- Chapter 10 -

[Caution: Overprotective Brother!

p Gryffindors and students from other houses Lyla hadn't even met before were coming up to her everywhere they could over the next few weeks. They had heard about her encounter with the boggart and wanted to congratulate her. None more than the twins though. /p

p She was right in her assumption that they would have found out before she could tell them. She of course didn't deny any of it but refused to comment on the werewolf and other boggart scenes everyone had seen. The more curious people became about it the more Lyla began to worry someone might figure it out, it was after all quite obvious. /p

p She had began making it a habit to visit the library as often as she could to study, research and most of all avoid any and all questions her classmates had for her. It was one of the only places they wouldn't go to pester her for information mostly because of Madame Pince, the librarian. They didn't want to be banned from there forever, but they weren't afraid of detentions they would get if caught passing notes to her in class. /p

p At least they had enough sense not to do so during their Potions lessons. Answers from Lyla were not worth detentions with Snape especially considering the mood he'd been in lately. /p

p Remus' class had students talking about things other than Lyla and how great the class was, so Snape had undoubtedly heard of Neville's boggart and was none too pleased about it. He would scowl every time he heard something that even sounded remotely close to Lupin, and glare daggers at Lyla just for her association to him. /p

p He treated Neville worse than before and Lyla wasn't happy about that. She was waiting for the perfect opportunity to say something about Neville's boggart to Snape and figured it was a good a time as any. She was still going to go through with her prank--the excess research time in the library had proved more than helpful--but there was no harm in rubbing salt in the wound while it was still fresh. /p

p It was the end of an early morning Potions lesson on October the first. They had just finished brewing a particularly easy potion in Lyla's opinion but not everyone thought so. Neville was having a difficult time with it and Snape made sure to take notice. /p

p Everyone, including Lyla, was cleaning up and packing their things when Snape rounded on poor Neville, unfairly critiquing his potion. Lyla waited till he was finished bullying Neville. He walked away and Lyla made her move. /p

p She stood next to Neville and loudly whispered, making sure Snape heard her, "Don't worry Neville, I'm sure he's just upset that you revealed his secret desire to be a Drag Queen to everyone." Lyla smirked while turning away to sit in her seat next to a shocked Rylie. /p

p Snape had turned around so quickly at her comment Lyla was actually surprised he had managed to keep his balance but she didn't dare show it. "What did you just say?" he snarled out at Lyla. /p

p Lyla's smirk grew knowing she had the attention of the entire class. She feigned an innocent look that she had perfected over the years, "Sir, forgive me please. I was just telling Neville how absolutely stunning I thought you looked in his Grandmother's clothes." /p

p Many Gryffindors and a few Slytherins started snickering at this but stopped soon after Snape's glare was directed their way. Snape turned back towards Lyla settling the force of his glare entirely on her, hoping to intimidate her. /p

p The only effect it actually had was to amuse her more making her innocent look turn more mischievous with the glint in her eyes. She didn't bother to hide it and Snape didn't neglect to notice them. He sneered at her, "Is this amusing to you, Miss i Evans /i ?" Lyla opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off, "I don't appreciate and will not tolerate such remarks in my class. Fifty points from Gryffindor should teach you to hold your tongue." /p

p Lyla rolled her eyes ditching the innocent bit and going in for the kill as she called it. "Well I was just trying to be nice but if it's the truth you want then fine here it is..." Lyla took a deep breath, "Green is definitely not your color, that dress did absolutely nothing for your figure and the vulture on the hat looked too eerily like you...it was unnerving...I'll be surprised if Neville's not more terrified of you." /p

p The room grew deadly quiet; a sound Lyla was more than use to by now. Gryffindors were torn between laughing at Lyla's declaration or scowling in anger from the loss of points. The Slytherins were shocked and amused; shocked that she had actually said that to Snape of all people and amused knowing that she was about to get it. /p

p But Lyla was none of these. She wasn't angry or shocked...maybe a little amused but not for the same reasons as the Slytherins. She just sat there, calmly smirking defiantly up at her fuming Potions Master. /p

p For the second time since she's known him, he was so angry he couldn't form words. She was proud to say that both times were because of her and by the end of the year she was positive there would be more than just two. /p

p "Detention, tonight and every night until you learn to hold your tongue!" Snape snarled out through clenched teeth. /p

p Class was dismissed and Lyla stood with a smile on her face. "See you tonight, Professor," she said cheerfully almost making Snape cancel the detentions right then and there. /p

