Bella was giddy by the time they arrived at Lockhart's classroom. The man in question was nowhere to be seen and the second year Gryffindor and Slytherin students filed into the classroom all chatting animatedly about what had happened at the Quidditch match. The portraits on the wall were all strangely still and silent as they looked everywhere other than where Bella sat in the middle row of the large classroom.

"We will be reading from Holidays with Hags today." Came Lockhart's shaky voice from the back of the classroom.

All eyes turned to him and within seconds the entire classroom erupted in chortles. Fred and George had charmed Lockhart's hair bright pink and his brilliantly white smile was now stained hufflepuff yellow. He locked eyes with Bella and turned his head to the floor, moving swiftly down the classroom and dropping into the chair behind his desk. Bella was now wiping tears from her eyes as she continued to giggle. This didn't end well for her as her giggles turned to coughs. A silence fell over the classroom as Bella continued to cough, gasping for breath. Ron made to stand but Bella put her hand on his chest keeping him in his seat. She took a few deep, raspy breaths and her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Sorry about that." She spoke loudly, her gravely voice echoing off the walls in the silent classroom. "Lungs are still recovering."

Bella looked straight at Lockhart as she spoke and he cowered away from her gaze. She scoffed and settled herself back in her seat again. This was going to be a long double lesson.


Defense had been an enjoyable experience; Lockhart had scampered from the room half way through the first lesson and Bella told everyone who asked what had happened to her on the Quidditch pitch. The same couldn't be said about Potions however. They were tasked to create a swelling solution and Draco could hardly look at her as they worked. Every time she tried to catch his eye he would look solely at the cauldron in front of him and his eyes would not stray.

Bella bent under the desk to retrieve something from her bag when a huge bang rang in her ears from the table above her. She pulled her head out to find Draco covered head to toe in their swelling solution, his features becoming more bloated with every passing second. Bella could only stare in horror as Draco began to grow larger. Snape swept over to their table, the antidote in his hand. He poured the vile down Draco's throat and Draco was panting for breath by the time he was returned to his natural state. Snape reached into the cauldron and removed the charred remains of one of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks. His eyes immediately sought Bella's and she shook her head violently.

"It wasn't her professor." Draco spoke up. "She was under the table at the time."

Bella turned her wide eyes on Draco and he looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze.

"If I ever find out who threw this." Snape growled.

The second half of his statement didn't need to be said as the rest of the class cowered away from his hard gaze. The bell rang signalling the end of the day and Bella slowly put her things back in her bag. She glanced around the classroom for her friends but they had all disappeared, leaving her with Seamus and Dean.

"Did you see the state of him?" Seamus laughed as the trio made their way to Gryffindor tower.

"That was hilarious." Dean agreed.

Bella nodded with an awkward laugh as the pair continued to joke about Draco. She dumped her bag in her dormitory and checked in on Ginny to find her still sleeping, a nervous expression on her face.

Ron and her friends were all absent from dinner that evening and Bella was beginning to worry about them.

"I wonder where they've gotten to." She commented as she, Seamus and Dean traipsed through the portrait hole.

"Not very far." Seamus replied.

She turned to look at Seamus and he pointed ahead of them to the furthest corner of the room. Ron had his back to her but Harry's eyes widened when he spotted her advancing towards them.

"What's going on?" She asked, stopping behind Ron with her hands on his shoulders.

"Er, nothing." Ron stammered, turning his face up to look at her.

"This has to do with the plan doesn't it?" She asked.

The group all shared a nervous glance that confirmed Bella's suspicions.

"We didn't want to tell you because you don't approve." Hermione said gently.

"You're right, I don't approve, but I'm not going to stop you. You'll find out on your own soon enough that I was right." Bella replied.

"How can you be so sure it's not Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Because I just know it's not him, he's not brave enough." She replied.

"And I know it was you who threw the firework in our cauldron." She added.

Harry's eyes widened as he spluttered for a response.

"How did you know it was Harry?" Freya asked.

"It was written all over his face." Bella laughed.

"No it wasn't." He finally spoke.

"Not to everyone else, but I know you Harry." She smiled.

She patted Ron's shoulder and took off up the stairs to her dorm. Since being released from the hospital wing earlier that day she felt drained. She knew she had to relax and she knew she needed it. She took a quick shower, pulled on her favourite pajamas and snuggled under the covers, her book propped against her stomach as she read. Bella was still reading hours later when the other girls in her dorm were all sleeping soundly. Her eyes began to droop and she knew she needed to sleep. She blew out the candle on her bedside table and placed her book beside it as she snuggled down into the duvet.

Despite being extremely tired she found she couldn't fall asleep. Her thoughts were swimming with Draco Malfoy and she couldn't understand why she was so hurt he didn't want to even look at her anymore, especially after he'd stayed with her last night. She reached under her pillow and her hand brushed against the emerald necklace that had been buried under her pillow for months. She grasped it in her hand and held it close to her as tears swam in her eyes, falling onto her pillow. Her body shook with silent sobs as her built up emotions broke free, raining down on her. She tightened her grip on the necklace as she held it close to her heart. Even if he hadn't sent it, she would always associate the beautiful necklace with Draco and she felt like the worst person in the world, she had a boy who bent over backwards for her and yet here she was crying over the boy who personified everything her family despised and more. She fell into a restless sleep that night, that damned necklace clutched in her hand.