It was a little after eleven when Madam Pomfrey told me that I was free to go. My skin maintained a slight blue color and I looked like I was very cold or dead. I was tired and I felt slightly sticky and I wanted nothing more than to scrub my skin pink and go to bed.

I slid my hand up the banister as I walked up stairs with my eyes closed. I felt as though I could easily fall asleep if I could guarantee that I would keep walking and wake up in my bed instead of face down on the stairs.

"Ruby." I heard Susan say but my brain didn't trigger any kind of response.

With my eyes closed I replayed scenes from the day spent in the sun with Severus. After the rain stopped, he and I moved to a new spot with a breathtaking view and shared a picnic lunch. The cool after rain breeze cut the heat.

"Ruby. Ruby. Ruby." Susan repeated my name.

My eyes opened and I looked around slightly disoriented after being pulled from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I turned to look at her, my eyes drooping with sleep. I had decided that the shower would have to wait until the morning and the risk of staining my sheets blue was worth the instant gratification of sleep.

"Do you think we could make a slight detour?" She asked sheepishly.

I slumped in exhaustion at the thought of going anywhere but my room. "Where could you possibly need to go?"

"Gryffindor tower." She said.

My eyes widened in surprise and my tiredness dissipated. "You want to do that now?"

She nodded her head and twisted the ring off of her finger. "I have the confidence right now and I'm afraid that I'll second guess myself if I don't act immediately."

I looked at her with the same pleading in her eyes as before and I agreed to walk with her. "If we get caught I'll be cross with you."

"I see how it is." She said as she turned in the direction of Gryffindor. "Severus is worth being caught for but I'm not."

I ran on tiptoes to catch up to her. "Could you say that any louder? My God."

Slowly my tiredness returned and finally we were standing in front of the snoring portrait of the fat lady that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

"Will you be alright?" I whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping painting.

Susan swallowed hard and nodded her head. I turned my head back once to check on her before hiding in the darkened recess of a nearby doorway. I peaked around ever so slightly, just enough that I could see Susan.

She cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

She looked towards my location before she turned forward and cleared her throat again, louder this time.

I heard a daintily fake yawn. "Yes? What time is it?"

"Uhh…" Susan hesitated. "I need to speak to someone."

"It's too late for students to be out of bed." The portrait of the fat lady said.

"I really need to speak to someone." Susan insisted. "Mark Wizenby."

"Very well." The fat lady said. "Password."

I watched Susan wring her hands. "I don't actually…know the password."

"No password, no entry." The fat lady sniffed.

"But I need to talk to Mark." Susan argued. "If you could just let me in, just this once. I'll never come back again."

"You are interrupting my beauty sleep." The fat lady said. "Now give me the password or leave."

I watched Susan ball her hands into fists. "I'm sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep when it is so clear that you need it so desperately."

I heard a shocked gasp escape from the painting. "How dare you talk to me like that, you insolent child! I don't have to take this."

"No, wait." Susan begged. "Please, don't leave. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

Her shoulders slumped when it was clear the fat lady had no intentions of returning to her own frame. She made like she was going to walk over to me but she stopped at a slight creaking noise.

"I thought I heard people talking out here." A male voice with a strong Scottish accent said. "Isn't it a bit late to be out in the halls? You'll get in trouble."

"I-I need to talk to someone." Susan stammered.

"Just anyone or someone in particular?" The boy asked.

"Mark Wizenby." She answered.

"I think Mark turned in an hour or two ago." He said.

"Please." Susan said. "I really need to talk to him. I know it's late but this is sort of important."

There was silence. "I'll see what I can do. Wait here."

I watched Susan fidget nervously as she waited. She began pacing back and forth the span of the portrait opening until there was another creak.

I saw Mark step out and stop in front of Susan.

"I found him." The Scottish accent said.

"Beat it, Wood." Mark said.

The portrait creaked shut.

"What do you want, Susan?" Mark asked. "I was trying to sleep."

