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Easter break seemed like it had ended just as it had begun. The rest of the week was passed in a flurry of studying, essay writing, and wedding planning. Ary had told us to keep it a secret for another two weeks, because she wanted to wait until Victoire and Teddy got back from their honeymoon.

This proved to be more problematic for Georgie, Carly, Jane and I than we had anticipated. As soon as we returned to Hogwarts, we immediately holed ourselves up in our rooms, leaving only for food, classes, and, in my case, quidditch practice.

James became increasingly frustrated with this, because that meant we barely saw each other anymore. My friends were experiencing the same problem, but it seemed to be taking its toll on me the worst. Lily and Rose, too, were also affected. They didn't understand why our room had suddenly become off limits.

Our room had pictures and brochures plastered all over the walls of wedding related things, and pieces of parchment with our plans and lists and notes were scattered over the floor and our desks, joining our school books in chaos.

It was worth it, though, because I knew we were helping Ary in a big way.

In order to keep some semblance of order, we divided up the tasks that came along with planning a wedding amongst the four of us. I was in charge of finding a band, selecting musical arrangements, and finding a printer for the wedding invitations and programs. Georgie took charge of finding a florist, caterer, and the seating arrangements. Carly was in charge of making the party favors, finding a baker for the cake, and renting the equipment we would need. Jane was in charge of getting an officiator, getting a photographer, and keeping track of who had replied to our invitations.

Thankfully, Mrs. Wood and Ary had taken care of getting a venue. Her grandfather on her dad's side had offered up the family farm as a venue, for use on June 26th. She included a picture of it in the packet I had been given during Victoire and Teddy's reception, saying it was probably for the best.

"What is she on? 'For the best'? Merlin, I want to get married there! It's perfect!" Jane had squealed as she flourished the photo around or dorm room. It was a typical Scottish farm, surrounded by lush, rolling green hills. The barn even had a thatched roof.

The packet had also included the guest list, a note telling us what flowers and colors she would like to have, and thanked us profusely. The budget also included had seemed reasonable, too, though perhaps a bit generous. One thing that was conspicuously absent, however, was the wedding party list.

Finally, the two week deadline had passed, and the new Mr. and Mrs. Lupin returned from the south of France. That same night, we immediately we sent out the invitations to the printer via Mrs. Wood. We all breathed a sigh of relief

About an hour later, the wedding party list arrived, too, and it was a surprise.

I read through it quickly, but my name caught my eye. "What?"

Jane frowned and leaned over my shoulder. "What, what?"

I blushed. "She asked me to be her maid-of-honor."

"Of course she did!" Georgie exclaimed happily from her spot on my bed, pouring over florist brochures, trying to find one to fit our budget.

"Why is that not surprising?" I demanded.

Jane sighed and went back to her task of choosing a photographer. "Because you're the one who's basically been the driving force behind this wedding, and you're the closest to her." I made a noise of protest, but she cut me off. "No, don't deny it. We've always been friends with her, but you're her seeker. It's a special relationship." She grinned cheekily at me.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "But I'm not the 'driving force behind this wedding', as you put it."

"You're the one who got us all organized, Lin." Carly rolled her eyes. "Just shut up."

I made to protest again, but this time I was cut off by Lily, who barged into our room with Rose on her heels. "Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded.

I glanced down at the wedding party list in my hands. Sure enough, under my name as maid-of-honor and the girls' as bridesmaids, Lily and Rose were listed as flower girls. Ary must have sent everyone on the list an owl as soon as Victoire had owled her saying she was back.

"We were sworn to secrecy!" I protested.

Lily huffed. "That's stupid! Victoire wouldn't have cared whether or not she was getting married around the same time."

Jane shrugged. "It's what she wanted."

Lily sighed, and Rose took the opportunity to ask, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Actually, Lin has just found out she's maid-of-honor, so would you two be able to pick out the music arrangements?" She handed them the lists of songs I had compiled. "We need to narrow it down to about 20 for the reception, and what song should be played when Ary walks down the aisle."

"That's my job!" I tugged at my hair.

"Lin, you have to plan the bachelorette party now. I've already gotten the wizard from Victoire and Teddy's wedding to agree to officiate, and I think I've found the photographer. I'll handle finding the band and printer." Jane placed a hand on my shoulder. "You should take a break, love. When was the last time you saw James?"

