a/n: Yay me! Another update. Sorry about the hold up. I blame Hon. Pre-Calc and the fact that midterms are this week. But anyway, onward!

Chapter 6: Excitement and Regrets

Reina woke up early the next morning. She looked at the clock above her headboard and groaned. It was only 5:30 am; the sun hadn't even risen yet. Shutting her eyes tightly, Reina pulled her emerald comforter over her head in an attempt to go back to sleep. After fifteen minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up. Pulling back the silver-lined black drapes, Reina got out of bed. Yawning, she twisted her hair up into a clip leaving some hair loose to frame her face. Throwing on a black hoodie and sweatpants as well as slipping on a pair of shoes, Reina slipped quietly out of the Slytherin common room.

She traveled quickly and silently through the dungeons although they were deserted at the present hour. Reina soon entered the main hall, but instead of heading for the main entrance she turned down a side hall and made for a statue of a mounted knight. Reina moved behind the knight and whispered "Lumos," before running her fingers softly along the cold stone wall. The sound of soft footsteps approaching caused her to quickly duck low behind the statue whispering a quick "Nox!" She remained still for a couple of minutes to be safe before relighting her wand and resuming her search.

Finally she found what she was searching for, a small hole in the wall about the size of her thumb. She used the thin end of her wand to press into the hole, causing a small section of the wall to slide silently away and reveal a short tunnel. Glancing around one last time, Reina entered the tunnel. A short walk brought her to the end of the tunnel, where a quick search exposed the trigger for the tunnel's exit.

The tunnel opened out onto a path that led directly to the Quidditch stadium. Reina followed the path silently to the stadium and upon arriving, she proceeded to climb to the very top of the Ravenclaw stands. Reaching her destination the garnet-eyed teen sat with her knees tucked up to her chin, watching in silent wonder as the sun began to rise gracefully over the grounds of Hogwarts, it's first rays bathing them in liquid gold.

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The smells of autumn and early morning dew assailed Blaise's senses as he traveled toward the Quidditch pitch. It was no wonder Reina had come out here, everything was so peaceful and calm. Looking up at the stands, Blaise spotted his raven-haired friend alone at the top. Climbing the stairs, he moved up and across the benches to sit beside Reina. "So…why are you up and out here so early?" Blaise asked quietly, so as not to shatter the peace.

Reina continued to watch the horizon but answered, "Dunno. I woke up about a half hour ago and then couldn't go back to sleep." She turned to look at him. "And what are you doing up so early?"

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Blaise said defensively. "I'm always up this early. Normally, I just read a book or something for an hour or two."

"You're a messed up teenager, you know that?" Reina said chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah," replied Blaise, giving her shoulder a gentle shove. "I heard a sound in the common room this morning, and went to check it out. I heard the entrance shut and when I went to check the hall, there you were, prowling about."

Reina made and indignant face. "Slytherins don't prowl, we sneak." Blaise just rolled his eyes.

"My mistake."

A comfortable silence settled over the two as they watched the sun continue to creep over the horizon, painting the sky with pale blues and pinks. Blaise watched Reina from the corner of his eye as a distant bird sang to the new dawn. Her brow was creased in contemplation, her eyes distant and unfocused. "What are you brooding about?" he finally asked.

"I'm not brooding," she said defensively.

"Don't deny it," Blaise pushed. "If I can't tell by now when something's bothering you, then I don't deserve the title of best friend."

Reina laughed a bit at his persistence. As she gazed at the glowing horizon, a sad smile graced her lips. "Mum used to say that whether you can see it or not, the sun is always rising to signal a new day…another chance."

"You miss her a lot don't you?" Reina just nodded silently. "Is that really all that was bothering you?" Blaise asked with concern etched clearly on his face.

Reina opened her mouth to reply yes, but closed it almost immediately. Instead she responded, "In a few weeks, it will be November 24th." Blaise nodded in confirmation. "That will make it three months since mum was murdered," Reina explained, adding under her breath, "Which means I have less than two months left."

Blaise heard this and narrowed his eyes at her. "Left until what?"

Reina looked up slightly alarmed before turning to face Blaise, debating whether it was wise to tell him what was really bothering her. The need to share won out in the end and she proceeded to tell him about her father's promise to return in four months. She told him how she knew she could never agree and how she was afraid for Kira more than herself. "He wanted to kill her that night, but she was safely hidden at the time. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her, especially if it's because Donovan was after me," she told him sadly.

Blaise embraced her. "I'm here for you, Reina," he said consolingly, "and so are the twins and Kira." Reina smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. Taking this as a good sign, Blaise continued. "You can't beat yourself up over this. I mean, it's not like you can apparate to Kira's side every time she's in trouble."