"I…er…I have to tell you something." Susan began. "I've done a lot of thinking and…"

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Mark asked followed by a laugh.

Susan ran her fingers nervously through her hair. "No. But um…"

"Look, Susan." Mark said. "I didn't get out of bed so you could stutter in front of me for an hour."

I heard a light jingling and looked over to see a pair of green eyes shining in the dark near the ground; Mrs. Norris. That cat wasn't going to run back to Filch, not when my friend hadn't had a chance to say what she needed to say. I slowly crept into the darkness towards the glowing eyes. I saw her turn and I made the decision to pounce. I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around the cat and made a loud thud followed by a wailing growl from the feline.

"What was that?" Mark asked.

"Probably Peeves." Susan said.

I pressed my back against the wall as I clung to the cat who was now digging her claws painfully across my forearm. She wriggled hard against my grasp.

"I'm going to go back to bed, Susan." Mark said making a turn for the portrait.

"I can't marry you, Mark." Susan spat out at once.

Mark froze in place and slowly turned back to face her. "What?"

"I can't marry you." Susan said. "I'm sorry."

"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Mark asked.

"No." Susan said. "I don't think so. We aren't married yet."

"Are you really this stupid that you would break up with me?" He asked.

Susan dug her hand in her pocket and held out something small that I couldn't see through the tears welling in my eyes from the searing pain being etched into my arm, I assumed it was the ring.

Mark reached out and took it before he turned to the empty painting but turned around quickly. "You know, you probably saved me from making a big mistake. I don't want to marry a stupid cow anyways."

He turned and I heard the portrait frame slam shut.

I dropped Mrs. Norris to the ground and grasped at my torn and bloody arm. The cat let out a loud hiss before running off.

I ran to Susan still holding my arm.

"We should probably run." I urged. "Mrs. Norris is very angry with me and I don't think we have much time before Filch is sent after us."

"Look at your arm!" Susan gasped.

"Yes." I said, tugging her along. "I have two of them."

"Doesn't that hurt?" She asked, eyeing it as I pulled her down the hall.

"Not as much as the beating Filch would hand out after the way I handled his cat." I said. "I don't know how, but he can understand that cat as clearly as if she were speaking plain English."

Together, we ran through the labyrinth of halls and up countless stairs until we stood in front of the eagle doorknocker outside of the Ravenclaw entry. The riddle was easy enough and we raced inside to find the common room much emptier than it had been when we left for the hospital wing.

Susan sunk into the couch in front of the fireplace. She sat quietly, breathing heavier from our panicked run through the school. I sat next to her and watched her, waiting for her to break her stare into the dying flames.

"What if I've made a mistake?" She asked in a hollow voice.

"I don't think that's possible." I said. "He insulted you before storming off. He's rude."

"Maybe he was only rude because he was really hurt." She suggested.

"That shouldn't matter." I said before I realized Severus had done something similar to Lily even though it was still very clear that he did truly care for her. I felt an invisible hand twist my guts at the thought of him in love with another girl. "Mark has always been rude."

"…I'm going to bed." She said as she stood up from the couch. "Your arm is dripping on the fabric."

I looked down to see a small network of dark dots seeping into the fabric. I stood up and followed Susan up the stairs opting instead for a visit to the bathroom rather than the dorms.

The bathroom was empty and the sound of turning the tap on echoed around the hollow space. I plunged my arm under the warm running water and bit my lip to cover a yelp from the stinging pain. I watched the red water swirl down the drain. Once the blood was washed away I studied the crisscrossing pattern of scratches before rubbing soap over the open wounds, necessitating another grimace of pain. I was pleased to find that the blue on my skin came off rather easily with soap and water.

I removed my wand from my pocket, pointed it at my arm, and muttered a spell which made bandages fly from the tip of my wand and wrap themselves tightly around my arm.

