NOTES: Yeah, this is definitely not my favourite. But I really didn't know what else to do, so here it is. I hope you guys don't hate it as much as I do

He was frustrated.

He was frustrated and confused.

It had been two weeks since he woke up from the comatose state he suffered, from what he'd been told. When he woke up that day to the feeling of soft lips on his own, seeing that beautiful young woman on top of him staring into his eyes with concern evident in those purple eyes of hers, he'd been introduced into the life he had forgotten. He was told that he was kidnapped and was tortured for probably around six months until he was rescued. But he knew all that. He knew that he was a wizard named Charlie Weasley, a dragonologist who was born into one of the biggest wizarding family in Europe. He remembered most of his childhood – except the part whe she was involved. He remembered his days working as a dragonologist, up until the day when he was presumed missing and kidnapped by Death Eaters. After sometime, Charlie realised that his memories of her had a huge chance of being connected to his memories prior his kidnapping. Every time he tried to remember things regarding her or his kidnapping, he came with nothing (well, after an unbearable killer-headache, that was). His Healer, Dorcas Lupin, told him that there were traces of magic in him that might become the reason of his memory lost. She, however, couldn't determine what kind of spells were used on him, seeing that his body had gone through so much spells. But Healer Lupin theorised that there was a big possibility that he was tortured to give out a specific memory that he had erased by using the Memory Charm on himself. It didn't take long for him to realise that the information the Death Eaters wanted from him wasn't exactly about her, but the why was something he wished he knew.

After he woke up, the Healers didn't waste time on checking up his condition. He was asked about a thousand questions, examined like a lab rat going through a billion spells. But his attention was all set on the purple-eyed woman. The moment he asked her who she was, the look on her face was like he just stabbed her with a knife. He knew right away that whoever she was to him, the woman definitely cared about him. If it was the other way around, and he was the one whose beloved (was it really?) suffering from a case of amnesia, Charlie would probably go hysterical. But the woman merely stepped back and let the herd of Healers did their work. He saw his older brother Bill gave the woman a hug, and for a split second, he felt a huge sense of jealousy toward his brother. It was obvious that the woman's feeling wasn't one-sided, seeing how he would have punched his brother if he wasn't wretchedly weak and bedridden. Once Healer Lupin was satisfied that he'd make a full recovery soon, he was sort of hoping that he would see the purple-eyed woman again. He was a bit disappointed when he saw his family came rushing into the room instead, with his mother on the lead, smothering him in maternal nonsense before he could see it coming. It was nice to feel his mother's arms around him, and there was a moment when he felt like he was a kid again, and his mother would give him a kiss after he skinned his knee. But he was an adult now, and that adult part of him knew that his mother wasn't the only important woman in his life anymore. He wanted to ask who that woman was, but he didn't have enough strength to do anything much other than letting his family surrounded him with hugs and, in the case of his mother and sister, kisses. So he waited. He waited for her to come, eyes set on the door like a guard dog, expecting her to come through the door every time a Healer pushed it open.

He waited for two weeks and four days until she finally came.

"Took you long enough," he said when she sneaked into his room in the middle of the night. He didn't know why but that night, he knew that she was coming. Upon hearing his voice, she whirled around, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"D-do you remember me?" she stuttered, her vibrant purple-eyes looked hopeful. Charlie felt like the biggest arse in the world when he shook his head, especially when he saw the broken look in her eyes, along with the resignation.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said softly. "I wish I did though. I'd love to know you."

She looked surprised. Charlie happily noted that the hopeful look returned to her face.

"Why…why would you?" she carefully asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I just…" Charlie sighed, running a hand through his hair, grimacing when his broken hand protested. "I feel like there must be a reason why I couldn't remember you."

"Oh," she muttered, and she looked disappointed once again. But a mask of indifference was on her face before Charlie could inquire her what was wrong. Tilting her head up a bit, she said, "Well, I- I got here because my superior wanted to see how you were doing. Seeing that…seeing that you're well and all, I guess I better be going."

No.

Charlie had waited far too long for her to come, and he was not going to let her go.

(And he had a feeling he'd done that stupid thing many times in the past.)

"Stay. Don't leave," he whispered right before her hand opened the door. "I meant it when I said I'd love to know about you. So, please. Tell me."

"Uh, okay," she said in a small voice. She took tentative steps toward him, and it felt like hours when she finally sat on the empty seat beside him. Swallowing heavily, she said, "What…what do you want to know about?"

"Everything. Tell me everything about you. Like, your name. I still don't know your name."