p Hermione caught up with Lyla down the hall and scolded her on loosing so many house points. Lyla attempted to ignore her but Hermione didn't let her until Lyla told her to but out and stop sticking her nose where it wasn't wanted nor needed. Hermione scoffed and walked off indignantly. /p

p Lyla's little spat with Snape proved to be just the thing Lyla needed to get people off her back about the boggart. She gave them a new topic to gossip about and it worked like a charm. No one had come up to her since that day asking about her boggart, they did however prod each other for information on what exactly was said in the class. /p

p The rest of the month was rather boring though, thanks to her classes and lack of entertainment. Divination was still a laugh but was starting to get rather insipid. Every class it was the same thing: drink awful tasting scolding hot tea, interpret meanings in the tealeaves and listen to Trelawney's next prediction of Harry's death. /p

p It seemed as though none of the other classes were any better either. Not even the extra ones Lyla had been attending in place of her Divination lessons some times. The teachers didn't mind and Trelawney always says that she had predicted Lyla's absence anyways so Lyla didn't rightly care about missing that class. /p

p Hermione was ignoring Lyla for the most part, except to make her daily remark about her. Oliver and Lyla were still hanging out less often than before because he had Quidditch practice most nights but Lyla was little by little starting to like him more than previously. /p

p She didn't want to tell him this for a lot of reasons though. It was his last year at Hogwarts and she was only in her third year, she didn't think he liked her the same way and didn't want to risk ruining their strong friendship. And Harry most likely would not like it in the slightest if they did actually hook up. /p

p The best part of the rest of the month was probably Malfoy. He hadn't talk to Lyla since the boggart incident. He had however, made a habit of constantly staring at her but she paid no mind to that. /p

p Part of Lyla was jumping for joy because she hated the bloody git and she thought he had finally learned to stay away from her. He hadn't even caused any problems for her fellow Gryffindors since. The more sensible and less optimistic part of her was wondering what he was plotting. It had to be something big if he was forgoing any torture of her classmates. Whatever it was, Lyla knew she would be ready for it and able to retaliate with something better, faster than he ever could. /p

p The only thing that kept Lyla out of boredom other than wondering what Malfoy was up to and enjoying the time she spent with Oliver was her detentions. Snape had kept true to his word and Lyla had detention every night that month until the 29th. /p

p It was a Friday and Lyla went down to the dungeons after dinner like she usually did. Snape was sitting at his desk marking papers when she walked in. He didn't even glance up as he told her that her detention had been canceled and that she was no longer required to go to any. /p

p Lyla's first thought was that he had run out of tasks for her to do but squashed that thought soon after. He could always make her write lines. And it was a big castle with many teachers and staff members, she was positive he could have found her something to do if he tried. /p

p Her only answer for him canceling her detentions was that he realized they weren't bothering her at all. Taking away house points didn't even make her flinch, so either he gave up, which she seriously doubted or he was plotting to find a new way of punishing her. Lyla didn't bother arguing or worrying, he couldn't get to her if she didn't let him. /p

p Other than those few shining moments and Hermione's cat nearly catching Ron's rat; nothing really stood out. Unless of course you counted Lavender Brown sobbing over the death of her rabbit two weeks before Lyla's detentions were canceled. /p

p Lyla really didn't fancy rabbits at all; she thought they were fluffy minions of doom--she wasn't being overdramatic as Rylie had put it. She'd had too many bad experiences with rabbits to prove her theory was right. How would you explain their eyes with the red glints of evil in them? Their razor-sharp claws ready to tear some ignorant innocent bystanders skin off? Their piercing fangs waiting to bite some kids hand that only wanted to pet the 'pretty little bunny'. /p

p She had a very hard time sympathizing with the girl, especially after she heard her bawling over the fact that her precious Professor Trelawney was supposedly right. Lyla snorted in disbelief but didn't bother to comment on her being right for once. For Hermione had beaten her to it. /p

p She did, however, say that she wouldn't be surprised if Trelawney herself had some part in the death of Binky, just to make herself look more credible to her students. That didn't go over too well with Parvati and Lavender, although everyone else seemed to find it amusing--besides Hermione, but Lyla suspected that was only because she was still mad at her. /p

p Luckily for Lyla she could care less what any of them though about her. The first Hogsmeade trip was coming up on Halloween along with her first ever Halloween feast and she was very excited about those two events. She felt sorry that her brother had to miss out on the trip and didn't understand why Remus would allow her to go, she was after all a Potter and Sirius had seen her. /p

