Chapter 35, Part II: 'Til [Blank] Do Us Part

Leolin woke with a blinding headache and a bad taste in her mouth. She sat up, groaning as she did so. Fuck, what had they drank last night? Blearily she looked around at the rumpled sheets and discarded clothing, trying to remember the exact sequence of events after Draco had shown up. It was hazy at best, but what she could remember sent an unpleasant tingle down her spine. Then again, maybe that was just the massive hangover. She flopped back down onto her back, heaving a sigh. Merlin, she felt like shit. She hoped this wasn't a bad omen for the wedding.

The wedding! Merlin, she was getting married today. She couldn't help the smile that split across her face. By the time the sun set, she would be Draco's wife. However, she had only a moment to bask in this fact, and when she glanced at Draco's watch, which lay on the side table, she groaned again. Bollocks, it was already seven. She needed to get up and start getting ready. The wedding wasn't until five that afternoon, but she had millions of things to do before then. She looked at the watch again and narrowed her eyes a little, scrutinizing. It was a handsome Patek Phillipe with a gold face and supple chocolate leather straps, but Leolin was sure she'd never seen it before. Hadn't Draco been wearing his diamond-faced Tourbillion yesterday? Perhaps she was just assuming that; it was Draco's favourite, and despite its extravagance, he wore it almost every day. She shook her aching head, looking away. Merlin's pants! What did it matter anyways?

She labouriously rose to a sitting position again, closing her eyes and wincing. Her head was pounding, and it made it impossible to think clearly. Damnit. Hung-over on her wedding day was a fate she'd been rather hoping to avoid. Blearily, she glanced at the side table again, noticing a small rose-coloured vial and a glass of fresh orange juice. There was also a note written in Draco's hand.

Drink the potion—it will make you feel better.

See you soon, Mrs. Malfoy

xx

-D

Leolin eyed the glass before uncorking it and smelling it. It was sweet but cloying, and she frowned at once. There was something about it that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up when she brought it to her nose again. She glanced at the note a second time before shaking her sore head and downing the contents of the vial before washing it down with a large mouthful of juice.

At first, she truly thought she was going to jeff, and the potion, which was unpleasantly effervescent, send an odd shudder through her body the second it touched her tongue. It seemed to zip through her, tingling in her scalp and her fingertips for a moment. She turned her hands in mild alarm. However, when she finally managed the unpleasant mouthful, her mind felt instantly clearer, and her headache was completely gone. Draco Malfoy, that sweet genius! He needed to start bottling that stuff at once; it was better than Pepper-Up.

She was so relieved she laughed a little, getting out of bed and stretching. She glanced out her open balcony doors, smiling as the sun touched her face. The fiery orb was just cresting the hills to the East, and the ensuing light set the Malfoy Lake ablaze. It was going to be a beautiful summer day; perfect for a wedding. However, a second later Leolin frowned. Though he was mostly obscured by the soft drapes fluttering in the wind, Leolin could make out Draco's blonde head as he stood on the far side of the balcony, watching the sunrise.

"Draco," she cried, half-exasperated and half-amused. "You promised you'd be gone!"

Draco must not of heard her, because he didn't turn, and she laughed a little as she found her discarded bra and knickers on the floor. She slipped into her silk robe and picked up a slipper to throw at him as she marched out onto the balcony.

"Don't ignore me, you clot!" she laughed, throwing the slipper at his broad back. "You aren't even supposed to be here!"

Finally, he turned, and Leolin gave a cry of surprise, stumbling back a step before wrapping her arms around herself to cover her semi-nakedness. It wasn't Draco at all.

"Expecting someone else?" Lucius said, smiling at her.

He was dressed in an impeccable charcoal suit, a sinister blood red tie underneath.

"How the hell did you get in here?" she whispered fearfully, taking another step back.

He countered this by taking two forward, sliding gracefully along the stone railing so that she was trapped in the crook of the enclosure. His diamond cufflinks wink with a cruel elegance.

"What do you mean?" Lucius said, the smile widening as he reached to touch her cheek. His silver eyes glinted dangerously in the light, as did his pearly teeth. She shied away from his touch breathlessly, trying not to panic. "You let me in last night. Don't tell me you've forgotten already."

Leolin was already shaking her head even as the pieces fell into place.

"No," she said, remembering the watch and the bowtie and half a hundred other details that hadn't made sense. "You're lying."