"Right… Well um, my name is Nymphadora Carina Tonks, but I prefer Tonks because Nymphadora is a stupid name. I'm a Metamorphmagus, which is obviously from my mother's side of the family because my father is a Muggle-born. My parents are Ted and Andromeda Tonks. You and I went to Hogwarts in 1984, but I was sorted into Hufflepuff and you were in Gryffindor. I'm an only child because according to my mother, I was quite a handful child so another one of me would probably drive her mad." She paused and let out a fond laughter before she continued. "Mum always tells me that I'm much like her cousin, Sirius Black. She nearly had a heart attack when I told her I wanted to be an Auror like Sirius, which I am, by the way. I'm officially an Auror since a year ago."

"Of course you are. You saved me after all," Charlie said, remembering what one of the many Healers spoke between themselves when they thought he was asleep. He glanced at Tonks' hand on the bed beside his, and he discreetly moved his hand a few inches closer toward hers. "Thank you, by the way. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome," Tonks said, flashing him a small smile. He wished she would smile more. He wished he could forever take away that pain and sadness from her, and then he would replace it with a life time of happiness.

(But why did he care?)

(Hell if he knew it.)

"Tell me something about us. Tell me how did we first meet. Tell me what I was to you."

By then, Charlie's hand had reached out far enough that his fingers were grazing Tonks knuckles. She jerked but didn't pull away when he tried to hold her hand. Looking at their intertwined hands before looking into his eyes, she took a deep breath to brace herself. For a moment, all Charlie could think of was the fact that this remarkable woman, who had no doubt risked her own life to save him, was holding his hand. If Charlie was to die that night, he would gladly welcome death because she was there with him.

"You were my best friend," Tonks said, her voice wavered a bit. "We'd only started school for a week when you came to scare away the girls who had bullied me. We became very close ever since then. That's all about us, really."

"You're hiding something from me," Charlie said, knowing that there was something she wasn't telling him. He almost grinned when he saw her blushed slightly.

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Pfft… Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why did you?"

A full-blown grin escaped Charlie when she glared at him. He chuckled slightly, careful not to upset his internal injuries, when she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Merlin, you are so childish, Weasley," she spat out, although there was a ghost of a smile crossed her face.

"Please, tell me," Charlie said seriously, sobering up. "I mean, you did agree to do so. And I promise, I'd accept whatever you say with an opened mind."

Tonks looked at him, and the look on her face was so painful for Charlie to look at. It was as if something was hurting her worse than physical pain ever could. Grimacing, she forlornly said, "I wanted to tell you the truth, Charlie. I really do, I swear. But I can't tell you the truth with jeopardising your condition, without the risk of tempering your memories even more."

Charlie sighed, knowing that there was no changing her mind. He stroked her knuckles gently with his thumb, feeling frustrated because he knew that he and Tonks shared something more than friendship in the past. He could tell that was exactly what the young Auror was hiding from him, but he opted not to press her further about it.

"Fine, I won't make you tell me about it," Charlie relented. "But, will you do something for me?"

Tilting her head to the side, she immediately looked alert. "What is it? What do you need?"

"It's nothing important," he said, grinning sheepishly, feeling like a school-boy all over again. "I just… I want to see you. The real you, without the Glamour of your Metamorphmagus. I mean, not that I don't like this version of you. I just – why are you crying?"

Charlie panicked slightly when he saw tears started to fall profusely down Tonks' face and onto their clasped hands. Letting out a wet laugh, she shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I just got a bit sentimental for a moment."

"Why? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Using her free hand to shed her tears, she tried to smile at him through her left-over tears. "You know, back then, you were the only one who knew about how I really looked. Even when we were kids, I always kept a few parts of myself different because I didn't really like myself. Other than my parents and Sirius, you were the only person who knew the real me."

"And I'd love to know you again," Charlie said as he pulled her hand to his lips so he could kiss it softly, brushing his lips gently against her trembling knuckles. "Please."

She looked like she was going to cry again, but then she seemed to change her mind. She nodded her head, and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she scrunched her face as her appearance shifted back to its natural one. Charlie watched in fascination when her bubblegum-pink hair darkened to its original light-brown colour, and her purple eyes had changed into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes. The bone-structure of her face sharpened more to fit her Black-genes heritage, her tanned skin lightened. But Charlie saw that there was definitely parts of what he assumed her father would look like here and there. She looked almost shy once her transformation was finish, lowering her head slightly as an adorable blush tinted her pale-cheeks. He had no idea why she was even insecure about how she looked. Looking at her as she moved restlessly in her seat, unable to meet his eyes and settled on staring at their clasped hands instead, Charlie thought that he'd never seen anyone more beautiful than the amazing woman in front of him. Yes, that façade she put on for the whole world to see was attractive. But for him, this shy yet brave young woman who had saved his life, whose hair fell in perfect waves around her beautiful face as she peered through the loose strands, her doe-like eyes met his blue ones nervously… She was definitely the epitome of perfection to him.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked nervously, tucking that loose strand behind her ear.

