Willow woke up early the next morning, the sunlight washing her face in bright light. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched her slightly sore neck. It was yet another beautiful spring morning. She was about to stand up when she was shoved off of her chair. When she looked up from the floor, Draco was smirking at her, having been awake for a while.

"Sorry, I had Gryffindor on me."

"Ew, I'm glad you threw me onto the floor, I have gross Slytherin on me," Willow shot back playfully.

Madam Pomfrey appeared moments later, opening the doors to the hospital wing and putting up all the nighttime curtains. Neville sleepily whined that it was too bright and buried his head under his pillow. Willow giggled and rose to her feet, crossing the room to where Neville was trying to fall back asleep.

"Come on, Neville, get up," she urged. "You're wasting the day away!"

"Says who?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"Says the person who loves mornings. Come on, everyone's going to want to see you!"

"They can wait..."

"Nope! I won't allow it. You're going back to the common room with me. Right, Madam Pomfrey?"

Pomfrey paused for a moment, staring at Neville's head, then replied "Oh, I suppose so. You probably won't let me keep him anyway. But Draco's staying here. A hard hit to the chest could cause some damage."

"What!" Draco exclaimed.

Willow almost threw up in her mouth. That was her fault. She distracted herself by encouraging Neville to get out of bed, devoting her attention to getting the boy back to the common room. When Neville was finally ready to go, Willow made a quick stop by Draco.

"Don't you dare try to escape, or I won't help you like I promised," she warned him. Draco folded his arms and pouted.

"Fine. But I'm not making any promises that you'll be totally safe for the next few days."

"Is that a threat?" Willow asked raising her eyebrows.

"Only if you make it one."

Feigning innocence, Willow waved goodbye light-heartedly and skipped out of the hospital wing, Neville in tow. She was happier than she had been in a long time. With the weight of her strained friendship off her chest, Willow felt lighter and freer than when she was flying on a broomstick. Neville started fully regaining consciousness by the time they reached the Gryffindor Tower. He was back to his usual shy, friendly self. Of course, the moment they stepped into the common room, Neville smartly avoided the bombardment of first-years that nearly threw Willow into the wall.

"YOU'RE BACK!"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"We missed you last night!"

"I'm not coming back from the dead, guys, really, it's okay," Willow chuckled. "I slept in the hospital wing last night."

Lavender gasped. "You slept with Malfoy?!"

"Oh my God!" Mia exclaimed. "You didn't!"

Willow couldn't believe her roommates. "Guys, not like that! I was too tired to come back to the common room last night, so I just stayed and fell asleep in the chair next to him."

"Sure," Fay drawled. "I'm sure that's what happened."

"Next time give us a little warning," Parvati giggled.

Willow groaned. "You guys. I. Did. Not. Do. That. I will never do that with anyone, let alone Malfoy. He's my friend, and only my friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

"It's okay, Willow. We'll keep your secret," Sally promised, winking.

Willow's jaw dropped. "You too, Sally?"

"Oh yes, Sally's been gossiping with us all night," Mia said. "Hermione, too. They were party animals last night."

Willow glanced between Hermione and Sally, completely in disbelief. "Are you sure Fred and George didn't give you alcoholic butterbeer?"

"You mean those boyfriends of yours?" Fay said, raising her eyebrows.

"NO," Willow sighed. "I'm so done with you guys right now."

"We have class to get ready for," Hermione said. "Come on, Willow, let's go. Don't worry, guys, I'll make sure you get plenty of time to grill her later."

"What!"

Willow found herself being dragged up the stairs into the dormitory. Hermione and she grabbed their books, changed into their robes, double checked that they had all their supplies, and went back into the common room. Harry and Ron were waiting for them, Neville standing off to the side.

"There you are, Willow!" Harry greeted. "We were wondering where you went after the match yesterday. I heard you stayed overnight in the hospital wing...?"

"Yes, that's correct. Sorry I didn't celebrate with you," Willow apologized. "I was exhausted, and I kind of...well...Ron, did you tell him about the fight?"

Ron nodded enthusiastically. "You were brilliant! Did Draco still have that black eye that I gave him?"

Willow shook her head. "Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey got rid of that first, it seems. He had no black eye by the time I got there."

"How come Neville still has a nice bruise on his forehead, then?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, Madam Pomfrey told me that it had to heal on its own," Neville explained. "Something about brain damage, not that I had one, or something like that."

A wave of anger passed over Willow, but she kept it down. How dare Madam Pomfrey utter something that foul? Did she think Neville was out? It didn't matter; a teacher should never say something like that, no matter how true it actually is. For Neville, it wasn't. He didn't need teachers berating him along with the Slytherins that already did. She smoothed over her facial expression before saying, "I hope it doesn't hurt. Crabbe and Goyle should be punished for a week for this."

"Hopefully."

"Anyway, I accidentally fell asleep in a chair. Draco and I were talking until late, so we kind of fell asleep mid-conversation. I would have come back if I thought I could make it."

Harry grimaced. "Somehow I cannot understand how you're still friends with that prick. Do you have this weird thing going on where the more you fight, the better friendship you have with him?"

Willow was about to deny it when she realized that Harry had defined exactly how their friendship worked. "Yeah, I suppose. That's the best way I could have explained it."

"So he punches you in the face and you're better friends because of it," Ron summed up.

"Pretty much."

"Willow, you have to be the most patient, tolerant person in the world to be friends with Malfoy," Hermione said. "If you can have two full-blown fights with him in the same month and only become closer because of it, you can probably handle just about anything at this point."

Willow chuckled. "It does help one's character."

