A/N: This chapter should definitely make up for that little bit of a cliffhanger last time..

Chapter Twenty-Six: Push and Pull

The further Malfoy and I walked away from Gryffindor Tower, the more I could feel the angry adrenaline fading away - the feelings of hurt and betrayal that had been simmering slowly coming to the surface. I could feel Malfoy glancing at me every few moments as we walked, but I refused to even glance in his direction. I didn't want to risk falling apart in front of him.

"Black..." his voice was so soft, so concerned, that any thoughts of keeping it together vanished. A sob choked out of me, and he reacted instantly - pulling me over to the side of the corridor and lifting me swiftly into one of the archways, standing in front of me and holding my face in his hands.

"Don't you dare," he said, gazing at me meaningfully. "Do not let him break you."

I let out a shaky breath, letting my eyes flutter closed and relaxing into his hands. I didn't want to. He was right, there was no way I wanted to give Harry the satisfaction. But it was much easier said than done, how was I supposed to react when the one person I thought would always be there for me let me down?

"You're better than this," Malfoy continued, his tone strong as he stroked one thumb along my cheek - silver eyes searching through mine meaningfully when I opened them again. "You can handle this; I know you think you can't - but you can."

My breath hitched in my throat, the intensity of his stare and the rollercoaster of emotions I was feeling keeping me from being able to really react in any way at all. I didn't end up responding, just letting myself lean forwards so I could rest my head on his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around me instinctively, pulling me close to him and running a hand through my hair soothingly as I just let him hold me silently.

"You were right," I breathed after a few minutes, and he tensed a little. "About all of it."

"I know you won't believe me," he said softly in response. "But I didn't actually want to be."

I pulled back so I could look at him, my eyebrows raising slightly when I saw the serious expression on his face.

"Do you think I ever want to see you like this?" he elaborated, sensing my surprise and brushing some hair off my face gently.

I was lost for words, too consumed by the way he was looking at me - mercury eyes full of concern and that fierce need to protect me. Even if he hadn't been saying it in the right way, he really had been trying to get me to see the truth in his own way. Just like always, he wanted to protect me. Even now, when all I wanted was to give in to the indescribable betrayal I was feeling – he was the one here reminding me not to let myself.

"I really never thought it would come to this." I finally spoke quietly, "No matter what, I always thought Harry and I would find a way...but now. Now, I really don't know."

"You don't need him," he frowned. "You're better off, how many times do I have to tell you?"

I sighed, shaking my head slightly. "I still don't know about that...but I do know that everything else you were trying to tell me was right, too. I can't keep making excuses for him all the time, not now. Not when he's so blatantly turned his back on me. I deserve better than that."

I paused, brushing some hair off his forehead softly and locking my eyes with his meaningfully. He held my gaze, waiting patiently for me to continue.

"You were right about one other thing," I continued quietly.

"Hmm," he smirked, and my heart soared at the sight of it - his eyes twinkling along with it. "I'm enjoying hearing you telling me I'm right so much, you should do it more often."

I gave him a slight shove, making him chuckle in amusement. "Don't you dare ruin this moment."

"What moment?" he raised an eyebrow curiously, pulling me a little closer to him so our chests were flushed.

"I was hesitating with you because of them," I admitted, sudden uncertainty appearing in his eyes as I said it. "But not because of anything you've done - actually, somehow you seem to be the one person I can rely on this year. It was more that I was scared they wouldn't be able to forgive me for it, but I don't care anymore - they have no right to have any opinions on how I feel when they disregarded my feelings so easily."

"I told you so," he murmured, eyes travelling from my eyes down to my lips - and I felt my tummy flip a little, sensing he was starting to grow impatient with our lack of snogging after being in such close proximity for so long. I couldn't help the smile on my face at the fact he had no idea what I was trying to say, too distracted with other thoughts to even realise I was finally giving him an answer he'd been wanting from me for weeks.

"You're not listening to me."

"You're very distracting," he replied flippantly, caving in and leaning down to trail soft kisses along my neck.

"Draco." I scolded quietly with a smirk, letting out a small giggle as I instantly got the reaction I'd been expecting - his head lifting fast as lightning as he looked at me in slight shock.

"You just called me Draco," he said in slight awe, his eyes silver like I'd never seen before - glimmering in the dimly lit corridor.

"Well, I figure if we're going to be together we should probably start calling each other by our first names eventually."

I gasped as his lips crashed onto mine instantly, looping my arms tightly around his neck as he kissed me so bruisingly I thought I might crumble on the spot.

