Apparently, Daphne wasn't all wrong. Mother informed me that Auntie Bella was indeed hiding out at the Manor, and not only that but she was also staying in my room.

I was so angry. Malfoy Manor boasted over two hundred and fifty bedrooms and yet that bitch had to take mine?

Bells insisted that it will help her feel closer to her 'only' niece after all the years she's missed out on seeing you grow up. Oh, Draya, us all together with your aunt under the same roof again - isn't that wonderful? A joyous family home!

I could only conclude that my mother was on some seriously high shit.

I'm not going to lie, I was sorely tempted to hand Mother's letter into the authorities so they could deal with that bedroom stealing bitch once and for all.

But then I remembered that my parents didn't approve of traitors and would probably disown me in a heartbeat, and then I'd have to go and live with the Tonks' and trade in my designer dress robes for a pair of dungarees or whatever it was that common Muggles wore. I shuddered.

So, pushing down the dread about what was to greet me when I got home for the summer, I concentrated on my OWLs. All a piece of piss if you ask me.

Harry had to go and make some dramatic showdown during the History of Magic exam, of course, screaming and fainting over a little daydream.

Merlin. We are all doomed if he's truly the Chosen One (a stupid title which the Daily Prophet honoured him with the very next morning).

Oh yeah, all because he helped land my father in prison after yet again breaking about a thousand school rules.

Prick.

******

News hadn't reached me of my father's incarceration until the next morning when I was rudely awaken by Daphne throwing my bed drapes open.

"Guess what?" She sang, her face aglow with excitement. "Umbridge is in the hospital wing! Oh, and Potter got your dad sent to Azkaban."

"He did WHAT?!" I hollered. I knew that little shit was up to no good the second he convinced Professor Umbridge to follow him and the Mudblood into the Forbidden Forest.

I was going to go after them to make sure she was alright, but then that Weasley bitch threw a fucking Hex at me. By the time I had come to, I felt tired, so I called it a day and went to bed.

"Apparently your dad tried to murder Potter and his mates or something," Daphne said at a rush, her eyes dancing, "and then You-Know-Who came back and your aunt killed Sirius Black! He's your cousin isn't he?!"

I shrugged. Maybe Aunt Bella had her uses after all.

"Please tell me that Potter at least got expelled for all of this?!"

"Nah, rumour has it that Dumbledore awarded him two hundred points and now Gryffindor have won the House Cup."

"BUT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OURS THIS YEAR!"

Merlin, if my thoughtless actions caused so much death and destruction, I would be expelled for sure. But oh, no, Saint Potter gets a fucking trophy.

"And what happened to Professor Umbridge?" I dared asked.

"Potter ordered some centaurs to deal with her." Daphne said, sadly shaking her head. "She's beyond traumatised by all accounts, poor woman."

"Right, that's it," I scowled, throwing my covers aside and jumping out of bed. "If he thinks he can get away with this..."

I carried on grumbling to myself as I pushed Daphne aside and headed towards the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I was fiercely marching down the corridor, not stopping until I found-

"Oi! Potter! You're dead!"

The raven haired boy stopped in his tracks. Slowly, without much bother, he turned around, a nasty grin pulling at his lips.

"Funny," he drawled softly, almost seductively, as his eyes flashed behind his glasses, "you'd think I'd have stopped walking around..."

Fuelled by anger, I continued to stride towards the boy I hated more than anything in the entire existence of the universe, my body vibrating in  complete fury.

"You're going to pay. I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father..."

"Well, I'm terrified now." Harry scoffed. "I s'pose Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up act compared to you - what's the matter? He's a mate of your dad, isn't he? Not scared of him, are you?"

I hated that Harry could see the fear in my eyes at the mention of him. I hated that despite everything that had happened, I still wanted Harry to just show me some fucking respect.

"You think you're such a big man, Potter." I snarled, lowering my voice to what I hoped was a dangerous and threatening tone. "You wait. I'll have you. You can't land my father in prison-"

"I thought I just had."

The audacity of this bitch! Didn't his godfather just die? Why wasn't he crying in a corner somewhere plotting revenge on my aunt?!

"Father will be out in no time, and then he'll come and find you!"

