Author's Note: because I'm in love with these things. I enjoy writing them more than the actual fanfic. I joke… I think. Anyways, this was a lovely little scene we through together because we didn't want to just jump straight to the detention. We needed for there to be a little more interaction between Ella and Tom before… well, you'll see next chapter. Anyways, as Lara says it's nice to see two young people talking about love and not actually in it… yet. This is a little bit shorter than the others.

Disclaimer: As strange as it may seem I think there is actually quite a bit here that belongs to us. Sure, if we tried to sell it as our own work there would be copyright infringement. But I'm pretty good at making those subtle Harry Potter things (like Hogwarts and wands and the houses) just disappear and get replaced. At which point you really do have a very original story. But in the mean time, credit does go to JK Rowling on most accounts. Ella and Graham belongs to Lara and Sammy belongs to me.

More Author's Note: Yay! Okay, reminder again that this was originally an RP, so look for quite a few pov changes. Also I'd like to point out that Samantha's whole purpose for quite sometime was what she does in this chapter only. But then she just kept popping up (as you will see) and there wasn't really much that could be helped. She inserted herself as a main character.

R&R please. Thank you from both of us with love and kisses to our one loyal fan! Thank you bunches and roses.

Sorry for the long beginning… here is our chapter now ^-^''

Chapter Four: The Library

"Well, what about you? Are you going to answer your own question?"

He laughed. "Green."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Sure it is. That's the stock Slytherin answer."

They were walking somewhere Ella had never been before. It was dark, and a little on the wet side. Normally it would freak her out a little, but she didn't mind now. She wasn't alone. Eleanor smiled up at the dark-haired boy walking beside her, who began to speak again.

"No, really, it's green. I've always liked that color..."

Ella laughed and slid her hand into his. "Yes, ok then. I'm still not sure I believe you..."

She trailed off as she felt something sticky on her bare feet. Looking down, she saw something slivery covering the soles of her feet, and filling in between her toes. She knew what it was, and she screamed as she tried to wipe off the thick Unicorn blood. She heard someone began to laugh, and she looked up at Tom, who wasn't Tom, but Jaimy.

"Blood's everywhere!" He said in a manic whisper. She stepped back from him, confused and afraid.

"You're dead," she whispered. He laughed.

"Not dead enough."

Eleanor's eyes popped open as she sat up and looked around. The dormitory was brighter than it was when she normally woke up, which was probably a good thing in her current state of mind. She ran her hands through her hair and then sighed. That dream was ridiculous. She knew exactly what pieces of yesterday her mind had spun it from, but it didn't make it any less weird. She didn't normally have such vivid dreams. The last one she had had like that was, well the night before, but before that, when Jaimy died the previous summer. She supposed they were triggered by stress, and N.E.W.T.s were stressful enough to cause them, she thought.

She rolled out of bed and walked around to her trunk, where she pulled out a belted dress to wear for the day. It was one of her most comfortable outfits from home, and she quite liked it. It was getting old, though. However, it did travel rather well. She walked over to the bathroom adjacent to the dormitory, trying not to wake anyone up. There were only one or two girls left, and Ella was frankly surprised that they were sleeping so soundly. It was quite bright in the room.

After she was dressed, and on her way down to the Great Hall, she began thinking about the amount of homework she had yet to do. She had most of it in her book bag, which was hanging from her shoulder. She had knocked out Dumbledore's essay the night before, and had gotten a start on her compare and contrast essay on th Jobberknoll. She was avoiding the Charms essay like the plague, and she knew she was going to regret it if she didn't get a move on. It was very big either, she just didn't know how to fill even a small space on a spell that was that simple. She supposed a history of its uses might work...

