Hi my lovely lovely peeps. Sorry i've taken sooo long updating. I just haven't had chance 2 type this up until today. I'll get cracking on the next one tomorrow. I promise, more frequent updates! Ooh, hey, here's an interesting (well...) piece of info 4 u all. J.K is not the only one who gives her characters meaningful names. I can do it to, for you see, Varina means stranger. Which is what she is/was. I saw this name that i considered upon seeing the meaning, which was beautiful stranger. i then realised the name was Fingal. No offence 2 ne1 who's name is Fingal btw!!! Please, as always, read, enjoy and REVIEW!!!

Thanks for the reviews, you guys are great!

Trina- as always, u r my no. 1 fan and i love reading ur reviews, thank you!

Jane- Hopefully this chapter won't go awry having not waited for ur stamp of approval. Tell me what u think plez!

Charl- thanks a lot for your review! i'm glad u like Varina and u'll have 2 c about the whole Harry thing...lol. Keep reading and reviewing!

Varina woke up the morning after her kiss with Draco with her head in a worse state than if she'd been drinking all night. She liked Draco so much, but he was still seeing Pansy. The jealousy Varina had previously felt when she saw them together was nothing compared to how she felt now. So many emotions were running through her head at once she thought she might go mad. Jealousy, anger, confusion and even guilt all surged incessantly through her mind. She felt guilty that she had kissed someone else's boyfriend, even if that someone was a spiteful, loathsome bully. Perhaps what made her feel most guilty, was that she didn't regret kissing him one bit. Sure, she was feeling all of these different emotions and uncertainties but she knew that if she could go back to that moment in the forest, knowing that afterwards she would feel the way she felt now, she would not have stopped him kissing her.
The only thing that cheered Varina up, was talking to Harry. She had decided not to tell Harry about her and Draco, even though she felt like she really needed to talk about it. Knowing the intensity of their rivalry, Varina knew that any advice Harry gave her about Draco was bound to be biased. And advice was really what she needed. She was confused. She wanted to know where she stood with Draco. Did he want something to happen between them, or was he just messing her around? She kept all of her feelings bottled up inside. She considered telling Hermione, who she had also become friends with, but knew that she would get all judgemental and tell her she was better off without someone like Malfoy. She dismissed the idea of telling Ron, yet another of her acquaintances, immediately, as she knew his reaction would simply be a look of disgust at the idea of kissing Malfoy. No, she would have to deal with this alone.
A week after Draco had kissed her, a week spent shouldering the burden of emotional baggage that no-one else could share, Varina finally got the answer she had been looking for. Sitting at breakfast on Friday morning, Varina was surprised to see a large, graceful eagle owl settle down in front of her and hold out its leg, to which a letter was attached. She never got post; there was no-one for her to get any from. Brow furrowed and hands shaking slightly, Varina took the letter, which was no more than a spare bit of parchment, from the owl's leg. She jumped involuntarily as it spread its majestic wings and flew off to join the other owls headed back to the owlery.
Varina bit her lip anxiously as she unfurled the letter. When she did, she saw it was no more than a note.

Reeny,
Meet me in the common room tonight at midnight. We need to talk. Alone.
Draco.

She looked up from the letter and scanned the table for him. She located him quickly and found he was looking straight at her, observing her reaction no doubt. He raised his eyebrows, prompting her to give him a reply. She re-read the note, before meeting his gaze once more and giving an almost imperceptible nod of acquiescence.
Varina had been finding it hard to concentrate in lessons all week, but she found it pointless to even try that day. Her thoughts were constantly drifting off to Draco. What did he want to talk about that required them to meet at midnight? Could it be that she would finally know where she stood with him? And if that was indeed the case, would it be what she wanted to hear?

That evening Varina had sat alone doing her homework before going to the dormitories. She lay in her bed, still fully dressed, curtains drawn, pretending to be asleep, waiting for midnight to come. At around eleven o'clock, Varina heard Pansy and the other girls come in. She noticed they made no effort to be quiet. Had she actually been asleep, they would have woken her up chatting and giggling. Fortunately for Varina, they settled down fairly quickly, instead of sitting up for another hour talking about boys like they usually did. At five minutes to midnight, Varina listened carefully, checking that the others were asleep before sliding out of bed and making her way to the common room.
Draco was sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace when she arrived. He didn't notice her come in. She cleared her throat in announcement. He turned to face her and smiled. He walked over to her.

"Thank you for coming," he said.

"I was intrigued. I wanted to see what it was we needed to talk about," she replied coolly.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked sounding incredulous, "Last week. In the forest. I...I really like you and...well, if it weren't for Pansy, I'd have asked you out weeks ago."

"So, what are you saying? You want to go out with me but can't because you're going out with Pansy? Well, can't you just...not go out with Pansy any more? I mean, no one would blame you. She's...horrible!"

He smiled, but it was a sad sort of smile.

"I wish I could, but You see, my father has to approve everything in my life. It's just how he is. And he's already approved of Pansy. In fact, he suggested I see her in the first place. Pure blood, wealthy upper class family, everything he could want for a daughter-in- law."

"Not everything," said Varina, feeling resentful, "She's...how can I put this?...ugly. If your kids took after their mother, then he wouldn't have cute grandkids."

He smiled. "Well, that's true. Maybe I'll point that out to him. But, the point is, as much as I want to, I can't just drop Pansy and start seeing you instead. Her family are very influential. Me dumping her could have serious repercussions on my family. I know it sounds far-fetched but it is a risk. One that I'm not sure I can take."