"I think you know that I'm not," he said, reaching to touch her cheek again. The same odd chill from last night slipped down her spine, and she cried out, slapping his hand away this time. She turned, half collapsing against the polished marble, a hitherto unimaginable grief welling up in her chest.

She tried not to think of his hands as they'd tugged off her clothes or his lips as they touched her bare skin, but her mind was suddenly ablaze with memories from the night before. She crumpled under the crushing weight of her shame.

"Ah," he said, his voice teeming with cruel laughter. "So you do remember after all. Good girl."

Leolin shook her head again, brushing at the tears enmeshed in her lower lashes.

Lucius gave a frown of mock concern.

"There's no need to cry, my angel. I promise that you quite enjoyed yourself."

She straightened to face him, her lip still trembling. He laughed outright at this, advancing on her again as she tried vainly to escape him. He had her by the arm in a second and he crushed her against the frame of the window, knocking her skull so hard that everything went white for a second.

"I must say, Leolin," he breathed against her neck as she twisted her head away from him, gasping for breath. She was crying in earnest now. "You really were exquisite last night. I often wondered what it would be like to take you by force, but I have to admit that I actually preferred watching you writhe underneath me, those perfect breasts bouncing as you begged—"

Finding her ire at last, Leolin reached back with her free hand and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. The shock and pain of it momentarily stunned him, and she stumbled back into the bedroom, gritting her teeth.

"If you thought you could break me, you're wrong," she said, though she barely believed it herself. "This won't keep me from Draco. He'll still love me. We both know he will."

She tried not to look at the rumpled bed, which stood like a giant monument to her shame. She wouldn't admit to Lucius, but there was a sickness bubbling up in her heart that threatened to swallow her whole.

However, he only laughed at her courage, following her into the bedroom and smirking wickedly.

"You're right, of course," Lucius said lightly, eyes following her. "Damn."

She turned her back him again. She needed to see Draco at once.

"Then again," Lucius breathed, grabbing her shoulders of speaking quietly in her ear. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked, and she could feel his gaze skimming over her shoulder and resting meaningfully on the side table.

Leolin bit her lip as her eyes felt on the empty vial. She felt tears clawing up her throat again, and she drove her nails into her palm to try and staunch their flow. She wouldn't shed another tear until she was free of Lucius. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm?"

"What have you done?" She grit out, breathless again.

"You wouldn't believe the control you relinquish to another person at the height of ecstasy," he said, tucking his hands neatly in his pocekts. "It makes for some very. powerful. dark. magic."

She whipped around again, backing way as he drew a hand out and producing a vial similar to the one on the nightstand.

"What is that?" she whispered, fearful.

"That tonic you drank is one half of the most powerful potions on earth. I think you can guess where it draws its potency."

His eyes fell on the bed again, and Leolin drew her robe tighter around her as Lucius watched her hungrily, no doubt imagining her naked again.

"Aren't you going to ask me what it does?" He taunted, shaking the small bottle and making the contents inside swish quietly.

"It doesn't matter," Leolin said obstinately as she clenched her fists.

"How wrong you are," he drawled, shaking contents of the bottle more forcefully, the rosy tincture flashing a sinister violet. "The contents of this vial is going to change your life! This is a love potion: created in your bed, made possible by your amorous sighs, and consumed by you. What do you suppose would happen if someone were to drink the other half? "

Leolin said nothing, though she understood his insinuation. The answer was obvious.

"Well?" He said expectantly, shaking the vial again.

"They would fall in love with me," Leolin said quietly.

Lucius laughed out loud.

"Wrong again, I'm afraid. You'd both fall in love. Irrevocably. You see, this is a Le Fay curse, created by the sorceress Morgaine for use against her half-brother, Arthur. What better repayment for his usurpation of her throne than to force Arthur's wife Guinevere into his good friend Lancelot's arms? How pained they both were by their love for each other," he said in a falsely dolorous tone, slowly circling her.

"They neither of them forgot how much they loved Arthur, you understand, but it didn't matter. Their hearts had been poisoned, and they withered and died under this curse's power. They needed each other too badly to simply let Guinevere be happy with Arthur, but they both still loved Arthur so much that they were never able to be happy together. They were simply trapped, doomed to be tragically unhappy, to make Arthur tragically unhappy, until the end of all of their days. This one curse brought the kingdom of Camelot to ruin. Such is the great power of ruptured love."

