Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter.

Chapter Nine

The next morning, I covered the nicely purpling bruise on my cheek with make-up, took a deep calming breath and headed down to the dungeons for Potions. Natalie had already gone down to breakfast with Fred and George but I had lagged behind to catch a bit more sleep before starting my day. I hadn't slept well that night, being plagued with dreams of my father. Once during the night, I had woken to burning pain radiating from the mark on my arm. The Dark Mark had grinned up at me through the dark dormitory, a terrible reminder of all my fears, my worries, my darkest secret that now seemed to be hovering over me like a bad omen.

As I now walked down to the dungeons, passed my fellow students, all I could think about was how different I was from them. After that burst of anger, I felt like it was still there, just under the surface, an ugly piece of me that was like my father. What if I couldn't control it? What if that part grew to consume me and snuff out all the happy, cheerful pieces of my being?

Involved in my own thoughts, I didn't realize I had made it to the dungeons where a pack of students crowded the corridor, waiting for Snape to appear and allow us access to the classroom. For a moment, I hesitated at the edge of the crowd, the previous night weighing down on me.

"Nicole," I heard his rich voice behind me a second before he appeared at my side. I raised my eyes to meet his and found that when I looked up into his greeting smile, I instantly relaxed.

"Morning, Draco," I was surprised to hear my voice so happy and light but was grateful for it. Being around Draco drove all the fears, worries, even weariness and lack of sleep to the far recesses of my mind.

"I didn't see you at breakfast," he began but stopped suddenly as his eyes drifted to my cheek. "What happened?"

I had done the best I could but apparently the slightly swollen bruise was still obvious. I self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and bit my lip, "Nothing, it's just a little bump."

Luckily, Snape choose this moment to appear so I hurried forward to join the rush of students entering the class. Without thought to where I was heading, I chose a seat in the middle of the room. Natalie took the seat beside me; her cheeks flushed no doubt from having to rush to class from a make-out session with Fred. To my horror, Pansy and one of her friends took the seats across the aisle from us. She shot a dark smirk at me before turning her attention to Professor Snape at the front of the room. Draco took the seat in front of her, beside Goyle.

"Today," Snape's dreary voice rang out, instantly silencing any chatter. "We are going to be brewing a simple potion that even Potter should be able to manage." He paused for a moment to allow the Slytherins a laugh, "The Vanishing Potion will allow it's user to blend in completely with its surroundings. If made incorrectly, it could permanently render the user insane." A smirk tugged at his lips, "Begin."

A rustle of movement broke out around the room as we all began gathering ingredients and pulling out books. I kept my eyes on my potion, firmly avoiding any eye contact with Pansy.

"Are you ok?" Natalie whispered over our cauldrons as they began to heat up.

"Fine," I mumbled as I began chopping fresh roots to add to the mix when it began to boil. "I just don't want to give Pansy any reason to start another fight."

"Don't worry about her," Natalie shrugged as she dumped a handful of frog eyes into her cauldron instead of counting out the proper amount. "If she gives you any flack, I'll put a hex on her. If she still gives you a hard time after that, I'll tell Draco and he'll put her in her place. She'll be so upset," Natalie grinned, the thought of Pansy suffering a broken heart warming her heart even more than the boiling potions.

The ugly piece of me reared its head again and pleasure filled me at the image of Pansy curled up in Myrtle's bathroom sobbing after being kicked to the curb by Draco. Horrified at my dark thoughts, I purposely smashed my thumb with my knife blade instead of the Mandrake seed.

"No," I hissed out at Natalie, shaking my hand in the air. "I don't want Draco to know. Pansy will get over it once she realizes that she doesn't scare me."

Natalie's look couldn't have been more skeptical, "Please, she doesn't give up that easily."

"I don't care," I replied, "she's not going to keep me from being friends with Draco."

"I don't know if I should be glad you've taken so well to Draco, or worried about your sudden obsession over him." Natalie grinned.

