Chapter Title: Amity

Hey! Sorry for the wait, I've been working on this chapter for forever. On the plus side, I'm now done of my first year of University!!!

oooOoooOoooOooo

Mondays suck. That's all I had to say on the matter. Mondays were some celestial being's idea of a sick, sick joke! First I had a double period of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and now I had to go and find books to write an essay about the topic covered in class. I really, really hated Mondays. I didn't even care that I had double potions first thing. It wasn't worth the torture I had to endure during the afternoon.

How was that fair? I can answer that question. It wasn't. Stupid class. Why did I need to learn this anyway? If I was ever attacked then I could just run away or hide behind Vanessa while she kicked some serious butt. I had no need to know how to stun someone.

I was practically on a war path on my way to the library. I wasn't even really all that surprised when I turned a corner and walked right into someone. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see that the person I walked into was Albus Potter.

I smiled at him. "Hey!"

"Hey. What's with the–?" Al left his question open, just motioning at me and the corner.

I sighed. "The essay we got in class today. I swear she hates me."

Al laughed. "I'm sure she doesn't."

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "You're just saying that because you're unnaturally good at Defence!"

Al grinned and pretended to be polishing his nails on his robes. "Well, I am Albus Potter!"

I tried to glare at him and suppress my laugh, but I failed miserably. I then decided to play along. "Are you really? Wow, I am unworthy!" I then gave a small bow.

Al laughed at me. It felt good to hear him laugh. I really enjoyed listening to it. If I had known how well I'd get along with him, then I would have befriended him years ago.

I shook my head. "I really need to get to the library. I'll see you later?"

"I'll be around." Al grinned at me and sauntered away. Actually sauntered. It took all my energy not to laugh at him.

I entered the library with slightly brighter spirits, but they sort of just plummeted back to their original place of depression when I walked to the aisle I needed. I hated Defence Against the Dark Arts. I was practically a squib as it was, was it really necessary to let everyone know? Personally, I thought the Defence Against the Dark Arts all seven years requirement was there just to torture me.

I started down the aisle; looking for one specific book in a library is not fun. I figured I should just get it over with though, and get it before someone else did.

"Ah ha!" I grinned triumphantly as I found the book I was looking for. I'd hoped no one else had gotten there before me. This book was one of the only books in the library dedicated solely to the theory behind nonverbal magic.

I grabbed the book and turned around; what greeted me when I was facing the other direction almost made me jump out of my skin. Margo Baker. I seriously wanted to know how she moved so quickly and quietly. That girl was just plain scary at times. Well, more creepy than scary, but creepy people are scary!

"Margo." I was not exactly happy to see her. I was beginning to think she was stalking me. Every time I turned around I could see her glaring at me from a distance. I couldn't eat a single meal without her glaring at me, she made it a point to bump me in the halls. Not to mention when we were supposed to be nonverbally stunning people in Defence class the week before Margo took way to much pleasure in the fact that we were paired together. I had never been so happy to have to go to the Hospital Wing as I had been that day, just to get away from her!

"Camry." Margo crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

She didn't seem eager to talk, so I assumed she was just here looking for books on our Defence essay. I didn't wait long to find out though, I just started walking out of the aisle. I wanted to get away from her. She made my arm hairs stand up.

There was something off about that girl. Something that went beyond petty jealousy. Or maybe there wasn't? I didn't really know, but Vanessa told me once that some girls can take things pretty far when there is a boy involved. I just wish she'd realize that I wasn't any more of a threat to her than I was before. She wasn't very smart for a Ravenclaw.

"Where are you going?" She was suddenly at my side.

I sighed. "I'm going to check my book out."

"Where after that?"

I gave her a look. Was she actually, seriously stalking me now? Why did she care?

"Oh, I get it. You're running off to play with Al, aren't you?"

I scoffed. "Get over it Margo."

I tried to walk away again, but she grabbed onto my arm. It hurt, she dug her nails into me. She swung me around so that we were facing each other. She was exactly my height so it wasn't so much intimidating as it was a battle of wills. Who will back down first? "I'm not the one that needs to get over it."

I frowned. "Margo, will you just stop it already? I'm sick of this!"

She laughed for a second. "Well, that makes two of us, doesn't it? I'm not going to tell you to stay away from him again Camry."

I glared at her and ripped my arm out of her grip, no matter how badly it hurt to do so. "Al is my friend." It actually struck me like a physical blow how much I meant my statement. Al was my friend, and who was she to tell me otherwise?

I squared my shoulders and decided to end this for once and all. "He's my friend and I care about him. I'm not going to stay away from him just because you want me to. So back the bloody hell off!"