By now, the panic had set in, and Leolin could feel her chest rapidly rising and falling as her mind raced.

"How devastating it would be," Lucius mocked as Leolin looked around wildly. "If this were to find it's way into Blaise Zabini's coffee this morning."

Vainly, Leolin reached to grab the vial from Lucius, but in an instant, he made it disappear entirely, tsking at her as he did so.

"Not so fast," he said. "Let's not get greedy, my dear. You haven't heard my terms yet."

"I don't need to," she said, breathless with fear. "When I tell Draco—"

"You really think you can get to Draco before I get to our good friend Mr. Zabini?"

Leolin froze. Of course she couldn't. Besides, even if she could reach Blaise in time, there was nothing to stop Lucius from giving it to someone else. Anyone else. Leolin's mind raced with the possibilities. Harry. Adrien Pucey. Her cousin Blair.

A towering grief that dwarfed even the shame of the night before bloomed in her chest. It ached, literally ached, as if someone had struck her, and she tried not to think of Draco as the tears intensified.

"What do you want?" she said quietly. "Please, I'll give you anything."

He gave a humourless smile, grabbing her face in his hands and staring deep into her eyes, the hate in his gaze smouldering. His lips were mere inches from hers as he spoke, and she felt sick as his cool cologne washed over her.

"I want what I've always wanted," he whispered, teeth grit. "Leave my son and never come back."

Leolin shook her head, her heart pounding in her ears as another tear slipped down her cheek.

"What choice do you have?" he demanded, his hands tightening painfully around the back of her neck. "With this poison I can ruin you both anyway. And what about Zabini? Are you so selfish that you would sacrifice his happiness in some desperate gambit to save your own?"

Leolin thought about the way that Blaise looked at Ginny, and she sobbed unhappily.

"You can't just send me away," she said desperately, looking away from him. "Whatever you told Draco he would never believe. He would never stop looking for me."

"Why don't you leave that to me," Lucius grit. "After all, Draco's really no longer your concern."

"No!" she cried, wrenching from his grasp as more tears fell. "I love him. You can't just take him away from me!"

"Can I not?" he snapped grabbing a fistful of her robe and casting her into a pitiful heap on the floor. "Give up, Leolin! Your course is run. You can't beat me, and you were a bloody fool to try."

"No," she wept, swiping furiously at the torrent of tears. "Please, don't do this to me, I'm begging you. I'll give you anything."

He crouched down so that they were at eye level again, and he shook his head at her in mock pity, tangling a hand in her hair so she couldn't look away.

"Hear me when I tell you that there's nothing in this world that you could give me that I could want more than this," he sneered.

"What have I done?" she pleaded, her pride forgotten. "To make you hate me so? What has either of us done? Draco is your son! Don't you want him to be happy?"

"Happiness is for fools," he said nastily. "And my son isn't a fool."

Leolin buried her face in her hands, trying not to think about the white gown in her closet or the hundreds of guests who were just waking up or Draco, who still thought this was going to be the happiest day of his life. She tried not to think about all the plans they'd made and would never see through. About the honeymoon. About Paris. About their firstborn, or their second, or third.

"Time's up," Lucius sneered even as she sobbed miserably, her head hung low. "Make your choice or I'll make it for you."

"What choice?" she wailed, face contorted in anguish. "You haven't given me one!"

"Then you'll go?" He said, a sick triumph glittering in his eyes.

She glanced back at the bed, wishing now that she'd simply let Draco stay the night when she had the chance. If she had…

"What other choice do I have?" she bit out.

"Smart girl," he said derisively. "I knew you'd come to see things as I do."

Leolin shook her head again, the tears starting fresh.

"What about my family?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"What about them?" he mocked.

"Will—" she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Will I be allowed to see them? To speak to them?"

Lucius laughed cruelly, sneering at her.

"What would be the point of sending you away if you didn't truly disappear? No, that won't do."

"And if I agreed to break off the engagement and leave here of my own volition? Would you let me continue to stay in contact with my family then?"

He laughed again, and the sound rang through the empty room. He circled her, admiring her as if she were a trophy.

"Go or stay," he murmured in her ear, hands skating down her arms. "That's your choice. But know that there'll be no negotiating."

