There was a pecking noise against the window in the Gryffindor common room where Ayla sat studying while Brad frequently attempted to engage her in other activities. Ayla frowned curiously and opened the window to see an owl she didn't recognize. She took the envelope and squealed in shock as she recognized the handwriting immediately. She dropped some money on the windowsill for the owl and darted off to her dormitory, tearing open the envelope.

Ayla-

I'm taking you up on your offer for help with the trial. I'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks today at 3:00.

-James

Ayla beamed, checking her watch to see she had an hour until she had to meet James. It's starting, she thought to herself. It's starting to get better.

X

"Hey!" Ayla greeted James excitedly, sitting in the booth across from him. He did not reply, acknowledging her with a short nod. "I just flew to the muggle courthouse near where I grew up and took the transcripts from the trial after they released me into my mother's custody after Sunnydale."

"Just to be clear, I called you here because you're the only person I know who would know about this stuff. Not because I want you here," James clarified stiffly.

"I-I know," Ayla responded, forcing her voice to keep steady.

"You're just, like, my consultant, not my friend, alright?" James continued and Ayla nodded. "Okay, good," he said, opening one of the folders Ayla had set on the table. "So, what am I going to have to do?"

"Basically, you're arguing your rights as her father. You'll have to prove that you can provide a safe home for her, so they're probably going to do a home visit to make sure your apartment is a safe place for a kid to grow up," Ayla explained.

"There's not…there's not a chance that they'll give me full custody and take her away from Cindy, is there? Because as much as I want to be around Leah every single minute, I don't want to keep Cindy from her; I couldn't do that to either of them."

"I've got to be honest with you, J—ames," she faltered, almost calling him by her old nickname for him, "it's unlikely, but it is possible. If you go through with this trial, you're risking not only that but also…if they deem you an incompetent guardian for whatever reason, you could be forbidden from seeing Leah at all. Again, that's unlikely, but it is a risk."

James nodded slowly. "Okay…"

"So, are we doing this?" Ayla asked cautiously.

"There's no we," he snapped quickly and Ayla looked down. "But yes, I am doing this. I have to try," he relented, holding up his hands. "I can't live with myself knowing that I didn't even try to get my baby girl back. Or else I'm no better than your father Brian. And I don't want Leah to grow up like you."

X

Ayla straightened James's tie and handed him the papers in her hand. The preparation for the trial had taken them to mid-March, a long three months during which Victoire and Teddy had brought their baby into the world, naming him William Remus after his grandfathers.

"You need to bring these to the courthouse. And by the end of today, you could have your baby back!" she exclaimed excitedly, clapping him on the shoulders. James shrunk away from her touch slightly, refusing to return Ayla's excitement. He stood up and brushed past Ayla, his stomach twisting sickeningly. "James, are you okay?" Ayla asked softly, concerned.

He glared at her, not wanting to open up to her.

"Alright, for the sake of the exercise, pretend I'm someone else," she said, understanding his silence.

"It's just…once we get it legalized, it's like our breakup is real suddenly. We actually have a system of when I'm legally allowed to see Leah, and we've officially become a broken family."

"Yeah, James, and it'll be tough sometimes, I'm not going to lie. But it's better than not being able to see your little girl. She's worth it to you, James, I know she is."

James stared out the window of his office in Hogwarts, watching the rain splatter against the graying glass. He remembered the day Leah was born, holding her for the first time and wondering how it was possible that they looked so much alike. He remembered the day he met Cindy, the churning in his stomach as he knew his life was about to change. He remembered the way he had embarrassed himself the first time he talked to her, hearing her giggle for the first time. He thought of all the things he had missed so far in Leah's life, and how he didn't want to miss one more. But he didn't want Cindy to miss one either.

"You ready?" Ayla interrupted his reverie, grabbing her purse.

"No…" James murmured, sprinting out of the room, down the seemingly endless staircases, and out the front door of the castle, across the wet lawn. He apparated mid-stride as he finally crossed out of Hogwarts grounds, arriving in front of Cindy's house. He raised his fist and pounded on the door, shaking the wooden frame. Through the rainy window, he saw Cindy, holding Leah on her left hip and leaning over her set of paperwork. Leah had grown so much, her dark hair longer and her bright brown eyes that so resembled his wider. Cindy opened the door and her eyes popped in shock.