Margo pursed her lips for a moment before speaking again. Her voice was frighteningly calm. "Alright then, little Camry. I'm just going to warn you one more time. Stay away from him. You don't know what kind of power I hold over you and your pathetic little life. I can ruin you. I will ruin you."

"You talk a lot for someone that never really says anything." I scoffed. "I'm not afraid of you. You're nothing to me. And you're nothing to Al!"

Margo gave me one last withering glare before she stormed off. She did that a lot. Storm off, I mean. Maybe I was afraid of her, but she didn't need to know that. What kind of power she held over me? My father didn't work for her father, or anyone she was related to. None of my friends would ever side with her over me. I wasn't stupid enough to let her goad me into doing something dangerous. What other kind of power was there? At least, that she could use against me?

I giggled. She didn't have any kind of power over me, that was just her last effort to get me to leave Al alone. I figured at that point that I was finally rid of Margo Baker. Good. I registered that I was taking the book and left for the common room. I felt pretty good again. What was it about Margo that made me feel good? Oh, yeah, it was because she was so pathetic that it made me feel that much better about myself.

I wasn't very far from the common room when I was brutally attacked by my best friend. Vanessa ran straight into me at full speed and knocked us both onto the floor. It hurt.

"Ow." I whimpered. "Why did you do that?"

I realized then that she was shaking. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and lifted her head. I saw that she was laughing. "Vee?"

Vanessa rolled off of me and sat up. She held up a finger, signalling me to wait a minute. After she finally got her laughter under control–giddy Vanessa is not normal–she pulled me into a hug.

"Guess what?" She almost shouted as she pulled back.

"You got a new cat?" I was just confused. Had she finally gone mad? Had all of her studying finally driven her around the bend?

"Axel asked me out!" Vanessa was shrieking now, but now that I knew the reason, I was shrieking with her.

"Oh my god Vee! That's amazing!" I stood up and grabbed her hands to pull her up too. Then I continued to hold her hands while we jumped up and down shrieking like the giddy schoolgirls we were. I remembered doing something similar with Vanessa when she'd gotten a summer job at St. Mungo's. I thought it was a bit strange that she could get so excited over two completely separate things, but I made it a point of never questioning how her mind worked. It was the least I could do, considering she also thought I was mad.

Besides, how often did my best friend get everything she wanted?

"Wait, wait!" I stopped and let go of her. "When, where, and how?"

Vanessa took a deep breath. "In the Great Hall just now. He walked up to me with a bouquet of roses!"

"That loser! He got that idea from me!" I laughed.

"I know! He's such a dork!" Vanessa grinned and hugged me. "I can't believe he actually asked me out!"

I grabbed Vanessa and kissed her forehead. "I always knew he would!"

Vanessa snorted. "No, you didn't."

"Okay maybe not, but I always knew that he was a good guy!" I shrugged. "Maybe we've actually found the guy that can tie Vanessa Trout down?"

Vanessa smirked and shrugged. "Maybe."

I was a little surprised that she agreed–or at least came as close to agreeing as I thought was possible for Vanessa–so easily with me. Vanessa was never the relationship type. She liked to date, but never actually commit. Maybe Axel really was the guy that could tie her down?

I tugged on her sleeve and nodded in the direction of the Fat Lady. "Come on, let's talk more in our room."

"Yeah, sure." Vanessa smiled and giggled a little more on our way. I couldn't help but giggle with her. I'd never seen her act so girly in my life and I'd known her since just before Hogwarts.

As we entered the common room, I noticed Al sitting next to the fire with Don and Ashton. I waved at them as we skipped past toward our dorm room. Al waved back at me.

When he smiled at me I felt my stomach flutter for a second, and very nearly tripped over my own feet. The only reason I didn't was because my arm was linked with Vanessa's. I did stumble though. I felt my face heat up as I saw that Al noticed my two left feet. I looked away and rushed up the stairs with Vanessa. I couldn't believe I'd stumbled like that in front of him.

I pushed the door open to our dorm room, and Vanessa immediately rushed in to see who was in there. The only other person was Annily who was sitting on her bed with a book in her hand. I smiled as Vanessa ran and jumped onto Annily's bed, causing Annily to fall over.

"What are you doing?" Annily did not look impressed at Vanessa's interruption.

"Axel asked me out!"

I shook my head as Annily began shrieking with Vanessa as I had done just minutes earlier in the hall. I walked over and sat down on my bed and watched in silence as Annily demanded all of the details.

It was really starting to sink in at that point. Vanessa was going to have a boyfriend. I never really thought about her getting a boyfriend before, for as long as I had known her she had been completely for dating as casually as possible.

