Note: Sorry for the delay on this. I've been pretty busy lately. Hope you're ready for a lot of dialogue between the characters. Only one or two more chapters to go! Enjoy ;]

Chapter 35

8:32 p.m., Hallway, Hogwarts(Tuesday)

"That was rather dreadful don't you think?" Draco complained as he and Vixen were making their way back to the Slytherin House. Vixen shrugged.

"It wasn't awful. I mean we could have had to actually do something other than sit there," she replied. Draco nodded in response.

They continued on their way in silence and entered into the Slytherin House tunnel way. The tunnel was quiet aside from the sounds of their shoes clicking and squeaking on the floor. As they stepped into the living area Draco instantly sneered upon seeing Pansy and Jacob staring at him with their arms crossed. Vixen stood next to Draco with her eyebrow raised at Pansy and Jacob.

"It's about time that you showed up," Jacob calmly said. Vixen waited for a snide remark or a poorly placed joke to follow but it didn't.

"We had detention," Vixen simply stated. Draco looked at her quickly.

"That's none of his business," he told her in a slightly scolding manner. Vixen simply rolled her eyes at him.

"We don't really care about all of that but there is something that we do care about," Pansy said as she slightly cocked her head to the right.

"What pray tell would that be?" Draco angrily asked with his eyes narrowing. Jacob let a small smile appear on his face as he noticed how bothered Draco was becoming.

"What are you two planning?" Pansy asked as she let out a deep breath as if she were already bored with this conversation.

"What are you two planning?" Vixen quickly shot back. The recycled phrase had come off a bit more childlike than she had intended.

"This is where you reply with we asked you first," Jacob told Pansy before he shot Vixen a toothy grin. There was the Jacob-esque comment she had been expecting.

"No, we don't have time for these childish stand offs. Vixen, do you know about everything or not?" Pansy asked in an annoyed tone. Vixen was slightly taken off guard.

"Did you just call me by my first name?" she asked in a confused tone. Draco furrowed his brow at Pansy, also confused by this.

"That is your name isn't it?" Pansy shot back.

"Yeah, it is. Sorry it's just strange not hearing you call me muggle," Vixen replied. Draco didn't like where this was going one bit.

"You're avoiding my question," Pansy pointed out. Draco interrupted now.

"It's funny, that question of yours. You see, it is of no importance to Vixen or myself so why would you even think for one instant that you would get a reply?" Draco said matter-of-factly. Pansy was becoming red in the face.

"Then answer this question. Why has she been acting like a barbarian all day?" Pansy said in an angrier tone. Draco smirked.

"Frankly Pansy, that is none of your business. More importantly, why have you suddenly taken such an interest in Vixen?" Draco asked her.

"Now you're not only avoiding our initial question but you are answering our question with another question," Jacob pointed out. Pansy nodded in agreement.

"Draco and I are not up to anything," Vixen began, "we aren't devising some kind of crazy scheme like you think we are. Draco is simply getting to know a bit about me for his paper. As for me acting like a barbarian as you so bluntly put it, I'm just having fun with the Slytherin students. I know that they don't like me, so I'm just behaving in an annoying manner to get under their skin." Draco waited for her to bite her lip and give them away but sighed a mental sigh of relief when she didn't.

Pansy and Jacob exchanged a quick glance. Draco was familiar with Pansy and her few expressions and he could tell from her current one that she didn't believe Vixen one bit, but she was not going to press the issue. Jacob was definitely harder for him to read.

Not only because he wasn't too familiar with the muggle boy but because he had only seen him with two expressions. Jacob either had a large, goonish smile plastered on his angular face or he had what Draco thought was a sorry excuse for a menacing look. Surprisingly enough neither of these expressions were being used by him at this time.

"We're going to drop this then. Just know that we don't believe you one bit," Pansy said before making her way toward the stairs that led to her bedroom. Jacob remained in the room with Draco and Vixen.

"Is there something that you wanted, Jacob?" Vixen asked hoping he would leave. He smiled back at her instead.

"You know it's been a long time since we have spent any time together Vixen," Jacob said as he sat down on the living area couch.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she replied with a smirk. Draco glared in Jacob's direction.

"That's what I miss the most. That fake hatred that you have for me," Jacob replied with a laugh.

"My hatred for you is anything but fake," Vixen replied. Draco groaned.

"What, are we excluding you Blondie? Here, let me include you into the conversation then. Do you bleach your hair or is it natural?" Jacob teased. Draco's face turned red from anger.

