Hey it's alright my life

has never been a bed of roses

this way's better for me

By the end of that hour, Hermione and Evyn both had a better understanding of each other. "So do you want to work on this more tomorrow?" the Gryffindor asked her partner as the two headed off down past the Divination staircase.

"Sounds good to me." Evyn agreed. She was about to invite Hermione to the Slytherin common room to work, but then realized that wouldn't turn out well. Hermione saw the tension in the girl's eyes and suggested an offer herself.

"Why don't you come to the Gryffindor common room tomorrow afternoon?" That seemed liked a much better idea, but Evyn wondered how she was going to get in. After all, she wasn't a Gryffindor. "The password is 'lion heart' in Spanish." Hermione revealed in a hushed tone. The girls then spotted a group of Slytherins heading their way. "I'd better go." She decided. "See you later." Moments after Evyn waved goodbye, Hermione slipped away through the sea of other students. Evyn shifted her bag farther onto her shoulder, and added a bit more swagger in her walk as she approached her fellow Slytherins.

"Sup Di Amourie?" Sterling Kale fist pounded with her. Evyn shrugged, a fake smirk plastered onto her mouth. "Quidditch practices are now Mondays. Can you swing that?" Sterling was the Slytherin keeper, and though he wasn't the Captain, he might as well have been; he knew more of what was going on with games and schedules than the actual captain, Marshall Fremont, did. Evyn let out a false laugh, remembering that she was part of the team.

"Sure, I'll be there to make sure you don't fall off your broom." She patted Sterling on the back as the group headed back to the common room.

They ran into another Slytherin by the dungeon stone wall. He was thin and pale with white blonde hair. "Mudbloods are vulgar." He proudly stated with gusto. "...and pathetic." He added darkly after the secret door had already opened. The boy was half way through the entrance when he glanced quickly over his shoulder and saw Evyn entering behind him. "I haven't seen you since beginning of term." He pointed out once they were inside the common room. And it was already more than half way past first term.

"Yeah, I've been pretty occupied with classes this year." Partly true. Evyn had been kept busy with the courses she was taking, and getting prepared for O.. But she also kept to herself more than in previous years. She didn't spend much time with friends; in fact, most people whom thought they were her friend were far from that in Evyn's mind. There had already been two trips to Hogsmeade and she hadn't attended either of them.

"So I saw you talking to Granger in the hall today." The boy changed subjects suddenly. Evyn began to feel uneasy. Surely he would make some sort of remark about why she shouldn't hang around mudbloods and what not. "What was that about? You two a thing or something?"

"Draco!" Evyn hit him in the side with her bag. Malfoy retreated, laughing as he did so, then regained his composure.

"Come on, Evyn. I was just having a laugh at you." Evyn rolled her eyes and stalked off towards the girls' dormitory. Boys were so immature sometimes. "Hey wait!" Malfoy stopped her. Evyn turned around, giving him a look. "I wanted to know, are you coming to the manor for Christmas?" It was about four and a half weeks until the holiday break at Hogwarts. Evyn remained quiet while Malfoy looked hopeful. "It's been three years since you last came." A chill fought its way down Evyn's spine, making her feel very uncomfortable. She didn't want to think about the Malfoy Manor. She didn't want to think about the past, otherwise she'd be forced to relive it. "Father and the others all talk about...politics and such." Malfoy went on. "It's always better to have the company of someone your own age. And things are just...not the same." He concluded, looking like a sad child; one who didn't get exactly what they wanted from Santa. Malfoy was right, things were different now, and it had been so long since the two were able to be kids. Evyn stared at her cousin in the eyes and answered as honestly as she possibly could.

"I...don't know, Draco..."

Hermione felt different as she retreated to the Gryffindor Tower. She felt happy, confident and content. Somehow she was able to befriend a Slytherin. A Slytherin! Normally Hermione separated herself from most of the Gryffindor girls because she was more focused on her school work than anything else. She needed to tell someone about her accomplishment of the day. She had to share the fact that she, of all the Gryfindors had started a friendship with one of the Slytherins. Lucky for Hermione, Ginny was the first one in sight. The Weasley girl was startled for a short moment as Hermione rushed towards her unannounced.

"Ginny!" The older girl was practically shouting though her friend was only inches away from her. "You'll never guess what happened!" Ginny gave her a look which made it clear that the volume level needed to lower just a wee bit. The red headed girl sat down in one of the comfy arm chairs near the fireplace; Hermione sat across from her.

"What is it 'Mione?" Ginny laughed slightly, giving her friend a confused stare.

"Flitwick just assigned us a project, and we were all given partners." Hermione began. Ginny stopped her in mid explanation.

"Oh no, you didn't get Pansy Parkinson, did you?" The look on the girl's face was priceless. Hermione made a face of great distaste, then laughed awkwardly.

"Heavens no!"

"Just checking." Both girls despised Parkinson, who though it was her right to act as if she owned Hogwarts. After a brief burst of laughter with Ginny, Hermione continued telling her story.

"I was paired up with Evyn Di Amourie." She clarified, making it apparent that Evyn was a much better fate than Pansy. But then again, in the girls' opinions, almost anyone was better than Pansy Parkinson. Ginny's blue eyes widened slightly.

