Warning: Likely Underage drinking and sexual content

New Term and New Relationships

"This will be our day of freedom," Ellen said as she flopped onto her bed

"I know," I said as I opened a compartment my trunk to find my pajamas.

"Hey that's a neat trunk," Ellen said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Diagon Alley," I said. "I went back last week on the Knight Bus. I saw it when we shopping. It has five different compartments in it, and you can open each one with a key. It's roomy too. It was expensive, but I could afford it. The compartments are so roomy too. I was getting tired of not having enough room for everything. I also bought something else for all four of us, but I'll show you guys later. I wanted to show you on the train but everyone came into visit us."

"Why, what did you buy us?" Ellen asked.

"Later," I said as Melanie and Sarah entered the dormitory. Sarah greeted us but Melanie ignored us. "When it's just the four of us I'll show you. It will come in handy though."

It was the first night back at Hogwarts, we'd just had our first feast back and we were now getting ready for bed. The next day was a Monday so our term was starting right away. I liked it when the first was on a Friday or Saturday because we had a day or so to relax before we started classes. That year we had to start right away, and we hadn't the last two years. I went into the bathroom to change and then I went to bed.

I didn't fall asleep right away though, but that wasn't any different from the last week. Ever since my birthday party I hadn't been able to sleep. Ben was constantly on my mind. During the last week, my sister had baby-sat so I could have a week off to myself. Since I hadn't had a distraction, I couldn't stop thinking about him. Any time I tried to move my thoughts back to Denver where they should be, it wouldn't last for long. I felt bad for him and confused at the same time. How could I no longer have feelings for him when I'd missed him for so long? Had my feelings ever been genuine then? How would Ben react if he knew?

All I knew was if I truly did like Ben, I was going to have to break up with Denver. I couldn't stay with him if I had feelings for someone else. I blamed it on Ellen even though I knew I shouldn't, but she was the one who kept mentioning that he might have feelings for me. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind but it wasn't easy. I could hear the other girls talking quietly about the pool party but I ignored them.

The next day we started our classes, and from the first day we could all tell that we were in for a rough year. In each class we attended, the teachers lectured us about our OWLs before they went into the lesson. At the end of the lesson, we were assigned with more homework that any of us have ever seen in our first four years.

"Now I know what you meant in our first year," Ellen said as we sat down together for lunch. "I would give anything to have that amount of homework again."

"I knew you'd say that," Ben grinned.

"I'll trade with any of the firsties," Hank said. "I can't believe they expect us to get through all of this. We're not going to have any free time at all this year."

The rest of the fifth years grumbled about our homework. I felt overwhelmed. It was only lunch time and I felt like I had more than a week's worth of school work. I didn't join in on their conversation, not only because I felt stressed about the homework but because of my situation with Ben and Denver. I was supposed to meet up with Denver that evening in our spot by the lake, but I wasn't looking forward to it. How could things have changed that quick?

"You're quiet," Ellen said as we ate through our lunch. "Everything okay?"

"Sure, but I want to show you guys what I bought in Diagon Alley, let's go to the court yard after we finish lunch," I answered.

After we ate, we headed outside. Ellen, Ben and Michael continued to discuss our homework. I listened but I didn't add to the conversation. I couldn't think of what to say, so I kept quiet until we were outside and they were all facing me. I reached into my bag and pulled out four rolls of parchment. I handed one to each of them, and kept one for myself.

"Did you write us letters?" Ellen asked confused but she unrolled her parchment and she raised her eyebrows and looked up at me.

"No, that's how we can keep in contact with each other… or anyone who has those. You see that number at the top of it? Well if I want to talk to you, I just write your number and then write to you. When you want it to clear, you just say clear. You don't even have to use your wand to activate it. I think George and Ron made it that way because underage witches or wizards use them. We can write to each other any time we want," I explained.

"These are brilliant," Michael said. "I wish we'd had these before. When did you get them? I don't remember you buying them when we were there."

"I went back during my last week. I was bored at home, and I'd seen a trunk I'd wanted in that luggage store we went into. You know the one you bought your new bag at? So I went there, and then I went back to the joke shop to see what else they had. I hadn't noticed those when we were there but I went in to browse. They're new. I guess they were Ron's idea from when they had the DA, except they wanted to make it so anyone could talk to anyone and not just a whole group. You can talk to a whole group too though; you just put all their numbers in and write to them. It reminds me of email to be honest," I said. "As soon as I saw them, I decided to get them. We can talk to each other any time now."