"Draco, why don't you go get changed? I'll take care of Jacob," Vixen said upon noticing Draco's clenched fists. Without a word Draco angrily stormed out of the room.

Vixen sighed and shook her head from side to side. She made her way over to the couch where Jacob was sitting and stood in front of him. He smiled up at her and patted the seat next to him. As she rolled her eyes she sat on the edge of the glass table instead.

"Where have you been Jake?" Vixen asked as she rested her elbows on her knees.

"Oh you know, I've been around," he replied with a shrug. Vixen looked at him.

"You mean with Pansy?" Vixen calmly asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Does it really matter?" Jacob angrily shot back. Vixen shrugged slightly.

"Not really. It's just that you used to go out of your way to annoy me but lately I barely see you," Vixen told him.

"Yeah well, that's probably because you're off with Blondie all of the time," he said while turning to face away from her. Vixen bit her lower lip.

She couldn't help but admit that Jacob had a good point. She had been so wrapped up in spending time with Draco and dealing with his drama that she wasn't even trying to spend time with any of her other friends. She had barely even spoke to Harry, Ron or Hermione since she had been living in the Slytherin House.

"You're right," she simply stated. Jacob quickly turned to look at her.

"What did you just say?" he asked her in disbelief. She sighed before replying.

"I said you're right. I've been really neglecting my other friends lately," she admitted. Jacob smiled.

"Friends? Did you just call me your friend?" he teased as he kept his smile on his face. Vixen groaned.

"I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but yeah. I suppose we are friends of some sort," Vixen told him as she shook her head.

Jacob placed his hands behind his head and leaned back into the couch. He smiled as he nodded his head a few times. It was about time that Vixen had admitted they had a friendship. Jacob had never doubted this but it was pleasing to actually hear her say it.

"Don't you go and get a big head about that! You still annoy me beyond belief Jacob Corbin," Vixen warned as she pointed a finger at him. He chuckled.

"A big head? Me? Gosh, some friend you are. You obviously don't know me at all," he teased. Vixen smiled a small smile at him.

"Jacob, what was really in that letter from Draco's father?" she asked in a serious but calm tone. Jacob's smile faded quickly.

Meanwhile…

"Stupid prick. Obviously my hair color is natural," Draco angrily thought as he walked to his bedroom. He opened the door to see all of his roommates present.

He entered the room and shut the door slowly behind him. Blaise was sitting on his bed and watching Draco very carefully as he made his way to his closet area. Goyle and Crabbe exchanged a nervous glance when they noticed the scowl on Draco's face. They were in no way prepared to handle another incident involving their leader.

"Where have ya' been Draco?" Crabbe asked. Draco turned over his shoulder and shot him a quick sneer.

"That's none of your bloody business Crabbe!" Draco yelled at him before tugging his shirt off. Crabbe lowered his head and remained silent.

"Damn coward," Draco thought as he pulled a black tee shirt over his head. He exited his closet area with his eyes narrowed.

"What were you discussing before I entered the room?" Draco asked as he started pacing the room slowly.

"Nothing," Goyle quickly replied. Draco stopped and smirked.

"What a pathetic attempt of lying," Draco started. "Perhaps you would like to inform me Blaise?"

Blaise hunched over slightly as he lowered his head. After the physical confrontation he and Draco had been involved in the other day he was not trying to get him annoyed. He kept his eyes glued to the floor before he spoke.

"W-we were discussing the muggles," Blaise answered, his voice shaking.

"Oh? That definitely doesn't sound like nothing," Draco said as he looked to Goyle who avoided his gaze.

"Tell me, what is it that you were discussing about the muggles exactly?" Draco calmly asked as he leaned against the bed that Jacob had been using. The three Slytherin boys remained silent momentarily.

"How we're gonna kill 'em," Crabbe replied happily. Goyle and Blaise mentally kicked the pudgy boy.

"You don't say. Have you come up with any plans yet?" Draco asked his large companion. Crabbe searched his tiny mind for an answer.

"Sorta. We were kinda thinkin' we could poison 'em at the ball 'er something'. We're not too sure how ta' deal with yer muggle though. She's been freakin' everybody out," Crabbe told him. Draco scoffed.

"You can't poison them at the ball you idiots. A professor will definitely be watching the refreshments at all times. Not to mention even if you did slip poison into the drinks you'd end up poisoning everyone at the bloody ball. What was that about my muggle?" Draco asked after insulting the boys.

