I'm Sick and I'm Twisted

The stone doorway opened up and she walked into the nearly deserted common room. A second year was sitting on a couch in the corner, her legs tucked tightly beneath her. Stella ran her hand through her hair again and heard footsteps echoing from the boy’s staircase. Draco emerged from the poorly lit stairs and smiled at Stella. She grinned meekly at him and crept quickly up to her bedroom.

"Stella?" he called after her.

She snapped her door shut and leaned up against it, frowning and closing her eyes. She didn't know why, but speaking to, or even looking at Draco right now seemed extremely unappealing. She opened her eyes and saw Ava perched gently on the seat at the window ledge.

"Was that Draco I heard?" she asked and put down the book she was holding.

"Uhm, no- I- that wasn't him, it was... someone else..." she stuttered clumsily.

Ava stared blankly at Stella for a minute, watching her nervously pick at her clothes, brush her hair out of her face and look at everything but Ava’s eyes.

“…Stella?”

“What, Ava? I don’t- God, what is this?” she snapped, “I have to take a shower.”

Stella walked briskly into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Ava stared at the closed door, confused and hurt. Stella looked over the immaculately clean bathroom and slid down the door to sit on the ice-cold marble floor. It was as if one conversation with Harry changed her outlook on everything in her life. She cracked the door open an inch and peeked out. Ava was sitting cross-legged on the window seat, staring blankly out the window.

“Ave?” she murmured.

Ava turned and raised her eyebrow coldly.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered and opened the door fully.

She turned herself fully towards her best friend and sighed.

“What’s wrong, Stell? Tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know, Ave. I can’t even figure it out enough to rationalize it to myself,” she said and wrapped her arms around her torso.

She sat down on the bed next to Ava and ran her hand through her hair.

“I ran into Harry today while I was in the library. This whole thing wouldn’t have happened if I had just told him to go away, but that whole potions situation with Draco left me drained so I just talked to him.”

“So that’s where you’ve been all day?”

Stella nodded and sighed.

“So he brought me to the room of requirement and we kind of just…got to know each other. We talked about life outside of school, our families, our friends, and what we want to do after Hogwarts.”

Ava sighed.

"Stella, you got sucked into the void. You wonder why everyone is so obsessed with this kid? It's because he has skill like this, he's worse than Draco. Draco can woo his way into anyone’s panties, because he's suave and everyone wants to be with him. Harry manages to convince you that you have so much in common and he really cares about everything you have to say. He'd look deeply into your eyes and make you feel important when in actuality he's staring at the mirror behind you."

Stella looked up at Ava and raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds like you're speaking from previous experience, Ave."

"I am," she snapped.

"I spent not even a week with him and I learned all I ever needed to know about how he...he operates," she sneered.

"I don't even know what's going on anymore," Stella sighed and laid back on her bed.

She stared up blankly at the ceiling and growled. Ava had been her best friend for years and always did everything she could to tell Stella the truth. Harry had been her enemy for as long as she had been at Hogwarts. But talking to him in the room of requirement had felt so real. She felt like she knew who he was, and she told him exactly whom she was. Ava was her best friend, but her heart was telling her to listen to Harry. She looked over at Ava and saw her staring right back. She took a deep breath and made her decision.

"You're right, Ava. Screw Harry Potter. He wants to fuck with girls’ minds? That's fine with me, but let him do it to someone else."

"Good girl, Stell," Ava smiled.

Stella stood up and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I'll be back in a little while, Ave."

"Kay. Love you, Stell," Ava grinned and picked up her book.

"Love you too," she chuckled and walked out of the dorm.

She dashed down the stairs and landed in the dark common room. She looked over the regal environment and saw a peek of white-blond hair disappear behind the stone door leading out of the room. Stella sighed and walked towards the door. She looked down the hall as she left the dungeons and saw another glimpse of the white-blond hair disappear behind the corner. She growled and ran down the hall. She whipped around the corner and slammed into someone's chest.

"Oh!" she exclaimed and bounced back.