p He had to have been smart enough to put everything together. Even though she would like to know why she was still allowed to go she didn't dare ask. She didn't want to miss it especially after her special someone asked her to go with him. /p

p Lyla yawned as she woke from her nap. It was a Saturday and she had been finishing up some last minute homework before dinner so she wouldn't have to worry about it the next day while at Hogsmeade. She was always a procrastinator but at least she could say she was a responsible one. She never missed handing in an assignment and would never hand one in late. Though she always seemed to fall asleep while doing her work and yet had trouble falling asleep at night. /p

p Lyla looked at her clock and did a double take. She jumped out of her bed and screamed, "I'm late! I'm late!" Lyla halted her movements and smiled, 'For a very important date. No time to say hello goodbye, I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!' she sang in her head as she fixed her clothes, make up and hair making sure she was as presentable as she could manage considering the lack of time. /p

p She ran out the door, down the steps, through the portrait--with the Fat Lady cursing her all the way--down many more steps, mentally daring any of the staircases to try and change, before finally making it to the Great Hall doors. /p

p This had been a daily routine for Lyla. She would fall asleep before breakfast and/or dinner while finishing up some work. Rylie would purposefully neglect to wake her up, solely for the inevitable entrance Lyla would make by rushing down to the Great Hall. And what other way to top off her routine than by not being able to stop fast enough and running straight into the painfully solid closed doors. /p

p Yes, Lyla never failed to accomplish this once or twice a day. Sometimes the doors would open on impact other times they didn't. Those were the times that really hurt. Everyone knew it was her on the other side too. She had told her friends that sooner or later she was bound to find the precise timing so she could make it down there faster without the pain of running into the doors. /p

p Unfortunately for Lyla she hadn't timed it right that time and ran right smack into the doors, which didn't open. Lyla groaned in pain while getting up and opening the doors. She held her head while thinking she should probably consider slowing down a bit but laughing at her consistency. /p

p "You're late Lyla," said George as she reached the table and sat down between Harry and Oliver. /p

p "We were beginning to think you wouldn't run into the doors today," said Fred smiling across the table at her. /p

p "And that would be," started George. /p

p "Most disappointing," the twins finished together. /p

p Lyla looked at them in mock shock and said, "It's nice to know that my pain is fuel for your amusement." The twins only smiled and nodded enthusiastically as Lyla laughed with them while shaking her head at their antics immediately grabbing it in pain after. /p

p "You alright, Lye?" asked Oliver as he soothingly rubbed her back. /p

p She had wanted to blurt out, 'I am now,' but settled for a less obvious reply. Lyla smiled innocently up at him, "Those doors are harder than they look." /p

p The guys and Rylie laughed at her answer but Hermione wasn't quite amused, which was to be expected. She decided to make her comment of the day, "Well if you weren't stupid enough to run into them maybe they wouldn't." /p

p Lyla didn't miss a beat as she coolly responded back. "And maybe if you didn't get on my nerves you wouldn't get embarrassed as often," she said smirking back at her. Lyla spoke the truth though. Hermione had been getting embarrassed more often in classes each time she shot a comment Lyla's way. /p

p Lyla wasn't going to stand for Hermione saying things about every little thing she did and not get back at her. At first she couldn't decide what to do about the situation but settled for hitting Hermione where it hurt the most, i.e. showing her up in classes. That was probably the one thing that would do the most damage. /p

p If Hermione answered a question, any question, correctly Lyla would be sure to contradict everything she said. This usually resulted in a debate between the two of them in most classes and ended with the Professors admitting that Lyla did indeed have a point. Needless to say Hermione's comments grew fewer and farther between as she realized exactly what Lyla was up to. /p

p Harry, Ron and Rylie all kept quiet, they didn't want to get in the middle of the argument. Oliver busied himself with calming Lyla down, making sure she was alright and eating his dinner, he too didn't want to get in the middle of it all. The twins, on the other hand were all up for getting a chance to witness a cat fight. /p

p "When are you two just going to settle this dispute the fun way?" asked Fred with a sly grin on his face mirroring the one on his brother's. /p

p "What fun way is that?" Lyla asked smiling. She already knew what it was for she had done it many times before. /p

p "Fighting, of course," they replied at the same time. /p

p "Oh honestly," scoffed Hermione. "I'm sure a good old fashioned brawl would go well on her tainted record but it will most certainly not go anywhere near mine," said Hermione while sticking her nose in the air. /p

