◤ ❝That is the difference that keeps you from falling out of my shadow and becoming me, my dear Andromeda. You are weak enough to believe in love. I am strong enough to exist without it.❞ ― Tom Riddle◢

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CHAPTER THIRTY:   AION

March 24, 1997

      "Hey, Mia...do you...do you think I should tell Theo I like him?"

Andromeda knew that it was a bad decision lingering too long in her dorm room with the other girls. Of course, she knew better than that. She'd roomed with them for nearly seven years, and she had been the victim of one too many 'girl-talks' in those years to have an inkling on how and when to avoid them at all costs. In the moment though, spending time with Tracey, Daphne, and Merlin forbid her wretched soul, Parkinson, sounded like a better decision than having to face the awkward exchange of being in the Room of Requirements at the same time as Draco. So, really, it was her fault. And Theodore's for ditching her to shove his tongue down the throat of her childhood crush.

However, what she was not prepared for was Daphne's question as they all sat on their beds, gossiping back and forth while Mia quietly wrote her portion of the Defense homework she was meant to be turning in with Draco after the Easter holiday (ironically, they weren't the best at partner work in any aspect of their lives). Atlas laid at her feet, every so often twisting around so she could rub his head and lull him back to sleep. She'd noticed that he disappeared more often now at nights than he used to, and while he always came back to her, it made her wonder where he ran off.

She blinked down at her paper for a few seconds, registering what Daphne just asked. "Pardon?"

"It's just...well, I feel like it's becoming rather obvious now that I fancy him―"

Tracey scoffed, plucking another chocolate frog into her mouth at the bed next to her. "Now? Sorry to disappoint but I feel like that broom flew about four years ago after the Valentine's day fiasco. You're as pitiful at hiding your crushes as Mia is―" Mia's hand tightened on her quill, unaware of how much her body froze "―Salazar be damned, I still wonder how Vaisey failed to notice until his last year at Hogwarts."

"At least I know the concept of love unlike your miserable slithering self," Daphne jutted her chin out with offense, glaring across Mia's bed at Tracey with red cheeks. Before her friend could retort, the blonde quickly directed her attention back to Mia. "Well? What do you think, Andromeda? The two of you are thick as thieves, sometimes I'd say you can read his mind... should I say something to him? I was considering mentioning it before we left for the Easter holiday, just to let him think on things... I feel like he may like me, really... he's outgrown that shy self of his recently, and he seems happier, doesn't he? I thought, well...maybe it might be because I started coming to his practices―"

Andromeda knew that something must be wrong with her the moment she actually felt pity for Daphne. A twinge of sadness for her struck in her heart as she listened to her friend talk about Theodore. Knowing that he was actually happy because of her supposed boyfriend, Andrew, made it even more difficult. She shifted uncomfortably in her place on the bed, clearing her throat and wishing earnestly that she had the same lack of compassion as she did in July―when something as stupid as Daphne's crush on Theo would have made her laugh.

"Oh, come off it, Daph," Tracey scoffed. "He avoids you like you have dragon pox. The boy's got as much love for you in his body as Malfoy does for Parkinson."

From across the room, Pansy's glare scorched Tracey's head. "At least we're sticking with the traditions of our families by being with our own kind, blood traitor...don't listen to her, Daphne. If Nott fancies you as much as Draco does me, surely he'll be crawling to you any second."

"Begging for freedom, perhaps."

Mia swallowed hard, clenching her teeth tightly as she glanced back down at her parchment and Defense book like it was the most interesting thing in the world. She disregarded the urge to shout in Parkinson's face that Draco did not love her like she hoped, and instead read more on other evasive techniques for the Cruciatus Curse like the good student she was trying to be.

"Mia?" Daphne asked softly. "What should I do?"

Fuck all, Mia scowled internally before slowly looking up again to Daphne. She paused briefly, gnawing at her lip as she tried to figure out the best way to avert the situation onto something that was not about her cousin.