Garnet-amber eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Blaise, I think you just solved one of my problems!" Reina exclaimed. Her companion looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later," Reina promised, "but right now we should head back inside. It's freezing out and I wouldn't want to miss today's Quidditch match for the world!" At this, she practically dragged him from the stands.

Halfway to the castle, Blaise regained his voice. "You know, the speed at which you can change moods is scary," he said. "What's the rush, anyway? The match isn't until later."

Reina laughed, replying, "I'm not in the mood to fight a bunch of Slytherin girls for the bathroom."

"Girls," Blaise mumbled shaking his head, earning a punch in the arm from Reina.

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The stands were packed with rowdy students as the entire school awaited the start of the match. Reina and Blaise cheered with the rest of their house as the Slytherin team took the pitch, although they didn't accompany them in "Weasley is Our King" when the Gryffindor team came out. The two had declined the badges earlier as well, though more out of consideration for Fred and George than for Ron himself.

The players took off as soon as Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Gryffindor gained possession first, and Reina watched hopefully as Montague caught the Quaffle when the Gryffindor Chaser was hit with a Bludger. She and Blaise let out a groan, however, when Montague was also hit by a Bludger, courtesy of George Weasley, resulting in the loss of the Quaffle. Reina held her breath as the Gryffindor Chasers wove towards the Slytherin goal posts. The Slytherins let out a collective sigh as Bletchley made the save, tossing the Quaffle to Warrington.

Warrington sped down the pitch, zigzagging around players and ducking Bludgers as he carried the Quaffle down the field. Breaking through Gryffindor's last line of defense, Warrington hurtled toward the Gryffindor hoops with only Ron between him and ten points. He let the Quaffle fly. The Slytherin stands erupted as Ron missed the save.

Reina and Blaise watched as Katie Bell gained possession of the Quaffle, the sound of "Weasley is Our King" being sung all around them. The two friends cheered and groaned as Warrington took the Quaffle and passed it to Pucey who got hit by a Bludger from one of the Weasley twins, causing him to drop it. Bell attempted to possess the Quaffle but dropped it instead, causing Montague to gain possession. A swift pass to Pucey and Blaise and Reina were jumping up and down as he scored, making the score twenty-nil Slytherin.

Reina was tempted to cover her ears as the sound of "Weasley is Our King" rose to an almost deafening volume, the result of Ron letting in two more shots to make the score forty-nil Slytherin. "If this keeps up," Blaise shouted over the noise, "I'm gonna have to join in the song as well!"

Reina laughed and nodded. "Fred and George will just have to understand! Besides, they'd do the same if the song was about a Slytherin!"

Just then the Gryffindor stands erupted as Angelina Johnson scored to put the lions on the board, making the score forty-ten. Blaise cheered loudly beside Reina, waving a silver and green flag that he got from who knew where as Pucey gained possession of the Quaffle once more. He passed it to Warrington who sped ahead and passed back to Montague. Unfortunately, Angelina Johnson stole the Quaffle as Montague passed it to Pucey. She passed it off to Katie Bell on her right, but a well placed Bludger from Goyle allowed Pucey to grab the Quaffle. The Slytherin Chaser sped off towards the Gryffindor end, weaving left and right…

Out of the corner of her eye Reina saw two lone figures shooting towards the Slytherin hoops, one crimson and one emerald.

"They've seen the Snitch!" Reina yelled, tugging at Blaise's sleeve and pointing towards the racing figures.

Soon the whole stadium was holding its breath, as Harry and Malfoy raced after the small golden ball. They were neck and neck, and as the ground drew rapidly closer the two Seekers reached out…

"No!" Reina shouted in despair as the other three houses cheered loudly. Harry had once again caught the Snitch, leaving Malfoy to scrabble futilely at the back of his hand.

Many of the Slytherins were groaning in defeat as Gryffindor students rushed to get onto the field to congratulate their team when Crabbe whacked a Bludger at Harry, knocking him off his broom. Cries of outrage erupted from the Gryffindors, and Reina could see Kira and Hermione trying to shove their way onto the field. From what she could see though, Harry was fine.

"This can't be good," she heard Blaise mutter beside her. Following his gaze, Reina saw a furious Draco Malfoy moving towards Harry, Fred, and George.

"Crap," she muttered and began shoving through the sea of green. I have to get down there before the four of them do something really stupid Reina thought to herself. Finally emerging onto the pitch, she heard Malfoy say something rude to Harry and the twins. Before anyone knew what was happening, Harry and George were on top of Malfoy, fists flying.

