I Do Not Own Harry Potter.

Eva was still smarting over her conversation with Draco the previous night. She'd never known him to be spiteful and it hurt. She had not felt this bad since her grandparents died. Even then, she'd not been able to mourn properly; there had been no service to help with closure nor could she talk about it with friends.

She was walking about the school on Saturday after finishing her homework. She had awakened at dawn and gone straight to work. It was a good distraction, but now she had the rest of the day to think about Draco. She was walking down the corridor and noticed that it was the one that held classroom eleven. She guessed that her feet were automatically moving her to the one place where she was the happiest.

She unlocked the door and walked in. She'd spent many a happy hour in here with Harry. She remembered their kiss the night before and smiled giddily. She hoped that it meant he might want to get a bit more serious. She walked farther in and realized she really didn't want to be here. She wanted to do something.

It was a few weeks to the Yule Ball and she'd not danced in months. Saveage had insisted that Eva know how to do all the formal ballroom dances and Eva had loved to invite her American cousin over to learn all the new things that were being danced across the Atlantic. She had even figured out how to watch American television programs that showed people dancing to the latest music. American Muggles sure liked music.

She walked around the castle looking for a recreation room. Surely this castle had to have had a dance and music room. She knew that when it was founded dance was often used in magical ritual and it would only follow to have a room set aside for it. She was in the seventh floor corridor and noticed a door that had not been there last time she'd passed by, or at least she didn't remember it being there before.

Eva looked around the corridor to see if anyone else was there. She saw no one and was rather puzzled with the door. Taking a deep breath she put her hand on the knob and turned it. She opened her eyes and gasped at the room before her. It was just like the ballroom of Nocturino Manor. It had highly polished floors and mirrors on every wall except for the one with windows facing the grounds. It was not grand as the ballroom of the manor, but it could easily fit twenty-five dancing couples.

She walked into the center of the room and sat on the floor. She looked around the room and pictured herself and Harry dancing in their formal robes. Her eyes flew open at the thought. She'd had dancing lessons from a very early age, but she had no idea if Harry could dance. She would have to ask him and find out. They had enough time for her to teach him a simple waltz before the ball.

She stood from the floor and wished she'd had her music box with her. She felt like moving. Her mother had always let her go in the ballroom and let out all the pent up energy she sometimes accumulated after a particularly grueling period of her training. As she looked around the room for anything that looked like it might play music, she spotted it: a music box just like her own. She went to it and decided to start with something slow, not even a waltz, just a nice ballad.

She pretended to be dancing with someone and twirled about the room. Her ballad soon faded into a waltz and she went with the music and used as much space as she could. She had not noticed the door open and so did not see Ron and Hermione stumble in. She only noticed them when Ron exclaimed "What the . . ?!"

She was so startled and stopped so abruptly that she fell over mid-twirl and landed on her bum. Hermione giggled at her little swan dive.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you two wanted to use . . ." Eva's voice trailed off when she noticed the slightly rumpled nature of Hermione and Ron's appearance. Hermione's hair was a bit bushier, as if someone had been running fingers through it rather roughly. Ron's hair had the look of someone just coming off of his broomstick. Eva saw that both of them were trying to discreetly right their appearances.

Hermione was the one to speak. "We didn't know anyone was using the Room of Requirement," she said.

"The what?" asked Eva.

"The Room of Requirement. It's kind of a secret, really. It turns into a room that fits what you need it to be. Like you, apparently, wanted it to be a ballroom, so it turned itself into one," explained Hermione.

"That's amazing," said Eva looking around her again.

"Well, we'll let you get back to dancing," said Ron. He had grabbed Hermione's hand and looked rather determined about something. No doubt, about finding another room where they could snog in private.

Hermione, however, seemed to be curious. "Were you waltzing?"

"Yes, I learned when I was younger."

"Would you . . . could you . . um . . ." Hermione was not used to asking people to teach her to do something.

"You want to learn how to waltz?" asked Eva.

