A/N: I'm very happy with the support my friends have showed me by reading and reviewing the epilogue, and I'd like to hear from other HP fans, too, so I can know what you think.

Bold italics are Railane's intros, italics are thoughts, and anything in bold is a diary entry.

Chapter one: Unexpected moments

First day of class. That was an uneventful day, for the most part, since we didn't get to take a class with Tonks yet, and I didn't get to see Oliver. But towards the end of the day, I was confronted with my very first revelation at Hogwarts: there's a reason for everyone's actions, and sometimes the reason goes far deeper than we can fathom.

Railane walked down the hall in a hurry, stepping into the Great Hall confidently. Walking towards the Gryffindor table, she sat next to Liana after throwing a look over her shoulder.

Liana snickered. "Paranoid already? It's only the first day!"

Railane glared. "It's not that. It's just that I haven't made the proper impression with the Slytherins yet and even though I'll try to promote house unity being seen at the Gryffindor really isn't going to help my first impression." She smirked. "No offense, guys."

"So what are you doing here then, Railane?" Hermione asked her coldly, and Railane bit back her comment of surprise, opting for shrugging it off instead.

"I needed to talk to my best friend. I think I'm still allowed to do that, aren't I?" she replied with a sneer to rival Malfoy's, something Harry didn't fail to notice. Railane noticed his expression and her sneer faded. "Everything alright, Harry?"

"You reminded us of Malfoy just now. You've only been in Slytherin overnight and you're already turning into one of them," Hermione replied.

"He has a name," Railane snapped, glaring at Hermione. "It's Draco. You know, dragon in Latin? Use it."

Liana looked between Railane and Hermione and swallowed hard. "Take it easy, you two. We're supposed to be uniting the houses, not creating a bigger rift."

Railane sighed. "You're right. We have Potions together later, we'll talk then. I have to go talk to Blaise."

Liana watched her walk away and turned to Hermione with wide eyes. "What was that all about?"

"Her attitude," Hermione replied simply. "She is not better than us."

"She doesn't think she is," Liana replied heatedly. "The real reason she kept looking over her shoulder is that she wants to talk to Draco."

Hermione smiled knowingly as it dawned on her. "Ah, she fancies him. That explains everything. I'll have to apologize later."

Ron looked horrified while Liana was surprised at how fast Hermione had figured it out. "She fancies Malfoy?"

"Draco," both Harry and Liana corrected. Harry was shocked at his reaction but Liana continued talking. "Ron, the entire female Slytherin population, as well as a couple of girls from other houses, fancy Draco. Hell, I think almost all the gay guys do, too."

Ron shuddered, and Hermione threw him a dirty look. "Learn tolerance, Ron. Seriously."

Liana was surprised. She'd thought that Ron and Hermione were in a relationship, and as soon as they continued arguing, she motioned for Harry to lean over the table so she could ask him about. Harry simply shot them a look before turning to her again. "I used to think they'd date, too, but they have issues. Ron didn't really see Hermione as a girl until fourth year, and they just argue too much."

"Been there," Liana replied, shooting the quarreling duo a glance. "Who knows? Maybe they'll stop arguing long enough to realize the attraction."

"Or maybe Hermione will finally say yes to Ernie MacMillan," Harry replied off-handedly, his eyes twinkling.

Liana simply looked at him and Harry pointed to the Hufflepuff table, showing Ernie to her. She smiled. "He looks responsible, studious, and decent. Right up her alley."

They both snickered quietly, mainly due to the fact that Ron and Hermione weren't arguing anymore. Which was just as well, because Dumbledore asked for their silence mere instants later. "Students, I hope you all had a good night's sleep and are ready to get to your lessons today. I want you to meet your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Tonks."

Tonks walked in with curly, shoulder length red hair, surprising Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were expecting her to show up with one of her spiky hairdos. She smiled at them and waved before taking her seat at the table, and Hermione turned to the others. "Well, at least she looks like a teacher now."

"I liked the pink hair better," Ron stated, gulping down his last bit of pumpkin juice. "Speaking of teachers, Railane said that we had Potions today... I didn't look at my schedule when we got them."

"Me neither," Harry said. "Weird. Usually it's the first thing we do."

"Railane did arrive right after they handed them out," Liana commented, "so maybe that's why you didn't check them."

The others nodded and pulled them out, while Hermione watched them smugly. "As usual, Hermione's one step ahead," Ron commented; thankfully Hermione didn't pick up on the tone he used.

As soon as he saw his schedule, Harry groaned. "There is no way we have double Potions twice a week!"

"And double Transfiguration, too," Ron added.

"Since there are less classes to take now, we take almost each class double," Hermione explained helpfully, but Harry simply slumped deeper into his chair.

Liana watched them with amusement. "That bad, huh?"

"It gets worse," Ron said in a small voice. Everyone looked at him and he gulped before speaking again. "Every Potions class is with the Slytherins."

Liana grinned. "It's not so bad, you know. We get to spend more time with Lane, and I'm sure she'll try to keep her people under control."

Harry and Ron looked at the Slytherin table. "We definitely hope so," Ron said quietly, and Harry nodded vehemently.

Breakfast wasn't going as planned at the Slytherin table. Draco was ignoring everyone, Blaise was trying to get Railane in a conversation and Railane was struck with an urge to strangle Pansy. Draco noticed Railane's desperate attempts to calm down and turned to her. "What is it, Lesperance?"

She was startled by his apparent concern, but recovered quickly. "Pansy's getting on my nerves," she replied candidly, giving said girl a withering glare.

"She gets on everyone's nerves," he replied with a shrug.

"Yes, well, I'm getting a bit murderous," Railane muttered, and Draco actually smiled.

