Chapter Eleven: Definitions

The next few weeks passed in cold breezes and unforgiving chills. Even though winter had passed, the winds were still freezing so we spent most of our time in the Common Room or alcoves the wind couldn't get to us - especially after Daphne suffered an unfortunate incident resulting in losing her new scarf she'd just gotten for Christmas. She hadn't stopped complaining for a week, so we steered clear of any open spaces after that to keep our sanity in check.

Thoughts of my mother and everything she had said were often in the back of my mind, which caused a lot of distraction for me in classes. I couldn't help my mind from wandering, Blaise and Madi quite often being the ones to nudge me out of my daydreams.

"Maybe you should ask Snape if he knows anything about weird dreams being a side effect of the spell." Madi suggested after she brought me back to Earth during one of Flitwick's lectures one Friday in early March.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Blaise muttered in agreement from next to her.

I nodded thoughtfully, we had Potions after lunch. It wouldn't hurt to at least ask.

With that thought in mind, I left lunch early and headed down to Potions early to catch our Professor before the rest of the class arrived. It wasn't a subject I wanted anyone overhearing - especially Harry. I still hadn't told him, and at this point I wasn't sure if I ever would. It was the first secret I had ever kept from him, well, if you didn't count me not mentioning any of my weird interactions with Malfoy. Not that I could even really class that as a secret - more like omitting certain things he would rather not know about.

Snape's eyebrows raised in surprise when I entered the dungeon, clearly confused that I was early for his class for the first time in my schooling career.

"To what do I owe this unexpected punctuality?" he asked drily.

"Can I ask you a question, sir?" I frowned.

"I can't stop you."

"The spell you used on me for the second task, to put me to sleep. What was it?" I was wary, I didn't want to have to mention the specifics if I didn't need to.

He barely looked up from his desk, "A simple sleeping charm Miss Black, why?"

I fidgeted, "Is it known to have any...dreamlike side effects?"

That caught his attention, he looked up and folded his hands on the desk in front of him, "No, not usually. Is there any specific reason you are asking me this?"

I pondered making something up, but he would see right through me and I knew it. I sighed, "I may have had some sort of...I don't want to call it a dream. It felt too real, and the things that happened felt too important for me to have just made up."

He regarded me thoughtfully for a moment, "What exactly did this dream entail?"

I hesitated; I had no reason not to trust my Professor - he had always been a confidant for me. But there was so much history between him and my father, and what Harry and Ron had been saying at the ball had been playing on my mind lately too.

He must have sensed my hesitation because he let out a long sigh, "Miss Black, I will only be able to help you if I know all of the information."

"I saw my mother," I finally admitted, and I saw his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise, "And before you tell me I just dreamed it because I wanted to see her so bad, I didn't."

"And how can you be so certain?"

I shook my head, thinking back to how I'd felt in that room, "It was real. She was there, I touched her...and I saw her for a reason. She was trying to tell me something, to warn me."

Snape let out a deep sigh, "Well, I can't think of any reason the spell would compel such a vision."

My heart sank.

"So, I would advise you not to dwell on it too much," he continued as he stood to walk over to the door, both of us now aware of voices outside the classroom door.

"Are you saying I should forget about it, then? It was just a stupid dream?" I questioned a little bitterly.

He paused at the door, turning back to look at me, "I did not say that, and even if it was Miss Black - sometimes it is unwise to discredit dreams."

I felt even more confused than when I'd walked in, but I didn't have a chance to question him any further as he threw open the door and beckoned the rest of the class in. I caught Harry's eye as I moved over to my table, him looking confused as to why I was already in the room. As I sat down I could hear Parkinson giggling particularly loudly and resisted the urge to roll my eyes - whatever had her so pleased couldn't possibly be good.

"Any luck?" Blaise whispered to me as we watched Snape start to write up the ingredients for today's potion on the board.

I shook my head, "It's not a common occurrence, it was just a simple sleeping charm."

"Damn," Blaise muttered, looking at me slightly apologetically. "Sorry CB, I know you wanted answers."

I shrugged, "I guess I'm just not supposed to have them. Maybe it was just a dream."

"Maybe," Blaise agreed, but even he didn't look convinced.

Malfoy suddenly let out a loud, irritated sigh from next to us. I turned to tell him what Blaise and I were talking about was none of his business - only to realise he wasn't irritated by being left out of our chat like I thought, but was staring across the room at a seemingly normal acting Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"What's wrong with you?" I raised an eyebrow, starting to gather everything we would need for our Wit-Sharpening Potion.

