Draco boarded the scarlet train for his fourth year feeling extremely uneasy.

When he had said goodbye to Astrid the previous day, he had been alarmed to discover her covered in bruises, as if she'd been battered.

She had tried to hide her face under a hoodie, despite it being like a hundred degrees. When he had enquired about her black eyes, she had just shrugged and claimed she had fallen down the stairs.

But it wasn't until he had gotten home later that day when he remembered she had told him that she lived in a ground floor flat. With her father.

But he shook himself right - the year ahead at Hogwarts, he knew, was going to be an eventful one, and once again he wasn't leaving the place until next summer.

So - putting thoughts of the Muggle out of his head - he got on with his year.

And, oh boy, was it eventful. Bloody Potter, of course, got himself chosen as a Champion to the Triwizard Tournament. So frigging typical of the twat. Couldn't resist showing off at every opportunity.

And then there was this absolutely awful incident when that fucking teacher turned him into a ferret just because he tried to hex bloody Potter! He couldn't wait to tell his father about that one.

But that wasn't all.

"A student died?!" Astrid exclaimed in horror when he shared this with her upon his return the next summer.

"Yeah, and it turned out that our teacher was an imposter this whole time," Draco added offhandedly as they sat side by side on the swings, "kept the real one locked away in his office for the entire year,"

He couldn't help but notice Astrid let out an involuntary shiver next to him. His eyes glanced over her and he felt a stirring inside of him. Over the past year she had got more beautiful than he thought could ever be possible.

He knew he shouldn't have come to meet her, that now - more than ever - he needed to cut all ties with the Muggle.

But he couldn't keep away.

His father had returned properly to his Death Eater ways now that the Dark Lord had returned. Draco knew that if he ever got caught consorting with Muggles then he would be putting his whole family in danger.

Not to mention Astrid herself.

And he already felt uneasy by the way he suspected she was being treated by her own father.

Over the course of the summer, he had noticed the bruises more. Her delicate pale skin would sometimes have a nasty bruising appear out of nowhere, which she always tried to cover up.

If he asked, she would just shrug and make up some lame excuse. He didn't buy it anymore, but he didn't know what else to do other than just go along with it.

It wasn't until the following summer - the summer they were about to go into their sixth year - when he could take it no more.

***

Fifth year was one of the worst years of my life.

It started off the usual. After I said goodbye to Draco, my school life too, resumed.

But during the course of the year, my father's abuse had changed. He kicked and punched me less.

He kicked and punched me less because he had found a new way to release his frustrations upon me.

A way in which I could never put into words.

White blond hair. Silver grey eyes. I would repeat over and over in my head as my father paid one of his night time visits to my bedroom.

Thinking of Draco Malfoy was the only thing that kept me sane.

When Draco came home at Christmas, I nearly broke down in tears at the sight of him trudging through the snow towards me.

"It's freezing!" He gasped, rubbing his gloved hands together, "isn't there somewhere better we could go?"

"Well... there's a place I know which I sometimes just go and sit in," I suggested.

"Astrid," Draco said solemnly as we sat down upon a pew in the empty church I had just brought him to, "why do you avoid going home?"

My heart stilled. In all the years I had known him, he had never asked me this.

I shrugged, too terrified to meet his eyes.

And then I felt something touch my hand making me jump, and when I looked down, I saw his fingers tentatively brushing against my clenched fist.

Without hesitation, I turned my hand around, unfurling my fingers and letting his clasp around mine.

I closed my eyes, sighing contentedly. It was the most exquisite feeling in the world.

He didn't push me any further on the subject that Christmas, but he came to see me everyday, and often we would just sit in the church together as he told me stories about his school.

On Christmas Day he arrived at the playground with a wrapped gift in his hand.

"Oh, Draco - it's beautiful, thank you." I breathed as the wrappings fell away to reveal an ornate, silver, antique handheld mirror, encrusted with sparkling, green emeralds. I turned it over in my hand admiring its unique beauty. A serpent had been carved into the handle, winding its way up the back of it.

"It used to belong to Salazar Slytherin," Draco explained, "it's from my father's collection."

I looked up at him in alarm, I didn't know how comfortable I felt about him stealing things from his father to gift to me.

"Draco, I can't take this," I said trying to thrust it back in his hands. "This isn't yours to give."

"Yes it is," he insisted, taking his hands instead to wrap my fingers firmly around the mirror, "all my father's stuff - it will be mine one day. He doesn't even know the half of what he's got. I want you to have this."

His silver grey eyes pierced into mine as he looked solemnly down at me. "Please, Astrid."

I stared back up at him, my breath hitching in my throat. His hands were still wrapped around mine, forcing me to hold onto the mirror. Something flashed in his eyes and I felt a sudden frisson of electricity in the air.

"Okay," I said, stepping back and allowing my hands to drop away from his. My heart was pumping wildly in my chest. I suddenly found it difficult to meet his eyes.

I'm not sure what happened between us, but it had terrified me.

On the last day, before he returned back to Hogwarts, he was acting quieter than usual. I caught him looking at me sadly a few times.

"Astrid, you know I'm not coming back until the summer," he said quietly, almost apologetically, "I- I've got exams."

"I know," I nodded, "GCSEs, I'm in fifth year too, remember."

Confusion flicked across his features before he seemed to right himself. "Yeah - umm... that."

We were sat in the back of the empty church again, lounging opposite one another with our feet up on our usual pew.

"I'll miss you," I said sadly, and found to my horror, a hot prickling sensation behind my eyes.

Draco suddenly sat up, moving himself closer to me, his eyes looking intently into mine.

"I'll be back, Astrid, and if you ever need me, well, I know this is going to sound silly - but, that mirror - think of me when you look into it."

Now it was my turn to look confused. What an odd thing to say.

But before I could answer, I found myself engulfed in a pair of arms.

Draco had pulled me to him, pressing me tightly against his chest. The sudden nearness of him made me breathless with shock. I caught a whiff of his cologne and I had to fight the urge to lift my face and press my lips against his jawline.

"Draco?" I eventually mumbled into his chest, his arms still firmly around me, making me feel the safest and protected I had ever felt in a long, long time.

He slowly released me, and I straightened up next to him, feeling slightly flustered and a terrible sadness at the same time.

"I will be back, Astrid," he repeated again, his silver grey eyes piercing ardently into mine.

And I closed my eyes - savouring his promise - remembering it to help get me through the next six months.