I don't know how long I was out, but I woke up to see the sun was shining and there were people sitting around me.

"Oh she's awake," I heard a female voice say and I looked to see mum sitting there, clutching Mikey's hand.

"Leah!" he exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the cot and taking my hand.

"I love you, don't you know that? Don't do that ever again...if I lost you..." he said, glassy eyed.

"Mikey," I smiled, not feeling happy at all, but I did feel better knowing he was with me. In fact, I still felt rather weak.

"I'm here, sis. I'll always be here for you,"he said, and mum bit back tears.

"I was so worried," she said.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Sorry doesn't even cut it," she said as her voice cracked. I looked over to my left to see Dumbledore and Ginny, though she was sleeping.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's nearly six in the morning," Dumbledore smiled.

"You guys are here at six?" I looked at Mikey and mum.

"We've been here since last night, sweetie,"Mikey said, brushing my hair away from my eyes.

"I missed you," I said, a small genuine smile playing around the edges of my lips.

"I missed you, too, girly," he smiled back.

"Miss Riddle, I wish to start private practices in my office to try and get back the Power of the Phoenix,"Dumbledore said suddenly.

"Of course," I nodded.

"Saturday at seven o clock; you should be well rested by then," he said.

"Yes, professor," I nodded.

"Ah sleeping beauty awakens," Pomfrey smiled as she walked out of her office.

"You can take this and then you'll be as good as new," she said, handing me a potion. I downed it and immediately felt it work. I was happy, no longer tired, and I just wanted to smile all day. I sat up and hugged Mikey tightly, and then did the same to my mother.

"Oh, Leah!" Ginny exclaimed, just waking up.

"I'm fine, love, I promise," I smiled and she smiled back, hugging me.

"Can I leave?" I asked.

"Well I suppose," Pomfrey sighed.

"Shouldn't she rest?" mum protested.

"That potion fully restored her. She'd have too much energy if I made her sit here all day," Pomfrey gave mum an apologetic look. I stood up and stretched my arms and then rolled my neck; it was incredibly sore.

"I won't have scarring, will I?" I asked.

"Well not long term, but there is a white line as of right now; I don't think you realize how far you got. You were inches from death, Miss Riddle," Pomfrey said and I looked around to find a mirror. I picked up a smaller one off the nightstand and looked at my neck which had a white line half way across it. I shrugged and sighed.

"Well I'm here now!" I smiled.

"Indeed. Mr. Parkinson, why don't you walk Leah to her dorm and then join her for breakfast? I'll be discussing things with Katie until you are finished," Dumbledore said.

"Yes sir," he nodded.

"You ruined your dress you know," Mikey said as we walked out of the infirmary. I looked down and realized it was stiff from air drying, but it also had a coppery shine that ran down half the dress.

"You were so dead looking when we walked in,"he whispered.

"You were pale, I could see where the blood stained your hands and neck, and your lips were practically blue. Then when Pomfrey went to attend to your dress it was just...oh Leah. It was soaked with blood," he said, taking my hand.

"I didn't even bleed that much," I protested.

"Yes you did," Mikey nodded, "and there were pink, irritated marks all over your skin because of the glass that fell on top of you. I thought you weren't going to wake up...logic told me you would...but seeing you? That was a different story," he said. I looked at my arms and saw faint, fading marks from where they must've taken out the bits of glass.

"Well I'm okay now!" I chirped.

"Will you be in the future? I know about your depression, obviously, but you never know when it'll flare up," he said.

"You're too concerned about this; I'm okay I promise," I said.

"I can't take your word for that, Leah." He said and we made our way into the common room. No one was awake just yet, seeing as they all woke up at seven, so I quietly went up to my dorm and grabbed skinny jeans, a racer back tank top, and a faux leather jacket. I went into the bathroom and put them on, fixing my hair and putting on foundation to make me look much more normal than I do. Once I was finished my makeup and whatnot, I walked back downstairs to sit with Mikey.

"So you did well on your O.W.Ls?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did really well," I nodded.

"That's great, I'm so proud of you," he smiled.

"Did I do better than you?" I asked.

"I would assume so; I got a lot of Acceptable's and Exceeds Expectations," he gave me a cheeky grin.