"Didn't you read Witch Weekly?" he responded, and I snorted in distaste.

"I don't read garbage."

"Apparently Potter and Granger don't either," he tossed a copy towards me, and I glanced down at the article it was open on and immediately rolled my eyes when I saw the title: 'HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE' by Rita Skeeter.

"We warned those two not to mess with Skeeter," I sighed, mostly to myself as I knew my two companions probably didn't care. I scanned the article briefly, not being able to help the amused smirk grow on my face as I realised she was trying to spin Hermione as some harlet - going after Harry and Krum.

"Well, this is all just bullshit," I stated, glancing over to see Hermione had carelessly tossed the magazine on an empty chair at their table and realising why Malfoy had been upset. The Slytherins had given it to them hoping for a reaction, and they hadn't gotten one.

"I agree," Malfoy smirked, "If she's going to try and pass someone off as a whore, she made a mistake choosing Granger, who would fight over a troll like her?"

I only vaguely heard him - suddenly bursting into laughter when I got near the end of the article.

"What?" Malfoy demanded in irritation, obviously annoyed he'd now gotten an unwanted reaction out of me too. Blaise was watching with an amused half-smirk, dutifully starting work on our potion.

"Sorry, it's just…" I gasped out through my laughter, "She's described Parkinson as pretty and vivacious!"

Blaise snorted from next to me, shaking his head as I leant my head on his shoulder to continue laughing - while Malfoy simply rolled his eyes and started to crush our scarab beetles, giving up on his attempts to rile anyone up.

Parkinson turned from the table in front of us, eyes blazing, "Excuse me!?"

I lifted my head with a smirk, I'd intentionally said it loud enough for her to hear, "Oh well, at least we know the whole article is complete bollocks then."

"Theodore!" Pansy practically screeched, and Theo looked up from next to her; looking tired, "Are you going to just let her speak to me like that?"

Theodore let out a long sigh, giving me a look to let me know he was not in the mood to deal with an angry Pansy right now, "Cass."

I rolled my eyes, "I can't help that I found it funny, Theodore. It's all about individual interpretation, right?"

Parkinson looked like she wanted to yell at me again, but Theodore stopped her - pulling her back to face the front and giving me a withering look as he did so.

"I cannot believe they've lasted this long," I scoffed quietly.

"I understand, Parkinson has a lot to offer," Malfoy smirked in response, and I wrinkled my nose up in disgust.

"That's revolting."

"He won't break up with her," Blaise spoke up, "At least not until Greengrass and Montague end things anyway."

The three of us glanced quickly at Daphne, who was watching Lillian adding the ingredients to their potion with a sour look on her face.

"Montague will dump her soon, he gets bored quickly," Malfoy shrugged, going back to grinding ingredients.

"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger," our attention was drawn by Snape's icy voice, and I winced slightly when I realised he was standing behind her, Harry and Ron, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Malfoy sniggered next to me, and I resisted the urge to shove him off his chair when I saw him make a show of flashing Harry his stupid 'POTTER STINKS' badge.

"Ah...reading magazines under the table as well? A further ten points…" Blaise quickly slid the magazine still in front of me under some parchment - though I'm not sure why he bothered, I doubt Snape would take the points off us, he just wanted to call Harry out as usual.

"Oh, but of course...Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings."

The Slytherins were all laughing now, and I shot Harry a sympathetic look as Snape made a show of reading some of the article out loud. Harry looked furious, glaring down at his desk probably imagining all the horrible things he'd like to do to our professor right now.

"I think I had better separate you three, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than your tangled love lives. Weasley, stay here. Miss Granger, over there beside Miss Parkinson and Potter that table in front of my desk. Now."

I snuck a look at Malfoy, who looked incredibly pleased to be getting what he'd wanted all class and scowled. The laughter died down, and we got to work again on our potion.

"Hey Granger…" my eyes narrowed when I heard Parkinson's smug voice, and I looked up to see her trying to get a rise out of Hermione - who was pointedly ignoring her but looking increasingly bothered by her attempts.

"Parkinson," I hissed out harshly, the brunette turning to glare haughtily at me, "One more word to Granger and you should be very scared of going to sleep tonight."

