Classes started the day after, and Oliver wanted to talk to McGonagall because having two Firebolts on his team would be heaven for him. The exciting part was Thursday evening at 8 in the History of Magic room though, because Lupin would teach Harry, Scott, Chelsea, and I how to do the Patronus Charm. I was giddy, and skipping down the hall.

"We're all afraid of fear itself." I was saying in a songlike tune.

Harry was smiling at me and Chelsea laughed as Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Lana, you're an embarrassment." Chelsea said.

I turned around and walked backwards.

"Oh come now, Chelsea…sing along." I offered.

"Um…how about no?" Chelsea asked.

Harry laughed. "I'll sing along."

Chelsea looked from me to Harry and then back to me.

"You're a bad influence on him." She told me.

"She's a bad influence on all boys." Scott said to her.

I smiled and ran into Lupin. I turned around and smiled.

"In my way are you?" I asked him.

He smiled. "We're all afraid of fear itself." He sang.

I nodded. "There you go!"

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Good God you're all bad eggs."

"And really bad eggs!" I sang.

"Stop." Chelsea said.

I frowned. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." I mumbled.

Chelsea pinched me.

"Ouch!" I said, rubbing my arm.

Then we went to work.

"What does a Patronus Charm look like?" Harry asked.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it." Lupin explained.

"Interesting." I said.

"Awesome." Chelsea smiled.

"Now, you will be taking turns…" Lupin explained.

"Let Harry go first." I said suddenly.

Harry shook his head. "Lana…Lana…"

"I'll go first!" Chelsea said.

Lupin smiled. "I see we have a volunteer."

Chelsea smiled and nodded. "Totally."

"So think of a happy thought, or memory, and say 'Expecto Patronum'." Lupin said.

Then going Chelsea, Harry, me and then Scott, we were trying to repel the Dementors…or the Boggart taking the form of a Dementor. I got it on my third try, Scott on his second, Harry on his fourth, and Chelsea on her fifth. (Chelsea, Harry, Me, Scott, Chelsea, Harry, Me, Scott, Chelsea, Harry, Me, Chelsea, Harry, Chelsea F.Y.I.)

"Excellent, all of you!" Lupin said.

"I'm faint." I told him.

Scott, Harry and Chelsea nodded.

"Now don't go fainting on me." Lupin smiled at me and I smirked.

"I won't…but chocolate?" I asked.

Lupin laughed. "Sure."

"Yes! I wore you down! I mean…I'm going to faint if I don't have chocolate in my tummy." I said.

Harry and Chelsea laughed too, and Lupin broke a piece of chocolate off for each of us. It was really good. There was this warm feeling that filled me when I swallowed it.

"This isn't normal chocolate." I told Lupin.

He smiled. "No, no it's not. Now eat the lot of it, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood."

"Will she now?" Scott asked as Lupin smiled and nodded.

"Can we have one more go?" I asked Lupin.

He shook his head. "Not tonight."

I was sitting there eating chocolate when Harry asked Lupin a question that made me choke.

"Professor Lupin, if you knew my father, then you knew Sirius Black, right?" Harry asked.

See…I choked here. Lupin patted my back and I smiled, no longer choking.

"Thanks." I said.

"Why do you say that?" Lupin asked Harry.

He was avoiding the question? Well if Harry brought up my father knowing his father…I would avoid the question too.

"Because Sirius was one of my father's good friends…and so were you…and Lana's father." Harry said slowly.

I choked again. Maybe I should wait and eat the lot of the chocolate after Harry stopped snooping around a bit, or I'd die.

"Yes, I did know him…or at least I thought I did." Lupin said. "Now you guys had better be off. Back to your Common Rooms."

I frowned at him but he shook his head, telling me not to mention my father again tonight. I shrugged, and grabbed a whole ton of the Honeyduke's chocolate bars, and headed for the door.

"So Lana…did your father know Sirius Black?" Harry asked in the corridor.

I knew Lupin had silently pleaded me not to tell him anything, but he hadn't answered my silent pleas at Christmas…so I nodded, but Scott beat me to it.

"He did…you know, my father, your father, Lupin, Peter, and Sirius were best friends." Scott told him. "They were best friends all through their Hogwarts careers. Sirius was the popular one along with your father…Peter was the fan, and Lupin and my father were the scholars who were their friends."

Harry nodded.

"But that's all we know." I lied.

Chelsea laughed and Harry turned to her. She shut up quickly.

"Something else you want to tell me?" Harry asked me.

I nodded. "I want to…but I can't."

Harry nodded but seemed sad.

"Harry, don't do that. I'll tell you when the time is right. I promise you…it's just personal information you know? Do you trust me?" I asked.

Harry nodded and Chelsea smiled.

"Good to see good friends still friends." Chelsea said and skipped off ahead of us.

"Not that I trust you guys completely or anything, but Peter, Carlos and I are getting together so I'm leaving." Scott said, and kissed my cheek before he left.

I turned to Harry. "Do you hate me right now?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm just disappointed."

I nodded. "I know. Look…I'll make it up to you…I'm doing a lot of that lately…I mean, last night all I heard about from Oliver was how happy he was to be back with Alicia…and I owe Ron for sitting with me when Mum embarrassed the Hell out of me, and now I owe you for not telling you what you need to hear in my opinion. So what do you want me to do for you?"

"Nothing, Lana." Harry was smiling genuinely. "Just be you, all right?"

I blushed and kissed his cheek. I loved Harry…in a friend way mind you.

"Fine. But you have to let me make it up to you." I told him.

Harry sighed but smiled. "Fine."

I smiled. "Good. Now I just have to figure out how."