She looked up and saw Draco staring down at her condescendingly.

"Hi, Draco."

"Hello..."

"How are you?" she smiled up at him.

Draco laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I will never, ever understand you, Stella Shaw."

She chuckled and stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his cheek. Draco chuckled and continued down the hall, his arm still draped over her shoulders. Stella heard someone clear their throat and glanced back behind her. Harry was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed tightly across his chest and watching the two of them. Stella stared straight into his eyes and smirked. Harry scoffed, spun on his heel and stormed down the hall in the other direction. Stella huffed and turned back around.

-----

"Bella Stella!" Alexia screamed and jumped onto Stella's bed.

Stella growled angrily and swiped Alexia's feet out from under her. Alexia tumbled gracelessly on top of Stella and laughed.

"You deserved that one," Alexia groaned and rested her head on Stella's arm.

"I know," Stella said, drawing out her words.

"Know what time it is?" Ava giggled, climbing out of her bed.

"It's time to go wake everyone up!" they all screamed simultaneously.

Stella laughed and launched herself out of bed, grabbing a hair-tie and running into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and threw her hair into a bun.

"Readyyy?" she smiled.

The girls flew down their dormitory stairs and across the common room to run up the boy's staircase. All the doors in the boy’s hallway were closed. They giggled quietly and ran down the empty hall, their hands clapped tightly over their smiles. They reached the end of the hall and looked up at the shining script etched across the face. Xander Lofthouse, Draco Malfoy and Adrian Pucey shimmered as the light caught the silver ink. The trio of snickering girls silently and slowly opened the door. Draco, Xander and Adrian were all still sleeping in their corners of the room. The three girls split up and took their places at the end of the boy’s beds. Stella stood silently at the foot of Draco’s bed. Unlike the others, Draco was lying atop the covers of his still made bed, his face peaceful and his bright hair ruffled. They silently counted to three and pounced on top of the boys, violently waking them from their sleep. Xander screamed and fell backwards off of his bed, taking Ava with him.

“Who dares disturb my slumber?” Adrian roared and rolled over on top of Alexia.

Draco turned on his side and flung his arm over Stella’s waist.

“Morning, Draco,” she grinned, lying next to him.

“You can’t wake us up like normal people, can you?” he asked sourly.

“What fun would that be? We might as well bring you breakfast in bed while we’re at it.”

“I think I’d be able to live with that…” he mumbled.

Stella rolled her eyes and pecked his nose.

“Get up, get up, rise and shine,” she smiled and reached over to the bedside table to flick on a lamp.

Draco scrunched his face up and closed his eyes.

“Make it go dark.”

“Nope,” Stella smiled.

Stella sat up and went to get out of the bed. Draco reached out and grabbed onto her, pulling her back down next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist with his chest to her back. He smiled tiredly and pulled her closer. Stella sighed. Alexia giggled as Adrian lifted her up and flung her over his shoulder and carried had from the room. Draco pulled her closer again and leaned forward, pressing his lips to the bare skin of her shoulder.

"You're warm," he murmured.

Stella smiled as the vibrations from his voice ran across her skin. She lifted his arm and rolled over so they were face to face.

"You're not," she chuckled, "do you know what might fix that? Sleeping under the covers at night."

Draco smiled and opened his eyes. Stella leaned her forehead against his.

"Remind me why I'm awake right now?"

"Because, love, it's ten in the morning, breakfast is almost over and I'm bored," Stella answered.

Draco closed his eyes again and sighed.

"You're a pest."

"I know, but you have to admit it, I'm a lovable pest."

Draco nodded.

"So what are we doing today to cure your boredom?"

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it doesn't require us laying in bed for hours."

Draco raised an eyebrow and attempted to hold back a smirk.

"I can think of something that would keep us in my bed all day," Draco chuckled.

"You're a pervert," Stella smirked and rolled her eyes, "so really, what are we doing today?"

Draco stared fixedly into Stella's eyes, oddly quiet for a moment.