We pulled back when we had no breath left, both panting heavily as we looked at each other for a moment - his eyes searching mine like he was looking for any kind of hesitation, and I used every emotion I could to show him that there wasn't.

"I'll have you know, Cassie." he murmured quietly, holding one of my cheeks in his hand so he could push my head back far enough to press a slow kiss along my jaw, making my breath hitch in my throat at the action and the way he'd just said my name. "This is the longest it's ever taken me to get a girl."

I giggled, tugging on his hair so he'd let me look at him again. "Lucky you're so patient then."

"Sometimes," he said, his eyes darkening in a way that made that fire ignite in my belly instantly.

"Sometimes." I agreed quietly, happily responding when he moved to kiss me again. Any part of me that had still been too afraid to just let myself with him had disappeared. He was the one who had been telling me the truth all along. He pulled back far sooner than I would have liked, rolling his eyes slightly when I pouted at him for doing so.

He frowned suddenly, and my heart clenched when I saw the sudden uncertainty cloud his eyes. "You're not just doing this to get back at Potter, are you?"

"No," my eyes widened, staring at him intently – my only concern making sure he knew this was real for me, and it had nothing to do with anyone else and it never should have. "The truth is I've just been looking for excuses for weeks because I was scared. But I'm not going to do that anymore, not with anyone. From now on I'm choosing to put my trust in the people who have shown me they deserve it."

And then, that smile I'd longed to see since the first-time weeks ago graced his features – taking my breath away as he kissed me one more time. It was the truth; I couldn't keep looking for reasons not to be with him anymore when all I really wanted was him.

"You were brilliant back there, by the way…" he murmured, pulling back a little with a smirk.

I giggled, "You were impressed, huh?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, but I could still see the amusement behind his eyes. "How did you find out, anyway? Did you figure out where they went?"

I hesitated slightly, thankfully not enough to make him suspicious but long enough to remind myself telling any of my friends exactly what they were doing would guarantee Umbridge finding out – and I still didn't want that just yet. I was prepared to play the long game with this one.

"I ended up contacting my dad, he told me because he figured I already knew." The hurt from earlier returned as I recounted what had happened, my face falling once again.

He let out a small growl, anger gleaming slightly in his eyes as he saw my face drop. "I'll make Potter pay for this."

"No," I shook my head, a small smile tugging on my lips at his ever consistent need to defend me. "Don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him eventually."

"Well," he sighed, still looking a little annoyed. "At least he won't be able to treat you like shit anymore."

"How did you find me, anyway?" I asked, feeling suddenly curious at how once again he had showed up exactly when I'd needed him to.

He rolled his eyes slightly, "Zabini was pacing holes through our floor all night worried sick because no one had seen you for hours - so I told him I'd go look for you to make him shut up."

I blinked, "How long were you looking for me?"

He shrugged lazily, "Not sure, a couple of hours maybe? It was much more peaceful than being around that idiot."

I couldn't bring myself to do anything other than continue to stare at him in silent shock, ignoring his usual attempts to downplay how much he cared about me being his motivation. How had I spent so much time missing everything he was constantly doing for me?

"What?" he questioned, seemingly confused as to why I had gone so silent.

I didn't bother responding - threading my fingers into his hair and pulling his lips onto mine again.

I could always tell exactly how he was feeling from the way he kissed me. After an argument or if he was in a bad mood it was always so much more urgent, harsh, like he wanted to keep fighting with the way his lips moved against mine and how roughly he held me to him. But these kinds of kisses were my favourite types: when he wanted to tell me how much I meant to him in the best way he knew how. The way his hands would thread in my hair and he'd grip my hips like he couldn't get me close enough to him, how he'd know exactly what to do to make me lose my breath and smirk because he knew exactly how much he affected me. There was no one in my life who had ever made me feel how he did, and I don't think anyone else ever would. It was beautiful, and terrifying and magical all at once – the whole feeling was intoxicating, and it only made me want him more.

We finally pulled away when the need to breathe became apparent. I smiled softly at him while he stroked a thumb over my cheek, just looking back at me silently for a moment.

"So," he finally said quietly, his eyes still burning from the heat of the kiss we'd just shared. "How do we proceed from here?"

I raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, running one of my hands up and down his arm lightly where it was still wrapped tightly around me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he sighed, slight doubt flickering behind his eyes. "Do we tell people now? You know, now that I've finally got you properly locked down."

I rolled my eyes slightly as he smirked smugly, a frown settling on my face as I pondered his question. "I'm not sure…I mean, we'd be daft to pretend the two of us getting together is just the same as any random couple in this school."

