but baby I don't know what to do without you

(Sorry if this is short; I'm on my phone.)

In honesty, Lena felt a little more than disheartened. Draco hadn't written her the entire summer and it made her truly worry that something was wrong, that he was in some sort of trouble. During the train ride to Hogwarts, she had tried to ease her mind by conversing with her friends, but it didn't keep her distracted for long. What if Draco didn't return to Hogwarts this year? Considering the trouble his father was in, she couldn't necessarily say that she was too surprised.

By the time she was seated at the Gryffindor table with Charlotte, one of her friends, she was finding it difficult to concentrate on much. Still, she smiled and turned to her friend when she noticed Harry walk in and she nudged Charlotte gently. "Your lover boy's finally showed up," she teased the girl quietly.

She was a major supporter of the possibility of Harry and Charlotte getting together, even though other friends of theirs weren't really supportive of it. Still, she made her opinion well known. "Should we move and sit near them?" she asked her friend quietly, not minding either way. Anything to keep her distracted.

---

After a brief run-in with Draco that ended with a broken nose for Harry, Harry wasn't in a very good mood. At least Luna had fixed the problem, though, which he supposed was a good thing. At least he wouldn't look like a loon in front of Charlotte. He was quick to take a seat near Ron and Hermione, though his eyes were wandering around for Charlotte. It didn't take him long to spot her and his bad mood drifted away fairly quickly after that.

"What took you so long, Harry?" Ron questioned, gaining the boy's attention, only for a moment, before Harry's attention returned to Charlotte. "Nothing too important," was Harry's reply. In honesty, he didn't want to share his suspicions just yet, not when it could mean that he might be wrong. At the same time, he also didn't want his mood to turn sour again.

Hermione seemed to notice that Harry's attention wasn't fully on the conversation and she frowned. Following his gaze, she let out a sigh. "She's no good for you, Harry," she told him quietly, "She's his daughter. You know that." A frown formed on Harry's features, then, and he looked to Hermione. "There's nothing wrong with her. She's nothing like You-Know-Who," he pointed out.

Draco knew that he needed to be more careful, although he wasn't surprised that he had a run in with Harry. Usually he would have been his normal self and pushed Harry until the other one lashed out at him, but now he had a secret to keep which no one could know about. So he couldn't continue going after Potter just in case anything happened, his father had made sure to lecture him non-stop over the summer so Draco was grateful to be back at Hogwarts.

Even if he didn't actually want to be there now, he had a mission but he was still focused to attend the school. The only good thing about Hogwarts was Lena, he couldn't wait to see her again but this time would be different. He would hate himself if anything was to harm her, he would protect her with his life as he had fallen head over heels for her. Something that had knocked him off his feet, he hadn't seen it coming but it happened and he had tried to fight it until he found himself wanting to be with her constantly. But now he'd have to break up with her so he could keep her safe, he already felt sick as he knew he'd have to hurt her which he never wanted to do.

Making his way over to the Slytherin table, he sat down among some friends although he didn't actually consider many of them friends. His eyes instantly searching the room until he found Lena, it was a habit of his that came about when they first begun to date in secret. He just liked knowing where she was when they couldn't be together, a feeling of guilt settled in his stomach as he knew what would have to happen sooner rather than later. He didn't even bother pretending like he was paying attention to anyone, he was in his own little world.

---

Charlotte had the worse summer ever, not only had she finally been told who her father was but the whole wizarding world had found out. Her mom just always told her that her father left when she was pregnant, she never mentioned a name or what he was like. Charlotte looked so much like her mom, so she never really asked about her father as she could see that it made her mom uncomfortable. But now she knew, her father was Voldemort, the man that killed innocent people. The man who killed Harry's parents, she was a child of someone evil and she still hadn't come to terms with it.

She looked at her friend, Lena, and quickly shook her head. "No way, he'll hate me now. Hermione and Ron and everyone else have already sent me cold glares, I really don't want to face him." She would never stop having strong feelings for Harry, but she wasn't expecting him to want anything to do with her now. She was going to lose Harry as a friend and it hurt her just thinking about that, a lot of her friends had completely ignored her when she tried to speak with them.

