Lost Along the Way

By: January Lily


Chapter 11: Don't be a Fool, Leila

Leila leaned against the wall still pressing her fingers to her lips in disbelief. What had she just done? She, Leila Potter, had kissed Draco Malfoy. She blinked slowly trying to process what she had done. It didn't make any sense-her initiating a kiss with him. It always played out the other way around...always. But then there was the matter that he had kissed her back. After the months of trying to ignore her he had reached his breaking point and had given in to her. If all of that wasn't confusing enough, she hardly dare to admit that she enjoyed kissing Draco. The thought of enjoying anything about him seemed preposterous. Leila threw her head back, smashing it unintentionally into the stone wall. She groaned in pain and brought her hand to the back of her head. If there was one thing she was certain of: nothing made sense.

Running her fingers through her hair in frustration, Leila slowly exhaled the breath she had been holding. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't have a bloody idea what she was supposed to do about it now. She probably should have thought about that before she kissed him. The whole scenario went against her very nature; she always thought things through. Yet, here she was in a rather sticky situation, which was just about to get stickier. Snape's office door upstairs slammed shut and Leila could hear his footsteps descending down the stairs. Still shielded underneath the balcony, Leila tightly pressed herself against the wall and hoped that Snape wouldn't notice her.

She held her breath as Snape walked to his desk and thumbed through the pile of parchment. For a moment, she thought she was going to get away with it. She would just have to wait until he went back upstairs; but he looked at the desk she had been sitting at...where her bag still lay. Damnit. With his lip curled, Snape surveyed the room to find Leila Potter pressed against the wall. "Potter, what are you still doing here?"

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you, sir," Leila almost whispered. Snape cocked an eyebrow. "But I was just going." Snape nodded curtly before Leila ran from the room. She barely had a foot out the door when she halted and slowly turned around. Professor Snape was looking at her before his gaze moved to her bag. Leila tugged at the collar of her shirt, still feeling slightly breathless. "I-I probably should take my things, shouldn't I?"

With her face aflame, Leila quickly walked back to the front of the room and shoved her belongings in her bag. She could practically feel Snape looking at her. Although, she thought it was because he knew what had just happened, when in actuality, he just wanted her out of his classroom. Fearing that she might accidentally confess what had just taken place in his classroom, Leila refused to look at Professor Snape again before she ran from the classroom and down the corridor until she reached her Arithmancy classroom.

For the third time that day, she was late. Leila burst through the doors to find Professor Vector already teaching. The teenage girl's eyes widened for a moment as the entire class turned to look at her. It felt like they all knew that she had just kissed Draco, but that was absurd. They couldn't possibly know. Right? Profesor Vector stepped out from her teaching post and leaned against her desk. "Miss Potter, would you care to inform us why you're tardy?" Leila bit her bottom lip in thought for a moment before she shook her head no. Vector raised an eyebrow curiously.

"She had to meet after class with Professor Snape ma'am," Daphne offered for Leila's defense. Professor Vector nodded knowingly as Daphne grabbed the sleeve of Leila's robe and pulled the Potter girl onto the bench of the desk. Vector began teaching once again as Daphne leaned toward Leila, "What did Snape say?"

"I think he gave us detention," Leila whispered.

"What do you mean you think?"

Leila's heart stopped for a moment, but she took a calm and collected breath to figure out what she was going to say before she spoke, "Just a lot to process. You know, with Snape and all. A lot of...yelling."

"I still can't believe you did that to Draco."

"Did what to him?" Leila's eyes were widened and her heart was beating fast. She tugged at the collar of her shirt as warmth began to radiate from her face. Daphne looked at her quizzically, like Leila should know what she had done.

"Slapped him."

"Oh yeah, I slapped him, didn't I?"

"Snape must've really gotten to you."

Leila simply nodded her head, not wanting to explain that it was really Draco who was on her mind. She wasn't sure whether it was a blessing or a curse that Draco wasn't in Arithmancy anymore, having dropped the class since last year. While Leila pretended to be paying attention to Professor Vector, she couldn't get that kiss off her mind. It seemed to be playing on loop in her head, but every time the scene came to an end, she grew anxious over what was going to happen next. Perhaps nothing, but she wasn't sure if she wanted nothing to happen after that.

When class finally ended, Leila distractedly walked to the Great Hall for lunch with Theo and Daphne. As they walked, Leila kept scanning the students for any sight of Draco. Daphne asked her who she was looking for, but Leila just shrugged it off as they rounded the corridor and were in plain view of the Great Hall. The Slytherin trio walked over to their House table and sat down. Leila sat with her back to the entrance as she reached for a sandwich. She was about to bite into her lunch when Theo said, "Look who it is."

Leila turned to see Draco swaggering down the row between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. He appeared to be looking at the stone floor, but he suddenly stopped when he noticed Leila looking at him. Leila had accidentally dropped her sandwich onto her lap and sat there practically frozen looking at him with her mouth agape. Draco seemed to be breathing heavily as he and Leila looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Absently, Leila brought her fingers up to her lips causing Draco to look to her lips for a moment before he turned away with a pained expression on his face, clutching his hand as he walked away.

"What was that about?" Daphne whispered.

"I haven't a clue," Leila mumbled as she watched him walk out of the Great Hall before she turned back toward her friends. Sheepishly, she picked her fallen sandwich out of her lap and set it back down on her plate. Suddenly, she wasn't all that hungry anymore. So, she pushed her plate to the side a bit and rested her elbows on the table, cradling her head in her hands. Daphne looked at Leila curiously, but chose not to say anything.

Theo took a giant bite of his sandwich, which he hardly chewed before swallowing. He looked at Leila and nodded his head before speaking, "Leila, what are you doing your free period?" Leila continued staring straight ahead, but she did manage to slightly shrug her shoulders. "I was hoping you would come with me to the library. I need help…"

"I can help you," Daphne interrupted causing Theo to turn to look at her. "I-I mean, only if you want. I think Leila mentioned having plans this morning. Right Leila?" Daphne looked to Leila with a knowing please don't ruin this kind of glance. So, Leila slowly nodded her head, causing Theo to look slightly saddened but Daphne was practically grinning. "What do you say?"

"Alright then, I suppose," Theo responded before he looked at Leila. "If you finish whatever it is you're doing, come find us then."

"We'll see," Leila said lightly before she stood up and flung her book bag over her shoulder. "I better get started on those things I need to attend to."

