Author's Note: I am so sorry guys! Its been such a long wait, but I hope you think its worth it. I'm on my spring break now so I can devote all my time to writing. Yayyy!

Chapter 6

"Lorelie? Lorelie?" An unfamiliar voice called to Lorelie. She opened her eyes and found herself in a bed with white sheets and curtains. Madame Pomphry was talking to her.

"Wh..what happened?"

"You had a nasty spill in the lake, dear," Madame Pomphrey said briskly. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?"

Lorelie wiggled her toes, and laughed. She laughed when she was nervous. "I can't remember anything after seeing that blonde boy….Is he….?"

"Mr. Malfoy is just fine, dear. How are you feeling?"

"Queasy."

"Hmm, in all my years, I've never seen that dreadful squid touch a student," Madame Pomphrey muttered as she walked away. Behind her, a bushy-haired girl was approaching the bed.

"Hermione!"

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Oh, Lorelie, you almost drowned!" Hermione shouted suddenly and threw her arms around the girl. "It's all my fault."

"Don't be silly!"

"I should have warned you…"

"Hermione! I'm okay now. I think, I think someone was looking out for me."

"What do you mean?"

Lorelie looked around. She knew she could trust Hermione, but she didn't want to say anything just yet.

"I'll tell you later, when they let me out of here, okay?"

"Madame Pomphrey said you could go back to your room this evening. You seem okay, except for the rash from where the squid tried to pull you under."

"That's a relief to know." Lorelie paused. "And Mal-foy?"

Hermione raised one eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Is he okay?"

"I suppose…he was mostly in shock from that spell you cast at the squid. Speaking of which, I didn't recognize it. Was that something you learned in your American school?"

"Actually, that's just what I want to talk about later."

"Oh, alright." Hermione smiled a little. "Everyone's terribly curious about you now. The American girl who was snagged by the squid."

"Oh, no!" Lorelie felt her cheeks turn pink. "You don't think they'll make fun of me, do you?"

"No, after all, the squid went after Malfoy first!"

"You don't seem to like him very much."

The smile on Hermione's face disappeared. "Once you meet him again, you'll see why, Lorelie. He's a cruel spoiled sniveling monster."

"But he can't be all bad…when I was in the water, I think he tried to pull me up…"

Hermione shrugged, not sure how to reply. "Stay away from him, Lorelie. Trust me."