"Are you four going to sit around and chit-chat all day, or are you going to eat something before classes start?" George called from where the entire house of Gryffindor was exiting the common room.

"We're coming!" Ron said.

The four first-years left Gryffindor Tower and hurried after the twins and Paige. Lee was nowhere to be found, where normally he was no more than five inches from Fred and George.

"Is Lee still asleep?" Willow asked.

"Yes, he had too much to drink last night at the party that you missed," Fred said icily.

"Woah, somebody needed some extra sleep," Paige remarked. When Fred glared at her, she added, "Or a few extra days. My bad."

Willow was taken aback. She had never seen Fred truly angry with anyone before, let alone her. What was wrong with him? She glanced quizzically at George, who shrugged and turned back to converse with Paige. He didn't even know what was wrong with Fred, and he never left his side. Something was up. For once, though, Willow decided not to make matters worse by pressing and let Fred figure it out on his own. It probably had nothing to do with her, anyway. He was most likely taking his anger out on everyone for something that happened at the party.

"Willow! You're not hurt!"

Looking ahead, Willow caught sight of her Ravenclaw friends and Oliver waiting at the doors of the Great Hall. She excused herself and ran to them.

"I heard about the fight!" Sue said. "Mandy and I thought you were the one that got hurt!"

"No, I only got a few scratches," Willow confirmed. "Draco and the others involved were the ones to get some lovely bruises and cuts. Neville got knocked out cold, but not before giving Crabbe a taste of his own medicine. Ron gave Draco a black eye, too, right before he took down Goyle."

"Wow!" Lisa said. "High tension, huh?"

"As if that wasn't enough, Draco's still stuck in the hospital wing today while Neville runs free."

"Serves him right," Mandy snorted. "The douchebag had it coming."

"Mandy!" Oliver scolded.

Rolling her eyes, the fiery-haired girl said, "I know, I know. Sorry, Oliver. I'll try to work on that language, but you can thank my mum for that. It rubs off after a while."

"Do you smell that?" Sue interrupted. "I think they made pancakes today!"

"Really?" Lisa squealed.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Mandy said. "I'm starving! We're sitting at the Gryffindor table today!"

Willow made sure there was space for her friends, then seated herself at the Gryffindor table. None of the other children batted an eye. They were used to Willow bringing all of her friends with her by that time. The four blended in, their house crests the only thing to tell them apart. They dug into piles and piles of pancakes. Ron put four on his plate and was already eating a mound of sausage links, Hermione trying to convince him to slow down as usual, "You'll choke!" Willow put a reasonably sized stack of butter-smothered syrup-covered pancakes on her plate and cut them up, chewing on a piece of bacon while she did so. Fred poked at his food from several places down the table.

"Hey, Oliver, did you say you needed my notes on Devil's Snare for Herbology today?" Willow said.

"Mm-hm," Oliver mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes.

Willow pulled out a piece of parchment covered in her messy scrawl and handed it to Oliver, who set down his fork and promptly copied them all down. He slowly continued eating, all the while keeping his eyes glued to the notes, dedicating the last precious minutes before breakfast ended to cramming for their quiz. Oliver had quite the talent for last-minute studying. Willow always wondered how he could be so good in all of his subjects when he put all of his homework and studying off until the last second. She would forget to study at all and end up with a zero in all of her classes.

"Are we ever going to plant Devil's Snare?" Sue asked.

"Oh, God no," Neville said. "That has to be reserved for fifth years and up, if not seventh years. They're extremely dangerous. Definitely not something for us inexperienced first years to handle."

"Not to mention we'd have to be underground or somewhere similar to the environment to plant it," Oliver added, still not taking his eyes off the parchment. "It lives in dark, damp, nasty places. When it's presented with light, it shrinks and cowers away, releasing anything it may have grabbed."

"How do you learn that fast?" Ron said. "I can't even remember the score of yesterday's quidditch match!"

"That's because you were fighting with Crabbe and Goyle, remember?" Lisa reminded him.

"See? I couldn't even recall that!"

"Honestly, I think you were hit on the head harder than you thought," Mandy said.

"You're probably right..."

The bell tolled, signaling the end of breakfast. Willow stuffed the last few bites of pancakes into her mouth, retrieved her notes, bade goodbye to her Ravenclaw friends, and followed Oliver and Neville out of the Great Hall. Fred had already stormed off to his classes. George and she made eye contact, sharing bewilderment over his strange behavior. They went their separate ways. Willow had to run to catch up to Oliver and Neville.

"...gave me a rhyme to remember it. Hermione's a genius, at least some of the time."

"Are you ready for the quiz, Neville?"

"I'm never ready for anything."

Willow hung back, surprised that Oliver was voluntarily talking with Neville, now laughing with him. She wasn't about to interrupt something so rare. Both shy boys continued to converse about themselves.

"You live with your grandparents as well?" Neville said.

"Yes, but it's dreadful. Your grandparents ought to be ten times better than mine."

"I doubt that. Mine tried to force magic out of me for years. I can't tell you how many times I was thrown off of something."

"Believe it or not, that's still better than mine, though it makes for a funny conversation starter."

"Really? I know better than to ask, then."

"Thanks. I'd rather not tell."

A warm breeze caressed Willow's cheeks. Spring was melting winter away, and fast. She couldn't believe the sudden change in temperature. By her standards, it was perfect soccer weather, around fifty degrees, not too windy, and intermittent clouds. She had already buried her thicker, warmer winter robes underneath her lighter spring ones. It was still hot for her. Willow couldn't stand the heat, and that was when she was in a tank top and shorts in the summer. She was going to struggle in her black robes when it really started getting hot outside.

