Chapter 9

Giliana walked down the halls with a fast pace, trying so hard to avoid all the eyes that were on her, trying her hardest to ignore all whispers coming from students who were passing by. Her face remained the same; her blank expression, slightly showing anger. All day she had heard rumors being passed around from student to student, lies about what had happened the previous night. Her last class had just ended, and she was wandering around aimlessly, knowing she would not find comfort in the Slytherin common room. She thought about going to the potions room...try to keep herself occupied...and Snape was there. Her only sense of security at that moment in time. She turned around and headed towards the dungeons, her head slightly down, her eyes focused only straight ahead of her. About to turn to the stairs leading to the dungeons, she tripped on someone's foot.

"Well if it isn't the famous Giliana Lenore." Pansy Parkinson said with sarcasm. Giliana quickly got up, and looked at Pansy. Her arms were crossed, and she looked at Giliana with much displeasure. Pansy was standing with two other Slytherin girls; one attractive blonde with short hair, and another with long dirty blonde hair.

"You'd better watch your step next time Giliana, there will be no one to catch you, especially now that Draco dumped you." She said, smirking, the other two girls giving off evil glares at Giliana.

Giliana slowly stood up, brushing the dust and dirt of her skirt off with her hands. "We were never dating each other, Pansy." She said, as calmly and as casually as she could.

"You're just saying that because you're angry at him for dumping you, after you threw yourself on top of him last night." She shook her head in disgust. "Well you just need to accept the fact that Draco doesn't care for you, anymore. Or your type." Pansy's eyes were on Giliana as she gave her a cold, nasty glare.

Todd passed through a group of giggling girls. Many rumors were floating around the school about the events at the infamous Slytherin party. Some said that Giliana had sex with Draco, and then he dumped her... some said that she flung herself on him, and he refused, and dumped her... but the rumor she believed the most was the least popular one: that Draco tried to rape Giliana last night. One girl was talking loudly about how pathetic Giliana was for thinking she could have a chance with Draco. Todd only continued to walk, bumping into her and continuing to walk quickly. The girl yelled out in protest, but Todd was too far gone to care. She had heard a girl say that Giliana went into the dungeons, so that's where Todd was headed. Her classes had ended earlier than most people's today. She was taking less classes this year, and it just so happened that she had 2 free blocks at the end of the day today. So, she had changed into her casual wear. She wore a short black skirt, her black combat boots, and a white wife beater. Many necklaces jingled from her neck. She stepped down the stairs, her boots clunking loudly on the hard ground. Her hair was messy as usual, her eyes tired, but alive with frustration. Seeing her target, she walked to Giliana, gently grabbed her arm, gave an obviously fake smile at Pansy and took Giliana back up the stairs, not saying a single word. She dragged her along, not letting her protest.

"Let---go--of--me..." Giliana said, looking around in confusion and trying to free herself from Todd's grasp.

"No, no...None of that." Up until now, she seemed strict, but she looked back at Giliana and flashed her a calm smile. "Don't worry. We're going far away from these little GOSSIPING GIGGLING JACKASSES." She spoke the insult loudly at a group of staring girls, and took Todd up another flight of stairs into a seemingly abandoned hallway. "Ah... should be around here..." She talked to herself, and let Giliana go. "Wait there." Todd walked three times passed a certain spot on the wall, closing her eyes and thinking very hard. She then opened her eyes and smiled as she saw a door appear. Walking up to it, she opened the door. Looking over at Giliana, she paused. "You coming?"

"Where does that go to?" She glared at Todd, in question. Giliana just wanted to be alone. Alone, or in the potions room, the only place where she felt she was safe...

"We can't talk about it out here...come on." Seeing the annoyance in Giliana's eyes, Todd paused and looked at her with a sincere half smile. "Trust me."

Todd smiled slightly, looking around at a small, but very cozy room. It had a fireplace, dark blue extremely squishy couches and chairs, a box of chocolate, and a very old flaccid teddy bare with only one button eye. Todd eyed the bear for a moment before looking back at Giliana. "Shut the door?"

Giliana's eyes froze on the teddy bear. Suddenly, all her focus was on that bear. She ignored what Todd had asked, and walked up to the couch where the teddy bear lay, as if she was in a trance.

She picked up the bear, held it in her hands, studying it carefully; a glazed look on her face.

Todd smirked and shut the door herself, turning a key in it, in case anyone felt like using the room today. She watched Giliana before walking towards her, raising an eyebrow. "Something that used to comfort you?" She spoke quietly, trying not to disturb Giliana.

Her fingers moved all over the bear, as she studied its stitching and its shape. Her thumb ran across the one-button eye over and over, and she froze yet again.

"How did you get this bear..."

