Disclaimer: I only own the heroine

Chapter Six: Un Renaissance Pour Quatre

I have never noticed it before but I really enjoy having someone's fingers in my hair. Oh god, this is a sign of something grave when I stop thinking about what I am saying. First of all, I shouldn't use the word 'notice' because I have intentionally never let anyone's hands near my head or hair. Second of all, this isn't a new sexual fetish (yet). Blaise has been trying for about an hour now to set my hair straight but alas, he isn't the brightest candle in the corridor and well, now his hands are stuck in my hair. As in, they won't come out. So while trying to use a wand with his mouth (what is with my sexual innuendos today!), he has ended up somewhere between clawing and massaging my scalp.

"Holy fuck!" Draco dropped his books upon seeing our awkward position.

"Draco, what's the hold –" Theo, who was just behind him, just barely missed smashing into the blonde. When he got a gander at Blaise and I, the words out of his mouth were almost too characteristic. "Disgusting!"

Blaise spat out his wand and glared at them while I calmly worked on my cigarette. "Hey you tossers, how about some help?"

"I don't do orgies with ugly people," Theo scoffed.

"What in the bloody hell did you do to your hair!" Draco exclaimed. Ooh, he was perky today.

"Long story," I said calmly, even though it wasn't.

"You look like the mudblood," Draco kicked his books to the side, rolled up his sleeves and searched for his wand. "No, no this certainly won't do."

Theo however was responding much in the same way Seamus and Dean did. He was laughing his ass off, that wanker. "Fuck off," I said sneered at him.

All of a sudden, Draco had smacked my cigarette from my mouth. "If I remember correctly, there is practice tonight."

"Yes father," I said sarcastically.

"I will not have my team . . ." he launched into his tyrant captain speech. Once that was finished it became a group effort to correct my hair. Ugh, my life.

"Malfoy!" Bradley and his ravenclaw know-it-all cronies were at the bottom of the pitch with steam practically rising above them.

"You know Bradley," Draco said flying towards them only to hover above them. "Some teams like to practice before a big game but to each his own," he smirked with a particular nastiness at a girl whose name escapes me but was widely know for having many sexual escapades with slytherin boys.

"You know we had the pitch for tonight," the captain was a looker but oh so straight-laced. Think Cedric Diggory but a tad smarter and not as keen on Asians.

"Hm, that's odd because it seems that we have been here for oh," he checked his nonexistent watch, "a good deal longer than you."

"How about sharing the pitch," some fourth year beater shouted, a reconciliation for not being in a position to call Draco a prick.

"I have players to train, so no." Friday was Halloween so Thursday was the last day either team had to practice. Leave it to Draco to get us the pitch Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"And another thing, Malfoy," Bradley said, his voice dripping with forced civility. "When were you planning on telling me about your replacement for Pritchard?"

"Excuse me?" Draco replied dully. It was just at that moment that I zoomed overhead carrying the quaffle.

"Marlow, that's who I'm talking about," the ravenclaw heartthrob did seem to be getting a bit flustered. "You are supposed to give me notice about your roster a week in advance not two days before!"

"Oh," he turned slowly and hollered, "Marlow!"

"Yes?" I chucked the quaffle and flew over.

"Bradley, Marlow; Marlow, Bradley. He is who we will be playing against tomorrow morning."

"I know."

"Well," Draco faked shock. "It seems that this is redundant so I don't know what you are complaining about, Bradley."

"Listen," he said, rising up to his full height, even though he was a good meter or two below us. "I am not letting you play her."

"Now you have really lost it," Draco scoffed. "Too much studying in my opinion."

"I am not going to let you rig another match! Whatever you have up your sleeve Malfoy, buying new equipment last minute, having corporate assassins show up or what have you, I won't allow you to play her."

"Really, like I would waste my hard earned money killing someone like you," I snorted.

"You, shut up," Bradley snapped. It actually wasn't as bad as we played it out to be. His response was a perfectly just reply to the degrading position Draco had put him in and in front of his teammates at that! But ah, never underestimate a slytherin's ability to exaggerate.

Theo whom had been hovering nearby zoomed over faster than you can snap your fingers. "Did you just tell her to shut up?"

"Seems we have a bleeding sexist on our hands here," Avery said. "'ey Moon, what do you think of that?"

"Why don't they put their money where their mouth is?" she snarled.

Tarquin, Cappar, MacDougal and other players on the pitch contributed their own comments. Eventually the Ravenclaws stalked off and practice continued as usual. Except Draco held me behind.

"I want you to hurt Bradley got it?"

Once upon a time I would have asked why or even expressed that I don't take orders from him but in this day and age of broomsticks and pointless competition, I said, "How badly?"

"Just rough him up a bit, to make up for your lack of skill."

"Oh sod off, you prick."

All Hallows Eve had arrived at Hogwarts. This was a night where children would enjoy a feast, play pranks on one another, couples would snog and do kinky things in bed and Xan Marlow would do work.

Yes the time had come to tackle that white castle. Considering I have a meeting tomorrow right after the ruddy match, I thought it might be a good idea.