"At least I'm not a traitor," she snarled back, but I merely rolled my eyes - very used to them giving me shit when I decided to defend any of the Gryffindors.

"You might want to ask Greengrass her opinion on that, because I'm sure she'd have a different answer."

Pansy's glare faltered a little, and she turned back around with an offended noise - but made no move to continue to taunt Hermione, who shot me a small but grateful smile. Theodore gave me a small warning look for my comment, but I ignored him. I wasn't about to start another pointless argument with him about Daphne.

"Are you coming with us to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Blaise questioned just before the end of class, the three of us already packing up after handing in our complete potion.

I shook my head, "I promised Fred I'd go with him."

"Not even for a bit?" Blaise pushed, looking a little put out.

"Probably not the best idea, he wasn't super happy when I ditched him for you lot the first time." I sighed, standing up and gathering my books up as Snape dismissed us.

"You spent the whole time with him last trip though!"

"What is this? A divorce custody battle?" I teased, and Blaise rolled his eyes - unamused by my joke.

"Well, if you change your mind we'll be at the Three Broomsticks pretty much all day," he relented, and I nodded at him, before heading towards the front to catch Harry.

"He's such a git," Harry grumbled, glaring over his shoulder at Snape as the two of us headed out of the room.

"Don't let him rile you up," I responded, "You have much bigger things to worry about."

"What were you doing there so early, anyway?" he looked over at me curiously.

"I just had to ask him about a couple of things," I responded breezily.

Harry's eyebrows raised, "You needed help with potions?"

I rolled my eyes, bumping his shoulder with mine, "It's not unheard of. Not all of us are perfect, Potter."

He scoffed, before scowling again, "Snape reckons I've been stealing from him."

"You did steal from him."

"That was Dobby," Harry argued. "I mean other things - boomslang skin, lacewing flies and other random stuff like that…"

I frowned in confusion, "Why the bloody hell would you need boomslang skin and lacewing flies?"

"My point exactly," he responded drily. "He thought it was me because of when he almost caught me under the cloak - someone broke into his office that night."

I shrugged, "Well you can't really blame him then, gives him enough reason to suspect you."

"Anything gives him enough reason to suspect me," Harry mumbled bitterly, and I bit back an amused smile.

"I'll be with Fred at Hogsmeade tomorrow, but I might catch up with you later on?" I changed the subject, and Harry nodded in response before looking at me carefully.

"You guys alright, you and Fred?"

I frowned in confusion, "We're fine...great actually. Why do you ask?"

Harry gave a little shrug, "Dunno, he just keeps asking me if I think you've been acting strange. I told him I didn't think you were."

"Strange how?" I bristled nervously.

"Like there's something going on you aren't telling him," we paused at the end of the corridor before my common room, and Harry studied me carefully for a moment, "But I said you hadn't mentioned anything to me, and we don't keep secrets... so he doesn't need to be worried."

That all too familiar feeling of guilt started to build in my chest, and I prayed my expression didn't give me away, "Right. I don't know why he'd think that."

Harry shrugged, "Maybe just try and reassure him a bit? I know you struggle with letting people get close sometimes, but he really does care about you Cass."

I sighed, "I know, thanks Harry," I gave him a small smile to assure him, "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"See you later," he responded with a grin, before he continued further up the castle and I headed towards the common room.

The dorm was empty when I got there, much to my dismay. I had been hoping Madi would be here so I could talk to her about what Harry had said. I dumped my books next to my bed with a sigh before deciding to try and find her. I peeked back into the Common Room but couldn't see her sitting with the other girls by the fire, so headed for the boys dorms. Thankfully, the door was open and I spotted Madi and Blaise lounging on his bed and immediately ran over, flopping down on my stomach in the space that remained.

"Oh, please...come in," Blaise said drily, but I could tell he was smirking in amusement without even having to look up. The two of them were very used to me invading their alone time.

"What's happened?" Madi questioned, giving my head a little pat.

"I hate feelings, and I hate the two of you for convincing me to feel them," I grumbled into the mattress.

"You know, blaming us for all your problems is starting to get a little old," Blaise sighed in irritation, Madi shushed him before giving my arm a little tug in encouragement.

"Talk to us."

I sat up with a sigh, Madi was sitting with her head in Blaise's lap already, so I moved to lay on my back and rest my head on her stomach - and she immediately started running her fingers through my hair.

"Harry said Fred thinks I'm hiding something from him."

