The first class, in the next day, was Defense Against the Dark Arts, with our new teacher, Dolores Umbridge.

I haven't talked with Matthew, nor seen him either, I had so many things to apologize to him for, that I didn't even know how to make him forgive me...

As soon as me and Charlotte stepped inside the classroom, a paper bird flew trough our heads, Umbridge had not arrived yet, a lot of students were playing with it, as he was flying through our heads.

My gaze stopped at Draco, who was sat next to Pansy, his hand resting on his cheek, looking bored, and then, his gaze met mine, still as mesmerizing as always, letting me get lost in the endless rivers, shivering down my spine.

He didn't dared to break eye contact, as neither did I, although I showed my anger through them, trying to see any reaction, any hint of regret, anything, but he kept looking at me, like if I was about to dissappear forever.

Our eye contact broke only when Charlotte called my name, and pulled us into one of the left, right in front of him...

The astonishing, dazzling, paper bird, flying above our heads, suddenly burned down by Umbridge, who showed up behind us.

"Good morning, children." She said, as all of our heads turned to see her, in a flushed pink dress, making me wonder if she haves any others colors to wear.

"Ordinary Wizarding level examinations." She was now walking between the tables, stepping foward to her desk. "...O.W.Ls, more commonly known as owls..." She turned around, and looked at all of us with a wide, but creepy, smile on her lips. "Study hard, and you will be rewarded, fail to do so, and the consequences may be, severe." She said softly, still with a smile on her lips.

She pointed her wand at a pile of books, which started floating and distribute for each student.

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly, uneven, but you'll be please to know from now on you will be following a carefully structured ministry approved, course of defensive magic." She said firmly.

This book was different from the others I have ever had, it looked more like a child book rather than a book of defensive spells, I opened it, scrolling through a few pages, and noticed that this book didn't spoke anything about using spells at all.

I furrowed my eyebrowns in confusion, which fifth year book, would not say anything about the use of spells, so I raised my hand upon in the air.

"Yes?" Umbridge asked me, as soon as she saw my hand in the air.

"There's nothing here about the use of defensive spells." I said softly.

"Using spells?!" She said with a hint of annoyance, and gave a little giggle, like if I had just asked the stupidest thing in the world. "Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom." She said walking towards me.

"It's a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, it's supposed to we learn and use spells that work against those same dark arts." I said indignated by her attitude and reply.

"Are you questioning my ways of teaching, Miss Blackwell?" She said firmly, her wide, but fake, smile still fixed onto her face. "I trust you know that questioning me, you're questioning the Ministry, right?" She said raising her eyebrowns in a devilish smirk.

My lips parted away, I didn't know what to say, last year I even learned the Unforgivable Curses, and now I'm not even going to learn any spells at all...

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron asked, after a few seconds of me and Umbridge staring at each other, which, fortunately, made her break eye contact, so I wouldn't need to look into her creepy blue eyes much longer.

"You will be learning about defensive spells, in a secure, risk-free way." She said clearly at us.

"Well, what use is that if we're gonna be attacked it won't be risk free." Harry said, and Umbridge imediatly turned her back to him.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class!" She shouted, walking back at her desk, placing her devilish smile back onto her lips as soon as she turned to us. "It is the view of the ministry..." She looked at me, from the corner of her eye. "...that a theoretical knowledge would be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all, is what school is all about-" Harry imediatly spoke on top of her.

"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?!" Harry asked indignated.

"There's nothing out there, dear!" She shouted, keeping her smile on. "Who do you imagine want to attack children, like yourself?" She asked him.

"Oh I don't know maybe..." He said sarcastically, as if he was thinking hard of someone. "...Lord Voldemort." He said firmly, and all the class went quiet, staring at Harry.

Umbridge's lips quickly change from smiling to a firm line, and looked now between all the class.

"Now let me make this, quite plain, you have been told that a certain dark wizard, is ar large, once again...this is a lie." She pronounced the four last words very clearly before Harry interrupt her again.

"It's not a lie, I saw him, I fought him!-" Harry shouted at her, but she imediatly cut him off.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge blowed out, almost yelling.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry shouted indignated.

"Cedric Diggory's death, was a tragic accident." Umbridge replied firmly.

"It was murder! Voldemort killed him, you must know that!" Harry shouted angrily at her.

"Enough!" Umbridge yelled scaring all of us. "Enough..." She said more calmly. "See me later Mr. Potter, my office." She said firmly, placing her smile back at her lips.

Charlotte was looking at me, knowing what I was about to do, telling me not to, but I was blind, blind for such atrocity.

