Whispers escalated as Dahlia entered the Great Hall.

Theo, who had his arm draped lazily over her, only leaned in and kissed her before drifting on to the Slytherin table. A few members of the quidditch team howled at him, then winked at her.

She ignored them and sat down at the Ravenclaw table.

Amelia was sitting next to Juliet and Eloise, waiting eagerly for the debrief. Dahlia eyed the Slytherin table, noting Pansy was nowhere in sight. She also noted that neither was Draco. She nearly threw up, knowing her time hidden in corners of the castle today had been spent patching things up with Theo. She had the sense that he might be doing the same with her. Dahlia braced herself for a shakedown.

"I'm sorry!" She broke instantly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going gallivanting through the woods with Malfoy."

Amelia waved off her apology. "I saw you beat the shit out of Parkinson, and vice versa," she delivered bluntly, stabbing her fork into a piece of cake.

"I filled them in on what happened in potions." She waved to Eloise and Juliet. "And regarding your adventure, don't be sorry. I would have done the same," Amelia replied, chewing and swirling her fork in the air.

This was as much of an acceptance of her apology that she would get.

"She attacked you for running off with Draco this weekend?" Juliet asked, regarding her brawl with Pansy.

Dahlia nodded.

"Oh, her and Draco got into it this morning in the common room before class," Amelia chimed in. "And they fought again after Theo dragged you off. He ended any sort of relationship or flirtation they had going. He's losing his fucking head lately."

Amelia could always be counted on to share the latest happenings. Dahlia sighed in frustration. The ripple effects of her weekend with Draco were all too much.

Juliet leaned closed into their huddle. "Marcus Belby told me they fought over you after we left the bridge last night..."

"How does he know?" Dahlia whispered, eyes widening.

"He was sneaking about with Ernie Macmillan last night when he saw us leave. He said he saw Draco strangle Theodore afterwards. I told him to keep it quiet for you. He obviously didn't know that you had just returned with Draco."

Dahlia took a rather large bite of bread. "Fucking Belby..."

She chewed harshly. "Can nothing be a secret around here?"

"I'm sure Theo deserved it..." Amelia snorted, reaching for another slice of chocolate cake. "He never shuts up."

Eloise shot her eyes in her direction as she was being more than unhelpful.

"I worked things out with him, at least," Dahlia admitted.

Juliet rubbed her back in encouragement even if her expression remained tight, happy to hear her day had gotten better.

"Obviously. Makes a show of it," Amelia chuckled.

"He told me he loves me," she muttered, spitting it out of her mouth quickly.

Amelia choked. The others went too silent. She immediately regretted telling them. She glanced to Theo across the room, who was eying Amelia curiously.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you made a deal with the devil?" Eloise replied, sarcasm ripe with clear distaste.

Amelia narrowed her eyes, shaking her head in a panic. "Please tell me you don't reciprocate his feelings."

She shook her head again. "Dahlia, I just wanted you to have some fun with him. He's a wildly inappropriate choice for a partner. He's not good at the politics of it all. He lacks respect and his moods change with the wind. Plus, given your abilities, it makes it all so much worse."

Her words cut through like a knife. She looked down to her cake as she finished it off.

"He knows...I told him," Dahlia replied quietly, almost afraid to meet Amelia's eye.

She threw her fork down. "Dahlia, why? Why would you do that?" She rubbed her eyes as if everything had gotten more complicated. "Oh no," She groaned to herself.

Dahlia shrugged.

Her friends seemed to be in unanimous agreement. She hadn't even disclosed their fallout in the Astronomy Tower, and she definitely wouldn't now. It would only make them dislike him more. She was afraid to admit that she was falling for him, despite his flaws. She overlooked his impulsive choice to leave her as she told herself he hadn't truly meant it. She loved the way he made her the center of his universe. He had been nothing but honest and upfront about who he was and what his intentions were. He was no saint, but he knew that, and he worshipped her like he had found a god to believe in.

He told her he would break the stars for her, and she believed it. Security and unbridled love is what she craved most, and he happily served it. In her heart, she knew she had to try to secure her own safety. She couldn't solely rely on him, even if it was comfortable.