He nodded, the air between us much more serious than before. "You're right, I'm sure there are people inside the school and out who would have plenty to say."

"Maybe it's just best if we continue to keep it quiet for now," I said softly, trying not to let myself be too disappointed. It would be naïve of us to think there wouldn't be any objections to the two of us, that was something we'd both always known would have to be a factor in whatever our future held.

He let out another sigh, reaching up to cup my face gently with one hand as he looked back at me – and I could see the slight disappointment in his eyes too. "Probably a good idea."

"Besides," I said, leaning into his hand and giving him a reassuring smile. "I don't want other people's words and opinions to get in the way, I don't care about what any of them think. I just want you."

His breath hitched in his throat a little, looking slightly taken-aback at my words before he leaned down and pressed another gentle kiss against my lips. This one was different; it wasn't as needy or heated as the one before. This was one was to tell me he just wanted me too.

"What about our incredibly nosy and perceptive friends?" he asked with a knowing smirk as he pulled away again, and I let out a small giggle.

"We should probably tell them. One, because they really are annoyingly nosy – and two, because I think Madi would literally kill me if I didn't."

He chuckled, nodding slightly in agreement. "Fine, but I can't say I'm not a little disappointed I won't be able to let everyone know just who you belong to." I almost shuddered at how dark his tone went at the end, my cheeks flushing as I tried to glare playfully back at him.

"I don't belong to anyone, Malfoy – don't get cocky."

He only smirked dangerously, gripping my hips in a way that let me know he was planning on showing me exactly how much he thinks I belong to him.

The next morning felt like waking up in a whole new world. A world where not only I had cut ties with Harry, who I thought would be the one person I could always count on – but also a world where I was waking up the girlfriend of Draco Malfoy.

I smiled to myself as I made my way out of the dorm. If someone had told me even this time last year this would be my life, I would have hexed them into the next century for even suggesting something so obscure. But here we were, and I found I didn't mind it one bit.

"You have so much explaining to do!" I almost jumped out of my skin when Madi's angry voice cut into my thoughts, and I came to my senses to see her and Blaise standing in the dorm hallway glaring at me. I knew this conversation was coming today, I'd practically left the two of them in the dark all day and night about what was going on, but I had at least hoped to maybe make it through breakfast first – it had been a very late night and I very much wanted coffee.

"I know," I said slightly guiltily. "I'm sorry, but can I please at least have breakfast first?"

"No," Madi crossed her arms stubbornly. "You cannot."

"Come on Cass," Blaise spoke up, looking slightly amused by his girlfriend. "You went AWOL for the whole night, what are we supposed to think after what we saw on the map the other night?"

"Well," I smirked. "I can promise you I didn't blow up any dorm rooms."

Blaise let out a snort of laughter, only shrugging when Madi shot him a glare for doing so.

"Well?" she raised an eyebrow at me impatiently, and I let out a sigh.

"I ended up getting in touch with Dad – completely safely Madi, geez - " I rolled my eyes a little at the appalled look on my best friend's face before I continued. "He has done it, formed some kind of club. My dad told me because he figured I already knew."

"Shit," Blaise breathed out, eyes slightly wide.

"You don't have to pretend to be shocked," I tried to act unbothered, shifting a little on my feet. "Go ahead and say I told you so."

"No - we really are sorry, Cass." Madi shook her head, moving forward to place a comforting hand on my arm. "I know how much this must suck for you."

I shrugged again, still trying not to let my emotions spill over again. I had promised myself last night was the only time I was going to let myself be weak about this.

"Are you going to tell Umbridge?" Blaise raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I don't have anything to tell her," I said, sticking with my plan to not clue anyone else in on what exactly disappearing on the map like that meant. "I still have no idea where they actually disappeared too, besides – do any of us really want Umbridge to win?"

"Well, no." Madi agreed, "But it would be nice for Potter to get what's coming to him for once."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure he will eventually, the three of them have about one sneaky bone in their bodies combined – let's see how long it takes them to fall apart without me."

Both of them laughed at that, and Madi linked her arm with mine with a grin. "She's fine."

"I really am sorry for not telling you," I looked between them apologetically. "This just felt like something I had to do myself, you know?"

They both nodded, "We get it," Madi said gently, giving my arm a squeeze. "We were just worried more than anything."

I was surprised at how light I felt walking to breakfast, I had been worried what happened with Harry would hang over me like a dark cloud all day – but it felt like just another normal day. I realised with a pang that maybe that was because this distance between us wasn't new, it had just been finally said out loud.