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to think. "Quidditch practice?"

"Two days ago? That's it." Jane huffed and pushed me out the door. "Spend tonight and tomorrow with your boyfriend. You're not to come back until lunch." Carly handed her a spare change of clothes and my toothbrush, which were then handed over to me.

Carly laughed. "Lin's getting kicked out!"

I scowled. "You guys haven't seen your boyfriends, either!"

"Yes, we have!" Jane defended. "We make sure to eat with them, and spend an hour every other day with them. You, however, have been obsessing about this for too long. Get out, and don't come back until dinner."

"I thought you said lunch!"

"I changed my mind," she said simply and shut the door in my face.

I scowled at it before moving downstairs to take the boys' dormitory's staircase. I sighed and knocked on James's door. Reggie opened it. "Lin?" he yawned.

"Hey, Reg. Is James in?" I tried to peer around his figure.

James stepped up behind Reggie, eyes wide as he took me in. Reggie moved out of the way. James crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "What do you want?"

"Could I spend the night in here?" I asked, clutching my things tightly. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"Why?"

"I got kicked out of my room." I chewed on my lip nervously.

"Why?"

"The girls said I haven't been spending enough time with you," I answered, looking down at the floor.

His voice was hard. "They're right. The whole time we've been back from break, you've been ignoring me."

I looked up at him. He was angry. "I wasn't doing it on purpose! Ary's –"

"Getting married. I know," he retorted. "You didn't tell me! You just abandoned me!"

I was getting angry now, too. "I was just trying to help her! She's going through a really tough time right now, and she's one of my best friends!"

"I'm your boyfriend!" he shouted. "It's not my fault your slag best friend got herself knocked up. She should take a page out of your book, since you're such an ice queen. You never let me touch me, you don't like to be kissed, you're such a prude-"

"You don't know anything, you ignorant imbicile!" I shouted back, cutting him off. "You're so egotistical sometimes it makes me sick to my-"

"At least people actually like me, unlike you, you bloody Yankee. People are only your friend because you're rich and an American. You're a novelty, and eventually your attraction will wane and you'll be left alone! Nobody actually cares."

SLAP.

His jaw dropped, the red imprint of my hand on his cheek. "How dare you, James Potter? How dare you?" I whispered, my eyes pricking with tears. "You are an asshole. A complete and utter asshole. Don't talk to me."

I turned on my heel and walked down the stairs and out of the common room. I sighed and ran my hands over my face, tears starting to trickle down. Where will I go? I can't face Jane and the girls now.

Go to Hogsmeade, to Mrs. Wood.

I shook my head. No, it's too far at night. I don't even know if Mrs. Wood will be there.

What about Mary?

I sighed and decided it was my best option. I wandered around the castle, trying to think where the Hufflepuff dormitories would be. My footsteps quietly echoed as I took in the sight that was Hogwarts in the moonlight. It was dark and gloomy, but I supposed that fit in with my move. I was trying very hard not to cry, but tears kept escaping.

After about an hour of wandering the corridors, I decided to go to the kitchens. Perhaps the house-elves would still be up and allow me to sleep in front of the fireplace. I vaguely remembered where they were, and headed in that direction.

I got lost twice, but eventually I found the painting of the fruit. After tickling the pear, I let myself in. "Hello?"

Most of the elves were gone, but a few were cleaning up. An elf I recognized as Crumpet rushed up to me. "Mistress Linny! Is you alright? You's been crying, Crumpet can tell."

I sniffled. "I'm okay, Crumpet, I'm just tired. I do have a favor to ask, though. Would it be alright if I slept in front of the fire tonight?"

Crumpet's eyes went even wider. "Mistress Linny is welcome to sleep in Crumpet's bed, and Crumpet will sleep on the floor."

"No, Crumpet, that's alright." I shook my head. "Please?"

"Doesn't you have a bed, Miss?"

"Yes, but I can't sleep there tonight. Please don't ask me why." More tears began to fall.

Crumpet knotted her hands together, as if she didn't know what to do with them. "Does you need a friend, Miss?"

"Do you know who Mary Moriarty is, Crumpet? She's in Hufflepuff."

Crumpet was gone with a pop. I sat down on the ground, still clutching my belongings to my chest. I stared at the ground, trying to stop the tears from leaking out. My body began to shake. I thought about what James had said. Am I really an ice queen? I thought about all the kisses I had refused, and all the times I had told James, "Not now."