The Great Hall was pretty full, but it looked like everyone had already eaten, and were just lounging around, or doing homework. She scanned the room for Minny, and didn't see her anywhere. Nor did she see Tom, as she did a quick and hopefully inconspicuous search of the Slytherin table. However, a sandy-haired boy apparently saw her, because he raised his eyebrows lazily, and mouthed "Library." How odd. Ella frowned, and he laughed, and mouthed "Tom," before pointing out the Great Hall door. Ella's eyes widened and she turned around, wondering if everyone knew she and Tom were talking more than the ever had, which wasn't saying much, as they had never talked, ever, in the past. She heard a loud laugh come from the direction of the Slytherin table, but she didn't turn around to see if it was the nameless (though helpful) boy.

Focusing on the Gryffindor table, and trying hard to not look around the room, Ella reached through a group of Gryffindor First-years, and grabbed a couple pieces of toast and wrapped them in a napkin, excusing herself as she did it. Food taken care of, she walked out of the room, never looking around to the other side of the Hall. It was safer that way.

Now where do I go? she thought uncomfortably as she looked around the Entrance Hall. She didn't want to go back to the Common Room, she really needed a table, like the one in the Great Hall, but it was so packed, and there was that really odd boy...No, that would never do. She wouldn't be able to concentrate. She didn't particularly want to end up in the Library, because she always got on the wrong side of the Librarian. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact she now knew for certain a certain Head Boy was in there. She wasn't avoiding him, she just...didn't want to look too dumb by jumping at every chance to be around him. But the Library was looking like her only choice. Ah well. She readjusted the strap of her bag, and started making the journey to the Library. She took a bite of her toast, trying to finish it before she reached her were a ton of tables in there. She could sit at one of them that did not have said Head Boy at them.

This was getting complicated.

The Library was, well, silent for one thing, and for another, fairly empty of either obnoxious younger students or manic Librarians. Ella smiled to herself. Perfect. There was a nice small table and chairs at the end of the Charms bookshelf, which was probably the best place for her to be, considering the nature of her first essay. As she walked though the large room, the smell of dust and ancient books met her nose. It was a smell she loved, for some reason. It was vaguely mysterious, and a bit, well more than a bit, magical. She kept an eye out for Minny as she walked through, but she never saw her. Ella shrugged mentally, figuring she was probably off stalking Dumbledore. When she reached her chosen set of furniture, she smiled to herself. Completely empty. Perfect. She plopped her bag down beside one of the wooden chairs, stuffed the now-empty toast napkin in a front pouch of her bag, and began digging through it for her Charms work.

///

Tom wasn't the first up that morning. It wasn't a big deal, nobody really gave him any weird looks, it happened every so often. By now most everybody in Slytherin knew that he had to baby-sit Eleanor Cooper for her detention. None of this was taken personally on Tom. Of course not. Not their grand leader, Tom Riddle.

Instead whispers and hisses about Cooper permeated the Slytherin Common Room that night. The girls made special notice to gossip about her very loud. As their stories became grander and grander ("She's a man eater!" "Actually she likes girls." "I heard she was in love with her brother…") Tom found himself getting more frustrated. But coming to the rescue of Eleanor would only cause the talk to change to him. He couldn't afford that.

But neither could he stand Samantha glaring at him talking about how much of a horrible person Eleanor was. She was the one leading the particularly nasty rumors. But there were some girls that spoke of Eleanor trying to figure out why the Sorting Hat had put her in Gryffindor. Probably, they seemed to decide, because she wasn't ambitious enough.

Tom managed to get most of his homework done that night though he couldn't quite focus on Transfiguration without Eleanor becoming far too prevalent in his thoughts. He bid everybody good night, being among the first to fall asleep that night. But his dreams were filled with dark forests, gleaming red eyes, somebody screaming, and holding somebody really tight. Tom couldn't make much sense of any of it but he rarely dreamt and they took a lot of energy out of him.

When he made it to the library he didn't take a table immediately. The Dark Lord wanted Eleanor on edge again and Tom just wanted an excuse to watch her. So instead he browsed through the shelves, keeping out of sight of the library entrance, but keeping his senses alert. Finally he heard footsteps and somebody choosing a table. Very slowly he looked around the edge of a bookshelf and saw the back of Eleanor's head.