"Nobody wants to try and figure out your muggles schedule to figure out the best time to strike. For one, you're always around the damn girl and more importantly, she's gone completely bonkers," Blaise said finally mustering up the courage to speak. Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well look who finally found a voice. Glad to see I didn't rattle your vocal chords Zabini," Draco taunted. Blaise gritted his teeth together.

"You know Malfoy, the other Slytherin's did have a plan for her. Your muggle, I mean. You see, the others were pretty keen on the idea to take you hostage to lure the girl in. You know, rough you up a bit in the process. I mean, you do deserve that after turning your back on all of them," Blaise added as he started to feel a bit more confident. Draco smirked back at the boy.

"They were keen on the idea?" Draco asked. Blaise nodded but Goyle spoke.

"Ever since she started acting strangely the House hasn't really been discussing her. She's acting quite…frightening, Draco," Goyle told him. Draco simply stared him down.

"You know, there is something that has been bugging me lately. Everyone is so sure that I have completely abandoned my plan to get rid of Vixen based on my recent actions, right? Well, what if my recent actions are a part of my plan?" Draco asked the boys. Blaise raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are they a part of yer plan Draco?" Crabbe asked.

"Like I would compromise myself or my plans by telling you," Draco said as he walked out of the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and smiled to himself.

He had them exactly where he wanted them now. They were back to eating out of the palm of his hand once again. He was pretty positive that the other Slytherin's were prepared to abandon their plans to kill Vixen now. Once Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle had spread the word around to the rest of the House, Vixen was going to be safe from them once again. He held his head high and started down the staircase to return to Jacob and Vixen.

9:10 p.m., Slytherin Common Room, Hogwarts(Tuesday)

"So you're telling me that Draco's father actually wants Draco to kill me?" Vixen asked Jacob who had just explained the letter to her. He nodded.

"Apparently he researched you or something and the result didn't match Draco's explanation of you," Jacob replied. Vixen nodded slowly.

"Wait, why are you asking me this? You mean you didn't really believe the letter when you read it?" Jacob asked her.

"You could say that," Vixen replied.

"Wait, Vixen, do you know about everything?" Jacob asked. Before she could respond Draco had entered the room again.

She shot Jacob a wink and his eyes widened slightly. He sat back before looking over at Draco. He looked pretty perturbed that he was still present, so Jacob stood up from the couch and headed for the staircase.

"Night guys," he yelled over his shoulder before jogging up the stairs. Draco raised an eyebrow at Vixen.

"Are you really sitting on the table?" he asked in a disgusted tone. Vixen stood up.

"I need to go get changed," she told him. She grabbed her nearby bag in her hand and Draco spoke.

"Do you want me to take you upstairs?" Draco asked. Vixen shook her head.

"I need the walk," she told him. He nodded and she exited the House.

As she walked through the dark hallway with her bag in hand she tried to tie everything together. She knew that Draco had kept her being a muggle a secret with the Deatheaters and his father, but what she didn't know was why. Aside from that, why would Hermione change the letter without knowing exactly what was inside of it to begin with? She obviously knew it was bad information, so why wouldn't she expose Draco and try and help her?

Vixen pulled herself out of her thoughts when she reached the farthest away bathroom she was familiar with. She sighed and entered the bathroom. She changed into a plain sports bra and some sweatpants before pulling her hair up. She started to wash her face with water when she caught the reflection of a familiar face in the mirror.

"Hello Myrtle," she calmly said as she turned to face the ghost girl.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Vixen in her whiney voice.

"I needed to gather my thoughts. Apparently I thought it would be best to come here," she told her. Myrtle nodded before squinting her eyes at the girl.

"What?" Vixen asked as she looked down at herself. Myrtle floated closer to her.

"These are some scars," Myrtle stated as she ran her ghostly fingers along the three long scars on Vixen's torso. The whole situation made Vixen cringe.

"Yeah, they sure are," she simply replied. Myrtle pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes.

"When were you in contact with a werewolf?" Myrtle asked. Vixen's heart skipped a beat.

"What are you talking about?" Vixen asked, her voice shaking.

"You got those scars from a werewolf. It's obvious really," Myrtle simply replied. Vixen's breathing had turned shallow.

"Myrtle, my doctor's couldn't figure out what did this to me. Are you sure that these are from a werewolf?" she asked. Myrtle tapped her chin with two fingers.

"Absolutely. You see, each scar is close to three inches apart. No animal or human can spread their fingers or paws that far apart. But a mixture of the two, now that's a different story. I always was a good student here at Hogwarts. I can easily tell a werewolf mark when I see one," Myrtle said slightly bragging. Vixen's chest was heaving up and down quickly.

