I faintly smiled at Draco, who was making funny faces at me from across the room. We were back on good terms, had been back on good terms, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this thing that he needed to do was eating at him more than he was letting on. It was almost Christmas now, and everything was alright with us. He made a little bit more of an effort to be with me, but he wasn’t putting his whole heart into it. Not like he used to in the beginning. It just depressed me a little is all.

“Miss Honeyyeager is it?” Professor Slughorn asked as he came around my table to look at what I had in my cauldron. “This is good,” he said after I nodded. “I give it an E, but it’s not your best work is it?”

I sighed and shook my head. “No, it’s not sir.”

“Is there something bothering you?” he asked.

I looked away from him and at my hands. “Nothing that concerns you, sir. I’ll be okay.”

He sighed as he looked at his clip board. “Would you mind coming to my office tonight at seven thirty? I’d like to talk about your grades if nothing else.”

“Of course. I’ll be there professor,” I mumbled.

As soon as he was gone, my eyes searched for Draco. He was still in his same seat, but he was no longer paying any attention to me. He was talking with Pansy, who was flipping her hair. A smile played on her lips as she tried to mesmerize him, but I have no idea if it was working because I couldn’t see my boyfriend’s face. Her eyes found mine though. She winked before returning to talk to him. Apperently, it was working or she just thought that it was.

“Hanna?”

I turned to see Hermione Granger across from me. She had sat there at the beginning of class, but she hadn’t said anything to me. I was kind of hoping that she wouldn’t say anything to me. It would’ve been easier than explaining what was going on and Hermione had never been one to actually talk to me except for when it was absolutely necessary. She seemed a bit snooty to me, but I’m sure that’s not the case at all. She just never paid attention to me is all. Not that anyone but Bella, Benjamin, Katherine, Beth, Heath, and Robbie. Just thinking about them made me miss them all. We hadn’t hung out all together since the beginning of the year on the train ride there before I got with Draco and Bella broke up with Gregory. I was really missing a lot, I could feel it. Did this all happen because Draco and I fell in love?

“Hermione?” I asked, prompting her to go on.

She sighed. “Is everything alright? You seem a little…I dunno…sad? Confused perhaps?”

“Why would you care?” I asked, edge in my voice that shouldn’t have been there.

“I care, Hanna. I care about everyone, not just Harry and Ron, okay? And I heard about you and Draco. Is he what’s making you like this? You look worn out and tired, Hanna. Something looks terribly off, and if Draco has done something, well, I would feel guilty if I didn’t warn you first.”

“Warn me first if what? Draco and I have been dating for about four months now. I think I know him pretty well, and what I don’t know, I’ll find out in time. I think that’s better than what you could say, okay, Hermione? So, give it a rest. I don’t want to hear anything that you have to say. Got it?”

The nerve of her. Warn me? She has got to be out of her mind! She may be the smartest witch of our age, but she knows nothing about Draco. Absolutely nothing. She can pretend like she knows him but only I know him like that. Well…I guess Pansy is an exception as well. Sigh.

“But, Hanna, look. We have reason to believe that he could be a danger to anyone and everyone around him, especially you,” she said, leaning in towards me. “We think he could be a deatheater.”

I raised my eyebrows up at her. She was off her rocker now. There was no way that he could be one of those. I would now if he was…wouldn’t I? She was just trying to get him in some kind of trouble, it was obvious. She’s letting the rivalry between our houses get to her. It’s nothing more than that.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I’m completely sure that you are wrong, Granger. Now, if you don’t mind,” I said, picking my things up and standing, “I’m leaving.”

I turned on heel and saw the Draco was leaving the room as well, only he was several steps ahead of me. I had to practically run to catch up with him. He must’ve been in a hurry to get somewhere, which was the only thought that came to my mind of why he was moving so fast. I mean, we did have a free period at that time.

“Draco,” I said, finally catching up with him. “What’s going on?” I asked, grabbing his hand, which held my hand loosely back.

He shrugged. “Nothing much. What about you, love?”

I smiled. I absolutely loved it when he called me love. “Nothing. It’s free time, you know?”

“And your point is?”

