A/N: I do not own rights to Harry Potter, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I only own my own OC's.

Hi all. I didn't forget about you guys at all, I promise. Life has gotten very, very hectic for me. My 7 year relationship ended very suddenly a few months ago, and I had to move back home and get a second job. It's been stressful. This chapter kind of resembles how I've been feeling lately. Thank you all for sticking with me. Hope this chapter is worth it.

Chapter 22: The Room of Requirement

Sienna's first crush ever, Michael Collins, was a little boy she met when she was seven on holiday with her mum. She remembers him as a boy whose skin was an olive tanned tone and his eyes were a pretty brown color with golden circles around his irises. The week Sienna and Alesia spent at the beach, this boy and his mother were there too. They all became friendly, and Sienna's fondest moment with him was when he gifted her a pink shell he found while swimming. Sienna remembers feeling over the moon in the moment.

The last day of holiday before she left for home, she noticed Michael had not said goodbye to her. Nor even paid attention to her. She spotted him down a ways away, handing another shell to another girl her age. She remembered how he made her feel at that moment - sad and confused. She never wanted to like another person in that way again. Of course, she was seven, and that was her first "heartbreak". She didn't know better then, but she knew she would never let another person make her feel sad again.

Until she met Draco Malfoy.

A week after the Yule Ball, Sienna made sure to keep to herself and her family and friends. She spent more time with her father, and she even ventured to the Room of Requirement when she needed time to think. She avoided the Astronomy Tower at all costs, knowing that was there the blonde haired boy would most likely be.

The Room of Requirement helped her when she needed it most, she seemed to notice. She found herself a spot to sit - whether it be the floor, an old chair, an old couch, or even a table - and sometimes she wept. She did that often when she thought about Draco and what happened at the Yule Ball. She felt as though someone took all of her nerves and ripped them out of her body. She was numb; numb to feelings, numb to conversations, numb to everything. She never felt like this in her life, feeling like the light was stolen from her.

She regretted opening herself up to this boy, only for him to tear her down.

She met his eyes passing in the corridors and in the Great Hall, but quickly avoided him as soon as his stare was a second too long. Her friends knew well enough to make sure he didn't disturb her. The biggest surprise to her of all the friends to do so, was Harry. Harry had heard through Ron who was told by Ginny about something happening, but not the entire situation. Still, Harry made sure that he would help her steer clear of the boy. Harry would spot her in the hall and hurry to walk with her, or sit with her and Ginny during meals. Sienna appreciated the effort, but she still felt a sense of numbness through her body whenever Draco came into sight. Harry tried his best though.

Sienna strolled into the Room of Requirement this time on New Year's Eve. Ginny and Harry invited her to a party in the Gryffindor Common Room, but she was not interested in dealing with Dean and Seamus' dirty looks, which she received often as of late. Although she tended not to care, she has been feeling vulnerable.

Sienna sat on a couch this time, dressed in a pair of jeans ripped at the knees and a gray, oversized knitted sweater. Her hair was in a high, messy bun because she was tired of the loose hairs getting in her face when she cried. She brought a blanket with her this time, as she expected to sit for a while until after midnight rolled around. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall - 22:36. Enough time for her to relax and get away from the world.

She brought her enchanted quill (the one her father gifted her for Christmas) and her journal with her, wanting to write out any feelings she was having this time around. She found journaling to be beneficial, when she wasn't crying, after her father had enchanted her journal so that no one else could read what was inside without a simple incantation. This night in particular, she felt as if she couldn't breathe. The grief was overwhelming her to the point where she couldn't focus. She sat with her legs crossed, journal in her lap and quill in her hand. However, her mind was blank. Words were not forming in her head. She looked down and found multiple tear drops that had landed on her pages. When she finally realized what had happened, she could not stop the tears. She sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed.

"Hello?" Sienna heard about 10 feet away from her. Sienna jolted up and quickly brushed her tears away with her sleeve, and sat up quickly. She heard footsteps coming her way to find that they belonged to none other than the Boy Who Lived.

"Oh - hi, Harry." Sienna said, forcing a smile his way. She tried to play everything off, but it was hard considering her eyes were red and puffy, and she had tear stains on her face from crying so much. Harry walked around and looked at her intently. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Sienna turned her head and stared at the fire blazing in front of her for a bit, thinking about how to respond. Bloody brilliant, thanks for asking.

No, that was too mean.

Just fine, thank you.

No, that's not honest.

She didn't even feel Harry sitting next to her on the couch before she finally gave a response, but against everything she wanted in that moment, more tears leaked from her blue eyes.

She sniffled a bit, wiping her tears vigorously with her sleeves again. "I'm sorry," she squeaked out. Harry, particularly awkward in these situations, scooched closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a sideways hug a bit. Feeling a bit of human interaction for the first time in a week, she laid her head on his shoulder. Her tears kept coming and her eyes were glued to the fire.

"I'm sorry, Sienna." Harry muttered. He didn't know how to help her. Harry only felt like this when Cho told him she already had a date to the Ball, but this was different. This was real heartbreak from what he could tell.

Sienna sniffled a bit more, and could only just nod her head, reassuring him that she was thankful for his presence.

