Layla noticed that Harry and Ron started hanging out with Hermione now, and she started helping them with their homework. She didn't know what to think about this, since now it was harder to speak to Hermione, since she sat with them in class. She was always afraid to meet new people. With Hermione, she made an exception and her curiosity got the better of her. She was afraid with Harry and Ron, especially since Harry Potter was famous. She had never spoken to anyone famous before. After Potions, she walked up to them.

"Hello."she said.

"Oh, hello."said Hermione.

"These would be the two boys who saved you from the troll, wouldn't they?"she asked.

"Yes. This is Harry, and this is Ron."

"Hello, I'm Layla, Layla Dominguez."

"You're in Slytherin, aren't you?"asked Ron

"Why, yes. I am."she answered him.

"And you know Hermione?"he asked.

"Yes."

"We usually exchange information about the books we read. By the way, you know those books by Monica Hughes, you were right. They are great. They might be fiction, but they're very well written."she turned to Harry and Ron. "Layla lend me those books, and really they're fascinating."

"Yes. I love to read. I read about just about everything. I love science fiction books by Muggle authors. They have a lot of imagination. Well, some of them. Issac Assimov is also great. And Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. That's quite a tragedy. Are you interested in extrateresstials, by the way? My brothers' worst fear is that he will one day be abducted by aliens."

When they got to the Great Hall, they had to separate, and Layla sat down at the Slytherin table.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you some other time. I might consider going to the Quidditch match, you know. I didn't really want to go, but as Harry's playing, I might go and watch, for a while anyway."she said.

"You weren't going?"asked Ron.

Layla sighed.

"No, what for? I thought perhaps I could go to the library, or stay in the common room and knit, or something. But I think I'll go."

At the Gryffindor table, Ron was furious with Hermione.

"You never said that you got along with Slytherins, Hermione!"

"Well, you never asked, did you?"

"I thought she was all right. She didn't seem like a Slytherin."said Harry, looking over at the Slythein table.

"Maybe she's a spy."Ron said.

"That's ridiculous."Hermione told him. "How could she be a spy?"

"Easy, she could be reporting back to Malfoy."

"No. She doesn't like Malfoy. She's told me so."

"And how do you know, they don't get along in the common room."

Hermione looked at him, furiously.

"Listen, Ron, I think you are exaggerating. Layla is not a spy, she's very nice if you give her the chance. Besides, I don't think you have any right to tell me whom I can talk to or not."

Hermione got up and left the Great Hall.

At the Quidditch match on Saturday, Layla put on her scarf, and walked toward the stadium, to see if she could find Hermione, so she wouldn't have to sit by herself.

"Well, I don't know whether I'll stay the whole match, you know. I'm not really into sports. My brothers and my father, however, they love them. The only sport I like is swimming. I love to get wet."

"That's a good sport."said Hermione.

"Quidditch is better, since we're going to win."said Ron.

Layla smiled and nodded.

"Yes, well, you do have a great seeker, or so I've heard. I've never seen him play, so let's see how he does."

"Well, you're wearing the wrong colors."Ron said.

Hermione scowled at him. Layla looked down at her scarf, and remembered that she had indeed knitted it with green and silver bows.

"Oh, well, you know, I knitted it at the beginning of the term, and well, those were the colors that came to mind. I love silver, and as well, the House color is also green, I used that as another color. I would have liked lilac instead, but well, I just, well, thought it would be nice."

Also, her earrings were silver.

"The match is starting."Hermione said.

Layla thought that perhaps she did look odd, wearing green and silver, and cheering the other team, instead of the Slytherins, who were wearing the same color as her. She did her best to forget it.

"That was quite a good score."she said, clapping along with Ron and Hermione, as one of the Gryffindor chasers scored against the Slytherin Keeper. "But really, they shouldn't let them use those tactics."she commented about the Slytherins. "They really aren't right."

"Well, they're your team."Ron told her.

"That doesn't mean what they're doing is right."

"Perhaps we should concentrate on the match. Look, I think Harry's seen the snitch!"said Hermione.

Suddenly, the match seemed to be suspended, as everyone watched the Seekers dive down to catch the tiny golden ball. When they saw that Harry had been the one who caught it, in his mouth, it seemed, they cheered loudly. Layla went down with Ron and Hermione to congratulate him. The rest of the team all looked at her suspiciously.

"That was a great match. I don't think even my brothers or my father know anyone whose caught the snitch like that."she told Harry. "Well, I guess I better get back to the common room. Congratulations, you were great."

"Thanks."said Harry.

She turned around and walked towards the castle. When she was gone, Wood asked Harry questions, as to why a Slytherin had come to congratulate him.

"She's my friend, Hermione's friend."Harry told him.

"Then maybe you should talk to your friend about her friends, or you should just forget about being friends with her."

"She's all right, I think."

"What if she's a spy?"

"I don't think she is. She doesn't seem like the type. She's friends with Hermione because they read a lot, but outside the fact that she's in the same House as the Slytherins, she doesn't have anything in common with them."

"Isn't the fact that she's in Slytherin enough? Did you notice the colors on her scarf?"

"Well, she seemed like she was honestly glad we won."

"Those Slytherins are great actors, Potter. You see how some of them convince the teachers."

"Well, I'll see."

Malfoy and his gang had seen Layla walking towards the Gryffindor team after the match.

"What were you doing with those losers, Dominguez."

"I think they won, Malfoy."she said, putting a bookmarker in the book she had been reading.

"Only by luck."

"Well, then they have very good luck. Either way, I think won fair and square."

Malfoy's eyes flashed.

"I don't see why you're so angry. It's only a game. So, they won, and we lost, so? Who cares? What difference does it make?"

"It makes a lot of difference. Gryffindors are nothing more than losers."

Layla knew that Malfoy wasn't going to leave her alone, so she got her book, and went to her dormitory, where he couldn't bother her. However, then Pansy Parkinson went in to bother her. But she got tired through Layla's why questions.