p "Stop talking as though I wasn't here!" Lyla commanded, more serious than she'd been with Hermione. She didn't like when people did that and wasn't about to take it from Miss Priss. "And, oh please! My record is just as clean as yours if not more. I haven't gotten into any trouble other than the detentions from Snape since I got here where as you on the other hand have." /p

p Hermione opened her mouth in shock and made to protest, but Lyla wasn't in the mood to hear her argue. "Don't even try to deny it because I know for a fact that you break a lot of rules, if not only in your first year but also second and every day of third year so far." /p

p Hermione dropped her fork at this declaration and paled slightly. Lyla stored her reaction for future reference in her investigation of what Hermione could possibly be up to. She wasn't sure if she was right in her accusations but Hermione's reaction says otherwise. /p

p "So don't tell me a fight would fit well in my record when it most likely would be more at home in yours," Lyla sneered at her. /p

p Hermione's mouth had dropped open and she sat there in shock momentarily before she got to her feet, scowling at Lyla and stomped out of the Great Hall. Lyla smiled victoriously and went back to her dinner. Everyone else just stared expectantly at Lyla waiting for an elaborate explanation. /p

p Sensing unblinking stares focused on her, Lyla look up, "What'd I do now?" /p

p "Remind us never to get into an argument with you ever again," said George looking fearful at the very thought. /p

p Lyla's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and Fred answer her unasked question. "Usually Hermione's the one who wins and you just made her run off." /p

p "Not only that, but do you see the way she handles Malfoy?" asked George having a conversation with his brother, completely ignoring the fact that she was still there. /p

p "Yeah, he can't come up with anything to say back to her." /p

p "You think he's afraid of her?" /p

p "Most definitely, ever since that day she stood up for that Gryffindor in DADA he hasn't been the same." /p

p "Hasn't poked fun at anyone." /p

p "Hasn't tortured poor innocent 'ickle firsties." /p

p "He's left Harry alone for crying out loud!" exclaimed Fred before him and his twin turned to face Lyla, finally acknowledging her presence. /p

p "What'd you do to make him act non-Slytherin like?" they asked simultaneously. /p

p Lyla blinked at them, she had nothing to say because she didn't know the answer. She had no idea why Malfoy wasn't acting like himself. His last words to her were that she was going to regret her boggart imitation of him. But so far nothing had happened to make her regret her actions even though she was fairly certain nothing could possibly make her regret that. /p

p "Maybe he likes you," Rylie said thoughtfully. Lyla glanced at Rylie and she stared back seriously. She looked back at the twins and they stared quietly at each other before her and everyone else besides Rylie burst out laughing. /p

p "Yeah right, like he would like me. First of all I'm a Gryffindor and you told me all about how he hates all of us. Secondly," she made sure to lower her voice, "I'm a Potter, more importantly I'm the i twin /i sister of Harry Potter, his enemy," Lyla was about to point out the third reason of why Malfoy most definitely did not like her but Rylie cut her off and argued her side. /p

p "But he doesn't know that yet. Neither does hardly anyone else for that matter and certainly no one that would tell Malfoy." /p

p The others nodded their agreement and Lyla looked at them in disbelief that they would actually support such an outrageous theory although she did admit that Rylie had a point. Malfoy didn't know who Lyla was related to and Lyla wasn't too keen on telling him or anyone else either. "While that may be true it still doesn't rule out everything else. Add to my argument the fact that I'm not a pureblood and I think I've made my case. Malfoy's more disgusted with me than anything really." /p

p Rylie and the others agreed that Malfoy most likely did not like her. Lyla thought it might have been her imagination but her friends seemed a little sad and quieter than they'd earlier been after realizing this. She laughed to lighten the mood and said, "Hey guys don't act too happy about it. If you guys really want it that badly, I can always sacrifice myself to the cause and make him like me for ya'll." /p

p (A/N: yes she did just say ya'll...she may have a English accent like the rest of them but she tends to branch off from that quite a bit. You could say that she has a love for languages...well words specifically) /p

p Her friends laughed with Lyla and she was glad they'd snapped out of it. There was not enough magic in the world that could force her to even attempt doing anything other than mocking to Malfoy. Lyla looked up and glanced at the Slytherin table noticing that Draco was once again looking over her way only this time he was glaring more than just blatantly staring. He must've sense she was mocking him. Something like the spidey senses Spiderman has, just less spiffy. /p