"Oh, I win," I laughed and he wrapped an arm around me.

"I feel really bad about missing your release from Azkaban. I was just hanging out with Sapphire...I didn't know you were coming home," he apologized, pulling me closer into the one armed hug.

"It's fine, Mikey," I rolled my eyes with a smile. I heard shuffling feet upstairs and then footsteps coming towards us.

"Leah!" Astoria said in surprise.

"Yes?" I said cautiously.

"How are you?" she asked, walking over.

"I'm good," I frowned and she sighed.

"I'm really sorry I was so horrid to you. You can understand why I'd hate you, right? Well, I never really hated you; it's just...well I never wanted you to die, really. You've always seemed to hate me though, and I just don't understand. Regardless, I'm really glad you're alright," she said sincerely.

"Whoa," Mikey whispered.

"Um...thank you?" I frowned. What is this girl up to? She's up to something.

"I know you probably think I'm up to something," she smiled, "but I'm not. I figured I'd try to mend something I never really realized was broken."

"Who is this?" she asked, looking over at Mikey.

"This is my brother Mikey," I said.

"Oh, I see. How'd he get here?" Astoria frowned.

"Dumbledore," I kept my gaze icy.

"Alright...but you're okay?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah...and Astoria?" she looked at me expectantly. I sighed, feeling really grossed out by what I was about to do. I stood up and hugged her tightly, which must've surprised her.

"Thank you. You saved my life just as much as Potter," I said and she smiled.

"Don't get all mushy on me," she said. That was the last thing I was going to do; I'm still not fond of you.

"Well props to you. You saved my sister,"Mikey smiled. I heard other people coming down the stairs and then Pansy was throwing herself at me.

"Leah!" she squealed, hugging me tightly. I laughed and hugged her back, and then we landed on our asses as Thane joined in.

"Oh my God this is so touching!" he pretended to cry as he hugged us...on the floor.

"You fatass, get off!" Pansy complained and Blaise came running down the stairs.

"What are you doing?" he asked Thane.

"Well, I was tackling Leah," he said innocently.

"Leah, thank Merlin," Draco said, walking up and hugging me.

"You feel okay?" he asked.

"Peachy," I smiled.

"Then let's go!" Pansy urged.

"Wait for Ariana you idiot," Thane flicked her.

"Oh, what a gentleman," I smirked.

"Are you two dating? You and Ariana, I mean,"Mikey asked Thane.

"No!" he said quite loudly. A faint flush made its way across his cheeks and I giggled.

"What's so funny?" Ariana asked, ruffling my hair as she joined us.

"Thane's affection for you," I said seriously and she flushed bright red.

"I do not have affectionate feelings towards her," Thane said coolly.

"Why?" I asked and Ariana seemed very interested in his answer.

"She's...no," he wrinkled his nose and she dropped her gaze.

We began walking to the Great hall and Draco held my hand, but I paid no attention to him. Astoria had disappeared into thin air. Whatever, no one needs to know I was actually...nice. I then turned my attention to Ariana.

"Hey, don't take it too hard," I said to Ariana.

"I'm pretty, aren't I?" she asked and I smiled.

"Of course, you're a stunning blonde! Thane doesn't know what he's talking about," I assured her.

"You like him?" Mikey asked.

"I- well...kind of," she said, dropping her head in shame.

"Raise that head up and stop looking pathetic. Here, raise your chin, shoulders back, now put a confident smirk on your face,"I instructed quietly.

"Will you guys hurry up?" Thane asked and I threw him a nasty look.

"Now walk right up to him and strike a conversation. Make sure your flirtatious enough that you seem desirable, but not so much that it's obvious," I said and she took a deep breath before walking up to him with confidence.

"That's my girl," I muttered.

"He's not going to go for her," Draco smirked.

"Oh, why is this?" I raised one eyebrow.

"He's got the hots for Violet," Draco said and I almost stopped dead.

"He does?" I asked loudly, and they all looked back at us.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but whatever," he shrugged.

"Who's Violet?" Mikey asked.

"A girl in the mental ward at St. Mungo's," I said.

"He hasn't seen her in months!" I said in surprise.

"He's been visiting," Draco smirked and I shook my head in disbelief. We walked in silence, catching up to the others, and Ariana was working it. Thane is an idiot for liking Violet instead.