"Theo's been in a really difficult position lately, Daphne, with my Uncle being incarcerated and the other Houses using that against him during the matches..." she started, the excuse lining up on her tongue like second-nature. At least she still remembered that aspect of herself. "Right now is not the best time for him, and he'll want to stay away from any distractions. He's only just becoming comfortable with himself in Quidditch and all...I would give him a bit of time before you speak with him."

Daphne's face fell significantly, but Mia resisted wincing. If hurting Daphne was the only way to protect something that made Theodore happy, then so be whatever the consequence was.

"Funny that, coming from you and all after you've spent the entire month pretending like Malfoy doesn't exist," she muttered under her breath.

The room fell quiet, and not even Pansy met Mia's eyes from across the room but instead glanced over to Bulstrode's snoring body next to her. Daphne must have realized she said the wrong thing, but instead of taking her words back, she only shifted even more around on her bed. Tracey coughed into her hand awkwardly to alleviate some of the tension, but it did nothing but make Daphne flinch and cower into herself more. Mia glanced down at her book again, her mind facing the dilemma of a million horrible remarks and pure silence.

"Remember the one who is thick as thieves, and family, with the boy you want to impress so desperately, Greengrass," she said bluntly, piling her things together so that she could get up from her bed. The girls were quiet apart from Bulstrode's snoring. After gathering her things, she glanced at Daphne and gave her a sly, sweet smile. "I was being considerate of not letting you get your heart broken. Funny that, coming from me and all."

On her way out, she slammed the door and woke Millicent from her slumber.

――――――――――

Going to the Room of Requirements where Draco was seemed counterintuitive, especially since she ran out of her dormitory simply because her problems with him were mentioned as a snide remark. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that the itch in her chest came from the separation between her and Draco, and even if she had to sit in uncomfortable silence with him for twelve hours, it was better than spending ten minutes ignoring a conversation about him. At least then she could stare at the cause of her problem and convince herself that she 100%, most certainly, above-all-else in the forsaken Wizarding World, did not have feelings for Draco Malfoy and would NEVER be so stupid to fall in bloody love with him of all disgusting things.

She was able to ignore the looks of surprise on Crabbe and Goyle's faces, both of them having taken Polyjuice Potion to become fourth year Hufflepuffs today. Hell, she was even able to ignore the way her heart thumped in her chest when she walked mindlessly back and forth to open up the door. Nothing really registered in her mind on the way through the musty aisles to the little abyss of a corner they called theirs.

Then, she saw Draco sitting down on the chair with his hair messed up and that white shirt of his unbuttoned and rolled up his arms, and she was positively sure her heart either died or kicked itself to life. He didn't look up when she entered, but by the way his shoulders tensed, he knew she was there. Of course he did. At one point in the mess of the year, they could tell the other's breathing from the rest of the world. She paused at the small entrance, tightening her hand on her bag and glancing absentmindedly at the Vanishing Cabinet in front of them.

"Come to say goodbye before you leave for break?" he finally asked distantly, his head still stuck into what she finally noticed to be Epps' book. They only had a few chapters left in it now. "Seems appropriate that those would be the first words you'd speak to me in an environment that doesn't require you to."

Her jaw twitched, and she ignored the innate urge to retort back to him. "Theodore's going home without me this time. I've decided to stay behind."

"Is he taking Vaisey home to meet the family?" Mia stiffened. Her blood ran cold, and the guard of protectiveness she'd built around Theodore earlier was triggered by Draco's nonchalant question. Draco finally glanced up to see her reaction, and his brows raised expectantly. "I figured he would want Celicia to meet him. Your grandmother will want to start planning their wedding soon, too. She loves those, doesn't she?"

She didn't even acknowledge the subtle jab at their joke of their own planned wedding, shaking her head, flabbergasted. "I don't―"

"Oh, don't act like it's a surprise I know, Mia," he said casually, returning back to reading the book. "You've never given me enough credit for how well I can read a situation. I've known your cousin had a fancy or two for Vaisey long before you finally scraped together the pieces. Nott's face started to look a bit less like a grimace of constant pain and more like a sad excuse of a smile recently."

