The sun telling me the night is done.

Well I refuse to let it stop our fun.

Close your eyes-we'll make it dark again

And kiss; here's a thought, so how 'bout this?

Let's pretend that both our lips are made of candy.

After all, we need sweets every now and then.

-Don't You by Darren Criss

Izzy's POV:

"Al, it's not that complicated!" I was trying to tutor Albus in Potions, and with only a day to get everything in at once, things weren't looking very good for him.

"For you, it's not. You're so damn smart, Izzy!"

"You won't understand anything if you don't try," I said sternly. "Now, let's start again."

He groaned. "Can't we take a break? Even I can tell that this is a lost cause."

I shook my head. "You need to pass this if you still want to be an Auror."

"Izzy, you're forgetting my connections," he told me. "My family has practically taken over the Ministry. It shouldn't be too hard to get a job." I looked unsure, so he persisted. "Besides, my dad barely made it through his Potions class, and he's head of the Auror department!"

"Right, when you defeat the most powerful dark wizard of our time, then I'm sure they'll be thrilled to give you whatever job you want," I said scornfully. "For now, let's focus on passing your classes with at least an Acceptable." Al stuck his tongue out at me. "Oh yes. Very mature, Albus."

"Indeed."

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "Okay, so in chapter 13, it's talking about the uses of-"

"Izz-yyy!" Al whined and I let out a deep breath.

"What, Al?"

He recoiled at my nasty tone. "Touchy, touchy." I gave him a frustrated glance. "Oh, come on. Just a short break. It'll help me focus! How about a walk around the lake?"

Before I could respond, he was on his feet and pulling me along to the portrait hole.

"Al, I'm just going to tell you in advance: you will fail this exam," I said bluntly.

"Oh, come on love, you don't mean that." Al had a spring in his step as we made our way outside, hand in hand.

"Actually, I kind of do. You have the attention span of a flea, my dear, and you are far too stubborn to listen to me. You're proving to yourself to be a horrid student."

He stopped in his tracks, falling to the ground. "Oh, Isabelle," he cried dramatically, "how your words sting me!"

A couple of first years passed by, eyeing us curiously.

"Oh, don't mind him." I grabbed Al's arm to pull him up. "He's just a tad bit erratic, but he'll be fine." The two kids stayed silent, so I continued down the corridor with Al dragging behind me.

It was a calm day. A soft breeze was blowing and the sun shone brightly. We strolled along in amiable silence, merely enjoying each other's company.

"So, you do still want to be an Auror, don't you?" I questioned, breaking the silence.

Al seemed deep in thought. "Well…I think so. I've considered a Quidditch career, but I'm not sure about that…what about you?"

When we were younger, we'd made plans to become Aurors together after graduating. I'd thought about this quite a bit recently. "I'm not sure. I've thought about coming back to teach here, but I think I might try for an Auror position."

Al looked at me, cocking his head to the side. "You would make a great professor. The students would love you," he told me.

"Thanks…" I said. "I really think I'd just like to be back at Hogwarts…but it'd be different, you know?" I tried to compile my thoughts. "It's not necessarily the classes that I've loved so much…it's the memories we've made here. I think that's what I love so much about this place."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's definitely not the classes."

I snorted and shook my head. "You're ridiculous, Albus Potter."

He gave me his winning smile. "That's why you love me."

I leaned my head on his shoulder and whispered "I'm afraid so."

Al's POV:

I sighed contentedly. For once, things were going my way. I had Izzy again, but not just as a friend anymore. It wasn't that much different, because we were trying not to rush into things, but it was simply the fact that she was my girlfriend.

Merlin, that felt good to say.

Isabelle McCallum is my girlfriend.

I, Albus Severus Potter, am Isabelle Liliana McCallum's boyfriend.

I often found myself repeating this in my head, and I even said it out loud to myself a couple of times. It sounded so right. It all felt so very good; purely the fact that she was mine and I was hers made me feel so much better.

Now, we were sitting outside beneath the shade of an sturdy oak tree. It was in a secluded area by the lake, the same tree that we had mended our shattered friendship under.

In this moment, all was well. I was propped up on my elbows, the sun finding its way through the grey clouds to warm me. Most of all, Izzy was laying beside me with her head resting on my chest. This felt right.