She glanced up, and Draco quickly looked away. She hadn't seen him enter. He was seated at the Slytherin table across from them. She remembered how cold he had been earlier and her wound reopened. It was a rejection of sorts. They had been vulnerable enough to laugh together, and now he ignored her. It had meant little to him after all. She knew she shouldn't be surprised. He wasn't a kind person, and he didn't strive to be better. He was content in his cruelty, unlike Theo. Theo would change for her.

"I don't know what to say. I have feelings for him, but I'm also deeply confused right now. Things are so fucked right now," she admitted. She rubbed her forehead, defeated. Juliet placed a hand on her back, urging her to share.

"The Fates told Draco how to amplify my Sight in a dream. That has to mean something, even if they didn't grant me with any additional foresight in the end, right? Why did they choose him instead of me?" She whispered sadly as she furrowed her brows, distraught.

"Did you happen to be wearing that necklace over the weekend?" Amelia mumbled, chewin a tarte. "Actually, Dahlia, how often have you been wearing that?" Amelia pointed to her neck.

Amelia instantly knew Theo had given it to her. The Notts had a long history of enchanting objects and inventing clever things. In fact, she had been the one to pester him into gifting her jewels. He had told her he would give her something as special and magnificent as she was. Something that would protect her always.

"I wore it the whole time, except when I began to cast the spell because they advised against. Draco put it on me afterwards. He thought it would help ease the pain. It was quite excruciating, as you can imagine. I quite literally melted a rock into my fucking body," Dahlia answered.

She didn't divulge that she had, in fact, worn nothing at all in front of Draco when she had cast the spell.

"You haven't taken it off since?" Eloise asked curiously.

"No. Do you think the protective charm is limiting my Sight?" She asked. It was all falling together.

"Oh, absolutely," Amelia replied, pointing at the thin chain around her neck. "That's powerful magic. I could stab you with this fork and you would probably heal," she added.

Dahlia removed her hands from the table, not wanting to find out.

Dahlia twiddled the chain between her fingers. The question now was if Theo had still chosen to give it to her after her confession, knowing that it might subdue her Sight.

She removed the necklace and placed it in her pocket.

————————————

A few nights later, Dahlia was settling into bed as she rummaged through her clothes for something the sleep in. Theo had just left. It was late in the evening and he hadn't want to stay and risk falling asleep until morning. He had quidditch quite early. She paused as she shifted through a pile of clothes, and across Draco's shirt he had left behind after he had stormed out of the tent they had shared that morning.

It felt like a lifetime ago. She had dumped out her backpack and cleaned all the clothes within it this morning. She hugged the shirt to her chest, remembering what it had felt like to hear him laugh. It still somehow smelled like him ever so little.

In a different lifetime, maybe they could have been friends, or something more. Even if he was back to ignoring or hating her, she couldn't return to that sentiment after what he had done for her. She would honor Theo's wishes, but keep her fondness for Draco, or who he could be, buried within her.

She allowed herself to have this one small action of comfort. She allowed herself to miss him briefly. She slipped his shirt on, knowing that Theo most likely had the same quidditch shirt. Her friends wouldn't suspect a thing. She carried her secret into her bed as she fell asleep enveloped in his scent.

————————————

The clock read half past midnight.

Draco paced within the Room of Requirement as he stared at the Vanishing Cabinet. He tossed an apple as he contemplated possible solutions for mending the broken object in front of him.

He had made himself quite comfortable within this space as he had been spending more and more time within the mystical room that would change to his will. He had managed to summon a couch and a desk. He wasn't sure if the old cabinet filled with liquor had materialized to meet his needs or merely existed by coincidence. Regardless, he had shoveled through half the bottles already this semester.

At least something was being accomplished, he thought.

He should have been focused on the impossible task the Dark Lord had gifted or cursed him with, but his mind lingered elsewhere. He was reaching a dead end as to how to fix this damn thing anyway.

He leaned against the towering cabinet as his thoughts wandered to Dahlia. Theo had made it clear to Draco that he was still involved with Dahlia, kissing her so publicly every fucking hour. Draco couldn't help but notice how she looked at him, smiled beneath his arm, and held his hand like she might actually love such a monster.

