Throughout the remainder of their time in Hogsmeade, Rook noticed several of their classmates pointing at them, whispering and giggling. Stefan was not remotely embarrassed by this, and none of it stole his focus from Rook.

They spent the day walking hand-and-hand from shop to shop, talking, enjoying the scenery and one another's company. When they finally returned to the Castle at dusk, they made their way to the empty art classroom, where they'd shared their first kiss, and Stefan presented her with a final gift.

"Lamiaceous," he spoke, conjuring a bouquet which he then handed to an astonished Rook.

"Stefan…" she said, "that's a pretty advanced conjuration, isn't it?"

Stefan shrugged modestly. "It's nothing."

"It's rosemary and lavender," Rook spoke softly, admiring the aromatic arrangement.

Stefan smiled. "I thought you might like that."

"So are we waiting for Lavender to join us, or…?" Rook asked with a grin.

Stefan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Uh, never mind," she said, still smiling a little. "I was just being silly. Sorry."

Stefan suddenly looked very serious as he stepped closer to Rook. "There's no girl in this school as beautiful as you, Rosemary."

Rook stepped back instinctively. Stefan caught her by the waist, pulling her closer to him. "Uh…" Rook muttered inarticulately, taken aback by Stefan's growing intensity. "Um… Th-thank you…"

Stefan kissed her deeply, holding her closer still. Though somewhat stunned by the swift escalation of things, Rook found herself reciprocating with equal fervor, electrified by his passionate instigation.

A few seconds of this had passed when Rook felt the fingertips of Stefan's hand touching the skin of her torso where her sweater had ridden up. She expected his fingers to be cold from the chill outside, but Rook felt warmth travel through her from the point where he touched her. Rook clutched the fabric of Stefan's shirt, bracing herself against him as her heart raced faster still.

Then both his hands started moving up her shirt. Before even thinking about it, Rook pulled away in surprise. Stefan's grasp was firm, however, and kept her from going far.

"I want you, Rosemary," Stefan spoke in a husky voice, pulling her back toward him, but Rook's lips didn't meet his. Stefan lowered his hands slowly. "Rosey… what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just… this is too…" Rook looked away awkwardly. "I don't know if I'm—"

"Rosey…" Stefan spoke, stroking her hair gently. "You're nervous?"

Rook nodded, now biting her thumbnail anxiously.

"It's all right," he whispered, leaning in close, still running his fingers through her hair. "It's all right, Rosey. I promise it'll be perfect…"

Before she could answer, he was kissing her again. She pushed away again. "Stefan, wait—"

"What's the matter?" Stefan said, sounding more exasperated this time. "Don't you want me?"

"Stefan, I can't—"

"I don't believe this," Stefan spoke sourly as he released her. "It's Weasley again, isn't it?"

Rook was unable to reply immediately, taken aback by Stefan's words. She hadn't thought of George once throughout their date, but she wasn't sure Stefan would believe her if she told him this. "It's not him, I just… It's me, Stefan. I just don't know if I'm… you know, ready…" She spoke with difficulty, feeling infantile.

"Look, Rosemary," Stefan spoke deliberately, with the air of someone talking to slow child, "the sweet and innocent thing was cute before, but I'm your boyfriend. You don't need to be so cautious about everything. It's me. I love you."

"I know," Rook said, a panicky feeling starting to well up inside her as she struggled to hold back tears. "I love you too, I just can't—"

"'Can't,'" Stefan repeated, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I know I'm your tutor, but I never thought I'd have to teach you the difference between 'can't' and 'won't.' Just admit it, Rosey; you still fancy Weasley! I bet if it were him, you'd already be—!"

"Stefan!" Rook cut him off, appalled, "It's not about him at all!"

"Right," he said shortly. "Right. It's just that I thought I made today perfect, but apparently it's not enough. Apparently I'm not enough."

With this, Stefan strode from the classroom, slamming the door behind him as he left. Once he was gone for several moments, Rook realized she was trembling. Vaguely, she realized she was still holding the rosemary bouquet in her left hand. In a daze, she found the nearest chair and sank into it before proceeding to stare blankly at the door through which Stefan had just left, clutching the bouquet anxiously.

