Chloe stared at the initial in the corner of the box. The necklace was from Draco, of all people. Draco, who she teased and taunted and joked with. Draco, whose indifferent attitude sometimes drove her crazy. Draco, who...liked her? It wasn't possible.

She slept fitfully that night, that inky, cobwebby "D" haunting her dreams and chasing her through sleep. When she awoke, she had overslept and missed most of breakfast. Unless she wanted to be late to Advanced Potions, which she didn't, she would have to get to class as soon as she dressed. She slapped on her robes, ran her fingers through her hair, and slipped her necklace over her head. After a moment of thought, she wrapped her scarf around her neck to cover the necklace. She wasn't sure how she felt about the necklace today.

                                                                            *                *                *

Halfway through Potions, Chloe was so hungry her Volubilis Potion was starting to look appealing. And being that it was made of honeywater, stewed Mandrake, and syrup of Hellebore, that was probably a bad sign. Her potion was at its second stage of pinkness, and she was adding some particularly stinky stewed Mandrake and waiting for it to turn orange when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She shrieked and dropped the bottle of stewed Mandrake, which broke on the floor and splashed up all over her robes.

Taking a deep breath to keep from crying, Chloe turned.

"Yes?" she said frostily, glaring at Ron, who was looking slightly sheepish.

"Nothing," he sputtered.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe added syrup of Hellebore and stirred the potion, then used her wand to raise the height of the flames. Almost instantly, the liquid turned red and then slowly yellowed. While the potion became thinner and better smelling, the goop on Chloe's robes had the opposite effect. It was thickening and seemed to smell even worse.

                                                                         *             *               *               *

At lunch, Chloe was ravenous, eating three sandwiches, a plate of chips, and leftover kippers from breakfast. She had changed out of her smelly robes and into the only clean clothing alternative left- Her boiled wool school skirt and her slightly embarrassing Christmas sweater from Ginny's mum. She had to borrow a pair of Malachi's high heels, as her own boots were soaked in goo, and so she was teetering around the castle and tripping over rugs and those contrary staircases that were only solid on Tuesdays.

When she bumped right into Draco, whom she had been purposefully avoiding all day, they both blushed. Chloe laughed awkwardly, and he fixed his hair.

"This is clearly a one-way corridor," she joked. "Be more careful next time."

"Exactly, a one way corridor- the only way to go is the way I'm going," he shot back.

Chloe lifted her wand. "Accio books!" Her schoolbooks fluttered from all corners of the room and landed in a nice heap at her feet.

"Um, you got the form wrong," Draco said, blushing somewhat. "If you want, I could help you practice."

"That's alright, thank you. And thank you for the necklace." Impulsively, she leaned forward, pecked him on the cheek, and then walked off as fast as her high heels could carry her.