I entered the darkened dorm room, my arm now lightly throbbing from the sting of cleaning and also the tightness of the bandages. The room was dark but I could see the curtains around Susan's bed had been closed tight. I changed into my pajamas and snuggled under my covers. I could hear the sound of sniffles escaping Susan's bed. I supposed it should be expected for her to feel some sort of sadness over ending an engagement, even if it was a bad one.

Under the warmth of blankets, my mind drifted back to Brazil. The feeling of Severus' hand closing softly over my own. In my imagination I looked into his eyes. I remembered how I had never noticed that black could be such a bright color, but it certainly was in his eyes. My eyelids were heavy and drooped closed as I fell into a swirling dreamland.

I groggily opened my eyes. It took a bit of concentration to get them to focus on the clock next to my bed which told me that it was almost noon. I still felt like I wanted to sleep but I knew I had to get up. I rolled over onto my back. My legs ached and my shoulders felt stiff. A sharp stinging reminded me of my bandaged arm.

I placed my feet on the floor and pulled the rest of my covers off. Upon standing I found out that nearly every part of my body ached from the hiking and climbing from the day before, some of the achiness may have been caused by the blue goo for the sunburn but I wasn't sure. I hobbled to my trunk and pulled out a change of clothes before I dragged my feet, still half asleep, to the bathroom.

My face was streaked with blue and my hair was matted on my neck. I could still smell the salve and wondered if everyone else was able to smell me. I decided the probably could and was glad no one had really come into contact with me since I visited the hospital wing.

I removed the bandage from my arm, revealing angry, red scratches. I touched one, gently, and pain surged from my fingertip. I was too embarrassed to pay Madam Pomfrey another visit within twelve hours of when I last saw her, especially when all I really needed was murtlap essence.

I hopped into the shower. My arm throbbed from the hot water but eventually the pain lessened. I scrubbed at my blue streaked skin until it was red and raw. It wished I had showered the night before because letting it sit on my skin seemed to allow the color to set into my skin and it was much harder to remove. The only thing I was glad for was that I had washed my cat scratched arm. I grimaced at the thought of how much it would hurt to have to scrub those wounds.

I dried myself off, re-wrapped my arm, and put on a clean set of clothes. I brushed and dried my hair and re-examined myself in the mirror. The blue was gone and my skin appeared to be its normal pale shade, there wasn't even a hint that I had been red and nearly blistered by the sun. I was sure the smell was gone and I now smelled of strawberry shampoo.

I went back into the dorm room to get a pair of shoes. I could hear muffled sniffles coming from Susan's bed, the curtains still shut.

"Are you alright, Susie?" I asked, tapping the back of my hand against her bed curtains.

There was a quick sniff followed by silence. I stood waiting for a reply but nothing came.

"I'm going to go." I said. "I'll be back in a little while and we can talk then, if you're ready."

I waited a moment longer to see if she would stop me and wish to talk now, but she only sniffled a few more times. I crossed the room to the door and left the room. I was caught up in thought but my feet knew the way to my destination as though I had been there a million times, perhaps I was even getting close to that number, and I found myself standing outside the door to the potions classroom.

I pushed the door open to find the classroom empty, which was normal on a Sunday, so I walked across to the door leading into his office. It was slightly ajar, I pushed it open and found him sitting in a chair, back towards the door, which was not normal. Usually he was working on some sort of potion or finishing up some grading or taking care of some other paper work. His shoulders appeared relaxed and his hands lay in his lap, his head tilted over onto his left shoulder. I walked quietly into his office and craned my body to look at him. His eyes were closed and his lips were relaxed and slightly parted. I watched his chest rise and fall in a steady, rhythmic pattern.

I took a seat at the table near his. His skin was so pale compared to the hair that fell across his cheek as he slept. I wondered how it was that he had managed to escape sunburn. I thought he must have had some sort of remedy or preventative measure. He should have shared, I thought.

Severus' lips sealed themselves and a corner of his mouth twitched followed by a furrow of his eyebrows as he lifted he head up. His face wrinkled in a grimace and he raised one arm to place his hand around the back of his neck and rub. He blinked his eyes open and they very quickly found me sitting off to the side.

