Jealousy Perhaps?

He sent her an owl that afternoon. He needed to see her. He felt he needed to apologize to her. And there was another matter he wanted to discuss. So the next day, he walked to the Charms classroom. He was trying to figure out how to apologize when he walked in the room. He looked around, but there was no one there.

"Personally, I must say that was a brilliant idea of yours," said a voice in the dark corner. Sarah emerged with a smug look on her face.

"It was?" he asked.

"Yes. I was quite comforted by my fellow Slytherins, who were saying I would have won. They were also cursing over you. But that was a brilliant way of treating me like a Slytherin."

"I don't understand," he replied.

"Well, I can guarantee you that no one in Slytherin thinks you fancy me any more."

Harry, who had never thought of that prospect, cheered up a bit. That is until he thought of the "other matter" he wanted to bring up. Seeing her so happy almost made him change his mind. He was just about to forget the whole thing, but...

"Sarah, uh... why did Draco take you back to your common room?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that? How else was I suppose to get back, crawl?" she retorted with a smile. She was right, that was a dumb thing to ask. He was trying to figure out how to reword it, when he noticed the smile fading from her face. She began to look at him suspiciously. She decided to give another explanation, "Draco is in Slytherin, and therefore he was able to get me back to my House common room." She waited, Harry still didn't say anything, but she thought she knew what was on his mind.

"He was asking about you," was all he said.

"You mean he... he talked to you?" she inquired. He nodded. "What did he want?"

"Look," he said," I don't think you should be around him." There, he finally got it out. There was a moment's pause, and then Sarah broke into hysterical laughter. "But he's in my House; how can I avoid him?" She was still laughing, but Harry didn't think it was remotely funny.

Harry muttered in a low, quiet voice that she could barely hear, "You could if you tried."

She stopped laughing. "I know where you're going with this," she said sourly. "I must ask that you not delve into my private life," she finished and got up to leave.

Now it was Harry that was laughing. "Don't tell me he's really part of your private life." He saw too late that he had hit a nerve. She turned around to face him.

"What do you care if he is?" she asked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I'm your brother; I should care," he replied. "I don't like him."

She gave him a hopeless laugh. "Yeah, well, I haven't been treated too nicely by Gryffindors, so from where I'm standing, Slytherins look pretty good."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ron, for one. But I don't go around telling you he's bad."

"But that's different..." Harry started.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well, for one," he said, "I don't love Ron." He immediately wished he had not said this; he could tell that he hurt her. She stared at him for a moment with a look that said he did not understand. She picked up her bag, turned her back to him, and walked out of the room.

For the rest of that morning he yelled at himself. She was right in a way. At lunch, he couldn't stand it; he sucked up his gut and walked over to the Slytherin table. Everybody looked at him with scorn and hate. He found Sarah; even she didn't seem to want look at him. He sat down, his back to the table. He tried to speak quietly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean those things I said," he murmured. He sat there waiting.

She looked up at him after a while. Her eyes appeared very large and blue. He tried to give her the most brother-loving look possible. And then he saw her smile, and tears came to her eyes; tears that had waiting to be cried for a couple of hours. She reached forward and gave him a long hug. Harry tried to avoid the startled looks of the Slytherins... and, now that he noticed, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors. The whole hall was silent, watching them. But he was happy. It seemed like a long time before she pulled herself away, her eyes still gleaming a bit.

"Thank you," she said. Harry took a glance around the Great Hall. Everyone was still watching them. "Oh, sorry. I guess I kind of overdid it in front of everyone. Now everyone's going to think you're associated with a Slytherin."

"I am," he said with a smile.

She leaned forward and whispered," I suppose this means we've blown our cover?"

He looked around nervously. Then Ron stood up, and in a annoyed voice he asked,

"An explanation please?"

Harry stood up and urged Sarah to do so also. "I know this is going to sound crazy," he said, he gave an extra look to Sarah who still looked a bit uncomfortable," but she is my sister."

The hall didn't move; they just continued to stare. Harry looked at her and shrugged. He sat back down. She looked down at Harry and at the rest of the Slytherins, who were all staring at her. All of a sudden, she burst out laughing. And the hall followed suit. The Slytherins seeing this was a joke even began to laugh. Some were saying, "You had me goin' there... and, I knew it was a joke all along." Sarah leaned to Harry and whispered, "If they want to believe it they will."

"Draco," came a demanding voice from Sarah. Draco had just walked into the Slytherin Common room. He turned to look at her, with a bit of a suspicious expression. She glanced around, checking to see if anyone was near.

"What Harry said was true," she said in a nervous voice.

"Come on. Harry's in Gryffindor," Draco responded with a confident smile.

"Yeah, but he's still my half-brother." Draco could tell that she was serious, but he still couldn't believe it. "You can't tell anyone else, please," she added. He was speechless. He stared at her with wide-open eyes. In a quieter voice she said, "I thought you would understand." She looked at him with disappointed eyes.

"I do," he said too quickly, for actually he didn't. Of all the people who could have had Harry as their brother, it had to be Sarah, he thought to himself.

"Really?" she asked looking hopeful. He nodded slowly and reluctantly. "Then, can I ask you a favor?" she continued.

"What?" he inquired suspiciously.

"I think you and Harry should make a temporary truce so you don't kill each other..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I am not talking to him," he said with a "you wish" smile.

"Please, you don't half to be friends or even talk to each other, just so you're on the same side," she tried again.

"I don't do truces, and we're not on the same side," he retorted more firmly.

"I'm just asking you to do it for me, so that when I walk down the corridors I don't see you two trying to blow each other's heads off. Just for me, please," she begged. He couldn't believe he was actually considering it, but when you like somebody it changes the way you think; he just couldn't say no to her.

"All right," he muttered, barely audible, "For you." She gave him a big smile.

When Harry was leaving Defense Against the Dark Arts the next Wednesday, Draco cornered him. He did not look as upset as Harry thought he would be though. "Seeing that you are her brother, I...," he started, but Harry cut him off.

"That was a joke."

"She told me, and only me," he said. "Anyway I thought we ought to make a temporary truce." He emphasized the word temporary. Harry looked at him thoughtfully.

"It doesn't mean we're friends; I'm doing it on Sarah's suggestion, otherwise I wouldn't be here." His look darkened a bit. Harry was quite surprised at this proposal. Perhaps it was a joke, he thought. But seeing that Draco was not remotely happy about the idea, Harry decided that he wasn't joking.

"Well, if it's for Sarah, then agreed," said Harry, and he reached out his hand. Draco looked up at him. "I'd prefer not to 'shake on it,' " he snarled, folding his arms and eyeing Harry intensely. Harry decided not to protest this, and he put his hand down and nodded. Draco left.