What Lies Within

"What do you think school is going to be like when we go back?" Sophie asks Draco as the two of them sit on the couch in the tree house, spending some much needed relaxing time together. The past few days Narcissa has claimed Sophie, planning the wedding. Draco has had very little say in what is going on, but then he doesn't care. The only thing he cares about is that he is marrying Sophie.

"It won't be much different for you, I on the other hand will have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to kill Dumbledore and fix the vanishing cabinet." He responds, making Sophie sigh.

"You don't have to do those things, Draco." She tells him. Draco just smiles at her softly, barely moving his lips at all.

"Yes, I do." He states. "To keep you safe, I have to." Sophie frowned, feeling her eyes well up with tears.

"I don't want you to become a murderer for me, Draco. I would rather become a Death Eater than have you kill someone. You aren't a murderer, Draco." Sophie argues, sliding closer to him, grasping at his arm, begging with her eyes. He stares back, his eyes filled with sadness, frustration and worry.

"No, but I am your fiance, almost husband. Sophie, it is my duty to protect you, from everything, including the Dark Lord." He tells her. She sighs and shakes her head.

"You don't have to do this, Draco." She whispers.

"Yes, I do." He responds back, just as softly. "Come on, let's head back to the house, it's almost lunch time." Sophie agrees so the couple leave the comfortable confines of the tree house and venture back through the woods and towards the large and basically empty house.

"There you two are. Your O.W.L. results arrived today." Narcissa called to the two as soon as she saw them walk in the door. She swept across the hallway and handed them both an envelope. Draco and Sophie exchanged looks.

"Open yours first." Draco tells her, making her nod. She takes a deep breath and rips open the envelope, pulling out the piece of parchment. She unfolds it with shaking fingers and skims over the page.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)

Sophia Lynn Hill has achieved:

Astronomy .......................................................................... O
Care of Magical Creatures .................................................... A
Charms .............................................................................. O
Defense Against the Dark Arts .............................................. O
Divination ........................................................................... A
Herbology .......................................................................... O
History of Magic ................................................................. O
Muggle Studies ................................................................... O
Potions .............................................................................. O
Transfiguration ................................................................... O

"Of course you did amazingly, you always do." Draco says, reading the results over her shoulder. She looks up at him, smiling.

"Alright, let's see yours." She says, folding her results back up. Draco sighs and looks down at his own envelope. "Want me to do it?" She asks him, making him nod and hand her the envelope. She smiles and takes it, ripping it open. "I'm sure you did great, Draco." She assures him before unfolding the parchment.

Draco Lucius Malfoy has achieved:

Astronomy ................................................... O
Care of Magical Creatures ............................. P
Charms ....................................................... O
Defense Against the Dark Arts ....................... A
Divination .................................................... P
Herbology ................................................... O
History of Magic .......................................... E
Potions ....................................................... O
Transfiguration ........................................... E

"You did great, Draco." Sophie tells him, smiling at him. He smiles softly and nods.

"Except for Care of Magical Creatures and Divination." He says, taking the paper from her and folding it back up.

"We didn't really expect you to do well in those, they are useless classes taught by useless people. I am so proud of you, Draco." Narcissa says, kissing her sons forehead. She then turns to Sophie, smiling a soft smile and pulls the teen into a hug. "I am so proud of you as well. You both did wonderful."

"Thanks, Narcissa." Sophie responds, making Narcissa nod.

"Come, lunch has surely been served." The two nod and follow the older woman into the dining room where they enjoy a nice lunch discussing their examination results. After they finish, Narcissa goes her own way like usual and Draco and Sophie go off to wander the house together. They venture hand in hand through the dark and cold halls of the manor until they reach the ballroom where in just 3 short weeks they would be getting married.

They enter the large room, seeing some of the decorations that had already been put up. There wasn't much but Sophie and Narcissa had been experimenting with colors of fabric, trying to decide what they wanted. There were strips of different shades of purple fabric hanging from the ceiling. The room was slightly a mess, fabrics and tables and chairs tossed all around the room. Even in the magical world, a wedding was a hectic thing to put on.

"Three weeks." Draco says simply as they stand in the middle of the room. Sophie looks over at him, reaching over to take his hand in hers once again.

"Are you nervous about what people will think at school? I mean, we're only 16. Well... I'm only 15." Sophie asks Draco who smiles and shakes his head.

