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Chapter 34

Despite Sirius's case being a critical one, the majority of the Wizengamont had decided to postpone the trial until a week before Christmas. This gave Silver time to gather what information she could.

"Sometimes I wish I had a time-turner like you, Hermione," Silver commented one afternoon. The two were alone in the library, each working on their own projects.

"Oh, yes. I suppose you would, what with helping Sirius and all that. Do you think Dumbledore knows where Pettigrew went?"

"No, I don't think so. Granted, I wouldn't put it past him to have been eavesdropping on mine and Sirius's conversations," Silver said, with a scowl. Hermione looked up at her, surprised.

"Professor Dumbledore wouldn't impose like that, I'm sure." Silver looked skeptical, but decided not to push it; her own opinions on Professor Dumbledore were most likely not shared by the majority of the community.

"Are you getting enough sleep? Your eyes have got bags under them."

"Hm? Oh I get enough. There's just so much work that needs to be done."

"Let me see your schedule, please?" Hermione handed it over without protest; it was color coded per subject, as well as notated with a clock sticker for every time she was supposed to go backwards or forward. As Silver looked it over, she saw that Hermione had over-booked herself; she wouldn't be able to maintain the pace she was going for much longer.

"Might I suggest you drop Divination for next term? You're not the biggest fan of the subject, and I'm worried that you're pushing yourself too hard," Silver suggested gently.

"No, no. I'm not going to give up on the subject, even if I think it's rubbish."

"The point of us taking these electives is to figure out what we do and do not like, for potential futures. There is absolutely no shame in dropping a class that you do not enjoy, Hermione." Silver grabbed Hermione's hand, to get her friend to pay attention to what she was saying.

"You hear me? The way you're going now, you're going to burn yourself out. And that's not healthy."

"I'm fine," Hermione said waspishly. She yanked her hand from Silver's and resumed her work.

"Just think about it, ok? I'm worried about your health and sanity." Hermione made a non-committal noise; she was lost in her work. Silver made a few minor adjustments to Hermione's schedule, hoping that she wouldn't notice.

A couple of hours later, Silver found herself in her dorm room surrounded by her female housemates. There were snacks galore, courtesy of Daphne and Tracy's last trip to Hogsmeade. Tracy Davis was a girl that Silver hadn't ever spoken to, even though they shared a dorm room. Pansy gathered everyone's attention, before leaning forward conspiratorially.

"Have you heard that Black's been captured? The Ministry is allowing him a trial, even though he killed all of those people."

"Oh, really? And how could you possibly know that?" Daphne scoffed.

"Father told me. He's on the Wizengamont, you know. I'm not supposed to know, but he wanted me to be informed." Pansy smirked.

"There's a reason that it's not supposed to be common knowledge," Silver remarked.

"Oh yeah? And what's that, Sullivan?" Pansy asked, sugar sweetly. Her eyes were smug; she clearly thought that Silver would be walking into a verbal trap.

"The media loves blowing things out of proportion. I'm sure that Black is being given a trial for a reason. Perhaps there was new evidence brought to light." Pansy pouted slightly, realizing that Silver wasn't going to share anything of importance.

"I heard a rumor that Black's in the castle at this moment," Tracy piped up. "Being guarded by Aurors, away from everyone."

"Where'd you hear that?" Pansy asked, horrified. "Dumbledore must be off his rocker if he's allowing a convicted criminal to stay here."

"I have my ways," Tracy replied with a smug smile.

"Would one of those ways be a boy named Jarvis McKennel?" Silver asked, smirking. Tracy blushed, much to the amusement of the other girls.

"And what would you know about that, Silver?" Tracy retorted.

"I know I've seen you flirting with him a few times this year, and I heard you went on a date with him on Halloween," Silver replied.

"Oh, you're just jealous no one wants you," Tracy bit back. Silver blinked in surprise.

"I wasn't intending to hurt you, Tracy. I was just sharing my observations." Silver was trying to amend the anger the other girl seemed to have.

"That was a bit harsh, Trace," Daphne commented. "What's up with you today?" Silver wordlessly handed Tracy a chocolate bar; it was dark chocolate raspberry, her favorite. Tracy bit into it; her eyes widened in surprise.

"You know what kind of chocolate I like? How?"

"I know what to look for," Silver replied. Tracy took another bite before answering Daphne's question.

"I saw Jarvis with another girl. I mean, I probably should have expected it. We only flirt and went on the one date. And he's a year older than us, while the girl he was with was the same year. They were snogging."

