I hadn't heard from Victoria in several weeks, which shouldn't have worried me, but it did. I knew how slow mail was from St. Mungo's, but I was still concerned. I told myself that I was just being paranoid, like always, but it didn't stop me from feeling worried. I knew that they had healers watching her 24/7, but I still felt anxious.

Harry's description of DADA was completely accurate. Professor Umbridge, although I was supposed to like her, was an idiot. I didn't care how many people at the Ministry told me that she was a lovely person, I still hated her. I mean, come on! The whole point of DADA was to use magic, and the fact that we had to read theory was infuriating for everyone. Voldemort was rising, and there was no way anybody could stop it. Of course, I wasn't as stupid as Victoria's brother to say that, but it was true.

I had a difficult time staying awake during DADA, and an even more difficult time seeming like I was interested. I was supposed to, so Umbridge wouldn't despise me like she did every other student. I'd seen what she'd made the people who got detention do.

Then, I heard someone come through the door. I didn't turn around, because I just assumed it was another teacher or something. "Hi, sorry I'm late. I've only just got back from St. Mungo's," the person who came in said. I could recognize that voice from a mile away. I whipped around, and, sure enough, Victoria was standing in the doorway. Both of her arms and legs were covered completely with black leggings and long sleeved shirt, which she covered with her school uniform.

When other people saw her, they started clapping. Eventually, it went into whooping and cheering. I just sat there like an idiot smiling at her. Professor Umbridge didn't let the celebration last long, and shut it down very quickly. "Excuse me, I've never seen you before. Who are you?" Umbridge asked her.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Victoria Potter. I've been in St. Mungo's for the past five months, so I haven't come to school. Professor Dumbledore or Professor Snape must have told you I was coming late in the year," Victoria said.

"No, nobody told me about that," Umbridge said, clearly confused. "Do you have any relation with Harry Potter, Victoria?" she asked her.

Victoria was obviously very confused on the relevance of this question, and I could just see her mind thinking 'God, I hope that she doesn't favor me just because of that.' Victoria, your wish is granted in five, four, three… "Yes, he's my brother," Victoria said.

"Ok. Well, I'll just have you sit with Mr. Malfoy, then." Umbridge looked completely satisfied with herself, thinking that she had placed Victoria with the person she hated most. Boy was she wrong.

Victoria hobbled over to my spot in the classroom. "Draco, mind helping me?" she asked. I nodded and helped her into her seat. "Thanks, babe," she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

You should have seen Professor Umbridge's face for a second. Oh, my god, it was hilarious. Clearly she wasn't aware of the situation beforehand. "Oh, you didn't know that Draco's my boyfriend?" Victoria asked. I could see the whole class trying not to laugh, and I was right with them. Victoria was the only one in the class with a straight face on.

Class was continued as soon as Professor Umbridge was able to regain composure, which took a surprisingly long time. "Missed you," I whispered to Victoria.

"Missed you too. So glad to be back," she said, taking my hand and squeezing it. She looked at the agenda put up for the time we would be spending in class. "Excuse me, are we just reading the whole time?" Victoria asked, raising her hand.

"Yes, Miss Potter. I assume that you have a lot to catch up on, considering your absence," Professor Umbridge said.

"Actually, no. I thought that reading the book was required before entering the class, so I read everything at the hospital already," Victoria said.

Umbridge seemed impressed with that, which was the exact opposite reaction given to Hermione Granger. Hermione saw that, too, and was very irritated. "I suppose for the rest of class, you can work on making up work from other classes," Umbridge said.

Luckily, Victoria had some things to work on. All of the professors had given her work that she could do at the hospital for the most part. They really didn't put a set date on when everything had to be finished; they were very sympathetic towards her situation. Also, Victoria is a brilliant witch (even if none of the other students knew at the time), so they knew she would pick up the concepts rather quickly.

Victoria and I were allowed to go to another room so I could help her out with her work without disturbing any other students. She really didn't need much help, considering how brilliant she is, but it was nice getting to spend some time with her. "So why didn't you tell me that you were coming back?" I asked her.

"There wasn't enough time to write a letter. I found out this morning that I was coming back, and I felt like making a big entrance," Victoria explained, writing down more on her history essay. "God, I hate history, don't you?" she said, laughing.

"Yeah, I'm rubbish at it. How in hell are you so good at it?" I asked her.

"I've got a good memory," she said simply. "Which goblin killed Fredriek Dartson?" she asked me, still working on the essay.

"Not a clue," I said. Victoria rolled her eyes, like 'a fat lot of good you're worth.' "Do you have to work on history right now? I mean, you just got back, and I'm sure Professor Binns will be willing to give you the rest of the year to catch up," I said.

"I guess you're right," she said, putting down her quill. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Victoria asked. My face must have given away my thought of how she knew I wanted to talk about something. "Your body language clearly states that you want to talk about something, and you know that you should never interrupt me when I'm working on anything without good reason," she explained.

"You really are brilliant," I murmured. Victoria looked at me like her question was still unanswered, and she was waiting for me to give a response. "I just wanted to talk about you. How do you feel?"

Victoria shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. I mean, I'm clearly never wearing a bikini again, or anything with short sleeves or anything that doesn't cover up my scars, but I'm fine otherwise," she said.

"You shouldn't worry about those scars being covered up. Everyone knows you're the most beautiful girl in the world, even with those scars," I said.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's just you," she said.

I grabbed her hand and pushed up the sleeve of her robes and long sleeved shirt that was underneath. The scars were there, of course. I brought her arm to my mouth and kissed each scar. "Believe me, you're the most beautiful girl in the world. Anyone who says differently deserves a thousand insults," I said.

Victoria smiled. Clearly I knew her well enough to know that insulting people always made her feel a little bit better. "Thanks. How about, for fun, we come up with some names for those people?" she suggested.

"Peasant is one name. How about we use mudblood, or is that a little too pureblood of me?" I asked her, joking about the second sentence.

We came up with names such as 'pansycake' (strange, if you ask me) 'dalek' (A Doctor Who reference, obviously), 'mundane,' 'mutt,' and 'mortal.' I didn't really understand most of them, but I'm pretty sure they were mostly Muggle book references. Victoria loves reading literature that muggles find fascinating. Coming up with all of those names made her a little more cheerful.

We did get a lot of her work done, despite talking so much. We were both thrilled to see each other again, and I was happy that she was able to move around by herself. She admitted that it was pretty much the only reason she was allowed to come back to Hogwarts, which is why she was working so hard on it. Also, she had to visit the school hospital at least once a day, just to make sure that she was okay.

Class felt very short that day. I didn't have any other classes with Victoria that day, so I made sure I spent the entirety of break with her. Hermione came by us in a huff, angry about what happened in class. "I can't believe that you were given special treatment by Umbridge. That's just ridiculous!" Hermione said angrily.

Victoria was used to Hermione's rants, and just laughed. "Hermione, I needed to make up work. I've been gone for a whole month, almost. And, if anyone's to blame, it's him," she said, gesturing towards me.

I pretended surprise at her comment, when we all knew that it was the truth. "I still think it's unfair," Hermione said and speed-walked away.

"Well, she's really something, isn't she?" Victoria said, laughing.

"You're telling me. I pity the bloke who ends up with her," I said, laughing along. I do think that she and Ron deserve each other.