Sarah wandered back into the library after dinner to think about her situation.

The Valentine's Ball was in three days, and she felt relatively sure that Harry was going to ask her soon...he had given her the impression that he would. He almost had the one day at dinner. And, she wanted to go with him...but...

She also hadn't forgotten Draco. Draco was her first and best friend; he was the only thing she had that rooted her to who she had been before this whole mess started. He was her anchor, her rock. She sighed...if Draco asked her, who would she go with? Would she wait for Harry's invitation or accept Draco's?

Maybe you should ask Hermione, a little voice told her. She shook her head. Hermione would tell her to go with Harry...or, she would tell her to follow her heart, which wouldn't help her at all.

She walked around in the Charms section for a bit, then read something in French called Les situations dans lequel la Métamorphose sont Nécessaires. She supposed it would have been interesting if she could understand it...she put it back on the shelf and moved to near the Restricted Section...

"Sickle for your thoughts?"

Sarah turned around and saw Draco standing there, looking at her with an almost wistful expression.

"It's been awhile, Sarah," he said softly. Sarah swallowed.

"Yeah, Draco, it has," she agreed. Draco kept watching her with that strange expression, like he'd lost something but was determined to get it back. It was so unnerving that Sarah almost shied away from it.

"How have you been?" he asked, taking a step closer to her. Sarah wanted to back up but didn't move. She licked her lips nervously. Draco's eyes were boring into her, and she felt strangely like she was naked, like he was seeing the very inside of her.

"I've been- I've been good," she said, her voice growing a bit high-pitched.

"What's wrong, Sarah? You seem...afraid of me...I hope that's not the case," Draco said, his voice smooth and strangely seductive as he took another step towards Sarah. There was now only about an inch of space between them, and Sarah felt the urge to step back grow, but she resisted it.

"No, it's- it's not that," Sarah said meekly.

Draco watched her for a moment, then reached out, seized her waist and pulled her to him. He leaned forward.

"Sarah, I've missed you...don't you remember...we used to do everything together. Even during the school year, we wrote each other all the time," he hissed in her ear. "I'd hoped that we wouldn't lose that when you came to Hogwarts."

Sarah had been ready to pull away and run when she felt something wet on her cheek...she realized that it was a tear...more than one...Draco's tears. She pulled back a little bit and looked up into his face, surprised. She'd never seen Draco cry...She lifted a finger and gently wiped away one of the tears that were slowly making their way down his cheek.

"Draco...Draco, why are you crying? I didn't forget you," she said. "I just- I guess I just got caught up in all the new things."

Draco reached up and began twirling a few strands of her hair.

"That's understandable...Hogwarts is probably a far cry from Durmstrang," he mumbled. Sarah laughed a little and looked into his grey-green eyes.

"Well, no, not really just a little more light-hearted," she said. "It's much better, really. At least I'm in the same school as you for once."

Draco's eyes lit up for a moment, and he opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then closed it and shook his head. Sarah looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Draco said. "Just- well..."

He paused and looked at her expectant face, and swallowed.

"I was wondering if you had a date for the Valentine's Day Ball," he said.

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise...hadn't she just been thinking about what she would do if he asked her? She'd been thinking she'd go with Draco if he asked her, but now that he had...she was hesitating. It was Draco's turn to be expectant. He was watching her, an almost pleading expression on his face. She sighed, then smiled.

"No, I don't," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Draco said, a smirk beginning to take its usual place on his face. "I was hoping you'd find it in your heart to go with me."

"Of course I would," Sarah said, smiling. The only thing weighing her heart down was what she would do if Harry asked her.

Draco laughed with something that sounded like relief and leaned in so close that his and Sarah's lips were barely an inch apart, and Sarah thought for a moment that he was going to kiss her, but instead he drew back and kissed her on the cheek. He ruffled her hair a bit and left the library.

Sarah found herself strangely glad that he was gone...she'd seen a side of him just now that she'd never seen before, and it had scared her a bit. It was the side that Harry brought out in him, she gathered. Draco never had to compete for things at home…here it was always a competition. She sighed and left the library, making her way back to Gryffindor tower, thinking about what had just happened.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting for her when she entered the portrait hole. She looked at them, surprised.