Draco just wanted the world to pause so he could sort out his heart, and formulate a plan. However, he knew better than to assume things would go his way. Things had started out hopeful when Theo had ignored her in potions, but like unexpected rain on a beautiful day, Pansy had mauled her, and Theo had came to her rescue, picking her up and carrying her off the god knows where. He was so skilled at disguising himself beneath knight's armor. If only she didn't see the best in people.

Maybe if he had never given Pansy the impression they had something between them then she wouldn't have picked a fight with Dahlia, then Theo wouldn't have had the chance to fix things between them so quickly. He wondered if everything would have been different if he could've put himself on the board before Theo had pulled her back into his void.

But did he even want to be on the board? He wasn't quite sure how he felt about Dahlia, but he knew at the least that he was displeased when she was with Theo for how it made him ache. Jealousy bit into his heart. He knew he should push her away but after the visions he saw, he couldn't help but want to discover a path that might lead to the one shown before his eyes by a higher power.

Fuck, he had almost told her he thought he should love her on the cliffs. He regretted pushing her away and shutting her down. He had never been decent at wading through emotions, or controlling them.

If she had just been patient, he thought.

it snubbed him that she hadn't hesitated to reach for Theo on the bridge. She had given him hope that she, or someone, cared about him on the bluff's edge. He was now insecure in that assumption. Was she just a kind person? Would she have done that for anyone and he wasn't special?

He should have gambled his heart and embraced her back on the cliff's edge but hindsight is cruel — like him.

He contemplated if he would be any good for her anyway. She had been enraptured by Theo almost immediately, who was everything he wasn't. Theo was impulsive, whereas he was calculated. He saw himself as calm, collected and precise. Theo was facetious, unpredictable and unmanageable. Did she crave his chaos or was it draining her? He wasn't sure.

He suddenly heard shuffling within the silence of the cluttered room. His pulse quickened as he went to investigate. Few people even knew of the existence of the Room of Requirement. He glanced over a mountain of ornate furniture only to see Dahlia collapsed on the stone floor as the door vanished behind her.

He made quick strides to her unconscious frame. He gently cradled her head and patted her cheeks to summon her back to consciousness.

He took note of her clothing. She was in an oversized Slytherin quidditch shirt and silk shorts. The tags had been cut out, and there was a small hole in the shoulder seam.

Draco slowly smirked. It dawned with a sick thrill that this wasn't Theo's — it was his. He rummaged through his memories, and then remembered he had opted to only put on his sweatshirt Sunday morning when he had left the tent.

She must have packed my shirt , he thought. She must have worn it to sleep. Despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but grin with satisfaction. He wondered if Theo might have held her, slept at her side with only Draco's shirt to separate them.

Dahlia came to consciousness shortly after. Her head pounded as she gathered her surroundings. She was confused, and quickly terrified to discover that she was not in her bed. A familiar scent of dark wood and midnight apples wafted in waves of comfort. She stiffened, realizing she was cradled in the arms of Draco.

She lurched out of his grasp and onto the cold stone floor of the foreign room. Draco must have read the fear and confusion upon her face.

"It's alright, Dahlia." He removed his hands from her and held them up.

"Where am I?" Her eyes were wide and glassy.

"You're in the Room of Requirement," he answered calmly.

He quickly discovered that the statement meant nothing to her.

"You're within the castle in the Astronomy Wing."

She looked around, processing what he had just told her. She fell still, suddenly aware she was in her pajamas — his shirt. Her stomach balled with horror. She hoped he didn't realize that this was, in fact, his shirt. She assumed Theo had the same one.

Her eyes drifted to Draco. He was still in his uniform but his tie was missing. He looked quite rumpled, which he wore well. He must have spent all night here.

"What time is it?" She asked as she collected herself.

He pointed to a clock nonchalantly. "It's two in the morning," he answered.

"Why am I here?" She questioned.

"You tell me, Aldair." He quipped with sarcasm. An exasperated crease formed along his forehead.

He slighted himself for his response. He needed to be kinder towards her, make amends.

