Thank you for reading, I really do appreciate it.

The song that I have used later in this chapter is "Passion" by Utada Hikaru. It is one of my favorite songs by her, and it seems to work nicely.

Enjoy the chapter.


When morning broke, Blaise stirred slowly, upset at the interrupting of the pleasant dream he'd been having. He went to rub the sleep from his eyes, but something was holding his arm. He looked; Sheeva was still sleeping, her face calm and serene. He looked at her neck, and saw the scars she held.

She hadn't been lying. Then again, why would she? She even admitted to being intimate with Snape, (at this thought, he shuddered) something that not many people would do.

He broke away from her and sat up, stretching. He looked over at Draco, who was also still asleep. He sighed thankfully, not wanting to explain to his best friend how Sheeva had ended up in his bed, and not Draco's.

Not like she's seeing anyone. He thought. He scratched the back of his head, and grabbed a change of clothes and stepped into the bathroom. He locked the door and turned on the faucet, having to wait a while for the water to heat. He stripped, urinated for what seemed like hours, and even had time to brush his teeth before the water was hot enough.

He almost purred as the hot water ran down his chest, smiling. He made quick work cleaning himself, wanting to ensure that there would be enough hot water for the other two.

When he exited the bathroom, Sheeva had woken, and was staring out of the window, smiling to herself. He walked up next to her and stood, trying to figure out what she was staring at.

"Spring is coming. I am very happy to see so." She started, making small talk.

Blaise opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Draco's groan as he came to. Sheeva turned and strode over to him.

"Good morning, Draco." She whispered, setting her hand on his head. He slowly opened his eyes, and shut them again as the light fluttered into them. He sat up and yawned, stretching. His eyes flew open as the memory of what had happened replayed in his mind.

Seeing that he was in his bed, he gave a confused look at Sheeva and Blaise.

"How did I get here? Shouldn't I be in the hospital wing? Why—where are my clothes?" He barked. Sheeva shushed him and pulled up a chair. Blaise leaned against the bed post, arms crossed.

"You could have died, mate. We found you lying in a pool of blood. Sheeva and Professor Snape healed you. What were you thinking, fighting Potter like that without someone there to make sure everything went alright?" Blaise scolded him, stomach churning as he thought of the worst. Sheeva looked at him and smiled; his reactions were genuine. They really did have a good friendship.

Draco silenced, staring at his feet, still covered by the sheets. He avoided their eyes by turning his head to look at something in the fireplace.

"I don't want to talk about it." He growled, crossing his arms. Blaise looked at him, and decided to drop the subject. With the way he was acting, Blaise wouldn't be getting a word from him anytime soon.

"Draco. I do not want to do this, but if you do not tell us what you are thinking, I will make you." Sheeva threatened, her mouth in a frown and her expression dark. Draco snapped his head back at her, shocked. She hadn't threatened him at all since they'd met, and he'd seen the receiving end of her "anger".

"There is obviously something more than just a rivalry between the two of you. What happened?" She asked, calming herself down and stroking his cheek. Draco took a deep breath and sighed.

"I was on my way back from the room of requirements, and I realized I was being followed. I… I panicked, and rushed into the nearest bathroom, hoping to corner whoever it was. Potter had me cornered, so I did the only thing I could seem to process. Attack." He admitted. Sheeva nodded.

"That is a normal human response, Draco. Do not blame yourself. What were you looking for in the room of requirements?" She asked. Draco closed his eyes, trying to think of what he should say. I was mending the vanishing cabinet? To sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts? No….

He forced himself to blush by holding his breath. Sheeva blinked, and nodded. Whatever it was could wait until he wanted to talk. She figured that he'd had another breakdown from his nerves, and probably didn't want Sheeva or Blaise to find out.

"I just needed some time to myself." He muttered. Sheeva chuckled, her suspicions confirmed.

"If you needed time, you could have just said so." She whispered sweetly, kissing him on the forehead and standing up. She vanished for a few minutes, and returned with an armful of clothing. She set to folding them neatly and setting them on the chair she'd been sitting in, then grabbed a pair of jeans and another low-back t-shirt and some undergarments and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Blaise uncrossed his arms and began to clear out a drawer for her, shrinking a few of the jeans that he hardly used and jamming them into whatever space he could find in the third and fourth drawers down. Draco crawled out of bed, not saying a word as he grabbed a few of his own clothes and stepped behind the divider to change.

Draco stared at himself in the mirror. He'd definitely lost weight; his belt buckle had gone from the second notch to the innermost notch. He also noted that he seemed much more pale than usual. If anyone didn't know his stress, (which was just about everyone) they'd assume that he was incredibly sick. His eyes were dark and baggy, and he wondered how Sheeva could even stand to look at him.

He sauntered over to his dresser, staring at its contents for a while. A hairbrush. Cologne. A few knuts and galleons. His lie was unsettling him, and his stomach churned in dread. She'd bought it. They both had. He'd played them on, like they were instruments.

He looked at his hair again. It was messy, matted to the back of his neck from the water that he'd been lying in when they'd found him. He touched it, wincing as his hand barely met the widespread goose egg on the back of his head from the impact with the floor.

"You ok? You don't have a concussion, do you?" He barely heard Blaise ask. Draco looked at him, a faraway look in his eyes.

I'm not puking. I'm just… guilty.