"I didn't." She plopped down on the couch, examining the chocolate box. "This is the room of requirement... Remus showed it to me. I used to come in here to... well, think." She smiled a little, seeing the familiar kinds of chocolate. His favorite. "Pretty much, whatever you want will exist in this room for you, excluding living things, of course... what I wanted to be in here was a comfortable place for both of us, something to help you out...A place for you to escape. And I guess that bear is really comforting to you?" She put the chocolate box down. "It's adorable, really." Todd looked up at her with huge eyes and a calm smile.

"It was a gift from my father for my birthday...I lost it in a fire." Giliana sat down on the couch, holding the bear in her lap. "That bear is all that's left of the world I grew up in..." Her eyes turned to the fireplace, the glazed look remained upon her face.

Todd watched her with curiosity, not sure if saying anything would be helping. She took a hand and placed it on Giliana's shoulder.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" A look of concern flooded Todd's normal sly and cheerful expression.

Giliana quickly shook off her trance-like focus, and turned to look at Todd.

"I've been in worse situations than this," she assured Todd, and looked back at the fireplace so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with her. Giliana was feeling so horrible, she didn't know what to make of herself.

She hugged the flaccid teddy bear tight, biting her lip.

Todd bit her lip, wanting to help, but she didn't want to crowd Giliana.

"..I'm familiar with rumors in this school... quite a few of them are about me." She let out a small and quiet laugh. "But there are truths behind certain rumors. And...Well...if you want to talk..." Todd looked down, her short red hair hid her eyes.

"I didn't have sex with that asswipe." Giliana said suddenly, a dark, mean glare was on her face, as she looked at the fireplace.

"I know. I know what happened." Todd didn't look up. "I think much better of you than that. You know that, right?" She finally raised her head and looked at her.

Giliana turned, and looked at Todd. "How do you know what happened?"

"Well, there are some trustworthy Slytherin girls, believe it or not." Todd frowned. "And I know Draco much more than one might think." Todd shrugged, feeling very guilty for some reason all of a sudden. "I guess I put the pieces together. And I knew that the Room of Requirement seemed like exactly what you'd need...to be alone, you know?

"Yeah..." Giliana's thoughts trailed off. Todd knew perfectly well what happened. But what about Snape? Did he too, think like the others that the rumors were true? No. He had helped her, and Giliana was grateful. But Draco could have everyone convinced...

Giliana looked back at Todd. "After Draco finally left me, Snape found me."

Todd's eyes widened a little.

"Yeah? He seemed pretty set on finding you...what did he do?"

Giliana paused for a moment to think. "He took me back to the potions room...I guess to question me on what had happened...but I fell asleep." Her eyes were on the fireplace again.

Todd looked slightly puzzled. Was there something going on between them? "Did he... you know, go all sour and take away points?" Todd shifted her position so that she was sitting on her knees.

Giliana's blank expression changed to a confused one for a moment. "No...Wait...now that I think of it, at some point he threatened to take away points...but he never did."

Todd blinked.

"Wow. Either he's so stupid he forgot... or he really isn't as sour as he comes off to be." Todd reached to the small table to the side of the couch and picked up the box of chocolates. "Here.. Have some chocolate, it'll make you feel better." Todd handed Giliana a piece before popping one into her mouth.

Giliana slowly chewed on the chocolate, and swallowed it. She smiled slightly at Todd.

"No, he really isn't as sour as he lets people think." She hugged her bear.

"Yeah... but he still has no excuse to be such a git sometimes." Todd smirked a little bit. "He kept asking about you during my detention... in fact, he even let me go early when I told him where the party was." Todd raised an eyebrow at her.

Giliana's eyes widened, as she looked at the fireplace. Her expression softened, and she looked at Todd.

"If he let you go early than he really isn't a git," she said, smiling.

"Hah. Yeah he is." Todd laughed a little.

Giliana let out a small laugh, and then suddenly stopped. She looked at Todd again.

"He was asking about me?" Giliana looked very puzzled.

"Yep." Todd raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Any reason why he'd be so curious about you?" She teased, biting her lip.

Giliana quickly turned her head to look back at the fireplace.

"No, not at all." She said, a bit awkwardly.

"Mmmhm." She smiled, unbelieving. "Hey, it's getting kind of late... the feast is on. Want me to go grab us some plates? I'm sure you don't wanna face the zombie masses."

"That would be quite nice." Giliana smiled, uneasy. Her train of thought trailed back to the previous night.

"He was a bit sour, as always last night." She paused. "But after I woke up, I was a bit emotional...and he didn't do anything to me. Infact, he was nice enough to take me back to the common room..." She stopped, and looked back and Todd. "Yeah...I'd feel better eating here." She looked down at the flaccid bear.

Todd studied her for a little bit, pausing for a moment before standing. "Okay." She walked to the door and opened it. "I'll be right back." She shut the door quietly and proceeded to walk down the halls and stairs towards the great hall.