My eyes gravitated to Draco as soon as we entered the Great Hall, biting back the smile that instantly formed on my face as soon as our eyes met. I sat down next to him just like always, but the secret knowing look we exchanged was just another thing that reminded me that technically things were different now. As his hand immediately found its way on my thigh just like it always did and I barely reacted, I realised that really not all that much had changed – it was just a title, just words. The way I was feeling wasn't new at all, in fact it was the most familiar thing I had in my life these days.

As I leaned forward to grab some toast still trying to hide my smile, I noticed Madi was already looking between us suspiciously. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, trust her to already be able to tell something was different without us even doing anything.

"You were out late last night." Daphne was apparently also curious, raising an eyebrow at me.

"So were you, funnily enough." Theodore smirked in amusement, looking at Draco expectantly.

"I didn't realise we had curfews, sorry mum and dad." I shot back easily, Draco snorting in amusement – the rest of our friends letting out chuckles too.

"Something's different." Madi finally spoke up, still looking between us with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you all so bloody nosy?" Draco rolled his eyes, and I nodded in agreement, trying to hide my smirk as I thought back to us saying exactly the same thing about them last night. My eyes twinkled with mischief as I glanced at him quickly, question clear in my gaze. His little nod in response made me smile as I turned away again casually.

"What goes on between me and Draco is none of your concern."

"Now you've done it," he smirked in amusement as all of our friend's reacted immediately, their faces mixed between shock and awe. I tried not to find it too funny that just by using his first name I'd alerted them that something had changed, but they knew us well enough to know it was practically unheard of for us to ever even dare to call each other by our first names before.

"Tell me this means what I think it does," Daphne demanded, grinning widely as she leaned down the table to look at us eagerly.

"I think you're all ridiculously invested in this; don't you have your own lives?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Ow!" I exclaimed as Madi reached across the table to hit my shoulder, shooting her an annoyed look. "Why are you abusing me? I thought you'd be thrilled!"

"I am," she responded, glaring slightly back at me. "I'm just wondering why this wasn't the first thing you mentioned to us this morning."

"You were too busy interrogating me," I smirked, looking between her and Blaise - who wasn't as bothered as his girlfriend was by me not telling them already, just looking between the two of us with a knowing smile on his face.

"It's about bloody time," Tracey sighed, everyone thankfully calming down a little – the last thing I wanted was to attract unwanted curiosity from anyone else.

"You owe me five galleons, by the way Moon." Theodore commented, smirking at Lillian triumphantly when she scowled.

"Drats, I thought you'd forgotten."

"Hang on," I frowned, looking between them all with raised eyebrows. "Were you placing bets on us?"

"Yep," Blaise quipped, "Have been all year."

Draco snorted next to me, only shrugging in amusement when I glared at him reproachfully for it.

"I hate all of you," I grumbled, none of them looking like they believed me in the slightest.

"I suppose this explains why Potter has been glaring daggers at you since you came in, then." Pansy said, and I let my gaze move towards the Gryffindor table for the first time - seeing she was right, and Harry was in fact glaring at me. I looked away again with a sigh, shaking my head in response to Pansy – surprised and slightly relieved this seemed to be all she had to say on the subject.

"No, that's unrelated. He doesn't know."

"He looks like he wants to kill you," Lillian said bluntly, turning to glance briefly over her shoulder and looking back at me with raised eyebrows.

"I'll hex him in a minute if he keeps it up," Draco muttered angrily, but I shushed him.

"Yeah, well - we had a less than pleasant run-in last night." I continued to explain to the rest of my friends, trying to keep my tone casual. They were going to find out sooner or later, it may as well be me who broke the news. "As far as I'm concerned he doesn't exist to me anymore."

"Holy Merlin, really?" Tracey asked with wide eyes, all of them looking shocked but also not opposed to this particular piece of information.

"Please try and contain your excitement," I rolled my eyes, pushing some food around my plate and trying not to let myself show too much emotion - silently hoping they'd all just drop it.

"What did he do?" Theodore asked quietly, looking concerned. Even if they all hated him with a passion, they knew how much he meant to me - and just how serious it would have to be for me to finally decide to walk away from him.

"What we always expected him to." I was relieved when Draco answered for me, giving my leg a gentle squeeze and glancing at me briefly.

Evidently this was enough to appease them, a few more dirty looks being shot Harry's way before the focus shifted back to us.

"On the topic of people knowing," Madi said curiously, "Are you going to tell people?"