"Dra-"

Draco closed the small distance between Stella's lips and his. His lips pressed softly against hers, a mere peck. Stella pressed back for a moment then quickly pulled away and got out of the bed.

"Well c'mon, Draco. We should get down to the Great Hall before breakfast is over. Do you want to get changed or are you just going to go down like that?"

"I- uhm..." Draco sat up and ran his hand loosely through his hair.

"Give me a minute, I'll get changed."

Draco frowned and watched Stella walk out of the room.

-----

Draco stopped at the bottom of the staircase. He looked over the common room and saw Stella perched on the armrest of an overstuffed chair. Stella looked up and smiled at him. He moved to walk over to her but she stood up and walked out the door. Draco stopped in his tracks and watched the door slide closed behind her.

"Fuck," Draco mumbled.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the floor.

"Dray?"

He looked up and saw Stella poking her head around the corner of the open door.

"Are we going to go get breakfast or are you going to just stand there all day?"

Draco chuckled dryly and walked out of the common room, his hands in his pockets.

"Right, coming."

-----

The pair finished their breakfast and strode from the great hall.

“Stella!” someone called.

She turned and fought the urge to turn back around and run.

“Hello, Harry,” she mumbled.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Fine,” she answered shortly and inched closer to Draco.

An awkward silence ran through them. Harry looked around and rubbed the back of his neck.

“What do you want, Harry? I’m pretty sure you didn’t hail me down just to ask how I’ve been,” she snapped.

Harry took a step back.

“I was just wondering where you’ve been. I haven’t seen you in a couple days and I thought things went well the other day…”

Stella huffed and ground her teeth together.

“I don’t have time for this, Potter. I have to study. C’mon, Draco.”

Stella grabbed Draco’s hand and walked hastily down the hall, pulling him with her. Draco quickly caught up and stared down at her. She resisted the urge to look back and held her head high as they made their way down to the dungeons. She took a deep breath and allowed herself a peek back as they rounded the corner. Harry was nowhere to be seen. Draco gripped her hand tighter and pulled her to a stop in an abandoned corridor.

“Stella,” he said and held her shoulders so she faced him.

“Stella, what was that?” he asked.

“What was what?”

“What was that back there?”

“Back what now?” she frowned.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“What what?”

“Stella!” he roared.

She slammed her fist against his chest and exhaled noisily. She looked up and down the corridor for an excuse to cut their conversation short but it was as empty as ever. She looked down, avoiding his poignant stare. He raised his eyebrows and shook her gently for a split second. She took a deep breath and reiterated the story of her personal time with Harry Potter.

“So Ava’s going on and on about how she knows how Potter operates and it’s just fucking with my mind! I mean, Ava and I have been like sisters since the moment we met but I can’t just ignore how I feel.”

“And how do you feel?” Draco asked quietly.

“I don’t even know. My head tells me to stick with what I know and ignore Potter, but my heart tells me to trust him. We seemed to have gotten along well the other day. At times I’m positive I’ll stop talking to him and keep things the way they are and other times I don’t know. I don’t think people can fake sincerity that well…” she trailed off.

She looked up into Draco’s eyes for the first time since beginning her story and saw an unrecognizable emotion drifting through them. He finally let his hands fall from her arms and drifted his fingers ghost-like across hers.

“Stella,” he whispered almost inaudibly.

Her chin wobbled as she held in her tears. Draco sighed and pulled her into a hug.

“I don’t think you should trust him. We’ve known him for years and he has never been the slightest bit interested in any of us, and all of a sudden he’s all about being your friend,” Draco murmured.

Stella groaned into Draco’s chest, frustrated.

“But,” he started.

She looked up and him and furrowed her brow.

“I believe you should do what you want to. If you think befriending Harry Potter is a good idea, then go for it. Whatever makes you happy, Stella. It’s your life.”

Stella smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

“Thank you, Draco,” she whispered, “You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

He smiled sadly for a moment and pulled her in close again.

“When are you going to understand, Stell? I’m all for making you happy,” he muttered just loud enough for her to hear.