It took Katie quite a while to find the dining room. Malfoy Manor was like a maze — an exquisite maze, but a maze nonetheless — with a new door every five paces and endless hallways; Katie wondered how each room could be so big, considering there were so many. Surely that large a number of gigantic rooms must not fit on the threshold?

At last, she found the dining room. It was almost identical to the room in which she had met Voldemort, only smaller with a more welcoming feel. Instinctively, Katie cast her eyes around in search for Voldemort, but he was no where to be seen. Bellatrix sat beside Narcissa, who was opposite Lucius, and when Katie stepped inside, Narcissa gestured for her to seat herself in the chair beside her husband.

Feeling rather nervous, which, Katie thought, was perfectly justified, Katie sat down but did not immediately touch her food. Narcissa noticed her apprehension and smiled softly.

"We're not going to poison you," the woman said. "You're the Dark Lord's daughter, don't forget. No Death Eater would dare harm you."

Katie thought that these were supposed to be words of reassurance, but they only made her feel worse. If the price for impenetrable protection against the wrath of the Death Eaters was being Voldemort's daughter, Katie would rather be tortured into insanity or to death by Bellatrix and her fellow Death Eaters.

Breakfast was eaten in uncomfortable silence. Katie didn't eat much — the way that Bellatrix was glaring at her across the table was greatly turning her off her appetite. While it was obvious that the Death Eaters despised anyone who dared to stand against Voldemort, there was something about the murderous glint in Bellatrix's eye that plainly said she wished Katie would drop dead on the spot. For some inexplicable reason, Bellatrix Lestrange had a burning loathing for Katerina Blair (or, Katerina Riddle).

"You clean up well." Mrs Malfoy broke the silence as she sipped on her tea. It took Katie at least five seconds to realise that the woman had been talking to her.

"Oh," Katie started, unsure of what to say. "Well — well the wardrobe picked the outfit, actually."

She cringed as she spoke. Despite the fact that she had grown up surrounded by magic, and extraordinary magic at that, she had never once come across a wardrobe that dressed people itself and to suggest such a thing sounded stupid.

"Ah, yes, the wardrobe," Narcissa hummed, carefully placing the spotless white china back down on its coaster. "It's bewitched to choose the most suitable outfit for the owner's upcoming event."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "And breakfast attire is a school uniform?" She glanced distastefully down at the plaid skirt she was wearing.

Lucius's nostrils flared indignantly and Bellatrix let out a low, throaty growl. Narcissa, on the other hand, smiled warmly.

"Well, I think the skirt suits you nicely."

Albeit irrationally, white-hot anger surged through Katie at these words, and the sheer outrageousness of her current situation struck her. The family that were holding her prisoner under the orders of her father were treating her with hospitality and civility, providing her with a warm bed, food, and fresh clothes. It was completely mental.

Katie skipped lunch that day, despite the fact that Narcissa urged her not to. She spent all afternoon locked away in her purple bedroom, flicking through sheet music. Maybe she would teach herself to play the violin as a pastime.

Around three o'clock, the wardrobe door burst open unexpectedly and Katie screamed in fright. She didn't think she would ever get used to that. Someone cleared their throat somewhere in the room and Katie whipped around to find the source of the voice. A man had appeared in what had previously been a blank portrait with a solid black background. He had silky, white-blonde hair that fell neatly to his shoulders and wore a pompous expression almost identical to that of Lucius Malfoy. In fact, had he not been more aged in the face, Katie might have thought that this man was Lucius Malfoy.

"Madam Lestrange wishes to see you in the grand hall." the Malfoy ancestor spoke in a clear, carrying voice.

"Why?" Katie demanded.

But the man did not answer. Instead, he swept his grey eyes shrewdly over the girl, muttered something about blood impurity, and disappeared from his frame.

The wardrobe, apparently growing aggravated by the fact that it was being left ignored, spat out a pair of black jeans and a skin-tight black shirt with long sleeves. Katie glared at the wardrobe.

"Really?" she rebuked. The wardrobe gave a little shudder then snapped shut again. After taking perfect care to dress herself as slowly as possible, Katie left her room and went downstairs.

