Chapter 22- A Nasty Fall

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers for the past two chapters! And once again, thanks to my sister for diligently wheedling out all the grammar errors in the last two chapters.

For those of you keeping track, the chapters are getting longer- they are now in 6000-7000 word range and will continue to get longer. I am going to spend a lot of time on the third term of Hogwarts as I feel this part of HBP was a crucial component of the series.

Disclaimer: Besides Natalie and Kalissa, I own nothing of the wizarding world which belongs solely to the genius of J.K. Rowling.

"Checkmate."

"Bloody hell. Why does that damn rook always catch me?" muttered Natalie, glaring furiously at the sinister delight on Ron's face.

Ron snickered. "I do believe it's the tactics of the person ordering that rook which are 'catching' you."

Natalie rolled her eyebrows in exasperation. "Oh, go stuff yourself Ron."

"That's two out of three and that means I have officially won our little series."

Natalie waved her finger in front of his face. "Oh no, you don't. I specifically said best out of five."

Ron raised his hands in incredulity. "First of all, please stop waving your finger at me. In case you haven't noticed, I am recovering from a rather traumatizing incident and I am sleeping in an infirmary bed so be careful with that finger. And second, we agreed after my win yesterday that today would be a best of three."

Hermione, who had been sitting beside Ron's bed, chuckled. "Natalie, you really need to calm yourself – I never knew you got so competitive over chess."

"The arrogant git I'm playing is making me so impatient," said Natalie defensively, not letting her glare waver from Ron.

Hermione smiled. "You shouldn't feel so bad Natalie. He is the best chess player in all of Hogwarts."

Ron's ears tinged in bright red, causing Hermione's face to turn a slight pinkish shade.

Natalie raised her hands in exaggerated confusion. "What's this? Not more than a week ago, you two were at each other's throats and now, you're saturating each other in praise."

A lion suddenly roared outside, immediately inciting Natalie to raise her wand towards the window.

Hermione waved her hand casually at the window, "Probably the lion's roar that some nut conjured for Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw."

Ron's face scrunched in frustration. "I hope Pomfrey leaves the window open so I can at least hear the commentary," said Ron groggily.

"Harry said that McLaggen's doing a rotten job as keeper," commented Hermione, clearly trying to improve Ron's spirits.

Ron smiled at her. Natalie could not help but feel slightly shocked at the abrupt shift in relations between the two.

"I think Harry's having a pretty long training session in the morning to make sure McLaggen does a semi-decent job in the match," said Natalie, looking out the window.

"Got your good luck kiss with your boyfriend yet?" asked Ron deviously. Hermione laughed at the quip.

Natalie gritted her teeth. "In fact, I did and it was quite nice."

As Ron laughed heartily, Hermione turned to Natalie with a solemn expression. "What's wrong?" asked Natalie in surprise.

"Has Harry spoken to you about that Horcrux assignment involving Slughorn Dumbledore gave him?" questioned Hermione in a hushed voice.

Ron sighed. "Hermione, can we save this till later?"

Hermione impatiently snapped her fingers at Ron. Natalie resisted the urge to laugh. "No, we can't, Ron. I think whatever Slughorn's hiding has something very important to what Dumbledore's trying to show Harry and you know how Harry likes to procrastinate."

"I've talked to Harry about it – you were the first one to tell me, Hermione, as you remember since Harry and I, er, weren't talking when Dumbledore gave him that assignment. I haven't tried to find out too much about what Harry's doing since he's been pretty busy with Ron's poisoning and the Quidditch match," explained Natalie.

"You don't have to refer to me in the third person," said Ron sarcastically.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to needle you. I was just trying to point out that it's ok for Harry to not worry about Slughorn since he has had a lot to worry about, not the least of which is your poisoning."

Ron laughed. "Don't worry Natalie – I was just being funny. I agree with you though – no need to stress Harry when he still has a month or so to pull out the information from Slughorn."

Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "You know how Harry procrastinates. He'll delay this thing till the last minute. Dumbledore clearly sees this horcrux information as being very important."

"You worry too much Hermione," said Ron pointedly.

"I have to concur with that statement," added Natalie, grinning cheekily at Hermione.

Hermione raised her hands defensively. "Ok have it your way! But do either of you have any idea of what a Horcrux is?"

Ron shook his head. "You know I wouldn't bother to check."

Natalie chuckled at the irritated glare Hermione shot Ron. "No, Hermione, I haven't fond anything about Horcruxes in the library. I haven't looked in the Restricted section, but I don't think it's there. It seems to be some extremely Dark magic."

Hermione sighed in exasperation. "I've checked the Restricted section and there's nothing about Horcruxes."

