Okay, so this is where the romance stuff really kicks in!

Critiques are always welcome; just stay Earth temperature with the flames.

ALSO! No updates unless I get some reviews, unfortunately. I would like to know that people want it updated before I'll put in the effort… I'm lazy like that.

Chapter 4

What Do I Fear the Most?

As I got back into the Hogwart's schedule, classes got more boring every day, until the day Draco came back to class, which was a few weeks later.

The first class the 3rd years had with the Slytherins was double potions. Draco had entered halfway through, as I cut up some daisy roots for the shrinking potion we were making, which had the density of milk, smelled horrible and was probably made wrong as well. I looked at my book as I heard Draco say,

"Sir, I can't cut my daisy roots, because of my arm. I-" Snape interrupted him, and, without looking up, said,

"Weasley, I want you to help Mr. Malfoy cut his roots."

I continued trying to figure out what my mistake with my potion had been, when I heard from behind me,

"Professor, Weasley is destroying my roots, sir."

This time I looked back as Professor Snape said,

"Weasley, trade roots with Malfoy." Ron looked absolute, and this was saying something, red. And extremely mad. He glared at the oily top of Professor Snape's greasy head for the entire rest of class.

By the time class was over, my potion was just as bad smelling, though slightly more green, as it was supposed to be, and I had no idea what was wrong with it still. Ron left the class looking extremely upset, while Draco looked absolutely pleased with himself.

As we headed up the stairs, the Gryffindors split up; most of them headed the left way up the stairs, while a small group of us went through a door on the first floor to Muggle Studies. I mainly took this class as a free period, since there really wouldn't be much I didn't know already. Not to mention the fact that I sat right next to Hermione, and she was always taking notes.

And, as far as classes go, Muggle Studies was the easiest class I had.

But after Muggle Studies, Hermione vanished, and I headed up to Divination alone. Two flights before I got to the staircase that led up to the Divination room, an enchanted paper crane floated in front of me. In it was a note; it read;

Go to the seventh floor, near the statue of the trolls and a wizard, near 8 o'clock. Meet you there.

I looked at the paper, and then did a quick one-two of the staircase I was on. Nobody was there except for a random ghost reading a book and a few other stragglers to Professor Trelawney's class, who looked very deep in conversation. However, I knew that if I waited around, I would be late for class, so I shoved the thought aside and went up the ladder.

Divination was progressing into the dullest class, but I knew I would get jinxed by one of the jokesters in the class if I fell asleep, so I focused on the oak leaf patterns and their meanings from the book.

So, Divination came and went, and we had to go downstairs to the grounds. It was a gorgeous day outside, but Professor Hagrid's (it sounded so weird saying that) class was much less intriguing then the first day. We were now studying grub looking things called flobberworms. I was glad when it came time to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Professor Lupin had changed the scenery since last class. All of the desks were gone, and in the middle of the classroom there was a fairly large wardrobe. As we all filed in, there were mutterings here and there, and some of the students sat down on the floor.

Suddenly, the wardrobe rattled and shook. Everyone in the class stared at it, wondering if the had really seen it move.

Professor Lupin, who was standing to the left of the huddle that was the group of students, said, "Intriguing, isn't it?" as the wardrobe shook once more.

"Now," he continued, "Would anyone light to venture a guess, as to what lies inside?"

Dean was the first to answer. "That's a boggart, that is."

"Very good, Mr. Thomas. Can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?"

"No one knows." Came the answer from my left. I looked over to see Hermione, while Ron said "When did she get here?"

"Boggarts are shape shifters." She continued. "They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-"

Professor Lupin cut here off, and said, "So terrifying, yes, yes, yes." Some of the students looked mildly scared, while others looked incredibly curious. Professor Lupin walked casually towards the class, saying as he went, "Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart." And the wardrobe rattled once more from behind him.

"Let's practice it now." He said with a slight glance back at the wardrobe. "Without wands, please." He said, as some students were reaching into their pockets.

"After me. Riddikulus!"

"Ridiculous!" The class responded.

"Very good. Now, a little louder, and very, very, clear. Riddikulus!" He said, making sure to add more emphasis to the word.

"Riddikulus!" the class shouted, much more firmly and pronounced than before.

However, I heard a quiet remark from behind me, and to my right. "This class is ridiculous." Said Draco Malfoy, the ever negative.

