The Dragon's Child Bride

A/N: Thanks go out to my beta, for without her this work would be shoddy at best. I finally managed to work in a trace amount of smut, and a hell of alot of anger. Happy reading!

The Death Eaters had been planning an open attack on Hogsmeade for months. It would be a show of their growing strength and a testament to the fact that they were ready to wage war. Every detail, every element had been perfect. They apparated everywhere throughout the town in unison, teamed in groups of three or four. Once there, they were to destroy any mudbloods on sight, and burn down the muggle-lovers\' homes and shops. Their message was clear: Muggleborns were to be wiped out. Any pureblood that sided with them would suffer the consequences. The attack lasted exactly ten minutes. It would be just enough time to inflict maximum damage while still leaving time to escape before the authorities arrived. The strike was executed perfectly.

Professor Dumbledore was informed of the attack in the mid-afternoon. By nightfall, he had received hundreds of owls from parents of students saying they wanted their son or daughter to remain at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. At least there they would be guaranteed safety.

He gathered the teachers for a meeting an hour before dinner was to be served. He informed them of the recent attack and the response from parents.

“Oh dear,” said Professor McGonnagall “What a bleak way for the students to spend the holidays. Albus, can’t we do something?”

“No, we cannot. There is no possible way to assure the students safety if they were to be sent home over the holidays, particularly the muggleborns. What we can do is make their holiday stay with us somewhat enjoyable. We shall hold a Yule ball. That should help lift their spirits somewhat.”

At dinner, Dumbledore gave a speech about what had happened in Hogsmeade, the precautions that were to be taken. All Hogsmeade weekends were cancelled until further notice, students were no longer allowed outside after dark, and under no circumstance was any student to leave Hogwarts grounds. Grumbles were heard amid the houses. Except for Slytherin house, naturally. Most of its students were the spawn of Death Eaters; there was no danger in them going home. Dumbledore again began to speak.

“Since so many of you will remain with us for the holidays, it has been decided that Hogwarts shall host a Yule ball. Those of you who are not required to stay over the holidays will be allowed to floo in for the evening…”

Dumbledore continued to speak, but Draco had stopped listening. A Yule ball? This was too perfect. Not only would he get to spend his holiday with Laylani, but he could also take her to see Hogwarts to boot. She would love it. He would include that in his owl tonight.

Speaking of which, he needed to get on to writing his letter if he wanted it to reach her before she went to sleep. He had made the mistake once of sending an owl that reached her after she fell asleep. Her letter the next day had been as close as one could get to a howler without actually being one, and most likely the only reason it wasn’t was she didn’t know of their existence, yet. From what he gathered from her response, she didn’t appreciate the late night owl. Her exact words had been ‘It scared the living hell out of me, and if you do anything like that ever again, you will find yourself on the wrong end of a bad hex.’

Gods, he loved her.

He got up from the table and made for the doors. Crabbe and Goyle rose to join him but he waved them off. He exited the Great Hall and headed for the library to write his letter. He found he could write more to her from there. In his room it was hard to think of interesting things about that day to tell her, but in the library surrounded by his classmates, he could hardly fit it all on one page. He sat down at a table near the back, unfurled some parchment and began to write.


***

Dear Laylani,

Good news today, love. Dumbledore announced that there will be a Yule Ball on Christmas day. It\'ll be a rather opulent affair; they decorate the hall like you can\'t imagine. I was hoping you would do me the honor of being my date?

***


He looked up from his letter and glanced around the library. It seemed the Golden Trio had arrived and were heading his way. ‘Shit,’ he thought to himself. He hurriedly finished his letter and stuffed it in his robes. Weasley was the first to speak.

“I bet you think you’re pretty damn clever. That was low, ferret boy, really low.”

Draco wondered what the hell he was talking about when it came to him. The curse he had put on Weasley that afternoon during Potions that caused him to sprout goose feathers out of his arse. It had been beautiful, watching the golden trio trying to pluck them away, only for two more to grow in their place. By the time they realized their efforts were in vain, Ron had been covered in white feathers practically up to his neck. Snape had to send him to the infirmary for the rest of the afternoon to have the feathers removed. A smirk formed on Draco’s fine features.