"Miss Riddle," someone said and I turned to see Severus.

"Yes?" I asked, feeling my muscles tense. He motioned for me to follow him and I turned sharply, walking over to him. He led me into his office and we sat down facing each other for a few moments.

"Leah," he said quietly. I just stared at him and waited for him to say more.

"I never meant to snap at you. I only wanted to have a smooth first day, and I was so frustrated that you were giving me a hard time. I never thought it would upset you so much," he said, taking my hands.

"It's fine, Sev," I sighed.

"No, it is not. I don't expect you to forgive me, I only wanted you to know I'm terribly sorry," he said and I smiled softly.

"Alright Sev," I said, and hugged him before heading off to breakfast.

***

Potions!

There weren't many of us in Potions, and I suppose it's because most of us hated it with Severus. I don't think it can get any better than that, personally. We were seated lazily and I had my feet up on Thane; Draco had his feet on me. The Gryffindor's were looking at us with weird looks on their faces, but the trio did spare me friendly glances. Alright then, I guess we're back on good terms.

"Come on, let's go," Pansy complained.

"He's fashionably late," I smirked. There were four potions in front of the class; Amortentia, Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, and Felix Felicis. I could smell the love potion from here and inhaled deeply with a satisfied smile on my face.

"It smells so good in here," one of the Slytherin's sighed. I giggled and Draco laughed at me.

"Oh I do wonder why," I smirked. Pansy and Draco knew exactly what it was from our little prank in our fourth year. Oh how I miss Fenrir. I suppose nobody else knew what it was...besides Granger perhaps.

I was quite interested in the Felix Felicis, however, and hoped to Merlin we'd be learning how to make that one. I've heard we learn very complicated potions this year; I'm up for the challenge. Just then, Slughorn walked through the door and I almost sighed in relief. That love potion was getting to all of us.

"Now then, now then, now then, scales out everyone, and potion kits. Don't forget your copies of Advanced Potion Making..."he said, and then Weasley and Potter complained about not having a book.

"Now then," he said again once everyone was set, "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after your N.E.W.Ts. You ought to have heard of em, even if you haven't made em, yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?" he asked, and not only my hand shot up, but Granger's did as well.

"Ah, Miss Riddle, how are you?" he asked in concern.

"Fine professor...may I answer?" I asked, nodding to the potion.

"Of course, of course!" he smiled.

"It's Veritaserum, which forces the drinker to tell the truth. It's colorless as well as odorless, which makes it easier to slip into someone's drink," I explained.

"Only a Riddle would be concerned as to how you could slip someone Veritaserum, but very good answer!" he chuckled.

"This one is pretty well known," he moved on and both of our hands shot into the air again. Granger shot me a look as Slughorn called on me again.

"Polyjuice Potion; I recognize it easily," I said and he nodded happily.

"Yes...now can anyone...?" he moved on, and our hands shot up again. Slughorn chuckled and nodded to me once more. With a smug look on my face I answered with confidence.

"It's Amortentia; the most powerful love potion in the world," I explained.

"Quite right, my dear! How did you recognize it?" he asked me.

"She's made one," Granger muttered and I smirked.

"I recognized it by its scent, and the color, along with the spiraled swirls it's giving off," I explained and he looked impressed.

"Oho, surely you must've smelled it before if you recognize the scent," he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Actually, I have smelled it before, sir. It also smells like everything I love," I nodded.

"So basically it smells like me," Thane said, slinging an arm around me and the few Slytherin's in this class laughed.

"Get away," I pushed him with a smile.

"What's it smell like to you? Violet?" I asked smugly and he grew red, and then shot a look at Draco.

"You prat!" he snapped.

"You thought I wasn't going to tell her?"Draco laughed and Thane actually blushed. I laughed even harder and Slughorn watched in amusement.

"Ah, to be young," he smiled.

"You knew all of these, too," he then turned to Granger.

"Yes sir," she nodded eagerly.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Hermione Granger," she smiled and he nodded.

"Now of course, Amortentia doesn't create actual love. It's impossible to manufacture or imitate love; look at those two," he nodded to Draco and I, who were currently holding hands.