I let out a sigh, exchanging another look with Draco. "We'd appreciate it if you could all keep this to yourselves for now."

Our friends all looked like they understood exactly why we wanted to keep it between us, all nodding and assuring us it wouldn't leave our little circle. I smiled fondly around at them all, counting my lucky stars I could still count on them at least.

"We only told you lot because you're infuriatingly nosy." Draco said drily.

Daphne scoffed, "Please, we would have figured it out anyway. Anyone looking close enough would be able to guess."

"It's not her fault, she just can't control herself around me."

Draco only laughed when I whacked him on the arm, shooting him an annoyed glare. I was perfectly capable of controlling myself.

"Probably for the best," Blaise smiled in amusement, looking at Draco teasingly. "I gather you won't be living very long once Potter finds out."

Draco snorted, "I'd like to see him try."

I looked up at him and intertwined my hand with his under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It doesn't matter. I couldn't care less what he thinks." He squeezed my hand back, hiding his smile behind his goblet as we looked away from each other again.

"Oh my god, I can't." Lillian sighed, and I realised she, Tracey and Daphne were all watching us with dreamy smiles. Salazar's snake, I was never telling them anything again.

"Do you want this fork in your eye, Moon?" I shot back, trying to glare back at them but only managing to be as half as threatening as I'd intended. It was difficult to be angry, I knew they were all only happy for me - even if they had an annoying, intrusive way of showing it.

"Does she threaten you like that?" Theodore asked Draco drily in amusement.

"Yes," he snorted in reply, smirking down at me briefly.

"Kinky." Lillian grinned, before letting out a shriek as she ducked to avoid the fork I threw in her direction.

"I warned you," I let out a giggle at the absolutely filthy look she shot me as she sat back up, the rest of our table absolutely roaring with laughter.

I realised why I didn't feel as empty as I thought I might this morning - it wasn't like losing Harry meant I was all alone. Far from it, I had all the family I needed right here.

I managed to avoid seeing Harry or any of the Gryffindors for the first half of the day as we had Charms and History of Magic. I hated to admit it, but I was nervous about confronting him after what had happened. This was unknown territory for us, we'd never reached a point where we'd completely turned on each other before. I only hoped he was planning on ignoring me just like I was him.

"Hey." I turned with a smile when Draco suddenly appeared next to me as I made my way out of the Charms classroom. I had hung back to make sure I hadn't missed too much after Avery's paint attack the other day - but I hadn't asked him to wait.

"Did you wait for me?"

"Just being a good boyfriend," he responded with a smirk, and I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I heard him say it.

As we neared the Great Hall the hallways became more crowded again, so we made sure to walk far enough away from each other not to attract too much attention. I couldn't help but feel the eyes on me anyway, it had been happening all day. Apparently news of me and Harry's estrangement had become public knowledge – I'd been getting enough glares all morning that I felt like public enemy number one at this school right now.

"Ignore it." Draco murmured quietly, noting how uncomfortable I must've looked. "By tomorrow everyone will have moved on to whatever new scandal arises."

I rolled my eyes, hoisting my books up a bit higher. "I know – it's just annoying. I wish one thing would happen to me without everyone feeling like they need to know about it."

"Well," he smirked, looking down at me briefly. "There is one thing nobody knows about."

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me, looking up at him with a small shake of my head. He only winked in response, making me blush a little. Would he ever stop having such an effect on me?

"You know," he said casually, pulling me to a stop once we reached the currently empty corridor next to the entrance hall and wrapping an arm around my waist. "If you don't want to deal with anymore staring - we could always skip lunch and go somewhere else…" I sucked in a breath as he leaned down to lightly nibble on my ear "...alone…"

"Draco Malfoy, are you trying to seduce me?" I whispered, fiddling with his tie as he lifted his head again - eyes considerably darker than they had been before.

"Me? Never."

"Of course not," I smirked, trying to keep my breathing steady.

"I think we're allowed to indulge today," he shrugged easily, brushing some hair off my face. "I don't think I've properly celebrated finally getting you to admit how much you like me yet."

I giggled, flushing slightly at the insinuation. I don't know why I was surprised at his persistence; he'd been bad enough when we weren't together - and I had a feeling his constant need to snog me in dark alcoves was only going to get worse now. Not that I minded all that much though if I was being honest. "Well, we have patrol tonight remember. Surely you can wait until then?"

He let out a groan, tightening his grip on me a little as his face flickered a little in annoyance. "I suppose so."

"You're incorrigible," I sighed, continuing to fiddle with his tie playfully.

