A week after her stay in the hospital wing, Rhiannon sat next to Draco in Potions class as Professor Snape delivered the day's lecture. The potion that would be made today was the choice of each group of two students. However, when the potion was handed in for marking, the students also had to supply a recipe, a name, and a purpose for the potion that they created.

Rhi couldn't wait to start. She had always loved creating new spells and potions, and had one particular potion in mind that she wanted to make. Of course, she would be working with Draco. After a week of her and Draco dating, people knew better than to ask either of them to be partners for anything.

"You all have one hour to create your potions. I want two vials of whatever you create on my desk with a written summary of the ingredients you used, as well as the methodology to create it. You may choose your own partners and begin," Professor Snape said.

"So, what kind of potion is this going to be?" Draco asked her.

"Well, I was thinking of making a Dark as Shadows potion," she replied.

"Okay, and what exactly is a "Dark as Shadows" potion?" he inquired.

"It allows you to blend in with shadows," Rhi told him. "In other words, it blends you into someone else's shadow. The only one's I've ever seen leave you as a shadow for five to seven days, but what if you don't want to be a shadow for five days? What then? That's why I want to try this one, it will last for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the amount that you drink."

Draco thought this over for a minute, and then nodded his head. "Sounds good to me. What cauldron are we going to use?"

"Umm, get a number five. It's only going to be a small amount when it's done, but we have to reduce the liquid that's going to be in it, and increase the strength, otherwise, we'll have to use a lot more of the other things that are going in it. And trust me, there's a lot."

Draco smiled and went to get the cauldron as Rhiannon walked over to the shelves that lined the back wall. She selected essence of belladonna, mandrake feet, wolfsbane, and kissilate flower petals.

Walking back to her and Draco's work station, she placed the jars on the table top as Draco set the cauldron on the high fire. As the cauldron was heating up, Rhi took out some parchment and a Qwik Quotes Quill and set them down.

Rhiannon and Draco set to work making their Dark as Shadows potion and dictating for the quill to write. After adding the first four ingredients to the cauldron, Rhiannon added fleabane seeds, and cat bile and let it simmer while she and Draco gathered dragon's blood, anaconda skin, comet dust, blood of unicorn, and the sound of a scream.

The dragon's blood was added first along with the anaconda skin. Then a sprinkle of comet dust, and a few tiny drops of unicorn blood was added. Rhiannon and Draco allowed their potion to simmer, and finished the written component that needed to be handed in. Just as Draco was about to add the scream to the boiling cauldron, Crabbe and Goyle's smoking cauldron exploded.

Professor Snape stormed over to the pair. "What do the two of you think you were doing, combining Devil's Snare root with bicorn horn? You have just ruined that cauldron and received a failing mark. Also ten points will be taken from Slytherin for the stupidity of you two buffoons."

Crabbe and Goyle both turned an embarrassed red, but continued to finish their potion. They weren't sure themselves what it was supposed to do, but they figured that at least they would hand in some sort of travesty for a possible grade.

Rhiannon shook her head as she carefully ladled her and Draco's potion into two bottles, stoppered them, and carefully wrote their labels. Together her and Draco walked to the front of the room and placed their potion, along with their paperwork on Snape's desk.

Without looking up, Snape said, "you are aware that you still have fifteen minutes to make whatever it is you're handing in presentable, are you not?"

Yes, Professor, we are," Draco said. "But Rhi and I have finished. We want to hand it in now."

Snape looked up at the two of them. "If you're absolutely sure, then leave it where it is, and take your seats. Read chapter seventy-five of The Art of Potions until the end of class."

Draco and Rhiannon went and sat down at their desks and flipped open their books.

"So, you'll be at my Quidditch match tomorrow right?"

"Yes, of course I will."

"Okay good, I want to ask you something after the game."

Rhi laughed. "Draco, why don't you just ask me now?"

"Because, I'm going to ask you after the game."