"The Slytherin girl?"

"You know her?" Hermione asked cautiously, wondering how Ginny seemed to know everything and everyone in the school. The Weasley girl shook her head.

"Not personally." She began. "But you know people hear things and that stuff will fly around school." Hermione nodded, though she was pretty sure she didn't know. The girl had never bothered to pay too much attention to gossip that went around. "Well for one thing, her family's pretty rich, just like the Malfoy's and other pure bloods." Ginny explained. "She's pretty well known around school too; she doesn't just hang around with the Slytherins, but she does associate herself with some of those idiots."

"Wait, she has friends in the other houses?" Hermione asked to clarify what Ginny had just told her. The ginger girl paused for a moment before responding.

"Well, more like acquaintances, I guess. But as far as I know, none of the other Gryffindors are buddy-buddy with her. They probably assume she's another Malfoy waiting to happen." she concluded. Hermione eyed the floor, shaking her head slowly.

"But they're wrong." It came out as a whisper, but the thought was still loud enough for Ginny to hear.

"So what's this whole conversation about anyway, Hermione?" Ginny was always trying to get to the point of everything, much unlike her brother, Ron. Hermione remained silent, reflecting on her choice earlier that day. Had it been wise in the least bit to invite a Slytherin, of all people, to the tower? Hermione had always had the most common sense, but she wondered if she had been thinking clearly. What would her friends say?

"Well," Hermione finally found her voice. "Since Evyn and I have been assigned to the project together, I invited her to come to Gryffindor Tower so we can work on it tomorrow afternoon." The look on Ginny's face was different; she wasn't mad, but she wasn't thrilled either. "I just didn't know how everyone else would feel about it." Hermione admitted, looking down once more. Ginny stood up.

"If she's not like most Slytherins and is a decent person like you said, then things should be fine." Ginny's opinion made Hermione feel a little better about the situation. "But if she's a total ass, we'll be sure to let you know." TheWeasley girl patted the top of Hermione's armchair before disappearing up into the girls' dormitory. Hermione sighed. She prayed that the next day would not be a train wreck.

Evyn was relieved that she had been able to sleep soundless that night. She couldn't take the nightmares anymore; they were too much. Why had she ever though that she could force herself to forget, to erase her past? She would never rid herself of all the painful and horrid memories. How much longer could she pretend that nothing ever happened? How much longer could she keep denying herself the truth?

Evyn woke a short while before noon. She seemed a bit surprised when she glanced at her clock on her nightstand. It was rare that she slept in as late as she had. The Slytherin girl sat up on her bed. Her whole body ached, though why, she did not know. But wait, another lie. She knew the origins of her pains quite well. It was near impossible for her to convince herself it didn't happen. She couldn't play coy forever.

The Slytherin girl threw on a pair of black and green sweats and slipped on a baseball style tee over her head, which said 'SCOTLAND" in big, bold letters; she was Scottish and proud, plus her favorite Quidditch team happened to be from that same country. It was half past twelve when she was finally ready to leave the girls' dormitory.

"Well, well, well." Camilla began as soon as Evyn's bare feet made contact with the common room floor. "Sleeping beauty has awoken at last." Evyn laughed dryly as she greeted those present. Pansy was one of them.

"Good timing, Di Amourie. Cami here was ready to set Melissa on you." Instantly, Evyn's arm reached up quickly and grabbed Camilla's caramel colored locks. Then, she pulled down hard.

"Kidding! I was kidding! Ow!" Her friend tried to explain while trying to twist out of Evyn's grasp. Melissa was their lesbian friend in the year above them whose goal in life, or at least school anyway, was to make Evyn feel as awkward as possible. Though Evyn knew Melissa only did so to get a rise out of her, it was still obnoxious in many ways.

"Ha ha. Hilarious." Evyn grunted as she pulled on a pair of her black shoes which she had left behind the couch. "Any of you prats seen my Charms book?" She asked. Her friends shook their heads. Nobody knew. Evyn sighed. Typical. But the only person she could blame was herself. It was her book after all. Hermione would definitely have her book. She thought optimistically, feeling the frustration die down. She headed for the hidden door. "I'm leaving. See you all later." Pansy raised an eyebrow. Evyn was acting very curt and rather blunt. She wondered what was up.

"Where you going?" Evyn turned around, but still headed for the door, only backwards instead. She searched her brain for a good answer; telling them that she was going to Gryffindor Tower was out of the question. That would just arouse arguments and controversy. Two things the girl did not need at the time. Suddenly, the best response popped into her head.

"Out." Short, sweet and to the point.

Doing homework on a Saturday was not a concept that Evyn supported or enjoyed. But she knew that if she had it her way, she would still be in bed, staring at the ceiling; so essentially doing nothing. She also knew that if she hadn't been paired up with Hermione, she would have probably just half-assed the project altogether. Evyn received some odd glances as she ascended the changing staircase. After all, she was a Slytherin heading towards her 'enemy' house's dorm. Even the Fat Lady gave her a peculiar glance as she approached the portrait. Evyn cleared her throat as she remembered what Hermione had told her. "Corazon de leon." She spoke in perfect Spanish. The Fat Lady shrugged her shoulders and swung open, revealing the Gryffindor common room.