried her face in her hands, crying. Her sobs resounded in the tall room, echoing off the silver and gold ornate walls. Their ancestors looked down at them without saying anything, reserving their judgement for a better moment.

Lucius read the letter. Then he read it again. And again. And then rage boiled up inside him. Dumbledore had done this. His niece was dying because of magical saturation and it was all that obsolete whack job's fault. Lucius crumbled the letter in his hands and stormed over to the bar, where he poured two large glasses of fire-whiskey. He handed one to Narcissa before sinking next to her and swallowing a mouthful, wincing at the burn in his throat.

"She won't die, Narcissa. Severus will make the potions perfectly and when our Lord returns he will heal her. I am sure he will." He tried to comfort her, rubbing a hand on her back as she stared into the glass as he spoke.

"What if he's too late? What if she dies before he comes back to us?" Her voice was soft and still shaky, but she seemed to have regained some sort of control over herself as she also chugged down her fire-whiskey.

"He won't, she won't. We'll keep her alive, no matter the cost." He turned her head to face him and cupped her cheeks. "She's family and we will do whatever it takes. What we have to worry about now is..." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Making sure Dumbledore regrets ever even thinking about Annabelle. Our revenge will be sweet, my love."

A soft smile graced her dark red lips, accenting the beauty in her features. Her blue eyes crinkled and her silvery blonde hair cascaded down her blue silk dress. What was most beautiful to him, though, was the fact that her serenity never masked the storm in her heart.

Draco watched Anna sleep. Her chest rose and fell, her breaths were so soft you couldn't hear them, and her curls were spread out over the pillow. For a second he wondered what his life would be like if she were dead. True, he hadn't known her until this year -though she had become an important part of his life in these past months- but he had always known she was there. What if she wasn't?

He shook his head, trying to get the morbid thoughts to fade, and kept working on his Herbology homework. What did he care about plants? He had house elves for that, and money to hire people, when would he ever have to do it himself? Annoyed, he kept working.

Until she woke up, that was.

A groan escaped her as she tried to push herself to a sitting position, which he hurriedly helped her with.

"Draco?" She asked.

"Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?" He sat on the bed next to her.

She shrugged. "Like shit." Then a small smile spread on her lips. "Though it's been worse."

"You drank the potion this morning, then?"

She nodded. "It's horrible, but I guess I'll survive." Then she paused and looked up at him curiously. "I thought you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore."

"What? Why?" He demanded, startled at the thought of his cousin not being his friend anymore. "Why would you think that?"

Annabelle looked away from him, as if unsure of what to say. "You're a pureblood, Draco. I say I'm not a mudblood, but I don't have any proof, do I? And now I- I have such a bad reaction to magic- it's-" She took a deep breath and lowered her head. He had never seen her like this. Even when she was sick she'd kept her head high. "It's pathetic." She finished softly.

"No." Draco was calmer than he thought he'd be. "No, it's not." He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "It's not your fault. You have no control over what somebody did to your magical core when you were a baby. I think it's amazing that you've been coping with something so painful for so long. You could die! I'm not going to be thinking about something so trivial when you could die!" He finished with a yell.

For a second it looked like she didn't believe him but then she looked back down.

"That's right." She whispered. "I'm dying."

"But you won't." He insisted. "I know you won't."

Anna shrugged.

"Anyway." Draco forced himself to sound cheerful. "Mother wants you to come to our house for christmas. What do you think?"

"Sure." She mumbled.

Then she curled back down beneath the sheets and kept quiet. Draco kicked himself. How could he be so stupid? Did he have to remind her of her imminent death? Why? Almost tearing his hair out in frustration, he packed his books in his bag and left the infirmary. He headed to the common room, where most of the ex-Death Eater children were waiting for him. He had spread the word at the beginning of the year and, while many of them had been skeptical, Mother and Father had written to their parents who, in turn, had written to them to confirm what he said. She was the Dark Lord's goddaughter, she was Bellatrix's daughter.

At first they had feared that she would be like her mother, but later it seemed she was more like Rodolphus. She seemed dangerous, but she didn't flaunt it, something which surprised most of them because what first year seems dangerous? This one. She had a way of... looking at them with enough intensity that it chilled their bones, even if she mostly smiled. The smile wasn't always fake either, but still.

"Well?" Adrian Pucey demanded as he entered. "How is she?"

"How do you think she is?" Draco retorted. "She just found out she could die because of magic." He didn't mention Anna's fears concerning him, those were family matters. "She'll be fine, though, and she's coming to Malfoy Manor for christmas. Make sure you treat her with the respect she deserves when she comes back. She'll know who she is."

Everyone around him nodded, though he noticed Theo looking at him curiously. As all the other Slytherins scattered, to do homework, to go to class or some such thing, the Nott boy stayed seated and stared at him, until Draco could do nothing more than go to him.

"What?" He bit out.

Theodore looked at him for a while before shaking his head. "You don't mind if I visit her, do you Draco?"

Draco scowled. "Do whatever you like. Just make sure you don't slip up."