Rhiannon was about to reply, but Snape stood up at the front of the room. "Time is up, hand in your potions for grading, and then you may leave."

Rhi and Draco stood up and walked back to their common room together, and sat on the couch in front of the fire. Together they watched as it blazed in the hearth, while Draco gently traced small patterns over Rhi's shoulder. "Are you staying here for Christmas?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe. I mean, our house was sold back in America when Mama and Papa moved here. It's not like we really have any where else to spend our Christmas. Why do you ask?"

Brushing a stray piece of hair off her forehead, Draco said, "because I was wondering if you would like to have it at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire this year, with me and my parents."

"Well," she said thoughtfully. "I would have to talk to Mama and Papa about it. I don't think that they would object to it though."

"Good," Draco said and dropped a gentle kiss down on the top of her head. "Quidditch is going to be cold tomorrow," he said, as he watched snow fall outside the window.

"Well if you would be fast for once and not take so long to catch the snitch, you wouldn't be out there long enough to get cold," Rhi teased him.

Draco looked down on her and raised his eyebrows. "Me? Take long to catch the snitch? I'm faster than you'll ever be Brandy." With that, he attacked her, tickling her sides like crazy as she squealed and tried to get away. Rhiannon finally managed to wiggle out of his grasp and she darted away, with Draco hot on her heels.

She ran around the couch and he ran in the other direction to cut her off, laughing just as hard as she was. Draco and Rhi stood facing each other, laughing, when Rhiannon feinted to the left and took off to the right instead. Draco was only fooled for a brief second though, and hurtled over the back of the couch to catch her.

He ran up behind her and wrapped his arms around Rhi's waist and purposefully fell backwards onto the floor. Draco and Rhiannon rolled around on the floor tickling each other and exchanging quick kisses until Pansy and Flint entered the common room, and Flint loudly cleared his throat.

The tickling and kisses stopped, but Draco and Rhiannon's laughter didn't, as the fought to keep a straight expression on their flushed faces. "Playing a game are we?" Flint asked.

"Looks like they are," Pansy replied. "Should we leave and let them finish, or should we stay and be chaperones?"

Rhi looked up at Draco who was still laying on top of her. At the same time Draco looked down at her. "You know," she said. "If they decide to stay, we can leave and prove that I'm much faster than you are someplace else."

As she said this, she poked Draco in the stomach and he poked her back. Just as they were about to start again, Flint asked, "so are the two of you going to stay on the floor all night, or are you going to come down to the Great Hall for supper?"

"I suppose we could go eat, what do you think Seeker?" Rhi asked Draco.

"Well, I suppose we could, though if you keep eating the way you do, you might start to get fat."

Rhi slapped at him playfully as he helped her up. "No, that's impossible. People in my family don't get fat. It's impossible. We stay itty bitty forever!"

Draco laughed at her and dragged her out of the portrait hole. "Well then, Miss Eternally Itty Bitty, let's go feed you."

Together they walked with Pansy and Flint into the Great Hall and to the Slytherin table, where the talk was all about the next day's Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. "Now, the Hufflepuff team has gotten good this year, as I'm sure you all have seen," Flint began. "We need to show them that we're not playing around this year. We hit them fast, and we hit them hard. We also do our damn best to keep the other team off our seeker. If we take out the Hufflepuff seeker first, then we don't need to worry about Draco having any competition when it comes down to grabbing the snitch. He can take all damn day to catch it if he wants. So that's the plan. Play hard and play dirty. Any questions?"

Rhiannon had been listening to Flint speak when a fifth year girl named Aiken who was sitting next to her, poked her sharply in the ribs. "Hey, Rhiannon," she said. "Are you gonna go to the Yule Ball?"

"Yeah, Draco and I are probably going to go together. What about you? Are you going?"

