The Ravenclaw common room was as crowded and noisy as anyone had seen it that night. People were letting off lots of pre-exam steam, along with plenty of Filibuster fireworks, and the usually reserved Ravenclaws were as noisy as they could get away with being. Despite all the people present however, not one person noticed that two of the usual crowd were missing. A space on one of the sofas where they usually sat curled up in each other's arms was empty, and the air was free of the usual comments and jibes from the pair. However, the impromptu mini-party carried on, regardless of the fact that there were two broken hearts in the tower that night.

Upstairs in the 5th Year girls' dormitory, Vaila lay curled up in a ball on her bed, the hangings closed around her, shielding her from the rest of the world. Her pillow was soaked; she had done nothing but cry since running up here 2 hours ago. Tiredness came over her in waves, but she blocked it out – sleep was out of the question as she would surely be plagued by nightmares the second she closed her eyes, be forced to replay the scene over and over in her mind. But then, she reflected, she was doing that when awake.

The cuddly owl Matt had given her on her birthday was clutched protectively to her chest. His Ravenclaw scarf was draped around her shoulders – they had swapped scarves a few weeks ago and it still carried his scent. The photo of them, taken at the Christmas Ball that year, was in Vaila's outstretched right hand, and it was this that her tear-filled eyes were focussed on. They stood together on the stage in the Great Hall, waving at the camera, their arms around each other. It was the night he'd played his first gig to the other Hogwarts students. The night they'd laid out in the Hogwarts grounds under the stars. The night he told her he loved her.

And here they were, not even six months on. The relationship they had promised would last forever had been shattered, torn apart. Vaila reached into the drawer of her bedside cabinet and pulled out a small box containing a silver ring – Matt's birthday present. The inscription engraved on the inside of the ring simply read, "My love forever". The box fell from Vaila's hand as a fresh wave of tears overcame her.

*

Letters simply littered the bed closest to the door of the 7th Year boys' dormitory. Some were long, lengthy epics, others simply scribbled notes, but all contained the same handwriting and the same message. The blue ribbon that had tied the letters together now lay discarded on the bed as Matt leafed through them, occasionally pulling one out and reading it.

Vaila was always writing to him. Over the holidays when they were apart, in the evenings when Matt was doing his duties as Head Boy and Vaila was stuck in the Common Room, and even in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep. Some arrived by owl post, some were tucked inside one of his textbooks or appeared surreptitiously in his bag. Each one made him feel special, wanted, loved.

But he didn't feel loved now. He felt stupid, pathetic, ashamed. How could he have lost his temper like that? His temper, which was usually used to protect Vaila, had been used against her. Sitting up at the end of his bed, Matt hit his head backwards against the wall in frustration. If, through his one moment of stupidity he'd lost her forever, he'd never forgive himself. He might as well hand himself over to Voldemort now and be done with it – that would be less painful that living without Vaila. And she probably wouldn't care if the dark lord finished him off – one less thing for her to worry about. One less heartache.

The dormitory door banged open and the other boys charged in. "Hey, Indreve!" one shouted. "Where'd you get to this evening?"

"Yeah," called another. "You missed a great party."

"You alright Indreve?"

Finally, one of them had noticed. One of them had stopped being so wrapped up in himself and actually noticed what someone else was feeling. Shame he couldn't have managed that earlier, then he might not have lost Vaila.

Not that having someone else notice mattered of course; he would sooner discuss affairs of the heart with Peeves.

He quickly muttered, "Detergeo," and the letters swept themselves back into the bundle. He got up from the bed and walked to the door without a word or a backwards glance. He walked down the spiral staircase into the Common Room where he sat watching the last embers of the fire die before his eyes.

A light footstep on the stairs from the girls' dormitories made him look up. Vaila appeared in the doorway, her eyes fixed on him. He longed to stand up, to go to her, to embrace her and tell her that everything was alright, but he couldn't bring himself to. Despite his feelings for her, his pride was still severely bruised and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Vaila held his gaze for a few more seconds, obviously hurt by the lack of emotion he showed, before turning and walking back up the stairs without another word.