Magnus POV

The rest of Christmas break was miserable. Between searching for Alec, who Magnus had no doubt was avoiding him, and reasonably so, and planning ways to get Camille back for this, Magnus wallowed in self-pity and hate.

As much as he hated Camille and wanted to blame her for everything, he knew he couldn't. He knew. He knew this was also his fault. He should have never let it happen. He should have pushed her off as soon as she kissed him. Why didn't he do that? Why did he kiss her back? Why, when he had Alec? Well, had being the key word, Magnus reminded himself bitterly. He should have pushed her off right away. No, she shouldn't have even been able to kiss him in the first place. He shouldn't have let her get so close to him in the first place. He should have left her as soon as she started talking. But he didn't, and he hated himself for that, for it cost him Alec.

But don't get him wrong, he didn't blame himself entirely. The best moments were when he pushed all of his anger and hatred and blame on her. Why couldn't she get it through that thick skull of hers that they were over? Not that she even bothered trying to get back with Magnus after the Yule Ball. Either she knew Magnus would never go for it or she never actually cared, that she just wanted to end Magnus and Alec's relationship. Magnus convinced himself that it was the later of the two, even though the first was more likely, because it just made it all the more easier for him to hate her. She would pay for this, Magnus promised himself that, but not just yet. Now, he had to find Alec and apologize, do anything and everything to fix this. If Alec forgave him, then the two could take their revenge together; if not, well, all the more reason to go for the claws to come out.

Speaking of Alec, Magnus had not been able to talk to him once over the last few days. The first few after the Yule Ball, he didn't even see him; not in the Great Hall during meals nor anywhere in the castle or on the grounds. Magnus decided that Alec was probably taking food from the kitchens, seeing as he had started waking up really early to wait in the Great Hall, hoping Alec would walk through the doors, but he never did.

In the days following the first few, he finally spotted him. He was eating at the Gryffindor table on that Thursday morning, talking to Jace and Izzy as if nothing had happened, pointedly avoiding looking at the Slytherin of Ravenclaw tables. And though he wasn't looking at Magnus, that didn't stop Izzy and Jace from sending death stares his way. Magnus knew they were planning on cornering him, but he was surprised that it hadn't happened earlier. Maybe Alec had told them not to? That was good right? Maybe Alec didn't hate him and there was a chance. Magnus could only hope.

But when Magnus tried to talk to him after breakfast, he quickly headed in the other direction, not bothering to stop or look at Magnus. Magnus's heart dropped at that.

The event kept repeating itself too; whenever he tried to talk to Alec, no matter where they were, or when, Alec would walk away, ignoring him, walking right by him acting as if Magnus didn't even exist. And as much as it hurt him, Magnus didn't blame Alec for it.

Magnus couldn't forget that night. His mind replayed Alec's form running out of the Great Hall, and how he followed, only to be met with empty halls, no way to go, and no response to his calls.

As he slid to the floor, the last person he expected to see had walked out of the Yule Ball. Red hair and blue eyes came into view.

Viria Karsten, the Durmstrang champion.

She spotted Magnus and looked down at him, confused.

"Vot's wrong? Vare is your boyfriend?"

Magnus just shook her head and didn't look at her.

He noticed that she knelt down next to him. He felt her eyes boring into him, forcing him to look up at her.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. He didn't want to share it with her, considering that he doubted she even knew his name. "I don't feel like talking about it."

An awkward silence fell between them, but neither seemed to mind. Viria remained next to him.

Finally, Magnus spoke up. "What about you, shouldn't you be at the Ball? "

She shook her head. "I don't like parties. I don't like the crowds. And I really don't like all the attention I get ven I'm in there, or ever really."

"So why did you put your name in for the Triwizard Tournament, if you don't like attention?"

"Oh, my friends forced me on the trip and then put my name in the cup. I vos originally going to avoid putting my name, and I did, only to find that they had put my name in. They seemed to think I was could vin," she said, before saying so softly that Magnus almost imagined he had heard it, "using my ability to vin it for the school." But she quickly covered it up with "but I guess they veren't completely vrong. I mean, here I am, school champion," she said sarcastically. "So now I have to deal with all the reporters and all these expectations, ven all I vont is to shrink away from it all and hide and be alone. I didn't even vont to find a date to this stupid ball." She looked up at the ceiling, before shouting, "you know, there are some people out there vu don't vont or need love!" She leaned her head on the wall. "Now look at me; venting my problems to a stranger."She turned to look at Magnus.

He was stunned into silence. However, before he could say anything to that, she stood back up and walked away, still not knowing the name of her momentary companion.

Magnus watched her go, confused. She was one complicated being; one who Magnus thought had some issues she needed to work out.

After a few moments he stood up and walked to the Slytherin common room, seeing as he had nothing better to do, with the night in as much of a mess as it was.

