A/N: Back again with another update! I've so much enjoyed giving you all these last few chapters and reading all your comments and reactions makes it even better.

This is probably my favourite chapter so far, so I hope you all love it too!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Eyes Open

By the end of the weekend the buzz about the fight after the match had all but disappeared, mostly due to the fact Hagrid finally re-appeared at the staff table on Sunday morning. I was the only one out of my group of friends who had been happy about it, but I didn't let it deter me - I had been growing increasingly worried about him the longer he'd been away.

I was sure the three Gryffindors would have already paid him a visit to find out exactly what he'd been up to, but by the time our first class with him back as our teacher arrived on Tuesday I still hadn't had the chance.

"You know," Blaise let out a sigh as we all shivered our way down to Hagrid's hut. "I was almost starting to enjoy this class."

"I wasn't." Madi grumbled, latching onto my arm and pulling me closer to her for extra warmth. "Especially in this weather."

I ignored both of them, simply rolling my eyes and happily accepting the extra heat Madi was providing. I had long ago given up even bothering to defend Hagrid around them, it would never work.

I had been stressing the last two days over if Umbridge would show up to inspect Hagrid's class, already fearing the absolute carnage that could come from that. Thankfully though, she and her clipboard were nowhere to be seen as we met Hagrid at the edge of the forest.

There were immediate whispers and gasps as everyone got their first look at our gamekeeper - his face was covered in bruises of all different shades of purple, yellow and green. He looked positively gruesome, and I was immediately even more concerned than I had been before.

"What the hell?" Madi muttered to me, keeping her voice low as she glanced at me with horrified eyes. "Do you know where he was?"

I shrugged helplessly, exchanging another worried look with her.

"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily, gesturing to the looming forest behind him. "Bit more sheltered. Anyway, they prefer the dark!"

We all begrudgingly started following him into the forest, Draco immediately turning to Theodore and Blaise in alarm behind me. "What prefers the dark? What did he say prefers the dark?!"

Madi and I both sniggered quietly at the obvious panic in his tone. I wasn't overly surprised; I don't think my boyfriend had very fond memories of anything that had happened to him in this forest.

We walked for about ten minutes, and I was growing increasingly nervous the further we walked into the forest. I had naively hoped Hagrid would ease back into his classes, but the further we walked the less hopeful I became. Hagrid finally stopped when we reached a part of the forest so secluded the trees stood almost side by side and there wasn't even any snow on the ground. Everyone was on edge, most of the class peering through gaps in the trees worriedly, trying to spot any signs of movement.

"Gather roun', gather roun'," Hagrid said encouragingly, "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give em' a call anyway."

I let out a small groan, Tracey echoing my feelings as she spoke despondently. "Merlin help us, we're going to die out here."

It seemed most of the class would agree with Tracey as Hagrid turned and let out an odd, shrieking cry into the trees - leaving us all a mix of baffled and terrified.

He did the call three times before anything seemed to happen, before he suddenly straightened up and stared between a gap in the trees triumphantly. My gaze flickered to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing - frowning when I saw Harry nudge Ron and point between the gap, following his gaze and only growing more confused when I still couldn't see anything.

The rest of the class was just as baffled as me, heads turning side to side as we all tried to spot exactly what the hell Hagrid had been screeching for. Was it so tiny that we couldn't see it? I glanced between my group of friends, my eyebrow raising slightly when I noticed Theodore's eyes seemed to be locked intently on something, his face twisted up in slight disgust. Daphne noticed not long after me, gazing between her boyfriend and where he was looking in curiosity.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid announced proudly, drawing my attention back where I once again saw absolutely nothing. I squinted closer to where Hagrid was gesturing, my eyes widening in slight shock when I could swear I saw leaves rustling on the ground like something was walking on it.

"Now, put yer hands up - who can see 'em?"

Harry, Neville and Theodore were the only ones who raised their hands.

I was more intrigued than ever - my brain racing as I tried to figure out any possible reason only the three of them would be able to see whatever Hagrid had managed to find this time.

"Yeah...yeah, I knew you'd be able ter Harry - an' you too Neville-"

"Excuse me," Draco cut in with a sneer, fed up with being kept in the dark. "But what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

Hagrid didn't respond, simply pointing to the carcass of meat he'd tossed on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few moments, and then people gasped as bits of flesh started to be ripped away from the carcass. I took an instinctive step back, my eyes wide. There was definitely something there.

"What's doing it?!" Parvati Patil demanded with a squeal, "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals," Hagrid beamed, and I heard Hermione gasp in realisation the exact same moment I did. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em here. Now, who knows-"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" Parvati interrupted, still looking pathetically terrified. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of misfortune to people that see them. Professor Trelawney told us-"

I let out a snort, cutting her off this time. "Anything that hag told you is absolute crap, Patil. That's just an old superstition."

Parvati turned to glare at me, but Hagrid only nodded in agreement and sent a grin my way. "Right you are, Cassie. They aren' unlucky, they're actually dead clever and useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot of work - mostly jus' pullin' the school carriages."

"Wait." Pansy frowned, looking slightly scandalised. "The carriages don't actually pull themselves?"

"My whole life is a lie." I muttered in agreement, a childhood illusion falling apart in front of my very eyes. I once again found my gaze drifting to Harry, who's eyes were still focused on where I assumed a Thestral stood. It suddenly dawned on me he would have seen them pulling the carriages on our first day of school this year, feeling a traitorous pang in my chest when I thought about how confused he must have been - everyone must have thought he was crazy.

"Righ' now," Hagrid regarded us all, "Who can tell me why some 'o yeh can see 'em an' some can't?"

"Thestrals can only be seen by people who've seen death." I answered immediately, ignoring the glare Hermione shot me as she dutifully raised her hand in the air. I smirked slightly; she wasn't the only one who knew these things.

Daphne let out a quiet gasp from behind us, inching closer to Theodore and intertwining her hand with his gently, her dark blue eyes shining in concern as she gazed up at him.

"That's exactly right," Hagrid nodded solemnly, "Ten points to Slytherin. Now, Thestrals-"

"Hem, hem."

I groaned quietly, closing my eyes briefly and praying when I opened them I would have imagined I ever heard that god awful sound.

"Hm," Draco was smirking now, "Maybe there's hope for this lesson yet." The glare I shot him didn't bother him in the slightest as he straightened up, eyes flicking between Hagrid and Umbridge in glee.

Hagrid was looking around in confusion, not having noticed Umbridge yet and probably wondering why one of the Thestrals would have made such a strange noise.

"Hem, hem." It was much louder this time, Hagrid finally turning and spotting her.

"Oh, hello!"

"You received my note informing you I would be inspecting your lesson today?" Umbridge spoke in a loud, slow voice as if she were addressing a child or a foreign person who didn't speak English.

"Oh yeah," Hagrid responded brightly, and I was already cringing at just how terrible this was going to be. She was going to eat him alive. "Glad yeh found the place all righ', we're doin Thestrals today!"

"I'm sorry?" Umbridge squeaked, her eyes going wide.

"Uh…" Hagrid blinked in confusion, and I let my head fall into my hands with a groan when he started flapping his arms as if to demonstrate what a Thestral might look like - snickers erupting around me. "Thestrals - big, winged horses yeh know?"