"Well, so much for the easy part. Now, it's not as easy as 1-2-3 when you're going up against the thing you fear the most. And the incantation alone is not enough. You see, what really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume the shape you find truly amusing. Perhaps I should explain. Uh, Neville, would you join me?"

Neville jumped up a little when he called his name, and then gulped as he headed forward.

"Neville, what frightens you most of all?" Professor Lupin asked him, as Neville hung his head and looked at his shoelaces, which were untied.

Neville mumbled something I couldn't quite make out, and Professor Lupin asked, "Sorry?"

"P-Professor Snape." He said a bit more loudly. Most of the class giggled and sniggered, including myself.

"Professor Snape." Professor Lupin said with a chuckle. "Yes, frightens all. And I believe you live with your grandmother?" He asked.

"Yes, but I don't want that boggart to turn into her either." And some of the class laughed again.

Professor Lupin assured him that it wouldn't and said, "Now, I want you to picture her clothes; only her clothes, very clearly, in your mind."

"S-she carries a red handbag-"

"Ah, as long as you see it, we'll see it. Now when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do." He said, and whispered something into Neville's ear that I couldn't quite make out either.

As he finished, he said, more loudly, "Can you do that for me?" Neville just looked at him, confused and scared.

His fear doubled as Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the handle on the door of the wardrobe. However, he steadily raised his wand.

As the door of the wardrobe slowly opened, Professor Snape, dressed in his usual black cloak, slithered out.

He walked towards Neville, and after taking a few steps, Neville shouted,

"Riddikulus!" And flourished his outstretched wand at the boggart. Immediately, Snape's long, black cloak changed into an acid green dress, complete with fur neckline with a red handbag in his right arm. On top of his greasy hair was a hat with a stuffed and moth-eaten vulture.

Professor Lupin congratulated Neville, and told everyone to get in an orderly line. He directed Neville towards the back of the line, and as he did so, there was much shoving and pushing as everyone tried to get closer to the would-be Snape. Neville looked positively pleased with himself as he took a place behind Lavennder, who had begrudgingly found herself at the back of the line. I saw Draco easily shove a student with his injured arm, and I wounded up getting behind Harry. There was still shoving going on as Ron stepped up.

As Ron moved forward, the boggart swirled in a ball of black, red, and gray, until suddenly, it transformed into a gigantic spider. At that moment, I had so wanted to have been able to see Ron's face. I could hear him whimpering though, as his held up his shaking hand, brandishing his wand towards the advancing spider, which was snipping it's pinchers at him.

He shouted, "Riddikulus!" And suddenly, the spider had roller-skates on all eight of its legs, and was sliding and falling.

"Marvelous!" Professor Lupin shouted. "Next, Parvarti! Step up!"

Ron headed towards the back of the line, exchanging low-fives as he went, and Parvarti, still giggling at the spider, moved in. Once again, the boggart swirled into a mass of different colors, taking on multiple shapes and then quickly changing out of them, creating a blur that you couldn't make anything out of. Eventually, it landed as a huge snake, several times the size of a normal one. It hissed and scented the air slightly at Parvarti as she held up her wand.

"Riddikulus!"

And it turned into an, if you asked me, even scarier looking Jack in the box, that rocked back and forth.

"Wonderful, wonderful. Harry, up next."

Harry walked forward, his wand in his hand. The boggart took longer to change this time, and suddenly it swirled into black, white, gray, silver, red, black, and then turned into a boggart that swooped in on Harry exceedingly fast.

Before it engaged Harry, Professor Lupin lunged in front of him. The boggart quickly changed into the figure of a full moon, with clouds and stars around it. The Professor cast the charm at it, and it turned into a balloon and whizzed around the room, zooming in and out of the line as the helium was released. Professor Lupin opened the door of the wardrobe with his wand just as the boggart flew towards it, and the boggart flew in, while the door shut tight behind it.

"Alright, uh, sorry about that. I believe that's enough for today…So, if you'll all pack up your things." Professor Lupin addressed the class. I gave a sad moan, since I was right behind Harry, and several other students groaned as well. "Sorry, but you can have too much of a good thing."

Just before I went to get my bag, I stole a glance at Harry. He was frozen, still staring at the wardrobe.

I walked up to him, and tugged on his sleeve. "Harry? Are you alright?"

"Er, yeah. I'm fine." He said and shrugged me off. I walked towards the back of the class. Harry took one more look at the wardrobe, and then turned and walked towards where Ron and Hermione were standing, shaking his head. I walked over to Alice. She was talking to Parvarti about her snake.

