Chapter Nineteen

It'll Be People Like You Who Bring Us Down

"Do you mind if I cut in?" someone asked, tapping Draco on the shoulder. Draco looked at him, then at Cailee, and stepped out of the way, with a smirk. Fred then held onto her.

"Why are you dancing with him?" Fred asked, whispering in her ear.

"Because I'm going out with him," Cailee said, looking up at him.

"You what?" he nearly yelled, causing people in the near vicinity to look at them.

"What's the problem, Fred? He's just a friend," Cailee said.

"Apparently not. Not if he's your boyfriend. And he's a Slytherin, for crying out loud."

"Why is that so bad?"

"It just is," he said.

"There is nothing wrong with me liking, and being friends with a Slytherin," she said, disgusted.

"Yes there is."

"Then what is it? What's so wrong? Why is it bad?" She asked, growing more and more contempt with him.

"It's like an unwritten rule. Plus, do you know about the things he's done to Harry and Ron and Hermione?" he asked, knowing he had her.

"No. But it's none of your business. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are my closest friends, but if Malfoy's done anything to them, they should tell me about it, not you. Or him even. But I'm not going to bring it up. There are things that I'm never going to tell him, even if he wasn't a Slytherin."

"I can't believe you, Cailee. Have you really sunk so low?"

"As low as what, Fred? As low as what?" she spat.

"If you're not going to listen to me, fine then. But he's going to hurt you and stab you in the back. Just be ready," he said, looking away.

"This is exactly what Dumbledore is talking about. You just aren't ready to be friends with them, with Slytherins. Not all of them are bad Fred, so grow up. And you know what? It won't matter how hard I fight against them when I'm here, it won't do any good. It won't be me that brings down the whole wizarding race, it won't be me that lets Voldemort back to power. It's going to be people like you," she said, storming off, not even finishing the dance with him.

As soon as she put enough distance between her and that stuck up red-headed twin, she looked around. People were slow dancing, and some of them were watching her. She knew they had created a scene, her and Fred. She knew how loud her voice could get when she got angry. She didn't know where to go now, though. So she decided to walk over to the Christmas tree and see if anyone from her group was sitting there. As it was, Harry was there, and Hermione was off with a guy friend.

"You okay?" he asked, looking at her as she sat down.

"Fine," she fumed.

"Well, oddly enough, you don't look fine. What's wrong?"

Cailee glanced up at the sky, and snow was still falling. "Fred! He's just an idiot!" Cailee said, louder than she had intended too.

"What did he do this time?" he asked.

"He just…just doesn't get it, you know? It's like he doesn't believe the Dark Lord will ever come back to power. Like it's all some kind of joke. But he will come back to power, Harry, I know he will," she whispered.

"Why were you guys even talking about it, now, of all times? It's Christmas, be happy." He said grinning, but Cailee looked in his eyes for the second time that night and saw the curious-ness there. He wanted to know.

"Fred is selfish. And maybe he's jealous, I don't know. But he won't get over the fact that I'm friends with a Slytherin. It's bothering him that I've been spending time with Malfoy and it's not even that big of a deal."

"Why were you spending so much time tonight with Malfoy. You two seem really close now," he asked.

"You're going to flip, just like Fred did," she said, half smirking.

"No I won't. Swear."

"All right…well, Malfoy asked me out…and I said yes," she said, looking at his expression. As far as his jaw had dropped, she guessed she could have fit her whole head in there, and still have room.

"I see…," he said, "it's a bit odd, but oh well."

"Well, thanks for not flipping through the roof about the whole thing," she said, grinning now.

"No problem. Which reminds me, when we get to Ron's house, don't be afraid of all the clanking and howling up in the attic. The house isn't haunted or anything, but a ghoul lives up in there," he said.

"I'm getting excited. I know I only found out about staying with them like two hours ago, but it's going to be fun. I mean, you, me, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, the twins, and the older guys all living that close to each other for three weeks…it's going to be different."

"Yea, it is."

"Ugh—I just don't know about living in the same house with Fred, that's what bothers me the most—"

"Oh dear, what has my dear twin gone and done?" George asked, hearing the frustration in Cailee's voice as he sat down at the end of the dance. Cailee explained to him, and George looked a little surprised at the Slytherin/Gryffindor romance, but didn't say anything.

"And Cailee was just saying how she didn't think she could possibly live at the Burrow for three weeks with him," Harry concluded the story.

"Harry, we're not staying at the Burrow," George whispered, "we're going to…Grimmuald Place," he said, looking around. Harry immediately withdrew from everyone after that. Cailee thought about looking in, just to see why staying at a different place would matter to him, but decided she had done enough of that tonight.

All too soon theWierd Sistersannounced it was playing its last song. She scanned the crowds for Malfoy, but he came up behind her and tapped her shoulder.

"I can't believe its over," she whispered.

"Me neither," he said, pulling her a little closer. "Too bad it couldn't last longer, I'd hold you in my arms all night," he grinned.

Cailee smiled up at him and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. He blushed and Cailee giggled.

At the end of the last song, he held her hand and walked out to the marble staircase with her. All her friends were near her, saying good night to their dates from other houses, and Malfoy kissed her gently on the lips and said goodnight.

"See you after break," she said, and turned away. When she got to the next floor, she could still see him watching her, a dazed look on his face.

Author's Notes: There you go, Desiree! lol So there's the end of the dance, but my favorite part, as I've said so many times before, is coming up! The Christmas chapters are truly the best!