She assumed the grand hall was the room in which she had met Voldemort. Her assumption was proven right. The long table and matching chairs had been moved against the wall, creating a vast space perfect for ballroom dancing, and Bellatrix, looking as scornful as ever, was standing in the dead centre.

Katie wasn't quite sure what she should say so she just said, "Hi."

Bellatrix's scowl hardened.

"The Dark Lord wants me to train you in the Dark Arts." Bellatrix said with a grimace, as though uttering these words made her feel physically sick.

Instantly, Katie spun around on her heel and marched back towards the door. "Yeah, no thanks."

She reached for the door handle but found that, once again, the door was barred shut with magic that she did not know how to penetrate. Groaning loudly, she faced Bellatrix once more.

"Believe me, I don't want to do this either." Bellatrix sneered, drawing her wand. Katie instinctively took a step back when the witch took out her wand.

"Why can't I have Narcissa?" Katie asked before she could stop herself.

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed. "That's Mrs Malfoy, to you," she snapped. "And, as much as I adore my sister, I regret to say that she is not as skilled as I when it comes to Dark magic."

Katie said nothing and Bellatrix seemed to sense that she was not convincing her, because then she said, "When you return to Hogwarts after Christmas, you will be forced to study the Dark Arts anyway."

Katie's mouth fell open. "You're joking?"

Bellatrix cackled maniacally. The mutinous glint in her eye was replaced with her usual deranged shimmer.

"With Severus Snape as Headmaster and Death Eaters as professors, surely you didn't think that they would still be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Katie's blood began to boil. She thought of Ginny, Neville and Luna being forced into using the Unforgivable Curses on their classmates, or brew illegal potions, the effects of which would be too horrible to even discuss.

"Take out your wand." Bellatrix ordered sharply.

Katie shivered uncomfortably but stood her ground. Crossing her arms, she responded with a firm, "No."

The way Bellatrix glared at her scared Katie into changing her answer. She cast her gaze around. There was no way for her to get out. She really had no choice but to obey. Besides, she didn't have to preform the spells perfectly — she could purposely mess up.

Albeit hesitantly, Katie pulled her wand out of her pocket, and Bellatrix's face twisted into her usual deranged grin.

***

The next few weeks were torture. Bellatrix taught Katie all kind of horrible spells and forced her to preform them, sometimes on helpless animals. While she pretended that she couldn't cast the spells simply and effectively, Katie knew all too well that she could, and that terrified her. Her natural talent in Dark magic reminded her just what blood coursed through her veins — Lord Voldemort's.

Christmas was gradually arriving downstream and Katie had not heard a word from the outside world. Her days were ridden with anxiety and she thought endlessly about what Harry and Hermione were doing — if they were even still alive, that is. She wondered if Ron had a change of heart, if he returned to the Horcrux hunt, and she often dwelled on what her friends might think had happened to her. Did they assume she was dead?

To pass time and to avoid leaving her room apart from meals and training, Katie taught herself the violin. It wasn't easy, but after weeks and weeks of practice, she had managed to teach herself an old classical wizards song that she found in one of the drawers. For some reason, the title was written in French, so she couldn't read it.

Katie was dreading Christmas. Not only would she be spending it with Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoys, but Draco was coming home for the holidays, and he was the last person that Katie wanted to see.

One morning in late December, Katie drew her curtains to find the windows obscured by thick snow. A glittering white carpet frosted the grounds of Malfoy Manor and a chill crept into the room. Katie was barely standing at the window for five minutes when the wardrobe burst open, shooting out a green turtleneck and black trousers.

"All right, all right." she grumbled.

To her greatest relief, Katie had no training that day. After breakfast, she spent the entire afternoon playing the violin and occasionally smashing the keys on the piano (giggling as she done so).

She was just putting the violin away when the man that looked like Lucius sauntered into his frame. Katie had since learned that this was a portrait of Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius's father, and that explained their uncanny similarities.

Abraxas Malfoy cleared his throat. "Dinner is—"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks." Katie groaned.