Knowing that she needed some time to herself to not only hide from Theo and Daphne, but to also sort out what happened with Draco, Leila found herself headed to the Room of Requirement. No one ought to be in there...or at least not anyone she wished to hide from. So, Leila maneuvered her way to the seventh floor by navigating her way through the moving staircases, which took a bit longer than normal because she was so distracted that she missed a few of the landings she was supposed to step onto. She was slightly out of breath by the time she finally managed to reach the seventh floor corridors and head in the direction of the Room of Requirement. As she neared her destination, she couldn't help but remember the first time she entered the come and go room.

~*~Flashback to 5th year~*~

Leila jumped up onto a ledge in in the Clock Tower Courtyard. To be honest, Leila really had no desire to leave her dormitory; but Daphne had threatened to drag her out and force her to spend time with Malfoy if she didn't. So, with her Muggle clothes underneath her Slytherin robe and her hair unbrushed, she had escaped her dormitory for some fresh air. She sat with her back leaning up against the stone wall and her feet up on the ledge, still unable to touch the other wall with her short legs.

Her eyes scanned the younger students enjoying themselves in the courtyard. Well, enjoying themselves as much as one could enjoy themselves under Dolores Umbridge's new regime. A group of first year boys from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were off in a corner playing a game of Exploding Snap. A group of other students were in another corner playing Gobstones. Leila shifted uncomfortably as she watched them. She felt numb. Numb to the world around her and she felt as if she was never going to be happy again. Then again, she wasn't sure that she wanted to feel happy again and that was a scary thought.

Running her fingers through her tangled hair, Leila decided to attempt to put it up. Over the summer, Leila had chopped off her long longs with Aunt Petunia's shears. When she had gotten to Order Headquarters, Mrs Weasley managed to fix the mangled mess into a nice chin length bob; but since then her hair had grown long enough to be put up once again. She finally managed to get her hair into a messy bun before she closed her eyes and inhaled as a gentle breeze came off the lake. With her eyes still closed, she heard footsteps approaching her and stop beside her. Leila opened one eye to see Malfoy standing beside her, reading to jump up onto the ledge next to her.

"Not you," Leila groaned. "How'd you manage to find me?"

"Greengrass let it slip that you finally left your dormitory. So, I figured I'd follow after you," Draco responded as he was perched beside her. "You know, make sure you're not getting into any trouble."

"Well, you can leave."

"This is the thanks you give me for saving your arse from Umbridge the other day?" Draco gave Leila a pointed look to which she rolled her eyes. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, which only made Draco scoot closer toward her. He was about to say something, but then he stopped for a moment and smirked before he finally spoke. "You seem awfully fond of this ledge."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Draco leaned in closer so that his chin nearly rested on Leila's arms. His icy eyes looked straight into Leila's emerald ones before he hoarsely whispered, "I know you remember last year. We could go for a repeat performance."

With a resurgence of annoyance toward Malfoy, Leila gave him a proper shove sending him falling off the ledge and onto the ground. While Malfoy groaned from the cobbled floor inside the courtyard, Leila swung her legs around and attempted to make her exit in the outdoors corridor surrounding the courtyard. But the blonde-haired boy was quick to pick himself up and intercept Leila. Draco's hand snaked around Leila's upper arm. "C'mon, Leila. Stay. I'll be good, I promise. I won't snog you unless you want me to."

"Just leave me alone, Malfoy," Leila said, her voice quivering. "I just want to be…"

"Leila, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Came a voice from the stairs back into the castle. Leila and Draco turned to find Fred Weasley walking toward them. Draco's grip on Leila's arm lessened and she managed to free her arm as Fred approached them.

"Stay out of this, Weasley," Draco hissed.

"Stay out of what exactly? Leila and I have plans...that don't involve you," Fred responded. "Isn't that right, Leila?"

Leila opened her mouth to say something, but Draco spoke first. "She was with me first. Now leave or I'll report you to Umbridge. I'm sure there are plenty of decrees I can choose from."

"How can she be with you when she's really with me. Right, love?" Fred turned toward Leila and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer toward him. Leila's eyes were wide with shock and she stood rather stiffly beside Fred, blinking slowly.

"You two?" Malfoy scoffed. "I don't believe it for a minute. The thought it utterly ridiculous."

"That's your choice, mate."

"I'm not your mate." Draco narrowed his eyes at Fred who simply shrugged his shoulders. Leila felt dwarfed standing beside both boys who had more than a few inches on her. The blonde-haired boy rolled his eyes at the ginger-haired boy before turning toward the petite dark-haired girl. "There's no need for this charade, Leila. Let's go."

Leila blinked slowly looking between Fred, whose arm was still protectively wrapped around her, and Draco who looked to be masking his hurt with an expression of annoyance. "I told you to leave me alone, Malfoy," Leila spoke softly. "I've asked you that for years and you never seem to listen."

"Shall we get to it, then?" Fred asked her without actually giving her time to voice a response. Instead, he gently guided Leila away from Malfoy and back toward the castle.

"This isn't over!" Malfoy shouted behind them as they walked away.

Leila looked up to Fred who was shaking, trying to hide his laughter. She simply shook her head and sighed as they crossed the threshold into the castle. When they were out of view of Malfoy, Leila shrugged Fred's arm from her shoulder and innocently pushed him away, so she could have her space. Fred looked to her and grinned, "Hopefully that should keep him at bay for a while."

"I doubt it. Don't get me wrong, that was brilliant...terrible; but brilliant. Although he's probably following us right now."

"Good thing I know this castle better than he does."

"Just get me back to my common room before he gets there."

"We're not going to your common room." Fred reached for Leila's hand as he rounded a corner to an abandoned corridor, pulling her behind him. What surprised Leila was that he didn't remove his hand. Instead, he didn't let go of her hand and just continued to lead her.

"Fred, where are you taking me?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

"We've talked about this, Fred. You know I..."

"Yeah, well Harry and I talked about this too. We both think it's time you join the party."

"Fred Weasley, you stop right now!" Leila's voice echoed through the corridor as Fred came to a screeching halt. He released Leila's hand and turned to face her with his hands up in a defensive position, something Leila wasn't used to seeing from him. Leila glanced down at the stone floor trying to keep from crying but it was no use. She looked up to Fred again and her voice faltered as she spoke, "I'm not ready yet."

"C'mon, Leils," Fred said with a gentle smile on his face. "I'll be with your the entire time. I won't leave you. I promise." Leila looked up at him, blinking away her tears. "Well, Harry will be there too, you know; but I can't say I'd mind if you wanted to pretend he wasn't there."

Leila chuckled at Fred's poor attempt at a joke before she sniffled. She wiped at her face with the sleeve of her robe, trying to get rid of any evidence that she had been crying. "Fine, but if you leave me, I'll make sure Malfoy hunts you down."

