"I'll bet," he muttered, "and that was my fault... I've put to much pressure on you. I'm sorry; if I truly loved you I wouldn't have-"

Kassidy stoped him. "Stop," she said. "Please, I really don't care."

"Oh," he said, a bit flustered, "that's fine, I guess... yah."

Kassidy took a deep breath. "Tom," she said, "I want you...to teach me the Dark Arts" She held her breath, waiting...

"You what?" Tom asked, standing quickly from his chair. "You're lying... aren't you?" He stepped back, shocked. "I can't believe this..."

"Of course I'm not lying! Why would I lie about something like that?" she yelled at him.

"Calm down, I'm not mad," he said, "it's just hard to believe that anybody, especially a Gryffindor would want something like that."

"Well, maybe I've changed." she said.

"In a good way?" Tom asked with a small smile.

"Deoends on what you think." she answered cooly. "Now, are you going to teach me or not?"

"Than it must be a good way," Tom smiles. "Yes, I will. But not just now. We'll have to go to the Room of Requirement first.

"Alrighty then." she said, a little happier than she was before. "I just want out of here."

"Here can mean a lot of things," Tom says.

"well, I mean I want out of the hospital wing first of all." she said.

Tom grinned. "That I can't help you with... you're just going to have to get better."

Kassidy groaned and leaned back into her pillows. "It's so boring in here." she said.

He laughed in response. "Don't worry, you'll get ten times the 'fun' worth your boardom."

"I better." she replied. "So, how have you been latley?"

"Uh-" Tom stops. He turned away slightly before adding in an undertone. "You'll find out... eventually."

"ok." she said. "so...it's too quiet in here. i hate it"

"If it were any louder I'm afraid the nurse might not be pleased."

"yeah, but still...I hate the quiet most of the time, did you know that? I like noise, prefferebly people screaming. I don't know why, i just do. but i can tolerate it smoetimes, like when i was sneaking around my mother's house-" she stopped as if she said to much. "oops. you weren't supposed to know about that"

"Keep your secrets for now," he muttered, "but know you won't have them for long. I, however, prefer the quiet. When there's fear that hangs in the air and the darkness presses down on you until you feel as though you cannot survive. The silence seems tangible and you can almost taste it."

"did you know, when I was two, I snuck into my mother's room, to find my mother talking in her sleep. about how much she hated me and my father. how she wasted to leave us." Kassidy said.

Tom shook his head. Although he was listening, he made no reply.

"do you have any idea how that made me feel?" she asked. Rising her head up for a moment, she looked at Tom. "That's when I made the desision never to talk to my mom again. She couldn't understand what happened to me. One day, I'm sweet and happy, the next depressed and quiet. Maybe that's why I don't like the quiet that much."

Tom shook his head. "Is that pain?" he asked, "finding out a mother doesn't love you? Losing the one's you love? That's not the worst thing that can happen to a person..."

"It was to me" she said quietly.

"Try ripping your soul apart and than you can tell me what pain is," he muttered under his breath.

Kassidy looked at him. "You know what, I still don't understand you at all, Tom. I like it though, gives me more to talk about."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "If that works for you."

"It's kinda funny," she said. "I never thought I would talk to you, let alone like you."

Tom laughed dryly. "I never thought I'd like anybody, let alone love them."

Kassidy looked at Tom for a long moment, her head slightly tilted to the left.

"What?" Tom asked quickly, "what did I say?"

"Nothing. I just felt like staring." she said.

"Oh," Tom said as though it was a question.

"Tom, can I ask you a question?"

Tom nodded with a confused look on his face. "Go ahead."

"Why did you start talking to me? Becuase I never thought you to be the one to talk to a Gryffindor like me."

"I honestly don't know," Tom said with a shrug, "There was just something about you..."

Kassidy nodded thoughtfully. She let her thoughts take over, and they drifted to Chris. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him?!

"Do you ever wonder at how weak the wizarding government really is?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" she said, forcing herself back to Tom.

"I mean, anybody could climb to the top, it would be so easy," he said quickly, the words flowing too easily and too fast, "It could be corrupted so..." He cut off quickly.

(By the way, Warriors rox!!! I love those books!)

"What?" she asked, thinking he knew how she couldn't stop thinking about Chris.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"I know you well enough to know it's never nothing with you," she said with a smile.

Tom smiled. "That's right." He took her hand, masaging circled on the back of it with this thumbs. "You're a bright girl."

"Thanks" she said. Suddenly, the door to the hospital wing opened. When she looked to see who it was, her face fell. It was Chris. And he looked hurt. Tom stood up, but she pulled him back down. "Don't do anything," she whispered.