"This is ridiculous, Harry is telling the truth, and you are offending one of ours classmates death by denying it!" I shouted, standing up from my seat.

"Detention for you as well Miss Blackwell." She said firmly, and gave a little giggle after looking between all the class.

I wanted to argue, but I know it was useless with this vile woman, frustrated, I sat back down, and saw Charlotte shaking her head as she saw I had been stupid by talking back at her, and just gave a little sigh.

"What's wrong with that woman?" I said only to Charlotte could hear.

"The Ministry says Harry's lying about You-Know-Who's return." She said firmly.

"Why would they say that?" I asked indignated.

"You tell me."

{☆~☆}

Later that day, I went to the Umbridge's office, as I found Harry in the way.

"Hey, it's Lara right?" He asked softly, as we walked together, towards Umbridge's office for our detention, and I nodded gently at him. "Er- thank you, for standing up against Umbridge today, the number of people who believes me is pretty low..."

"There's nothing you need to thank me for, she's disrespecting a person's life, and I can't support that..." I said softly. "...or her." I said in annoyed tone.

"Well, that makes two of us." He said, and I gave him a thin smile.

When we arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I knocked on Umbridge's door, and we both stepped in at the words "Come in" from the other side.

My gaze hurted as soon as I stepped in her office, all painted in flushed pink, almost hard to distinguish her from the whole room, a uncountable mount of plates with cats as a moving pic in it, their meows echoing in the whole room.

"Good evening, have a seat, both if you." She said with her devilish smile on her lips.

Me and Harry stepped in, closing the door behind us, and went to sat in the little table besides Umbridge's desk, our gazes still tormented by the extremely pink contained in this room.

"You're going to do some lines for me today my children." She said and me and Harry went to grabb our quill from our bags, but Umbridge stopped us. "No, not with your quill, going to use a rather special one of mine." She said calmly, and handed us two black quills.

"Mr. Potter, I want you to write, I must not tell lies." She said firmly, and then looked at me. "And you Miss. Blackwell, you'll write, I must not be disrespectful." She said firmly.

"How many times?" I asked coldly.

"As long as it takes for the message, to sink in." She replied.

"You haven't gave us any ink." Harry said coldly.

"You don't need any." She said, leaving me and Harry a bit confused.

We started writing, and for our surprise, red letters started to appear in the paper.

Seconds after, a itching feeling started to appear on the skin of my left hand, which not long after, turned into a sharp stabbing pain in a burning sensation, as if someone was drawing something in it with a hot knife.

When I looked at it, red letters, written with my blood, were craved into my skin, spelling the words I started to write on my parchment.

I must not be disrespectful.

"Yes?" She asked when saw mine and Harry's concerned face, he had as well, words craved in his skin.

"Nothing." Harry said coldly, showing no fear of her in his tone.

I didn't understood why Harry didn't argued with her, but didn't dared to say anything as well, this pain in my hand was already bad enough...

{☆~☆}

After leaving Umbridge's office, me and Harry didn't swap words and went in different directions, it was already nightfall, I was holding my hand slightly, trying to erase the pain within it.

My gaze caught Draco's back, climbing up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, and I don't know what, but something in me made me lose control of my own bodie, and follow him.

He was sat in his usual place as I climbed up the stairs, so many memories I remembered as I looked at him and this tower, of how I missed being here, this place was beyond magical.

I didn't said anything, I just sat besides him, scaring him a bit, he was definitely surprised for seeing me here.

I didn't looked at him, even though I could feel his gaze burning in my skin.

"I wasn't expecting you-" I cut him off.

"Of course you weren't!" I turned abruptly at him, a mix of anger and sadness in my bodie.

"Watch your tone, Blackwell." He said firmly.

"Why should I hear anything that comes out of your mouth?! You're a liar, people are right about you!" I shouted angrily, my eyes started to watering, but I hoped he didn't noticed that, I have been keeping all by myself, keeping all my emotions and feelings for myself, and for some reason, I reached limit...

"And like I said, you're too naive." He said coldly, his mask perfectly attached to his face.

"You know what, forget it." I said coldly, but his expression changed as soon as he saw my small tears, reflected by the starlight, as I was starting to stand up, turning to go away from him, this time for good.

"Wait!" He shouted and grabbed my left hand, the same hand that would gain scares by the act of a devilish woman.

"Ouch!" I shouted, taking my hand out of his grip

"What happened to your hand?" He asked, focusing his gaze on my bloody and red hand.

"Nothing." I said coldly, gently covering the bloody letters with my palm.

