Chapter 3
Rain, Challenges, and NinjaMagic

As Mora walked away from Draco, she couldn't believe what she had done. She had broken the balance that they had tried so hard to keep over the past few years. They had set down rules, and even if they were unspoken, they were understood. She had broken them. Although she wanted to run back and talk to him about it, she found her feet wanting to go to her room instead. Her mind was still reeling from the hug, for it seemed to be more than what she normally shared with Blaise. But she pushed that thought out of her head, for if her head starting playing tricks with her, she'd become too confused. 'But you know it was more than a friendly hug…' her mind taunted her.

By the time she got to her room, she had decided that she would go straight to the Quidditch field to fly around. While she detested the sport, she didn't mind the flying aspect of it. And being that high up was exhilarating, and being outside calmed her, so it made her both excited and calm. Quite a contradiction, but it was how she felt while she flew. But at the same time, it was frightening. The thought of falling from that far up put a spark of fear in her, so now she had fear, exhilaration, and calmness. All of these combined made for a unique experience that she enjoyed every now and then.

She grabbed her broom, and inspected it. Her father bought her an American broom while they lived in the US, and it was quite old now. But it had never been used much, so it was still in good condition. The handle was a dark, almost red, wood that she couldn't place. The bristles were a medium shade of brown that complimented the wood nicely. It was finished off with silver accents, and Villefort 1998 was written on the top of the wood. All in all, the broom was beautiful, and even though Mora rarely used it, she did enjoy looking at it from time to time.

Out of her dresser, she put on a pair of jeans, since flying in a skirt would be unacceptable. While normally Dumbledore wouldn't allow jeans in the school, she was allowed to wear them when she flew since she didn't own a Quidditch uniform. After removing her jacket, she slipped downstairs and out to the field.

--

Once outside, she noticed that the air was chilly and the clouds overhead looked as if they were about to release rain any minute. Mora chose to ignore this, for she didn't want to walk all the way outside for nothing. Luckily, the field wasn't too far from the school, and she got there in about five minutes. Thunder crackled above her, but she once again overlooked it. She mounted her broom and sped into the sky.

Air rushed around her and her hair violently whipped into her face. While her broom was no comparison to a Firebolt, it was fast. After a series of turns and sharp descents, she thought someone was calling her name from below. A quick glance proved her right, and she began another descent, but slower this time. Finally she reached the ground to see Draco with a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. With a quick dismount, she turned to face him as a few large raindrops fell from the sky. "I love the rain," she said, then added after a few moments, "Why're you here?"

"What was that about?" Draco replied. All he received for a response was an exasperated sigh and a look of understanding; he knew that she recognized what he was talking about.

"We need to go inside, it's going to storm." With that she started walking back to the castle, without looking back to see if he was following. Footsteps behind her proved that he was in fact coming.

"You didn't answer my question." He grabbed her arm with his free one (the other hand was still holding his broom), and turned her to face him. By now the sprinkle had quickly turned into a rainstorm.

"I hugged you because that's why you do with friends. It just so happens that we've never hugged before; except when we first met but I can hardly call that a hug. More like cradling." By now, Mora was done being discreet about their first encounter.

"Okay." Now he let her go, and copied her actions of before. Except his walk to the castle had become quicker in pace, since by now they were almost soaked. She decided that walking wouldn't do any good in this storm, and she started running to the building with Draco close behind. Once they actually got to the building, it was pouring and each of them was drenched. But the awkward feelings from before had disappeared, and it was back to normal between them again, almost.

"Well, that was fun." Draco's sarcasm wasn't quite as noticeable as usual, for he was soaking wet and couldn't quite put the enthusiasm behind the words as usual. It only took Mora one look at him to collapse against the wall in a fit of laughter. His hair was cemented to his forehead, and some tendrils were sending streams of water down his face. All his clothing stuck to him, and his sleeves were also dripping tiny drops of water against the stone floor. He looked like a puppy that had fallen into the swimming pool. Yet Mora looked quite similar, with her black hair plastered to her skin. Her pallor was accentuated by her wet hair, and she had to walk with her legs slightly spread for her jeans were soaked. Draco began to smile at the sight of her, just as she had done about him.