"Why...you haven't said anything," was all she could think to say, still dumbfounded.

"Not my place to care about who your cousin fancies. It is, however, my place to wonder why you've suddenly decided that today was the day to get over your little game of Cat and Mouse." 

Her heart twisted itself up over the way Draco reacted to her cousin's long kept secret and how quickly he accepted it, long before she even knew. Only to be shot to the ground when she was reminded that the last twenty-two days of silence between them was not just in her nightmares, but something she'd decidedly put their parternship through for reasons more than she knew at the time. She slowly walked completely into the space, throwing her bag on the ground and barely acknowledging when the contents of it accidentally spilled all across the surface.

"You were the lesser of two evils. I'd feel more remorse hexing Greengrass than you. Figured it was best to avoid circumstances of experiencing any spectrum of human emotion."

Mia absolutely hated the way her chest stopped hurting as much just by talking to Draco again. He hummed, eyes still focused on the book as she took a seat on the rug some distance away from him to grab her own textbook on Reparations. She'd gotten that one from Hogsmeade during their Apparations lessons in the last two weeks. Neither one of them spoke of the tension building between them the longer they sat, as though it were a casual conversation and not one they'd both been waiting on for nearly a month.

"And you've exempted anger from your spectrum of emotions to avoid?"

"Decided it is a rightful emotion to have."

"So is regret."

Andromeda stopped whatever she was going to say next when she heard those three words escape from Draco's mouth. Another jab to her heart, and she sucked in a deep breath as she glanced down at her book to skim over another paragraph she knew she would have to reread again later on. She could feel Draco's burning eyes on her, watching when she wasn't looking at him, and wondered how many times in the last few months he did the same thing without her knowing. How many times did she unconsciously look to him, as well?

"Trust is important, too," she said blandly, the words stale on her tongue as though they were having a casual conversation about the weather and not the cause of their problems.

"It comes with communication," Draco's words echoed to their argument at the beginning of the month, and she shot her head up to finally meet his gaze. His expression was blank, but she knew those eyes of his well enough to know the hidden emotions. Upset. "Something both of us must have forgotten about."

"Yes, well, your mistake was the precursor to my decision."

"Don't do that with me, Mia―" he started in rising frustration, rolling his eyes.

She scowled at his reaction. "Do what, Draco?"

"Put your ego and pride in front of this partnership―"

"Oh! How ironic, hearing those words come from your mouth of all places!" she sneered at him, glaring into his narrowed features with a sudden rise of irritation. "Put my pride and my ego away, so that there is room for you to boast about the failed credit you hoped to receive again for being the one to try and kill Dumbledore again? Or should I put it away to make even more room for the absolutely idiotic and self-centered mindset that allows you to do everything with no regard for others? No regard for this 'partnership' that you're talking so highly of now when it wasn't important to you―"

"―wasn't important to me?" he interrupted hotly, his eyes blown wildly. "This partnership was nothing more to us than a simple verbal agreement to stay alive in the beginning, Andromeda, so don't pretend like this talk of communication and trust meant anything to you when this started either. If you would put your pride away long enough to listen to why I did it―"

"Did what, Draco?" she asked, sharply, with piercing eyes. "Why don't you admit what you finally did, and perhaps then I'll let go of my pride long enough to listen to your excuses."

Draco's jaw clenched tightly. "You already know I was responsible for what happened, Mia."

"Responsible for what, Draco?"

