As nice as it was spending time with my friends, I knew it would be short lived. I could only hide in the arms of Daphne and Theo for so long, considering how quickly Christmas was coming up and how I knew I would have to go back for the ball.

I spent the night with Daphne and Theo but in the morning I accepted my fate and apparated back home. I still actively avoided Draco, though, which made the transition back home easier. I stayed in my room, talked to the house elves, and spent as little time as possible helping with decorations.

Luckily most of the decorating had finished while I was away, so I didn't have to worry about that. Christmas was always one of my favorite holidays, simply because of the jolly energy that it created everywhere you went. That was another reason I loved Hogsmeade so much; it was like Christmas year-round.

As unhappy as I was otherwise, I couldn't help but smile at the green and red themed house and other cute Christmas appeal. The wreaths were large and elegant, there were twinkling lights everywhere. My favorite part was the gigantic Christmas tree in the ballroom. It was always what captured guests' attention, and for good reason.

The tree reached the top of the staircase in the ballroom, so it had to have been a good thirty or so feet tall. I didn't know where it could be chopped down from; maybe magic was used to make it that big.

Something I always insisted on was having an angel on top of the tree instead of a star. I thought everyone used stars so we shouldn't have one; plus, there were lots of other decorations and ornaments on the tree that my mother approved of, so she let me have the angel at the top if I so wished.

Regardless, it was nice having something to cheer me up while I was home. I could look forward to, if I was forced to step out of my room, that at least I would have something nice to look at.

That was exactly what happened when I was (not so subtly) trying to sneak from the kitchen back up to my room. I don't know how, but out of all the rooms in our manor, my mother happened to see me with a mini sandwich in hand and forced me into the ballroom.

"Y/n dear! We haven't seen you in two days, where did you go off to?"

She was upset, clearly since I'd gone off at such a hectic time without telling her, but I could tell her voice was also laced with concern. I'm sure, being my mother, she was still worried about my wellbeing.

"I just needed a moment to myself, mama. I'm here now, aren't I?"

She rolled her eyes, but still looked overall content I was back. "And not a moment too soon, clearly. Come on, Narcissa and I have been so busy planning all this ourselves."

She grabbed me by the arm and yanked me into the ballroom. I immediately felt comforted looking at the tree. It looked like it had every year for as long as I could remember. I found solace in the familiarity of it.

"It's a nice tree," I smiled.

"It's the same as ever year's, y/n," my mother noted.

"And every year we choose a good one."

"You didn't choose anything. You're lucky I have such good taste, otherwise you'd be stuck with such an ugly home that reporters wouldn't even want to come to the event."

I rolled my eyes at her remark, but I let it slide since I knew that right now if I said anything, it would only make things worse between us. I had no doubt she was upset that I'd left yesterday, so I might as well try to quell the flames as best as possible by not feeding into her insults.

Plus, I knew this was stressful for her. In her defense, the papers could rip families to shreds if they hosted poor parties. The stress of essentially the entire media was put on her shoulders. I remember a few years back when Blaise Zabini's sixth step-father had just "passed away", his mother didn't plan anything special for a New Year's Eve party. She was torn apart by the Daily Prophet.

"Well, then you've done a good job this year. Everything looks fantastic."

"What's that about you taking all the credit, y/m/n?" I heard the voice of Narcissa rounding about from behind us. I turned around and saw her walking over toward us.

She engulfed me in a hug; I wasn't necessarily wanting one, especially considering everything with Draco, but I couldn't deny her anything.

"It's so nice to have you back, y/n. We looked for you all afternoon yesterday but we figured you'd gone off somewhere."

I gave her a crooked smile. "I just needed a break. You know... stress from the party."

She shook her head. "It's alright, y/n, you don't have to lie. We know what happened with you and Draco."

I looked between the two ladies. "You do?"

Narcissa nodded. "He told us everything."

"He did?"

I knew Draco and his mother were close, but I hadn't figured he would tell her anything like this.

"My boy can't keep anything away from me," she explained. "Especially not when it's hurt him so much."

"Narcissa, I am so sorry about that..." my voice trailed.

"What are you apologizing for? It's nothing to do with me. I'm sorry for you, dear, I don't know what got into his head, telling him he shouldn't be honest with you. I had no idea that you didn't know how he feels about you."

I felt a pang of guilt overtake my insides. I was being forced to consider the reality of the situation once more, but now that it affected other people it was more complicated. Narcissa was kind to me and a sweet lady overall, but I shouldn't feel bad about being mad at her son. Clearly, she was on my side, to some extent, too.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked, cautiously. I didn't want to give away any false hope, but I might as well be aware. I hadn't known where he was for a day or so now since Theo said he was at his place.