"You have no idea," he breathed, eyes sparking dangerously in a way that sent heat rushing through my body instantly. He let out a chuckle as my eyes widened, pressing a lingering kiss on my cheek before stepping away again with a knowing smirk. Bastard, he knew what he was doing to me.

"Get a room," we both turned at Pansy's teasing voice, seeing her and Daphne heading towards us - both watching us with the same knowing smiles that all our friends hadn't been able to wipe off their faces since this morning.

"I'm trying," Draco mumbled in annoyance.

"Honestly, if you're so intent on keeping this a secret you're going to have to do a better job than that. Anyone could have seen you." Daphne said as they reached us, an amused smirk on her face.

I blushed a little, knowing she was right – that had been incredibly risky on our part.

We made our way into the Great Hall, and I once again tried to ignore everyone looking and whispering as we did so. I hoped Draco was right and it would all die down by tomorrow. I was used to people disliking me just for the colour of my robes, but this was another level.

"Montague just told us he's going to start scheduling extra practices soon," Blaise turned to us as we sat down. "He means business this time, he said if any of us miss any practices he'll replace us."

I scoffed, "Sure he will. That's the only threat he ever uses, and he's still never done it."

Blaise only shrugged, a ghost of an amused smile on his face.

"We should watch another one of their practices," Draco mused, frowning thoughtfully. "I want to rattle them as much as possible."

"Can't we ever just win fairly?" I sighed wistfully, sarcasm dripping from my tone.

"Where's the fun in that?" Blaise grinned, he and Draco exchanging a mischievous glance that did not make me feel any better.

"Aren't the constant taunting and hexes leading up to the match fun enough for you already?" I rolled my eyes, my memory drifting back to all the lead-ups from years past - which usually included multiple trips to the Hospital Wing for the Gryffindor team.

Draco smirked fondly, seemingly remembering too. "I'm sure we could find a way to kick it up a notch…"

"I like the sound of that," Pansy piped up with a wicked smile, and I sighed in defeat. There was never any point in me trying to stop it, the pre-match taunting was practically written in the Slytherin team's playbook at this point. It was usually harmless anyway - just a few stinging hexes and juvenile taunts.

"Cassie," Madi suddenly said, looking towards the front of the Great Hall with raised eyebrows. "Why is Snape heading this way looking like he wants to murder you?"

"Oh!" I straightened up, my own eyes going slightly wide when I realised why straight away. I had completely forgotten what I had planned to do today - everything that had happened last night made it completely slip my mind. I followed Madi's gaze to see Snape was in fact heading this way looking quite murderous.

"Oh no," Theodore groaned, recognising the look in my eyes instantly. "What have you done now?"

"I forgot that was happening today." I said, a satisfied smile forming on my lips.

"Cassie." Draco said impatiently, and I ignored the little giggles coming from Tracey and Lillian as he said my name.

"I really should be thanking the two of you for the idea." I pointed between him and Blaise, suddenly feeling the best I had since this morning - the joy of what I'd achieved trumping the annoyance of having everyone talking about me all day had brought.

"Tell me you didn't." Blaise said immediately, Draco only putting his head in his hands and letting out a long sigh.

"Hello?" Lillian finally demanded impatiently, "Does someone want to fill us in on what the hell she's done?"

"You didn't actually blow up Potter's dorm room?" Madi asked, answering Lillian's question as she did so.

"Brilliant," Tracey snorted, but I was already shaking my head - almost bouncing in my seat at this point.

"Nope." I popped the 'p' for emphasis.

Blaise groaned, "Cass."

"I didn't!" I feigned innocence, looking between all of them as I paused for a moment. "I blew up Avery's."

Draco let out a disappointed groan, but the rest of the girls (except Daphne, who managed to compose herself to a simple smirk) at the table all let out laughs straight away. Blaise didn't even look like he was all that mad, hiding the ghost of his own amused smile.

"Didn't cover your tracks very well this time apparently." Theodore raised an eyebrow, glancing at where Snape had now almost reached us.

"Oh no," I shrugged, "I wanted her to know it was me. The detentions will be worth it."

"Merlin, I love you." Madi grinned, and I shot her a wink in return.

"I am a little disappointed I didn't get to see it though." I frowned. "I was hoping she wouldn't go back to the dorm til after classes."

"Me too," Pansy agreed, looking extremely pleased that the revenge she'd been waiting for me to conduct had finally happened. She was probably also glad she'd moved into our dorm back in third year after a particularly nasty fight the two of them had over Malfoy and chosen to stay ever since.

