A/N: This is just a quickie! I know that the past few chapters have been ridiculously short, but this one will be much longer, and gaps will be filled. I have skipped forward so much in my chapters and I have started to hate it, which is mainly due to bad planning. 'How she realized at last that not even love could justify this, that no affection could, not ever.' – a quote on domestic abuse/or just abuse.

I have written a plan out for the next few 10 chapters.

Chapter 6 – Fall For You By Secondhand Serene

Walking through the courtyard to the greenhouses, I constantly slipped on the melting snow from Christmas. Two weeks had passed since Neville and I had kissed, and I still got butterflies whenever I thought about it. Ever since our lips touched, I felt an immediate attachment to him when we were in the same room…it was strange to think that we had to kiss to realise that I love him. Being in love was a strange sensation, the days were brighter, the air was warmer and every day felt like a blessing…it was just a shame that I didn't have anyone to share it with. Longbutt hasn't talked to me since it happened, and it was agonising to have these feelings in secret. Anastasia came back a week ago, and our spat before the holidays was forgotten, so everything was back to normal. Well mostly.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a familiar but unfriendly owl flying towards me. It dropped a small roll of parchment into my hands and flew away with a large squawk. The parchment was crisp white and tied with a green ribbon, and I knew at an instant who had sent it. Scorpius.

Reluctantly, I unrolled the letter and recognised Scorpius' swirly and neat handwriting.

'Dear Marcia,

I hope that you are well. I also hoped that you would bother to write to your own boyfriend, but you obviously have other affairs to deal with. My father is disappointed at how we left things before I was suspended, but I assured him that we would sort things out. I don't plan to disappoint him again Marcia. So I suggest that you don't disappoint me.

Scorpius.'

I ripped the parchment into shreds and watched it disappear with the wind. Tears threatened to fall but I reminded myself that I was already late for double Herbology, so a sob-fest wasn't going to help with the Longbutt situation. Instead of bursting into tears, I walked to the greenhouses and tried to sneak in unnoticed.

"You're late Miss Rennie." Neville spoke abruptly. I sat down in my seat quickly, but Neville looked back with blank and unfeeling eyes.

"Yes, sorry Sir." I mumbled quietly. I felt everyone stare at me, burning a hole into my back as I blushed helplessly. Neville carried on teaching without a care in the world, as if I was never there. This shouldn't have been a surprise, but I still felt slightly hurt.

"Why were you late Marce?" Rose whispered quietly, her red hair was tied in a braid which rested on her shoulder. Rose and I were getting on really well, and if it wasn't for our houses I'm pretty sure that we'd be best friends. She was genuine and honest person that I could only wish to be.

"I got a letter from Scorpius." I replied, staring down at the wilting plant on my desk.

"And?" Rose asked, her brown eyes stared back at me with concern. I had told her about the situation with Scorpius, and she didn't approve at all.

"He said that his father is disappointed in him because of what happened, which basically means…you know." I said quietly. Rose nodded in recognition; everyone knew that his father was abusive towards his children, just as his father was to him. "And he said that I shouldn't disappoint Scorpius. So I think that he's still really angry at me."

Rose sighed, "You've got to free yourself of him Marcia! My parents have always said that abuse is not love, surely you should know that? Have you not told your mother?"

I scoffed, "Like she'd believe that perfect Scorpius Malfoy could ever do such a thing. She's always told how much she wished for a boy like him, and not a pathetic girl like me."

Looking at me pitifully, Rose rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. "Don't reply to him. He doesn't deserve someone like you. You're a good person-"

"Trust me; I'm not a good person." I laughed in disbelief, "I wish I was. I mean, if I was a good person then why would I be put in Slytherin?"

"Don't forget Snape." Rose smiled, "He was in Slytherin but he risked his safe daily so others could live. Does that sound like a bad person to you?"

"No…I guess not." I sighed in defeat and got on with my work. I felt like I could tell Rose anything, but telling her about Neville was a no-go. After what happened with Thorncroft, I couldn't tell anyone anything.

The lesson went by slowly, and I was having obvious trouble with my plant.

"Sir?" I put my hand up gingerly, this was going to be awkward but I desperate for help. Neville looked over at me with a blank stare, but carried on with whatever he was writing. He was obviously ignoring me.

"Can you believe him?!" I told Rose, "He looked straight at me and carried on with what he was doing! He knows that I'm useless at Herbology…he's such an idiot." I didn't fully believe it.