"I knew that I shouldn't have come back this year," She told Lena softly, it had been her mom who encouraged her to attend Hogwarts. Charlotte was told to just ignore people who said anything or avoided her, but it was easier said then done and Charlotte was already becoming upset over how people were treating her.

Lena listened to her friend quietly and, after a moment, she lifted her hand to give Charlotte's shoulder a slight squeeze. "I don't think Harry would hate you. He knows you. He knows you're nothing like You-Know-Who," she assured her friend quietly. She wasn't entirely sure if her words would help her friend at all, but she wanted to try to cheer her up, even if only just a little bit. Sighing, she dropped her hand and offered a small smile. "It's okay. Just ignore everybody. If they're so quick to assume you're a bad person, then they weren't your friend in the beginning."

Sighing, she turned her attention to her food for a moment, though it wasn't difficult for her to feel somebody's eyes on her. Blinking, she looked around before her eyes settled on Draco and she couldn't help but to feel relieved. He didn't look hurt. Maybe sleep-deprived, but not hurt. She still felt unsettled, though, because it made her wonder why he hadn't kept contact with her. Regardless, she dropped her gaze back to her food to avoid anybody noticing.

---

Hermione and Ron seemed to give up on trying to convince Harry for now, but he was sure that it wasn't the last time that he'd hear the topic get brought up. Looking to Charlotte, he watched the girl for a long moment, easily able to see that she seemed to be bothered by something. Probably because she knew what everybody had started to think about her. It bothered him quite a bit to see her looking so down. Without much of a warning, he moves to stand up. He was sure that Hermione and Ron tried to stop him, but he ignored them and moved to sit near Charlotte and Lena.

"You alright?" he asked once he had taken a seat down in front of Charlotte. His brows furrowed in concern and he tried to gauge whether she would tell him what was bothering her or not - of course, he knew what was wrong, but he wasn't sure if she would tell him or not. "You don't have to sit all the way down here, you know. You can come join us, if you want." But, then, maybe she wouldn't want to sit down with them. He wouldn't blame her, really.

All Draco wanted to do was take Lena into his arms, kiss her passionately and take her far away from everything that he was and what was coming. He wouldn't even care if they hid among muggles, Lena had been the one who showed him that muggles or mudbloods weren't as horrible as he had once believed. It was just how his family thought and treated people, he had grown up thinking that he needed to stay away from anyone who wasn't a pureblood. Once her eyes locked onto his, all of his emotions went crazy and he wanted to break down crying. He wanted to admit everything to her but he knew that if he did, it would only put her in danger but not being near her was driving him crazy. Although he knew that he'd have to get used to it.

He sighed heavily as he placed some food onto his plate but he wasn't hungry, he used his fork to move the food around the plate and only ate a few mouthfuls. He was too busy thinking and worrying to even consider eating anything, his eyes kept glancing over to Lena even though she was busy with her friend. The friend that he had been told to keep an eye on, Voldemort himself had given Draco the task of watching Charlotte.

---

Charlotte knew that Lena was right, but she couldn't help but feel like Harry wouldn't want anything to do with her now. "I know but it's easier said than done, I know everyone is talking about me. I've already heard the whispers when I walk past," She sighed heavily and stared down at her plate that she had put some food on, but she wasn't really in the mood to eat anything. She hadn't been paying much attention and hadn't expected Harry to sit down across from her, she looked up at him slightly shocked that he was willingly talking to her. "I'm not alright and I can't sit with you, I know what Hermione and Ron think about me now." She looked at him sadly as she was losing all her friends because of her father.

"No one wants to know me now, they talk behind my back and I know their all just waiting for me to join him. I'm not but no one cares, I don't even know why your talking to me." She admitted to Harry as she couldn't lie to him, she also couldn't keep things from him as she did trust him. She didn't know what was going to happen now, but she'd never join her father and she'd tell everyone until they believed her.