"Only if you don't mind," Hermione said hastily.

"I don't mind at all. In fact, why don't you two go down to Gryffindor Tower and find some people who want to learn how to dance and we'll have another little party."

"Sure!" said Hermione.

"Hermione," whinged Ron.

Eva had to turn around to hide her smile from him. He had obviously been looking forward to their snogging session.

"Come on, Ron. We can do that later. I want you to learn how to dance for the ball." Hermione took his hand and dragged him out of the room. Eva heard him whinging all the way down the corridor.

She took the opportunity of their leaving to dance to something that suited her mood. She put on an upbeat song and enjoyed a nice lively dance before anyone walked in the door again. When she finished, she thought of some songs for Hermione's lesson and checked to make sure that this music box had them on it. She was glad to see that all her favorite waltzes were on it and selected one to start with.

Hermione and Ron arrived back with about ten people; Dean, Neville and Seamus were among them. She noticed that there were only the four boys and eight girls. Hermione was taken by Ron, of that there was no doubt, the other girls were going to have to dance with each other until they could get some more boys in here. Maybe Eva could convince some of the younger Slytherins to come and take lessons.

The couples were soon paired and the girls did not complain as much as Eva had expected. In fact, the ones that were paired together seemed to be thankful that at least they were not paired with Neville. She began by teaching them the basic foot movements of a waltz. She did not put on music at first, but rather, told them to practice the movements with their partners. She noticed that Neville seemed to know how the dance went. Eva smiled as he encouraged his partner as she stumbled through some of the steps.

Dean and Seamus, on the other hand, were stepping on the toes of their partners and getting more frustrated by the minute. Eva cut in with each of them and slowly took them through one round of steps. She returned them to their partners and the 'ouches' lessened considerably.

Ron and Hermione were a sight to watch. Ron was stepping on her feet almost every other move and she just grinned at him and soldiered on valiantly. If that isn't love, I don't know what is, thought Eva. She asked Hermione if she would like a break and paired with Ron for a bit. She did the same for him as she had with Dean and Seamus. Ron needed a few rounds, however to get a hang of the beat. She gave him back to Hermione and stepped to the side to watch all of them dance.

She saw that they pretty well had the steps down; now it was now time to add the beat. She clapped her hands to get their attention. "That was good, now let's see how you do with music."

She walked over to the music box and muttered something to it. The room was filled with strands of the Emperor Waltz by Strauß. "Don't worry too much about keeping time yet. You probably wouldn't be able to if you tried; just do the steps and little by little get in time with the song."

She walked around and was pleased to see that they were all getting more comfortable with the steps of the dance. She liked to watch the girls that were paired together. They would switch positions whenever they were going to switch lead. It was fun to watch, but she felt a pang of longing when she went into a corner to see their progress as a whole.

She recognized the pang as regret, a sensation she had only begun to feel after the get-together in her rooms. She had to acknowledge that if she had fought to come to Hogwarts, she might not have missed out on everything she was now experiencing. She knew her life would have been tremendously different than it was now and she could not yet make up her mind if that was a good or bad thing.

Harry had been wondering where Ron and Hermione had gone, but decided they were probably in some abandoned classroom snogging each other senseless. It had been nearly impossible to find them apart from each other since after the incident at Hogsmeade. You would have thought they had been permanently attached at the lips. Harry was walking through the castle and was just going to the staircases when he heard music floating towards him.

He noticed that some other students had heard it and were also moving towards the staircases. Harry tried to figure out where it was coming from and climbed one set of stairs to another, stopping at every landing to make sure he was still headed in the right direction, all thoughts of finding Ron and Hermione gone.

He reached the corridor of the Room of Requirement and saw that the door was there. He opened it to find six couples dancing rather awkwardly and Eva watching them with her back turned to him. He walked behind her and watched the other students with her. She chuckled a little when Ron stepped on Hermione's foot again and she just smiled and kept trudging on.

