Y/N walk out of the hospital wing into the adjoining office after wiping her tears away. When she looked upon her professors, speaking quietly to each other in the corner of the room, they hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet.
"You know perfectly well that, without proof, Mr Malfoy's accusation means nothing, Severus. We can't punish anyone until we have solid evidence. And did you see Miss y/l/n's reaction when Malfoy accused Potter? She doesn't believe him! She was there! That's why we need to speak to her."
"Professor McGonagall," y/n said quietly, surprising both of the teachers. "You wished to speak to me?" Y/N sounded hoarse and she could tell the professors knew she was upset.
"Yes, Miss y/l/n. I wanted to ask you what happened? Where were you and Draco when the boys were cursed," McGonagall said softly, as if she would scare y/n away if she were too loud.
"Well, Draco and I had decided to go back to the common room and finish some charms homework, and when we were done, we went to meet our friends at the lake." Y/N thought hard to make sure her story wouldn't counter whatever Draco might say. "On the way down, we heard shouting. Not like, playful shouting. It sounded to me like our friends were in trouble. So we picked up the pace the see what had happened, and suddenly there was a yellow light, and Draco was on the ground, his shoes smoking green, and his feet burning from some sort of slime."
"And did you see anyone around you who could have possibly done it," McGonagall asked.
"No, my friends and I were the only was around, unless someone hid themselves somehow." Y/N glanced at Snape, who looked bored, but y/n could tell he was interested. He looked at her and something -- understanding maybe -- flashed in his eyes. "And when I got down to the others, I told the girls to look around for anyone who could have cast it and, as far as I know, no one found anything."
"Who do you think could have done it? Do you believe what Mr Malfoy said? Do you think Harry Potter did it?" McGonagall looked desperate for y/n to say no.
"No. No, I don't believe Harry Potter could have done it. If we couldn't find anyone around us, they must have used some sort of cloaking spell. I've read about them, and I don't think any first year, not even Harry Potter, is strong enough to cast a spell like that yet." Y/n glanced again at Professor Snape, gauging his reaction to her words. What he did puzzled her.
Professor Snape was grinning -- or the closest thing to a grin Snape was capable of -- as if y/n had said something funny. It calmed her nerves a bit, but not much.
"Well, that sounds like a highly logical theory," Professor McGonagall said, turning to face Snape with an 'I told you so' look on her face. It made y/n smile. "I think you should tell your students that you will try and find the person responsible and that they need not worry and not to mention it unless the perpetrator is found."
"Of course, Minerva," Snape nodded and Professor McGonagall exited to the corridor, calling to some Gryffindor first years not to use magic in the halls.
Snape looked over y/n, going through the motions before he exited behind McGonagall.
"Oh, have they gone?" Poppy had walked in behind her. "Good. Come, dear. Let me show you what we do now." Madame Pomfrey led the way to Crabbe's bed. As y/n past Draco's bed, she didn't allow herself to look over at him. Instead she put her nose in the air, and ignored him.
"First thing, we need to check the wounds. Depending on the level of urgency of the wound and the difficulty of the treatment, you can check relatively quickly." Poppy flicked her wand, and the bandages undid themselves. "See, the wound looks very old and the tissue underneath looks almost good as new. I will only be sending these boys away with the demand that they wear socks for three days other than changing and washing. No exceptions." She gave Crabbe a stern look, who yet again didn't seem to care, so y/n decided to check her wand for dust.
"Y-yes Madame Pomfrey," Crabbe said, swallowing and nervously eyeing y/n's wand. Y/N grinned, glad that both Crabbe and Goyle, the to biggest eleven year old boys she had ever seen, knew not to mess with her.
Poppy then re-wrapped Crabbe's feet, showing y/n the spell she used to wrap and unwrap wounds without touching them. When the two moved to the next bed, y/n asked Poppy to let her try her skills on Goyle, who looked incredibly nervous.
