Weakness

"I wish you could send me the answers telepathically. That would be so cool. I would definitely pass because you're the smartest person in our year," Draco flipped through the pages in his Transfiguration textbook, "besides the mudblood, I mean."

"Or you could just study," Ellie laughed.

"I've been studying," he sighed, "Exams make me so nervous though. I just know I'll forget everything."

The common room was quiet. There were a few other students about, but they were pouring over their books and not making a peep. Exams would begin in the morning and Draco wasn't the only nervous one. It seemed as though everyone was on edge. Blaise had been ignoring everyone and everything, even foregoing meals, to keep his head stuck in his Potions text. Theo had all but vanished. Ellie figured he must have been camping out in the library.

"Hey, maybe you really can give me answers telepathically!" Draco exclaimed, causing Ellietta to jump a little bit, "Think about it! You can always tell what I'm feeling, right? So that must mean that I'm sending my emotions to you telepathically somehow. Maybe it would work the other way around too!"

"Even if that worked, I'd have to want to help you cheat," Ellie pointed out.

"You would," Draco's voice was quieter now, less excited and more thoughtful, "I know you would."

He closed his eyes and thought of the sweet kiss she'd given him the other night after their detention. She liked him. She had to. She'd kissed him after all, and although they hadn't spoke of it since it had to count for something. Draco's eyes fluttered open again and Ellie was staring at him. She too was thinking of the kiss they had shared, of the jolt of electricity that had run through her body as soon their lips touched, and of the smile she felt spread across his face as she ran away from him. She cared for him more than she'd ever cared for anyone and he knew it. She knew he cared for her as well, but she wasn't aware just how much.

"To be fair, if you hadn't been studying and truthfully didn't know the answers I wouldn't help you cheat. Since I know that you have been studying and the only reason you need help is because you can't remember anything when you're nervous, if there was some way I could help you I would," Ellie told him.

"Try it," Draco grinned excitedly, slamming his Transfiguration book shut.

"Try what?" she questioned, putting her quill down.

"Send me a telepathic message," he urged her.

"How?" she laughed, "Hogwarts doesn't offer a telepathy course."

"How do you always know what I'm feeling?" Draco inquired, scooting over on the couch so that he was directly next to her.

"I don't know, I just do," she leaned away from him.

"Oh, come on!" he groaned, "There's got to be some trick to it."

"There isn't," she shrugged, "If it's a strong enough emotion it just comes to me. If not, I just think about you and then it comes to me."

"What about how you always seem to know where I am? How do you that?" Draco pressed.

"I just think about you," Ellie shrugged again, "The closer I am to you the stronger the feeling gets."

"So just think really hard then," his hand found it's way to hers, "Think really heard about answers to the exam and wanting me to know them."

"I don't think it's that easy," she frowned.

"Try," he stuck out his bottom lip and batted his eyelashes, "Pretty please, for me."

Ellie rolled her eyes to which Draco responded by jutting his bottom lip out even further. She grinned and laid her head on his shoulder, letting her eyes flutter shut as she did. Draco was going to ask if she was taking a nap or something but then he felt her squeeze his hand and saw her eyebrows crinkle together in concentration. She really was trying. She could feel his anticipation making her heart beat faster and desperately she tried to clear her mind of everything but that feeling.

Draco shifted slightly and Ellie lifted her head. Their eyes met and Ellie's efforts seemed to come to fruition. She was fairly certain that somehow she had come to reside in Draco's mind. At least, for the moment. It was a seemingly tangled mass of thoughts and emotions and memories. He wanted test answers, not an invasion of his privacy, but Ellie could not help but to peek into where she did not belong.

Some sort of haze lifted and she found herself in an ornately decorated dining room. The table was much too large for the three people seated at it. Draco was in the middle while his parents sat miles away on either end. Narcissa seemed to be deeply interested in the pattern of the tablecloth. Draco appeared frightened, daring not to meet his father's fiery gaze.

