A quick update, yay! Hope you enjoy. Again, thanks to everyone's who's reviewed/favorited/put on alert. Of course, I own nothing except for Malena.


Harry never did catch up with Malena. After a few minutes of jogging behind her, he had somehow lost sight of her. Harry exhaled and leaned himself against the trunk of a tree, panting. Sooner or later, they'd bump into each other. They always did.

The Gryffindor Common Room was as crowded and festive as ever. Gryffindors from all years had met up to congratulate Harry. He appreciated it, but it was awkward shaking hands with students he'd seen wearing "Potter stinks" badges.

Lee Jordan picked up the golden egg, weighing it in his hands. "Why don't you open it, Harry?"

"Yeah, Harry! Go on! Let's see what's inside!" The rest of the crowd egged on as well, but Hermione was quick to disagree.

"He's got to work it out on his own, it's a rule…" She muttered, her arms crossed.

"Same applied to my first task too," Harry mumbled back, remembering the broom incident, but was quickly pulled back by his peers' cheers.

"Well then?" An eager fifth year asked, pointing at the egg.

The second Harry opened it, a loud screech blasted from the core, making everyone instinctively cup their ears.

"Shut it, Harry!" Fred yelled over the wail, his hands attached to the sides of his head.

When Harry had managed to gather the strength to move his hand from his ear to close the egg, everyone quickly began guessing what the next challenge might be about.

"Maybe it's against the Cruciatus Curse." Neville announced with a pale face, but George assured him it was illegal and his face's colour slowly returned.

"Probably against some sort of shrieking creature: a banshee!" Seamus guessed, his eyebrows raised.

"Or a mandrake!" Added a young, blond haired third year.

The guesses continued until people started leaving after giving Harry their regards.

"Cheers, Harry." Dean Thomas patted his back and retreated to the staircase leading to the dormitories, leaving Harry alone in front of the blazing fire.

After having spent his evening clustered with a horde of people, he figured a late night flight by himself would do him good and it'd give him time to ponder about his upcoming task without having one of the Weasley twins smear a pastry on his face. When he reached the barren Quidditch pitch, he inhaled, his eyes fluttering shut, but was distracted from a sound that came from the stands. The sound of wood creaking. He squinted his eyes for a better look and noticed a body move into the moonlit section of the stands.

"I was just leaving, don't mind me." She announced, hopping down the stands and onto the grass.

"No, stay. Please." He answered, approaching her. "I've been meaning to talk to you anyways."

She slowly nodded and sat back down on the stands, playing with her hands on her lap.

"Malena, I'm so sorry about breaking your father's broomstick. It was an accident. Honest. Hagrid's big and burly and he didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it." Malena said raising her hand understandingly.

"But it's your father's broomstick, I know how much it means to you." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and shock. Judging on her past behavior, he had expected at least a few jinxes. Then again, Harry reminded himself about how she had called him a judgmental git when they first met so he shouldn't be so quick to judge her anymore.

"I'll manage." She said, leaning her head on her hand. "It's not like I would have used it anyways." She murmured under her breath, but Harry heard her.

"Why haven't you flown again?" Harry asked. He knew she was probably just as passionate about flying as her dad.

"I…" Malena seemed hesitant to answer.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," He said swiftly, it was obviously still a sore subject for her and he didn't want to make things awkward between them just like he had done so many times before.

"No, its okay." She assured him. Malena didn't want to seem tender and flimsy. "My father taught me everything I know about flying. I'm not sure it'll be the same now that he's gone."

Harry noticed her head drop and her hands tensely rub her knees, accidentally grazing the hand resting on his own right knee. Before she could react and jerk her hand away, his hand gently crawled over hers, grasping it lightly.

"After putting so much effort in you, I don't think he would have wanted you to let it all slip away." He said, in a compassionate tone.

Malena looked into his familiar eyes. The eyes she had found herself lost in so many times before. Her brown eyes flicked from one of his blue orbs to his other, closely studying each differently-shaded blue speck. She noticed how his own eyes had dropped lower and were now gazing at her lips. He seemed to get closer, too. So did she. It was an involuntary movement; it was natural and instinctive, as if there was a magnetic pull between the two. When they were so close that they could feel their short breaths colliding against each other, she jerked her head away and his lips landed on her flushed cheek. Confused, Harry pulled back, flushing harder himself.

"Thanks, Harry. Good night." She sputtered, swiftly standing up and heading inside the castle, leaving a rose-coloured Harry frozen in his spot.

The walk to Slytherin's Common Room seemed eternal, but she huffed in relief once she got in without being caught by any patrolling prefects or Filch and his beady-eyed cat.

"Where have you been?" Daphne Greengrass stood a few feet from her, her green eyes narrowed and her sleek, scarlet hair glowing from the gleaming fireplace behind her.

"Out."