Abraxas shot her a contemptuous look before striding back out of the portrait. Yawning and stretching, Katie fixed her hair before slipping out of her room. She closed the door, turned around, and what she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

There, in the centre of the hallway, dressed in a silky black suit, his pale skin and blonde hair gleaming in the sinister green light that bathed the hall, was Draco Malfoy.

Although Katie could not see her own complexion, she was sure her face bore an expression of purest loathing — narrowed eyes, flared nostrils, pursed lips, and yet, she could not deny the fact that seeing Draco again sparked some unwanted emotion within her. Tears sprung to her eyes but she hectically blinked them away.

"Rina..." Draco began.

His voice was soft, almost broken, and filled with an undertone of desperation. When Draco spoke, Katerina felt mingled rage and sadness crash down upon her. As soon as Draco uttered the stupid nickname that he had given her at a time that felt so long ago, Katie turned on her heel and threw open her bedroom door.

"No, wait, please!"

Momentarily, Katie froze, but she seemed to think better because, not a second later, she stepped into her room and went to slam the door but someone caught it, holding it open.

Draco fully opened the door and walked inside Katie's room as she backed away, trying to keep as much distance between herself and the boy as possible. She only stopped waking when the backs of her knees hit the bed.

Now that they were in brighter light, Katie could see Draco's face clearly. He seemed paler than ever before and his cheeks were sunken; his lips were chapped and the circles under his eyes were almost as dark as his suit. If Katie was to put forward one word to describe how Draco looked, she would say broken. His pitiful appearance did not spark enough sympathy within her to want to be in his presence, however. She had meant it, on the Astronomy Tower, when she said that she never wanted to see him again.

"Get away from me." Katie said quietly, and her voice shook tremendously.

Draco's eyes saddened and he took one step forward. "Rina, please let me—"

"No, I won't let you talk!" Katie shouted, whipping out her wand, which made Draco instinctively jump backwards. "You lied right to my face. All year, the whole time I was falling for you, you were plotting murder — murder — behind my back!"

"I know, I—"

"I don't care if he made you do it, I don't care if you didn't want to!" Katie was still shouting and tears were glazing the surface of Draco's silver eyes. "You could have come to me, or Dumbledore, and we would have helped you."

"But—"

"So please, Draco, tell me what you so desperately wanted to say that's going to supposedly fix all of this!"

Katerina folded her arms but her fingers were still tightly wrapped around her wand. Draco's eyes flickered nervously between her face, which was contorted with rage, and her yew wood wand.

"I just wanted to say..." Draco started but he trailed off and swallowed harshly. Apparently, whatever he was going to say would hurt his pride. Katie glared at him. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and — and... I missed you."

He finished his sentence in a mumble, but Katie heard it clearly and she suppressed the urge to run to him and fling her arms around him because, despite how enraged she was, despite the fact that nothing he could say or do would ever make up for what he had done, Katie had missed him too.

She let out a burst of cold laughter.

"Oh, you're sorry?" she said wildly. "Well you being sorry doesn't change the fact that Dumbledore is dead and Harry and Hermione, two teenage kids, are out there somewhere risking their lives to bring down my father."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Katie knew that she had said too much. Her blood ran ice cold in her veins as a look of shocked comprehension fell across Draco's face. He almost looked frightened.

"Your — your father?" he whispered, his voice full of fear.

Katie swallowed thickly. Her heart was hammering against her chest and blood was pounding in her ears. There was no point in holding it back, Draco was bound to find out eventually.

"Yes, Draco, my father. That's why I can talk to snakes, that's why I was sorted into Slytherin, that's why he wants me on his side."

"And that's why he's keeping you here." Draco finished.

Katie sneered. "Well, you didn't think I'd stay here voluntarily, did you?"

With that being said, Katie pushed past Draco to get to the door but he grabbed her wrist. She struggled against his grip but he proved too strong.

"Let go of me." she demanded, hitting his arm with all her strength, but he did not so much as flinch.

"Let me talk," Draco begged. "Please."