"Hey, don't say no one. I'm here, aren't I?" Lena joked lightly, offering her friend a broad grin. The grin dropped, though, and she stared at her friend. She wasn't sure how to cheer the girl up, not when there was so much going on for her friend. Not to mention, there was likely a possibility that she might not be capable of helping her friend at all. It bothered her quite a bit, but she tried to push her concerns to the side. With a sigh, she rested her cheek in her hand her elbow propped on the table as she toyed with her food.

Her eyes glanced towards Draco's table and, after a moment, she stood up, offering Charlotte and Harry a grin. "Have fun, love birds," she teased before wandering off.

---

"Well, if you won't be joining us, I'll just join you two," Harry decided with a small smile. Reaching across the table, he rested a hand on Charlotte's head. "It will be okay. They'll manage to find somebody else to gossip about soon enough." There was never an ending to gossip, after all. The rest of the students would find something else to talk about to occupy their time, he was sure of it. "Until then, just rely on us helping, alright? You're not alone." He offered a smile, then, and started putting food on his new plate.

He wasn't necessarily hungry right now. He had eaten quite a bit on the train, after all - and the run-in with Malfoy had dulled his mood. Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, he eyed Charlotte, though he blinked and blushed when Lena called the two of them love birds.

Charlotte did crack a small smile as she looked at Lena, "I wasn't counting you in all of this. I know that I have you," She told her best friend before her attention was back onto Harry, she sighed when he decided that he was going to join them instead. She looked at him and she really hoped that he was right, she wasn't used to or lived being the center of attention. Now because of her father, she had been thrown into the spotlight and she wanted it to end already. "You better be right, I hate this. I don't know how you do it all the time, Harry." She told him as he was always the center of everyone's attention, from what happened to his parents and how her father couldn't kill him. She did feel alone in all of this, she did have Lena but it wasn't enough as no one could actually do anything.

People knew and nothing would change that, but she knew that Lena would stand up for her no matter what and she was so grateful for that. She quickly sent Lena a glare when she called her and Harry love birds, she pretended like she didn't notice but saw the blush that was across Harry's cheeks. "So are you excited about being Gryffindor's Quidditch captain?" She asked him as Harry seemed to be treating her the same way as he had done before.

---

Draco had been watching Lena, so when she stood up and left the Great Hall. He was quick to follow but made sure to leave enough time between them, so it wouldn't catch anyone's attention. He walked into an empty hallway which is one of their secret places to meet, he found her there waiting for him. "I've missed you, Lena." He lowered his voice as he stepped closer to her, he moved to take her into his arms but had to stop himself. He was going to break up with her and holding her would only stop him from doing that, even if he just wanted to kiss her and have her close to him once again.

"We need to talk, darling." He had to look away from her as it felt like someone was gripping his heart and squeezing, he didn't want to do this but he had to. He needed to make sure that she was as safe as she possibly could be, "I can't do this anymore. I don't love you, I never have and I never will. You were just some fun, a play thing for when I got bored. I can't believe I even let you date me," He told her harshly so she wouldn't try to talk him into staying with her, he had to keep himself calm so he wouldn't begin to cry and let on that he didn't want to do this.

Harry honestly hoped that he was right, for Charlotte's sake. He couldn't be sure, though. The topic of her being Voldemort's daughter was as big a topic as him being The Boy Who Lived was. Even that topic hadn't died down yet and he had to listen to it ever since coming to the wizarding world, to Hogwarrts. But, he wanted to ease her worries. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'm right," he told her with a firm nod. "Everything will be okay, alright? And, you won't have to feel alone, either."

Hearing her question, though, he couldn't help but to let a broad grin stretch its way across his face. "Yeah, I'm excited about it," he told her with a slight lift of his shoulders. "I'm a little nervous about it, too, though. I just hope I can do the Gryddinsors proud."

---

Lena wasn't entirely sure what she expecred to happen or what she expected for them to talk about, but she definitely hadn't expected this. When she heard his words, though, all she could really do was stare at him. Tears burned her eyes and she clenched her fists, almost wanting to crumble away right then and there. Chewing painfully on her lower lip, she looked down at the floor. "Is that so?" she muttered, trying to sound bitter, but her voice cracked. "I suppose I should have expected it."

