The next morning I woke up early, but remained in bed. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling, my thoughts wandered back to the day before. Draco had been sweet and tender, any girl would have succumbed to it. His strong arms and muscular body could also make many girls float. I smiled at the thought, but immediately realized how wrong it was...What did I do! I thought. I tossed and turned in my bed in a frantic attempt to go back to sleep.

"Joanne?" A tired Hermione sounded through the dormitory. I grumbled back in an unintelligible way and Hermione came to my bed, worried. "Are you okay?" I looked up with a frown.
"I can't sleep", I decided.

"Joanne, it's only half past four! I think you should go to Madame Pomfrey. "

"Oh Hermione, I'm not sick. I'm just... too tired. I don't know." I realized how stupid it sounded, so I just shrugged and turned my back at her. Hermione raised her eyebrows a little, but then decided to get back into bed too.

Meanwhile my thoughts were racing. How could I be so stupid, let myself be caught like that? What the hell was so special about this boy? He was hated by all my new friends. Jesus, I should be glad I had such friends here! Was I going to risk all that for a flirty jerk? No, or my name wasn't Joanne Dhanes!

After a while I managed to fall asleep, only to wake up when the breakfast table was already cleared. When I entered the common room, I even got some surprised faces.
"You missed breakfast", Ron reported regretfully. I shrugged.
"Would you like to go to the kitchen?" Fred asked but I just shook my head and he frowned.
"Why are you all inside?" I asked, to divert attention from me. "The weather is nice! Good to fly", I continued, grinning broadly.

Harry and Ron's enthusiastic faces quickky faded when Hermione replied for them:
"We really have too much homework." I now turned to the twins and Leo. Leo quickly shook his head. "I'm not flying!"
George shrugged regretfully, he was just testing candy on poor Leo.
"I'll go along", Fred said, I smiled at him gratefully and missed how George looked at his brother incredulously and slightly reproachful.
"I'll get my things."

Moments later Fred and I walked to the Quidditch field, much to our regret, the Hufflepuff team was training. We decided to wait a while and sat down in the stands.
"When do you think our first training is?" I asked and Fred shrugged.

"I heard McGonagall is looking for another captain."

"Well, we can't say we would be sorry, can we?" I asked and Fred grinned.

"How are you?" he asked more seriously after a pause.

"Getting used to this place, homesickness, blah blah", I tried to sound casual.

"Your mom?" he tried carefully. I looked at him in shock.

"what?" I squeaked. Fred cleared his throat and sat up a bit, uncomfortably trying to correct his mistake.
"Yeah, I don't know, I thought you might be missing her or something. I just want to say that you can always talk about her", he now stammered. In the meantime I had jumped up.
"I don't want to talk about her", I answered fiercely and strode back inside.

Once I actually walked in the hallways, I cooled down and even regretted my outburst a bit. Fred had tried to be a good friend and I just got mad without an explanation. Apparently I didn't need Malfoy to screw up with my friends, I could do that all by myself. A reluctant tear fell down my cheek.

When I heard my name, I quickly wiped it away and turned around. "Fred, I'm sorry. I... oh, it's you", I said and I quickly looked around.

"Would you rather have the tall red one?" Malfoy mocked. I looked at him with devastation. Pissed off. He insulted my friend, whom I had just hurt and yet he saw my grief.

"Joanne, what's wrong?" he asked and his voice had turned to be concerned now. Curse him, the boy I had to hate. A second tear now ran down my cheek. He looked around again quickly and then stepped over to me.

He took my arm and hurried down the corridors into another empty classroom.
"What is it?" he asked more forcefully.

"Malfoy, please. Stop!"

"What? You're crying! Joanne, is this my fault? " I just shook my head. My voice would skip as soon as I used it, so I said nothing. The blond boy got a little distraught. "Was it that Weasley? Does he know anything? " Now I didn't care if my voice cracked, poor Fred didn't do anything wrong.

"No, Malfoy. There are other things in my life than you!"
Slightly startled, he raised his eyebrows.

"Then what?" I was silent again, how could he understand. "Joanne", he whispered and pulled me softly towards him. He put his arms around me lovingly and I put my sobbing face against his chest.

"He just wanted to be nice", I wailed. "I got mad because he wanted to be nice." Draco rubbed my back and rocked me back and forth in comfort. "It's okay, he'll get it."