"These are definitely a good idea," Ben said. "You're amazing, and I can't believe you bought one for each of us!"

"Well it would be useless for me to only have one for myself," I said with a smile.

"Do you want any money for it though?" Michael asked.

"No," I answered. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted a way for us to contact each other. This year will be rough as well, and I don't want you to feel left out again, Michael."

"We could write to each other in class and they'll just think we're writing on parchment!" Ellen said excitedly.

"Well don't be writing to me," Ben said. "Not in class anyway."

We decided to test them out while we waited for our next class to begin. We wrote to each other while we were in the court yard and got excited when it really truly did work. After lunch, we had History of Magic. I'd bought a Quick Quotes Quill for that class, so I never worried about taking notes since the quill did it for me. It was the only class I could get away with using it. Any other class had a teacher who noticed and might disapprove. Ellen and I decided to write to each other for that class.

So are you going to me what is bothering you? Ellen wrote. And don't tell me nothing is bothering you. I can tell. We've been best friends for four years.

I don't think I can tell you Ellen.

Why not? Is it Denver?

It's Denver but it's also something else.

What? Please just tell me. You know it's better to talk about these things instead of keeping it bottled up. You can trust me.

It's not about trust, I know I can trust you but what I tell you might upset you.

I wasn't sure if Ellen still had feelings for Ben or not, and I felt like I was betraying her.

I can handle whatever you're going to tell me. If it's going to upset me, you should be telling me then. I'll try to understand.

I sighed and glanced at her. Ben and Michael were sitting in front of us taking notes, so there wasn't a risk of them seeing this. The two of them actually took notes in that class, and they'd gotten irritated with my quill. Ellen always just relied on my notes. Michael had in the past, but he now liked writing his own notes so that he could write down what he thought was important. He felt that the quill took down too much information.

I think I have feelings for Ben. I've been feeling this way since my birthday party. I think there's a chance those feelings have always been there, but I just didn't realize it. I keep hoping what you say is right, but I really don't think you are. There is Denver to think about as well. We only just got back together, but I also just don't think I feel like the way I did before. I am so confused.

I'm not upset. I suspected this was going to happen. I was mistaken last year when I thought I wanted him. Ben and I will never work out, but I think you two will. I think you need to break it off with Denver and then tell Ben how you feel because I truly believe he wants you back.

I don't think he does. You're right that I need to end it with Denver. I will tonight even though I feel awful about it, but I don't know about Ben.

The worse thing he can do is say no. Look, I worried about it as well and I still feel embarrassed that I mentioned it in front of you two. I just couldn't help it. I think you should get him alone and talk to him. I can even distract Michael if you want. Maybe I'll go hang out with Stan, Hank, and Jared and I will tell Michael to come with me. You need to tell him. You're just going to wonder for the rest of your life if you don't. I can even find out if he likes you for you.

I think I should wait before I say anything. I don't want to jump from one relationship to the next.

Don't wait for too long, but I think I am going to hint at Ben to see if he's interested back because if he is, I think you need to go for it. I just really think you two are interested in each other, and if I have to be honest I think you two have been since second year but neither of you realized it. What I felt for Ben was nothing, and it's the same with Michael. He was just grateful towards me. I think you and Ben have real feelings more than anything you and Denver felt for each other.

I just don't know what to tell Denver when I break up with him. I considered telling him that we should break up because fifth year will be hard, but if I end up with Ben, which I doubt that will just be insulting to him.

Just tell him you don't have the feelings you thought you had for him.

I worried all afternoon what I should tell Denver. As I approached our end of the lake where'd we gotten together and had shared many intimate moments, I felt bad that I would be dumping him there as well. I found him there already without his books. I was surprised because I thought he'd said we would be studying that night. Instead, he looked kind of uncomfortable when I walked up to him.

"We have to talk," he said when I approached him and he looked a little sad. "I think I might regret this but I think we should break up."

"Wait what?" I asked feeling shocked and relieved at the same time.

"I'm sorry, but it's just with being a prefect, and Quidditch practice and our insane amount of homework, I have a feeling things will get tense between us. I don't want you to hate me," Denver said.