Harry decided that he wasn't going to leave the poor girl by herself. She insisted he didn't need to babysit her or make him feel like she needed him there. Although she appreciated him, she felt like a burden. Harry didn't budge though, and sat with her for a little while longer. They lost track of time actually. Only when it became midnight did Sienna look up. She heard an old Grandfather clock ringing in the Room of Requirement somewhere before she picked her head up and realized she had dozed off.

Harry was still there, reading a book he had brought with him about the Triwizard Tournaments in the past. He looked up as well at the sound of the clock. Sienna quickly moved herself off of Harry and rubbed her eyes. They were still red from crying and puffy too, but she didn't care at this point.

Harry spoke softly to her. "Happy New Year, Sienna."

She looked at him, giving him a weak, gentle smile. "Happy New Year, Harry."

He nodded at her and awkwardly tried to look elsewhere. She quickly cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I fell asleep."

Harry shook his head, "Don't apologize, you're tired."

She tried to laugh a little. Tired…she wished that was it.

"Yeah… I guess that's it." She trailed off, staring into the fire again.

"Is it… you know… him again?" he questioned carefully.

She nodded. "I feel stupid for even being upset." She chuckled to herself pathetically. "He's infuriating."

"Can't disagree there."

Sienna couldn't help but laugh at his comment. She realized that she laughed for the first time in a while. "I don't blame you either."

Harry smiled at her a little too. However, he got serious afterwards. "He must have really messed up, huh?" He questioned.

She started to tear up again, thinking of the moment she heard him tell Blaise that he had finally snogged her.

"C'mon, do you know me at all, Zabini?"

Those words echoed in her mind. She clearly didn't know Draco Malfoy at all. After countless studying sessions, the strolls up to the Astronomy Tower, the walks to the Common Room after classes ended, the night of the Yule Ball… She must've not known Draco in the slightest bit.

All she could do to answer Harry was nod her head. She took a deep, unsteady breath. "He did."

Harry was silent for a moment, wondering if she would elaborate at all. She wiped her eyes a bit more and cleared her throat. "I know you may not like Draco, but he protected me like no one else. You should've seen his face when we came back from the Chamber of Secrets two years ago." She smiled softly at the memory of Draco hugging her and letting her cry in his arms. "Or the time he heard Sirius was in the castle. He didn't let me out of his sight. He cares-" she stopped herself briefly. "...well, he acted like he cared about me." Her eyes welled up with more tears.

Merlin, why couldn't she just shake this off?

Harry listened intently. Though he didn't understand her feelings for the pompous, racist bloke, he wanted to hear her out.

She continued, "After the Yule Ball, Ginny had retrieved Hermoine after her argument with Ron. I started to go back and look for Draco to go back to the Common Room. He was talking to Blaise Zabini. His back was turned to me, so he didn't notice I was there. They were talking about a bet…" she trailed off, trying to keep her composure.

Harry suddenly got a sense of the conversation, so he sighed, but continued to listen.

"Blaise had mentioned something about finally snogging me to Draco. Draco mentioned that he had snogged me before the ball. Blaise looked… surprised… and he said 'so you did win the bet then.'"

Harry just shook his head. What idiots, he thought.

She kept talking, staring into the fire. "Draco went along with the conversation easily. Once Blaise saw me though, he suddenly was silent. He looked like he had seen a dementor. It's just…" She paused.

Harry noticed her pause, and interjected into the conversation. "He doesn't deserve you, Sienna." He was blunt, but he was gentle at the same time. Harry knew her feelings for the Malfoy boy. He knew how deeply impacted she was. He saw a new Sienna he had never seen before. Her normal bubbly, sweet self was now distant and quiet.

Sienna continued to stare into the fire. "I wish the situation was different." She whispered. She wished Draco never made that bet, she wished that Draco was more aware of her feelings.

She wished Draco didn't lie about loving her.

Sienna eventually made her way back to the common room. Harry was kind of enough to walk her there, running into her father through the corridors. He eyed the poor boy, but Sienna reassured he was escorting her back. Although Snape wasn't necessarily a fan of the boy, he nodded and thanked Harry for walking her back.

"Did your father just thank me?" Harry inquired, still in shock.

Sienna chuckled, "yes, yes he did."

"That may be a first. I'll have to save that memory."

Sienna smiled big. When they reached the entry to the Slytherin common room, Siena stopped and stood in front of Harry. "Um, thank you again for sitting with me. You didn't have to."

"I wanted to. It's no problem, Sienna."

She grinned at him. She turned to open the door, when the boy's hand reached out and caught her wrist gently. "Wait.."

Sienna looked back at Harry, her blue eyes meeting his green ones.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to help me study a bit? You know, for the next task.. I figured I could use your skills with potions and what not, considering, uh, you're just very-"

Sienna giggled. "Sure, Harry, I'll help you."

He smiled at her, "really?"

She nodded, "of course. I'll meet you tomorrow after lunch?"

He nodded quickly, "uh, yeah! Sounds good!"

She smiled at him again. "Night, Harry."

"G'night, Sienna."

With that, Sienna turned and entered the common room, closing the door behind her. She rested her back against the old wood door, sliding down slowly. She sat there for a moment, wondering how in Merlin's name she just agreed to a study date with the Harry Potter. Sure, she's known Harry since she started at Hogwarts, but the idea that he wanted to study with her of all people, including Hermione, really took her aback.

Sienna sighed. What has she gotten herself into?