[I was in a slightly better mood for this chapter, but I had to follow up on the first one.still a little morbid. Sometimes the most likely hero is also the most unlikely.]

*****

*****

Ch. IV: Truth

Percy had skidded to a halt on his knees beside the girl, whose arm was now exuding deep red liquid at an alarming rate. Gathering his wits about him, he pulled out his wand and muttered a quick charm while pointing it at her arm. The wound closed, grotesquely resembling the closing of a zipper. It left a scab there on her arm and he flicked his wand, a white bandage flew from the tip and raveled itself around her wrist.

As much as he wished he could just take her to Professor Dumbledore or Madam Pomphrey, this just didn't seem like something that others ought to know. It was awfully personal, so he decided to rid her of humiliation and sat down next to her, conjuring up a red and gold pillow and placing it under head, and a blanket of the same colors that he wrapped around her.

*****

A half an hour later, she began to stir, and her dark, bloodshot eyes opened. Percy wondered if she was weak from the amount of blood she had lost, but was pleased to see that she sat and looked around at her surroundings.

"No, you're not dead." He looked into her eyes, feeling a mixture of annoyance and pity.

"Well, it's an easy mistake," Xanne looked down at the bandage on her wrist and smirked. "I mean, I'm here on the floor of a bathroom bedecked in Gryffindor upholstery with you for company so naturally, hell would be the rational explanation."

"For your information," Percy snapped quickly, looking over at the girl who was clearly ungrateful. His anger dissolved when he saw that her snarky demeanor had faded and tears leaked out of her eyes. He did the only thing he thought would help; he reached out an arm and pulled her in so she was resting on his chest, his robes stifling her sobs.

His mind was swimming. He thought, not about what he had done, how he had just saved the life of this sixteen year old girl, but about Oliver Wood. Wood had been worried about this very same girl. He had seen past the emblem on the breast of her robes and into her eyes, where she was troubled. Percy himself had dismissed the thought of anything being seriously wrong with the girl, after all, Slytherins were not known for their mysterious nature.

He cast a quick glance at his wristwatch. It was half past one in the morning. Running a hand through his dark red hair, he shifted his weight a bit and realized that the girl had dozed off on his chest. He had but a minute to worry if that was simply the case before the door of the prefects' bathroom opened once more.

The girl who had entered flicked her wand irately and the torches blazed more brightly than the dim flickering they had produced before. Her head snapped in his direction as she noticed she was not alone. Her hazel eyes recognized his face instantly; Penelope Clearwater walked slowly into the bathroom.

"So," she said gravely, fighting back tears. "Is this why you simply could not see me anymore, Percy?"

"Of course not," he said, tugging the sleeve of Xanne's robe down to cover the bandages on her wrist. "I was just.helping a friend through a tough time, that's all."

"A friend?" she eyed the Slytherin sleeping in his arms. "That's news to me, as is how helping her through a tough time requires the blankets off of your bed and a dimly lit, secluded bathroom."

"Would you just trust me, Penny?" his eyelids drooped as he looked up at her.

"What, I'm not Clearwater anymore? And no, I will not trust you. You abandoned me, Percy." She crossed her arms, then spoke very loudly and clearly. "You.You, girl. Wake up!"

Xanne stirred a bit, but snuggled her head more firmly into Percy's chest. Penelope walked briskly over to her and shook her violently. She snapped up and scowled at the Head Girl.

"What the fuck are you doing? Don't touch me!" she shook off the hands of the Ravenclaw and ran her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes.

"I know you, you're a prefect," Penelope looked down at her robes. "A Slytherin prefect no less. So tell me, Slytherin Prefect, what is your reason for requiring help from the Head Boy at half past one in the morning, alone in the bathroom?"

Percy braced himself. From the conversations he had witnessed between Xanne and other students, at prefects meetings as well as in the corridors, she was not one to cross.

"My name is not 'Slytherin prefect," Xanne said in a blunt tone. "My name is Xanne Malloy. You may address me as 'Malloy.' And I know you as well; you're the Ravenclaw who beat Callie to Head Girl. And for your information, I did not require help from the Head boy, as you put it, he saw that I was in need and obliged most kindly."

"I see," she folded her arms over her chest.

"No, you don't see, obviously." Xanne stood up quickly and began to walk away. Percy stood up also, watching intently to see if the girl was indeed fine. She wasn't, her first step was pointless as she fell backwards. He quickly reached out to catch her and sat her down on the tile floor.