"No, this will cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It's probably the most powerful and dangerous potion in this room-oh yes," he nodded as Draco and Thane snorted skeptically.

"You wouldn't be able to control yourself and you'd be forced to love someone without your own permission. Not only that, but they'd be able to get you to do whatever they wanted; you know that," I said and Slughorn nodded.

"She's very right, do tell, have you ever been put under a love potion?" Slughorn asked and I blushed.

"Well...yes," I said and everyone looked at me in shock. I hated thinking about this, but hey, he asked for it.

"Do tell," Slughorn said, quite intrigued.

~Flashback~

"Mum, no way!" I protested. We were sitting on our front lawn, looking over potions.

"You can handle it for an hour or so," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not taking it," I glared. Mum sort of flinched but composed herself.

"You're thirteen, you can handle it," she said firmly. I looked down at the love potion in front of me and then over at the muggle boy who lived across from our manor. He was rich and relatively handsome...but he's a muggle for Merlin's sake! I wrinkled my nose and reluctantly downed the potion, immediately feeling a dreamy state take over.

Oh my God, he's so gorgeous. He just glows...oh I could stare at him all day! Oh no, he's looking at me, what do I do? I'll smile at him...guess I'll wave, too. He waved back, holy crap! He probably likes me...oh I've got to go talk to him!

"Mum, I'm going over to see Kyle," I sighed happily and stood up, pushing open the iron gates surrounding our house. I walked over to his yard and he put his book down, smiling at me.

"Hi, Leah," he said and I nearly melted. He knows my name.

"Hey Kyle," I bit my lower lip with a smile.

"What are you and your mum doing over there? Looked like you were making something," he asked, gesturing for me to sit, which I immediately did.

"Oh I don't know, just something she wanted to try," I giggled.

"That's cool. Would you help me-?"

"Of course!" I cut in before he could finish.

"...put away these boxes," he laughed, nodding over to the boxes near the shed.

"I'd do anything for you," I said seriously.

"You're awfully nice today; you're usually really feisty towards me," he laughed.

"I decided you were a really awesome, sweet, cute guy," I said, looking up at him.

"And you're an awesome, sweet, cute girl," he teased. I burst with happiness inside and giggled.

"Oh thanks!" I said.

"So," he said, handing me a box, "you still home schooled?"

"Yes, but I'd rather go to public school with you," I said with admiration clear in my voice.

"Yeah, I wish you were in my classes," he nodded. I almost dropped the box since it was so heavy, but I wanted to impress Kyle so badly.

"It would also mean I could take you to our school dance this weekend," he said. OH MY GOD! He's referring to a date, I know he is! I set the box down and looked up breathlessly.

"People who aren't students can't attend?" I pouted.

"Actually...they can. Go with me?" he smiled and I clasped my hands together.

"Yes, I would absolutely love to!" I gushed. He chuckled and took my hands.

"Awesome, I cannot wait to get to know you better," he smiled the most charming smile I'd ever seen.

"We need to talk more often," I nodded.

"Just tell me what color your dress will be once you get it. That way I can match my tie," he explained.

"Oh I have a dress; green and silver!" I said excitedly and he nodded.

"Alright, I have a silver tie," he said and I laughed.

"Isn't that, like, prefect?" I asked and he laughed.

"It is," he nodded and then realized we were extremely close; courtesy of me. He leaned down and kissed me softly, and I felt so at ease and just...happy! This is the best moment of my life.

"We definitely need to...talk...more often," he pulled back and winked. I laughed like a stereotypical cheerleader and he smiled.

"You're blushing; it's cute," he observed.

"Here, want one?" he asked, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and I nodded enthusiastically. We sat there smoking for a while until my mother came by.

"Hey kids," mum smiled, walking over.

"Oh hello Misses Loveland," Kyle inclined his head.

"Brought you two some lemonade; it's awfully hot!" she laughed. I took mine and smiled up at Kyle, taking a delicate sip. Suddenly I had the feeling of being hit by a freight train.

"The hell?" I asked, rubbing my forehead. I realized the stupid muggle was holding my hand and I smelled like smoke. I dropped his hand like it burned me and I started coughing on the smoke.

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Get...off me...ugh!" I said, still coughing. He stepped back in confusion and mum gave him an apologetic look.

"She's not been feeling well lately," she said.