Natalie contemplated the nature of Harry's assignment for Dumbledore. "I really don't think Dumbledore wants Harry to do any research on Horcruxes. It seems that he just wants Harry to, er, use his persuasive charm to coax the information out of Slughorn."

Hermione smiled. "That's Harry's strength – getting people to be able to trust and confide in him. I'm pretty certain that Slughorn's far too wary of Dumbledore to even consider talking about Horcruxes in his presence."

Natalie looked at Hermione intently. "I just hope Harry knows he just has to be himself for Slughorn."

"The feeling's shared," agreed Hermione.

Ron's eyes darted from Hermione to Natalie. "You know, you two really do know how to study something too closely," muttered Ron in disbelief.

"That's why we're best friends," commented Natalie with a knowing smile.

"And why we're girls," said Hermione waspishly.

Natalie noticed that Hermione's hand surreptitiously lay on Ron's leg. As his eyes swept over her hand, an amusing red tinge outlined his ears. She decided to leave the two of them as she had in their previous visits, so that they could enjoy a few moments without any judging presence.

"Er, sorry guys, but I forgot my scarf in our dormitory and you know how far the Gryffindor tower is from the Quidditch match. I'll go now to get it before the match starts," said Natalie, casting a significant glance in Hermione's direction. Her brown haired friend gave her a brief quizzical look before slowly smiling in appreciation. Ron absently nodded at her.

Unfortunately, as she closed the door on them, Lavender Brown almost walked straight into her.

"Oh, sorry Lavender," exclaimed a flustered Natalie,

"What are you doing here?" asked Lavender suspiciously.

"Visiting an ailing friend," responded Natalie briskly. However, she knew that Ron's girlfriend was relentless in her determination to see him. She did not want the ostensibly stubborn and exasperatingly overdramatic girl to interfere with the renewed friendship of Ron and Hermione.

"Is she with him?" hissed Lavender.

"Sorry, who?"

"You know who I mean," spat Lavender.

"Oh, Hermione? Well, she was today," said Natalie ambivalently.

"Is she?" repeated Lavender very loudly. Natalie feared that either Ron or Hermione may have heard her.

"Why does it matter to you? They're just friends," countered Natalie, hoping to distract the opposing girl for the moment.

Lavender gritted her teeth. "You and Harry do think the same way. You should know why it matters to me. You know how she reacted after he started going out with me – she clearly does not see him as a friend."

"I really do believe you overanalyze the situation," said Natalie pointedly.

"Don't give me that rubbish. Is she there with him?" asked Lavender harshly.

"He's been sleeping all the day. I don't think he'll be that interesting for you," stated Natalie sharply.

Lavender blinked her eyes. "What do you mean by interesting?"

A wave of relief rolled through Natalie, knowing that she had managed to distract the blonde haired Gryffindor. "You can decide that for yourself."

"You do know how to put off someone, Natalie," said Lavender menacingly.

As Natalie started to articulate a witty and ambiguous retort, Hermione opened the door.

"Oh you are here," hissed Lavender venomously.

Hermione nodded at Lavender. "Hello Lavender. Like Natalie said, Ron's been sleeping for most of the day."

"Why should I believe you of all people?" snapped Lavender.

Natalie crossed her arms. "Hermione's not a liar, Lavender."

Hermione cast her an amused look. "Lavender, you can see for yourself."

Hermione opened the door further to reveal a loudly snoring Ron. At the sight of the seemingly dozed off boy, Lavender scowled. Ron's feigned act induced Natalie into a slight chuckle, but she quickly coughed to hide the laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Lavender, glaring vehemently at her.

"Nothing. I just coughed," replied Natalie mystically.

Lavender raised her hands in dismay. "Why is he always sleeping when I come?"

"Maybe you should choose a better time to come," said Natalie acidly.

Lavender stomped her foot. "Watch your mouth," hissed Lavender furiously.

Hermione stepped between the two. "Come on, you two. We're not children," said Hermione sternly in a tone that would have pleased McGonagall.

Lavender stepped back, returning her fuming glare to Hermione. "Why were you in his room anyway if he was sleeping?"

Hermione sighed. "Natalie and I came in the morning to see him, but he was asleep. So before the match began, we came in to check if he had awoken. Unfortunately, he seems very tired. We were just about to leave before you came."

"Oh," said Lavender, a triumphant gleam appearing her eyes. "He doesn't awake for you."

"Sometimes," responded Hermione quietly, but Natalie could see that even Hermione was starting to become irritated with the girl's desperate need to reserve Ron for herself.

"So why don't you leave?"

Before Natalie could retort, Hermione pulled her by the shoulder. "Very well. But Lavender, you should really wonder why he's always asleep while you're there," commented Hermione slyly as she dragged Natalie and herself out of the infirmary. They could hear Lavender mumbling furiously to herself.