"Denver, I was just about to tell you the same thing," I said. "That's why I am surprised. I've been stressing all day about it. I didn't expect that you were going to want the same thing."

Denver grinned with relief. "Maybe later in the year we could try again but-"

"No we can't," I interrupted. "You were honest with me, so I think I should be with you as well. I didn't want to break up because of our homework load. You might hate me for this but I have a feelings for someone else. I've only just realized it recently."

Denver stared at me and then he gave a small nod. "You know what? I am not that surprised. I bet I can even guess who it is. It's Ben, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?" I asked. "I only just figured it out at the pool party."

"You two are so stupid, that's why. You two have wanted each other for years, but you never seemed to have figured it out. I ignored it but I think I even knew when we first dated. Neither of you were coming to your senses though, so I thought that maybe you never would and I'd take advantage while I could. I've always liked you."

"Well it's not like I never felt anything for you," I said. "I did have feelings for you."

"I know," Denver responded with a sigh. "But definitely not in the way you will for Ben. He does want you to you know, I can tell. So you should tell him."

I stared at Denver and then shook my head. "You know this says a lot about our relationship since neither of us are that upset. I mean, I just told you I have feelings for someone else and you're not angry at all. You don't even seem as if you care."

"I care in a way, but it's the same as it was with Morgan and Claire isn't it? They just realized they wanted each other sooner. I can't hate you for this, especially since part of me expected this to happen. I noticed it at your house. It confirmed it for me at the pool party, and it wasn't just me who noticed. Many people noticed, a few girls even asked if I felt jealous. I guess that's part of the reason why I could break up with you. I just was worried about doing it because of the last time we broke up," Denver explained.

"I was thirteen then, and we'd been together longer before. This time I think we just got back together because we had unresolved feelings for each other. I won't ever regret our short time together. I'm glad we got back together, and at least this isn't a bad break up. I just hope you can find the right girl," I said.

"I'm taking a year off from dating," Denver replied with a smile. "This year isn't a good idea at all."

We walked back to the castle after that together, still talking. I still couldn't believe how easy things had gone. Like I'd told Denver though, I would never ever regret getting back with him because I believed it offered me closure, and him as well. We chatted about our homework and Arithmancy. When we reached the Entrance hall, he gave me a final hug before he headed down to the Slytherin dungeons. I sighed as I headed to Hufflepuff basement.

I still had so much homework to do that night. I didn't think I'd have a free moment for a long time, and so perhaps Denver had been right about that. It would be hard to stay together even if I wasn't interested in Ben. I believed both he and Ellen were wrong, there was no way that Ben liked me back. When I entered the common room, I saw Michael and Ben working together on homework. Ellen was with Stan. She glanced over at me, and I gave her a small nod before I joined the boys. She said something to Stan before she rushed over to us.

"So you really did it?" She asked as she sat down. I'd told her I would tell Ben and Michael when I dumped Denver so I didn't mind that she was asking. I just didn't want them to know the reason.

"He actually did it first," I replied. "So it was mutual. I guess the reason he wanted to meet me tonight was to break up."

"You and Denver broke up?" Michael asked. "But I thought you two were okay."

"It was a good break up this time," I answered. "We both wanted it. Denver said he was already overwhelmed about the amount of homework we had, and he said with him being a prefect and playing Quidditch it would be hard for him to make time for me. I had a different reason for breaking up with him, but I'm glad it was mutual. I was worried all day about it."

"So that's why you were so quiet," Ben said. "I knew something was bothering you."

"What was the reason you wanted to break up then?" Michael asked.

"I just don't feel the same way about him as I used to. I started figuring it out over the summer, but I thought I should try and work it out anyway. Look how long I missed him for? I'm just glad we gave it a chance but I realized it was for the best. I don't regret getting back with him. We've always had a good thing going, but it wasn't enough to stay together. This time I got some closure from the first time. We had a good time anyway, and we're still friends," I said.

"Well I only came over here to find out," Ellen said and she glanced back over at Stan. "But I said I would study with Stan. So I am going to go back over. Michael, do you want to come?"

Michael looked up while I shot daggers at her. I wasn't ready to talk to Ben about it yet. Fortunately he shook his head.

"No, I really need help with this Arithmancy homework; it's a lot tougher than it had been last year. I need Ben's help," Michael answered.

