On the second day of May, exactly one year to the day of the battle of Hogwarts, Narcissa and I returned to the castle, leaving Teddy at Gran's with the house-elf.

Chalky had very much taken Trevor's place as Teddy's new favourite play thing; not that either of the two minded.

"I left them playing horses," I said to Narcissa when she enquired about Teddy. "There was a hat and everything."

"Oh, how adorable," she smiled warmly, placing a hand to her chest. "I can just picture Teddy being a little cowboy."

"No, Teddy was the horse." I explained. "Chalky was the one doing the dressing up."

Together, we held hands as we walked up through the grounds of the castle. Both of us feeding each other the strength we needed to be there.

There was a huge turn out, as was expected. Everyone was wearing white, a notion that Harry had come up with ("Black was the colour the Death Eaters wore. White symbolises hope and new beginnings, and we must acknowledge that, although many died, they did not do so in vain. The war was, after all, won.").

For once I actually agreed with him, and so therefore I wore the white dress I had worn to the Valentine's Ball. The dress Draco first kissed me in.

Narcissa, on the other hand, refused to wear anything but black.

"Until my son is found, I cannot celebrate new beginnings," she announced unapologetically.

When I explained to her about my dress however, it made her smile the warmest smile I had ever seen her make.

"I'm so glad you and Draco found one another," she said, her voice breaking as tears glistened in her eyes.

And now here we were, standing side by side at the place Draco was last seen as we listened to Harry's speech about remembering the ones we'd lost.

I closed my eyes as memories of that day came crashing down around me at an alarming rate.

Tonks, Lupin, Colin... Draco.

"Neve, shhh Neve darling it's okay, it's okay,"

It took me a while to realise I was on my knees and crying huge shuddering sobs.

"I miss him so much," I wailed as Narcissa crouched down to hold me tightly in her arms. "I just want him back."

"Me too, darling," she wept, kissing my hair just like Draco used to do, "me too."

*****

I walked through the mingling crowd, looking dazedly up at the castle which had been my home for all of seven years.

The place had been rebuilt, any sign of the battle having been removed from tireless volunteers who'd committed their time to helping fix it up.

I couldn't resist sneaking away from the gathered and enter inside the castle. It was all quiet and still; feeling horrendously empty without it's usual scattering of students.

I wasn't sure if I was even allowed inside, but I felt so exhausted of hugging and commiserating with the rest of the Memorial Day party.

And I was desperate to see the classroom Draco and I used to meet up in; to bask in the beautiful memories of everything we had shared in there.

So, I snuck down to the dungeons, my heart beating furiously at the familiarity of the place.

I wasn't prepared to bump into anyone, so I had quite the shock when a figure emerged from the wall of the Slytherin common room entrance.

"Pansy?"

She gave a little cry, jumping right out of her skin upon seeing me.

"Why aren't you out there with the rest of them?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. It wasn't like Pansy Parkinson to miss out on a chance to openly wail in front of others.

She seemed to hesitate slightly as she considered her answer. I hadn't seen her since the day of the battle and I had no idea of how the war had affected her, or even how she would respond to me after years of mutual dislike.

"I found it all rather tiring," she eventually spoke, her voice slightly clipped, but not terribly unfriendly, "so I thought I'd escape for a bit..." her eyes studied me curiously, "a bit like you... I presume?"

"I- I wanted to see the place where I used to meet Draco," I found myself confessing, blushing slightly as I realised too late that this information probably wouldn't sit well with Pansy.

"Has he been in touch?" she asked, her voice casual as though she believed he'd simply gone on an around the world trip.

"No," I took a deep breath, always finding this part difficult, "we believe he's unable to."

"We?" Pansy said sharply, raising an eyebrow.

"His mother and I," I explained, "we've been working together to find him."

"Yes, I heard you'd been getting friendly with Narcissa," she sneered slightly, clearly disapproving of this fact. "You know, once upon a time she wanted me to marry her son. Of course, when his and his father's Death Eater activities got out, my parents have been very much against the idea. It's a shame really, because it's a well known fact that he comes from one of the wealthiest wizarding families out there. Still, I expect you know that, of course."

"Umm," I said, feeling utterly bewildered and highly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going, "we never really discussed that sort of thing."

She narrowed her eyes at me, her previous disquiet at having being caught down here removed. "Ah yes, I expect it was all just about sex with him, back then."

"No! We-"

"Neve?" A voice spoke from far off, cutting me off. It was Narcissa. "Is that you?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered, feeling flustered as Pansy stood smirking at me.

"Oh!" Narcissa said upon coming into view from around the corner, her eyes glancing at Pansy curiously. "Pansy, it's been a while."

"I've been busy, Narcissa," Pansy answered, stepping past me to kiss her cheek in greeting.

I couldn't help but feel an uneasy squirming feeling in my stomach. I supposed it was jealousy after becoming so close to Narcissa myself; but I wasn't entirely sure it was just that.

"Yes, I heard you'd stayed on here, volunteering yourself to help repair the castle." Narcissa smiled warmly. "It really is commendable work, Pansy."

"I haven't left the place since the battle," Pansy said, using her sickly sweet voice she used to use on the teachers. "Mummy and Daddy think I'm mad, but it's the least anyone can do for a school that's so close to their heart."

"I hadn't realised you felt so strongly about the place, Pansy," Narcissa remarked, her hand flying to her chest. "Draco never said."

My heart twisted at the mention of his name, and I hadn't missed the slight wobble of her voice as she had said it, either.

"Neve here tells me that you think he's in some sort of trouble?" Pansy said, her voice light as if she thought this whole notion entirely absurd.

Narcissa faltered, as if Pansy's question knocked her for six. "We haven't seen or heard from him since the battle," she said, trembling slightly in the effort to keep her voice steady. "He wouldn't just disappear without a trace like that."

"The war did a lot of strange things to people," Pansy sighed, pouting her lip out as if trying to convey a sympathetic face. "Perhaps Draco simply felt he needed to get away from everything, you know... leave the horrid memories behind."

As she said this last part, her eyes swiftly glanced over me, a clear look of disdain flickering over her features.

"Draco loves me," I said, my voice full of defiance. "And he loves his mother. He wouldn't just leave us without saying anything."

"As I said," Pansy said, her eyes boring into mine. "War changes people."

As I stared back into her face, I saw something sinister flash inside her dark eyes.

And I just knew that she knew something.

*****