Once they left the infirmary, Natalie grinned at Hermione. "That was pretty brilliant, Hermione."

"I do say that had to be one of my finer moments," said her brown haired friend airily.

"How was your two seconds with Ron?" asked Natalie mischievously.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, but Natalie could perceive by the small smile cracking on her face that Hermione had rather enjoyed the brief moment alone. "It went pretty well actually. He said that he liked it much better when I came than Lavender and told me to keep my hand on his leg – he said it was reassuring." Hermione's face flushed a bright pink on her last words.

Natalie smiled. "Amazing how things suddenly improved with you. First, he apologizes immediately after the poisoning and now you two are getting physical."

Hermione frowned. "No, we aren't. I won't try anything while he's still going out with Lavender."

"Well, whatever, but what do you want to do now that the bloody cow told us to get out? There's still at least an hour till the match."

Hermione gave her a small exasperated smile. "You swear just as much as Ron. But I'm guessing that you don't need a scarf so do you want to go to the library for a bit before the match? I want to see if I can still find something about Horcruxes."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Hermione, both you and I know the library backwards and neither of us have found a single fragment of information. Does that not tell you that perhaps Dumbledore intended for this subject to not be contained within Hogwarts, especially after he learnt that at least one student had been keen to learn about it?"

"I do agree, but there must be some reference in a non Dark Arts book to Horcruxes."

"No, I think Horcruxes are far too dark to be mentioned in any other book, but let's go to the library. I might as well work on those Arithmancy problems."

"Oh my god, how could have I forgotten about checking those problems? And they're so hard."

"Please spare me the 'everything's so difficult' line, Hermione. I'd say it's your best subject."

"You can't be so overconfident! With Arithmancy, you never know."

"Whatever you say."

As they reached the library, they saw Lavender Brown storming past them.

"What happened, Lavender?" remarked Natalie blithely. She could not help but feel jubilation at annoying the seemingly irate girl. She received an exasperated scowl from Hermione.

Upon hearing Natalie, Lavender jerked herself around to face the other two. "Well, yes he's sleeping."

Hermione frowned. "Why did you leave so soon, Lavender? Is he alright?"

"Stupid Madam Pomfrey told me to stop being such a nuisance."

"What did you do?" asked Natalie in mockingly concerned tone.

Lavender shot her a venomous glare. "That old cow would not let me by my boyfriend's side just because I tried to pinch him awake. Who does she think she is anyway? I'm his girlfriend."

"Madam Pomfrey's not a cow, Lavender. She's an exquisite healer, without whom, many of Hogwarts' students would be far worse off," said Hermione sharply.

Lavender looked taken aback at the suddenly curt tone to Hermione's voice. "You wouldn't understand, seeing as you're not his girlfriend."

At that moment, Natalie desperately wanted to stun the girl into oblivion. But before Natalie could reach into her robes, Lavender stalked off.

"She pisses me off," said Natalie irately.

Hermione held her arm, suppressed frustration showing on her face. "She is unbearably selfish, but you have to control your temper Natalie."

Natalie glanced at Hermione intently, realizing the separation between Ron and Lavender. "Hermione, why don't you go visit Ron? I'm sure Pomfrey will let you – she almost drools over you."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Should I? Maybe Ron is tired."

"Oh come on, don't believe that nonsense. Everyone except Lavender knows he pretends to be weak and sick to avoid her," said Natalie forcefully.

The smallest outlines of a smile appeared on Hermione's face. "Well yes, but how much time do we have?"

Natalie snapped her fingers annoyingly. "We have at least an hour before the match."

Hermione bit her lip anxiously, her eyebrows creasing in concentration. She nodded slowly. "Ok. It will be good for him to have company especially before the Quidditch match, knowing how Ron would have loved to play in the match."

"Just go," hissed Natalie irritably.

Hermione laughed, poking Natalie gently. "Ok. Calm down. I'll see you at the match. Whoever comes first can save the seat."

Natalie shook her head as she watched Hermione glide along the corridor back to the infirmary. She wondered embarrassingly if she was this excitable when she had become aware of her feelings for Harry.

As she contemplated the dissipating tension between Ron and Hermione, her mind almost felt refreshed. After Ron's near tangle with death, both had simultaneously decided that their squabble was far too selfish and damaging to their friendship. To Natalie's surprise and relief, their very dynamic, but unnecessary turbulent relationship had subsided into a more controlled but also more appreciative one. Natalie was happy to not have to cautiously navigate herself through any highly emotionally sensitive situations.

But looking at the library, she sighed. She had spent an extraordinary tedious amount of time over the past few days in there. Her Arithmancy problems could wait for tomorrow. She knew glumly that Harry, the source of much of her pleasure and excitement in the past few days, would be in the Quidditch change room for Gryffindor, relentlessly injecting a stream of encouragement to his team.

