Pyper's POV

I wiped my eyes and looked up, meeting the eyes of Alex and Oliver.

'Damnit…' I thought. Alex was my best friend, but I just wasn't in the mood at the moment…

"Sorry." I mumbled, backing out of the doorway.

"Pyper, wait!" Alex called. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." I said simply. She knew very well what was wrong. We'd been friends our whole lives, but even if we hadn't, everyone in Hogwarts pretty much knew that if I was crying, it was because of Fred.

She had a knowing look in her eyes, but a cautious one as well. She knew I was touchy in these moods, and defensive.

"What do you mean by 'everything?'?" She asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm ugly and plain and Fred doesn't love me." I shrugged as though it were nothing, but could feel my eyes tearing up again.

"Oh, that's not true!" Alex said, coming toward me, pulling Oliver along with her. "You're very pretty!"

I backed away from her. "It doesn't matter, Fred likes the way you look, Alex. We all know that."

She looked a bit hurt at my spite, but when I apologized later, as I always did. She would say she understood, as she always would.

As quickly as it had come, her hurt countenance evaporated and she smiled.

"You won't have to worry about that anymore!" She smiled brightly.

"Oh?" I asked, unbelieving, glancing between she and Oliver with my sullen expression. "And why ever not?"

Oliver smiled down at Alex, and then turned to me. He and I got along well enough, but had never been particularly close friends. It was he who answered my question.

"We're leaving." He said. "Tonight."

I looked at him blankly, then at Alex. "You are? When did you decide this?"

"Only just now." Alex answered happily.

Somehow, even though I was upset about multiple things at the moment, I couldn't be happy about my best friend leaving. "Oh." was all I managed to get out.

Her smile faded again, and she put a hand on my shoulder. It was rather obvious that she and Oliver hadn't considered what and who they'd be leaving behind.

"Everything will work out in the end." She said, giving me an encouraging smile. "I'd better get back, Oliver." She turned to him. "Dearest Dad will be looking for me."

She kissed him briefly, and then waved at me as she left through the door.

I fell back on the wall, a sulky countenance infecting my features.

Oliver spoke to me again, apparently waiting a moment for Alex's dad to be surely gone.

"Good luck, Pyper. Just give it time. He can't be blind forever."

He smiled warmly, and then exited, leaving me –at last, alone with my thoughts.

"Oh, God." I moaned aloud. "Bloody hell!"