The scent of pies and pastries baking in the kitchens wafted down the corridor, guiding her way to the Hufflepuff entrance.  She felt out of place, and a bit nervous, to be invited without a single friend to accompany her, but she wasn't about to turn down Gavin's invitation.  He seemed to be the only decent boy that had taken an interest in her since she arrived.

She stood in front of the wall, creasing her forehead in concentration as she desperately tried to remember the password.  It started with a V, that much she knew.  Vanity?  Violin?  Her head throbbed and her hands began to sweat.  The thought of standing him up all because she had been drunk when he told her the password made her stomach knot.

Luckily, two second years came skipping around the corner in yellow and black robes.  They took no notice of her as the tallest girl mumbled, "Valiant," and scampered inside.  Their common room was far different from her own.

It lacked a good amount of books, and it was void if any statue, but it was just as large.  The second years went through a side door, avoiding the party altogether.  She could hear a deafening amount of music and smelled smoke heavy in the air.   She hugged her arms around her bare shoulders, regretting her decision to wear the thin emerald blouse.  Two fires roared from either side of the room, but it did little to quell her shivering and she realized it was likely due to her nerves more than anything.

"Vega!  You made it!" Gavin swayed slightly from where he stood in a group of two boys and three girls that shot daggers at her.  She breathed out in anticipation and crossed the room to him.  He greeted her with an uncharacteristic bear hug and she crinkled her nose at his breath.  She doubted very much that he had switched to water.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she apologized.  It was closer to midnight and she had to sneak past Filch to make it.  Only a handful of students dared to be out of bed at that hour.

Gavin laughed off her worries and pulled her in close, draping an arm over her shoulder.  "You're here now," he slurred.  She didn't recognize the two boys beside him, but they both eyed her up and down.  The girls were content to throw jealous glares at her for stealing the attention of their heartthrob. 

"You're in Slytherin, aren't you?" One of the girls had temporarily dropped her scowl and spoken up.

She could hear the animosity in her words.  "Ravenclaw actually."

"Really?" Another piped up with crossed arms.  "You strike me as more of a Slytherin," she shot.

Vega took a deep breath to keep her anger at bay.  "Calm down girls, its supposed to be a party." Gavin defused the tension.

The three girls rolled their eyes, deciding to move to a new group rather than stay.  Vega didn't mind.  She was far more interested in Gavin's company than some snotty Hufflepuff girl.  "How is Hogwarts treating you so far?" One of the boys faced her.  He had brilliant blue eyes and a spray of freckles over his nose.

"Okay," she lied.

"Are you dating Malfoy?" The other blurted.

Vega felt herself stiffen at his query.  "Excuse me?" She responded with a bit more venom than she intended.

"Dude," Gavin hissed and smacked his friend in the chest.  "Ignore him.  These are my best friends, unfortunately.  Jeremy and Brian." He gestured to each respectively and she zeroes in on Brian's unapologetic face.  He was smiling at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Can I get you something to drink?"  Gavin physically turned her attention back on him and tugged her towards a coffee table laden with plastic cups and bottles of booze.  She didn't recognize a single label, never seeing any of them in France.

"You pick," she said when he looked at her for an order.  He smirked and grabbed two cups, filling them with a foreign amber liquid that smelled as awful as it tasted.  She cringed as it burned her throat.  "What is this?" She coughed, earning a few giggles from the three girls across the room.

Gavin downed his easily enough and gave her an amused look.  "Fire whiskey.  You've never had it before?"

"No," she said through a cough.  He laughed and pulled her back under his arm to steer her back to Jeremy and Brian.  She wasn't sure that was the group she wanted to hang out with all night, but she followed Gavin nonetheless. 

"Fire whiskey?" Jeremy inquired.  Vega nodded and he touched her cup with his own.  "Cheers," he said with a grin and they both drank deep.

It was such an unexpected instantaneous effect the whiskey had on her.  One moment she was drinking, barely through with her first cup, and the next she was seeing double.  "Gav-"

"You don't look so good.  Are you okay?" He felt her forehead like a parent and looked at his friends.  "Do you need to lie down for a bit?"

She could barely make words form and gave a weak nod instead.  "Hang on.  You two go find an empty room for her to lay down in."  They jumped at his command and split up.

It felt like forever before Gavin finally groaned and gently took Vega by the arm, half leading and half carrying her towards the dormitories.  "Gavin," she mumbled into her chest.

