I was thankful for the solitude I was granted, I wanted no company.

I fiddled with my red-and-gold striped tie as I sat on Hogwarts grounds, looking off into the lake that lay a few feet in front of me. I exhaled heavily. I wished things were what they used to be, before Lord Voldemort had come back to try and dominate the Wizarding World.

Thanks to him, many lives had been turned upside down, or shattered, or ended.

I shuddered, thinking about Death Eaters storming this great school, attacking those who opposed them. I remembered being one of those who vowed to protect the school. I felt obligated to. I was a Gryffindor after all; I was put in that House for a reason. I proved that I was worthy to be in that House that night, just like some had proved they belonged in theirs.

I picked at my sleeves, trying not to wonder about where he was. Surely his family had fled, just like they had during the battle two years ago. I snorted in disgust. The nerve of them, the audacity!

It's for the better if I don't remember them; they were never good people anyway. Bad blood runs through their veins. I sneezed as a stripe of gold hair tickled my nose, irritating me. I hated it when that happened.

Most people found me interesting, simply because I constantly changed my hair. I didn't change it with magic, I used regular hair dye. In the spirit of coming back to a rebuilt Hogwarts, my hair held Gryffindor's colors: gold and red.

I could hear casual, happy chatter behind me as others walked along the school grounds. I was sure those were who hadn't been eligible to fight on that night. They were lucky, they didn't see the things I did, the good and the bad. All they did was hear the news and various versions as to what happened on a May day two years ago.

My green eyes flickered to what I believed to be a flash of platinum blond hair. I squinted, realizing my eyes were tricking me. Stop thinking about him, that's why you think you're seeing things. Annoyed with my brain, I jumped to my feet, brushing off my uniform. I turned on my heel, stomping up towards the castle. My free period was almost done, I needed to start heading for class. I hated being late, and I was sure my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher wouldn't be too happy about my tardiness either.

I was just about ready to enter one of the many halls of Hogwarts when I heard a "Psst!"

I stopped in my tracks, looking around. Only imagining things again, keep walking. I took two steps before I heard the same noise again. This time, I did a one-eighty, turning around only to see nothing but Hogwarts scenery.

I crept down cautiously, feeling curious but irritated. If this was some younger year's idea of a prank, I wasn't laughing. I grabbed my wand, holding it out, ready to hex whoever was doing this. Couldn't they see that I didn't want to be bothered? What was with people in pestering others who clearly wanted to be alone?

One step on grass made me turn to my right. I had a spell on my lips, but lost it the moment I saw the shadow. Anger sparked within me. I was pretty sure my eyes weren't tricking me this time. He looked as real as the grass at our feet, as real as the school I had been just about to head into.

He had no right to be here, he betrayed our school.

"Still on edge, I see," he noted in a low voice.

I snorted, my eyes narrowing. "You have no right to be here." I kept my wand arm stiff and alert.

"Don't I?" He raised an eyebrow. "I go to school here."

"Went," I corrected him. "You went here. If you try to get back in for your final year, McGonagall won't let you." Though the Head of Gryffindor House sometimes offered second chances, I doubted she would give one to him of all people. "I wouldn't blame her."

"Put down your wand, will you?"

"Why should I?"

"I came here to talk."

"Ha! Talk!" I shook my head. "Why should I give you the chance? Everything you've ever told me was a lie."

"Now that right there is a lie, Karen." His hands clenched into fists. He closed the gap between us, my wand the only thing separating us. My eyes never left his, green meeting grey.

"You shouldn't be here." I looked around, hoping to see no bystanders. "If others see you, you'll get caught for sure."

"I don't care. You might as well put your wand down; I know you won't do anything."

"Won't I?"

We were locked in an intense staring contest. I could feel my will to win slipping away with every passing second.

I huffed, deflated. My wand fell at my side, but my eyes didn't lose their intense gaze. "What do you want? I've got to go back soon."

"I came to talk to you."

"What made you think I would listen to anything you have to say?"

"You're the only one who will listen, even if you tell me you won't."

I blew out an annoyed breath. "Make it quick."

"You don't understand how much I hated being secretive around you."

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

"Listen, please." My eyebrows rose at the polite word. A pure-blood wizard like him never used such words. "What I had to do, I didn't enjoy any of it."

I scoffed.

"Why are you not taking me seriously?"

"Because I shouldn't. You never once thought to reach out, to see if I could help you in any way. Never once did you think that I would listen to you if you came to me. I probably would have been pissed with you, but I would have listened." I prodded his chest with an accusing finger. "So why should I take you seriously when all you did was push me away when you knew very well that I would be there for you?"

"I didn't have a choice!" he roared. "I didn't want you to get pulled into what I was going through. I didn't want something to happen to you because of me. If you were in my shoes, you would have done the same thing."

"I doubt it."

His hands were fists at his sides. "Why did I bother coming here?"

"Beats me," I sneered. "You better go before I make you, or before a professor catches you."

