I could feel warmth penetrating my face. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the bright sunlight.

My mind was fuzzy. I couldn't work out where I was and what I was doing. I was in a room I had never seen before. There was something bright and calming about the surroundings.

"Hey, you."

The familiar voice made my heart sing. I turned my head on the pillow and thought I must be dreaming.

There he was. The boy with the white blonde hair and silver grey eyes. He was sitting on a chair besides the bed, smiling down tiredly at me.

"Draco!" I gasped, reaching out to touch him, making sure he was real.

I winced as my arm seared in pain. I looked down at it and the word Mudblood stared back at me grotesquely and the memories came flooding back in an instant. The horror of it all making me heave. Bellatrix. The pain. The cellar.

Draco immediately jumped up, putting his arms around me as he joined me on the bed.

"It's ok, Rosie. You're safe now." He murmured, laying down besides me and gathering me tightly in his arms.

I nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his scent, welcoming the feel of his hard, protective body against mine. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears sprang out of nowhere, clutching him to me like a lifebelt.

We lay like that for some time, listening to the gentle crashing waves in the sea outside as the sunlight danced over our entwined bodies.

"Where are we?" I eventually whispered, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Weasley's brother's cottage - another redhead, and that French one who was in the Triwizard tournament."

"Oh, Bill and Fleur's!" I smiled, looking up at his frowning face. I could only imagine what it would have been like for Draco's pride to ask a Weasley for help. "And the others...?"

"I left them a wand. They needed to get some sword. I guess it was important." He shrugged. My heart warmed, I was so eternally grateful to Draco for everything he was doing for us. He was risking everything.

"How did they take us turning up here?"

"Suspicious at first, of course." A dry laugh escaped his lips. "I mean, a Death Eater turns up carrying you - unconscious, in their arms."

I shuddered at the image, and what it must have looked like to Bill and Fleur.

"She took you from me and brought you up here, whilst the Weasley brother interrogated me downstairs." He continued. "I didn't think they were going to let me see you again but I told them I wasn't going anywhere without making sure you were ok first."

The meaning of his words were not lost on me.

"You're going back." It was not a question. I knew the deal. He was a Death Eater. Voldemort would find him and kill us immediately if he stayed.

"I'm sorry, Rosie." He whispered, staring sadly into my eyes. "They can't know what I've done."

"I don't want to say goodbye again." I choked. I knew I wasn't being fair, but I felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally and all I wanted to do was to stay in his arms forever.

He cupped my cheek and brought his lips down on mine, kissing me softly. Something lit inside of me and I intensified the kiss, parting his lips hungrily, pressing my body against his as much as I physically could. He responded with the same urgency, rolling me onto my back so that he was on top of me, pushing down on me as I wrapped my legs tightly round him. The rush of sensations crawling over my body was maddening. My fingers frantically crawled under his shirt, their tips stroking his taut, smooth skin along his back. He shuddered and a sound came from the back of his throat; half moan, half growl. He broke the kiss, panting, leaving me breathless and dazed.

"Rosie, don't. I can't control myself when I'm with you." He looked down at me, his eyes full of desire and want.

"I missed you, Draco." I said, and to my horror, great big tears started falling uncontrollably from my eyes.

"Sshh, don't cry." His soothed gently, as he wiped my cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt. "I missed you too. So very much. I didn't even dare hope that I'd ever see you again."

He moved himself to a sitting position, leaning his back against the headboard and pulled me onto his lap.

I nuzzled my head into his neck as he quietly stroked my hair. I closed my eyes blissfully, basking in the tranquility of it.

A quiet knock came from the door in the corner and I looked up to see Fleur tentatively entering the room. She looked momentarily taken aback at mine and Draco's intimate position, before swiftly composing herself.

"Ah, Rosie, you are awake, I zee," She said in her thick French accent. "'Arry 'as arrived. 'E is outside with zee others."

Startled, I sat up. They were back. Fleur stepped back out of the room before I could ask any questions.

I clambered off of Draco's lap and leaped over to the little bedroom window. I could see Bill and Fleur running out to meet where Harry, Ron and Hermione stood, a little way further down the beach. As I squinted, I could see that Harry was bent over something sprawled out on the sand. It looked like a little creature of some sort.

"What'a a house elf doing with them?" Draco asked, peering over my shoulder. He had followed me to the window, his hands rested gently on my hips.

I could see now, that it was in fact a house elf. And he didn't look in a good way.

"And look," I breathed, pointing with relief to another small figure, unmistakably a goblin, lying on the ground nearby the gathered, clutching what could only be the sword of Gryffindor. "They managed to get it!"

Draco tensed. "If Potter got the sword then it's probably kicking off. I need to get back before they notice I'm not there."

Tearing my eyes from the scene on the beach, I wheeled round to face Draco. Even though I was expecting this, it still made my heart clench painfully. His grey eyes pierced into mine as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Listen to me, Rosie." He said in an earnest desperation. "Stay safe. Please, protect yourself, for me."

I nodded mutely, my heart breaking all over again, as he wrapped me into a fierce hug. He titled my chin up and I sighed as his lips tenderly met mine in a sweet yet burning kiss.

He pulled away, sorrow in his eyes. He took my hand in his and I felt something drop into my palm. He curled my fingers over the object with his other hand and looked at me.

"This is for you. You've got me, Rosie. Always."

He kissed my forehead, before turning and walking out of the room without a backwards glance.

I waited, staring back out of the window, my hand still clasped tightly shut.

After a few moments, he appeared down on the sand, a black suited figure walking away to reach the edge of the protective enchantments. I watched as he passed by Harry and the others, glancing curiously over at the scene. Only Ron appeared to notice him passing, and I couldn't help but smile as they exchanged curt nods.

When Draco reached a spot far enough out to Apparate, he looked back over his shoulder and peered up the window to where I was standing. He smiled, making my heart flutter, before turning on the spot. And then he was gone.

Tearfully, I looked down at my clasped hand, still warm from Draco's touch, and slowly unfurled my fingers.

There, nestled in my palm, silver and shining, was Draco's ring.