Harry was once again sneaking about the castle halls late at night. He had his cloak with him, so he didn't worry about anyone catching him. He was walking back to Gryffindor tower after looking something up in the restricted section of the library. He walked past a large window that showed a brilliant view of almost the entirety of Hogwarts' grounds. He normally would've ignored this, since he saw it most every day, but this time there was something strange at this window. There were two Slytherin students sitting dangerously close to the edge, allowing their feet to hang over. Harry recognized one of these students. It was Draco Malfoy. If Harry weren't as good a boy as he was, he would've considered giving the spoiled boy a push. Especially now that he was fairly certain Malfoy had become a death eater. But Harry was better than that, and just stood in the back silently. The other student was a girl, who was a year younger than Draco and Harry. Harry didn't know this girl, but had seen her a few times with Malfoy in the halls. It was only just now that Harry realized that the girl was crying, and Malfoy was comforting her. It was a strange sight to see. Slytherins never showed any signs of vulnerability, unless it could get them something they want. But even then it was never true vulnerability. It was mostly just false pain. What Harry was witnessing right now though was different. That's probably the reason Harry decided to stay, rather than just continue on his way. However, he didn't know if he wanted to see if it was something he could use against Malfoy, or if he was just curious. A few moments later, the girl pulled away from Malfoy's hold.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"For what?" He asked. His voice was soft and caring, unlike the cruelty that Harry had gotten used to.
"Here I am worrying about my sister, when your own parents..." she trailed off, but the message was received.
"Don't worry about me." He said.
"I can tell you're at least worried. You haven't quite been yourself this year. Your mind always seems to be elsewhere. I'm allowed to worry about you, because no one else will. If something is bothering you, please tell me." She commanded, her voice raising slightly.
"If you promise not to try something like this again." Draco said, his voice much more stern then it had been before.
"I promise." She said quietly, and turned to look anywhere but at him. "They're going to ask us to fight them, aren't they?"
"They'll ask, but they won't expect us to." Draco replied.
"They'll probably think that we're on his side." She stated.
"Yes, but each of us knew that the moment we were sorted into this house." He started. "Once that hat says Slytherin, people assume us to be evil and cruel. People treat us like the scum of the earth, so that's how we act. Why try to be anything else when the whole world will only see you one way?"
"It's true," she said, "I had a friend who was the only Slytherin in her entire family. It started to become more and more obvious that her family wanted nothing to do with her."
"That was Nalet, wasn't it?" He asked.
The girl simply nodded her head.
Harry recognized that name. He thought about for some time before it finally came back to him. He had read in the daily prophet that a girl had killed herself over summer. His eyes widened with horror now that he knew the reason she decided to take her life. He felt terrible now. He thought back to all the times he had judged someone, because they were in Slytherin. He remembered what Ron said to him their first day at Hogwarts all those years ago. He had given no thought whatsoever to how it would effect the Slytherins. He realized how awful it must be hated almost immediately by most people in the school, because of their house. He thought back to what they had said earlier. "If you promise not to try something like this again." Harry finally took notice of where they were. He looked over at the two so close to the edge. His stomach was consumed by a horrible pain in that moment. She came up here to jump. Draco was convincing her not to kill herself. Tears threatened Harry's eyes, but didn't fall just yet.
"I'm sorry." Draco said.
"It's not your fault." She told him.
The two sat in silence for awhile. They just seemed to enjoy each other's presence at the moment. Harry had never thought of how hard this must be for the Slytherins. He never realized how cruelly so many people treated them. He thought over everything that was said in the conversation held just a few moments ago.
"Lets go." Said the girl.
Draco nodded his head before turning around and jumping back into the castle. He held out a hand in a very gentleman like fashion, and helped the girl to her feet as well. The two than began to walk back to the Slytherin common room, never letting go of the others hand.
Harry continued his walk to Gryffindor tower. He had never felt so guilty in his life. He went back to his bed and tried to get to sleep, but his mind wandered back to the Slytherins that had, or attempted to commit suicide, and wondered if he was the cause or at least a contributing factor to that decision.