A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. Although I do own most of the characters in this story. I'll probably do two or three more chapter after this one. Maybe more. Review please!
Mark and Terry became extremely worried when Haley didn't show up for dinner that night in the Great Hall. "Where the hell is Haley?" Mark said.
"Probably snogging her boyfriend," Terry said bitterly.
"There's just one flaw in that theory. Kyle is at the Slytherin table," Mark pointed out. Terry turned and sure enough, Kyle was sitting at the Slytherin table, chatting with Lindsay Hones.
"Then where is Haley?" Terry said. Mark shrugged. They waited another half hour for Haley to appear before Terry started to panic. He got up from the table abruptly. "I'm going to look for her," he said and exited the Great Hall. Mark was about to get up and follow, before he realized that Terry had to do this himself. He continued eating his shepherd's pie.
Terry felt the cool, brisk fall air the minute he stepped outside. He figured that if Kyle and Haley had had a fight, she would come outside. That's what she did when she was upset. He suddenly remembered that her favorite spot was the huge oak tree that was near the lake. He was about thirty feet away when he heard someone sobbing. He broke into a run. He finally reached the tree and found Haley leaning against it, her body racking with sobs. He slumped against the tree next to her. He put his arm around her in a comforting gesture.
"Shhh. It's going to be okay, Hales," Terry said softly. She leaned against him heavily. "What happened?" he asked gently.
When she had stopped crying enough to speak, she said, "I dumped him."
"Then why are you crying? He should be," Terry told her.
"Because I thought he really liked me! All he wanted to do was snog," she sobbed onto his shoulder.
"Why'd you dump him? Other than that?" Terry asked.
"Because. All week he's been insulting you and Mark and other Gryffindor's even though I've asked him not to numerous times. He called you a fat ass and that was it. I couldn't date someone who wouldn't accept my friends," Haley sobbed.
"And he didn't know me," she continued. They sat there in the cool air for half an hour, until Haley finally stopped sobbing.
"Come on," Terry said, offering her a hand, "let's go to the Gryffindor common room." He helped her up and they walked back up to the Gryffindor common room. They found Mark almost immediately.
"What happened?" he asked Haley gently. She shook her head, indicating that she'd tell him later. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come talk to me anytime, Hales," Mark said. She flashed him a watery grin. They chatted about Quidditch and classes for a while before Haley decided to head back to her common room. Terry and Mark flashed her encouraging grins as she left. She opened the door to her common room carefully. She crept slowly and quietly to her room.
"Haley? Is that you?" Kyle's voice called from his room. Apparently she didn't creep quietly enough. He emerged from his room. She hastily ran to hers and shut the door. She locked it Muggle-style. He was banging on it.
She hastily cast and Imperturbable Charm on it. "I never want to see you again! I don't love you! I love…," she trailed off. "Terry," she finished. Her heart always seemed to flip when she saw him. When he was comforting her on the grounds, she was miserable, but yet happy. She fell asleep, knowing she had to tell Terry her newfound feelings for him before it was too late.
She woke up that morning and hurried to get in the bathroom before Kyle could bother her again. She took a shower and used a drying spell on her hair. She used some magical hair gel her mom had given her to straighten it: she had inherited her father's unruly hair. She put on some light green eye shadow and brown mascara. She put on some champagne colored lip gloss and threw on a tank top and cropped jeans under her school robe. She looked at herself in the mirror. She ran downstairs to the Great Hall before Kyle could stop her.
She entered the Great Hall and heads turned. Boys followed her with their eyes as she sat down next to Terry. "Hey, Mark. Hey, Terry," she said.
"Hey," Mark said, without looking up from his plate. However, Terry couldn't help but look at her.
"Hey," he said, his voice husky. She grinned broadly at him. She took some pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and sausage and put it on her plate. She ate as quickly as she could. "Terry, could I, uh, talk to you outside?" she asked hopefully. He nodded. "See you, Mark," Haley called behind her as they left.
They sat, leaning against the same oak tree as the day before. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Terry asked. Haley was nervous about telling him, but decided to just spit it out.
"Yesterday, when I went back to my common room, Kyle heard me and tried to talk to me. I shut my door in his face and was yelling at him through the door when I realized something," she said.
"What?" he asked. She looked down at the ground.
"The way I thought I felt about Kyle… is the way I feel about you," she said. She looked at him hopefully. He gaped at her.
She stood up to go. "I'll see you later then," she said. He grabbed her wrist as he snapped out of his reverie. He had been shocked that the girl of his dreams had admitted to liking him. Not the other way around. She looked back at him. He pulled her down so that their noses touched. He pressed his lips against hers. He pulled away after only a few seconds. She sighed and leaned against him happily. "How long?" she asked.
"What?" he said, somewhat startled by her question.
"How long have you liked me?" she asked.
"Since fourth year," he admitted. She looked at him.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah. That's why I stole your diary," he said, laughing slightly at the memory. She laughed, too.
"I remember that. I hexed you, didn't I?" she said.
"Yeah. Only you, Mark, and I knew that I couldn't tell the truth, so I pretty much pissed everyone off," Terry said, laughing.
"There's just one problem," Haley suddenly said worriedly.
"What?" Terry asked.
"How do we get rid of Ky- Malfoy? I mean, he won't stop bothering me unless I make it clear to him that it's over," Haley said.
Terry frowned, trying to think of someway to resolve her issue. He snapped his fingers. "I got it," he said. He whispered in her ear. She giggled and nodded enthusiastically.
