Cora plopped down next to Darren Teal (Cora's best friend) the next morning in the great hall. She picked up a fork and started poking at a pile of pancakes that Darren had gotten her before the plate had been carried down the table. He gave her a sideways glance.
"Not hungry?" he asked surprisingly.
Darren was Cora's best friend. They didn't spend as much time together as they hoped, because people always asked if they were dating, which kind of freaked Cora out. He was tall with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Cora envied him for his boldness. It seemed he was always going against the flow, not caring what people thought of him at all. She wondered why he wasn't the heartthrob of Hogwarts, because he was everything a girl would want. He was smart, funny, outgoing, and she couldn't help but admit he was pretty good looking.
"Not really. Thanks for saving them for me though," she stopped poking at her food and pushed her plate towards him, "Do you want them?"
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Darren reminded her as he started eating her pancakes. She wondered how he stayed so skinny with how much he ate.
Cora nodded and smiled, "I know, Darren."
"So what exactly happened? Someone said you and Malfoy tangled tongues, but I didn't think it was true. I also heard you guys got in a fistfight. Didn't think that was true either. The one that sounded most realistic was that Malfoy kind of…attacked you." He blushed. Cora bit her lip and drummed her fingers on the table.
"Well, I can assure you I wasn't…" she made little quotations with her fingers, "attacked. If you mean…sexually."
"That's just what I heard," Darren scratched his neck uncomfortably. Cora laughed quietly.
"I can't exactly say the first two aren't true," She admitted. He lowered his arm slowly and looked at her, stunned.
"You fought Malfoy? No – You kissed Malfoy?" He almost shouted. People at the Ravenclaw table turned to look. Cora covered his mouth and put her finger to her lips.
"I didn't exactly kiss him. He called me a Squib, we threw a few punches, and then he kissed me. I pushed him off and went to Madam Pomfrey. That's it!" She told him. He looked at her skeptically and shook his head in disbelief.

"But…you're not a Squib!" Darren said aimlessly. Cora shrugged her shoulders.

"Not anymore," Cora corrected him. There was a small pause in the conversation.
"Why would Malfoy kiss you?" he wondered aloud. They both looked towards the Slytherin table. Draco was resting his head on Pansy's shoulder, her hand entangled in his hair. She kissed his forehead. Darren made a face in disgust and looked back at Cora, whose eyes were full of jealousy. Darren looked slightly disappointed and even more confused.
Draco was listening to Pansy tell him how attractive he was. He glanced at Cora to see if she was watching. Once their eyes met he smirked as if to say 'look what you're missing'
"Are you sure he kissed you?" Darren asked, but wasn't sure if she was paying attention. Her eyes had snapped from Draco to the floor.
"Yes, Darren, I'm sure."
"Well you don't seem too upset about it," He looked back at Draco. A few seconds later, owls soared into the room with packages and letters. The newest issue of The Daily Prophet dropped in front of Darren. He picked up the paper grumpily and started reading.
Almost all the owls had gone when Cora's owl Willbur dropped onto the table, a square envelope tied to its foot. She untied the note, kissed Willbur on the head, and let him leave. Darren watched her open the envelope out of the corner of his eye. The note inside was written in green ink. He could guess who it was from.
Cora looked at the signature at the bottom before reading the note. It was from 'D.M.', which was no surprise at all. She shoved the note into her robes and crumbled up the envelope.
"It's from one of my muggle friends." She lied.
Darren narrowed his eyes, "What's going on between you and him?"
"Nothing!" Cora crossed her arms defiantly. Darren scowled. She rose from the table and said goodbye to Darren, then made her out of the Great Hall. She felt two pairs of eyes fallow her as she left, and both of their names started with D.
Instead of returning to the Ravenclaw common room, she found a deserted corridor filled with paintings of Tri-Wizard champions. She slid down next to a large colorful oil painting of a blonde-haired girl with a lean, dancer-like figure who was wearing a scarlet cloak. She ignored the paintings as they watched her intently, too anxious to read what her note said. Pulling it out of her robe, Cora unfolded the piece of parchment and took a deep breath before reading.

Cora,

Room of Requirements

1 hour past lights out

Don't bring any of those idiots you always hang out with.

Don't tell anyone.
And bring a book in case I'm late.

D.M.

A sudden rush of fear and giddiness rushed through Cora's veins as she mouthed the words to herself. The painting behind her was reading over Cora's shoulder, laughing hysterically. Folding the note back up, Cora pushed herself onto her feet and bid the paintings a good day before walking – no, running to the Ravenclaw common room.