Chapter Seven

A/N: Thank you to gracieluvsya, Radiogirl12, AugustSummer and Vermlog630 for reviewing the last chapter.

'The pair of you are going to stay locked in here together, so that you can think on your actions.'

The words of the headmistress, Madame Maxime, still echoed through the mind of both girls, to such an extent that they seemed to fly about the room in an echo, as if she was a ghost intent on haunting them for the foolish behaviour which had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

All the other girls in the year group, or in the school most likely, had gone out on a visit to the nearby beach in Calais, which was charmed to remain pleasantly warm even in wintertime, as a reward for their hard work in the past term. Their punishment had deliberately been delayed until that time, for so long that they had almost forgotten about the incident, so that they would miss out on something anticipated for such a long time, for the purpose of teaching them a harsh lesson, to ensure they would never act so recklessly again.

'This is completely unfair.' Crystal sighed in her mind, looking across the room at Phoenix with fire in her eyes. The brunette was looking back at her, smugness lighting up her features. She had obviously planned to drag her down in her mischief, and she had succeeded. Now, the young girl was stuck here with her worst enemy, for an incident in which, if anything, she had been a victim. 'I had nothing to do with that explosion. It was all that stupid Phoenix, and she doesn't even seem to care! Oh, I wish I had never even spoken to her that night. It could have made my life a lot easier.'

'Who does she think she is?' On the bed opposite to hers, Phoenix was looking at her in response, manipulating her features into a look of self-satisfaction, one which she knew would annoy the British girl the most. 'She's probably brooding over how it had nothing to do with her, but if she hadn't been such an annoying little goody goody, I wouldn't have had to play that prank in the first place. It's as much her fault as it is mine.'

Finally, the quieter of the two was the one that broke the silence, as it had become like a lead weight on their shoulders, or on hers at least. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, but carried through the silence like a cry on the winter's wind. "I don't want to fight anymore, Phoenix."

Immediately, their eye contact broke, as both girls looked away in shame. They had been friends on their first night in the building, the only friend that either one had had, at the time. How could they have allowed themselves to come to the point of being enemies in this way? To glorify in the other's annoyance or failure, and to achieve happiness from their pain. It was not how they had been on the first night, as that had been how they had wished to remain. Perhaps there was still time.

"I know. I don't want to fight either." Phoenix replied, returning her gaze to the other girl's. This time, there was no annoyance in their gazes, nor was there any guilt. All that remained in their eyes, an incredibly matching shade of emerald green, was a sense of friendship, as they were both willing to start again, to put the past behind them and strive to be the friends that they had been, prior to the time when a war was declared between them, a war that neither of them really knew the purpose of, now that they thought of it. As she did not yet know the answer, the brunette asked her companion of her knowledge, wondering whether she would have any more insight that her former enemy did, in regards to their ridiculous feud. "How did this fighting even start?"

"I honestly can't remember." was the response that Crystal gave, a slight smile on her lips, one which was soon mirrored by the other girl. It took only a moment for the two to be in stitches of laughter, at the ridiculous idea of what had separated them. "It was something trivial, I know that much, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was."

"Then we should start again." the American girl suggested, receiving a slow nod from the other after a little while. She herself had been about to recommend doing so, and had been beaten to it, but she found that, for the first time, she did not mind Phoenix speaking what she had wished to speak, and merely savoured the fact that they were no longer enemies. "Let's pretend that we have never met, so that we can start again properly."

"Alright." the redhead agreed promptly. "Let's start with names. My name is Crystal Nymphadora Weasley. What about you?"

"Phoenix Lily Potter." she answered, with a smirk that the other girl thought had never enough become second nature, due to the frequency at which she did so. "I know. Stupid, right?"

"You think that your name is silly?" the girl asked, the disbelief in her voice quite clear from the tone. "My middle name is Nymphadora, for Merlin's sake. Even the woman that I'm named after herself didn't like it, and I can see why! It's atrocious!"

"It isn't that bad, you know. I don't think it is anyway, but at least it's your middle name. No one has to know it." Phoenix told her friend, a point which the other girl conceded. "At least you're not named after a bird that got it's feathers caught in a barbecue!"

"Alright, fair point." Crystal agreed, but changed the subject quickly, in case it became an argument, something which had a habit of happening between the two of them. And so, to distract the girl, she made a suggestion. "Let's play a game. Right, I'm going to ask a question, and we both have to answer after three. So, when is your birthday?"

Both girls had thought this to be a good idea, but what they had not expected was the answer that the pair of them gave, in unison, as the rules of the game required.

One, two, three…

"August 31st."

A/N: Just a hint of realisation there, but more to come in the next chapter! Please review!