The week went by more or less in the same pattern. I woke up, tried talking to my mother, and spent the rest of the time in my room. My mother did the same. I don't think she left her room for more than ten minutes since we left the Burrow. I felt bad for her. I really did. But she liked taking her feelings out on the world, and that wasn't so wonderful. Especially when I was forced to deal with her all the time.

So by the time Friday rolled around, I was more than willing to leave the house. Hayden called me, and asked me if I wanted to go down to Diagon Alley. I figured I had nothing better to do. What was I going to say? It wasn't like I would rather listen to my mother's incessant crying instead. I accepted his invitation whole heartedly.

Getting ready was a bit of an issue, though. See, I'm not one of those girls who dresses up a lot. I usually wear a pair of baggy jeans and an old tee-shirt. I rarely ever care about my hair. Today was different. Hayden had asked me to go somewhere with him. I couldn't go out looking like a complete slob. And what if he meant it as a date? Sure, I don't like Hayden like that, but how was I supposed to know what he meant? Boys just confused me.

I rummaged through my closet, trying to find something decent to wear. It was a harder task than it seemed, trust me. I settled on a pair of black pants, and a white shirt. The outfit was plain and simple, but had a bit of elegance to it. Ha. Rory and elegance just doesn't seem to fit, now does it? I am the exact opposite of elegant.

All I had to do was wait for Hayden to come and floo my house. The whole time I waited, I sat in front of the mirror, fixing my hair. Honestly, I really don't know why I cared what I looked like. It was just Hayden! We were only friends! Why was I acting like a preteen girl who was trying to look good to impress their crush? It didn't make sense. There was no way I loved Hayden, because love wasn't real.

Hearing a loud bang in the living room, I instantly moved away from the mirror, and ran down the stairs. There was Hayden. Except he didn't look very dressed up. Somewhere inside of me, I felt disappointed. I know I shouldn't have, but I did. He obviously didn't think of this trip to Diagon Alley as a date. Had I really expected him to? I mean, we've been best friends for seven years. Clearly I wasn't thinking properly when I thought that this was more than a friendly get together.

"Um, you look… dressed up." He said to me, instantly pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Well, yeah. I don't want to look ugly now do I?" I asked him, sending him a glare. That was probably the worst comment I ever came up with, but I didn't really care.

"Right…" His reply was soft and barely audible. I figured he had a lot of experience dealing with women. Living with Cho was enough to make anyone crazy. Poor Hayden had three younger sisters to deal with too. So clearly he knew what to say and what not to say. Although, if you ask me, he was clueless half of the time.

"Let's just go." I stated, frustrated, pulling his arm into the fireplace. I took floo powder, said 'Diagon Alley', and waited for Hayden to follow me.

He came tumbling out of the fireplace just after I did, an irritated expression on his face.

"You really should try and pass you Apparation test. It would be a lot easier to go places with you."

I just rolled my eyes, and watched as he brushed off some dirt from his pants.

"It wasn't my fault that the guy doing it hated me. I did nothing to him."

Hayden smirked at me, and nudged my arm gently.

"Alright, where to, Rory?"

"Bookstore?" I asked with a pout. He knew that was my favorite place in Diagon Alley. In fact, I'd spend a whole day in there if someone let me. Usually someone had to pull me out of there. I was a bookworm, but I couldn't help it. Blame it on my mother!

"Fine." Hayden gave up, a defeated look on his face, and linked his arm with mine. For some reason the small gesture created butterflies in my stomach. Feeling his arm against mine made me uncomfortable but happy at the same time.

As soon as we reached the bookstore, I grinned, and raced inside of it. Hayden followed me, but at a bit of a slower pace. He really wanted to get to the window display of the brooms. Quidditch was more his style. With parents like Cho and Oliver, how couldn't he grow up to love the sport?

"If you want you can go somewhere else. We'll meet up at the Leaky Cauldron." I suggested, almost hoping he would take me up on that offer. For some reason I liked to be alone when I shopped for books. It was much more personal, and I thought that was how shopping for books should be done. See, if you just pick up any random book from the shelf, then you won't know if you will enjoy it or not. Why waste your money on a book you'll hate to read? That would be pointless and quite stupid. The key to it was time. You had to have time to read the first few chapters of a book. Then, based on what you read, you would be able to tell if the book would be a keeper, or a complete waste of galleons.

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying with you."

"I'm positive." I think I sounded a bit more eager than I had meant because Hayden gave me a suspicious look before walking out of the store.

Now I was finally alone to do some quality book shopping. If I had my way, every single day I'd come to the bookstore and read books. Of course, if I did that the owner would probably catch on and make me pay per hour or something. There was something about bookstores that made me happy. Maybe it was the smell of the new books, or the sea of shelves you could get lost in. I don't really know, but whenever I was in a bookstore, or a library for that matter, I was content.

With a smile on my face, I looked at the books on one shelf, eyeing each carefully. I finally decided on one. It was a classic. I'd probably already read it, but reading a book twice never hurt. So, with the book in hand, I walked over to the wooden bench that sat by the picture window. There wasn't anyone on the bench, so it was a perfect chance to grab it and occupy it. I did just that. I sat down, swung my legs over, and buried my nose in my book. I hated when people would ask to sit down next to you while you were in the middle of reading. It was clearly a distraction. People were so rude sometimes!

After the second chapter, I knew I wanted the book. It was too good to pass up. I was about to go onto the third chapter, when something hit me, and the book flew to the floor. I was about to pick it up, when I saw a black boot step on it, and a cold, shrill laugh. So much for my wonderful bookstore trip.