"Has he been—" He was cut off by Eva's scream.

Neville and Ron turned around, wands out and pointed at Harry. He put his hands up, with the palms out. "I just got here."

Eva clutched her chest and breathed deeply. She turned to Harry with an angry glare. "Don't ever sneak up on me like that," she hissed.

"Sorry, I didn't know you'd be so startled." He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Forgive me?"

"Only if you waltz with me," she said. Harry averted his eyes and looked decidedly nervous. "Do you know how to waltz?" she asked.

He did not say anything, just continued to look away.

"I could teach you, if you want." She pulled his hand a little and led him onto the dance floor. She placed one of his hands on her waist and the other she took in her right hand, her left she put on his upper arm. "Now look at my feet," she instructed.

Harry looked down between them and watched as Eva moved her foot back and followed the movement with his own foot. He mechanically copied her moves and was soon haltingly leading her around the floor. He apologized every time he stepped on her toes and she just smiled. The other couples were soon leaving one by one. Eva called out that if they wanted more lessons to just let her know and she'd be glad to go to the common room to help them out.

She and Harry stayed in the room and slowly, and sometimes painfully for Eva, danced to the waltzes that were emanating from the music box.

"You should have told me that you didn't know how to waltz, Harry. I would have been teaching you a long time ago. I could have shown you so many formal dances; it would have been a nice break from your training."

Harry just smiled at her. He was trying to concentrate on his feet and make sure that he wasn't stepping on her toes. Eva kept up the conversation for both of them.

"I'm wearing a blue silk dress to the Ball. I was wondering what color your robes are, so I can try and match with you."

"It's a kind of dark green color," he replied. He'd stepped on her toes again and gave her an apologetic look.

"It's alright, Harry, you're still learning. Hmm, I'm going to have to see if I have anything that will go with your robes. I wish I had my wardrobe here; it would be a lot easier if I had all my clothes. I know that I have a sash that would blend with the dress and your robes; and I have some beautiful earrings that have emeralds and sapphires." Eva sighed.

The music had stopped and so had they, but neither seemed to want to let go of the other. They stood looking into each other's eyes for a while before Eva placed her head on Harry's shoulder and hugged him. Harry was rather taken aback by the move, but did not protest; he just held her close.

Eva eventually stood back from him a little and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry. I guess I just needed a hug."

"No need to apologize." Harry liked it when they were alone. He seemed to be more comfortable with showing affection. "I know you'll use any excuse to put your hands on me," he teased.

"Oh, most definitely." Eva gave him a wicked smile and entwined her arms around his neck. "I seem to remember that we didn't get to finish our first public kiss."

"Yeah, I had the strangest feeling that your father did not approve."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's strange. He was just telling me how much he would like to have you as a son-in-law."

Harry guffawed. The day Severus Snape said anything like that, would be the day Harry was Minister of Magic. His laughter stopped suddenly when Eva kissed his neck. He gasped. She'd never done anything like that before.

"Just wanted to get your attention," she said.

Harry smiled and leaned towards her. Their lips met and soon Harry had parted her lips. He loved the way she always tasted like lemon, not sour, but sweet lemon. He knew it was because she always had a few lemon drops in her pocket and would suck on them in class. Eva's hands found their way into his hair; she seemed to like to play with it and Harry did not mind at all.

It was not too long before they were completely lost in their embrace. They did not hear the door open again and two people walk in. It was not until someone cleared their throat loudly that they parted. Eva and Harry jumped apart. Eva tucked in her blouse, which Harry had begun to sneak his hand under and Harry re-buttoned his shirt.

"I thought you were dancing," said Neville, doing his best to control his mirth. Ron, on the other hand, was smiling from ear-to-ear.

"I was wondering when the two of you would get together. So, is he a good kisser?" he asked Eva.

She promptly blushed and Harry threw him a murderous glare.

Eva began to move out of the room. "I think I still have some work to do. I'll see you around, Harry." She escaped from the room and headed straight for the East Tower.