There was something about the small desperation in Draco's gentle voice that seemed to somewhat settle the fury that was whirring in Katie's stomach. Shooting the boy a scowl, she relaxed and he reluctantly let her arm drop, scared that she would make a run for it again.

Draco took a deep breath and started. "I don't want any of this. I don't want to be a Death Eater."

"Then don't be a Death Eater." Katie told him flatly.

He sighed. "It's not that simple—"

"Yes, yes it is," Katie cut in firmly. "Help me escape this place and come with me to find Harry and Hermione. You can help us take him down."

Draco grimaced but Katie could sense the conflict inside of him.

"I — I can't," Draco said finally, bowing his head. "It's just not that simple."

Katie let out a yell of frustration.

"Fine!" she snapped. "Be a coward, then — it's not like you know any different. I've given you too many chances."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco demanded.

Katie gave him an are-you-serious look.

"I defended you again, and again, and again!" she yelled. "And it turned out that Harry was right all along. Every time you make me think I can trust you, you betray that trust."

"I fucked up." Draco admitted.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Katie shot back.

"I really fucked up this time." Draco elaborated.

Katie stared at him for many moments in which tension pulsed through the room. Draco was still breathing heavily, though his breaths were staggered, and there was a certain despondency in his eyes that seemed to be pleading with Katie to forgive him. Wordlessly, she turned away from him, but before she could leave, his voice called her back.

"Rina, I can't lose you."

An odd tingling sensation pricked the tips of Katie's fingers. A harsh lump had formed in her throat. Slowly, she cast her gaze over her shoulder and glared at Draco, who had almost been reduced to tears.

"You lost me when you walked off the Astronomy Tower."

"I can't lose you again," Draco sounded more desperate than ever as he sprung forward and grabbed Katerina's hands. It came as a great surprise to the both of them when she did not pull away. "I — I..."

"You what, Draco?" Katie demanded coldly.

She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting Draco to say, but it certainly was not the following words.

Draco gulped, swallowing his pride, and said, "I love you."

That was when Katie pulled her hands away. Ignoring the way that her head was spinning or the sense of euphoria that was threatening to explode inside of her, she ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

"No, stop it," she said, shaking her head stiffly. "If you say that, it changes everything."

"No, it doesn't," Draco countered, snatching up her hands again. "Katerina Blair, I love you, and I know that I don't deserve you, but I'm selfish and I'm stupid, and I won't stop fighting for you."

Simultaneously, they both started crying, although Katie was doubtful that their tears were for the same cause.

"Rina, I've liked you ever since — since — you hit me in the face in first year." Draco told her, and Katie wasn't sure if his cheeks were red from embarrassment or because he was crying. Fighting the urge to laugh, she rolled her eyes.

"Wow, what a great romantic awakening." she sarcastically drawled.

"I'm being serious, all right?" Draco pressed on. "I've thought about you every night since Dumbledore died. The look in your eyes on top of the Astronomy Tower..." Draco shivered.

Katie pulled her hands free of his clutches once more.

"I spent months, Draco, months, feeling so angry, but I couldn't help the fact that I was still worried about you."

"I was worried about you, too," Draco said quickly. "We don't get news at Hogwarts. No information is allowed in or out. That's how Snape keeps his new forms of student punishment quiet. I had no idea what happened to you."

Katie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No, you're not listening to me," she said. "I hate you right now, OK? I'll never be able to shake the fact that you tried to kill someone, or the fact that you almost killed Ron, but..."

She trailed off. Draco's eyes were beginning to glow with excitement. He took one step closer.

"But what?" he pressed.

Katie chewed her lip. "But none of that is ever going to change the fact that... that I still care about you."

Draco cupped her cheeks and a warmth spread through her body, completely disintegrating any rage that she was feeling. It was only then that she realised how much she had missed his touch.

"I love you," he repeated, "and I know that you love me too."

Katerina sighed. "Draco—"

Someone cleared their throat. Abraxas Malfoy had returned.

"Need I repeat myself again?" he said coolly. "Dinner is ready."

Katie took Draco's hands and removed them from her face, instantly feeling cold at the loss of contact.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she said sadly. "But I just can't see past what you've done."