"Psh, he probably already is." Fred rolled his eyes before he motioned for Leila to follow after him. "We should probably hurry. I think they're waiting on us."

Fred started to run and Leila felt a slight surge of energy push through her as she ran to catch up with him. Surprisingly, she found herself giggling when she nearly missed rounding a corner and Fred called after her. She felt more alive in that moment than she had felt since Cedric died.

When they finally reached the seventh floor, Leila was almost out of breath from running and laughing. Fred stopped suddenly in front of a wall and leaned against it looking at Leila wildly. "We're here."

"Where exactly is here?" Leila asked looking around and not seeing a single thing aside from the stone wall.

"The Room of Requirement," Fred said knowingly. "Also known as the come-and-go room."

"Who told you that?"

"What makes you think someone told me?" Leila looked at him pointedly and Fred shook his head. "Hermione."

"Well, all I see is a wall." Leila folded her arms across her chest.

"That's the beauty of it. Not just anyone can find it. Which makes it perfect for the D.A."

"How do you get in?"

"I'll show you." Fred extended his hand for Leila to grab. Reluctantly, she put her hand in his before he began to pace in front of the wall and whisper. "You need to focus on what you need. We need a secret place where we can be safe from Umbridge...a place to practice for Dumbledore's Army." He then sharply turned so that they were walking the other direction. "Focus. Keep thinking." Fred turned again so that they were going the original direction. "And voila!"

Leila looked where Fred was pointing and a door suddenly appeared. Her eyes widened before she looked to Fred with her mouth agape. Fred grinned as he twisted the doorknob and opened the door. "Ladies, first," Fred said, slightly bowing toward Leila, which made her roll her eyes.

"But I'm a Slytherin," Leila whispered.

"Yeah, but you're with me."

Leila slowly exhaled before she nodded her head and stepped through the door and into the Room of Requirement.

~*~End Flashback~*~

Leila stared at the wall in front of her for a moment before she began to concentrate on what she needed. She needed a room where no one could find her so that she could be alone with her thoughts. Focusing on what she needed, she walked in front of the wall three times. She stopped and looked for a door, but was surprised not to find one. With a quizzical expression on her brow, Leila repeated the process again. When she stopped, there still was no entrance into the room of requirement. "Bloody hell," Leila muttered.

Taking a step back, Leila focused on the steps she had taken; but she couldn't find fault with them. She had done exactly as she had last school year, but this time nothing happened. Growing more frustrated, Leila paced in front of where the room should be two more times; but still no door appeared. Her emotions seemed to overtake her as she punched at the stone wall with her fist; something she immediately regretted doing. Leila's scream resounded through the empty corridor before she brought her hand to her mouth. She sucked her hand where her skin had been scraped and blood had broken through; but it did nothing to relieve the throbbing. She knew she shouldn't have done something so reckless; but it seemed like today she wasn't really acting like herself.

Grimacing for a moment, Leila looked down at her damaged hand. Aside from the obvious scrapes, it appeared that she had a knuckle out of place. Leila cursed under her breath before she kicked at the wall. Either someone was in there or Dumbledore had figured out a way to close it off; but Leila knew that she wasn't getting in there at that moment. With pain shooting up her hand from her knuckles, Leila decided to walk to a place she frequented far too often during her time at Hogwarts: the hospital wing.

~*~ Flashback to 1st year~*~

At the entrance to the lavatory stood Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell, all standing there dumbstruck. When Professor McGonagall caught sight of the troll she gasped, but she gasped once more when she caught sight of Leila. "Severus," McGonagall said.

With his face nearly as pale as Leila's, Snape limped over to where the little girl lay. Harry noticed his limp as well as a tear in the pants leg along with a bloody gash on his leg. Snape quickly covered his leg with his cloak as he bent down to examine Leila. He shoved Harry out of the way, who fell backward onto his behind. The professor muttered some words which Harry couldn't quite catch. Snape placed his hand on Leila's pale neck. This gesture caused Leila's eyes to flutter open before she started to cry from how much pain she was in. Snape winced.

"Hospital wing," were the only words Snape muttered before he scooped Leila up in his arms and stood up. He limped with the small crying girl in his arms to the hospital wing while Professor McGonagall stayed for an explanation. Snape burst through the hospital wing doors to find Poppy Pomfrey looking to him frantically.

"What happened?" Pomfrey asked.

"Troll," was all Snape could muster. Madam Pomfrey ushered Snape inside and pointed to a bed which he laid Leila on "Dumbledore will want to know how she is," Snape said. "Go to the Headmaster's office when you're done."

With that Snape walked out of the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey quickly set to work. Pomfrey worked quickly, checking on all of Leila's injuries: a broken arm, broken rib, a large gash on her hairline, and many minor scratches. Nothing that couldn't easily be fixed; but Madam Pomfrey hoped that this wasn't a sign of things to come. She only hoped that the poor girl wouldn't be in here too often; but knowing the girl's father it almost seemed like too much to hope for. When Madam Pomfrey had everything mended that could be, she gave the girl a Sleeping Draught. Moments later, Leila was fast asleep.

Leila awoke rather stiffly as the sun poured into the room, something that she wasn't used to. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a bed with white sheets surrounded by make-shift curtain dividers. A groan escaped her lips as she realized where she was: the hospital wing. She shifted uncomfortably partly because of the soreness and partly because of the sling her left arm was in. Her right hand found its way to her face as she rubbed her sore temple. Last night seemed somewhat of a blur. She had gone after a bloody mountain troll with Harry and Ron to save Granger and in the process, she had gotten herself hurt. If Hermione Granger wouldn't have run-off, she never would be in the hospital wing. Leila spotted a glass of water at her bedside table. She rolled over onto her side but gasped as a pain shot through her midsection. How badly had she gotten hurt?

"We would like to see Leila," a familiar voice said from behind the curtains.

"I'm sorry, but she's asleep at the moment," Madam Pomfrey said firmly.

"No, I'm not." The curtains quickly flung open as Madam Pomfrey stepped through them before immediately closing them behind her. The older woman started to examine her with a solemn expression on her face. Madam Pomfrey pressed at Leila's temple gently before pushing her hair out of the young girl's face. The woman muttered something to herself about minimal scarring. Leila's eyes widened, scarring? The Hogwarts healer must have noticed Leila's somewhat panicked expression before she shook her head.

"Broken arm, broken rib, and cuts," Madam Pomfrey began. "Nothing I couldn't easily mend. You'll be sore for the next day or two and I'd recommend keeping your arm in that sling for at least a week."