Izzy's POV:

I frivolously forced Albus to study for the rest of the day, but he was having a difficult time concentrating. Finally, a bit after nine o'clock, I told him that he could stop.

"Thank goodness! I don't know why I listened to you when you told me I had to study," he grumbled. "It's not as if you're my mother or anything…"

"Yes, but I'm the girlfriend and I'm always right," I joked.

"Yes, dear," Al replied in a dull tone.

I laughed and curled up against him on the couch, letting him drape an arm around me.

"Well," he began brightly, "at least we aren't having N.E.W.T.'s or O.W.L.'s this year. If we were, I might actually care."

I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. The fire crackled in front of us, a few groups of students still sat about and chatted, but the common room was mostly peaceful. I closed my eyes, letting myself drift into the first peaceful sleep I'd had in months.

"That was positively dreadful," Al mumbled as we walked out of the potions classroom, having just finished our exam.

I shook my head impatiently. "If you'd only bothered to review your notes sometime other than the night before the test…"

He stuck his bottom lip out and huffed. "I couldn't study, Izzy," he whined. "I was heartbroken!"

I smiled at his theatrical manner, glad that we had at last fallen back into our old, relaxed friendliness. "And I wasn't? That's all I did, was study."

"Yeah, but that's only because you're so freaking smart, Izzy!" he yelled. I cast him a cheeky grin and shrugged my shoulders.

"Not anything I can control," I teased.

"Whatever. Let's talk about something else." We carried on down the corridor, discussing insignificant matters.

Just then, I heard a cheery voice call my name. I turned around to see none other than Finn.

"Izzy, Albus, wait up!" he called.

Al glanced down at me, fury burning in his emerald eyes.

"It's fine," I whispered.

"Hey," Finn panted, having finally caught up with us. "So, I was wondering if I could talk to you, Izzy?"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Erm…well, you're talking to me now, so…" I said awkwardly.

He laughed a charming little laugh and flipped his hair to the side. "You know what I meant! I was wanting to talk to you privately." Finn flashed me a toothy smile.

Al cut in. "Whatever it is you want to say to her, you can say it right now." His tone was menacing and intimidating.

Finn winced. "Well…okay. I was just wanting to know if you wanted to take me up on that offer from earlier? I mean, to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

I stared at him, stunned. Albus slipped his arm around my waist protectively. "Sorry, Reeds. We're together."

Finn looked positively terrified now. "Oh! Right, er…sorry! I…erm…didn't know. I'll be going then…" With that, Finn turned and ran down the hall.

"Maybe…maybe we should tell more people about us. That way we can avoid things like that…" I said.

Al was still tense. "Right. Good idea, love." With that, he leaned down slightly and gave me a peck on the cheek. "If that slimy little git ever bothers you again though-"

I laughed. "I know, Al. I'll come straight to you so that you can hex him into oblivion." I grabbed his hand. "I know," I whispered.

"Well, just one more week."

"Yeah," I said. "Next year's our last year…Oh my goodness!" I yelped.

"What?"

"Next year is the last year I'll be here with Trent!"

Al chuckled. "He'll be fine. You went six years without a sister here to help you, and you've turned out wonderfully."

I smiled sheepishly. "Well, let's make next year last. It'll be our greatest year of Hogwarts."

"Yes," he smiled, squeezing my hand. "Yes it will."

Well, that's the end of Explicitly Friends. You likey?

I'm so sorryyyy! I've been HORRIBLE at updating. BUT. I have excuses. Vacation, computer problems, and school. Ooooh school. The Fanfic's author's greatest enemy.

Anyways, my final responses to reviewers:

Saba A: I thought I had described Izzy. I didn't just say "Izzy looks like blah blah blah," but I kinda slipped descriptions in here and there. In case you missed them, she has blue-green eyes, wavy blonde hair, and is kind of short. And about Al's personality, I'm sorry you didn't like how I wrote him. The youngest child just tends to be the more exuberant one, and the older tends to be a rule follower. Not always, but, ya know…

AliS256: Thanks! You were so encouraging the whole time I was writing! You're the BEST.

Keep an eye out for the sequel, guys! It doesn't have a title yet, though, so…yeah. Just watch for it! Thanks to ALL of the readers who continued till the end. You guys are all so amazing and inspirational to me! Hope you enjoyed. Final thoughts? Just one last time to review this!