“Why, whatever do you mean? I had nothing to do with your sudden change of species. Who knew you were a chicken in a weasel’s second-hand clothing?” Ron raised his wand to hex him, when Harry blocked him.

“Careful, or Scarhead here will have to kill you, too. But judging by his current success rate, you have at least six years before you need worry about that.”

Hermione had to step in before both boys tried to curse him into the next lifetime.

“I told you this was a bad idea. Just leave King Ferret to himself, he isn’t worth it.” They turned to leave and he called after them.

“You two should listen to the little mudblood, she might keep you out of trouble.” She visibly stiffened for a moment but continued to walk away.

He smirked to himself. Screwing with them always put him in a good mood. He left the library and made the walk to the Owlery.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Laylani’s days were long and dull without Draco. Narcissa spent time with her but not even half as much time as she spent planning or preparing for her social parties. Lucius tried to spend time with her but he was forever doing work for the Ministry as well as Malfoy Enterprises, a conglomorate of companies Laylani didn\'t understand, or the ‘extra work’ he did during the evening. Laylani secretly thought he might be having an affair, which pissed her off to no end. She thought Narcissa was a wonderful woman, which any man should consider himself lucky to have. Still, they ran the Manor together in a perfect dynamic and Lucius was loving to his wife when they were together. Laylani felt she shouldn’t rock the boat.

Draco’s letters were the highlight of her days. He always made sure to get one to her every evening, and they always said how much he loved and missed her. His most recent letter had been shorter than usual but held an invitation to a ball at the school. She would accept, contingent on whether or not she was accepted to attend Hogwarts. She couldn’t bear to show her face there if they wouldn’t have her.

It had been three weeks since Mari had brought up being tested, and the day finally came. Both Malfoys had taken the day off from their regular activities to accompany her and Mari for support.

They Floo-ed in via the Headmaster’s fireplace. Laylani looked around her trying to take in the fascinating surroundings all at once. Her eyes fell upon the old man in a huge chair behind the desk.

“Hello, you must Ms. Stanners. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reached out his hand, and she shook it. “I’ve heard great things about you from Ms. Kerrin here, and the Malfoys. Your test will be made up of a series of questions and practical application of knowledge. Do you have your wand?\"

She did indeed. The Malfoys had kept it for her all those years, and had returned it to her upon the decision she would be tested. Laylani initially had trouble working with it. She was used to wandless magic, which took a great deal of concentration and effort. When that much concentration and effort were employed with the wand, there would be extremely powerful results. She had gotten better as time went by, but she still felt she couldn’t safely use it in time for the examination.

“Yes sir, I do. But if it was alright with you, I’d prefer not to use it for personal and safety reasons.” She crossed her fingers, praying he would agree.

He looked surprised, but nodded. “As you wish, Ms. Stanners. And now I must ask that the rest of you give us some privacy to work.” Mari and the Malfoys left, leaving Laylani and Dumbledore alone in his office. Dumbledore looked at her and smiled reassuringly.

“Shall we begin?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Her testing took over an hour. Finally, she Dumbledore emerged from his office with Laylani following and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of Narcissa, Lucius and Mari. They looked at him expectantly.

“Ms. Stanners is to be accepted as a student of Hogwarts. She passed all but two of her tests with flying colours.”

They burst into cheers and congratulations. Lucius even hugged her. Laylani smiled proudly. She had done it. She had really done it!

Dumbledore continued. “She failed her Divination test, but that’s of no matter since it is not a requirement. However, she also performed poorly in her practical application of Potions. Although Laylani has a wealth of knowledge in that area, and knows the ingredients and instructions to most potions by heart, she has a problem with ingredient identification. However, if she takes a tutor and studies hard, she will be ready to join us in the new semester. Congratulations, Ms. Stanners. I expect great things of you.” He was just about to return to his office, when he turned back to them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, your son has a Quidditch game in twenty minutes against Gryffindor. You’re welcome to join the staff to watch.”