A small groan escaped his lips as his fingers pressed into the side of his neck. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long." I said fighting the urge to stand up and massage his neck for him.

"And what time is it?" He asked stretching his neck by rocking his head slowly side to side.

I shrugged. "Sometime after noon."

He let out another groan before getting up stiffly from his chair. He walked over to his cauldrons and looked quickly at their contents before waving his wand to clean them out.

"Well, those were ruined." He said sitting back down in his seat. "How is your skin?"

I lifted my arms to show him they were their normal color, forgetting that one of them was bandaged.

"What happened?" He asked, eyes widening. "That stuff didn't strip your skin off, did it?"

"No." I said retracting the injured appendage. "This was my own fault."

"Of course it was." He said shaking his head at me with a slight smile. "What did you do?"

"I sacrificed my well being so that my friend could take care of something she desperately needed to do." I said in an overly heroic tone.

"Sacrificed your well-being, hmm?" He asked. "This sounds like it should be a most impressive story. Please, elaborate."

I pursed my lips together and looked to the side. "Okay, so I held Mrs. Norris hostage while Susan broke up with Mark. That cat can scratch."

His eyes went wide with surprise. I had expected a slight chuckle at the fact that a cat had bested me and was caught off guard.

"Susan and Mark aren't engaged anymore?" He asked.

"Oh." I said, understanding that was the cause of his surprise. "Yeah, she insisted I go with her to do it sooner rather than later once she made up her mind."

"How did he take it?" He asked, his concern surprised me.

"He…" I said, unsure if I really wanted to tell him. "Called her a cow before slamming the fat lady in her face…well I suppose he didn't…Susan had insulted the fat lady and she left in a huff."

"Ah." He knodded his head. "How is Susan?"

"She was crying when I went to bed." I said. "And I heard her crying when I woke up. I'm not sure if she even slept in between."

"I thought you said that she broke off the engagement." He said, visibly confused.

"She did." I said with a shrug. "I don't understand it either."

There was a brief bit of silence where I could see Severus searching for something to say. His eyes landed on my bandaged arm.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, gesturing to it.

I lifted my arm and looked it over slightly. "It's why I came here, actually. I'm far too embarrassed to see Madam Pomfrey again and I was wondering if you had any murtlap essence. It's, unfortunately, too late for dittany."

"Oh." He said, standing up. "Of course."

He walked from his office and I followed him to the ingredient cupboard in the classroom. He pulled a small purple vial with a dropper.

"Can I see your arm?" He asked.

I nodded my head and began unwrapping the bandages.

"I had hoped the bandages were overkill, but that cat really got you good." He said, taking me gently by the wrist.

"I had to hold on to her for a while so that Susan could say what she needed to." I said, pulling my arm back.

He handed me the vial. "I assume you know how to use it. You can keep it."

I took it from him and turned it over in my hand. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." He said.

"How did you not get sunburned?" I asked. "I looked like a lobster and you are as pale as always."

He smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "I was hoping you'd come see me about the inevitable burns. I have a remedy of my own making. It's less colorful and less pungent…and it works more quickly but I saw you went to the hospital wing instead."

"Why didn't you just tell me to come to you?" I asked.

"And ruin the moment we had?" He asked. "You're wonderful and today was great but um, you're going to get really bad sunburn and I have an ointment for you…now kiss me."

I smiled. "Fine. Next time I'll know, I guess."

He looked down at my arm again.

I attempted to cover it with my other hand. "I should probably go and apply this. I'll see you later. Probably not today. I have to try to talk to Susan and I should probably study since I didn't get much of that done yesterday."

He nodded his head.

I risked a quick hug and thanked him again for the murtlap essence before I turned and left the cupboard.