"James!" she cried in surprise, stunned.

"Don't sign those documents," he panted, running a hand over his face to whisk away the rain and his oncoming tears.

"What?" she demanded, bewildered.

"I don't want joint custody," he continued, raising his voice over the pounding rain. "I don't want my time with my little angel to be split into pre-scheduled boxes, I want to be with her all the time and I want to be with you all the time too. I'm sick of living without you, Cindy. I don't want to be without you and Leah for another second. I don't care what it takes. I just want to be with you. My life was so much better with you than it could ever be without you. I didn't realize how happy I could possibly be until I met you, Cindy. I don't care if you're with someone else right now; I know we're meant to be together and I'm not giving up on that. I will stand in the rain all night if it keeps you from going to that courthouse because I am not about to let my baby girl grow up without a dad. And I'm certainly not going to let some random guy you met take my place because I love her, Cindy, and I love you." He caught his breath, rain dripping onto the wooden floor he stood atop. "What do you say, Cindy?"

Cindy blinked tears from her eyes, still stunned. "James, I—"

"I know you're probably with somebody and you've probably already moved on, but I am begging you to move back. You know we're meant to be together, baby. I swear to you, Cynthia Rose Brennan, I will never hurt you again."

"Y-you're not mad anymore?" Cindy squeaked, teary eyes wide in shock and fear.

James gently took Leah from Cindy's arms, kissing the top of her head and holding her securely, gazing at his beautiful little daughter. "How could I be mad?" he murmured softly. "Finding out that this little angel is mine, 100% mine, and no one is going to stand in the way of that, is the best news I've ever heard. I'm the only one standing in the way and I don't want to anymore. I love her more than anything and I never want to let her down. And, yeah, maybe I was an idiot for coming down here because I know you're seeing someone else, but I had to at least try. For Leah."

"I'm not seeing someone else," Cindy replied quietly. "At the grocery store, I had a friend with me but she was in another aisle when you ran into us."

"So that was—" James began, eyes widening.

"Her purse, not mine," Cindy finished.

"So they were—"

"Her birth control pills, not mine," Cindy concluded for him and James laughed once in relief.

"Does that mean we can…" he began hopefully.

"Absolutely it does!" Cindy exclaimed, pulling his face to hers and kissing him. "I love you, James Sirius Potter."

"I love you, too, Cynthia Rose Brennan. And I love you, Leah Ginevra Potter." He kissed Leah's head and then kissed Cindy again, his broken heart finally feeling whole again.

X

The cool early April evening air swirled around Ayla and Brad as they made their way to the Three Broomsticks, the leaves on the trees rustling as they strolled through Hogsmeade village.

"We should just get our food to go and then get back to my dormitory," Brad suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Actually, I was kind of looking forward to talking to you," Ayla told him. "I feel like we haven't talked much recently."

"Well, that's okay," Brad murmured, kissing her neck.

"Seriously, Brad, we should—" Ayla protested uncomfortably as Brad pushed her back against the back wall of the pub. "Brad, get off me," she commanded, her voice rising. "Brad, seriously, don't touch me, I'm trying to talk to you! Brad!" she shrieked as he tore at her shirt.

As she squirmed to get him away from her, eyes squeezed shut, she suddenly heard a collision that resulted in a crunching noise and a yelp of pain.

"SHE TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH HER!" a furious voice bellowed. Bradley scrambled up off the floor.

"What the hell, mate?" Brad demanded of James, who towered angrily over him. He nursed his bleeding nose and rapidly swelling eye, gasping in pain.

"I'm not your mate!" James snapped. "Now get out of here!"

"Make me!" Brad shouted, hitting James in the gut. James's fist flew out, splitting Brad's lower lip. Brad punched his shoulder and then socked him in the chin. James tackled Brad to the ground, beating his face as Ayla shrieked and attempted to pull him off.

"James, stop, I'm fine!" Ayla pleaded.

James finally stood up, spitting on the pavement in anger. "Get out of here," he commanded, kicking Bradley to his feet.

"You're crazy, man!" Brad wailed, springing away from James toward the castle.

"Oh, my god, James, are you okay?" Ayla demanded, reaching to check his injuries. He shook her off, ignoring her and starting towards the door, knowing that defending her had already been too much as he was still angry with her. "James, you've forgiven Cindy," Ayla said tiredly and he stopped in his tracks, hand hovering over the doorknob. "Why can't you forgive me?"