"I don't blame you... we have fifteen minutes before our first class... want to take a stroll? We haven't had a chance to talk yet."

Railane was so shocked she was speechless for a few instants before recovering. "I appreciate that, Draco."

They rose and slipped out quietly, walking down the hall. "Something besides Pansy was bothering you," Draco told her quietly, and she nodded.

"I was wondering if I'd made the right choice choosing Slytherin. Or rather, helping the Sorting Hat choose Slytherin. I mean, Blaise was trying so hard to get me into the conversations and such, but I don't seem to fit here."

His smile was smug because he'd interpreted her stance correctly, but his tone was rather sincere. "You're rushing. It's just the first day," he reminded her, and she nodded.

"I guess you're right. You know, you're not as bad as they say."

He looked at her, susrprise. "Oh, really? What do they say?"

She shrugged. "That you're a selfish, arrogant git, basically." He scoffed, and she simply smirked. "You are, most of the time, but it's good to see that there's another side to you." He looked a bit alarmed, but she only smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It's not like they'd believe me anyway."

The bell rang and they both turned towards the Charms corridor. "You know, Railane, you're not half bad, yourself," Draco commented, making her smile.

"Took you long enough," she replied.

After a long day of class and a quick lunch in Railane and Hermione's case, the Slytherins and Gryffindors filed into the dungeons for their double Potions. Most people sat down immediately but Liana and Railane didn't know where to sit. Ron was sitting with Hermione so Liana got to sit with Harry, and Blaise saved Railane a sit, which meant Draco was stuck with Pansy.

"Sorry about this morning, Lane," Blaise told her immediately, but she simply shook her head.

"It's ok, Blaise, I know you tried."

He smiled mischievously. "So, where did you and Draco go?"

She looked at him with an amused expression. "We walked down the hall. Nothing special. Why?"

"I just think you two would be cute together."

Railane scoffed loudly. "Please. He can have anyone he wants. Why would he pick me? Not like I'm interested anyway."

He grinned knowingly. "Because you're not fawning over him. You tend to challenge him, and no matter how nervous you are you don't let it show."

"Oh, that's over," she replied bitterly. "I had a little heart-to-heart this morning with him. He must think I'm an idiot now."

"Nah," Blaise replied. "He was asking me about you during lunch."

"Stop getting ideas, Zabini," she warned in a low voice.

Before he could counter, Snape walked in the door. "Good afternoon, students," he began. "I'm surprised to see so many people in this class. Be warned that anyone who doesn't excel this year will be asked to drop the class. Speaking of which, congratulations to Miss Lesperance for her excellent potion-making in her entrance exam, and to Miss Richards as well, who did a fine effort.

I will be dividing you into pairs alphabetically, and during the school year you will be changing partners until I find a combination that keeps everyone from melting cauldrons."

A few students chuckled nervously. He divided them and Railane was glad to see that she was paired with Draco. Good thing I'm the last L on this class, she thought with a smile. As soon as she took her seat, Snape spoke again. "I expect nothing but the best, remember that. We will begin brewing a very difficult potion, that will require a long time to simmer, so I suggest you open your textbooks to page 134 and get to brewing."

Draco insisted on chopping and grounding the ingredients, leaving Railane to add and stir. The only person to have the potion correctly prepared faster was Hermione, and Snape congratulated them on their work every time he passed their cauldron. Soon their potion turned a deep purple, and Railane contemplated it smiling.

"Why are you looking at it so much?" Draco asked her.

"Purple's one of my favorite colors, and this is a really pretty shade." Her expression immediately turned to an embarrassed one. "I can't believe I just said that about a potion."

He chuckled. "I agree. If I didn't know better, I'd say you channeled Parkinson just now."

They both shuddered, and Railane threw a look in Liana's direction, who seemed very happy with the fact that she ended up sitting next to Harry when Jason Raye cut himself deeply with a porcupine quill. They weren't talking much, as they were both concentrating very hard on not messing the potion up. When they were finally done, Liana turned to her, and they both smiled in unison, picking up on the other's emotion at the moment.

"That's a bit unnerving," Draco told her as soon as she turned back to the cauldron.

"What is?"

He tilted his head in Liana's direction. "That you and that Gryffindor girl seem to know what the other one's thinking all the time."

Railane fixed her dark eyes on his gray ones. "For your information, her name's Liana, and we know each other so well we can guess how the other one thinks." She sighed."You need to stop being so mean to other people, Draco. One of these days they may end up being in a position to save your life."

"I can save my own life, thanks," he retorted coldly, and she winced.

"I didn't mean to insult your pride. I just want to help. I know there's something wrong, and I want to let you know that if there's anything I can do all you have to do is ask."

"That's a very Gryffindor sentiment," he commented quietly, not sounding half as insulting as he'd intended it, and she smiled.

"The Sorting Hat did consider it, just like it considered it with Harry. You should give him a chance, he seems like a nice enough guy."

"He hasn't been nice to me," he replied in a low voice, and Railane rolled her eyes.

"You're no piece of cake either, you know."

He swallowed hard before looking at her, and she was shocked at how much sincerity shone in his eyes. "I offered him my friendship, Railane, but he rejected me. I may have gone about it in a way less than adequate, but he didn't even give me a chance."

As if on cue, the bell rang, and Draco exited the classroom immediately, furious with himself for speaking too much, while she remained glued to her seat, processing the newfound knowledge. Things weren't always what they seemed, and it was then she knew that there was something else that was bothering him. And she was determined to find out.

A/N: So this is it. I know Draco's a bit OOC, but there's a reason why. I just can't tell you yet. Please review if you have any suggestions, since I'm not too sure about what I'm going to have in this story before I take it to where it has to go. Any flames will be handed to my three psycho little plot bunnies, who keep attacking me on Marille's orders.