"That's it?" Leila asked.

This wasn't the first time she had broken her arm. A couple of years ago she had been running away from Dudley and his friends. She had tripped over the garden hose and fallen face first in the dirt. That hadn't caused her to break her arm. No, Dudley couldn't stop his momentum from the awkward motion he called running and he stomped right on her arm causing it to crack beneath his weight. Leila had suspected that the only reason Aunt Petunia actually took her into the Emergency Department was because Mrs. Figg had mysteriously turned up only a few moments later. Anyway, Leila had been in a hard cast for over a month and now this woman was telling her that she was only recommending a sling for the next week.

"Can we see her yet? We have classes to get to?"

"Classes? I—"Leila began as she sat up.

"You're not going anywhere, Miss Potter" Madam Pomfrey said placing her hand out to hold Leila back.

"But I need to go to class."

"That may very well be, but you're staying in that bed until I say you can leave. I'll allow you visitors for a few minutes."

Leila knew that she probably wouldn't be able to change the woman's mind, so she plopped her head back onto her pillows. She immediately regretted the action as a sharp pain shot through her ribs. Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains and immediately Daphne pushed her way through followed by Theo.

"You're not as bloodied up as they said you were," Daphne commented.

"People are talking about me?" Leila asked.

"Of course. Only they don't know why you're actually here."

"But there is a rumour going around that you were decapitated," Theo chuckled.

"Then I wouldn't be here, I'd be dead," Leila responded.

"In their defense, they were Hufflepuffs," Daphne scoffed. "Not that they're very credible to begin with." Theo snickered at Daphne's statement. Daphne sat on the edge of Leila's bed. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot. "We were worried when you didn't come back last night," Daphne whispered. "And then we heard you were in here. What happened?"

"Long story," Leila sighed. "One that involves my brother, Ron Weasley, Granger, and a mountain troll."

"Sounds like a terrible story," Theo said.

"I really wouldn't know. Apparently, I was unconscious for most of it."

~*~End Flashback~*~

Once Leila was inside the hospital wing, she was greeted by Madam Pomfrey, who was shaking her head. "What did you do now, Miss Potter?"

Having been to the hospital wings so many times before, Leila sighed and simply walked over to the Healer. She outstretched her hand in front of the woman who clicked her tongue and shook her head again before she had Leila sit down on a bed. Leila tried to make herself comfortable as the woman got a closer look at her hand. "I would have thought you could heal this on your own," Madam Pomfrey commented.

"Wand hand," Leila muttered as she cringed while Madam Pomfrey's thumb brushed against her knuckle. "Besides, I thought we weren't supposed to do magic outside of class."

"I think we both know you never listen to that rule."

Leila rolled her eyes at Madam Pomfrey's comment as the Healer pulled her wand from her apron pocket and pointed it at Leila's hand. The older woman performed a spell that caused Leila's knuckle to pop back into place. Leila tried to hold back a scream, but a muffled one managed to escape. The Potter girl's eyes watered as the Healer examined the hand for signs of any other breaks. Madam Pomfrey then reached for a gauze bandage which she wrapped around the girl's hand.

"You always manage to get scraped-up in your grand schemes. A mountain troll, facing You-Know-Who, a flying car…" Madam Pomfrey began listing off her trips to the hospital wing in chronological order.

"Those weren't my schemes," Leila sighed.

"Then may I ask how you managed this?" The older woman gently held up Leila's hand.

"I punched…"

"Please don't say, Mr Malfoy." The older woman had slightly turned away grimacing, as she put her free hand up as if to stop Leila.

"I punched the wall." Madam Pomfrey looked at her pointedly. Leila rolled her eyes again, but she knew what the woman was onto. Probably almost as often as Leila was dragged into Harry's schemes, Malfoy somehow ended up in the hospital wing thanks to her. Although, he deserved it each and every time; but she wasn't about to confess to something she never did. "Why would you assume I punched him?"

"Mr Malfoy was in here not too long ago with the very same problem: broken knuckles in his hand. I not deaf to Hogwarts' gossip you know; I know about the many scrapes you two have managed to get yourselves into."

"I said that I punched a wall."

"So did he."

By the time Madam Pomfrey finally excused her, Leila was late for her final class of the day: Potions. With her hand bandaged, her tie coming undone, and her book bag open, Leila ran down the corridor to make it to potions class somewhat on time. For the fourth time that day, Leila walked into a classroom only to have all eyes on her. She groaned before she walked over to her table with Harry, Ron, and Granger. After dropping her book bag on the table, she climbed onto her stool beside Harry and across from Ron as Professor Slughorn thankfully made no mention of her tardiness. The gauze on her hand started to itch, so Leila scratched at her hand.

"What else did you do to Malfoy?" Ron whispered leaning across the table. Leila's head flung up to look at him with wide eyes. He couldn't possibly know she kissed Draco, could he? No, he couldn't because Ron would have snitched on her to Harry. But Leila sat there nervously for a moment before the ginger-haired boy continued. "I didn't see that part of your hand make contact with his face when you slapped him. Which was brilliant by the way."

"Ron, as prefects we're not supposed to condone such behavior," Granger hissed.

"You punched the git third year."

"Once. I don't make a regular habit of it like some people."

"That almost hurt, Granger," Leila scoffed sarcastically pretending to hold her heart. She rolled her eyes before turning back to Ron "And for the record Ron, I punched a wall because I couldn't get into the Room of Requirement." Leila rubbed at her hand again.

"What do you mean you couldn't get in?" Harry whispered turning to his sister.

"I think it's pretty self-explanatory, Harry."

"She is right make," Ron chuckled.

Harry groaned, "I just mean that if you couldn't get in, then someone was probably already in there. My money is on…"

"If you say Malfoy, he won't be the only one I slap today." Ron started to choke trying to hold back his laughter.

"Will you three pay attention," Granger hissed before she exasperatingly slammed her book onto the table. "Some of us are trying to learn."

"What's got her wand all in a knot?" Ron muttered.

Finally, Slughorn finished lecturing. He wanted them to brew a Befudlement Draught, which they had already brewed last year; but no one told him that. So, Leila walked over to the cupboard for the necessary ingredients. As she walked, for the first time since she entered class, she looked over at the Slytherin table to see if Draco was handling the situation better than she was. But when she looked over to the table, she only found Daphne, Blaise, and Pansy quietly talking amongst themselves. Leila grabbed her scurvy grass, lovage, and sneezewort before she walked back over to her table. To her surprise, Harry had set her cauldron up for her. She suspiciously narrowed her eyes at her brother.