She definitely should have expected it. How could she have been so stupid as to believe that he could have actually had any sort of feelings for her? Looking up at him, she tried to glare, but the tears were starting to break the surface. Upon realizing this, she was quick to rush away.

Draco couldn't bare to look at Lena after he finished talking, he could hear in her voice that she was very upset with him and he didn't blame her. They had been so happy even if they were together in secret, they had made it work because they did want to be with each other. He only let the tears fall once she had rushed away from him, it felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest but it had to be done. He just hoped that Lena could get over him and move on with her life, he wanted nothing more than for her to be safe and to be happy.

He wiped his tears away with his fingers in case anyone did happen to come across him, he turned around and just walked to the Slytherin common room so he could hide away in his room. He kicked his shoes off and climbed into his bed, he didn't care about anything now. He didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone, he just wanted to be alone although that tended to be normal for him the past couple of months.

---

Charlotte looked at Harry and gave a slight nod of her head, "I know that I'm not alone. I thought you wouldn't want to be friends anymore," She admitted to him honestly as she took a few more mouthfuls of food, she was feeling slightly better now that Harry was talking to her. She shook her head, "You have nothing to be nervous about. You'll be a great captain, besides I'll be there cheering at every game so you have to be good." She smiled as she glanced down at her plate, she was usually always at every game unless she had school work that she needed to finish or catch up on.

"You've already done us proud, Harry." She knew he'd be a natural captain, he was an amazing Seeker and knew the game so well. "I'm proud that you went for the captain position, remember how I told you that you would be chosen for captain. I told you that I'd be right," She looked at him with a little more spark in her eyes.

(I'll just write for Harry for now. c: )

"Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you anymore?" Harry asked with surprise as he stared at Charlotte for a long moment. "Just because you're his daughter doesn't mean you're anything like him. We both know that; I know you're a good person and that's all that matters to me." And it should be all that mattered to everybody else, too. Harry didn't add that, though, because he didn't want to remind her of how everybody was acting towards her. Maybe if they saw that Harry wasn't treating her any differently, they wouldn't treat her differently either.

He, however, smiled and nodded to her encouragement. "Yeah. I'm glad you'll be there, cheering for us," he told her honestly. Maybe it would give him an extra boost to win, he thought; it usually did. "And you were right, which is a major relief. You're generally right about a lot of things."

(Okay, good because I wouldn't have a good reply for Draco without Lena.)

Charlotte looked at Harry, "I thought you wouldn't be sure if you could trust me or not. I wanted to tell you myself, but I only found out when everyone else did." She looked at him, she had always been a good person who helped whoever she could. She hadn't even thought about dark magic or hurting people, but now she wasn't to sure if she could stay the good person that her mom raised her to be. Just knowing that He was her father had put so much doubt into her mind, she knew that there was a following for her father and she was scared that her father would do whatever he needed to to get to her.

She couldn't help but smile at Harry, "I am usually right. You've been playing for years, being the captain won't be that different. People still know what they need to do, you just have to keep them trained up." She told him as she believed in him, she'd be cheering for him and the team from the top of her lungs at every game.

(No worries! Also, sorry this took so long; I meant to post it sooner, but I’m still hardly online for longer than a few minutes.)

“Why wouldn’t I trust you when you didn’t find out until recently about it yourself?” Harry asked bluntly as he looked over at her. To him, Charlotte was still Charlotte. No matter who her father was, it didn’t change who she was. She was one of the best people he knew – completely opposite of her father. Whether anybody else thought that or not, he didn’t really care. Their opinions didn’t matter to him, at all – what mattered to him was whether their opinions ended up hurting Charlotte in some way. Of course, he was sure the opinions got to her, but he hoped she didn’t listen to them.

He smiled, though, at her reassurance and nodded slightly in response. “I’m glad you have so much faith in me,” he said honestly. It made him feel a lot better – and, on top of that, it was just a reminder that she was still her and nothing like her father. Turning his attention to his food, he focused on eating.

(That's no problem at all, don't worry about it.)

