Ava

As September drew to a close, the seventh years found themselves swamped with work. It was reminiscent of fifth year, but marginally worse. Ava felt as if she was being slowly crushed to death under the weight of all the books she had to carry on a daily basis. She found herself becoming increasingly irritable. It wasn't exactly the way she'd imagined her final year at Hogwarts would go.

"They set the first Hogsmeade date," Vanessa said conversationally as she flicked through the newest edition of Witch Weekly. Ava looked up from the Care of Magical Creatures homework that she'd been working on.

"I don't know if I'm going to go." She said after a moment. Vanessa shot her an annoyed looked.

"Why? You love Hogsmeade!"

"What is there to do?" Ava asked as she sketched a hippocampus, a mer-horse.

"There are loads of shops and there's always the Three Broomsticks," Vanessa said. "You love Butterbeer."

"Everyone loves Butterbeer." Ava sighed.

"It's still a month away. I'm sure you'll change your mind." Vanessa flipped the page. "You've been rather moody lately." She added this after a moment, keeping her eyes fixed on the magazine.

"I'm just...overwhelmed." Ava said rather lamely. Vanessa didn't say anything but Ava could see that she wasn't actually reading. "V, what are you going to do when we leave school?"

"For Hogsmeade?"

"No, you ditz, forever." Ava tossed a chocolate frog packet at her.

Vanessa chuckled and bit the head of the frog. She always ate the head first. "Dunno."

"No idea?"

"Well…" Vanessa set down the magazine in her lap. "I quite like the idea of being a writer. I could work for a magazine or the Prophet."

"You could write novels." Ava suggested. "Remember all those short stories you use to write?"

"What do you want to do?"

"You know I want to stick with Herbology."

"Yeah, but what would you actually do? It's not like you could teach at Hogwarts with Sprout here."

Ava had thought about this many times since she'd had the meeting with Sprout before OWLS two years ago. "Well, I don't have to teach. I'd really love to travel and try to discover new plants and herbs. Maybe I could have my own little shop."

"Basically we're both going to be poor for a very long time." Vanessa laughed.

"Pretty much," Ava looked back at her homework, feeling rather unmotivated. "I think I'm going to go for a walk, wanna come?"

"Nah," Vanessa said, curling up in her chair. "I'm rather comfortable."

"I'll see you later."

Ava left the common room and made her way up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. It was pretty quiet for a Sunday. She figured most people were spending the day doing homework. There was a chill to the autumn air, but she felt fine in her jumper. Rather than actually walking the grounds, Ava headed for the greenhouses. There was a rather nice meadow behind them that most people ignored. You had to walk through some bushes to get there, but once you did it was like a new world. There were all sorts of flowers ringing the clearing, and the trees kept it rather secluded. The grass was soft and green and if she laid down on her back, she would have a clear view of the sky, which is exactly what she did. It was a cloudless day and the sky was a brilliant blue. She felt so at ease, running her fingers through the cool blades of grass. She closed her eyes and it was almost as if she could feel the earth breathing with her, enjoying the company.

Of course her peace couldn't last. At the sound of someone approaching Ava sat up and pulled her wand from her pocket. She was beyond surprised when Noelle Zabini stepped into the clearing.

"Hi?" Ava said, watching the other girl. Zabini looked around and surveyed the area.

"Hello." She said finally, looking at Ava who was still on the grass. Zabini closed some of the distance between them, but made sure to leave a good amount. Her expression gave nothing away but Ava noticed her tugging at the sleeve of her robes almost as if she was nervous. Ava wondered if Zabini was aware she was even doing it. "I've come to apologize."

"What for?" Ava frowned.

"For not being friendly I suppose." Zabini said, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Did Nora put you up to this?"

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "No… Sort of. She's been trying to get us to be friends since, well, whenever the two of you became friends. I haven't tried at all and I suppose that makes me a bad friend. So, I'm going to try and be nice to you."

"Okay."

Zabini's face was borderline emotionless and Ava couldn't help but wonder if this was a Slytherin thing. Why did they all try to hide their emotions? They stared at each other in an awkward silence before Ava cleared her throat, "did you want to sit or something?"

"No." Zabini said instantly.

"Alright, well if you want to stay you can...I don't mind." This wasn't really true, but Ava figured it was the nice thing to say.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You haven't got a book or anything with you."

"Oh, I just wanted to be in nature. It helps me think, you know?"

"Not really." Zabini cautiously lowered her body until she was sitting in the same spot she'd been standing-close enough to have a conversation, but far enough that they weren't sitting together. "I'm not much of an outdoors person."

"You don't say."

"I live in a city." Zabini pulled her knees to her chest. "I like the noise."

"You live in London?" Ava guessed.

