DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the related titles.

A/N: Alright, so I'm not going to go on about how sorry I am for taking so long, and give you the long list of all the stuff I've had to do, because you all should know at this point I'm a busy girl. And although I do apologize for taking so long, I guess…be thankful I don't take as long as JK does when she planned the next books? I dunno. I'm sorry. I'm really trying folks. I really am. So please enjoy…

Chapter 28: Rita Skeeter Strikes Again

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?!"

The looks on Ron and Hermione's faces were identical as Harry revealed to them his latest letter from Sirius. Maddy only overheard, keeping to herself a bit more than usual after her meeting with Professor Moody. She didn't want him to think she was spreading the word around just yet. She wasn't entirely sure what kind of wizard she was up against, but she certainly knew she wouldn't be able to take him alone.

"I can't believe him!" Harry's voice cut through Maddy's musings. "If he's caught…"

"Do you honestly think he'll get caught?" she butt in, finally deciding to be social for a moment. "He's not stupid Harry…"

"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?" Ron added in agreement. "And it's not like the place is swimming with dementors anymore…"

"Even then," Maddy said, a strange, almost-angry, glint flickering in her eyes. "He didn't have a problem getting around. I mean, he was never caught then, was he?" her gaze fell onto Harry. "You need to give your godfather just a little bit more credit, Harry…"

"Harry's right though," Hermione decided to speak her side. "Si-Padfoot has a tendency to be a bit…how do I put this…reckless? You never know what he's planning. One wrong move and it'll land him right back in Azkaban."

"Or worse, straight to the dementors…" Harry finished for her.

Maddy shook her head. "I still think you're not giving him enough credit. Siri wouldn't come back into town unless he had a foolproof plan. He may be reckless, but I think recent events have knocked a little sense in him."

"I certainly hope so," Hermione sighed. "What's going on?" her attention was caught by a group of Slytherins gathered by the Potions' dungeon door.

"I'm not sure I want to know…" Ron replied offhandedly, hardly glancing at the group of them.

"Looks like they've got something…" Maddy pointed out, taking notice of something thin in Pansy Parkinson's hands.

"AH!" Hermione squealed as the item was tossed at her face, falling with a plop in her hands. Looking down, she realized it was a copy of Witch Weekly.

"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!" the vile Slytherin girl taunted as Snape appeared from the dungeon.

Before more could be explained, the group of them were herded into class. Hermione tucked the magazine under her butt, despite the disgusted looks given to her from the woman baking on the front cover, keeping it concealed from a rather suspicious Snape.

When his back was finally turned, she pulled it out to share with her friends, finally turning to the article Pansy must have been talking about.

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

Maddy shook her head as the three of them read the article over in hushed voices. She certainly didn't have the time to deal with Rita Skeeter's little love stories. In fact, she was proud to admit she hadn't read a single one of her articles the entire year.

"What a pile of old rubbish…" Hermione said finally, shaking her head repeatedly. The article had told the story of a secret love triangle between her, Harry and Viktor Krum, a cock and bull story if any had ever seen one before.

"There's something funny though," Hermione said suddenly, catching even Maddy's attention. "How could Rita Skeeter have known…?"

"Known what exactly?" Maddy asked sharply, glaring at her bushy-haired friend, a sudden surge of jealousy washing through her.

"You haven't been mixing up Love Potions, have you?" Ron's eyes were wide and accusing.

"Oh don't be stupid you two!" Hermione shot back, turning bright red. "I don't need love potions, and you know they're not allowed…"

"Lately, with you, I wouldn't put it past you," Ron turned away suddenly, busying himself with his potion, finally at least pretending to be paying attention.

"I don't care about the potions," Maddy continued. "This love triangle thing…" her eyes darted from Hermione to Harry, then back to Hermione. "That's not true…right?" her gaze had settled on Harry once more, her eyes more dangerous than any had seen them before.

"Of course not!" Harry answered well before Hermione even had the chance to open her mouth. "I don't like Hermione like that! I could never…you know…"

Hermione didn't look insulted at all. In fact, she looked relieved that the conversation had turned a bit from where it was originally going.

"Well, like Ron just said, with you two, I wouldn't put it past you…" Maddy snapped, turning back to her cauldron as well, tired of speaking through Ron's arm.

Harry gaped at her, as if he couldn't believe she'd say such a thing. And where this sudden attitude was was coming, he didn't know. She'd never really been like this before, with the exception of the whole asking-Cho-to-the-Ball thing. He supposed that was where she could be coming from.

"And it's not like you'd ever fall for Hermione," Maddy didn't seem to be done, even though she could no longer look at them. "I mean, of all people…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking offended.

"I'm just saying," Maddy tossed some beetle's eyes into her potion, not really paying attention to how much. "You're not his type…"

Hermione stared at her, clearly lost for words. "Well, there's nothing you have to worry about then, is there, Maddy?" she finally asked, unable to say anything else.

"What were you talking about then?" Ron asked, finally deciding to join back into the conversation. "How did Rita Skeeter know what?"

"I was talking about Viktor…" Hermione's face turned bright red. "How did she know he asked me to visit him over the summer?"

As a loud clunk sounded, Maddy knew it was best she butt out of this conversation. Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing as he caught her eye before turning back to his 

own potion. Maddy couldn't help but notice a slight hint of pain penetrating the bright green eyes she once drowned herself in.

It was then she knew things were going to get difficult for their already strained relationship.

XXXXX

"I'm coming too," Maddy said sternly, staring at Harry as he pulled on his jacket.

"No you're not…" Harry replied, running a hand through his unbelievably messy hair. "If all of us are spotted going toward one location, someone will know something's up."