"That's what you guys get for picking the hard classes!" Ellen said and with that she turned and hurried back to Stan.

Ben shook his head as he watched her but then he glanced at me.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked while I pulled out my Arithmancy book.

"Yes, I wanted this as well. I guess it says a lot about our relationship since neither of us were really that upset over it," I admitted. "Don't worry, I'm not going to disappear to my common room for days."

"Well good, it's not wise to do that in fifth year," he said.

"So about this Arithmancy homework… I don't get it," I said.

It didn't take long for everyone to find out about Denver and me. We just told them the short version of it. We no longer had feelings for each other. Many girls were already lined up to date him, but he kept to his word about not wanting to date. I didn't have too much time to dwell on my feelings for Ben because of homework. There wasn't one night that went by during our first week that we were given homework. I could see many fifth years already feeling pressured by it all. I'd remembered seeing fifth and seventh years struggling with their homework previous years, and I'd always felt glad that it wasn't me. Now it was my turn to stay up late.

The classes were all hard, but Arithmancy was the one I struggled the most with. I didn't think it was possible for me to keep it beyond fifth year. On my birthday, my friends wished me a happy birthday but we didn't do much else to celebrate, although Michael still thought we should the next day since it was a Friday. Instead, all four of us spent the evening with the rest of the Hufflepuff's struggling with our workload.

"Why do the teachers think this is right?" Anne moaned. "I think they've given us so much work that my brain will be mush by the time exams roll around."

"You mean they aren't already?" Stan asked her.

"Oh shut up," she said. "I can't do this, I really can't!"

I felt the same way, but I didn't voice this. I kept my head down but I had to wonder how I could survive this year. In the summer I'd felt disappointed by not making a prefect but I now felt relieved. How could I manage to get through this year let alone through such important exams? Ellen let out a little cough and I glanced over at her. She nodded over at my "message" parchment as we'd started to call them. I reached for it and unrolled it.

When are you going to talk to Ben?

I glanced around, all of the fifth year Hufflepuff's were together. I didn't want them to see what we were writing. Everyone had their heads down though; some were asking each other for help on certain questions for whichever subject they were working on.

I don't know, I don't want to wreck our friendship. Remember Michael?

It didn't ruin our friendship when I said something to him about it. We were awkward around each other at first, but it's fine now. You two are closer.

You're beautiful though, and besides that's the problem. We do have a closer friendship and that could ruin it. What if it causes a fight like it did in second year when Michael liked you?

Michael's crush on me didn't cause that fight and you know it. I really think you should say something before he finds someone else. He did say he was trying to get over the "mysterious girl" so what if he does and moves on?

Or he does get with his mysterious girl. You do remember our first year don't you?

You keep bringing up first year, but that doesn't mean anything. Each one of us have changed in first year. No one thought you and Denver would end up together when we were in first year. None of us thought we'd be drinking, or even having sex before we finished Hogwarts. The point is, people change their minds. I really do believe you are the mysterious girl. You can't know unless you try.

Just give me some more time.

The next day was a Friday and Ben surprised us by announcing that we needed a night off.

"Let's just let loose. We have all weekend to work on it," he said as we left class and headed for dinner.

"Good, because I wasn't planning on doing anything tonight anyways," Ellen said. "I think I've done more homework this week then we ever did in four years."

"I agree," I said. "I don't even want to think about our school work again until Sunday. For now, Arithmancy doesn't exist. I'm celebrating my sixteenth birthday tonight, and with alcohol!"

"Now we're talking!" Michael said and he put an arm around me.

I saw Ben scowl and I wondered if he was upset that I was ignoring homework until Sunday. We began discussing playing poker. We joined the rest of the fifth years in our house and told them our plan. They all yelled out in excitement. After we ate a quick dinner, we hurried down to the common room where we told others our plans for the night. I noticed the second and third years hurrying down to the kitchens and I was glad they were doing it. I wasn't in the mood to do it that day. All I wanted to do was have fun that night.

As soon as some people brought out the alcohol, I hurried over to get a drink. One of the older girls mixed me up a Caesar and told me to try it because I would enjoy it. I remembered years ago seeing my mother drinking them, so I guessed it was good. Once I got my drink I went over to where the poker game was being set up. Once again, there were too many people who wanted to play so we had to divide up three different tables.