Charlotte really hadn't expected Harry to be this understanding, she thought he'd at least feel different around her or hold a grudge against her. But he wasn't and it was making her feel so relaxed and like someone still cares about her, "That doesn't stop other people staying away from me. I thought if that's how they felt about me, then you would too as he did more to you." She admitted and it felt so good to actually talk to him about this, it was a weight off her chest. Although nothing would stop the way people's opinions hurt Charlotte's feelings, she could see in their eyes how she now wasn't welcome or wanted which did hurt her deeply.

"I always have had faith in you, Harry. Nothing will change that," She smiled as she looked at the boy that was sitting across the table from her, before she looked down to her plate filled with food and she started eating the delicious food that had been prepared for all the students.

"Well, I know how it feels to be scrutinized," Harry reminded quietly, knowing that others had believed that he was lying about His return. Everybody claimed that he was trying to cause trouble or worse - things that were farther from the truth than anything else. "They'll ease up after a while, once they figure out that you're not like him." Just like things had calmed down for him, how most people didn't scrutinize him anymore because they now knew that he was right. And he firmly believed that the others would come to realize that Charlotte was genuinely the polar opposite of her father. They just needed time, he was sure.

Hearing her later words, though, he smiled slightly and nodded firmly. "Good. Then, have faith in me on this, too, okay?" he told her quietly, hoping that she would believe him. As long as she stuck to her usual behavior, he was sure that everybody would realize that she was still Charlotte - that she hadn't changed, regardless of who her father was.

Charlotte couldn't help but smile as she listened to everything that Harry was telling her, he had always known the right things to say to her at the times that she needs it. "You better be right, because I'm expecting you to be right." She gave him a small smile before she looked away, she focused on her plate of food and started eating so she wouldn't do anything to embarrass herself. Not that Harry ever let her feel embarrassed because he could be just as dorky when it came to the opposite sex, she has had the biggest crush on Harry for the longest time but she was scared to say or do anything because she thought that Harry just saw her as a good friend and nothing more. Lena always told her to go for it, but it was easy for her to say that when it wasn't her friendship that could be ruined if she made a complete fool out of herself.

"I do have faith in you, Harry. I always have," She assured him after swallowing the mouthful of food she had been chewing, Charlotte just wanted everything to go back to how it was. But she wasn't stupid, she knew her life wouldn't go back to how it was. Not only was her father Voldemort, but he was back now and he wanted Harry dead which she wouldn't let happen.

(For some reason, I'm drawing a blank for this part. D: Do you want me to skip to the next day, maybe during class?)

(No, that's completely fine. You can skip whenever you like.)

(Okay~)

It wasn't too surprising that Harry was running a little late to class. At least he wasn't running so late that he would actually be late to class - he was just late enough that he knew he would probably make it just in the knick of time. It probably wouldn't surprise any of the professors, either, though. Ron was rushing at his side and they were both sure that Hermione was probably already in class, tapping away impatiently on her desk as she waited for the two. A big part of him hoped that he'd be sharing a class with Charlotte, but he wasn't sure if they did or not. Maybe, if they did, it would give him a reason to get up on time rather than to run a little late because he got distracted or busy with something else. Figuring that he would find out eventually, he slipped into the classroom with Ron.

And, he was right. Hermione had been impatiently tapping on the desk, glaring at the door as she waited for the two. When they took their seats, she shot them a look. "Took you long enough," she scolded them quickly. Blinking, Harry offered a small smile and shrugged. "Sorry," he offered in response before he glanced around the room in search of Charlotte.

---

Class was the last place that Lena wanted to be right now - especially a class shared with Slytherins and, more specifically, with Draco. Entering the classroom, she had made sure to avoid looking around at all. Part of her hoped that he would just avoid classes entirely or that she could find some way to get her classes changed to different ones, ones that she definitely wouldn't share with him. With a sigh heavier than she really cared to acknowledge, she slipped into a seat and hoped that at least some of her friends would be in the class and help to keep her distracted. Then again, they didn't know that she needed to be distracted right now - in fact, they didn't really know anything about her relationship in general or that she had even been involved in one.

She was sure, though, that her friends would at least notice that something was bothering her. They were fairly observant when it came to things like that - especially Charlotte, which was one of the many reasons that they were such good friends. Resting her head against her palm, she focused her attention ahead and just waited for class to begin.

