Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter. That is only the work of J.K. Rowling. I own only the plot, Sylvie Morgans, Heather McKenzie, and Jane.

The next morning…

As Sylvie finished getting dressed she became aware that Hermione was sitting on her bed, facing the other direction, and looking as if she was waiting for something, or perhaps, someone.

"Who are you waiting for?" Sylvie inquired innocently as she took one last look in the mirror on the door. She characteristically shrugged at her reflection and had her hand on the doorknob, about to open it when Hermione spoke.

"Well, actually, I was waiting for you. I was wondering if you might be interested in eating breakfast with me today."

The surprise must have shown on Sylvie's face, for Hermione smiled. "Oh, um, sure," Sylvie agreed. They walked down to the Great Hall together and both took seats next to each other at the Gryffindor table. Sylvie was suspicious as to why, all of the sudden, Hermione was being unnecessarily nice to her. Sylvie suspected there were hidden motives, but she was clueless as to what they were. Being that she was so in need of a good friend, a person to talk to, she decided to trust Hermione for the sake of a friendship.

She was avoiding him, even someone as thick as Crabbe or Goyle would know. Draco was hurt. As far as he could've told, after she'd asked him those awkward questions, it had seemed that they were just fine, that they would continue to be close. Draco didn't have the slightest idea why she was avoiding him, and he became more and more tempted to talk to her about it with each passing day that they didn't speak to one another. He now regretted that he had made her tell the Sorting Hat to be put in Gryffindor. It would be so much easier to talk to her if she was in his own House, but he knew that it was too late to change anything, and she appeared to be happy. She recently took a strong liking to Granger, and Draco could tell, even from the distance that was always between them, that she was at ease. As long as she was happy, Draco figured that he could manage. Besides, every time that he tried to approach her, she would purposely flee from him, cowering with Granger, as if she thought that if she was near Granger, Draco wouldn't talk to her. This frustrated Draco more than anything, that Sylvie, the bravest person he knew, was so afraid of him that she felt that she had to use a "shield" whenever remotely near him. "Why is she so afraid of me all of the sudden?" Draco asked every night when he found his thoughts spinning on bizarre explanations for her strange behavior. "What have I gotten myself into?" he wondered aloud one night.

He bolted up in bed, hoping that no one heard his outburst. He pulled the dark, deep emerald hangings from around his bed and peered at his surrounding roommates. They all appeared to be sleeping, Crabbe was bunched up as small as a big person such as him could get, Goyle was snoring very loudly, and everything was quiet on the other side of the room. This assured him that none of his roommates had heard, and even if they had… they really wouldn't know what he was talking about, or if he was talking in his sleep. After remaining calm for several minutes, Draco decided that he couldn't sleep anyway. He slipped out of bed and headed out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and into the Slytherin common room. As he expected, it was completely empty. There was a small wooden clock on one of the tables, and he walked over to it. It told him that it was just after two in the morning. Draco walked back across the room, and settled himself in a luscious, black leather loveseat.

Perhaps the reason she was avoiding him, was because she was trying to test him. He had, after all…. maybe she thought that he didn't want any other part of her… perhaps it was a test to see…. how much he really liked her? Or maybe she really did just need some time alone. But how long would she need? It had already been three months… and nothing had happened. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, his best idea yet had come to him. He bolted out of the chair, up the stairs, into the dormitory, got dressed, and got through the passageway. He knew from his experiences as a Prefect that the Gryffindor common room was several floors up, and inside of a portrait of a fat lady. He found it after a long walk, as it was nowhere near the Slytherin's dorms, and seated himself just outside the portrait of the fat lady. He got up and glanced at the clock in the neighboring corridor every so often, and finally, to his delight, saw that soon, students would begin emerging from the portrait hole. He pulled out his wand, tapped his head, and looked in the reflection from the small glass panes on a cabinet. His Disillusionment Charm had worked; he now blended in with his surroundings. No sooner had he checked than the portrait opened, to reveal several students emerging, heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. After a particularly small bunch of first year girls exited, he crept inside the portrait hole before it swung shut. He silently walked across the common room until he was near the two sets of staircases; there he waited.

After what seemed like days, Sylvie and Hermione emerged from the right-hand side staircase, giggling at something that Hermione had apparently said. He waited until Granger had passed him, and Sylvie was a mere foot away before he grabbed her arm and pulled her close. This of course, startled her immensely. He leaned down and whispered in her ear in what he hoped would be a calm and soothing voice, "We need to talk, and you've been avoiding me… please don't walk away."

Her expression softened and just as Granger turned around, she called across the room, "Sorry, Hermione… I just remembered that I forgot to do my potions homework… I'll see you in lessons… but I really do need to finish that… Bye!" she added cheerfully, as Hermione turned and left, completely believing Sylvie's lie.

He waited until the last of the flood of students had gone through the portrait before taking off the Disillusionment charm and speaking.

"I suppose you want to know why I'm here?" Draco asked rhetorically.

"Well, it's because every time that I try to talk to me, you run away. I want you to know that… what happened… I'm sorry."

Sylvie looked him squarely in the eye. "No. No, no, no. I should be sorry. I've been a very mean person for several months now… and I really do owe you an explanation… and I know I hurt you. But… it's well… to say – a very long story. So if you want to know everything… we'll have to meet sometime and talk when we don't have lessons coming up. But long story short, before I even met you, I was with the best foster-family I'd ever been with. But then something tragic happened. I bottled it away, and what I ended up learning is that doors don't always stay closed. These past few months I've been dealing with it, and now I think I'm ready to come back to the real world."

Draco looked down into her eyes, his so soft and understanding. Oh, how he wanted to reach out and hold her – but would she let him? He moved closer. And in is softest voice told her, "I might kiss you.