Single Sweet Soul
Chapter Three: Boxers or Briefs?

Yay! Angel of Music doesn't really think Cali's a Mary Sue! I've decided to try and make her match my personality more.. 'cause I'm not a Mary Sue. Lol.

Thankies to: Sunny, Kaesa, PreCiouS juLz, Angel of Music, anonymous, and linzi!! Reviews really do mean a lot to me, knowing that you've amused someone with writing. )

So Snape doesn't lethally despise a Gryffindor?!; Cali's lost points for Gryffindor on her first day; could Hermoine possibly be JEALOUS?; and most of all, has Draco found true love??

Oh, and more of those short POV changes in this chapter.

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The artificial sunlight warmed the room by no more than a few degrees. The Slytherin dungeons, however, were underground, so this was a big enough change to awaken Cali from her sleep.

Without opening her eyes, she shifted around, burying deeper into her blankets. She felt so pleasantly warm and secure; surely it couldn't be so toasty in between some sheets?

Then a subtle movement from behind her jerked Cali awake with a start. Her eyes flew open as the memories of the wee hours of the morning hit her hard in the face.

For one, she wasn't in the Gryffindor fifth year girls' room. She most certainly wasn't in her room back in at home. Her eyes darted around, and she realized that she was in fact, in the Slytherin Dungeons.

Not to mention, she was on a couch with Draco Malfoy.

Draco, then, had shifted slightly behind her. She turned around and smiled fondly, despite her heart racing. He was so angelic when he slept. 'Actually,' she thought, 'he always looks strangely angelic to me.. even though he's not.' She settled down again, about to succumb to sleep, to welcome warmth, when a loud, piercing, most unwelcome cry filled the air.

"DRA-A-ACO! HOW COULD YOU?!" whined the voice of, Cali remembered from King's Cross, Pansy Parkinson.

And with this, Draco carefully opened one eye, and nearly groaned out loud at whom he saw. Pansy Parkinson, his date for the Yule Ball last year, and who'd fancied him for as long as he could remember, was STILL under the impression that he liked her.

"Pansy, could you do me a favor-"

"Maybe if you explained yourself-"

"-and bugger off?"

"What? I... ARGH! And with that stupid, blonde GRYFFINDOR! What's a GRYFFINDOR doing here anyway?!" Pansy shrieked. Cali tried to keep from covering her ears to block out the high pitched shrieks.

"HEY!" Draco shouted, looking slightly affronted. "I'M BLONDE, TOO!"

Pansy gave a strangled, constipated-sounding noise. Draco wanted to yell "This Gryffindor is better than you any day!" but Pansy had already stomped off.

It was no use of further waking up all of Slytherin. Pansy had been right about something: the Slytherins would no doubt have a problem with a Gryffindor in their Common Room, one who looked like she more belonged in their House or not.

Draco sighed, frustrated, then looked down for the first time since waking up. Cali was shaking with silent laughter, but she still managed to choke out "that was mean!"

"Hmph. As if you wouldn't have done the same thing," Draco retorted, but with a glint in his eye.

"Wha-what are you implying?" Cali said, having resolved to giggling uncontrollably.

"Nothing," he smiled his angelic smile that stated he meant anything but angelic, "nothing at all."

Cali smiled, looking around. It was true; the Dungeons didn't have half the inviting feel as the Gryffindor Common Room. They lacked the warm colours Gryffindor Common Room had.

"Oh," she realized. "Gryffindor."

"What about the nuthouse?"

Cali rolled her eyes. "I should be getting back. I'll have the greatest time spinning up a story that Hermoine'll believe. If Hermoine doesn't buy it, Lavender and Parva-what's-her-name won't, either."

"How 'bout letting me go up there with you and testifying?"

"Oh, I can just see it now. 'I fell out of bed and tumbled all the way down and into the Slytherin Dungeons, where I met Draco. We spent the night together, and oh, he can tell you it's true, too.'"

Draco smirked. "Works for me."