"It wasn't meant to poison Weasley," he defended, inadvertently finally admitting what he did. "Slughorn was supposed to give the mead to Dumbledore as a Christmas present. I was in contact with Rosmerta again, and I had her poison the mead with the same ingredients we learned about in Potions class. I never considered the possibility that he would keep it for himself―"

Her hands tightened around the spine of the book she was still clasping tightly. "But that is something that I would have considered, Draco. I would have known that Slughorn would never give up mead to anything but his liver. What were you hoping to achieve this time around that you assumed would be any different than your failure with the Bell girl, Draco? Just having a go at the entire student body to see how many students you can potentially kill before Dumbledore catches onto you? Onto us? Like Potter isn't suspicious enough, you go on and try to murder his best friend―"

"The first time was because we were getting nowhere with that fucking thing from Hell. Bell was an accident based off irrationality," he pointed irritatingly at the Cabinet without taking his eyes away from her. "The second time was because you went on speaking about how you were going to finish the job yourself when the time came, Andromeda. Going on your path of destruction talking to me about it before you left for break, acting like some bloody fucking martyr if you kill Dumbledore for me since you've allowed yourself to believe you're going to die anyway―you honestly think I was going to sit on that while you were away, being summoned by the Dark Lord, and do absolutely nothing to prevent that?"

Mia said nothing, blinking slowly as she watched his face turn a darker shade of red the more frustrated he became. And she stayed quiet because she didn't know what to say. For the first time in her life, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to think. He waited, watching every single feature on her face down to the very twitch of her brow, and then he fought to yell at her―to scream at her to speak. Instead, he battled the arguments in his head and spoke in her place.

"This partnership started out as nothing, but you cannot sit there, look me in the eyes, and tell me that this is all still nothing more than a verbal agreement to you, Mia," he began slowly, every syllable of his words drawn out. "If it was, you would be angry with me over something more than betraying this―us. Whatever this is. You said it yourself, that day...things are different now."

There was a moment where she spent time collecting her thoughts. She pushed herself off the floor, the anxiety creeping up on her the longer that she stood in a stationary position. Instead, she moved closer to the Cabinet and started to travel back and forth, pacing every so often by Draco as he watched for her reaction. A million different things were caught up in her head, but the block that stopped every single one of them was the ugly three words she admitted to Andrew the other day. I will. I will, I will, I will.

Finally, she croaked out with heavy eyes. "You should have told me."

"I know that now."

"This isn't working, Draco."

"I'd say it's difficult for something to work when there has been no means of making it work, Mia," he said pointedly, only to receive a pointed look from her in return. "What? It's the honesty you wanted. In order for this to work, we must come to some agreement on how we finish this...because until you stop making the decision, for us, that you will be the one to complete this task of killing him, I can assure you that I will continue to make these failed attempts until one of them sticks over time...you have no right to make the decision for me on what I choose to live with. Contrary to what you seem to think, I'm not floudering around boasting about how I'll be the one meant to kill Dumbledore. I'm terrified of this but..."

He stopped, swallowing hard as her recollected his thoughts. It was easy to tell that he had been struggling with a lot in the last month they had been separated. Mia took notice of the redness around his eyes, something she had seen enough to know came as a result of Draco crying. Concern spiked in her gut, and she resisted the urge to try and fix his pain. His long fingers ran through his messy hair, the gaudy Slytherin ring catching on a few tendrils and creating a bigger tumble of knots.

"There are three options here, Mia. You live with it, I live with it, or we do it together. You're fighting to live with the burden that comes from this task, and so am I. Neither one of them have worked. We only acted like children and pushed the other away when this is more complicated than a bloody mission now―" his eyes stayed aware of the way her body tensed "―so we try again. With the third option. Together."

Her heart raced in her ears, and she twirled the ring he gave her for her birthday anxiously around on her finger. The urge to protest again, to be stubborn and simply say "no," and that she had been building up for the moment she would have to kill Dumbledore was all hitting the back of her mouth with force. However, she decided to listen to the disgusting way her least-favorite organ was beating instead of her angered mind.

"You can't keep things from me anymore," she decided slowly, her features falling into a serious manner as she took a step closer to where he was sitting. "I mean it, Draco. I need to be able to trust you without running around worried about what you've kept from me. Regardless of the matter, we tell everything."

Something crossed over his face for a second before he nodded carefully.