Blaise snorted, "You are hiding several things from him."

"Blaise," Madi hissed, looking at him in disapproval.

"No," I said glumly, "He's right - I am. And I don't like it, but I just feel like telling him the truth would be worse…"

"Well I understand why for most of them..." Madi said.

"The Malfoy parts," Blaise added, once again unhelpfully - making me regret ever finally filling him in on what had been going on with me and the blonde.

"This is why we don't invite you to girl talk," Madi echoed my thoughts exactly.

Blaise looked affronted, earning a small giggle from me and a final warning look from his girlfriend to behave. He looked disgruntled but fell silent.

"But why haven't you told him about the lake?" she continued gently.

I frowned a little, I wasn't really sure why I hadn't. To be completely honest, I didn't actually have the desire to tell him. I didn't want anyone else to know, it was like my own special moment with my mother and I didn't want to risk anyone telling me it wasn't real.

"I don't know... maybe because I know he'd tell me I have to tell my dad and Harry? Besides, I don't even know what I'd tell him, I've barely come to terms with what happened myself."

"Do you think there's things he doesn't tell you?" Blaise asked.

I thought for a moment, my mind travelling back to him and George not telling me about their plan to take bets for the Tournament - and I knew something was up between them and Bagman too.

"Yeah...maybe some things."

"Well, do you think it's a problem that you both keep secrets from each other?"

"I am never letting you come to girl talk again," Madi glared, but Blaise only rolled his eyes in response.

"This is exactly why I need to be here; I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear I'm gonna tell you the fucking truth."

I let out a groan, "So you think I should tell him?"

"Actually," Blaise said carefully, "I don't…" I turned to look at him incredulously, and Madi looked like she could murder her boyfriend on the spot. "You've kept these secrets for so long I think it would be more damaging to tell him now."

"That was my thought process in the first place," I sighed, "I knew it would hurt him more to tell him the truth…"

"Self-preservation my dear," he responded with a light smirk, "Sometimes you're better off with a lie."

Any further discussion was abruptly cut off as Malfoy and Theodore both strolled into the room, not even giving the fact Madi and I were there a second glance. It didn't really matter though - I agreed with Blaise. If I told Fred I knew it would only hurt him now, and that wasn't what I wanted at all.

"You finally got your girl-talk, Zabini?" Malfoy remarked with a smirk, flopping lazily on his own bed and loosening his tie.

"Not all it's cracked up to be," Blaise responded drily.

"I won't bother you next time then," I huffed.

"Please, I just gave you the best advice of your bloody life."

"You're a twat," I turned to glare at him, and he immediately reached over Madi to start tickling my side.

"Don't fight when I'm in the middle of you!" Madi yelled, rolling out of the way as I squealed in protest and started trying to whack him away from me.

"I don't know why I ever come in here expecting peace and quiet," Theo commented drily, but watching the two of us with a smirk anyway.

"In our own dorm?" Malfoy exclaimed sarcastically, "What a concept…"

By this point, Blaise had successfully managed to get the upper hand and threw me easily over his shoulder.

"ZABINI!"

"Admit my advice is incredible," he demanded, poking my side for good measure.

"Never," I said stubbornly, "Put me down!"

"Never," he mocked, I could hear both Malfoy and Theodore sniggering from over his shoulder.

"Put her down babe, she's too stubborn to ever admit that," Madi sighed, far too practiced in dealing with the two of us acting like this.

"Fine," Blaise conceded, before throwing me back onto the bed.

"You didn't have to throw me, you git!" I kicked my leg out, but he dodged it with a laugh - looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"These things wouldn't happen to you if you weren't so short, CB." Theo smirked, only looking more smug when I glared at him coldly.

"I'm not even that short…" I grumbled, crossing my arms with a pout.

"Can we go to dinner now?" Madi said in irritation, "You two are giving me a fucking headache."

"Well, we know Zabini isn't getting lucky tonight now."

I burst out laughing as my two friends simultaneously drew their wands and fired a stun at Malfoy - who toppled off his bed onto the floor with a thud.

"You'll both pay for that!" he growled, standing up again with a fierce glare.

"I feel much better now," I remarked, turning to head down to dinner. I tuned out the argument that began between Blaise and Malfoy as we walked - feeling considerably lighter than I had when I'd first walked into the dorm room.