"Well, then he's an idiot," Millicent declared, breaking her own silence. The other girls stared at her for a moment before laughing.

"In my opinion, dating at this age is just for the fun of it. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though it does suck that he hadn't told you it was just for fun," Silver commented.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We've got our whole lives to worry about boys. We may as well make the most of the time before that's all we think about," Tracy said, her seemingly chipper self once more.

"Makeover time!" Pansy cried, beginning to grab various magical beauty tools.

"Why, though?" Silver asked. At the glares from the other girls, aside from Millicent, she continued, "I mean, we're all pretty without make-up and fake hair-do's. But I mean, hey, if that's what you guys want to do, go for it."

"Oh, no. You're here this time, Sullivan. You're getting the whole experience," Tracy demanded, pulling Silver into the chair in front of Pansy's bed.

"Let's get to it, shall we?" Pansy asked, with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Silver sighed, resigning herself to her fate.

Later that night, after the other girls had finally fallen asleep, Silver made her way down to the common room. She wanted to read up more on Magical Law, to ensure that she wouldn't be caught off guard in the courtroom. As she headed to her favorite armchair by the fire, she realized that she wasn't alone. Draco Malfoy was laying on the couch, staring at the flames. He appeared lost in thought.

Silver quietly made her way to the armchair and settled herself in. The nightdress that Daphne at thrust at her after they had done her hair made Silver more conscious of how she placed her feet upon the chair. Sighing slightly in frustration, she pulled her wand from the book and summoned a blanket from across the room. Tucking it under her legs, she felt eyes on her. Looking up, she saw Draco staring at her in amusement. When he saw her looking, however, his expression turned blank.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Draco asked.

"I could ask you the same," Silver replied. "But, since you asked first, I wanted to do some reading before going to sleep."

"And the get-up?" Draco asked, mouth twitching into a smile.

"Results of Pansy and Daphne giving me a makeover. I feel ridiculous."

"I agree. You do look ridiculous. The hair's not bad, though," Draco replied seriously.

"It's a French Braid; it's really hard to look bad with one of those, unless you've got incredibly short hair," Silver remarked, "Then it'd just look like a scorpion's tail." Draco smiled at this mental image.

"So what are you doing up, Draco? You were staring pretty intently at the fire," Silver asked, bringing them back to the conversation.

"I lost track of time. I hadn't even noticed everyone else go up to bed."

"Oh? Something on your mind, then?" Draco nodded, and then sat up.

"Pansy's been upset at me, lately. I don't know if you'd noticed."

"I knew she was in a foul mood a couple of days ago. She insisted it had nothing to do with me, but I keep getting 'I despise you' vibes, so I wasn't sure what to believe."

"Really? Hmm, I'm not sure why that is, unless she figured something out." Silver quirked an eyebrow, but didn't reply to his comment.

"So why has Pansy been upset at you?" Silver asked, after a few seconds.

"She's gotten it into her head that she fancies me. Or at the very least, that we'll end up together someday as part of an arranged marriage. You know how that works, right, in some pureblood families?" Silver nodded. "Well, I told her that I didn't like her that way. At least not at the moment, and she got all huffy. Then she tried to weasel her way into my good graces by doing me favors. But she was never in my bad graces. I consider her a friend, so all of these extra favors made me realize that I do like someone who is not her." Draco fell silent at this. Silver moved and sat next to him on the couch in order to comfort him somewhat. Draco turned towards her, gauging her reaction. Silver just looked back at him. He was looking at her intently, as if he had asked her a question that she hadn't answered. Silver backtracked over what he had said.

"Me? You like me?" Silver whispered.

"Yes," Draco said. He leaned towards her, after seeing no hostility to her knowing the truth. However, Silver turned her cheek when he got close enough. He ended up kissing it for a second, before realizing that it wasn't her lips. He pulled back.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I don't like you in that way. We're barely friends right now, and our views are too dissimilar to ever be more than friends. I, um, I'm going to go to bed now. Are you all right?" Silver said worriedly. She saw his Malfoy mask slip into place, but not until after she saw the hurt reflected in his eyes.

"I'll be fine, Sullivan. Go to bed. I'll see you later," Draco said dismissively.

"Ok, then. Um, Draco?" Silver said as she was about to go up the stairs. He looked at her in acknowledgment.

"Please don't take it personally. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm looking at anyone romantically. You'll make someone happy someday, even if it's only for a bit. As I told the girls, dating at this age is just for the fun of it. It shouldn't reflect anything serious." He looked at her impassively, though she knew that he heard her. "Good night, Draco."

"Good night, Silver."