Oh god, you know what happened early tonight? Justin said hello to me. Oh it was so bloody painful. I am not even kidding. I was sitting at the slytherin table next to the usual suspects and he was just walking by. Why did he have to do it? I choked on my pumpkin juice and nearly had a stroke. I don't understand it; why he did it or why it ripped my heart out. All I know is it provoked me to hightail it back to my papers all the quicker.

However I found no haven in the common room. It was Halloween afterall. I ended up leaving the party, even though part of me wished to get pissed like everyone else. Now I find myself on the cold floor of some corridor far away from the dungeons, gnawing on the tip of my quill and sweating over decisions.

"Hey, what are you doing here all alone?"

I looked up and mentally groaned. "Of all people to randomly pass me in this deserted hall, it's you, Harry."

"Actually this is a shortcut to Gryffindor tower."

"Ooh, even better, boy am I lucky today or what?" Out of the corner of my eye I could see his hands shoved in his pockets and his body rocking nervously.

"Um, can I sit with you?"

"Sure," I replied without looking up from the report. "Just move October's Budget Report."

He didn't move for a few moments. "Um, which folder is that?" I somehow managed not to snort, and moved the red folder and Shipment Tracking for the Month of October aside as well.

Collapsing down beside me, he laid his wrists over his knees. I expected him to say something but he just watched me write down potential ideas for how we could impress Japanese Investors at the LACNFY (London Financial Conference for the New Financial Year). "Am I really so fascinating that you don't need to go to your dorm party?"

"How did you know there was a party tonight?"

"There is always a party. I am missing one."

"I didn't know you liked parties."

"I usually don't only due to lack of opportunity." I gestured to the papers.

"What is all this?" he picked up a folder and flipped through it.

"That is ME's stock chart for this year and a projection for next quarter. This, this is my work."

"I thought you were the CEO."

"And your point?"

"I thought you were just…the boss."

"I am and I work."

He was silent for a moment. "I thought you were just using it as an excuse that day in Diagon Alley."

I chuckled. "Oh, oh no," me escape work? Never.

"Kind of bizarre," he was obviously thinking out loud.

"I swore I've told you this before."

"Well, yeah but it never really you know, manifested until I saw all these papers." He picked up one of my brainstorms. "Merlin."

"What?"

"You have really terrible handwriting for a girl."

I laughed again, "Why Mister Potter I do believe that is sexist."

"No, what I meant to say—I mean," he was sputtering and it was so cute.

"It's alright, relax."

Silence prevailed for a while and I found myself hopping he would say something. He did naturally, but is topic of choice wasn't what I was pining for. "I see you patched things up with Malfoy and company."

"Huh?" at that moment I was totally lost. I looked up from my work for the first time since he had sat down.

"You are back to being mates with him apparently. Personally I don't know how you stomach it, after how bad he treated you."

"Oh," I said quietly thinking to myself. "I really didn't notice."

"What do you mean you didn't notice?" he rolled his eyes. "Look, it doesn't bother me one bit if you want to be friends with him. It's your masochism."

"Oh stop it," I said, putting my papers down harshly.

"I just don't understand how one minute you can hate him but so willingly go back to being one of his cronies and—" his expression changed when he looked at me straight-on. "Hey, your hair got fixed."

I shook my head, "Magnificent attention span as always."

Harry reached out and touched my new soft and sleek black locks. "You know, I'll hex him for you."

"What?" I asked, half-distracted by a paragraph concerning ME's biggest competitor.

"I'll hex Draco for you. How about after the match? The Twins sent me a book with some pretty nasty things I'm dying to try."

"By all means go ahead."

He pulled his hand away, obviously agitated. "How can you do it?"

"What are you talking about?"

Harry snatched the paper out of my hand and shoved it into a completely different folder. "You and Draco, Xandra! First he outcasts you, treats you like dirt, in fact the whole slytherin lot treated you like dirt and when everything becomes peachy you don't bat an eye!"

Oh god . . . he was right. That was hard to digest. I realized in that moment how tuned out I'd been. I was floored. All I could do was pull out a cigarette and think with wide eyes. "Wow, you're right."

Harry just shook his head and got comfortable against the wall. "You amaze me sometimes."

We listened to the sounds coming from the party up in Gryffindor tower. Sounded like a good time actually. Finally we started talking again after what felt like an eternity.

"Are you nervous for the game tomorrow?"

"I haven't actually had too much time to think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well between this work, schoolwork, my hair and everything, time disappears. Haven't we talked about this before?"

"Yes, we have."
"Oh." I guess, it's mine turn to pick a topic. "How are the other two legs of the Golden Trio."

Harry snorted at this, "Very happy snogging eachother senseless."

"Jealous? The boy wonder can't get a date?"

"No, I just feel like the third wheel."

"You do know that trio implies three and three is not an even number."

"Oh sod off," he shoved me lightly. "No, but Voldemort basically controlled my life thus far. Now here I am with one more year of school and I feel like I'm floating in limbo."