Draco was already sitting in the classroom when he saw Lena walk in, his blue eyes followed her every movement as a sharp pain filled his chest and surrounded his heart. He was in an even worse mood than he usually was, he hadn't slept much the night before because all he could think about was Lena and how much he had hurt her. He knew that he had ripped her heart out of her chest and shattered it with his words, all he wanted to do was explain everything that he was going through. How he had to live up to his family expectations and that he was just trying to protect her and make sure she was safe from anything that Voldemort would want from him, he was sitting at the back of the room with a couple of his 'friends'. But his eyes stayed focused on Lena until one of her friends sat at the desk beside her, at least Lena had her friends to be there for her if she did need them.

Nicole was quick to take the chair that was empty besides Lena, "Is everything okay? You didn't talk much at breakfast, usually we can't get you to shut you." The raven hair girl asked as she looked at her friend, she had no idea that Lena was going through a breakup but she did notice that Lena wasn't herself and that did worry her.

---

Charlotte had gotten to the class room fairly early but that was normal for her, she hated being late for anything and she didn't know how Ron and Harry constantly did it. She had taken a table off to the side knowing that no one would want to sit beside her, she had thought about sitting beside Hermione but she wasn't sure how the girl felt about her just yet. So she decided to just stay away for now, but she couldn't help but smile when she saw Harry and Ron get through the door in the nick of time. That was normal for them but Charlotte was always amused by it, she swore that neither of them had their heads screwed on properly and would probably get lost if it weren't for Hermione keeping them in line.

She was just about to turn her attention onto the teacher, but noticed Harry searching the room. She sent him a warm smile when their eyes locked together, she was all the way across the room from him but she did feel better knowing that they shared the class and next time he would most likely sit beside her. As the teacher's voice filled the room, Charlotte tried to concentrate even though Harry was filling her mind. But she did hear the teacher mention that there would be an assignment and pairs would need to be formed for it.

(Ugh, sorry, I thought it was a good idea to update my computer to Windows 10, but the new internet app sucks terribly and keeps spazzing. x.x)

Seeing Charlotte had definitely put Harry at ease a little. At least she didn't look too bothered or upset - unlike yesterday, when she had clearly been more uncomfortable than he had ever really seen her before. Still, he offered her a small smile and nodded in her direction before he attempted to relax in his seat. It was a little difficult, given how worried he was about Charlotte, but he managed a bit. He'd have to make sure to sit next to her the next day, if only to give her company since he hoped that his company would at least put her at ease, if only just a little. Looking ahead, he tried to concentrate on what the teacher said, but that was always difficult for him when he had so much more to worry and think about. But, it didn't matter too much right now - he needed to do well in his classes so that he could at least feel like he was a normal wizard.

Though he hadn't really been paying attention at first, he didn't look up when the teacher mentioned an assignment and the fact that they would work in pairs. A big part of him hoped that they could choose their own partners and he would try to pair up with Charlotte. But, then, the teacher could possibly pair them up, right? He could hope, at least.

---

Really, Lena hadn't meant to worry her friends. Hearing the concern Nicole expressed, she couldn't help but to feel a little guilty. Who was she to wallow in self-pity, anyways? Her friends were dealing with problems already, too, she knew. And, Malfoy was probably getting a good laugh from her misery. Why waste her time giving him that sort of satisfaction? Reminding herself of this, she looked at her friend and tried to offer a small smile before she shook her head. "I'm fine," she assured before she waved the concern off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm just stressing over how difficult this year might be, that's all." She supposed that she could say that she just had a summer fling that went wrong; that would explain her odd mood, wouldn't it? But she knew that wasn't a smart idea. It would raise too many questions and she didn't want to be bothered by having to make up more lies.

Shifting to sit up straight, she leaned back in her seat, instead of slouching forward like she had been doing, and forced herself not to look in Draco's direction. "Don't worry, Nicole," she told her friend with a small, slightly forced grin. "I'll be fine after the first few days go by and I fall into a pattern of how these classes will go."