Over the next week, Tamora found that she was actually beginning to enjoy Draco's company in the brief moments they spent together when no one was around. As long as they kept well away from the famous Harry Potter, he made for good conversation. That day, she didn't even mind when he came up to her in the library for a chat.

"I made something I know you'll like today." She handed a piece of parchment to him.

"What is it?"

"Just watch it." she said smiling.

As he watched, little caricatures of Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared, laughing and carrying on. Behind them, Snape appeared, tapping his foot irately. Cartoon Snape tried to get their attention but the drawn figures ignored him making him angrier and angrier until he turned into a Hungarian Horntail, towering over the three. They turned around, only to be torched by the flame from the dragon/Snape. As he changed back, the blacked threesome blinked twice, then disintegrated into three little piles of ash with shocked-looking eyeballs on top.

Draco looked up at Tamora as the parchment wiped itself, then started its little tale again.

"I made it for Professor Snape. I thought he'd find it funny. What do you think of it?" she asked.

"Can I have a copy?"

She smiled. "I'll take that as a sign you like it. I will make one for you, but it'll be different. I don't like repeating myself."

Draco looked at the blinking piles of ash and laughed. He glanced up again and caught Tamora's eye. They just smiled at each other, happy to have some company. This didn't last long. An ear-spitting shriek snapped them both out of their daze.

"Draco!"

He groaned. "Not Pansy. Anyone but Pansy."

Before Pansy had a chance to say anything, Madame Pince was towering over them all. "Get out of the library!" she hissed. "All three of you. This is no place for such noise." Ignoring their protests, she herded them out without another word.

Finally outside, Tamora leaned her head on the wall. "I'm glad that's over."

But it was far from over as Pansy was the next to be shooed out, and she wasn't the type to give up a grievance that easily. "You!" she shouted, pointing accusingly at Tamora. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my Draco?"

Tamora tried to back away from this apparently insane girl. "I- I wasn't doing anything." She stammered. "We were just hanging out."

"Like I'm stupid enough to believe that! Draco's mine and I won't let you or any other little harlot steal him away from me." She raised her hand to slap Tamora, but Draco had seen enough. He grabbed her hand and dragged her backwards.

"Who decided this?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "I thought I made my own choices, not you. Who are you to decide what I can and can't do!" His voice started to rise. "You mean NOTHING to me!"

About to say more, wanting to yell until his voice gave out, he was stopped by Tamora grabbing his arm. He turned and saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "Please stop Draco." Draco was shocked. He hadn't realized just how much he had upset her.

Pansy took this pause to pull away. "I hope you're happy with your choice." She spat, walking away. "But what I really hope is that you displease the Dark Lord someday and you die at his hand – slowly and painfully."

He felt the anger rising again. But another plea from Tamora sent it all flying to the winds.

"I hate fighting." She whispered. She looked up at him, a tear running its way down her face. "This is why I don't want to be around you. Just leave me alone from now on."

"Tamora!" Draco called, but it was too late. The damage had been done and now she was speeding down the corridor, leaving him alone once more.

It had been a week. Tamora wouldn't have thought it, but since becoming friends with Draco, and then loosing that, the loneliness seemed far worse. Probably because now she knew what she was missing.

Draco was feeling the sting too. Tamora had been one person that wasn't fake – "Just like me." He thought. "I'm just as bad as the rest of them." He sighed as he walked into the changing rooms, getting ready for quidditch practice.

Today his heart just wasn't in the game. And quidditch is not a sport you can afford to be careless in. He was so busy daydreaming that he didn't hear the fateful whistling of a bludger headed straight for him until it was too late. It smashed into the side of his head with a sickening crack. Unable to stay conscious, he fell from his broom, plummeting to the ground, only dimly aware that Professor Snape was rushing out onto the pitch from the stands where he'd been watching.

Tamora was trying her best to concentrate, but it was no good. Dumping in the next ingredient for this week's potion, she returned to staring idly out the window. She just couldn't stop thinking about Draco and it was all the more infuriating because she didn't know why. She hadn't known his for long, but in that short time he'd become her closest friend – human friend anyway.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Merlin's hiss of alarm. She turned and saw that the potion was boiling over, leaving holes in the desk where it spilled. "Oh, great," she groaned, "now it's ruined." She vanished the contents of her cauldron and fixed the desk then sat back down, chin in hand.

"I'm getting nowhere with this. Come on Merlin, let's go for a walk." She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"You know," Merlin hissed as he settled around her neck, "that wouldn't have happened had you been paying attention."

"Oh shut up."

Aimlessly wandering around the grounds, Tamora found herself headed towards the quidditch pitch. "As good a place as any, I suppose." She thought, shrugging.

About to pass by the pitch, she saw Professor Snape stride out. About to call out a greeting, she noticed that he was being followed by a floating stretcher that looked as if it had someone on it.

She jogged to catch up. "What happened Professor?"

Snape's face was troubled. "I'm taking mister Malfoy to the hospital wing."

She looked at the stretcher. Draco was there, blood streaming from a wound on his right temple. "Oh my God! Draco! What happened to you!"

Draco tried to wake up. It was like trying to swim through molasses. But slowly his eyes opened. He tried to sit up, but a searing wave of pain from his head forced him back down.

He assessed the situation. This was obviously the hospital wing, and he was obviously hurt. How had it happened? A neuron clicked into place in his brain. The image of a bludger headed right for him. Ah.

Managing to prop himself up on his elbows, he noticed there was someone else here. Tamora was sitting in a chair by his bed; her head slumped forward, fast asleep.

Stretching out, he prodded her gently. "Hey, wake up." He said softly. Her eyes opened almost as slowly as his had. He wondered how long she'd been sitting there.

She looked up at him, her eyes widening. "You're okay? Oh, I'm so relieved." She suddenly sprung on him, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Ow, hey!" he protested. "Head injury, remember?"

She pulled away, embarrassed. "Sorry. It's just that when you were brought in here, Madame Pomfrey said you would wake up in no time, but you were out for absolutely AGES."

He frowned. "How long?"

"Three whole days. I even considered letting Merlin bite you to try and wake you up." She giggled. "He's been offering to do that a lot."

"I'll bet he did." Draco chuckled lightly before wincing, his head still hurt from the bludger attack. He looked her in the eyes. "Tamora, I'm sorry I upset you last week. I-"

"It's okay. I realized that I'd rather be friends with you and have all that extra unwanted attention that go back to being alone."

"It's good to see you finally awake mister Malfoy." Madame Pomfrey jolted when she was Tamora. "What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to get to bed hours ago young lady!"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. Out! Out! Off to bed with you!"

"See you later Draco!" she called as she was bustled out of the ward.

Draco watched the door close thoughtfully. He was glad she wasn't mad at him anymore, it made up for the sore head – he winced – almost.

A/N: Well that's all for a little while. I only put up all these chapters at once because I'm abandoning I've got no reviews since last october. So I'm hoping you guys will be nicer to me. (please be nicer to me!)