"Why this?" Leolin said in a cracked voice, folding her arms around herself again in an attempt to protect her body from his wanton assaults as he continued to circle her. "Why not just kill me or wipe my memory?"

"Because I want you to be reminded every day for the rest of your miserable life what it costs to cross a man like me. I want you to think of me and weep. I want you to remember that Draco was made crueler at your hands, all because you were stupid enough and arrogant enough to think you could defy me and get away with it. I warned you long ago that you were no match for me. I warned you at Gringotts all those years ago that would be a steep price to pay for disobeying me."

He took her chin in his hand and jerked her roughly so they were nose to nose.

"This is my price. Now," he said, letting go of her with such force that she had to stumble to catch herself. "Let's talk business, shall we?"

He snapped his fingers and a contract began to materialize. When it was complete, it formed into a pair of lips that spoke in an odd, stilted voice. She realized as it began to speak that it was some manifestation of her own voice, and she touched her throat as if Lucius had stolen it from her.

"I," the voice intoned. "Leolin Marie-Therese Anastasie Lefevre, do solemnly agree that I am henceforth banished from the United Kingdom, The Republic of Ireland, and the Sovereign State of France. I swear to relinquish contact with all those related to me, both by blood and by marriage, as well as any who have attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, either currently or in the past. I further relinquish contact with any and all guests who came here today with the intent to see my married. I accept in return the Le Fey potion as a reward for my compliance. I sign below in my own blood as a measure of my resolve."

When the contract concluded, a quill materialized beside it, its nub sharp enough to pierce the skin. Leolin glanced fearfully at Lucius, her palms sweating as her heart thudded wetly in her chest.

"Go on then," Lucius goaded, retrieving the quill from where it hung in midair and swiping the soft eagle feather across her cheek. "We haven't got all day, I'm afraid."

Leolin closed her eyes, trying to remember every moment of joy she and Draco had ever shared before she signed it all away.

"Sign it," he hissed, eyes glinting wickedly. "Now."

She took the quill with a trembling hand, dragging the sharp nub across the pad of her right thumb and wincing as it gushed ruby. She caught several drops with the pen, drawing it down to the parchment, slowly scrawling her name. Lucius watched with a sadistic glee, making sure she wrote her full name. When it was done, he snatched the parchment from her, smiling a little as she collapsed against the table.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Cal?" a voice called, and she covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Cal?" Draco called again. "Are you awake? Darling, it's almost eight o'clock. Way past time to get up, I'm afraid."

Leolin's hand remained clamped over her mouth in an effort to suppress the sob welling in her throat. She looked at Lucius, who only shrugged.

"Don't be so callous, my love! Go and say goodbye," he said quietly, a smile in his eyes.

She made to rush to Draco, but he caught her arm, squeezing painfully "Through the door is best, I'd say."

"Draco!"

Leolin wrenched free, flying to the door and pressing herself against it, all the while trying to conceal the tears in her voice. "Sorry! I'm here."

She laid her head against the door, caressing the wood as she tried to fight her hysteria.

"Not really the day for a lie-in," he said, and she could hear the laughter in his voice.

"Yeah," she choked. "Sorry! I was a bit hungover.

There was a pause, and Draco laughed again.

"Well, can I come in? You were supposed to be at breakfast with your mum half hour ago. Between you and me, I think she's a little cross with you, bride or no."

"Sorry!" Leolin cried again, fiercely biting back tears. "I wasn't really hungry anyway."

"Alright, whatever. Now will you please open this door, woman?"

Leolin shook her head, three more tears skidding down her cheeks.

"You can't come in, remember?"

"Oh you weren't bloody serious about that Muggle rot, were you?" Draco groaned, laughing "I think we both know that's bloody bollocks."

"Not to me," she said, pressing her palm to the supple oak.

"Callie, c'mon! Just let me in already. I feel fucking stupid talking through the door, and I have a feeling you're either wearing sinful lingerie or nothing."

He tried the knob again, and Leolin hazarded a glance at Lucius, who shook his head

"I'm the bride, remember?" Leolin said, faking a laugh. "Today everyone's my servant. Besides, it's bad luck!"

"For Merlin's sake," he growled. She could imagine him running his hand through his hair in frustration. "You're bloody impossible."

She bit her lip, fearing a melt down.

"That one of the main reasons you love me, remember?"

