*hides as fans toss fruit at her* I'm sorry it's been so long *dodge* but I've been caught up with school *dodge* and other shit *dodge* and laziness! *slides across the floor away from the fruit* Enjoy!

"Thorne!"

Kenzie groaned a bit at the sound of her name, not turning her head to see who was calling. Instead, she continued limping forward, trying to see if her friends were nearby. They'd said they'd come get her when she was released from the Hospital Wing, yet when she'd emerged through the heavy doors, no one was there.

"OI! Thorne!"

A hand grabbed her shoulder, spinning her round on her heel. However, as this was Kenzie, she quickly slipped and began to topple to the cold stone ground. The slim arm that slinked its way round her waist and held her up made her gasp.

She tipped her head upwards and was met with alarmingly gray eyes.

"Alright there, Thorne?" Draco Malfoy asked, a small smirk on his lips. She tried to form a word but to no avail. Though she'd never admit it out loud, she felt herself being hypnotized by those irises.

Finally, after shaping her mouth a few times to get the sentence out, she managed to mutter a weak, "Don't touch me, Malfoy."

Was it her imagination, or did that ever-growing smirk slip for just a second? Nonetheless, he straightened her up and slid his arm back to his side. She nodded a bit in thanks, eyes glued to the floor.

Many awkward seconds ticked by before either of them spoke.

"Um, did you want something?" she managed to say. Her constricted throat was beginning to expand again, no longer feeling like sandpaper. He looked at her intently.

"I did. I wanted to…apologize." The pause before the last word was filled with short attempts to get the word out. Like he'd never said he was sorry for anything. Then again, he was one of the biggest prats at school. When he made mistakes, he was rarely held accountable for
them.

But this time, no one was forcing him to say it. He chose to. He had spent hours deliberating, contemplating, and finally deciding that it would be for the best if he did. So there they stood.

"For what?" she said, her eyes actually widened in surprise. He looked back, and she couldn't help but blush. His gaze was innocent and almost tender. It took her completely off guard.

"For distracting you into flying into that pole at the Quidditch game," he replied simply with a shrug. She nodded, still shocked. The tenderness in his look wore off slightly as a smirk slipped upon his face. "Don't seem so surprised that these lips can do more than just
snog."

She let out a derisive snort as his usual cockiness was reinstated. "You've only snogged Parkinson, who's so desperate she could've snogged a pig and said the same thing. Oh wait, she did."

She could see the spark of his temper alight in his narrowing eyes, and felt relief wash over her. This was the Draco she was used to. This was the Draco she could handle. But was it the one she truly wanted?

"You wouldn't know a good snog if it punched you in the nose."

"I'd be glad to punch you in the nose."

"More like get one of your lackeys to do it."

Now she felt her own seething rage bubble up. "Don't refer to my friends as lackeys."

"Why?" he snapped back, quick to fan the flames of her anger. "Denying that they follow you around like moths to a flame? You can't say it isn't tr-"

"Yes I can! Because it isn't! You're the one with followers as opposed to people who could care, Draco!" she nearly cried out.

He paused and looked at her. "What did you call me?"

"Malfoy, of course, that's your na-"

"No, you didn't. You said Draco." She looked at him, mouth opening and closing a bit to try to get out a reply. Finally she just shook her head.

"Look, I don't have to listen to you insult my friends and –"

"Say it again."

She groaned and stomped with a wince. "Stop cutting over me!"

"Say. It. Again," he pushed. His stare was boring into her face, tempting her to do as he said, or to deny and walk off. She was terrified to comply. Even more so to ignore.

"Draco," she murmured.

It wasn't a sexual sound. It wasn't even remotely meant to be alluring. But she saw the subtlest of shivers run through his body and in an instant, he was close to her.

"Again." She felt his fingertips on her forehead, tracing with a feather-light touch down the side of her face, along her jaw.

"Draco."

His thumb ran along the dip of her chin and up to her lower lip, barely brushing it and making her blush.

"Again."

"Draco. Draco, Draco, Draco."

This was the closest either had ever been. To anyone. It made them weak in the knees, made their stomachs knot up. But neither could find the strength to move away. Neither really wanted to.

"Kenzie…" he breathed, lips barely an inch from hers. Her eyelids had fallen, covering her sight of him, but he still had his eyes on her. Watching her reactions, her face curve slightly against his palm, the way her cheeks became tinted with rose when he said her name.

