Note: Again, just to be safe, I'm not affiliated with Linkin Park in any way. Just mentioning them =]. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

12:41 p.m., Hallway, Hogwarts (Tuesday)

"Well that was real mature," Vixen said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"I hate that kid. Honestly, why is he so concerned about you?" Draco complained pacing back and forth in front of Vixen. She grabbed onto his shirt sleeve stopping his pacing.

"You do realize I'm still angry with you," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows. Draco sighed and dropped his shoulders

"I told you I didn't mean it. I really am sorry but I did tell you things are complicated right now," Draco replied.

"Why are they so complicated?" she angrily asked.

"It's too difficult to explain right now. We can discuss it during our week together. But just for the next few weeks, try and forgive me, okay?" Draco told her, noticing Jacob walking back into the hallway and into the bathroom.

"But right now, you need to go spend time with Hermione. I will see you tomorrow," he told her before making his way to the bathroom. Vixen sighed and returned into the Dining Hall.

12:46 p.m., Bathroom, Hogwarts (Tuesday)

Draco walked into the bathroom quietly, scanning the room before he caught sight of Jacob. He was hunched over one of the sinks, his tee shirt lying on the ground beside him. Draco watched him wipe his face with a wet cloth as he angrily breathed in and out. Draco was unaware that Jacob was a very muscular kid until now.

"Fight me," Draco said from across the room. Jacob looked into the mirror in front of him at Draco.

"You really think that's a fair deal?" Jake cockily said, speaking into the mirror rather than turning to look at Draco.

"You underestimate me, Jacob," he replied lifting his head slightly. Jacob snorted a laugh.

"Look, a few minutes ago I was ready to rip you to pieces, kid. But as I recall you backed down," Jake said now turned around, leaning back onto the sink.

"I remember you running off, actually. We both know Vixen was the only thing keeping us from fighting," he reminded Jake.

"I have no problem ripping her apart to get to you," Jake said grinning menacingly. Draco instantly became protective.

"Stay away from Vixen," he quickly shot back.

"Even if I do stay away from her, we both know she can't stay away from me forever," he replied crossing his arms over his chest. Draco's heart began beating faster, his blood heating up.

"I'm not kidding Jake. You will stay away from that girl starting now. If you do anything to harm her, or even frighten her, I will not hesitate to kill you," Draco told him, lowering his brows, casting a shadow down the side of his face and eyes.

"We're going to fight, Draco, you can bet on that. But not right now. Not just yet. But just know that I look forward to it," Jake said walking past Draco and out of the bathroom. Draco angrily hit the stone wall with his fist, his knuckles instantly bruising.

He stopped breathing when he heard a creak coming from within the bathroom. He let out an annoyed sigh to see a frightened first year creeping out of a stall. He froze when he noticed Draco staring at him.

"Get the hell out of here!" Draco yelled. The young boy let out a squeal and went running from the room.

8:57 p.m., Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts (Tuesday)

"Ugh I don't understand this!" Hermione yelled throwing her book onto the floor in front of her. Vixen perked up and looked to her friend.

"Hermione, you're going to be fine. You got every flashcard answer right every time we have gone through them," Vixen encouraged her, picking up the book from the floor.

"How many times did you go through them?" Ron asked.

"Well, we made 234 flashcards, and went through them all 20 times," Vixen laughed looking at him. Ron's jaw dropped.

"But what if your muggle techniques don't work?" Hermione nervously asked. Vixen placed a hand on her shoulder.

"They will. But if for some reason you forget everything, I'll break into your classroom, steal your answer sheet, and change the answers," Vixen told her.

"I like her," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry shook his head smiling

The four directed their attention to Jake who had just entered the room. He walked slowly through the room, shooting Vixen a wink in the process. He then disappeared up the stairs to the boy's rooms.

"Time for bed," Vixen said, standing up. The four said their good nights and dispersed. Vixen quietly laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Every girl should expect to find a hero," she thought to herself over and over before falling into a deep sleep.