"I don't care what people think, Sophie. We don't even have to tell anyone. It's not their business." He tells her. She nods. He pulls at her hand, pulling her into his chest, making her giggle. "Besides, you turn 16 in two days." He reminds her, causing her to smile and nod.

"What are you getting me for my birthday?" She asks, making him smirk.

"It's a surprise." He tells her, causing her to pout.

"Why can't you just tell me now?" She whines, earning a laugh from him and a shake of his head.

"It'll be worth the wait, don't worry, love." He assures her, leaning down to silence any retort she had with a kiss.

As the next few days passed, Sophie spent a lot of time helping Narcissa with the wedding and Draco was off doing his own thing. The couple only spent time together late at night and early in the morning before breakfast. The morning of Sophie's birthday dawned bright and warm, causing Draco so smile as he laid beside his slumbering fiancee, not wanting to wake her yet.

He slid out of the bed as quietly as possible and left the room, going off to prepare what he needed to for her special day. Sophie awoke a few hours later alone and cold in bed. She frowned, sitting up, looking around the room for her fiance. She ventured from the room, wandering down the halls, looking in particular rooms that Draco could be in, but finding him no where.

She got deja vu as she approached the ballroom doors, thinking of the morning Draco had become a Death Eater. She took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden door. She gasped at the site before her. Instead of Draco becoming a Death Eater, or even the usual wedding decorations that had overtaken the room, every surface, save for a small pathway across the room, was covered in candles. Large, small, tea lights, all of them burning bright.

She looked down at her feet to see a single red rose with a note attached to the stem in front of her. She bent down and picked up, flipping open the note.


My love,
follow the path of candles.
I'll be waiting.

With love,
Draco

Sophie felt her heart melt at her fiance's beautiful script. She clutched the rose to her chest and began to wander down the path in her bare feet. She kind of wished she had actually gotten dressed before searching for Draco. She didn't know what or who, apart from Draco, waited for her, and she was dressed in nothing but a tank top and boy shorts that she had worn to bed.

She followed the path of candles around a bend and around a corner into a small room that she never noticed was off of the ballroom. She pushed open the door and was faced with just as many candles as before. This time though, standing in the center of the room, a red rose in his hand, was her fiance. A smile on his face as he looked at her. She was pleased to see that he too was in his pajamas still so she didn't feel as out of place.

"Draco." She gasped, closing the door after her. The room was warm and dark, lit only by the candles. It also had the sweet scent of roses wafting through it.

"Come here." He said, holding his free hand out to her, his voice low. She took slow steps across the room, resting her hand in his.

"What is all of this, Draco?" She questioned him. He just smiled at her, and still clutching her hand, bent down onto one knee, causing her to gasp. "Draco?"

"Happy Birthday, my love." He stated, handing her the rose in his hand; it too had a note taped to it. She released his hand and took it, opening the note. This one was shorter than the previous one had been. It stated simply:

Will you marry me?

Sophie gasped as she read the note and looked up at Draco, seeing that he had pulled out a small velvet box from behind him. He smiled up at her and opened it, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring, causing her to gasp once more.

"I know that we are already engaged technically, and just weeks away from being married, but I wanted to make it official." Draco explained. "I just want to spend forever with you, Sophie." Sophie felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared down at Draco. She loved this man so much. He had started off as the biggest jerk in the world, so full of himself and arrogant, and she never would have imagined falling for him. But she has, and now she's going to spend the rest of her life as his.

"I love you so much, Draco." She tells him.

"So you'll marry me?" He asks, grinning. She giggles softly and nods, bringing a hand up to wipe at her tears. Draco stands up, taking the ring from the box and slides it onto her finger. They both look down at the gorgeous ring resting on her finger where it will now stay forever. "I love you, and happy birthday."

"Thank you so much, Draco. This is the best birthday I have ever had." She says, tears still pouring from her eyes. She was just so happy, she had fallen for the greatest and sweetest man.

"We're now officially engaged!" He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her waist. She giggles and puts her arms around his neck as he lifts her up and spins her around. "Finally." He puts her down on the ground, smiling down at her. He brings a hand up, wiping at her tears. "I can't wait to spend forever with you." He whispers before leaning down to press his lips to hers.