Sorry for the massive delay in the uploading of this chapter - life got in the way. Anyway, once this story is finished I'm thinking of writing a Neville/Luna one yet I can't decide whether to follow canon or not. Drop me a comment in a review or a PM to let me know your opinion. Less babbling on my behalf, and lets get on with the show

I don't own any of the people or places J.K Rowling so kindly created

Chapter 8

Before Tracey knew it, Sunday was upon her and she found herself sitting at the Slytherin table eating toast with strawberry jam. Daphne was still in bed and Tracey pondered whether to wander over to the Gryffindor table to have breakfast with Hermione, but said girl looked to be in some form of heated debate with Seamus Finnegan. Surprisingly, it looked as if she was losing. Earlier Pansy had tried to engage her in a debate on what shampoo worked best, and usually Tracey was happy to go along with it. Pansy was nice, if some what on occasion snotty, but today her heart just wasn't in it.

Tracey reviewed all the homework she had to do today. Potions, Herbology as well as research some creature that she was sure Hagrid had made up for Care of Magical creatures. Then there was the Transfiguration project. Tracey had come full circle back to the issue she was both dreading and slightly looking forward to. Harry Potter was a mystery and she really wanted to figure him out. From the few glimpses she had seen over the past couple of weeks, he seemed to be a talkative person , when he wanted to be, with a rather dry sense of humour. But like most Slytherin's he had the air that he wasn't all he seemed to be. He was holding something back. Not to forget that he wasn't all that bad to look at either. Scratch that, she could look at him all day if she wanted - of course she wouldn't because that would be both creepy and stalkerish. He had the greenest pair of eyes she had ever seen, and rarely Tracey could sometimes see what he was thinking reflected in them. His hair was…. 'Woah scratch that!' What was she thinking? Tracey berated herself for those ideas, ones that seemed to becoming more and more common and happening on a more frequent basis.

'Keep your eye on the ball Tracey - research partner. Nothing more. Nothing less'. With that mantra playing through her head she pushed her half eaten toast away, no longer hungry.

Tracey quickly returned to the common room and collected the books and parchment that she would need for today. With everything safely packed into her bag, she started the rather long trek to the library, and the messy haired boy she hoped would be there.

As usual the library was dead. Tracey could count the amount of people in there on one hand, and two of the fore a mentioned people included herself and Madam Pince. Said person simply glared at Tracey as she passed her desk as if daring her to break any of the rules of the library. Tracey swore if Madam Pince had her way, they would be written on gold leafed parchment and plastered to every surface of the sacred room.

Settling herself on one of the tables next to a back window she pulled out the books needed to complete her homework seen as Ha- Potter wasn't here yet. Searching the index of The Monster Book of Monsters - the non deadly edition, the previous, more vicious one had been banned back in third year after some unfortunate Gryffindor - Longbottom was it? - had almost lost his right hand trying to open it, Tracey attempted to find any information on a Silcra Beast - what ever that was. With that book coming up with a blank Tracey turned her attention to Beasts 101 And Where To Find Them. According to this book the Silra Beast was a 6 foot long worm with legs that was a pale blue and also nocturnal. Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of some of the creatures in magical Britain Tracey proceeded to write a 12 inch essay on their habitat, appearance and behavioural patterns depending the season. After this Tracey finished up her Potions and Herbology and was now left with nothing left to do as she proceeded to wait. Glancing at her watch she decided to wait half an hour before she returned to the common room, Tracey took out her book and let herself become immersed in the world that had been spawned from someone else's imagination.

She had just gotten to the part where the vampire was about to die when the doors to the library crashed against the wall with an almighty bang, and the sound of Madam Pince screeching at the perpetrator and their muffled apology could be heard faintly. Tracey frowned at the disturbance thinking how no one respected the silence that the library provided and how it should be upheld unless, of course there was a fire that meant all these precious books were in danger of being destroyed - then everyone could be as loud as they wanted. Blimey, I've been spending too much time in the company of Hermione she thought to herself. Glancing at her watch, she found that time was up - time really did fly when you're having fun she mused.

Just then Harry Potter strolled round the corner looking a little flustered - an unusual occurrence for the boy in question.

"Sorry I'm late, Quidditch practice ran over, and then I was half way here before I remembered that I needed my books so had to all the way back to the Common Room for them, and then there was the small debacle with Pince over there…" he trailed of with an embarrassed shrug and a half smile.

"That God awful bang was you?" Tracey questioned before she could stop herself. "Never mind that, are you okay? You look a bit out of sorts" she carried on taking in his messier than usual hair and crumpled t-shirt. That was also unusual as Potter seemed to take pride in his appearance almost as much as Malfoy did.

"I'm fine, any way where did we get up to yesterday?" Potter answered as he stepped over the bench at the table. Placing his books on the table with a dull thud, he lowered himself onto the seat and the pair of then proceeded to work on their project.

Over the next couple of hours they worked quietly together, occasionally conferring with each other over a certain point or an area that they couldn't quite find the answer for. During these exchanges Tracey observed that Potter seemed to settle more into the personality she knew - the snaky, closed off one. She found that she felt on surer footing with the change however she did like the person she had glimpsed the few times he had let his guard down. Tracey didn't even know what had gotten into him when he had first turned up at the library all those hours ago.

Tracey groaned as she stretched her arms above her head, trying to animate her arms again after having them in the same position for hours upon end. She then winced when her left arm clicked rather loudly and the sound then reverberated of the library walls. Potter glanced up at the noise, with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

Tracey smiled tentatively, "Every single time - it's so annoying and Mother finds the trait really unlady like. I can't help it really". She shook her head at the fond memories of all the times her Mother and told her off at dinner, days out and the many evenings she had spent cooped up in stuffy ball rooms trying to look like she was having fun when she wanted nothing more than to go home to escape all the creepy people her parents felt obligated to invite to the events.

With these thoughts in her mind she took a leaf out of Hermione's book and jumped in right at the deep end with her next question.
"How come you never attend any of the balls or charity events? I know you get an invite, I see your name on the list for each event. Your House and the House of Black are the only Ancient House's that don't attend"

Potter looked startled at the start of her question and then as she continued she saw the shutters coming down behind his eyes.

" I never attend because I don't like the idea of going to one of those events where I would then have to jump through Merlin knows how many hoops to be accepted, and to be quiet frank I don't give a damn about what others think of me. And to answer your other comment the House of Black does attend in the form of Draco's mother and her sister Andromeda - as you should very well know. It is only the Head of the House, Sirius, that doesn't attend."

Tracey's upbringing started to kick in and she was quick to defend the lifestyle she had known all her life. "These events as you so scathingly call them, are an excellent way to make the contacts that would be useful to you once you leave Hogwarts. They are the place to build the foundations to your career as well as your saving grace should you ever enter any difficulties." She recited

"I care little for Pureblood politics and would rather make my way in the world based on my own merit rather than on the back of someone else." His tone was clear that this was the end of the conversation, but Tracey wasn't finished with him yet.

"Are you quite certain you are a Slytherin?" she asked rather nastily "because you sure don't act like one sometimes"

Potter merely raised his eyebrow, his face a blank mask. " Look, as stimulating as this conversation maybe, I have other things to be doing than be ridiculed for my beliefs. I came here on the assumption that we would just be working on our project, but as this no longer seems to be the case I shall take my leave." With this said he collected the books and left with out a single backwards glance.

As Tracey watched his back she couldn't help feel that she would have been better keeping her mouth shut. She had thought that they had been making progress, but then she had to go and open her fat mouth and talk on issues she knew where best left untouched. She was now two steps further back than she wanted to be.