She felt horrible. She knew it wasn't exactly fair of him to react the way he did, but he had gone to so much trouble to make everything special, and wasn't it her fault that he couldn't trust her word when it came to her feelings toward George?

But she had never been in love before! Wasn't this just proof that she wasn't yet equipped to properly deal with relationship hurdles? How could she make another leap forward in her relationship with Stefan when she had no confidence in her ability to maintain their relationship?

Rook blinked and the tears that had been stinging her eyes finally fell onto the flowers in her lap. Maybe she was just stupid. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and had stood to leave when another student stormed in through the same door Stefan had stormed out of. For a split second, Rook thought it might be Stefan, but it was not; it was Madeline, and she had tears in her eyes as well. She stopped short at the sight of Rook, her mouth slightly open in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" they asked one another in unison.

"I-I'm…" Rook started. "Wait… Are you okay?"

At this, Madeline hurriedly swiped at her face with the sleeve of her robe before answering dismissively, "Fine. It's nothing, really… What about you? You look like you've been—"

"Oh, uh!" Rook sputtered. "Um… Me too. It's nothing."

Madeline crossed her arms, considering Rook with distinct skepticism. "Tell you what," she said at last. "If you tell me why you're upset… I'll tell you why I am."

To Rook's surprise, she felt an immediate sense of gratitude. She crossed back over to the chair she'd just left and Madeline took the one beside her, peering at her worriedly.

"So what is it?" Madeline prodded, eyeing the bouquet still in Rook's hand. "Some kind of love triangle dramatics?"

"No," Rook groaned miserably. "But that's what Stefan thinks. He did something really sweet for me—"

"Oh, I heard that actually," Madeline interrupted. "That lovey-dovey W.W.N. broadcast earlier? It was a bit twee, but he pulled it off all right."

Rook smiled weakly. "It was romantic, and I really wasn't expecting it. No one's ever liked me so much, and I… I really like him too, I do."

Madeline shrugged. "You don't need to convince me."

Rook hung her head. "It's just… he was just here, and we… Well, he wanted to… to…"

"Ah," Madeline said with and knowing look. "Right. Naturally."

Rook began chewing on her pinky fingernail. "But-but I've never done… that…"

"Oh…"

Rook didn't look at Madeline. She seemed able to piece together just where things had gone south without Rook having to elaborate further.

"Did he get all tetchy, then?" she asked.

"He… he thinks it's because I like someone else."

"And it's not?"

"No," Rook insisted impatiently. "He's the only one I'd even consider…" she trailed off, feeling herself blush. "I'm just…"

"You're not ready," Madeline finished for her. "For fuck's sake, you can't even say it out loud."

"Sorry," Rook mumbled embarrassedly.

"Don't be," said Madeline sympathetically. "I just mean, of course you're not ready! That's not so hard to understand."

"I feel like such a baby," Rook admitted, tearing up once more.

"I think it's cute," Madeline said bracingly.

Rook sniffled. "Yeah, he did too, apparently… up until tonight."

"Look…" Madeline went on, casting around for words of comfort, "boys are just sensitive about this sort of thing. Especially if your best mates are male. They get really insecure, you know?"

"How do I convince him that I only like him without… you know…?" Rook asked desperately.

Madeline pondered this. "Hmm… I dunno… Maybe you could do other stuff for him?" she brainstormed. "Like, not full-on shagging, but maybe something more than just snogging? It's just a thought!" Madeline added hurriedly upon seeing the apprehensive look on Rook's face. She sighed. "I wanna say you should just tell him to wait. I mean, if he can't do that, maybe he's just not worth the trouble."

Rook stared at the lavender blossoms in her hand. Madeline was right, but she couldn't just give up on her relationship with Stefan after everything that had happened between them. She had never been in love before. No one had ever been in love with her! Didn't she owe it to them both to try a bit harder?