"Why so alone, Malkae?" drawled a nastily familiar voice.

Natalie jerked her head to glare at the disgusting sneer of the blonde haired Slytherin. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. With a slight startle, Natalie discerned a noticeable tiredness in his features. Heavy, grey bags lingered under his eyes, his mouth curled into an unpleasant grimace and his typically slick hair had become almost as ruffled as that of Harry. The unkempt and wearisome appearance only reinforced Natalie's general conclusion that some situation in Malfoy's personal life was causing him great distress; yet, she was not ready to concede to Harry that Malfoy's worries were rooted in some type of assignment he had received from Voldemort.

"I was going to the library, but then I noticed the smell, realizing it was you."

Natalie smiled cheekily at Malfoy. "I didn't take you for the library type, Malfoy – you know, smart, educated, refined. You purebloods do not seem to deserve those attributes."

He stepped slowly towards her till they were only a few feet apart, his sneer becoming too vivid for Natalie. "Watch what you say, Malkae."

Natalie's smile hardened. She maintained her eye contact with Malfoy, her fists clenched, but ready to grab her wand. "What? Going to get your Death Eater friends to come after me," said Natalie aggressively.

Malfoy laughed cruelly. "Didn't they already come? I know what happened Christmas day. Shame that your mother survived."

Natalie immediately pulled her wand out. Malfoy mirrored her motion. Within a moment, both of their wands were pressed against the other's throats.

Despite the reckless danger associated with their position, Natalie felt strangely excited. She had taken on Death Eaters more powerful and experienced than Malfoy and from what she had gathered from their lessons together, Malfoy's magical capabilities were not at all extraordinary.

"I'm sure you know what my mother and I did to your Death Eater friends," hissed Natalie.

"Oh, Malkae, but you don't know what I can do to you," snarled Malfoy though his eyes flickered over Natalie's wand.

"Let's see then," spat Natalie, deciding upon which curse to first use.

Suddenly, Natalie heard the sharp, efficient click of shoes walking along the corridor from around the corner near them. Realizing that only one person walked with such a brisk pace, she retracted her wand quickly. Malfoy too seemed to sense the presence of a teacher as he immediately pulled his wand from her throat.

However, when Professor McGonagall arrived, she was appalled by the scene unfolded before her eyes; Natalie and Draco Malfoy glaring at each other in utmost loathing with their wands drawn, ready to be used.

"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Malkae! Put those wands away. This is a school, not a dueling ground. Explain yourselves."

"We had a little argument, Professsor. We weren't going to use our wands," said Natalie quietly, not taking her eyes off Malfoy.

McGonagall stared at Natalie in disbelief. She turned to Malfoy expectantly. "And you, Malfoy?"

He yawned, lazily stretching his arms. "She's right, Professor."

McGonagall shook her head, still unconvinced. "Very well, then. Go along Malfoy and if I catch the both of you like this again, the ramifications will be much more severe."

He nodded absently at her before quickly scurrying in the opposite direction, towards the dungeons.

McGonagall looked at Natalie disapprovingly. "Natalie, I'm disappointed by your behavior and I know that it was not a little argument. Come to my office."

Natalie breathed heavily, outraged by the lack of reprimand for Malfoy. "He instigated the dispute. Why isn't he punished?"

"Because I am your Head of House. Do not think that I will not be informing Professor Snape about Malfoy's antics," snapped McGonagall. "Now come to my office."

Natalie followed her, seething. She did not know what she had done to merit such a harsh response from her friend.

After they entered her office Minerva closed the door, placing a silencing charm on it. She then turned towards Natalie with an expression of rigid sternness. "Natalie, you do not know how dangerous it is for you to be on the verge of a duel with a Slytherin and no less than Malfoy, who has several ties to Death Eaters.

"It's not like I can't take care of myself," huffed Natalie indignantly.

McGonagall pursed her lips. "It's not you I have to worry about. If Ginny Weasley was any indicator of your capabilities, then I do not want to be the one trying to explain to the Malfoys why their son is in St. Mungo's."

Natalie smiled, recognizing the smallest hint of a joke.

"But please do not take this lightly. I am serious when I say that you cannot find yourself in such a position again."

Natalie nodded. However, she could not keep her mind from flashing to the strained exhaustion blanketing Malfoy's face. She narrowed her eyes, deciding whether to chance an annoyed reprimand from Minerva.

"Natalie, is something bothering you?" asked Minerva curiously.

Natalie could not hold herself from inquiring. "Er, yes, there is. Minerva, you saw how tired Malfoy looked. And well, I'm pretty certain that it's not his school marks which are causing him so much worry."

