A/N: Chapter 9, folks!

Chapter 9

Riley Frost woke up much later, a splitting headache tearing through her skull and the light hurting her eyes, so she kept them closed.

She heard muffled voices that gradually became understandable.

"… panic attack?" That was Snape's smooth voice – she really loved his voice. He was such a sarcastic man, but his voice was strangely soothing.

"Yes, no idea what brought it on?" That was Draco. Was that concern in his voice? She hoped not, but she knew it was in vain.

"I can't say, Mr Malfoy, but from you described, it sounded like one." Mrs Pomfrey answered, and Riley felt a soft hand on her forehead. The hand was cool too, she wanted it to stay there.

"And what were you doing there, Mr Creevey?" Snape asked. Creevey? What was he doing there? He probably had seen her freak out, what would he think of her now?

"Kissing her," Draco replied with what she assumed was a sneer (it certainly sounded like one), "while she was helping me with my flying."

"Are you jealous, Malfoy?" Creevey challenged him, and Riley knew that the shit just hit the fan, because no one challenged Draco Malfoy.

"Why on earth would I be jealous, Creevey?" Draco answered calmly, "I trust my girlfriend."

Creevey spluttered, and Riley tried really hard to sit up. This wasn't good. This was really not good – now Creevey would think she was an attention-seeking slut.

"He's lying." Was the first thing she managed to bite out and it hurt her head to move. Why did her head hurt?

But Creevey had already left, she found out. Snape questioned her on why she had had a panic attack, and she had no idea. The last thing she could remember was stalking away from Creevey.

Pansy burst into the hospital wing, very theatrically, and demanded to know what had happened. Riley was sure she had seen Creevey walk away and now Draco was there too? Pansy was many things, but stupid was not one of them. She was prone to drawing her own conclusions, though, and Riley guessed that Pansy concluded was that she was in a dramatic love triangle. As if her life was that exciting.

The nurse wanted her to stay the night for observation, and she wasn't about to argue with her sore head. She would worry about Creevey and Draco and Pansy the next day. She curled onto her side, cuddled into the feather pillow and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

She was grateful that the next day was a Sunday, because that meant she could sleep in. She had two visitors, though, and neither were her best friend.

For some reason, Draco and Creevey had decided she was a piece of meat and they were two lions. She did not like it. Not even one bit and she wished she had the broomstick again. She could chase them like Pansy confronted with a mirror. Not that Pansy wasn't pretty, she just didn't like mirrors – she believed there were ghosts in the mirror that would try to steal her soul or something.

She threw a slipper at each of them (she had no idea where those had come from), stood up and walked out of the hospital wing. Slippers made nice weapons, because both boys were scrambling to find said shoes and return them to her. Idiots.

She went to breakfast in her pyjamas – stealing a lot of glances, because no one had ever done that, they feared the teachers too much. But, surprisingly, no one had touched her or approached her. She ate her toast in peace and relayed her tale of slipper-throwing to her best friend, who thought she was insane.

. . .

After that, Riley got worse. Everywhere she went, around every corner she turned, she turned and jumped and winced at everything. Every time she saw a Gryffindor, her heart started to beat in her chest like crazy, her breath quickened and she had to force herself to breathe. She didn't faint again, at least. She was convinced they had it out for her.

Draco's flying had bettered so much that they had beaten the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs, now all they had to do was win the Gryffindors and they were home free. The catch? The match was after Christmas.

Draco had been keeping his distance after she threw a purple slipper at him, but he wasn't nasty to her, no, he still greeted her, like a civil person, and even exchanged banter. She hadn't heard anything from Creevey at all. She was worried, because she really did like him. But now she was even more paranoid – she just knew it had been a prank.

She met up with him a week before Christmas, by accident: she'd been simply taking a leisurely walk around the Black Lake and he was at the spot where they had first met.

He grinned when he saw her. She was confused.

"Riley Frost, the girl of my dreams!" He greeted her, but, thankfully not trying to hug her. She nodded her hello and turned to the lake.

"Have you decided to choose yet?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"No, Creevey, I haven't, and the day I do, I don't think I will tell you." She folded her arms. She wasn't going to fall into the trap.

"I meant between Malfoy and myself." He corrected himself quickly. She looked at him sharply.

"There was no real choice for me, Creevey," She spat, "and Draco has no interest in me as far as I know." That was a lie, and they both knew it.

He jumped up from the boulder and approached her, "So it's me?"

She took a step back.

"It could've been, had I chosen a side and you wouldn't pester me relentlessly about picking a side." She replied scornfully. She knew that he would try and persuade her to join his side, and she wouldn't be having that, not now or ever.

His smile faded, "So you are going to remain stupidly neutral?" He was sneering at her, and she hated it. What if his affections weren't a prank?

It was like the time that Draco had tried to make her stop reading her sporting magazine. Her expression twisted into one of anguish, and she whipped out her wand, pointing it at him.

"I am neutral for a fucking reason, Creevey, and don't you dare call it stupid!" She shrieked, poking her wand into his stomach, "I could kill you right now, and I would if I didn't care so much," She put her wand away, "but don't you dare judge me! You don't know my reasons! You don't know who I am!"

"I know more than you know!" He retaliated, grabbing onto her arm, "Riley, I am head over heels in love with you, I would do anything for you, I would even join the dark side, would you just give me a chance? I promise you this isn't some prank or lie, I really love you."

She ripped her arm back, "No, because you and I both know that you turning dark is a bunch of bullshit and you would be a traitor. You'd be killed in the most brutal and bloody way, and I would be the one to do it."

"But I know you, Riley! Please!" He begged. She looked at him, ice in her eyes. One question and she could trust him, but she had never discussed this with anyone else but Draco. Because she trusted him most.

"Who are my parents? Answer this, and I'm yours."

His face was blank. She laughed cynically.

"I thought so. Whatever we had, Creevey, it's over, it never meant anything, and you are nothing more than a stupid little boy!"

With that she turned around.

"Wait! On the train, Riley, before we go home for Christmas. Think about it, I beg you! If you choose to go with Malfoy, I'll just accept it, I will never bother you again, but please at least consider it!"

She just walked away, she didn't look back, because she would either kiss or curse him, and she didn't want to do either.

As she rounded a corner to the Slytherin Common Room, she walked into someone and cursed loudly in a shriek.

It was Pansy. Pansy helped her friend up, a concerned look on her face. She had been noticing Riley's withdrawal and constant wincing and shrieking at the tiniest things, so she talked to the only other person Riley had befriended in Slytherin – Draco. Draco had a solution, but he couldn't tell her, and she assumed it was a romantic gesture, but she wasn't entirely sure.

. . .

A/N: Please review?