Umbridge merely raised an eyebrow, beginning to note down on her clipboard. "Has… to… resort… to… crude… sign... language."

I bristled, raising my head again to rest my cold gaze on her. Madi gave my arm a small squeeze in warning where she was still holding it, sensing the change in my emotions.

Hagrid had turned back to the class, still looking slightly baffled. "Erm...what was I sayin'?"

"Appears… to… have… poor… short… term… memory."

"Today is the day." I hissed quietly, my eyes burning. "Today is the day I finally kill her."

"Don't you even think about it." Draco muttered angrily from behind me.

"Oh yeah!" Hagrid was doing his best to ignore her, "Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. So, we started off with a male and five females-"

"Are you aware," she barely let him get a sentence out before she interrupted again. "That the Ministry has classified Thestrals as 'dangerous'?"

My heart sank, but Hagrid remained unbothered - even letting out a chuckle.

"Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta ya if yeh really annoy 'em…"

I let out another small groan, feeling like I was witnessing a murder as Hagrid sunk himself deeper and deeper into a hole.

"Shows… signs… of… pleasure… at… the… idea… of… violence."

Draco was now gripping onto the back of my robes warningly to keep me in place, my temper only increasing as Hagrid continued to scramble out responses as Umbridge only grew more pleased with herself every moment. Everyone around me was trying to contain their laughter as she dramatically mimed how she was going to walk among the students as he taught to ask questions. Hagrid, bless him, still just looked entirely baffled at what was happening.

I shot Draco a subtle glare in warning when Umbridge headed for our side of the class immediately, but he was too busy trying to contain his laughter to even notice. As I began to scramble to try and find a way to save Hagrid, Theodore suddenly distracted me as he sucked in a sharp breath from behind me. I went to turn to ask him what was wrong, but instead froze in my spot, my blood suddenly growing cold as the leaves on the ground next to me crunched and I felt a hot breath on my arm.

"What?" Draco was still gripping onto the back of my robe, so he had felt me seize up, concern echoing in his voice as any thoughts of laughing at Hagrid were halted.

"Theodore." I said shakily, still unable to bring myself to move.

"It's right next to you," he responded quietly, "Near your left arm."

"What?" Draco's voice was louder this time, his grip on my robe tightening. "Get it away from her."

Umbridge had neared closer to us now, and I felt even less comforted when her eyebrows quirked up in interest as she caught the end of Draco's sentence. Hagrid looked over too, cutting himself off and his eyes going slightly wide as he must have spotted what was happening before a solemn look came over his features.

"Ah, it's alrigh' Cassie - I was wonderin' if this would happen…"

"What would happen?" I managed to get out tightly, my eyes flicking towards the half-giant and sucking in a breath when I heard more leaves crunch, and something brush against my arm. The class was all watching now, only making me that much more uncomfortable.

"Well, it's like how only people who've seen death can see 'em. They can sense when people have experienced death or loss and are ah...kind o' drawn to 'em."

I let out a shaky breath, closing my eyes briefly. Of fucking course.

"There's one 'anging around Harry too," Hagrid said brightly, probably as an attempt to try and make me feel better. I managed to look over at Harry briefly to see his eyes focused on me before he glanced quickly to his side as if to confirm Hagrid's point.

"Well is it going to hurt her?" Draco asked loudly, now glaring at Hagrid. Madi had tightened her grip on my arm, and Blaise had moved to stand closer to me as well.

"Nah, nah!" Hagrid let out another chuckle, "It'd be tryin teh comfort her more than anythin'."

I did not feel comforted. It was almost similar to how I felt around Dementors, and the fact that I couldn't actually see the creature standing next to me but feel it was causing an eerie and unsettling feeling deep in my stomach. I no longer cared how bad it made Hagrid look, I just knew I couldn't be here anymore. There was no way in hell I would ever break down in front of the whole bloody class.

"Hagrid." I said loudly, and he looked at me in slight surprise as he was interrupted once more. "I don't feel well, can I please go see Madam Pomfrey?" I kept my eyes locked on his pleadingly, begging him to understand.

Thankfully, he seemed to - his eyes shining in quiet concern as he nodded. I didn't hesitate, shaking off both Madi and Draco's grips on me before stepping forward and then turning and walking out of the forest as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn't care what the rest of the class might think of me running like such a coward, there was no way I could stay there any longer.

I went straight for the Common Room, relieved to find it empty as I stepped through and headed straight to the armchair by the fire. I curled myself up, letting out long breaths to calm myself down as best as I could. As I stared into the flames, all I thought of was my dad. I missed him more than ever with how little communication we had compared to normal years - half due to the fact we were so worried about letters being intercepted, and the other because I was still lying to him about the Harry and Umbridge situation.

I spent the rest of the hour in the same position, staring into the fire not really thinking about anything at all. Just happy to be away from that feeling being near the Thestrals had given me. I only knew the hour was up when the portrait opened and everyone started pouring in, Madi right at the front of the pack as her eyes searched the room for me and made a beeline for me once she did.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Fine, I just didn't want to be there anymore."

She gave me a small smile, perching on the edge of the armchair. "That's understandable, it can't have been a nice reminder."

"I just wish it wasn't so public," I let out a sigh of annoyance, frowning into the fire. "Everyone probably thinks I'm such a cry baby."

"If I hear anyone say anything of the sort I'll make them sorry they were ever born." Madi responded instantly, and I managed a small laugh as I looked back at her.

"Did I miss much?"

Madi's face turned grim, looking at me slightly apologetically. "Just Umbridge making Hagrid look terrible, it doesn't look good for him."

I sighed, "I didn't expect anything else to be honest."

More people had filed in now. Tracey and Lillian both stopped on their way into the dorms to check I was okay, and Daphne and Theodore came in not long after, both of them shooting me the best smiles they could muster before they disappeared too. I was sure Theo was feeling just as awful as me after that class.

"Poor Theodore," Madi murmured, echoing my thoughts – and I only nodded sadly in agreement.

"I already feel horrible enough and I couldn't even see them. I can't imagine how much worse it would have been for him."

"Do you know who he saw die?" Madi lowered her voice a little.

"No, but I'm presuming his mother maybe?"

"Awful." Madi shook her head again, staring into the fire with a sad look in her eyes.

"Aw…" I bristled when I heard the teasing voice drift over to us, turning to glare at Gorgia as she smirked at us from a few feet away. "Are you sure you're alright, Black? That thing you couldn't even see must have been absolutely horrid…."

Bulstrode and the Carrows all let out snickers of amusement from behind her, smirking at me just as snidely as Gorgia was.

"Shove off Avery." Madi snarled, glowering fiercely at her.

"Even if I could see it Avery, I gather it would still be less horrid to look at than you." I responded swiftly, even managing a fake smile.

Madi snorted as Gorgia's face flushed angrily, her eyes narrowing as a low hiss escaped her.

"At least I don't cry like a pathetic child just because some ugly creature can tell my mother is dead."

I gripped the side of the armchair, my temper rising dangerously. "Don't."

It only spurred her on, her cruel smirk returning to her face as she sneered back at me. "I do wonder how she died you know…was it some tragic accident?"

"I'm warning you Avery." I hissed; my eyes locked on her dangerously. Madi had risen from the armchair, looking between the two of us with slightly wide eyes.