James turned around slowly, his eyes hardening. He sighed and gestured to the outdoor table around the side of the pub. They sat down on opposite sides and Ayla waited for him to begin speaking.

"Look, it took a long time but I understand why Cindy lied. Leah is…the best thing that has ever happened to me and if I thought there was a chance she might not grow up with the care she deserves I probably would have done the same thing. And she did it because she loves me—she was trying not to trap me up in a marriage I might not have wanted because she didn't know that it was exactly what I wanted. She did what she did to protect both me and Leah because she loves both of us so much. And I would have made the same decision if I was in her place. But if I knew a secret like that about a friend, I would never do what you did, Ayla."

"I know, James, I know, and the guilt is eating me alive and I miss you so much and I'm so sorry and I hate myself for screwing everything up but James, please, I need you," Ayla begged, her teary violet eyes wide.

"At least, with Cindy, it was good news that I had to forgive. Mean, it doesn't change anything because I knew I was Leah's dad whether it was biological or not, but now I know there'll never be another guy trying to claim her as his. I'll be her number one always. And that's what I had to move past when it came to Cindy. That's a pretty damn good thing to be able to forgive. But with you…I'd have to forgive the fact that I can't trust you and that you didn't look out for me. And that's not so easy to forgive."

"I wanted to tell you, James, I did! But I thought it would be better coming from Cindy! I told her to tell you the moment Leah was born but then I realized that you were her father anyway and there was no reason to screw that up!" she took a deep breath, looking down as her voice lowered. "But that's not an excuse…you have every reason to be mad at me, James, because what I did was wrong. But I'm begging you, J, I miss you so much. This year has been hell without you—"

"You think it hasn't been hell for me, too?" James bellowed back, leaping to his feet. "I lost Cindy, Leah, Albus, and you all at once and all because of you! My entire life fell apart; I lost everyone and everything that I cared about! So I'm sorry that I can't just bounce right back and forgive you the minute you ask me to!"

"I kept something from Albus for his own good, too, and look how that turned out! I just didn't want to see your love fall apart like that because it is heart-wrenching, James, believe me, I feel it too! I was trying to protect you from that, from losing Cindy and Leah the way you did! I know you got them back and I am so happy for you, but I was trying to prevent you from losing them in the first place!"

"Just because I'm back with Cindy doesn't mean that life is perfect again; I went months without seeing my beautiful little daughter! She is…she is my life, Ayla. And I could hardly live without her. And I'm so happy she's back in my life again, but it is never going to be the same again! I'm still going to be the guy who abandoned her for months because I was so angry!" He collapsed back onto his seat, dropping his head into his hands. "I hate myself."

"James, that's not true," Ayla protested softly, laying her hand on his arm. "Leah is never going to think of you as the guy who abandoned her; I've seen the way she looks at you. In her eyes, you are the most amazing person in the world; you're her hero, James. You did not abandon her; you did what you had to do. And you discovered something amazing—that you can't live without her or her mother. You're an amazing dad, James, and it doesn't matter that maybe you weren't there every single day. You care, and you love her. And you came back. That's what matters, James."

"You think? Maybe you should take your own advice," James told her, standing up. "I have to get back to work."

"You're on, James," Ayla said under her breath after the door closed behind him, a small smile forming on her lips.

X

James tossed the blue hand towel over his right shoulder and grabbed his notepad and pen, clicking the pen as he exited the kitchen and stepped behind the bar. He chewed on the end of the pen as he read over the list of specials for the day at the Three Broomsticks. He straightened up, scanning the pub for tables that had not yet been served. His eyes popped when he saw who was sitting at one of the tables on the opposite side of the restaurant. He leapt over the bar and sped over, sure he was seeing things wrong.

"Ayla?" he demanded, looking at the man across the table from her. Sure enough, Ayla's father, Brian, smiled politely at James. "I thought you two weren't—"

"I did what you said," Ayla told him, smiling. "I took my own advice."

James raised his eyebrows, glancing between the two in disbelief.

"He came back and he cares. So I can forgive him," she explained calmly. "I called him last night and invited him here. Invited him back into my life."

