OMG! I had this chapter written in my notebook for ages, I was just too busy coughlazycough to type it out. Sorry! 3333 (See? I even gave you all little hearts!) Please review!

CHAPTER TWO: BUBBLES AND SQUID CHOW!

Heket raced from the Great Hall, face burning. No one had ever made her feel this way. A hot, not all together unpleasant heat was still singing in her veins. She leaned her head against the wall, and the tide of students flowed around her. She took two steadying breaths, and placed her clammy hands on her cheeks. It's nothing, she told herself, just hormones. She didn't listen to the voice in the back of her head that was trying to tell her that no other boy had made her feel like this. She started walking to the Gryffindor common room, thoughts still swimming through her head.

She stepped through the door, and was immediately mobbed by the group of girls she had gone to the lessons with. In truth, this group of girls often got on her nerves. She loved them, but they weren't exactly the most… interesting people, considering that their favorite topics were boys and gossip. Melody, the girl who led the group when she wasn't copying every little thing Heket did, grabbed Heket's arm.

"Did you see him dance with me?" She squealed.

"See who dance with you?"

"Draco Malfoy! He's such a hottie!" she giggled and led Heket to a chair in front of the fire. "Se so likes me! It's almost painfully obvious!" she continues rattling on about how much he liked her, and how they would make the perfect couple, Heket getting more annoyed by the word. "I bet he'll ask me out soon…"

"You know, Melody, I really need you to shut up." Heket growled. "Please? Before you jinx all chances of anyone asking you out?" Not that anyone one would, she added to herself.

Melody stared at her, looking remarkably like a fish out of water.

"Thank you!" Heket stood and stalked to her dormitory. Pavarti and Lavender were giggling on Lavender's bed, and another girl with vibrant purple, spiky hair was sitting on the windowsill, strumming her guitar quietly.

Heket groaned and threw herself onto the bed. The guitar went silent. "Bad day?" An American accented asked.

Heket gave a muffled "Yes" and rolled over to look at Bubbles.

Bubbles placed her guitar on the floor and stretched out next to Heket. "Spill" she commanded.

Heket sighed and told her all about the day, starting with Melody and her pack following her to the dance lesson through how she felt while dancing with Draco. "And then, Melody started bragging about Draco liking her, and I just… I don't know." Bubbles had ordered Pavarti and Lavender out of the room when it had become obvious that fellow Gryffindor bashing was on the forecast, and Heket now jumped off the bed to pace the room.

"Well Heket," Bubbles said watching her friend pace, "I think you might like him" her tone was thoughtful, calculating.

Heket rounded on her. "Of course I don't!" She spat. "I don't care about anyone like that! I don't, and never will! I… I can't." She finished softly, a tear slipping down her cheeks.

Bubbles stood and wrapped her arms her friend.

"Heketikins, I know you miss your dad, but not loving doesn't stop the pain." She soothed.

"I do miss my dad." Heket agreed, "But that can't be helped. What can be helped is the pain of having someone ripped away from you. If I don't care about anyone, I never have to worry about them dying or getting hurt." Heket's voice choked. "I can't stand losing anyone else."

Bubbles was one of the few people who knew the full story of Heket's dark childhood. After Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, Heket and her mother, Sarah, had moved in with Sarah's brother, Samson in Ireland. They lived with him and his family for ten years, and Heket and her cousins had become as close as siblings, when one day, Heket and her mother had returned from looking at houses to find Sampson's house destroyed and everyone dead.

The two had then moved into a small house in Ireland. That year, both of her mother's parents had died and the next year she left for Hogwarts, and returned to find her mother in treatment for cancer. Bubbles and Heket had met in 4th year when Bubbles had transferred from America. The two became close friends, and Bubbles knew it was up to her to convince Heket to open up to the world again.

"You care about me don't you?" she asked.

Heket nodded into her shoulder. "But I know you're safe! You live in America, far from any trouble, and I didn't exactly plan to become your friend."

That was true; Heket had seemed a very distant, well bitchy girl when they had first met. In the end, it was the two girls love for trouble that brought them together. After three weeks of detention with Snape, and two wands later for each of them, a rather grudging friendship had developed. Both girls seemed to be magnets for mischief, and it was soon clear that they could benefit from the help of the other. Bubbles was the 'brains'. She would refine any idea Heket came up with, create the game-plan. Heket put the usually outrageous schemes into action, with her popular status, and sweat-talking mouth, she could get the two girls out of most any kid of trouble they happened to dance into. The two made a great team, and had even tricked, pranked and sneaked their way into Fred and George's Hall of Respect.

"Well Heket," Bubbles started, "It's ok to love, okay to FEEL. Is it truly worth never learning to love, just to protect your heart from being hurt?"

Heket drew away from her friend, and looked at her. "You know, I think it might be."

Bubbles sighed and watched Heket grab her p.j's and make her way to the shower.

Bubbles shook her head sadly, and picked up her guitar, strumming the beginning chords to an old American song by Bette Midler: "The Rose". "It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It's the one who can't be taken that cannot seem to give, and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live." Her rich, deep voice filled the room with the haunting lyrics, and drifted out to the grounds below, to a reflecting teenager.

Draco stood staring at the lake, listening to the song coming from what he assumed was the Gryffindor dormitories.

The irony of the song did not escape him. It was as though the singer was singing of him. He sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.

Heket. Her face kept forcing itself into his thoughts; her gorgeous black hair, full sensitive lips, and lively green eyes, drowned out all other thoughts, except the echo of her voice.

He growled in frustration and jumped to his feet. He wanted to be annoyed that she wouldn't get out of his head, he truly did, but for some reason he felt… happy that she was haunting his thoughts, it just let him see her more. What DID annoy him was that he wasn't annoyed.

He paced on the shore of the lake, getting closer to the water with each pass.

His blood was still burning, and he knew his face was flushed. Cold water, he thought, Cold water now! Without another thought, he dove into the freezing waters of the lake.

He surfaced sputtering and gasping, bone cold. Well, that's an improvement! of course, now I'll probably going to catch pneumonia and die. He shook his head, sending water flying everywhere. Something cold and slimy grazed his leg and he yelped, looking around. The water was deep, and night was falling, making it impossible to see anything. The same something brushed his side. "HOLY SHIT!" he cursed, and a large tentacle skimmed the water inches from his left hand. He swam as quickly as he could until his feet hit the bottom, then raced to the shore.

"Forget pneumonia," Draco muttered tramping through the leaves scattered over the ground, clothes dripping, "I'll just end up being squid chow."

Draco pushed the door to the great hall open, and squelched inside. Luckily for him, the halls seemed empty. He was shivering madly by the time he entered Slytherin common room, to find Blaise lounging in a chair by the fire.

"Hello Draco." He drawled, not bothering to look over.

Draco muttered something incoherent, and squished over to the fire. Once there, he stripped off his wet robes and shirt, and sat as close to the fire as possible.

"Damn Draco, what happened to you?" Blaise asked, finally noticing his friends wet state.

"I don't want to talk about it." Draco snapped.

"Let me guess, you and Pansy were messing around and you got just a little too hot?"

"Shut up, Blaise. You know I hate her."

"Oh, so you were just messing around with yourself?" Blaise antagonized.

Draco threw his still dripping shirt at him. "I fell in!" He said simply before stalking off to the showers.

OMG! Chapter two is complete! Did ya liek it? Huh? Huh? did'ya? Please review, even if you hated it! 33333333333333333333333 (See? I really love you all!)