Cali smiled and looked up into his eyes. 'Why couldn't I just have asked to be in Slytherin?' she wondered. She wouldn't have to leave this: the thin rays of light giving Draco's hair highlights, which should've been impossible for hair his colour; he lay with his against the back of the couch, and she lay against him; he had one arm draped lazily over her waist. How they'd managed to stay on the couch without falling off even once was a question, but one of very little importance.

"Well, then.." Cali remembered last night when Draco had said those words, leading them to the couch. She was now muttering them, getting up.

They stretched and yawned. Cali had a dull pain in her side, probably from not sleeping in a proper bed, but she barely paid any attention to it as she turned around, hugging Draco around the waist, squeezing gently. He awkwardly put his arms around her, not used to being hugged.

"Thanks," Cali said, as they started off to Gryffindor Tower.

It was never spoken what Cali was thanking him for, but that wasn't needed, either. He felt it; he knew.

Two hours later; breakfast in the Great Hall

Cali sat, a spark of excitement in her stomach. It was that fluttery pit feeling she often got when she was in love, and now, there was a stronger, more pleasantly distracting version of it when the feelings were returned. She barely ate, for she was afraid it would all come bubbling back up. Instead, she contented herself with gazing across the hall at a certain blonde Slytherin who this time, returned her glance.

'And to think.. I could be sitting over there.. if I had just requested Slytherin over Gryffindor..' she thought sadly. 'Well, what's done is done.. might as well try and make the best of it.'

At the exact moment she looked up, attempting to extract herself from a trance, Hermoine walked into the Great Hall, flanked by Lavender and Parvati. Trailing them was Harry and Ron.

The group split: Hermoine, Lavender and Parvati coming down one side of the table; Harry and Ron walking down the other.

Cali sighed in relief when Hermoine's half of the group started down the side of the table opposite her. She was glad that it was Harry and Ron coming to sit next to her, though she was pretty sure Hermoine had planned it out like that.

What surprised her was that Ron was no longer looking staring dazedly at her, instead, he was he looked highly shocked. It seemed as if he were trying to give her an icy glare, but his curiousity wouldn't allow it. He looked rather ridiculous and Cali had to fight down an urge to giggle. Harry looked less insulted so Cali decided it was safer to ask him about it.

"Harry?"

He looked up from a mouthful of eggs.

"Harry, swallow your eggs first," she laughed. He did so. "Now.. what's up with Ron?"

At this, Harry almost laughed himself. "Ron's all down 'cause you spent the night with Malfoy."

Cali was in shock. "How.. the heck did you guys find out?!?"

Harry shrugged it off. "So you like him?" he asked, trying to keep the disgust out of his voice.

"Yeah," Cali said smiling dreamily. Then she snapped back into her thoughts.

It was no lie; she had spent the night in the Slytherin Dungeons... on a couch... with Draco. It had happened, and she was perfectly glad it had, but how did they find out about it.. considering it was only breakfast..

She had a strong feeling that this had a lot to do with a certain Slytherin. Someone who had seen them. Someone who was jealous. Pansy.

"Nevermind," Cali muttered, getting up. "Excuse me for a moment, I do think there is a Slytherin deserving of a very large smacking."

She stopped, turning around, aware of the shocked silence. "What...?"

Harry continued staring at her, his face completely white. Even his hair seemed to be standing on end. "Not here.. certainly.. you could..." he stuttered, rolling his eyes.

Then it hit her.

"NOT THAT WAY!" she screeched exasperatedly.

A sea of heads whirled around, giving an aerial effect of a whirlpool. Then, true to her word, Cali strode quickly, purposefully across the Great Hall and down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. She stopped short behind Pansy Parkinson, whose group of Slytherin girls had purposely ignored her screaming, and proceeded to tell her off. After about half a minute of her ranting ('Wow, I haven't seen that kind of creativity and fluency since well, the last time I heard myself,' Draco thought), she paused to take a very audible breath.

"-doesn't even like you, much less love you! I mean, with those clothes, that hair, that attitude, and - blech! - that face!"

