As soon as Draco reached me, he skidded to a halt; hesitating slightly as if unsure whether to hug me or not.

"Blaire," he breathed, his chest rising and falling heavily beneath his perfectly fitted black suit, the scent of his cologne hitting me almost at once.

I found my heart fluttering maddeningly as his grey eyes twinkled into mine; a smile twitching upon his lips.

My own lips pulled into a helpless smile in return, feeling ridiculously pleased to see him.

"Blaire, darling! Thank Merlin you're here!"

I immediately looked up over Draco's shoulder to see Narcissa hurrying out of the Manor towards us, looking as beautiful as ever with her black dress and silver hair billowing hauntingly behind her.

The second she reached us, Draco moved aside so that she could immediately pull me to her.

An unexpected wave of emotion came over me as I hugged her back, realising only in that moment just how much I needed it; a mother's embrace. Even if it wasn't my own.

"Darling, I wish you could have told us about your silly mother," Narcissa said, pulling back to cup my face in her hands. "Haven't I already told you that you're welcome here any time? Our home is always your home."

"I didn't want to be an inconvenience to you," I confessed, my eyes darting guiltily up at Draco who stood a little way back looking suitably uncomfortable, "what with Lucius-"

"Nonsense, dear child," Narcissa spoke fiercely, pressing her lips ardently against my forehead. "You can never be an inconvenience to me... to us."

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling a horrendous guilt as an involuntary image of me riding her son flashed in my mind.

"Now, I'll have your things sent to the treehouse." Narcissa said in a brusque authoritative manner that somehow made me feel safe; relief that an adult was taking charge. "Given the- um... circumstances; I feel it's best if you stay there. An awful lot of dull meetings are going on in the Manor at present and I wouldn't want you to feel in the way. Draco will be keeping you company, of course."

This time I dared not even meet his eyes; terrified of what might be written all over my face.

She sent us off, apologising profusely about being needed in the Manor.

Draco and I immediately headed towards the treehouse; a loaded silence between us.

"I brought Monopoly." I said, desperate to defuse the tension. "Thought it might help pass the time what with the PlayStation being too 'Muggley'."

"Sounds good," Draco murmured, his hands deep in his trouser pockets as he walked alongside me.

I could sense him glance down at me, and I dared look back, meeting his eyes. Almost immediately, the atmosphere thickened and I found myself hurriedly looking away again.

"You could have told me," he said, his voice somber and downbeat, "about your mother, I mean. I'm supposed to be your best friend, Blaire."

"I didn't want to burden you," I shrugged coolly. "You've got enough going on."

The change in his demeanour was instant, like someone flicking a switch.

"For fuck's sake, Blaire," he spat vehemently, waves of fury emanating from him so profusely, I could feel it. "Stop trying to be so fucking 'chill' all the time. I wish you'd get that I actually care about you and I want to help you. Does five years of friendship mean fuck all to you?"

I halted in my tracks, looking up at him in shock, hurt ripping through my stomach.

"Seriously, Drac?" I snapped, my jaw dropping in disbelief. "You think our friendship means nothing to me? After everything?"

An anguished cry escaped his lips as he wheeled round on the spot and drove his hands exasperatedly through his hair.

"Yes- no. I don't know... I'm just so fucking confused. We don't talk about it, about what happened. You're holding back on me, and I hate it."

"Look," I said, taking a deep shaky breath, trying desperately to control the sudden flood of emotions I was experiencing. "What happened between us, Drac... we need to move past it."

"How?" Draco asked, his face pinched in torment; his hands still clutching his head. "Damn it, Blaire, I can't stop thinking about it - about you."

Adrenalin coursed through my veins as he looked at me; his eyes burning fiercely into mine, almost imploringly.

"I don't know," I confessed, making an effort to keep my voice steady, trying not to betray how much this was wrenching me. "Perhaps we can put it down to a moment of madness or something? One that won't be repeated."

He slowly lowered his hands as he looked down at me; something akin to pain flittered across his face.

"A moment of madness?"

The hurt in his voice was evident, twisting my heart so much that I had to look away.

"I don't want to lose you over this, Drac." I whispered, "I just can't."

I heard him exhale a heavy sigh; his body sagging resignedly as he allowed my words sink in.

"I don't want to lose you either," he said quietly.

We both stood in silence, staring sadly at one another as dusk started descending upon us; the sun setting slowly behind the trees.

All I wanted to do was press myself up against him and kiss him until my lips were numb. I wanted to go up in the treehouse together, shed all our clothes and fuse together as one.

However, I had read enough magazine articles to know that adding sex to our friendship could be fatal. I had seen it enough times in my mother to know that sex destroyed her relationships and turned her into an ugly person.

I refused to let that happen to Draco and me. Our friendship was my only constant, and even through the rocky times when months could go by without us speaking, we always came back to one another; the bond we shared stronger than ever.

But as solid as our connection was, I wasn't naive enough to believe we were unbreakable; didn't trust that sex wouldn't be our Kryptonite.

"So, then," I said with forced enthusiasm as I tried desperately to ignore the tight feeling in my chest, "we should probably get to the treehouse. It's been too fucking long since I've crushed you at Monopoly."

Draco looked at me, a small, sad smile tugging at his lips; a smile that managed to make my heart both swell and break at the same time.

"Sure thing, Zabini."

*****

Amazingly, Draco and I seemed to slot straight back into our easy, companionable way.

It was something about being back in the treehouse, I concluded; chilling out together on beanbags, playing games and gorging on unhealthy snacks, just like the summers of past.

It made it easier to believe that we had never did what we did that night - that we were just, say, fourteen years old again; putting the world to rights, teasing one another and just simply being ourselves again.

But when it came to turning in for the night, however, the tension seemed to come back at full force.

"Well... goodnight," I said, as we hovered outside our respective bedroom doors; Draco and I glancing awkwardly at one another.

"Goodnight," Draco murmured; the prominent bob of his throat as he swallowed.

Our eyes met, lingering a lot longer than was necessary, neither of us making any attempt to move.

In the end it was me who broke the gaze, swiftly disappearing into my room; my heart racing crazily in my chest as I leant my head back against the closed door.

I waited until I heard him enter his own room before I eventually crawled into bed and fell into a restless slumber; my mind full of the boy across the hall.

I wondered if it would ever get any easier, if it was even possible to go back to how we once were.

I guess time would soon tell.

******