As it turned out Harry had no idea when Slytherin was holding its Quidditch try outs so I had to resort to asking the prefects. Isn't it wonderful how fate brings you to a person you least want to look at? Or at least that's what I kept telling myself.

"Draco! Draco! I'm not asking again you know! No need to go scurrying around like the ferret you are. Hey it was a joke! Draco where are you-" Okay I realise this is a magical castle and all but people do NOT go disappearing into walls on a daily basis do they? Funny this is around where I slept the first night. After pondering over whether or not to wait for him I shrugged and walked back to the common rooms. Maybe someone in there would know when they were holding try outs? I wasn't exactly greeted by warm welcoming faces. Most were still probably reeling from my outburst at Draco. With a sigh I decided to head back out again when I was stopped by two giggling girls who looked up when they saw me approaching.

"Oh Marina we were just talking about you. Do you realise you're the first Slytherin ever to get a detention with Professor Snape? Everyone's talking about it you know!" I couldn't help wincing at Pansy's excitement. So much for non-biased teachers…

"Is it true you snogged him in his store room?" I was tempted, ever so tempted to belt it to the lavatories to throw up whatever lunch I had managed to scarf down.

"That's revolting Penelope! You didn't though…did you?" Ever…ever so tempted…

"He's nearly twice your age!" That's not quite the point…

"Which wouldn't be so bad-" Not so bad…?

"If he was good looking." Bingo!

"NOT BLOODY LIKELY! Pansy's right that has to be the most revolting rumour I have ever heard of Felicia!" I couldn't believe the group of girls in front of me had the audacity to sigh in relief…as if there were ever a chance something like that could possibly happen!

"Well I have another question for you. What happened between you and Draco? I didn't even know he knew you before today!" Merlin…the ferret had his own fan club!

"Well actually they met on the train briefly before the err…jinx incident." I laughed remembering the ox tail.

"That was a fun charm." They looked at me in amazement. Pansy broke the silence first.

"You hate him don't you? You shouldn't he's on OUR side. I don't mean go chasing after him at every moment!" Nope you guys do enough of that. "But you can't-"

"What Pansy is trying to say is that…well Merlin Marina you're a Slytherin. Face it. We have to stick together because none of the other houses are going to. Even if you are-"

"-a Potter fan." Twins sure are annoying. How on earth do they manage to finish off each other's sentences? It's so WEIRD! What's weirder is that they all think I'm in love with Harry…better that than Draco though I'm pretty sure I'd be tortured to no end if they found out I'd kissed him. Doubt there'll be any more of that though regardless of what Albus asked. Actually now that I think about, he did specifically ask for a friendship…I imagine he already knows what happens. Dumbledore, honestly Mr. Weasley summed it up beautifully. Never misses a trick that man.

"I am not a Potter fan we are merely good friends. And I do not hate Draco I just get annoyed with him from time to time…a lot of the time actually."

"If you're-"

"-sure." Speaking of twins I wonder if they've managed to post my purchases. It's probably going through security checks now that I thought about it.

"I've been meaning to ask can people walk through walls here?" I think a few of the girls were hoping I was joking and I suppose I couldn't blame them...we weren't ghosts after all.

"What an odd-"

"-thing to say."

"Yes I suppose it is. Never mind. When's the Slytherin Quidditch try outs by the way? I forgot to ask about that at lunch."

"That's what happens when you're too busy snogging teachers." I wacked Pansy playfully as we all giggled at the joke.

"Urquhart. He's the captain of our Quidditch team, ask him. Didn't know you'd be game enough to try out for it though Eve. None of us want some Gryffindor lover to lose the game for us." Oh he's back from his wall bonanza already is he? I turned around to face him and found that he had his two little piggies by his side. Wonder if they're his assigned bodyguards…with the amount of enemies he's probably made no wonder he needs them.

