"Mind telling me where you've been?" Char snapped as Aly arrived in the common room. "You've been gone long."
"I told you, I went to send a letter," Aly shrugged. She sat down next to Amanda. They were all reclining in front of the fireplace.
"Then what took you so long?" Char said, disbelieving.
"I was adding some things." Aly stared at Char coolly.
"Who'd you send them to?" Char asked suspiciously.
"Listen, can you get out of my business?" she snapped.
Amanda, Hayden and Damien looked up at Char anxiously as his eyes narrowed at Aly.
"You sent something to Adam, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Aly asked defiantly. "I have the right."
"Aly, those letters can be intercepted! You can't just assume communication with him!"
"And why not?" Aly shot back. "He's my friend."
"He's dangerous, Aly, can't you see that!" Char exclaimed, exasperated. "He's related to a death eater, for God's sake! For all we know, he can attack you!"
"He hasn't attacked me yet!" Aly snapped defiantly.
"He's related to a death eater!" Char yelled, standing up.
Aly stood up silently. "And so are you."
Amanda's jaw dropped and she stared at Aly, whose arms were crossed and she glared at Char defiantly. Amanda, Damien and Hayden all shrank back as Char's eyes blazed. Char glided over to her and towered over her, his eyes like black fire.
"You will not have any more communication with Adam."
Aly extended her torso and stood up straight.
"You have no control over my life. If you think you can do that you are sadly mistaken, Charmont. I care for Adam and you don't respect that. So I don't think you can respect me either. Now get out of my face and get out of my business."
--
"I've decided to switch the seats," Professor Babbling announced the next day.
The class stared up at her expectantly. It was mid-afternoon, and Aly had Ancient Runes.
"Well, it's not a major change, in any case," she stammered. "Aly and Char, I'd like you to move to the desk in the front."
Aly's eyes narrowed. She raised her hand.
"Professor?"
"Ms. Trevelyan."
"I'd actually like to stay back here with Natasha, if that's fine."
Professor Babbling looked between Char and Aly. "Why is that?"
"Well, quite frankly, I don't want to sit with that disrespectful, pathetic, excuse for a boyfriend."
The whole class turned to stare at Aly as she stared at Professor Babbling expectantly. Char looked somewhat hurt, but when Aly met his eyes for a fraction of a second, he glared at her.
"Oh...well...if Natasha's fine with that..."
"No, I don't mind," Natasha said brightly. One of Aly's newer friends, Aly had taken a strong liking to her. Unlike the others, Natasha was very outgoing and preferred to wear accessories with her uniform, and expressed herself through painting.
"Oh, that's fine, I guess," Babbling said. "Well, I guess we can get on with class..."
Class went by very quickly, to Aly's relief, and once the bell rang, she and Natasha stood up and exited class together, Aly never glancing at Char.
"So...what's going on with you two?" Natasha asked as soon as they were out of hearing range.
"He's trying to take me over," Aly replied. "You know Adam? The one everything thinks is 'bad?'"
Natasha nodded.
"Well, I had to send a letter to him. He's my friend, you understand."
"Of course. I'd do the same thing if I had a pal like Adam."
"Well, he yelled at me in front of my friends for being gone so long."
"Well, why were you?"
Aly looked down at the ground as they walked to the Gryffindor Tower. "I met with him."
"Are you serious?! Really?"
"Yeah."
Natasha grinned and slapped her arm. "Way to be rebellious, Aly!"
"You think I did the wrong thing?" Aly asked anxiously.
"Heck no! I think that's brilliant! Listen," she said, lowering her voice. "Adam is your friend, not Char's. You can do whatever you need to do. Adam needs your help, and Char truly can't respect that. I think that sending him letters, and checking in on him is a great way to keep the friendship going."
"Thanks, Natasha. I really feel better," Aly said, grinning with relief.
"You don't have a...thing for him, do you?" Natasha grinned.
"No. I mean, I love him, but in that friendly way, you know?"
"Uh huh," Natasha said, disbelieving. "If he takes the time to run from jail to see you, I think he has a thing for you."
"Well, he can have a 'thing' for me if he likes," Aly sighed.
"Do you?"
"No. I mean, when I look at his eyes, my heart doesn't thump, or I don't act goofy and giggle all the time around him. Like I said, we're just friends and he needs my support."
"Oh. Only for Char, huh?"
"Not anymore," Aly shrugged as they approached the fat lady. "Cosmos." She swung open to let them in.
"I think you should let the boy down easy."
"Natasha, you just said that I shouldn't care because Adam's my friend," she laughed. "Pick one!"
"Ok, here we go. Really, you should..."
Aly and Natasha continued walking towards the girls' staircase. They passed Amanda, Hayden and Damien and Aly didn't even chance a glance at them.
They climbed up the staircase.
Amanda looked at Damien worriedly. "I think she's really mad." She closed her Potions book and leaned back in the couch.
"Amanda, that comment was a bit out of line," Hayden reminded her.
"She was the one who was comforting Char when she found out. Now she's throwing it back in his face," Damien added.
"That's true," Amanda sighed. "But Char really shouldn't have gone on her like that."
"Yeah, I guess," Hayden mumbled and looked down at his book as a distraction.
"Hayden, stop acting silly," Damien sighed. "We have to find some way to get them to reconcile with each other."
"Damien, you must be off your rocker. That girl is mad enough to commit murder, and you want them to reconcile."
"Amanda, you can clearly see that the planets are misaligned," Damien said, grinning at her. "But seriously, we need to do something. If it gets any worse, they'll break up. Then the earth will stop revolving."
"Why do you care?" Amanda asked.
"Well, he is my brother and all, so I care for his well-being. And I do know that Char's loved her longer than she knows. They're letting one friend come in between them."
"Then let them deal with it," Hayden suggested. "I don't want to get involved."
Damien looked at Hayden and Amanda and sighed.
"Well, I want to think on it. We can wait and see what happens."