He spent a few minutes making his way around the edge of the library before walking up to the table that Eleanor was sitting at. Tom stood opposite her, waiting to see if she would notice her, a smirk on his face. Before long he place a hand on the table and slid into the chair.
///

Ella was really making progress on her essay, much to her surprise. Perhaps she was absorbing the information from the books near her by osmosis…Whatever it was, it was working. She was leaning over her essay, writing in her rather messy handwriting when she saw a hand touch the table out of the corner of her eye. "Agh!" She jumped, causing her quill to scratch a line across her parchment. Ella opened her mouth to tell off whoever it was, and stopped as Tom slid into the seat across from her.

///
"There's one thing I don't get. How did a girl like you manage to stay single all this time?" Tom flashed an innocent grin. "It's the girl's latest gossip and I thought I'd win their favor by bringing them an answer."

An obvious lie. But a fun one none the less. What would the girls do if Tom came to them bearing the answer to why Eleanor Cooper, one of the most attractive available girls, had no significant other?

///

Ella returned his grin with a small glare, that slowly dissolved into a laugh as he finished talking. She had originally hoped to avoid him today...but since he was here, she might as well enjoy it.

"Really? Oh yes, I'm sure I'm quite the conversation topic amongst the girls who don't feel even the least bit threatened by me." She didn't believe people were talking about her for a minute. She just wasn't that interesting. The only girls that got talked about were the threats. If it was average, or plain, it wasn't talked about. She was both.

"And what kind of girl am I supposed to be, anyway?" She laughed, and pulled her wand out of her bag to repair her ink-covered essay. She was careful not to erase any of her intentional writing, and she did manage to get quite a bit of the unwanted scribble off without setting it on fire or anything.
///

He filed away the question to answer later. It was an interesting one and he wondered how Eleanor would take the many answers. Though he would have to add the disclaimer that he did not quite trust any of the assumptions.

///
"But to satisfy your obvious curiosity," she looked at him with an impish grin. "I just…haven't seen the point in starting a relationship with someone who's just okay. I mean, we're still in school, and none of the people who were dating in out Fifth-Year are still together, are they? Because they just go after what's male and looking, and that's not my idea of a perfect match. I mean, sometimes it would be nice, just, knowing I'm worth the effort to someone." She rolled her eyes. She was being strangely truthful in her answer, but she was hoping he wouldn't take it as seriously as she meant it. "But I'm just…I dunno, not that girl. The girl with the boy, the good looks, and the perfect life." She shrugged. "Honestly, I'd rather not be that. I'd prefer something a bit more…Original."

Like you.

Not like you.

Oh dear.

///

An interesting conclusion to a very descriptive answer. Tom cocked his head to the side, letting a few seconds tick by before saying,

"Too bad. Sam had her heart set on cannibalism." Teasing. Tom had resorted to more teasing. This was an interesting turn of events. But it also lightened the tone around the question he had asked. Curiosity simply and then a very non serious reason behind it. Though it was true that Samantha had really been hoping that Eleanor ate men…

///

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, I'm sure. And she's my next victim, would you tell her that?"

Eleanor looked at Tom, a bit embarrassed. "So, now you know. And you? You could have anything female in this school, and yet, you don't. Why is that?"

She looked back down at her essay and scribbled another sentence on Disillusionment Charms. It as coming along slowly. It would never be the best in the world, but she thought she might at least get a passing grade on it. She looked back up as Tom answered her question.

///

He should have seen the questioning being turned on him. Part of him probably had. Tom smiled.

"Ah, I've never put much faith in love," Tom told her. "I grew up without the loving support of parents. I figure I can live without any kind of love. So though I understand companionship, I never understood romance."

Let her interpret that.

