"I told you, I was in detention. It wasn't my fault."

My stomach gave an unpleasant twist as I looked up into Cedric's disappointed face. I had managed to catch him in the Entrance Hall after breakfast, and he wasn't happy that I'd stood him up the night before. And even less happy when he learnt the reason why.

"It's a bit childish though, don't you think? Getting a detention for play fighting in class? I thought you were more mature than that, Blaire. I guess I was wrong."

I felt panic flutter in my chest as Cedric turned to leave. My hand shot out to grab his arm, halting him.

"You're right, I'm sorry," I said quickly, eager to placate him, "It was immature of me. And I'm sorry I missed our study session, I know you went out of your way to get me that extension on my Charms homework."

Cedric frowned, his eyes studying me carefully. I felt like I was holding my breath as he seemed to mull it over in his head.

And then his face softened and he reached out his arms, allowing me to embrace him. I clung to his torso feeling relief flood me as I nuzzled my face into his chest and inhaled his enticing scent.

"I can never stay mad at you, baby," he murmured into my hair. "I just worry that Malfoy is a bad influence on you. You've been friends again for less than a day and already you've got into trouble because of him."

I stiffened, not liking the way he was making it sound as though it was all Draco's fault.

But before I could say anything, we were interrupted by a female voice.

"Ced! Are you ready?"

I looked up from Cedric's embrace to see a pretty raven haired fifth year walking towards us.

Cho Chang.

Cedric let his arms drop from around me, and turned to face her with a big smile. "Hey, Chang; wait for me out front, I'll be with you in five."

He turned back to me, his grey eyes glinting. "You don't mind do you? We got chatting last night when you were in detention and she asked if I could give her some pointers about Quidditch, so I offered to take her into Hogsmeade this morning for a coffee."

"Umm... okay," I said, feeling slightly discombobulated. Normally on a Saturday morning we would go and find a private spot by the lakeside together.

"Are you sure?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I could always cancel... for you."

"Of course not." I said, forcing a smile, trying my hardest to ignore my growing panic. "You go ahead. I have homework I need to catch up on anyway."

Grinning, he leant in to rub his nose against mine. "You're the best. I'll see you after lunch. Perhaps we can do something together later?"

I nodded, keeping the smile plastered on my face as I watched him turn to leave, racing to catch up with Cho.

*****

"I thought you were hanging out with Pretty Boy this morning?" Draco asked as I slumped down next to him onto the common room sofa.

"Nope," I said rubbing my forehead, trying to ignore the heaviness inside of me. "He's gone into Hogsmeade."

Draco blinked at me. "You didn't fancy going with him?"

"It's a Quidditch thing, apparently." I said, chewing my lower lip, trying not to think about Cedric and Cho having a cosy chat over a coffee.

"Fuck, I miss Quidditch," Draco sighed heavily, throwing his head back dramatically over the sofa. "I'd do anything to have a 'Quidditch thing' right now. You don't know how sodding bored I am without it."

"Well, why don't you pop along to Hogsmeade and join Cedric and Cho for a nice cosy Quidditch chat." I said, unable to prevent the bitter tones of my voice.

Draco looked up, blinking again. "Chang? What's Hufflepuff doing hanging out with her? Aren't they supposed to be rivals? That'd be like me swapping flying tips with Potter."

"Don't pretend you wouldn't love that," I said, not being able to help but smirk across at him.

"Don't make me tickle you again, Zabini," Draco warned, glaring at me, "my fingers are still sore from all that bloody polishing last night."

The smirk fell from my face as I recalled Cedric's words. "Do you think I'm immature?"

Draco's face flooded with confusion as he sat up properly to look at me. "No more than usual. Why? Where did that come from?"

"Nowhere," I shrugged, "I just think maybe I need to start growing up a bit."

"You've only just turned fifteen," Draco said, nonplussed. "Why the sudden rush?"

When I didn't say anything, his face darkened, suddenly putting two and two together. "This is about Diggory, isn't it?" he snarled, his silver eyes flashing angrily as he spat the name.

"No!" I lied, casting my eyes down guiltily.

Draco just raised his eyebrows, saying nothing.

"Okay, yes," I sighed, realising at once it was no use; he could read me like a book. "He reckons I was childish getting a detention last night."

"Wow, what an insecure, jealous twat," Draco scoffed. "And let me guess, he's taking out Chang - a fifth year - to prove some sort of sick point to you; which he'll then use to make you act the way he wants you to act."

"It's not like that." I said quietly, not liking what Draco was suggesting in the slightest.

"It's exactly like that," Draco muttered, folding his arms huffily over his chest, "he's trying to manipulate you into his bed. Surely you can see that?"

"If you must know," I said, desperate to prove him wrong, "Cedric has not pushed me into doing anything. In fact, he was very understanding after I declined his invitation to go back to his private bed-"

Draco shot up from the sofa so quickly, I thought it must have somehow sprung him off.

"What the fuck?" He spluttered down at me, his pale face turning pink with rage. "HE DID WHAT?!"

"He asked me back to his bedroom, I said 'no' and he respected that." I spoke as firmly and steadily as I could.

"He should never have fucking asked you in the first place! And he's not respecting you, he's just trying a different tact to get you into bed, and quite clearly it's working because he's now got you questioning yourself about your level of maturity, despite the fact that you are just fifteen years old!"

I'd never seen Draco so angry before, he was literally shaking. "You know," he went on, pacing the floor in front of me, "in only a few months time, he's going to be eighteen, and he could get locked up for this shit."

"You're being dramatic, Draco," I said, rolling my eyes as I pulled out a magazine from my bag, desperately regretting ever bringing this up.

The magazine was ripped instantly out of my hands, and Draco was suddenly right in front of me, taking my hands in his as he crouched before me with a solemn look upon his face.

"I'm telling you as your closest friend, Blaire, that this guy is using you. You deserve better than him. Please, you must see that."

I felt a lump form in my throat as Draco looked imploringly into my eyes, begging me to listen to his words; words which I could hear but didn't want to believe.

Cedric wasn't like that. Draco hadn't seen the sweet and loving side of him that I saw down by the lakeside. Cedric was tender and gentle and treated me like I was his whole world.

People don't do that if they are just using you for sex. He'd have left me a long time ago if that was the case. If anything, he was being incredibly patient with me. And of course he was upset about my detention, after all, I got into trouble for rolling around on the floor with another boy.

I closed my eyes in shame. And here I was sulking about the fact that he was having an innocent coffee with another girl. Cedric was right, I was immature.

But I didn't say any of this to Draco. Instead, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I promise you, there is nothing to worry about." I reassured him, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

Draco exhaled a long resigned sigh, shaking his head as he let his hands slip out of mine. He got to his feet, reaching inside his trouser pocket, withdrawing a pack of cards.

"Come on, Zabini," he said, retaking his position on the sofa as he expertly shuffled the deck. "Best of five."

******