"Of course, my dear. I'll move on -- Oh don't look so nervous, boy! She's better than most first years and even second years I've met," Poppy scolded Goyle. Then she turned back to y/n. "I can go treat the Malfoy boy if you would like. You don't seem very happy with him at the moment."
"That would be great, thank you... Poppy." Poppy laughed at y/n's hesitation to say her name and went to stand at the end of Draco's bed.
Y/N turned to Goyle, who was scowling at her, and grinned. "Don't look so frightened. I'm only changing your bandages. I won't do anything I don't have reason to. Just don't give me reason." She gave Goyle one more smug grin before flicking her wand to unwrap the bandages. "You heard Madame Pomfrey, I assume? Socks on twenty four seven for three days, not to be taken off other than to change them and bathe. No exceptions." Goyle nodded quickly, y/n checking his wounds and re-wrapping them again. "Alright then, Poppy? Are they free to go?"
Madame Pomfrey peeked her head out from behind Draco's privacy screen. "Yes, they are. You can leave now too, if you would like. I'll help them. Go." Poppy gave y/n a loaded look as she gave her an escape, which y/n gratefully excepted, thanking Madame Pomfrey and fleeing the hospital wing.
When y/n got to the great hall, she went and sat down with her friends, grateful for something to eat.
"Are they okay?" Sarah whispered.
"Are they going to be in the hospital much longer?" Pansy asked anxiously.
"Did Crabbe and Goyle act like toddlers?" Blaise asked, smiling.
Y/N laughed. "Yes, they're okay. Their burns were easily treated. No, they shouldn't be much longer. Madame Pomfrey is probably just finding them new shoes. And yes, Blaise. I had to cast a body-bind on Crabbe so he wouldn't throw a tantrum. Screamed like a newborn, he did. Goyle wouldn't make a noise though. At least, not while I had my wand out."
The whole group broke out laughing, as Blaise did a very dramatic, though not inaccurate, interpretation of Crabbe, making a few other Houses turn to see what was causing such a fuss. The group sat there having a laugh for about five minutes before someone interrupted them.
"What's so funny?" Draco sat down beside Blaise, joined by Crabbe and Goyle.
Y/N stood up to sit by between Sarah and Kathrine on the outside of the group. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't think that would change for a while.
"We were just having a laugh about how Crabbe screamed like a toddler while Madame Pomfrey treated him," Blaise said, making Pansy shriek with laughter while Daphne, Millicent, and Tracey threw faux tantrums. "You okay, little baby? Do you need us to fetch mummy?" Blaise said, using baby talk. The group broke into laughter. All except Crabbe, who was turning bright red, and y/n who was staring intently at her plate of food.
For the rest of the day, the group acted as if nothing had happened. Draco especially tried to make it seem like some funny joke. After dinner, y/n went right to bed while the rest of the group went to sit in the common room. She sat in bed for a good long while, thinking about the events of the day, and decided she needed her parents help.
Over the next half hour or so, y/n wrote a letter explaining what had actually happened versus what everyone else thought had happened. She wrote how she wasn't speaking to Draco anymore and she didn't know what to do. As she wrote the last few words, a tear hit the paper, and only then did y/n realize the reason the world had gone blurry. As she put the letter snuggly into its envelope, y/n didn't stop the tears from coming. She let them fall freely. She couldn't suppress the sadness eating her insides.
The girls came in a few minutes after y/n had finished her letter, walking in to her hugging her knees to her chest, crying into them.
"Y/N, what's wrong?" Sarah was the first to her side and had her arms wrapped around her. She was quickly followed by Lillith, Katherine, and Pansy, the other three close behind. "Why are you crying?"
Y/N raised her head to see all of her friends sitting around her, and began to cry harder. How could she keep this from them? She couldn't. She had to tell them.
"Draco used me as an excuse to frame Harry Potter for attacking you before lunch," y/n said in between gasps of air. "He did it. He hurt Crabbe and Goyle. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let him."
The girls looked around at each other, very confused.
"But Draco...he was hurt to. He couldn't have...could he?" Pansy was dumbfounded.