///

This made Ella think. She knew she was biting her lip, and more than likely frowning slightly as she thought up her reply. "That makes sense, I suppose. But, to me, I guess that's where I find love, in companionship. Well, maybe not exactly that..." She smiled slightly, lost in trying to figure out how to say what she was thinking. "I guess what I mean is, love...in it's deepest state, is simply a bond between two people that cannot be broken by anything on this earth. It's not the silly teenage drama, or the melodramatic proposals. It's deeper. It's like a kind of magic in itself. You know how your magic felt before you came here? Kind of wild, but still a part of you? That's how I see love." She shrugged. "It's complicated."

Even though she had never been in a relationship, Ella had always firmly believed in the existence of love. She supposed she just, had to believe that the kind of love books were written about was real. But she also believed it was very rare, and only for those who were willing to fight for it. It wasn't a right, it was a reward.
///

It was the same kind of thing Dumbledore might spill. But coming from Eleanor it fascinated Tom. Love as magic? Perhaps. But if that were the case than so was fear, hate, anger… Those were the types of magic Tom was good at. Let Dumbledore and Eleanor keep their love. That wasn't a kind of magic Tom would ever be able to master.

Tom reached out and pulled the starts of Eleanor's essay toward him to look it over. He did read it over, though most of his concentration was on Eleanor. It was actually well done. And he pointed this out to her, though he hardly paid attention to what he was saying in regards to the essay.

///
She felt her essay slip out from underneath her hands, and looked down. Tom ha stolen it, and was reading it a bit absentmindedly. She waited for him to finish, and tugged at a lock of her hair as he read. It was being utterly unmanageable today, so she had foregone trying to style it, and had left it down. Tom finished, and mumbled something incoherent about the essay. Ella looked at him, trying not to laugh.

"Er, Tom? You know I have no idea what you're saying, right?" She took her essay back, and penned in another couple of sentences before flipping the page on her book. "Don't you have any work to be doing?" She asked him, looking up. "I'm swamped. Free time seems a thing of the past, hmm?"

///

"Tommy!"

He groaned for Eleanor's sake, but his eyes twinkled in a silent smile. Just then Samantha ran across the library, throwing her arms around Tom's neck and giving Eleanor a dark glare. She probably hadn't meant for Tom to see it, but he had been looking for it. When Tom didn't move, Samantha pulled away and pouted, hands on her hips.
///

Eleanor and Tom groaned in unison. She knew that voice. Samantha trotted across the library toward them, and threw herself at Tom like an idiot, glaring at Ella the entire time. Ella's eyes turned to Tom, who seemed to find the situation amusing. She stared incredulously as Samantha started whining at him. It was utterly unbearable, and just to avoid having to look at Samantha, Ella reached down and grabbed a bit of cloth out of her bag to clean off her quill, which had become all inky in the wrong places.

///
"Oh, come on Tommy," said Samantha, faking tears. "Why would you rather be with her?"
///

Ella's eyebrows shot up nearly into her hairline, and she raised her head to look at the girl incredulously. She was resisting the urge to say something snide, and failing. She opened her mouth to tell Samantha exactly where to go to when Tom spoke up. He definitely looked amused now. Ella, on the other hand, did not find it as hilarious.

///
"We both know I'm not right for you, Sammy," Tom said, his smile amused though Samantha probably couldn't tell. He rested his elbow on the table and his head in his hand. "Why don't you try some other guy? Graham is a great guy."
///

"Graham?" she heard herself say. Perhaps he was the blond boy who had, er, helped her out earlier. Or maybe not. Either way, she doubted anyone Tom considered a great guy would want this pitiful scrap of humanity in front of her. She wasn't entirely sure what about Samantha irked her so much. Aside form the whole simpering idiot thing.

///
"But you're in charge!" whined Samantha, stomping a foot. "I want to be a pretty princess. I'm a pureblood and she's a mudblood! How can there be a choice?"
///

"Excuse me?" Ella looked at the girl, her blue eyes somehow managing to look fiery. her hand moved to her wand on the table, and she felt her anger building up in her. She had been called that before, and it bothered her a bit, but she wasn't about to take it from this ignorant girl. She could tell Tom was beginning to get agitated as well. His answer made the fire raging in Ella's mind lessen slightly, but she was still on the verge of cursing Samantha into oblivion.

