Draco's POV:

I was allowed to leave the hospital wing four days after I was initially cursed, only after Madam Pomfrey was sure I was absolutely ready to go about my daily routine safely. I wasn't to do any strenuous activity for at least a month and was to drink plenty of water to encourage further healing. The gashes that had been carved into my body had been reduced to nothing but pale, white scars. However, the skin on my chest and face still felt tight when I took deep breaths or laughed, so I tried to keep that to a minimum.

Madam Pomfrey had allowed Lizzie to stay with me most of the first day I was in the hospital wing but had forced her to go back to classes after that. Liz brought me my homework, food, and things to keep me busy. One day she had brought me an armful of muggle books that she thought I might enjoy. Though I probably never admit it, they were bloody nice books.

As far as I know, Potter, who hadn't been expelled or even suspended, hadn't attempted to approach Lizzie any further. He brilliantly avoided me, walking by me in the corridor with his head down and didn't look at me once during meals or classes. If he had, I would have hexed him into next year. Maybe worse.

"How are you feeling?" Liz hummed quietly to me as she was lying on the black leather sofa in the Slytherin common room with her head in my lap. I watched the flames of the fire flicker while running my fingers through her hair.

"Fine," I sighed lightly. "Could be better, could be worse." Some third year behind us slammed his textbook shut loudly, making Liz jump.

"You know," she whispered, "with the end term coming up fast, we have to do something. Test it soon." I caught my lip in between my teeth.

"I know," I replied. "When should we start?" I pressed my lips to her forehead and closed my eyes, dreading the days that I knew would be coming.

"As soon as possible, I reckon," she mumbled. "I mean term ends in, what? A month, right?"

I froze, realizing she was right. Term would be ending in early June, and it was May 10th today. "Should we go now? Just to see what state we're in?"

"Sure," she responded, sitting up and looking at me. "I love you." She lifted her hand and brushed my hair off of my forehead.

I gave her a smile and leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "I love you too."

-----

Inside the Room Where Everything is Hidden, the newly mended Vanishing Cabinet stared down on me and Liz, our fates carved into its wood.

We had decided to test on only inanimate objects for now, until we were sure that the cabinet worked, and then we would transfigure items into small animals to test on. A few days before I had been cursed, I had owled Borgin and told him that Liz and I would be testing the passage soon. He responded that he would be ready when we were.

And now there we were, standing in front of the ominous cabinet with an item in each hand. Liz had a small, black pillow and a ceramic mug with a chipped lip. I held a green apple and a glass figurine of a grindylow. The idea was that with the more fragile items, we would be able to test how travelling through the passage would affect whatever or whoever was to go through.

"Shall we start with your pillow?" I offered, placing my items on a nearby table that wobbled hopelessly.

"I suppose so." She placed the mug beside my items before pulling the intricate door open and placing the pillow in the center of the cabinet. "How are we supposed to know if it gets through to Borgin?"

"We can leave that to him. He'll figure it out." Nodding, Liz shut the door and took a step back. I reached out and grasped her hand in my own.

The cabinet made an odd noise - sort of like a suction being broken and a lock clicking into place at the same time. Lizzie turned her head and looked to me with scared eyes. I pulled the door open, which revealed that the pillow was gone. Beside me, Liz sucked in a sharp breath of air.

Just as I shut the door and took a step back, the cabinet made another odd noise - this one not unlike the same lock-clicking-into-place as before. Upon opening the door this time, the pillow was revealed. It looked the same as when Liz had placed it in, however, it now had a golden ribbon tied around it. The golden ribbon tied around our fate, delivered to us like a present.

"It worked," Liz breathed.

"You got that right." I picked the pillow up and examined it. It was in the exact same condition it was when it went in. Same frayed threads, same tear in the seam, and same green stain.

"Let's try the apple next," she spoke up, having examined the pillow herself. "It's something semi-living."

"Alright." I picked the apple up from the sofa, tossing it from hand to hand, and placed it in the cabinet. It made the same suction noise and was empty upon opening. When the apple returned, it had a bite taken from it, startling bright against the darkness around us.

All of the items came back in the same condition that they had gone in. The pillow with the same tears and a gold ribbon, the apple with the bite, the mug with the chip and a gold ribbon around its handle, and the grindylow with a ribbon around its neck, almost like a noose. The golden noose tied around our necks, locking our fate in place.

Liz had been growing more and more distressed the further into testing we had gone, so by the time the last item returned, I decided that we had done enough work for one day. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail at the base of her neck and was continuously pushing the loose strands behind her ears. Her eyebrows had been glued into the same furrowed position the entire time.

"I think that's enough for today," I told her, wrapping my arms around her. She nodded and buried her face into the crook between my neck and shoulder. I rubbed her back and leaned my head against hers, just holding her there for a few moments.

Several times over, just today, our fate had been delivered to us with golden ribbons, as if someone found it a cruel joke to try and trick us into thinking it was a gift. It wasn't. We were being delivered to our deaths and I think we both knew it. At least we were going together, to make it all a bit more bearable.