"Or maybe it was because she was so ashamed of being with your filthy, blood-traitor father that she just dropped dead."

I didn't know if it was the fact that she'd dared to even talk about my mother, or if my emotions were still everywhere from the class – but the next thing I knew I had leapt from the armchair and launched myself at Gorgia Avery.

She shrieked as we both toppled to the ground, barely managing to fight back as I slapped and clawed at her. I was blinded by my rage, not even knowing if I was inflicting any damage to her at all – only knowing it felt damn good. I was vaguely aware of the volume in the rest of the Common Room increasing, unsure if the yelling was cheering us on or trying to get us to stop. I just wanted to hurt her as much as possible, thoughts of everything she'd ever done to me only spurring me on.

It could have been seconds or minutes later, but the next thing I knew I was being roughly pulled backwards off her. I struggled against the strong arms around me, white hot fury still burning within me as I tried to fight them off.

"Stop it, are you out of your damn mind?" I settled down only slightly when the low hiss in my ear alerted me that it was Draco holding me back.

"Let me go, I'm not done yet." I growled, continuing to try and wriggle out of his grasp. It was no use though, he was much stronger than me, and the height disadvantage didn't help me either.

"Oh, you're done."

I froze, turning to see our Head of House standing just near the portrait – glaring at me in absolute fury. The whole room had gone silent, everyone looking at either me, our professor or where Avery was being helped up by a horrified looking Bulstrode.

"My office," Snape continued, his eyes still focused solely on me. "Now." He didn't wait for me to respond, turning with a swish of his cloak and stalking from the room.

"You'll pay for this bitch," Avery hissed as she finally got to her feet, and I whipped my head around to face her again – lurching forward to try and get closer to her again as just the sound of her voice set me off. Her eyes widened in slight fear as she instinctively stepped back, and Draco let out a frustrated growl as he was forced to restrain me once again.

"Let me go."

"Not likely," he snorted, starting to pull me towards the portrait, ignoring my protests as he did so.

He only let go of me once we were halfway down the corridor, and I pushed him away from me angrily with a harsh glare.

"You're welcome," he snapped, only rolling his eyes.

"I have nothing to thank you for." I shot back.

"What were you thinking?" Draco hissed, "Do you know how stupid that was?"

"You didn't hear what she said," I growled, shooting him one more glare as I shoved the door to Snape's office open – not surprised in the least when he followed me in.

Snape merely raised an eyebrow when he saw Draco walk in behind me, still managing to look absolutely furious as he did so.

"How stupid are you?" he snarled, and I let out another growl – not pleased both of them had called me stupid within about thirty seconds of each other.

"She deserved it."

"I don't care," he hissed back harshly, looking between the two of us. "You two are prefects, and within a matter of days both of you have been involved in physical altercations."

I rolled my eyes, not in the mood for a lecture. "Can you just give me detention and get this over with?"

"You are supposed to be keeping your head down and staying out of trouble, do you really not understand what is at stake here?" Snape snarled, and my mouth dropped open slightly as the anger surged through me once again.

"Don't you dare try this with me again," I hissed, my eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Evidently you did not listen the last time," his eyes moved between me and Draco meaningfully, and I felt Draco bristle next to me.

"Because you still have no right." I didn't even flinch, refusing to back down.

He held my gaze for a moment, and Draco was looking between both of us warily – a cold tension filling the air.

Finally, Snape broke away with another cold sneer, moving to stand behind his desk and regarding me coldly.

"Detention, again. Two weeks, including Saturdays." He ignored the gasp that fell from my lips. "I do not want any more incidents like this, do you understand me?"

I continued to quietly seethe, "Understood, professor."

"Now get out," he sat down, not even sparing either of us another glance as he started grading papers on his desk. I let out another angry hiss before turning and striding back out the door, vaguely aware of Draco following me out.

"So, he knows then," he said as we started walking back to the Common Room.

"He figured it out himself." I muttered in response.

Recognition sparked in his eyes as he glanced down at me, "That's what he said to piss you off so much after you blew up Avery's dorm room?"

I nodded, "Yep."

"I bet he had quite a lot to say…" Draco muttered bitterly.

"Nothing I listened to." I sighed, before shooting him a warning look. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"It's something we should probably talk about eventually though, don't you think?"

"Not now, not tonight." I snapped, stopping and glaring slightly at him. "Do I look like I'm in the mood?"

"Not particularly," he sighed, smirking slightly in amusement as he stopped beside me. "You know, I never thought you were the type for physical fights."

I rolled my eyes, managing a satisfied smile of my own as I thought back to how good it had felt. "I think it was long overdue."

He chuckled, tugging me close to him with a mock disappointed sigh. "What am I going to do with you?" he teased, mimicking my words from the other day.

I shrugged playfully, "I'm sure you'll be able to find something."

"Are you okay, though? After what happened before?" his voice softened, a concerned frown falling onto his face as he studied me slightly.

"Yeah," I said quietly, giving him a small but reassuring smile. "I just wasn't expecting it is all."

He nodded, pressing a soft kiss on my lips before pulling away again. "Come on, I'm sure there are people who are dying to hear you recount your little fight."

I gasped slightly, my mouth dropping open in offence. "Little?! I'm pretty sure I drew blood, thank you very much."

He snorted in amusement, shaking his head at me as we neared the portrait. "You and your violent tendencies will be the death of me."

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it." I rolled my eyes, "I was surprised you stopped me."

"It was a ridiculously stupid thing to do," he argued, "Do you really think she's going to just let it go?"

I shrugged, "Probably not, but I don't really care. I've never been scared of her and I never will be."

He sighed in disappointment, "Will you ever just listen to me when I tell you to leave her alone?"

"No, when do I ever listen to you?"

He stopped, giving my arm a little tug to pull me closer to him again with a dangerous smirk. "When I make you."

"Make me then." I challenged, my own smirk falling onto my face as I felt my heart start to race instantly.

Apparently the universe had other ideas, the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming towards us forcing us to quickly step away from each other. I was even more surprised when it was Harry who appeared around the corner.

"What do you want?" Draco snapped angrily as he reached us.

Harry looked between us for a moment with that same look he'd had in his eyes when we'd spoken on Saturday and he questioned my actions after the fight. "I wanted to check you were okay," he said eventually, keeping his gaze focused solely on me now - and I was shocked when I actually saw genuine concern in his eyes.

"Haven't been much concerned about her at all this year," Draco hissed before I could respond, "Why the sudden change, Potter?"

"I don't remember asking you, Malfoy." Harry shot back angrily, now glaring at Draco.

"He's not wrong though," I said bluntly, making him look at me again with almost a guilty look on his face. "You've made it pretty clear you don't give a shit about me lately."

"This is different," he said quietly, "Whatever else is going on between us doesn't matter right now. I know better than anyone how hard that must have been for you, Cass." Unbelievable, does he really think he can use what happened to make up for everything he's done this year? That I'll just drop everything and forgive him?

"Well, thanks." I crossed my arms, my cold stare remaining unwavering. "But you don't just get to decide to care about me when it's convenient for you, Harry. I'll be just fine without your guilt-based sympathy."

Harry looked taken-aback, and Draco was staring down at me with a proud smirk, his eyes glinting tauntingly as he looked back at Harry triumphantly.

