A/N: Fanfic.net doesn't seem to like the symbols I've been using, it keeps deleting them. If you see a row of entirely bold letters it means that there is a time break. A row of periods means a separation between story and author's remarks.

Disclaimer: You know, I wrote to JK asking her for the rights but all she did was call me a silly American. sigh Still not mine. O woe that is me.

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Chapter Nine: Fights and a Change of Friends

It was a week after Christmas when Jessica and Harry had their first fight. Jessica had been continuously making rude comments about the amount of homework McGonagall was giving out. Finally Harry had rounded on her and told her to shut up about it. Hurt and angry she sat apart from him in all their other classes and wouldn't speak with him. They ended up resolving it after dinner but deep down both of them were still a bit sore over it.

The next fight was sometime in the second week of January. Again it was over Jessica's behavior. She had lost her temper with one of the first years and started yelling at him. Harry got on her about that. She didn't need to yell at him, Harry had said. If she'd just spoken with him he would have stopped. Jessica got fed up with Harry and started yelling at him too, before storming up into the girls' dorms.

They fought all throughout the second and third weeks of January. Almost every time the fights had to do with Jessica's behavior. Jessica found she was getting incredibly sick of listening to Harry cataloging her faults.

Then during the fourth week of January they had their biggest, and in a sense, last fight.

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It started in the Great Hall. It was just a small comment Harry made about her attitude. She started bickering with him and by the time they got back to the Gryffindor common room it had reached the critical line.

"Why do you have to be so angry at me all the time?" Harry asked. "I'm not out to get you Jessica! You don't have to bite my head off!"

"You always fix the blame on me!" Jessica shouted. "All the fights we have, you manage to pin them on me! It's not fair, because they're just as much your fault as they are mine!"

"How is that?" Harry snapped off angrily. "I'm forcing you act like a prat, am I?"

"You're so nit-picky," Jessica said. "I'm never good enough for you. You pick on my faults nonstop, and it doesn't help Harry! If you just accepted me–"

"What?" Harry burst out. "I'm supposed to want a girlfriend who acts like a Slytherin?"

"You act like they're all evil!" Jessica said. "Have you ever even tried to get to know them? Have you?!"

"I don't talk to people who shout insults at me Jessica! And how are you suddenly the expert on Slytherin?" He looked at her, his gaze demanding an answer. "You've been talking to that evil git Malfoy haven't you?!"

Jessica had wanted to avoid this. For weeks she'd been meeting with Malfoy and just talking with him. Malfoy was not all bad. He had been raised with some extremely screwed up morals but he was not evil. And he listened to her.

"Malfoy's not evil, Harry!" She shouted at him.

"No, he's just my worst enemy!" Harry said. "My girlfriend has been spending time with my worst enemy!" Harry looked at her strangely. "How long has it been going on Jessica?"

Realizing what he meant Jessica cried out, "It's not like that! We've just been talking!"

"A real likely story." Harry stared at her. "I thought we meant something, Jessica. I thought you cared." His eyes met hers. "I guess I thought wrong, didn't I?"

"Harry–" Jessica started.

"Don't Jessica, just don't."

Jessica felt her anger really stir. He wouldn't even listen to her! She had tried to explain and he had brushed aside her words as though they meant nothing.

"Fine then," Jessica said shortly. Her voice trembled, but whether it was from grief or anger she wasn't sure. "I tried to explain! It's not my fault that you couldn't see the truth if it bit you in the arse! Just remember that you lost me, Potter. You lost me. I haven't lost anything." Jessica saw Harry jerk as though he had been slapped across the face at her use of his name. She turned and stormed towards the girls' dorms.

No one met her eyes. She was almost glad. She would have burst out crying if she had met anyone's eyes. It seemed to take a millennium to reach the tops of the stairs. Finally she entered her dorm and reached her bed. Pulling the hangings around her four-poster bed closed she collapsed onto it; crying at what she 'hadn't lost'.

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She stayed behind her curtains all evening, and when Hermione tried to talk to her she pretended to be asleep. Jessica heard the other two Gryffindor fifth year girls commenting on her fight with Harry.

The next morning Jessica didn't go down to breakfast, instead she found her way to the kitchens. She'd learn of where they were from Hermione when she'd been going on about the horrible conditions the house elves lived in. After the house elves had brought her a stack of toast and a napkin she walked through the halls, avoiding most people's eyes. It was sure to be around the whole school by now. The whole common room had seen it for crying out loud.

