"Have the boys been up yet?" Eleanor wondered out loud to Hermione one morning while the pair studied alongside Ginny.

"I've never known them to be early risers." Ginny snickered to herself.

"They're usually up by now, though." Hermione reasoned, grabbing her bag and digging through it. "Let's check on them and see." She pulled out a dingy piece of parchment and tapped on it with her wand, mumbling the enchantment quietly. She unfolded it for all three of them to look at.

"I'll put a sickle on them still being in bed." Ginny offered.

"I'll put mine on the Great Hall, eating." Eleanor returned. "Where's your money going, 'Mione?"

"The Hospital Wing," Hermione blurted, though not in speculation. She stated it with disbelief as she shot up and began towards the portrait hole.

"Mischief Managed." Eleanor shot quickly at the map before darting after Ginny and Hermione.

"What's got you all in a rush?" Seamus Finnegan asked as he passed them through the entrance to the Common Room.

"I suppose we've got a man down in the Hospital Wing," Eleanor panted out quickly as she sped to keep up.

Harry was sitting by Ron's unconscious body when the three girls arrived. Ginny and Hermione rushed to his side while Eleanor stood at the foot of the bed with Harry.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, looking at Harry curiously.

"I don't know, he was poisoned." Harry answered.

"Poisoned?" Hermione's head whipped around to look at Harry. "Why? By who?"

"We don't know. We were having a drink with Slughorn and he just dropped. I fed him a bezoar, and he seems to be recovering now."

Hermione let out a small breath of relief. "Quick thinking, Harry." She complimented softly, her eyes returning to the bed-ridden Ron. Eleanor and Harry exchanged a swift, knowing look and looked on quietly.

Quietly until Lavender came bursting through the door calling out Ron's pet names for him. Eleanor rolled her eyes at the falsely high pitch of her voice.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded loudly of Hermione. Blood rushed to Hermione's face as she stood over Ron's bed indignantly.

"I could ask you the same." Hermione shot back.

"I happen to be his girlfriend,"

"Well, I happen to be his...friend." Hermione retorted after a bit of stumbling over her words.

Lavender scoffed at Hermione. "You haven't spoken to him in weeks, but now you care since he is suddenly all interesting."

"Interesting? He was poisoned!" Hermione's voice raised louder with each word. Harry and Eleanor watched in disbelief as the two continued making snide remarks at each other when Ron began mumbling in his unconscious state.

"See, he's asking for me." Lavender pushed past Hermione and sunk down next to Ron, cradling his head in her arms and comforting him in a sickly juvenile voice.

"Her..mio...ne." Ron croaked out, Eleanor's heart stopped and her eyes shot to her friend who looked stiff as a board. "Hermione." Ron stated, clearly this time. Lavender, for once in her life, didn't say a word. She simply fled the Hospital Wing, her cries following after her.

Hermione could only smirk.


After having Hermione explain exactly how he and Lavender broke up for what felt like the thousandth time, with no end to the snow he was making fall from the ceiling, Eleanor, Harry, Draco, and Hermione had all concluded that they should unpack their winter clothes and prepare for the the icy freeze of a break up. Ron didn't seem to be too torn up over the whole affair, rather very confused.

But all of their love problems were put on hold when a group of girls entered the Great Hall.

Katie Bell's appearance in the Great Hall had three young men extremely on edge. Upon her arrival, Harry and Draco made eye contact, a silent agreement that they would get to the bottom of what happened to her. Blaise, at the lonely end of the Slytherin table, looked more unhinged than ever. His eyes darted around the Great Hall, it looked as though he was trying to see if anyone was noticing him.

Harry began walking over to Katie with a quick pace, Draco decided to join him despite Eleanor rolling her eyes and trying to force him to sit down again. Draco shrugged off Eleanor's clinging arm uncaringly. Eleanor groaned dramatically at this and turned to Hermione. "No one ever listens to me." She grumbled into her oatmeal.

"Katie, how are you?" Harry greeted hurriedly.

"I know what you're going to ask, Harry, and I have no idea what happened." Katie responded with regret.