"You heard her - get lost Potter. She doesn't need you anymore."

"I seriously don't know what's going on with you." Harry shook his head, still looking at me in disbelief before shooting an accusing look Draco's way. "I don't know if it's because you're hanging around them so much, but you never used to be like this!"

Draco went to move forward, eyes flashing dangerously, but I put a hand up to stop him - my gaze not leaving Harry even when his eyes flicked briefly to my hand on Draco's arm.

"I've always been like this Harry." I said firmly, "You've just never been on this side of it before."

He looked like he didn't know what to say, opening his mouth but closing it again without saying anything.

"I won't ask you to leave again." Draco said lowly as I dropped my hand from his arm, no longer too worried about him starting anything. I think he knew I'd handled this one well enough on my own.

Harry gave him a dirty look, lingering briefly on me as if he hoped I'd change my mind - but I made no move to say anything further. Why would I? I had nothing else to say. Finally, he turned and slowly walked away again - only glancing back at me one more time, and I knew from the look in his eyes that he'd finally realised maybe he'd lost me for good this time.

A lot more people ended up finding out about me and Avery's little scuffle than I had expected. By the end of the week the rumours had spread like wildfire, some even going as far to say I'd injured her so badly she'd been sent to St Mungo's. It was more hilarious than anything, because to my absolute delight every rumour going around had me winning the fight in some way. So really, most of them were accurate – because I had.

It was like Christmas had come early when I'd first laid eyes on her the next morning, her lip was slightly swollen, and she was sporting a beautiful black eye. It had kept me in a good mood all week, the two weeks of detention I would have to suffer through well and truly worth it. I was highly considering just abandoning pranks and schemes as forms of revenge altogether and just using physical violence instead. None of my friends had appreciated this idea when I had floated it, however.

Harry had gone back to ignoring me save from sending glares my way, which would be fine except we were now only a few weeks away from Christmas break – and for the first time I wasn't sure I was happy to be going home. I was going to be spending two weeks in a house with people who basically hated me and have to deal with the fallout of my dad finding out I'd been lying to him for months. I had also found myself dreading the fact I wouldn't see Draco for two weeks. We spent so much time together these days it was rare we went even a day without the two of us getting at least some time to ourselves.

The following Friday night us girls found ourselves with the night to ourselves, the boys all off celebrating Montague's birthday – which was apparently a no girls affair. We didn't mind much, we spent most of the evening curled up on the couches by the warmth of the fire talking about everything and nothing. We didn't get much time to just hang out like this these days, so it was a welcome change to just feel like everything was normal for a few hours.

"Okay, okay!" Tracey giggled, all of us trying to contain our laughter during a hilarious round of 'Snog, Marry, Kill'. "Lil – Snape, Filch…and…Buckbeak!"

I collapsed back into laughter as Lillian's mouth dropped open, Daphne leaning into my arm as she practically cried with laughter.

"Fuck you Davis," Lillian groaned, her face twisting up in disgust as she pondered her horrid options. "Okay, fine. Ugh…well obviously kill Buckbeak – don't glare at me like that Cass! – and…marry Filch and snog Snape."

"What!?" Madi exclaimed, all of us yelling out our protests.

"I can marry Filch without ever having to snog him!" Lillian yelled over the noise, intent on explaining herself. "I could grit and bear one snog with Snape way more than I could with that horrid Squib!"

"That's a fair point honestly." Tracey shrugged, seemingly satisfied with the answer to her question.

"Okay, my turn…" Lillian grinned wickedly, looking between all of us before her eyes landed on Pansy and she paused. "Pans – snog, marry, kill Nicholas Flammel, Dumbledore or the Minister of Magic."

"Why did you give me all old guys?" Pansy shrieked, her eyes going wide as we all laughed again.

"At least whoever you marry you'll be rich," Daphne giggled, and Pansy seemed a little more appeased after that – making me roll my eyes slightly.

"Alright…I'll snog the Minister, marry Flammel and kill Dumbledore."

Daphne gasped, "You're going to kill our Headmaster?!"

Pansy shrugged, "Flammel has way more money than Dumbledore does – if I have to choose one of them I'd like to be comfortable at least."

"He's so ancient though." Tracey said in disgust, "Like old, old."

We all giggled again as Pansy scanned between us, smirking when her eyes landed on me – making me let out a groan in anticipation.

"Alright Parkinson, give me your best shot then…"

A scarily wicked smirk settled on her face as her eyes sparked with an idea, only making me more nervous. "Snog, marry, kill – Draco, Weasley and Potter."

My mouth dropped open, the other girls letting out shrieks and then laughter.

"That's absolutely ruthless Pansy!" Madi grinned, trying and failing to contain herself as I shot her a small glare.

I shook my head, not being able to wipe the smile off my face even after a turn as horrid as that. We never held back when we played these kinds of games, it wasn't in our nature.

I gave a small shrug, "It's easy – snog Fred, marry Draco and kill Harry." I then glared at the group of them warningly, "No one tell Draco I said that though, he will never let me hear the end of it."

"Don't worry," Lillian smirked, all of them only irritating me when they exchanged knowing looks. "Rules clearly state it doesn't leave the room."

Madi bumped my arm with hers lightly, smirking at me knowingly.

"Shut up," I muttered, biting back a smile and bumping her back in slight warning – she was undeterred, still smirking as she turned away again.

Just as I was about to unleash a ruthless turn on Daphne, we heard the portrait swing open and Blaise and Theodore stepped through.

"How was your boys' night?" Tracey asked teasingly when they paused by us at the couches.

"Fine, how was your girls' night?" Blaise shot back smugly.

We all exchanged secretive smirks, trying to contain our giggles and piquing the interest of the two boys as they looked between us with raised eyebrows.

"Very interesting." Lillian smirked.

"I'm not even going to ask." Theodore snorted, looking between all of us in slight concern.

"Wouldn't tell you anything anyway." I responded, only laughing when Blaise looked a little offended by that.

Daphne stood with a stretch, stifling a yawn as she did so. "Well, I think it's time for bed."

Tracey nodded in agreement, "I'm bloody exhausted."

The rest of the girls all moved to stand, but I frowned slightly as I glanced back towards the portrait.

"Draco shouldn't be long," Blaise read my mind, giving me a knowing smile. "They were in the middle of a game of poker, Theo and I both went out already."

I nodded, fighting back my own yawn and waving goodnight to the other girls and Daphne and Theodore as they disappeared towards the dorms. "I'll wait, I'm not super tired yet anyway."

"Do you want us to wait with you?" Madi paused, resting her head on Blaise's shoulder as she looked back at me sleepily.

I shook my head, "No, you two go. I'll be alright."

They both said their goodnights before they disappeared too, and I watched them go with a soft smile. The closer Draco and I were growing the more I understood Madi and Blaise. I used to always notice how they always seemed to gravitate to each other across crowded rooms, always hyper aware of exactly where the other was. Now I was always finding myself doing the same, my eyes always seeking out Draco any time we were within reach of each other.

I stifled another yawn, resting my head on the arm of the couch. Hopefully he wouldn't be too much longer coming back, I'd barely seen him all day. I reached forward, picking up one of the magazines that was discarded on the table from earlier tonight and starting to flip through the pages absentmindedly. I'll wait just a little bit longer...