There was a quiet, uncomfortable pause. They had both thought through endless scenarios of what they might say to each other but when the chance came, they stood apart in silence. She began fidgeted with her hair that was surely a nest.

She almost turned around, ready to leave him alone. "I must have been sleep walking, or something else that is equally and horribly embarrassing. I don't remember," she mumbled.

"Well, you want a drink?" He asked awkwardly. His mother would have been proud of him for being such a courteous host. He committed to the effort of keeping her here. He didn't wait for her to respond as he glided deeper into the Room of Requirement.

She followed. Thank fuck, he thought.

Theo's request to stay away from him softly danced in the back of Dahlia's mind, but she chose to ignore it. Her and Draco had unfinished business. Once she had closure, she would obey his wishes.

"What is this place?" She spun around, intrigued.

"My version of hell, if you were to ask me personally." He sighed, frustrated.

His stance was more relaxed than usual. She smiled as the hope that this might be the version of Draco she had grown fond of while exploring the mines filled her heart.

He continued, "it's a charmed room within the castle that can alter itself to one's needs."

They reached a small, comfortable space within the hoards of antiques.

"And this is what you need?" She snickered, regarding the piles of junk that surrounded them.

"I would presume this is the room's natural form. Remember how I told you I needed your help fixing a certain object?"

She nodded as she sat down on a plush, grey velvet couch and criss-crossed her legs.

"That's it," he replied, pointing to a massive cabinet. He turned to pour them both drinks. He handed it to Dahlia and caught her with a small grin upon her face.

"You look awfully pleased for someone who just knocked themselves out," he remarked bluntly.

Her cheeks turn a shade darker, and her eyes become mystified. She must have felt comfortable here moments before his comment, and he had just made her feel unsure. He wanted to fix her broken expression, so he gave it his best effort.

"I would probably deny it outside of the confines of this room, but I rather enjoyed getting away from the bullshit inside this castle," he paused then added, "with you."

He threw an olive branch to make up for his remark, and also for his past behavior. He couldn't help himself. He wanted to open the conversation they were both desperate to have. It was bewildering how she so thoroughly pushed him to lose himself — shift his perspectives. He hated it as much as he loved it. It was terribly annoying how much he wanted her to like him.

She sipped her drink and sat back against the arm of the couch, facing him as she crossed her legs.

"It was nice at first, wasn't it?" She sighed. "Almost peaceful. Maybe I'll go back. Live by that bejeweled lake in the mines." She shrugged, laughing softly, almost as if she was sad that it was nothing but a memory now.

Dahlia was surprised how serene she felt within the quietness of Draco's presence, or the ambience of this room. Theo always left her swirling within his mayhem. She was subject to the chaotic highs and the lows of his emotions. He idolized her constantly, but his possession of her only seemed to grow with time. He seemed terrified to let her out of his sight.

Draco rolled the dice. "It can be overwhelming to be the center of Theo's world."

Dahlia sharpened her eyes at Draco as he leaned against the cabinet. She could sense by his comment that he was testing the waters. He wanted to know if they had patched things up completely and if they were officially back together. Why he would be so curious was the question on her mind. She was a little curious about what would happen if she dipped into new waters too, so she was vague in her answer.

"It's in his nature to be jealous and all-consuming," she answered casually.

He shifted, loosely placing a hand in his pocket and swirling his glass. A calculated grin dared to cross his lips. It had her veins pumping fire.

"Is that what you like?" He asked lowly, raising a brow in her direction.

She caught his glance with a thrill that he was crossing this line.

"Sometimes," she answered, sweetening her voice like honey.

She took another sip of her drink, breaking eye contact. How did they get here? She was free falling and she wasn't sure if he would catch her. But maybe, she realized, she had him just where she wanted — a touch more vulnerable.

She shared her own calculated grin, hoping the blush on her face only enticed him.

"Draco, do you really dream of me often?" She asked smoothly.

If someone had told Draco she had the power to stop hearts, he would believe it. He had forgotten that he had yelled that to her amid his outburst. She saw too much of him too soon. It made him grossly uncomfortable.