"I'll, um—I'll give you guys a minute," Brian said awkwardly, clearing his throat. He passed James and headed to the restroom. James sat down slowly.

"Ayla, you hate him," he breathed, shaking his head.

"I resented him, sure. But, no, I don't hate him. And it was about time I forgave him. He's trying and that's all I can ask for. It took him a little longer than it should have, but he's trying now."

James blinked rapidly to prevent tears from flowing to his bright brown eyes. "You brought your father back into your life just to prove a point to me," he said dully.

"No, I did it because you were right," Ayla argued softly. "I wasn't seeing the glaring similarity in the situations. Sometimes we have blind spots, I guess."

"I can't believe you did that," James whispered. "Just to show me Leah would forgive me…you changed your life."

Ayla shrugged modestly, looking down.

"Seriously, Ayla, I'm amazed that you were able to move past this. Honestly, for a while there, I had lost hope that Leah would forgive me for missing part of her life. Ayla, you've given me strength in so many ways in the past six years. And the way you helped me before the trial…I never would have realized I needed to get them back if it weren't for you. You've never given up on me."

"It's what I do," Ayla said simply, dismissing his thanks as unnecessary.

"Even when Cindy was pregnant—you believed in me; you believed I could be a good Dad to Leah even when you had no reason to believe that. And you believed that I could be a great Auror, even though you knew that moving to America could risk our whole relationship. And if you hadn't encouraged me to follow my dreams and go to that school, I never would have met Cindy and I wouldn't have Leah and my life would be totally different. Ayla, I owe everything to you."

"N-no, you don't," Ayla murmured modestly, but James refused to hear it.

"Yes, I do," he said firmly, gripping her hand bracingly. "It's my turn to believe in you, Ayla, I know you did what you thought was right. Sure, I didn't agree with it, but…damn, Ayla, I miss you. And I know you'd never intentionally hurt me. So, um…if you'll still have me…I'd really like to have my best friend back."

Ayla laughed once, her tears splashing onto her cheeks.

"Oh, come on, you know I don't do tears!" James laughed back, but his own eyes were swimming.

"I've missed you, Potter," Ayla managed in a shaky voice, standing up.

James came around the table and hugged her tightly. "I've missed you more, Torres." Feeling the moment getting too emotional, he turned to humor as usual. "I mean, without you, who would give me deep, emotional pep-talks whenever I need them?"

"And who would run away when I started crying?" Ayla returned with a half-laugh, half-cry, shoving him playfully in the arm. She grinned and hugged him again.

"Thank you, James. For forgiving me," she said sincerely over his shoulder.

"Eh, you earned it," he said lightly, but tears were still flowing to his eyes, thanking his lucky stars that he had his best friend back.

Just one more piece of the puzzle, Ayla thought to herself as she hoped against hope that she and Albus would have the same conversation.

X

One evening in late May, as Ayla stepped through the door of the Three Broomsticks to visit James, she was greeted by Cindy and a sleeping Leah.

"Hi!" Ayla exclaimed, hugging Cindy and gentling kissing Leah on the head.

James emerged from the kitchen, appearing behind the bar where Ayla was sitting next to Cindy.

"Ayla!" he greeted her in surprise. "Hey!"

"Come to our house for dinner tonight," Cindy told her, hand on Ayla's arm. "We have you to thank for us getting back together; we'd like to give you a proper thanks for that."

"Oh, really, I didn't do anything, that's not necessary," Ayla assured her but Cindy cut across her.

"Please, we'd love to have you. Tonight at seven?"

"Um, sure, yeah. Sounds good," Ayla said with a smile.

Cindy stood and picked up her purse. "I've got to start on dinner; I'll see you two in a few hours."

She exited the pub and Ayla turned to James.

"Why does she think I had anything to do with you two getting back together?" she asked curiously.

"You might not realize it, Ayla, but you actually did. You put it into perspective for me—intentionally or unintentionally—when you helped me with the trial. You made me realize that I didn't want to be out of Leah's life, and I didn't want Cindy out of her life either. Once I'd realized that us getting back together was best for my daughter, I started to realize that it was best for me too. It might not seem like it, but that was a big part of it. Plus, Leah loves you and Cindy wants dinner guest, so…" he added and Ayla laughed.