"I know, I know," he said in a comforting voice.  "Those asses never do anything right, I'll find you a quiet place myself."  She couldn't fully comprehend what he was saying to her, but she blindly followed him uo a set of stairs.

She tripped multiple times, laughing at her own clumsiness and forcing Gavin to finally pick her up and carry her all the way.  He stopped at the top in front of a golden door and kicked it open with the toe of his battered oxfords.  "Here we are, this will do nicely." He set her down carefully, allowing her a chance to find her footing before releasing her completely.  She stumbled and caught herself on a large wooden chest.

"Whe-where am I?" Vega fumbled with her tongue. 

"My room." A light flicked on and she blinked rapidly to take in her surroundings.  Everything was spinning, but she could make out two figures standing near the center bed.  She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the figures, wanting them to make sense in her mind.  They were laughing, jeering in her direction.  Jeremy and Brian.

She felt herself beginning to sober up immediately as the weight of her situation began to heavily settle around her.  "G-Gavin?  Wh-"

"You know, Vega, its a shame really."  She felt her knees wobble and a sharp pain shot up her legs as they gave out and slammed to the hardwood.  "Waste of a pretty face."

"Let's just do it already!" Brian shouted and rushed forward. 

Her head pounded and she fought to stay alert for fear of what was to come.  "Gavin I-"  SMACK!

Her head went flying back at the force of Gavin's blow and she tasted blood.  "Wait!" Jeremy called out, stopping Gavin from hitting her again.

She scrambled back to catch her breath, wiping the blood from her lip and patting down her pockets for a wand.  The three loomed over her in unified hatred.  "You can't do that!" Vega cried out and Gavin let his head fall back in laughter.

"I can't?  I just did."  His brown eyes darkened to black as he knelt down before her, not an ounce of sympathy.  "You're father tortured my grandparents.  Murdered them!" 

"He sold out my mum and got her killed!" Brian barked.

"He killed both of my parents." Jeremy bowed his head sadly.

"Yet McGonagall sees him fit to teach?  I say its bullshit!  He should be in Azkaban for the rest of his life and you," he pointed an accusing finger at her chest, curling it between the buttons on her blouse, "are going to know what it feels like to be tortured.  Just like our family."

Their figures came in and out of focus in front of her and she let out a pathetic plea.  "Please, I haven't done anything to anybody.  You don't have to-"  she screamed when he tugged at her blouse and the buttons clattered to the floor.  The fabric fell away and she brought her hands up to cover her bra.

"Don't!" Gavin yelled, ripping her hands from her body and pinning them to the floor.  Her lips trembled as she awaited the inevitable.  "Who has first dibs?"

"Me," she was shocked to hear Jeremy speak first.

Gavin gave her cheek a condescending pat before stepping away.  At first, Jeremy only stood over her, as if contemplating what he wanted to do.  His hand went to his belt and Vega remembered to move.  "No!  No!" Veg cried and turned to run, but he looped his hand around her waist and threw her unceremoniously onto the bed.  "Please!" She kicked and screamed, but he tore the remnants of her shirt away and tossed the shreds onto the ground.  He pinned her down by her wrists, holding them above her head as he used his knees to pin her legs.  She bucked and squirmed, but she couldn't get free.

The music blasted so loudly that she was certain no one could hear her cries for help.  "Don't you fucking move," Jeremy seethed.  She sobbed quietly, but didn't dare move as he unfastened his belt and threw it aside.  "Stay there," he ordered and began to tear her pants off.

A low whistle came from behind them and she spotted Brian and Gavin watching intently with pleased grins.  "Nice body there Candlewood." 

Brian chortled at his friend.  "I want a go next.  I'm going to make her scream," he boasted.

"Be patient!  Wait your turn!" Jeremy shot back over his shoulder.  Vega felt frozen as she lay in nothing but her underwear in front of the three boys.

"Please," she whispered only to Jeremy.  "You can stop this, please." She thought she saw a flicker of hesitation behind his eyes, but it faded just as quickly as it came.  He growled and ripped her bra clean off, letting her breasts spill out much to the excitement of the others.

They both jumped up and joined Jeremy in his assault.  "Pretty, pretty," Gavin murmured as he traced a path between her heaving breasts. 

She sucked in a breath and screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone, anyone, would come to her rescue.  No one did.  She cried openly, not caring how she looked or how it annoyed them so.  "Shut the fuck up!" Brian gritted and sent a crushing blow to the side of her head.  She silenced, losing the ability to breath as stars swam in her vision.

