"She is in the Gryffindor dorm, I have learned that it helps with her nightmares. I am well aware that it is unseemly but the nightmares were so grievous this week that it reached a point where I decided it was worth the appearance."

"The appearance?" spluttered Draco, "Severus, she has grown more comfortable in her new form than you realize."

"What precisely does that mean Mr. Malfoy, and how precisely do you know?" asked Severus with a grim face.

Brogan scarcely dared to breathe. Draco turned pink, the traitor, and didn't need to say anything more beneath Severus's glare.

"Why Draco, you act as if you had forgotten that you and Brogan are merely pretending for the Plan. An exchange of favors was negotiated, correct? And Brogan is supposed to pretend to be your girlfriend in exchange for you turning the Slytherins from the Dark Lord.

Have the terms changed Draco?"

Draco was a deep red now and it looked horrible with his fair hair, "no Severus," he whispered sounding gutted. He rose woodenly from the table and turned to make his escape, Severus was equally agitated and scraped his chair back, throwing down his napkin and stalking off to his bedroom. Brogan held her breath and crept to her own room, her mind spinning.

Unsure what else she could do she resolved to enter the Slytherin common room that night and drape herself on Draco as if nothing was wrong. Draco had been sitting in his favorite chair by the fire when Brogan walked in, she had a transfiguration book in her hand and simply walked up to him, barely saying hello to the students who were supposed to be strangers to her (and pretty much were). Draco had looked up at her and shifted back opening his arms in welcome, but not pausing in his chat with Pansy. He had a playful flirting banter going with Pansy Parkinson and he did not break it off even as Brogan twisted her hip into his groin. Brogan had thought that playing it cool and acting entrenched in her own book would work but eventually she found herself drawn into their jesting and she took to muttering her own comebacks, just loud enough for Draco to hear. She quickly became more entertaining for Draco than Pansy.

When Pansy sensed she was losing she became quite a bit more vicious towards Brogan but Brogan brushed it all off and refused to say mean things back, returning instead to her book. She slid down a bit so that her head was against Draco's chest and her legs were thrown over the arm of their shared chair.

It was a Friday night so the students stayed up quite late, not Brogan of course. She lasted maybe an hour with the warmth of the fire and the reassuring rumble of Draco's voice beneath her cheek. When she awoke again it was quieter in the room, the smaller children having gone to bed. Draco was running his fingers through her hair and lazily watching Theodore Nott whisper with Crabbe and Goyle across the room. Brogan slid her arm around Draco's back, it wasn't as wide as Ron's but she could feel his muscles tense and she imagined he had a wiry strength to him. She turned her lips towards his ear and sighed to him, "do you know what they're plotting?"

Draco shrugged minutely and rubbed his lips across her forehead. He could almost feel the ridge of her scar though he couldn't see it in the dim firelight. Brogan shivered and dropped her book with a soft thud so she could take Draco's hand in her own. She brushed her own lips against his fingertips and looked up at him through her lashes. Draco felt his will crumble as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff and the earth was dropping away. With a jolt of alarm he drew his hand away and sat up straighter, trying to shake off whatever spell she was casting.

Their movements drew the attention of the other boys and Draco sneered at them easily. Brogan was muzzy from her nap and Draco's jolt had startled her so she wasn't sure what her response should be now. She put her head back down on Draco's shoulder and nuzzled her nose at his neck; Draco didn't relax into her, his back felt like iron beneath her hand. She sighed and felt a bit pouty. This wasn't fun.

But still, the nap had been good, "thank you Draco, for letting me sleep for a while. I kept my da up for three nights this week and we're both kind of losing it."

"Severus's presence doesn't help?" Draco murmured into her hair, the other boys were making their way to bed.

"No, I wish it did. Maybe it's because of all those years of hostility. Maybe it's because of his Dark Mark, I don't know. It's horrible, he wants so much to help and then he just makes me tense and guilty. I feel so bad when I see his face all white and upset and tired in the middle of the night and it takes me hours to relax with him, to convince myself that he isn't going to tease me about it or be hurtful.

I've been trying to figure out what spell he put on me that's waking him up. I don't dare to ask him to take it off but it's been so awful that I'm sure if I got it off myself he would stop trying."

Draco was aghast, "Severus would never hurt you Brogan," he tried to reassure the girl.

"I know it in my head but h-he was so mean before, and I don't understand I guess, why he would change now. You can tell me that it's because he found out I'm his flesh and blood but after living with flesh and blood for the last fifteen years I don't believe it would really make a difference."

"I was mean before too though wasn't I?" Draco whispered.