"Good job, Ron!" cried Harry. "She'll probably never talk to me now."

"Hey, that's just payback for all the times that you've been telling Hermione and me to get a room," he countered.

The three boys walked out of the Room of Requirement. Ron and Harry headed towards the locker rooms and the Quidditch pitch. Their second match of the year was next week and they had some last minute practicing to do. Neville headed towards Gryffindor Tower. He had some business with Hermione.

Monday was a disaster for everyone. Harry had not been able to concentrate in Potions for daydreaming of the kiss he and Eva had shared on Saturday. He had to rely on Ron so as not to completely blow up the dungeons. Needless to say, they had received abysmal marks for the class. Ron hadn't been himself either. No one really knew why, but Harry thought it was because he had his head in the clouds ever since he and Hermione had hooked up. It just seemed worse today.

Neville seemed in a bad mood today too, something which made Eva's gloominess even worse. She had begun to think that he was really improving when it came to standing up to Professor Snape, but today he just reverted back to the Neville of old. Eva had protested in the beginning of the class about their mark on a paper, but he had not supported her at all and she just dropped her argument.

Hermione was having a difficult day as well. She had not been able to concentrate in any of her classes all day. It was a rare thing to see Hermione Granger preoccupied, it was almost as if she was not concentrating at all.

It was a strange group of people that sat down at the Gryffindor table that night for dinner. Neville just glared at Hermione and said nothing to anyone. Harry was thinking about what it would be like to just be a normal teenage boy. It was nothing he had not thought of before, but when he looked over at the sad Eva sitting alone at Slytherin he couldn't think of anything he'd wanted more in life. Ron was talking amiably with everyone and trying to catch Hermione's hand under the table; it didn't matter that her mind seemed to be on something else.

Hermione's condition was probably the most strange, only because she finally did something about it. She had been thinking all day about her discussion with Neville had had on Saturday night. He'd accused her of being just as bad as Draco Malfoy in her dislike of Eva. She'd had a reason to dislike Eva when Ron was drooling over her, he'd said, but now that was not in the way and Hermione still insisted that there was something wrong with the Slytherin.

Hermione had countered that she had all the signs of a Dark witch. Her grand-parents had been dark wizards and she had been trained at home. They didn't know her background. She'd pointed out how suspicious it was that she came to Hogwarts in their sixth year and her mother had gone into hiding. She shouted that the whole thing reeked of a plan to hurt Harry.

Neville countered that she had no proof of that and that Eva had even been helping them all. She had offered them the dancing lessons and had invited them to her rooms for that little get together. She'd even introduced them to her mother as her friends, even when Hermione had not acted like one. Neville had not raised his voice as Hermione had. He'd simply said what he thought and left her to think on it. What had gotten to her, and he knew it, was when he'd said that she was beginning to act like a Slytherin, one that Draco Malfoy would admire.

The whole conversation had set Hermione's mind to churning. She'd thought of all her interactions with Eva and was not happy with what she found. She'd been unnecessarily mean to Eva most of the time that they had spent together. The only time that she had been civil was after she had gotten together with Ron, and even then, she'd still tried to convince Harry that seeing Eva was bad. It was only recently that she'd really begun seeing Eva in a different light, but deep down she had to admit that she was only staying close to be sure she did not steal Ron from her.

Hermione's slammed her fork down on the table, causing her friends to look at her with concern. She just looked right at Neville and said, "I am not like that git and I can prove it to you." She got up from the table and strode towards the Slytherin table with her head held high.

Neville had not thought his little talk had affected her that much, but was glad that she was going to do something about her behavior. He just hoped that she wouldn't get in over her head.

The remaining Gryffindors looked on in shock as Hermione made her way towards the Slytherins who were now glaring rather malevolently at her approach. She walked straight to Eva without a backwards glance at the other students sitting near her. She took one of the many spots that were empty around the girl.