"You guys didn't have to stay up," she said.

"Eh, we do it all the time when Harry stays out," Ron said. "Besides, he has something to ask you."

And he gave Harry a very pointed look. Harry sighed, as though bracing himself, and Sarah raised her eyebrows. He was going to ask her to the dance when she'd just said yes to Draco...Harry would be so angry with her. Hermione saw the expression on Sarah's face and made frantic gestures at Harry to not say anything, but Harry didn't notice.

"Sarah, I was wondering if you'd go the ball with me," he said.

Sarah let out a heavy sigh and looked at him almost apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she said. "I just- Draco just asked- and I- I said yes t-to him."

She said this and ran up to the girl's dormitory. She didn't want to see the look on Harry's face, which was somewhere between hurt and anger as he watched her run up the stairs. Hermione smacked her forehead, almost immediately beginning to massage it, like she was thinking very hard. She glanced up at the stairs to the girls' dormitory a couple of times, chewing on her lip. However, her position seemed to go unnoticed by her friends.

"She's going with Malfoy?" Harry said incredulously, turning back to Ron and Hermione. "Even after that slime lied to her?"

"Well you've got to understand, Harry, she's lived her entire life with him. She's not going to drop him entirely just because of one thing," Hermione said, deciding not to voice her opinions now. "And it might do Malfoy some good, I mean, I think he really may love her or something. She could have a good effect on him."

"I guess she's right, Harry," Ron said. "Let's just see how this turns out- even though I find it highly unbelievable that Malfoy could love anyone except himself."

"Well, Pansy won't be happy," Hermione said. "He took her to the Yule Ball in fourth year and she's been attached to him ever since."

"Yeah, but Sarah's much prettier," Ron said. "If I were Malfoy- ugh- I'd ask Sarah as well."

"That's true," Hermione said.

"Can you both shut up?" Harry said. Hermione and Ron looked at him, surprised, then nodded and fell silent.

Harry was very annoyed. He was convinced that Malfoy was only doing this because he, Harry, had been planning to ask Sarah. It was just the type of low thing Malfoy would do. Harry couldn't believe that Malfoy loved Sarah, as Hermione said he might. Malfoy had no heart; he couldn't love anyone but himself.

Ron looked like he very much wanted to say something, but seriously doubted whether he'd survive if he did.

"No, Harry, don't bite my head off or anything. I just want to say this- Sarah's learned quite a bit about her life recently. You're going to have to let her explore both sides, yours and Malfoy's, in this new light. It'll be easiest for her to make a decision that way," he said. "And I don't think you really have anything to worry about, I mean- Sarah obviously fancies you."

"Why Ron," Hermione said, looking at him with a surprised expression on her face. "That almost sounded...intelligent."

Ron's ears flamed and he grinned sheepishly.

"Really?" he asked...then the expression on his face changed. "Hey- are you saying I'm not intelligent!"

"Well, Ron, you have to admit you're not the brightest bean in the bag-"

"Beans have absolutely nothing to do with my intelligence! Why for all you know I could be some kind of prodigy, I just don't apply myself-"

"Darling, you couldn't apply yourself if you tried, I've tried for years to help you "apply yourself" and even I have failed miserably in that respect-"

"That doesn't mean I'm not smart, it just means I'm a lazy bugger-"

"Being lazy versus being active is part of applying oneself, Ron, and applying oneself reflects one's intelligence-"

"It reflects it, maybe, but if someone doesn't it doesn't mean it's not there-"

"No it just means they don't take enough pride in themselves to try-"

"Oh, so now I don't have any pride in myself?" Ron asked, rising from his chair and quite furious. "Well I'll have you know I'm quite proud of myself and my accomplishments thus far! And for another thing, if you don't think I'm smart enough for you or you have a problem with my pride, then you can just go to the ball with SOMEONE ELSE!"

He turned on his heel and stomped off and up to the boy's dormitories, leaving Hermione near to tears. She looked over at Harry, who was shocked quite senseless by the proceedings. She then buried her face in her hands and ran up to the girl's dormitories.

Harry was now quite alone, but he didn't feel like going upstairs and listening to Ron rant and rave about Hermione's nagging, so he remained where he was, staring at the fire.