"You know what, I don't want to go to the dance with you. Oh, and if you ever kiss me again I will kick your ass!" I snapped, storming back to my house with my mum laughing behind me.

~End flashback~

"I never spoke to him again, but sometimes I still fight the urge for a cigarette," I glared and the class was silently gaping at me. Then, of course, Pansy burst out laughing.

"You kissed a muggle!" she said hysterically and pretty soon the lot of us were laughing.

"What's wrong with muggles?" Granger asked.

"It's so unlike her!" Pansy cried, still laughing.

"I was unlike me back when I was thirteen. Now I feel differently," I lied.

I took one look at Draco and started laughing uncontrollably. He was laughing so hard he was crying. It took several moments to calm down and Slughorn waited patiently, chuckling to himself.

"Well, now that you've all settled down, we shall continue! Now Miss Riddle, it wasn't pleasant to be so powerless, was it?" he asked seriously.

"No sir," I shook my head.

"Every smile and every word had you enchanted by him, and apparently he was already attracted to you in the first place," he said.

"Yeah...it wasn't exactly a fun time," I frowned.

"So as you can see, if Miss Riddle was powerless against a simple potion...well that's saying something," he said and the class fell silent.

"Now, moving on! It's time to get to work," he said and Ernie Macmillan pointed to the Felix Felicis.

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one,"he said and Slughorn smiled.

"Oho, yes that little one is something called Felix Felicis. I suppose the two of you know what that one is?" he looked between Granger and me.

"Liquid Luck," I said.

"It makes you lucky," Granger added unnecessarily and everyone was at attention.

"Correct, twenty points to Slytherin, ten for Gryffindor! Felix Felicis is a tricky potion to make and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, well," he chuckled.

"You all know the outcome. At that is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson," he said and we all gasped. I want this; no I need it. This mission we're on will take all the luck we can get.

"It is enough for twelve hours, and you'll be lucky from dawn till dusk! You may not use it in sporting events, exams, or elections because that is quite illegal. So, in order to win this fabulous prize you will need to turn to page ten in your books and make the Draught of Living Death. I do not expect a perfect one, seeing as it's quite complicated, but whoever makes the best one will receive this beauty," he gestured to the bottle.

"Off you go!" he said and I flipped open my book before gathering the necessary ingredients. I frowned at its complicity, but I watched Clementine make it many times. She learned it from Lily, who, surprise, learned it from Severus. Seeing as Clementine and Lily are dead, I see fit to take on the learning process myself. I chopped up my ingredients and slipped them in the pot, continuing until it was the correct texture and shade of black. After a few other ingredients, I thought back to the way Clementine did it and instead of cutting the sopophorous bean, I crushed it. My potion was now the correct shade of a soft lilac, and I stirred it how Clementine did, instead of how the book instructed. Then, of course, it turned the right shade of pink.

"Jesus," I heard Draco curse under his breath and I saw his potion was a very dark purple.

"Babe, crush it," I instructed and he raised one eyebrow.

"That's not what it says," he argued and I shrugged. I looked around with a triumphant smile and saw Potter looking smug as well. I couldn't see his potion, however.

I feel as if I didn't need Clementine's way of making the potion, because I'm quite brilliant at it on my own, but hey, it obviously worked!

"Time's up, stop stirring!" Slughorn announced and I sat back. Draco was glaring hatefully at his cauldron, and Pansy was muttering in confusion. I don't think Thane cared, really.

Slughorn walked along the rows of cauldrons and made faces depending on the outcome of the potion.

"Hm, decent," he nodded at Thane's and then he clapped his hands.

"Oho, Leah! This is a beautiful result, more than likely the winner!" he congratulated and I sat up straighter with a smirk. He went down the line and I felt worried as he came to Grangers. He only nodded and then he reached Potters.

"Extraordinary! It seems we have a tie! Harry's and Leah's are exactly the same," he said in surprise and I shot a glare at Potter.

"It's obvious you inherited your ability from Lily, but Leah, yours must come from your father! He had a real knack for potions, you know," Slughorn said.

"Yes, who gets the potion?" I asked and Slughorn chuckled.

"You'll have to split it," he said apologetically and I silently fumed as Slughorn poured half of the potion into a separate vial, which he gave me. I felt quite happy, but I also wanted the whole vial.

