a/n: think about the title of the chapter while you read this. Review please. ~rowanx
Harry and Draco were each sitting on a different bed, muttering and glaring at each other every now and then, only to find the other glaring back, and so turning away muttering once more. Harry was dabbing a patch of cotton wool on his bleeding nose and cheek while Draco holding a larger piece to his forehead and black eye. They were waiting for the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, to return to "fix you boys up properly, God knows how you got into this mess in the first place…tut tut blah blah."
Harry didn't care. Well, thinking about it he did. He knew he had messed up. He knew Dumbledore would be angry. He knew he'd probably get his Head Boy badge taken away for sure this time, but none of that stuff really seemed to matter. Apart from the first one. He had messed up. He had said no to Cassandra and he had lost it with Malfoy. Two big no nos.
Madam Pomfrey came back with some chocolate for both of them (although: "you don't really deserve it, it's your own faults") and some facial healing potion which they both drunk down in one disgusting gulp and their faces went back to looking normal (although there was still some pain there – Harry and Draco both assumed that Madam Pomfrey had done that deliberately to teach them both a lesson).
"Now, before you go," Pomfrey said, looking severe, "I don't want you two getting into any more fights, do you hear me? I know better than anyone how much you've nearly killed each other the past couple of years, but I'm being serious. You're both in your seventh year. You're adults now. Grow up, and learn to get along."
Harry and Draco left the hospital wing groaning. Madam Pomfrey was wrong; it wasn't silly childish behaviour. It was real. Harry really did hate Malfoy to the depths of his soul and he couldn't stand being in the same room as him.
Although Harry was feeling these hate-filled thoughts, he did have a moment of enlightenment and decided he should do the right thing for his most hated enemy. "Hey Malfoy," Harry called out just as they were about to split directions.
"What now?" Draco asked sounding bored and angry.
"You do know Madam Pomfrey was wrong don't you? About us being silly and childish?"
"'Course I do. I hate you because you're so bloody annoying and I hate you. It's not stupid rivalry."
Harry grinned and frowned. "Good. So you'll know that what I'm about to say is through pure honesty and a strange and sudden feeling of righteousness; it's got nothing to do with you."
Malfoy nodded slowly, frowning. Harry took a deep breath. "I know you and Cassandra aren't together anymore, but I know you still care for her, so if I were you, I'd try to find out who the hell she really is before you start begging that she takes you back."
Harry then turned and walked off, ignoring the calls of "What's that supposed to mean, Potter? Potter!" from his confused enemy now far behind him.
Harry approached the painting of the fat lady carefully. He knew everyone would be in the common room, back from the ball. He also knew that they'd all know about, or probably saw, the fight. "Slytherin suck," Harry said to the fat lady (he and Seamus had come up with the very original password for their common room). The fat lady smiled at him pleasantly, and swung open to let him through. Harry walked in to the over-crowded common room. Was it his imagination or had his house grown suddenly?
As he had thought, a million people rushed at Harry at once; some asking why he had fought Malfoy, some congratulating him on his last swing, some marvelling at how quickly the cuts on his face had healed (or had seemed to heal).
Harry just pushed through everyone, not looking at anyone, not talking to anyone. He ran straight up the stairs and slammed into his dormitory door, causing it to fling open in rage. Harry walked over to his bed, turned, and fell on it. He closed his eyes. He imagined he was at the top of a waterfall. He was just standing there, letting the rushing water race past his feet, but he wasn't falling over. His arms were spread out like an eagle, and the sun was shining down on him. He bent his knees, and jumped…
"Harry?" Harry's eyes shot open, bringing him back to reality. Five of Harry's best friends came in, one who wasn't even supposed to be in there.
"How are you?" asked Parvati, sitting down on a bed next to Harry's.
Harry frowned, sitting up. "You're not allowed here."
"So?" Parvati grinned. "Since when are you all for the rules?"
Harry laughed wryly. "Point taken."
Seamus, Dean, Neville and Ron each placed themselves on different beds around the room, ignoring whose was whose. "What set you two off anyway?" asked Parvati. Harry raised an eyebrow at the boys. He had assumed they would tell her. "I missed the first part of the fight, me and Lavender were outside."
Lavender. Harry winced at her name and rubbed his face wearily. "Lavender…" he groaned.
"Yeah," Parvati said understandingly.
"Where is she?"
"In her bedroom."
"Is she ok?"
"Well, you did kinda ignore her all night. She was really looking forward to going with you, you know…"
Harry leaned forward. "Yeah, I know. Listen, Parvati…tonight was just supposed to be us going as friends…"
"Yeah…I know," Parvati said softly, smiling sympathetically. "So tell me – what was the fight about? I assume Cassandra since she was kind of standing in between you guys when I got there."
"Yeah…" Harry looked away uncomfortably. He didn't wanna explain the whole thing again. He assumed his friends would. Sure enough, they did.
"Cassandra dumped Malfoy to go out with Harry and Harry obviously said no, and Cassandra was upset and Malfoy was pissed and was on a death watch," Seamus explained quickly. "Very complicated."
