About half an hour later, Leo stood up. "I might go and see how Theo and Daphne are," he said. "Coming, Marisa?"

"Sure," she replied. They walked outside together and shut the door of the compartment behind them.

The moment they were outside, Leo asked "What's that all about, then?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Marisa shot Leo a glare. "I was trying to become friends with Draco to improve my reputation. I've already got a decent shot at the Quidditch team."

"And what happens if I don't want you to become friends?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"We'll become friends anyway just to annoy you," replied Marisa, seemingly oblivious to the tension. "Seriously, Leo, just because we're together now doesn't mean you get to say who I can be friends with."

"But you don't actually like Draco?" he persisted.

"When you say like, do you mean as in like him as a person, or as in…" she grinned mischievously.

"The former."

"Good. Because if it had been the latter you would have been deader than dead."

"You can't be deader than dead, Marisa. That's not how it works."

"Since when has that stopped me?" she asked with a grin. "I still love you, but that's not going to stop me making allies elsewhere. Okay?"

"I can't really refuse, can I?" Leo asked, rolling his eyes.

"No," insisted Marisa. "You can't. Now shall we go and see Theo and Daphne?"

Leo nodded. "May as well."

They set off down the train, carefully keeping their balance. When they passed the trolley witch on the way, Marisa couldn't resist buying two Sugar Quills.

"Hey, guys," said Leo, opening the compartment door.

"Hello," said Daphne; Theo eyed Marisa warily. Leo hadn't found out exactly what Marisa had done to him (best not to make himself an accomplice to her crimes) but whatever it was, it had certainly scared him.

"Any exciting gossip we've missed?" asked Marisa.

"Not really," Daphne replied. "Well, I heard a rumour Padma has a crush on some Hufflepuff but other than that, nothing much."

Marisa stared suspiciously at Daphne for a moment before shrugging it off and sitting down. "So," she said. "Are you going to try out for Quidditch next year?"

"No way," Daphne replied. "I'm keeping my feet on solid ground where they belong."

"Good," Marisa replied. "Less competition for me."

Leo sighed. Ever since Marisa's increase in popularity she'd been spending a lot of time networking with the other Slytherins, and it was getting to the point where he was starting to feel like she was ignoring him. But he was discovering that it was very hard to be mad with her: every time he tried to raise his concerns, she'd silence him with either a jinx or a kiss and what he'd been trying to say would go right out of his head.

"I'm not trying out, either," he said. "Although that was probably obvious."

"Really?" asked Marisa. "I'd never have guessed!"

He silenced the little voice of frustration. This was the last time he'd see Marisa in months, and he was going to enjoy it.