Willow ran down the steps, careful not to alert Neville and Oliver to her presence. They continued talking with each other, oblivious to all else. She would have to ask both of them later what was up with the sudden lack of shyness around one another. It was kind of creeping her out at that point. Since when did the two shyest boys she knew become friends, and since when did they randomly have lengthy conversations about one another?

All of a sudden, Willow face-planted into the grass on the side of the trail, knocking the wind out of her. She jumped to her feet, coughing. Standing over her was none other than her annoyingly perfect-haired blond friend, Malfoy.

"Watch where you're walking, dork."

"I have a tendency to get lost in thought. So careless of me. I guess I'd better watch where I'm walking every second of the day," Willow said sarcastically.

"That would be a smart thing to do."

"Well, I'm not exactly what you'd call smart, so that's not happening. I can take a hit every once in a while. How did you get out of the hospital wing? I thought Madam Pomfrey said you had to stay for the rest of today."

"She did, but I snuck out when she wasn't looking. You should have seen the look on her face. She must have thought I apparated or something."

Willow raised her eyebrows. "Impressive. You broke the rules and don't care."

"There's no rule that could keep me in that place. It's sickening, staring out a window all day. I like the Slytherin common room better. It's darker. An underwater view of the lake is nice, too."

"I have a vampire for a friend," Willow groaned. "How did I not figure it out before?"

Draco lightly punched her in the shoulder. "If you met a real one, you would not be nearly as sarcastic. They're rather terrifying, actually."

"You're probably right."

At that moment, Harry, Ron, and Hermione passed by, whispering furiously about something. Draco and she listened intently, trying to discern something. Willow hid beside the stairs while Draco simply stood out in the open. She tried to get him to hide with her, but he would do no such thing. He proudly watched them get closer and closer. Willow's eyes widened when she figured out what they were talking about.

A dragon? Hagrid?

Their talking suddenly ceased. Peeking out from her hiding spot, Willow saw the trio stop dead in their tracks, fearfully gazing with horrified eyes at a smug-looking Malfoy. They sprinted the rest of the way to herbology. Draco turned to her when they were gone.

"Well, it seems I've spotted the perfect opportunity to get back at Weasley for that fight," he said. When Willow shot him a warning glare, he added, "I know, I know, I won't even try to ask you. This is all on me. But I won't need help. I'll pull this off by myself, and you're not going to stop me."

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're right. I'm not going to stop you. One of the professors is. Don't you dare hurt anyone."

Draco scoffed. "Physical pain is no comparison to dragging out their constant fear for weeks on end. I won't need to hurt Ron, just make him worry forever."

"You are the cruelest person I have ever met. Good luck not getting killed."

"Who would kill me?"

Willow glowered at her friend, wiping the smirk right off his face. He shuffled his feet, the silent message crystal clear.

"You actually mean that, don't you?"

"Yep."

"Fine, I'll try to be nice. But I'm not making any promises."

"Just try. That's all I'm asking for, but apparently that's a bit too much for Draco Malfoy, bully of the year, addict to fighting, hater of all people who are not Slytherins."

"I hate you sometimes."

"I hate you all the time."

"Ouch. That's harsh."

The warning bell rang. Willow gave Draco one last warning look before turning and running to herbology, Draco disappearing back inside the castle to find his way to his class. She immediately headed straight for her three shaken friends.

"I saw what happened," she began, startling them. "Draco is under strict demands not to do anything, but I can't guarantee nothing will happen."

"You heard about the dragon too?" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah. So, you're visiting Hagrid after herbology?"

"Yes. You can come too, if you want. I know Hagrid wouldn't mind you," Harry said.

"What are you going to do about Malfoy?"

"Well...I think we'll see what happens, but he's probably madder than mad at me for the fight and wants payback," Ron said. "The only problem is I don't know how he'll get back at me."

"That's the problem for all three of you."

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked.

"My best advice is to try and keep this as secret as possible. Don't let Malfoy know anything more than he already does. Watch your back, and I'll keep an eye on him. I can usually persuade him to be a little less intimidating, but I've never been able to completely stop him from doing anything. We'll all chip in on this dragon situation. Hagrid deserves out help, so we better give as much of it to him as we can. Dragons are no easy creatures. If Malfoy finds out more, we could be in some seriously deep trouble not only with the school, but with the Ministry as well. My dad works in the very department that might handle this situation if word gets out that Hagrid has a dragon. Hopefully we can keep this covered up and silent."

"Hopefully," the other three agreed.

"Children!" Professor Sprout shouted, clapping her hands together. All attention was turned to her. "I hope you all studied. It's time for our Devil's Snare quiz. Wands away, quills out!"

Willow gave her friends a reassuring nod before wandering over to her seat, which was conveniently in between Neville and Oliver. She noticed that Oliver was reciting the notes under his breath.

"I hate quizzes," Neville muttered. "The hands-on stuff is so much better."

"I agree, but I guess it's important for her to figure out if we know what we're planting," Willow said. "If something goes wrong, it would be helpful to know a thing or two about the plant to control the situation."

"That makes sense...I guess..."

Professor Sprout handed out the quizzes, and the room fell silent. Willow scratched down her answers and stood up at the same time as Hermione. They waited while the rest of the classroom finished up their quizzes. Surprisingly, Oliver turned his in shortly after them, a small smile on his face that told Willow he was confident in his answers. She shook her head. That boy would be a mystery to her forever. No matter how much she unearthed about him, there were a million more things she could learn about him from each new fact. He was the most complex friend she had.

