Chapter 12

Amy was walking up a stair alone when she heard it; the voice in the wall. She began to follow the terrifying sound. Turning a corner, she realised she wasn't alone in her search; Harry, Ron and Hermione were not too far in front of her.

They could hear it, too, it seemed. Thank God she wasn't mad. That thought brought her back to the day at the zoo...She snapped out of it as the trio stopped ahead. Remaining unseen, she looked behind them and saw Mrs. Norris hanging, seemingly dead. A message was written in red on the wall.

Hearing Filch approach, she knew Harry would be blamed. She ran quietly, but quickly, to the Great Hall where dinner wasn't quite over and she made her way to the teachers table.

Filch's exclamations and lamentations were loud enough now for the remainder of the students in the Great Hall to hear. While everyone's attention was caught, she leaned over the table and whispered in the headmaster's ear;

"Harry didn't do it."

Quidditch season was fast approaching and Amy was becoming more and more nervous as the time for her first match came closer. Of course, it would have to be against Gryffindor.

Draco simply couldn't wait to play. He wasn't the only one. The whole team were excited. They practiced constantly and Flint was a slave-driver. Again and again, he made them play against each other. When they came in every night after practice, the team would be exhausted.

Amy hid her apprehension from her team mates. The last thing she needed was for those misogynistic fools to find out that the little red-head was scared. Her presence didn't stop the sessions of telling each other about their various conquests, nor did it put a stop to the endless stream of sexist jokes.

Needless to say, she made a point of waiting until she got to the castle to shower. This led to a lot of solitary walks from the pitch to the castle in near-darkness and Amy was certain on these occasions that she was being watched. More than once she had sworn she had seen a dark figure behind her. She would rush the rest of the way up to the castle, not daring to relax until she was safe in the common room.

The night before the match, Amy barely slept. Every small noise seemed to wake her; the creak of the stairs, someone turning in their bed, Pansy Parkinson's snores. Eventually, she gave up and got up.

In the common room, the fire was nearly out. She leaned on the mantle-piece and stared at the glowing embers. She had no idea how long she had been standing there when a voice suddenly brought her out of her reverie;

"Why are you up so early?" she gasped, startled and her leg twisted awkwardly as she spun around to see who had spoken. She would have fallen if the other person had not caught her in time. Fearfully, thinking the face she would see looking down at her would be that of the dark figure that haunted her steps, she gazed up slowly and let out a sigh of relief.

"Draco, thank Merlin. For a second there I thought…" she caught herself before continuing. It wouldn't do to let him know what she had been thinking. She hadn't told anybody about her fears, not knowing why. It was just one more secret she had been keeping. What if he thought she was unhinged? Perhaps she would tell Dumbledore when next she saw him. He wouldn't judge her, she knew.

Draco helped her right herself before letting her go. He had been looking at her without his usual defensiveness, his eyes a shimmering liquid silver that she much preferred to the hard grey steel they usually were as he stared into her emerald ones. As he took a step back after letting her go he looked a little flustered.

"Wait, who did you think I was?" the spell was broken as he uttered those words, his defences fully restored as she told him it didn't matter and tried to laugh off her clumsiness.

"Let's just hope I can stay on my broom later." She said, giving him a weak smile he didn't return.

"Yes…well I suppose we should get ready and then get some breakfast." He said, already turning to leave. She watched him go, wondering what she had done wrong. He was right. Time was ticking on though it was still early and she wanted to have a shower before heading down to the dining hall. She followed him through to the dorms, sparing a glance at his back as he strode down the boys corridor, his hands in fists by his sides.

Draco's point of view

The excitement of the upcoming match made him wake earlier than usual for a Saturday. It was still too early for breakfast, so he decided to go for a stroll, knowing he had no chance of falling back to sleep. When he reached the common room he became aware that he was not alone.

Amy was standing at the fireplace staring at the empty grate. The fire was long gone out. She had that sad faraway look on her face.