"No! Please - I can't decide!" I sobbed, begging through my tears - the gleam of red eyes the only thing I could make out through my blurry vision.

The evil wizard let out a cold, unforgiving laugh that made my whole body shudder in fear. "Foolish girl - you already chose. You cannot change their fates now."

"How could you?" Harry's face swam into my vision, his eyes staring into mine full of disgust and betrayal. "You're a traitor."

"NO!" I sobbed, trying desperately to reach forward but not being able to reach him. "You don't understand, Harry please!"

I was vaguely aware of letting out a scream when a wand was pressed harshly against my throat. "They are all doomed. All because of you." The cold hiss in my ear only drove more fear through my veins.

"And you will watch them all die."

I screamed again when suddenly all I could see was flashes of green and unidentifiable bodies falling to the ground. There was nothing more I could do other than watch, feeling like I could lose consciousness at any moment from the uncontrollable sobs heaving from my chest.

"Cass! CASSIE!"

"WAKE UP!"

I shot upright, my chest still heaving as I turned my head wildly around the room as I struggled to get my bearings. I took in the light of the fire, the dark green of the walls and the feel of the couch underneath me. I was still in the Common Room.

"Cass."

I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of Draco's voice, his hand immediately coming up to rest on my cheek to try and calm me down again. As I brought my eyes to meet his where he was crouching in front of me I saw them swimming with concern, slightly wide with fear as he examined me closely.

"Hey," he murmured, gripping onto me as I continued to try and regain control of my breathing. "It's just me, you're okay…"

I let out a shaky breath, leaning into his hand. It was only another dream. You're okay. Everyone's fine, he's right here - shit. My eyes widened, I must have fallen asleep while I was waiting - and he'd just caught me during one of my nightmares.

"Wh-what happened?" I asked shakily, my eyes darting around the room.

"You tell me," he frowned, "I came back to find you asleep and screaming bloody murder."

I swallowed, feeling tears pricking at the back of my eyes as I remembered the terrifying nightmare I'd just experienced. I hadn't had one that bad in a while and waking up out here when I hadn't been expecting to fall asleep had only left me more shaken.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Draco shook his head, "That definitely wasn't fine, Cassie. What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing." I whispered, pleading for him to just drop it.

"Don't do that," he said firmly, eyes flashing suddenly. "How many times do I have to tell you I know when you're lying to me?"

"It was just a stupid nightmare." I said in exasperation, my emotions threatening to spill over. I didn't want to have this conversation, I never thought I would have to have it. I'd been so careful with not letting anyone find out about my dreams.

"Anything that has you this upset isn't fucking stupid," he shook his head, glancing at the table behind him and pulling it close enough that he could sit on it and still be right in front of me. He searched my face, "Tell me what's going on."

I hesitated, but I could see the determination shining behind the concern in his eyes as he rested his arms on my legs, stroking his thumb along my hip gently in comfort. As I looked back at him, I realised with a small start that I wanted to tell him. I didn't want to keep going through this on my own anymore. I was so tired.

I took a long, shaky breath – feeling my eyes shining with unshed tears. "I've been having nightmares every night since the start of summer. Bad ones, ones that wake me up just like that."

He sucked in a sharp breath, drawing back from me a little as anger suddenly flashed across his features. "Every night since the beginning of summer?"

I flinched a little at the sudden edge to his tone, only being able to nod wordlessly in response.

"And you haven't told anyone?" he demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"No."

He cursed under his breath, pulling one of his hands away from me so he could run it through his hair in frustration – staring up at the ceiling for a moment and letting out a long, angry breath.

"Why not?" he asked after a moment, looking back at me. I could tell he was trying his hardest not to lose his cool with me, but I understood why he was so angry too.

I let out a sigh, "Harry had already been having weird dreams around that time too, and anything that he was going through was definitely more important. I could handle it on my own."

An angry scoff escaped him, and I felt my heart twist a little as he moved even further away from me. "And how have you kept any of the girls in your dorm from finding out?"

"I've been putting up Silencing Charms." I admitted hesitantly, a little startled when he shot up to his feet – starting to pace angrily back and forth in front of me. I stayed silent, watching him with slightly wide eyes. I could practically feel his building anger radiating through the air now, tucking my knees up to my chest.

"When are you going to get it through your head that you don't have to go through this shit on your own?" he snapped, barely sparing me a glance.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, "Please don't be angry."

He stopped in his tracks, slight regret flickering across his features as he moved to sit in front of me again. "You should have told me, told someone."

I shook my head slightly, "I didn't want anyone to worry about me."

He cupped my cheek gently, "Too bad."

I leaned into his touch, unshed tears still pricking behind my eyes. Maybe I didn't have to keep going through these things alone.

"Do you want to talk about them?" he asked quietly, sensing the hesitation falling from my demeanour.

I pulled away from him, crossing my legs and clutching my hands in my lap as I weighed it up in my mind. Just thinking back to all the things I'd been experiencing in my sleep made me feel terrified, almost frozen on the spot – like talking about them would make it all too real.

"It's usually the same thing," I said quietly, grateful when he rested one on hand on my knee gently in encouragement. "Just sometimes different people, or different circumstances." I let out a deep breath, my eyes fluttering closed and flinching inwardly when my vision swam with vivid memories of the terrible things that had been plaguing my dreams. "I always have to choose…choose who to save. Sometimes it's just my dad or Harry or you and sometimes it's everyone and I…" I sucked in a breath, still keeping my head down as a stray tear slipped from my eye. "I always have to watch someone die. Watch him kill them. And then almost every time my mother shows up and I can never save everyone, and I just feel so…so helpless!" A sob escaped me, Draco instantly moving forward and sitting on the couch next to me before pulling me swiftly into his lap. I let my head fall onto his shoulder, finally just letting go of all the anguish my nightmares had caused me. He did nothing more than hold me tightly to him, stroking my hair soothingly as he just let me cry.

"You and your stupid determination to deal with all your problems alone is going to drive me mad one day," he murmured once he felt my sobs subside, and I lifted my head to look at him in slight shame.

"I'm sorry for breaking down like that."

"Why?" he frowned, brushing the last few tears off my cheeks gently. "No wonder you did if you've been dealing with this for months on your own. Have you tried anything to stop them?"

I shrugged helplessly against his chest, still not able to bring myself to move away from him completely. It was like he was anchoring me to the ground, and I was scared if I let go I would fall into all the feelings I'd been pushing away since my nightmares began. "No, it's not like I can just waltz into the Hospital Wing and ask for Dreamless Sleep Potions all the time...and there is no chance I'm asking Snape - especially not this year. Besides, I don't even know if it would work anyway. I tried Calming Draught already and that did nothing."

"Well, at least now I know why you've looked so damn tired all the time." Draco sighed, and I turned my head to look at him a little more with a slightly surprised expression. He let out a quiet but amused snort, some of the spark returning to his eyes as he gazed back at me. "Please, you think we haven't noticed? I just figured all this shit with the Gryffindors was taking its toll on you - but now it all makes sense. Blaise only hasn't said anything to you because the other times he tried you lost your shit at him."