"I expressly told you not to enter my study," Lucius Malfoy growled.

"I'm sorry, Father," Draco whispered without looking up.

"Sorry?" Lucius bellowed, "No, you're not. But you will be."

Narcissa flinched as Lucius grabbed hold of his walking stick. He stroked the silver handle a moment, taking joy in the way Draco sucked in a terrified breath. In one swift motion he brought the walking stick down on Draco's shoulder, then he raised it again this time cracking it against the scared little boy's cheek. Ellie didn't want to see anymore. The haze came back to blur the memory before it evaporated away, leaving her back in the tangle of Draco's mind.

She found her way to a string of thoughts that seemed to be quite current. Get out, he was begging her. Ellie closed her eyes. When she opened them again she was in the Slytherin common room, sharing the couch with Draco. He looked at her with a grave frown and she threw her arms around him.

"I don't need you to feel bad for me," he whispered, shoving out of her grasp, "If I'd known you were a Legilimens I never would have asked you to do that."

"A Legili-what?" Ellie asked, hopelessly confused.

"It takes a lot of practice to be able to do it non verbally and without a wand, Father told me all about it. You can't be that good at Legilimency without even knowing what it is," Draco scoffed, but made sure to keep his voice low.

"Well, I don't know anything about it other than that I just did it apparently," she replied.

"That can't be possible," he was completely dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry," Ellie mumbled, replacing her arms around him and burying her face in his collar, "I shouldn't have looked. On the bright side though, I'm pretty sure I can get you those answers."

"I know you can, Ell," Draco stroked the soft pink waves of her hair, "You realize you can do that to anyone, right? Not just me."

"I don't think so," she shook her head, "I think it's just you."

"I think the way you feel what I'm feeling was just some sort of weak Legilimency you didn't know you were using," he suggested, "Maybe you just never tried on anyone else."

"You don't understand," Ellie whispered sadly, and found herself wanting to tell him everything. She wanted to tell him about the emptiness that had consumed her until she met him. She thought better of it. "It's just you. I'm all but certain of it. I can't tell where anyone else is hiding, or feel what anyone else is feeling. Just you. It's not Legili-whatever. It's just you."

"What you did just now, getting in my head like that, that was Legilimency and I promise you, you can do it to anyone," Draco told her, his eyes darting around to make sure no one else was paying attention.

"I don't think I want to," she murmured, "I don't want to see... Was that the only time?"

"No," his voice dropped to just above a whisper and he tightened his hold around her waist so she couldn't turn to look at him.

Ellie nuzzled into his shoulder, but said nothing. She didn't know what to say. They sat quietly by the fire for another moment or two before Draco twisted and stood, and Ellie followed suit. He managed a weak smile and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"We should probably get some rest," he nodded toward the dormitories, "Exams start early."

Ellie merely nodded and watched Draco pivot and walk away. She shuffled back to her own room and drew the silk curtains around her bed. She put her head down on the fluffy white pillow but sleep did not come. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the glint of the silver handled walking stick. The first rays of sunlight trickled through the cracks in the curtains and Ellie groaned. Exams were stressful enough on their own but knowing that she had to take them without having slept at all was a thousand times worse. She could hear Pansy, Daphne, and Tracy tittering about and she wanted nothing more than to wave her wand and silence them all. Their mindless conversation was painful to listen to. Millicent's freight train snoring was easier on the ears.

"Hey Widdersham!" Pansy hollered as Ellietta shuffled toward the door.

"What do you want, Parkinson?" Ellie asked somberly, without turning to face the pug-like girl.

"Just wishing you luck," Pansy drawled in a syrupy sweet tone, "Luck failing, that is. Draco won't even miss you when you get kicked out of Hogwarts because he'll have me."

"Shove it, Parkinson," Ellie mumbled under her breath and walked away.