"I thought you might like some company," she said as explanation.

Eva's mouth just opened and closed. She thought she must look like a fish and so she just smiled at Hermione with shiny eyes. Taking one of the platters of food that was in front of her she helped Hermione fill her plate with food and they began a rather pleasant conversation. Both girls knew that their friendship was not winning Eva any points with the Slytherins and that Hermione was now probably on their ten most wanted list if she were not already. They simply ignored all signs of being disturbed by the hostility being aimed at them. In fact, they talked and laughed rather loudly during the whole of dinner.

When they saw that most of the other students had finished and left the Great Hall they fell into a slower conversation.

"Eva, I know I haven't been the nicest person in the world since you've been here and I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that if you need something or just need someone to talk to, you can come to me." Hermione said this rather quickly, so she would not lose her nerve.

Eva did not know what to say. She had never expected Hermione to apologize for what she thought a rather natural response to her threatened position with Harry and Ron. She certainly did not think Hermione was a mean person and was just so glad that she had offered her hand in friendship. Eva simply threw herself at Hermione in a hug. "I'm so glad that you said that. I've really needed another girl to talk to. I'm not used to being without my Mum."

The girls finished the embrace and laughed. It was the first time that either of them had a real girlfriend to speak of. Eva had always had her mother and grandmother, but this was different. Hermione had Ginny, but Eva was her own age and they could talk a lot more easily.

Both girls got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. It was only a few hours before their loyalty to each other would be tested.

Tuesday had started so well for Hermione. It was about six when she woke up and so she had enough time to sit in the common room and read before breakfast and class. She always enjoyed reading in the morning. It seemed to make her mind more alert for the rest of the day. She should have known that things were going downhill when she'd had to go and wake Ron and Harry. They had been getting pretty good at rising on time.

Breakfast was all right, but getting through the corridors that day was a nightmare. She knew that her attendance at the Slytherin table last night had just made her sink lower on the Slytherins most liked list, but there was nothing to be done about that. She would not take back her word of friendship from Eva; just because Eva's Housemates were gits; she had known that a long time ago.

It had come to a head right before her last class; her Arithmancy class with Eva, which she had subsequently missed because of the incident.

Hermione had been waiting at the door of the classroom as she always did, for their professor to unlock the room. She had heard Pansy Parkinson enter the corridor and sighed. She hated it when the girl got to class on time because it meant that Hermione would have to put up with her in the corridor. Thinking back on it now, Hermione was pretty sure that Pansy's attack had not been planned.

It had begun with the usual comments about her looks. She had grown accustomed to their little insults and just ignored the girl. Apparently, Pansy did not like that. She walked right up to Hermione and thrust her pug-like face right in Hermione's.

"What's the matter, Granger? Are we not good enough for you? Is that why you only made friends with Nocturino? You just want a friend that's rich and powerful; doesn't matter that the rest of us are pure-blood, you just want the money."

Hermione should have gone with her instinct and not responded, but she felt that she had to answer. "I do not like Eva because of her money, and I don't care that she's a pure-blood. Just looking at you and your cronies is proof enough that blood isn't everything."

Pansy's wand was out in a flash and pointed at Hermione, who'd had no time to react. Her wand was in her robes and if she made to grab it Pansy would surely beat her in casting a spell.

Hermione looked up and down the corridor to see if there was anyone who could possibly help her, but it appeared no one was interested in walking that way. She just looked back up to Pansy with a blank expression.

"No one to help you, Granger? Where's your hero now?" Pansy smiled slowly. "Inundates."

Hermione felt like she was drowning. She gasped and clawed at the air. She could feel the water start to fill her lungs and drown her; it must have been a strange sight to behold. She was, understandably, preoccupied and did not hear the voice walking down the corridor.

"Back off, Parkinson!" Eva walked faster and then broke out in a run. "I said back off!"

"Not a chance, Nocturino. I'll back off when you back off from Draco," Pansy did not break eye contact with Hermione.