"I'm just saying, I think that blowing up Filch's office is so effective it doesn't need any modification!" I pushed open the door of Zonko's, looking over my shoulder at my boyfriend who was shaking his head in disagreement.

"New is always better. He practically expects his office to be blown up at this point!"

"But he reacts exactly the same every time," I argued as we walked back out into the sun, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Fred smiled down at me in amusement, "I'm not changing your mind, am I?"

"Nope, the blowing up of Filch's office is basically a family tradition at this point."

He laughed, "Fair enough then."

I smiled as the two of us continued down the street of Hogsmeade. Despite all my worries, today had been practically perfect, there was no indication from my boyfriend to show he thought we weren't okay, and it made me feel relieved.

"I'm glad we got to spend the day together today," he broke me out of my thoughts, and I smiled up at him.

"Me too."

"I feel like I've barely seen you lately," he continued.

"You know how it's been this year, I'm a little bit all over the place," I shrugged apologetically.

"Right," he nodded, a slight frown on his face - he looked conflicted, like he wasn't sure if he should say what he was about to say, and I immediately felt nervous. Maybe I had spoken too soon...

"You'd tell me if it were more than that, wouldn't you?"

I stopped, moving to stand on the side of the path and smiling at him as reassuring as I could, "Of course." Liar.

"I just feel like you've been acting strange ever since the second task," he studied me carefully, "Did something happen?"

"What could have happened? I was unconscious in a lake," I fidgeted, avoiding his gaze.

"Cass, I know you're keeping things from me," he let out a sigh, and I turned back to look at him slightly accusingly.

"Well, you keep things from me too," I shot back, irritated at him talking down to me like I was the only one keeping secrets.

"Like what?" he seemed surprised.

"Like you and George taking bets on this tournament - and don't think I haven't noticed something weird going on between the two of you and Bagman!"

He rolled his eyes a little, "That doesn't have anything to do with you, you don't need to worry about it."

I scoffed, crossing my arms and looking away from him again - but he wasn't done, staring down at me determinedly.

"I know whatever it is you're keeping from me is way more important. It makes me feel like you don't trust me!"

"I trust you," I said automatically, my eyes widening, "Of course I do…"

"Then tell me," he demanded.

I hesitated, I could see how frustrated this was making him, and there was no way he was going to believe me if I said there really was nothing going on. But as I looked back at him, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"I don't know what else you want me to say," I said finally.

"The truth would be nice," he sounded defeated, and my heart ached as I looked at him - pleading with my eyes for him to just let it go.

"I don't know what more you want me to do, Cass. When have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"You haven't," I shook my head, "I do Fred, I just don't want to hurt you."

"You are hurting me," he said back automatically, making me flinch, "It feels like we're having the same argument, like you still don't want to let me in..."

"I'm trying," I said desperately, my mind starting to race from how quickly this fight had escalated.

"Are you?"

"I don't want to do this right now," I pleaded.

"Right," he looked at me, shaking his head in disbelief, "Well let me know when honesty works for you then."

"Fred!" He ignored as I called after him, trudging back towards the castle without another word. I let out a frustrated sigh, turning and continuing back down the path.

I felt awful. I felt guilty for lying, and even worse now that he knew I was lying to him. How much longer could I go on keeping secrets from him and pretending like it didn't matter? Before I'd even realised where I'd been going, I reached the Three Broomsticks and pushed the door open. I quickly scanned the packed pub - spotting Theo and Malfoy in a booth up the back. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting at a table next to them, looking a little put out not to just be in the booth with them.

"Please tell me there is more than just Butterbeer in these mugs," I said bluntly, sliding in across from them.

"Do you even have to ask?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow, the two of them looking a little surprised to see me.

I didn't respond, downing a mug in one go.

"Take it easy," Theo frowned in concern.

I ignored him, already picking up another mug, "Where is everyone?"

"Greengrass, Davis and Moon are here, they just went to the bathroom." Malfoy responded, exchanging a confused look with Theodore.

"What's wrong?" the latter seemed to finally work up the nerve to ask as I downed another drink.

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped, making sure to glare at him harshly enough that he'd drop it, "I just want to get drunk."

"I don't think-"

Malfoy snorted - cutting Theo off, "Lay off Nott, she can get drunk if she wants."

Theodore looked like he wanted to protest more, but he didn't get a chance before Daphne, Tracey and Lillian re-appeared, the three of them greeting me with excited squeals – letting me know they were all at least a little tipsy themselves.