When she reached the entrance hall she ran into Draco. He was standing there and when he spotted her he hurried over.

"Where have you been all morning?" he asked. "I've been waiting for you! Why weren't you at breakfast?"

"I don't know why you bother to ask," Jessica snapped irritably. She didn't feel like having to explain it. "Potter probably spread it around the whole school."

Draco stopped two feet away. "Why did you just call him Potter? And he's spread what all around the school?"

He didn't know, Jessica realized. And so she related the story of their breakup to Draco. When she was done she thought she saw a smug smirk flutter across his features. But no, he only looked concerned for her.

"I'm sorry," Draco said, sounding completely sincere.

"Don't be," Jessica said. "It took me a while to realize it but he's a jerk. And it's his fault, not mine."

"I agree." Draco said. He then glanced at the pile of toast in her hands. "I take it you weren't planning on going into the Great Hall?" Jessica shook her head no. "Then let's walk."

The two of them headed for the oak doors, pulled one open and stepped outside. It was warm and pleasant out for January, though there was a slight bite to the air when the wind blew. Jessica and Draco walked side by side, not really talking very much. She snacked on the toast and he just walked beside her, not saying anything. Jessica realized just how much her opinions had changed since she'd first come to Hogwarts. She'd thought Harry was the greatest guy in the world and Draco the worst. Now she felt as though Draco were a best friend and Harry the jerk. It was almost the opposite of the way it had been before. It wasn't a change Jessica had necessarily wanted but it had be unavoidable.

"Jessica," Draco asked. Jessica turned to him.

"Yes," she asked, a hint of thoughtfulness still in her voice.

"Us, being seen together is only going to confirm what Potter believes," he said. "I don't care but... Does it matter to you?"

Jessica snorted. "If he is too stupid to see the truth then I'm going to let him believe whatever he wants. Besides," she said, her voice suddenly filled with malice, "he'll know how I felt all the time he was criticizing me. He deserves it."

"If that's how you feel..." Draco said, too softly for her to make out his tone, she was only just barely able to catch his words.

"It is, Draco, believe me, it is," Jessica said just as softly. Their walk continued in silence but for some reason Jessica felt happy. She felt very happy indeed.

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That evening Jessica saw the rest of the Gryffindors crowded around the notice board. Jessica read it over the shoulders of all the younger students who walked away disappointed. It was a notice about a ball that would be taking place on Valentine's Day. Jessica would have been happy but it occurred to her that she had no one to go with really, Draco was sure to go with that slut Pansy Parkinson. Jessica couldn't stand Pansy, the girl was always hanging around Draco and pretending that the two of them were going out. And she treated Jessica like dirt, even though Draco had made it clear Jessica was a friend.

Jessica turned from the message board and went to find a corner to sit in to do her homework. She would have sat down in her favorite corner except Potter, Ron and Hermione were sitting there. Jessica refused, absolutely refused to go anywhere near Harry. He had ignored her all day and she had decided if he wasn't going to do anything to make up then neither was she. Jessica walked over to the fireside and sat down to work on her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. Byron had been assigning a lot of homework lately to help prepare them for O.W.L.'s. Jessica was struggling with it and she couldn't ask anyone for help. Out of the three of her former friends Harry was the best one with Defense Against the Dark Arts but no way was Jessica even going to speak to him. With a sigh Jessica closed her text and decided to go see McGonagall right after breakfast or something on Sunday. She walked upstairs and once in the fifth year girls' dorm she pulled out her photo album.

She had become almost obsessed with the picture of her grandmother and the boy Jessica had deemed her grandfather. She desperately wanted to know who this boy was but at the same time she was afraid of showing the picture to anyone. She'd never really known why but the thought of showing the picture to anyone else made her uneasy and Jessica had always been one to trust what her feelings told her to do.

When Hermione came in Jessica shut the album with a snap. Hermione looked at Jessica with curiosity. "What's that?" she asked in a friendly voice.

Jessica was slightly surprised that Hermione was still speaking with her. Ron, like Harry had been refusing to acknowledge her presence ever since the fight.

"It's a photo album of my grandmother when she was in Hogwarts," Jessica said softly.