"You leave me no choice," said Eva. Her wand appeared in her hand and she waved it at Pansy. The girl flew back into the wall and grasped at some invisible thing at her neck. "You know, I've heard that choking and drowning feel remarkably similar," Eva commented off-handedly.

She advanced on her fellow Slytherin. "I'm going to let you off this one time, Parkinson, but remember very well what I'm going to say. You will get much worse the next time I catch you hurting someone I care about." She slowly walked closer to the girl and whispered in her ear, "I'm more of a Slytherin than you think."

Eva whirled around and went to Hermione. She was still coughing and spitting water. "Let's get you to the hospital wing." Hermione was soon on her feet and walking towards the front of the school.

"What did you tell Pansy?" asked Hermione.

"Just a little advice," Eva knew Hermione would soon ask for a better account of what she said, but Eva would come up with something later.

Eva walked into the Slytherin common room that night with her head held high. Draco had sent her a rather terse note that simply demanded her presence to 'talk'. Eva knew that he had heard about her encounter with Pansy earlier that day and he wanted an explanation.

Draco was waiting for her in the common room. He was sprawled on a lounger in front of the fire. He smiled and swung his legs over the edge as she approached.

"Follow me," he said. Draco turned and led her towards his dormitory.

"I wonder how many girls have followed you in here," Eva remarked as she stepped over the threshold.

Draco did not acknowledge her comment and shut the door. He placed an Imperturbable Charm on it after checking that they were alone. "What happened today?" he asked roughly.

"I did not know you would debase yourself to speak to a lowly bastard," she snapped.

"I said I was sorry about that, Rave."

"Yeah, I heard you the first time," she commented.

"This isn't about me, anyway; it's about you and what you did to Pansy this afternoon."

"I didn't know the students in Slytherin answered to you." There was no way she was going to make this easy for him or tell him what he wanted to know.

Draco growled and kicked his trunk. Eva did not even flinch. "Rave, how many times will I have to tell you?! This is not the way to get along with the rest of Slytherin!"

"I remember your advice. I know very well the reputation of our House and what is expected of me. If that is all, I beg you to excuse me," Eva nodded her head curtly and started towards the door.

Draco blocked her exit. "What do I have to do to get your forgiveness for what I said? I was upset and said the first thing that came to mind."

"I would thank you to move out of my way, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco tried to look her in the eye, but she was staring fixedly at the door. He finally sighed and moved out of her path. Eva yanked open the door and walked quickly out of the common room. She ignored the glances directed at her and even managed a pair of sharp glares at Crabbe and Goyle.

Eva broke into a run as soon as she reached the outside of the portrait. She headed straight for classroom eleven and opened the door. She knew that it would be empty because Harry had Quidditch practice. Eva just needed to be alone, but didn't want to go back to her rooms.

She paced the classroom floor for an hour, thinking about what Draco had told her and how this affected their relationship. She knew that what he'd said had been totally out of character from the Draco she knew. He had never previously mentioned anything about her being without a father, but then again, he had thought her father had died just before she was born. She knew that her relationship with Draco had changed the minute she stepped foot into Hogwarts. They had been apart for a year and a half and both had done a lot of changing in that period.

Eva continued pacing and thinking for an hour. She was not closer to an answer than she had been when she left the Slytherin common room. There as only one person that she could think of to talk to about this: Neville.

She extinguished the fire and re-locked the door. Her steps to the Gryffindor common room were as quick as she could without running. She was lucky enough when she got to the portrait; Angus Stuart was on his way out with a pair of fellow first-years. He let her in with a look of awe.

Eva scanned the common room quickly, but she did not find Neville. She vaguely heard Ginny Weasley call to her that Harry was at Quidditch practice as she ran up the stairs to his and Neville's dormitory. She burst through the door and instantly wished she'd knocked.

Dean and Seamus were both in their knickers. Eva screeched and quickly averted her eyes, while both boys tried to cover themselves with anything they could find. Eva was apologizing profusely as she closed the door.

