Morning guys! It's probably not morning where some of you are, but if it is, then awesome.

Thanks for answering my question that I asked in that last chapter! It means a lot knowing who's working out the best for the story.

Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.

"Tom," I whisper harshly as I spot him by a bookshelf in the library.

Sighing, I quickly reach into my bag and pull out a potion phial. It's my last phial; I'll have to have David get me more. Taking the cork off the top, I bring the glass phial to my lips and quickly down the potion. Strange, I'm not getting a calm feeling now. I'm probably just too used to it. I stuff the empty phial into my bag and adjust the bag over my shoulder, my eyes locked onto Tom.

I quickly walk over to him, determination coursing through my veins. I'm going to find out why he stood me up yesterday, but I already have a pretty good idea as to why. I just have to confirm it, and the only one who can confirm it is him. I stop behind him and tap on his shoulder, crossing my arms as I wait for him to turn around. He looks up from the book he's holding and turns his head, smirking when he sees my face.

"Good morning, Valerie," He says, turning his entire body towards me. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Where were you?" I ask, staring at him. "You didn't show up at Madam Puddifoot's!"

"Oh, yes," He says, placing the book back on the shelf. "I unfortunately got a bit busy and I couldn't find the time to make it."

"You could've told me," I say, shaking my head. "You should've told me instead of blowing me off."

"You seem to be taking it quite well," He says. "You aren't screaming at me."

That's because I have a potion that controls my temper. "That's not the point," I say. "The point is that you should've told me that you couldn't make it instead of standing me up!"

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," I say with a nod. "I think that would be very helpful to the both of us."

He looks at me for a moment before starting. "There have been rumours going around the school."

"Oh?"

"Yes, there are."

"About?" I ask. Suddenly it hits me; he's heard the rumours about me fancying him. Oh Merlin, please no! That's only going to make things a thousand times more complicated then they need to be. Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe he's thinking of entirely different rumours.

He smirks at me, and I know I'm in trouble. "They're about you," He says, taking a step closer to me. "Fancying me."

Normally people want to be right, but right now I wish I wasn't. I take a small step backwards, trying to create some distance between me and Tom, and I feel my back press up against the bookshelf behind me. Damn, I've got nowhere to go. Tom continues to smirk at me as he takes another step closer to me, and I wish there was a long hallway behind me so that I could bolt.

"And I have to wonder," Tom says, looking down at me. "Are they true?"

I've never felt intimidated by Tom before, but right now I feel like I'm the mouse and he's the giant. I don't want to say that I fancy him, but I can't just outright deny it in front of him or else I screw up the entire plan. I'm already back at square one, and I don't think I can get any lower. But if I can, I don't even want to think about the consequences.

"Uh," I start. "Do you think they are?"

"I have to wonder," He says, his eyes locked onto me. "Your attitude towards me has completely changed in only two months. Perhaps I was right that day when I asked you the very question I'm asking you now. Do you remember?"

My mind goes back to that day in the Great Hall, and I remember everything. "Yes."

"Then what's your answer?"

I have two options. Option one, keep to the truth and tell him I don't fancy him, or option two, swallow my pride and lie to him. Option one saves my pride, but ruins everything. Option two, destroys my pride, but can get me out of square one. I'm no fool; I know what I have to do.

"Alright," I say, trying to rid myself of all hesitation. I have to do this. "Yes, Tom, I do fancy you."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. That was not the answer he was expecting, and if I was watching from another person's point of view, it wouldn't be mine either.

Gaining back his composure, he smirks at me once more. "Why am I not surprised? I knew there was an explanation to your behaviour."

"Yeah," I say, still looking up at him. I don't know what else to say. What do you say when you've just lied to someone about fancying them?

"Well, then I suppose I have to make it up to you, now don't I?" He asks, tilting his head.

"Make what up to me?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing.

"That date that I missed," He says, acting as if it were the simplest thing on Earth.

"You know," I say. "You still haven't told me why you miss that."

He raises his eyebrow and nods to me slightly. "That's right."

"Well," I say, trying to make things less awkward for me. "Out with it then."

He smirks at me. "I was trying to determine whether or not these rumours that have been spreading like wildfire are true or not. I've got my answer."

"So you didn't show up just so that you could see my reaction and determine whether or not I fancied you?" I ask, trying to clarify.

"Yes," He says simply, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets.

I sigh. I knew he was keeping tabs on my reactions. "Well played, Tom."

He tilts his head slightly, smirking at me. "So when shall our date be? I still have to make up for yesterdays rudeness."

"Oh," I say. "Right, you still have to do that." Suddenly what he's said clicks in my mind, and my eyes widen. "Wait, you want to go on a date with me?"

"I imagine it would be an appropriate way to make up for my absence yesterday," He says.

"Right, okay," I say nodding. "Well, my brother's Quidditch match is tomorrow, and I promised him I'd be there. Shall we go together?"

"Quidditch matches aren't really my ideal dating location," He says. "But I suppose it's always nice to try something new."

"Great," I say. "And maybe afterwards we could go to the Three Broomsticks for a few butterbeers."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "I thought you would've wanted to go back to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Oh no," I say, shaking my head. "It's not really my style."

"I see."