Varina thought this over for a minute in silence.

"So, what? That's it. You kiss me, tell me you like me, but, oops, sorry, no can do! Well, at least that's cleared things up."

She started to go back to the dorms, but he grabbed her arm.

"Reeny, stop. I'm sorry about this. Believe me. I've told you why we can't be together but can't we at least stay friends?"

She looked at him, his imploring grey eyes boring into hers. She wanted to tell him no, give him a taste of his own medicine. But she couldn't do it. She liked him too much to dismiss him so casually. She sighed and gave in.

"Sure."

He smiled, looking relieved.

"Hey, listen, I know you're probably upset right now," he began.

"Don't flatter yourself," she interrupted, "I'm not upset, just disappointed."

"Fine then, disappointed. So, let me try and make it up to you."

Varina looked at him questioningly.

"Follow me," he said, leading her to the common room door.

"Why on earth have you brought me up here?" asked Varina, as Draco led her out onto the Astronomy tower.

"You'll see," he replied enigmatically. He sat down on the stone floor and indicated that she should do the same. Varina sighed at sat down beside him. They didn't speak for a few minutes, but eventually Varina cracked and broke the silence.

"Could it be that you brought me here to freeze to death?" she asked irritably.

"Oh, sorry, you should have said you were cold. Here," he said and waved his wand to produce a warm, blue flame. Varina moved closer to Draco, warming herself by the fire. Draco placed his arm around Varina, allowing her to move right up close to the magical blaze. Varina shivered, but this time it was not from the cold. She bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. It turned out she didn't have to.

"Reeny?" said Draco, "What if...what if I didn't have to break up with Pansy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, say, we did start seeing each other? Who says I'd have to break up with her to do so?"

"Er, anyone with morals?" she suggested, not believing what she was hearing.

"Think about it. I like you, you like me. And don't deny it, you do. We both want to see each other, right? But we can't because I can't break up with Pansy, right?"

"Right."

"Wrong! We can see each other in secret. Like we're doing now. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. I know we could be "just friends", but don't you want more than that? I know I do. I've been trying to tell myself that I have to do the right thing, but how do you know that this, us, isn't the right thing?"

Varina didn't know what to say. She thought carefully about what he was saying. She always told herself that she would never cheat on someone, or see someone who was already in a relationship. But now she was in that situation herself, it wasn't that simple. Her head told her she couldn't do it, that it was wrong and she would end up getting hurt in the long run. But her heart told her differently. She liked Draco a lot and if it weren't for Pansy, she wouldn't hesitate to say yes to him. She looked at him, her eyes tracing his strong aquiline features and all she could think about was how much she wanted him to hold her. Maybe he was right. They might be able to make something work, and even if she ended up getting hurt, wouldn't the pleasure she would feel along the way be worth that? Would she be able to forgive herself, knowing she had let him go? We spend most of our lives looking for love. So, why, she wondered, when it appears it might come along do we apply all these rules and regulations?

Varina met his gaze. She didn't say anything, but instead, leaned in to him and softly kissed him. He smiled broadly and pulled her into him, kissing her once more. They looked at each other silently. Draco placed his hand over Varina's and she rested her head lightly on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a minute when Draco suddenly sat up.

"Look," he said, pointing to the night sky, "This is what I brought you up here for."

Varina looked where he was pointing, but couldn't see anything unusual there.

"What? I can't see any- " she started to say, when she noticed a bright light streak across the sky.

"Meteorite shower," said Draco, smiling at Varina's awed expression.

"Shooting stars," muttered Varina to herself.

"Make a wish," said Draco.

"What?"

"Shooting stars. You're supposed to wish on them. I thought everyone knew that. I mean, I know it's a Muggle thing but-"

"Yeah, I know," she interrupted, "I just...wasn't sure I heard you right."

Varina looked at the flashes of light. What do I want? she thought. She looked at Draco, standing next to her, looking in wonder at the meteorite shower. I want him, she told herself. She looked back up at the sky and found a shooting star. I wish that someday we can be together and there will be no-one to stand in our way. It was a pretty cheesy wish, but she couldn't think of anything else. Besides, she thought, it's not like this actually works. They stayed on the tower for another half an hour, watching the stars, talking to each other, catching up on the past week. When it appeared the meteorite shower was over, they stood up and yawning made their way back to the common room. Before going their separate ways, they kissed once more; a soft, gentle kiss. Varina headed back to her dorm, unable to suppress a smile.
Varina opened the door quietly and headed surreptitiously over to her bed. She changed into her pyjamas and drew back the curtains on her four-poster.

"Where have you been?" Varina jumped, her heart in her throat.

It was Pansy.

"I said, where have you been?"

"I heard Professor Sinastra say there was a meteorite shower tonight. I wanted to watch it so I went up to the astronomy tower," she said.

It wasn't exactly a lie, she had been on the astronomy tower after all.

"Students aren't supposed to be out of bed at this hour. I could take points from you, you know."

"Well, then you'd be taking points from your own house, and that wouldn't be too clever now would it?" said Varina unctuously. Pansy scowled but said no more on the subject. Varina climbed under the covers and let out a sigh of relief, her heart still pounding. That had been too close for comfort. Now she was back here, away from the romanticism of the astronomy tower, she wondered whether she had made the right choice. But, she decided, there was no backing out now.