Pansy turned slowly around, surrounded by a clump of glares from her fellow Slytherin girls, and glared her up and down. "And just when did he say that?"

"Oh, I don't really think we need words. And obviously you like Draco.. so don't worry. Very sorry," she said sarcastically, "but I've got the 'love interest' department covered. You just stick with the 'morally detested' section. Got it?"

Pansy, being a true Slytherin girl, raised an eyebrow with much finesse, but Cali was hardly phased as she returned the look.

"Good." Cali whirled around, her hair, currently loose and billowing, surrounding her in a perfect circle for a split second. And in that fraction of a moment, she caught Draco's eye. He was trying very hard not to snicker out loud.

Satisfied, Cali breezed back to the Gryffindor table, people moving aside for her in fear, admiration, or a little bit of both.

She slid gracefully into her seat between Harry and George Weasley. George clapped her on the back; Harry was still a bit white with shock but colour was draining back into his face with laughter; Ron looked quite amused; even Hermoine cracked a grin. Anyone who told off a Slytherin, especially someone like Pansy Parkinson, deserved a lot of respect and admiration, from the Gryffindors, particularly.

There was appreciative sniggering going on all around the Hall, though Harry was the first to actually speak to her.

"I thought you said you were going to smack her? Oh.. that didn't come out right at all."

Cali tipped her head back, laughing. "Ahh, remember when I said that we didn't need words?"

Harry, along with everyone else listening, nodded vigorously.

"Well, I think that's all she could handle."

And at that, laughter resumed. Pansy looked outraged and humiliated at the same time. A short moment later, she left, followed closely by her group, who, everyone could tell, was secretly laughing.

No one had ever told off Pansy Parkinson, much less criticized her.

Cali was nearly drowning in cheers, pats on the back and head, and overall noise. The professors didn't even seem to want to do anything about the situation. She looked over at the Slytherin table, where there was a sizable gap, and winked at Draco, who'd looked up at the exact moment. He gave her a half-smile.

For the rest of breakfast, which, unfortunately, wasn't for very long, Cali was all smiles. When it was over, however, she pulled out her schedule.

"Gryffindor - Fifth Year," she read. "Potions. With.. Slytherins!"

"You make it sound like that's a good thing," Harry said darkly.

"What?" Hermoine looked up from a book. "Oh, don't tell me, we have Potions with the Slytherins," she guessed.

Ron nodded. "Again."

Cali couldn't help laughing a little. They all looked so miserable.

Then it was time to leave. Cali stood up, looking around for Draco, but decided that it wasn't a completely good idea to carry out in front of all the Slytherins surrounding him. She sighed inwardly.

When she arrived back down in the Potions dungeon, across from Snape's office where she and Draco had been yesterday, she nearly bumped into the guys Draco had introduced to her as Crabbe and Goyle on the train.

She decided on a friendly wave. They just stared. Either they were utterly surprised that a girl would ever approach them, or they were just really, really dumb. 'Probably both,' Cali thought.

Then they turned around, and she did so too, blinding the two guys with the glare off her hair for a moment.

"Crabbe, Goyle, where have you been?" Draco demanded, strolling up behind them all. "I suppose you were too busy following Cali here around, were you?"

"Er, sorry, Draco," grunted Goyle. Crabbe bobbed his head in agreement.

Draco just shrugged. "Hey, Cali. Oh, bugger, here comes Pansy and her gang. She won't be happy seeing us talking."

"Wait," Cali interrupted, but was interrupted herself as Draco worded her incomplete thoughts.

"Then again, since it'll annoy her.. HEYYY, CALI!" he said loudly as Pansy, Millicent, and Blaise Zabini strode up to the Potions dungeon.

"Hi, Draco," Cali said, glancing sweetly at each of the Slytherin girls in turn. "Enjoy breakfast?"

"Very much so," he replied, sneering at the girls. "It was certainly refreshing, don't you agree, Pansy?"

Pansy face changed from anger, to shock, and back to anger as she hmped and stomped into the classroom.