"Quidditch and relationships are two very different things Draco. Will you save me the trouble or do I have to go and find who Urquhart is?" He shrugged carelessly and sauntered off. Right…why on earth would he save me the trouble? Some prefect he is, honestly what WAS Albus thinking. Maybe if I apologised for the underwear thing…Harry could probably help me find some time alone with him so I could do that. He'd probably yell at me before giving me the information, but maybe if I convince him that I'm spying? Okay I'll go and do that.

"Don't mind him he's been a bit ruffled about school lately. Did you hear he's not coming back next year? Says he's got better things to do. I was shocked and that damn Zabini just laughed and made him madder." I paused when I realised what Draco meant when he'd said that. He wouldn't be coming back because he'd be too busy doing HIS evil work. He must have been threatened. Draco's mean but not evil…not yet. I pushed the thought aside and walked out of the common rooms in search of Harry and the others.

"Ron I'm telling you, you'll be fine so calm down!" It was getting dark when I noticed that Harry and Ron were sitting in the hallway.

"Hey you two, where's Hermione? And Ron why on earth is your face so pale. Do you need to go to Madame Pomfrey?" While Red heads generally do have pale faces, Ron's did not look natural in the slightest. Even Blondie had a tanner colour than that…right my goal.

"Probably in the library, she hasn't spoken to me all day." I smiled at that, maybe he had realised?

"Is that by any chance why you're so pale?" He looked dead confused and I frowned, patience Marina you're dealing with a slow guy here. "Never mind."

"Ron's just worried about Quidditch try outs. Speaking of which, Slytherin's having theirs on Saturday at eight, on the pitch." Well that saved me from finding Urquhart, but I still had to find Blondie.

"Thanks Harry. Ron why are you so worried? You're a great keeper! You've even stopped a few of my shots!" I laughed as his face grew glummer. "If it makes you feel any better we could practice until your try outs. Ginny and I can get in some practice too." Once Ron's color slowly returned, we headed off to the dining hall for dinner…before calamity struck in the form of Lavender Brown.

"Won-Won! I couldn't find you anywhere! Here, look I bought us couple rings!" I nearly gagged…nearly. Instead I escaped with Harry in tow.

"Is it just me or is she just a little too…forward."

"You should have seen them earlier. Professor McGonagall had to zap them apart." I winced just picturing it.

"I remember once she caught me with a muggle boy holding hands and he ended up with a wrist broken in five places!" He looked at me in disbelief as I walked through memory lane. "Of course when they took away his memory she conveniently let him forget we were going out in the first place." There was a minute's worth of silence before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry…was it bad?" I looked up from my musings and stared at him laughing rather loudly.

"Not really, he came around at least five times to ask me out again. She got so tired of using the spell we headed back to Alaska for the rest of the summer break." We entered the dining hall laughing, and discussing our previous failed romances, which funnily enough wasn't actually that large a list. I mean Harry's been titled 'The Chosen One' but he consistently proved how modest and humble he was. It occurred to me that if put in different situations, Draco and Harry might even get along. When you thought about it, Draco was always pushed into the dark whereas Harry in the light…well anyways.

"Harry I almost forgot, do you think I could borrow your map tonight?" He stopped laughing and instead looked at me curiously.

"Sure, what for? You're not stalking Malfoy or anything are you?" He was joking of course but I couldn't quite meet his eyes when I said,

"Of course not!" I wasn't sure if he'd believe me but after a Gryffindor first year told him Albus wanted a word with him after dinner it was obvious his mind was on other things. "So…could I? Or do you need it?" He looked so startled that I forgot my mission for a moment to look at him in concern.

"No I don't need it tonight, you can use it. Just remember the passwords." Confusion must have shone on my face as he spent the next few moments going through the words. "To reveal the map say 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' and to hide its contents say 'mischief managed'. It's dead useful especially if you get caught." I thought the map was brilliant and I would certainly NOT get caught with it.

"Thanks Harry, did you want me to meet you somewhere after you're done with Albus?" It took him a moment to realize I meant the headmaster before asking me,

"Why is it that you always call him by his first name?"