"Fuck," he said, laughing. "You have me there. Alright, but you still need to make your grand entrée. Weasley said something about your hair and nails?"

Leolin bit back more tears. Was this really the last conversation they were ever going to have? It was painfully inane.

"Yeah," she ground out, the tears making it almost impossible to talk normally.

"I will be right there."

"Alright," he said. "I'll tell her. Look for me later, then. I'll be the devastatingly handsome bloke at the end of the aisle."

He gave the door an affectionate tap before starting away. Immediately Leolin began to panic, searching frantically for something to say. She didn't want her last words to him to be about her nails.

"Drake wait!" She cried, swiping at the tears before placing both palms on the door. "Come back a second!"

"What?" he said, his voice indicating he had done as she asked. "What is it?"

"I—" she began, trying to swallow her grief. "I just wanted to tell you that I—" she said, choking back a shuddering sob. "I love you," she said, her voice wavering the slightest bit. "I love you," she said more assuredly. "I can't even tell you how much.

"I love you too," he said quizzically. "Listen Lai, you're sort of scaring me. Can I please come in? Just to kiss you. I will even keep my eyes closed if you want. I just want to hold you for a second. Please."

Leolin buried her face in her hands, sobbing as quietly as she could for a moment before making a decision.

"Just one kiss, Draco," she said as evenly as she could. "And you have to keep your eyes closed. Promise me!"

He laughed. "I promise! Now let me in!"

Leolin looked fearfully over at Lucius as she turned the key, but he was smiling his sick smile. She realized he was enjoying this. Trying to forget him, she carefully pulled the door open, wiping her eyes again as she gazed at Draco for the last time.

He was smiling, his eyes dutifully closed. Gently, she stepped forward into his embrace, and his arms immediately found her waist. She skated her hands slowly across his chest and up his neck, where her falcon pendant dutifully hung. Admiring her ring against his sun-touched skin a final time, she gently slid her hands his platinum hair before carefully pulling her lips to his.

As their lips touched, Leolin felt her heart crumbling and turning to ash, but she didn't shy away from it. Instead, she gave herself fully to his affection, allowing his soft lips to work their magic. She held him closer as his tongue danced against hers a final time.

Finally, when she knew she could not conceivably prolong the kiss, she pulled away, her hands reluctant to let him go.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy," she said, as her fingers finally departed from his cheek. "Always have, always, always will."

He smiled, eyes still shut.

"See you soon, Mrs. Malfoy."

He stepped back and she shut the door, waiting until his footsteps were far enough away before sinking to the floor and sobbing with abandon. She pounded her fists on the floor, heaving and wailing as her cries punctured the silence and riddled it with her sorrow. Lucius merely watched her with a cold amusement, waiting until she was spent before speaking again.

"Finished?" He said. "We're on a tight schedule."

He hauled her roughly up again, dragging her by the wrist to her vanity.

"Sit," he commanded, and she obliged, hollow from the pain. "Now," he said. "I want you to write a letter."

He produced a quill and parchment, forcing the former into her left hand.

"Saying what?" she demanded.

"Goodbye, of course." He smiled. "And before you start scheming about leaving clues, remember I still have the other half of the Le Fey. I'll be back in five. I trust you'll be done by then."

He disappeared with a pop, and she immediately thought of running to Draco. However, she knew she would never make it, and the thought of Blaise stopped her.

She dipped the quill in the onyx ink Lucius had left, her hand quaking.

Draco,

I love you more than I can say and I always will, but I can't marry you. I know you want to protect me,

but your father's planning on using me to manipulate

you, and I can't put you through that again. Please know that I'm

doing this for you, and please my love, don't come after me .

You won't find me, and I don't want to be found. You told me

once that you hoped I would come to love

someone else in your absence.

Now I hope the same for you. Know that

I will love you until I die, and I only want what's best for you.

I love you. Je t'aime. Rwy'n caru ti.

I know we'll meet again in that place between sleep and awake;

that place where you still remember dreaming.

That's where I'll always love you; That's where I'll be waiting.

Find happiness, my love.

Your Leolin.

The parchment was stained with tears when she was done, and she threw down the quill in distress, her face red and swollen from crying. She looked down at the letter again before lifting her head. This was madness; what was she doing sitting there, passively accepting her fate? She ought to run; she had to run.