"You are breath-taking," Charlie said, making sure that she saw the honesty in his eyes when he said so. "Don't ever hide the real you from me again. You are beautiful, Tonks."

"Oh, Charlie…" Tonks whispered as another wave of tears hit her. "You always did know the right words to say to a girl."

"More like the right words to the right girl," Charlie said, winking mischievously. Tonks laughed, rolling her eyes at his attempt on flirting. Checking the time, she sighed when she noticed that it was getting really late.

"I should go. I need to report back to my superior tomorrow. His name is Mad-Eye Moody. You probably knew him, and his tendencies to eat newbies. He'd kill me if I was late."

"Yeah, okay." Charlie would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. But he knew that he shouldn't be selfish. "Will you come and visit again though?"

Tonks smiled, nodding her head. "If you want me to, I'll come every day."

"That's awesome… And oh, Tonks?" Tonks was about to get off her seat when Charlie called her name one more time. "Can I uh, tell you something?"

"Sure," the Auror said, smiling. "What is it?"

Tonks was leaning toward him, looking so beautiful as she smiled that beautiful smile of hers. Charlie felt rather horrible when he did it, but just like he knew she was coming that night, he knew that this was something he should do. So he tried to hold back the pain as he lifted his hand and took Tonks' chin, pulling her face closer toward him. He hesitated for a while when Tonks' eyes widened, expecting her to pull back and slap him, probably hex him too. But when she didn't do anything other than stared into his eyes, Charlie dared himself to risk it all, craned his neck even though the movement gave him the mother of all headaches, and sealed his and Tonks' lips in a soft kiss. The moment their lips met, Charlie was sure that whatever suspicion he had about him and Tonks being more than just friends, was confirmed. If they were only friends, he wouldn't have felt what he felt. He moved his hand to cup the side of her face, caressing the soft skin of her cheek as he kissed her some more. When they finally pulled apart, and Charlie was met with the sight of a beaming Tonks smiling brightly at him, Charlie swore right then and there that he would do everything in his power to keep that smile on her face.

"Can I finally tell you something?" Charlie whispered, his breathing a little laboured as he glanced Tonks' lips that were right there, less than an inch away from his.

"What?" Tonks whispered, just as breathless as he was.

Leaning to the side of her face so he could trail kisses on her delicate jaw-line, it was Charlie's turn to smile the megawatt-smile. Planting a soft peck on her cheek before nipping on her ear gently, he whispered, "I could lose my memories of you a billion times, but this just proves that I can never stop love you."

"Malfoy! I…I have something to tell you but please, let me tell you everything before you decide on killing me or not."

"What have you done, Longbottom? Answer me!"

"I- I thought she was with Harry and Ron. I swear, Malfoy, I never would have left her alone, even if you hadn't told me so. But…"

"It's better not what I'm thinking of, Longbottom, or I swear to Salazar's soul, I'm going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry, Malfoy, but… Hermione, she – "

They were too late.

And to think that he just discussed the ultimate ways to keep her out of danger with Potter…

Longbottom never got to finish his words when Draco planted a solid punch in the boy's face. Usually, Draco refrained himself from lunging at someone and punching them in the face like a bloody Muggle. Malfoys were more dignified, he was taught since birth. But the moment he caught to what Longbottom was saying, Draco just lost it. He could be just as stupid as Longbottom was, and he could very well understand what the idiot was saying. Draco considered the fool lucky that Theo and Blaise were there to stop him from completely plummeting Longbottom to the ground. He was only half-aware of the confused looks his friends were sharing, but he didn't care at that moment. He merely pushed Longbottom out of the way before running i the direction of the Hospital Wing. Both Potter and Weasley had beat him to it, and was already waiting by her side. He knew that Potter and Weasley probably had no problem with him being there. But the rest of Gryffindor, who came just moments after him, would start talking about it. It didn't help that most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team saw him that day when when he called her that word. The Weasley twins would probably hex him on the spot if they saw him. So, in the end, Draco had no choice but to turn back, telling himself that he would come to visit when night came.

And he did just that.

When he got back to the dungeon, he ignored Blaise and Theo bombarding him with their stares. They didn't ask him about it though, which he was thankful about. He skipped dinner, excusing himself to his friends, saying something about him feeling a little ill. He knew both Blaise and Theo didn't believe him, but again, he didn't care. He quickly made his way to the Hospital Wing, hoping that no one was there. He was about to get in when he saw Potter and Weasley exited the room in a hurry, looking thoroughly determined about something. He was rather curious but the moment he laid his eyes on her, all other thoughts flew out of his mind. His heart felt like it stopped breathing as he slowly got closer toward the bed where she was. She was still wearing her Hogwarts uniform, and the look in her eyes told him just how terrified she must be when she saw the monster. Draco's leg trembled so bad that he thought he was going to collapse. It was with tremendous effort when he pulled a chair beside her bed so he could sit. His grey eyes found her brown ones almost immediately as he reached out for her hand tentatively, and he jerked slightly when he felt how cold her skin was. But he didn't pull back. Instead, he used his other hand to claps around hers, as if by doing so he could warm her cold hand.