"Oh but you'll take Hermione," Maddy crossed her arms, sitting on the end of his bed.

"What?" Harry glanced back at her through the mirror. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Maddy shrugged. "What do you think it's supposed to mean?"

Harry turned to her. "I think you're being ridiculous…" he wound his scarf around his neck and moved toward her. "Especially about that Rita Skeeter article. For someone who hasn't been bothered by her the entire year, someone who prided herself in being one of the only people not bothering with her, you're taking it rather seriously."

Maddy didn't respond, purposely glancing away from him.

"Maddy…" Harry sighed, moving toward her and kneeling by her legs. "I'm not into Hermione. There is nothing going on between us. You know it's…not me…who's interested in her."

Harry didn't even need to say the name and Maddy knew he was referring to Ron. It was more than obvious that he had a thing for their female companion, and Harry would never be the kind of person to take that away from him. Maddy knew that. She was being ridiculous.

"I know we've had some issues…but…" Harry looked down, taking her hand into his. "I know we can do this…" He smirked a little, trying to shed a little light on the situation. "I mean, we've battled dark wizards, and gone through more than any other teenager ever should…I think we can handle a few ups and downs in a relationship…"

"I'm sorry…" she replied, looking down at her unusually pale hands, doing her best to keep from crying. "I…I'm sorry, Harry…"

"Hey," Harry lifted her chin. "None of that, okay?"

Maddy nodded, "I know…I know…" she sniffled a little and coughed harshly, quickly smothering it as no big deal. "I just wanted to see Sirius…that's all…"

Harry took a deep breath, realizing there was nothing he was going to be able to do to stop her, even though the school had very strict rules about her being in Hogsmeade.

"You're taking the Invisibility Cloak…" he said matter-of-factly.

Maddy's eyes grew wide and sparkled as they once used to. Harry was pleased to see them look happy once again. Turning toward his trunk, he pulled out his Father's old cloak and draped it over her, watching her immediately disappear from the end of his bed.

"Oh no…where'd you go…" he asked playfully, looking around the room. "Maddy! Maddy!"

Ripping the cloak off, she leapt from the bed and hugged him from behind. He laughed softly, trying to peer back at her over his shoulder.

"Oh! There you are," he said. "I was looking for you. You had me worried." He turned around so that they were face to face. "Now don't you do that again, you-"

Maddy didn't let him finish his sentence as her lips landed on his, capturing them in a slow kiss. It had been a while since they'd last had the opportunity to do that, so she took advantage of it, kissing him for as long as he would let her.

When footsteps sounded on the stairs, the two broke apart quickly and Maddy disappeared under the cloak just in time for Ron to appear in the doorway.

"You comin'?" he asked, glancing around the room curiously, looking for the reason Harry was standing in the middle of the room with a dopey grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah…" he answered, not moving from his spot.

Ron looked around once more, clearly confused. "Uh…mate? What are you looking at?"

Harry finally came to his senses, noticing his friend standing in the doorway. He shook his head quickly and waved his hand. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something…"

Ron suddenly looked interested. "Is it Sirius?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "It's kind of foolish of me actually…"

"No," Ron laughed, witnessing his first "Serious Sirius" joke. He'd been waiting for one for a good time now. "I mean, like the person, Harry…"

Harry looked embarrassed. Of all people to make that mistake! "No…" he answered a bit quieter. "It's not him either. It's nothing, believe me."

But Ron didn't seem to want to budge on the subject. He and Harry hadn't talked about much the past year, due to the fact they weren't speaking for a while.

"Mate, come on," Ron took the very same spot on Harry's bed that Maddy had been sitting in only moments before. "We've got time. Tell me what's going on. Is it something to do with Maddy? She's been a bit off her rocker lately, if you ask me. Have you noticed how pale she's gotten?"

"Maddy's always been pale," Harry answered quickly, trying to make it as un-obvious as possible that she'd been the one he was thinking about.

"No, but like, sick pale…" Ron pressed on. "You think there's something she's not telling us?"

Harry frowned, glancing toward the direction he'd hoped Maddy was. Little did he know she had made her way toward the door, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She knew she would have a bit of explaining to do later on when all of what Ron was saying finally settled in Harry's head.

"Nah," Harry shook his head. "If something serious was up with her, she'd tell Sirius at least, and if it was life-threatening, he'd wanna tell us…"

"Adults don't usually work that way," Ron replied. "They like to hide us from the truth. You, of all people, should know that."

"Sirius isn't like that," Harry said stubbornly. "He'd tell me if something was going on. He'd want us to know."

But if Sirius doesn't know…Maddy thought to herself, feeling the guilt strike her heart repeatedly. Then you'd never know…

"HARRY? RON? ARE YOU UP THERE?" Hermione's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs, causing Maddy to move out of the way quickly. If Ron bumped into her on the way out the door, she'd be in trouble for sure.

"Coming!" Ron yelled back to her, the bitter tone he'd held in Potions class still remained in his voice when he spoke to her. Quickly, though clearly quite annoyed, the boys moved toward the door.

Maddy remained under the blanket as she carefully followed the others toward the carriages that would take them into Hogsmeade, ignoring the growing pains in her stomach and chest, and praying nobody would sit on her by accident on the way up.

A/N: So there you have it. Yet another chapter in the thrilling life story of Madeleine Black. Things will start picking up again with the end of this year, and the start of the next. Especially when Cho decides to play a very large role in Harry's life…and Maddy doesn't seem to be too happy about his future choice in women. And what about the thing Ron was talking about? Does Maddy have a secret she's been hiding that could possibly turn for the worst?

Keep reading to find out. More scandals to come!