Every curse could be remedied. With Draco at her side, she would find a way to break the Le Fey, even if it killed her. She rose at once, running to the door and thrusting it open.

However, she did so only to find Lucius in the doorway.

"Tell me you're not that stupid and naïve," he taunted, pushing her roughly back inside.

"I won't go," she said. "I've changed my mind."

"Too late for that, I'm afraid," Lucius said, throwing open the door of her closet and vanishing the majority of her clothes. "The die's already been cast."

"I won't go!" she screamed. "You can't drive me away."

He rolled his eyes.

"We'll just see about that then, won't we?" he goaded, coming out and slamming the door.

She backed away, knowing that if he managed to lay hands on her it was over.

"Won't we?" he repeated, growing annoyed as she retreated to the door. "Oh enough of this," he sneered, drawing summoning his cane to his outstretched palm and drawing his wand. In a flash she'd laid hands on hers as well.

"Petrificus Totalus," he said, flicking his wrist.

She uttered 'protego' just in time, blocking the bind.

"Don't be bothersome, girl," he snapped, hurling another bind. "You won't like your punishment."

She said nothing, only blocked his spell before hurling a stinging jinx. He deflected it easily before flourishing his wand. She cried 'protego', but it was too late. He hadn't actually cast anything, and in the second after her protego, he nailed her in the leg with a nasty 'incarcerous!'

She was immediately bound with chains, and she fell to the floor, struggling.

"You useless little bitch," he sneered, snapping his wand back into the cane before hauling her up by the chains. "That was bloody foolish."

He dragged her to the edge of the bed and forcing her over it, vanishing the chains before whispering 'Imperio'.

Immediately she went limp, her mind flooded with pleasant warmth. She tried to fight it, but it was too strong, and her emotions too untamed. She succumbed almost at once, laying still as he loomed over her.

"If only we had more time," he mused, surveying her. "I could give you a proper send off."

He pushed her silky robe aside with a hand, her breast heaving and body quivering as he ran a hand down her taut stomach.

"Take off your clothes," he demanded, eyes gleaming with a sick pleasure.

She sat up immediately, pushing the robe from her shoulders before reaching around to unhook her bra. When it too was on the floor, he immediately reached forward to grab one. She rose to step out of her semi-sheer knickers, but he shook his head.

"No, I've changed my mind," he said. "Keep those on."

She nodded numbly before sinking back down on the bed. He licked his lips.

"Now touch yourself," he demanded.

She blinked several times, clearly fighting his command.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Leolin," he said, grabbing her slender wrist.

She was breathing heavily, her mind clearly at war, but eventually she did as she was told, pushing her fingers bashfully between her legs.

"Tell me what you're thinking about," he said.

"Nothing," she said, voice hollow. "I'm just imagining a blank wall."

"That won't do," he said, leaning over her and kissing her jaw. "We'll be here all day. Why don't you think about last night instead?"

"I don't remember it," she admitted, fingers moving slowly and dispassionately.

"But I do," he said, and she felt a breach in her solitary mind.

Suddenly the overly pleasant warmth was inundated by memories not her own.

She watched herself writhe in pleasure, Draco's familiar lips trailing down her skin. The thought of him spiked her pulse, and her machinations grew more deliberate. She bit her lip as Lucius's memories transformed her fingers into Draco's manhood, and she rocked against them the way she would him.

Suddenly Draco was gone, and it was Lucius between her thighs. That must have been when the polyjuice had worn off. She wanted to stop what she was doing, to pretest reliving her ecstasy by succumbing to another orgasm, but she'd gone to far already, and the warmth in her mind urged her on.

Her cheeks were flushed now, and she squeezed her eyes and bit her lip as she worked furiously.

"That's right, Leolin," Lucius purred. "Once more for me."

She bit her lip so hard she was surprised she hadn't drawn blood, and when she hit a spot of particular poignancy, she couldn't help by cry out. She rode the feeling to its conclusion, and she felt the warmth ebbing with her pleasure.

She felt sick with shame, and she turned her head away as he laughed, dancing unwanted fingers across her through the fabric of her knickers.

"What a delightful show," he said as she sat up, covering herself with her arms.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked softly, swiping at her tears.

He tossed her a nightgown.

"At least let me have new knickers," she begged, voice quiet.

"Whatever for?" he said, stooping so they were eye to eye. "These ones will remind you of me. Besides, it's rather delightful the effect your performance has had on that sheer mesh. Truly, it's a picture."