She got to Professor Flitwick's classroom earlier than most, which resulted in a long period of leaning against the wall waiting for something to happen. Draco showed up just a few moments before the exam was to begin, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy was close behind. Thankfully there was no time for her to be an annoyance as Professor Flitwick announced the exam would be starting and silence would be necessary. All they had to do was make a pineapple tap dance across Flitwick's desk. Simple enough.

Though she should have been calm, Ellie felt panicked instead. Her heart hammered in her chest. Her palms were sweaty. She looked at Draco, who was still standing in between Crabbe and Goyle. He was wringing his hands nervously and wore a look of sheer terror on his face. Ellie cleared her throat loudly and Draco's eyes rose to meet her own. She was in his head again, but this time she would not go snooping anywhere she didn’t belong. You'll be fine, she reassured him. I can't remember the spell, came his frantic response. Tarantallegra, she told him. Ellie closed her eyes, opened them again, and was back in the hall with the other first years. Draco was beaming at her. Pansy looked less than thrilled.

Professor Flitwick called the students in one by one and the expressions they wore on their faces as they walked out were pretty good indicators of how they'd done on their exam. Hermione Granger wore a triumphant grin. Goyle looked hoplessly confused, though that was relatively normal for him. Justin Finch-Fletchley looked moderately worried. Poor Neville came out with the left side of his robes still smoldering from whatever mishap had befallen him. Draco and the rest of the Slytherins laughed at him while Ellietta put out his robes. Soon after, Draco's name was called. When he exited the room just a few minutes later he shot Ellie a megawatt grin. She nodded in return and waited for her name to be called. Pansy looked she might cry when she exited the classroom, so Ellie smiled sweetly in her direction. Pansy snarled. Soon Ellie's name was called and Pansy was all but forgotten. Professor Flitwick clapped loudly when Ellie sent the pineapple tapping across the desk, an extra step-ball-change at the end for flourish.

The other practical exams went much the same way. Ellie effortlessly turned Professor McGonagall's mouse into an ornate snuff box and was the first student to finish Professor Snape's forgetfulness potion. He had even smiled at her when she handed over her phial, something she had never seen him do before and was fairly certain he'd never do again. Draco's snuff box had one whisker on the right side, which McGonagall would deduct a point or two for, but he was more or less pleased with himself. He had almost forgotten to add the Valerian Sprigs to his forgetfulness potion, but Ellie made sure he remembered so he had definitely passed the potions exam as well.

All that was left were the written exams which, with a little help from his best friend, Draco did very well on. Ellietta was confident she had done well too, she'd read so many books during the time her mother had kept her secluded from the world that she would have known the answers even without attending classes. The mood at Hogwarts was a celebratory one after exams had ended. Everyone was happy to be done with them. Draco was extremely relieved and therefore so was Ellie.

"Thank you," he whispered, as he sat down next to her on the sofa in the common room.

"You don't have to thank me," she whispered back.

"Hey!" Theo shouted from the tufted chair across the way, "You interrupted me! I was telling Ell a joke!"

Draco's eyes narrowed at the use of the nickname, "She wouldn't have found it funny."

"Well if I got to the punch line I reckon Ell would've thought it was hilarious," Theo retorted.

"No," Draco hissed through clenched teeth, raising his wand in Theo's direction, "She would not have. And if you call her Ell again I'll make sure you regret it."

"Lower your wand," Ellie spoke calmly, laying her hand on Draco's forearm, "He meant no harm, he was merely being friendly."

"Too friendly," Draco muttered, dropping his wand into his pocket and taking Ellie's hand in his own.

He glared in Theo's direction before tugging Ellie up off the sofa and stomping to the door. He pulled her out of the common room and into the hallway where he ran his hands through his white blond hair and sighed loudly. Clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides, Draco paced back and forth in front of the wall. Ellie stopped him, putting her hands softly on his shoulders and gazing into his steely grey eyes.

"Please calm down," she begged him, "If you don't I'll go in there and smack Theo upside the head and I really don't want to do that."