I was happy for her. Even if I was a little bit jealous too. I couldn't help but think that I was never going to find someone new. I took a deep breath, no getting melancholy. This was Vanessa's moment, I was not going to ruin it just because I was a bit lonely. I got up and walked over to Annily's bed and sat down with them.

"I just can't believe he finally asked me. We've been dancing around each other since last Christmas!" Vanessa leaned back onto the wall and sighed happily.

Annily snickered. "Gryffindors are supposed to be brave, boy took his time, didn't he?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Oh well, he's asked me now. That's all that matters, isn't it? No sense whining over lost time."

I smiled. "So, is your first date going to be Hogsmede in a couple weeks?"

I couldn't help but feel completely happy for Vanessa and about life in general at the way Vanessa's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I can't wait! I won't be able to do any work until then, I swear!"

Annily and I both laughed. "Yeah right!" we both said at the same time.

Vanessa pouted for a moment, while I shook my head. "The day Vanessa Jackiekynn Trout does not do her homework the very night it is assigned is the day Vanessa Jackielynn Trout is in a persistent coma."

"Hey!" Vanessa threw Annily's pillow at me. "I am not that bad."

"Yes, you are." Annily laughed.

"Please! I haven't started the Defence essay yet!"

I gave Vanessa a pointed look. "Tell me, Vee, were you going to go to the library after you left the Great Hall until Axel asked you out?"

Vanessa's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she put her face in her hands. "Maybe."

Annily and I giggled for a moment, choosing not to say anything, confident that our point was proven.

It was just then that Emily and Jenessa walked into the room, their arms completely loaded with cheese sticks. My mouth literally hung open when I saw the sheer number of cheese sticks in their arms. Never had I ever seen that many in one location before. It was almost heavenly–almost.

"Holy crap, could you have gotten more cheese sticks?" Annily always did know how to word things.

Emily laughed and joined us on Annily's bed before emptying the contents of her arms onto Annily's comforter. "We could have gotten more, but then we wouldn't have been able to carry them." Emily then grabbed one and held it out to me, which I gladly took. Who refuses cheese sticks?

Jen joined us on the bed quickly after Emily did and dumped the cheese sticks onto the pile that Emily had just made. She held one out to Vanessa, who also gladly took one. Annily didn't bother waiting for someone to offer her one, she just grabbed one and quickly popped it into her mouth.

"So," Emily started after finishing her first cheese stick, "what are we talking about?"

I saw Vanessa blush and hide a smile behind her hand. I smirked.

"Vanesja's got a jate werth Axshel." Annily's food was spewing out of her mouth at a rapid rate, but we were all far too used to it to be repulsed as others might have been.

"Huh?" Jenessa raised an eye brow. How does she do that? Seriously?

"Vanessa's got a date with Axel." Annily repeated herself, this time with an empty mouth.

When Emily started yet another round of squealing with Vanessa. I saw that Jenessa looked far from pleased. She actually looked thoroughly terrified, to be honest. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was worried about her impending date with James. It was obvious to everyone around us that Al and I were becoming fairly good friends and so it was only a matter of time in Jenessa's mind.

When the squealing stopped, Vanessa looked at Jenessa and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Jenessa quickly put a large smile on her face and nodded. "I'm great. Congratulations, it's about time."

Vanessa glared at our beautiful nutcase, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh?"

With a roll of her perfect eyes, Jenessa waved off Vanessa. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

I sighed. "It's you that shouldn't worry about it."

It wasn't just Jenessa that turned a confused glance in my direction, but all of the girls. I shrugged and decided that I might as well just bite the bullet.

"I've spoken to Al without him blushing plenty of times." Jenessa's face paled considerably, but I just kept talking. "I haven't told James, and I don't intend to. You don't need to worry."

I saw the tension melt out of Jen's shoulders and a genuine smile light up her face. "Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Jenessa grabbed another cheese stick and handed it to me. I rolled my eyes and took it. When it was in my hand, she quickly wrapped her hand around mine and made certain to lock eyes with me. "Thank you."

I gave her a small smile. "It's not what you need right now."

With one last nod, Jenessa turned to Vanessa with a grin. "So tell us, how did he do it?"

I settled in to listen to the story once again, feeling much more content than I had in a while. I hadn't realized how much I missed talking boys with the girls until I started talking boys with them right then. It had been a while, boys had been a taboo topic for a long time after my breakup.

I liked that we could talk about them again.

oooOoooOoooOooo

And there it is, chapter ten. I'm happy to say that chapter fourteen will be the beginning of the real plot of the story, which I'm sure you all can guess what is going to happen in that chapter.

Reviews Appreciated
Flames Encouraged