"What do you want?" Leila groaned. "I know you want something. I've known you for over sixteen years now."

"We need to talk about Malfoy," Harry whispered.

"Hey, I told you that…"

"No," Harry said putting his hand up in defense. "You said if I said he was in the Room of Requirement you'd slap me. You never said we couldn't talk about him. Besides, he's not here, it's the perfect time."

Leila bit her bottom lip for a minute, almost debating telling her brother what had transpired between her and Malfoy after Defense; but that was probably the worst idea she ever had. Harry couldn't handle that truth, especially in front of so many witnesses. So, she just shook her head and squared her shoulders before she whispered. "I know you just want to know if I've heard anything about him potentially being a Death Eater and the only person I've heard talk about that is you."

"You've heard nothing else? What did he say in class that got you so riled up?"

"I-I made fun of his father, so he brought up Mum and Dad to get even with me. Nothing You-Know-Who related, Harry."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you sure you really want to be asking that question?" Leila placed her hand on her hip and looked at her brother pointedly. She then shook her head before putting the scurvy grass into her cauldron.

"I just need you to be my eyes and ears in the snake pit, Leila."

"What do you want me to do, Harry? Stalk him?" Leila scoffed at the idea but when she looked to her brother he was cautiously nodding his head. "You can't be serious." Harry shrugged one shoulder. "You're actually serious about this."

"If he's a Death Eater…"

"And what if he's not? Have you thought of that, Harry? Putting me through all this pain and torture for nothing? Do you really understand what you're asking of me?"

"Leila, please?"

The Potter girl pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. If only her brother knew what he was actually asking of her. If he knew that she had kissed Draco, he wouldn't be asking this of her. Slowly, she exhaled the breath she had been holding. Rationally speaking, if she never wanted Harry to find out about what had happened, it made sense for her to agree to this. This way whatever happened between her and Draco would stay between her and Draco; not to mention that he had basically given her license to be in Draco's vicinity. "Fine," was all she said before she focused on her potion once again.

When potions was finally over, Leila was exhausted from the day and decided to take a nap in her dormitory until it was time for dinner. She plopped onto her bed and cuddled with Roman, still dressed in her school uniform. It wasn't long before her exhaustion got the better of her and she fell asleep. Her subconscious quickly turned to that all-too-familiar dream that had plagued her since summer. Restless, Leila kicked and muttered in her sleep as she could see a Dark Mark etched onto a pale forearm and a Slytherin ring shimmering in the light. She tightly clutched her pillow as her dream faded into darkness. When she finally came to consciousness, her eyes fluttered open to the sight of Daphne shaking her awake. "You were talking in your sleep, you know."

"Wh-what was I saying?" Leila asked nervously.

"He's only a boy." By this point Daphne was seated beside Leila on her bed. "I have to admit, I'm curious; but you don't have time to talk about it." Leila looked at her friend with a puzzled expression on her face. "You have to go to detention."

"What about dinner?"

"You slept through dinner. Draco told me to come get you. He said something about not wanting to get more detentions because you couldn't be bothered to show up."

"What time is it?" Leila slowly stretched as she rolled over to look at her alarm clock. Her eyes widened in alarm noting that she only had five minutes until her detention was supposed to begin. She cursed under her breath as she rolled out of bed before trying to run out of her dormitory. Leila didn't make it far because she tripped over Daphne's foot and crashed to the floor. "Snape's going to kill me," Leila groaned from the floor.

Pushing herself up from the floor, Leila ran out of the Slytherin dungeon and headed for Snape's classroom, not caring about her messy appearance. Her hair was full of bedhead, her clothing was wrinkled and crumpled, and that blasted tie Leila unknotted as she climbed the stairs. By the time she opened the door to Snape's classroom, she was out of breath. She saw Snape sitting at his desk grading papers never looking up and Draco at a desk in the front of the room with his head in his hands. "I'm here," Leila wheezed to get their attention.

"You're late...again," Snape drawled.

"It wasn't on purpose, sir. I-I"

"I don't care whether it was on purpose or not. That will be another detention for the two of you."

"But, sir," Draco argued.

"Don't think I forgot your tardiness this morning, Mr Malfoy. So why don't we add another one."

"You can't give me a detention for his tardiness!" Leila argued.

"Can't I?" Snape narrowed his eyes at Leila who groaned before slumping into a desk in the back. The professor took a deep breath before he sneered, "Miss Potter, join Mr Malfoy at the front desk."

"Do I have to?" Leila whined leaning forward onto the desk. "Isn't this torture enough as it is?"

"Wrong answer. We're now up to five added detentions."

Leila furrowed her brow at Snape's math. "Hang on, but just a minute ago…"

"Potter, shut your mouth. I don't have time to waste having detention with you for you to get us another one," Draco hissed from the front.

"Because clearly I have no one better to spend my time with than you," Leila scoffed sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

"You sure seem to be proving otherwise the way you're racking us up detentions. It's like you're looking for an excuse to spend time with me." By this point Draco was looking over his shoulder at her.

"It's not like I've earned them all on my own, now have I?"

"SILENCE!" Snape shouted. "Potter. Front. Now."

Rather grudgingly, Leila slowly stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. She scowled at Draco who scowled back at her before he turned back toward the front. Not wanting to let Draco think he was getting off easy, she shoved herself into the desk as hard as she could, attempting to push him to the floor. But he must have known she'd do this, because he simply braced himself and Leila seemed to hit a stone wall. She cursed out loud before she began to slap at arm that was closest to her-his left arm.

Leila struck his arm rather viciously causing him to howl in pain. For a moment, Snape's eyes widened; but neither of the teenagers noticed. Leila found it curious that Draco was reacting so strongly. She knew that he could be rather pathetic; but normally when she physically contacted him, he didn't writhe in pain. Draco brought his bandaged right hand to his left arm, clutching it tightly, causing Leila to gasp. It wasn't the fact that Madam Pomfrey had spoken true about Draco's injury that shocked her...it was the sight of his Slytherin ring. A ring she had dreamed about not even an hour before. She looked to his face to see his pained expression before she furrowed her brow. Even the scene seemed oddly familiar. A ringed hand clutching a left arm. But Leila refused to admit that Harry might be onto something.

"What are you looking at?" Draco hissed, startling Leila.

"N-nothing," Leila whispered. "Nothing at all." She then tucked her rather unruly hair behind her ears before she turned to face Snape who stood there with an annoyed expression and stance.

"Are you two quite done?" Snape drawled.