The Malfoys accepted. They had always tried to attend at least one of their son’s games each year, and with Laylani there this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Lucius led the way through the many long and confusing halls of Hogwarts, reaching the doors that exited near the pitch. Laylani followed behind in awe of all she saw. It took at least ten minutes for them to climb the stairs to reach their seats.

The game had just begun when they arrived. Laylani sat in between Lucius and Narcissa in the faculty’s stands. She watched with great interest, trying to pick out Draco from the twelve players in the air. Every few minutes Lucius would lean over and explain what was happening. Between him and the announcer, she got the jist of how the game worked. Draco had always tried to describe it to her in his letters, but it seemed that Quidditch was something that had to be seen to be truly understood.

All at once, Laylani was hit with a sense of déjà vu. She had been there before. She knew it. She had been there, in the stands of Hogwarts watching a Quidditch game sometime long ago. Another memory played itself out in her head.

It had been an Alumni game for her mother’s reunion. Her mother had been in Ravenclaw with Narcissa. Lucius, having been in Slytherin, had played on the team. He played that day, she remembered, because he had flown by to wave at her and Draco. They couldn’t have been more than four years old then. She and Draco were holding hands and cheering Lucius on with their mothers. Lucius was a chaser; he had scored two or three times. She remembered Draco had whispered to her that he was going to play Quidditch for Slytherin House like his daddy.

She was pulled back into the moment when she felt a pair of eyes watching her. She looked up hoping it would be Draco, but it wasn’t. It was a boy on the other team; he was too far away for her to tell what he really looked like other than the fact he had dark hair and glasses. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

The boy quickly looked away when someone from Slytherin house made a dive on their broom. It was Draco. He had spotted the snitch. The dark haired boy went after him but it was too late, Draco had caught it. Slytherin had won against the previously undefeated Gryffindors.

Draco held the snitch over his head in victory. He had done the unthinkable; he’d beaten the Golden Boy of Hogwarts. He had noticed that Potter had been distracted by something in the stands and was about to look to see what was so damned interesting when he saw it. The snitch had been about forty yards away, towards the Slytherin goal posts. St. Potter was still staring at the stands with a dumb smile on his face. ‘Probably his little mudblood girlfriend’ he thought, taking off towards the snitch. It was probably one of the most satisfying moments in his life when he felt his fingers curl around that elusive golden orb.

He looked to see what Wonder Boy had been staring at. He had been looking in the general direction of the teachers’ stands, so Draco started there. His eyes roamed row to row and he saw her. Laylani, flanked by his parents, was sitting there. They had seen his triumph. His father would surely reward him greatly. And that would be nice, but for now all he wanted was to give a celebratory kiss to his girl.

He flew down to the stands and his parents hugged him and congratulated him like he had just found a cure for muggleborns. He thanked them while moving closer to Laylani, who wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. Gods, he had dreamed of her kiss every night, and not one of them compared to the real thing. Draco put an arm around her waist and lifted her onto his broom. He held onto her tightly and flew a couple victory laps around the pitch, feeling happier then he ever had in his life. He had finally beaten his rival at Quidditch, his father had been there to see it, and best of all he could celebrate with Laylani. Things couldn’t have been better. Draco returned her to the stands where his parents stood waiting.

“Draco, we’re so proud of you, darling.” gushed his mother.

“Yes, son. Well done, you shall be aptly rewarded. You should go have a good time with the team. Expect some Firewhiskey to be delivered.” His mother huffed in a disapproving manner, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t like the idea of Lucius being the bootlegger for Slytherin house, but boys will be boys.

“Could Laylani stay, Father? Just for the celebration. I’ll have her floo-ed home by midnight.” If Draco were to be celebrating, he wanted her there.