She waited outside the door until Neville emerged. "You know, Eva, you should really think about knocking before you come into a boys' dormitory," Neville commented.

"Sorry about that. I'm not used to having so many guys around. I used to walk in to Mum's room without a worry."

"It's okay. What did you need? Harry's at Quidditch."

"I know; I needed to talk to you about something. Can you come to my rooms?"

"Yeah, but it's getting late," he said.

"It's not going to be too long, I promise."

They walked to Eva's rooms in silence. They sat down on the sofa in front of the fire and Eva poured Neville some water.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked.

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count," she answered.

Neville knew right away what she was talking about. He just nodded. "What did he do now?"

"Do you have a problem with my parents not being married?"

"No, why?"

"Draco thinks it matters," she said sadly.

"Draco's ideas about family and all that are really strange."

"He called me a bastard," she whispered.

"He what?!" cried Neville.

"We were talking. I had asked him up here because he'd been acting weird since I turned him down for the Yule Ball. We started talking about his Dad and my Mum and he called me a bastard." Eva was on the verge of tears. "He's never spoken to me that way before. I couldn't believe it when he said it. That's why I was in the Room of Requirement on Saturday and why I was alone Sunday night at dinner."

"Have you talked to him since?" asked Neville.

"Yeah, we talked just a little bit ago. He wanted to ask me about this afternoon with Pansy. I think I was a bit rude to him."

Neville nodded and thought about what would be the best thing to say to her. It was not within his rights to tell her that she should just forget about Malfoy and be grateful that she was rid of him. Neville knew that Draco and Eva had a very deep bond; a kind of mutual pain and history that they shared. It was important for both of them to keep this friendship together.

"Eva, it's beyond me what you see in Draco. I'm not going to even try to figure out why you care about him so much; I'm sure you have very good reasons. All I'm going to say is that if you really care about him and this friendship of yours, you are going to have to forgive him for the really stupid things he does." Neville laughed. "Look at me, for pity's sake. I am probably the worst student in Potions, but I'm pulling an 'O' because of you. I'm sure that your friendship is the reason for that. As I'm sure that your friendship will be the reason that Malfoy turns out to be a decent human being."

Eva smiled at Neville.

"Just don't go telling any of the Gryffindors I said that; they'll throw me out of the House."

Eva laughed again and hugged him. "Thank you, Neville. You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better."

"It's a gift and a curse, my friend; a gift and a curse." He patted her back a little and then pulled away. "I'd better get going." He stood from the couch and pointed his finger at her. "Now, I want you to think about what I've said."

Eva gave a sharp nod and mock salute. "Yes, sir."

She walked Neville to the portrait and gave him another hug.

"I'm serious, Eva. Think about it and if you think of anything you want to tell him; write it down. Sometimes you can express yourself better in writing. I think the world has been saved quite a few times by letters of forgiveness." He kissed her cheek and walked through the portrait hole.

Settling into her favorite spot on the sofa, Eva reflected on the importance of her relationship with Draco. She had many fond memories of them together. If she really thought about it, Draco had been her first love. She'd shared her first dance with him, her first kiss; pretty much her first everything had been spent with Draco. They were too much a part of the other's life to just abandon everything over a comment that probably was said in the heat of the moment.

She stood from her spot on the couch and went to the table by the fire. She decided to take Neville's advice and decided to write Draco a letter. She took out a new roll of parchment and her quill. Dipping her quill in ink she poised it over the parchment, but the words refused to come to her mind. She sat there for a few minutes and finally put down the quill. She stared at the fire for a while, silently wishing the letter would just write itself. Then, something on her mantle caught her eye. It was the vase of roses that he had given her. She turned back to the parchment and picked up her quill.

My Dearest Drake,

I would first like to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I know that there is no excuse, but I do hope you understand that I was upset at your comments. I've never known you to speak to me like that and it really hurt. I thought that, even though you act a certain way around school, underneath you would still be the same Drake that I have known and cared for my whole life.