"Then you can't become unreasonable if I do something that pisses you off."

"If?"

He shot her a look. "When I do something...and don't pretend you're innocent in this. There's plenty your stubborn ass does in a day's time that leads me to the brink of insanity."

"Not nearly as often as you," she scoffed, immediately defensive.

He smirked, raising his eyebrows to insinuate that she just proved his point. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to ignore the urge to smile at the bickering they had returned to. In the time that she had looked away, she failed to notice the way Draco's face softened and his eyes caught on every feature he missed. Finally, in the silence of their banter, he clenched his hands together and revealed the darkened veins around his exposed Dark Mark.

"Mia, we have to talk about this."

If I don't already.

Her breath hitched, and she swallowed the forming rock in her throat because she could tell where he was going with the conversation. The direction that neither one of them had bothered to acknowledge for months. The territory she would pretend never existed if she could have her way. He noticed, and that was enough of an answer for him to push himself up off the chair to stand as well. Almost instantly, her body reacted and she took a few steps back to keep some distance between them.

"There's no time. We need to focus on our other problems," she excused reluctantly, her hands going to her left arm instinctively to rub at the Dark Mark she shared with him. "The ones we've been trying to fix on our own all month. We only have two and a half months left now, at the latest, Draco―"

His face fell, unrelenting. "Stop deflecting the conversation like it's a spell you can block, Mia. I'd say we've gone long enough pretending. You spoke only moments ago that we should no longer keep things from each other―"

"I'm not," but to go against herself, she turned more of her body away from him and toward the Cabinet. "I'm only thinking realistically here on what all needs to be done. I've already decided that I'll be talking to Slughorn about the Horcruxes once he returns from break. Andrew warned me that the Daily Prophet is set to write another piece on the events that happened at the Department of Mysteries as a remembrance to Father and a warning against the Dark Lord, and with that out, I hope that it will sway Slughorn enough to listen. If Potter has already mentioned the Horcruxes, I could even use that as my own way of pitting Slughorn against him..."

She stopped talking and trailed off when she felt Draco take the three steps over to her, now blocking her view of the Cabinet completely by standing directly in front of her. The proximity was not anything uncommon to them before they fell out, but because it had been so long since they were near one another, it caused all of her internal organs to squeeze tightly into themselves and take her breath away. His grey eyes watched as her brown ones dilated, waiting for any other reaction, before he shifted another painstaking inch closer to her. Instantly, her hand was moving to press on his chest to keep him at bay.

"Draco..." she warned slowly.

His brow raised slightly, eyes constantly falling down further than her eyes. "Andromeda."

"What are you doing?"

"Proving my point," he muttered, his words falling into a dull whisper like her own. "We may as well get rid of the other thing we've been fighting against this entire time, Romy."

His grey color twinkled with a bit of mischief, as though he were determined to prove his point. When his hand reached out and carefully moved to the cup the side of her face, just past her jaw, she stiffened even more. The words felt so oddly similar to the time when she and Andrew kissed that her mind fought against the connection, knowing where Draco was intending for their conversation to head and what point he was determined to prove. However, to her surprise, Draco never moved any closer than tracing his thumb slowly across the line of her cheekbone. Her heart had sunk deep, deep, deep into the hollow of her chest and dug into her lungs as it sped. The arm holding him off slowly fell to her side in defeat, and she started to make out all of the lines in his face that she had missed desperately.

"Draco..." she repeated again, although the hitch in his name showed how much difficulty she was having in doing so. Almost unwillingly, she allowed her eyes to glance down at his lips. "We can't."

"Why?" he asked quietly. Now there was no space between their chests when he took his last centimeter forward. She could hear his heart now, beating erratically to the rhythm of hers. "Give me a good reason, Andromeda. Who's to say we can't? We've been fighting for months―against each other, against it, against all of this―and who's going to stop us if we just give in this once, hm?"