Once I reached Ravenclaw house again I headed directly for the bathroom where I filled one of the sinks and used the dropper to add a good amount of murtlap to the water. I, then, plunged my arm under the cool surface. I relaxed and let out a breath of relief as the stinging, throbbing disappeared. I stood awkwardly hunched over the sink for a good amount of time until my back became weary from the position. I pulled my arm from the water with the intent to let it dry on its own and use every bit of murlap on it to aid in healing.

I walked, with droplets of water falling off my fingertips, into my dorm room where I could still hear sniffles coming from Susan's bed, curtains still closed. I stomped over to her bed.

"Susan." I said in a harsher tone than I had intended, and ripped open her bed curtains. "This is completely unacceptable."

She covered her face with her covers.

"You broke off the engagement with him." I said, pulling at the blanket but was unable to pry them from her grasp. "If anyone should be confident and empowered it's you, but judging by what I saw in the hall moments ago, that isn't the case."

Susan peeked over the covers. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tear stained and rubbed raw. "What?"

"I saw Mark in the halls talking very calmly with Adelaide Finch and Carl Miller." I said.

"You did?" She asked, her voice was squeaky and was nearly too high to hear.

"He laughed." I said. "He didn't look like he was sad about the wedding being off at all."

"No?" She sniffed.

"No." I said. "You don't want him to think you're destroyed do you?"

She avoided eye contact.

"No!" I said. "You don't. You made the right choice and you should not be this sad. You were the one who did it, you made the decision, so stop crying!"

"But what if It isn't the right choice?" She whined.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But you're being stupid. He insulted you immediately after you called the wedding off. He's stupid and I never liked him. Now get up, get over it, and shower. You smell like tears and armpit."

She sunk deeper under her covers. I threw my hands in the air in surrender.

"I'll be downstairs studying if you ever decide to stop feeling sorry for yourself." I said and I grabbed my bag from beside my bed.

I found an empty table in the common room and spread my Transfiguration books and bit of parchment. After reading the same sentence several times without absorbing any meaning from the words, I finally allowed my mind to wander.

Perhaps I had been a bit harsh on Susan, but enough was enough. I wasn't going to allow my best friend to sulk over someone like Mark. She never could make a decision without overthinking. I was so surprised when she had insisted we go to Gryffindor so that she could end it so soon, but her crying for hours was too much. She is better than Mark and deserves more.

"Mind if I join you?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around to see Susan standing with slightly damp hair and an armful of study materials. She moved to sit in the chair across the table and spread out her books and parchment.

"I'm sorry." We said simultaneously followed by small laughs.

"I just really wanted this wedding." She said. "I've spent months planning this great event that isn't going to happen anymore. I think I'm more saddened by that than by Mark. You're right, he's stupid."

"I shouldn't have scolded you like that." I said. "I don't really know what it's like to go through what you're going through. I have no right to tell you what an appropriate amount of time to cry about it is."

"I'll hopefully get to plan another wedding." She shrugged. "Hopefully I won't care about details so much because I won't be unconsciously compensating for a less than stellar groom."

I smiled. "That could almost be an insult. I'm proud of you."

We worked together for the first time in what felt like eternity. There was no talk of table cloths, dresses, or font, just Susan and I studying in the Ravenclaw common room.

I lost track of the time, deep in my work, until my stomach twisted and roared. I realized I had not eaten all day and my stomach was becoming a ravenous beast.

I looked up from my parchment. "Dinner?"

Susan looked up and pressed her hand on her stomache. "I thought you'd never ask."

I was on my second helping of fish pie when Melody Simmons and Hannah Farley stopped in front of our table.

"Quick Hannah, check Susan's cup!" Melody giggled.

Hannah seized Susan's goblet and looked inside. "It's only pumpkin juice."

They both laughed as Hannah put the goblet back on the table.

"I swear you two get stupider and stupider with every passing moment." I said acidly.

"We're only looking out for Susan." Melody said. "I don't think you need to eat the rest of that food either."

She quickly grabbed Susan's plate and put it out of reach.

"Your figure is well on its way to being unladylike." Hannah smiled.