9:30 a.m. Muggle Studies Classroom, Hogwarts (Wednesday)

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco were all sitting at their group seats, surrounding Vixen, who refused to sit anywhere other than on top of the table. She was lying on her stomach, her legs bent up and her elbows propped up on the table, supporting her head with her hands. She let out a small yawn.

"Do you really have to lay on the table?" Ron asked. She turned her head slightly.

"Do you really have to ruin my fun?" she replied, smiling. Draco now yawned.

"Long night?" Vixen asked him, He shook his head slightly.

"Not really, no. Just bored I guess," he replied slouching down into his chair. Vixen turned and positioned herself until she was sitting on the edge of the table, her legs dangling in the air.

"Then start examining me," she said dramatically throwing her arms into the air. Draco smirked and let out a small chuckle under his breath.

"Could everyone please just quiet down?" Hermione anxiously asked, flipping through flash cards.

"Are you still studying?" Harry asked leaning over to examine the note cards she held in her hands.

"Of course she is," Ron answered for her. Hermione glared at him.

"What are those cards?" Draco asked, scrunching his nose up at them.

"They're called flash cards, Draco. They are a muggle way of studying," Vixen explained. He nodded in understanding.

"I can't tell if they are working," Hermione complained looking up at Vixen. She grabbed the note cards from her.

"No more, Hermione. You know all of this stuff, okay? You know it," Vixen said reassuring her friend. Hermione smiled.

Vixen jumped when a crystal ball fell into her lap. She gripped it with both of her hands and turned to see professor Burbage behind her.

"Enough chatter, you five. Continue on with your experiment," Charity Burbage said before walking away from the group. Vixen raised an eyebrow at the four around her.

"You're supposed to look up your best friend from the muggle world," Harry informed her. Draco rolled his eyes at the fact that Harry was the one of the group who actually knew what the assignment was.

Vixen sat quietly, clicking her finger nails on the glass ball in her hands. She didn't really have a best friend at the moment. There was Quinn, but she didn't really deserve the title of best friend anymore. Vixen then smiled widely and held the ball in front of her face.

"Leonardo Charm!" she happily said. The other four exchanged confused looks.

Sure enough, Vixen's pet fish, Leonardo, appeared happily inside of the ball. He was swimming contently in his bowl. Vixen smiled to herself.

"A fish?" Ron asked. Vixen nodded.

"Leonardo. He's my best friend. No doubt," she replied, peering into the crystal ball herself.

Draco leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He smirked to himself as he watched her glowing with happiness over a fish. This girl never ceased to amaze him.

The ball disappeared from Vixen's hands, and her smile faded slowly. Draco felt slightly sad for her as well. The class was now dismissed and the group clumped together, including Draco, and left the room.

"You can do it Hermione!" Harry urged.

"Of course she can," Ron added.

"Good luck in there," Draco added. Everyone became silent and looked at him, confused.

"Um...mudblood. Good luck, mudblood," he said before walking away, embarrassed. Vixen smiled to herself, realizing how awkward he must have felt.

Hermione and Vixen walked into the Divination classroom. Hermione was doing fine on her exam before stopping and sighing heavily. She looked up to Vixen who motioned her to take a deep breath. She did and continued her exam.

7:16 p.m., Dining Hall, Gryffindor Table, Hogwarts(Wednesday)

"Best in the entire class! I can't believe it!" Hermione laughed sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron and Vixen.

"I can," Vixen said, smiling. Hermione had received the best score out of everyone in her class on her exam in Divination.

"Vixen, I owe it all to you! Thank you so much for helping me! Those flash cards really worked!" she said hugging her tightly. Vixen pulled away and looked across the room at Draco.

She made an "A" with her fingers and he smiled. It was strange for him, but he was honestly happy for Hermione. However, he would never admit that out loud. He looked at the doors when he noticed Jacob walking in. Pansy was with him once again. Jacob locked eyes with Draco, and flipped him off openly. Draco clenched his fists and glared at him.