"Oh, I see," Hermione said with a nod. "Do you mind if I look at it?"

"No, not really," Jessica said, and found herself realizing it was true. Odd, she thought, just a minute ago I could've sworn I wanted no one to look at it. Jessica carefully handed the album over to Hermione, who handled it just as carefully. She leafed through the pages, looking at the pictures momentarily before handing it back to Jessica.

"You don't have to hide that you know," Hermione said. "I know you and Harry fought but that doesn't mean you have to alienate me too."

Jessica felt her heart soar. Hermione still understood; she still wished to remain friends with Jessica. Then she thought about Draco. What would Hermione say if she knew that Jessica now counted Draco among her close friends? Still, here was a chance to keep Hermione's friendship and she was going to take it.

"I thought that you'd reject me too, like Ron," Jessica said softly.

"Ron's a twit," Hermione said casually. "He can be a great friend but he's a twit and more than that, he's a boy so of course he's going to take Harry's side."

"Thank you, Hermione," Jessica said. "I appreciate it."

"Just don't ever yell at me like that," Hermione said with a smile.

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The next day Jessica walked down to the Great Hall alone. She didn't sit with Harry, Ron and Hermione but she did smile at Hermione when she entered the hall. She sat off by herself at the end of the table. She was just finishing up breakfast when Draco came over to her. Jessica could feel the entire hall watching them.

"Hey, Jessica, I wanted to ask you something," Draco said. Then he too felt the gaze of most people in the hall on him.

"Do you want to walk?"

"Please," Jessica said and she stood and sauntered out of the hall with him.

Once they were in the entrance hall Draco turned to her again.

"Well, I was just thinking, you know the Valentine's Dance?"

"Yes," Jessica said. "What about it?"

"I was wondering if maybe, you'd be willing to go with me," Draco said all in a rush.

"Oh course!" Jessica said. Draco let out a sigh of relief.

"So where do you want to meet up before the dance?" Draco said. "Since we can't meet in our common rooms."

"How about we meet by the Potions classroom?" Jessica said. "Both of us know where it is and then we can look like

we already met together almost like we're from the same house."

"That works," Draco said. He smiled at her. "Are you busy today? I was wondering if you'd like to hang out today and collaborate on homework or something of the sort."

"Sure, I'd love to hang out," Jessica said. "Hey, did you figure out that spell for Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Yeah, I did, why?"

"I've been having some trouble, think maybe you could help me with it?"

"Sure, no problem," Draco said. "Go ahead and go get your stuff."

Jessica headed off to grab her stuff, grinning broadly.

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The next few weeks pass slowly for Jessica. Some days she would be happy all day until the evening. She used to play wizard's chess with Harry and Ron. Now she couldn't. Hermione wasn't into it and neither was Draco. She could have played with the Weasley twins but she was fairly certain they would refuse. They were busy with their joke shop, which Jessica had found out about over the summer.

Other days she would be in a foul mood all day. Life was going too slow, everyone was stupid, nobody understood her and similar thoughts passed through her on those days. Those were the days that Draco would teach her spells. He taught her curses that he insisted were more useful than the ones Byron was teaching them. Nothing forbidden of course but some of those curses could be nasty and the thought of using them on Harry brought a smile to Jessica's face on those days.

When she thought back on those days Jessica found herself wondering where those thoughts had come from because she'd never felt like that before she'd broken up with Harry. Finally she just attributed it to not enough sleep and nerves about the approaching O.W.L.'s.

Valentine's day approached and Jessica found herself becoming nervous about that. People in the Gryffindor Tower were still talking to her, how would they react when they saw her going to the Ball with Draco? Would they shun her as Ron had been doing? And worse, how would the Slytherins react? She didn't really want angry Slytherins aiming curses at her back as she walked along the halls. Jessica's nerves got better though, when Draco told her that anyone who cursed her would have to deal with him.

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And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

REVIEWER THANKS:

PippinsMyHobbit: Good to know that I made you happy by updating. As to Jessica being interested in Snape, do you mean romantic interests or just being curious about him? She's too mad to be either one right now, but she won't become romantically involved with him, that I know. Hope you like this chapter. (Oh, by the way I read your ff, but the review button doesn't work for my computer and your email address bounced my email. I like your ff but I do find it a bit confusing. Hope to see more of it soon.)