Narcissa looked at me warily. "I figure he's gone back to the manor. I don't think he liked staying in your room alone."

"You mean the Malfoy manor?"

She nodded. "Lucius went back there for some papers this morning and said he saw Draco asleep in the library. I'd assume he's still there; I haven't seen him since he told me about your argument."

"Do you think he'll be back for the party?" my mom interjected, making me scoff. Of course, she's only worried about who will be shown to the public.

"I don't think he'd miss it," Narcissa shrugged, "but with a boy like him, I couldn't say..."

I took a deep breath. Was I ready to confront him? I'd admit, I was nowhere near forgiving him, but at the same time spending the day with Daphne and Theo who were realistic about my issue made it easier for me to come to terms with things. It was like I was allowed to be sad and somber, but also I could learn to accept my choices over time.

I was mostly okay with that. As okay as I'd ever be.

"I could... go get him. For the party, of course."

Narcissa's eyes almost popped out of her head. "That's so sweet of you, y/n, but it's really not necessary..."

"If he's gone and we're not sure if he's coming back, is there any other way?" I asked, my leg bouncing with nerves.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable, sweetheart," Narcissa rubbed my arm. "None of this is your fault, you must know that."

"I definitely do," I smiled small, just to appease her. "But this is for the sake of the party. Wouldn't want my mother to go without her respected son-in-law when the reporters show up."

Narcissa chuckled softly. "It's quite alright, darling. You go up to your room, get some rest, and I'll make sure Draco shows up. Hopefully you'll be alright with seeing him tomorrow night?"

No, of course I won't be alright with it.

"Sure," I nodded. "Thank you."

She pulled me in for another hug.

"You're being so brave, honey."

———

An owl flew in from my bedroom window with a box around its neck. It was late at night and I wondered who would've sent me something at nearly midnight.

Once my eyes focused on the bird, I knew without a doubt it was Draco's owl. It was a dead give away with those bright orange eyes and long wingspan, indicative of the eagle owl. Nobody else at school had that owl; it was too vicious. It would only suit someone like him.

The bird landed on my bed and gave me a look. There was no way this pet would have any sort of cognizance of what was going on between us, but the way it looked at me and nudged the papers over made me feel like it was almost an apology.

I hesitantly took the box from around his neck and opened it. He pecked at the top corners of the paper, as if it was urging me on to read.

Music sheets.

The parchment was delicate and looked like this was the finished product of earlier attempts. I could tell because there were no eraser marks, nothing scratched out or mistaken. I had a hunch this was Draco's attempt at a finished piece.

My eyes panned over the many pages I held in my hand as the bird flew away, a faint hoo sound filling my ears as it flew farther away. My fingers felt the softness of the paper and its fresh scent, another indication that this must have been the newest edition.

"Sonata a y/n".

A song for me?

A few days ago, Draco let on that he played music and even hinted that he wrote a little bit, but I wasn't expecting him to write one for me. It seemed a bit much, especially since I had no idea he had this in him. He didn't seem like the type who knew much about music, but especially not so much that he could craft his own emotions into a musical manifestation.

I played piano a little, but not enough for me to be able to pick this up right away. That would take a lot more talent than I possessed. Who would know how to play this?

I inspected the pages further, looking for any indication of what it meant. I could tell, when a song was played, the mood of it or the general idea of what it conveyed, but in pure sheet music I was clueless. There were no lyrics either, so I was stumped.

I looked over at my nightstand to see my wedding and engagement ring sitting together in their box. It was like they were mocking me, but I couldn't bring myself to close the box or get rid of it. Especially since I knew I'd need it tomorrow.

Instead, I decided to take the music sheets and the rings and bring them in Draco and I's shared room. I plopped them down on the bed, just so they were out of my sight for the time being.

The rings rested on the papers which had ever so slightly spread themselves out on the bed and stared back at me. I saw a twinkle of the diamond engagement ring reflect back, like it was leaving a lasting impression on my memory before I left.

They were a pretty picture together, music and rings being the embodiment of plenty of what people think love is.

But it's so much more than that.

————

A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! Hope y'all are having fun, trick or treating, partying, staying in and watching movies... whatever makes you happy! I'm going as Regina George this year... how fetch is that?

Just wanted to say I'm adoring how everyone is team Theo even though Theo isn't even a love interest, it's the most entertaining thing.

Love you guys!

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