"Extremely," Parvati agreed with one eyebrow raised.
While the others were discussing this factor, Ron got up unnoticeably and went over to sit by Harry. "So are you going to talk to her?"
"Who, Lavender?"
"No, Cassandra!" Ron frowned. "Harry, you were supposed to go out with her, remember?" He knocked on Harry's head. "Or have you completely forgotten what Dumbledore said the other day?"
"Of course I remember," said Harry, with a quick glance to check the others weren't listening. "It's not as easy as that…"
"And why not?"
Harry bit on his lip. How to explain… "If I just say yes to her while I still…I still love her…then it'll be like I'm really going out with her. And I don't think I could just use her like that while I still love her…"
"Oh…" Ron understood.
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" asked Seamus, whipping around suddenly from his conversation with Parvati.
"Nothing," Ron said, shrugging it off.
Draco stood feeling confused. He had been standing there for quite some time now, and suddenly realised that he was standing in the middle of a corridor after Potter had left him there. Draco frowned angrily, turned, and walked into the dungeons. What the hell was Potter on about anyway? What did he know about Cassandra that Draco didn't?
Draco reached the entrance to his common room, muttered the password ("Griffindors suck", courtesy of himself and Crabbe and Goyle), and entered his full common room. As expected, loads of people rushed at him at once, congratulating him for "kicking Potter's ass!" Draco was going to point out that he didn't actually beat Potter; seeing as how the fight ended with people pulling them apart, no one won, but then something inside of Draco said, Shut up; Malfoys don't care about what's good and right. Enjoy the glory, doofus. So he did. Draco grinned and began to push himself through the crowd. He looked everywhere for Cassandra but couldn't see her. He asked Crabbe and Goyle but they said they hadn't seen her. Then he asked Pansy.
"Yeah, she's up in her dormitory," Pansy said, answering Draco's query.
"Right. Anyone else up there?"
"No. Want me to keep everyone down here for you?"
"Yeah." Draco moved away from Pansy and practically ran to the stairs leading to the girls dormitories, slowing down as soon as he was on the stairs. What was he going to say? He couldn't exactly say, "Cassie, darlin', Potter said you have a secret. Tell me what it is please," could he?
Draco gulped, feeling nervous for the first time in a long time, and rapped his fist on the door. It opened and Cassandra's pale, beautiful face appeared around the side of it. She looked surprised to see Draco, yet she stepped aside and walked back over to her bed where apparently she had been writing something in a notebook. She closed the book and pushed it under her bed. Draco made a mental note of which bed it was in the room. He'd have to remember that.
"So," said Cassandra, sitting on her bed slowly. "Let's get this over with."
Draco frowned. He hated being predictable. He walked over and pushed his hands in his pockets. It was weird; he still didn't know what to say, and yet the right words somehow managed to work their way out of his mouth. "Cassie, what aren't you telling me?"
Cassandra looked straight into his eyes, her own a light shade of grey in the dim light. "Lots. What aren't you telling me?"
Draco laughed wryly. "Funny." He looked away, rolling his eyes, and sitting down on a bed. "There's nothing about me you don't know," Draco answered honestly, bringing up his eyes level with hers. "Your turn."
Cassandra sighed. "Draco, you of all people know that a secret is a secret. I can't tell you as much as you wouldn't be able to tell me about what Lucius gets up to."
Draco frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Cassandra shook her head and looked away. "Oh, nothing."
"So far I've told you practically nothing about my father – I didn't even tell you his name… Why would you assume he "gets up to" things?" Cassandra didn't answer. "Cassie, don't lie to me. What's going on? How do you know my father…"
"I don't, ok. Don't be so paranoid, Draco." Cassandra stood up to walk over to the door but Draco got there first, holding her firmly by the shoulders.
"Of course you know him. How else do you know his name?"
Cassandra hesitated, then said, "Other people do know what your dad's name is, ok? And people do talk, you know…"
"What do they say about him?"
"I don't know, I've just heard the name being mentioned…"
"Then how would you know it was my father they were talking about?"
Cassandra didn't say anything. "You never did tell me why you changed your mind about staying here over Christmas," Malfoy pondered. "You ever going to?"
"I just wanted to spend it with you, ok?" Cassandra's eyelids were wavering, and Draco could see that here eyes weren't quite meeting with his. She was lying.
"You bitch," Draco muttered. He let go of her.
"Oh, what now, Draco?" Cassandra asked sounding bored.
"You never really liked me. You never wanted to spend Christmas with me. You were just using me weren't you. Why? Why – was it to make Potter jealous, was that it?"
"Something like that," Cassandra said with a slight smile, sounding amused.
Ok, now Draco felt really confused. "Cassie, just explain to me; how is it that you're in Slytherin and yet you seem to be in love with the head boy of Griffindor?"
Cassandra smiled and cocked her head to one side adorably. Draco tried to stop his heart from pounding at this sweet and innocence that always did it for him. "Things happen. We can't explain them. I don't know as much as you don't."
And with that she left.