Draco wandered aimlessly around the lake with his head down. He was deep in thought, although trying deperately not to think about what had happened, and what it meant. He suddenly became aware of his surroundings when he spotted a pair of jeans, and then a t-shirt lying on the ground. He heard splashing and looked up to find a very naked Serenity.

"Missing something? Like, your clothes, maybe?" he asked, grinning, as she ducked her head under the water.

"I uhh...didn't think anyone would be out here," she said upon resurfacing.

"Well obviously you were wrong."

"Aren't you supposed to be with Devian?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yea, uhh...there was a slight change of plans. And besides, that water looks more refreshing than a shower.

And with that he took off his shirt. She stared at him in open mouthed shock, looking down when he took off his pants. she looked up only when she heard a splash. Several monets later he emerged only a foot away from her. They immediatly began splashing around and frolicking in the water. Draco made a move to tackle her, and they both fell into one of the more shallow parts of the lake. There lips brushed together, and for a brief moment Draco thought about kissing her. Of course he knew it was wrong and quickly got up. "We should go back now its getting late."

"Yea. I'll get out first. Turn around, and you better not peak."

After she finished dressing, she turned to Draco "you peeked, didn't you?"



As they made their way back to the castle, Draco explained to Serenity why he hadn't met Devian.

"He kissed her? What kind of kiss was it?"

"Just a quick one, no tongue involved."

"Maybe it was just a friendly kiss then,"Serenity offered.

"Do you have friends that kiss you?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Well, maybe a few," she answered, blushing a bit.



The next morning at breakfast, everyone was unusually quiet. Draco hadn't come over from the Slytherin table yet either. They tried to make small talk, hoping to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey George, where's Lee?"

"He's upstairs flossing."

"So that's why his teeth are so perfect," Devian interjected.

They fell back into silence. Suddenly, they were startled by a cold voice, "This looks like a lively party. Weasley couldn't you have brought some of your toys to keep them entertained? It's not like they'll actually sell anyway."

"What are you getting at Malfoy?" Ron asked, looking up from his food.

"Not you, your dunce of a brother."

"What did I do?" Now George was looking confused.

"No, the one snuggling up to my girlfriend," Draco said impatiently.

"Next time be more specific, there are three of us. And if you have a problem with your girlfriend having friends, well then...bugger off!" Fred finished lamely.

"Good one Weasley," Draco sneered, "you should write combacks for a living. That one alone would be worth more than your whole family."

Devian was up in a flash, pushing herself between the two. "Draco stop it! What's gotten into you?" She sounded alarmed.

"Fine, stick up for him. I knew you would. I have to get to class."

Without another word Draco stalked off. Devian turned to Hermione, her eyes filling with tears, "I think he did see."

"He did," Serenity cut in.

"What? How do you know?" Devian asked.

"Well, we talked yesterday. He went to meet you, but that's when he saw you two and left. I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't think he would act like that," Serenity confessed.

Now Fred looked guilty. "I'm sorry Dev. This is all my fault. Want me to go talk to him for you?"

"I don't really think your the best person to do that Fred. Serenity, you two seem to get along, could you talk to him for me?" Devian asked deperately.

"Umm...yea, sure."

"Wait a minute!" George interrupted, "What the hell is going on here Fred? We're twins, I thought we were supposed to tell each other everything."

They explained to George, Ron, and Harry what had gone on between Devian and Fred the previous day. Their end of the table seemed to be in a relatively somber mood until Lee approached them. "Hey guys, what's up?" he asked with a toothy grin. They all burst into a fit of giggles.

After classes were through, Serenity went in search of Draco. She felt a little nervous talking to him. She also felt a little guilty that Devian trusted her so much, when only last night they had been swimming naked together. She was determined to put the fact that she liked him aside to help her friend.

"Hey, Draco, " she said as she approached him.

A smile spread across his face upon seeing her, which was a bit of a relief as he hadn't really had any reason to smile all day.

"I have to talk to you about Devian."

The smile quickly faded, "What about her?"

"She's really sorry about what happened. I talked to her, and I was right, it was just a friendly kiss."

"No, I don't believe that's what it was. A couple days ago I gave her a necklace...it had a charm on it...and well I think it did it's job. It just didn't have the results I wanted. I don't think she really likes me anymore."

"Well she'd be bloody crazy not to!"

"Why exactly do you think that?" Some of the smile was now coming back to his face.

"Because, your damn sweet when you want to be, your dead sexy, and... I like you!" She blurted out suddenly.

He grinned, and she knew that was exactly what he had wanted her to say. Draco leaned in to kiss her, and she felt her knees grow weak. They were just getting into it when an angry voice interrupted them.

"What the hell is going on here? Serenity, I thought you were supposed to be helping Devian, it turns out your just a backstabbing wench!" Fred exclaimed.

"It wasn't her fault, I was the one who kissed her. I'm guessing you of all people would understand that. Why don't you bugger off and find your own girlfriend to kiss, instead of stealing everyone else's." Malfoy spat.

"I think you should pay more attention to your girlfriend, and stop snogging her best friend. Then maybe I wouldn't have to do your job."

With that Malfoy jumped at him and they were soon rolling around on the ground, fists flying in all directions. Just then Devian and George burst into the hall, not realizing at first what was happening. With dawning comprehension, Devian finally tried to break the fight up.

"Stop it you two! George, help me pull them apart."

Even after the two were seperated, George still had to hold back Fred, and Devian stood firmly in front of Draco. Serenity stood on the side lines, watching them in shock and disbelief. Devian turned to her, "What happened?"

Serenity tried to speak, but instead, burst into tears and ran away.