"Anyways, do you want to meet me by the Quidditch pitch at one? Just before the game starts?"

"Of course," He says. "That sound alright."

"Perfect," I say, stepping sideways. "Anyway, I've got to get going. I'll see you later, Tom."

He smirks at me. "Goodbye, Valerie."

"David!" I exclaim as I see him outside sitting on a bench.

I quickly start towards the bench as he looks up, and he closes the book in his lap. "Hey, Valerie."

"David," I say, adjusting my bag over my shoulder as I stop in front of him. "You'll never guess what happened!"

He stands up from his seat and stuffs his book into his bag. "What?"

"I got a date with Tom!"

He immediately looks up from his bag and stares at me, trying to figure out whether I'm lying or not. "You're kidding," He says.

I shake my head quickly.

He looks at me in shock. "You got a date?"

I nod my head. "Yes."

"Then he must have really liked you on that date yesterday!" He says, adjusting his bag over his shoulder as he looks at me.

"Actually," I begin. He's not going to like this when I tell him. He's not going to like it one bit. "He didn't come yesterday."

David's face immediately drops. "What happened?"

"He, well, uh...He stood me up."

A look of anger crosses his face. "He what?"

"But David," I say. "It all worked out! He thinks I fancy him and we're going a date tomorrow!"

"Still, what makes him think he's got the right to just blow you off?"

"He said he was hearing rumours about me fancying him around school and he wanted to see if they were true or not."

"How? By being a git?"

"By seeing how I would react to him not being there."

David's face changes expressions, but it's still unreadable to me. "How did you react?" He asks.

"Fine," I say with a shrug. "Sure, I was a bit angry, but I didn't yell at him or anything. That potion you give me really works."

"Uh, yeah," He says, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "It does."

I raise an eyebrow at him. He looks like he's hiding something, something that he doesn't want me to know. "David," I say, crossing my arms. "What's wrong?"

"What?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" I ask again, looking at him expectantly.

"Nothing's wrong," He says, shaking his head. "Why do you assume something's wrong?"

"David," I say. "I'm not daft. There's something that you're not telling me. What's up?"

"Nothing's up!" He says, throwing his hands up "Anyways, I've got to go meet Marie."

"No," I say, stepping in front of him as he tries to walk past me. "Not until you tell me what you're hiding from me."

"I'm not hiding anything, Val," He says. "I think you're a bit para-"

"Do not call me paranoid," I say, cutting him off. "I'm not paranoid, you're just secretive."

"I'm not keeping anything from you, Valerie," He says, shaking his head as he tries to walk past me. "I swear."

"You're a terrible liar, David," I say, shaking my head as I step in front of him every time he tries to walk past.

He sighs in exasperation. "If I tell you will you let me go?"

"Yes."

"Fine," He says. He sighs as he quickly glances both ways before leaning down to my level. "You know those potions I gave you yesterday when you came back from Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, why?"

"They're water."

My eyes widen "They're what?"

"Water," He repeats.

"You've been giving me water?" I ask, getting angry that my own brother pulled a fast one on me.

"Only for the past two weeks," He says, raising his hands in defense.

"Two weeks?" I ask, staring at him in disbelief. "Why have you been giving me water for two weeks?"

He sighs. "Because I ran out of ingredients and I'm not going to be able to get my hands on anymore."

"Well, where were you getting it?" I ask.

"There was this guy in Hogsmeade that was illegally selling potion ingredients at a discounted price," He explains to me. "Unfortunately, the Aurors caught up with him and he's going to be in Azkaban for the next five years."

"Five years?" I exclaim. "Just for selling potion ingredients?"

"Potion ingredients that are exotic and high in demand," He corrects me.

I sigh. "So my brother's been giving me water and he shops at the black market? I obviously have some very trustworthy relatives!"

"But, hey, you didn't know I was giving you water because you don't need the potion anymore," He says.

"What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, normally by now you would be screaming and would've probably hit me as well," He explains. "But you haven't, which means you've successfully trained yourself to keep a hold on your temper!"

I sigh. I have, haven't I? These past two days prove it; I've learned to control my temper. A lot of things have happened that usually set me off, but I haven't. I don't need the potion anymore, and that's what kind of scares me. I've changed so much in two months. I'm really going through with this whole plan, aren't I?

"That explains why I wasn't feeling different when I drank it," I say, pulling a phial out of my bag. "How did you get the water to taste like the potion anyways?"

"A mixture of green apple and lily petals," He tells me. "I'm just as surprises as you are that it worked."

I sigh. "I feel kind of stupid now. My brother's been giving me a placebo for two weeks and I didn't even notice it!"

"Don't feel stupid," He says, shrugging. "I'm just smarter than you."

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"So," He asks. "Before I leave, where are you and Tom going on your date tomorrow?"

"The Quidditch match and then to the Three Broomsticks," I tell him.

"Perfect," He says, nodding once.

I sigh. "You're going to have Keller follow us, aren't you?"

He nods. "I can't be too careful. Anyways, good luck tomorrow," He says, and then he walks past me.

"Thank you," I call after him before sighing. "I'll need it."

It's a shorter chapter but I hope it's interesting enough to suffice.

Please leave a review before you go! They're gladly appreciated!