Zabini shook her head. "Our family home is in a wizarding village outside of Cardiff, but my father works for the International Magical Corporation department so we travel. He's an ambassador. Over the summer we were in New York. We always stay in cities."

Ava found all of this extremely interesting. The most she'd ever traveled was to France to visit family. But she was more interested in Zabini. She'd never known anything about the other girl, she hadn't even noticed she was Welsh until that moment. If she listened closely she could hear the touch of an accent, but it was soft.

"Can I ask you a question?" Zabini's eyes were on her face, watching her carefully. Ava nodded, meeting her gaze. "Does it bother you that your friendship with Nora is based out of guilt?"

Ava blinked and raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't say it is, but I guess it would seem that way to you."

"Why are you friends then?"

It suddenly occurred to Ava that Zabini might have felt insecure about her own friendship with Nora. The two had been friends since before Hogwarts and neither had branched out much. From what Nora had told Ava, it had always just been the two of them. At least, until she and Nora became friends.

"Nora was kind to me when she didn't have to be. It was probably guilt, but she never had to do anything about it. She was there for me." Ava could remember when she woke up in the Hospital Wing after everything that had happened and Nora was sleeping in a wooden chair, waiting for her.

"She's a good person." Zabini said, her voice soft.

"I'm sure she thinks you are too." Ava said.

Zabini's lips twitched. "I suppose you don't?"

"I generally try and assume everyone is a good person until proven otherwise."

"Most people aren't good."

"Everyone is at least a little good, even if they're mostly bad."

Zabini actually smiled at this, "you're an optimist."

Ava's stomach fluttered at Zabini's smile. She ignored it. "I take it you're not?"

"I've learned to expect the worst because that's usually what happens."

"Don't you find that sad?"

"Maybe," Zabini shrugged. "It just seems safe to me."

"Can I ask you something? Now that you're attempting to be friendly?" Zabini nodded at this, though Ava noticed her eyes narrowing. "Last year I was...sort of dating Remus Lupin. You and Snape saw us in the library. Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"Snape said all those horrible things about Lupin-"

"And you. I remember."

"I don't care what he said about me." Ava said dismissively. "Why didn't you do anything? You just stood there while he...you just stood there."

"What would I have done."

"You could have joined in and called me a Mudblood and Lupin a werewolf." Ava said.

Zabini flinched at the word, but Ava continued. "You could have told him to stop."

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"No, but you should." Ava smiled slightly when she noticed Zabini's cheeks tinged with pink.

"Fine." She said, her voice clipped. She got to her feet and straightened her back, as if preparing for a fight. "I didn't like you. When I don't like people I like to see them hurt. It's just how I am."

Ava thought about this and got to her feet as well, and closed the distance between them. Zabini took a step back. "Why didn't you like me? I never did anything to you."

Zabini pursed her lips, her jaw tightening.

"Tell me." Ava urged, taking another step forward. "If you really want to try and be friendly or be my friend or whatever, you have to be able to talk to me, Noelle." Her name felt weird on her tongue, as if it was a word she wasn't meant to say.

"I'm not comfortable discussing this anymore."

"You don't have to be." Ava frowned at her. "Just tell me the truth."

Zabini leveled her gaze, her face hardening. "I'm protective of the people I care about. I'm protective of Nora."

"I wouldn't hurt her. I don't think I even could if I wanted to." Ava shook her head.

"It's not you I'm worried about." Zabini said.

Ava blinked in confusion for a moment, but then she understood. Of course she understood. "You're worried what will happen to her because I'm her friend...because I'm a Muggleborn."

Zabini finally looked away and sucked in her cheeks. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has killed for far less."

"What's he care about a couple of schoolgirls?"

"You don't get it. What he cares about, other do. Many others. Some of those people are at this school."

"It's not like they'd kill her." Ava scoffed.

"Some of them attacked you a couple years ago." Zabini took advantage of their height difference to look down at her. "Did they need to kill you to get their point across?"

It was Ava who took a step back this time. Her throat constricted and her heart began to race.

"That's what I thought," Zabini took a sharp breath. "After they sent you to the Hospital Wing it was Nora who told on them. She took your side over them-people she's known since she was born. She turned them in and if you think they forgot that, you're wrong. It doesn't matter that she's dating Rosier again or that she spends her free time with them."

Ava shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I didn't ask her to do that."

Zabini shrugged. "You asked me to tell you the truth."

Rather than reply, Ava took a deep breath and walked past the Slytherin. At the edge of the clearing Ava paused and looked over her shoulder. Zabini hadn't moved. Despite the desire to flee and forget this conversation had ever happened, Ava spoke.

"You said you didn't like me...past tense."

Zabini turned to look at her and Ava was taken aback at how expressive her face was in that moment. Her eyes were wide and glassy, her face was full of shame or sadness or both. Before she could respond however, Ava turned and headed back to the castle.