Magnus shook that memory out of his mind. He had more pressing matters to worry about at the moment without wasting moments on her.

It was the last day of the break when Magnus sat down at the Ravenclaw table, across from Tessa, for the first time since the Yule Ball. He had been avoiding sitting there, knowing he would only receive daggers when met with Tessa's piercing gaze. But he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to talk to someone, anyone, who could help him talk to Alec. He would have gone to Izzy or Jace, seeing as they were closest to him, if he didn't think they would cut off his neck before they permitted him to speak. But if Tessa didn't comply, he knew he would be one step closer to confronting them.

"Tessa," Magnus said cautiously as he sat down.

She ignored him. That or she didn't hear him. Either way, she kept her head down, eyes focused on her book, her hair falling around her face, acting as a wall between her and Magnus.

"Tessa…" he said again. When she didn't respond, yet again, he said "Tessa, please talk to me."

She sighed, clearly annoyed, and looked up from her book, glaring at Magnus the entire time. "Do you mind? I'm trying to read." And she lowered he head again.

"Tess, please, I need your help."

"Excuse me if I don't help cheaters, especially not ones who broke the heart of my friend," she replied, venom laced in every word she spoke.

"Tessa, just listen to me, please," he begged. "The last few days have been hell for me."

"Well that's good, considering…"

"Just hear me out, please," he interrupted.

Tessa considered him for a moment, her glare never subsiding. After a moment she closed her book and crossed her arms.

"Fine," she said.

"Really?" Magnus asked. He didn't think she would actually listen.

"Yes, but don't make me regret it."

Magnus took a deep breath. "I screwed up, Tess, I screwed up bad."

"I know that," she interjected. "Mind explaining your side of the story? Because I already heard Alec's, and based on that, you could very well be wasting my time."

Magnus wasn't surprised at what she said, though it did sting a little. Of course Alec told her what happened. The question was how much Alec told her, and how much Alec had seen.

"Well, um, how much did he say?" Magnus asked.

"Oh, you know, not much, other than the fact of how you were kissing your ex on the night he came out to the school."

Magnus put his head in his hands. He imagined how it must have felt for Alec. He imagined his beautiful blue eyes filled with sadness and betrayal. Magnus hated how he was the cause of it.

"Any day now," Tessa reminded Magnus.

"Right," he replied, wondering how she could ever listen to what he had to say. He took another breath before he began:

"Well, we were inside, dancing, when Izzy came over and asked if her brother would dance with her. Well, begged would be a better word, but Isabelle Lightwood isn't one to beg. But it worked, and as she pulled Alec away, I went to stand off to the side. I watched everyone dancing, and I saw Alec once, smiling and laughing as he twirled Izzy. He was beautiful that night," Magnus smiled slightly at the memory. "Not that he isn't usually beautiful, he was just radiant that evening. But that's beside the point." He shook his head; he couldn't let himself get off track.

"It was then, as I stood there, that Camille came. He started talking about how she wanted to get back together with me, how Alec didn't matter. She was being ridiculous, and I told her how it wouldn't happen. I turned my head away from her, saying it was over, even though we already weren't dating for months, and she said something, but I don't remember exactly what. But it was right then when she turned my head and kissed me. And in pure instinct, I kissed her back, but it all felt wrong. I knew I shouldn't be doing that, that I was with Alec, and I pushed her off right then. But the damage was done. I let her kiss me for too long. I kissed her back, when my instinct should have been to push her off right away. I shouted at her, before I looked up and saw Alec leaving. I immediately moved to follow, before she grabbed my hand. I pulled out of her grip, while she tried to convince me to stay, but I told her to leave me alone, and said some things I don't feel like repeating to you right now. I left, turning to follow Alec, but by the time I go out of the great Hall, he was gone. I called his name, but he didn't answer, and I don't know where the Ravenclaw common room so I couldn't follow him. I couldn't go apologize to him. I could only despise myself while I knew his heart must be breaking."

Magnus dropped his head, his hair falling in his face. He hadn't been spending as much time on his looks since that night. He just didn't have the energy to.

"I ruined everything," he continued. "If only I pushed her away right away. If only I pusher her away before she kissed me." He looked up at Tessa. Her eyes were filled with hatred, though Magnus could tell it wasn't towards him. She glared at the Slytherin table before turning back to Magnus. Her features softened, and her eyes were filled with sadness and understanding.

"So, you didn't try to hurt Alec," she tested.

"No! I never would! I…" he paused. He wasn't sure if he should finish that statement. But after a quick moment, he decided he should. Why not? He already told Camille, and he'd be damned if she didn't tell someone by now.

"I…I think I love him," he told Tessa.

Her expression softened even more. "Well, then yes, you did screw up immensely. And I still don't completely forgive you for what you did, but…" she began, pausing for a moment. "But, I'll help you," she decided.