Unfortunately, Professor Snape emerged from his office right then, so they were forced to put the fun on pause.

They took their time getting to their seats, Cali being pretty confident that Snape wouldn't yell at her, based on his actions earlier on, and Draco knowing for a fact that Snape wouldn't punish him if he skipped class altogether.

They walked down the aisle (A/N: wedding march plays.. lol ;) between the Gryffindor and Slytherin sides of the room. Cali went over and sat on the edge of the Gryffindor side, next to Ron. Draco sat across the aisle from her, next to Crabbe. They exchanged small smiles, as everyone else, even Snape, watched with interest.

Snape barked at them to listen up, and everyone snapped to attention. "Today we will be partnering up and conjuring up Truth Potions."

A couple pairs of eyebrows shot up.

"NOT Veritaserum," Snape said shortly, glaring at Harry, especially. "This is a much milder potion. The effects will only last about forty-five seconds. And in those forty-five seconds, you will have the chance to ask your partner a few questions as to check if you have succeeded. Please refrain from asking horribly personal questions," Snape's lip was curling. "Do resist the temptation."

"A rule meant to be broken," Cali muttered under her breath to Ron.

Ron cracked a smile. Despite him being annoyed about her and Draco, the morning's events had turned him around. Someone to have done that couldn't be all bad.

"Now, here are your partners." Snape started reading off a parchment as hopeful eyes darted around the room.

"Potter and Crabbe. Granger and Bulstrode. Weasley and Goyle. Zabini and Parkinson..."

"What does Snape have against me?!" Ron muttered, clearly exasperated.

"You're a Gryffindor?" Cali replied.

"-and.. Malfoy and Drache."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "He doesn't seem to hate you."

Cali shrugged, though Ron could tell she was obviously smiling. "I'm just... special."

Ron murmured irritably as he got up to find Goyle. "Good luck, Ron," Cali said, almost pitying him. She didn't see anything wrong about Goyle, besides that he seemed a bit clueless. But then again, she wouldn't want to work with someone she hated, either, like say, Pansy Parkinson.

Cali was so busy watching people getting up, grumbling and/or snickering, that she didn't notice who had crossed the aisle and was standing over her. With her powers, she could faintly sense him, his aura (which, she noted, matched the Slytherin colours exactly.. green, silver, and black). But it wasn't a very strong sense, for she didn't know anyone at Hogwarts well enough yet. She turned around, looked up, and smiled brightly. "Oh, hi, Draco."

--Cali's POV--

"Oh, hi, Draco," I said. Oh, gosh, he looks so sleek, so put together.. so totally hot. grin And I don't think he's even trying to, completely.

"Hallo, Cali."

And, oh, I still love that accent! Especially how he says my name..

I pull out Ron's chair and he sits down. Snape turned around.. I think he's writing down ingredients or something, so I do believe we're allowed to talk a bit.

I look at him, to see that he's staring right back at me. Quickly, I break the gaze though I can tell he hasn't.

Oh, geez, I can't think of anything to say! This is the guy I spent the night with on a couch. Why can't I think of something, anything? This is ridiculous.

"So, uh.." I stutter. "What're you planning to ask me?"

From the look on Draco's face, it was obvious that he hadn't Snape's words on personal questions. That, or he had chosen to disregard them. I'll assume the latter.

I smile, though nervously. I can feel that Draco isn't nervous at all. That, or he's doing a lot better of a job hiding it.

He shrugs. "Dunno yet."

Then he asks me the same question, with a load more confidence.

I stop. Though he is the one I know the most, I realize that there are so many thing I don't know about him. But this seems hardly the time to find out...

--Draco's POV--

Random thought: Damn, how does she manage to look so cute in her school robes? I know I can.. but she's the only other one who manages it. I mean, take Pansy for example...

"So," I said, with the usual drawl, and pulling out a random question. "What colour underwear are you wearing?"

Her eyes widen, and she blushes indignantly. "Draco Malfoy!"

"Yes?" I can tell she's covering up a laugh.

"I'm NOT telling you that!"