"Yeah, I expect he will." Harry shrugged casually, closely inspecting his fingernails. "Still, at least everyone knows what a scumbag he is now-"

The sound of my hand slapping against his cheek echoed all along the corridor. I could scarcely draw breath, my chest heaving heavily as my lungs struggled to take in air.

Harry barely reacted, at least - he certainly didn't retaliate. But instead he just looked down at me, his eyes full of pity, the angry imprint of my hand glowing red on his cheek.

I hated it, I hated him. He had no idea what his little adventure had gone and done to my family. No idea of the potential horror I was to go home to. Harry Potter just did what Harry Potter wanted to do - be damned with the consequences!

"I hope you're happy," I snarled, pushing my face right up in his. "If you hadn't gone on your little end of year hero trip, then the hospital wing wouldn't be full of casualties and Sirius would still be alive. But hey ho, as long as Potter wins Gryffindor the House Cup, that's what counts, doesn't it?"

"Potter! And what exactly are you doing?"

The cold voice rang down the corridor. In my peripheral vision, I could see Snape striding towards us. But I refused to step away from Harry, refused to give him the satisfaction of breaking eye contact first.

"I'm trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir," Harry spat fiercely.

I blinked. What was he talking about? It was only when Snape demanded that he put his wand away did I allow my eyes to flick downwards and notice that Harry had his wand out and was directing it right at my middle! The sneaky son of a dead bitch!

Shakily, I stepped back, forcing my face to remain passive. Harry's cheek still bore the large red shape of my hand, and if Snape noticed then he didn't say anything.

"That's ten points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered, looking at Harry with utter hatred. "And if I catch you threatening another student again, I will personally vouch for your expulsion."

I smirked. I couldn't help it. I loved how Snape hated Harry as much as I did.

"But, Sir," Harry growled, "that's not fair-"

"Life's not fair, Potter," Snape barked coldly. "Something which I'm sure dear Sirius would be saying if he were still alive today."

This time, Harry did flinch. Perhaps he was bothered by his godfather's death after all?

Leaving them to it, I made my way to the hospital wing. I needed to see for myself how Professor Umbridge was doing and offer my sincere apologies for failing in protecting her.

But when I arrived, it was to discover Ronald Weasley, who was lain up in the bed opposite, cruelly making clip-clop sounds with his tongue and then falling about laughing at Umbridge's evident distress.

"You go to hell, Weasley!" I hollered, marching across the wing to comfort poor Umbridge.

Hermione Granger and her bushy head told me to get a sense of humour, so I stuck my finger up at the filthy little Mudblood before drawing the hospital curtain around Umbridge's bed, giving us some privacy.

Tentatively, I sat down in the chair provided and gently touched the back of her hand. She did not seem to notice my presence, her glazed, horror filled eyes staring somewhere else instead.

I swallowed the lump down in my throat, not wanting to think about what she had endured in the Forest.

"Hello, Professor," I whispered gently, trying not to sob at the frail, frightened looking witch in front of me, "it's me - Draya. You're safe now, Professor. You're safe."

She did not respond. But I stayed with her for the rest of the day all the same.

******

I did not allow any tears to fall until Umbridge was transferred to St. Mungo's. Madam Pomfrey gently suggested that purely being in the vicinity of Hogwarts was too traumatic for her to be able get better. She needed distance from the centaurs, and only then could she begin to heal.

"What do you think they did to her?" I shakily asked, staring down at the recently vacated hospital bed.

I felt Pomfrey's hand go to my shoulder. This gesture alone told me that it wasn't good.

"It's best not knowing, pet," she offered kindly with a respectful quietness, "those centaurs... they can be cruel and vile when they want to be. To have them at such close proximity to the castle... well, Professor Dumbledore already knows how I feel on the matter."

I swallowed. Perhaps she was right. Maybe I didn't want to know.

I avoided the end of year leaving feast. I could not stomach seeing Harry's smug face when Gryffindor were once again announced the winners.

Instead, I spent the evening packing my things for summer. But it was with a heavy heart. I did not want to go home. I did not want to see the despair on my mother's face at the absence of Father. I did not want to meet my infamous aunt who apparently is capable of killing off family members without a second thought.

But mostly, I did not want to see him.

Because I had a nasty feeling that I was somehow going to be the one to pay for my father's Big Mistake.

*******