I was in the game for a while, but Alana smugly took me out. The girl grinned at me but I didn't mind. If it was anyone else I might have felt annoyed, but not her. I was just happy to see her enjoying herself. I left the table in search of my friends. As I did, I froze in my tracks to see that Ben and Mallory were pretty wrapped up with each other.

I quickly hurried to the dorms with Ellen running after me shouting my name. I ignored her.

"Come on, I told you this would happen," Ellen told me as I flopped down on my bed. "You need to tell him. You know he isn't interested in her. He's just looking for a quick snog."

"It doesn't matter anyway," I sighed. "It's not me who he wants."

"Yes it is! You know what, I want you to go up there and meet him in the corridor. I am going to send him out there. You two need to talk to each other and now. If you don't do this today, I am telling him how you feel," Ellen shouted. "I am not going to let you fall into self-pity over this. If you never tell him then you're a fool."

I could tell she was serious, so I shrugged and got up. I felt nervous as I followed her back up to the common room. Once there, she pointed to the entrance of the common room. Curfew was past, but no one would notice. Once I was out in the corridor I headed over to sit against the wall. It was about five minutes or so before Ben joined me. I gulped nervously when he came over to sit with me.

"Ellen said that you needed to talk to me," Ben said and he looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I can, I am only out here because she forced me to. Can't we just tell her we talked and let it go?" I asked.

"No," Ben said. "I want to know whatever it is that's bothering you. If you're angry with me I'd like to know what I did."

"I am not angry with you, but you might end up angry with me," I muttered.

"Then I need to know," Ben responded. "Whatever it is, I can handle it."

The conversation reminded me similarly of the conversation I'd had with Ellen. I took a deep breath of air, and then looked over at him.

"I really like you Ben," I whispered. "Not just a little bit, but a lot. It's why I broke up with Denver."

I remembered the day when Ellen had made her announcement by the lake. I waited for him to tell me he wasn't interested in me. If he could turn down a beautiful girl like her, he could with me. He looked back at me with wide eyes and then slowly his face broke into a grin. Before I knew what was happening, he was kissing me.

"I feel the same way," he said as he pulled away. "I can't believe you thought I'd get angry with you over this."

"You didn't react to well when Ellen told you. I was worried you wouldn't feel the same way," I answered. "Besides you were just in there making out with Mallory. I wasn't sure if she was the mystery girl."

"You're the mystery girl," Ben said. "You're right though. This would be a lot better if I hadn't just been making out with some random girl. Mallory means nothing to me. So wait, did Ellen know?"

I nodded and explained that we'd been talking about it through our parchments. I told him how I'd seen him making out with Mallory, and so I'd gone down to my dorms but Ellen had stopped and made me come talk to him.

"She threatened that if I didn't do it now, she was going to tell you herself," I finished.

"Well I am glad. I was worried it would bother her after last year. That just proves she never really felt anything for me then. I've just always thought you had feelings for Denver and I didn't think you'd ever go for me, not after everything that happened in first year," Ben said.

"I didn't think you'd go for me because of first year," I responded. "You used to insist that you would never date me."

"People can change their minds. I know I am going to hear about it though from everyone. They all told me I would change my mind, and I said I wouldn't. Barry is going to be thrilled," he said. "I honestly started to feel this way for you in the second year. It just didn't really hit me until last year. I just kept hoping it would go away but it didn't. I've basically been in denial since second year."

"So why did you push me to get back with Denver again?" I asked. "That's one argument I kept using against Ellen."

"I wanted you to be happy," he said simply. "I wanted to be with you, but if I couldn't be then at least you'd be someone who could make you happy. I also wanted you to stop doing what you were doing with Jared."

"You're an amazing guy, you know that?" I asked.

Not too many people would think that way. They would feel angry or upset to see their crushes with someone. It took a big person to want for their crush to be happy with someone else.

Ben smiled. "I know I am. It's why you like me so much."

"You know we're going to get so many 'I told you so's' from people right. We've had so many people telling us that we would end up together and we've denied it for years. Melanie is going to be one of the first to tell us."

"Good," Ben said. "I'll be happy to rub it in her face. As for anyone else, I am sure they are actually to be happy about it."

"Well except other girls. Tara still wants you. She thinks you two will end up like Lily and James Potter," I said.

"How so?" Ben asked.