"What happened to you, though?" Rook asked, changing the subject. "Are the Slytherins giving you a hard time, or…?"

Madeline laughed humorlessly. "I wish it was just them. At least I know how to handle the Slytherins. No… it's Robert," she admitted. "It's… it's kind of a long, boring story."

Rook shrugged. "Apparently my evening's free now."

Madeline smiled weakly. "Well… I guess it started on Christmas," she began with the air of someone trying to sort out a lot of information in their head. "He got really upset when we had a row on Christmas day and ended up not spending the day together."

"He was here over Christmas?" Rook asked with surprise. "I never even saw him."

"He was. Actually, he was the one who convinced me to stay here for the holiday. Before last year I've never missed a Christmas with my family. You've met my parents; it's not like they're worth turning up for, but my sister Trif… she loves Christmas and I love her. I don't much like leaving her to deal with our parents on her own, you know?"

Rook wasn't sure what all this had to do with Robert and Madeline clashing today, but she wasn't about to hurry her along; she couldn't help wanting to learn more about Madeline, even if they weren't technically friends.

"Robert also knows how bad my parents are, of course," Madeline continued. "And I've told him before that I don't mind it, but I guess he's always felt a bit sorry for me and my situation at home, so that's part of why he suggested I didn't go home for Christmas and suggested I let Trif fend for herself for once. And… well, he also said he thought it'd be special, us spending Christmas together…" Madeline blushed a bit at this, and Rook was taken off-guard by it. She just never seemed like the bashful type.

"So Christmas day came 'round," said Madeline, "and, at that point, I had mentioned a few times over the holiday that I missed my sister, and I mentioned a friend of mine once too… a muggle neighbor of ours who I'd always been mates with, Christopher… and when I said I wished I could have seen Trif's reaction to the gift I'd gotten her, Robert got really angry out of the blue. He said I'd done nothing but complain the entire break and that I was acting like I hated been stuck with him. Then he said that I wasn't the only one who missed my family, that he'd missed out on being with his dad because he wanted to have a romantic Christmas with me… Then, out of nowhere, he brought Christopher into it, saying that he didn't even believe I missed my sister that much, and that I was just disappointed that I wouldn't get to be with my 'muggle boyfriend.'"

Rook stared, her expression one of concern. "He really said all that…? He seemed so nice both times I met him."

"He is nice," Madeline assured her hurriedly. "He is, it's just… His last girlfriend cheated on him over the summer holiday a while back and… actually, he and I have complicated history as well, so I don't blame him for having trust issues. I mean, I get really insecure too…"

Rook had begun fiddling with her hair nervously, unsure what to say. She was clearly no expert on relationships, and even with her extremely limited scope of knowledge about Madeline, Rook had deduced that the Slytherin girl did not exactly boast a benign temperament. Still… it made her uncomfortable to think that Madeline felt herself deserving of such baseless accusations. "Uh… So, do you and Christopher have some sort of history that would make him think you two were…?" Rook guessed uncertainly, trying to understand Robert's point of view a bit better.

Madeline laughed. "No, no—never," she answered easily. "He's been our neighbor since we were little, and we're the same age, so at first I was just, you know, hanging around him to irritate my parents. But, as luck would have it, we became really good friends. I've known him so long, he's like a brother to me: to my parent's great irritation, mind you."

Rook took a moment to process all this. It still didn't seem fair, from what Madeline told her, that she should be scolded so severely for missing her family. She could only assume there was some nuance she was missing.

"But… what does that all have to do with today?" Rook asked curiously, recalling the look on Madeline's face when she'd first walked into the art room.

"That…" she said, a dark looked passing over her face as she spoke. "Well… After we fought on Christmas day, he stormed off and I didn't see him for Christmas dinner or afterward. We finally had a chance to talk and make up the next day, but Christmas ended up being such a disaster, so a bit after term started he said it was important to him that our first Valentine's Day as a couple go well.