"Well, then, since you won't tell me, I'll just force it out of you with the potion." I smirk.

I wonder, though.. what else could I ask her? There's so much I don't know.. pause I think I'll just stick to useless questions.

Oh, Snape's turned around. It's time to get started.. smirk

--3rd person--

"You will need to assemble these ingredients in a cauldron. Be sure to use the dried skin of a double-horned toad, and not that of a single-horned toad," Snape said, then sat down into his chair.

The class bustled to life. Even students paired with someone he or she detested were smiling; the prospect of potentially finding out their enemies' secrets was quite pleasing.

Even Ron, who was cheerfully tipping a liquid into Goyle's cauldron, was looking devilish, while Goyle just looked on, confused as usual.

There was one word hanging around in the air: blackmail.

Light snickering could be heard as the slowly forming potions bubbled and gave off strange smelling steam.

"Extract of boysenberry, dried skin of a horned toad.." Cali read off the board, as Draco handed her a vial of bright purple liquid and she tipped a few drops of it into her cauldron.

Then Cali gingerly picked up a slab of horrible smelling skin. She was about to drop it in, when Hermoine, who apparently, had been watching them suspiciously out of the corner of her vision, turned to them and said, "Didn't you hear anything Snape said?"

"No," Draco and Cali answered together, looking bewildered.

Hermoine sighed exasperatedly. "For your information," she said, sticking her nose up in disgust, "it's the skin of a DOUBLE-horned toad."

"Oh," they said together again.

"What the hell is the difference?" Draco said wondrously.

"Well," Hermoine replied in her sounds-like-she-swallowed-a-textbook voice, "the molecular structure of a double-horned toad, otherwise known-"

"Okay. There is a difference." Cali cut her off quickly. "Then.. Draco, you put it in, I refuse to touch it."

"You touched the skin of a SINGLE-horned toad," he pointed out, glancing warily at Hermoine.

"Right, but it felt almost worse than it smells, and I don't suppose this version's much better."

Draco scowled and hastily dropped in the correct ingredient. "Ech, you're right. It feels like Granger's hair."

"You touched her hair?" Cali couldn't help asking.

"Ahh, nevermind that."

A minute later, most the class had their Truth Potions ready, including Draco and Cali.

"There." Cali stirred it once more, then looked up, along with the rest of the class, to Professor Snape.

"Now, those who are ready, come up here with your Potion, one at a time, and we will see just how well your Potion works," Snape instructed.

Immediately, Hermoine got up, wanting to be first. Millicent trudged up after her, annoyed, but laughing maliciously at the questions she had planned, probably.

"You first, Granger," Snape said, smirking evilly.

When Hermoine and Millicent returned, Hermoine was extremely outraged, but a load more humiliated. Millicent looked very smug, since Hermoine could only manage dumb questions from being so embarrassed.

Draco snickered. "Hey, Cali, let's go. I want to how well our potion works."

Cali got up and they got in line behind Harry and Crabbe, who were trying out their potion.

"What's your.. uh.. favourite colour?" Crabbe asked, for lack of better questions, or rather, lack of brains at all. Seconds later, the Potions wore off and it was Draco and Cali's turn.

"You go first," Cali told Draco, looking a bit perplexed as Snape poured a ladle-full of their Truth Potion into a tumbler.

"No, you." Draco said, handing the cup to her.

"Oh, fine." Cali looked uneasily at the Potion and gulped it all down, trying not to taste it. Her throat tingled as she took a shaky breath. "Well?"

Draco was looking quite mischievous. "Well, I promised you this: what colour underwear are you wearing?"

Her eyes widened and she heard herself say "leopard print".

"What type is it?"

"A thong," Cali sputtered, totally and completely mortified.

Draco smirked. "Yum. Now.. what do you think of Potter?"

"Harry?"

"Yes."

"He's nice, surprisingly modest, he's not bad looking... Draco..." she said warningly.

"Sounds like you like him."

"No! Not that way!"

"So.. what about Granger?"

"She's kind of a bitch. Draco!"