"Don't!"  Gavin scolded him.  "We want her awake for this.  She could faintly hear a clicking noise and glanced down to see a flash of silver.  She felt it before she recognized the item.  A knife.  She screamed until her lungs burned, begging and writhing all the while as Gavin carved her flesh mercilessly.

"That's enough already!" Jeremy halted them.  "I want her now.  Move!" He shoved Brian back and hooked his finger over her knickers, slipping the digit down and sneering in her face.  "Dry as a bone," he commented.  "We'll fix that."  Vega squeezed her eyes shut as she felt a finger invade her.  The boys cheered him on, reveling in the way she winced in pain.

"Hurry up, I want my turn!" Brian snapped and the finger left her. 

The pillow was soaked with tears and her throat burned from screaming.  Jeremy gave a grumble of, "Alright, okay," and grabbed her hip to pull her down roughly.  She gasped when she realized he had kicked off his trousers and a pathetic little member was being palmed between his legs.  She made a final attempt to get away, but Brian and Gavin grabbed her arms and pulled her back.  Her head smacked hard into the headboard and she felt the last remnants of consciousness slipping.

"I said I wanted her awake!" Gavin's voice echoed in her mind.  "You fucking moron!"  His voice was getting farther away as darkness took over.  She barely registered the sound of the door slamming open or the shouts that followed. 

Flashes of light sparked in the corners of her vision and her ears picked up the faint sound of glass shattering and shouts of protest.  She could feel her body being lifted and a voice calling out to her.  "Vega!  Vega!"

"Get me something to cover her!"

"Here!"

"That's too small," the voice growled.  She felt the bed beneath her once more and whimpered.  Strong arms pulled her up once more and something warm wrapped around her, enveloping her in a earthy musk that lulled hee senses.  She was lifted and the feeling of the bed disappeared.

"We can't take her out that way.  Blaise!  Over here!"  Her eyelids fluttered open to see a flash of white hair.

"Noori..." Vega groaned and tried to sit up.

"Shh, you're safe.  Damn Blaise just do it already!"

"You'll regret this Malfoy!" She instinctively recoiled at Gavin's voice and felt a tear slip down her cheek.

"Crucio!" Gavin's screams pulled her back to reality as she sat up and nearly fell out of the arms that clutched her.

She took in the room and gasped, squirming away from whoever held her once she felt their bare skin on her.  "Calm down!  Vega!" She looked around wildly to see a shirtless Draco with his wand aimed at Gavin who panted on the floor.  Brian was pinned beneath Blaise's glossy black shoe and dripping blood from his nose.  Jeremy was laying in a pool of blood, face down, motionless with his pants around his ankles.  "Look at me Vega!" His tone was gentle and commanding all at once.  She covered her bare chest from their eyes and sobbed, her legs shaking violently.  "You're okay," he cooed like he was talking to a child.  "Here," he said upon kneeling to pick up what had previously been wrapped around her.  It was his shirt.  He took careful steps towards her, not wanting to frighten her any further, and gently wrapped it over her shoulders. 

She dropped to the floor and cried.  Her tears dotted the floor as her angst ate her from the inside.  She was vaguely aware that she was screaming, but she couldn't stop.  She wanted to dip herself in boiling water to be rid of their hands, their touch, their mark.  Her arm bled from Gavin's knife and stained the sleeve of Draco's pristine white shirt.

His eyes followed hers and he cupped her face in his hands, leaning in so that only she could hear him.  His face lacked all emotion, a deadly stillness to his sharp features made him look as dangerous as all the rumors stated.  "Let me see it, please," he whispered.  She clutched the wound, too ashamed to move.  "Vega," he said her name so sweetly that she couldn't deny him a second time.  She held her arm out and he took it gingerly, reading the bloodied words carved into her forever. 

Death Eater Whore.

She hadn't truly seen the words in their full glory, and she felt a fresh wave of tears erupt from her at the thought of wearing those words on her the rest of her life.  Gavin's choking laugh roused them from their shock at the words.  "Serves you right.  You're whole family should be slaughtered for-"

"Avada Kadavra!"

A flash of bright green light shot out from a sleek wand and silenced everyone in the room.  Blaise seemed to be waking up from a stupor as he panicked, taking his foot from Brian who had long since fainted.  Vega took a moment to fully comprehend what had happened.  When her gaze fell ob Gavin's lifeless body, she screamed.