McGonagall sighed. "Natalie, I told both you and Potter this after Bell's attack. Malfoy's antics have nothing to do with you and I can assure you that Professor Dumbledore has looked into Malfoy's situation."

"But Professor Dumbledore, er, sometimes he, er, does…" muttered Natalie incoherently. She wanted to question Dumbledore's decisions, but she could not express her objections about his judgment in a way that did not sound offending.

"What, Natalie? Are you doubting Professor Dumbledore's judgment?" asked McGonagall, examining her very closely.

"Well no," answered Natalie. She then decided to be candid and hope that she did not sound too disrespectful. "But I sometimes think that his lack of judgment can be detrimental in certain cases – for example, when he chooses to give people like Malfoy the benefit of the doubt," said Natalie, gaining strength as she proceeded.

McGonagall's face tightened into stricken austerity. "Natalie, look at me."

Cringing at the authoritative tone of her friend, Natalie looked into those stern black eyes. "Natalie, Professor Dumbledore's decisions and the decisions of the Order are not for students like you, Potter, Weasley or Miss Granger to question. I will repeat what I said and implicated with regards to Malfoy. The Headmaster has assessed Malfoy's situation in a very practical and sensible light and his judgment has not been distorted by the type of trustworthy disposition that you seem to indicate."

"Yes," said Natalie hastily. "But, you can't deny –"

"Professor Dumbledore does not trust people because he wants to trust them, but because he knows he can trust them. And I know Draco Malfoy is not one of those people," said Minerva firmly, holding Natalie's eyes.

"Ok, I understand," said Natalie, assured slightly.

"Natalie, I do not want to hear from you or Potter anymore about Malfoy. Frankly, 16 year old students should not be bothering themselves with the decisions of a powerful and widely respected wizard like Professor Dumbledore. Do you understand?" asked Minerva with an aura of finality.

"Yes," said Natalie grudgingly, irritated by the implication that neither she nor Harry were mature enough to question Dumbledore's judgment. "Is that all?"

Minerva smiled at her for the first time. "What do you think, Natalie? I did place a Silencing charm upon the door."

Natalie sighed, finally becoming aware of the significance of the Silencing charm. "Did anything happen with Kalissa?"

"Natalie, why do you always have to be so pessimistic?"

"I'm not pessimistic, just practical. You and Kalissa should be proud."

"We are indeed very proud of you," said Minerva brightly.

"So judging by the very optimistic tone to your words, I'm guessing that you're the bearer of good news."

"Oh yes."

Natalie's eyes widened. "Oh come on Minerva, you know I don't like it when you lead me on," pleaded Natalie.

Minerva eyed her amusedly. "I have Kalissa's most recent letter for you." With a swift, eloquent wave of her wand, a drawer suddenly appeared at the bottom of her desk. Minerva pointed her wand at the drawer, opening it and then gently glided the thick layer of parchment to Natalie.

Natalie bounced jovially on her feet. "Oh thank you, Minerva. I had no idea." Whenever she received any form of communication from Kalissa, she could not help but feel a burst of childish elation.

Minerva smiled at her. "I honestly do not know why she writes such long letters. Even when we used to exchange letters as children, it took me at least two days to go through her rambling."

Even though she could hardly contain her excitement to read the letter, Natalie glanced anxiously at her watch. "Oh no, only twenty minutes," murmured Natalie to herself.

Minerva nodded knowingly, also looking at her watch. "I do not know if you will have time to read the full letter before the match."

"Your office is also quite far from the Quidditch pitch," added Natalie in frustration.

"And knowing how you love hearing from Kalissa, I doubt that you'll be able to stop yourself once you start reading," said Minerva in understanding.

Natalie frowned. "Can I leave the letter with you and then come pick it up after the match?" It pained her to separate herself from the real and vivid connection to Kalissa that the letter epitomized.

"Very well then."

Natalie nodded. Before she began to exit the office, she realized with a surge of curiosity that this encounter with Minerva presented a rare opportunity for her to pry any more information about her actual mother.

She looked at her Transfiguration professor nervously. "Er, Minerva, is there any news, anything important you could, er, tell me?"

Natalie half expected an irritated reprimand, but instead, she saw Minerva slap her hand against her forehead in apparent realization. "Oh thank you Natalie. I almost forget. My memory is fading with age."

"What?" inquired Natalie intently.

"Well, this is good news, but about a slightly darker topic," replied Minerva hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Well, when was the last time you heard of Bellatrix's whereabouts?" asked Minerva, gazing at Natalie.

Ignoring the feverish churns within her stomach, Natalie said evenly, "The last time I spoke to Kalissa – at the Hog's head. You were there. Kalissa said that she was moving around, but not coming near Hogwarts."