Harry laughed and leaned in. I totally thought he was going to kiss me, and he did…but on the forehead. All right…fine if he wanted it like that. I was slightly disappointed…notice the slightly part of it…but that was all right. Why kiss Harry and Ron when they're best friends? Not that either had happened…but I mean I couldn't do that. What was with the forehead though?

Harry smiled at me. "Wanted me to kiss you?"

I blushed. "Now why would you say that?"

I turned around quickly and walked to the Common Room, where Ron was sitting on the couch waiting for us.

"Howdy." I said.

"Hi. Where were you guys?" Ron asked.

"Seeing Lupin." I told him before Harry could say anything.

Ron nodded. "Right-o."

I smiled. "Hi, Ron."

Ron was cute. Wasn't he cute? Back now…well for now.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Harry said quickly.

"Sleep tight. Don't let the Bedbugs bite!" I called to him as he ascended the stairs to his Dorm Room.

Ron smiled and I sat next to him.

"Hi, Ron." I said again.

He laughed. "Hello, Lana."

I was beaming. It wasn't awkward!

"Hi, Ron."

"Is that all you have to say?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"I love you." I told him.

He blushed and so did I. What did I mean by that?

"You're my bestest friend in the whole world besides Hermione and Harry…of the non-related variety." I said quickly.

Phew!

"Oh." Ron frowned slightly.

I frowned slightly too.

"Ronnie…I do love you…it's just that you're my best friend." I tried to explain.

But forget that…I couldn't just sit there surrounded by his cuteness and not do anything! Seriously! This boy was brave in the face of Acromantulas…his worst fear…and he was always there for me and loved me. Wow. I kissed him.

When I pulled away, it was way too quick for him to kiss me back…if he would have. I was blushing, and got up and went to my room. God…why did I do that? I mean…I had wanted Harry to kiss me, and then I was being smart thinking to myself that I wouldn't get in between the two…and now I kiss Ron! Well that's another on my list this year…when Mum found out I'd die of embarrassment…trust me.

****

To make things worse, Oliver was determined to beat Ravenclaw and get Second Place in the Quidditch Cup Tournament, so he scheduled six practices a week just to practice. That on top of ten flipping classes a day! I was even shorter with people than Hermione. Hermione snapped at people who interrupted her, us sitting in a corner with a tottering pile of books in front of us. I was so tired and swamped and sore. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had essays and charts and papers, and I was trying hard not to kill people who spoke to me.

I had lost it with Oliver though. He had finished talking to Harry about how his broom wasn't going to be there for the match and then he came to me after talking to Harry about how he had spoken to McGonagall.

"Bad news Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She—er—got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first." Oliver shook his head in disbelief as I snickered slightly, still working. "Honestly, the way she was yelling at me…you'd think I'd said something terrible…Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it…" He screwed up his face and imitated McGonagall. "'As long as necessary, Wood'…I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There's an order form at the back of Which Broomstick…you could get a Nimbus 2001, like Malfoy's got."

"I'm not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good." Harry said flatly.

"Can Harry borrow your Nimbus 2000…or your Firebolt?" Oliver asked me.

"Back off, Oliver! I'm working here!" I had snapped, in the middle of an essay for Arithmancy.

I looked up though and gave him an 'I'm so sorry' look and nodded.

"The Nimbus 2000. Now let me work. Stop interrupting." I said, and quickly went back to work.

As January became February, I was getting more and more tired and cross and sore. Practices, sessions with Lupin, classes, homework…and very little sleep. I was trying hard to function and do everything, but it was getting to me. It really was. I even had a breakdown one session with Lupin.

Scott, Harry, Chelsea and I were all kind of frustrated that day, and wanted to produce a full Patronus. Then Lupin gave us Butterbeer.

"Oh, I like that stuff!" Harry cried.

I turned to him and Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"Oh…Ron and Hermione brought me back some from Hogsmeade." Harry said quickly.

I sighed happily and nodded. "Hogsmeade."

Scott frowned and Chelsea grinned, but then a confused look came across her face.

"What's Butterbeer?" Chelsea asked.

Lupin handed the jugs to us and Chelsea smiled when she sipped it.

"Let's toast to Gryffindor's defeat of Ravenclaw." Lupin said.

Then I broke down. I cried. I was sobbing and people were looking at me but I didn't care.

"I can't do this." I said.

Lupin hugged me and kissed my forehead.

"Can't do what? From what I hear you're doing everything." Lupin told me softly, rubbing my back.

I nodded. "Yes, but I'm not sleeping much, or eating much…and I just need to stop and rest and I can't. I have to do all of it."

"Now you're bright and talented. You should take a break. I'm sure some people wouldn't mind. Just talk to Dumbledore…and some of your teachers." Lupin said.

I nodded and stood up. "I have to go. Homework."

With that, I left, not wanting to sit and cry anymore, just wanting to go about what I was doing and stop showing my weak moments. Then Ron and Harry, along with Chelsea and Neville, came in with Harry's Firebolt. I looked up and smiled.

"Nice to see you got it back." I told him. "It looks even better than mine."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Lana. Can I sit?"

I looked to Hermione.

"Sure." Hermione said.

Harry sat down and looked around at our stuff. We had charts and essays strewn everywhere, with books and stray parchment. I prolly still looked horrible, since I had broken down and everything.

"Why don't you guys just drop some subjects?" Harry asked.

"We couldn't do that!" Hermione cried, scandalized.

I smiled weakly. "Of course not."

"But Arithmancy looks terrible." Harry told us.

"It's really not." I said.

"It's my favorite subject because—" Hermione began.

But that was never said because Ron came down yelling. He had his bed sheet with him, and there was blood on it and on his floor upstairs. To make things worse, Scabbers was missing, and ginger cat hairs that looked a lot like Crookshanks on the bed sheet as well.