Theo snickered. "Don't worry. I'm not like you."

"Hey!" Draco cried in indignation, but Theo was already leaving.

"See you in Tranfiguration!" He called back at Draco as he slipped through the entrance, leaving the blond boy fuming.

They just sat and read. Anna read a book on dark magical creatures and Theo read a book on poisons and antidotes, and they were fine.

He had found her curled up in her bed, shaking, scared. He had known. Theo had seen the look on Draco's face and known that there was something wrong with her. But she wasn't just upset or confused, she was terrified. And that was fine. He'd told her as much when he'd grabbed her shoulder and made her sit up, he'd told her that nobody would judge her for being afraid of death, and she had smiled.

Theo knew that he had no reason to try to make her happy, none at all. He just had to keep her whole and safe, as much as possible at least, but her happiness was none of his business. Yet here he was, trying to get her to calm down and be alright again. Not that she was alright, but she was getting there. He could still see her space out every once in a while.

"I'm going to Draco's house for christmas." Her voice cut through the silence. He lifted his eyes from the page and raised an eyebrow, urging her on.

"What are his parents like?" She asked.

"Like most parents, I suppose."

"What does that mean?"

He looked up at her in confusion.

"I live in an orphanage." She reminded him, blushing in her embarrassment.

"Right." He rubbed his head, internally wincing at his lack of tact. "They really care about family, but they don't show it in public. They care a lot about appearances and blood, I guess, that's where Draco gets his views from."

Anna frowned. "Do you think they'll have a problem with me?"

Theo smiled at her. "No, I think you'll be fine."

Anna looked at him curiously before nodding and looking back down at her book. He could swear he heard her thanking him, but when he looked back up at her she was again immersed in information about Dementors.

Anna stood in front of the entrance to the Slytherin Dungeon, taking deep breaths before having to enter. She didn't doubt that news about her condition had spread in the house. The other houses wouldn't know, this was Slytherin business, but she almost wished her house hadn't been the one obsessed with magic. How strong it is, how much of it you have in your blood, this and that. A shiver climbed up her spine but she swallowed her discomfort and faced the wall. She had to do it sooner or later, it was way past dinner and way past curfew. She had to go in.

For the first time since Halloween, she said the password (which hadn't been changed for this very purpose) and stepped through the entrance, keeping her chin high as she met all the other students' gazes head-on.

To her surprise, most of the looks she got were accompanied by welcoming smiles and the seventh year prefects, Gemma Farley and Alex Sykes, walked to her calmly.

"Welcome back, Anna. We all hope you're feeling better." Gemma said, looking down at her from between her golden curls. "Professor Snape told everyone of your situation and entrusted Alex and me with giving you your potion every morning. We'll give it to you here before you leave for breakfast, wouldn't want the Griffindorks or the other two to know about this now, would we?" She asked winking.

Alex didn't say anything, just nodded encouragingly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"And we understand that it will be difficult for you now, knowing what you know, so if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to us." Gemma continued.

Anna nodded. "Thank you, I'll do my best to not make this reflect on our house."

Now Alex laughed. "Nothing less than what we would expect. But since you're been in the infirmary for two weeks, you've missed out on quite a bit of classes. Professor Snape assigned some older students to help bring you up to speed on your subjects again."

He handed her a list and as Anna read the names, she recognized all the surnames. She had read a book about the last wizarding war, trying to find out anything about her parents' circumstances, and these were all names of suspected Death Eaters. Suspected, but never proven.

But she smiled, nodded and thanked everyone.

"Ready?" Draco asked as Anna carried her briefcase into the common room.

"Yes, Draco. We can go now." Maybe she was more snappish than usual, but the nerves that writhed in her stomach felt like snakes that were struggling to burst out. Was it her fault? No. Was it Draco's fault? Yes. Damn him, taking her to meet his damned blood purist parents. She had never felt more insecure in her life.

As she walked, the fourteen bottles of her potion clinked in her luggage and she was only reminded further that she was dependent on somebody else to stay alive. Shame slumped on her shoulders but she kept her face impassive, as if she were just waiting for Draco to get going. And that he did, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her off to Professor Snape's office where they would Floo to Malfoy Manor. Even the name was intimidating.

A hum burst forth from her throat but she cut it off abruptly. Draco knew that she did that when she was nervous, she didn't want him to know that she was. That just wouldn't do.

Draco knocked on Professor Snape's office door and, at his call, they entered. It was a dark room, not at all small. Its walls were covered in shelves with rows and rows of potions, potions ingredients and potions books, though here and there a book about the dark arts poked its head. Snape himself sat behind his desk, reading some essay in the small light provided by a candle. Behind him was a large fireplace with a bright fire lit in its middle. Pokers stood against the wall and a vase of seemingly Egyptian origin held a large mound of Floo powder.

"Morning, Professor." Draco smiled at his favourite teacher.

Said man just looked up and nodded at him. He stood up and waved them over to the fireplace as he put out the fire, leaving the room even darker than it was at first. Draco stood on the ashes without hesitation, pulling his trunk up with him. He picked a small handful of the silvery, grainy powder and dropped it at his feet.

