Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter Series. That right belongs solely to the amazing J.K. Rowling. I DO, however, own the plot, Oura (not her last name, again the literary goddess Rowling) and my favorite cat, Sterling.

xXx Hello my little Owlettes! Trying to be regular with my updates again, though that's not really working out well. This chapter was rather hard to write, as I haven't really thought this part out, yet. It might not really flow as well as it could, but it shouldn't hurt the story too much. As usual favorite, follow and review. It means a lot to me! Anywho, that's about it... so Enjoy! xXx

Chapter 16

Over the next few days, Oura only saw Malfoy during meals from across the Great Hall, which was fine by her. Whenever she saw him in the corridors, she would purposely walk in the opposite direction, or, at the very least, ignore him. Not that she had to, of course, he was acting as though nothing had ever happened, which was a good thing, really. No one had reason to be suspicious. Not that there was anything to be suspicious of. She didn't think about him most of her waking hours, and she definitely didn't dream about him. And even if she might have had one or two, they would have just been the two of them talking in the Room of Requirement. Then add on the fact that she was still distraught over her mother's death, and you don't get a very cheerful Oura. Needless to say, it was the longest holiday of her both her life times.

Luna was still on holiday with her father, so the redhead spent most of her time with Terry Boot. He had been so sweet. Somehow, he had heard about her mother's death and was trying to make it as easy on her as possible. He had snapped at Cho for being rude to her and one of the older Ravenclaw boys got a bloody lip for making a couple crude comments about her behind her back when she turned down his advances. Terry had been a bit worse for wear after that, with a black eye, a few bruises and detentions with McGonagall for a couple weeks. He'd make sure to sit next to her when they ate and studied with her on more than one occasion, helping her with some of the Transfiguration she was having trouble with. Not that she didn't return the favor. The Ravenclaw boy was beastly at both Potions and Herbology, and, while Professor Sprout was kind enough to take the free set of hands in the Greenhouses, Professor Snape was an entirely different story. He flat out refused the use of his plethora of supplies for "wasteful usage". Luckily, the Room of Requirement was more than happy to supply them with any and all ingredient they could ever dream of needing, excluding the rare, expensive and illegal, of course.

It was the day before the Hogwarts Express was due to arrive with the rest of their classmates that he asked her out. They were walking back from the Room of Requirement after making a successful batch of Girding Potion, when Terry stopped in the middle of their conversation about the theory of changing the ratio of Fairy wings and Doxy eggs for a more lasting effect to just look at her.

She eyed him curiously, one eyebrow raised. "What?"

"I like you."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Of course you do, you're one of my closest friends, you have to like."

His ears turned a bit red. "No, I mean, I like you, you know, more than just a friend" He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Oh," She blushed, looking away and mentally slapping herself at her stupidity. "Umm... I think I like you, too."

Terry smiled softly and held out his hand. "Then will you do me the honor of going on a date around the Grounds this Saturday?"

She laughed softly at his formality and took it, lacing their fingers together. "It would be a pleasure, my good sir."

"It's a date, then."

The pair continued down the corridor, their entwined hands swinging gently between them. Suddenly, Malfoy came to the forefront of Oura's thoughts for the first time since that night in the Room of Requirement. How would he react to her dating Terry? Didit matter? If it did, which it didn't, why? Why should she care what he thought? He had no say in her life. He simply knew more about her than anyone else. That didn't mean he was an important person to her. Even though he was the only one she could talk about her past with, it didn't mean she wanted to. Or that he would even want her to. Oura shook her head gently, ridding herself of the thought, pushing the blonde to the back of her mind. Terry looked at her curiously, but she just smiled at him, and he didn't press further.

o0°0o

Saturday came fast. The days had flown by as all the Professors began to review for the upcoming O. , despite that most students believed them to be a ways away. All of them were given twice the amount of homework, which caused Ron, Harry and many others to complain. The Ravenclaw House, however, took the extra work in stride and once again proved it's right to the title of "Most Intelligent" house. Most of her housemates were enlisted to help with the rushed assignments and Oura was barely able to see Terry outside of class, where both had to scribble down notes with fever, so as to be able to help those who sought out their help. Seamus Finnegan had practically attached himself to Oura's side to answer any and all questions he had about the lessons in which he fell asleep, half the time. To add onto the pressure, Umbridge, with her Inquisitor Squad, had been getting more vigilant and more than one DA member was caught lurking in the halls at night. None of the entanglements led back to the DA itself, thankfully, but Harry and the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio set up extra precautions.

It was none too soon when Saturday actually arrived, though. Oura let Luna help pick out what she was to wear. The girl had a surprisingly good eye for what would look good on her best friend, even if that talent wasn't applied to the blonde's own style. But to each their own. They settled for a big, comfy knit grey sweater that reached the middle of her thighs, a comfortable pair of dark jeans, and a pair of black, suede boots with a subtle wedge. As always, she charmed her dragon paper weight into an ear wrap, despite the memories it now held. Luna had her pull back her hair into a high ponytail and matched the ear wrap with a green dragon egg necklace. The blonde checked her once over for Nargles, before tossing Oura her black cloak and ushering her out of the dorms, down to the Common Room where Terry was waiting.

It was a beautiful first date. The Grounds were covered with glistening snow and Terry somehow rounded up two mugs of warm Butterbeer, which they had sipped as they held hands and talked. He told her about his family, and his pet Crup his father had gotten him, upon her request, though they avoided her own family for obvious reasons. She, in turn, told him about her childhood, the second one in France, anyways, and how she had gotten Sterling when she was 3. She told him all the trouble the two of them would get into when they got older. She recalled the story of how she messed around with her neighbor's garden, once, and got bitten by a gnome, causing her to go crying to the neighbor himself, because she was afraid of getting in trouble with her mum. The kindly, old wizard had healed her quickly, but then set her to ridding his yard of the same pests that bit her. It had taken her the rest of the afternoon, and she acquired more than just a few more injuries, but her neighbor, Mr. Barkswith had a glass of Pumpkin Juice and a small plate of Blancmange. It soon became a tradition. She had forgotten about that tradition until that moment, and, suddenly, she realized that Terry had taken her mind off of how sad she had been since her mum's death. He would be good for her. If Oura could have forgotten about that one... moment with Malfoy, she might have just been able to fall in love with the boy next to her. But, the memory had buried itself deep inside her mind and heart, and it wouldn't let her forget. In fact, it did almost everything it could to remind her.