"Alright, good work!" Slughorn smiled as the bell rang.

"How did you do that?" I demanded, walking up to Potter.

"I just got lucky," he shrugged as Draco walked up behind me.

"How did you do it?" Potter asked.

"I just watched my adoptive mother, Clementine, do it often," I narrowed my eyes.

"Well good work," he smiled.

"Ugh!" I crossed my arms and glowered as we walked out. Draco branched off with the others as I followed the Gryffindor's.

"At least you did well," Weasley tried.

"I'm sure Harry isn't fond of sharing either,"I said grumpily.

"No," he admitted, "I'd rather have it to myself."

"See? What if I wanted to split it? Now it'll only give me six hours of luck," I complained and the others laughed.

"Well Harry actually had the directions written in his book," Granger glared at him.

"Wait, he's following instructions from a book?" Ginny asked, walking up angrily.

"It isn't like that! Not like...Riddle's diary,"he said and I looked at him.

"Excuse me?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Your dad had a diary at this school that held a piece of his soul," my breath caught, "and it sort of possessed Ginny,"Potter explained.

"What happened to the diary?" I asked curiously.

"I stabbed it with a Basilisk fang," he said and I nearly died. Damn, that's already one horcrux down!

"Huh," I muttered. I bid them goodbye as I walked back to my common room and then gave a frustrated groan.

"I don't wanna share," I complained and Draco laughed at me.

"You sound like a five year old," he said.

"You have fun in Potions, then?" Ariana asked and I smirked.

"Oh yes," I rolled my eyes.

"When's your free period?" I asked Draco and he looked down at me.

"Right now," he said.

"Me too. Room of Requirement?" I asked and he nodded.

"Uh, what are you going to be doing in there?"Pansy raised her eyebrows.

"If it's what I think you'll be doing... don't be too loud, Leah," Ariana snickered and I threw them all nasty looks.

"Hey, just because I can get some and you can't, it does not give you the right to be jealous," I said smugly.

"We've just been told," Thane said, holding back a laugh.

"Oh let them leave," Blaise rolled his eyes and I turned around, walking up to the ROR with Draco in tow.

"You know, I don't know how we're gonna fix this," he frowned.

"Easily I hope," I shrugged. We reached the room and paced back and forth, wanting a place where we could do what we needed and nobody else could get in.

"Wow, look at all this stuff," I said, looking around.

"There's gotta be millions of things in here,"Draco nodded.

"This is so exciting. I'm glad father put me back on a mission," I smiled. Draco didn't say anything, only looked over to cabinet.

"I have no clue how to fix this," he admitted.

"Neither do I," I sighed.

"Is there some other way to kill him?" he asked and I sighed, leaning against a stack of boxes.

"We could try poison," I suggested.

"Hm, how do we sneak it in?" he asked and I let my head fall back.

"That'll take some planning," I admitted.

"We should've known this wouldn't be easy,"Draco groaned, putting his hands on either side of me. I rested my forehead on his and closed my eyes.

"I'm not concerned about the consequences for me. I'll be fine; it's you I'm worried about," I said and then I realized father was pulled into my head again. Damn.

"Oh hush, I'll be fine," he said. I would've pulled away for fathers convenience if I had anywhere to move.

"No, no you will not," I said, leaning back as best I could and glaring at him.

"Sure I will, don't worry," he forced a smile and I pushed Draco back so I could start pacing.

"If you keep giving me fake smiles and false reassurances, I'll hit you," I said. Draco groaned and leaned against the cabinet, watching me pace.

"See what you're doing? We're gonna die," I muttered dramatically for father to hear. I ran a hand through my hair and raked my brain for any solutions to poison Dumbledore.

"What if it was something else?" I suggested, whirling around quickly, much to Draco's surprise.

"You mean straight up 'Avada Kedavra'?" he asked.

"No," I smiled softly, "it doesn't need to come to that yet. What if it was a cursed object?"

"Such as...a goblet?" he asked.

"Something like that...but..." I struggled.

"What about a necklace?" Draco said and I bit my lip.

"Sure, that could work," I nodded slowly. Draco folded his arms and watched me as I looked the vanishing cabinet up and down. I started humming thoughtfully and then walked around it in a circle.