Hermione sat quietly, tapping her foot. Willow's powers started surfacing again and sent ripples of distress through her. She forced them down again with quite an effort. They were really going to get out of hand soon. She promised herself that she would go into the Forbidden Forest at some point to practice them, hoping that the voice lady would be in the mood to cooperate. The Forest never felt like it was off limits to her, anyway; it was always calling her. She wasn't afraid of anything in it. Something told her that her powers would protect her, no matter what came her way. It was a matter of controlling them when she wasn't in a life-or-death situation that was the problem at hand.

"Everyone finished?" Professor Sprout called. Neville finally got up and turned in his quiz. "Let's get started, then. Today, we're going to be working with a rather special plant..."

Willow gathered supplies while listening to the lesson. She had been doing herbology with Oliver in addition to Neville ever since they became better friends- that, and Willow was appalled to find out that Oliver was doing all of his herbology lessons without a partner. Grabbing three trowels and three pairs of specialized gloves, Willow threw them to the boys and put hers on just as Professor Sprout finished giving instructions on the lesson.

"...and put them in the sunlight to calm them down. They're rather rowdy when transplanted, these ones. Get to it, then!"

Oliver poked the potted plant in front of him. "I have a bad feeling about these ones."

"Why? They don't let us plant anything that could harm us. First years aren't allowed do anything with plants that could either poison, severely injure, choke, or kill us," Neville reminded him.

"I know, but still, I don't like the vibes from this plant..."

Willow allowed her powers to resurface for a moment, straining to contain them. She felt it, too. The plant was wreathed in darkness with no purpose other than to survive at all costs. Her powers were barely satisfied enough to calm down, but she shoved them away for later. This lesson did not require her to use extra powers. Neville was right: first years weren't allowed to do anything dangerous. She would only need to respond with her powers if something went severely wrong. Otherwise, what would she use them for, other than making the plant more appealing to herself or changing a small detail about it, like she had done for Oliver's tree? She couldn't risk being exposed until her dad explained everything at home.

"Willow, are you going to transplant that, or do you need me to?" Neville asked, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Sorry, I'm getting to it."

Willow quickly dug around the plant and carefully yanked it out of the pot. The roots wrapped around the bottom of the pot, trying to keep itself from being removed, but Willow gave it another hard tug and pulled it free. It growled in annoyance, surprising Oliver. He giggled when it made some other funny noises.

"I think I'm warming up to this thing now."

Willow smiled, setting the plant in a bigger pot and filling in the dragon dung fertilizer around it. "Maybe I'll get one for you. How's your tree doing, by the way?"

"Oh, it's awesome! It's growing to be my height now!"

"I didn't think about what would happen when it grew to be to big," Willow said. "Do you have any idea what you're going to do with it? Maybe plant it somewhere at home?"

"I'll tell you later. It's a secret between you and me."

Willow nodded her head. "I'll hold you to it."

Professor Sprout happened to walk by at the moment and stopped when she saw their plant. "Well done, you three! This one's a tricky one to clam down. I haven't seen a first year manage to transplant it this quickly in a long time. Look here, everyone! This is how your _ should look after you finish!"

All eyes turned to Willow and her friends. She stepped directly in front of Oliver, knowing that he could have a breakdown if too much attention was put on him at once. Neville shyly stepped behind her as well. Willow didn't mind; she hated attention as well, and it was making her sweat with the nervous energy bouncing around in her, but she could take it if that meant making sure her friends were okay. She distracted herself from Hermione's appalled expression (no one had ever finished an herbology lesson before her) by letting her eyes traveled around the room. Professor Sprout was right: no one's plants were cooperating. They were all digging their roots into everything they could find, holding on for dear life. Since cutting the roots was strictly forbidden right from the beginning, as Professor Sprout had clearly told them three times not to, no one was able to get anywhere with their plant. Bile rose in Willow's throat when she realized her success was most likely due to her powers.

Why can't I succeed in anything without extra help? Willow yelled internally. For once in my life I just want to be able to do something on my own, be independent! Is that too much to ask?

"How did you manage to do that?" Ron asked.

"Look, you know I can't talk about that unless we're behind closed doors," Willow said, giving Ron a knowing look.

The gravel of the path crunched underfoot. Herbology had ended after another hour of hardship from the other students. Professor Sprout had forced Willow, Neville, and Oliver to help with the other students. Only Willow had managed to get the plants under control. Oliver and Neville came close, but they never got a plant into the pots by themselves. Hermione's competitive nature was getting the best of her, and she had stayed behind in the greenhouse below to finish her plant with Professor Sprout. Willow and the boys had promised to wait for her at the top of the hill before rushing to Hagrid's hut to see the dragon hatch.

"Wait, you mean-" Ron started.

"Shh, Ron, you'll get Willow into deep trouble if you let it slip!" Harry interrupted. "We have to be careful, remember? She has to know more before it can be more out in the open."

Willow nodded her thanks to Harry. Ron slapped his hand over his mouth and kept it there until they reached the top of the hill, sitting down and watching the lazy puffs of smoke drift over Hagrid's chimney in the distance. She was rather excited to discover what this rare- not to mention completely illegal- dragon looked like. It was an opportunity she knew not many first years, let alone seventh years, would have. She hoped there would be time in her busy schedule to take care of it.

"Hey, Potter!" a voice sneered. "I can smell the dragon dung on you from here!"

The three turned around to see Draco Malfoy standing on the steps of the castle. He began walking towards them, a nasty smirk on his face. Harry and Ron stood up, as if preparing for a fight, but Willow was quick to react and stepped in front of the boys.