"Don't flatter yourself." He rolled his eyes. "I occasionally dream of you killing me. It could be a byproduct of how annoying I find you to be," he grumbled, but she knew she had ruffled some feathers.

"I kill you?" She gasped.

He watched shock etch itself onto her beautiful mouth, falling open. He counted the seconds until his name would roll off her tongue again.

He straightened. "They're just dreams. They are not nearly as vivid as the vision I had that night we spent together," he answered seriously as he attempted to end the topic at hand.

Her heart unintentionally fluttered at his phrasing. He stated so casually that they had spent the night together, like it happened all the time.

She was undeterred by his change in tone and began to dig deeper. "You said I showed you infinite visions within that dream? Did you mean different possibilities of your future?"

"Yes, or something like that." He responded with stiff politeness. Each question was a twist of knife.

Draco railed against his desire to tell her everything — that she had been with him in every single possibility in this life, or another. If he told her, would she want him? Would it make up for the awful things he had said to her before? Would it mean that he could keep her?

He came to the conclusion that the risk of rejection was too great. He would rather die with the secret that lately he thought of nothing besides how gut-wrenchingly divine she had looked on top of him, whispering the unknowns of the universe into his lips until she came undone. He was forever haunted — only another reason to hate her.

Dahlia could see the bricks stacking in his eyes, forming his impenetrable wall. He wouldn't share anything more with her. She would only provoke his temper at this point. She set down her drink on the stone floor, then walked over to where he leaned against the cabinet.

"Do you want me to try to fix it now?" She pointed to the cabinet behind him.

He looked away from her direct gaze and bit into his cheek with a tight expression. "It's probably pointless. I don't know how you could be useful to me anymore since your spell was unsuccessful."

His answer stung. She was starting to notice a pattern though. He only responded with verbal assaults if she pushed him too far with her own words. She wanted to convey that she would no longer take offense. His insults had no impact on her. Maybe then, he would stop throwing them at her, and they could get somewhere. She suddenly remembered that she wasn't supposed to be going anywhere with him to begin with.

She reached for the cabinet, and as her hand nearly made contact, a million voices echoed within her and told her to look away. Draco noticed her grimace and stood straighter.

"I don't want you to do this." She sensed wariness in his voice.

He suddenly felt dreadful about what she might do in order to help him.

She sat down on the floor in front of the gargantuan device to brace herself.

"Dahlia, I won't watch this again," he snapped urgently, panicking, as he rushed over. He tried to pull her away by the waist.

She slammed her hands against the smooth wood before he could rip her away. She was instantly pulled into the center of the thread, pushing forward upon the twine. A hundred shrieks reverberated through her spinal cord as they fought against witnessing such wickedness.

She saw Voldemort speak, and she wept at the sound of his voice. She saw Draco casting a powerful spell on the cabinet and a bird flying through the open doors. She heard her own shrieks as she was pulled from Draco's arms under spring trees and a full moon. She saw a singular body fall from the Astronomy Tower and by consequence, heard thousands of voices shrieking their last words into the ether.

Draco watched in horror as she left her fingertips against the cabinet and went preternaturally still. Tears began streaming down her peaceful face in an eerie quiet. He was fearful of what might happen if he broke her trance. Would she stay like this? Would it fracture her mind if he interfered? He felt hopeless as he kneeled behind her. He gently placed his hand on her back and whispered to her to come back to him. He wanted to tether her to this reality.

Moments later, she relaxed into him. He couldn't see her face but he heard her sniffle away hot tears. He remained quiet, since she had snapped at him the last time he had inquired too soon. He smoothed her hair, and to his surprise she let him.

"If you fix this, people will die," she finally whispered.

He rested his forehead against the back of her neck. "If I don't, dozens more will." He answered as if had already weighed the greater evils.

"Why did he ask you to do this?" She murmured, shaken to her core.

She had seen the Dark Lord himself lay this responsibility upon Draco's shoulders. His face was burned into her mind. Her gift, she realized, was a curse; to watch people hurdle helplessly into an unforgiving future.

"To punish my father. Because I accidentally discovered this. The Dark Lord would kill thousands in his vengeance to kill one man. If I can fix this, then less will have to die," He answered, resolute.

