Redemption.

A second chance

Stiorra's POV.

Weeks passed and soon enough Halloween was just around the corner. Stiorra hadn't talked to Draco except for some casualties during Potions since they were supposed to be partners.
She was just starting to feel like herself again whenever he was around. She just needed some time.
It was around midday, and the seventh years had just gotten out of Defence Against the Dark Arts and were heading down to the Great Hall for lunch.
The first years were walking out of their Charm class and Stiorra noticed just how used to the castle the young students were getting. She remembered just how long it took most of them to get used to living in the castle. She did need another month to feel confident as to roaming around the castle in broad daylight without fearing getting lost.
There were dozens of students coming and going in the Great Hall as Stiorra and her friends sat down at the Gryffindor table and dug in, picking up whatever type of food they liked.

"I don't know why we're still taking this class," Ron whined as he bit into a piece of meat.

"Come on, Ronald," Hermione told him, "this is our last year, it'll be okay."

"I just think we've proven ourselves capable enough during the Battle!"

"Still, we need this last year," Harry told him, "we need to know everything there is to know if we want to become Aurors."

Stiorra exchanged an amused look with both Ginny and Hermione as the two boys discussed whether or not they needed to take the Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ginny cut the conversation short and started talking about the upcoming selections for the Quidditch team.
A first year walked by, and pulled on Stiorra's robe's sleeve to get her attention.

"Excuse me," he told her, "this is for you."

The kid handed her a creased paper with a smile, and walked off to the other side of the Gryffindor's table. Stiorra unfolded the paper and read.

Meet me at the Astronomy tower, at 9.
D.M.

Apart from his initials, Stiorra recognised his hand-writing for it was meticulous and perfectly beautiful for a guy.
Stiorra looked up and scanned the Great Hall, catching Draco staring at her with a grin. His blonde platinum hair had grown a bit longer, and it turned out to be wavy. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and shoved the paper in her robe's pocket.

"Who is it from?" Hermione asked her with a raised brow, grinning.

"No one important," Stiorra said.

"Ooh you've got a secret boyfriend?" Ginny said.

Stiorra laughed it off and placed her hand above her robe's pocket, so that none of them would try and take the paper from her. However, even though no one tried stealing it from her and read it, they wouldn't stop talking about it and asking quite personal question to embarrass her.
She picked up her bag and left the place, laughing to herself. That was quite immature of them, but then she already knew how they'd react to her finding someone. This was the reason why she didn't want them to know. And the fact that Draco could possibly be that person was another reason why she absolutely didn't want them to know. She knew how much they hated the guy.
Stiorra walked into the library to enjoy her free period and started studying for her N.E.W.T.S. She was already putting too much pressure on herself, even though she didn't have to. She dived into her books and read, pages after pages, taking notes from time to time, up until the bell rang for the second time and it was time for her to head out to her Transfiguration class. She didn't want to be late. She knew how McGonagall could be if one got in late, and she didn't want to be the one to upset the professor, really.
She sat down next to Hermione and both Harry and Ron turned around to face them both, asking questions about the mystery guy Stiorra had a rendez-vous with that same night.
However, Professor McGonagall walked in the classroom and the whole crowd of students went silent. She moved her wand towards the black board and the chalk stick started to write the name of a spell down.
They dedicated the entire hour to changing object into other objects, and by the time the class ended, McGonagall had made them write down how they'd learn how to shift themselves into objects such as armchairs or poufs. She had mentioned Professor Slughorn's ability to shift into a piece of furniture about twice during the lecture.
The Headmistress dismissed the entire class about five to ten minutes after the bell rang, and they headed out to the Gryffindor's tower, crashing into the couches in front of the fire, as Hermione sat down by a table and dived in her lessons.
Stiorra pulled out her notes from the day and started reading them all over again, trying not to think about whether she wanted to meet up with Draco or not at nine o'clock. She didn't give him an answer and she wondered for a moment if he'd wait for her anyways.