///
"Sammy, there isn't," Tom said calmly, though he was starting to get annoyed. "We weren't made for each other. Besides, when have I ever said I base my choices on your type of blood? I have better standards than that."

"And what would those be?" Samantha spat bitterly. "And how does she fit into them?"
///

Ella looked from Tom to Smantha, thoroughly confused, and upset. This was getting nuts. This girl comes in, treating Eleanor like absolute dirt, and climbs all over Tom, saying he was in charge, and that she wanted him. And they started talking about standards, and plans? She felt the fire fade, and in its place a hollow throbbing invaded her chest. She didn't understand. She watched Tom stand and face the girl, and to Ella's surprise, defended her.

///
"I don't know yet," said Tom, slowly rising to his feet. "And stop saying 'she' like it's some vile word. Now stop meddling in my business, Ozment! Eleanor is my concern."

Samantha narrowed her eyes at Tom before twisting and shooting Eleanor a dirty glare. Then, with a sniff, she stomped back out of the library. Once he was sure she was gone, Tom lowered himself back down his seat. His back was rigid. He was not at all pleased with the way he or Samantha had acted.

///

Samantha shot Eleanor another withering glare, and huffed out. As Tom sat back down slowly, Ella buried her head in her arms. She didn't know what in the world she was supposed to do now. The hollow feeling was still there, and it didn't feel so great. She took a deep breath, expanding the hole, and looked up at Tom, and she was sure her face was an open book. "Your...concern?" She closed her eyes. "Is that what I am? What does that mean?" Ella ran a hand through her hair, and frowned. She didn't even ask about the whole 'in charge' thing.

///

As Eleanor asked her question, Tom peered at her as if he had glasses. His dark eyes just watched her for a moment while a very calm battle was raged at the back of his head. The arguments went off like small fireworks until finally wormed its way to the front of his mind and told his mouth speak.

And so he spoke.

"You're treading into dangerous waters, Eleanor," Tom said in a warning tone. "There are people that would… do bad things to either of us if I let this continue."

Yes, oh very vague. How mysterious. Tom was not in the mood to be the mysterious Slytherin student. And it wasn't entirely Eleanor's fault. Tom was the one that had chosen to speak to her. Tom was the one that had finally agreed to going with on the detention. Tom had been the one to decide on a fake detention instead of actually taking house pints. Tom was the one that had suggested being in the library.

Why? Because of a girl? The Dark Lord sneered silently at this though didn't argue. Maybe, he thought, some people had it more right than Tom had tried to make the world fit all his life. He had lost his family, had never had that loving warmth… Was it any doubt that he had tried to prove to himself that the world could exist without love?

Even though his mother wouldn't have had him if it weren't for her "love" of his father?
///

Ella looked at Tom, her eyes searching his face for any ideas as to what he meant. People? What people?

"Tom...I'm not sure I understand."

The biggest understatement ever. She looked down at her essay, which was not quite done, but she couldn't finish it now. There was a huge mass of thoughts rushing around in her head, and she didn't know what to say, or do. She felt like everything was a bit unreal. Ten minutes ago, he was teasing her about being single, and commenting on her essay. The day before, they were nothing but awkward acquaintances. And now, there was something that may or may not 'continue?' Tom kept speaking, his voice soft.

///
"You may believe yourself uninteresting," Tom continued, the tone in his voice easing. "But I have found you very interesting. There are very few people I find interesting. Don't take that as a compliment. It could be extremely dangerous for you."

He said this last sentence, enunciating every single syllable. He wanted to give her an out. A chance to choose to walk away. They would do this detention and never speak again. Her choice this time. Tom had been forcing himself on her this entire time. He was interested in her but there was no reason she had to continue being interested in him.