"Draco!  What the fuck is going on!"  Blaise backed up, staring wide eyed at the body in the center of the room.

"Imperio!" Draco shouted at the fellow Slytherin.  Blaise became quiet and calm once more, going back to guard Brian.

Vega felt herself begin to hyperventilate, everything became too much.  "Look at me Vega," Draco coaxed her head towards her.  "I need you to come with me."

"But..." Vega was at a loss for words.  She was afraid.  Afraid of what had happened, afraid of the consequences, but most of alk she was afraid of the pale blond boy trying to comfort her.  "Y-you k-ki-"

"Vega," Draco drawled in a low voice.  "Look at me," he said with his fingers pressed under her chin.  "Come with me."

He was holding his hand out, the dark mark visible on his forearm and she found herself unable to take it.  Instead, she stood and bolted to the window, wrenching it open and jumping out into the night.  "Fuck!" Draco cursed behind her.

Vega sprinted as fast as she could towards the forest, hoping she could hide herself within its vast foggy timber.  She didn't turn to sed if she was being followed.  Her arm burned with every move and her feet began to bleed from the rocks, but she pressed on.

She ran and ran until she couldn't and she collapsed at the base of a gnarled oak.  By now, she was certain half the castle was awake from the commotion.  She could see lights on that had been previously darked, and a flurry of lit wands were swarming the grounds.  Shouts of "Find her!" and "Put Zabini in the dungeons!" echoed around her.  She felt her lungs squeezing as her panic took hold of her. 

When the wands drew closer she backed up, slipping silently around the tree to hide.  She jumped when she collided with something alive, but all other thoughts were pushed away when she saw it was Noori.  She threw her arms around his sturdy neck and gasped for breath into his fur. 

The wolf had his steel eyes trained on the grounds and let out a low growl as they broke through the treeline.  He whined, tugging at her bloody sleeve and pulling her with him.  She took the hint, tailing him as he bounded through the forest.  He took her deeper inside until they came to a small clearing.  He pawed at the ground and looked to her for help. 

"I don't know what you want me to do," she whispered into the darkness.  The only light in the forest came from the moon and Noori's brilliant white pelt.  The wolf dug once more, deliberately, and she saw it.  A crack.  There was a hidden door in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

She could hear the calls coming closer and dug her fingers into the crack, flinging open a small hatch that Noori leapt into.  She jumped down with him and shut the door, encasing her in complete darkness.  She didn't have a wand to light her way and she doubted very much the wolf could provide such a thing.  "Noori," she said in a hushed voice.  She couldn't see him, but she felt him curl up next to her, offering her some semblance of comfort.  She held her breath as the voices approached. 

"What should we do Minerva?" It was Flitwick's voice.

"Contact their families, first and foremost.  I want to speak to Mr. Zabini."

"What about Miss Candlewood?  The students are saying she was attending the party.  Do you think she did that?"

"No, I don't.  You saw Mr. Sooner plain as I did.  Something happened to that poor girl.  I won't say death was warranted, but we need to speak with all parties involved.  Starting with Mr. Malfoy and Miss Candlewood."  Her breath hitched.  Draco had ran.  Part of her was glad he had, but there was still a piece of her that had a renewed fear for what he was capable of.

The voices past over them and headed back towards the castle.  She let out shuddering breath and slumped over the wolf in a fit of tears.  He didn't move, letting her use him for comfort.  She sniffled and wiped Draco's sleeves on her eyes. 

"I don't have a wand," she muttered.  "I can't give us any light." She felt around blindly but only touched leaves and dirt.  Noori brushed up against her and nipped lightly at her hand, pulling her forward.  She followed and smacked her torso into a wall of earth.

The wolf snorted and pulled at her shirt until she was crouching.  Her hands shot out to feel her way and found they were in a tunnel big enough for the wolf to walk through.  She got down on her hands and knees and crawled behind him, periodically getting hit in the face with his thick tail. 

Light could be seen flickering up ahead and she could see the outline of the wolf's shape and the glittery frost that line the cold dirt walls around them. 

Noori emerged first, dropping down to crawl on his front legs to make it through the final squeeze at the end.  Vega could make out a small woven rug and a fire in a small round room.  She had to crawl the rest of the way on her elbows, the wolf tugging at her collar to help her out. 