It would've been so simple to close the distance between them. And it was so tempting.

"KENZIE!"

Draco felt a soft palm press against his lips and nose, and he was thrust away from the girl he was craving to get closer to abruptly. Through the spaces between the fingers draped over his eyes he could see Kenzie's head turned to the left, her light brows knitted together in frustration.

"WHAT?" she called back, impatient.

"I'VE GOT CHLAMYDIA!"

Sam was like a drill sergeant when she had a goal. She wouldn't let anything stop her. Her usually bubbly expression was replaced with one of extreme determination, and all that mattered was her objective. So most everyone parted like the Red Sea when she marched through the corridors, followed by Annabelle, Kenzie, and Rose, all of whom were speechless.

Her steps were long, her strides quick, and she was soon carried to the Great Hall, where Dinner was in session. None of them really had appetites, but there was someone who didn't know. Someone who might care greatly. The doors pushed open and the quartet streamed in, all heading to the Gryffindor table where the targets were sitting.

Harry and Eryn were officially together. Since their phenomenal kiss, he took her to the Hogwarts kitchens for their first real date. Insisting that the elves do as little as they could, they actually made their own cookies and then took them in a basket out to the lake. It took an hour's worth of gushing afterwards with the girls to get all the giggles out of Eryn.

So, as was probably customary, they were sat at the Gryffindor table, across from one another, eating their meatloaf through laughs. Neither were aware of the four girls standing at their sides until Annabelle cleared her throat loudly.

The blush that crossed the couple's cheeks proved enough that they were still getting used to showing PDA of any sort.

"Harry?" Sam asked, her usual flirty voice faded in comparison to the one she now took on. All signs of the old Sam were gone; she was replaced with one who had one goal in life. Or at the moment at least.

He looked up, face heightening in color even more so when he saw that a number of them were watching. "Y-yes?" he replied, clearing his throat a bit.

"Remember a month or two ago, when we did the nasty?"

Eryn spluttered on the glass of pumpkin juice she'd been sipping, her hand withdrawing even more into her lap, eyes averted from Harry, who looked even more embarrassed than before.

"Uhm, yeah," he muttered fast.

Sam sighed a bit and placed her forearm on his shoulder, leaning forward so that the boys across the table next to Eryn could see down her shirt quite nicely. "Well, you were a virgin, right?" He nodded fast, trying to ignore the snickering of the Gryffindor's who heard and were winking at Sam.

She nodded back before leaning down and murmuring, "You need to get down to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey can check you out."

He gulped, eyes trying to keep focused on her face while Eryn struggled not to send death glares at her friend. "W-What d'you mean?"

"I've got chlamydia," she replied, her tone resigned.

Eryn's eyes grew, as did Harry's, as well as the blokes who were staring down her shirt. All faces turned slightly red. Annabelle prodded Sam's back and she turned round.

"I think that you slept with more than just Harry in the past month, hm?" she said under her breath. Sam sighed before nodding and climbing up on the bench, then the table. All eyes went under her skirt, but a punch to one guy from Rose made them all keep their eyes higher up.

She cleared her throat importantly, which drew little attention. Her nostrils flared a bit when someone threw a roll at her ass. But all hell broke loose when she finally couldn't stand being ignored any longer.

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!" she cried.

The room went silent.

She let out a breath before continuing. "IF YOU'VE SLEPT WITH ME IN THE PAST MONTH, GET YOUR ARSE TO THE HOSPITAL WING AND GET TESTED FOR CHLAMYDIA THIS INSTANT!"

More silence.

Finally, the ear-piercing sound of a bench being pushed away from a table rang out at the Hufflepuff table, and two lanky fourth years scurried off, followed by a few seventh year Ravenclaw's. Sam cleared her throat again, eyes searching through the crowd for more.

A few more people ran off. No one noticed Professor Burbage daintily run off, following the stream of students at a distance, and Kenzie's face heated up with both indignation and discomfiture when Draco got up and pulled Blaise to his feet, tugging him along.

Crabbe and Goyle rose to follow, goofy grins across their gnomish faces, but Sam thrust a finger towards them, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't even think about it you two. Not unless you've slept with Malfoy or Zabini in the past few weeks."

Their faces turned dull purple as they sat back down quickly.

Sam let out a final sigh and cleared her throat, to which Rose rolled her eyes and stuck out a hand. The former girl took it and helped herself down, then wandered out of the Great Hall, all eyes stuck on her ass. As usual.

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