I was too obsessed with another thought to think about the lesson too much. As we walked out of the classroom, I couldn't help thinking about that moon. Scratches on his face that were definitely werewolf, fearing the full moon, I was becoming more and more worried. But still, that doesn't mean he was a werewolf. If he had been attacked by a werewolf as a child, then he would most definitely be afraid of the full moon, because it would be like that memory all over again…right?

I tried to push the thought away. However, it lingered like a fly in my mind. I decided that, the next chance I got, I would ask Professor Lupin directly.

In Charms we studied a back-firer that would turn a simple to moderate jinx back on the person who had first fired it. Only Hermione had managed to perfect it. I had just managed to have it splutter and fall, bounce a little on the floor towards my opponent, then die out.

And then I had to go to Herbology, where we were studying an Algerian plant that the roots of which could be ground up and put in sleeping potions. I made sure to stand by Neville, since he was always super attentive when it came to Herbology. He promised to fill me in on the details when dinner was over.

However, before dinner, we were going to be able to go to Hogsmeade. I had made sure to grab my permission slip before classes today, and I ran outside with Alice and Luna. We eagerly handed Professor McGonagall the passes and then followed Filch into town.

Hogsmeade was more than I could have hoped. We went into Honeyduke's first. It was slightly packed, but we managed to get in. Luna mainly just looked at everything, but Alice got a sugar quill, two boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and I got a bag of Licorice Wands, some cotton candy (though it seemed the wizarding world called it spun sugar) and a chocolate frog. We had decided to wait on the enchanted candies, until we had seen them up front, preferable not on ourselves. Some of the magical ones sounded pretty cool, though. There was a hard candy that made your tongue flash a rainbow of colors, a jawbreaker that would make you hover, and hissing gummy snakes, not to mention all the non-candy related props and gadgets that were very attention-occupying in the shop.

Then we met up with Seamus and Dean, and proceeded into Zonko's Joke Shop. Several of the products were banned from school grounds, though it seemed the students didn't think Filch would be searching our pockets, and bought them anyways. There were a few other things though, like muggle card tricks and Slinkys, and one of those plastic guns that pulling the trigger makes a little ribbon fly out that says "BANG!" They even had some Sneakoscopes.

There were fanged Frisbees and trick wands, biting wind-up teeth and Stink Pellets, Belch Powder and rings that made your hand turn purple or teal.

I bought a belt that makes you sprout cat ears on top of your head. Alice laughed at it, but Luna made her confused as she mentioned they help confuse Gigaruois Manglers. We walked out of Zonko's in an awkward silence, which didn't faze Luna, though I couldn't help smiling. I was having too much fun.

When we had to head back up to Hogwarts, our pockets were lighter, out hands full with merchandise, and Seamus and Dean had somehow, amazingly, concealed away a Fanged Frisbee in their cloaks. I was wearing my belt, but Filch made me take it off as we got into the school grounds. I put it in one of my bags, and we bolted up to the dormitory.

(I had to tweak this part a bit, so if you watch the movie near the time you read it, you might not understand. The fat lady leaving her portrait would have coincided with my plot, so it happens later on. Oh, and I changed the story from the book, at least, since in the book they are at Hogsmeade all day, instead of after class. Sorry for the change. (; )

Harry was in the common room, looking slightly sulky, which I had never seen him like that before.

I told Alice that I was going to go study in the library, and snuck out of the common room, just before Dean sent out his Fanged Frisbee, that had actually made it through Filch's search. I headed towards the seventh floor, towards the statue of Barnabus the Barmy being attacked by trolls and saw, to my shocked surprise, none other than Draco Malfoy leaning against a wall there, right next to the statue.

He looked so debonair and cool, standing there. His face looked bored but still retained that smug look he always wore. And I had to stop being so attentive!

He leaned away from the wall and walked past it three times, his eyes shut in concentration. On the third turn, a door magically sprouted from the wall. It was wood and fairly large, but ornamental as well.

He opened it and gestured to me to follow him. I followed him in, and I found myself in a place not unlike the common room. There were chairs and tables and sofas and even a fireplace. Draco sat down in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

He just sat there, staring at his clenched hands, his leg bouncing up and down.

After a few moments, his said, "Damn it, would you sit down? You're bugging the crap out of me." I sat down in the chair opposite him, trying to keep a fair bit of distance.

