Bella was dismissed from the hospital wing the following morning and be couldn't be happier knowing she would be sleeping in her own bed that night. Bella was walking slowly through the corridors, her breathing still painful, thankful the rest of the castle were in lessons and she wasn't being jostled around the corridor. She noticed three older boys up ahead and she smiled when she saw the goofy grin that only belonged to Cedric Diggory.
"God, Tiny! I've been worried about you!" He commented when she reached them.
"Oh, hi Cedric." She smiled.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Are you?"
"I'm okay. I'm glad you're alright."
"That was some job Lockhart done." One of his friends said with a low whistle.
"I know, I nearly died."
Cedric gasped as his friend spoke again: "What happened?"
"Lockhart tried to heal Harry's arm, not that he would've done he's useless, and I leaned over him to protect him. Whatever spell Lockhart used made my bones vanish and I stopped breathing. Technically I was dead but Madam Pomfrey sorted me out."
Cedric and his friends all looked at her as if she and grown another head and she glanced around them uneasily.
"What?"
"You've just said that you died and were brought back to life and you didn't bat an eyelid." His other friend said.
"Well I'm here now, aren't I? It's really not that big of a deal." Bella said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"You're crazy tiny, you know that?" Cedric chuckled as he ruffled her hair.
She shoved his hand away with a grin as he continued to chuckle.
"I'm sure Fred and George will find a way to pay him back." Cedric's friend laughed.
"Oh I'm sure they will." Bella grinned.
"How come you're not in class?" She asked.
"Free period." His other friend answered.
"Well, I'll see you boys later." Bella smiled as she walked backwards away from the trio and up the staircase to Gryffindor Tower.
She said the password and the portrait swung open to reveal the common room empty. Or so she thought until she heard quiet sobs coming from the sofa. Bella walked quietly over and realised the crying was coming from Ginny.
"Oh Gin, what's wrong?"
Bella pulled Ginny's shaking frame into her arms and ran her hand through her hair as her tears soaked through Bella's jumper.
"C-Colin is my f-friend!" She wailed.
"It's okay Gin, Professor Dumbledore will fix it."
Ginny continued to sob while Bella held her, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words to her. Ginny's sobs turned to hiccups and she wiped at her tear-stained face.
"I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit."
Bella smiled as Ginny left the common room for her dorm. The clock on the wall twelve o'clock and Bella realised lunch would just be starting. She made her way up the stairs and dressed as quickly as her fragile body would let her, throwing the books she would need for her afternoon classes into her bag and taking the stairs back down to the common room. She took the quickest route she knew and walked as briskly as she could while still being careful of her recovering lungs. After what felt like an age she reached the Entrance Hall and found it empty, the chatter from the Great Hall reaching her ears. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves and took the last remaining steps to the ground floor and stepped into the Great Hall. All eyes turned to her and she felt heat rising to her cheeks as she walked down the length of the Gryffindor table to reach her friends. Ron enveloped her in a hug as soon as she reached him and she winced as he squeezed her.
"Sorry." He said as he pulled back quickly from her.
"It's okay." She smiled.
She lowered herself slowly to the bench between Ron and Seamus and smiled around at her friends.
"I assume you all know about Colin?" She asked, receiving nods in return.
"Well, Ginny has skipped all her classes today and I found her sobbing on the sofa in the common room." Bella said to Ron.
"Is she okay?" He asked.
"She's okay now, she's lying down."
Ron sighed as he piled his plate with food, chomping into a sausage with less enthusiasm than usual.
"How are you feeling?" Seamus asked her.
"I'm okay, still a bit sore but okay." She sighed.
She felt eyes on her and turned towards the Slytherin table to find Draco looking in her direction. His eyes widened when he locked eyes with her and he turned away, a pink tinge evident on his cheeks even from her distance away. Bella thought it strange but put it out of her head as she tried to eat something. She picked at her small plate of food and tried to ignore the concerned looks from those around her.
Lunch ended not long after and the second year Gryffindor's headed off for their afternoon classes and to Bella's dismay she realised it was double defense followed by potions.
"Can I talk to you quickly?" Harry asked from her side.
"Sure."
Bella pulled back from the group to walk beside a nervous looking Harry.
"Are you okay?" She asked gently.
"You're asking me if I'm okay? I should be asking you if you're okay." He replied.
"Why? I'm fine." Bella stated.
"It was my fault that you nearly died. I'm so sorry." Harry looked down at his hands as he spoke.
Bella stopped and took Harry's hand in hers.
"Harry Potter you look at me."
Harry raised his eyes to hers and she noticed the faint tears and the look of sadness in his eyes.
"I don't blame you. You didn't do anything wrong. I did what I did to protect you, that's what friends are for." Bella squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture.
"It should of been me." He sighed.
"Now don't you be talking like that." Bella replied with a voice scarily like Mrs Weasley.
The hand that wasn't holding Harry's was pressed firmly against her hip and Harry couldn't help but chuckle at how similar she was to her mother in that moment.
"There's that smile." Bella teased as she linked her arm through Harry's and began to pull him further down the corridor to where the rest of the second years were waiting.
"Come on, let's go and see what Fred and George have done to poor Professor Lockhart."