I couldn't help the small smile that tugged on the corners of my mouth, reaching for his hand so I could intertwine our fingers and looking back at him meaningfully. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"I'm sorry you've been going through it and I haven't been able to do anything," he frowned in that way he always did when he realised he hadn't been able to protect me, like he was disappointed in himself for it. He then shifted slightly so he could pull me up higher into his lap so we were eye-to-eye, his eyes blazing with sincerity as he held my gaze. "But listen to me...you are never going to have to go through any of it for real, alright?"

My heart almost skipped a beat from the look in his eyes, but I couldn't help the flicker of fear that ran through me as I shook my head. "You don't know that-"

"I do." Draco cut me off, cupping my face in both his hands so I would look at him. "I'm not going to let it happen, you hear me?"

I believed him. I was almost lost for words as I looked back at him, practically gaping in shock. The only thing I could think of to do in response was to lean forward and press my lips against his. He kissed me back like it was the only reason he had for breathing, holding me close to him as he made me feel better in the way he always seemed to know how. How could I not believe him when he kissed me like this?

"You keep something like this from me again…" he breathed when we pulled away slightly, if only to catch our breath. "...and I'll be fucking pissed."

A giggle escaped me, "Aren't you always mad at me anyway?"

He smirked, sighing dramatically. "Every damn day, you insufferable woman."

I only continued to laugh quietly, letting my head fall back onto his shoulder - my exhaustion well and truly taking over, the emotional toll of finally telling someone my biggest secret hitting me in full force.

"Tired?" Draco murmured, threading a hand through my hair lightly.

"Unfortunately." I whispered, fighting to keep my eyes open.

He was silent for another short moment, before he suddenly moved to stand and gave my leg a little tap so I would get up with him. I pouted, not happy with being moved from my comfortable position - only making him roll his eyes slightly as he took my hand and gave me a little tug so I'd walk with him.

"Come on, you're staying with me."

I stopped, making him turn to look at me with raised eyebrows as I just blinked at him in surprise - unsure of what exactly I thought about this particular idea of his.

"What?" he said, "You've lost your damn mind if you think I'm letting you go through what I just saw alone ever again."

I was lost for words, continuing to just stare at him silently. It wasn't even the thought of the two of us sleeping in the same bed (even though that particular thought had automatically made heat rise to my cheeks), it was more the heart behind the action - the fact that he didn't want me to be alone or scared that was making me lose my ability to compose any comprehensible sentences.

He smirked, tugging me a little closer to him as his eyes danced in slight amusement. "Forget how to speak all of a sudden, did we?"

"I...I just," I let out a breath, trying to compose myself a little as my heart swelled in my chest. "I can't let you do that. I'll just wake you up too and that isn't fair."

"You act like I'm giving you a choice," he scoffed, before his smirk returned to his face. "Besides, I don't think I'll have anything to complain about with you in my bed."

I blushed furiously, trying my best to look stern. "Oh, so this is all just a ploy to seduce me then?"

His eyes darkened to that beautiful stormy grey I loved so much when he got like this as he tugged me right into his chest, making my breath catch in my throat. "Believe me, you would know if I was trying to seduce you."

I once again lost my ability to speak, my eyes going wide as my heart thumped so loudly in my chest I was sure he could hear it. He only smirked, eyes sparking triumphantly as he started to walk again. Bastard, he always knew exactly the effect he had on me.

My heart did not calm down as we continued towards the dorms. Even if his intentions were completely pure, I had to wonder exactly how innocent this idea would remain once we actually made it into bed. But my feet propelled me forward as if they had their own mind, and I realised that I didn't really care.

The room was dark when we peeked through to make sure that everyone else was asleep, and I had to bite back a giggle at the two of us having to sneak into his own dorm. Draco glanced at me when he heard it, rolling his eyes slightly but not being able to keep his own amused smile off his face. We made our way inside quietly, and I moved to sit cross-legged on the bed tentatively. It was odd, I had been in this room with him - even on his bed - so much now that it usually never phased me anymore, but this felt different. I actually felt nervous.

I fought back another yawn as he moved to close all the curtains around us, still standing next to the bed before fishing in his pocket for his wand and then muttering a spell under his breath. I raised an eyebrow, so I wasn't the only one who was practiced at placing Silencing Charms around my bed, then.

He noted my expression, smirking at me slightly teasingly. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

I immediately scowled in disgust, shooting an annoyed glare his way. I definitely did not want to be thinking about any other girls that may have shared his bed right now. He only chuckled, leaning down and resting his palms against the mattress so he could press a quick but firm kiss on my lips, pulling away again still looking far too smug for my liking.

"Told you so."

He moved out of the shelter of the curtains without another word, I presumed to get ready for bed. I continued to pout to myself, not enjoying the various thoughts that were now running through my head. Scanning the bed area quickly, a mischievous smirk of my own found its way to my lips as I spotted one of his sweaters discarded near the end of the bed. I moved fast, standing on the side of the bed and shimmying out of my uniform before slipping it over my head. How was I supposed to sleep in my uniform anyway? Besides, two could play at this game if that's how he wanted to play it.

I was already back sitting in my previous position when he opened the curtain, smiling at him innocently as he stepped back through. My smile instantly dropped, sucking in a quiet breath as I immediately noticed his lack of shirt. I raked my eyes up and down him slowly, taking in the perfect sculpt of his body for the first time. When my eyes met his again, I was sure they were burning just as intensely as mine were, and that all too familiar heat erupted in my belly.

He let out a slight groan as I shuffled across the bed towards him, his eyes still focused intently on me. "This is definitely going to be harder than I thought."

"What is?" I smirked innocently, rising up on my knees as I reached him and wrapping my arms around his waist - relishing in the feeling of his bare skin under my touch.

"Decide to borrow something you liked, hm?" he murmured, pulling me closer to him with a tight grip on my hips.

I shook my head, "Not borrowed - you're definitely not getting it back now."

I let out a small squeal as he lifted me just enough to lay me back on the pillows, hovering over me and raking his eyes down my body so intensely I could almost feel my skin lighting itself on fire wherever his eyes landed. "Mmm, it looks much better on you anyway."

"Don't be a tease." I whispered breathlessly as he buried his head in my neck, his hand gripping on to my hip tightly but making no move to do anything else.

He let out another soft groan, lifting his head to look at me and stroking a thumb across my cheek. His eyes were that breathtaking mercury that I craved to see in moments like these, but I could see the seriousness shining in them too. "I don't want to take advantage of you, you're still upset."

I squirmed a little, the fire feeling like it was going to explode at any second as I looked back at him intensely. "I feel perfectly fine now, and last I checked - I came here very much of my own accord."

There was just something about the two of us being together this late, basically alone where no one would be able to find us or interrupt us that made the energy flowing between us completely different. I don't think I had ever wanted someone like this before, but I knew now this is what it must feel like.

He sighed, sitting up and pulling me with him into his lap - keeping his arms firmly wrapped around me as I tucked my legs behind his lower back, resting a hand on his arm as I blatantly continued to drink the sight of him in.

"Stop that," he said sternly, and I paused my staring to meet his eyes with a playful smirk.

"Stop what?"

"You really have no idea what you do to me, do you?" he shook his head, threading a hand tightly through my hair. I couldn't help but feel proud, I had slowly started to learn and memorise exactly what seemed to set him off in these moments - and I relished in the times I managed to succeed.