Soon, Draco laughed full out, not a mocking laugh, but one of his rare, genuine laughs. This surprised her, and she turned her head over to him and during a short pause in her laughter. But instead of remaining calm, she restarted again. This time, neither of them could stop laughing. It was for this reason that they ended up leaning against each other to prevent them from collapsing to the floor. And it was also because of their laughing that they didn't hear footsteps approaching them from behind.

"Draco? Mora? What're you two doing?" Blaise practically shouted from behind, disbelief evident in his voice. Fortunately, Draco quit his laughter and calmed himself, and Mora did the same a few seconds after him.

"Well, you see, I wanted to go outside and fly around on my broom, as you already know. It just so happens when I got to the field, Mora was already flying about. All of a sudden, it starts to rain, and I yell for her to come down. She does, and we run back to the castle, but by the time we were there, we were soaking wet. That's the reason why we were laughing, not that any of that was your business." Throughout this whole spiel, Draco's voice was full of annoyance. Blaise completely believed his lie, and it was rather convincing. While Mora felt guilty about this, she understood why he didn't. To say he chased after her because they shared an unusual hug would be suspicious. This way all friendships would remain normal, and no awkward conversations would ensue.

Blaise's eyes still held suspicion in them, but he let it go to the back of his mind since Draco's story was so utterly convincing. "Alright. I was just wondering. Let's go to the Great Hall, it's almost dinner time. And hey Mora?"

"Yes?" They'd started walking down the corridor already, and it was than that she realized how hungry she had been. With all the chaos of starting classes, she hadn't eaten much at lunch.

"Can you stay at the Ravenclaw table today? I need to talk to Draco alone." This almost stopped her in her tracks, but she realized it must be something really private if he didn't want her around. So she agreed to it. When the entered the hall, they split apart and went to their corresponding tables.

As soon as Blaise sat down at the table, his eyes changed from cheerful to pissed off in no time at all. "Stay away from her."

"Excuse me?" Draco didn't take demands well, certainly one like this. She was a human, and if he wanted to be around her damn well had the right to be.

"She doesn't need to be around someone like you. You'll change her, and leave her once you get what you want. Stay away from her Draco, if you know what's good for you." By now, Blaise's voice had started to get louder, and if Mora had tried to hear, she could've. But she was at the moment counting all the blondes in Hufflepuff and so far had counted forty-two.

"Well, that's a very kind gesture for you to make Blaise. But why don't you let her choose for herself whom she wants to be around. You can't force her to stay away from me, or I from her. And anyway, you're getting all pissed off over nothing, we're just friends. But if you want to start something, don't think I'll back down." On the contrary to Blaise's voice, his got quieter as he got madder. By the end of his comment, you had to strain to hear him, but that made it much more meaningful than if he'd yelled it. The menace is his voice was incredibly clear and it made Blaise doubt for a minute if he had done the right thing by challenging him.

"Alright. We'll see who she'd rather be with." And with that, they shook hands.

--

That night, when Mora went back to her room, she started on her potions homework. While it was only the first day of classes, Professor Snape didn't slack off on the homework portion of the class. In two days they had to complete a 3-foot essay on the Ultio Ultionis Potion, and how adding torrens root with make the potion burn as it is swallowed, which most of the time kills the victim. Oh yes, Severus Snape certainly knew how to pick merry topics to write about. By the time it was midnight, she had finished most of her essay, and decided that it was time that she got back to her book. With only fifty pages left, she finished it before 12:45.

Since she was not quite ready to sleep, she figured she could write letters- one to Blaise and one to Draco. After finding suitable parchment, she wrote one to each of them. Quickly she tied them to Odette, who hooted at being able to get out of the room for awhile. Soon after receiving a few affectionate pats on her head, she was off into the night to deliver the mail.

Mora changed slowly, enjoying the cool breeze that entered her room through the open window. She climbed into bed, enjoying the feel of the crisp sheets, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

--

"Hoot" Draco walked over to the window next to his bed in the Slytherin's boy dormitory. After analyzing the owl to make sure it was carrying nothing potentially harmless, he let it in. The large black bird then delivered him a letter, and then flew gracefully over to Blaise's bed. After trying to hoot to wake him up, it took to pecking his ear. It only took a few tries and he sat upright, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. Once he registered that he got mail, he shooed the owl away. Odette hooted in response, pecked him once on the head again, and then flew out the window.

