"Come on, Lev. Let's go, I'm getting dizzy…" Since the new rules had been given out I couldn't walk Lev outside anymore. So, I had to improvise. I had been walking him to some of my classes but only if my professors allowed. Most often I would just walk around the common room and up and down stairs. It made me a little dizzy after a while though, going in circles, so I didn't do it often. Mostly I just let him run around the dungeon. It wasn't the same but it was something.

After our little walk I went back upstairs and to our dormitory. From outside I heard loud voices arguing; it must have been Pansy and Daphne. That's all our room seemed to be filled with lately, yelling and arguing. It was usually Daphne that argued with Pansy while I tried to ignore her. Millicent never really talked much, only agreed or disagreed with stuff…

"You had no right! Who do you think you are" I heard Daphne scream through the door

"Who do you think you are talking to me like that?" Pansy yelled in response. There was a crash as something fell and I rushed in. Inside, the room was a mess. The beds were all unmade and things were all over floor, including my things. Pansy stared at me as I stood by the door. In her hands were my plushie and a card.

"What's going on?" I asked not sure whether to be surprised at the mess or annoyed she had my things

"Why don't you tell me? What is this?" she said throwing my presents on the ground. Lev growled at her but I picked him up not wanting him to get involved

"They're presents. What were you doing looking through my stuff?"

"That stupid mutt of yours took something from me and I wanted it back. Now answer the question! What is that?!" On the ground I saw the card had been Draco's valentine

"It's a valentine-"

"I can see that! I'm not blind! Why do they have Draco's signature on them?!" she yelled outraged. There was a paused. Was that really all she cared about? Making such a big deal out of this just for a card? I looked over to Daphne and she looked a little surprised too but not as much. "Well?!"

"Well what? So he gave me a valentine. We're friends, you know" I said still unable to understand why she was acting like this

"I- You- Ugh!" she said too angry to speak. "You stay away from Draco! Understand? Or you'll be sorry" said taking out her wand.

"Excuse me?" Did she really just tell me what to do?

"You heard me! Stay away from him, or else" she warned crossing her arms. Pansy gave me a look, expecting me to agree. I laughed humorlessly and set Lev down on my bed

"Do you honestly thing I'm going to listen to someone like you?" She kept looking at me with the same annoying face. The truth is she could have been seen as a pretty girl if she'd just stop making those faces. I took a deep breath and decided to end this once and for all. "That's it. Daphne, Millicent, could you two leave us alone for a second?"

"What?" Pansy said. Daphne gave me a look saying she wanted to stay and watch but agreed. Millicent stared at Pansy, unsure what to do. I could tell Pansy didn't want to be alone with me; she wasn't as tough when it came to actual confrontation. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"

"Oh, I understand. I just wanted to talk but if you're too scared..." That triggered a nerve. Trying to prove a point, Pansy told Millicent to wait outside and I handed Daphne Lev to take care of. He was warming up to her more and didn't even bark at her when she held him. They stepped through the door, leaving me and Pansy alone in our room.

"You know," she started and I walked towards my bag. I figured she would do this. "If you just stay away from Draco we wouldn't even have a problem. It's your fault you're always around him. He doesn't even like you, he's told me so. In fact, you annoy him. And-"

"Silencio" I said and with a jab of my wand she went silent. Gave me an outraged look and I smiled and set my wand back down. "Now you are going to listen to me. I've had enough of your talking and it's really starting to annoy me. So, unless you want me to pick up my wand again and do something other than silence you, you'll listen." She was still giving me a hateful look but nodded.

"I don't know why you hate me so much. I get that you don't have to like me but up until recently I'd never done anything to you. If it's because of your little crush on Draco that's between you and him so stop involving me. I've known him since we were kids and were just friends. I honestly don't know how many times I have to say that to people. Anyway, I'm not going to stop talking to him so get used to that. If you don't like me fine, just keep it to yourself and shut up about it. Nobody cares"

With a waved of my wand I undid the spell, allowing her to talk again; but she didn't. We were both quiet for a while. I had said all I wanted to say and it seemed that Pansy didn't have any snide comment to add. We stared at each other for a little while and I sighed. It seemed that this was the end to our conversation so I started towards the door to let the girls back in. But just as I was about to reach the door, Pansy started talking.

"You're really stupid aren't you? You think everyone is nice to you because they like you? Nobody likes you here. At least I say it to your face. Everyone is only nice to you because of your father. Take him out of the picture and no one would even talk to you, not even Draco." Somehow, she was able to find the words that hit me where it hurt most. What she had just said had always been a big worry of mine, even as a child. I didn't move.

Daphne and Millicent rushed back into the room, obviously having heard everything. Each went to their own side. Daphne tried to tell me something but I couldn't hear her. I couldn't feel anything. I just stared at Pansy, who stared back. I would've disregarded it if she had been her usual smug self but she wasn't, she was serious. I looked at Daphne one last time and rushed downstairs by myself.

Everything just felt overwhelming. I had to deal with the guilt of not being able to tell anyone about the chamber, Hermione had been paralyzed, and everything was getting to be too much. I should have no time to deal with trivial things like Pansy's little jealousy but it hurt. I curled up in a ball on a couch in the common rom and thought of what she said. In a way she was right, nobody really talked to me and I had made my peace with it. But the way she said it… It just made me feel horrible. The only people who I knew loved me regardless of my family were Draco and my brother. Even so my brother was part of the family, even if he had left it. But Draco…

"What's wrong?" I heard a voice calling out to me but didn't look up. What if she was right? What if I was alone? Would people treat me the same if they knew the real me? "Kitty, what's wrong?" I looked up to see the voice I had heard had been Draco's. He stood in front of the couch, his face was worried and turned even more so when he saw my face. He touched my face and wiped my cheeks. I had started crying.

"I'm fine," I said before he worried too much. "Allergies, you know. Darn plants"

"Don't be stupid, I know you don't have allergies. And we're in the dungeon, no plants here." He took a seat next to me and studied my face. I smiled at him through my tears to convince him I was fine, but I wasn't. It was all an act, just as it always was. And if I could smile through tears I'm sure Draco could at least fake being nice. I had done that enough times too, it wasn't that hard… I felt my eyes start to water again at that last thought and sunk my face down to my knees.

"Idiot," he sighed and I felt Draco get up to leave. I kept my head down, crying, but stopped when I realized I didn't hear footsteps. I raised my head, curious as to whether Draco had actually left, and saw his face just inches in front of mine. He had gotten up to kneel so he could get a closer look at my face. He wiped my tears with his sleeve again. "How many times have I told you? You don't have to be fake with me. If you don't want to tell me something then fine but I'm not stupid enough to believe you're okay. So either stop crying or tell me what you're crying about so I can help." He looked mad and I smiled; a real smile this time.

"You already did" I said and hugged him. I couldn't believe I almost believed Pansy. Annoying as she was, the girl was smart, and she could easily get in my head. But it was okay, I knew Draco was a good guy and that he really did care about me. If he didn't, he wouldn't put up with all I made him go through. And even though there are things I wish he would change, he was the only person I knew I could trust. He may be a stubborn, rude, and cruel little boy but I loved him just the way he was.