"Oh Draco, I don't even get it. Then why would he understand? "

"I have a suspicion that it is not too bad", he winked. I shrugged.
"Maybe it doesn't matter. Sooner or later this will come out ... "I pointed from myself to him and continued: " ... and then it ends anyway. "

"Are you saying you're going to admit this isn't just hormone related?" he asked with a small smile.
"I mean enough has happened already", I said sternly.

"Well, in that case it doesn't matter how we proceed, does it?" I frowned at him, but as soon as his lips touched mine, I forgot where I was, what to say. I forgot everything that could matter, there was just him and me... Draco and me.

A moment later I managed to pull myself out of his embrace.
"I have to find Fred." He just nodded and walked out of the room. I waited a few minutes and then slipped into the hallway. I rushed outside, but Fred was nowhere to be found. My heart sank, he must have gone to the common room.

On the way up, my stomach started to growl involuntarily. I realized I hadn't eaten today. It had to be close to noon, everyone was probably in the great hall! I turned around with renewed courage. As if my feet weren't touching the ground, I floated through the halls. I had felt really bad. Draco had made that better. He made it perfect. How could this be wrong?

I entered the great hall and searched the gryffindor table for Fred. When I found him, he was already staring at me. Next to him, Leo and George waved at me, so he hadn't told them. I walked up to them and sat down next to Fred. I looked at him, but he ignored me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered almost inaudibly, but Fred looked at me for a moment, shrugged and stared back at his plate. Then, as if he remembered something, he looked back at me with a broad grin.
"I'm not offended that easily!" he said. Something told me that he was, but I decided to ignore it and grinned back.
"Good!"

Moments later we walked to the common room together, when a highpitched voice distracted me.

"Uh. Joanne? " I turned and looked straight, well after looking for a moment and then looking down, at a freshman.

"Yes?"

"Uhm. McGonagall asked if you would come to her office." The Weasleys and Leo now also looked back.

"What have I done now?" I complained. I had been at this school  for less than two months and had already received more detention than my classmates.

"I don't know", squeaked the startled girl. I growled and Fred asked if he should come along.

"No thanks, Fred"

With slumped shoulders I walked back through the halls, with every step I took I started to worry more. Were there any security spells on empty classrooms? Did she know  something? I reassured myself that she probably just wanted to ask if I could relate to my new environment.

A moment later I knocked on McGonagall's door and walked in.

"Aha! Dhanes, come in!"

I walked to the chair in front of her desk and sat down.
"Do you like it here at school?" I nodded my head.
"Everything but the detention."

McGonagall smiled. "Yes, once Severus has it out for you... Good. I need to talk to you about our Quidditch captain. " I stared at her in surprise, I hadn't seen that coming. "As you've probably noticed, he doesn't take his job that seriously."

I tilted my head in affirmation, but didn't understand what I was doing here.
"I would ask Harry, but he has to visit the principal so often that I fear he cannot afford the extra time. Ginny is very young and yes the other Weasleys.... " My chin sank gently, as I started to realise why I was here. "So I was wondering if you would feel like taking over his position as we have our first game next month and I don't remember many practices."

"Now that you mention it, I don't think we've had one."

"So what do you think?"

I stared at her in astonishment. She had never seen me on a broom before. "Of course, I would like to, but. I .. "

"I will warn Mr. Togers, you don't have to. I hope you'll do your best!" She looked at me semi-strict for a moment and I laughed: "Sure! Thank you, professor "

"Thank you, Joanne! Go now. "

A few minutes later I entered the common room and asked Fred right away. "And?"

George, Leo, Harry, Ron and Hermione had apparently been waiting too. "Uhm .." I looked around the room and saw the current captain sitting in the far corner. George saw that I didn't want to say anything out loud and pushed us all up the stairs to their room. "Speak" said Harry when we got there.

"Well, she wants me to be captain of the Quidditch team."

"What?!"

"Uh. Yeah "I shrugged awkwardly.

"That is perfect!" Harry said enthusiastically: "So far we've only had two training sessions!"

The three Weasleys agreed.

"Fantastic! Congrats!"

"Well" I continued: "Since most of us are here anyway, which nights can you not train?"

"Not one!" they all said together.

"Ok, we have some catching up to do! Does Ginny have busy evenings? "

"No"Hermione said.

"Ok, I haven't asked Togers yet, but I'm looking forward to it!"

We trained for the rest of the weekend. Monday we all started the week reluctantly. The second hour of the afternoon was just over when Professor McGonagall raised her voice .
"Fred, George, Leo and Joanne. Can you wait a while? " So we watched the rest leave the classroom and then turned our attention to McGonagall. "So, did you actually understand one word today?"