He was rewarded with a smile, "you were but it wasn't so malicious, you didn't have access to the same weapons Snape did."

"I guess that makes sense, the Weasel hasn't been perfect either."

"I know, I remember all the times he has been jealous. But I trust him and when I fall asleep near him I feel safe and I sleep all night long. It's the same with you, you don't need to be jealous."

"Do you flirt with him too?" Draco tried for a teasing tone.

"I suppose I do (she seriously understated) but nobody has ever seen Ron and I together, it won't affect the charade we have here." She paused and looked closely at him, "this is a charade, right? Not that I feel safe with you, that's all real, but the kisses and the petting. Well, the petting can be real, right, because everyone enjoys that and a nice foot rub... Well, I guess it is a bit fuzzy.

What do you want Draco?"

Draco gazed at her, it seemed she was still full of that Gryffindor honesty, at least he hoped she was, otherwise she was getting too good for him. He traced her cheekbone with a finger tip, her face looked pinched to him too. He even shifted her on his lap and tried to gauge if she was lighter than she had been a week ago, he thought she might be. Brogan accepted his pause with absolute faith and calm; she was totally pliant in his arms and so very trusting with her big eyes and rumpled hair. "I want you Brogan, all of you and all for myself. Who would want anything less?"

She blushed and looked around the room to be sure they were alone, then she slid around until she straddled his lap and put her hands on the side of his face to pull him down to kissing range. He bent easily and they kissed long and passionate. Brogan slid her hands down to his neck, then his shoulders -mapping the muscles there, then she slid them down his ribs on the sides and tugged his shirt out of his slacks so she could repeat the journey skin on skin. Draco was thin but he had nice definition and she enjoyed how his skin jumped around beneath her fleeting touches.

Draco tugged her shirt out too. The kiss was more gasping and sucking than actual kissing now, it was wet and filthy and perfect in Draco's mind.

Soon enough they were a sleepy sated tangle in Draco's favorite chair. He patted the arm of the chair fondly, his really most favorite chair now. They tugged their clothes back into a semblance of decorum and Brogan looked up at Draco with a hopeful shine to her eyes.

Draco sighed and struggled to his feet with Brogan still wrapped around his torso. She supposed he would carry her back to her room now and let out a happy sort of chirp when he walked over to the couch instead. Draco carefully lay down without letting go of his bundle, Brogan stretched out on top of him -her cheek on his chest and their legs tangled. Draco flicked his wand at a nearby blanket and it settled over them. Brogan kicked a bit and there were two thunks as her shoes landed on the floor next to the couch. Her bare foot slid up his pant leg and he chuckled a bit and squeezed her closer.

They lay there entwined for a while, Draco's mind was everywhere and nowhere as he watched the embers of the fire die down. Slowly he became aware of a dampness on his chest, his first thought was that Brogan might be drooling. Strangely this thought didn't make him leap to his feet and throw her on the floor, something he surely would have done a year ago. Instead he craned his neck as much as he could and was surprised to see silvery tear tracks slipping down one of those cheek bones that he loved so well.

He worked a hand free and brushed a tear away with one of his long finger tips. "What's the matter?" he whispered. She moved as if to roll away and he trapped her with his thighs.

Brogan gave him a watery smile and lifted her head to wipe her other eye, "oh the coals were just reminding me of this time when Sirius Black floo-ed me through the Gryffindor fire late one night, he wanted to give me some advice about the dragon task."

"You were amazing with that task, I almost had a heart attack when it gouged you though." And to Brogan's surprise Draco's hand went right to where the ridges of that scar still were. He traced it once over her shirt, slipped his hand underneath and traced it again, then he leaned up and gave it a kiss too.

"I make a lousy girl with all these scars." Brogan chuckled.

Draco sat up more, "you have others? Can I see them?"

Brogan laughed, it was such a guy thing and such a weirdly pleasant change of topic. "Sure," she agreed, "you'll like this one," she sat up too and pushed up her sleeve, "this one is from an actual basilisk."

Draco looked at the small round scar in wonder, "how did you not die?" he asked.

"It was a really close thing, I was dying, but then Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, cried on the bite and saved me."

"Cool," said Draco, "and I presume you slayed the basilisk."

Brogan, blushed and nodded. Draco was stroking her other arm and as he traveled up it he saw another scar inside her elbow. "What's this one?" he asked.

"Resurrection ceremony, I'd rather not talk about that one."

"I have heard about this one, I'm sorry." He said, and the way his eyes glowed in the firelight looked very sincere. He kissed that one too, a long warm chaste kiss as if he was trying to purify it with his sorrow.

"You are the queen of near death experiences aren't you? I heard dementors attacked you one summer too."