"You are. What are you planning to do?"

"I was thinking of training to be an auror."

"Why?"

"Something I think I might like."

"I think we've talked about this before too."

"I don't mind repeating myself," he brushed off my comment. "You know what would be exciting though?"

"What?"

"Seeing the world. I mean, it seems like such a shame to just stay in England your whole life. There's so much out there. It's mindblowing."

"That's the nature of it, I suppose."

"Oh don't lie to me and say you don't want to travel."

I shrugged my shoulders and flicked my cigarette to the otherside of the corridor where it burned out. "I travel with my work."

"If I went traveling would you come with me?" the question surprised me.

"I suppose I might. I've never really thought about it."

"Why aren't we a couple, Xandra?"

Whoa! That one came way out from off the pitch. It was as though everything came to a screeching halt. The universe seemed to zoomed in on Wonderboy's very serious expression.

"Excuse me?" I try to keep calm but I have a feeling my voice cracked.

"We've snogged, we've shagged, we've even held hands if I remember correctly, we've had in depth conversations. We've done everything couples do so why aren't we one?"

"That is the stupidest logic I have ever heard," this called for another cigarette, game tomorrow or not.

"Do you want to be a couple?"

I blew smoke harshly. "Did it ever occur to you, Harry that the word 'couple' was just a title that people use so they don't get branded playboys or quick and easy tarts? I mean honestly, it is totally possible to have a worthwhile relationship without using the word couple and getting into all of that Romeo and Juliet nonsense."

"So we do have a relationship?" he raised an eyebrow.

I blanched. He'd caught me with my own words. Damn. I sat up straight and ran a hand through my hair. "Everyone has a relationship with everyone, wonderboy so please don't read things into it."

"Why do you call me wonderboy?"

"Because that is what I have always called you."

"You called me Harry for a while."

"You call me Xandra when everyone else in the world calls me Xan or Marlow."

"Xandra sounds better."

"Wonderboy is more fitting."

"Look," he said, sounding tired and a bit confused at the situation. "Do you want to be a couple? You know, make things easier on ourselves."

"I dare say Harry, this is either a terrible appeal for a shag or you have been thinking way to much. Who says we ever fit the qualifications for escalating into some holy divinity of coupledom or that we really need to in the first place? You really don't think these things through do you?"

"Do you care for me?"

"Like a stomach ache."

"Be serious, would you for a moment?" he gripped my shoulders to make me look at him.

"Look I don't know, Harry," I smacked his hands away. "Did it ever bloody occur to you that I don't articulate my feeling because I don't know how!"

Oh god . . . waaaay too honest.

"Relationships aren't just about gaining a title and maintaining it," I said, focusing now on gathering up my papers.

"Who are you to talk about love and relationships, Xandra?"

"Who are you to contradict me?"

Harry fell silent and proceeded to help me stack papers. "Please don't," I said. "You don't know what order they're in."

"They're numbered."

After recreating my mountainous pile, we divided it in two, each carrying half. He offered to walk me back to the dungeons. "I saw what happened with Justin today."

"Nothing happened."

"He said hello and you spit out your pumpkin juice."

"No, I chocked on it."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Was it another relationship without a title?"

"Yep."

"Do they always end badly?"

"It didn't end badly, that moment was just horrendously awkward to the nature of the past relationship."

"Is our relationship awkward?"

"You tell me."

"It's strange."

I nodded in agreement.

"You know," he said softly. "If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Will you be at the game tomorrow?"

"Do you want me to be there?"

I smiled at him like a schoolgirl. "I'd like that."

"Then I'll be there. Not worried if your slytherin suitors get jealous?"

I barely was able to smack him and not drop all the papers. "Will Ginny Weasley be able to survive without her little celebrity?"

"Oh no," he said stopping. "My glasses slipped." They were now balancing on the very tip of his nose. "I can't get them, can you?"

"Alright," I said a bit uncertainly. I walked over as close as I could to him though the stack of paper separated us considerably. I slowly removed once hand, shakily balancing the stack. I felt my muscles wobble as I tried to softly push up his glasses. Honestly who wears glasses after defeating the Dark Lord?

Boom! All the papers fell and scattered across the corridor and down the staircase. I held my eyes shut tightly, "Bugger." I heard Harry's light chuckle and the loud thud of all his papers falling to the ground.

My eyes flew open. He had a smile on his face and a shrug hovering just above his shoulders. "Oh no, it looks as if we shall have to spend hours cleaning all this up together."

"That is why we have wands," I said, pulling out the item in question.

He snatched it from me. "Oh no, it appears we can't use our wands. We shall have to clean up the muggle way."

"You are such a child," I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest in displeasure.

"You love it."

"You're cute but don't push it," I said. Though I can't say with a clean conscience that I didn't enjoy spending the larger part of Halloween with the Gryffindor seeker, even if it was manual labor.

Author's Note: Voila! I am off to Spain in a couple hours so I have to dash. I appreciate all the feedback from my darling readers. Hope you enjoyed yourselves, despite my writing crunch. Until the next installment, cheers.