He spoke to her, breaking her concentration. She jumped, startled, and would have fallen only for he was there to catch her. For a moment, she looked scared but then her face cleared and she spoke. She was happy that it was him, though he had startled her.

He became lost in her exquisite green eyes. Their beauty was slightly marred by the sadness residing in them. There was also fear lying hidden just beneath the surface. It was a few moments before he realised that he was still holding her.

Then he remembered what she had said.

"Who did you think I was?"

Her cheeks flushed as she lied to him. She was lying to him a lot lately. He wanted to call her out on it but something always stopped him, some instinct that told him to let it go.

He wasn't sure what it was about her that drew him to her, but thought it might have something to do with the fact that she didn't hang off him like the rest of his friends. She never agreed with him sycophantically or laughed at something he said unless it actually amused her. And the layer of steel that he knew hid behind her delicate porcelain features reminded him of his own.

They had both experienced loneliness and neglect in their own way; He at the hands of his father, who he so desperately wanted to impress, but who remained distant and cold. Sure he bought his son whatever he wanted. He gave his son everything but his time. She, he knew, had grown up in a muggle orphanage. He couldn't even imagine how unpleasant that must have been.

He wondered again what she was keeping from him that was frightening her so much. And though he dropped the subject yet again, he couldn't help but show his annoyance as he went back to his dorm and dressed for the upcoming match, all thoughts of a pleasant early morning stroll forgotten.

Amy's point of view

Down in the Great Hall, the tables were buzzing with excitement. Amy couldn't eat anything. Her stomach was tied up in knots. Draco sat beside her as usual, but things were a little awkward and tense between them.

Flint got up and the team followed him. Going through the hall, Amy tried not to look at the Gryffindor table but the temptation was strong. The boo's echoed after the hated Slytherin team as they left.

It was a very dramatic game, by all accounts. Amy thought back over the goals she let in while anxiously watching Harry dodge the rogue bludger. Why did everything have to happen to him?

She snuck down to the hospital wing that night. She made her way over to where Harry lay, moaning in his sleep. Growing back the bones in your arm in one night was quite an ordeal, it seemed.

She looked down at his troubled face. His fringe stuck to his forehead with sweat, hiding the scar that had started it all. Why had their families been targeted? And on the same night too.

From what she had heard and seen of Voldemort, he didn't seem to be the kind to make many house calls. He must have had a reason beyond what Dumbledore had told her when they met the year before.

She heard a sharp crack and hid under Harry's bed as he shot up, wakened by the noise. She overheard the whispered conversation between Harry and the mysterious house elf. Just what did the creature mean? Who was its master?

Duelling club was a big joke. Lockheart was clearly a phoney (A good looking one, but one none the less) Then there was the incident with the snake. So she wasn't the only person at Hogwarts who could converse with snakes! This was a relief though to everyone else present it looked as though Harry were egging the snake on. Surely after that display, everyone in the school would be sure that Harry was the heir of Slytherin. She nearly laughed aloud at the thought.

Amy received a note the day after the incident at the duelling club. She was eating her breakfast when the owls flew in to deliver the post. She rarely received any unless she had ordered something so she was surprised to find that a handsome school owl landed beside her plate and held its foot out.

She recognized the spindly writing at once and took the letter from the owl, which flew away instantly. Beside her, Draco looked at her curiously.

"Aren't you going to open it?" he asked.

"I'll leave it until later," she said, "I'm starving." And she commenced wolfing down her cornflakes as fast as she could.

On the way out of the hall she opened the envelope. It read;

Dear Amy,

Please meet me at my office during your afternoon Potions lesson. Professor Snape has been informed and has kindly excused you.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

The thought of Snape excusing anyone wilfully from his class was hilarious. She knew he favoured the Slytherins, but not that much and there was the warning he had given her the year before about not expecting any preferential treatment. She had risen to the challenge she had given herself that day and had earned every good mark she had received from him since.

She was relieved that her Occlumency lessons were about to commence finally, though she feared it might be beyond her as the book the headmaster had sent her on her birthday had been terribly complicated and difficult to understand.