"You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to." –Sirius Black

*

     "Ready?"

     Draco feels his hands start to shake. "Darcy, what if it doesn't work? This is our last chance."

     "If this fails, we run," Darcy decides. "I'm great at that."

     Draco nods numbly before raising his wand. "Harmonia Nectere Passus." The bird is gone, like always, but that's worked for months. It has to come back alive. "You do it."

     Darcy attempts to bring the bird back. The whooshing sound returns, along with something they've never heard before. Chirping. Swinging the doors open, they see the bird alive and well, hopping around the base of the Vanishing Cabinet.

     "We did it," Draco breaths in relief and also slight astonishment. "We did it!"

     "Wait," Darcy says. "Do you think one of us should test it?"

     Draco frowns. "Are you crazy? What if it kills us?"

    "What if it kills the Death Eaters you're trying to bring here?" she retorts. "They'll think you did it on purpose and kill you!"

   "No," Draco refuses. "I'm not sending you or myself through there. If they die coming through, to hell with them. I don't care. But the bird if proof enough. It'll be fine."

     Darcy still appears unsure but drops it. They test it again that night and it still works perfectly. Draco is slightly upset that they got it to work for multiple reasons. One, now that it works, Darcy has to leave so that she won't be caught up in the feud. Two, Draco for sure has to kill Dumbledore. He thought if he failed his mission, the Dark Lord would just take matters into his own hands, but who was he kidding?

     The next morning, Draco asks the dreaded question. "When do you want to go back to Hogsmeade?"

     "When are the Death Eaters coming through?"

     "Tomorrow night."

     "Then I think it'd be best if I left tonight," she says.

     Draco nods solemnly. He doesn't want her to go. "You never told me what you want in return for helping me."

   "Oh," Darcy says with a slight frown, as if she hadn't thought of it at all. "I'm still not sure."

"Keep in mind that my family is rich, so I can probably buy you whatever your heart desires." Draco wants to make sure he repays her for sacrificing almost a year of her life to help him with a petty problem like fixing an old Vanishing Cabinet.

     "I doubt I'll want something you have to buy," Darcy says, still thinking about it deeply. "I'll let you know by tonight."

     It's as if immediately after that sentence, the sky darkens and the clock strikes midnight. Draco leaves the Common Room drearily, not wanting to leave Darcy. He's on the verge of falling in love with her, and he wants to fall as much as he wants to push back. He can't make up his mind. But he's sure that either way, he's going to miss her tremendously. Throughout this year, she's been the only person on his side, the only one who didn't give up.

     "Ready?" he asks her as they stand near the shiny new Vanishing Cabinet.

     "I think so," Darcy mutters, double checking that she has her blueprints and other secret science papers. "Yes, let's go."

     Draco takes her hand and guides her out of the Room of Requirement and through the halls, down a flight and into the secret passage behind the witch statue. He notices how slow both of them are walking. He can't think of anything to say, and apparently neither can she, but the silence is more welcome than a goodbye.

     At the end of the passage, Darcy clutches Draco's arm as he Apparates them outside into Hogsmeade. The chilly May breeze blows around them. Darcy still holds on to Draco's hand, and he pulls her in the direction of the Shrieking Shack before the Hog's Head because that's where he first felt he loved her, so maybe it'll tell him what he should do.

     "We should run from our problems and hide in there," Draco says jokingly. "No one would ever find us."

   "I'm up for it," Darcy agrees. "It's not so bad once you get used to the dust."

     "Have you thought about what you want?"

     "Yes," she says. "I want you to write to me."

     Draco feels himself smile. "I was going to do that anyway."

   "But only write if it's safe, got it?"

     "I'm sure it will be."

   "But if it's not—"

     "Then I won't." Draco meets her worried gaze. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine."

     "You lie to everyone, Draco, even yourself," she says with a frown. "This war is going to take a toll on everyone. Don't pretend you're immune."

     There it is. Draco feels his heart strings constrict and suddenly, he knows which way he's falling. Placing a hand behind her neck, Draco pulls Darcy into him, resting his forehead on hers. "Darcy," he mutters, "what would you say if I told you I love you?"

     Darcy's eyes are full of fireworks. "I'd say thank Merlin because I love you, too."

     This is all the assurance Draco needed. Moving his hands to her hair and face, he finds her lips with his. They're warm and soft compared to his cold ones, but they act as an insulator, filling his darkness with light.

   "I said I wouldn't fall for you," Draco admits later that night as they lay in a soft patch of grass a considerable distance away from the Shrieking Shack.

     "What can I say? I'm irresistible," she answers. "No one used the Imperius curse on you, right?"

     "What makes you say that?" Draco moves his gaze to her as she stares at the night sky. "You think you're unlovable?"

     Darcy hesitates. "I know you do. But I think that's just your self-pity working itself out. You know you're capable of love and vice versa."

     Draco plays with a piece of her hair that's shorter than the others and wonders if she did that on purpose or if it was an accident. "You're avoiding my question."

     Darcy sighs, sitting up. "Azkaban does that to you. But I'm trying, I promise."

     Draco sits beside her, wrapping an arm around her and letting her head fall on his shoulder. "I know I've asked this before, but what's the worst thing about Azkaban?" He feels her shudder and pulls her in tighter, telling her she doesn't have to answer.

     "It'd be easier to show you. I will someday."

     "Do I want to see?"

   "I think you should. Especially if you're going to try to love me."

     "Darcy, I don't have to try."  With a ghost of a smile on her lips, she places a light kiss on his cheek.

   "Neither do I."