Susan's mouth twitched down.

"You know what else isn't very ladylike, Hannah?" I asked. "Putting your comically large nose where it doesn't belong!"

"That's not very nice!" Said Melody. "And maybe if Susan laid off the food a bit she would still be getting married."

"What are you dunderheads talking about?" I asked.

"Mark is telling everyone about how he called off the wedding because Susan is a drunk with a likelihood of becoming fat…er" Hannah said.

She and Melody both looked at each other and laughed.

Susan stood up like lightning and quickly ran from the dining hall.

I looked at Melody and Hannah and decided they weren't worth my time. I turned to look at the Gryffindor table. Mark's back was turned to me but everyone across from him was smiling and laughing. He was no doubt telling lies about my best friend again. I vacated my seat almost as quickly as Susan had hers. I tore across the room until I was standing right behind Mark. I placed my hand on the back of his head and pushed his face down onto the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate. I gave his head one last final shove before I lifted my hand.

Mark sputtered and turned around, wiping the mash from his face.

"If you insist on acting like a pig," I spat. "You might as well eat like one!"

"What is your problem?" He yelled, standing up.

"I know you're a complete moron," I said. "But even you must be able to guess why I would be angry at you."

"You're angry because I'm telling everyone the truth?" He asked. "You're crazy."

"You and I both know it didn't happen the way you're saying it did." I shouted. I was becoming aware at the near complete silence of the dining hall and that the entire staff table was staring at me.

"I don't know anything like that." He countered. "Susan can tell you whatever she wants but that doesn't change that fact that I broke up with your friend because she is a drunk, air-headed, fat, bit..."

Before he could utter the rest of the last word, I recoiled my arm and slammed my fist straight into his jaw. His knees buckled from the shock of impact and he fell to the floor. There was a loud cheer from the students as they circled us, chanting for a fight. It was only a few seconds before Professor McGonagall and Severus had broken through the crowd. McGonagall came over and pulled me aside as Severus lifted a bleeding Mark to his feet. I felt a flash of satisfaction at the realization that he must have bitten his tongue when I hit him. Mark and I were both escorted out of the dining hall as Dumbledore pressed his wand to his throat to magnify his voice in an attempt to restore order.

Professor McGonagall rushed me into an empty room, followed closely by Severus and Mark.

"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked.

"She started it." Mark accused.

"Why you lying, little…" I shouted.

"Miss Winston." McGonagall interrupted. "You are an adult and I feel as though I am speaking to a child when I say this, we do not hit others."

Professor Flitwick scurried into the room. "What is going on?"

"She's crazy." Mark shouted.

"I smacked you once, I'll do it again." I threatened, balling my hand into a fist.

"Miss Winston." McGonagall snapped. "Fifty points from Ravenclaw."

Mark's expression changed to satisfaction.

"And since I can't imagine Miss Winston would do anything like this without provocation, fifty points from Gryffindor." McGonagall said.

The smug look melted off his face.

"I've never known you to do anything like this, Miss Winston." Flitwick said. "I feel, as your head of house, that I have no other option than to give you detention. Beginning tomorrow night, you will spend your evenings in my office through Friday."

I was still too angry to care about any consequences.

"I expect the same of you Mr. Wizenby." McGonagall said. "Evenings, beginning tomorrow, I expect you in my office until the end of the week."

"But what about quidditch practice?" Mark asked in desperation.

"I guess you will just have to miss it." McGonagall said. "Now both of you, back to your houses without another word."

I turned to leave the room. I wanted to look at Severus, to ask him to meet me in his office to talk, but with Flitwick and McGonagall and even Mark it was impossible. I hung my head and walked through the doors until I reached the stairs. I turned my head to look at the doorway before I committed to walking back to Ravenclaw tower. I saw Severus exiting in conversation with McGonagall and Flitwick. His eyes flicked to me and a small look of disappointment passed over his face before the three of them re-entered the Great Hall.