"Didn't you hear? They didn't get along until their seventh year when they were made Head Boy and Girl, and then Lily fell in love with James. James always wanted her but she wanted nothing to do with him. You two are the same way and you know you will be Head Boy and Girl."

"I am not ever going to fall for Tara," Ben said. "I believe I'll still be with you. I can't think of any other girl I want to be with."

I didn't want to ruin the moment, so I didn't. I remembered Rachel's words though. There was a chance we wouldn't be. I decided not to dwell on it though. Ben liked me as much as I liked him. We didn't even have to confirm it. We both knew at that moment that we were together.

It didn't take long for people to find out we were dating. I knew there were many people talking behind my back about how I moved fast. I wasn't sure if it was common knowledge or not about Jared and me, but those who did know about it acted as I were fast woman. I could kind of understand why they believed that because I would think the same if another girl were in my shoes. It didn't stop it from hurting a little when I could hear some classmates who I'd thought liked me talk about me like that.

The fifth year Hufflepuff's with the exception of Melanie thought it was great though. The boys had actually had a dating pool going on. They'd believed that Ben would either start dating Ellen or me eventually. Joey had predicted we would end up together in the fifth year, so I guessed he since won he was the happiest for us.

Melanie was angry about it. We were both surprised that she hadn't confronted us about it. Tara on the other hand had no problem saying anything about it to me.

"So how long are you going to stick with this one?" She asked me. "Is it because these boys find out that you have them under a love potion?"

"I'm surprised you haven't actually resorted to that yet," I retorted. "You're really one to talk about sticking with boys Tara. You have a different boyfriend every few months."

"Ben will realize he loves me, and then he will dump you," she said.

She turned and walked off. She wasn't the only one to say something to me. Many girls wanted Ben, and they weren't happy about our relationship at all. He had girls from as young as third year to as old as seventh year who wanted him. It made me wonder what it was that he saw in me. Many of the girls were so gorgeous. Mallory had in fact put me in detention one evening for only being a few minutes late for curfew.

"Other girls can be so brutal sometimes," I said one evening. "I almost feel in danger by dating you. You're lucky I didn't have a line-up of boys who wanted me."

"You've had some," Ben said. "I've had a few come up to me as well."

"Like who?" I asked curiously.

"Does it matter?" Ben asked.

"I'm just surprised that's all," I answered.

"I told you already there are boys who do want you, they just haven't told you," Ben replied. "I don't see why it should matter, since you are with me but Ted had a thing for you, and so did Hank, Darren and Gary. There are probably more, but those ones and even your ex threatened that I had better not ever hurt you."

"I am still trying to get used to this," Michael said. "You know, I kind of always wondered if the two of you would end up together but at the same time I didn't think you would-" and he glanced at Ellen "how are you taking this anyway? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ellen answered. "Really, I am. Look, I did have feelings for Ben because I felt like maybe we had a connection but obviously I was wrong. If anyone is going to be with Ben, I am glad it's Ashley. Besides, I suspected it was her all along that he wanted. I think she wanted him too, but it was hard to tell because of Ben. She finally confessed when term started that she had feelings for him too. So I have been trying to push it along all week."

"Well, I wasn't sure at first," I responded. "I was confused at first, but it was the pool party that made me realize it. I just felt bad because of Denver. When I went to go break up with him I was still deciding on whether or not I should tell the truth. He was the one to say we should break up, and so I felt it was only fair I admit the truth to him. The thing is he already knew. He told me that Ben and I are so stupid because we have liked each other for a while but didn't know it."

"I figured it out last year," Ben said. "I think it started in second year, because remember when I insisted Ashley was my best friend? Well, I think it was about that time that I started to like her. It wasn't until last year I think after Christmas break I really realized it. I saw her interacting with Slytherin first years, and I felt it."

"I believe it," Ellen said. "I think I even knew too, I was just in denial. It's just that I thought I could see us as the class couple. I have Stan though; I was just being delusional because of what we shared during Quidditch. I truly believe you two are a good couple and I also think you will last a long time."

"We plan to," I told Ellen and then I smiled at Ben who smiled back.

I'd never really been subjected to too much gossip at Hogwarts. The only times I could really remember was in second year when my friends and I had gotten in our big fight, when Denver and me had gotten together and then broke up and then there was a small amount of gossip when Jared and I had slept together. There might have even been some gossip when Denver and I had gotten back together. However, it had been very tame and it had died down quickly. This time, the gossip (which was mainly from girls) didn't seem to go away.

