I was glad that I decided last year to take Herbology on NEWT-level. I was even happier when I found out that we had that class first thing the next morning. Of course, Professor Longbottom had handed me my schedule, but seeing as he had to hand out many more schedules, it didn't seem like the best idea to interrogate him at that moment.

Roxie didn't take Herbology anymore; she was still in bed when I left (due to a late night because of various welcome back-pranks). We were bound to get a full lecture today on the 'upcoming' NEWTs in most of our classes, so Herbology wouldn't be very different, I assumed.

While I unpacked my bag, Kimberly Jones, one of my other dorm mates, walked over. "Hey, Dominique, isn't Roxanne here?" As I shook my head, she asked, "Is it alright if I sit here, then?"

I nodded, mentally rolling my eyes. Roxie hadn't been here last year either, and I had spent my entire year sitting next to Kimberly. Maybe she suffered from some strange kind of memory loss.

After class, Kimberly seemed not to know whether she should wait for me or not, so I told her, "I have to ask something, just go."

She nodded quickly and left, and soon, I was the only student left in the room. "Professor?" I asked. Apparently, he hadn't noticed that I was still there.

"Dominique! What can I do for you?" he asked kindly.

"Well… it actually about – Quidditch," I said. Sure, I had planned on talking to him, but I didn't think of what I wanted to say.

"Ah, yes. Why don't you sit down for a minute? Were you very surprised when you got the badge?" he asked, smiling.

"You could say that, Professor," I said, grabbing a chair and sitting down opposite him. "I think everyone expected Roxie to get it."

He frowned. "Yes, we already thought that."

"Then why did you give it to me?" I asked, growing a little impatient. I had another class now, and I couldn't completely count on Kimberly to tell the Professor that I would be later.

"We had certain reasons for that," he answered. I could see that he was slowly becoming uneasy. "I agree that your cousin might have been the more obvious choice, but you have certain… qualities that are always very useful in this position."

"Qualities? Like what?" I demanded.

"Well – you have the power to – show that you're in charge. You have a certain authority, Dominique. And you're not getting into trouble almost daily."

"Roxie has authority!" I almost cried out. "And I'm sure that she would stop getting into trouble daily, Professor, if you had appointed her as Captain. She loves Quidditch more than anything!"

"Dominique – you know very well that Roxanne – well, she's not the serious type. And a Captain needs to be serious. And I thought you would be happy to get the badge as well?"

"Of course I'm happy, and flattered, that you chose me, but – Roxie is way better than me! And yes, I love playing the game too, but not as much as she does! And you should see her – she completely serious when it comes to Quidditch!"

"Dominique, I'm sorry, but there's nothing that can be done now. You are the Captain, not Roxanne, and that's that. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe that there is a class of second years waiting for me."

With that, I was almost shoved out of the room, and of course, I bumped into Roxie. That must have been very awkward, because Professor Longbottom was gone before I even noticed that door was closed.

"Dom! What are you doing here?" Roxie asked, surprised.

"I had to ask something after class," I mumbled, slowly making my way towards the castle.

"About the Captainship, I assume?" she asked.

"Yes. I wanted to know why you weren't chosen."

"You know, I wanted to know that too. Did he tell you?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, he basically said that you didn't have the authority and you get into trouble too often."

"And?"

"There was no 'and', Roxie. That was it. And then he started acting all disappointed because apparently, I wasn't happy with the badge, but I would be much happier if – "

"Dom… oh, I don't know. Maybe you should just be happy with the badge. You deserve it. I – have to go. Sorry."

With that, Roxie was gone as well. I had no idea what to do now; she probably needed to be alone for now, but if I didn't follow her, it would bother me as well.

I don't normally skip class, but this was an emergency. Sort of. After checking the dorms, I'd gone outside, looking for Roxie. The most likely place for her to be now was the pitch, and indeed, I heard her voice when I approached the field.

" – I know I should be happy for Dom, but it's – I don't get it. What did I ever do wrong to deserve this?"

In a normal situation, I would've tried to comfort her; now, it seemed that she was talking to someone else and didn't quite want me there.

"Roxie, it's alright. Of course you're mad. You deserved that badge, everyone knows that. Why else would Dom be going out of her way to find out just why you didn't get it?" Molly? I carefully looked around the stands and indeed, Molly was trying her best to comfort Roxie. I was glad she wasn't completely bashing me, though.

"I know," Roxie hiccupped. "And I love her for that, but – sometimes it's just so hard, being her best friend. She has everything. She's perfect. And the one thing I wanted most – " I felt even worse now than earlier. I knew I was far from perfect, but I also knew how Roxie felt. Well, that she felt this way, at any rate. "I want to be her friend, but – I don't know. She doesn't make it easy for me."

I opened my mouth, but closed it again quickly. Roxie seemed so… helpless, right now. It was terrible and I really wished I could help her. But at that moment, I had no idea how.

It hurt that she was discussing this with Molly, and not with me. Then again, if she had trouble with being my friend, I'd be the last person she'd talk to. I shifted my feet, and as I walked away, guilt and (I hate to admit it) jealousy washed over me. This had to stop. Roxie was to become the Captain if it was the last thing I'd do. If only I knew how.