"You're not ready to walk yet," he whispered into her ear. "You've lost too much blood, stay down here for a few moments."

She looked annoyed and stayed sitting where he had guided her. He stood up and confronted the Head Girl.

"Will you stop being a nefarious twit?! It's obvious that since she's not capable of walking, I was telling the truth, she was in need of my help." He stated loudly before murmuring something into her ear. "Penny, the girl tried to kill herself. I merely walked in and bandaged her. Please don't hold this against me."

The Head girl turned, alarmed to the girl sitting on the floor. She kneeled down beside her before speaking slowly.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't want your pity," Xanne spat, looking away.

"And you won't get it, but you will get my concern." She looked at the girl one last time before rising and turning to Percy, guiding him out of earshot and whispering to him. "I think we should tell Dumbledore. Prefects are role models, I don't think it would be wise for her to continue being one."

"Are you daft? Why would we want to make things worse for her?"

"You must admit that to do something so drastic, she is clearly unstable," Penelope's eyes narrowed. "Now don't make me the bad guy here."

"I'm not, but you're clearly unstable now too, do you think it's wise for you to be Head Girl?" He looked into her hazel eyes as they narrowed even further and she opened her mouth to speak. He cut her off. "Exactly, everyone has their problems, it's important that they overcome their problems rather than suffer from them with everything they do. Don't tell Dumbledore, I beg you."

"Why not?" she asked, becoming quite cross.

"Because what happened between you and I is over. We're over, you shouldn't hold this over my head, or over hers for that matter," he motioned to the girl on the floor.

"I really should take points off from Gryffindor and Slytherin for this," she said, seeming defeated. "You both were out of bed."

"As were you," Percy added. She looked up at him and sighed. She moved closer to him, and brought her face close to his, her breath smelling of mints. She moved to press her lips on his, but he moved backwards and took her by the shoulders. "It's over Penelope."

Penelope's eyes darkened and she turned on her heel, walking hastily toward the door. Percy feared she would go straight to Dumbledore or Flitwick, her head of house, but his fears were eased as she turned before reaching the door.

"I won't tell," tears leaked out of her eyes. "I will always love you Percy."

"That's nice to know," he smiled warmly at her, turned and walked over to Xanne. Penelope left; the door slid shut behind her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends what it is," Xanne replied, turning to face him.

"Well, you be the judge," Percy's eyes looked nervous. "Why did you do this?"

"It's a long story," her dark eyes were cloudy, and she reached her unwounded hand up and clutched the claw necklace she wore.

"Don't feel like telling it?" he shifted and wrapped her in the blanket that lay discarded on the floor.

"I spent a good amount of time going through it in my head before hand," she said, looking down at her bandaged wrist.

"I know what you mean," he looked down at the tile.

"Why, something happen to you as well?"

"A lot of things are happening in my life. I'm confused, that's all," his blue eyes locked with her dark brown ones. "I wish there was something I could do."

"You've done a lot already," Xanne looked gratefully back at him.

"All in a day's work," he mused, shivering a bit before moving under the blanket with her. "I still wish I could do more to help you."

"You can," she whispered, taking both hands and pulling his face close to hers before kissing him deeply. He shuddered and pulled away quickly.

"You don't want this," he said, looking alarmed once more.

"I think I'll be the judge of what I do and don't want, thank you," her face darkened and she moved closer to him.

"No, you don't want this, not now."

"Why, you don't want this either?" her face looked conquered in the flickering torchlight. Clearly, she hadn't experienced a rejection of this sort before.

"Oddly, I think I do," he murmured, taking her hand in his. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think that might be due to the fact that Penelope and I have ended our relationship. I'm probably just seeking comfort, which I'm positive you are, and you're hurt so I will not contribute to hurting you worse than you already are."

"Admirable," Xanne said, flatly.

"I try," he smiled lightly. "Lets try and get you back to your dormitory, it's awfully late."

"I'd rather just stay here," she said, leaning on his chest.

"As you wish," he said, and with a flick of his wand, they were in a bed of red and gold pillows and covered by several blankets. He leaned back on a pile of the pillows and awkwardly stroked her back. Of all of the places he could have been, he was happy he was making someone feel comforted. Come to think of it, he realized that she was, in a way, comforting him as well.

*****

*****

*****

[That ending just makes me happy. No romance what so ever, just comfort. But what about Marcus, what will he have to say?]