Falling
Do you know what it's like to fall for a friend?
One day you're friends, studying in the library, chatting in the Great Hall, laughing on the way to Divination.
The next, you're friends, and its the same, but different. Because you suddenly realize you've been noticing things. The way they walk, the way they hold their quill. How they gaze absentmindedly out of the window when they think the professors aren't looking, and the way their eyes seem even greener on a sunny day. But you're still friends. And in a way, that's the worst part.
No, wait, that isn't the worst part. The worst part is when that friend is dating your other friend. Your best friend. The one you would do anything for, because he has done everything for you, even though you didn't deserve it.
He would never fall for the person you like. He's too loyal. He's also been madly in love with the person you've fallen for since first year. So maybe, in a twisted sense, he actually has.
But you can't do anything about it. You certainly can't tell her, or him, or anybody. So you sit, and you watch them. You watch them exchange looks as he touches her crimson hair or kisses her cheek. And you wish you were him as you silently fall even farther. Into what? That's the question, isn't it.
If you've learned anything from nearly seven years of observing the ones around you, its that there are many different ways to love someone. There is his way, his flamboyant, rambunctious, all-encompassing love for the world and for her. There is her way, the sweet, gentle love hiding a passionate fire just beneath the surface. She's a true Gryffindor. She would do anything for the ones she loves, maybe even die for them.
But now and then, when he isn't there, or when you're all sitting in the common room by the fire, you catch her looking at you. And think that maybe, if he wasn't around, you might have a chance. But you put that thought to the back of your mind along with all the other things that are not meant to be, as you rub your arm where the shadow of an old scar lingers.
And you realize that you love her as you howl at the moon.