Disclaimer: Not JK…

Written for Becca (Aebbe) for her fanfic anniversary! Inspired by Mad's prompts Daisy, revenge and insanity and Ellie's wonderfully fantastic prompt "when you held onto me like I was your little life raft, please know that you were mine as well." - The Lightning Strike Part II: The Sunlight Through The Flags, Snow Patrol

Hope you enjoy!

Louis Weasley was not a masochist; or that was what he tells himself repeatedly, not that his cousin and best mate James Potter would agree. His deluded relative was convinced that his sadistic attitude was the reason why he kept on meeting Daisy Lonelon, which was completely untrue. Daisy was his friend, she was quite close to him and friends helped each other out during trouble, didn't they? So what he did was perfectly justified in the name of friendship, wasn't it? The pinprick like pain in his heart would contradict him, proving that his annoying cousin was right, once again.

That was why he was waking up to the sound of a knock on his door at two am on a Saturday morning; he knew it was her, no-one else knocked. He opened the door to a familiar yet heart wrenching sight. Daisy was leaning on the doorframe, looking at him from under red rimmed eyes. She seemed surprised that he had opened the door at all, as if this wasn't the tenth time she was visiting him at odd hours of the night in a year.

"Lou!" He took her inside the house quickly, lest someone see the state she was in; completely drunk and devastated. He laid her on the couch, sitting beside her to look at her face. She had tear tracks running down her face, her cheeks were blotched from all the crying, her face was almost twice its size; Louis sighed.

This had been happening for almost a year now. Ever since they had graduated last year, Daisy, sweet even tempered Daisy had decided to try her hand at dating. It had been a blow that Louis still hadn't recovered from. At school, she had been the shy reticent one, whereas he had been the boisterous happy-go-lucky prankster. Louis chuckled, thinking of how their roles had been reversed now.

Daisy's last boyfriend had been her longest; for about three months, it must have been really hard for her to accept it. Louis had been torn between his duty to Daisy as a friend and his rising alarm at her seriousness in the relationship. The jealousy had burn out now, but it left the bitter aftertaste of guilt that Louis did not know how to erase.

Louis pushed aside the locks of raven hair that had fallen on her forehead. She had had a conservative bob back at school, but now, it waved past her back, a testimony to her change. Louis went to get a wet cloth to wash her face with; she hated doing basic hygienic things by magic. She'd call him a lazy douche if he did that.

Louis went to the kitchen to wet a towel and at the last instant, took out the twelfth and the last vial of hangover potion he had on the cabinet; that was how he kept count of her boyfriends. By the time she returned, the muttering had started.

"Louis?" She blinked open her eyes as he finished wiping her face. Her cobalt blue eyes were disconcerted for a few minutes before they cleared up and she recognized her surroundings. Daisy slumped back with a huff onto the couch, murmuring, "I didn't think I'd make it to you, Lou."

Louis merely nodded, helping her sit up on the couch, almost forcing the vial down her throat; hangover potions were not brewed to be drunk as refreshments. Louis held her close for a few minutes, watching her eyes for the telltale sign that the drinks were subsiding. Daisy shook her head after a few minutes, but Louis wasn't relieved, he knew what would come next.

The flood banks broke as she leaned into his chest, crying her heart out; she must have had atleast three and a half to hold that many tears. Louis stroked her hair, hugging her tight. He muttered stupid things in her ear; the funniest he could think of. It was a way to know when she would recover; the moment she chuckled at his jokes, she would be alright.

But this time it was different, and nothing he said seemed to work, she was still crying and he was running out of things to say. Deciding on the only way to make her stop, because she'd make herself ill with the amount of crying she was doing, he lifted her off the couch and placed her on his lap, rocking her like he had back in their sixth year when she had had got a T on her History of Magic assignment. She hadn't changed much from that day, she was still the vulnerable diffident person she had been when he had first noticed her sitting beside him in Potions in their second year. Whatever had changed, her innocence hadn't, it was that that made Louis hope; she wasn't lost forever.

The tears were slowing down as she relaxed, burrowing herself in his arms, her hands securely clasped around his torso. He could hear her swear under her breath and he chuckled; she might be tiny but she sure knew swear words to match a brute.

He thought he heard the words revenge and bloody murder together when he dared to hold her away, looking at her face. His attempt at making her not look like a resin hadn't worked; she had spoiled his work. But she was coming out of her misery and that was all that mattered; not his soiled shirt, not her destroyed relationship, not his unrequited emotions.

"What's wrong with me, Lou?" She asked after what seemed like an hour, her voice hoarse and imploring. Her big blue eyes were staring at him with earnest question and Louis wished for the umpteenth time that he could completely blame her choice of boyfriends.

"Nothing's wrong with you, Issy. You just need to find the right person. You're too young to be in any serious relationship anyway." She laughed at his somber tone, nodding.

"But why do they all dump me? Why couldn't I break up with them for once?" Louis looked away, unable to answer the question. It wasn't her fault, precisely; people just found it difficult to understand Daisy's reasoning and quirks. Added to that was the fact that she was always insecure in any relationship. Not many would be daring enough to date her and those who did did not stay long.

"Maybe you should try to get to know them well before you start dating them." Louis suggested but Daisy refused to accept it, shaking her head from where it was lying on his chest.

"That will end in us becoming friends, and I don't want a friend, not as long as I have you!" The statement would appear vain and conceited to another person but Louis knew it was her way of saying that he was her only friend. His arms tightened around her as he said,

"You know you'll always have me." She looked up with doubt in her eyes; the same expression she had had when he had asked her to come with him for a walk in the grounds; as if she was afraid he'd leave her alone half way.

"Really?"

"Really." He kissed her head and she nodded, content to just lie in his arms for the rest of the night, or morning. She drifted off to sleep slowly, taking away any hope of rest he might have had. He might as well enjoy looking at her face when he could.

He thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like 'I love you too' but he couldn't be sure, his heart was beating too loud.

It was stupid, it was insane, it wasn't healthy, it sure as hell wasn't good for his life, but her happiness was the only thing that mattered to him. Maybe he was a tad bit masochistic.

A/n: Do review!