The little boy appeared moments after he was called.

"Yes mother?"

She stroked his hair, "Darling, this is Pansy. Go play with her in the garden."

The girl called Pansy peeked out from behind her mother's skirts. She was chubby, as most six year olds were, with large round emerald eyes and dark brown shoulder length hair.

Draco understood why she had been hiding as she was pushed out; she was wearing a hideously frilly pink dress, with bows and flowers adorning every free space. She looked down at her feet, fingers toying with her cuff in a nervous fashion.

"Come on then." He took her hand and led her outside. The moment they rounded a corner and were out of sight, he dropped her hand.

"What do you want to play?" he asked, scowling. A silly girl. Mother had made him play with a silly girl; no doubt she would want to play house or something stupid.

"I don't know," she looked at him curiously, "Are you wearing a dress?"

"A dress?" he frowned crossly, "It's not a dress! They're robes!"

"Looks like a dress," she darted forwards and tugged at a fold of it, making it billow out. She giggled and he huffed disapprovingly.

"Stop being stupid. What do you want to play?"

"Something that will make me get dirty."

"Dirty?"

"Yeah," it was her turn to scowl, "I hate this dress. Mummy makes me wear it. I tore it once and mummy said to be carefully otherwise she wouldn't let me wear it. So I want to ruin it so I don't have to wear it anymore."

Draco stared at the girl, seeing her in a new light. There was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes that he liked. Most of the girls that mother made him play with were boring, but this one seemed up for fun. Besides, he didn't really like these dress robes; they may be the latest fashion from London, but they weren't half flowy.

"Let's roll down the hill." He pointed towards it, "Only there's a pond at the bottom, so you've got to be careful."

"Ok," she grabbed his wrist and dragged his over, "Last one to the bottom's a hippogriff poo!"

Mrs Malfoy and Mrs Parkinson never got to the bottom of what happened that afternoon; why all the shrieks and how on earth they both ended up in the pond, for Draco and Pansy kept changing their stories. First of all it was a kneazle that pushed them, then Pansy tripped on her dress and pulled Draco in, and sometimes it was Draco's fault for pushing her in the first place...

Although originally concerned about the unbecoming activities, the parents were not particularly worried about what happened. They still allowed the two children to visit each other, and they grew up together.

On boring afternoons, during rather dull tea parties, Draco and Pansy would often reminisce on that day, enjoying the memory of their mothers' faces when they walked into the dining room wearing nothing more than their underwear and pondweed, completely drenched.

The man sprinted down the corridor, jumping over obstacles and ducking spells. Where WAS she?Yaxley said he'd seen her in the Great Hall, battling beside her master, which didn't surprise him in the slightest.

It concerned him, though. That Potter boy, despite being a mere adolescent, had beaten the Dark Lord several times before. If he were to fall that night, they would have to go into hiding; for there was no doubt that the ministry would want to redeem itself by imprisoning those loyal to the Dark side.

He couldn't go to Azkaban. Not again. He couldn't do it.

He wasn't as strong as Bella. She'd already been half insane with power-lust and grief when they'd put her in the cell, but not him. He was just a young man who had lost his heir to a muggle and his wife to the darkest wizard in the world.

For those twelve years he clung onto the memory of teenage Bellatrix. He had met her when they were children at garden parties and balls, and they had never really got on. For their first three years at Hogwarts, they had argued and fought, until one fateful day in their fourth year.

They were having a particularly vicious fight over something so trivial he couldn't even recall it, but in the heart of the argument, when she screamed at him, instead of retorting, he merely kissed her. She slapped him, and then kissed him back. It was the start of their love-hate relationship.

Their parents, of course, were thrilled. They had been planning the match for a long time, but were delighted that they had come together naturally. The wedding took place two years after Bella left Hogwarts.

Rodolphus snapped back to the present and nearly retched. He could smell death, it was all around him. Before he had revelled in it, it was his battle glory.

Before, he was with Bella. They had laughed and kissed and danced in it.

Now he was terrified of it. He was terrified that the next body he may find sprawled on the floor may belong to his wife. It was wrong to be scared, and he knew it. If Bellatrix was inside his head she would scream at him and tell him he was a pansy, but he didn't care. He was worried for her. She had run off in the midst of the battle and he couldn't find her. Once more, she was gone.

He stopped outside the Great Hall. In the chaos, he could make out two voices. One haunted him day and night and captivated his wife, the other he knew to belong to a teenage boy.

He could hear another voice, too. Two voices.Two women. One was his wife. She let out a loud, exhilarated laugh, and he knew that she was herself again – his Bella was back.

He stumbled inside just in time to see the green explosion.

Bella was on the floor amongst the fallen. He waited patiently for her jump up again, shake the dust from her beautiful ebony hair and he waited to see that smile again.

It never came. Bella never moved. Panic began to assert itself through him. He could see the Dark Lord readying himself to cast a bombarding spell at the Aurors, and all he could think of was his wife.

Acting on pure instinct, Rodolphus raced forwards and scooped her up in his arms. She was tall, but he was taller and stronger, and he ran from the hall. He ran and ran, barely thinking, ran out of the Hall and Hogwarts itself, taking a route he learnt in his school days that in the back of his mind he knew lead directly to Hogsmead.

He ran and ran. There would be time for tears later. But for now he had to be strong for Bella. He had to save her. She had saved him in Azkaban, being his one sane thought, and now he would save her. He had to be strong and run.

He ran through the rain until he was completely drenched.