Minerva nodded, remembering. "I'm sure tomorrow's Daily Prophet will carry this news, but yesterday, a group of Aurors almost managed to detain Bellatrix. She escaped, but was apparently severely injured by the ambush. Anyway, the Order has been informed from a source that You-Know-Who, after hearing about Bellatrix's close escape, has chosen to keep her contained far away from Hogwarts."

Natalie let out an anguished sigh at her mother's near capture. Absorbing the last part of Minerva's news, she frowned. She sensed the safety benefits for her if Voldemort chose to control Bellatrix, but could not bring herself to fully believe that such a mad person could be suppressed. "What do you mean by 'contained'?"

"He has taken away her wand and kept her locked within a special location under his supervision for her apparent misjudgment- I believe Kalissa already informed you that he was trying to control her careless behavior. Professor Dumbledore believes that her punishment will remain, likely till the end of the school year."

Natalie smiled, a wave of relief tumbling through her. She still was overwhelmingly aware that the reprieve was brief. Voldemort had merely ensured a very short segregation between Kalissa, her and Bellatrix.

"Thanks, Minerva. It's quite good news."

Minerva nodded. "And Kalissa would like to meet you at the Hog's Head sometime in the middle of April. I do not think it will be too dangerous if you stay for the night with her, though the Hog's Head rooms are not nearly as luxurious as a Hogwarts dormitory."

Natalie laughed. "Anything with Kalissa is great, no matter where you are."

Minerva smiled, glancing at her watch. "I think the match will start soon so you may go. I should go as well."

"Bye Minerva. Hopefully Gryffindor will win."

Natalie arrived at the match just before it started, fighting her way through the screaming Gryffindor fans. She sat down between Hermione and Neville.

"Where were you?" shouted Hermione over all the noise.

"With McGonagall," replied Natalie in an equally loud voice. Then in response to Hermione's quizzical look, Natalie said pointedly, "I'll tell you later."

Hermione nodded. "So how does the team look?" hollered Natalie to Neville, half heartedly trying to show an interest in Quidditch.

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "Not bad. McLaggen's really riling up the rest of them though. Stubborn git."

Natalie looked towards the Gryffindor replacement keeper. At that moment, he ignored Harry's commands to simply hover in front of the hoops, but instead chose to circle around in an overly complicated motion.

She nudged Hermione in the ribs. "Thank god your little fling with McLaggen stopped before it began," whispered Natalie, almost having to press her mouth against Hermione's ear in order to be audible.

"Me too," Hermione exclaimed, laughing.

The match proceeded in a rather disjointed, uncertain manner. McLaggen's poor Keeping was offset by the superb passing and scoring of Gryffindor's Chasers. Harry continued to circle the pitch, trying to discern the snitch while simultaneously, shouting at McLaggen for not adhering to their game plan. Natalie could not believe a person could be so intractably arrogant. McLaggen constantly attempted to instruct the Beaters and Chasers, causing them to shoot infuriated glares in his direction and from Natalie's perspective, he was upsetting the general cohesiveness of the team.

After McLaggen had let in Ravenclaw's tenth goal because he had been showing one of Gryffindor's beaters how to swing a bat, Natalie perceived that Harry was starting to lose his temper. He zoomed towards McLaggen, his face beet red. McLaggen did not see Harry coming as his blind swing of the bat pelted a bludger directly into Harry's stomach.

Hermione screamed. Neville gasped. Natalie stiffened immediately, her hands clutching her face. Harry's face went blank, his hands slipped off his broom which tilted, causing him to fall toward the ground in a nauseatingly slow and surreal motion. Natalie watched his dropping body, rigid with terror. Her stomach seemed to fall with him, her heart pounding against her chest. She could not summon the energy to pull out her wand.

She felt a tugging sensation. As she slowly rotated her head, she realized that Hermione was trying to drag her to the pitch. Natalie abruptly returned to the moment, grasping the harm inflicted upon Harry. She, Hermione and Neville rushed to the pitch to Harry's unconscious body. After they had finally pushed their way through the mass of people crowding Harry, Natalie breathed in relief. His body did not look to be severely damaged; there were no noticeable cuts, no signs of intense bleeding, no broken bones. Harry's broom had not been far off the ground when he fell. Before she could reach out to touch Harry, Cootes and Peake, Gryffindor's beaters, lifted Harry, placing him on a stretcher. Professor McGonagall, who was ordering students to return to their seats, levitated the stretcher and then began to guide it out of the stadium.

She looked at the rest of the Gryffindor's team. "McLaggen, we will talk about your disgraceful behavior following the conclusion of the match." She then turned towards Natalie and Hermione. "Miss Granger and Miss Malkae, you can come with me. The rest of you, please return to your seats! NOW!"