Leila looked to Draco who rolled his eyes and nodded his head as he still lay somewhat doubled over onto the desk, clutching his arm. She then looked to Snape with her bright emerald eyes before she slowly nodded. Leila took a gulp of air before she spoke, "What are doing for detention this evening?" It was obvious she was trying to change the subject; but for once, Snape seemed to go with it.

"The younger Mr Creevey decided it was more important to play with his wand during my class than to pay attention. You two will be cleaning up his mess. Without magic."

Both Draco and Leila looked at Snape as if the punishment were unfair; but knowing that Snape wasn't going to change his mind the two teenagers surveyed the room. The right side of the classroom, near the spot where Leila had kissed Draco, was badly scorched and charred. Leila wasn't sure how she missed the looming burnt smell that hovered in the air and even Draco slightly raised his nose in disgust while Leila scrunched hers.

"Wands," Snape said, holding his hands out in front of him. With a sigh, Leila pulled her wand from her robe and put it in Snape's hand. Draco looked rather hesitant to give up his wand. He groaned in frustration before he put his wand in Snape's other hand. "There will be no fighting or I will add to your never ending list of detentions. So behave. And Potter, fix that tie."

With that, Snape turned on his heel before walking out into the corridor, his cloak billowing behind him. The door slammed shut behind him and there was a faint clicking noise. It sounded like he was locking the two of them in. Leila sighed before she looked over to Draco who sat rigidly beside her, looking rather deep in thought. Her gaze then looked underneath the balcony, where they had...well, anyway, there were buckets of water and rags in that place. She cleared her throat. "So, now what?"

Draco then turned toward her with a rather cold expression. "You leave me alone, we don't talk, and we pretend we got along the entire time. But you're cleaning more because you're so insufferable." He suddenly stood up and walked over to the buckets before Leila could argue with him. Standing over the bucket, he pushed it with his foot before muttering, "This is servant's work."

With a sigh, Leila followed Draco over to the buckets. He was now down on his haunches, beside the bucket with a scowl on his face. Leila followed suit and sat down on the floor on the opposite side of the bucket. They both reached for a rag at the same time and their eyes met as their hands accidentally brushed against each others. Leila's heart skipped a beat but Draco only rolled his eyes and shook his head as he noticed her untied tie hung around her neck. "Are you going to tie that or not?"

"Not," Leila answered lightly. She could see Draco narrowing his eyes at her so, she furthered. "I still can't tie the damn thing. I need someone else to do it for me."

"Hand it here. I don't want to get another detention because you can't tie a blasted tie."

"No."

"Just give me the bloody tie." He was obviously getting frustrated with her at this point. He knew just how stubborn she could be.

"No." Leila too was growing frustrated with him. She watched as his face contort because he was annoyed. Despite not wanting to, Draco and Leila knew each other fairly well and always seemed to make a regular habit in trying to annoy the other.

Draco's hand snaked out and grabbed hold of her tie from the left side of her neck; but Leila tightly held onto the right side of the tie. The two seemed to fight in a tug-o-war over the tie until they both fell forward over the bucket so that their foreheads touched and they were looking into each other's eyes. Leila bit her bottom lip, almost hoping he was going to kiss her, as her emerald eyes searched his icy ones. She wanted him to kiss her and that thought sent tingles up her spine. For a moment, Draco didn't make any sign of movement and he just watched Leila. Leila's breath hitched and Draco took that as his cue to steal Leila's tie from her before he backed away from her.

He sat down and put Leila's tie around his neck muttering to himself. Leila released a disappointed sigh before she sat back and watched Draco tying her tie. He must think she was pathetic not being able to tie a tie after nearly six years. When it was tied, he loosened it from his neck, removed it, and handed it toward Leila without even looking at her. Leila accepted her tie back before whispering, "Thank you."

Instead of saying anything to her, Draco reached for a rag against and thrust it into the water with a sneer on his face. He then stood up before walking over to a charred desk and roughly began scrubbing it, muttering to himself. Leila gently put her tie back over her neck before she sat there watching him clean. If she was truly honest with herself, she had to admit that he was rather handsome and that, for some reason beyond her reasoning, she was drawn to him. He turned to look at her when he noticed her staring at him. For a moment, he appeared to compose himself before he bitterly spoke. "I'm not doing this by myself, Potter. So grab a rag and get started."

"And what if I don't?" Leila found herself questioning him.

"Why must you be so stubborn? You always do the exact opposite of what I want."

"I do not. You don't know a damn thing about me."

"Then quit acting like you know everything about me."

"What the bloody hell is your problem?"

"My problem? You. You're the one who won't leave things bloody well alone." By this point, Draco was standing near the bucket again. He dropped his rag in the bucket and tossed another one at Leila without even looking at her. "Get going."

Leila sighed before she grabbed the rag and moved to the desk beside the one he was cleaning. Draco picked up his rag before he began to scrub the desk again. He faced her as he cleaned and every now and then they would make eye contact before they would both look away and scrub again. After the third awkward eye contact, Leila stood up and leaned over the desk and looked at him. "I'm sorry for figuring that that you might like some company. Especially since you don't really have any friends."

"I have friends," Draco scoffed as he stood up and leaned over the desk he was cleaning, facing Leila. He slammed his rag down to the desk.

"People who only do what you ask because they're scared of you don't count as friends."

"I have friends."

"So you've said." Leila cocked an eyebrow at him. Draco rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath as he turned his attention back to the charred desks.

Draco moved on to another desk to scrub as Leila moved back to the bucket to wring out her rag. Leila looked back at Draco over his shoulder, but he didn't look back at her, which made Leila's heart pang. With a sigh she went back to scrubbing the charred desks. The pair continued to clean the desks in silence before moving to the blackened wall. Being the arse he was, Draco purposely divided the wall so that Leila had to clean ¾ of it. As Leila scrubbed at the wall, she looked over at Draco who was still scrubbing with an annoyed expression. "How long are you planning on ignoring me?"

Draco looked over at Leila before he turned back toward the wall. Leila could have sworn that she heard him mutter forever which made her sigh. She watched as Draco took a step back from the wall and frustratingly ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe she was building up this thing between her and Malfoy in her head. Despite what had happened this morning, it was obvious that he wanted nothing to do with her. Maybe the fact that she hadn't wanted him when she was younger was what had attracted him and now that she suddenly was interested...She sighed before she looked up to him again. He brushed his hair away from his face before he sat down at one of the desks. He was obviously done cleaning for the evening.