p "I guess it was too good to be true. He's back to sending death glares my way." The guys looked up and glared back at him. Lyla noticed that Harry and Oliver looked as if they were literally daring him to try something. /p

p She jumped in surprise when she felt Oliver slide his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Lyla smiled up at him, "Having fun are we?" /p

p He returned her smile with a heart melting one of his own and nodded, "Always when you're around, never a dull moment in that case." Lyla laughed even more at this, not because of what Oliver had said but because Malfoy now looked like he wanted to kill Oliver and was incredibly amusing to look at when confused. /p

p "Would you two like to share something with the rest of the class?" asked Rylie smirking at Lyla, receiving a glare back. She knew Lyla liked Oliver, but then again so did every other girl in Hogwarts with eyes, and she was using that little bit of knowledge to her advantage. /p

p She tells Lyla everything and Lyla tells her everything too, well what she can tell her anyway. She still hasn't told anyone about the 'Sirius situation' and she wasn't planning on it either. She wasn't going to tell anyone about how she'd seen him around school lurking in the forest. Although that wasn't quite the whole truth, she had only seen him once and even then she wasn't quite positive she i had /i seen him at all. Other than that though, Rylie knew pretty much everything else about Lyla. /p

p "I don't know. Why don't you tell us first and maybe we'll let you in on the secret." Lyla smiled in triumph as Rylie backed away from the conversation blushing. Ron looked back and forth between the two girls dying to know what was going on, especially since it involved Rylie. Lyla thought he was being a little too curious and had her suspicions about Ron's feelings for Rylie. /p

p Lyla was relieved that the subject of her and Oliver had been dropped but she sighed too soon. Harry was probably far too curious now for his own good. "What is going on between you two? You've been hanging out a lot lately, are you dating or something?" /p

p She of course was ready to deny that to her grave but found that she didn't have to. Oliver surprised her by answering Harry's question, "Would there be a problem with that?" /p

p Lyla swore her eyes would've popped out had she not blinked. Her jaw dropped and she was fairly certain her face was turning a lovely shade of red. In fact she could already feel the heat rising from it. The twins were sitting across from her snickering until she kicked their shins, shutting them up for the time being. /p

p "Yes there's a problem, a big problem!" shouted Harry while getting to his feet. /p

p Oliver followed suit and did the same, "And what's that exactly?" /p

p "She's a third year, meaning 13! You're in your seventh year, that's a four year age difference!" /p

p "Glad you can count, Harry. Did you use all ten fingers or did you have to use your toes too?" Lyla asked sarcastically but soon shut up at the glare that was sent her way. /p

p 'Damn, I never knew he had it in him to play the overprotective brother.' Lyla thought as she silently watched the argument between her brother and close friend unfold. /p

p "You're going to be leaving after this year, to do who knows what, while she's going to be stuck here for another four years. Those are the problems I have with you wanting to date, my--Lyla." /p

p Lyla shot him a hard look; he almost slipped and said sister. 'Yeah like that would go over well with everyone, although it would be pretty funny to see the look on Malfoy's face.' /p

p "Your Lyla?! She doesn't belong to you! If I want to date her and she wants to date me then we'll date. You have no say in that," shouted Oliver stepping up to Harry. /p

p Oliver was much taller than Harry but he didn't back down. In fact he stepped up to Oliver even more. "Like she'll ever want to go out with you," Harry sneered at Oliver. Lyla decided that sneering was not a good look for Harry. He was starting to act a lot like Malfoy which made Lyla hold back a laugh at the thought. /p

p "Oh really?" said Oliver laughingly. He turned and faced Lyla and said, "Tomorrow's a Hogsmeade visit, the guys and I were planning on going together but I'd much rather go with you. So you want to go with me?" /p

p He looked sort of hopeful but Lyla wasn't sure if it was all just to show her brother up or if he really did want to go with her. Either way Lyla didn't care. The way she saw it she got to go to Hogsmeade with Oliver, who cares about his reasons for wanting to go with her. Well she did actually but at the moment she was content in just accepting the offer. /p

p She smiled at him, completely ignoring Harry's demanding brother stare and said, "I would love to." Harry looked at her astonished that she would agree to it, even though he made it quite clear that he was totally against it. /p

p Oliver smiled while holding back from reacting the way he really had wanted to and sat back down placing his arm back around Lyla's waist. He would be back in his dorm soon enough and would have plenty of time to annoy his roommates with his joyfulness. /p