She was able to stand and dust herself off, feeling filthy in Draco's oversized button up.  Her fingers and toes were frozen and red from running through the cold forest.  The fire made her feel like she was melting, and she ran to it shivering.  Noori came up behind her, dragging a blanket in his strong jaws. 

Vega stayed in front of the fire with her hands outstretched until they got their color back and she didn't feel like she was going to die of cold.  Noori waited patiently, never rushing her.  When she was sure she was okay for the time being, she let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips.  "Thank you," she breathed out.  He stared at her, his tail twitching ever so slightly, threatening to wag.  "I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

He gave a small bark and pu his paw on her knee.  She massaged the black pads beneath and felt an overwhelming sense of awe at the strange creature she had managed to befriend. 

She stood up, letting his paw slip off her lap, and looked around the room.  Now that the cold didn't threaten to drive her mad, she was able to fully appreciate where she was.  It was entirely carved into the earth, the ceiling a great dome of roots and silt.  There was a single chair, a large mirror in a golden stand, the rug, a black end table, and a book left open and upside down to save its page.  "Who lives here?" Vega wondered aloud.  "Do you have an owner?" She looked back at Noori who had taken to watching her every move intently.  His gray eyes shined in the firelight.

She walked over to the book and stopped.  "The--" she felt the fear creeping back into her core, "--the--"  Noori began to whine an bark, "--Hobbit," she finished in a whisper.  She picked up the book and flipped through it furiously, searching for a sign that she was wrong.  She found what she was looking for.  Pressed between the pages three quarters of the way through was a wrapper from a licorice wand she had eaten on the train.  She'd tucked it inside, not thinking she would have given the book away moments later. 

Vega let go as if it bit her, letting it fall to the rug as the wrapper floated out.  "Please don't scream," his voice pleaded.  Every molecule in her body begged for her to move, to do something, run or cry.  Anything.  She could smell his cologne, that earthy woody scent that was all his own.  "Vega, I can explain," he tried again and she found her voice.

Spinning around she contorted her face in absolute betrayl.  "You!" It came out as a whispered shout at first, but she tried once more and gained volume.  "You!"

Draco stood before her where her beloved wolf had once been.  The white fur had gone, a black suit taking its place.  The tousled mane was now combed neatly down the nape of his neck in shimmering platinum.  The eyes.  They eyes had been his all along.  The eyes gave him away, and yet she'd never put the pieces together.

"How could I have been so stupid?"  Draco looked down, not saying anything.  "I trusted you!  You were what?  Spying on me?  Has this just been some sock joke to you?"  She wasn't crying, though her eyes blurred, she shoved the sadness back down.  Raw, untamed age coursed through her. 

"No, it's not like that," he whispered to the ground.

Vega's eyes were wild with fury as she closed the distance and pushed him back, making him stumble a few steps.  "You lied to me!  You watched me cry over you, over them, and you never said a word!  All those times...Blaise!  You attacked him!  You-you--"

Draco grabbed her shoulders and forced her into the chair, scanning her face with a desperate need.  "Quiet!" He bellowed so loud that she felt it in her chest.  Her mouth clamped shut at the order and she sank back, afraid of what would happen if she disobeyed him.  "Thank you," he sighed and stood up to run a hand through his hair, mussing it's perfection. 

She watched him pace for what seemed like hours before he finally ceased his movements and faced her.  Something danced behind his stormy grays that bade her to listen.  "After the battle, my parents took me to someone in Melbourne, a healer or something.  I still don't really know." He shook his head and sat down to keep from pacing anymore.  "They left me there for weeks.  The witch helped me...she showed me how...to be an animagus."

"You're an animagus?" Vega swallowed hard.

Draco nodded once, his eyes begging her to let him finish.  "I'm not registered.  It was only ever meant to be a means to escape undetected if anything should ever happen.  My mother's idea of protection.  The only ones who knew where the witch, my parents, and McGonagall.  I don't even think Slughorn really knows, he just thinks he does."

"No one else knows?" She checked.

"You do now." He moved a bit closer and she didn't flinch away.  "And Blaise." He said the name with disgust.

The name rested in the air, stirring Vega's thoughts.  Her nails dug into the chair as she gasped out, "Blaise!  He tried to hurt me before and--"

"I know," Draco murmured.

"Why would he help you back there?  That's why you tortured him, wasn't it?  To keep him quiet?"

"He didn't help me." Draco stood up and went to kneel in front of her, reaching for her hands and she let him hold them.  If ot was out of fear, or longing, she couldn't say.