Leila sighed as he continued to scrub the wall while Draco pulled a green apple out of his robe pocket and began to eat it. A green apple. Everything about the Amortentia pointed toward him; but everything Draco was doing seemed contradictory. Leila put her frustration into her scrubbing. What exactly did she want to come of the situation? Did she really want him to be her boyfriend? The very thought seemed ridiculous, especially given who her brother was. She did rather enjoy snogging him though. It was much more enjoyable this morning than either experience fourth year. But her thoughts kept turning back to her brother. Harry seemed to be in the way no matter what choice she made.

The sound of the lock clicking on the door caused Leila to turn and Draco to walk back over to the bucket. Seconds later, Snape entered the room, his eyes scanning the two teenagers. "It appears you two haven't killed each other...yet." Neither Draco nor Leila said anything, so Snape continued. "You're excused...until tomorrow evening." The professor handed them their wands back before he curtly nodded as a signal for them to leave.

"Thank Merlin," Leila muttered before she stood up and began walking toward the door. It almost seemed like she was in a race with Draco for who would get there first; but Draco had the longer stride. She started running to catch up with him, but he easily reached the door first. Draco swung the door open just enough for him to pass through, so Leila had to pull on the door to open it again. "Arse," she muttered.

In the distance, the clock began to chime and Leila knew that it was time for her rounds with Draco to begin. He didn't even turn around to look at her, he just kept walking; which angered her slightly. But she was distracted from her anger by the sound of her stomach growling. Obviously, she was hungry from having skipped dinner. She looked down at her stomach and missed the fact that Draco turned around to look at her for a moment. When she looked up at him, he was leaning against a wall, staring at the other wall with an annoyed expression on his face. He was clearly waiting for her so that they could start their rounds; but Leila concluded she had enough of Draco for the evening, so she turned on her heel and began walking in the opposite direction.

For a moment, Draco stood there stunned that she was walking away from him. He called her by her surname, but she didn't listen to him. She just kept walking away from. Annoyed by this, he stomped after her. "Where exactly do you think you're going?" Knowing that Leila was every bit as stubborn as he was, he wasn't too surprised when she said nothing and kept walking. "We have rounds you know! And I'm not doing them by myself this time!"

"I thought you wanted me to stay away from you," Leila scoffed without turning around to look at him. "I'm only doing as you asked."

"Well, I'm telling you that we have rounds to do and they go faster when you don't have to do them on your own. I have things I need to do when they're over."

"Well, I'm telling you that I'm hungry. So do the bloody rounds on your own or wait until I'm done eating."

Draco muttered something to himself before he ran to catch up with her. Leila was surprised by his action, she hadn't been expecting him to run after her after the way their evening had gone. But Leila was still miffed at him, so she tried to walk faster so that he couldn't catch up with her; but again his damn long stride made it easy for him to catch up to her. When he was in step beside her, Leila tried to ignore him; but he caught her completely off-guard by initiating a conversation with her.

"And where exactly do you expect to get food at this hour?" He asked. "It's not like you can just make food appear, it's common knowledge."

"The kitchen," Leila scoffed as if it should be obvious. "You know, it's where the food comes from because you're not the only one who knows Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration."

"The kitchen? You know where the bloody kitchen is?"

"You don't know where the bloody kitchen is?" Draco stopped walking, so Leila stopped to look at him over her shoulder. She was met with his cold facade, so she threw her hands in the air in exasperation before she walked away from him again. A few moments later, he continued to follow her. Leila rolled her eyes, "You do realize you're the one following me now."

"I'm not following you," Draco scoffed. "If we patrol this now we won't have to do it later."

He always had an excuse for everything, which annoyed Leila to no end. So with a groan, she stomped forward toward the portrait of a bowl of fruit which hung on the stone wall, seemingly out-of-place, yet not. Stopping in front of the portrait, Leila folded her arms across her chest and turned toward Draco who was stopped beside her. "Turn around," Leila said coldly.

"Why?" Was the response Leila knew she was going to get, but she still wasn't pleased with.

Leila raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to defy her before speaking. "You could always finish the patrol on your own." Draco narrowed his eyes at her before he reluctantly turned around, muttering under his breath. Leila couldn't help but look at him in confusion. She had given him plenty of opportunities to leave, yet, as adamant as he had been about staying away from her, he was still here beside her. The Potter girl sighed before she turned her back toward him so that he couldn't see her tickle the pear on the portrait and know how to get the doorknob to appear.

She twisted the doorknob and opened the door before turning back to Draco who still stood with his back to her and his hands shoved in his pockets. "Coming, Ferret?"

"Don't call me that," Draco groaned as he turned toward her.

"What? Ferret?" By this point Leila couldn't help but smirk as Draco rolled his eyes as he walked past her and through the door he had never seen before. Leila watched him as he curiously looked around at his new surroundings. Leila followed him inside and looked over at him before commenting. "It's like you've never seen a kitchen before. Then again, that wouldn't really surprise me."

Draco didn't get a chance to respond because they were interrupted by a certain house elf they were both familiar with: Dobby. The second he noticed her, Dobby ran toward Leila, atop the table running down the kitchen, with a big grin on his face that practically spread from ear to ear. "Miss Leila! Miss Leila!"

"Dobby?" Draco whispered before looking to Leila who was softly smiling at the house elf in question. "What's he doing here?"

When Dobby noticed Draco he came to a screeching halt and curiously eyed the boy. "Dobby could ask the same question. Dobby wonders why Miss Leila bring Master Draco."

"Sorry, Dobby," Leila apologized. "I was only hoping for some food; but I can get rid of him if you'd like."

Draco looked at her incredulously as Dobby eyed him once again. Dobby looked at the Malfoy boy, who had once been his master, from head to toe before turning toward Leila. "Anything for Miss Leila but Master Draco better behave or Dobby tell stories." Draco's eyes widened in slight terror at the house elf in front of him while Dobby continued to glance suspiciously at Draco. Leila couldn't help but laugh at the exchange before she gently patted Dobby on the head and the house elf walked away with a smile on his face.

Leila walked over to the table in the kitchen and sat down. Draco followed slowly behind her before sitting across from her at the table. He gingerly sat down as if he were expecting something terrible to happen; but whatever he was expecting never happened. So, he seemed to relax a bit before he turned to Leila. His expression was pure curiosity, an expression Leila hadn't seen on his face in quite some time. "What?" Leila asked.

"How long have you known Dobby?" Draco responded.

"Summer before second year, he was stealing my mail. For a while there I thought you were having him steal it; but it turned out he was doing it on his own."

"Why would you think it was me?"

"Do you remember how annoying you were first year?" Leila pulled her hair behind her ears. "Not that much has changed, of course."

"Why was he stealing your mail?"