Brogan scoffed a bit, "that was just two; back in third year over a hundred came after Sirius and me out by the lake one night."

Draco boggled, "how did you survive that one?"

"My patronus." Replied Brogan dismissively, but her eyes told another story.

"What is it?" Draco pried as gently as he could.

"My patronus was a stag because my father, James, was an animagus stag and I don't know if it's changed now or what."

"He still died protecting you, it might be the same. Do you worry it's a great greasy bat now?" Brogan squeaked and covered her mouth with her hand, she tried to hit Draco but he squirmed away. They wrestled as quietly as they could for a while and ended up lying side by side on the couch staring once more at the fire.

Draco was in the back with a hand wrapped around Brogan's rib cage and a leg thrown over her hips. He nuzzled her ear with his nose, "are you going to fall asleep now? Will I have to carry you back to your room and suffer the wrath of your da?"

"Maybe," Brogan yawned, "will we get in trouble if we stay here? We're dressed aren't we?"

"Plus, you don't seem to get in trouble."

Brogan smiled, "not so much I guess. Still peeved I got to sleep in the tower?"

"Yes" hissed Draco in her ear, raising goose bumps all down her arm. He tugged her possessively closer. "I don't like sharing; surely you have noticed after all these years?"

"I'm sorry," said Brogan, choosing not to offer him more than that.

"That didn't sound like a promise to never do it again."

Brogan twisted around so she could look at him, "I don't want to promise you that."

"But we do have an agreement; you agreed to be my smoking hot girlfriend."

"I agreed to appear to be your girlfriend."

"And no girlfriend of mine would be seen sleeping with a Gryffindor."

"I wasn't seen sleeping with a Gryffindor."

"But you might be."

"True, and if that happens we can stage a big fight in the Great Hall and one or the other of us will win depending on which we mutually agree will be most beneficial for the plan. If we really are following our prior agreement then there is no issue here... So, are we? Are we still following the plan or do you wish to alter the terms?" She finished by looking quite coldly at Draco.

Draco shifted uncomfortably, of course he didn't want her to sleep with that stupid mountain of ginger but neither did he want to confess to feelings beyond their agreement. Mostly he really didn't want to lose a debate like this to a Gryffindor. "Yes," he said simply, "I do wish to alter the terms."

Brogan gaped at him. "Really? How?"

"I don't want you to be my pretend girlfriend; I want it to be real." His cheeks flushed and his eyes looked a bit glassy, he stroked her face and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Draco, I can't be a real girlfriend. I'm not a real girl yet."

"Bullshit," Draco murmured, kissing her again and sliding his hands around her curves.

Brogan had to smile at that, "alright granted, I seem to have sorted out the kissing and making out parts, but I'm sixteen. Maybe sixteen isn't too young to go steady or whatever but two months is."

"Have you kissed the Weasel too?"

Brogan blushed and nodded, "But, but imagine if Blaise was a girl and you could mess around with him as mates, you know with no strings attached. Just so you could both learn things, learn really amazing things."

"Stop, I refuse to imagine that any of the amazing things we did tonight were taught to you by Weasley."

"That seems a bit short-sighted, don't you want to imagine me bruising Ron in all sorts of terrible ways just so I can do things perfectly with you?"

"No actually, that doesn't help at all. Sorry."

Brogan crossed her arms to sulk on this a bit. "So you want me to choose?"

"Yes."

"Even though Ron and I have no strings or expectations at all?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you're not the giant girl Draco?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to stop saying yes like that?"

"Yes." He smiled a bit though.

"Can I sleep platonically on this couch with you tonight and see if you are an effective bad dream preventer too? I would like to know before I make such a big decision."

Draco sighed and looked at the fire. It was incredibly hard to say no to Brogan. He wondered if she had made up the nightmares or exaggerated Ron's powers, but she really had looked better Monday. "Alright," he sighed.

Brogan got up in the early hours of dawn, not that she could tell in the dungeon, and gathered up her shoes to sneak back to her own room. Draco probably didn't notice, but her night had not been restful. It was surprising that Snape hadn't burst in, maybe his spell had worn off or maybe he assumed she was with someone who would take care of her.

She went to quidditch practice the next morning using every bit of her strength to look well rested but ran back to her room right after. She avoided her father by taking a long shower and when she finally emerged she had decided to spend the rest of the day hiding in the rooms.

It was a good plan, especially when Bill Weasley came through the floo around tea time. Dobby brought them a huge tea tray and they got quite cozy with their cups.

Ron had written to Bill so they talked about how Brogan had been able to reunite with some of her old friends and what a relief that was. Then Bill asked about Draco and how their plan was working.