The portrait opened, I heard a pop and someone cried, "Linny!"

I rested my forehead on my knees, shaking. I felt like I was going to sick. Warm arms wrapped around my thin frame. "Oh, Linny, what happened?"

I crawled into Mary's lap. "I- I need a place to sleep tonight. I can't- I can't go back to Gryffindor." I burst into tears.

Mary rocked me for a while, humming and stroking my hair until my sobs subsided. She turned to Crumpet, who was watching us warily. "Crumpet, would you mind taking Linny's things down to my dormitory?"

Crumpet nodded and took my stuff from my lap, and disappeared with another pop. Mary slowly got to her feet, pulling me up with her. "Come on, Lin. Thankfully I'm just around the corner."

She led me to a nook down the kitchen corridor, behind a stack of barrels. She pulled me to the side and drew out her wand. She hummed lightly as she tapped a barrel in the middle of all of them. After she was finished, the lid swung open to reveal a dark passageway. She slipped through first, and held a hand out to me. "Come on."

I followed her in amazement. We soon came to a round wooden door, which swung open to reveal a round, earthy room. It had a very warm feeling to it, with yellow things and plants everywhere, burnished copper, and overstuffed sofas and armchairs in Hufflepuff's colors. There were windows along the top of the room and I could faintly see stars. The thing that drew my attention the most, however, was a large, honey colored, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it. Over it rested a portrait of a woman I assumed was Helga Hufflepuff. She was snoring quietly.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Mary whispered with a smile as she led me to one of the many round doors in the room. It held another tunnel that we walked in for a few minutes in silent, Mary hugging me lightly with one arm around my waist. She opened the door silently.

Her two roommates were asleep, thankfully. I was sure I looked like a mess at the moment. A copper lamp that was dimly lit cast a glow over the room. Mary patted the side of her four-poster bed. "Do you mind sharing, Lin? This bed is awfully big, and I don't fancy sleeping on the floor."

I shook my head and moved my things off the pillow Crumpet had placed them on. Mary tucked me in, like a child. It made me feel marginally better. She stroked my hair, and sat down next to me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I sniffled, and felt tears prick at my eyes again. "James told me I'd abandoned him, but I've just been so busy and then he started yelling at me, and he called Ary a slag and me an ice queen and that nobody likes me and-"

My voice, which had been getting louder and louder hitched, and I began to cry again. "He's right about me, though." I sniffled. "I'm such a prude. I'm still a virgin and he's probably tired of it."

"Stop it," she ordered. "Caroline, you stop that right now. Just because you haven't had sex with him doesn't mean you're a prude or an ice queen. You're one of the most special, warm, loving people I know. People love you. Bloody hell, even his siblings prefer you to him. James Potter is a wanker, and he had no right to say anything he did."

I pinched my forehead. "I shouldn't have been in Gryffindor. I couldn't go back to my dorm after what happened. I didn't want to face the girls and have them confirm what he said or deny them and get angry. I just want to sleep right now, because I'm so tired, and I've been planning Ary's wedding, and NEWTs are coming up, and then there's quidditch, and –"

She held up a hand. "Okay, slow down. Let's start from the beginning. Ary… you mean Arabella Wood is getting married?"

I sighed and began to relate to her the events of the past three weeks. She sat patiently as I stumbled over words, cursed, broke down, and paused to take a breath, only hmming and ahing in appropriate places. Still, her hand stroked my hair and back.

I finished and closed my eyes, tired from the tale I had just told. I know Ary didn't like her business being spread around but this was Mary and I knew she would never tell a soul. Mary was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"Okay, so James Potter is definitely in the wrong this time. Yeah, maybe you could have broken your promise to Wood and told him, but you did what any friend would do." She leaned back against one of the posts of her bed. "More, I would say. You've done so much for Wood, and so little for yourself, Lin. Merlin, you look like you've lost weight, too.

"Look," she patted me on the head and stood up, "you need rest, and you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want. Hufflepuffs generally don't like other students in the dormitories, but there have been exceptions, and I'm making you one. Thankfully, it's Friday, so you have the whole weekend to think on this. Just rest up, okay?"

I nodded sleepily. I was already beginning to drift off. Mary kissed my temple lovingly. "Night, little Linny."