"Let me handle this," she whispered.

"Wow, Potter, are you really letting a girl protect you?" Draco said.

"This girl happens to be your friend, and if you don't mind, she would prefer it if you remembered to show some respect and call her by her name," Willow shot back.

Draco stopped where he was, a good distance of ten meters away. Willow could sense the tension between the three boys like it was a rope in a game of tug-of-war. She would have to up her game to get them out of this.

"I would comment on you, Weasley, but seeing as you're hiding in the shadow of the Chosen One again, you're practically invisible."

Gripping her fists into tiny balls, Willow did her best to suppress her anger, not letting it get the best of her. "For the record, Malfoy, you smell like dung all the time. You've got your head in your arse for the majority of the day."

Draco's expression went slack. "What the hell, Wisp?"

"Hey, you're the one that's being a jerk, Blonde, and I don't you to waste my friends' time with petty insults."

Hermione showed up just then. She froze upon seeing the boys poised to fight, but Willow gently shoved Harry and Ron in her direction.

"Go on. There's no need to hang around here anymore."

Cautiously stepping away, the boys walked over to Hermione, then ran down the hill on the opposite side, heading for Hagrid's hut. Willow returned her attention to Draco, knowing full well that she had to distract his attention from the trio's destination.

"Why are you so two-face?" she asked. "I don't understand. When it's just us, you're almost, almost, mind you, a great friend. But the moment you see my friends, you have the need to hurt them, and you'll trample me to do it. Please explain to me why that is."

"I already told you, it's something I can't control," Draco growled, trying to look over Willow's shoulder. She noticed.

"Well, if you can't be nice to my friends, then you're no friend of mine," Willow sighed, walking straight past Draco and up the castle steps. He paused for a moment, then followed her.

"Wisp, come on, don't be this way-"

"Nope. You've crossed a line," Willow said, ignoring him. She set her course straight for the courtyard. "You've been mean to everyone, including me at times, far too long. It's time for you to learn the hard way what it feels like to have no one that has your back, because you've stabbed all of us in ours."

"Come on, Wisp, please-"

"There's no amount of pleading that's going to change my mind this time."

"Wisp-"

"No, Draco. I know exactly what it feels like to have no trustworthy friends, so I tried to help you. But you apparently don't want my help."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

They reached the courtyard. Willow ignored Draco's fumbling attempts to plead with her, instead climbing a tree and smirking at Draco as he tried but failed to climb after her.

"Why won't you listen to me?" he whined. "Come down from there so I can talk to you!"

"You never listen to me. Why should I come down? Also, I can speak with you just fine from here. You're where you belong, below me."

Draco's mouth opened in shock. "How dare- what- I don't-"

Willow failed to hold back the torrent of laughter that burst from her. She began chortling so hard that tears came out of her eyes. Her stomach hurt within seconds, and every time she came close to calming down, she had another outburst. Draco stood below her, his face red as an apple.

"You know, sometimes I really hate you."

"You're welcome," Willow sighed, finally able to breath again. She twisted herself upside down on a branch and hung from her legs. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe half the things you do."

"Me neither, quite honestly. I don't think I even decide to do them. My brain stops thinking and starts doing stupid things without my permission, just like yours."

Draco sighed and marched towards her, upside down from her view. She knew what was coming, but let her friend have his fun. Draco jumped up and hit Willow's feet, loosening their grip on the branch. She craned her neck and ended up falling straight on her back. All of the air in her system suddenly escaped with a big Oof! Willow was unable to resist when Draco flopped backwards onto her, stretching and making himself comfortable.

"That's better," he said.

"I- can't- breathe!" Willow wheezed.

"Yes you can. You wouldn't be speaking otherwise."

"You're such a smartarse sometimes."

"And you're not?"

Willow smiled. "Okay. You've got me there. So we've both got smart mouths."

"You need to learn how to keep yours shut."

Scoffing, Willow shoved Draco off of her. "This is coming from Draco Malfoy, king of insults."

"Hey, you could just easily have as much fun as me doing it."

"No thanks. I'd rather keep shutting you up. Speaking of that, stay away from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, will you? They aren't doing anything that deserves you snooping around and reporting to teachers. You'll only get yourself in trouble."

"Were you saying something? Because I couldn't hear you over how obvious those lies were," Draco said.

"Willow! Draco!" a girl called from the other side of the clearing. It was Sue Li. "Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office right now!"

"Okay! We're coming!" Willow shouted back.

"Speaking of tattling to teachers..." Draco drawled.

Willow rose to her feet, shoving him onto his rear end as she did so. He toppled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"What the heck, Wisp?"

"I thought you said you were strong? Or was that yet another lie to add to the list?"

Draco raised his eyes to the heavens. "Alright. We're both liars. Add that to the list of things in common."

"Let's get to McGonagall's office before she gets more angry with us than she already is."

Willow helped Draco up this time, then silently crossed the courtyard. Sue Li had already run off. Willow saw her running down a corridor with three people in tow, most likely Mandy, Lisa, and Oliver. She hoped that she could make it to the study session they were planning in the library that Saturday. For the time being, she had to keep her mind focused on not messing up in front of McGonagall.

"Draco, let me tell the story first, so that way you can't screw it up too badly."

"Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome. It's going to get you out of loads of detention time."

The pair arrived at Professor McGonagall's office. She was waiting in the door frame, tapping her foot impatiently, her wand at the ready in her hand. Willow swallowed hard. The reality of how many rules she had broken hit her across the face. Did McGonagall know everything? If so, how much trouble was she about to get into?