Slowly Draco shook his head and grabbed the hairbrush, running it through his hair as gently as he could, hissing each time the hair tugged at the goose egg. It had been a very painful process, but as Draco looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes lit up a little. He was much more presentable, now that he was covered up.

"You know what you need?" Blaise asked, skillfully tying his tie with a double-Windsor knot. Draco grunted a "what?".

"Pancakes. With Lake Jemima." Blaise clapped a hand to Draco's shoulder, and if he hadn't been leaning against the dresser, he would have fallen over. Draco finally smiled.

Yeah. Smothered in butter, drowning in syrup. Thanks, Blaise.

"We should wait for Sheeva. The great hall is open all day today."

They sat down in their beds, Draco flipping through his "Defense Against the Dark Arts" book, while Blaise set to finishing his essay on the Polyjuice Potion. He only had a foot left of writing to do.

Sheeva stepped out of the bathroom, holding the strings of her t-shirt behind her neck.

"Draco?" She asked. He looked up and his jaw dropped.

"Y-yeah?" He asked. She smiled.

"Could you tie this for me? My arms are like jelly." She muttered. It'd been a while since she'd had to heal someone like that, and it took its toll on her muscles. She needed to get back into her training.

Draco stood and tied them into a normal bow, then double-knotted it so that it wouldn't come undone. He set his hands on her shoulders when he was done, and a tingle went up his arms and down his spine. He let his hands fall to her waist, pulling her back to lean against him while he encased her in a hug, leaning down to rest his chin against her shoulder.

He placed a small kiss on it before whispering in her ear: "Thank you."

She nodded slowly.

"You are welcome." She replied.

They broke apart and the three of them headed for the Great Hall, their stomachs rumbling at them. Draco was already feeling a little better, but still couldn't shake the guilt from lying to them about his actions last night.

X

Sheeva's hand twitched and it had startled Draco awake, who'd been lying on his backside while Sheeva rested against him. Her foot twitched, followed by a sharp inhale of breath and her face contorted into a frown.

"Psst. Blaise." He whispered fiercely.

Blaise was still awake, reading a muggle book that Sheeva had suggested: Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. He paused, and looked over at the two. When Sheeva grabbed a fistful of sheet and let out a whimper, he dog-eared his page and crawled out of his bed. He grabbed his wand, and cast a spell. The bed expanded, creaking and groaning as it turned from a twin to a king-sized bed.

Since her "move-in", they'd learned that she had frequent nightmares. They weren't surprised.

He crawled in, cuddling up to Sheeva at her back, rubbing her arms.

This didn't help much, to their dismay.

"Zarkas, no. Leave…" She let out a sob and began to tremble.

"Leave Kadie alone." She muttered, kicking furiously. Blaise and Draco held her tightly, trying to restrain her from punching their lights out on accident.

"Sheeva, it's ok. It's just a nightmare. Shh." Draco hushed her, placing a few kisses on her cheeks, rubbing circles in her back.

"No. No, Kadie. No!" She cried out, unaware that she was gripping Draco's shirt with a death grip. Blaise wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes, and gently rubbed her shoulders. He cleared his throat, the knot that was forming in it making it difficult to breathe.

Draco caught glances with Blaise again, and asked him to give him his wand. Blaise gave him a look, but handed it to him anyway. Draco took a deep breath, pointed his wand at her, and whispered: "Stupefy."

A bright red light shot out at her, and it only sunk into her skin, uneffective. Blaise propped himself up on his elbow, shocked.

"Did you just try to stun her?" He asked. Draco slowly nodded.

"I was only trying to help her. I thought it might work, since she has her shield down." He explained, continuing to hold her. He sat up, cradled her in his arms, and began to rock her back and forth. When she didn't calm down, Blaise sat up as well. He took her hand in his and began to hum softly. It was a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. Draco said nothing, but listened.

"Omoidasu ba haruka haruka
Mirai wa
doko made mo kagayaiteta
Kirei na aozora no shita de
Bokura wa
sukoshi dake obieteita

Natsukashii iro ni
Mado ga somaru

Mae wo muitereba
Mata aemasu ka
Mirai wa
Doko e demo tsuzuiteirunda
Ookina kanban no shita de
Jidai no
utsuroii yo miteitai na

Nido to aenu
Hito ni basho ni
Mado wo hakeru

Omoidasu ba haruka ha haruka
Mirai wa
doko made mo kagayaiteta
Kirei na aozora no shita de
Bokura wa
Itsuma demo nemutteita

Zutto mae ni suki datta hito
Fuyu ni kodomo ga umareru sou da
Mukashi kara no kimari goto wo
Tama ni utagaitaku naru yo
Zutto wasurerarenakatta no
Nengajou wa shashin tsuki kana
Watashitachi ni dekinakatte koto wo
Totemo natsukashiku omou yo

my fears
my lies

aozora no shita"

By the end of his lullaby, Sheeva had very much calmed down, and was sound asleep again, her breaths being short, irregular wisps. Draco had also fallen asleep, snoring lightly. Blaise smirked.

"Worked every time with me." He muttered aloud. He crawled out and moved the covers back onto the two of them, and went over to his own bed. He grabbed his book and continued to read where he'd left off. He was glad that the two had been asleep, for he'd let a few tears fall when the main character's friend, Queequeg, died shortly after an encounter with the massive white whale.


"Moby Dick" is another good read, if you haven't already read it, I recommend it.

This is a relatively short chapter, compared to my others, which were 7+, this one was only 5+.

Ciao.