"Decide to ditch your boyfriend for us in the end?" Tracey smirked. I knew she was only making a joke - but I automatically tensed and took another big gulp of my drink.

"What happened?" Daphne asked immediately in concern.

"She doesn't want to talk about it," Theodore said drily before I could respond.

"Correct," I agreed, coughing a little as I put down another empty drink.

"Okay…" it was Lillian who stopped me from grabbing another mug, whacking my arm, "But wait until those hit you, remember how tiny you are Black. You'll have your head down the toilet all night if you aren't careful."

"At least it would be entertaining," Malfoy commented, ignoring the dirty looks both Daphne and Lillian shot him.

I ignored all of them, slumping back against the booth and letting out a long breath. Lillian was right - I already felt a bit dizzy.

"See, I told you," she smirked in triumph, taking a drink out of her own mug. I could still feel Daphne and Theodore watching me, but I pointedly continued to stare down at the table to let them know I was being serious about not wanting to talk about it.

"What's up assholes?" Blaise announced his and Madi's arrival, pulling up an extra chair for his girlfriend as he slid in next to Malfoy.

His eyes landed on me, and he raised his eyebrows questioningly, "Is she drunk? How long has she been here for?"

"Ten minutes probably," Malfoy replied in a bored tone, he seemed to be the only person at the table who wasn't trying to ridicule me for drinking away my problems.

"What happened?" Madi looked over in concern, and I let out a frustrated growl.

"The next person to ask me that is getting hexed."

"Fine," Blaise rolled his eyes, knowing they weren't going to get anywhere with me like this. "But you're cut off for at least an hour."

I wasn't sure how long we stayed for - but by the end we were all just as drunk as each other. I let myself forget about my argument with Fred and just enjoyed being with my friends. I couldn't remember that last time the group of us had just had fun together, everything had felt so complicated this year. It was nice to pretend everything was fine, even just for a few hours. It was almost dark by the time we finally started to make our way back to the carriages.

"Daphne!" Lillian protested for the third time since we'd been walking, and I looked over my shoulder to see her and Tracey stopping the blonde from falling flat on her face - also for the third time.

"You know," Madi wrapped an arm around my waist and leant her head on my shoulder as we walked, "I am going to make you tell me what happened with you and Weasley earlier."

"Not yet," I moaned, resting my head on top of hers.

"Hurry up!" Blaise called from where the boys were walking a little ahead of us, looking back at where Tracey and Lillian were still struggling with Daphne, "If we miss this last lot of carriages, we'll have to walk the whole way back!"

"You could help us you know!"

Madi and I laughed at Lillian's frustrated tone, Madi straightening up again and linking her arm with mine instead.

"How did Daphne end up being more drunk than you in the end?" she questioned.

"I got cut off for an hour, remember?" I replied, glaring pointedly at Blaise's back.

"You're welcome," he shot back without even turning around. Madi giggled as I stuck my tongue out childishly, before collapsing into giggles alongside her. I was definitely at least still a little tipsy, despite Blaise's attempts to sober me up.

"You two always laugh like maniacs when you drink," Theodore turned to face us, shaking his head as we tried to control ourselves.

"That's because I'm hilarious, Nott," I shot back with a wink. He rolled his eyes and turned back around as Madi and I re-collapsed into giggles.

We reached the carriages, and all glanced behind us to see the other two girls still struggling to pull Daphne up the path.

"Why does Greengrass always turn into a liability?" Malfoy questioned in annoyance.

"You guys go," Theo sighed, nodding to the carriage behind us, "I'll wait for those three and take the next one with them."

"Works for me," Blaise quipped, he and Malfoy climbing into the carriage without a second thought.

"No, you go Theo - I'll wait," I said quickly, keen to stay out of the castle and avoid seeing Fred for as long as I could.

Unluckily for me, my best friend knew exactly what I was doing and shot me a glare, "Nice try. We'll meet you back there, Nott."

I sighed in defeat, letting Madi push me into the carriage and sitting down as it pulled away.

"I'm starving," Blaise stated, and Madi nodded in agreement.

I pulled my legs up and twisted so my back was against the side of the carriage, stretching my legs out over Madi. I hadn't realised how tired I was.

"I'm exhausted."

"That's what happens when you're a lightweight," Malfoy smirked.