"Yeah, it's official. I don't know how to fix this," I sighed.

"Then we'll do the necklace," Draco nodded.

"Where are we going to get the necklace, and how are we getting it to him?" I asked, sitting down. I knew there was no use trying to get my father to leave, so I barely tried.

"I mean...we could Imperius someone in Hogsmead that he trusts? Give it to him as a present," Draco shrugged.

"I think he'd know something was up. If he trust them, then he knows them, and we don't know too much about his 'friends'.What if we Imperius someone in Hogsmead who is innocent, yet could feed us information. Someone who knows all the latest gossip," I hinted.

"Mikey?" he guessed.

"I'm not gonna curse my brother, but he could feed us information! I won't tell him the reason, but I'll tell him I wanna know everything going on. I was thinking more along the lines of his boss...Madam Rosmerta," I smirked.

"She does know everything, you're right!"Draco's eyes widened.

"Dumbledore knows her too, but not well enough to notice if she's slightly off. We just have to make sure she knows to tell us everything. Also, she needs to do our dirty work because we can't be caught doing this stuff," I said.

"It'd be best if we just ordered her to do something and then put distance between us and Hogsmead," he nodded.

"Alright...so I'll go get the necklace," I decided. Draco nodded, and closed in on me, going in for a kiss. I ducked under his arms and grimaced.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"Draco..." I sighed.

"I have to tell you something," I decided and he raised his eyebrows. I sat down on the floor and he did the same across from me.

"Is this going to be some really emotional, serious talk?" he asked.

"Emotional no; serious yes," I said.

"Is it about sex?" he groaned and I raised one eyebrow.

"Because I already know that's not something you want to do right now. I understand, your first time is important," he said and suddenly I forgot all about my father.

"Wait...what?" I asked.

"Your first time is something special," he shrugged.

"And you would know this from experience?" I asked and he nodded.

"What?" I asked, louder than I intended.

"Yes," he sighed.

"With who?" I shrieked.

"Well..." he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh my God, you were a player before our fourth year! Pansy, oh my Jesus, you... you and Pansy?" I yelled, freaking out. I'm about ready to die.

"Yeah," he mumbled and I almost fainted.

"My sister...my own sister...why didn't either of you tell me?" I asked in disbelief.

"It never came up," he grimaced.

"Who else?" I demanded.

"Do you really want to know?" he scrunched up his nose. One irritated look from me was enough of an answer.

"Ariana...and Astoria...and Daphne," he said and I gawked at him.

"Oh my friggin God!" I smacked his arm.

"It was before you!" he defended himself.

"Well it better have been! I'm not angry, Draco," I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"You aren't?" he asked in surprise.

"No. I'm disgusted in your poor judgment, but I can't be angry with you," I said.

"Good," he sighed in relief.

"I will get revenge," I smirked.

"Oh no," he groaned.

"However, I still need to talk to you. It's sort of difficult... I don't really know how to explain without giving the whole thing away," I sighed.

"Alright, so somehow my father and I are connected," I started saying and Draco nodded.

"Which means strong emotions can trigger either one of us to go into the other's head. We don't know how to prevent it or how to stop once it started, but it happens," I said and Draco started to look crept out.

"So...he can pop up in your head at any given time?" he asked carefully.

"Such as right now," I winced.

"So you wouldn't kiss me...because your dad would feel it too?" he paled and I nodded.

"Oh my God!" he cried, putting his hands to his face in horror.

"That's just...oh God!" he said, obviously horrified.

"I know," I grimaced.

"When else has he popped up?"

"Halloween...and the Slytherin Defense class," I sighed and Draco groaned. We just looked at each other for a while and I let the information sink in.

"Is he gone?" Draco asked and I laughed.

"Not yet," I rolled my eyes.

"This is uncomfortable," he pointed out.

"Sorry," I shrugged. He stood up and held out a hand to pull me to my feet. I brushed off my jeans and we walked out of the ROR in silence, and I felt my dad slip away.

"He's gone," I said and Draco sighed.

"Thank Merlin," he said, and then took my hand, pulling me closer.

"No, no, I have to go talk to someone," I said with a glint in my eye. I already knew my revenge.

***

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