"Have a seat, please," she said, gesturing inside.

Willow and Draco exchanged a glance, then slowly took their seats across from McGonagall's neatly organized desk. She sat stiff and straight as a board across from them, her eyes scrutinizing every last detail they were giving away, the threat of punishment lingering close.

"I assume you two know why you are here?" she began.

"Yes," they chorused.

"Which one will begin with the story, then?"

Willow quietly said, "I will, Professor."

McGonagall nodded. "Get on with it, then."

"Well, Professor, it started in the middle of the quidditch match yesterday. There was some taunting going back and forth between Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and us first year Gryffindors. It escalated and got out of hand quickly. I was stupid and joined in because of some tension between Draco and I. It was a dumb decision and got people hurt. Neville got knocked out by Crabbe, and Goyle almost did the same to Ron."

Draco pinched Willow under the table. She tried her best not to react. There was no guilt in Willow for ratting out those two buffoons. They were destructive and brainless, and a little punishment wouldn't hurt them. No person, no matter how dumb, unconsciously decides to knock someone out. That was Crabbe's own decision, and he needed to learn that it wasn't okay to hurt someone that badly. He was under no orders from anyone to hit Neville. Willow had promised to try and help Draco's sentence, but not his goons'. Professor McGonagall paused for a few seconds, digesting this information, then turned her attention to Draco.

"Is this story correct, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I assume you two have apologized to each other since the fight?"

"Yes," Willow and Draco said in unison.

"Good. You two are lucky to have had so long to fix things between yourselves. I will give you lighter punishments this time around. But keep in mind, this type of behavior will not be tolerated again. I will not take it so lightly. Your detention slips should be out by this evening, Crabbe and Goyle's too. Ron and Neville will not receive any punishment for now, unless I am wrong in assuming they were defending themselves?"

Willow spoke before Draco had the chance to. "Yes, Professor, you are correct. Ron and Neville were simply defending themselves and their families from the insults."

Draco pinched her harder. Willow kicked him noiselessly. She could feel his scowl burning into the side of her head, but she paid no attention, as McGonagall's eyes were still trained on her.

"I repeat, you are both very lucky. Consider this your last warning. You are dismissed."

Willow and Draco stood up and left, gently shutting the door behind them. They returned to the courtyard, where Draco rounded on her.

"What was that? I thought you were going to help!"

"I said I was going to help you, not your bodyguards. They can handle their punishments."

Draco sighed exasperatedly, leaning against a tree. "You know, that's something I'd expect a Slytherin to do, not a Gryffindor. Since when are you that sly?"

"Since you were that mean to my friends."

"Point taken."

Willow checked her watch, gasping at the time. "We've only got ten minutes until our next class! I've got to get to History of Magic! See you later, Blonde!"

"Catch you later, Wisp."

Willow ran through the corridors, hoping that she wouldn't be late to catch the moving staircase that she needed. She sprinted up the steps three at a time, nearly careening into a few students, almost flipping over a balcony once, then finally coming to a halt in line for the stairs. Oliver happened to be right in front of her.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said, turning around.

"Long time no see, Oliver," Willow puffed. "Are you ready to take a nap?"

"Yes, please" Oliver groaned. "I still can't believe you're nice enough to share your notes with all of us on the weekend. Most people pay good money for those, you know."

"Trust me, I know full well how much my notes are worth. Lee Jordan likes to sell them every once in a while."

"And you let him?" Oliver said, shocked.

Willow shrugged. "Not exactly. He has a way of finding them every time I hid them in a new place, but it's not like I make a very good effort to stop him. Besides, he probably needs the money for Hogsmede."

"Man, you're already in the black market trade as a first year!"

"Don't go telling people that!"

"I'm just joking. Here, it's our turn on the stairs. Your friends are going to be late."

Willow knew they were going to be late. In fact, as Willow realized when she stepped onto the section of stairs, they weren't coming to class at all. A dragon hatching is a pretty big thing. They were going to be stuck out there, unable to sneak back into the castle unnoticed, until lunch. Willow might need to take up Lee's offer on copying her notes for free. Hermione might have a panic attack without them.

"Oh, Oliver, you never told me where you were going to transplant your tree," Willow said when the stairs dropped them off at the next corridor.

"Oh yeah!" Oliver lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "It's somewhere super special to me- my parents' grave. They always wanted a magnificent oak tree to watch over their bodies, and thanks to you I can make that happen."

Wrapping his arms around Willow, he gave her a quick hug before turning and beckoning her to hurry up. Willow's feet felt like wet cement. She was still in shock five minutes later when class started. That was a huge deal for Oliver, and he had just revealed it to her like it was nothing, then hugged her. Without being forced to. He was being uncharacteristically brave today.

"Willow, the lessons's starting!" Oliver said.

"Sorry!"

Pulling out her notebook, Willow wrote down everything that Professor Binns said, but her mind still wandered to Oliver's revelation. One question always kept returning among the thousands of others: What had Oliver gone through that was so bad that mentioning his parents' dying wishes barely fazed him?

"There you go. Three copies of your History of Magic notes."

"Thanks, Lee!"

Willow slid down the spiral staircase railing, heroically falling on her face when she got to the bottom. She popped right back up, though, amidst snickering from others around the room.

"Here you go, Hermione," she said, offering the papers to her. "I knew you would want them. You can thank Lee for copying them."

Hermione took the parchment. "I think I'll thank him after he makes an honest dime."

"Hey, you have to start somewhere," Ron shrugged.

Hermione hit him over the head with the notes. "Ron, you are just as bad sometimes. At least your twin brothers stay out of that sort of business and prank people instead."