Looking down at the letter, Blaise instantly recognized the handwriting. His face brightened at the though of hearing from Mora, even if it was one in the morning. Apparently, he didn't know Draco had one as well. So to be sure he got that concept, Draco opened his letter as loudly and boorishly as possible. When Blaise looked up at his figure standing in front of the window, his smile turned to a scowl. Even though Draco had received a letter as well, he was still glad to hear from her. His letter read:

Hey!

I know it's late to be writing a letter, but I was up and figured it'd be a nice thing to do. Today certainly was awkward, and I apologize for making such a show with laughing in the halls today. Even though it was funny, we should've behaved a bit better and I can see how you got as frustrated as you did. But Draco and I can be friends, and we are. I like spending time with him, and you'll just have to get used to it. You have so much to worry about, we're madly in love. (If you didn't catch the obvious sarcasm, you deserve to have your eyeballs pried out of her head with a spork.) Maybe that was a bit harsh, but it's late at night and I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow ace.

Mora Sumpter

Although this wasn't quite what he expected, and he had no idea why she called him ace, he was glad she had taken the time to write. Even though he wanted to write back, he decided sleeping would be better for him at the moment. Blaise would thank her personally in the morning. While he was drifting off to sleep, Draco was opening his own letter after noticing Blaise's reaction to his own. He adored the way she wrote his name, her handwriting neat and loopy.

Hey Draco.

Thanks for covering up for us in the hallway today; I'd never been able to lie like that. God only knows where you've gotten the practice, but it's paid off. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. I enjoyed myself today, even though we were both soaking wet and freezing cold. While I'm not quite sure where we are in our friendship, I think discussing it would kill the fun. Is Blaise really that jealous of the miniscule amount of time I spend with you? If so I'm surprised at him. He acts as if you're going to steal me away and keep me all for yourself.

I'm going to bed now, so don't send me back a letter. I didn't tell Blaise that, so if you see him writing something, tell him to stop. I'd rather not have an owl attacking my window while I try to sleep. See you tomorrow, because I'm just rustic like that.

Mora

--

The sunlight streaming into the room had awoken her. Although she'd closed the window, her light curtains did nothing to hide the morning rays. After pushing aside her blankets, she gently walked over to the window and opened it. A light breeze was flowing in, chilly and crisp. The cool air immediately brought Mora to life, so to speak, and she felt as if she'd just drank a cup of tea. She decided she'd have to open the window in the morning more often. No letters had arrived last night, and for that she was half grateful, half disappointed. Blaise hadn't known that she didn't want a letter back, and she knew Draco wouldn't tell him what she wrote. At least she didn't think he would.

After a quick shower, she got dressed, grabbed her pack and jacket, and walked down to the Great Hall. Today she would sit at the Slytherin table, even if they didn't want her to. She was told that she couldn't last night, and she sure as hell wasn't going to take that again. As she walked into the Great Hall, she noticed that she was much earlier than normal, and only a few students were at each table. Luckily, both of her friends had arrived, so she sauntered over to them. "Good morning. I take it you got my letters?"

"Yeah. Thanks, sorry I didn't write back, I was too tired and I assumed you were already in bed." So Draco hadn't told him what she wrote, but this was already expected. She gave him a knowing look, but he only smirked in return. Blaise had missed this exchange; he was too busy devouring his oatmeal.

"It's fine you didn't, an owl scratching at my window would've been quite bothersome. How're you this morning Draco? I'll assume you got my letter as well."

"I'm quite good actually; even though I still have that miserable potions essay to write." With this he scowled- just because potions was his favorite class didn't mean he liked doing the essays.

"I wrote mine last night, it wasn't as hard as I expected. Draco, don't we go to Hogsmede this weekend?" This was the highlight of Mora's weekends, she especially loved the butterbeer.

"Yeah, it is." A smirk was emitted onto his face, but she failed to notice. Last night, Draco and Blaise had discussed that only one of them would go with her this weekend, and whoever she asked about it would be the one to go. The other would have to make up an excuse.

"Awesome, all three of us will have to go together." Her face brightened at the thought of spending the weekend with her friends.

"I can't. Uh, well, I have to do a project in Charms. I got in trouble, so I have an extra assignment. I'd do it over the week, but I don't have time. Sorry." She knew his excuse wasn't completely true, but didn't push the subject. He seemed upset about it, so she let it pass.