“You‘ll have her home by ten-thirty, and not a minute later. I’ll arrange the floo with Dumbledore. Speaking of celebrations, boy, Laylani has her own good news.” Draco turned to her in anticipation. She had just opened her mouth when Draco was called from the field by his team mates.

“Sorry, love. You’ll have to tell me later. Meet me outside the Slytherin locker room in ten minutes.” He gave Laylani a last quick kiss before flying off to join his team.

The Malfoys led her down to the Slytherin locker rooms. Lucius and Narcissa congratulated her on her acceptance one last time, and told her if the party made her uncomfortable she was free to floo home whenever she wanted. As she watched them disappear inside of the castle, she felt disconcerted. What would make her uncomfortable?

Before she had time to really reflect on that Draco came out of the locker room and put an arm around her and planted a kiss on the side of her face. He smiled broadly at her as they walked towards the castle.

“You must be some kind of good luck charm. I’ve never once beat Potter in the past six years.” he said, holding the door open for her. Inside the castle, students alternated by either congratulating Draco on his fantastic win or giving Laylani strange looks. She turned her eyes to the ground trying desperately not to blush. Draco merely pulled her closer to himself.

They walked down several staircases before they came to a portrait of a sour-looking man. Draco said some silly word she didn’t really understand and the portrait swung open into what could only be Slytherin house.

She then knew why she could be uncomfortable. The scene before her was a mass of drunken teenagers in a dungeon with veritable orgies interspersed throughout. She stood outside the portrait hole totally intimidated by the setting. Draco felt her apprehension.

“Don’t worry about them, they’re just celebrating. They won’t bite, I promise. Plus,” he added with that maddening smirk of his “This gives me a chance to show them how sexy my girlfriend is.” She elbowed him lightly in the ribs but stepped inside.

His housemates noticed him immediately and cheered. He was given bottle of Firewhiskey nearly three-quarters full, which he took a long swig from. He passed it to Laylani. She took it from his hand and took her own drink.

‘What the hell?’ she thought ‘I haven’t been drunk in weeks.’ She brought the bottle down from her lips and practically choked as she swallowed. It had a lot more kick then the watered-down bottles of scotch she used to drink with her friends behind the warehouse. She managed to contain herself though, and casually passed him back the bottle. He gave her an approving smile.

“My girl can handle her drink. I’m impressed.”

All of a sudden it seemed like everyone wanted to talk to Draco at once.

“Congrats, mate!”

“How’d you do it, Draco?”

“What the hell was Potter looking at?”

Draco turned to Laylani, “Sorry dear, my adoring public needs a few moments of my time. Will you be alright by yourself for a few minutes?”

“Absolutely. I can take care of myself. I’ll be on the couch over there when you’re done.” She took another long drink from her bottle and gave him a gentle shove. “Go celebrate with your friends.”

He smiled and made his way over to his team mates, who were now standing on a coffee table and singing a warbling version of ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.’

She sat down on the couch and watched him. He was talking animatedly with his housemates and drinking out of another bottle of Firewhiskey. All of a sudden a voice from behind her drew her attention.

“Gods, that Draco Malfoy is sex on legs.” It was a distinctly female voice.

“I know. I’ve wanted him for ages now, but the closest I’ve ever gotten was giving him head.”

Laylani’s eyes widened in surprise. What the hell was this?

“Did he return the favor?”

“No, he said he had gotten what he wanted and told me to get out.”

“That’s a shame, he gives the best.”

“Of course he’s the best! You don’t get nicknamed the Sex God of Slytherin for nothing.”

Laylani took another swig of her Firewhiskey. ‘Sex God of Slytherin,’ huh? She had to hear more from these three girls.

“Can you imagine how good he’d be in bed? It really is a waste.”

“What, you mean he hasn’t…?”

“Had sex? No, at least not with anyone at this school.”

“Damn. Hey, who was that girl he was with on the pitch?”

“I don’t know. Was it that stupid Parkinson? Damn it! Doesn’t she get that he just isn’t interested?”

“No, it wasn’t her. She was too pretty to be Dog Girl. I don’t think she goes to Hogwarts.”