"Alright, I'll be there," Ayla agreed. "I do love Leah. And I guess you're not all bad either," she joked and James shoved her playfully, tossing his towel over his shoulder and mixing a drink. He passed it over the bar.

Ayla smiled at the grinning boy in front of her, so glad that he was finally back in her life after a long, painful nine months.

X

Ayla and James reached the door of Cindy and James's two-story apartment and James opened the door so a slightly stumbling Ayla could enter. They had left straight from the Three Broomsticks and James had given her a fair number of drinks.

Cindy nodded once at James and strategically passed him another drink to give to Ayla. Ayla sipped it innocently as they sat down for dinner. Leah was asleep in the nursery upstairs and the baby monitor perched on the corner of the table next to Cindy.

"So, Ayla," Cindy said as they began their main course. "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"My friend Brad," Ayla replied, her words slightly slurred. She giggled at absolutely nothing, fiddling with her straw. James and Cindy exchanged a glance and James shifted his position.

"Are you happy with him?" James asked stiffly, slightly nervous.

"I see what you're doing," Ayla slurred, sliding down in her seat. "I'm drunk but I'm a smarty pants!"

"What are we doing, then?" James asked, chewing his lip anxiously.

"You're trying to get me to talk about—" she began giddily, but her voice and face fell. "Albus," she finished, her eyes saddening, suddenly seeming sober. "I miss him," she said quietly, resting her head on her arms, and James knew they had reached their destination—getting her drunk enough to open up about Albus.

"Are you angry with him?" Cindy asked softly and Ayla raised her head.

"Me?" Ayla asked, eyes widening. "No, why would I be angry with him? He hates me," she added, tears filling her eyes. "I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have lied to him."

"If he forgave you, would you take him back?" James asked, the question that had been burning through him.

"In a heartbeat," she murmured. "But he won't."

"What about Brad?" James pointed out.

"He's not Albus," Ayla said slowly, her wide eyes looking so broken. "I-I thought I was happy with Brad…maybe I'm not…" she realized, her eyes filling with tears.

James met Cindy's eyes and gave her a smile, knowing they had accomplished exactly what they had wanted.

"Excuse me," Ayla muttered, stumbling to the bathroom before they saw her cry.

"She's ready," James whispered to Cindy as the door closed behind her. "Now all he has to do is apologize." He wrapped his arm around Cindy. "Those two are meant for each other, baby, believe me. They'll be back before you know it."

"James, I'm glad we got her to realize she misses him, but they're not going to be together. It won't work, sweetie. They've been through too much," Cindy argued softly.

"Exactly, they've been through too much to just let it go," James enthused, his eyes brightening. Cindy shook her head slowly.

"I know you want everything to be all happily-ever-after and I love that about you, James. But it doesn't always work out that way. Just give this one up, James."

James smiled strongly, glancing at the closed bathroom door. "Not yet," he said confidently. Cindy shrugged helplessly, turning back to her meal as James smiled in amazement at the love that he felt for her—the same love he knew that Albus and Ayla shared.

X

Albus gazed at the sliver of moonlight slicing through his dorm room, his shadow reflecting in the light on the tile floor. His vision was blurred by the tears in his vibrant green eyes. In his trembling left hand was the small box Ayla had given him that contained a shard of glass, a twig, a newspaper clipping, a snitch, and a stone, all memories from one of his favorite memories with her. He took a shaky breath and closed the wooden box, his eyes falling shut as he tried to hold in his tears. He leaned his head against the window as he lounged on the window sill, trying to relieve his aching chest.

"Hey," came Carter's voice as the door opened. Al continued staring out the window as the room filled with light from the hallway for a moment before Carter shut the door behind him. "What's that?" Carter wondered, gesturing towards the box as he removed the towel around his waist and reached for his boxer shorts.

"Uh, present from Ayla," Albus replied, attempting to steady his voice.

Carter clapped his hand bracingly on Albus's shoulder over his grey t-shirt.

"Y-you know, this would be a lot less weird if you weren't naked," Albus pointed out and Carter laughed, tugging his boxers on and pulling a black shirt over his head.

"You really miss her, don't you?" Carter asked softly and Albus nodded, fixing his eyes on the moon's reflection on the grass several stories below his window.

"She's my angel," Albus replied quietly, his voice rough with suppressed tears.