"And drink too fast for your tiny body weight," Blaise added.

"Speaking of-"

"Still don't want to talk about it Onyx, do not ruin my good mood," I cut my best friend off with a glare, but she glared right back at me – looking determined.

"I've let you get drunk and avoid it all afternoon, now I want answers!"

"I said no," I growled, closing my eyes and letting my head rest against the carriage.

"Cassie-"

"Salazars spit Onyx, leave her alone," I opened my eyes, looking at Malfoy in slight surprise when he was the one to cut her off, "Even I know not to push her right now."

"Because you've gotten to know her so well this year huh..." Madi muttered under her breath. I looked back at her with wide eyes while Malfoy glared fiercely at her.

Blaise let out a groan, "Please do not start an argument while we are in an enclosed space, or I cannot be held responsible for my actions."

Madi and Malfoy glared at each other for a few more moments but didn't say anything further. As we continued back to the castle, I snuck a glance at Malfoy. Surprisingly, he'd been the only person who hadn't annoyed me all day. I looked away again with a small frown, the last thing I needed right now was to be thinking anything about him.

By the time we got out of the carriages, I could feel the alcohol starting to wear off and a headache coming on in its place.

"I'm going back to the dorms," I said when we reached the Great Hall, "I need to lie down for a bit."

"But…"

"Madi," Blaise thankfully came to my rescue, grabbing his girlfriend's hand, "Leave it alone."

Madi rolled her eyes, giving me one more look to let me know this wasn't over, before the two of them headed into the hall.

"You know the only reason they have to annoyingly push you like that is because if they don't, you'd never tell anyone anything."

I turned to glare at Malfoy, "Like I would ever tell you anything, anyway."

"I was the only one who didn't push you today," he shot back, "I just let you throw yourself your little pity party."

I let out a scoff and then turned away, starting back towards the Common Room, "That's because you don't care, Malfoy."

"You know," I rolled my eyes, not even surprised when he followed me, "Sooner or later you're going to have to stop being such a child all the time, and deal with your problems instead of ignoring them."

"I've sobered up too much to be able to deal with you acting like you know me right now," I snapped.

"I do know you."

I whirled around to face him, fixing him with a glare, "You don't, even though you infuriatingly pretend to all the time!"

He simply smirked, "Whatever you want to believe, Black."

I narrowed my eyes, fully intending on losing my shit at him - but I never got the chance, my eyes widening instead when I spotted the last person I wanted to see right now heading towards the Great Hall, probably looking for me.

"Shit!" I quickly grabbed Malfoy's arm and yanked him around the corner. I did not need my boyfriend finding me talking to him on top of everything else that had happened today.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Shut up!" I hissed, peeking back around the corner and sighing in relief when I saw Fred disappearing into the hall.

"Like I said," Malfoy drawled, peering over my shoulder and realising who I'd dragged him out of sight of, "You're a child."

"Shut up," I said again quietly, leaning against the wall with a sigh.

Surprisingly, he did as I asked and didn't say anything else - moving to lean on the wall next to me instead.

"Well, this feels familiar," I stated, staring up at the roof and trying to ignore my heart starting to race when I thought about the last time the two of us had been in this situation. We hadn't had any one-on-one conversations since the last time before the Second Task, mostly due to me doing everything I could to make sure we didn't.

"What did you and lover boy fight about this time anyway?" he responded, sounding like he couldn't care less.

"Do you really think I'm going to talk to you of all people about that?" I scoffed.

"You really hate me that much?" his tone was mocking, but as I looked over to face him again I could tell he wasn't really sure of my answer. I couldn't keep going on pretending there wasn't something different between us, and maybe I finally needed to try and figure out exactly what it was - even if it terrified me.

"No," I said slowly, quickly looking away from him again when his eyebrows raised slightly in shock at my words, "You were right, I don't hate you."

He pushed off the wall, moving to stand in front of me and crossing his arms triumphantly, "I knew you'd admit it eventually."

"But I don't trust you," I added quickly, feeling satisfied when his smirk faltered just a little, "You can't just expect me to forget everything you've done in the past."

"So, what then?" he challenged with a scowl, obviously disappointed I wasn't admitting everything he probably thought I was going to. How could I? I still had no idea what I felt. I was pretty sure we were only even having this conversation right now because both of us were still a little tipsy and weren't thinking straight.

I studied him for a moment, before a small smile flickered onto my face and I stepped forward – holding out my hand.