("What would you know about Quidditch? You're just a Mudblood.")

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered. "Granger, I am so sorry… I know you'd probably say no because you're still angry with me, which I won't blame you because it's all entirely my fault. If I hadn't lost my temper that day, I'd probably be able to do a better job on keeping an eye on you. I mean, I wouldn't need Potter or Weasley, let alone Longbottom, to make sure you're safe."

Draco knew he was being stupid when he hoped she would answer him. Heck, if she wanted to slap him, he'd bloody well offer her his face. He'd take anything.

"I like you, you know," he continued, sighing heavily when he received no respond. "I like-like you. Since that day you bumped into me. It was why I acted so horrible at first. Being a Pureblood, I couldn't talk to you so freely, so I foolishly convinced myself that teasing you would just have to do the job. Then Weasley was being stupid, and I got worried that the troll would get you. Of course, being the brilliant arse that I was, I chose to argue with you instead of taking you to safety like I planned to do."

He remembered the look on Snape's face when he failed to tell the Potion Master about the real reason why he was there. Draco swore there was something akin to pity in those emotionless black eyes of his teacher.

"After that troll accident, I actually made a promise to myself that I would stay away from you. But I overheard you and your idiot friends talking about the Stone, and I knew that Potter would probably take you to do something stupid. I mean, we all know that even though he was rather decent and was raised by Aurors, Potter could be a bit dim at times. So yeah, I came to Potter and told him everything I knew, hoping that he would take me on whatever stupid adventure he planned on doing. To be honest, if you weren't there, I wouldn't have cared." He saw a loose strand of her hair had fallen to her face, and using one hand, Draco reached over to tuck it behind her ear. His hand stayed there, however, and before he realised it, he had started to stroke her hair gently.

"You'd probably laugh at me, but I did get a bit jealous when you decided to stay with Ginger Boy after he fainted. But bloody Potty was there, so I took on the job to make sure he didn't get killed. You owe me one, Granger. I mean, it's your job, isn't it, to keep Potter alive?" He let out a soft chuckle at his own joke, but sobered up as he remembered what happened next. "You were the last thing on my mind when I set the ceiling to collapse on top of me and the troll, you know. I heard you calling out my name before everything went dark. I was actually afraid of dying, but when I thought that you were in danger of dying as well, I knew I had to do something. Besides, if it meant I managed to keep you alive, dying didn't seem so bad."

(She never knew it but he heard it when she cried for him.)

(And the sound broke his heart more than he thought it would.)

"I don't know if Potter told you about it or not, but during the summer, I made a promise to Potter that I'd never be mean to you ever again. It was during the party in honour of Regulus Black. I broke that promise, and naturally, Potter hated my guts again because of it. We just made up again a few days ago, and we were planning on a way to stop this once and for all when you…"

Draco choked on his own words, unable to finish his sentence. The previous night, he dreamed of her dying, and it scared him witless, he spent the rest of the night wide awake. Seeing her now, motionless and cold, hit a bit too close to the dream.

"Granger," he whispered as he leaned closer toward her, so close that his lips were less than an inch from her ear. "I promise this will be the last time you're hurt. I promise that from today on, I'll try my best to keep you safe. Malfoys aren't known for being brave, nor for being the most honest. But we like to think we're honorable people, so we always try our best to keep our promises."

He had no idea what made him do it, but before he could think through it, Draco had planted a gentle kiss on her soft cheek. It was very swift, but it was there. Pulling back, Draco debated on leaving or not. In the end, he decided that he could stay a little longer. And he did just that. He said nothing else for the rest of the night, merely sitting in his chair as he held her hand in one hand while his other hand kept stroking her thick, brown curls. He didn't really realise when he ended up falling asleep, his head lying right by their joined hands. When he woke up the next day, he was thankful that no one was around as he slipped out of the Hospital Wing, feeling a little embarrassed though he'd never regret it.

(He was unaware that the entire time he was there, a certain Longbottom was there too because the Gryffindor wanted to have sometime with his bookworm friend to apologise, only to find that the blond Slytherin was already there first. He never told anyone about what he heard that night, not even years later when they were all grown-up.)

(Though he did tell his parents once, who he swore looked like they understood him.)