“My point is that we could go back to your room, if you want to,” I said, trying to make my voice sound sexy, but it just made me giggle.

“I actually have some stuff to do. You know, duty calls,” he said and gave a half-hearted laugh.

I looked over at him with narrowed eyes, jokingly of course. “What duty?”

“Um, you know. Prefect duty. The old coot has some extra work for me to do today, so I’ll catch you later okay?” he said, stopping to kiss me on the lips before walking away.

“Draco!” I called after him, “We’re still going to Hogsmeade together, right?”

He turned and gave me a thumb up. “You got it, babe.”

I waved as a faint smile played on my lips. That was the most emotion I had gotten from him in a while. I was happy that he seemed to be feeling a little better. Perhaps he was getting closer to solving whatever problem he had. I sure hoped that he did. I was getting tired of seeing this Draco, the one that I didn’t love with all of my heart. It pains me to admit it, but it’s true. He’s still my one and only true love until the day I die. That will never, ever change.

I decided to go to the common room, perhaps up to my dorm. If I couldn’t be with Draco, then I’ll find Bella. I owed her an apology, a major one. I was being a jerk the other day, and she didn’t deserve it. Not one bit. I found Beth and Katherine in the common room. They both looked up at me when I entered the room; both looked surprised to see me.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, yourself,” Katherine said, flipping her hair back.

Beth just nodded in my direction. I felt as if I needed to say something, apologize, anything, but I just stood there like a total nut just staring them down. It had been forever since I last talked to them. They probably didn’t want me there.

“Okay,” Beth said, breaking the silence. “I’ll be the first to say it. We weren’t expecting this to happen to us, Han. When you started seeing Draco, it was like he changed you. You weren’t the Hanna we knew and loved.”

“We hated you for it at first, but then Bella explained things to us. You were in love for the first time, and she also said that it was most likely the last time,” Katherine’s eyes gleamed. “That’s only a love that you dream about, Han. You are so lucky.”

“So, you aren’t angry with me?” I asked, taking a step forward.

They shook they’re heads. “Of course not,” they answered in unison.

I let out a sigh of relief. “That so makes my day.”

“Bella might be a different story though,” Beth pointed out.

Katherine nodded. “I’ve never seen you guys fight like this before, but I think it’s safer to say that she might be more disappointed in you than angry.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Catch you guys later!”

I ran for my dorm and found Bella there. She was just sitting on her bed, starring off into space. I jumped onto her bed and pulled my arms around her. She seemed surprised at first, but then she hugged back.

“I thought that you were angry with me?” she asked, pulling away.

I shrugged. “It wasn’t worth being angry over. You were just trying to protect me.”

“So, do you know what the secret is?”

I shook my head. “But that’s okay with me. He promised to tell me when he’s ready to tell me.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’m completely sure.”

I was more than happy that I was now on speaking terms with everyone. It was killing me that we were all fighting, and over Draco no doubt. That just makes this worse. What if Hermione was right? What if he is keeping a secret that big from me?

No. I pushed that thought out of my head. He wouldn’t keep something that monstrous from me. He was better than that. He was a better man than that. A man that I loved and will always love. I know that I sound redundant, but it just flows naturally to say that I love him. It’s just second nature to me now.

After dinner, I found Professor Slughorn in his office as he asked me to be. He smiled as I came and took the seat across from his desk. I waited for him to say something. After a few moments of choosing his words carefully, he finally spoke.

“Miss Honeyeager,” he started, “I know that having a boyfriend seems like the most important thing right now in your life, but I can guarantee that it’s not. Focus on your grades, your friends, your family. I can tell you that having a boyfriend lead to trouble. You’re a good girl, Hanna. I don’t want to see you go down that path, especially with Draco Malfoy. That boy’s…”

“He’s what?” I asked in a monotone voice.

He shrugged. “A bad seed. He’ll take you straight to the trouble.”

“I appreciate your concern, Professor, but I am perfectly capable of balancing my love life with my school work, so I feel that I should be leaving before I say or do something that I regret,” I said, standing. “See you in class,” I said before heading for the door.

“I’m not finished, Hanna,” he said forcefully, but I just ignored him and slammed the door behind me.