p Everyone in the Great Hall, teachers included, had listened in on the argument. It was kind of hard not to when the two of them were making a scene, but Lyla couldn't have cared less. She was going to Hogsmeade with Oliver. She was so happy she could jump for joy and planned on it when she didn't have an audience even if she still wasn't sure if he actually liked her or not. /p

p Lyla looked up and listened as the twins fooled around, but her attention was drawn away and past them to the Slytherin table. Draco was looking back at her, not glaring and looking angry but staring placidly looking almost…hurt? /p

p No, that wasn't possible. Lyla could understand Malfoy being physically hurt; he was a bit of a wimp in that case. Mentally hurt was believable also considering how small his brain must be thanks to that thick skull of his. But the thought of Malfoy being emotionally hurt was just absurd. You had to have a heart to have emotions and have them hurt...and Lyla was pretty sure Malfoy had no heart. /p

p Then what exactly was the look she saw on his face, if it was even there to begin with? And why did she feel guilty when she saw it? Lyla was confused as to why he was giving her that look but decided to ignore it; after all she did hate him. 'Ok, I dislike him a great deal, but only because the word hate is strictly reserved for Voldemort and quite possibly Snape but that's still undecided.' /p

p Dinner was over soon after all the excitement died down and Lyla, Rylie and the guys walked back to the common room, the guys going to their dorm rooms while Rylie literally dragged Lyla to theirs. Once they were safely inside the room Rylie started squealing, "This is so great! Are you excited? Of course you're excited! It's Oliver for crying out loud!" /p

p Lyla grabbed Rylie by her shoulders and made her stop jumping around. "Whoa, Rylie calm down. Breathe, who am I going to have girl talks with if you die by suffocating yourself? Fred? George? Gasp at the thought of it but...Harry?" Rylie took a deep breath and giggled. "It's really not that big of a deal anyway..." she said as an afterthought /p

p The girls were quiet for a few seconds before Lyla jumped up and down and said, "It's a big deal! I can't wait for tomorrow!" Rylie and Lyla celebrated a little more before the rest of the girls became annoyed and told them to keep the noise level down. /p

p They changed into their pj's before situating themselves on Lyla's bed for a little more girl talk. "You know what's weird?" Lyla asked as Malfoy's earlier unidentified look replayed in her mind. /p

p "What, the fact that no girl has tried to kill you yet for being with Oliver?" /p

p Lyla laughed slightly and said, "No. Well yes, but that's not quite what I was thinking, but thanks for making me afraid to fall asleep tonight." /p

p She shrugged nonchalantly, "No problem, it's what I'm here for. So, what's weird?" /p

p "Malfoy..." Lyla replied, trailing off in her sentence and trying to word what she was trying to say. /p

p "And you're just figuring this out now?" /p

p "No! I mean...ever since I first met him, he's been a pain and it's quite obvious to everyone that we hate each other...with a passion. But tonight at dinner he was glaring at Oliver when he put his arm around me and then he looked kind of...I don't know. It looked like he was hurt when I agreed to go to Hogsmeade with Oliver." /p

p Rylie got a told-ya-so look on her face and smiled at Lyla. "I don't find this very funny, Rye." /p

/p "I'm sorry," she said still smiling at her oblivious friend. "It's just that, you can't see it." /p

p "See what exactly?" Lyla asked confused about what she should be seeing. /p

p "Malfoy," Rylie said, as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. /p

p Lyla's face looked horror-struck at the thought, "What makes you think I want to see him?" /p

p Rylie rolled her eyes and said, "Not like that, I mean I was right...he likes you." /p

p Lyla laughed in disbelief, "I'm still confident that I'm right. There's just no way. Did you happen to miss my little speech on us hating each other...with a passion?!" /p

p Rylie sighed in agitation, "No I didn't miss it but it's pretty obvious that he does like you. I mean think about it, he's probably been on his best behavior this past month to get you to like him back. It's the only logical answer, considering he hasn't even poked fun at Harry, Ron or Hermione. I bet you a galleon that by Monday he'll be back to his old self now that you're with Oliver and he's realized that he has no chance with you." /p

p "I don't have anything to lose and considering the fact that I never turn down a bet I'll take you up on that one. But the only logical answer I see around here is that everyone in this place is a nutcase. Now I'm going to sleep, I need my beauty sleep to look good for Oliver tomorrow. 'Night Rye." /p

p Rylie smiled and said, "'Night Lye." She knew by Monday she'd be a galleon richer. /p