"A couple of second years had been studying late with some kids from Hufflepuff.  One of them was Brian's cousin.  He was bragging about his plan because he thought it was okay to say to a Slytherin."  A flash of hurt crossed his pale features at the reputation his house had.  "They came and told me right away."

"But," Vega stared at him, "how did Blaise--"

"I used the Imperius Curse and switched wands.  I knew something might happen, and I didn't want anything to point back to my wand." Draco explained woth a pained grimace. 

"You knew," she breathed at his confession.  "You knew you were going to kill them?"  She had to hear him say it.

He looked up at her then, eyes aglow with firelight, all lies gone to dust as he stated, "Yes.  I knew I was going to kill them for hurting you."

Visions of Jeremy on top of her made her shut her eyes, trying to rid herself of the memories still so raw and fresh.  Draco's hands were on her cheeks in an instant, his thumbs gliding over the angles of her face.  "Vega," his voice was scarcely audible, "did they..." He didn't have to finish for her to know what he meant.

"No, they didn't get that far."  She ground her teeth together.  "Jeremy," she felt tears brimming, "he...he...his f-fing--"

Draco pulled her to his chest and held her as she wept into his suit.  She let it all out, until she ran out of steam.  She buried her face into his tie, fisting his blazer with her hands, and let herself feel every emotion that had burrowed into her since she stepped off the train.

"I never wanted to lie to you," he surprised her when he spoke.  "I saw you there, I wasn't planning on it, I was coming here.  But you were sitting under that tree and I couldn't help it." She pulled away from him to look up at his expression.  He seemed so frail, so broken in that moment.  She felt for him, truly felt for him, because he looked just as broken as she was.

"I was just going to have a look, then come back here, but your hands were so soft.  No one had ever touched me like that.  Just because, without any expectations.  I could have stayed there for hours letting you scratch me like that," he chuckled as a tear fell from his eye.  "Please don't hate me," he sobbed.  "I didn't mean to lie.  I just thought it you knew, then you would stop going to the lake.  You'd stop bringing me steaks and letting me lay in your lap, and I just wanted to feel that for as long as possible.  Like I was, like..." She could see how flustered he was getting, never one to put his feelings into words.

"Loved," she finished for him, and his head snapped to look at her.  She slid from the chair onto the floor in front of him.  "You just wanted to feel loved," she managed to say without a crack in her voice.

His handsome face was twisted in agony as he nodded and it was her turn to comfort him.  He bent his head down to cry, but she caught his chin and forced him to look up at her.  Glassy gray eyes poured into her own grassy orbs as she struggled to find the right words to make him somehow feel less distressed.  They stayed like that for a while, neither one speaking, only blinking.

"You attacked Blaise," Vega said again, this time without an edge.  Draco swallowed and she watched his throat bob as he nodded once, his chin quivering.  "You attacked those boys.  You killed Gavin," her voice cracked as they both refused to look away.  "You protected me.  No one has ever done that for me before," shock flickered across his eyes, but she pressed her lips to his and they shut in bliss.

He tasted metallic, like he had blood lingering somewhere in the corners of his mouth.  She relished in it, the metal taste mixing with the salt of their tears as they fought for solace in one another.  He pressed forward, forcing her back into the leg of the chair and she hissed.  Her back ached from the three Hufflepuff's assault.  Draco seemed to realize his mistake instantly and pulled away with a creased brow.  "Sorry, I," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," she laughed airily, rubbing her back, "I'm just a bit sore is all."

"Right," he mumbled, chiding himself.  "I brought you here for a reason.  I can keep you safe." He made an attempt at a smile, but it fell flat.

Vega furrowed her brows.  "Draco I can't stay here.  We're barely off  school grounds." She attempted to reason with him.

His usual cocky countenance reappeared as he smirked at her.  "Not here," he clicked his tongue, "there."  He pointed to the mirror.

Vega quirked one raven eyebrow and pursed her lips.  "And exactly where is there?" 

"Do you trust me?" He stood up, an amused look teasing his pink lips.  She wasn't sure how to answer.  He was such a dangerous boy, every part of him was rippled with blood and a lifetime of devilish grooming.  She didn't fully trust him, they both knew it, but she stood up regardless.  "Hold onto me," he said, pulling her into him.

He stepped forward as she clutched him tightly, afraid to let go.  A cool sensation enveloped her body when he pushed against the mirror and it gave way like gel.