"Yes of course!" we replied in unison. McGonagall's right eyebrow curled a little strangely while her left rose gently.
"So this is not yours?" She took a box from her desk, it was filled with of all kinds of things that had flown through the classroom in the past hour. A few feathers had caught fire every few seconds, others had followed their owners. The papers included in the box contained the instructions for the feathers. It was a new and fun invention by Fred and George.

"That, professor, is not the same question at all!" Leo said. McGonagall looked angry for a moment, but gave in.
"Okay then, I'll check how fast you get to your next class, depending on that you might not be punished."

We sprinted out of class, jumped down the stairs and slid into the corners. We made a serious pace, unfortunately I sprained my ankle after landing badly jumping down the stairs.

Fred turned when he heard me fall "Joanne! You really can't use any more detention! "

"Yes, Fred, I will take that into account next time!" I said furiously.

"Okay, ok, sorry" he said helping me up. As he leaned forward, I was horrified to see Draco looking at us in the same hallway. "Can you stand?" asked Fred.

"Yes .."

"Walk?"

"I doubt it"

"Shit, Joanne, come here, goddamn .." he swung my arm  over his shoulders and helped me walk on, we hurried as best we could with my sore ankle and left a disappointed Malfoy. The next lesson the boys were suddenly surprisingly calm, not that they were impressed by McGonagall's threat, but they thought themselves guilty for my ankle. Eventhough Madame Plijster made it completely better in two minutes, a little later in the day.

For the next hour I had Defense Against the Dark Arts, Fred noticed that I didn't feel like it and suggested to walk with me.
"Thanks, Fred" When we arrived at the classroom, the others were already there. I walked over to Ron, Harry and Hermione, but I didn't look the latter in the eye.

I could tell she wanted to get my attention in class, but ignored her as best I could. When we got out of class, however, I could no longer avoid her. "Why are you avoiding me so?" she asked when she walked next to me.

"I'm not avoiding you at all!" I said, seeing from the corner of my eye that Draco was listening in.

"Please! You haven't spoken to me in two days! "

"Yes, most of my lessons..."

"That has nothing to do with it, there is something wrong. I will find out what it is anyway, so you better just tell me! "

"But..."

"I was right, wasn't I? It's Malfoy, isn't it? " she whispered now.

"I have to go to McGonagall, Hermione, she's already threatened with detention!"

"Why don't you ask Malfoy to accompany you, he would be more than happy to do it," she hissed now angrily, but silently.

"HERMIONE! Has it ever occurred to you that this may just be why I'm avoiding you? "

She looked shocked, but it was not her habit to apologize quickly, so I didn't wait for it. I turned and walked up the stairs to my next class, which thankfully was not with Hermione. Once out of sight I slowed down. I didn't feel like the next lesson, not even with the three happy boys, so I sauntered on. When I suddenly heard footsteps, I turned and saw a group of Slytherins coming my way. I was pushed several times in passing, but I didn't feel like going into it. Suddenly a hand grabbed my arm, I turned fiercely in the direction of the hand and looked straight into Draco's iceblue marbles. He looked and sounded concerned too when he asked, "Are you okay?" I was shocked and looked around panicked, he shouldn't do this! If anyone saw this... "yes, fine" I answered quietly.

"That mudblood with her open, puffed crown of hair .."

"Don't say that!"

"Sorry, but you gave the impression that she was hurting you" My eyes that had scanned the corridors  now looked straight into his: "She did."

"It had something to do with ... you know ... "

" Yes "

" How does she know? "

"She's my friend and she knows me, Draco, but now I really have to go to McGonagall."

"Yes ok .. bye" and he quickly pressed his lips against mine.

That evening Hermione came to the common room to apologize, I quickly forgave her and then walked over to Fred, who called my name all over the room.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to save you from Hermione's clutches."

"Fred, you are fantastic!"

"Thank you, thank you very much"

"Really, you have been doing an incredible amount of favours for me lately... thanks"

"Uhm ok... Come on, what did you expect, you deserve it!" I suppressed the urge to give him a hug and followed him upstairs, where Leo and George awaited us. I sat down on Fred's bed, as usual, and caught a glimpse from George to Fred. Not quite realizing what that look meant, I suggested the idea of ​​doing something fun with writing ink and we delved into yet another brainstorm.