"So sure of yourself, aren't you?" He let out a scathing laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "This world is upside-down. Did you ever dream five years ago that you'd see your classmates doing what they are today? People change—"

She threw up her hands. "No, they don't! Who they are inside is who they'll always be!"

Her chest heaved as she glared at him, waiting for his retort. But his eye simply twitched. And he swallowed tightly. "I see," he finally said. He cracked his neck, stepped back, and disappeared into his bathroom.

She fumed on the way back to her room, thinking about what Viktor might have told her if Draco hadn't sabotaged them. News about Ginny, perhaps. Or Ron. Maybe even a plan to get them all out.

It was only when she was in the bath, washing off the smoke of the Burgundy Room, that she reviewed her accusation that people never change and winced at what she’d implied.

No one. Not even him.

~*~

She was in the library the following morning, picking up where her research had left off, when the doors abruptly swung open. She eyed Draco over the top of her coffee cup before setting it down and flipping open a new journal.

Her blood was still simmering, but she forced it to calm. While staring at her canopy last night, she'd arrived at the conclusion that Draco had meant it when he said he didn't trust Viktor. After everything he'd seen, he had good reason not to trust anyone. Still, she trusted Viktor, and that should have been enough for him.

It had been a serious setback, but she was willing to listen to an apology.

He paused at the end of the table, not taking his usual seat. Her eyes flickered up to him, and she found him fully Occluded, staring down at her with an empty gaze.

"Tell me your plan for the tattoos."

She blinked at him. "My plan?"

"Yes. We've been translating these journals. We've been piecing together how the tattoos were made. Once you have your answers, what is your next step?"

"I… to find out how to break their magic."

"And once you know how. Then what?"

His face was closed, unexpressive. His hands were clasped behind his back like his father.

She lifted her chin. "If they were made with a curse, then I'll create a counter-curse. If they were done with a potion, I'll create an antidote. I would think that would be fairly ob—"

"And what will you do with this antidote?" He tilted his head in a swift, fluid motion. "Because surely you must know that we will not simply free you."

His words jolted her, as if she'd missed a step on the stairs. Swallowing, her heart pounding, she licked her lips. "What's the point of working on this research with me if you have no intention of helping me?"

"You asked me to." His eyes flickered before returning to an icy slate.