"He did that, too. Said no one would suspect us if one of us got hurt and, while my back was turned, he cursed himself. I shouldn't have let him..." y/n broke of into more sobs. Her head was now lying on Sarah's shoulder, getting hot, fat tears all over Sarah's night robe.
"Alright, y/n. It's all right," Lillith said, taking y/n's hand in hers and stroking up and down her forearm.
"Why don't you take a few deep breaths and tell us the whole story," Daphne said, standing at the foot board. The other girls nodded and gave y/n a minute to breathe.
"Better?" asked Katherine after a minute.
"Loads," y/n muttered. As she told the story, some of the girls got angry. Y/N first thought the anger was toward her, but they were mad at Draco. "I tried to get him to listen. I tried to tell him not to do it. But he didn't listen, and I couldn't stop him. It's all my fault." Y/N put her head in her hands, fresh tears springing to her eyes.
"It is not," Pansy insisted. "Draco was being too big of a git to listen. All of this was his fault! You don't need to feel bad about it, y/n" Pansy took y/n's other hand and smiled kindly at her.
"She's right," Tracey said from beside Daphne. All the others nodded in agreement.
"Is that the whole story," Sarah asked, noticing that y/n hadn't gotten to the part about Harry Potter.
"No, it isn't. I wouldn't have been so mad if it had just ended with no one taking the fall for it. Draco practically punished himself. But in the Hospital wing, Snape and McGonagall came to talk to us. They wanted to know if we saw anyone or could think of anyone who could have done it. I was about to say I hadn't seen anyone and follow the plan, but Draco cut me off. Said he thought Potter did it. Said it made sense after their almost-fight on the train. That's when I realized that was his plan all along. He was just using me. When the professors left, I got mad. I wouldn't let him speak, just told him I didn't want him to talk to me anymore. I haven't talked or even looked at him since." Y/N put her chin on her knees while the rest of the girls took in her words.
"Malfoy is a right foul git sometimes. He's real thick if he thinks he can do something like that and get away with it," said Millicent angrily. Again, the others nodded.
"You're right, Millicent," Sarah said. "Malfoy is thick. Which is why I don't think he's smart enough to have planned all that."
The girls all looked at her, confused.
"Listen y/n. You are tearing yourself apart for falling for Malfoy's trick, but I think he's to stupid to think something like that up. The boy's best friends are the two biggest idiots I know. I don't think he could have possible planned the whole day to play out how he wanted."
"That's...that's true. Sometimes I wonder how he made it to Hogwarts," Pansy whispered secretively. The girls all giggled, included y/n. It felt good to laugh after so much crying.
"Y/N, don't think any of this is your fault. You tried your best to stop him. And, clearly, not talking to Draco is hurting you, so I think he deserves a second chance. For your sake, I think you should forgive him." Lillith patted the top of y/n's hand as she spoke.
"I think...I think you're right." Y/N sniffed. "Thanks you guys."
After that, Sarah hugged her. Soon Lillith, Katherine, and Pansy joined followed by the rest, until they were all intertwined a big, awkward group hug.
"Thank you. I'm sorry," y/n said as they all let go.
"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" Tracey asked.
"I'm sorry I cried. Slytherins aren't supposed to cry."
A few of the girls smiled. Some of them frowned.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Millicent asked with a grin.
"Well...I don't know. I guess I just thought it was some sort of unspoken rule."
"My parents always taught me that to cry was to show you're weak," Pansy said, scowling at y/n's covers for a moment before her features softened again. "I think that just taught me I could only cry alone. Only hurt alone."
"Well, I just bawled like a newborn to you all, so feel free to repay the favor anytime." The girls all giggled. Y/N took Pansy's hand. "You don't have to hurt alone here."
All the girls agreed, then went to their own beds.
After a few hours of lying there without being met by sleep, y/n decided to go sit by the fire.
When she went to her armchair the one across from it was empty. Y/N didn't know if she should be relieved or not, but she didn't have to think about it. Draco had opened his door and, when he turned toward his chair, he stopped, shocked to see y/n there waiting for him.