She snapped her legs shut at once, turning and shrugging into the bra and nighty. Finally she rose to face him, her eyes on her feet.

"One last thing," he said, running a gentle finger down her key before closing a fist around the pendant. "I don't think you'll need this anymore, do you?"

"No, please!" she begged, as he violently tore it from her neck. "At let me keep that."

"I wouldn't want it to give you any ideas," he said, flexing his fingers and vanishing it. "And you ring, if you'd be so kind."

She lowered her head, pulling it from her finger slowly. It was the last piece of Draco to be stripped from her.

"You're ready now," he said, pulling her to her feet and throwing a trench coat over her otherwise bare shoulders before tucking her under his arm. "Now come along; your chariot awaits."

With that, they apparated away with a sickening crack. When they finally stopped spinning, Leolin looked around, watching as people thronged about her, all in a desperate hurry.

"King's Cross?" she said numbly. "Where are you sending me?"

"That's up to you," he said, ushering her outside, where it had just begun to rain. "I really couldn't care either way."

She looked around in disbelief as Muggle taxis lined up. She wasn't wearing shoes, and everyone looked at her queerly as they passed.

He dragged her over to the nearest cab, giving her a handful of muggle bills and a portable floo.

"I am afraid this is goodbye, Leolin," he said with derision, smiling wickedly at her. "I do so hope you make it out of the UK before the wedding." He gave her a meaningful look. "It would be frightfully bad luck for you if you weren't."

"I will be," she said quietly. "You have my word." All the fight had been sucked out of her, and now all she wanted was to flee.

"That's my good girl," he said, crushing her limp form against him one last time for a sickening kiss. However, she didn't resist him.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," he said, dropping the vial into her palm. "Wouldn't want that to fall into the wrong hands, would we?"

She looked down at it numbly. It felt an inadequate substitute for what she'd just given up.

"Au revoir, Leolin. Bon chance. I'll give your mother your regards, shall I?"

With that, he stuffed her in and closed the door, and the cab lurched forward as Lucius stepped back to the curb. Leolin watched through the back window as the last of her old life melted away.

"Heathrow, Miss?" the driver said, glancing at her in the rearview.

She ignored him, staring down at the two items in her lap: the vial and the floo. She made to touch the key at her neck remembering in dismay it was gone.

"Miss," the man repeated. "Are you going to Heathrow?"

She looked up at him blearily. "What?"

"The gentleman who called said you were headed to the airport. Is that right?"

Leolin hadn't the fainted what Heathrow was, but she nodded absently.

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"Very good, Miss."

She looked down at the two items again. First, she threw the vial out the window, watching it hit the asphalt and shatter with a hiss. The cabbie gave her a reproachful look but said nothing, and when his eyes were on the road again, she looked back to the floo.

Who could she call? She had no money, no flat, no job, no connections. She needed help. She needed help but—everyone she'd ever known or trusted was lost to her. Who could she call that was neither a relative nor a peer nor a wedding guest? Shaking her head, she realised there was only one person, and she felt the tears welling up again even as she accepted he was her only hope.

"Can I have a bit of—paper," Leolin said to the driver. "And a—" she couldn't remember the Muggle word for their quill, so she pantomimed the action instead, and he nodded, handing both back.

Quickly, she scribbled the following note.

Cristian,

Meet me at Heathrow in twenty minutes.

Leolin

When the cabbie wasn't looking, she fed the note to the flame, and a few seconds later she had a reply.

Anything for my favourite little cousin. I hope this means you've reconsidered my offer at last. Hotel beds can be so cold without a companion.

C

Leolin shook her head, sick to her stomach. However, now that she knew she had a partner, however nefarious, she laid her head on the window, watching glumly as the city she'd grown up in but never really known blurred by. She felt several more tears welling in her eyes but made no effort to conceal them.

She could feel the driver watching her with concern as he drove, and finally he spoke.

"Begging your pardon, Miss, but is everything alright?"

She closed her eyes, shaking her head and trying to forget both what lay behind and what lay ahead.

"No," she said through her tears. "Nothing's alright."

A/N: OMG DONE! Not going to lie, I cried a little (a lot) while writing this! Poor Leolin! I hope you enjoyed this story! The next part of the trilogy is on the way, so stay tuned. Also, as always, please review!