The Hospital Wing and the Astronomy Tower

Harry got back to Gryffindor Tower after a long day with Cho. She'd been even more annoying in Hogsmeade than she was at Hogwarts. She'd never seemed quite this annoying when he couldn't have her, but now that he did have her, he didn't want her. Not a confusing concept at all, but the reasoning was confusing.

Ron and Hermione were sitting in the common room together, Hermione was writing something, and Ron was sitting beside her trying to see what she was writing. Ginny was sitting on Ron's other side, reading a book. Harry took a deep breath and walked over to Ginny.

"Er, Ginny?" he said. "Could I... er.. talk to you for a second?"

"If this is about Draco, then-" Ginny began.

"Oh! No," said Harry. "Well, not really. It's only, I just wanted to say sorry."

"What for?" she said, looking at him with a confused expression.

"Just sorry," said Harry. "For the whole Malfoy thing, acting all protective and what not. And sorry for being such a bad friend."

"Why is everything about friendship these days?" Ginny asked. "Why does everybody value friends so much? I really don't understand why you're apologizing to me."

"Ginny, you ask too many questions," Ron said. "Just say, I accept your apology, and then get on with life."

Ginny glared at Ron. "Since when are you a part of this conversation?" she asked.

"There you go with the questions again!" said Ron.

"Oh Ron, leave them alone," said Hermione.

Harry's face was considerably red by now, he was looking embarrassed. "So do you accept my apology?" he said.

"What are you apologizing for?" Ginny asked again.

"I told you, everything," Harry said.

"Okay," said Ginny, not quite understanding. "Fine, I accept it."

***

Blaise sat in the Slytherin common room with nothing to do. Everybody else had long gone to sleep, and she didn't feel like sleeping, so she sat alone. Her stomach had begun to rumble, and she had skipped supper that evening. She decided that since she had nothing better to do, she'd go to the kitchens and eat something, maybe say a quick hello to Dobby, Draco's old house-elf. She smiled to herself thinking about how out-raged Lucius had been the summer they had lost Dobby, thanks to Harry Potter.

She got up from where she had been sitting and left the Slytherin common room. The trip to the kitchens was a short one, and before she knew it, she was tickling the pear on the painting of a fruit bowl, a little trick she had learned from Draco.

"What can us get for Miss Zabini?" a house elf said, running up to her.

Before she knew it, a herd of elves was crowding around her, offering up plates of chicken and potatoes. She accepted some food, and ate it. An elf brought her a goblet of pumpkin juice, which she drank all in one gulp. Blaise burped rudely, causing all of the elves to cringe. She smiled to herself, that one always annoyed them.

***

Harry awoke at around two in the morning, his stomach growling with hunger. He hadn't eaten supper as he'd been with Cho all evening, and she didn't seem to be hungry very often. He thought he'd just pop down to the kitchens, because he could never sleep properly on an empty stomach; he always had strange dreams, much like the one he'd just been having. In his dream, he had been with Cho in the Astronomy Tower, and had tried to murder her, using the Avada Kedavra. Harry using one of the unforgivable curses was unlikely, but his wanting to kill Cho was just absurd. Or was it?

He slid out of his bed and crept quietly to the door of the dormitory, as to not wake any of the other boys. He walked slowly down the stairs into Gryffindor common room, and stepped out of the portrait.

Then suddenly a thought struck him, and he dashed back up to his dormitory to get his invisibility cloak. When he was hidden from view of passers by, he went on his way to the kitchens.

When he was almost at the portrait that was the entrance into the kitchens, he saw somebody step out of it. At first, he thought it was a professor, but then he saw the long black hair (which couldn't be Snape) and thought it was Cho. Wrong again.

Blaise Zabini turned around and looked straight at Harry. "Why are you wearing that cloak?" she asked suspiciously.

Harry pulled the cloak off. "How did you know?"

"Potter?" Blaise looked shocked to see him.

Harry nodded.