I have been doing a lot of thinking and I've come to the conclusion that if you want to act like you have been, then I am no one to tell you to stop. You are the one who determines your destiny. I will do my best to remain your friend and I hope that you will listen to my advice with an understanding ear. I only say some things for your good and I hope that you can recognize that, even if you don't agree with me, as I know you don't.

I also know that you do things for my own good. You know me better than anyone, Drake, and you can understand my reluctance to accept anyone's advice, even yours. The only thing that I can promise is that I will listen to you and take your advice into consideration. I cannot promise to obey blindly, that is just not in my nature, but I will respect your opinion.

I hope that you forgive me and I understand if you don't. My actions have spoken badly of my raising. I apologize once again and ask for your understanding. All my love, always.

Your Friend,

Rave

Eva looked the letter over and sighed, she probably wouldn't get it much better so she just folded it and affixed her family crest on it. She would have to wait until morning to send it, but she knew that now her conscience would let her sleep. She had apologized and it was up to Draco to make the next move.

She awoke with the sun the next morning and quickly showered and dressed. She wanted to make sure that this letter was in the morning's post. Eva knew she would never be able to make it through the day if she had to wait to send it. Horatio was not too happy to leave his half-eaten meal, but she promised that he would have an extra treat when he came to the breakfast table that morning. She watched him fly back to the rafters and hoped Draco wouldn't curse the bird because he looked like Hedwig.

Eva made her way to the Great Hall and sat reading her Arithmancy textbook. She was so glad that Draco was in the class with her; she was good at the material, but not as good as with her other studies. She sighed as she watched Slytherin after Slytherin walk right past her without a word of acknowledgement. She was grateful that it was Wednesday and she only had two more days of this until the weekend.

She looked up when she sensed Draco enter the room. He looked right at her and nodded. She smiled shyly at him and went back to her breakfast. She knew he wasn't going to sit with her, but she was glad that he at least looked at her. It was not too long after he sat down that the flutter of wings came from above and all the students' owls came. Draco was busy unwrapping his mothers' latest treat when Horatio landed in front of him. The snowy owl hooted in a dignified manner and stuck out the leg that held Eva's letter.

Draco looked at the owl suspiciously. He knew that Potter had a snowy owl. Looking at the letter however made him smirk. It was sealed with the Nocturino family crest. The owl hooted and then flew to the other end of the table to land on Eva's shoulder. She had kept her word and the owl got twice as many treats as he usually did after a delivery. He nipped her ear affectionately and then soared out of the room.

Eva did not look over to Draco as he read her letter. She fixed her attention and gaze on her book and tried to think about what it was trying to tell her. She heard the swish of robes behind her and then sensed Draco sit down next to her, his legs straddling the bench.

"You're not the only one who owes an apology," he whispered. Draco Malfoy was not one for public apologies and he did not want anyone to hear him.

"I should not have treated you like I did," said Eva.

"I should have held my tongue," replied Draco. He placed his hand on the small of her back.

Eva leaned closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. The two young people could feel the eyes of a lot of their fellow Housemates, but did not move. Draco knew that Pansy would be chewing his ear off when they got to the common room, but he did not want to think about that now. Eva knew that Harry was probably looking at her and Draco, but she was too happy about what was happening to really think about it.

Severus was also watching the two young people at the Slytherin table. He had been worried about this relationship, not really for Eva's part, but for Malfoy's. The boy seemed to take the informal agreement between his father and Saveage a little too seriously. Severus did not mind the boy, but he knew that Lucius' influence still affected the boy. Malfoy Sr. was still strong even though he was imprisoned in Azkaban. Severus decided that he would have to have a talk with Eva tonight about just what she thought of Draco. He found himself wondering, rather uncomfortably, about just how much Eva and Saveage had talked about intimacy. He went to his first class dreading his planned talk.