"Okay...Draco?"

"He started it!" he said, pointing to Fred accusingly.

"And he kissed your best friend!"

At this everyone went silent. Devian's jaw dropped, George stopped trying to hold back Fred, who wasn't struggling anymore either, and Draco's look of defiance was stripped from his face. "Is it true?" Draco looked down. "But why?"

Devian looked like she didn't want an answer, as she turned and ran away. Soon after, Fred followed, leaving George and Draco to stare awkwardly at each other.



Serenity sat in a secluded part of the common room near the fireplace, where just seconds ago she had watched Devian burst in and run straight up to the dormitory room, Fred close behind her. Her tears had stopped but she was still deep in thought about what had happened.

"You seem upset, anything I can help with?" Harry asked, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"I kissed him!" she stuttered.

"Uhhh...kissed who?"

"Draco, I kissed Draco! I was supposed to be helping their relationship, but I let my own feelings get in the way. I don't know what to do, I think I messed it all up!"

"Well, everyone makes mistakes, and I'm assuming Malfoy played his part in this as well. Hopefully Devian won't be upset for too long. I feel bad for her, but she probably knew this relationship wasn't going to last much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"She's in love with Fred. Everyone knows it, even Malfoy, and if he has feelings for you, then what's the point in them carrying on the way they do?"

" I guess your right. But she'll still hate me."

"She won't hate you. She might be mad for a little while, but that will be directed at Malfoy as well. She'll eventually understand, though, this is a blessing in disguise. Now she and Fred are free to be together."

"Wow, Harry, ususally it's Hermione that people go to for wisdom, but your really good at giving advice too...do you think maybe you could talk to Devian for me?"

"I'll try, but she's probably really upset at the moment."

He slowly walked up the steps to Devian's room. As he approached the door, he could hear muffled sobs from within and wondered if now was the right itme to be doing this. He took a deep breath and opened the door to find both Devian and Fred staring at him.

"Woah...maybe I should leave you guys alone. Sorry to interrupt."

They were both lying on the bed, her head, once buried in his chest, was now turned so that she cold speak, "You weren't interrupting anything,"

She quickly sat up and motioned for him to make himself comfortable. He sat on the bed directly across from them.

"I just talked to Serenity," Harry started, noticing that Devian had put her head down, " and she's really sorry about what happened."

"She's not sorry that it happened, she's sorry that I'm mad at her."

"Look, Dev, she feels really bad. It wasn't all her fault, actually, it was Malfoy who kissed her."

"And how exactly is that supposed to make me feel any better? I trusted her, I asked her to talk to Draco, because I wanted to fix the relationship. And now everything is ruined!" She said, a little hysterically.

"You can't stay mad at her forever."

"I sure as hell can try."

"But she's your best friend!" "I don't need her, I have plenty of other friends," she said cooly.

"Jesus Christ, have you always been this stubborn?" Harry was now sounding more than a little exasperated.

"I'm not stubborn, I'm just pissed off, and I have every right to be."

"Well, you haven't exactly been all that innocent yourself," with this he indicated Fred, who had gone unnoticed until now.

"Okay, that was only the two times, and it's not like we actually did anything, they were just kisses."

"Two times?"Harry asked incredulousy.

"Uhh... did I say two times? see what I meant was..." Harry raised an eyebrow, "Alright, fine, there was another kiss, in the very beginning, but that's it."

"Yea that one was kinda my fault, too," Fred broke in.

"Gee, Fred, your soon going to have to find a new approach. That spontaneous romantic thing you have goin on there, it's gettin kind of old."

"Shut up, Harry, this is serious."

"Right then, well I'm going to go down to dinner. At least think about what I said, Devian."



The tension between Devian and Sernity that night was almost too much to bear, and their friends treated them as if they were one giant bomb that could go off at any second. The guilt that Serenity had felt earlier was now replaced with anger at how cold and unforgiving Devian was being. They avoided looking at each other, with the exception of an occasional glare in one another's general direction, and were both silent for the most part.

The next few days weren't any better, the classes they shared sometimes forcing them to talk to each other, which they did through gritted teeth only when absolutely necessary. As the weeks rolled by, the gap between them grew. Devian was spending most of her time with Fred now, and although Draco and Serenity weren't as close, they spent time together as well. Devian now ignored Draco, who had given up trying to talk to her after the first week.



As Halloween drew near, an annouoncment was made that this year they would be having a dance, along with the traditional feast. This excited many of the students, who remembered the success of the Yule Ball the previous year. Others, however, didn't regard it with as much enthusiasm.

"Oh great, another chance for me to make an ass of myself." Harry groaned, Ron not looking too happy about it either.

"What's wrong with you two? This dance is going to be so much fun!" Devian said happily, already thinking about what she would wear.

"You wouldn't understand, you're a girl. There's no anxiety involved in your part. All you have to do is wait for a guy to ask you, and then make yourself pretty."

"Well, Ron, your more than welcome to switch places with me if you want to make yourself pretty. Actually, I think I have shimmery blue dress robes that would really bring out the color of your eyes. Would you like to borrow them?" She asked sarcastically

Just then, Fred came walking up. "Hey, Dev, your going to the dance with me, right?"

"Of course. Who else would I go with Fred?"

He shrugged, looking around, "I don't know, there are alot of other guys here."

"Alright, let me refrase that. Who else would I want to go with?"

He grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving. She smiled as she watched him walk away.

"Uhh, Dev, are you blushing?" Harry asked with an evil grin on his face.

"What? No! Of course not! I don't blush." she said quickly, while Harry and Ron laughed at her.