She held her breath as he traced a few strands of her hair, but she didn't find comfort in the action. Fear welled within her, prickled her skin — he was dangerous.

"Draco, that's…" She mumbled in horror. She couldn't even finish it.

She felt him stiffen behind her. He raised his forehead from her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to prevent trembles of fear. She suddenly became unsure of her own safety. She was alone, in this room, with her back turned to someone who openly conversed with the Dark Lord.

He inhaled angrily. It was enraging that she acted as if she were so blissfully unaware — that the mark she had nearly touched on his arm had no actions tied to it. Rejection flared, burned, in his heart. He had been idiotic to let himself think that she would be able to cope with his darkness. His shade of black was so much worse than Theo's own. She probably pitied him, but he didn't need it. He never wanted to be a hero, anyway. He would have been her annihilation, not her savior. He hated himself — and her in this moment.

"Get out."

Dahlia flinched. He was furious. It radiated from him. She couldn't help it. She was trembling in his arms, and she hated that he knew she was frightened. He was a murderer. A slaughterer. He would kill hundreds if the tides didn't shift.

She couldn't see his face, but she knew it was unkind. She covered her mouth and let out a sob she could no longer hold in. She couldn't break through her wash of emotions to tell if she was upset at his sudden, solidified rejection or if she truly only truly feared him. The reality that Draco would accomplice a murder of his own professor sent ice-cold horror slipping down her spine to the pit of her stomach.

Dahlia knew it would hurt him to see the horror and fear on her face. She granted him one kindness as she stood up without facing him and swiftly exited the Room of Requirement.

She left him without looking back. The doors quietly closed behind her.

Once alone, she let it consume her. She grabbed her chest and leaned against the wall, spinning with panic. She had left him in there alone. She might think herself a coward if she wasn't so focused on her own self preservation. The Dark Lord's face flickered in her mind.

She sobbed. She didn't even bother disillusioning herself as she sprinted back to her dormitory. The quick pad of her bare feet echoed through the halls as she huffed shaky breaths. Her fear heightened as she couldn't seem to find a hallway she recognized.

All she wanted was to run to the Slytherin common room and bang on the door until someone let her in. She wanted to crawl into Theo's bed and beg him for answers to how much he knew, but also hear him say that everything would be okay. No one would die, but that wasn't true. That wasn't the world they lived in.

She wanted to run to Theo, but it was past midnight, she was wearing Draco's shirt, and she didn't want him to know that she had been alone with him after he had asked her to cut ties.

She hated to admit it, but she might be scared of him too.

She finally found a hallway that she recognized with a unique tapestry. She booked it to Ravenclaw Tower. The eagle on the door rolled its eyes before asking her a simple riddle. It was beyond fed up with her always sneaking out.

She barrelled through the door and hurried on light feet back to her dorm as the moonlight lit the circular common room through its ancient, glass dome. She embraced the light of the stars sparkling down. They wished to soothe her so she let them in.

She finally stepped into her dormitory. She snuck back into her bed and quieted her cries. She had read the premonitions of the cabinet. It was the closest she had came to a vision in her entire life — and it had been awful.

She had to know what Theo knew. She would wield her words, twist her truth, to force his answers. She reached for her journal and wrote to Theo:

I've seen something awful just now in my dreams. I know what he's planning. I love you Theo, but I need answers.

She put her journal down and prayed for a reply, but none came. He was asleep.

Dahlia finally found rest herself as she clutched her journal. When sleep took her, she dreamed she was gliding across a ballroom floor in a gown made of emeralds and pearls. It was grand, breathtaking, and she knew it was hers. A brilliant sky shone above her, where someone had enchanted the ceiling to showcase all her most favorite constellations. Guests swooned as she spun by, and back into the most familiar arms. She looked up into enchanting grey eyes, a promise of blue beneath the storm. The man before her was dressed in a finely tailored black tux and wore the most inviting, sly smile. She smiled until her cheeks hurt. She laughed like there was nothing bad in the world because he had taken it, made it better for her. The clock struck midnight, and Draco leaned down and kissed her for each and every last one of the twelve chimes.