Vixen furrowed her eyebrows upon seeing Jacob flip Draco off. Angrily, she got up from her seat and made her way over to him. Harry, Ron and Hermione watched her carefully. Vixen stood behind him with her arms folded over her chest. Jake raised an eyebrow and eyed her up and down after turning around. Draco tensed up across the room.

"Vixen," Jacob said, nodding his head at her.

"Don't you nod your head at me, Jacob," she replied, coldly. Jacob smiled.

"Well how would you prefer me to greet you?" he said quietly inching closer to her. She put her hand out stopping his advancement toward her.

"I'd rather you not acknowledge me, actually. Now, you're coming with me to apologize to Draco for your unnecessary gesture," she said matter-of-factly. He laughed.

"Not gonna happen, babe," he replied. Vixen felt herself gag at the pet name.

"Never call me that. Never. But fine, have it your way. Hey, Draco!" she replied, yelling in Draco's direction.

Almost instantly, Draco got up from his seat. He began rolling up his sleeves, glaring at Jacob the entire walk over to the two. He was smirking maliciously at Jake and Vixen stood between the two, facing Draco.

"Did he hurt you?" Draco asked, his eyes on Jacob. Vixen smiled.

"Not hardly. However, I do believe he has something to say to you," she said walking to Draco's side, now facing Jacob. Draco's fists were clenched at his sides.

"Still wanna fight?" Jake asked Draco, smiling. Vixen turned toward Draco slightly.

"What is he talking about?" she whispered to him. Draco shook his head slightly at her.

"Always," Draco responded. Vixen became more baffled than before.

"What's the matter, Vix? Didn't he tell you how he confronted me in the bathroom? Yeah, sure did. Tough guy here wanted to throw down. Being the gentleman that I am, I refused, thinking only of your feelings. But this kid just wouldn't let it go," Jake said shrugging.

"Why would Malfoy fight that muggle in the first place?" Ron whispered. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh you don't know, red? Tough guy here has a thing for our little Vixie here," Jacob said turning over his shoulder, responding to Ron.

"How in the bloody hell did he even hear me?" Ron whispered to Harry. Jake tapped his ear.

"Good ears, big red," he shot back, turning back toward Vixen and Draco. Ron scrunched his nose up at the nickname.

"Leave him alone," Draco warned, pointing at Ron. The entire hall was caught off guard by this defense.

"Got a thing for redheads too, do you?" Jake instigated. Draco smirked.

"Nope. Just blondes actually. But judging by how much attention you are giving Weasley, I'd say maybe you're a secret fan," he replied, placing a hand on the small of Vixen's back, making her jump.

"Don't touch her," Jacob warned pointing at Vixen. Vixen sighed and pulled away from

Draco's touch.

"Will you two just shut up already? Jake, you and I are not going to form any sort of relationship. Draco is my friend, alright? To those of you listening in on this right now, We. Are. Friends. So everyone calm down already!" Vixen yelled, making the other students in the room look away nervously.

"You and I will have our time," Jacob warned Draco before storming out of the room. Vixen sighed and looked at Draco, crossing her arms.

"Thanks, I guess...Draco," Ron said, rubbing his neck.

"Sure...Ron," Draco said, having difficulty calling Ron by his first name.

"We need to talk sometime," Vixen told Draco, raising an eyebrow at him.

8:00 p.m., Dining Hall, Hogwarts(Wednesday)

"Vixen, I would rather talk about this in private," Draco whispered to her looking around the hall at the other students.

The two turned their heads toward the doors of the room when Albus Dumbledore entered the room. The entire student body fell silent and anticipated his every movement. He approached Vixen and Draco smiling happily at them.

"Hello, Ms. Charm. Hello Mr. Malfoy," he said nodding at each of them.

"Sir," Draco replied also nodding.

"Hello," Vixen said smiling at him. He smiled wider at her now.

"I was wondering if you would be able to join me in my office for a brief moment, Ms.

