Just a reminder, I wrote this story before OOTP came out...which will be obvious when you read this chapter.

Chapter 8:

A lone wizard moved up the steps to the entrance of the darkened home. Dressed in black from head to toe, he blended in with the cold dark of the night. Looking down at the door handle, he could see a small snake carved into its side. A brief smile curled his lips before he turned the handle to go inside. He made his way down the hall carefully. There was light seeping out from under a closed door at the end of the hall. He paused in front of the door listening. He could just make out the rhythmic thud and slide of a large snake within the room.
"You may enter..." the voice inside sounded like death itself.
The wizard went in slowly. He could see a figure sitting in a chair near the fire. The man's hands were tapping absently on the armrests, his long legs extended in front of him, crossed at the ankles.
"I have a message my Lord..."
The man leaned forward to show his face. His dark eyes seemed to be without spark, except for the occasional glint from the fire. His lips curled up and he revealed a sinister smirk before speaking.
"The plan is moving forward then?..."
"The girl has no idea what she is up against. She will not make a move without our knowledge."
"Has she come to understand what she sees?"
"Not yet. The visions are becoming clearer; soon we will know all." The wizard let out a low laugh. "Soon we shall see the beginning of the end and you shall rule with complete power again my Lord."
"Don't assume anything just yet. All signs point to her being the one, but we must be sure. I will not waste my time otherwise." The man relaxed back into his chair. "Tell our servant to keep an eye on her. I expect another report soon. Until then, we must continue our persuasive talks with Azkaban. We must be ready if this girl is the one."
The wizard nodded. The man gave him more instructions before excusing him. The wizard bowed deeply to him then left silently.

Michelle found herself alone as she made her way back from Advanced Transfiguration. It was a bit of a relief. After her embarrassing moment in the Great Hall, she wasn't sure how to act around Harry or anyone else. Luckily, not many students had been around when she had went running out of the hall. But, she was sure word of her strange behavior had made its way around the school. Every once in awhile, she would catch groups of students suddenly stop talking as she went past them. Michelle paused as she noticed just such a group at the end of the hall. She was about to duck down another hallway when she could make out sounds of a scuffle. As she got closer, she could see the group was made up mostly of Slytherian kids. They seemed to be in a weird sort of circle. Reaching the edge of the crowd, she could hear Draco Malfoy's voice.
"Bloody hell! You are the worse excuse for a wizard I have ever seen. I can't believe you are a pureblood!" He was taunting someone. Michelle wedged her way in a bit and could see Malfoy was standing in front of Neville. Neville was being held up by Crabbe and Goyle. He looked desperately from face to face of the students around him. Malfoy came in closer and spit on his robes. "You are so pathetic. Couldn't do a spell to save your own life I'd imagine..." He motioned to Crabbe and Goyle to let go of Neville. Neville didn't move, but instead stood where he was, shaking with fear. "Why don't we give it a try and see?" Malfoy raised his wand and pointed it at Neville.
By now, Michelle was close enough to get her hands on Malfoy. She lunged forward and tackled Malfoy to the floor. Everyone jumped back. She wrestled with Malfoy, working his wand out of his hand and tossing it aside. Crabbe and Goyle were confused and just watched the struggle. Malfoy pinned Michelle to the floor and slapped her hard. The sound cracked through the hall and even drew shocked comments from some of the Slytherian girls. He glared at her from above. Suddenly, Neville was ramming Malfoy off of her. She got up just as Malfoy had begun to hit Neville. Standing behind Malfoy, she quickly spun him around by his shoulder and got in one good punch before someone called out. Mrs. Norris was watching the action which meant Filch would not be far behind. Malfoy shoved Michelle away before ducking down a nearby stairwell. Neville came over and helped Michelle stand. They were able to get away while Filch tried to progress down the hall through the crowd of fast moving students. Neither spoke until they had gotten inside the Gryffindor common room safely.
Neville stared at Michelle anxiously, "Your lip is bleeding."
Michelle could feel her lower lip swelling up. It must have been cut when Malfoy slapped her.
"Are you okay Neville?"
He nodded as anyone who had been relaxing in the common room came over to stand around them. Neville began to explain what had happened. Michelle kept her eyes down while he spoke. When he had finished, Michelle was receiving accolades for hitting Malfoy and helping Neville. She shrugged them off, saying anyone in the house would have done the same thing if they had been there. Before she could ask Neville why he'd been alone in the first place, he'd wandered off. As the excitement of the moment died down, Michelle noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione standing nearby. Michelle couldn't tell what Harry was thinking; she was too scared to look him in the eye. Neville returned with a washcloth in his hand.
"Here, I put ice in it for your lip."
"Thanks." She took the cloth and touched it to her mouth gently. Still holding it there, she tried to talk. "Neville, you have got to learn to defend yourself." She went to a chair in the corner of the room.
Joining her, Neville sat and lowered his head. "I don't know how...I get scared."
"You didn't seem scared when you knocked Malfoy off of me."
"That's different. He was going to hit you again."
"So hitting you is okay? Neville, I'm not saying you need to beat him up all the time. You just need to stand up to him. So, maybe you're not the best wizard...so what. You're still a good person and you don't deserve to be treated that way by anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy. Everyone gets scared Neville. You're not alone." She reached out and touched his hand, trying to smile. "I was really scared when I jumped on him, but I'm not going to let my fear keep me from taking care of myself or anyone I care about."
Neville looked up and smiled at her. "It was pretty cool to see you deck him."
"It wasn't smart though. Someone could have caught us and we could have been expelled." She paused and thought for a moment. "Okay, it was pretty cool actually..." She had to stop laughing thanks to the pain in her lip. "Just promise me you'll try and stand up to him, okay? No fighting or anything, just be brave." Neville nodded. Michelle stood to go get more ice for her lip. Before she could move, Neville gave her a big hug. He made her sit down and went to get the ice for her. As she waited, she could hear someone coming up behind her.
Harry sat down where Neville had been. "I heard what you said to him." He leaned in slightly as he spoke. "You're a good friend."
"Sure, I encourage him to beat the crap outta someone...that's really being a friend."
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it."
Michelle looked up, a little surprised by his tone.
"You told him the truth and you stood up for him...that, to me, is being a good friend." Harry looked closely at her. "Does your face hurt? I can't believe he slapped you."
She could see the slightest smoldering of anger in his eyes. "It still stings...is it really red?"
He carefully touched her chin and turned her face to see it better. "More pink actually, like you've been outside when it's cold." Without meaning to, his fingers softly stroked her cheek.
"I hope Malfoy has a black eye...he deserves it..." she mumbled, distracted by what Harry was doing.
He lowered his hand. Neither moved or spoke, they just shared a look. Harry's eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and he found himself leaning in closer to her. Michelle had begun to move in as well when Neville came back with the ice. The moment broken, Harry sat back and talked to Neville for awhile. Michelle seemed to fidgit in her chair. Finally, she got up the nerve to stand and say goodnight to them both. She started to climb the stairs. Just before disappearing from view, she looked down at Harry. She paused as though she wanted to say or do something, but instead, ran the rest of the way upstairs. Harry sat in the chair staring at the fire long after most of the students had gone to bed. He'd have to talk to Hermione. If she didn't come up with a theory soon, he was going to just give in to his feelings and hope he wasn't making a big mistake.