"If you love her and you miss her that much, why don't you just forgive her?" Carter questioned, pulling his crew socks on.

"She did something I can't forgive," Albus said simply, avoiding eye contact. "I'm angry with her."

"Yeah, you can be angry with her all you want," Carter agreed, sitting across from his roommate. "But at the end of the day, you love her and she loves you. Why would you throw all of that away just because you're angry?"

"I didn't throw it away," Albus responded coolly. "She did."

"Alright, well," Carter relented, hopping to his feet. "It sounds to me like you're just too scared to give in to love again. But whatever, I'm going to bed."

"Wait, Carter?" Albus asked hopefully after a silent moment.

"Yeah, buddy?" Carter grunted, sitting up in bed.

"What do you mean?"

Carter sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position. "I mean…you got hurt once before and now you won't open up to her again no matter how much you want to be with her. Fear is just standing in your way, mate. But it doesn't have to. It's up to you whether or not you let it."

"It's just…she was my everything, Carter. So when we broke up, it was like I lost my entire life; everything that matters was gone. And I don't want to see that happen again. I'm scared that if it does… I'll just completely fall apart, man."

"Yeah, honestly, you might," Carter admitted. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, mate. But that's a risk you've got to take. That's the thing about being in love—there's a hell of a lot to lose. But that person, the person you fall head-over-heels for, is worth it. And if they're not, then you're not in love."

"So, what should I do? I can't just get over it; she hurt me a lot when she lied to me," Albus protested helplessly.

"Well, think about it. Think about everything you have to lose—which should be easy because you already lost it." Carter paused. "Now think of all of your amazing memories with Ayla. Was it worth it? Were those memories incredible enough to be worth all of the pain you went through?"

"It's been the worst time of my life, man," Albus said quietly. "But when I was with her…it was so much better than I could have ever imagined. She brought me the best and worst of my life, but…the best was more good than the worst was bad. That probably didn't make any sense, but it did to me and now I know…every bit of pain I've been through was worth it and I can lose everything again if it means being happy with her for a little while longer. I just want to feel that again, Carter."

Carter smiled encouragingly, knowing Albus couldn't see him through the dark. "Go get her, mate."

"Now?" Albus demanded incredulously. "It's nearly the middle of the night! And besides, she has a boyfriend. My cousin Hugo told me."

"All the more reason," Carter told him, shrugging.

"You're right," Albus breathed, gripping his broom. "I'm going to fight for her. I have to tell her that she's all I've ever wanted and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that. Thanks, Carter, I owe you, man." He flung open the window and leapt onto his broomstick, soaring through the open frame and setting off into the dark night.

X

Albus began to angle his broom down as he flew over the forbidden forest. He squinted, attempting to scan the figures outside of the castle to see if he could spot Ayla. He craned his neck to see the span of students along the outline of the entrance hall. Suddenly, he felt a collision and heard the snapping of wood before he plummeted to the ground, falling amongst the brush that covered the dirty ground of the forest.

We squirmed for a moment, gasping for breath as his broom had jammed right into his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him. He caught his breath and staggered to his feet, looking at his destroyed broom in despair. The broom that Ayla had bought him years ago; the broom that he had used so many times while playing Quidditch with her. He kicked the tree in front of him furiously, flopping down hopelessly on a log that looked as though it had fallen recently.

This is a sign, he thought. A sign that I was being an idiot and this is a terrible idea. He tossed his snapped broom onto the ground in front of him, glowering at it in dismay. "No," he murmured to himself suddenly, bolting upright. "No, I have to do this," he growled, taking off towards the castle. "I have to find her and win her back."

He bolted through the cool spring air, nearing the majestic castle, when his foot caught on the roots of a towering tree. He heard the sickening crunch of a broken ankle as he collapsed to the ground, cursing loudly. He dragged himself back to the log he had occupied, propping his leg out in front of him, watching his ankle swell rapidly.

He heard the twigs on the ground crunching to his right and whipped his head around to see a blonde head bobbing through the trees.

"Brad!" he called, relief flooding through him.

"Who's there…" Bradley's voice rung out, caution edging in.

"It's Albus; I'm over here!" he shouted.

"Albus?" Bradley muttered, bewildered, as he ducked through the trees to see Albus Potter sitting on a large log, looking shattered. His bright eyes looked empty, his usually smiling face was ashen, his torso looking even skinnier, unshaven stubble growing from his chin. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, shocked.