“Do you suppose she’s his girlfriend? I mean, he hasn’t taken any offers for the last two months, and that’s a long time for him.”

Laylani felt smug. Damned right he hadn’t. She didn’t know if it was the Firewhiskey but she turned around and spoke.

“Actually girls, I am. If you don’t mind passing the word along, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.”

The three girls gawked at her. Laylani got up and headed towards Draco, leaving the bottle behind less than a quarter full. She turned him around and laid a fierce kiss on him. She heard people giving them wolf whistles and catcalls, but she really didn’t care. He tasted like alcohol, but then again she knew she probably did too.

She finally pulled away and gave the girls a small wave and a fake smile Narcissa would have been proud of. Draco gave a half smile and announced to the crowd.

“Fellows, I’d like you to meet my girl, Laylani.” They cheered and she blushed.

“You were right, mate. She is hot.” called out a tall dark-haired boy.

Draco winked at them and led her out of the portrait hole and back into the dungeon. He was walking quickly with a purpose.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“My bedroom. You can’t kiss a man the way you kissed me and not follow up.” She let go of his hand and stopped.

“Draco,” she said in a small voice, “I can’t, I mean I’m not ready to…to have sex with you. Not yet. I can’t.” She looked at the ground. She knew he was going to be disappointed but she didn’t want to see it on his face. He put a hand under her chin and raised her head to face him. He didn’t look disappointed. All she could see in his eyes was understanding.

“I will not ask anything of you that you aren’t prepared to give. We’ll go only as far as you’re ready. All I want is to be near you and only you.” She smiled. She should have known that drunk or not he was still her sweet, incredible Draco. She grabbed his other hand in hers.

“Then lead on.”

They walked for a few more minutes before Draco came to a sudden stop. He turned to a painting of a mother with her child. He whispered the password to it, and again the painting swung open. His room was striking, dark green and a shade of silver that matched Draco’s eyes perfectly. He led her to a plush green couch and laid back, his head on the armrest.

“Come here.” he growled.

Laylani rolled her eyes. “Oh, you silver-tongued devil. No wonder the female Slytherin population is clamoring for you.”

“Really?” he said a little too enthusiastically. She pinched his calf, hard. “Ow! What the hell was that for?”

“To keep you in line, oh shaggable one.”

She crawled over his body along the length of the couch. She started kissing him, softly at first but as it went on it escalated into something more passionate. She felt him undo the top button of her blouse, then another. He was about to continue with the third when a door to the side of the room opened and out stepped a bushy haired brunette followed by two young men. Draco craned his neck to see who had interrupted them. He gave a loud sigh of irritation.

“Laylani, please allow me to introduce Granger and her underlings, Potter and Weasley. They were just leaving.” He said the last part emphatically.

“We certainly are not!” said the girl. “Your Slytherin compatriots are practically rioting in the dungeon, loud enough to be heard from the North Tower. As Head Boy, what exactly are you going to do about it?”

Draco sat up, moving Laylani back from him a bit. He got up and ambled over to the three. “As Head boy, I am going to delegate this to the perfectly capable Head Girl and her sidekick prefects. Satisfied?”

The red haired boy snorted. “Yeah, like we’re going to deal with Slytherin filth so you can have your way with your little Quidditch groupie whore.” Draco was about to punch him, but Harry beat him to it.

Ron rubbed his shoulder and stared at the dark haired boy. “Why the hell did you do that?”

“Look, just because Malfoy’s a prat doesn’t mean you can take it out on her!”

Draco stared. Harry Potter had just hit Ron Weasley, in defense of his girlfriend?

Laylani had already walked over to where they stood. “No need to get violent,” she said in a cool voice. “I’m sure he’s just speaking out of jealousy. Who’s your girlfriend, Red? The right or the left?”

Ron blushed furiously as the others laughed. He stomped out of the room, followed by his friends. Laylani called her thanks to Harry. He turned from the doorway and gave her a smile, then left.