"Let me see it." He said abruptly, grabbing my wrist, not tight enough to hurt me, but strong enough to didn't allow me to stop him from doing so.

"I said it was nothing, let go off my hand." I demanded, but he ignored me, and kept his gaze on the letters craved on my skin, and gently touched them, and I flinched in pain, letting out a gasp.

"That's clearly something." He said firmly, after seeing my reaction. "Who did this to you." He asked, driving his gaze from my hand to my eyes, locking our gazes.

His eyes were as beautiful as I remember, making me still want to look at them forever...

"No one." I kept my tone cold.

"Who did this to you!" He shouted angrily.

"Why do you even care?!" I bellowed, with the tears falling down my eyes.

"Blackwell, what happened to you..." He asked, his eyes showing me concerned.

"Why do you even care?" I asked again, but now the tears I have been holding for so much time, were no longer being contained inside me, as I felt my cheeks getting wet. "You never cared..." I said trying to still hold my tears back.

"I care about you, Blackwell!" He shouted, and we stared at each other for a moment.

I felt warm and kindness in his voice, a feeling I've never thought I'd feel with him, but most of all, he was being honest, I could see through his grey shinning eyes, making all the pain fade away for a few moments, I felt safe with him, even knowing I shouldn't, but his gaze projected pain as well, he looked as broken as I was, as tired as I was...

But quickly, he hidded his face from me as if he was embarrassed, and stared back at my hand.

"...So tell me who did this to you?" He asked calmly, as my hand was resting on top of his, feeling he warmth in them, making me remember the last time I have ever touched them...

"Umbridge's detention." I said softly, watching, his thumb, gently massaging the skin under my wounds.

"She did this to you?!" He asked abruptly, and I nodded. "Just wait till my father hears about this." He said firmly. "She will regret this." His words were firm and abrupt, but warm.

"Why?" I asked, making him look at me furrowing his eyebrowns in confusion. "Why did you told me those things in the train." I asked, and he looked away from me in shame.

"That was...I'm..." He let out a deep sigh. "I don't know!" I cut him off.

"You don't want people to know that you talk with me." I said, and he looked down, making me understand I was right.

"I'm just, not-what I mean is-" I cut him off again.

"It's okay, Draco." I said softly, and he looked at me, and I saw it.

I saw the moment where his cold and devilish mask had vanished, I saw him, I saw the boy I knew it was burried inside of him, fearing to appear to this cruel world, to fall into his claws, and being pushed down to burn...by the people who had ruined this broken world...

"Is there something else wrong?" He asked calmly, making me wonder if he could read minds or if he just already knew me too well...

I looked away, focusing on the sky, but, no matter how hard I tried, I started bursting down in tears, and my body, fell into him, as my head was now buried in his chest.

"Blackwell...what, happened?" He asked softly, as I felt his arms slowly, wrap around my body, holding my softly, if I was thin ice waiting to break at the miss if his warm and safe touch...

"My mom is ill, really ill and-and-" I was struggling to speak between the loud sobs. "And, I'm losing my friends, and I- have no one to speak this with." I said while crying out, letting all out.

I could almost swear I heard him whispered, "...You have me..." in a soft whisper, but at the same time I thought I imagined it, he was saying something to me, and I probably messed up the words...

"Blackwell, I didn't know you were going through so much..." He said softly, in a apologetic tone, and I felt him slowly stroking my hair, as I sobbed intensely into his arms.

His warm body, made me feel a way I've never felt with anyone before...

I was feeling safe, under the devil's touch...

The way he gently stroke my hair, the way he was holding me like his most precious thing, if he was hell, then I'd burn with him, his soft words in a tone I had never witnessed within my emerald eyes, I was crawling into the darkness but the small light that was hiding behind the cold thin ice, brought me out of the dark place life was leading me to...

"Shhh...it's okay..." He whispered. " where's the girl that smiled all the time, even in the darkest times?" He asked softly.

I slightly smiled at his sentence, each of his soft words running through my head, replacing the painful words that had found accommodation in my mind...

After I calmed down, he didn't let go, he kept stroking my hair, until the only sound between us was the sound of the wind kissing our bodies.

I raised my head from his chest, and looked at the dazzling, shining stars in the dark sky.

"I'm sorry..." I said after a few seconds. "For all of this crying."

He grabbed gently my chin with his thumb, turning my too look at his astonishing gaze that could make a even Merlin himself bown to his feet.

"You're okay?" He asked softly, wiping the remaining tears in my eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you."

A smile found it's way to my lips.