"Slut," someone coughed as I walked past a group of girls in the library.

I ignored them and walked on to the shelves to try and find the book for Transfiguration book I was looking for. I was really getting tired of it, and I understood how girls like the Andrew twins, or Lydia Jewel felt. It was awful and I almost felt as if I were back in primary school. Many of the girls reminded me of Amy and Kelly who would talk about me loud enough for me to hear, but they wouldn't make fun of me directly. There was a time when I got along really well with some of the Ravenclaw girls but they seemed to have joined ranks with Tara, Lydia and Natalie.

"They'll stop eventually, just ignore them," someone said.

I looked up from my search to see Sheila Andrews smiling at me.

"How do you deal with it?" I asked. "You and Shelly get it worse than anyone."

"We just ignore them. If you show them you don't care, they'll get bored with it. Of course they'll still spread rumors. Shelly and I haven't slept with half the boys these girls all say we have. It's true we've had many dates, and we have slept with more than one boy but not as much as those girls say we have. According to Maisie from Slytherin, I got pregnant last year with twins. The twins had two different fathers and I lost them," Sheila answered.

"That's horrible," I said. "I've heard rumors but I didn't hear that one. Is it even possible for twins to have separate fathers?"

"I think it can happen, but it's very rare. These girls mainly do it from jealousy. Maisie is probably one girl who is very jealous," Sheila said. "But think about it, a lot of girls really wanted to be with Ben and you are with him. Melanie went through some hateful gossip in second year; Claire went through it a lot more. The Ravenclaw girls turned against Lindsay when she was with him. They were so mean to her during their relationship. I think Nicole is the only one who didn't go through it as bad, and that's because she's an amazing dueller. She's almost as good as Michael."

"I just wish they would stop now," I said. "I went through it when I was with Denver, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it now. Many of those girls I actually got along with last year. I'm sure they knew about Jared but they didn't care then. They didn't really say too much when Denver and I got back together the second time."

"They will," Sheila said with a shrug. "Someone else will do something, and they'll annoy them. That's how it is at Hogwarts. You know, even Harry Potter went through gossip but his was a lot worse than anything we've gone through."

"I've heard about that, I can't even imagine what that would be like, but it's not just Hogwarts. I think it's like this at any school you go to," I sighed.

"Anyway, I saw that you were alone so I wanted to invite you to sit with us," Sheila said.

"Who is us?" I asked.

"The Gryffindor girls," Sheila answered. "Nicole, Shelly, Tina, Nancy, Mary-Anne and Julie."

"I don't know…" I replied as I thought about Nicole.

"They don't care," Sheila said. "And Nicole has been over him for a long time. She has a boyfriend. The rest of the girls haven't really said anything against you."

I nodded; it was true that I hadn't heard much from the Gryffindor girls. I figured they would make fun of me though since everyone else was. Once I found the book that I was looking for, I followed Sheila over to the table of Gryffindor girls. They had the table full of open text books and piles of parchment.

"Oh good, someone who can help us with Charms, that's what we're working on," Nicole said as soon as I approached. I took the empty chair beside her.

I'd been hoping to catch up on Potions and Transfiguration, but I decided I could later with Ben. I didn't answer her, but I started to look through my bag for my Standard Book of Spells Grade 5 and my notes. I didn't understand how anyone could find the class difficult. The only time I had really struggled with it was in first year before I'd gained confidence in my spell work. However now, I could do the charms after a few tries, and I always understood why they worked. Professor Flitwick told me it was just my essays that I needed to improve. So I didn't understand why others struggled with it when I didn't, most people were smarter than me.

"Slut!" Someone coughed from where several Ravenclaws were sitting.

I glanced over to see that it was Lydia Jewel. I clenched my teeth. Out of all of the people who could be calling me that, it had to be her. Tara was beside her, she glared over at me.

"Just ignore them," Nicole muttered from my side. "They're just trying to get to you."

"She's one to talk," Nancy said. "From what I hear, she's already working her way through the sixth year boys."

"They're just bitter because it's Ben," Nicole said. "I went through it at first when we got together, and he was my first boyfriend."

"I've been with more than one boy though," I said. "They are right in a way."