‘The same dumb smile he had on the Quidditch pitch!’ thought Draco.

“Looks like Saint Potter has a crush on my girl.” he said.

‘What \'s this? Is he jealous?’ Laylani thought to herself. She decided to have a little fun with this. She twirled her hair around her finger and looked off into the distance.

“Well, he is awfully cute.” she said with a girlish giggle. Draco stared at her with a look of shock on his face, then hurt, quickly followed by anger. She looked at him and smiled in a way that told him he had been had. “But he’s still no Slytherin Sex God.” She lay back on the couch. “I believe you were just about to show me how deserving you were of being called the best?”

Almost immediately he was on top of her, kissing her roughly and quickly undoing her third button. He kissed his way along her collarbone, then further down across the tops of her breasts. The buttons kept being undone and Draco continued kissing every inch of the newly exposed flesh.

He reached the fastenings of her jeans. She stiffened as he undid them but didn’t ask him to stop. It felt too good. Every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire and he had only been kissing her so far. She was curious to see what he could do to her with those talented Quidditch hands.

He lowered her jeans slightly to give him some room to work. He held his breath as he slipped one hand behind the fabric of her pants. He knew that this might be pushing the envelope, but he was too drunk and aroused to really care. He’d stop if she asked him but from the way she looked, it didn’t look like that was about to happen anytime soon. His hand moved between her thighs and could feel she was wet, even through her panties. He drew one finger along the expanse of satin. She gasped.

“Please…more…”

Draco gave her a feral smirk. “More what? More of this?” he repeated his earlier action “Or this?” he roughly slid her panties over and slipped one long finger inside her.

“Yesss…” she softly whimpered. He added another finger and began to thrust rapidly. He began to kiss Laylani again, his tongue mimicking what his hand was doing.

She was writhing under him and moaning into his kiss. No one had ever made her feel this good. And there had been many who had had the opportunity.

Laylani tried to push that horrible thought out of her mind but it was too late. The memories of all those awful men she had let touch her in hopes of having a roof over her head for the night or a meal in her starving belly flooded her brain, and she couldn‘t continue. She suddenly felt dirty; she knew she didn’t deserve to have this wonderful man touch her. She pulled away from his kiss.

“Draco, stop. Please.” He pulled the offending hand away with reluctance.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were enjoying yourself.” he grumbled and looked into her eyes. Laylani wasn’t crying but he saw something that shouldn’t have been there. Something that looked an awful lot like shame and guilt.

“No, it was good, really it’s just that…that -It’s almost time for me to go.” He looked to the wall clock. It read 9:30, a full hour before his parents asked for her back. He completely disentangled himself from her and got up.

“Laylani, if you aren’t into this that’s fine. You don‘t need to lie about it.”

She heaved a sigh. She had to tell him, she at least had to try. She fought against her intoxicated mind to find the right words.

“Draco, it’s not that. I really like you. I care about you more then I ever have for anyone. But there are a lot of things that you don’t know about me that you should if we’re going to do...things like this. And I don’t know if you’ll be able to understand or even want to be with me if I tell you.”

Draco sat down. “Whatever it is, just tell me. There is nothing on this earth that you could have done to make me stop loving you. I‘m sure it‘s not that bad.”

Laylani suddenly changed from emotionally ridden to cold and withdrawn. “Not that bad? It’s completely fucking awful! I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t understand. You can’t. You haven’t been where I’ve been, done what I’ve done. How could I be so stupid to think someone like you would understand?”

Draco couldn’t think of anything to say. What the hell had just happened? He had tried to comfort his girlfriend and suddenly he was this know-nothing git who was such a bastard for trying to understand? Draco was temperamental at the best of times but when he was drunk he was the fury of hell.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘someone like me’? Merlin! I have tried and tried to be good to you and take care of you and for what? To have you bitch at me for trying to be understanding?”