Magnus perked up at that. He couldn't believe his luck. Maybe he wouldn't have to face Izzy and Jace's wrath just yet.

As if reading his mind, Tessa interrupted his thoughts. "But," she began. "You will probably still have to talk to Izzy or Jace at one point, seeing as they have been helping him avoid you. Not that I haven't as well, but you only 1/3 on your side. But for now…" She began to put her book in her bag, seeing as most of the other students were leaving. "Go to the Quidditch field at 3:00. He usually goes there to read under the stands, where he knows no one will look. Just… don't tell him I told you. Just try to talk to him, but don't get your hopes up. He won't be easily convinced, or trustworthy for that matter, at the moment."
She picked up her bag and left Magnus sitting at the table. He looked over at the Gryffindor table, only to have his small hopes crushed again seeing as Alec had already left. He sighed and got his stuff together before standing up and to leave Great Hall.

At least he might get to talk to him later that day.

Three o'clock couldn't come fast enough. The minutes seemed to drag on for Magnus, seeing as he had nothing else to do. He ended up walking around the lake for a couple of hours before lunch, where he sat at the Slytherin table with Raphael. Tessa requested that he shouldn't sit at the Ravenclaw table seeing as Jace, Alec, and Izzy might start to suspect something, and Magnus needed to make sure Alec didn't have the slightest idea that he knew where he would be later that day. If he did, no doubt he would end up somewhere else, and Magnus would have another missed opportunity.

Finally, around 2:45, Magnus headed towards the Quidditch field. It was freezing cold out there, but Magnus barely noticed. Besides having a good tolerance for extreme temperatures, Magnus had one thing on his mind so he didn't really notice much else.

When he reached the field, he looked at the many stands, realizing that he would have to look around most everyone if he didn't luck out and find Alec on the first try. He sighed and picked up the pace. He didn't mind the looking that much really; at least he knew Alec was here, rather than searching the whole school for someone who could very well be in his room. This way, he knew what lay at the end of the path; whether or not it was a good ending was what he was anxious to discover.

With his Slytherin scarf wrapped around his neck he began to search. He didn't find Alec under the first few stands, as expected, but Magnus could help but feel a little upset every time he came up with no results, just emptiness.

As he searched, he remembered the first task, when he had almost kissed Alec for the first time. It seemed so long ago, even though it hadn't even been two months yet. Everything had been so much better than, so simple. True, Alec had proved difficult to get close to, but it was better than this.

It was in the fifth stand, a Hufflepuff one, that Magnus finally found him. He was wearing his Ravenclaw hat and scarf, and he had a large, black winter jacket over his school robes. His checks were tinged with pink, and although he was practically bundled up from head to toe, Magnus still thought he was beautiful. It made the fact that he was hiding heartbreak behind those beautiful blue eyes all the more painful to accept.

He was reading a large book, complete lost in it, rubbing his hands together every now and then for extra heat. He didn't notice Magnus there, and Magnus wouldn't have minded if he could just watch him there for a while, no matter how stalker-like it might be. He had barely seen Alec over the past few days and he missed him. And he knew that the sooner he said something, the sooner Alec would pick up and leave again.

But he had to say something; he had to try to fix this. He had gone over what he would say countless times. He had imagined the countless scenarios as to how Alec would respond, and what to say or do if he responded negatively. Magnus was ready for this. At least, he was ready to try, to attempt to make Alec his again. The least he could hope for was that Alec would at least forgive him. But if not even that, then at least he knew he had tried. It was his fault anyways, and he didn't deserve Alec, he was convinced of it. And in the case Alec didn't forgive him, that he told him that they were done and that they wouldn't be together again, Magnus would turn all his emotions into hatred and use it to get back at Camille.

Preparing for the worst, he took a breath a stepped forward into the light, where he said loud and clear, but filled with all the emotion he held in his heart:

"Alexander."

Don't you guys love cliffhangers?

Don't hate me.

And I know I said the more reviews I get, the sooner they get back together but, sooner does not mean right away, its just sooner than I originally planned. That could mean next chapter, or in a few chapters. Also... I could mean story time... but I could drag that out with chapters... so really, you never know when they will get back together.

I know, I'm evil :)

Also, one last thing, I might not be able to update in a while. I'll try for the next two weekends, but if not, I wouldn't update till Thanksgiving break because I'm just really busy with school work and my school fall production is this month, so I'm going to have rehearsals soon that last from right after school till 10 p.m. So, I'm sorry I might not update for a while, but don't worry, the story isn't over. I know sometimes people will stop writing stories but I promise I won't do that. I will finish this, and I have ideas for other works of fanfiction (Malec of course), so after this is over, there will be more to look forward to.

Okay, until next time :)

And, thank you all for the reviews and follows, you guys are amazing :)