McLaggen angrily lifted off the ground along with the rest of the team. Under Minerva's insistent expression, the crowd around Harry reluctantly walked away. Natalie and Hermione followed Minerva out of the stadium and into the castle, Harry's limp body levitating besides them.

Once they entered the hospital wing, Minerva placed Harry's body on the bed next to Ron's. Ron, who had been watching the window, jerked his head to look worriedly at Harry.

"McLaggen's a real git. I heard from the commentary what happened," hissed Ron furiously.

Madam Pomfrey shook her hand. "Quidditch. How many times have I told them to be carefully?" She gently bandaged Harry's head and then forced a steaming potion down Harry's throat.

"Isn't that dangerous? Won't he choke?" asked Natalie anxiously.

Madam Pomfrey shot Natalie an irritated glance. "Let me do my job. I have been at the Infirmary for more than thirty years."

Hermione shook her head. "Healing potions are designed to flow smoothly along a person's throat; the magic opens all the valves along the human throat and digestive tract. Any chance of choking is prevented," explained Hermione, looking at Harry with a steely eyed expression on her face. "Why does Harry always end up on a hospital bed from Quidditch injuries each year?"

"Well, in third year, you can't really blame the Quidditch. Those Dementors terrified him," countered Ron.

Hermione looked as if she wanted to mutter a sharp and witty retort, but looking at the wearisome concern on Natalie's face, she thankfully pursed her lips.

After about twenty minutes, they heard the students exiting the Quidditch stadium and filing into the castle. The rest of the team arrived, worried about Harry, but also very sullen about conceding the match to Ravenclaw. Much to Natalie's dislike, Ginny hovered closely to Harry's side, fussing and examining over him. She noticed Dean's expression bore a combination of concern and aggrieved exhaustion at Ginny's anxiety.

After ten minutes of nervous idling and shuffling, the team decided to return to Gryffindor Tower and change out of their soggy, torn uniforms. Natalie sighed in relief. Even though the animus between her and Ginny was lessening, she still knew that Ginny's schoolgirl crush for Harry had not lost much of its fervor.

To Ron's dismay, Hermione had promised to tutor some First years in Charms. Natalie stayed in the infirmary, reading her Arithmancy textbook.

"What are you reading anyway?" asked Ron groggily, following an hour of irritated twitching from him while Natalie focused on her homework.

"Arithmancy textbook."

"What's so nice about Arithmancy?" muttered Ron.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to understand Hermione?"

Ron, not picking up on the sarcasm in Natalie's comment, continued. "She's more obsessed about that bloody subject than you are. What use is Arithmancy?"

Natalie sighed. "Ron, do you know about Muggle mathematics?"

Ron nodded. "A bit, not much. Remember I didn't grow up as a Muggle like you, Harry and Hermione."

"Well, without mathematics, Muggles would not be able to do keep records of almost all of their information such as money. And for the magical world, almost forms of magic are defined by the equations and formulas described in Arithmancy."

Ron raised his hand to stop Natalie. "Okay, okay. You sound like Hermione."

"I do not," said Natalie crossly.

Ron grinned cheekily at her. "Oh come on. You get that McGonagall tone in your voice too."

"I was trying to explain Arithmany to you and not trying to be criticized for how I explained. Now, I know why Hermione gets irritated with you."

Ron frowned. "Hermione doesn't get angry with me for that, but more like –"

"When you act like a selfish git and go snog Lavender Brown after she had all but asked you to come with Slughron's party," finished Natalie, flinching as she realized her tone sounded far too accusatory.

Ron's ears tinged red but he looked slightly bewildered. "She wanted me to come with her with Slughorn's party?"

"Well, that's what I gathered," said Natalie waspishly.

Ron's expression suddenly became quite eager. "Did she tell you? Did she want me to come as, er –"

"More than a friend," finished Natalie once again.

Ron's ears became even redder, but he nevertheless nodded.

Natalie paused, enjoying the maddening curiosity on Ron's face. "I think she did. She was quite excited after you said you didn't want her to go with McLaggen. And I'm pretty certain she wanted you to attend as more than a friend if she nearly had a mental breakdown at the sight of your mouth all over Lavender Brown's face."

Ron closed his eyes in clear agitation. "What an idiot I am! If I had just forgot about Krum."

"Yes, you are an idiot," acknowledged Natalie earnestly.

Ron grinned at her. "But Hermione and I are back on good terms so I was an idiot."

"Oh come on. You didn't do anything deliberately to get her to fall back in your arms. If I remember her correctly, it was the sight of your poisoned your body that changed her mood."

Ron shrugged. "Well, you don't have to be so pessimistic. I mean I had to do something right for us to not be biting at each other's throats. Do you think she would talk to me now if I was still behaving like a git?"

