A/N: Do I have to go through this every time? I don't own Harry Potter.

The next day at breakfast, Kyle could not take his eyes off of her. However hard he tried, he could not get her out of his head. His mind didn't even register that he was ogling her. Why did he notice how her flaming red hair shimmered in the light? Why did he notice how her emerald green eyes smiled when she smiled? And why the hell did he notice her womanly figure? He finally realized what was happening: he was starting to like her.

From the Gryffindor table, Terry noticed that Kyle kept watching him. Wait, no. It couldn't be him that Kyle was watching. Kyle was watching something to the left of Terry… Haley. He nudged her. "What?" she asked.

"Someone keeps staring at you," he whispered. Mark suddenly became interested.

"Who?" he asked.

"Kyle," Terry said.

Haley snorted. "Yeah, right. Why would Kyle be staring at me?" she asked.

"Dunno. Maybe because in guy terms you're hot," Mark said.

Haley shrugged. "Okay. I'll play along with that for a minute. But still. Why would Kyle be staring at me?" she asked.

"Good point," Terry and Mark said together.

Their first class of the day was Potions. As luck would have it, the Gryffindors had it with the Slytherins. Their Potions teacher was Professor Slughorn. He had aged a lot since the last time Haley's dad had seen him. "We will be working on an extensive project this year on Veritaserum. Longbottom, Weasley- partners. Harrison, Benson- partners. Potter, Malfoy- partners," Slughorn said. He gave them the rest of the class to go to the library and do research.

Haley left the room with Kyle as Terry and Mark cast her apologetic looks. They first went to the library to gather books. Then Haley led Kyle to the entrance to the Room of Requirement. At that moment, however, there was no visible door. "What's this?" he asked.

"Something my dad told me about. I need a place to study… I need a place to study… I need a place to study," she said. He watched her curiously. With a soft pop, a door appeared. He looked astonished. She opened it and stepped inside. He followed and closed the door behind him. The room was furnished with a couch and bookcase and two bean bag chairs. They sat on the couch.

They read book after book about the truth potion. Kyle teased Haley playfully and she laughed. Breakfast was the last thing on her mind and she completely forgot about Kyle ogling her. They were supposed to have Double Potions, so they had an hour and a half. They got along surprisingly well, not that they had tried to in the past. Haley had disliked Kyle almost instantly; up until now, she hadn't even tried to be civil. She didn't even realize that he could be friendly.

Towards the end of their study session, she nervously cleared her throat. "Are w- we friends?" she asked. He seemed surprised by her question but considered it nonetheless.

"I suppose so. I mean, maybe not close friends just yet, but we could be. Why do you ask?" he said. She shook her head and Kyle knew better than to pry.

They got to the Great Hall just in time for lunch, where they went their separate ways. Haley easily found Mark and Terry. She didn't feel like talking much, however. Terry and Mark exchanged worried glance. "You okay, Hales? You usually talk so much that Mark and I can't get a word in," Terry said. She shrugged.

"Is it Malfoy?" Mark asked out of concern. He saw his cousin a lot and she never acted like this unless something was wrong.

"Yes and no. He and I are actually getting along," she said. Terry and Mark glanced at each other.

"And is that bad?" Terry asked.

"Well, no, I guess not. But he was acting like we'd been friends all this time," she said.

Terry put a friendly hand on her shoulder and said, "Look. In my experience of being guy, that means he likes you."

Haley looked at him with a startled look on her face. "Is that good or bad? To you?" Terry asked.

"I don't know. That's just the problem. I can't sort out my own feeling about him. Is he a friend, or more?" she said in frustration. Terry and Mark exchanged worried glances. Was Haley falling for a Slytherin?

That afternoon passed quickly and Terry, Mark, and Haley had a free period before dinner. "Do you want to play Exploding Snap in the Gryffindor common room?" Terry asked.

"No, thanks. No offense, guys, but I feel like writing in my diary or something," she said. Terry and Mark nodded and they split up. Haley remembered one time in their fourth year when Terry had stolen her diary. She had hexed him so that he couldn't tell the truth. She giggled at the memory. She entered her common room to find Kyle already sitting on the couch.

"Haley, could you, um, sit down for a minute?" he asked. She obliged and sat next to him.

"I have no idea what the hell is happening and I was hoping you might," he said. She looked at him expectantly. "I can't stop thinking about you. Or staring at you. You're in my head and strangely… I like it," he said. Her expression was unreadable. He had absolutely no idea what she was thinking. He couldn't take her silence any long and leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. He was about to pull away when she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer. She moaned into his mouth. When they pulled apart, she sheepishly grinned.

"I'll go get ready for dinner," she said.

Meanwhile, Mark and Terry were playing wizard's chess in the common room. They had decided against Exploding Snap. "Why do you think she left so hurriedly?" Mark asked.

"Probably hoping Malfoy would be there," Terry snorted.

"Why don't you just tell her the truth?" Mark suggested.

Terry snorted even louder. "Right. She could like Malfoy. I'm not about to put my ass on the line. Besides, Malfoy is probably hotter, smarter, and more… boyfriend material then I am. I've only had three dates and no girlfriends in all my years here," Terry said.

"Haley's only had a handful of dates," Mark pointed out.

"But still more than me. And Malfoy has definitely been more popular with the ladies then I have," he said.

"But you have an advantage. Malfoy doesn't really know her," Mark said.

"You think?" Terry asked.

"Yeah. Haley will finally realize one day that you know here better than almost anyone else and she'll come to love you for it," Mark said.

"Yeah, but I don't know how much longer I can wait. I mean, I've liked her since fourth year. Being near her gets me high. It's like I'm addicted," Terry said.