"I'm just looking." I said quietly, going back to my shameless staring. I would be lying if I said I'd never thought about seeing him shirtless before, I had always been quietly curious. Obviously he was attractive, any girl at Hogwarts would tell you that - and annoyingly I heard it whispered in classes far too many times a day for my liking. I trailed my hands down his arms lightly, following with my eyes as I continued to take him in, loving the feeling of knowing I was the only one who got him like this. I could feel my heart starting to race once again as I lightly ran a hand down his chest and wondered what his bare skin would feel like against mine. I finally brought my eyes back up to reach his after that thought, knowing if I went on like this I would be in danger of getting far more carried away than I'd planned. He was already watching me, eyes dark and lust filled.

"What?" I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away.

He smirked teasingly, "Just looking."

I rolled my eyes slightly as he let out a chuckle, and I suddenly felt self-conscious about the way I'd been so obviously checking him out.

"That was incredibly sexy, you know?" it was like he read my mind, wanting to let me know he had no issues with me admiring him, starting to trail delicate kisses across my jaw as he murmured into my skin.

"Tease." I accused again, letting out a gasp as he worked his way further down my neck - denying me the kiss I was so desperately craving from him.

I felt him smirk into my neck as he slid a hand up to rest on the bare skin of my hip. "I do enjoy making you squirm, I'll admit it."

I practically whined when he pulled away again, only making him more pleased with himself as he pushed some of my hair back off my face. "But not tonight - you're exhausted and you need sleep."

I frowned in disappointment, but then only proved his point when I had to fight back another yawn. I sighed, relaxing a little as I realised he was probably right. Looking slightly triumphant when he noticed this, he gave me a gentle push and I climbed off his lap - suddenly feeling anxious again as he moved towards the pillows at the top of the bed. He glanced back at me, a frown falling onto his face.

"Hey," he murmured, taking one of my hands and pressing a gentle kiss to it. "Come on, it's fine."

"Are you sure?" I whispered, hesitantly moving a little closer.

"Don't even try," he said sternly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I already told you I'm not letting you do this alone anymore."

I smiled softly, moving the rest of the way and slowly laying down next to him. I could already feel myself having to fight off sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow - I was absolutely wrecked.

"Sorry if I wake you up." I whispered, my eyes fluttering closed as he ran a hand up my arm lightly.

"Shhh," was all he said, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to the top of my head. "Stop worrying so much for once."

I couldn't find the energy to reply, and he simply continued his soothing pattern on my arm. As I felt myself starting to slip out of consciousness, for the first time I could remember in a long time - I wasn't terrified of falling asleep.

It took me a moment to remember where I was when my eyes first opened, blinking sleepily a few times before the feel of my boyfriend's warm body next to mine reminded me what had transpired. I turned slowly to face him, noticing he was already awake and watching me.

"Are you watching me sleep?" I murmured with a sleepy smile, my eyes falling closed again.

"Maybe," he responded quietly, starting to play with my hair gently.

I let out a contented sigh, snuggling under the blanket a little more to escape the morning chill. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this relaxed in the morning, not since my nightmares began anyway.

My eyes shot open and I sat bolt upright, looking around the enclosed space and realising that it was in fact morning light shining through the gaps in the curtains, and looked back at Draco with wide eyes to see he was already watching me in slight amusement.

"It's morning?" I breathed out.

"It is," he said quietly, a soft smile forming on his face.

"Did I…?" I trailed off, and he shook his head.

"No, not once."

My mouth dropped open, and I glanced around again to make sure that this was real - that I wasn't dreaming now.

"Are you being serious?" I demanded, glancing at him briefly before I continued to scrutinise my surroundings.

He only nodded, still watching me with twinkling eyes as I started to recover from my shock. I hadn't had any nightmares. For the first time since July...I had slept through the night. My own smile broke out on my face, feeling pure happiness rush through my body as I did the only thing I could think of doing and practically launched myself at Draco, kissing him fiercely. I didn't care that we'd just woken up, or that throwing myself on him like that while we were alone together in his bed was probably asking for trouble. I had just had the first night in months with no nightmares, and somehow, someway - it was because he was with me.

He didn't hesitate to kiss me back, holding me close so our chests were pressed against each other. One of his hands was threading through my hair while the other rested on the bare skin of my waist as he held me tightly. Even as we pulled away he made no move to let me go, stroking my cheek softly as we caught our breath.

"What a way to wake up," he teased lightly, and I giggled softly.

"You're welcome."

"Are you okay?" he murmured, eyes flickering over me like he needed to make sure.

"How could I not be?" I responded softly, reaching up to place my hand over his on my cheek. "I just can't believe it... I'd forgotten what it felt like to actually get a good night's sleep."

A frown fell onto his face, "This is why you should have told me," he scolded me in irritation. "I hate that it was going on so long without me being able to help you."

I rolled my eyes slightly, brushing his hand off and moving closer so I could tuck my head into his chest. "Well you helped me now, so you'll get over it."

He made another unimpressed noise, wrapping his arm around me and starting to trail his hand up and down my back lightly. We lay in silence for a while, treasuring the few quiet moments the world was giving us to just be together. I decided that this was the only way I ever wanted to wake up again, I always felt better when I was around him - but after last night it felt like a whole other level. He was my safe place.

"I could get used to this," I whispered, pressing a soft kiss into his neck.

He chuckled, "Well you should. Because if last night is any indication, apparently just my amazing presence alone is enough to kill these nightmares of yours - and I plan to keep it that way."

I scoffed, moving to roll away from him. "And now you ruined it."

I didn't get far, letting out a little squeal when he pulled me back instantly, my back hitting his chest as he wrapped an arm even tighter around me and started trailing kisses along my neck.

"I don't think so," he growled, and I felt him smirk into my neck as I let out an involuntary gasp when he sucked particularly harshly just between my neck and collarbone.

"And…" he continued his path along my neck, and my eyes fluttered closed as heat rushed to every part of my body with each kiss he placed. "...if you think you can get away with what you pulled last night, you've lost your fucking mind."

"I didn't do anything." I breathed, my stomach practically doing somersaults.

He chuckled darkly, the sound of it making heat pool in my belly. "How am I supposed to control myself when you sit in my bed wearing my sweater and look at me the way you did, hm?"

I giggled, still feeling rather proud of myself for managing to get to him so much. It sometimes felt like he had an unfair advantage with how he could make me fall apart so easily - but maybe I was starting to have the same effect on him.

He suddenly moved away, and I sat up with a frown to look over at him. He only smirked in return, sitting up slightly as well.

"Like I said, you'll pay for it."

I rolled my eyes, whacking his arm lightly in annoyance. He grabbed my arm before I could pull it away again, tugging me back to rest on his chest, smirking in amusement when I glared at him for doing so. I didn't move away from him though, content to stay in our little bubble for as long as possible.

However, I suddenly became aware of hearing other noise in the dorm around us, my eyes widening slightly when I realised I hadn't exactly thought about what would happen when the others discovered the two of us. I blushed slightly when I realised exactly where everyone else's minds were going to go.

"This should be fun." Draco murmured in amusement, obviously hearing exactly what I was.