Charm?" he asked her. She nervously looked to Hermione who seemed to be as nervous as she was.

"Absolutely. See you guys later," she said walking away with Dumbledore.

Vixen sat quietly in his office looking around at the stacks of candles and books in the room. She straightened up in her seat when he spoke to her.

"You sure are the hot topic around my institution, Ms. Charm," he said sitting down behind his desk. Vixen began to blush.

"I'm sorry, sir. Really, I am. And you can call me Vixen," she replied. He laughed happily.

"No need to apologize my dear. It's not your fault that my young male students are suddenly stricken with extra testosterone," he said. Vixen smiled at the remark.

"Male students?" she asked curiously.

"Well, Mister Malfoy for one. That young man has never shown an interest in anything other than Quidditch until you arrived. I believe that he could learn a lot from you," he told her while placing his hands on his desk.

"He's my friend," Vixen agreed, shrugging. "But I'm not sure what he could possibly learn from me."

"Oh my dear, he will. Trust me. But until then, let's try and avoid rumbles, alright?" he told her, smiling the entire time. Vixen blushed again and nodded.

"Oh, and don't mind Pansy Parkinson, Miss Charm. She's more bark than bite," he informed her as she stood up.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him.

"Never really cared for that young lady. She always got under my skin," he told her. Vixen laughed.

"Oh, and one last thing. Draco will be in the courtyard tonight at midnight exactly," he told her, winking.

"But Professor Snape caught us out there and didn't seem too happy about it," she said biting her lower lip.

"You leave Severus to me. Now go, enjoy your youth!" he exclaimed happily.

He then bid her goodbye and she left his office. She made her way down a few flights of stairs before she reached the Gryffindor Common Room. The painting of the fat lady opened for her and she walked into the living quarters of the common room. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of her luggage sitting on the couch.

Vixen silently unzipped her suitcase and began going through the items inside. She pulled out a pair of sweatpants, a few t-shirts and stopped when she grabbed a baseball hat. She examined it in her hands.

"Never took you for a hat person," Jacob said leaning in the doorway. Vixen rolled her eyes.

"I'm not. Jackson was. Whoever gathered my things must have grabbed it by mistake," she said tossing it to the side. Jacob picked it up and examined it.

"Go away, Jacob," Vixen said, not looking up at him. He smirked, placing the hat back on the couch cushions.

"See you later, Vix," he said before running up the stairs to the boys bedrooms. Vixen grabbed her iPod in her hand and stopped, seeing a note stuck to it. She read it in her head.

Miss Charm, I'm happy to see you found your device. It has been bewitched so that the battery will remain fully charged. P.S.- I too enjoy Linkin Park. - Albus Dumbledore

She smiled and began to place her things back into her bag.

11:54 p.m., Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts(Wednesday)

Vixen double checked her appearance in one of the mirrors hanging on the common room walls. Her hair was straight, her jeans fit well, and her top was plain. She pulled on a hoodie before leaving the room. She made it to the Courtyard and sure enough Draco was standing there, waiting for her.

"I knew you'd come," he said smiling as she walked over to him.

"Well, a little birdie told me you'd be here. I didn't want to stand you up," she joked, sitting on the edge of the fountain. He sat next to her.

"So, what is this?" he asked her.

"What is what?" she replied.

"You know, what are we to each other exactly? Today you announced to the entire school that we were just friends, so I'm curious," he responded.

"Well, you did say it was too complicated to let anyone know how you really feel about me. So I covered for you. Was I wrong to do that?" she asked him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"No, you weren't. Thank you. You really helped me dodge a bullet. But I do look forward to the day where I can tell everyone how I really feel about you," he said nudging her with his shoulder. Vixen laughed and he joined in.

"You think that will ever happen?" she asked him, sighing slightly.

"I'm not sure. But I hope so," he reassured her. She smirked at him.

"You know, you never told me how you feel about me," Draco pointed out. Vixen froze.