These characters aren't mine, sadly, and I make no profit from (insert story the particular fic of mine you are reading is based on here). I cry out to the stars, "If only, if only."

By the by, watch out, a few of the characters may be ooc. (out of character for those of you who don't know what that stands for.)

Chapter 15: Dealing With It

Diina didn't know that Mrs. Norris was leading Filch right to the closet where she was hiding. She wasn't exactly in reality, though. It was my fault. All my fault. She didn't notice Filch fling open the door and see the look on his face that said he was shocked to find a girl immersed in self-pity rather than misbehaving.

Filch pulled her to her feet and assisted her dutifully to the Hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey attempted to give her a tincture of poppies, but failed. Diina didn't want anything and refused it. Filch had retrieved Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. Upon their arrival, Diina dumped the tincture and left the empty bottle on the table beside her bed, feigning sleep. They began talking oblivious to the fact that she heard every word.

"I knew this would happen if you told her," McGonagall hissed to Dumbledore. "Now the poor girl is going to have a mental breakdown."

"I couldn't avoid it Minerva," Dumbledore answered. "She was impossible to refuse."

"Really? Or was it Potter that you couldn't refuse?" Snape asked coldly. Diina dared to open her eyes a bit to look at the teachers.

"Severus, we've been over that before and"-

"Little pitchers have big ears," Snape interrupted, shooting a look at Diina. She snapped her eyes shut, then, on second thought, guiltily opened them.

"Are you feeling alright?" McGonagall asked kindly.

"I'm fine," Diina lied, making her way to the doors so she could leave.

McGonagall put a hand on Diina's arm in a motherly gesture. "It's understandable if you aren't. You don't have to be ashamed of it," McGonagall replied in a very reassuring voice, quite different from her normal authoritive voice.

Diina pulled away. She lost her grip on self-control and blurted out her thoughts. "The truth is I'm not fine. In fact, I've never felt worse! I've just discovered that the boy I was almost positive was my soulmate was my adoptive brother and it's my fault his parents were murdered! I've never had such a deplorable day! But I'll bear it unaccompanied! So just be glad you don't have to assist me with this burden!" She stormed out of the Hospital wing, tears pouring from her eyes. The last the professors heard of her was out in the hallway: "GO AWAY SUE! SEPARATE YOUR MALEVOLENT, DEMONIC SLEF FROM ME! LEAVE ME TO MY LAMENTATIONS!"

Sue popped into the Hospital wing. "Figures Diina would use big words when she's mad," Sue commented to the professors. "What's malevolent mean?"

"It means wishing evil towards others," McGonagall explained tiredly.

"She has romantic feelings for Potter," Snape remarked.

"Duh!" Sue said. "Only an idiot wouldn't notice. Obviously they wouldn't've met at the lakeside that night if she didn't like him."

"When did they meet at the lake?" McGonagall asked.

"Who?" Sue replied.

"When did Harry and Diina?" McGonagall corrected through gritted teeth.

"When did Harry and Diina do what?"

"Meet at the lake!"

"They did? Wow! I wonder if she got any action. If she wasn't upset, I'd ask her..." Sue trailed off, leaving the Hospital wing.

"We can't get any reliable information from that," Snape snapped.

-

Diina had found a new place to hide. It was a tall window a good ten feet up from the floor. It's sill was large enough to hold her with plenty of room left over, and the gargoyle next to it had proved to be easy to climb, giving her access to this superb spot. Her body had heated up the window and any flake of snow that had the unfortunate luck of fluttering onto the pane melted on contact.

The droplets that used to be snow made their own paths down the window, occasionally joining, or being joined by, another drop. It's like life. You start out alone and then find friends along the way. Joining with them makes the two of you one. And it keeps adding up. I'm like that. I've got Sue. My path paralleled Harry's and just when I thought we'd become one, our paths drifted apart violently. It isn't fair.

Diina lost herself in her thoughts about how much Harry must hate her. The approaching steps went unheard, as did the sounds of someone climbing the gargoyle next to her.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Draco said, trying his best to restore Diina to reality. His comment seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. She had yet to acknowledge his presence. She was staring out the window, but he got the feeling that she wasn't seeing beyond the glass. Having no clue what was wrong with her, he could not comfort her.

The windowsill could hold the both of them, so he carefully moved over and positioned himself beside her. He took her hand in his, but she still seemed lost. He took a good look at her face and saw Diina's blue eyes spilling silent tears. "Diina, what's wrong?" he inquired.

"Go away," she whispered.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Diina screamed, yanking her hand back and pushing him off the windowsill. While he recovered, she climbed down the gargoyle and stalked off. Great! I have to find a new hiding place because of that jerk! When she heard Draco following her, she turned to face him and hopefully rid herself of him permanently. "Why are you following me?"

