A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts.

Gardening Task 6: Write about a secret love.

Word Count: 2063

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.

Enjoy!

Dominique didn't understand it at first. The feeling was foreign, and it didn't match her typical devil-may-care attitude. She was used to turning heads; hers had never been turned before.

It was strange.

She wound a large clump of blonde hair around her finger and chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. Her eyes had wandered over to the front of the class, where two Slytherin students were hunched over their shared cauldron. She wished the bloke would move out of the way— his female partner had pretty hands.

This was an interesting development.

Dominique scoffed at herself. This was ridiculous. She couldn't be getting this worked up over a girl.

But when the other girl walked by to gather more potions ingredients, Dominique ducked her head, her heart beating quickly. She groaned. If she was falling for this other girl, then that would explain the lack of interest in boys. Still, she wasn't sure how she felt about this attraction. Dominique wasn't afraid of her family's reactions; her cousin James had introduced everyone to his boyfriend the previous year. She had just never been in this situation before, and didn't know how to handle it. Getting flustered wasn't a very Dominique-like thing to do.

Her cauldron shuddered, and the eighth-Veela very narrowly avoided an explosion. The Slytherin girl was excellent at Potions. She hated herself for the observation; when the bell finally rang, signifying the end of class, she nearly ran out of the room.

Dominique stomped down the girls' dormitory stairs three weeks later, fuming. This silly crush of hers had gotten out of hand. She didn't even know the other girl's name, for Merlin's sake! Well, that wasn't exactly true. She'd learned her surname: Zabini. She'd hoped with time that these feelings would fizzle out, but as the days wore on, the odds of that were getting much less likely.

It was a weekend, so while her classmates threw on some casual robes, Dominique tugged on some Muggle jeans and one of her father's old band sweatshirts. She walked through the common room and out the portrait hole, heading towards the Astronomy Tower. She liked how bitterly cold the air was up there; it helped her clear her mind.

Glad she'd dressed warmly, Dominique sat against the wall, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Her hair, short and choppy, blew gently away from her face in the wind. Up here, she felt completely serene; it was here that she did her best thinking.

Dark skin, dark eyes, slender hands. A pretty upturned mouth; a soft, bubbling laugh. Quick wit, big ambitions, and a melodic voice. All these things jumbled into one, beautiful human being. It was odd, Dominique thought idly, how one person could attract another in such a way. She'd never before been so entranced by the slender fingers on another person's hands, or at the quiet confidence with which they held themselves.

The wind blew steadily against Dominique's face, and she let out a shuddering sigh. She believed in living life to the fullest, but inside her was an unfamiliar fear of the unknown. She'd always been a sort of damn-the-consequences sort of girl, but the opinion of the Zabini girl mattered a lot to her.

Dominique stood up and stretched. She'd think more on the topic later. Right now, she would take her broom for a ride around the Quidditch pitch to clear her head.

The next week at breakfast, something unexpected happened. Her younger brother, Louis— who normally pretended that she didn't exist while in view of his friends— sat beside her. She raised a blonde eyebrow at him, and his blue eyes attempted to look innocent.

"What?" he asked.

"Is there something you need?" she responded bluntly.

Louis pretended to be offended. "Do I need something in order to talk to my sister?"

Dominique took a large bite out of her omelette. "You? Yes."

Louis sighed. He pushed his fork around his plate for a few moments, avoiding her gaze. She began to get worried; her brother was never quiet for this long. Finally, he spoke.

"How," he began, phrasing the question carefully, "do you know if… if you really like someone?"

Dominique wanted to cry. Out of everyone in the school, Louis had presented this question to her; he was waiting for an answer, but she honestly didn't think she had a satisfactory one.

"Honestly? I have no idea. I've never really… been attracted to anyone." Except one person.

Louis deflated, and Dominique immediately felt guilty that she had lied to him. She hurried to remedy the situation. "That's not to say that— that there's no way to tell. I guess what I'm trying to say is that… I've never experienced— so I don't really… there's not a definite answer."

His question had her wondering, though. When did feelings move past a crush and into love? Was it a matter of time, or intensity? She didn't have a clue, and she wanted the answer nearly as badly as Louis did.

Dominique turned to her brother. "Why do you want to know that, anyway? Who do you like?"

Louis spoke steadily, but his pink face gave him away. "I was just asking for— a friend."

Dominique snorted. "Right. Come on, you can tell me."

Louis looked uncomfortable. "I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet." He looked at his older sister curiously, a spark of interest in his blue eyes. "You've really never been interested in anyone?"

Dominique flushed, and she wondered if she'd already crossed the metaphorical line the two siblings had been talking about moments before. She opened her mouth to refute his suspicions— she knew what he was thinking— but froze when she saw someone enter the Great Hall. She pressed her lips together as she watched the elegant Slytherin walk by. Louis followed her gaze and raised his eyebrows when he realized who she was staring at.

"The Zabini girl?" he asked in surprise. He eyed his sister carefully, something akin to hurt in his eyes. "You never told me you liked women."