Draco doubled over, laughing out loud. Even Snape look amused. In fact, he didn't look at all compelled to stop Draco's questions.

A sudden idea occurred to him. "On a scale from one to ten, one being the least, how much do you like the cutest guy here in your opinion, of course?"

It surprised Cali how Draco could fit that much so perfectly into one sentence. "It's you, and out of ten, nine."

"Only nine? I'm hurt."

It was Cali's turn to laugh.

"What's your favourite thing about him, er, me? Just pick one."

Cali held back a giggle as she said, "You're dead sexy."

Draco smirked. "Thank you. Um.. which House would you be in, if you had picked yourself?"

"Slytherin."

Both Draco and Snape raised one eyebrow each.

"Oh, damn, we're almost out of time. Er.. one more question. What would you do if you were stuck in a dimly lit, cramped closet with, say, Weasley?"

"DRACO!" Fortunately for Cali, the Potion wore off just then. Draco pouted.

"Professor, can we force-feed Cali more Potion?" he asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Mister Malfoy, but we don't have the time for that... today. It's your turn," Snape said, though he wouldn't have minded if they had. But he was a professor, after all.

Draco admitted, to himself of course, that he was a bit tense about the look on Cali's face. But, they were about to waste about half his time laughing.

"My turn to ask," Cali sang happily as Draco took a swig from another tumbler. As soon the Potion appeared to have settled in, Cali got an idea of her own. She smirked. "Here's one for you. Boxers or briefs?"

Draco turned white, then purple before answering, smirking, "Boxers."

Cali giggled incessantly, as Snape turned away. He had a feeling that he could do without hearing this questioning.

After regaining sanity, she asked, confirming Snape's suspicions, "What colour are they?"

"Green.. with yellow dragons." Unlike Cali, Draco took amusement in his answers.

Another giggling fit. Cali then heard giggling other than hers, and she turned around, to face Pansy Parkinson, who'd almost dropped her cauldron on Blaise's foot in shock of what Draco had said so far. Cali glared. Pansy shrugged. Then, she got a sudden idea. Hoping it would work, she said, pronouncing each word extra-clearly so there would no mistake, "Cute. Speaking of which, who do you think is the cutest girl at this school, and what do you rate her?"

"You, of course. I rate you a nine."

Cali smirked triumphantly at Pansy. She looked over and Draco, smiling widely and he winked at her. Then the Potion wore off.

"Top marks, Malfoy and Drache," Snape announced, then turned to Pansy and Blaise.

"Thanks, Draco. I think that'll keep Pansy off our backs."

"Hey, it's the truth," he said, shrugging, but she could tell he was holding back a smile.

Then they sat back down, and Draco furiously scribbled down the ingredients on a piece of parchment.

"Oh, gosh, what're you doing that for?" Cali asked.

"I might need it later," he answered quickly, muttering to himself.

Cali shrugged. "This can't be good."

Draco smirked and finished off his list with a whirl of his quill. He folded it up and pocketed it. "There."

"Hey," Cali said, pulling out her schedule. "What class do you have next?" She scanned her own schedule and pouted.

"Herbology," Draco replied. "With Ravenclaws. You?"

"Transfiguration. With Hufflepuffs."

"Damn it," Draco said. "I figured that we could turn McGonagall into a slug and dash salt on her."

Cali laughed. "Interesting, but I'd hate to find out how long we'd have detention."

"Good point."

There was a pause. Thankfully, Snape announced the class was dismissed before things got awkward.

"Well, see you, Draco," Cali said, as they parted, Cali following the Gryffindors to the Transfiguration classroom, and Draco on his way to the greenhouses.

Draco waved, and watched as she strode up the stairs.

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OH MY GOSH!! I JUST HEARD THAT HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX IS COMING OUT JUNE 21ST!!!!!!!!! AIEEEEEEK!

deep breath.

Hehe. I'll calm down (eventually, I suppose). Please review!!!!!

(while I 'obsess like a rabid fangirl with Sunny. Hahahaha)

Angelee