This solitude, coupled with Harry's exhaustion, allowed him to realize that Ron was right. Sarah needed to see the best and worst of both sides so that her decision could be made. Well, Harry knew that Malfoy and the like were quite good at manipulation, so Harry figured he'd simply have to be frank with Sarah at all times, but not in an offensive way. He'd have to make sure she knew the truth of things...he'd have to be there when she needed him...he'd have to be understanding...then she'd see how much better he was than Malfoy- and she'd forget all about him!

That's it, Harry, he thought. Bravo- you'll win her back, just watch...

And he rambled to himself in this vein all the way up the stairs and until he fell asleep.

Harry was woken up the next morning by someone gently prodding him, and when he opened his eyes he managed to divine from the blurry shape before him that it was female with dark hair, and when he put his glasses on he saw that it was Sarah, looking almost fearful.

"Harry?" she said. "Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about Draco...I mean, I knew you were going to ask me, he just asked first and I didn't know what to do-"

Harry held a finger to her lips to silence her.

Remember Harry, he coached himself. Understanding.

"Don't worry about it, Sarah," he said. "I understand completely...and I can deal with it."

Sarah's eyes sort of lit up with relief, and Harry made a mental note to congratulate himself later.

"Wow...thanks, Harry," she said, smiling. "That's very mature of you...thanks very much for understanding; that makes me feel so much better."

"You're welcome, Sarah," he said. He looked around and realized he was still in pajamas, so he added, "Well- I ought to get dressed, I suppose- see you at breakfast?"

Sarah blushed a bit and nodded.

"Right," she said. "See you in a bit."

"See you," Harry said as she left the dormitory. He sighed and got out of bed, and made his way down to the Great Hall after yanking some clothes on. Sarah waved him over, and Harry laughed as he spotted Hermione and Ron on either side of her, speaking to her but not to each other. It reminded him fiercely of when he and Ron had been fighting, and Hermione had been in Sarah's place. Sarah didn't look troubled by it though- she just sat there and let them talk away.

He sat down across from Sarah and began to help himself to breakfast.

"So, I guess Hermione and Ron still aren't talking?" he said conversationally. Sarah laughed.

"Oh they're talking alright," she said. "Just not addressing each other, they're addressing me instead. I just sit here and let them speak over me...or to me...or through me, or something of that sort." Harry laughed and took a bite of his porridge.

"That sounds about right," he said. "They do that a lot."

Sarah looked from a smoldering Hermione to a flame-eared Ron and laughed.

"I'm really not surprised," she said. Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, remained stubbornly oblivious to Harry and Sarah's conversation.

It was a sunny Saturday but the only people to be found outside were the boys of Hogwarts. All of the girls were inside making last minute adjustments to their robes and cosmetics. Harry, however, wasn't too keen on being outside with snow coupled with sun. So instead, he stayed up in the common room, sprawled over an armchair.

He'd taken a walk after a bit and stopped at the boy's lavatory, and while he was washing his hands none other than Malfoy walked in. Harry tried to restrain himself from yelling at him about Sarah. He did quite well until Malfoy was almost out the door, at which point Harry grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him about.

"Look Malfoy, I don't know what you're up to asking Sarah to that ball-" he began, but Malfoy cut him off.

"Lay off, Potter," he snapped. "I asked her because I wanted to go with her. I'm not up to anything. I told you that ages ago."

"Yeah right," Harry spat. He couldn't believe it- just couldn't. Malfoy had no heart. He had to be up to something...right?

"Yeah, I am right," Malfoy said, glaring indignantly at Harry. "You're not the only one with emotions here, Potter. I've lived with Sarah all my life, and I know her better than you ever could. You think you love her, Potter, but you don't. You love what you see. And don't tell me Sarah is open and honest...she's not as sincere as you might think."

He turned again to leave, but Harry instinctively reached out to stop him. He let go right away, though, and pushed past Malfoy with a sneer.

I'm not going to let you take her away from me, Malfoy, he thought viciously...but he wondered what Malfoy meant...

She's not as sincere as you might think.

Harry shook his head and went back to the common room. Malfoy just didn't know what he was talking about...that was all...besides, Harry had to go to sleep...he didn't really care, but he didn't want to look completely unkempt at the ball tomorrow night.