"That would be great," Draco smiled just a little.

"No it wouldn't. He's my friend. He's your friend too," Ellie reminded him.

"Sorry," and even though it was barely audible, she knew he meant it.

"As you should be," Ellie flashed him a quick half-smile, it was the best she could do considering he still hadn't completely cooled off.

"Can I tell you something?" Draco asked, unable to meet her gaze.

"Of course," the ends of her hair began to tinge black, "Anything."

"I can't explain it," he began, staring at his feet, "And I can't help it."

"What?" The black crept upward toward the roots of her hair and then suddenly it was gone, replaced by the same pale shade of blonde that graced Draco's head.

"You're mine," he all but growled, "And I don't like sharing."

A silence fell over the two friends. Draco didn't say anything else because he was absolutely certain he'd already said too much. He figured she thought he was some sort of psycho possessive freak. She didn't. Thanks to her ability to feel what he felt, she understood. At least, she understood somewhat. They had started the year as two people who didn't even know each other and had somehow managed to get to the end of it as the best of friends; perhaps even a little more than that considering they had shared their first kiss by the light of the common room fire. They were always in each other's presence even if they weren't necessarily interacting with one another. Ellie had even figured out how to literally get inside Draco's head. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made actually. She had made herself his. She followed all his cues, came when he called, spent every free moment with him. She only ever wanted him to be happy.

Draco finally looked up at her, curiosity swirling in his slate colored orbs. Curiosity swelled in Ellie's stomach but strangely, it didn't feel like it had come from Draco. This curiosity felt, somehow, her own. She wanted to know why she'd done it; why she'd given herself over to him the way she had. She'd never cared about anything or anyone but from the moment she'd first laid eyes on him in Ollivander's, she cared about Draco. It wasn't because she could feel that he cared about her. It was more than that. She cared about him because something inside of her, something entirely her own, made it so. She didn't know why, she couldn't put a name to it, but something inside of her needed to be his. Even though he'd said it in a menacing manner Ellie couldn't deny that hearing Draco stake his claim on her had been the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

"We won't see each other all summer," Ellie said after a while, lacing her fingers through his, "Will I still be yours when we return to Hogwarts in the fall?"

"Always," Draco replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing in her scent.

"Always?" she echoed, wrapping her arms comfortably around his waist.

"Mhmm," he mumbled, "You're everything to me."

"You'll see Pansy over the break, I'm sure," Ellie closed her eyes, "You could change your mind. Maybe you'll meet someone new. Someone prettier than me."

"You don't get it," Draco lifted his head to look at her, "Firstly, there is no one in existence prettier than you and secondly, this is beyond my control."

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"I told you, I can't explain it. Use legilimency, maybe you'll get it then."

He stared at her unblinkingly, waiting for her to begin. Ellie took a deep breath and stared back until she found herself in a string of thoughts that revolved around her. Little snippets of memories were tucked into the thoughts with such care; like a child tucked lovingly into bed. She saw the times he'd reach out and hold her hand as they walked, the times they'd sat by the lake in quiet bliss, all the whispers and giggles they'd shared in class, and that one innocent kiss by the fire. They played in a loop. He though about her a lot, it seemed. He though she was beautiful. He thought she was smart. He thought she was sweeter than cauldron cakes. He wasn't sure how she'd ended up in Slytherin but he was glad she had.

He was right. It was beyond his control. Behind all the thoughts of her, behind the pleasant memories, burned some sort of fire. It was hot and bright and seemed to pull everything Ellie to the front of his mind. It intensified everything he felt about her tenfold. She felt drawn to it; she wanted to know just what it was but it the heat it threw off made it impossible to get close. All she knew for sure was that these flames were responsible for the way he needed her like he needed air.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered, returning to the hallway outside the common room.

"Neither do I," Draco shrugged, "Want to go to the kitchens and see if we can't scare up a Pumpkin Tart or two?"