"He's not an idiot!" Rose said defensively, "He must have a lot to do, that's all."

"Well, you would say that. Your family are good friends with him aren't they?"

"Yep, and if it wasn't for the age difference I'd have a huge crush on him." Rose blushed, putting loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Feelings of jealousy shot through me, "Oh, really? Why would the age difference matter?"

"Well, he's about 20 years older than me. He's good-looking and everything, but he's a bit too old…" Rose scribbled down some notes while she spoke, and I felt a pang of jealousy when I saw how flawless her skin was, how her eyes were a deep chocolate shade and how sleek her red hair was. I ran my fingers through my black and curly mass of hair, sighing solemnly. My skin was porcelain and plain, while Rose had skin with a sun-kissed glow and the odd group of freckles. I've never felt so unattractive in my life.

"He's hasn't had a girlfriend in years," Rose started again, slightly scowling. "He went out with someone 5 years ago, but he hasn't been with anyone since. Although, my dad says that he's been day-dreaming a lot at the moment, so he thinks that he's found someone. If he has, it's about time!"

I felt a small amount of excitement bubble inside me, and I felt slightly gooey inside. Was he thinking about me? "Who do you think he's thinking about?" I asked, as casual as I could.

"I don't know for sure, but I think there is someone…"

"Who?" I asked, a bit too eagerly.

"Professor Lovegood." Rose smiled matter-of-factly, "I mean, their always together."

I felt the small fire of hope burn out inside me.

The lesson soon ended and I waited behind as I couldn't be bothered to go to Ancient Runes, so I stood by Longbutt's desk patiently.

"Go to your next lesson Marcia." Neville said bluntly, his voice was coarse and tired.

I stared at him in mild shock, "I have a free period…" I lied, "besides, I need to speak to you."

Neville stopped clearing away the rubbish and looked me in the eyes. "Come into the staffroom Marcia."

Following him in the staffroom, I stared at him from behind. He was wearing a chequered sweater vest and loose work trousers that were smeared with soil and plant gunk.

"Sit down." Neville ordered, shutting the door behind him roughly. He sat down on the armchair furthest away from me, it was as if I was the human form of disease.

I gulped and spoke quietly, "You know…what happened?"

"Yes." Neville sighed, "I apologise for what I did. It was extremely wrong of me to do such a thing, and I will regret doing it until the day I die."

Taken aback, I stared back at the tired man sitting in front of him. I could feel tears burning in the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "Oh- okay."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before Neville piped up again, "Marcia?"

"Yes?" I asked, hopeful.

"Please forget about what happened. I really want to…it was a big mistake."

I nodded sadly, "Yes Sir…" I felt a small bubble of anger, "I don't think you should tutor me anymore. It's not like I was learning much from you anyway."

Walking out of the staffroom, I struggled to hold back the tears. I could hear Neville sigh but he didn't look at me as I left…maybe he really did regret it.

Not intending to go to Ancient Runes, I made my way to my common room and sat by the fire. There was no point in the subject, so there was no point in going. The tears began to stream down my cheeks but I didn't try to stop them; I had no energy. Without much warning, the portrait door opened abruptly, revealing Ana and her boyfriend Jedd. He was undeniably stunning, but he wasn't anything that I'd be interested in. He had a definitive jaw-line, dirt-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, but he treated everyone like the dirt under his shoe.

"What are you doing here?" Ana asked, joining me by the fire. She noticed my tears and heaved a small sigh.

"Jedd, can you give us a moment please?" Ana asked him sweetly, giving him a sickly smile. He rolled his eyes but left anyway.

"Now, what's the matter? Is it Scorpius?" Ana asked, her eyebrows raised past her fringe.

I nodded. It was a lie, but I wasn't going to tell Ana about Longbutt. "I don't want to be with him anymore…but I'm scared of what he'll do."

"What do you mean? You two were perfect for each other. I mean, you had your ups and downs but so does every couple! Why are you scared?"

"He was violent Ana..." I pulled up my sleeve and showed her my scars. She gasped and pulled my sleeve back down. "It was okay at first, he treated me really well, but ever since school started things have gotten bad."

Ana smiled sadly, "It's up to you. I don't think that you should be with him if that's what he's done."

Once again, I nodded. She had said the same thing that Rose had said, and they both had a point. "Thanks Ana." I stood up from the satin chair. "I'm going to go to the Owlery and send a letter. Coming?" I asked her, but she just shook her head.