He looked up at me, and his eyes surprised me. They were a delicate green, and filled with warmth I hadn't ever seen before. He looked slightly worried, and pissed off. It seemed he couldn't find the words he wanted to say and it aggravated him.

After a few moments of sitting there, I decided to break the silence. "Why do you insist on wearing that cast, even if you don't need it anymore?" Okay, not just to break the silence, I was actually curious about that.

He glanced up at me, the worry and anger gone, and now he looked surprised.

"W-well, I…uh…Well, err… to tell you the truth, mostly because it gets me out of doing my work. But, it still does hurt a bit sometimes. Hopefully my father will get this whole mess with the hippogriff out of the way soon." He said and looked to his left, into the fireplace.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, puzzled.

"Nothing. Besides, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Okay…uh…jeez…Where do I begin?" He sighed, and then said, "Okay, kiss in the infirmary; definitely something weird about that. No disagreement on that, right?" He asked and looked at me.

I nodded.

"But, ever since then, I…grr…it sounds so childish and wimpy when I say it like this, but, I've wanted to be around you." He stood up, hand clenching fist in an effort to release his own tension. "I wanted to make you smile when you frown, or rub away that crease in your forehead when you're confused." He said, and this time, plopped down on the couch next to me. He laid his head back against the top of the cushion, and sighed again.

"I'd really appreciate some verbal communication right now." He said, without lifting his head.

"Oh, well, uh…" I said. "I don't know about all of that," Yes, I did, but I didn't have the guts to say it. "But I do feel weird when I'm near you. The other day when I passed by you at dinner, I couldn't help but smile and blush when you grinned at me." I knew he hadn't been grinning at me, but he had looked up at me with a grin on his face.

"Thank God." He said, with an exacerbated sigh. "So it isn't just me."

"Well, after that kiss, I don't know how it could just be you. I mean, c'mon. That was crazy wired."

"So…what do we do?" He asked. "I mean, do we just ignore it? No offense, but… I really don't want to be going out with you in broad daylight." He said.

"And me either with you." I responded. As unromantic as it was, at least it was mutual.

"Do you want to go out with me?" He asked, staring at me intently, his eyes deep and focused.

"Um, well, I guess, but…" I said, averting my eyes from his intense stare.

"How about we keep it secret?" He proposed out of nowhere.

"What?"

"Y'know, meeting here every few nights, hanging out, and nobody will know." He said, looking much less worried now, and more excited.

"Well, I-I guess. When will we meet up again?"

"How about tomorrow? If something comes up we have to make a sign or something, like, if you skip out, you could do a hand gesture in the middle of class, and I'll know you had no other choice or something."

This was moving a little fast, but I decided to work with it, instead of fighting against it.

"Alright."

And then another awkward silence came up, and I decided to break it again.

"But, seriously, what are we going to do?" I asked him. I decided the best thing to do was to introduce ourselves to the fact that we were boyfriend and girlfriend now, so I moved over and sat next to him on the couch.

He, surprisingly, made another move, and grabbed my hand. "I-I've never really been in a real relationship before…" I said, looking down at my lap. "…So I'm not really sure how it go-" But I got cut off.

I got cut off because his lips had made contact with mine. And this kiss was different then that kiss in the hospital wing. Not really in a bad way, but just different. It was seriously like a boyfriend-girlfriend kiss. It was, well, to put it bluntly, more passionate. And I enjoyed it. I felt my eyes falling slowly, and I couldn't count the moments passing by, even if I wanted to.

Soon, his tongue licked my lower lip. I somehow knew he was asking for my permission, and my lips parted, and I felt his tongue exploring the inside of my mouth. I felt invaded, but I liked it, knowing it was him.

Eventually, however, we broke off, but not like before. It was slowly, like we didn't want to part, whereas, before, I had jerked away. The only reason we broke off was because we had to take a breather. I hadn't even thought to check the time, and I slowly drifted to sleep on his shoulder.

Luckily I woke up not too later, with his finger idly combing through my hair. I decided that it was best we head back to the dorms. It was only 9-ish, so I wouldn't be in trouble. And neither of us had a problem with separating.

It was like the more I thought I would be away from him, the more intense the moment would be when I saw him again. So I headed back to my dorm and drifted blissfully into sleep on my bed. However, I saw Hermione deep in study on a table in the common room when I headed up to the girls dormitories.