"You know who. Draco, we can't. It just gives him one more thing to use against us. We shouldn't even be thinking..." she paused when his other hand went around her waist, making her freeze again when his fingers tightened around her body "...Draco, you have Parkinson―"

"―who has been seeing Urquhart behind my back since February. Vaisey told me a few weeks ago when he caught them in the changing rooms and thought you should hear the news from me first. She knows I know. That's the grand conversation we had with one another on Valentine's Day―why we never showed up to class," he explained, and at the raise of her brow, a small smirk started to rise on the side of his wicked lips. "Come on now, Mia. Think better of me than that. I suppose she's only with me because she thinks it'll keep me away from you."

"She's right, you know. It has kept you away," she swallowed with difficulty again, glancing at his lips again. "And now you want me to become the cheating slag the rest of the school already believes I am?"

"We've fit all of our other reputations so far, haven't we?"

She sighed, her head falling forward slightly to rest against Draco's forehead. His chest rose with a deep inhale, his fingers tightening around her waist and trying to pull her even closer to him―limiting any amount of space between them. As his hand on her face slowly lifted her away, he went back to looking into her eyes. The expression on his face made her queasy, as she had never in her life seen someone stare at her with the amount of wonder and adoration she saw in his grey eyes. So saying her next words hurt even more the third time she was forced to say it, pleading with him to let go so that she would no longer have to fight her urges.

"Draco, we can't."

He was quick to jump on her protest, shaking his head. "But you want to, Romy. You can't lie to me anymore."

"But that doesn't mean we can, Draco."

Her hands went up to grab his arms, squeezing tightly onto the limbs that were curling around her like vines unwilling to release. She could see the irritation starting to litter his facial features, and the tension in his shoulders gave him away secondly. For a moment she tightened her fingers around his arms before finally letting go and stepping out of his grasp. Her fingers went up to her lips, rubbing away the numbness that came from not taking the chance to do the one thing she wanted to. His dark grey eyes were blown in lust and frustration, gripping his hands tightly into fists as he watched her separate away from him.

"So you'll just let him ruin this?"

She turned back around, her eyes just as frustrated. "Will you? I am not going to start something that he will only end, Draco. What do we gain from it? Momentary happiness? Unattainable hope for, what, a future? Please, Draco. He's already begun taking everything I cared about from me. I won't allow him to take you from me, too." 

Mia could physically feel every stab to the heart as she watched Draco with mournful eyes, silently begging him to understand. His jaw twitched, but his eyes never strayed from hers. He was the one to sigh deeply this time, his eyes closing as he took in the weight of her words. She watched him, and when they finally opened again, the crease in his forehead was gone and replaced with a soft expression of acceptance. When he started to walk toward her again, she felt the wave of tension return, and she barely got a protest in before he was leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

He pulled away, but instead of stepping back, he only remained hovering over her again and raised his brows at the flush that was growing on her cheeks. "You know..." his thumb swept over the apple of her cheeks like earlier, but this time, there was a redness underneath it "...being capable of feeling like this, it means we're not turning into him."

"Just makes us vulnerable," she dismissed, swallowing hard and stepping back once again. "It isn't safe. It isn't smart, Draco―"

"―neither is plotting to kill our Headmaster―"

"―but at least one of those stupid decisions will keep you alive―" he shot her a sharp look at the emphasis she made, which made her stop herself. She clenched her jaw, defiantly staring past his head at the Cabinet before she fixed her remark "―keep us alive."

"And then?" he asked, pointedly. "When we both live through the end of this, then what, Romy?"

Mia paused, meeting his intense and questioning stare from across the way. Of course, she knew the question that he was asking, and she would be lying if she said she had thought about the after. Why would she allow herself to think about a future she would not have? That was torturous, thinking of the hopes of the future when she knew she would inevitably die one way or another in the war she was fighting. But looking at Draco, and the hope bleeding messily out of the seams of his heart, she couldn't help but imagine a world where he was in it forever. A messy thought.