"I want to help you," he replied, grabbing her arm so she couldn't run off.

"I don't need help," Diina snapped, trying to pull her arm free, but failing miserably. "I'm fine by myself. So let go and get lost!"

"Damnit Diina!" Draco yelled, throwing her up against the wall. "Open up and let someone help you once in a while. It helps if you share the pain."

"What would you know?" she cried. "You have no idea. I bet you've never opened up and told someone how you feel. When it comes to things like this, you're an idiot, Draco, a complete idiot!"

"Just because I've never let someone in, that makes me an idiot?"

"That's right!"

"Tell the truth, Diina!"

"I am."

"No, you're not. Why are you mad at me, Diina? Tell me," he insisted angrily, keeping her up against the wall.

"Because you're trying to take advantage of me when I'm feeling vulnerable," she yelled. "What ticks me off the most is that you're trying to help me when I don't need it!"

"You're mad at me because I'm right and you know it. You know you need help, you just don't want to admit it. You've got too much damn pride," Draco contradicted.

"Isn't that what Slytherin's all about? Pride?"

"Slytherin's about getting what you want and doing anything to get it, not crying in a window. Get out there, take what you need, and move on."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you? You took what you needed from Millicent and the other girls. She told me. And now you're taking it from Pansy. You'll hop in bed with anyone, won't you? You think you're going to ditch Pansy and I'll be your little whore. It was too good to be true, wasn't it, Draco? A new Slytherin you could screw so you wouldn't have to play with the old ones. Too bad I'm not as stupid as you thought."

"I'll screw who I want, when I want, how I want, and that includes you," he replied.

"Take your vile hands off her," Harry said, suddenly seen at the end of the hall.

"Shove off, Potter! This is Slytherin business," Draco snapped.

"Yes, it is," Diina agreed. She brought her knee up into Draco's groin, and he let go of her. "And we're finished here." She marched away, leaving Draco in pain and Harry in giggles.

-

Severus watched her, his presence in the Quidditch stands unbeknownst to Diina. She had come out in the middle of the night to play soccer with herself. Suddenly, she kicked the ball away from her as hard as she could, screaming, and collapsed in sobs. He took his time getting to her. When Severus got to her, she was completely still. He rolled her over onto his back and discovered Diina was fast asleep. Emotional stress had exhausted her.

He picked her up and carried her back up to Hogwarts. As he descended into the Dungeons towards Slytherin, he noticed restlessness in Diina. They were about to pass his office when she jolted awake with a scream. Severus almost dropped her. He set her on her feet and opened the door to his office, then beckoned her inside. She followed him in, shut the door behind her, and took the seat in front of his desk.

"What, pray tell, was that all about?" he asked, sitting down at his desk.

"It was just a nightmare, sir," Diina answered.

"Before that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"On the Quidditch pitch, Miss Riddle." She winced when he used her proper last name, and she neglected to reply. Severus stared at her expectantly.

"Don't you have something important to do?" Diina inquired. "Grade essays or something?"

"I have nothing more pressing at the moment, except the well-being of one of my Chasers."

"I have something more pressing. I should be in bed," she snapped, standing up to leave.

"I did not dismiss you. Sit down." She slammed herself into the chair, seething, and glared at the floor. "I'm listening."

"To what? I'm certainly not talking!"

"Unless I am mistaken, those were words coming out of your mouth just now."

"I need my sleep, Professor."

"More words? I thought you weren't talking," Severus said. "It appears you wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."

"It's none of your business whether I can or cannot sleep."

"You have an odd notion about what is not my business," Severus retorted. "Anything that affects my students is my business."

"You don't take students into your office to question them on what's bothering them often. Why am I the unfortunate one to receive such treatment?" Diina argued.

"After the earlier display of sudden violence on the Quidditch pitch? By the way, I'm still in the dark about the reason for that."

"I had a tantrum sir," she said through gritted teeth. "May I go now?"

"Naturally, it would be illegal for me to give a student anything more powerful than Madam Pomfrey's poppy tincture," he began, going over to a cabinet and extracting a flask from it. "Her's is only enough to calm the nerves, but you'll find this tincture induces sleep." Severus gave her the flask.

"Sir, what if"-

"My advice is that you don't get caught with that."

"But"-

"You are dismissed."

"Why am I dismissed now?"

"Because I happen to be leaving and do not desire to leave a student in my office with a great amount of unattainable potion ingredients at her disposal," Severus replied casually.

They walked to the Slytherin common room. Just before going to her room, Diina threw her arms around Severus in a brief hug. She left him in the common room, puzzling what had prompted her to embrace him.

"How did you manage to tame the shrew?" Draco asked from a chair in the shadows.