"Do you have any memory of who cursed you?" Draco asked. Katie's eyes shot suspiciously from Harry to Draco, and she sneered lightly at the latter. The last time she was at Hogwarts, Harry and Draco were silently civil, but never friendly. She'd never spoken a kind word to Draco, or he to her; and certainly nothing off of the Quidditch Pitch.

"No," She said unsurely, "why do you care?"

"It's okay, he's helping us."

"Helping?" Katie asked in disbelief. "Well, I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you both, but if I remember anything, I'll let you know." As soon as Katie finished talking, all three of their heads darted to the entrance of the Great Hall. Several students shouted at a fellow classmate who'd pushed his way through them. Draco began after him before even Harry could.

He ignored Eleanor calling for him as he passed her, he ignored Harry's footsteps behind him, he ignored everything around him and inside him that told him to stop or think rationally. He was enraged. All he could think was that Blaise was a Death Eater. Blaise, who was one of the people he trusted most in the world, had hexed a classmate, wiping her memory and nearly killing her. He had made threats against Eleanor, and even laid hands on her. He was working tirelessly for the man who wanted to hold Eleanor and him against their wills because of their money and information. He was trying to get Death Eaters into the school to do just that. Draco had felt like he'd lost Eleanor before, but he had never felt her so close to slipping from his fingertips than he did as he stared down the back of his once best friend.

And Draco felt responsible.

Draco's fatal flaw had been hoping for the best for his friend and not condemning him the second he'd asked for help. Draco was angry. He was angry at Blaise, angry with himself, even angry with Eleanor for making him the kind of person who put their feelings before their brain. If he'd remained hard, ruthless, unmoving, then Eleanor would be safe. But she wasn't. Her biggest threat was sharing their hallways, their lives, standing in the bathroom, right in front of Draco.

"What did you do to her, Zabini?" Draco demanded, wand in hand but not yet pointed.

"She was a means to an end," Blaise shot back.

"And what end is that, huh? Eleanor given over to Voldemort so she can be tortured and manipulated into giving him whatever he wants? Where is your loyalty?"

"Don't talk to me about loyalty." Blaise growled. "Where is yours? We've been mates since we were kids, and I needed you, and you were snogging her and running off to be with Potter." Blaise's eyes looked glazed over, almost crazed.

"Voldemort, Death Eaters, all they've ever done is take people away from me. Darius and Olga were like my parents too, and my actual parents are imprisoned or in hiding, I had to flee my own home so I could cling to the one person I have left. And they're trying to take her from me too. I can't help you, friends or not."

"You would throw everything away for her? Be in the Dark Lord's bad graces to attempt to keep her safe? It won't work. She's too important. He'll get to her either way."

Draco gripped his wand tighter, aware of Harry's quiet presence in the shadows, but was unsure if Blaise also knew he was there. "Why is she so important to him?"

Blaise laughed loudly at Draco's question. "After all of this, you think I'd tell you?"

"After all of this, I think I deserve an honest answer." Draco spit. "I've given you more help than I should have."

Blaise looked almost hurt at Draco's answer. He'd never felt abandoned by Draco before, the two were never particularly affectionate friends, but he'd always known he could count on Draco. The whole year, while Blaise had descended into chaos and madness, he'd felt Draco slipping away. Now it was solidified. Blaise was alone. Anger bubbled up inside Blaise's chest, and he grew more spiteful.

"The Dark Lord has plans for her. She's from a powerful bloodline, more powerful than yours, more powerful than mine. Her grandparents were devout followers of the Dark Lord, legends. Having a Cordarri on his side would make him that much more powerful. He would do anything to get that mark on her arm. Think of the people she could get close to, be forced to kill. It's a shame she loves you so much, she'd do anything to keep you safe. Even more to keep whatever little blonde headed shit you two would create safe." Draco could have screamed, he wanted to ditch the wand and just beat Blaise with his two fists. "Personally, I hope he tortures her a bit first. I'd give anything to hear that bitch scream. It'd be like music."

"Sectumsepra!" A loud yell erupted from deep in the throat. Draco's eyes widened as the wand spark flew and hit Blaise square in the chest, sending him flying backwards and causing immediate blood to start seeping through his shirt.

"Potter," Draco breathed out, "what did you do?"