"I came to see Ayla," Albus admitted. "And then I crashed my broom and then I hurt my ankle, and…" he shook his head, shrugging helplessly. "I am such an idiot."

"Hey, no arguments here," Brad teased, sitting next to him and nudging him with his shoulder. Albus laughed once without humor, but his smile faded quickly.

"So, what's with the big grand gesture?" Brad wondered.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked distractedly.

"Well, I assume you weren't just passing through," Brad pointed out, gesturing to the dangerous woods around them. "Why tonight?"

"It's not like there's been a single night she hasn't been everything on my mind," Albus told him. "But tonight, I came to my senses and realized—with the help of my roommate—I've already had everything I cared about taken away from me, so I've got nothing to lose. I came here to win her back but then everything went wrong and…I just really don't see that happening now."

"You really do care about her, huh?" Brad asked quietly.

"Brad, nobody in my life has ever meant so much to me. It's like…when I'm with her, she takes my breath away. But when I'm not with her, I can hardly breathe because it's like I'm suffocating. And I can be having the worst day of my life but I know that I get to see her and suddenly it's like nothing can go wrong anymore, because she'll just make everything better. She makes me feel so alive, Brad, like I can feel everything when she's around. She just…opened me up to life and showed me a whole world beyond what I had ever known. I didn't know what it was like to be happy, truly happy, until I met her. When you meet that person, they change your heart—like it skips a beat when I see her, when I think about her. And when she's gone I feel like it's struggling to beat at all. My life is never gonna be the same without her, man."

Brad cleared his throat, standing up. "Look, mate, I've got to get back to the castle before they lock the doors."

"Right, yeah, sure," Albus mumbled, blinking the tears from his eyes and rising to his feet. "Do me a favor; don't tell Ayla I was here. It was a mistake; she's not going to want to get back together. I was stupid for doing this in the first place. Just…don't mention it to her."

"Sure," Brad agreed. "Later, man." He set off towards the castle and Albus sunk back down onto the log, dropping his head into his hands. He stared up at the sky, remembering when he and Ayla went stargazing before he left Hogwarts. He took in a shaky breath as he pictured the way her eyes used to light up when she saw him; the way her hair felt beneath his fingertips; the way she hugged him so tightly that he felt so whole when they were in each other's arms.

Unaware of how much time had passed, he was pulled from his daze when he heard footsteps crunching on the leaves and twigs that littered the ground, this time coming from ahead on his left. He felt the figure settle onto the log next to him and watched in his peripheral vision as the figure's small hand reached forward and dropped a broomstick in front of his feet.

"Bradley told you I was out here?" Albus asked, forcing his voice not to falter.

"He broke up with me," the shaky voice returned after a moment of painfully deafening silence, but the sound meeting his ears made his heart swell in a way he hadn't felt in months.

Albus gulped, staring straight ahead, wanting so badly to look at her but knowing he would fall apart if he did.

"He said he wanted to fall in love, to find someone that could change the way his heart beats," Ayla said slowly.

"Who ever knew Brad could be deep?" he laughed once without humor and Ayla giggled, but broke off in a sniffle.

"I know you talked to him," Ayla said quietly after a moment.

"And you're not mad at me?" Albus questioned, still refusing to make eye contact.

"I was," Ayla began, wrapping her arms around her knees. "And then I saw you out here…and I knew I wanted that too. Exactly what Brad said. The difference is…he wants to start looking for it. I've already found it. I've just screwed everything up with it."

Albus wrapped his arm around her comfortably and she leaned into his shoulder.

"Maybe not everything," he replied and she straightened up, looking at him, and he missed the feeling of her head against his arm.

"What?" she murmured in a barely audible voice.

"Look, Ayla, these past nine months have been absolute hell without you," Albus began, knowing he was taking the biggest chance of his life. "I've spent this whole year trying to move on to my life after Ayla, but then I realized there isn't one—at least I hope not. I don't want to live without you anymore, Ayla, I just don't. I was insane to let you go, no matter how upset I was. Before I left, I was the happiest person on earth and I felt so lucky every day that I had someone like you. And I would love nothing more than to be that happy and that lucky again." He took a deep breath and locked his eyes with hers. "So, what d'you say?"