Blaise stared at him, and for a moment, he thought she would hex him, or do something else equally as horrible, but she didn't, she just stared.

"How did you know I was wearing the cloak?" he tried again.

"I... I can just tell when there are people around," she replied, looking dazed.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked.

Blaise shook her head. "I... I need to... I need to go." And she turned as though to leave, but didn't move.

Harry stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder out of habit; he always put his hand on a person's shoulder when he felt they were in need of a friend. But since when did Harry go around making friends with Slytherins? This was becoming too routine, first the incident with Draco, how Harry had been so understanding, and now this.

Blaise took in a sharp breath causing Harry to quickly take his hand away. Blaise turned around and looked him in the eye. Bright green eyes, so unique, maybe he was actually different after all. "Look, Potter, I... There's something I just need to tell you," she said.

"What?" said Harry, and for some reason he felt nervous. But then again, why shouldn't he be nervous? The most psychotic Slytherin in the school needed to tell him something.

"It's all your fault," she said suddenly, her voice not quite as steady as usual. "YOU! It's your fault Voldemort fell, your fault Draco never got Ginny to begin with, you kept them apart. And then you kept your two best friends apart, because they were scared what you would think, and then you take Diggory's ex-girlfriend, because he went and got killed, BECAUSE OF YOU! And I don't care if it was Voldemort who killed him, it was still your fault. And now you're just here. Just here."

"How long have you wanted to say all of that?" asked Harry.

"A few days now," said Blaise, feeling as though a huge weight had just been lifted off of her chest.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said Harry.

"Do you want to know something else?" Blaise said. "Now I feel... Well, I say down with Cho Chang!" she said, getting back most of her enthusiasm.

Harry looked at her. She really is a psycho, Harry thought. But maybe that's what I need, she's better than Cho. Stop it Harry! Stupid pig. Dammit, I'm talking to myself again.

"Speechless?" Blaise asked. "I'm sorry, Potter. All right, I'm not sorry, but still."

Harry shook his head. "I.. well, I don't know what to say. Er, do you... erm... Is there anything else?"

Blaise smirked. "Astronomy Tower's empty, we could go up there," she suggested.

"You're so fast-moving," said Harry, (this statement received a laugh from Blaise). "I don't mean that, I just want to know if there's anything else you want to shout at me about, you know, to get it all over with."

"Well," said Blaise. "How do you feel about Ginny and Draco?"

Harry shrugged. "How should I feel?"

"If my stalker had just fallen in love with my worst enemy, I wouldn't be so calm about it," said Blaise. "I'd get even."

"My what?" said Harry. "And what do you mean 'fallen in love?'"

Blaise smiled an evil smile that suited her well. "I mean, she's been following you around for so long, and now she'd rather be with Draco."

"But she isn't exactly in love," said Harry. "Is she?"

"It seems that way to me," said Blaise. "But it's only a matter of time before they're both heart-broken."

"Then what?" said Harry, with growing interest.

"Then they come to us for comfort, and we re-break their broken hearts," said Blaise.

"So what you're saying is I should get revenge on Ginny by using you?" said Harry, not following.

Blaise nodded.

Harry shook his head. "I don't want revenge, and I'm with Cho."

"She won't have to find out," said Blaise. "And it doesn't have to be based on revenge. I can tell you aren't happy with Cho."

"What makes you so sure?" Harry asked.

"I know these things," said Blaise with a sly smile. "So what do you say?"

"No," said Harry.

"Fine," said Blaise. "Your loss, not mine."

Blaise masked her emotions so well that Harry didn't know that inside, she was torn apart by that simple word: No.

Blaise walked off towards the Slytherin dormitories, once again planning her revenge. But it seemed so impossible. Stupid stupid Potter, she thought. Stupid git.

Harry completed his trip to the kitchens and finally got the food he needed. But he felt uneasy; Blaise seemed to be the perfect excuse to get rid of Cho, just like Malfoy had said, and she seemed to match the girl of his dreams, but somehow, it didn't seem real...