"Why, Potter, fancy seeing you here!" Damnit. I would recognize that sharp voice from anywhere. It was one I learned to despise over my previous six years at Hogwarts. The voice was one I dreaded and one I hoped I would never hear.

"You a stalker now, Malfoy?" I asked sharply, raising my emerald eyes to his steely gray ones. Yes, Donovan Malfoy. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson's only son. Apparently Pansy got pregnant with Donovan here at the beginning of the war. Draco thought he was going to get killed, so he had to have a heir. And who better to have a baby with than Pansy the cow? She was always willing to open her legs. Unfortunately, Draco didn't die. Instead, he got thrown into jail for a few years. That was basically it, since he hadn't technically killed anyone.

"Don't flatter yourself." Malfoy said, smirking at me. I hated him. No, it was way more than hate. The way he talked was truly disgusting. If you thought I'm bad, then obviously you don't know Donovan. We're in the same year at Hogwarts, so I've gotten to know him way more than I wanted to.

"Well Malfoy, the way you're staring at me kind of makes me think otherwise." I stated with a glare. I made a move to get up, but he put a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to stay seated.

"My, my, Potter, aren't we fiesty today?"

"Shove it." With ease I pulled away from his shoulder, and started walking away. I heard his two cronies snicker behind a shelf. They weren't even worth my time.

"Oh, Potter?"

"What!" I flung around, my eyes narrowed, and my fists clenched. It was then that I saw the book that I had been reading, placed neatly in his hands.

"Forgetting something? You know, it isn't very nice to drop things and leave them on the floor. I'm sure the shopkeeper wouldn't appreciate that."

Letting out a small sigh of frustration, I grabbed the book out of his hand, and turned back around. This time he grabbed my arm with his hand.

"Let go of me." I stated stiffly, struggling in his grasp slightly.

Without another word, Malfoy dropped my hand, and looked down at the ground. For a split second I thought I recognized a blush gracing his pointy features. I had to have been wrong though. Malfoys just don't blush. And why would he ever blush over something I said?

"Thank you." I spat, venom dripping off of every word. I walked over to the shelf, and deposited the book back to where I had found it. It wasn't worth buying. Not if I had to stay in a store with Malfoy to purchase it.

I shot one last glare in Malfoy's direction, before leaving. I walked over to the window display, and saw Hayden fawning over a Nimbus 2500. Really it was pathetic how in love boys fell with their broomsticks. Half of the boys at Hogwarts called their broom their 'baby'. It was disgusting and quite repulsive.

Hayden saw me, and smiled, before turning his attention back to the broom. It wasn't like the broom was going to get up and start doing tricks! What was so amazing about it? Seeing the crowd gathered around the display only made my frustration grow.

"Can we just go?" I asked softly, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Hayden looked over at me and nodded. I think he sensed something was wrong, so he stayed quiet for a little while, as we walked down the road. We passed numerous stores, all bustling with customers. The sound of them made up for the silence between Hayden and I.

"What happened?" He asked finally. I suppose the silence and his curiosity became unbearable.

"Nothing." It came out more as a whisper than an actual answer.

Hayden just sighed, and put an arm around my shoulder. I felt him squeeze my shoulder gently, and I gave him a small smile.

"I know a place that will cheer you up." He stated with one of his mischievous smiles. When he got that look, it scared me. I raised an eyebrow skeptically, and he led me down the road a ways.

It took me until he stopped in front of a huge shop to see where he had taken me. Of course Hayden would think of bringing me to Fred and George's store. I rolled my eyes playfully, and laughed.

"Brilliant idea." I teased, and followed him inside. Personally, this was my favorite joke store of theirs. They had two others; one in Hogsmeade and one in Scotland. However, they were usually at the one in Diagon Alley. It was where they first started, after all, so it held sentimental value.

I noticed Hayden immediately walk over to the fake wands section, but I didn't follow him. Fake wands weren't for me. I wasn't really into the whole prank thing anymore. I could insult someone a lot better without using pranks at all. Instead I found myself walking over to the Pygmy Puffs. I loved them. My mother, however, didn't. But if she wasn't with me, she wouldn't be able to tell me I couldn't buy one. Childish, I know, but still.

As I was reaching my hand into the cage to get a pink one, I heard a familiar voice. It sounded oddly like my father's. Curiosity got the best of me, and I instantly forgot about the Pygmy Puffs. I followed the sound of the voice, right up until the back room. The door was shut tight, but I could tell that my father was talking to Fred. I know eavesdropping is bad, but I had to do it.

Quietly, I crouched down and put my ear against the door. I could make out their voices perfectly.

"So that's why you did it?"

"Yeah. I mean, Ginny's a great girl. This just complicated things."

"Harry…" Fred paused, and I could hear him sigh. "If you don't love my sister then don't marry her."

"I do love her. I don't want to make the same mistake I made seventeen years ago."

"I realize that. But if you're only marrying her because she's pregnant, then you'll just end up hurting her more than you're helping her."

"I need to do this. If she's going to have a baby, I want to be in its life. This time I want to do things right."

"WHAT!" The scream came out of my mouth before I realized what I was doing. Pregnant? Baby? Ginny! The words I heard were swimming in my head. This just couldn't be happening. I was only joking with what I said to Ginny at the Burrow. Harry was a pig. A gross, disgusting pig.

It was then that the door swung open to reveal a surprised looking Fred, and a pale looking Harry.

"Rory…" Fred attempted to say something. I cut him off though. Without even realizing it, I was crying. The last time I cried was when I fell off a broom when I was five.

"Let me…"

"No." I stated in a broken voice. Then I ran away. I didn't want to look at my father. I didn't even want to be in the same country as him. I just had to get out of that store. Without telling Hayden where I was going, I left, and walked straight into Knockturn Alley…

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