He could see in her hesitation what her answer was, and his back straightened. His frustrated features relaxed, turning into one of possibility. The very hope she hadn't been wanting them to give one another―because what happened if they lost it? Still, she battled the impossibility and allowed herself the chance to accept a possibility too.

"If I haven't killed you myself by then..." she paused, taking a large inhale "...then, yes. Then."

His brow flickered up, and the beginnings of a smirk starting on his lips. "Then, alright...until then... I assume you won't be snogging me in every dark corridor around this campus?"

She rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Disposing of your body parts one by one in every dark corridor, perhaps."

"How horribly cruel of you. Similar to rejecting my kiss―"

"―is this how it will be from now on?"

"If I have to suffer," he began with shining amusement, moving over to whisk away the cluster of things that she was grabbing before she could, "then you will suffer with me... what is this? Have another admirer I have to duel it out with?"

Mia's eyes went to the small envelope that he was holding up, her brows furrowing in confusion when she noticed that her name was written on the front of it. Draco's fingers twirled it around curiously, trying to distinguish if he recognized the handwriting of whoever had sent her the letter. In the time that he was inspecting it, she had made her way over to where he was standing and quickly plucked it from his fingers to look at it herself. He peered nosily over her shoulder, personal space contaminated by their previous conversation and allowing him to hover.

Then her blood curdled and she froze. Draco had just barely managed to catch the envelope by reaching around her body before it slipped from her fingers, and he glancing at it again with a different sense of emotion after having seen her reaction. Concern.

"Romy, who is this from?" he asked impatiently, glancing anxiously from the envelope to the state-of-shock that his partner was in. He took a step closer to her, his fingers gripping her elbow. "Andromeda. You need to talk to me. Who sent you this letter?"

The way that the A curled was the indication. Only one person with the same beginning initial as her could have written her name on that envelope. With shaking hands, she reached slowly to grab it from Draco again and swallowed hard. The color was offset, which meant that it was clearly older than just recently, and the ink had smeared in the corner of finishing off her last few letters like they were in a rush.

"My father did."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Don't hate me (:

I promise it's all part of the progress of this story. We only have NINE chapters left in the entirety of the Half-Blood Prince. Can YOU BELIEVE THAT? Which means only really like five/six because three chapters will be dedicated to the "final" battle that happens at the end...I'm anxious. Because the sectumsempra part is APPROACHING RAPIDLY.

SLOW-BURN...kind of blew up? I know a LOT of you were probably hoping that they would have a steamy makeup sesh in the middle of the Room, but that was way too unrealistic (at least in THIS chapter, lol) for them and their current states of mind...well, Mia's. Draco was plenty prepared, but Mia has only just admitted her feelings to herself and now to Draco. She's far too much of a thinker to just impulsively throw herself into something. That's what makes her Slytherin, people!!

Also, I love Daphne. I feel so bad for her. Tracey is my favorite though. I think she has feelings for her favorite little blonde best friend but that's just my wishful thinking. 

What did you think about Draco and Romy being reunited? Their argument? THEM REVEALING THEIR FEELINGS? Did it seem too soon, or was it actually the right point in the story of this to be happening?

(Disclaimer: Pansy is not seeing Urquhart just because I didn't want Draco to seem like an asshole cheater. Or to move the plot along, trust me! It's been in the works for a while that Pansy is finally seeing someone who treats her right which explains why Urquhart was never up to his Captain duties...it'll all be explained later but this was just a preface)

AND CLIFF-HANGER. BOMB DROPPED. The envelope has been seen. It has been revealed, and next chapter will be BOTH the reveal of the contents of the letter and some more flashbacks.

As always, LET ME  KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT! Dromy has officially had the endgame discussion, and I am here for them.  LOTS and lots of flirting and lingering hands from here on out. 

"Maybe then will be our always" ― I'll go ahead and say it since I know you little shits will too.

LOVE TO YOU!

AION:  DIETY AND GOD OF TIME, AFTERLIFE, AND AGES