"Wait...what the fuck?" I had to stifle a giggle when I heard Blaise's confused voice. "Why would he...MALFOY! I swear to fucking Merlin if you have a girl in there I'll-"

The curtains were flung open, Blaise cutting himself off as he stared at us in shock for a moment.

"Oh no, go on." Draco smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm curious as to what you think you could do to me."

"Well, well…" Blaise had recovered, now smirking as he looked between us. "This is a surprise."

I rolled my eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter - nothing like that happened."

He didn't look convinced, looking between the two of us with raised eyebrows. I turned to look at Draco with a slight glare, making him roll his eyes.

"She's telling the truth, not that it's any of your business anyway."

Blaise seemed surprised, but didn't get to question us further before the curtains to his bed opened and Madi came out - her mouth dropping open when she spotted us. I groaned quietly, sitting up. I had forgotten Madi and Daphne always stayed with their boyfriends on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Well good morning," she grinned, coming to stand next to Blaise.

"Nothing happened," he informed his girlfriend before I could, and Madi turned to me with one eyebrow raised skeptically.

"It's the truth," I promised her. "You know I'd tell you any different." Madi nodded without hesitation, believing me without a second thought.

"What is going on then?" Blaise looked between us, eyes narrowed slightly suspiciously.

I glanced at Draco briefly, and he gave a small nod of encouragement. My two best friends looked even more suspicious now as I looked back at them, and I took a deep breath.

"Promise you won't get mad."

Blaise let out a quiet groan, "See, that automatically makes me think this is going to make me mad."

"I've been having really bad nightmares since summer, and I didn't tell anyone." I admitted. Madi let out a gasp, looking more concerned than mad - Blaise however, let out an annoyed growl and fixed me with a glare.

"I knew it! Ever since I asked you in September and you got all defensive I had a feeling it had something to do with that bloody dream you had last year!"

"I thought we decided to call that a vision," Madi reminded him, an amused look in her eyes as she watched her boyfriend throw his little tantrum.

"Wait," Draco frowned, now looking at me in annoyance too. "There was some sort of dream last year too? What did I say last night about keeping things from me?"

I let out a small groan, my head falling into my hands. "One thing at a time please."

"We knew there was something going on," Blaise continued, his arms crossed as he continued to glare at me. "The only reason I haven't asked you is because he told me it wouldn't help," he nodded in Draco's direction, who smirked.

"And when has you two pushing her to talk about things before she's ready to ever worked before, hm?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" I looked between my best friends, "I know I should have told someone, but I was scared. I tried so hard to get rid of them on my own, and then when I couldn't I didn't want to tell anyone because there was no point worrying anyone else when there was nothing they could do to help."

Blaise let out a sigh, but relaxed a little. "When are you going to get it through that stubborn head of yours that we're always going to try anyway?"

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes, not being able to help but smile as my chest flooded with warmth at his words.

"You seem nice and rested this morning, though." Madi commented, looking between me and Draco knowingly.

How was it she always seemed to know exactly what was going on before I even told her? "Well, that's because I didn't have any nightmares last night." I glanced over at Draco again, and he was already looking at me with a soft smile.

"Interesting," Madi said in that same knowing tone, her eyes twinkling.

"Get that look off your face." I told her sternly, but she simply shrugged flippantly.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Blaise looked like he wanted to question me further, probably about what exactly I'd been having nightmares about - but we were distracted by loud footsteps thundering down the hallway towards us.

"Oh no," I groaned, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Draco snorted back a laugh, only shrugging when I shot him a small glare for doing so right as the dorm room door was thrown open and Lillian and Tracey burst through.

"I KNEW IT!" Lillian crowed triumphantly, Tracey looking momentarily stunned before grinning smugly at us as well.

I fell back onto the bed with a small growl, putting my arms over my face and hoping they would all just disappear if I couldn't see them. "NOTHING HAPPENED!"

"STOP YELLING! IT'S A FUCKING SATURDAY!" Theodore's irritated yell sounded from across the room, finally throwing the curtains to his bed back and glaring around at all of us. Daphne sat up too, looking less annoyed than her boyfriend but just as smug as everyone else as she looked between Draco and I. I gathered she and Theodore had already been awake before when Blaise had discovered us.

"We should go tell Pansy I was right, and she wasn't actually kidnapped." Lillian all but ignored both me and Theodore as she turned to Tracey - who nodded seriously in agreement.

"Unbelievable." I muttered.

Draco let out a quiet chuckle from where he was leaning lazily against the headboard. "Honestly this was about what I was expecting."

"Can all of you just bugger off and stay out of our lives for once?" I whined loudly, childishly pulling the blankets up over my head with a huff. Why did everything that happened in my life always turn into a group discussion?

"Oh, sorry." Tracey giggled, "We'll leave you to it then."

I lifted the blanket just enough to glare harshly at her, "I meant it when I said nothing happened, Davis."

"Sure you did," Lillian smirked, both of them continuing to giggle annoyingly.

"Enough," Draco finally said drily, shooting everyone in the dorm a warning look. "Don't you think I'd be bragging by now if anything had happened?"

"He's not wrong there." Theodore smirked as I reached over and whacked Draco harshly on the chest, unamused.

"How's it feel to be whipped, mate?" Blaise grinned. Draco looked absolutely appalled as I ducked my head into the pillow to try and stifle my laughter for his sake. He noticed though, his eyes narrowing before glaring around the room much more dangerously than before.

"Alright I've had enough - everyone out."

Recognising the change in his tone, everyone went on their way. Lillian and Tracey giggled their whole way out the door, and Madi and Blaise returned to his bed - Madi shooting me one more wink before they disappeared again. I glanced to the other side of the room, catching a glimpse of the other two beds with still drawn curtains just before Draco closed ours again in a huff.

"I'm surprised Crabbe and Goyle slept through that." I raised my eyebrows.

Draco snorted, "The dorm room could catch on fire and they would sleep through it, they go out like logs."

"Well, good." I sighed, stretching slightly. "I don't think I ever want to catch a glimpse of those two in the mornings."

"I definitely don't want them catching a glimpse of you, that's for sure..." his tone had dropped significantly, and I turned slightly to look at him with a soft smile, my eyes sparking with mischief as I sat up and moved slowly over to climb into his lap.

"Why? Am I that horrible to look at in the morning?"

"Exactly the opposite," he murmured, slowly looking me up and down - his eyes darkening by the second.

"Hey," I said softly, resting one hand on his cheek so he'd re-focus on me. I needed to get this out before we got too carried away. "Thank you."

He smiled lazily, catching my hand with his and pulling it to his lips so he could press a gentle kiss to it. "I told you already, I'm not letting you do this alone. Even if I really have no clue how just me being here helped…" he frowned suddenly, eyes flickering in doubt - like he was worried maybe it was just a fluke. I knew better, I could feel it was more than that.

"I do." I whispered, feeling like my heart might beat out of my chest at any moment. "It's because I feel safe with you."

I heard his breath catch in his throat as he blinked a few times, momentarily stunned. It didn't take him long to recover, his lips on mine only seconds later as he kissed me so bruisingly I had to grip onto his shoulders to keep myself upright.

It didn't matter to me what was going on outside these curtains, or these walls or even the school. I had my safe place to land, and as long as that didn't change I knew I could handle anything that came at me.