"Not too well," admitted Brogan. "He isn't satisfied anymore with me pretending to be his girlfriend; he wants it to be real."

Bill wasn't surprised so he fussed with some biscuits and waited for Brogan to keep talking. She was very prone to rambling now so he didn't have to wait long.

"I told him I'm not comfortable enough yet as a girl but he knew that was a lie pretty much. The truth is that I don't really want to go steady with him because there's this other guy. We're mostly mates now but I'm sure we could be a lot more than that, he makes me feel so safe -it's incredible.

And I don't know, it's hard to choose because he's so totally different from Draco: he's kind instead of sarcastic, he's gentle instead of demanding, he's fun instead of pretentious. And when he looks at me sometimes, just a look is enough to turn my knees to jelly. I guess we have good chemistry.

Although Draco and I have a lot of passion too, and Draco treats me like a princess and he has his good points too. I like them both and I don't want to choose."

Bill listened with as blank a face as he could manage. He was pretty sure that Brogan was confessing her crush on him and he wasn't sure if he wanted to let her down easy or start kissing. He was really too old for her he told himself sternly as he hid behind his fifth biscuit and coughed manfully around his tea cup.

"Well Brogan, if you're so conflicted then maybe it's a sign that you are too young to choose. Perhaps you should keep all your options as open as you can."

"But what about kissing Bill?"

"Kissing?" he didn't squeak by God.

"Yeah, I really really like it you know, and is it okay if I kiss them both? Or does that make me a slut or something?"

Bill swallowed and licked his lips and wiped a hand on his thigh, then he swallowed again, "well you probably shouldn't be kissing them both, but if you can keep it a secret I guess, and if you can convince them not to tell right? I don't think there's a lot of harm in just kissing."

"It's not just kissing actually." Brogan mumbled.

Bill started to turn red and wondered if he could shift the plate on his lap without Brogan noticing. "Well, a bit of petting among mates, right? That, that should be fine, just don't tell your da right?"

"Bill, you player you! Thanks, I think I can convince my mate to keep things on the quiet and what Draco doesn't know won't send Draco into a snit."

"Yeah," said Bill, wondering/hoping/fearing what Brogan would do next.

She grabbed a handful of biscuits off the tray and sat back a lot more relaxed, "so," she said, "how upset was Ginny about that quidditch match? She flew really well and it could have gone either way I think. She shouldn't blame herself at all..."

Brogan had barely slept with Draco the night before, true she didn't have nightmares but after his words she couldn't settle down. She felt guilty avoiding Draco and his ultimatum all day but she couldn't resist the pull of the tower. Ron had told her the password and she waited until just before curfew to sneak off, her father was patrolling and she hadn't fallen asleep yet so he wouldn't sense her waking up.

When she reached the dorm Seamus and Dean were still awake hunched over a magazine together. Brogan could imagine all too well what sort of magazine it was. She grinned to herself, oh boys if only they could see through an invisibility cloak -she could give them an eyeful.

Luckily Ron had pulled his curtains shut, he was sprawled out and taking up the whole bed. His mouth was open but he looked endearing to her somehow. Still in her cloak she crawled under his sheets and tried to wedge herself into a tiny space under one of his outstretched arms.

He felt her moving around and woke up enough to roll onto his side and wrap his huge warm body around hers. He went to kiss her hair but encountered only cloak, he made a displeased sound and pulled it away from her head. When her face and hair were free he opened his eyes and looked at her, he thought she looked a little sad or something but he was too muzzy to work out why that might be. He kissed her on the forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, "I'm glad you came." He whispered, "‘S'nicer sleeping with you here."

"Thanks for telling me the password and letting me, you were all sprawled out when I got here, is, is that more comfortable for you?"

He put a finger on her lips, "shhh, this is comfortable, before was more like reaching out looking for you. This is what's right." He sighed and pulled her in tighter, jammed his knees up against the backs of her knees, carefully placed his nose in a clear spot just below her ear and went right back to sleep.

Brogan sighed too and followed him down.

The next day there was a lot of homework to catch up on. She ended up in her room with Luna that evening and the two of them had books spread out all around. Luna was just finishing up an essay she had written in a sparkly navy blue ink when she looked at Brogan with her head cocked to the side, a clear warning sign that something big would be coming from her soon.

"Ginny told me that Ron got a big hickey this week."

Brogan hadn't noticed the head cock warning so she ended up gouging her parchment a bit with her quill, "Oh really, any ideas from whom?"

"At first people assumed Hermione of course but she said it wasn't her. It's hard to tell how Hermione felt about it, I think she assumes a lot about Ronald without actually vocalizing it to him -which is rather remarkable considering how much she does vocalize to him."