"Friends?"

He glanced at my hand, and then back at me with raised eyebrows but made no move to respond.

I let out a sigh, "If you want me to trust you, we have to start by trying to at least be friends. Don't you think that's fair?"

He frowned, staring at me for a few more moments before a smirk re-appeared on his face, "Fine."

I looked back at him expectantly, and he rolled his eyes a little before stepping forward and taking my hand in his and shaking it.

"Good," I said, stepping back quickly and trying to stop my cheeks from heating up. Damn him.

"You really should talk to Zabini and Onyx," he said as he stepped out from around the corner, rolling his eyes a little at me when I made sure to check the hallway was still empty before I followed him.

"Why's that?" I raised my eyebrows, a little surprised.

He scowled, "Because if you don't neither of them will shut up about it, which will be very annoying for me."

"Hmm," a small smile played on my lips as we started walking back down to the dungeons, "Careful Malfoy, almost sounds like you care."

"You're obviously still drunk."

"I must be, otherwise I don't know why I'd be bothering to talk to you," I shot back without missing a beat.

"Ouch, is that any way to treat a friend?"

"I already regret ever suggesting it in the first place," we'd almost made it back to the Common Room by this point, surprisingly I felt much better than I had when I'd first arrived back at the castle. I was not about to let that show though, Malfoy didn't need a bigger head than he already had.

He looked like he was about to shoot something back but paused - a devious smirk coming over his features instead as he gazed down the corridor towards the portrait.

"Evening Weasley."

My eyes widened when I also noticed my boyfriend waiting just by the Common Room - now openly glaring back at the blonde still next to me.

"If what we just discussed means anything to you at all - you will walk away from this right now," I looked up at Malfoy as Fred started towards us.

He stared back at me with a frown, obviously not keen on missing out on an opportunity to taunt my boyfriend. It felt like I was testing him - giving him a chance to prove if anything this year had been real or that he really would never change.

For a moment I thought he wasn't going to listen to me - but then his eyes flickered with some sort of understanding and he fixed a small smirk on his face. Then, without a single word to Fred he sauntered back towards the portrait.

Fred watched him go, looking slightly surprised but still glaring at him as he walked - before facing me.

"Hi," I said weakly.

"I've been looking for you," he sighed, and exactly as I had predicted he did not look happy to have found me in the company of Malfoy.

"I only just got back," I responded honestly, "I have a headache, so I just wanted to lie down for a while."

"Where were you all day?" he questioned with a frown, his face darkening, "With Malfoy?"

"I was with all of them," I said quickly, Fred still letting out an irritated sigh, "We just all got split up on the way back. Daphne needed to be carried, and Blaise and Madi were hungry…"

"Carried?" a small smirk flickered on his face, and I relaxed a little.

"Yeah, the girl really can't handle her Firewhiskey."

"Sounds like someone else I know," he said fondly, scanning me up and down quickly, "You seem to be on two feet though."

"Well if Blaise hadn't cut me off I probably wouldn't be."

It was meant to be a joke, but his face immediately dropped again - probably realising the reason why I'd decided to get drunk in the first place.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I wish I had more answers for you Fred, but all I can tell you is that I'm sorry and you have to believe that I trust you - because I do. But there's just some things I'm not ready to share and I don't know if I ever will be. Can you be okay with that?"

He sighed, looking conflicted before he finally gave a small nod.

Relief washed over me, and I stepped forward and let him hug me tightly.

"I'm sorry too," he murmured, "If you don't think I need to know, then I have to trust you on that too."

My heart sank a little, "I promise it has nothing to do with you or us." Liar.

We pulled away so I could lean up and press my lips against his gently, and I couldn't help but relax as I did so. He always had a way of making me feel safe, and that was something I never wanted to lose.

"You know I only get upset because I care about you so much, right?" he said as we pulled away.

"I know," I nodded, "I care about you too, even if I'm awful at showing it sometimes."

"Well," his eyes glinted mischievously, all ill feelings between us seemingly resolved, "If I remember correctly from the map - which I can assure you I do - there's a portrait just over here we can slip behind and you can try and show me a little better."

I grinned as he started to pull me down the corridor, "You're a terrible influence Fred Weasley."

"Says the Slytherin," he teased.

"Oh, shut up," I rolled my eyes slightly, laughing as I gave him a light shove into the alcove.