"So I guess it'll just be me and good ol' Draco this weekend. I'm off to class, see you later." Mora stood up and left the hall, with one smirking friend and one sullen.

--

The week went by without much incident, classes were difficult, homework was excessive, dinner was delicious, and Mora grew more and more excited about the weekend. Even though she knew something was up with Blaise, she never mentioned it to his face. She figured he would tell her when he felt the need, and she could deal with that. When Saturday finally came, she woke up late, which wasn't surprising consider she fell asleep at 3:45. Only having five hours of sleep would make her groggy today, but she pushed her weariness aside.

After hopping into a chilly shower, she felt a bit more refreshed and ready for the day. Finally it was the weekend and she wouldn't have to wear her uniform. She pulled on some black pants and a Ninja Magic tee-shirt. They were a small, unknown muggle band, and she loved the name. She muttered, "Sitis," on her hair, tucked her wand back into her pocked, grabbed some money, slipped on a pair of shoes, and walked out the door. Looking down she realized she had dressed in all black, something she disliked. It felt too boring to her, but it was too late to go change now if she wanted to eat some breakfast before leaving for Hogsmede.

When she arrived in the Great Hall, students were visibly excited about the first weekend away from the castle, even though they had only been at Hogwarts for a week. A quick glace at the Slytherin table proved to her that Draco and Blaise had skipped the first meal of the day, something they did on occasion. So instead of sitting at the green and silver clad table, she sat with her fellow Ravenclaws. Munching quietly on her blueberry muffin, she realized this would be the first time in almost a month that she had been out of the castle. During the summer, Dumbledore had been strict about her going out of Hogwart's ground, especially alone. These were dangerous time, and having a female student wandering around Hogsmede or any other part of London would not be acceptable. Even when she went to purchase her books, she was accompanied by Professor Trelawney, which had been an interesting experience in itself. While the woman was nice, her mannerisms were quite odd. At one point she approached an old man and announced to him that since his hair was turning gray at a certain angle, his future grand children will all be males with bright orange hair. The look on his face was priceless.

Once Mora finished her muffin, she walked out of the Great Halls to meet Draco at the Slytherin common room. When she got to the dungeons, she realized she should have brought her jacket, but it was much too late to travel all the way back to her quarters now. As she approached the portrait, it suddenly flew open, knocking her in the face and sending her flying backwards to the hard floor. "Ow. I think my head is going to explode."

Draco of course hadn't known anyone was standing outside, but when he heard the loud BANG against the floor, he knew it had to be her. While normally she had much grace, lately she had been much clumsier. He reached down to help her up, after laughing in his head for a few moments, and was shocked at what he saw. Despite her normal attire, today she was dressed in all black. Normally on the weekend it was bright tee shirts and light jeans. But he wasn't complaining, he quite liked the dark colors on her, even if it made her skin seem a few shades lighter. Mora seemed to notice that he had recognized the shift in her clothing, and said, "I know. I own something a bit less colorful, shocking. I'd appreciate it if you would help me up instead off ogling at my choice of attire."

At this he nodded, and continued his original attempt to help her off the cold stone. "Ninja Magic?" While Draco was quite intelligent, muggle concepts never quite got through to him. But she couldn't blame him, most people didn't know about Ninja Magic.

"Well, they're this crazy band that's music is mediocre, but have an amazing name. So I got a shirt, obviously. You wouldn't like them."

"Of course I wouldn't, it's a muggle band." The look of disgust he had when he said muggle was possibly one of the most amusing faces Mora had ever seen, but instead of going into a fit of giggles, started skipping down the hall instead. "Come on, let's get going ace!" Today she was in a great mood, and nothing would ruin it.

A.N.- I like this chapter, writing the scene when they get back from outside was hilarious for me to write. I kept picturing Draco all wet and shocked. giggles Next chapter is already written, but still has to be revised and such. This one I didn't review as throughly as the last, and any little mistakes I apologize for. Read and review, I'd appreciate it. Consider my first chapter has recieved 25 hits, it would've been nice to get at least one review. But don't get me wrong, I love this story. I'll keep writing it if no one ever reviews. But they'd be nice to recieve anyway. :)

Princess Bitterheart