"That seems about right, um the Hermione assumption thing. But just because they spend all their time together doesn't mean they're going steady or anything."

"No, that's just another assumption lots of people make."

"Assumptions are bad."

"Sometimes, but they're right often enough that people keep doing it to save time."

"Well, if they're just lazy then maybe they deserve to be tricked." said Brogan, perhaps more defensively than she intended.

Luna looked at Brogan until Brogan started squirming and then broke completely, "Was Hermione really hurt? Ron told me they weren't going out."

"Hurt might be too strong a word, but she misses having Harry Potter around and the thought of Ron having a relationship that's secret from her makes her feel even more abandoned. But we are all growing up, and one would hope that we'll make other friends and find other interests and not spend the rest of our lives with the people we met when we were eleven or twelve or thirteen."

"So, are you saying it's good for Hermione if Ron lives his own life a bit?"

"Harry," Luna admonished, "for me to say something like that would require a whole lot of assumptions."

Brogan sighed, Luna was far too clever.

"Draco's not happy either and he knows very well that I'm just pretending to be his girlfriend."

"Do you hang out with Draco just for pretend?"

"Well no, we spent a lot of time together over the summer and he's actually really nice to his friends."

"Do you pretend to kiss Draco?"

"Not so much pretend, no."

"Do you change how you act when nobody is around?"

"I guess not, so you're kind of getting me to admit that Draco is right and we aren't really pretending much."

"Well, Harry, I didn't want to assume anything so I was merely vocalizing some of my questions."

"Do you think that couples should be exclusive when they're only sixteen Luna?"

"I think I would want to be, so I guess it should be up to the couples."

"Well Ron knows I'm pretending with Draco." Luna hummed to that and Brogan thought about thirty seconds ago when she had admitted there wasn't much pretending but she plowed on, "And Draco knows that Ron and I are just mates messing around."

Luna shook out her sparkly blue essay and began rolling it up, she looked around gathering her belongings. Brogan felt a desperate need for Luna to not leave like this, "Luna, I'm not a real girl. I'm still a stupid boy inside you know. I don't even really understand why I'm attracted to boys, doesn't it seem kind of quick for that?

Maybe that's why I'm messing around; I'm not ready for it to be so real yet. It's easier to pretend if it is pretend."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that Harry. Were you attracted to Draco or Ron before your change?"

"I'm not sure. I was really close to Ron, closer than anyone knew I think, but we never kissed and I never thought about him that way. And Draco has always captured my attention. I was always very aware of where he was and what he was doing, kind of obsessed maybe.

I asked them about me you know. Because they both wanted me so quickly I wasn't sure what was going on and they both said that there was something before but it was a lot bigger now."

"Well, I'm not surprised they're both attracted to you now."

"Luna, whenever I'm alone with Ron he makes me take the charm off my eyes. You can't imagine how that feels, it's just so Ron and so I don't know, he just has this sense of how the world should be and it's like he's this big wall between you and all the things he wants to protect you from."

"Wow," said Luna, "he sounds kind of sexy when you describe him like that and not really like the Ronald I know who chews with his mouth open."

Brogan smiled brightly, she remembered fondly how she and Hermione had learned to sit next to Ron and not across from him. Luna sat back down in front of Brogan, "and Draco?" she prompted.

"Draco has definite opinions too, how he wants the world to be. Mostly it's tidy -he has cast more scourgifies on me than anyone else I know. But that's really just a mask he wears, I've smeared snot all over every one of his favorite shirts and he still opens his arms to me whenever I'm upset. It's amazing, and I just can't give that up either.

Luna, my childhood was really kind of horrible and nobody gave me hugs. Like literally no hugs at all, and even when I made friends and stuff here people don't hug adolescent boys all that much. So when Bill or Draco or Ron open their arms for me I can't not go. And then they all smell so good and they're all so warm, it's really hard not to... I don't know is it unhealthy or something?"

Luna looked at Brogan with a small frown, "let's see," she said and opened her arms. Brogan moved into the hug and put her head down on Luna's shoulder. It was pretty nice, the smell was pleasant, Luna was very soft and her hair was pretty.

Brogan relaxed a bit more into the hug, a radish from Luna's earring bumping her forehead. Luna could protect her, she sensed that. Luna could help take care of her too, let her know when she was making a mess of things like she was with their conversation tonight. Brogan relaxed more until it seemed like she was melting into Luna.

She felt Luna's lips on her hair and tilted her head back to look up at her; Luna looked down and took a startled step back. "Wow! Harry, is that sex magic?"