"Myrtle, if you are scratched by a werewolf, could you turn into one?" she asked as she grabbed onto the sink for support.

"Well, when you get bit by a werewolf you turn into one. If they haven't killed you yet that is. As for a scratch, the wound would have to be pretty deep, but it's possible," Myrtle explained.

Vixen's legs were becoming weak beneath her. Sweat was dripping down her back and her body was shaking. She gripped the edges of the sink so tightly that her tanned knuckles were turning white. She was relieved to have an explanation of what had killed her mother and wounded her, but the fact that she could actually be a werewolf was making her sick. She looked into the mirror at her reflection to see her widened eyes and pale face.

Without warning, she vomited into the sink below her. Myrtle backed away from her slightly but kept her ghostly eyes on her. Vixen turned the water on when she had finished throwing up and washed her mouth out. She cleaned out the sink carefully and coughed a few times. Myrtle floated to her side now.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Vixen let out a deep breath.

"I'm fine," she simply replied. Myrtle didn't press the issue.

Vixen brushed her teeth and pulled a loose black tee shirt on over her sports bra. She threw her clothes from earlier and her toothbrush into her bag. She gave Myrtle a quick wave before exiting the bathroom and making her way back to the Slytherin House.

Vixen entered the Slytherin House and walked slowly into the living area. Draco was sitting in the chair as he normally would have been and was staring at her. She dropped her bag on the floor and walked to the couch where she sat down slowly. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"What happened to you?" he asked. She looked at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're pale. You look like you've seen a ghost," he said in a slightly joking way. Vixen just shrugged.

Draco handed her a black pillow and a matching blanket which she took from him. She laid her head down on the pillow and pulled the blanket over herself as she snuggled up on the couch. Her stomach was churning as she thought of the conversation she had just had with Myrtle.

"I think I have some information that will further our plan," Draco told Vixen as he stretched back in the chair.

"You think?" she asked. He nodded.

"Blaise filled me in on the plan the others created to kill you. I don't think they expect me to tell you about it either. We can use that as the conversation you overheard," Draco told her.

"That sounds great Draco. How about you just fill me in tomorrow morning, though. I don't really think I can handle any information right now," she told him as she rolled onto her side to face him.

"Sure," he replied. She smiled up at him and he smiled back at her.

Draco knew that something happened to Vixen while she was gone but she wasn't too eager to admit it to him so he wasn't going to push her to. He still couldn't help himself from wondering what it was9 though. Could it be possible that she had run into Potter or one of his friends while she was out? No, no that couldn't have been it. It was past curfew and there was no reason for Potter or his followers to be roaming around this late.

Vixen had rolled over onto her back now and he watched her close her eyes. He smiled as he watched her slowly fall asleep. It was moments like this that really made him question his character. When he had told Vixen that he hadn't changed he did mean it.

He wasn't interested in turning over a new leaf and leaving all of his old ways behind. Hell, when he saw a chance to make his fellow Slytherin's see him as a badass again he jumped at it. Although now that he thought about it he probably should have picked a different target other than Hugo but that was beside the point.

He didn't find himself daydreaming about spending time with Potter or eating dinner with Weasley or studying with that mudblood Granger. No he still despised the lot of them but he was tolerating them. With that thought he realized something about himself. The only reason he was tolerating the group of Gryffindor students he so notoriously hated was because of her.

When he was around Vixen it was like he tiptoed around to make sure that he wouldn't do something to make her upset or angry. Too bad he hadn't made this realization before he took it upon himself to plot her demise. Vixen rolled over on the couch interrupting Draco's thoughts. He found himself hoping that she wasn't able to sleep and wanted to talk to him for a bit longer but that wasn't the case. Draco shook his head and leaned back in the stiff chair he was sitting in and closed his eyes.

"Maybe I should consider changing a bit," Draco thought as he tried to fall asleep. Vixen laid on the couch quietly staring into the back of it.

She knew that Draco had been watching her before she rolled over to face away from him. Pretending to be asleep really wasn't the correct way to avoid having a conversation she didn't want to have but at least it worked. She kept her right hand over her torso resting on top of her scars. Her encounter with Myrtle played over and over in her mind.

What if she actually was a werewolf? Her fake plan to scare the Slytherin's was starting to frighten her now. She tried to convince herself that Myrtle was wrong about her scars being caused by a werewolf but her theories kept falling apart. Surely if she were a werewolf she would have shifted before coming to Hogwarts. She did receive her scars years ago after all.