A burst of laughter broke out across the aisle, causing Natalie and I to glance over at Pansy and her friend. We weren't the only ones. All the Gryffindors were cocking their eye brows across the room and even several Slytherins were glancing over their cauldrons curiously. Pansy shot me a nasty smirk before turning to her friend in a fresh wave of giggles.

With a roll of my eyes, I turned back to my cauldron. And froze.

Instead of being full of simmering liquid, snakes filled the bowl. Writhing, slimy snakes. Fear rose up and clogged my throat before a scream could escape. My palms were suddenly sweaty, even though I had gone cold. I had been getting ready to drop another ingredient into the mix but my hand now hung in the air over the cauldron, frozen by the fear.

Natalie noticed I had gone still and deathly white. Worried, she reached out and touched my arm, "Nicole?"

Her touch jerked me back into action. I dropped my ingredients, jumped back, bumping into the desk behind me and let lose the scream that had been lodged in my throat. Everyone instantly turned their attention to me as Snape hurried over. With a single glance and a flick of his wand, he emptied the cauldron.

I was shaking and sweating, still backing up though the desk was in my way, trying to get as far from the snakes. Natalie hurried to reassure me that they were gone. All eyes were on me as Snape's cool voice broke the silence, "Really, Miss Saunders, they're just snakes."

Pansy and several of the Slytherins laughed. I dropped my head, embarrassment quickly bringing color back to my face. Still shaking, I practically fell back into my chair. Natalie watched me closely the remaining few minutes of class, ignoring her potion that would only get minimal marks anyway. I was still shaking, adrenaline rushing though my veins but my only thought was to get back at Pansy. I could clearly picture her afflicted with a nasty case of the Bat Boggy Hex or the Jelly Legs Jinx. Suddenly, I could see her in my mind's eye, screaming as the pain of the Cruciatus Curse ripped through her. The mark on my arm seared with pain and I gasped, clenching my fist and digging my nails into my palm. I had to distract myself, I couldn't let these thoughts continue.

As soon as the bell rang, I shot out of my seat and dashed out of the classroom. I could hear Natalie and Draco calling after me but they didn't catch up until I slowed in the Entrance Hall.

"Nicole," Draco seized my wrist and gently turned me to face him and Natalie. "Are you ok?"

Natalie wasn't so much worried as mad, "I swear, that Parkinson is going to get it. I'm going to hex her all the way to Christmas." She began waving her arms incredulously, "Last night, now today, she better watch her back!"

Draco looked confused, "Last night? What happened last night?" He glanced from me to Natalie.

I groaned. Perfect. "It was nothing," I insisted.

"It wasn't nothing!" Natalie's temper was rising with her voice, "How do you think she got that humongous bruise?"

"What!" Draco turned to me, wanting answers.

"It's not humongous!" I gasped, bringing a hand up to block my cheek.

"Pansy threatened her, Draco," Natalie huffed. "She got her panties in a bunch over the fact that you like Nicole, not her. So the little bugger waited for us to leave class and jumped us! Telling Nicole to back off or else. Then she punched her! Nicole's lucky she didn't get a concussion when her head bounced off the wall."

Draco's eyes widened and he gaped down at me, "Head bounced off the wall?" I covered my face with my hands and shook my head; the situation was exploding around me.

After a moment, Draco softly cupped my cheek and raised my gaze, "Are you sure you're ok?" His voice was low and calm though his eyes were speaking volumes about how he was feeling: angry.

Slowly, I nodded. What was he going to do now? Would he side with us, his cousin and her best friend? Or would he forget about us and rejoin his cronies? I wanted to ask but he cut me off.

"Ok," he said, "Go to class, I'll see you at dinner."

With that, he leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead. It was soft and tender and I barely felt it before he turned and disappeared into the crowd of students.

Natalie stood beside me, watching Draco's retreating back. "Geez, Nicole, he must really have a thing for you."