The sound of shuffling feet disrupted her and she moaned quietly into the arm of her chair. The light fluttered through the windows and she only remembered she was not in her bed when she reached for her comforter to pull it over her head.

"Roxy?"The softness of his voice made her wonder if she were still dreaming. So she moaned again and tried to roll over on the small armchair, but her movement was stunted by the chair and she slid quit suddenly from the seat onto the floor with a loud thump.

"Roxy! Are you alright?" His voice was not as soft this time and when she opened her eyes; his face blurred then cleared into the vision of Richard Ladouceur, a fellow Ravenclaw. As it cleared she recognized the look of concern etched on his face, his dirty blond hair falling into his soft brown eyes, she smiled weakly as a pain began to crawl up her spine. Richard placed his arm around her back and side to pull her up onto her feet, the look of concern still visible.

"Why are you down here Rox? You're not even ready for class, it starts in 10 minutes!" He chastised her.

"Oh stop it Rich, I'm fine, I just fell asleep reading last night." She stepped away from him, but regretted it as a look of pain flashed behind those soft eyes. She sighed and reached for his arm as she looked up at him and smiled. "Go ahead Rich, and save me a spot okay?"

His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, he didn't see a book of any kind around her, but he dropped the subject and just nodded, the presence of her hand on his arm sharpened his senses and he looked at her one last time in warning, although he did not say anything he would not allow her to think that her lie had gone unnoticed. He turned away slowly, looking back often as she pulled herself towards the stairs.

When she finally made it to charms after hiding her brother's letter and donning appropriate school attire, she was only a few moments late, but Professor Flitwick had already begun his lecture and upon her entry stopped for a moment at the sound where the faces of her classmates turned towards her.

"Sorry Professor." She dipped her head and did not bother with an explanation as the face of Draco invaded her vision. His eyes squinted for a moment as she took her seat next to Richard, which was the seat just in front of Draco. She could feel his eyes on her back as she learned towards Richard to thank him for saving her a spot. He must not have forgotten the letter and that knowledge pulled at her, making it difficult for her concentration to remain on the lecture before her. When they were finally released to practise the subject of today's lecture and the room filled with the noise of charms and excited chatter at the failed attempts, Roxanne let out the breath she did not know she was holding. It was not until Richard threw his arm around her shoulders and laughed before she realized that he was talking to her. The movement relaxed her and she felt shielded from the stare she knew she still received from Draco.

"That's alright Roxy,-" He whispered in her ear, "-I don't want to work with them either, but you don't have to look so pained." She turned her face towards his, looking at him for an explanation before it all fell into place. It was a group assignment which lay before her and Draco and his desk mate were now a part of said group. The corner of her lips twitched into a smirk as she shook her head before placing it on his shoulder for a moment.

"I think we can take 'em." She whispered back in response before turning around slowly to face them. Her eyes avoided Draco's for a moment as she recognized Pansy sitting next to him looking concerned, her eyes darting back and forth between Roxanne and Draco. Finally she brought herself to meet his stare and a moment passed before Richard spoke up, bringing them all back to the project at hand.

He guided the group through the assignment with ease and almost entirely on his own, using Pansy as help when Roxanne failed to focus on his request for the third time. As the noise in the classroom grew, the silence between Draco and Roxanne screamed in her ears, until he finally leaned forward slightly and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it before looking over at Richard and Pansy, who were deep in concentration, a look of annoyance spreading quickly across Rich's face as Pansy failed to grasp the wand movement, causing Roxanne to wince, and giving her the urge to remind him to have patience. Teaching her father's students over the summers had taught her that the student would absorb their teacher's mood. They would never get anywhere if they were both frustrated.

"Well,-" He began when he realized that they had a moment of isolation amongst the chaos around them. "-was it good news?" He tried to look conversational but the urge in his voice betrayed him and she watched him for a moment as her suspicions grew.

"It was interesting news." She mentioned far more honestly than she intended. His eye brow rose at this and he leaned in closer, the smell of fresh leaves filled his nose briefly once again, and his expression softened as he considered another approach.

"Business or pleasure?" His softened expression revealed a slight smirk at the comment.

"Both" She smiled.

"That is interesting, but you know, it is unwise to combine the two." He advised in an effort to buy himself time. She was skilfully avoiding his questions, and he regretted not giving her more credit when he ran through how he thought the conversation would have panned out.

"Thank you Draco for that advice. I will pass the message along to him." She whispered more harshly than she intended. Did he not realize that she was saving him from having to confirm or deny his allegiances. If he knew her brother it could only mean the rumours about him were true. She only wished to spare him the confirmation, and selfishly she did not want to know.

"Hmm, so it is a 'he'." The interest in his voice was hard to disguise.

"Why is that relevant? His voice remained harsh and guarded, though he did not seem to notice through his interest.

"Perhaps it's not, who did you say it was again?"

"I didn't" At this she hooked her finger on the opening of Richard's pocket, tugging a few times to grab his attention, hoping for a distraction. Her actions were left unnoticed as Richard and Pansy continued to work the spell at hand, Richard's excitement at the growing incantation and at Pansy's evident understanding of the concepts left her hand and her hopes unattended.

"Yes, that is also interesting." This he said more to himself than to her.

"Draco, is there something you want? Although I am of course flattered,-" Her voice peaked here in her frustration and this time it did not go unnoticed. He leaned back as she leaned in, and he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty by the way he hounded her. "-but this is the most attention you have shown me since our first year, and I cannot help but notice your change in interests since last night. Since we are handing out advice, mine to you would be to get on with it." At this he sat for a moment, deciding that his general games would leave this girl unmoved. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, allowing his emotions to flash across his face.

"Honestly, the initials seemed familiar to me." He confessed, shrugging.

Her anger subsided at his honesty, but her annoyance remained. "Are you somehow unable to ask direct questions?"

"I'm asking now Roxanne." He tried

She sat, unmoved as she watched him struggle with the words. It was a rare thing to see Draco squirm, and she found herself enjoying it.

"Who is it Roxy?" He tried again, the confidence previously drained, replaced by guilt.

She sighed, "No one you should know."

"Should?" He cocked his head at her choice of words.

"No-I...-It's just- well he's" She stumbled and struggled with her mishap, her pale checks flushed with the effort, but she was silenced by a hand on hers. The embodied hand lingered and she followed the limb up to the face of Draco. He shook his head kindly.

"I'll find out eventually." He challenged, but the small smile tugging at his lips betrayed him. He let the subject drop, for now. He had his own closets full of skeletons; it would be slightly hypocritical to demand that she spill the contents of her life before him.