September 1997: I hate the word homophobia. It's not a phobia. You are not scared. You are an asshole.

I did not even flinch at Crabbe's fist.  I knew that things would get rough for standing by one of my true mates.  I was, however, surprised when the blow never came.  I changed into pajamas quickly and knew that I would hunt down Blaise in the morning.  I turned to see hwo had entered:  Pettigrew.  He looked almost a little lost.  "What?" I asked a little aggressively.

<<Let me know if you want me to wait to post this. It was just something I was feeling, so I wanted to do it before I forgot.>>

After leaving the dormitory, I'd wandered the halls for a while and landed in the library, where I'd sat at a desk and let my head fall into my hands. Tears had leaked from my eyes, and I'd eventually fallen asleep...

Waking with a jolt, I blinked my eyes hard a few times. It had to be past the time I would get in trouble for being here, but I was not sure if I wanted to return to the Slytherin dormitories quite yet. Nevertheless, I saw that beaky librarian Pince wandering through the aisles with her lantern. She was certainly making sure that everyone had vacated the premises for the night.

I snuck around the shadows of her long robes and out of the library, back to the halls. I made my way back to the Slytherin common room as quickly and as quietly as I could. The common room was empty but for the last remaining embers in the fireplace. I glanced at the dormitory door and sighed. If everyone was asleep, then I would be able to sneak in unnoticed. I'd set an alarm to get up before they did.

Walking toward the dormitory, I placed my hand gently on the knob and twisted. It was dark, and I heard Crabbe's signature snoring. I was safe. For the time being.

I disrobed and pulled the sheets back, half wondering if there would be a snake or spider or something there waiting; Crabbe's idea of a prank on the newly outed kid. Thankfully, there was nothing; I glanced at Draco's silvery hair in the next bed over and smiled at him. He'd never know how grateful I was for his support and his help through this. At least my ally was a strong one.

The sheets were cool as I slipped myself under them and pulled the blankets halfway up my chest, arms hanging over them and crossed over myself. Facing the ceiling, I took a few deep breaths and felt sleep coming.

<< Nope!  It works for me! ...btw, I love the new pic for Blaise! I'm just going to have a bit of a time lapse, just so this is in Jetty's topics... lol >>

I had put my hands up in innocence because Malfoy's voice made me want nothing to do with any of it.  I had changed and gotten into bed without much of an incident.  I noticed that Zabini was not in the dormitory... I was curious, but knew better than to ask.  I was kind of the outcast in the Slytherin dorm, so I always tended to keep to myself anyways.  I rolled over and drifted off to sleep only after Crabbe did -- I never trusted him after my first night in the dorms when he thought that I was the one to be teased relentlessly and automatically did not fit in.  Which, to be honest, I did not blame him because I never did.