"No, she would not," Natalie answered. Despite her claim to Ron, she was aware that he had indeed softened and sensitized his disposition with Hermione since the poisoning.

"Then I must have done something right!" exclaimed Ron.

Natalie smiled at him. "I suppose you do have a point. I stand corrected."

Ron returned the smile. "You know, I like our conversations. It's quite fun actually."

Natalie nodded. "Good jesting."

Ron suddenly began fiddling nervously with his hands. "What's wrong, Ron?" asked Natalie, noticing the abrupt twitch.

He looked at her apologetically. "Er, well, I should have told you this earlier, but I'm sorry that I was quick in judging you earlier and that we never really were on good terms until after my poisoning."

Natalie smiled. "I can't say that you weren't a real git to me in the beginning, but I think the fact that I was at Hermione's side for the last few months partly excuses your distant attitude with me."

"And it has been nice to finally have a rival in chess," quipped Ron, a smile curling on his lips.

"A rival? I've thrashed you a few times!" exclaimed Natalie, raising her eyebrows in indignation.

Suddenly, Harry awoke from his reverie, blankly looking around the room.

"Nice of you to drop in," said Ron, grinning.

Harry blinked and looked around. His eyebrows narrowed, seeming to remember McLaggen's blind strike. He took in Natalie, smiling warmly at her and with his eyes, beckoning for her to come closer. She obliged, squeezing his hand.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"Cracked skull," said Madam Pomfrey who had swept into the room, unnoticed by any of the other three.

Harry groaned. "What did the final score end up being?"

"Pretty bad actually. We lost to Hufflepuff by almost 300 points."

Harry's eyes darkened. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill McLaggen," said Harry savagely.

"I don't think that will be such a good idea," said Ron reasonably, clearly delighted with McLaggen's failure.

"What time is it?" answered Harry, still dazed.

"Quite late. Your girlfriend's been waiting for a while." Ron yawned, rubbing his eyes. "I think I'm going to lie down."

Ron turned over on his side away from them, conspicuously leaving Natalie and Harry alone. He slowly began to snore.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Natalie. "You know you didn't have to wait for me. It was just a Quidditch injury."

"I was worried and it's quite difficult for me to remain calm when I see you fall off your broom," replied Natalie fiercely.

Harry's face flushed. "Thanks."

Natalie kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her in complete adoration. Natalie's insides soared in effrontery at the expression on his face.

"Has Madam Pomfrey gone, yet?" asked Harry mischievously.

Natalie frowned at him. "Why?"

Harry grinned at her deviously. "Well, we could have some private time together, seeing that Ron looks to be deep asleep."

Natalie returned his smile. "She has gone. I have missed you quite a bit."

She leaned over to meet his lips. Harry deepened the kiss quickly, wrapping his hands around Natalie. She responded by holding his head firmly against his pillows. As they both began to become locked in their position, Ron suddenly jerked his body to face them, his eyes wide open in bemusement. Harry and Natalie immediately broke apart. Both of their faces were flushed in crimson red.

"I do think that Madam Pomfrey would object to the two of you sharing a bed in her hospital wing," said Ron, a very devilish smirk on his face.

"Shut up Ron," said Harry, throwing a pillow onto Ron's face.

"Anyway, we would not be doing that in the hospital wing," said Natalie defensively.

Ron threw the pillow back at Harry. "Oh yeah, it would rather be done in the safe confines of Gryffindor tower," snorted Ron, still smirking.

Natalie breathed heavily. "He's a real pain in the arse, isn't he, Harry?"

As Ron snorted derisively, Harry nodded at her, not paying any attention to his red haired friend. "I honestly don't know why I was placed in the same room."

Natalie sighed. "Looks like he's keeping an annoying eye on us."

Harry looked at her pleadingly. "Stay, please. It's nice, er, having you here."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell. Harry, you're embarrassing yourself."

"Oh, will you keep quiet?" snapped Natalie, glaring at Ron.

She smiled warmly at Harry. Hearing the desperate urgency in his voice, Natalie quickly decided that she would not be leaving the hospital wing unless Madam Pomfrey physically threatened her. Realizing the raw, fully bodied but soft, sincere vitality of his desire for her, Natalie's heartbeat fluttered. "Of course."

As she gazed into those rich, green orbs, she fell into a familiar appreciative reverie. Six months ago, she and Kalissa had parted, uncertain and scared for their future. Though her life was still fraught with danger, Natalie could not help but feel that the green eyes she longed for each today had blazed through her entire conscience, reminding her of a romantic promise and purity that six months ago, would have triggered an unaffected scorn within her and all the while, infusing her with a revitalizing determination to end the predicament she and so many others faced.