Leila rolled her eyes. For wanting her to leave him alone, he was sure asking an awful lot of question. "He was trying to keep Harry and I from returning to Hogwarts. Almost managed it too, closing the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ before Harry, Ron, and I could get through."

"And then you three flew that bloody car," Draco said shaking his head. Leila was surprised that he remembered.

"I was coerced," Leila said rather stiffly before she sat up a little straighter and folded her arms. "But that didn't keep me from getting any detentions."

"Why-why was Dobby trying to keep you from Hogwarts?"

"He knew of the plan to open the Chamber of Secrets again. Overheard your father talking about it, maybe even carrying out orders on his behalf about it. Dobby just wanted to keep Harry and I safe."

"My father wouldn't have seen harm come to you." Draco said softly before he looked at Leila rather innocently. "He-he knew." Leila mouthed the word oh before Draco slowly nodded his head. He raked his fingers through his hair before continuing. "What I don't understand is how Dobby managed to do it. He would have disobeyed orders. House elves can't do that."

"He never told us that he belonged to your family. I figured that one out through Daphne. He also never told us what was planned. Just that terrible things were about to happen at Hogwarts." Draco slowly breathed as Leila drummed her fingers against the table. She chuckled to herself before she looked over at him again. "Remember that rogue Bludger second year?" Draco nodded his head. "That was Dobby."

Draco shook his head as Dobby walked over with a plate and a goblet that was dripping pumpkin juice. Dobby set what he was carrying in front of Leila before bowing low. Leila smiled and thanked him before Dobby turned toward Draco. The house elf motioned two fingers between his eyes and Draco's...telling Draco that he was watching him. Draco rolled his eyes as Dobby walked away still watching him.

Leila picked up her fork and stabbed at the shepherd's pie in front of her. Draco didn't say anything. Instead, he slouched forward and watched her eat; which unnerved Leial to no end. "Must you watch me?" Leila groaned after she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"I'm not watching you," Draco scoffed. Leila raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head before taking another bite of her food. Draco groaned before shifting in his seat. "I'm not and hurry up."

"I'm not stopping you from patrolling. You're more than welcome to go on without me."

Draco scowled before he stood up. Leila actually thought he was going to leave and go on without her; but instead, he started walking around the kitchen. Taking another drink of her juice, Leila watched as Draco examined the kitchen up close. When Leila was full, she stood up from the bench and cleared her throat. Draco turned to look at her before he nodded his head and headed for the door. As Leila was about to follow Draco, she looked over her shoulder and thanked Dobby once more before walking out into the corridor.

The Slytherin prefects fell into another awkward silence. On patrol last year, Draco would normally talk her to death; but he appeared deep in thought whenever she looked over at him. Well, either that or he looked angry. Leila found herself looking at him quite frequently, admiring him until they came upon a young couple snogging in an empty corridor. They both stopped and looked to each other. "They're all yours," Leila commented.

Draco groaned before he began to roll up his sleeves. He unbuttoned and rolled-up the right sleeve before moving to the left one. He had it unbuttoned before he quickly stopped himself. Then he buttoned his left sleeve again before fixing the right one. Leila found that somewhat odd; but as long as he was the one taking care of the snogging couple, she wasn't going to question it. Draco walked toward the couple and Leila slowly followed behind him.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Draco drawled. The couple immediately broke apart and looked at Draco with sheer terror in their eyes. Leila tried to hide the smile on her face at the sight of them trying to bargain with Draco to no avail. "Cauldwell, Tsuji-common rooms, now. Or I'll be forced to resort to other measures beside the ten points you lost each of your Houses."

"Ten?" Miyuki Tsuji, the Ravenclaw girl gasped.

"We could always make it twenty," Leila added from the spot where she stood a few feet behind Draco. The couple looked to each other before they scurried from the scene. Leila chuckled as she watched them practically running from her.

Draco sighed and leaned against the stone wall, crossing his legs in front of him. Leila looked to him to find that he was looking at her intensely, which frightened her. She hadn't seen that look in a long time. But when she looked to him again, his expression changed to him looking frustrated and rubbing his temples. Not knowing what exactly was going on with him, Leila took a few steps forward down the corridor. "Why aren't you scared of me?" Draco asked loud enough for her to hear.

Leila came to a sudden halt, quite taken aback. She looked over her shoulder back at him. "Wh-what?" Leila questioned in return.

"This morning, you said you weren't scared of me. Why not?"

Furrowing her brow, Leila took a few steps closer back to him. "Should I be?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why should I be scared of you?"

By this point, Draco had closed the distance between them. He grabbed Leila by her shoulders, pulling her towards him. Her breath hitched once again as he seemed to be looking into her eyes for something. "Because I've tried everything I can possibly think of to keep you away and nothing seems to work."

Leila looked up into Draco's eyes and she could practically see the confusion beginning to cloud them. She bit her bottom lip before whispering, "Why do you wish so badly to push me away?"

"I can't be distracted this year, Leila." Draco gently pushed her away from him before he turned his back toward her. He walked toward the wall, leaving her standing there as he rested his forearms against the wall and his head on his arms. Leila could see his shoulders move with every breath he took.

After a moment of silence, Leila sighed and walked toward him. She leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms, turning her head to look right at him. "It's because I know you care, Draco." He turned to look at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Because when I look in your eyes, I don't see the cold and callused facade you seem to be putting up this year. I see the boy you've always been. The boy who gave me my first...and second kiss. I see a boy who whether he admits it or not, still cares."

"You're seeing things."

"Am I really? Of all the people in this school, how many do you actually give a damn about?"

Draco didn't answer her. Instead he scowled a bit, but he appeared to be mulling over what she had said. With a sigh, Leila looked away from him and rested the back of her head against the wall. Figuring that he wasn't going to say anything, Leila took a step to walk away from him when suddenly his hand snaked out and wrapped around her arm. She turned toward him once more; but she wasn't anticipating his hands to take hold of her cheeks and his mouth to crash onto hers.

Leila gasped before she quickly responded to being kissed by him. Tightly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, making it rather impossible for him to get away if he tried. She had been waiting all day for this to happen again and now that it was happening, she could hardly believe it. Draco's kisses were intoxicating, she almost feared that she could never have enough. But what mattered was that he had kissed her and that things were never going to be quite the same again.


Author's note: Draco still cares! I think we all probably knew that, but still. Now, can the two of them figure this thing out? Haha. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/read/favorited/followed my story. Honestly, it means a lot to me. :)


~*~Come join in the fun at Leila's tumblr (leilapotter) I make edits, videos, answer questions, that kind of stuff. haha.~*~