"Yeah. What do you mean that you and Draco are probably going to go together. Is something going on between the two of you?" Aiken asked, moving in closer to Rhi. "Because if there is, I'd take him off your hands for you. I mean, wow, a date with the Prince of Slytherin, how much better can it get?"

"Not much better for me," Rhi replied, then her voice turned as cold and sharp as a blade of ice. "But just you remember, Draco isn't available for you, or anyone else. Understand? That means that you don't try and get him alone anywhere, you don't tell him one thing and me another, and try to break us up. Because if you do anything to ruin what I have now, I'll make your life a living hell. And don't think that I can't or won't."

"Jeeze, territorial aren't you?" Aiken asked.

"No, I just recognize a home-wrecker when I see one. Stay off Draco's back, and you and I will get along just fine.

Aiken was about to reply when Pansy spoke up from across the table. "So Rhi, what are you going to give Draco for Christmas?"

"I have no idea Pansy. I mean, what do you give someone who can buy whatever he wants?" she asked, looking over at Draco who was still engrossed in the game plan for tomorrow.

"Something he can't buy," Pansy said like it was as plain as day.

"Pansy, really. What can't Draco buy for himself?"

"Something from you," she replied. "Something you either wrote or drew. He's head over feet for you Rhi and you know it. You could hand him a sock with a used bow on it and he would love it because it's from you."

Rhiannon laughed. "Yeah right! I don't think anyone would want a single sock with a used bow, no matter who it was from. But I think you may be on to something with the writing thing."

"Really, what are you going to write him? Is it a poem? You write beautiful poetry Rhi."

"No, I'm not sure what I'm going to write yet, but I don't think that it's going to be a poem . . . " Rhi trailed off. "I think I know. I'll let you know as soon as I have it done and you can tell me what you think."

"Okay, sounds good. You going to watch the Quidditch game tomorrow?"

"Of course. Are you?"
"Yeah, Flint asked me to go."

"You and him are getting pretty cozy together lately. Which I guess is a good thing, considering you were always at each other before."

Pansy flushed slightly. "Maybe he's not that bad. I mean, he could be worse and all. And yes, we are going to the Yule Ball together. I'm surprised Draco hasn't asked you yet."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised about that too. I already have a dress though. What about you?"

"Yes!" Pansy squealed. "It's pink and frilly and gorgeous! What does yours look like?"

"Well," Rhi replied. "It's black and long with silver embroidery. OH! And it's strapless with long black gloves to wear too."

Just then Draco leaned over and kissed Rhi. "You were complaining about being hungry, and once we get down here you do more talking than eating. Can I not ever make you happy woman?"

Rhiannon laughed at him. "I did eat, in fact, I think I ate more than you did, talking about Quidditch."

"Hey, Quidditch is a very important sport. What were you talking about anyway?" he asked her.

"Oh, just about what I'm going to give you for Christmas. Pansy and I decided that you get one smelly old sock with a used bow." Rhi watched the expression on Draco's face go from happy and excited about Quidditch, to intrigued about what his gift may be, and then to a humorless mask of sarcasm when she told him about the sock. It was too much for Rhi and she burst out laughing. "I told you he wouldn't want the sock Pansy."

After their meal, Rhi, Draco, and the other Slytherins walked to the common room together. Some of the group went right up to bed, some did their homework, and some just relaxed in the common room. Draco was one of the people who went to bed so he could be refreshed in the morning for the big game. Rhi went up to her dorm, but instead of sleeping, she pulled out some parchment and a quill, along with a very peculiar box.

The box itself was made from shiny black wood, and it had music notes carved into the sides that had been painted a softly gleaming silver. Thinking of the beat she wanted, she tapped the box with her wand and a silvery fog flowed into the box, a soft beat now playing. Next she thought bass, and tapped the little box once more. When the fog glided into the box, and she smiled to herself.

By the end of the night, Rhi had created the music, and set the tempo,and hadthe first verse on parchment. She crawled into bed thinking, Draco's going to love it.