Laurelle was sure that Harry's friends knew what had happened because the next morning at breakfast they were all mildly cold to her, but Ron and Hermione were especially icy. On her way out of the Dining Hall, Laurelle was approached by Draco and his crew. "Morning, sweetheart," Draco said in a syrupy sweet voice, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder. "You slept well, I trust?" Laurelle smacked his hand away, glaring at him. "Don't you dare touch me!" "Oh, feisty!" said Draco with a small smile there were titters all around. "Someone clearly isn't a morning person…" "Draco!" said Laurelle. "Draco, all I've ever wanted in this world is to have friends. You took that from me! All I ever wanted was to love someone, and have them love me in return. You took that from me too! But what I wanted even more than either of those things was a place to belong. Well, you took that from me too! What in the hell more do you want?!" Laurelle had been building a creshendo throughout her whole diatribe and she fairly screamed the last line. Anyone who had been in the Great Hall had left. Draco looked around to make sure that no one was about. "You." he whispered, close to her ear.
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He wrapped his arm around her thin waist and bent his head, advancing on her. Finally! he thought to himself, finally I have won, Potter has lost, and she's mine. I've won. Laurelle pulled from his touch and smacked him smartly across the face. The sound echoed throughout the hall. Then, as though she could read his mind, she said, "You've won nothing, Draco. Never have, and never will." Then she walked off, her mind made up as to where she was going.
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She saw him in the corridor, and even from the back she could tell it was him. She had memorized him. "Harry!" she called. He almost turned around, but then he remembered. He sped up his pace. "Harry, please." She called again. "Please just hear me out. You can hate me if you want to, but please just listen to me." Her voice made him stop. He turned, and saw her for the first time since she had broken his heart. "Harry," she started, in a soft voice, "I was waiting for you, the other night. And out of nowhere, Draco jumped over and he had me pinned against the wall, I couldn't move!" It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to speak, with all of the emotion caught in her throat. "And not for lack of trying either, had I been able to move my hands I would have strangled him. I know it sounds far-fetched, but it's true. I have no reason to lie to you, Harry." She stared at him for a moment, his arms that would never hold her again, his eyes that would never again catch hers from across the room, his lips that she would never kiss again. "He… I guess he was…jealous, of what we have," she said slowly. "Had, what we had." she corrected herself. The past tense saddened her. What they had had. She stood, watching Harry, leaning against the wall, watching for how he would react, for what he would do next. He was watching her too. Then, finally he spoke. "Why did you correct yourself? You were right…you were right the first time. What we have." He pulled Laurelle into his arms and kissed her very softly. Laurelle felt as though she could have flown all the way to Heaven and back, but then she realized that as long as Harry was standing here, she didn't need to go anywhere to get to Heaven. Fresh tears trickled from her eyes. "Laurelle, what's wrong?" Harry asked in alarm, taking both of her hands into his and looking into her eyes with concern. "Nothing is wrong, nothing at all. Everything is perfect. These are happy tears," said Laurelle. She kissed Harry gently. He was so wonderful. Slowly, he pulled back. "I love you, Laurelle Briana Cordovan. I love you." he said, his voice no more than a whisper. Laurelle began to tremble slightly, and she stood up straight, but Harry didn't release her hands, he simply stood up with her. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Was it something I said?" "No, it's just…no one's ever told me that they loved me before. Not a single soul. Ever." He pulled her close to him and she rest her face on his chest. "Well," he said, "in that case, I had better get started catching you up. I love you." Laurelle smiled at him. He was so good. "I love you, too." she replied. She reached up and touched his cheek. He caught her hand and kissed it, and then she reached up and kissed him. "Thank you," she said, when their kiss ended. Harry smiled "What for?" he asked. "For loving me," she answered.