"I don't know if you've guessed, but I've never been the girly, romantic type, but… I was actually looking forward to today. I had a whole plan, a good one, and I couldn't wait to surprise him. But then…

"He got distant for a bit, then I heard he was spending a lot of time with his ex—the one I mentioned before, remember?" Madeline paused, a stony look on her face. "Spending time with her is one thing, but when I saw her in Transfiguration, she said that she thought I only act like I'm bi because I want attention."

"What?" Rook asked, confused.

Madeline smiled bitterly. "The problem is… Robert's the only person I ever told about being bi. I'm only telling you because there's really no point hiding it anymore, now that she's gone and told everyone."

"What?" Rook repeated, shocked. "So he… he told her—?"

"He swears he didn't," said Madeline. "He reckons she just figured it out. Still, I thought for sure he had." Madeline looked somewhat ashamed. "I was furious."

"Understandably," Rook spoke sympathetically. "I mean, if he's the only person you told, of course you'd think it was him."

"Well, he thought I was being paranoid. Said I didn't know him as well as he thought, if I really thought he would ever do something like that. Eventually he said he needed space… to think about our relationship. That was Friday.

"It was horrible. All I kept thinking was that he would end up spending today with his ex, or that he'd just realize he's better off without me. What could I do, though? I thought if I was clingy or pushy, he'd hate me even more; so I didn't even go to Hogsmeade today. I just studied, if you can believe it. But when I saw Robert just now, he… he was upset that I didn't follow through on our plans."

"You're joking!"

"I wish I was. He showed up in the library to tell me that he thought our relationship meant more to me, and that he'd expected me to fight for it." Madeline buried her face in her hands. "Of course I pointed out that he was the one who said he wanted space, but he said he thought I'd at least try to make up for going off on him. It all ended with him saying he might as well be with Fawcett because because at least he can tell that she cares about him."

Rook couldn't see her face, but she could tell by the way her voice was shaking that Madeline was on the verge of crying. Rook was, once again, at a loss for words. To her, Robert just sounded like a jerk, but Madeline clearly loved him. Rook knew they had been friends since Madeline's first year, according to what she'd told Rook on the train. Rook had never, in her entire life, had a friendship like that, and she had no idea how she'd feel were she in Madeline's position.

"I don't think it's fair for him to react that way," Rook said at last. "I mean, it's obvious enough that you care about him. Doesn't respecting his wishes show that you care about giving him what he needs? How are you supposed to know that he wanted you carry on with the Valentine's plans? You can't read his mind."

"I don't know…" Madeline spoke miserably. "Sometimes I expect him to know things without me having to tell him."

"Even so, there's a difference between expecting someone know something based on common sense or experience and expecting someone to know that you mean the exact opposite of what you say," Rook argued a bit more fervently this time. "And to get angry when you don't… it's too much."

Madeline's expression was inscrutable, and she said nothing for several moments, then, "I honestly don't know whether I'm relieved or bothered to hear you say that."

Rook began to feel panicky. It seemed as though her assurances only made Madeline more distressed than before.

"Maybe... Maybe he'll come around?" Rook spoke feebly. "I mean, once he cools off, he'll realize he was in the wrong, and then you guys can… can work it out."

"Don't sound too sure of yourself, do you?" said Madeline with a small smile, harkening back to their first meeting.

"If he doesn't, you'll find someone better," Rook spoke, boldly switching tactics. "You deserve better."

Madeline's smile vanished. "Do I?" she asked. "I know I act like I'm better than everyone else. I say things I shouldn't, I goad people, don't I? And then I act like I don't know why no really likes me."

"I like you!" Rook protested emphatically.

"You hardly know me!" Madeline snapped bitingly. "It's not like we're friends."

Rook wilted. It was clear Madeline wasn't prepared to take Rook at her word. "You're right," she said quietly. "We're not friends, and I still like you." Rook stood to leave before she managed to say anything else to worsen the situation.

"Wait—!" Madeline called desperately after her. Rook looked back at her, surprised. "I'm sorry," she said, seeming to struggle with her words. "I like you too, you know. And… if I'm allowed to say as much… I think you deserve better as well."