"So, how many detentions then?" I said cheerfully as Snape finally reached us, glaring at me reproachfully. He didn't respond, merely tipping his head towards the door and continuing to walk - and I knew that meant I had to follow him.

"Oh wow," I said, swinging my legs over the bench and standing up - still not being able to wipe the grin off my face. "A proper telling off too."

"You're terrible," Tracey grinned, shaking her head. I simply winked one last time at all of them before I followed my professor out the door. This would be interesting in itself - he'd still been making large efforts to avoid talking to me as much as possible. Maybe that's why he was so annoyed, I'd managed to stick a little pin in his plans for the moment.

"I'm not even going to deny it, so don't bother asking." I said, meeting his cold gaze.

"I wasn't going to ask - you made it quite clear it was you," he drawled in response, rolling his eyes.

"That was the point."

"Why is that?" he raised an eyebrow, "You've always been quite clever with covering your tracks before, but this was very blatantly you."

"I'm sending a message," I shrugged, my tone dropping a little. "She'd lulled herself into a false sense of security, so I just wanted to remind her exactly what I can be capable of."

"Hmm," he studied me, "And does that message by chance have something to do with your growing closeness with Mr Malfoy this year?"

My mouth dropped open slightly, how the hell did he know?

He seemed to take my shocked expression as an answer, his face darkening. "Don't be daft, Black," he hissed lowly, eyes flashing with anger. "You're not really foolish enough to pursue any kind of relationship with him when you know you will inevitably fall on different sides."

My own anger surged, and I clenched my fists at my side. "First of all, you don't know that. The last time I checked Draco is his own person who makes his own decisions. And second of all, you have no right to suddenly show any concern for me when you've made it perfectly clear this year you want me as far away from you as possible."

"You're unbelievably naïve," he snarled.

"And you still have no right." I shot back angrily. How did he think I was going to react to that? Especially when he'd been the one keeping me at arm's length all year before all of a sudden deciding to show some twisted version of concern. No, he did not have any stance to tell me what to do.

"Fine," his emotion drained as quickly as it had come, cold indifference taking its usual place on his features. "But don't say I didn't warn you. And you have detention for four weeks. Saturday's."

"Fine." I shot back, not able to think of any better comeback before he flounced away. I watched him go, arms crossed as I glared angrily at his retreating form. God, if I had one more mood swing today I was going to scream.

"Cassie."

I let out a small groan, turning to face Fred at the sound of his voice - seeing him standing a few steps away watching me cautiously.

"I'm not in the mood, Fred."

"I just want to talk to you," he said, and I couldn't help but glare at him in response.

"Oh, now you want to talk to me? That's great. But if it's just more lies - don't bother." I snapped. He flinched a little and I knew I was being harsh, but I was still really mad at him and George for what had happened and at how little they'd tried to resolve things with me since.

"I had no choice," he looked regretful, "We all signed a list, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hermione put some sort of jinx on it that would let her know if someone spilled the beans. I didn't want to lie to you, Cass."

"But you knew," I argued. "You knew what Harry was doing and that he was leaving me out of it. Did you even try and vouch for me? Or do you think I'm a traitor too just like everyone else seems to?"

"No!" he said in frustration, "But we didn't really have a say did we? Hermione just told us where to meet, I didn't even know for sure they'd left you out until we got there, and then it was too late…"

I sighed, slumping a little as my anger from the previous confrontation with Snape started to fade a little by this point. I knew it wasn't his fault, it was Harry I was mad at – but I couldn't help but still feel a little hurt from what had happened at Hogsmeade.

"I'm guessing they told you about last night, then?"

He relaxed too when he heard my tone soften slightly and nodded. "Yeah, Harry and Ron were still pretty pissed this morning."

"They deserved it." I snapped, shifting as I tried to push away the memory of last night again - the way people I'd thought were my friends had looked at me.

"He shouldn't be cutting you out like he is..." Fred agreed, and I raised an eyebrow when I heard the lilt at the end of his tone.

"But?"

He sighed, "You see where he's coming from right? He's not as perceptive as the rest of us, so he really does think you're on that toad's side." I bit back a smile, so my theory on the twins knowing what I was doing had been correct. At least some people knew me as well as I thought they did.

"That still doesn't excuse it," I shook my head.

"No, but I guarantee you he'll come to his senses eventually." Fred said gently, the air between us suddenly clear again - and I was glad at least I hadn't lost everyone yet.

"Maybe," I rolled my eyes slightly. "At this point I couldn't care less if he does or not - it's going to take the apology of the century for me to forgive him."