He shook his head vigorously. "I want this...tension to stop, Karen. Really, I want it to."

"Good luck getting that wish to come true." I tossed my red-and-gold hair.

"I want what we used to have."

I gave him the stink eye. Though I had to admit that those times had been the best, they were in the past. Who he had been back then was not who he was now. Was that person, that Draco Malfoy even salvageable now? Had that Draco I knew before all the secrets ever been real to begin with? Was the Draco I had known built up from lies?

"Did that even mean anything to you?"

"How can you ask a question like that? Of course it meant something to me!"

"Tell me, what was the real reason you ended it?" I dared to ask, the anger lost in my voice. "I know for a fact things were going just fine, your excuse was pathetic."

"I know it was."

"Was it because of our Houses?"

"Karen, you and I both know that wasn't the reason."

"Are you sure? Your friends seemed to want to do everything possible to break us up." I remembered Pansy Parkinson trying to weasel her way between Draco and me. I remembered Crabbe and Goyle harassing me, poking fun at my hair. Though those three weren't the only people Draco knew, they were the main trio who disagreed of the relationship between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin.

If the entire school had known, everyone would have disagreed with it as well. It amazed me how the secret didn't go outside of those three, probably because whoever they told didn't believe them.

"It had nothing to do with the rivalry!" Draco's fists uncurled at his sides. "I cared about you enough to keep you out of harm's way!"

"You do remember what I go through every full moon, right? I could have handled—"

"No, Karen, you wouldn't have. What I went through was much more dangerous than your full moon."

I swallowed. I guess I had to take his word for it on this one, though I still believed being a werewolf was much worse than being a Death Eater. Thinking about my condition reminded me of the scar high up on my arm.

I tried not to think about that awful time, a time that changed me forever.

No explanation was needed right now about what Draco had gone through. I definitely wanted the full story from him, whatever parts he decided to tell me anyway.

"Speaking of that, how're you managing?" he asked cautiously.

"Better. The teachers are aware of my condition, as is McGonagall. They work around the condition so I don't miss a lot. I think some people suspect, but quite honestly, I don't really give a damn." I snorted a laugh. "I mean, it won't stop me from learning magic here."

"You still have that same attitude," Draco mused. "I'm glad that hasn't changed."

"Don't try to flatter me. Unlike with most girls, it won't get you anywhere." I snorted. My eyes fell to the ground. "I still can't understand it."

"What?"

"How we even got along." My eyes snapped to his. "We come from different backgrounds. We're in rival Houses. I thought you despised me from the moment you saw me."

"Honestly, I don't think either of us can answer that question. It just...happened."

"I definitely thought you'd turn away from me when I told you I was a...you know."

"I thought I would too," he admitted. "For some reason, it didn't bother me. It still doesn't."

"I don't know how you put up with me."

"I would tell you the reason, but I don't think you want to hear it right now."

I knew what he would say. He was right; I didn't want to hear his reasoning. This wasn't the proper place or time. Besides, things were rocky. Saying something could push whatever we had left off a cliff.

"We were quite the actors in school, weren't we?" I said dreamily, reminiscing. Even though Draco was dancing around the topic of our relationship, I couldn't help but go back to the past, a time where things were less stressful and less dangerous.

He chuckled. "We were. It wasn't hard, if you think about it."

"Right, we had so much to use."

Our relationship wasn't forbidden, it was secret. We had kept it private because we didn't want all the attention. At first it was only me who refused to get publicity for it. Draco had considered wanting attention for it, even if it was bad for his reputation with the Slytherins. In the end, I convinced him that it would be better—not to mention a little more fun—if we kept our relationship a secret.

Boy, was it a chore too!

My mind kept drifting back to those times, times where Draco was someone entirely different around me. Though most people didn't see it, I saw that he had a heart.

A deep toll of a bell made us both jump, bringing us out of our past. The bell reminded me that the past was the past, and that it should stay that way.

"I have to go," I said quickly. "I'm not about to start being tardy in my last year!"

"Speaking of a last year, I'm considering enrolling."

My eyes blinked hugely. "Come again?"

"I was thinking about it this year, but I decided to not."

"I hate to say it, Draco, but I doubt you'd be allowed back in, after the battle and everything."

"If I tell McGonagall everything, I'm sure she'd forgive me. I hope you can one day."

"That's if you tell me everything," I retorted calmly. "If you explain it all, I may forgive you. Don't expect that to mean us getting back together."

He smiled dryly. "Don't worry, I won't."

Without delaying myself a minute longer, I fled from Draco towards the castle.

"By the way," he shouted. I cringed, and was tempted to stop and gesture for him to shut up. "The colors work for you."

That compliment meant a lot more to me than it would most people, especially if it came from Draco Malfoy of all people.

As I hurried to class, I couldn't wipe off the smile on my face, and I was beginning to plan out the perfect excuse as to why I would be late.

**ah, the cute secret Gryffindor-Slytherin relationship. Gotta love it!**