But he also didn't like the idea that she might not be interested. Tom Riddle, who had been fawned over by so many other girls, could have any out of a large sea of females, was scared that this one young woman might decide to give him no more notice.
///

She took a deep breath, and blinked. She could tell he was warning her about something, and she had a feeling she should heed his warning. But she just couldn't. She didn't know enough, hadn't seen enough. She wasn't finished being around him. There was this ever present tension that crackled in her every time he was near. Now that she thought about it, it was a bit like the electricity in the air before a lightning storm. Maybe he was dangerous. But the real question was, did Eleanor really care?

///
He got to his feet, looking down at Eleanor, looking away, starting to walk away, then pausing and looking down at her again.

"I wouldn't care if your parents were a pair of apes," Tom told her. "It wouldn't change my opinion of you. I'll see you at the detention… We'll see if you still decide to risk being around me afterwards."

He turned and started to walk away

///

Tom stood, and began to walk away. She sat for around thirty seconds, absorbing what he had said before she hurried the few feet after him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and stood on her toes.

"I'll see you tonight."

There was so much more that she wanted to say, too many questions she needed to ask. But she knew now was not the time for another deep conversation. So she just left it at that. She turned, and walked back to the table, where she unceremoniously stuffed her belongings into her bag, and then put her head in her hands. She seriously contemplated crying like an idiot, but she managed not to, somehow. It had been three days. Three days since this had begun.

How would it end?

///

Tom avoided everybody the rest of that day.

Everybody except one person. This one person – who was not Eleanor – was probably the least likely person for Tom to ever willingly talk with. In fact, Tom didn't just not avoid this person he went directly to that person to talk to. Because there wasn't a single other person in the entirety of Hogwarts that Tom believed could help him with what was plaguing his mind… which was Eleanor.

"Ah, Tom. A pleasant surprise to see you…"

Albus Dumbledore smiled as Tom walked into his office, sweeping a hand to the chair opposite his desk. Tom hesitated. He was a proud man and didn't like what he was about to do. Any of it, really. But he had come to learn that Dumbledore did not tell secrets. It didn't seem as if anybody else knew Tom could talk to snakes or had stolen from kids at the orphanage. Dumbledore would keep this conversation private as well.

Tom was just worried the old fool would be smug about it.

"I cam to apologize, Professor," Tom started, still standing near the door.

"Would you like some tea, Tom?" Dumbledore asked, pouring said liquid into a cup before conjuring a second cup for Tom. "And do sit down. I have a feeling this has little to do with your apology which could have waited until Monday."

"Yes, sir," sighed Tom, sitting down in the chair, feeling rather awkward. Like, he supposed, a young boy that was being reprimanded by his father. Except Tom wasn't being reprimanded and Dumbledore was most certainly not his father.

"So what seems to be the problem?" asked Dumbledore. Tom hesitated, perhaps just a bit too long. "Are you and Eleanor having troubles already?"

Tom's back went stiff. His spine fused together and a hiss nearly escaped his lips as he stared at Dumbledore. From very pale lips Tom said, "I don't know what you mean."

"It's quite obvious the two of you have taken a liking to each other," Dumbledore said, taking a sip of his tea. "Why else do you think I am sending you on Eleanor's detention? Though I probably shouldn't have said anything afterwards…"

Tom sat in numb dread. He had meant for this to be a conversation about theory. Not actually about him and Eleanor. Still, he took a deep breath and plunged in. "Sir, you had a family?"

"Certainly, Tom," said Dumbledore, though he now seemed rather perplexed. "My parents, a brother, and a sister."

"And you loved them?"

"Very much." The twinkle had left Dumbledore's eye and he did not seem keen on sharing much more. "What is this about, Tom?"

"How do you think you would have turned out without your family?" Tom asked, fixing his gaze slightly over Dumbledore's shoulder.

"Love is an ingrain part of every living thing, Tom," Dumbledore said in barely more than a whisper. "To be human is to love, to feel heart ache…"

"But if I've never known love how will I be sure if it happens?" Tom asked, feeling rather desperate. And like a young child. This was ridiculous! Tom Riddle was going to be the greatest Dark Wizard there ever was. And here he was talking to Dumbledore about family and love.