He smiled softly, "Nah, you'll forgive him - that's just who you are."

I let out a sigh, frowning deeply. "Honestly? I don't know this time, Fred. I think I'm finally sick of always being the one to forgive him and let it go."

He frowned again too, looking like he wanted to say something else but not getting the chance before the door opened behind us and Draco came out, obviously looking for me and not seeming pleased at who he'd found me with. I shot him a pointed look, warning him not to start anything right now.

"Just wanted to make sure Snape didn't actually murder you," he said coolly, looking between us before his gaze rested on Fred coldly. "Are you here to lie to her again?"

"Draco." I said warningly, glaring slightly at him for blatantly ignoring my previous warning.

Fred raised an eyebrow, and I started slightly when I realised what I'd done. Draco didn't look too bothered, now smirking as he looked at Fred – slight triumph shining in his eyes. I scowled, he probably wanted him to know.

"He's apologising," I said in annoyance, making sure he knew I wasn't happy with him.

"Hmm," was all he said, still not looking impressed either as he glanced at me briefly, before turning his still cold gaze back to the ginger now looking between us curiously. "I'm surprised, I figured you'd think she was a traitor just like the rest of your pathetic little club."

Fred's eyes flashed angrily, clearly not pleased that he not only knew the club existed but also at what he was insinuating. "I'd like to think I know her better than that, probably more than most people."

My eyes widened as Draco's narrowed dangerously, one of his fists clenching at his side. I shot Fred a slightly disappointed look, not even caring if he figured out what was going on now as I reached for my boyfriend's hand and gripped it in warning.

"Can we not, please?" I looked between them both, noting how Fred's eyes were now glued to where I was holding Draco's hand. "I've had enough arguments these last two days to last a lifetime, I don't want another one with either of you."

Draco relaxed a little, smirking as he noticed where Fred's gaze had gone too. "Fine by me. I think the message has gotten across anyhow."

I let out a disappointed sigh, my eyes flicking to Fred apologetically and feeling my heart clench slightly in my chest when I saw him flinch a little. He met my eyes one more time, something flickering behind them I couldn't quite read before he nodded too – managing to give me another small smile before he walked off, making sure to shoot Draco one more glare as he went.

"Did you have to do that?" I sighed, dropping his hand and crossing my arms in irritation.

He snorted, "You're the one who grabbed my hand, why do you care if he knows anyway?"

I didn't like the accusation in his tone, glaring at him. "I care if you use it to have a go at him."

He made another irritated noise, glaring down the corridor where Fred had gone for a moment before looking back at me and trying to brush off some of his anger. "What did Snape say, then?"

I rolled my eyes slightly at his blatant subject change but decided to let it go, I had meant it before when I'd said I was over having arguments lately. "That I have four Saturday's of detention, and a few other things I had no interest in hearing from him."

He raised an eyebrow, "Like?'

I shook my head, anxiety twisting in my gut. We hadn't taken the step of talking in any real depth about our respective families and this ever-growing dangerous world we were living in. I think both of us knew the moment we opened that door we couldn't close it again, and I certainly didn't want to open it on day one. "Don't worry about it, he's been weird with me all year."

I wouldn't be surprised if he suspected what our professor might have said, which was probably why he just sighed and let it go. "Four Saturday's isn't too bad - except Montague will probably have your head."

I rolled my eyes, "Let him try, I've had so many arguments today I'm in a constant state of anger."

"I'll keep my distance for the rest of the day then," he smirked, some of his coldness slipping away again. "As a matter of personal safety."

I couldn't help my own smirk falling back on my face, "Of course, I understand. I mean, I can always just patrol by myself tonight if you're that concerned…" I said absentmindedly as we started walking.

"Hang on," he frowned, making me giggle. "I distinctly remember us already making plans for patrol tonight," I let out a small squeal as he stopped us, pulling me to him with hand gripped on my hip. "Don't go thinking I'm letting you off that easily."

I tried to push away the familiar butterflies that erupted in my stomach whenever he used that tone, enjoying the fact we were back to our playful banter. "I wouldn't think of it."

"Good," he said firmly, releasing me again before we continued to walk. I turned away from him, trying to hide my smile as the butterflies continued to fly around my stomach. I didn't care what Snape, or anyone for that matter, thought. All I knew was the longer we continued on like this, the harder it would be for me to ever imagine having to lose him.

A/N: AHHHHH! It finally happened, THEY'RE TOGETHER! Please, please, pleaaase let me know what you guys think of these last couple of chapters. I can't wait to read all your reactions.