"Me and Jedd need to talk. I think it's getting serious." She winked and walked with me through the portrait door.

"See you later Ana." I spoke past my shoulder as I walked away. I got a piece of parchment and a quill out of my bag, thinking of what to write to Scorpius.

Once I arrived at the Owlery, I started to write:

Dear Scorpius,

Thank you for your letter. I am sorry but I am going to have to disappoint you. We are not right for each other. You have hurt me, inflicted pain and abuse on me. You are not genuinely sorry, so neither am I for ending this relationship. I wish that this could have ended another way, but you have seen to that. I wish you luck for the future, and I hope that I don't have the misfortune to see you again.

Not yours,

Marcia.

I felt slightly pleased with myself over how I wrote it, and rolled it into a small scroll. I called Kibble down and put it in her grasp.

"Deliver it to Scorpius Malfoy. Fly safely."

Kibble flew away gracefully, her large wings flapping effortlessly.

"Who was that to?" Someone asked.

I looked back at where the voice came from and saw James Potter, a seventh year and son of the famous Harry Potter. He had messy black hair, but it looked soft and inviting to touch. His brown eyes stared back at me with a playful sparkle, he was a Gryffindor but we had met a few times before. It was surprising that he wasn't in lesson, but I wasn't going to ask.

"To Scorpius…" I looked up to see James' reaction, unsurprisingly rolling his eyes; most of the Potter family hated the Malfoys.

"Saying what, may I ask?" James raised his eyebrows, brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes.

"If you must know, I was ending things with him. We're over." I smiled with a sense of pride. It was probably a bit cowardly that I sent a letter, but I was hardly going to be seeing him soon…hopefully that time would never come.

James' eyes brightened slightly and he continued to smile, "That's good to know."

While looking at him in slight confusion, my eyes travelled down to his hands, and I noticed a rolled up poster in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at the poster. He looked up sheepishly.

"It's just for this band that's playing in Hogsmeade…you've probably never heard of them." James handed over the poster and I unrolled it eagerly. The band was Devil's Snare…my favourite band!

With huge surprise, I flashed a huge grin and gave him back the poster. "Are you joking? Of course I've heard of them, they're awesome! What's your favourite song?"

James's face brightened and he grinned, "Really? I'd say… You Stole My Cauldron. Oh, and This Is The Night!"

"Same! They're amazing! Who are you going with?" I asked, intrigued. I really wanted to go, but it would have been rude to invite myself.

James smiled weakly, "No-one…none of my friends like them. They just like the Weird Sisters, I mean they're great and everything but a bit overrated."

I nodded in agreement but we were submerged in an uncomfortable silence.

"How about you come with me?" James said, his smile returning to his face.

Uncontrollably smiling, I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, I'd love to! When is it?"

"Tonight. I know it's a bit short notice but I've just got it; one of my friends just owled it to me." James explained, throwing me another of his signature smiles.

I thought about it for a while, would I be allowed to go? "I'd love to…but how are we getting out?"

"I have an invisibility cloak so don't worry about that," James winked, "My father gave it to me, and I have this map that shows all the secret tunnels around school, so no one would know."

Feeling excited at the thought of breaking the rules, I smiled widely, "Okay, that's great! When shall we go?"

"Well the doors open at 7, so shall we go at 6? We could get something to eat at one of the cafés because we'll miss dinner in the hall."

"That's sounds awesome." I grinned, struggling to hide my excitement.

"Cool, meet me by the Gryffindor common room at half 5, it's going to take some time to get to Hogsmeade."

"Okay, see you then. I should probably go back to my common room; I have a lot of homework to do!"

James smiled, "Yeah, I should probably go too. I'll see you later."

He walked off briskly and disappeared down the steps, but I decided to take my time and think over what had just happened. James Potter had just invited me to Hogsmeade! I knew that he was a Gryffindor, but who cares? Yeah, I'd probably get some shit from certain people, especially Ana, but we both liked Devil's Snare, and he's the first person I've met who liked them. Now I just had to wait to half 5 to finally see my favourite band in concert. Why does the day go so slow?

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter! A decent amount has happened in this chapter, and the story is starting to move along! (FINALLY) Don't worry, there will still be a Neville/Marcia relationship, but Marcia wants to look elsewhere while Neville is acting like a meanie. Anyway, please favourite and review! I'd be happy for any feedback

~HereGoesMyReputation