"She'll be very special," said Dumbledore and though he didn't smile there was a glint in his eye. "You won't want to be without her, will want to protect her from anything… Have I answered all your questions now? Because I think it's almost time for your detention."

"Yes, sir," said Tom, getting to his feet and not arguing about who's detention it was. It hardly felt like a detention anymore. "Thank you sir…"

He started to walk away when Dumbledore spoke up again. "And Tom…" Tom stopped, hand on the door handle, and looked back. "I won't tell anybody. But keep in mind your very good friends also make very bad enemies…"

Tom gave a nod before striding out of Dumbledore office and hurrying down to the Entrance Hall. It was nearly eight. He had spent all day working up the courage to speak to Dumbledore. He wondered if he had any left over to face Eleanor again.

///

Her essay wasn't finished. She hadn't talked to Minerva, but that was mostly by choice. Eleanor found solitude on the grounds after she had dumped her abandoned schoolwork in her dormitory, a solitude she needed desperately. What was wrong with her? She leaned against a tree at the edge of the forest, and just let herself cry a little. It wasn't weakness. It wasn't sadness. She had so many emotions built up in her, she had to let them out.

Fear. Pain. Confusion. Embarrassment. Illusion. Solitude. Love. Hate. Stress.

Ella had never battled anything like this before. And all for someone she hardly knew. Already she felt herself growing attached to the boy that had done her a small favor in the dead of night. But why? What had he done to make her feel like this? She didn't know him. At all. She was being over-emotional, she knew it. That was her problem. But whether or not she knew she was blowing it out of proportion, she still couldn't shake that odd feeling in her chest. It was at the same time growing and constricting, and it was painful.

"Cooper?"

Eleanor looked up, wiping the two or three tears that had managed to escape off of her face. "Yes, Professor Kettleburn?" She said calmly. She didn't want to look like a blubbering fool, which she was not. The man was looking down at er with a look that might have been concern.

"You detention is not until tonight, and I would prefer it if you did not get this close to the Forest until then." Ella nodded, and straightened.

"Sorry Professor." She said nothing else, but began to walk away, up towards the castle.

"Eleanor...are you...all right?" She heard the awkward tone in her teacher's voice, and smiled slightly.

She turned to face the man, who rarely ever spoke when it was unnecessary, and replied, "Fine, Professor." She caught his sympathetic look as she turned back around, and guessed that he had thought she was moping about Jaimy. Let him think that. It was easier than trying to explain her current state of mind.

She had around two hours still before she thought it was safe to return to the Forest's border, and she spent that time just walking around the castle, stopping on staircases and random chairs to think for a bit, before moving on. She didn't want to be in any of the usual haunts. Minny would probably be looking for her, and she knew her friend would demand to know why Ella was in such a pensive mood, and she knew with even more certainty thst the one thing she could never do is tell her best friend about any of her thoughts on Tom.

After a while, she noticed most students heading to the Great Hall for dinner, which was her cue to to head out to the Grounds. She had eaten a very quiet lunch earlier, and she wasn't hungry again just yet. Plus, the last thing she needed was to get sick in the Forest due to nerves and a full stomach. She turned from her current path, which would have led her to the dungeons, and headed out into the night air. It was cooler than she had expected, and she shivered slightly. She could go back up for a cloak, but she had no desire to run into anyone on the heavily-trafficked path to the Gryffindor Tower. She would be fine with just her school robes, which she had slipped on over her dress earlier when she had dropped off her books.

As she made her way to the glowing squares that were Ogg's hut, she began to think again on what Tom had said. What should she do? What could she do? It was fairly obvious to her there was no turning back now, not form where the were, but the question was, where were they? Friends? That didn't sound right in Ella's head. Friends played Gobstones with you. Tom was a bit more complicated than that. So what was he to her? What part of her life did he fit into? It was an odd thought, because she had no clue what the answer was. Perhaps time would tell. As she reached the hut, she looked around in the fading light for any sign of Ogg or Tom, and sighed. Time for detention.