"Anyway," Harry coughed. "Hagrid said he would like to see you." Lowering his voice, he added, "He named it Norbert. Watch out, he's already highly attached to the bloody thing. It's downright dangerous."

"Okay. I'll do my best to help him, but you know what happened if I don't come back one of these days," Willow joked.

"There's one more thing, before you leave," Hermione whispered. "Malfoy somehow snuck up on us. He saw the dragon through the window of Hagrid's hut. I thought you said you would take care of him!"

The trio looked pointedly at Willow, whose heart somersaulted. Draco had betrayed her again?

"You're sure it was Draco?"

"It couldn't have been any clearer," Harry said. "He's been smirking all day, especially around us."

"Oh God, that's serious blackmail!" Willow fretted. "What are we going to do?"

"You mean what are you going to do?" Ron corrected. "I recall you telling us that you'd take care of Malfoy. Why was he by Hagrid's hut, then, Willow? Did you lie to us?"

"No! Why would I do that?" Willow exclaimed, incredulous. "Guys, I kept him busy until ten minutes before class. He was going towards his class last time I saw him."

Harry groaned. "The prat is a fast runner, I'll give him that. You probably didn't know, Willow. It's hard to judge his intentions sometimes."

"Harry, don't be so easy on her," Ron chided. "She broke a promise. Besides, she's his closest friend other than Crabbe and Goyle, so wouldn't she be able to judge his intentions a good amount of the time?"

Willow stood up, stiff as a board. "You know what? I think I better be going," she said icily. "You obviously don't want me around here anymore. I'm going to Hagrid's."

"Wait, Willow-" Harry started.

She ignored him, storming out of the common room while Hermione scolded Ron. Willow made straight for Hagrid's hut. She didn't care if her friends were going to turn on her like that. If they were that shallow, she didn't need them- right?

A loud clanging noise sounded inside Hagrid's hut. Willow quietly slipped inside, the door creaking behind her. Hagrid heard it and turned to find Willow standing there, stress marks creasing his forehead.

"Ah, there ya are, Willow!" he greeted. "I could really use your help. Norbert's kind of tricky, being a baby and all, ya know."

Willow's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The dragon was like no creature she had ever seen, almost cinematic. It was jet black with an aerodynamic body, wings that spanned twice its length, razor-sharp teeth and claws, and miniature horns sprouting out of its head. The baby was already the size of a full-grown cat. It was shiny and sleek, and its scales arranged themselves in perfect patterns that pleased the eye. Willow instantly found herself becoming attached to the tiny creature.

"I heard you named him Norbert, right?" she asked, inching closer to the creature.

"That's right. But I suppose you've heard the other news as well," Hagrid said, his face turning a shade lighter. "You don't think he'll tattle, will ya?"

"Not unless he has a good reason to. You've also got me watching his every move, and I'm not afraid to resort to desperate measures if necessary to keep this information contained. I won't let anything happen to you or Norbert, Hagrid."

Hagrid's expression softened, and some color returned to his cheeks along with the bit of relief. "Thanks, Willow. Do you know what kind of dragon Norbert is?"

Oh my, that's a rare one, the voice lady said. That's-

"A Norwegian Ridgeback," Willow echoed. Her brow furrowed. How did she know that?

"Impressive," Hagrid remarked, his eyebrows raised. "You'll do just fine with him, then."

Willow stepped closer to Norbert, whose attention began to shift to her instead of Hagrid. His little eyes were so innocent, yet she sensed the fiery will to be ornery behind them. This one would be trouble.

Your powers are far greater than you know. They can give information on things that relate to themselves, like dragons, for example. They'll also cooperate to help you with not getting burnt to a crisp while facing one.

That's helpful.

It really is, isn't it? Kind of nice, not dying at the breath of a dragon.

You can shut up now.

Okay. I'll consider it.

Willow glanced at Hagrid, shrugging off the internal conversation. "Can I try to touch him?"

"Yes, but be careful, he likes to nip."

Willow stared into Norbert's pitch-black eyes, which were sparkling at the sight of hers. He was contemplating whether he should be mischievous or not with her. How Willow knew that as well, she had no idea. Reaching out her hand, she slowly, very slowly, moved it towards Norbert. He stared hungrily at it, his beady eyes now concentrating on her fingers. When she was only centimeters away from touching his head, she froze, allowing Norbert to decide what to do. He paused, blew a few sparks of fire from his nostrils, then closed his eyes and rested his head on Willow's fingers. Her heart jumped excitedly in her stomach, and she let out a breath she realized she had been holding.

"Well done, Willow!" Hagrid congratulated. "Norbert likes you, see? If only everyone could see how sweet dragons are. I'm sure your dad woul' understan', workin' on Newt's ol' projects and all."

"You know my father?" Willow questioned, gently scratching Norbert under his chin.

"O' course I do," Hagrid said. "I know most people in that department. He's done quite a bit for the Ministry, mind you. He might rival Newt in his contributions for magical creatures."

"Wow. I never knew," Willow said, a pang in her heart.

"I'm sure he'll start tellin' ya now that you know enough 'bout the wizardin' world."

"Maybe."

Norbert made a sound in between a purr and a growl. Willow had found his favorite itchy spot, right behind his left horn. She beamed. Maybe one day she would follow in he dad's footsteps. Magical creatures sure did take a liking to her.

"Yer really great with animals, Willow. Best I've seen in a while, and I've been aroun' for lots o' years. No body even close to you."

Heat rose to Willow's cheeks, her modesty taking over. "Thanks, Hagrid."