She got up and started to scream back with just as much anger. “Well, I’ve got news for you Draco fucking Malfoy! I don’t need to be taken care of. I have been taking care of myself for the last eleven years WITHOUT your help. So if I’m so much of a bitch, why don’t you just go back to all the little girls you’ve been fucking while I was gone and get the hell out of my life!” Draco snorted scornfully.

“I practically fucking own your life! Who do you think has been paying for your goddamned clothes, your food, your doctors and all that bullshit, huh? It certainly hasn’t been you! You haven’t done a damn thing for yourself since you got here. Christ, you fucking belong to me!”

Draco regretted saying that the instant it came out of his mouth but Laylani soon made him regret it more. She slapped him hard across the face.

“I don\'t belong to anyone, not anymore!” She walked over to the portrait and pushed it open. She turned back towards him, his hand covering where she had struck him. “God help the woman who marries you Draco Malfoy, because at this rate it surely won’t be me.”

She walked out of the portrait and Draco was pretty sure she had just walked out of his life as well.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry found Laylani a little after eleven that night during his prefect\'s rounds. She had been stumbling around obviously still drunk and crying. He called out to her and she made her way to him, only to collapse in his arms sobbing. He put his arm around her and tried to comfort her. Even in the dim moonlight of the hall, he still thought her amazingly beautiful.

“What happened? Where’s Malfoy? Did he hurt you?” He didn’t know Malfoy to take advantage of girls and from what Harry had heard about him, he didn’t need to. But he knew that he wasn’t above it. He caught sight of a bad bruise on her cheek.

“No *sniffle*. We, we had a fight and now he hates me. He’ll never talk to me again because I was too stupid to just tell him!” Laylani was blubbering now, but she didn’t care. She had screwed it all up and every good thing in her life was slipping out from between her fingers. “I, I’m supposed to go home. I have to get to the fireplace. Can you take me there, please? I, I couldn’t find it.”

“Sure.” said Harry. They began to walk toward Professor Dumbledore’s office. “What happen to your cheek?” She put her hand up to the bruise.

“I fell into something. I tripped coming up from the dungeons and I hit something. I don’t know what it was, but it was awfully loud.”

“Oh.” Harry didn’t believe her and was pretty sure Malfoy had gotten rough with her, but there was no need to upset her for now.

“You’re the boy who was staring at me during the game, right?” Harry blushed. He’d hoped she would have forgotten that or at least not brought it up, but apparently luck was not with him tonight.

“Uh, yeah. I suppose that was me.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

She giggled in a manner that he found very attractive. “Why were you staring?”

He mentally shrugged. She was drunk, what did it matter if he really told her? “Because I thought you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.”

She giggled even more. “But not anymore, huh? Not after you’ve seen me drunk and with Mr. Sex God?”

He gave her a little grin. So she knew about Draco’s reputation. “If nothing else, miss, I think you’re even more beautiful than before.”

“Miss.” She said it as if it were a foreign word she was trying to pronounce. “No one’s ever called me that before. I don’t see why you should. My name’s Laylani...and you are?”

Harry was stunned. She really and truly had know idea who he was. She didn’t recognize him as ‘The Boy Who Lived’ or ‘The Saviour of The Wizarding World.’ He was liking this lovely young woman more and more. “My name’s Harry.”

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you Harry.” He still had his arm around her waist and she leaned her head onto his shoulder. They walked the rest of the way to Dumbledore’s office in a comfortable silence.

He whispered the password to the gargoyle and it jumped aside, revealing an ascending spiral staircase. She pressed into him tighter, honestly afraid that the gargoyle might hurt her. Harry liked the feeling this girl gave him. He felt protective of her, but didn’t feel like his protection was going to cost him his life. He was just about to help her onto the staircase when she turned around and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you for your help, Harry. It’s nice to have a real friend.”

“Don’t worry about it. Will I see you again?” Gods, he hoped so.

“You can count on it.” She gave him one last tight hug before getting onto the stairs. He turned for Gryffindor tower when she called to him.

“Harry! Could you please tell Draco I got home alright?”

He nodded. He had a lot of things to discuss with Malfoy.