"Malfoy Manor!" He called out clearly and emerald flames engulfed him and lit up the rest of the room.

Anna's eyes were wide as she stared at the spot where her best friend had disappeared. Her face had grown pale and she forced herself to look away. Grey orbs met Snape's coal black ones and for a short while she just stared at him, something she had never done. She always looked down when she passed him, and whatever conversations she had had with him had always been short and to the point. Now Anna just stood there, watching his eyes as her memories flashed through her mind. The orphanage, the bullying, the discovery of her magic, the revenge, the pain, the other memories, the fear and now the insecurity. Anger boiled inside her. Was he seeing this? She didn't care, not with all these fresh memories in the forefront of her mind, not while she knew that he would never betray a Slytherin's secrets to anyone. He was her head of house, he was supposed to look out for her. But something twitched in the back of her mind, protesting against the intrusion.

Then he extended an arm to the fireplace. "Off you go, miss Connors." He drawled.

Swallowing, she stepped inside and picked up a handful of powder. It was soft and slipped through her fingers as her hand shook. She took a deep breath and threw it down. "Malfoy Manor!" She called and watched the bright green light wash over her potions Professor's pasty skin.

"There you are! Took you long enough!" Draco called out as he picked her up from the ground. She looked at him in a daze. She let herself be pulled up and watched her surroundings carefully. The walls were made of grey marble and dark wood and were covered in paintings of strict noblemen and noblewomen that appeared to look down her noses at her. Large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and lit of the hardwood floors and beautiful tapestries. In the middle of the room was a dining table large enough to host over fifty people, matched with cushioned chairs and vases filled with white roses.

Draco seemed more relaxed as he gave her a large grin. Some steps behind him, a man and a woman lingered, watching her with a fascination in their eyes that was slightly... unnerving. The man was tall and had long blonde hair that fell over his shoulders and he was dressed in warm velvet robes lined with silver thread. Beside him stood his wife, with long silvery hair streaked with black here and there. A thick fur coat was draped over her shoulders which she clutched with long pale fingers. Her red lips were parted in a gasp.

"Sorry." Anna mumbled, looking down. "Professor Snape was..." She shook her head. "Nevermind. This is a lovely room."

"Thank you!" He laughed. "These are my parents." He pulled her over to them. "Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

"Don't pull a lady, Draco. It's rude." His mother chastised him lightly, never taking her eyes off Anna. She extended a hand. "I'm Narcissa Malfoy, it's nice to meet you Anna."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs Malfoy." Anna said, meeting the woman's pretty blue eyes but keeping herself as polite as she could, which was difficult seeing as her old memories had awakened a rage so strong that she usually had to brake somebody's arm to calm down. It was a rare occasion that had been fixed with violence the few times it'd happened.

She shook Narcissa's hand and turned to Lucius.

"Hello, Anna. Welcome." He said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked, his tone light but immediately the eyes of all the family turned to her in... worry?

"I'm fine." She bit out as politely as she could. "Everything is just peachy." She knew the sarcasm had laced through her words, but luckily Draco forced out a laugh and grabbed her hand.

"Let me show you to your room. Dobby!" He yelled.

With a crack a small house-elf with huge, bat-like ears popped into the room. He was dressed in a dirty pillowcase and he bowed so low his nose touched the ground. "Master Draco called Dobby?"

"Take Anna's belongings to her room and put all her clothes away. Make sure to be gone when we get there."

The house elf disappeared and immediately, Draco pulled her out of the room. As she looked over her shoulder, she saw Narcissa turn to Lucius and him wrapping his arms around her. Anna frowned in confusion.

What was this? Anna opened a box that lay on her bed. It certainly hadn't been here before she took her bath. She sat on her bed to think about it.

The room she had been given was beautiful. Her four poster bed was almost twice as tall and wide as the one she had in Hogwarts. The sheets were warm and light and delicately embroidered into the likeness of a garden with hundreds of white flowers. Almost twenty cushions lined the headboard, which in turn had been craftily carved. Thick velvet curtains hung to the sides of her bed to shield her from the rest of her bedroom. The room was as large as the whole living room and kitchen of the orphanage combined, though that place was pitifully small even by normal standards. The floors were black and covered with a thick carpet and everything was so delicate and beautiful. It was as if the room had been made for a young noble lady. There were no paintings on the walls, probably for privacy, but vases and other things decorated the room. There were even books in a bookcase and her own writing desk. The room was not like any room she'd been in before; lavish and delicate and hers. Temporarily hers, it seemed, like the one at Hogwarts, but it was still special.

She opened the box and tipped the contents onto her bed. It was a dress. A white silk under-dress that reached her knees and a black lace dress to put on over it. The black lace covered her arms and went down to her knees. There was a small belt for her middle and black mary-jane shoes had been left in front of her bed. Anna frowned as she picked up a note that had been left behind with the dress.

'Please wear this for dinner tonight'

She sighed. This dinner must be important. What could possibly be so important that they would buy her a dress -which seemed very expensive- for the occasion?