"Not really," Mary-Anne said. "You've only had two boyfriends, and I don't know if the rumors about Jared are true but it's just one boy isn't it? The only reason anyone is saying anything is because they want Ben."

"Well, and no offense," Shelly began, "because I don't feel this way. I just think they are also doing it because you moved on so quickly. I've been through this as well. They'll stop eventually."

"I don't know about that," I replied as I stared over at Tara who was still giving me the stink eye. "She wants Ben to the point that I think she would do anything. Remember when she spread that rumor about me buying love potions? It was actually her who was looking at them. Ellen and I caught her. I wouldn't put it past her to slip Ben one. She thinks she and Ben will get together in seventh year like Lily and James Potter did."

"Tara reads too many romance stories," Tina said. "You really can't let them get to you. They're only doing it because they're jealous. Also, Lydia and Natalie are Tara's pets. They'll do whatever she tells them to do. I normally get along with the rest of the Ravenclaw girls, and so I know for a fact that it's because they want Ben. They'll move on, and they'll leave you alone. They don't truly believe you're a slut. You just ruined their dream of getting with Ben. I have to admit, I had a slight crush on the boy too but I don't hate you for it. I think everyone knew that you two would end up together eventually."

"I'm not judging, but how did you move on from Denver to Ben so quickly?" Mary-Anne asked.

I explained how I had started to feel something for Ben at the pool party, and how my feelings had developed even more the week after.

"-and so I decided it wasn't fair to Denver, so I went to go tell him the truth but he already wanted to break up anyway. He said between Quidditch, our workload and his prefect duties that he doesn't have time for a girlfriend. I was going to wait to talk to Ben, but Ellen told me I should hurry before he met someone else. So I did," I explained. "Ben has felt the same way about me since last year."

"Ben has felt that way about you since second year," Sheila said. "He just didn't know it. I bet you felt that way about him too but he didn't know it. You know, Shelly and I always believed there would be a love triangle between you, Ben and Ellen. We figured Ben would see Ellen as a sister, but he would want you. We were almost close."

I didn't bother to tell her how close she was but it amazed me. I often wondered if the twins were seers because they always knew things. They had known that Denver and I would eventually date. They had guessed that something would go on between Ellen and Stan. There were plenty of other things they had predicted that they were almost spot on about. I almost wanted to ask them if they thought we would last.

"You two scare me sometimes, you know that?" Nancy asked. "How are you always right?"

"We can read people easily," Shelly said. "We're not always right though. People are a lot easier to read than you think. Tara is going to realize eventually that it's Aaron that she wants. She'll get over Ben, and move on."

"I still don't understand why you two didn't take Divination," Nancy muttered.

The subject changed to Charms, and we worked on our essays for a while without talking about anything else. Once we were done that, we thankfully moved on to Transfiguration which was one of the main subjects I wanted to get out of the way. I found myself struggling with Transfiguration and Arithmancy the most out of all of subjects and Potions was close. Usually I saved those three subjects for last. I felt like I was making headway with it when I heard someone clear his throat. I looked up to see Ben and Ellen grinning at me.

"What's going on, you didn't answer any of our messages," Ellen said.

"We've been working on Transfiguration," I explained.

"You're more than welcome to sit down and join us," Shelly said. "There is plenty of room."

Ben shrugged and walked over to a table where there was an empty chair. He grabbed it and pulled it over to sit beside me. Ellen sat down across from us beside Tina and sighed.

"Just how I wanted to spend my time after Quidditch practice, more work," she muttered. "Where's Michael?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I couldn't find him, so I came down here. How was practice?"

"Brutal. We'll never have as good of a team as we did last year. Rory isn't cutting it as a Beater. I really hope he can get better but I have a feeling our captain is going to cut him. The sad thing is, he was the best we tried out," Ellen said. "If I am captain next year I am going to run the team differently. Fledger has no idea what he is doing. I can't believe he was made captain and not one of us."

"Gryffindor will take the cup back this year," Nancy said with a grin. She was a Chaser on the Gryffindor team.

This turned the discussion into a friendly Quidditch debate. I smiled and shot a glance over at the Ravenclaw table. The girls were still watching our table, their eyes were on Ben. I really hoped that the Gryffindors were right. I was tired of all the gossip and the mean comments. I almost wished I was the first year girl again who know one knew. Life was a lot easier when no one cared what you did or didn't do.