"That's what Aunt Minerva always called him at home so I guess I'm just used to it. I should probably start calling him professor Dumbledore at school though I suppose." I waved a goodbye after we'd settled on a time and a place…and walked the very long distance to get to the Slytherin houses' section.

"You're sure you're going to try out for the Slytherin team Eve? Looks to me like you'd rather be on Potter's fan club list." With the amount of students in Slytherin house one would think there'd be more conversation happening but it felt like they were all wondering how I'd reply.

"Rather his than yours Draco. Like I said earlier, Quidditch and relationships are two very different things." I ignored him for the rest of the meal and decided to chat to Pansy and the others. Apparently as long as I wasn't after Draco and didn't hate Slytherin I was welcome…perfect I guess.

"Are you okay Harry? You look awful!" Harry had just finished his meeting with Albus and he looked kind of shaken. If his talk was anything like the one I had with him though I wasn't surprised.

"I'll be fine…here's the map." The map was aged and I felt a rush of adventure flow through me as I held it. I wonder what kind of situation it's proved helpful in.

"Thanks Harry, I'll give it back to you at breakfast. Get some rest…you look like you really need it." I don't know what possessed me, I mean I don't normally go around doing those sorts of things but I hugged him...NOTHING more. His face was pink and he stood there looking rather shocked. "I'm not Ginny but I thought you might need something like that…"

"Why…why do you say Ginny?" I rolled my eyes and walked passed him getting ready for my mission…Finding the Ferret.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." I decided to use the moonlight to see the map itself rather than a lumos charm since I myself had no invisibility cloak and had no intention of getting caught. "Show me Draco Malfoy." The map must have been faulty since it showed that Blondie was right behind me.

"I'm right here." I hastily whispered 'mischief managed' before spinning around to face him.

"Hey."

"Hi." He didn't look amused…not even a little smirk. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologise for this morning." He obviously wasn't expecting that as a response as his frown faltered. "I meant what I said you know…I trust you. So quit being a git to me already." I looked away not trusting myself to stay calm if he said anything weird.

"Quidditch is on Saturday, eight in the morning."

"I know."

"How? Urquhart's been sick all day…Potter." I looked back at him ready to explode, why did he have to assume it was Harry that had given me the information…I could have had other sources…honestly!

"Why do you hate him so much?" He looked at me in disbelief as I stood there waiting for a response.

"Have you forgotten who we are? I haven't. Speaking of which I need to do a job, so if you don't mind." I grabbed his arm before he could run off again and yanked him forward till he faced me. The distance between us reminded me of our last kiss but I pushed the thought aside.

"Trust me. That's all I want. You can't keep doing everything on your own Blondie, you'll break. You and I both know you'd hate for anyone to see you like that. So. Prevent. It." He stared at me and suddenly the thought couldn't be pushed away any longer. His arms wrapped themselves around me and I clasped his face in my palms bringing him closer. Before we could go any further though he leant in and whispered in my ear,

"Not here. Prefect bathroom." When we weren't caught up in the moment, common sense rushed back into me except my brain wasn't really accepting its requests. You shouldn't be doing this…do you actually like him…Albus said be friends…You are mine! Stuff it all.

"Beetle nut." I faintly remember wondering who made up the passwords for the school but knew all thoughts were banished as soon as we pulled ourselves as close as possible to each other. It was a blur…there was water and a distinct smell of roses, our uniforms lay somewhere on the wet bathroom floor having been tossed away without a care. I was surrounded by cold water but felt strangely warm, his arms never left me. We woke up in the morning wearing nothing but towels, his arms still holding me close. I turned to face him thinking he was asleep. He was awake, gazing at me with the gentlest expression I had ever seen.

"Morning." He smiled before kissing me, sending a sense of thrill right throughout my body. It was then that I realised what happened the night before.

"We should probably get changed shouldn't we?" He rose up but instead of getting his clothes like he should have he straddled me. I looked up to see his silvery grey eyes take in my form under him. Blushing, I looked away.

"I trust you." He kissed my cheek once and then left to find our clothes.