"You'll do great things in the future. I can't wait to see the day that you receive an Order of Merlin award. I'll be at yer ceremony."

"Aw, Hagrid, you're too nice. I'll be lucky to graduate Hogwarts."

"Nonsense! Why, you're right up there with Hermione in your class, are you not? You're bein' real modest. It's a good trait to have, see. That's how Newt became so great."

Norbert suddenly crawled up Willow's arm and wrapped himself around her neck, hanging onto her shoulders. He let out a tiny roar that made both she and Hagrid laugh.

"Isn't he the best creature you've ever met?" Hagrid said.

"If he wasn't, I would be lying."

Norbert yawned, exposing his sharp baby teeth. Those would soon be replaced with large ones meant for eating whole cattle. Willow wished her would stay a baby forever. The dragon gently nibbled on Willow's ear, as if to say thanks, then fell asleep. Tiny sparks flew out of his nostrils as he slept.

"I'd say Norbert claimed ya as his," Hagrid said. "He's the cutest when he's asleep, see. Norbert's just ornery most o' the time, that's all. I'll need some help with my gamekeeper duties real soon. Do ya think you could do some for me when he acts up?"

"I would love to, Hagrid," Willow said, resting her head on Norbert's warm little body.

"Good. Now, I woul' sit down if I were you, 'cause you're gonna to have him on yer shoulders for a while. He takes pretty long naps."

"So, let me get this straight: Fred, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are mad at you?"

"Sadly, yes," Willow grumbled. "And I wish I understood why."

Her friends sat around the library table, the morning sunlight filtering through the windows. It was just them in the library that morning. Even Madam Prince was still asleep. The normally calming scent of old books did nothing for Willow as she tried to continue on with their Saturday studying session as planned. They eventually forced the issue out of her.

"Well, since you've firmly established you aren't allowed to tell us why Harry, Ron, and Hermione are having a row with you, have you tried to figure out why Fred is upset with you?" Mandy asked.

"Yes, but nothing comes to mind."

"Then start from the beginning," Sue suggested. "The very beginning. What happened after the quidditch match?"

"Well, I was going back to the common room. Fred and George were gathering people to help set up a party in celebration of the victory against Hufflepuff. I didn't stay very long before Paige told me that Neville and Draco were passed out in the hospital wing. Since I wasn't in the partying mood, I visited them. Draco and I got to talk for a while and I accidentally fell asleep in the hospital wing. The next morning I went back to Gryffindor Tower, and Fred was scowling at me. He's been ignoring me since then."

"It sounds to me like either he assumed something completely wrong, or he was told the wrong story by someone else," Lisa hypothesized. "Does he have a grudge against Draco?"

"Against all Slytherins in general," Willow said. "He's a little more aggressive about it than his twin, but they both nearly killed me on the spot when I wore the Slytherin pin on my robes this Christmas. They still tell me off for it every time I decide to dig it out."

"He must hate your friendship with Draco, then," Mandy guessed.

"Of course Fred hates it. He hates it more every minute, especially when we fight. I'm his friend, and he hates seeing anyone hurt me, but it bothers him the most when I forgive Draco each time."

Oliver stared out the window, seeming deep in thought. Willow nudged him to get his attention.

"You look like you're getting somewhere," she said. "Do you mind sharing your thought process?"

Oliver nervously swallowed, his eyes flickering to each of his friends in turn, then, as if remembering that these people were okay, relaxed his tense shoulders and stood up.

"Here's my theory so far," he began. "You don't show up to the party last night, and Fred was hoping you would be there. He was disappointed, but not anything major. Then, when you show up the next morning, word gets around that you were in the hospital wing all night with Draco. That's adding to the list of things ticking him off: making up with Draco after the worst fight of your lives, ditching him for Draco, then not apologizing for any of it, not that you should have. All of this builds up, out of proportion and not exactly an accurate picture, and he blows up at you."

A stunned silence followed. Oliver sat down, blushing from all the attention. Willow was the first to break the silence, knowing it was killing her friend.

"Oliver, you're a genius," she said. "I'm one hundred percent certain that you're correct. I always forget how observant you are. Do you have any suggestions for how to proceed from here?"

"Considering the fact that every minute apart from him is a minute he's trying to convince himself you're not his friend, you should probably hurry up and confront him about it. There's no structure to that sort of thing. Confrontations are tricky, and the only thing you can do is keep the atmosphere calm while talking out the problem. Don't let anyone butt in, or things could get ugly fast."

"Thank you, Oliver!" Willow exclaimed, hugging him. Oliver blinked in surprise before gently wrapping his arms around her.

"That's it, I'm officially coming to Oliver for all of my advice," Mandy declared, throwing her hands up.

"Me too," Lisa said.

"Count me in with that," Sue agreed.

"Oh Oliver, stop blushing," Willow scolded, prying herself away from him. "It's just us. Accept the fact that you're an amazing person and get on with it. You could make some serious money helping guide people in their life decisions."

"I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon, but thanks," Oliver said, a shy smile playing at his lips. His freckles caught in the sunlight streaming through the window, causing his entire face to light up, giving him an irresistibly adorable look. The red sheen to his cheeks refused to fade away. He cleared his throat, distracting Willow before she could stare. "We can get back to all of this excitement later, but for now, I need some serious help with Transfiguration."

"This is going to be a while," Mandy sighed.

"Hey! Be nice, Mandy," Sue said. "Which part of this week's lessons did you want to revisit, Oliver?"

"All of it," he said miserably.

"I hate to say it, Sue, but Mandy's right," Lisa chortled. "This is going to be a while."