"Maybe being here at Hogwarts will trigger a shift," Vixen nervously thought. She bit down on her bottom lip too hard causing it to split open.

She remained quiet but slid her hand to her now bleeding lip. She really needed to grow out of such a bad habit. Without any other choice she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, smearing blood across her skin. She let out a deep breath before returning to her theories to prove Myrtle wrong. The last thing she had come up with was that she couldn't be a real werewolf considering she wasn't the one that was howling on school grounds the night she and Draco had heard it in the Courtyard.

"Maybe the werewolf that attacked me when I was younger followed me here to Hogwarts and is preparing for me to shift and join his pack or whatever," she thought as she threw her final theory out of the window.

Vixen squeezed her eyes shut tight as she tried to stop thinking about the werewolf situation. As far as she was concerned, she was just a regular girl who was attacked by an unidentifiable animal and that was it. She grabbed the black blanket that was covering her body and pulled it over her head angrily.

9:20 a.m., Hallway, Hogwarts(Wednesday)

"They were actually going to take you as a hostage to lure me in?" Vixen asked Draco as they walked to Muggle Studies. Draco nodded.

"Truthfully I give them credit for coming up with something that clever," he admitted. He had been filling Vixen in on his discussion with Blaise the previous night as they walked.

"I don't think it was that clever," Vixen said.

"Why not?" Draco asked her with surprise in his voice. She smirked at him.

"Who says I would have come after you?" she teased before walking into the classroom. Draco smirked at her back as he followed her to their usual table.

Vixen sat quietly perched on top of the table as she looked around at the now familiar faces in the room. She felt her stomach drop when Pansy and Jacob entered the room. Relief washed over her when Jacob gave her a quick wink indicating that he hadn't told Pansy about their late night discussion. She smiled as Harry, Ron and Hermione entered shortly after.

"Hi guys," she happily said as they took their seats.

"What happened to your lip?" Harry asked, concerned. Draco furrowed his brow at this, unaware that something was wrong with her lip.

"Oh you know me, bit down on it," she said touching the small crescent shaped scab on her lower lip. Draco shook his head slowly.

"Did you hear that? She bit her lip and actually broke skin!" a nearby Slytherin girl whispered to her partner. Both Draco and Vixen focused in on their conversation.

"Probably because her fangs are coming in," the girls fellow Slytherin partner added. Draco and Vixen smirked in unison upon hearing this.

"So, I asked Ginny to the ball," Harry said. Vixen turned toward him.

"Is that so?" she asked. Draco wasn't interested in this conversation, so he tuned out.

"Yeah and she said yes," he replied happily. Vixen smiled.

"Excellent! Now what about the two of you?" Vixen asked Ron and Hermione. Both started to blush.

"Oh you know, I don't really want to go to this ball. It's ridiculous really," Ron nervously answered.

"Right. It's ridiculous," Hermione added equally as nervous. Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you said you were excited about this ball the other day?" Harry asked. Hermione shot him a glare and he instantly dropped the subject.

"Well, since it's as ridiculous as you say it is, maybe you two should go together. You know, so you can point out how absurd the entire thing is," Vixen suggested. Hermione and Ron exchanged a quick glance.

"Sure, sure. Nothing weird about that arrangement. Just two pals going to a formal party and criticizing those who are enjoying themselves," Ron said with a nod. Vixen wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, himself or her.

"Exactly. It will be like every other day, just in formalwear," Hermione added. Vixen smiled.

"Then it's settled. Harry will go with Ginny and Ron will go with Hermione," Vixen said clasping her hands together.

"What about you?" Harry asked. Draco tuned into the conversation now.

"What about me?" Vixen asked trying to keep calm.

"Who are you going with to the ball?" Harry asked. Draco's heart sped up but he kept his face blank.

"Who am I going with?" she nervously repeated. Blaise Zabini interrupted them as he passed their table.

"Hopefully someone of her own species," he snottily said. Ron scrunched his face up at this.

"What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Vixen simply shrugged as she smiled inside realizing her plan was working.

"Well anyway, who are you going with Vix?" Harry asked again. Vixen was starting to panic.

She had already told Draco that they shouldn't go to the ball together based on their current situation, even though she really did want to go with him. Of course Harry had to be the one asking her this. Even if she wanted to completely change her mind and say that Draco was going to be her date, she couldn't considering the fight that would quickly follow between the two boys. Before she fully thought it through she said the first name that she thought of.

"Jacob Corbin," she blurted out. Draco gritted his teeth together after hearing this.