"There you are, Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow,"

Hermione placed the Daily Prophet smugly back down on her lap after having read the latest headlines out for us all to hear.

I was sat on a chair in between Ron and Hermione's beds in the hospital wing. Harry was perched on the end of Ron's bed looking thoroughly miserable, and Ginny was curled up like a cat on the end of Hermione's.

"He's the 'boy who lived' again now, though, isn't he?" Ron said darkly. "Not such a deluded show-off any more, eh?"

He tossed me a Chocolate Frog, looking at me in concern.

"How you holding up there, Neve?" he asked quietly. "You haven't said much these past few days."

I looked up at him in surprise. No one had asked how I was since we had returned from the Ministry.

Although the truth was, apart from the occasional trip to the hospital wing, I avoided people; choosing mealtimes in the Great Hall when I knew it would be the emptiest.

Thankfully, I hadn't seen Draco since he admitted he had only slept with me out of pity.

My whole body trembled in heartache and humiliation just thinking about it.

I swallowed back the huge lump that had formed in my throat as I shrugged, staring down glumly at the Chocolate Frog in my hand. "Just a bit overwhelmed, you know."

"Harry said you were really brave," Hermione said quietly, reaching out to gently squeeze my arm.

"You did?" I asked, looking towards Harry in shock. "But I dropped it- I dropped the prophecy."

"It doesn't matter, Neve," Harry sighed heavily, shifting uncomfortably as he looked down at his hands. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead by now and Voldemort would have gotten hold of the prophecy himself."

"But we didn't get to hear the prophecy either!" I cried, "it might have been about something really important to help us defeat You-Know-Who!"

Something flashed in Harry's eyes as he studied me curiously. After a beat, he shook his head. "As I said, Neve - it doesn't matter anymore."

We chatted a bit longer, both Harry and I remaining the quietest. Of course the others weren't to know that my sadness had little to do with the drama at the Ministry, and everything to do with my broken heart.

When Harry stood up, making his excuses to leave, I felt a moment of panic; the fewer people that were here, the more I would be expected to contribute to the conversation, and I didn't have the energy to talk much.

So not long after he left, I too, made my excuses.

Feeling hungry, and deciding it was a safe enough time to enter the Great Hall, I slowly made my way down to the Entrance Hall.

However, halfway down the stairs, I paused as angry, yet familiar voices rose up from down below.

"You're dead, Potter!"

I swallowed; the sound of his voice making me feel all sorts of surging emotions.

"Funny," I heard Harry retort, "you'd think I'd have stopped walking around..."

My heart racing in my chest, I slowly continued down, not being able to help myself.

"You're going to pay," Draco snarled so dangerously low that I had to strain my ears to hear. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father..."

As my foot touched the last stair, they finally came into view.

Draco was flanked by his two usual goons, all of them looking furiously on at Harry who stood facing them, looking as cool as a cucumber; none of them seeming to notice my presence.

"Well, I'm terrified now," Harry said sarcastically. "I s'pose Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up act compared to you three - what's the matter?" he added when all three of them visibly flinched. "He's a mate of your dad, isn't he? Not scared of him, are you?"

"You think you're such a big man, Potter," Draco said, closing in on him. "You wait. I'll have you. You can't land my father in prison-"

"I thought I just had," Harry said coolly.

"The Dementors have left Azkaban," Draco said quietly, his face pinched in absolute vehement anger. "Dad and the others'll be out in no time..."

"Yeah, I expect they will," Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Still, at least everyone knows what scumbags they are now-"

Draco's hand flew to his wand but Harry had drawn his first.

"Harry- stop!" I cried hurriedly, finally revealing myself as I stepped towards them.

Harry whipped round to face me just as Draco's eyes flicked towards me, his features softening ever so slightly, making my heart give a violent, sudden twist.

"Neve-" he began, the hand holding his wand lowering hesitantly.

"Does that threat go for me, too?" I asked, shaking as I looked directly into Draco's piercing grey eyes.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that ferret, Neve," Harry scoffed. "He's all talk and no action. Goes running behind his mummy at the first sign of trouble."

"I'm warning you, Potter!" Draco snarled, whipping his wand back up in Harry's face. "One more word and I'll-"

"You dare!" I cried, pointing my own wand at Draco. Except it was shaking so much because I wasn't doing it in anything but out of pain and anger at the way he had hurt and humiliated me.

He glanced back at me in shock, our eyes locking as our wands remained determinedly aloft.

I felt my whole body trembling, trying to control the mixture of hurt and anger I was feeling as Draco and I stared at each other. I was terrified I was going to either burst into tears or scream furiously in his face.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Crabbe lunge towards me; as if to snatch the wand out of my hand. But I was quicker than him, and immediately fired the Impediment jinx, knocking him flying backwards to the ground.

Goyle went to grab me, but Draco quickly threw out an arm preventing him.

Everyone was breathing heavily, looking at me in shock.

"That's my Gryffindor!" Harry chuckled, patting me jubilantly on the back as he smirked at Draco's horrified face. "Be careful who you fuck with in future, Malfoy," he added threateningly, before taking my arm and leading me away from them, pausing only to glare back at the white-blond haired Slytherin as he hissed the next word; "literally."

*****