It wasn't until after Madam Hooch had separated the three boys and Harry and George were sent to the castle that Reina acted. Moving quickly forward, Reina moved to help the now whimpering Malfoy. Closer inspection revealed that he was fine save for multiple bruises, a bloody nose, and his wounded pride. Rolling her eyes at his theatrics, Reina grabbed Malfoy's arm to help him up.

"Quit being such a baby, Malfoy," she snapped in irritation. "Suck it up!" The blonde surprisingly bit back his retort as he realized who was helping him, choosing instead to silently comply.

"You're such an idiot!" Reina said through gritted teeth. "You just couldn't keep your bloody mouth shut could you?!"

Scowling and wiping some of the blood from his nose, Draco was about to reply when his arm was grabbed roughly by Montague. The Slytherin captain did not look happy as he shoved Malfoy in the direction of the locker rooms, leaving Reina behind.

Blaise joined Reina and watched as Draco was hustled away. "I guess we should head back to the common room," he said once the two were out of site. Reina shook her head.

"You go on ahead," she told him. "I'm not finished with Malfoy just yet."

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"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!" Reina yelled at Draco as he emerged from the locker room, making him jump in surprise. "You had no reason to provoke Harry and the twins!"

Draco shrugged as he walked towards the castle with Reina at his heels. "Taunting Potter and the Weasleys is entertaining," Malfoy sneered. "They're so predictable."

"I can't believe how much of a sore loser you are Malfoy," Reina growled.

Draco looked indignant. "I fail to see why you're so worked up about this. All that will happen to them is they'll get detention and loose loads of points for Gryffindor…again."

"You don't know that for sure!" Reina persisted, although her anger was starting to die down to irritation. "You provoked them into hitting you in front of the entire student body and staff for Merlin's sake!"

"Calm down, Summers," Draco tried. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"You better hope the answer to that is detention, Malfoy," Reina said pinching the bridge of her nose.

It wasn't until they entered the main entrance hall that Reina realized that Malfoy was pretty bruised up. She sighed heavily, causing Draco to look at her.

"What?"

"We should probably head up to the Hospital Wing before going back to the common room," Reina explained. "You look like you just got trampled by a centaur."

"Feels more like a herd of hippogriffs," Draco muttered.

"Serves you right though, doesn't it?" Reina pointed out smugly.

"Whatever."

The two Slytherin fifth years headed down the hall in the opposite direction of the dungeons. As they passed the Transfiguration classroom, the two froze as they heard "Hem, hem…Educational Decree number 25…"

They backed up slowly, silently putting their ears against the classroom door. They listened intently as Umbridge read another of her absurd and tyrannical decrees. Each word boded ill but neither student showed any emotion as they heard McGonagall huff in irritation. It seemed as if this was where Harry and George had been sent after the match.

Their thoughts were soon confirmed as they heard Umbridge finish reading and say, "So…I really think I will have to ban these two from playing Quidditch ever again."

Reina couldn't believe what she had just heard. A quick glance at Draco revealed him to be staring at the door in open shock and horror. The sound of a stunned Harry speaking brought Reina's attention back to the conversation within the classroom.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I think a lifelong ban ought to do the trick," Umbridge's sickly sweet voice answered. "You and Mr. Weasley here. And I think, to be safe, this young man's twin ought to be stopped too––"

Draco pulled back as if he'd been slapped and began heading down the hall, away from the transfiguration room. Reina followed, her previous anger now resurfacing, although now it was directed at Umbridge as well. The pair walked swiftly in a tense silence, heading up towards the Hospital Wing. Up and through the many steps and halls of Hogwarts they went, Draco silent as stone and Reina doing her best to hold back her fury. Just as they were about to turn the corner to ascend to the Hospital Wing, Reina grabbed Draco's arm and forced him to look at her.

"Are you happy now?!" she yelled, not caring if anyone heard her. "Now you don't have to worry about Harry beating you at Quidditch do you?!"

Instead of some cocky or smart alack come back, Draco turned his head, unable to meet Reina's smoldering gaze. "I didn't think–"

"You're right, you didn't think Malfoy!" Reina hissed, shoving the blonde against the wall. "If you had just accepted the loss with dignity for once in your life, Harry, Fred, and George wouldn't be banned from quidditch for the rest of their lives!"

Now Draco looked angry. "I didn't want this to happen!" he yelled. "I can't finally beat Potter at quidditch if he's banned for life!"

"Is thatall you care about, Draco? Winning?" Reina asked in disbelief.

"I'm a–"

"Don't you dare say it's because you're a Malfoy, or Merlin help me I will hex you into oblivion!!" Reina warned.

Draco didn't have a response to that.

"Argh!" Reina growled in frustration before turning and heading down to the Slytherin common room, leaving Draco standing flustered and alone at the bottom of the Hospital Wing steps.