Todd got down to the bottom floor and realized she wasn't in her uniform. The feast was pretty formal...She felt sort of uncomfortable, she didn't want to offend the staff members. Her boots clicked loudly on the floor, she saw Filch's cat watching students pile into the doors. Todd stood against a wall, puzzling the situation.

Damien was on his way to the great hall, when he spotted Todd. His deep blue eyes lit up in happiness, and he walked over.

"Good evening Todd." He smiled, perfect his teeth shimmering.

Todd jumped a little, looking up at Damien as he approached. "Ah... Damien. Hello." She smiled a little. "What's happening?"

"Oh not much. I just got back from taking a walk outside. I love taking walks in the moonlight," he smiled at her, "Anyway, How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. Not really too keen on walking all the way back to the dorms to get my robes..." She looked at the great hall. "Was just going to grab some plates for dinner and head back up."

"Oh don't worry about those robes. You look very nice, no one will care." he said cheerfully. "Besides, those robes don't do you justice." He Smiled, and thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly lit up again. "How about you come and eat with me?" He offered his arm. "We can talk about foxes, and that way you don't have to eat dinner alone tonight." He smiled sweetly at her.

"Ah.." She smiled, blushing a little, surprised as to how much he was hitting on her, but she appreciated his kindness all the same. "I would, but I have a friend waiting upstairs. We're eating together... maybe another time?"

He looked slightly disappointed, but kept smiling. "That's perfectly alright. Another time is fine." he said, cheerfully. "Would you like to discuss another time to meet, or chance it?" He asked politely.

"Aren't surprises always more exciting?" She smirked mischievously, the sly look once again in her eyes. Todd stepped forward from the wall a little bit.

He looked into her eyes. "Yes, they are. Indeed, I always like to let fate handle things sometimes..." He walked a little closer, as if about to kiss her, but backed up, and blushed slightly.

"Forgive me, it seems I'm a little head rushed today." He smiled, his hands behind his back. "I'll let you go now, Todd. It was nice seeing you again. Have fun with your friend." He said happily. "I expect we'll meet again soon." He smiled, nodded at her in respect, turned around and walked down to the great hall.

Todd's face turned bright red when he walked away. Wait. He was going to kiss me? What? Todd stared into nothingness for a long while before shaking it off. Dinner. Dinner. Dinner. Right...e began to walk into the great hall, taking a deep breath before entering. She made her way to an empty part of the Ravenclaw table and started filling up two plates full of the food, trying not to look up at people who were noticing her outfit.

Todd looked up at the staff table, hoping the staff hadn't noticed her out of uniform. She saw Snape poking at something on his plate... and frantically searching the Slytherin table every few seconds. Todd watched him for a moment before he felt eyes upon him and glanced her way, she quickly focused back onto the plates. She then heard him get up, saw him walk past her, and out of the great hall, looking very upset about something. Todd raised an eyebrow, finishing with the plates, about to pick them up. He must really be disturbed about something... She thought, biting her lip slightly.

"Excuse me." Came a very annoyed voice from behind

Todd jumped a little, dropping a fork. "Ah...yeah?" She turned and looked at the Ravenclaw prefect, nervous for a moment, but then put a hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one side. She felt like being difficult.

The prefect cleared her throat. "What do you think you're doing here out of your robes? Go to the girl's dorm and change into them at once! Do you I am going to put up with something like this that could lose us house points? Either go and change, leave, or I'm going to have to report you." She said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh?" Todd laughed a little. "Yes, maa'm, right away!" She gave a little sarcastic bow, picking up the two plates and walking past her, her boots clunking in a fast rhythm. A satisfied look on her face. She left the great hall and climbed the stairs to the abandoned hallway, stopping at the Room of Requirement after walking by three times. Doing a nifty trick of putting on plate on her head, sticking her tongue out in a sort of concentration habit, she opened the door, quickly grabbing the plate and walking in. She kicked the door shut.

"Ey." She smiled over at Giliana.

Giliana looked up at Todd from her seat by the fireplace.

"You're back." She smiled.

Todd walked over and put the plates on the dark coffee table in front of them, the food steaming, it's smells filled the cool air.

"That I am." Todd pulled out two forks that were sticking out of her boots, handing one to Giliana.

"Took you a while just to get food and come back. Anything interesting happen while you were out?" Giliana said as she grabbed the plate, and began to poke at her food.

Todd kneeled on the floor, pulling the plate to her and stuffing some mashed potatoes in her mouth and swallowing before looking back up at Giliana.

"Hah. Just a little bit," She told Giliana about Damian and the Prefect.

Giliana and Todd stayed the night in the Room of Requirement, their newly-found comfortable hangout spot. There wasn't much talking, but there was a sort of common understanding between them, something that hadn't been there before. It seemed as if they were growing as friends, a little more at a time.