Dominique shrugged helplessly, her eyes still glued onto the thin figure that was making its way across the room. "I only found out myself recently. I'd have told you if I thought it was anything serious."

Louis scowled down at his plate. "Would you have?" he muttered menacingly at his bacon. "Somehow, I don't think so."

He stood up and stormed away, leaving Dominique lost. She put her head in her hands. Her insides felt jumbled; this silly infatuation was driving her mad, and now her brother was angry with her for reasons she couldn't even begin to guess. Things had been so much better a month ago, when there were no butterflies trying to create a hurricane in her stomach, and her heart hadn't tried to run a marathon in her chest.

She stood up, following Louis out of the Hall. She had to jog to catch up with him, and when she did he refused to look at her. Her hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey!" Her grip tightened, forcing him to a halt. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

He just stood there for a moment, shaking. Finally, he answered her. "I just— you don't talk to me anymore. Not even at home. And when I approach you about something that's bothering me, you go and lie to me about your answer."

Dominique looked at him in surprise. "I didn't lie—"

"Yes, you did!" Louis hissed, eyes blazing. "You told me you've never liked someone before. Then that girl comes along and you're practically drooling—"

"I was not—" Dominique stopped herself. Louis was right; she'd lied to him, and she had been a bit cold towards him lately. Her shoulders slumped, and her grip on his shoulder loosened. "No, you're right." She sighed. "I guess… this is all so foreign to me, and…" She hesitated. She didn't like opening up to people when she wasn't sure of her emotions, but she was starting to understand that love was not something to be understood. "I don't like being unsure of myself," she admitted at last. "I don't mean to exclude you."

His body lost some of its tension. "You don't have to be afraid of what you're feeling, you know," he informed her, wise beyond his years.

She smiled a little sadly. "I know. But still, this seems too strong to disappear. It's been awhile."

Louis shrugged. "Right, well. Have you considered that this might not be a bad thing? That maybe, you don't want it to disappear?"

She didn't have an answer for that. Louis offered her a quick smile, then disappeared with a muttered, "I have to get to class." As he walked away, Dominique was left wondering if he was right. She could get hurt by this, but wasn't the risk worth it?

She didn't see the girl watching from around the corner.

Aislinn. Aislinn Zabini, the Slytherin girl that Dominique just couldn't stop thinking about. Dominique rolled her shoulders from atop her broom. For nearly four months she'd struggled with her feelings, and the more she tried to suppress her feelings, the stronger they seemed to grow.

The air was cool against her flushed skin as she soared around the Quidditch pitch, the wind whipping the shorter strands of hair that she hadn't been able to tie back against her face. Her robes billowed out behind her as she flew, and the thrill of being in the air chased away her insecurities. She flew a few more laps, then descended a bit reluctantly.

Her face slick with sweat and red from the cold, Dominique made her way to the changing rooms, panting slightly but content.

"Hey, Weasley."

Dominique whirled around, startled, though she wouldn't admit it. There standing in the doorway was Aislinn, looking extremely out of place in the Gryffindor change rooms, but not bothered in the slightest.

Hoping her face wouldn't give her pounding heart away, Dominique nodded. "Zabini. What do you want?"

Aislinn shrugged, and Dominique cursed herself for referring to the other girl mentally by her first name. "Do I need to want something to come here?"

Dominique was reminded of her conversation with Louis the previous week. "Well," she bagan warily, "I don't see why else you'd be talking to me."

Aislinn gracefully entered the room, her light steps a great contrast to Dominique's usual heavy gait. The Slytherin's dark eyes surveyed the other girl carefully, her emotions masked. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak, but Dominique beat her to it.

"I think I might like you," she blurted. She didn't know what had caused this slip of tongue, but all of a sudden she was tired of keeping this to herself. Getting it out in the open had to be better than keeping it locked away inside her— and hadn't Louis said that it might not even be a bad thing? If her feelings were this strong… well, she didn't want to carry this burden. She'd either share the load, or drop it. "I just can't stop thinking about you. I don't know what it is, but it's driving me insane. So, are you up for a trip to Hogsmeade, or can I stop worrying about this?"

Aislinn looked shocked for a moment, and then a small smile crept up her face. "You know, Dominique, it's rude to interrupt. Especially when I was about to ask you the same question."

Dominique blinked, and her hand went up to tug her hair loose of its bindings as she tried to wrap her mind around what the other girl had just said. Slowly, a huge grin— courtesy of her father's genes— lit up her face. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall next Saturday?"

Aislinn nodded. "Nine o'clock. Don't be late." With those words, Aislinn Zabini exited the room, a small smirk on her face.

Dominique couldn't help the laugh that escaped. After all that worrying, all the horrible suppressing she'd been doing, she really needn't have feared to confront her crush. Who may or may not be more than that. Dominique didn't know where the line between crush and love was, but she was excited to try to find it with Aislinn.

She ran up to the castle, ready to tell Louis.