Even after I had managed to get Liv to bed, I found it impossible to sleep. My previous good mood had vanished, and instead I was feeling restless and anxious. Well, at least Liv was done feeling better. Being asleep is always better than being awake.

Too bad I couldn't fall asleep.

After about an hour of sitting on my bed, I decided to go on a walk. It was only four in the morning, and the next day was a Saturday, so I had time to spare. I put a cozy jumper on and a warm pair of socks, thinking it would be better not to wear shoes and avoid excessive noise.

I tiptoed out of the room, Liv sleeping deeply, and soon I was roaming the dark halls of Hogwarts. I went up to the Astronomy Tower, then sat down in the Great Hall, hung out in the Room of Requirement and eventually headed towards the kitchens.

As I walked, I watched the shadows and listened to the silence that enveloped Hogwarts at night. It was so comforting and familiar that I eventually started walking with my eyes closed, following the path I always took to go to the kitchens. I knew not even the crazy caretaker would be out and about so late, so I had nobody to worry about.

Just as I was thinking this, I slammed into... Something, and crashed to the floor.

As I opened my eyes, I found myself beside three boys, which I quickly recognized.

Boy 1: A redhead, therefore a Weasley, whose name was Frodo or Frudox or something of the sort.

Boy 2 I instantly recognised. It was the guy that was with Liv when she was crying, the one with the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look about him, and probably the Weasley Liv had told me about.

And, last but definitely not least, was Boy 3: Potter. Of course.

"Well, what are you three twats doing here?"

Frudox grinned. Deer-caught-inblahblahblah (too long of a name. Lets call him Deer-boy) blinked. And dear dear Potter smirked, of course.

"I could ask the same thing, princess"

I gaped at him, realizing that I hadn't talked to him since the whole apology episode before Christmas break, and realizing that although his typical annoying comment was along the lines of what he always said, I wasn't as irritated as I normally was. Hmmm. Probably the sleep deprivation.

"Yeah well I asked first"

Am I mature or what?

"I asked second"

Though he wasn't one to talk.

"Whatever, Potter."

I glanced back at Deer-boy, who was staring at me curiously. Friendly Rebeckah mode: on.

"Hi, you're the guy that was with Liv before, aren't you?"

"Yes"

"Well what's your name?"

"Louis Weasley"

I sat up, looking at Deer-boy Weasley again. Even though his hair was more of a copper colour, he did have the air of happiness and general niceness about him.

I realized I had been silent just a minute too long, so I opened my mouth to say something nice and intelligent.

"And what exactly are your intentions with Liv?"

Deer-boy's mouth fell open. I guess I was being slightly blunt. Oops. Blame it on the sleep deprivation.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Don't bullshit me, you know exactly what I mean. But now's really not the moment to be talking about this, what with these two dimwits here and all, so we shall talk some other day, young man."

He blinked a bit more before nodding silently.

"I'll be going now. You guys have fun." I was getting up, and about to head towards to kitchen once again, before Frudox spoke up.

"Wait. Aren't you supposed to be like, a bitch?"

That caught my attention. "What?"

"I mean, you're being kind of nice, in a weird type of way. I though you were the cold and mean type."

Potter spoke up. "Oh that's just a front, mate. She's really a decent person, but she just never lets people see it."

Frudox seemed contemplative. "Huh. That could be true, but why would she hide her decency?"

Potter smirked at that. "Well, I'm going for the tragic childhood theory, and now she won't let anyone in, but I'm still working it out."

"I'm right here, you know." I eventually said. Their psychoanalysis of me was making me feel uncomfortable and somehow invaded. Why were these guys suddenly spewing theories about the reasons behind my behavior?

Finally, it hit me. They were drunk. It all made sense. They must have all been at the party.

"Go to bed, boys."

And I left.

The kitchens were probably my favorite place in Hogwarts (apart from my dorm and the Forest, of course). I loved the smell of yumminess, the cute house elves running about, the sound of washing plates... It was just perfect.

As soon as I walked in, Ditz came bouncing excitedly as she asked me what I wanted. Tea, please.

I sat down in the corner of one o the tables, and seconds later Ditz was back, bringing me a huge mug, which smelled delicious.

"Thank you, Ditz. What tea is it?"

"Mint, Miss Beckah. Made it myself."

I took a sip, and smiled at her. "Why don't you sit down? Tell me what you did on Christmas."

She smiled, a bit uneasy at having to stop working, but most House elves were sleeping, and the ones who weren't had nothing to do, so after a few looks around she sat opposite of me.

"Well you were here, Miss Beckah. I just cleaned and cooked."

I waved her off. "Oh but I'm sure something interesting happened."

I mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Well I did find some interesting drawings..."

That was one of the things I loved about Ditz. Being one of the youngest that worked at Hogwarts, she had a mischievous side that the other house elves didn't have. And she was really cute, too.

"Oooh tell mee"

"Well a boy from Ravenclaw has a trunk full of portraits of Professor Brams. I'm pretty sure he's in love."

"Aww that's just cute."

"You won't think it's cute when I tell you most of them are nudes."

At this, I collapsed into a fit of giggles, while Ditz complained about how badly done they were.

"Poor boy though, suffering from a forbidden love."

At that moment, the door opened, Potter Sr. walking in. "Mister James!" a few elves shouted, rushing to his side. I stared in shock, how did Potter know this place? This was my place.

When he turned around, he stared at me. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I always come here"

"Well how come I've never seen you here before?"

"I'm normally sleeping around this time. I usually come a bit earlier."

"Then why are you here today?" I asked.

"One of my roommates was shagging in the dorm. Wouldn't let us go in. So I took a sobering potion and tadah, here I am."

"How nice. I'll be going then." I said, getting up.

"No need to, princess. Finish your tea, it smell delicious."

I considered. On one hand, going to bed. On the other, finishing my excellent tea, but putting up with Potter.

I sighed, sitting down again. Tea would be the death of me one day.

Potter smirked, as he asked Ditz for some ice cream. "So what brings you here? Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah"

"I didn't see you at the party tonight."

"That's because I wasn't there"

"Aw, that's too bad. We missed you, princess."

"I'm sure you did."

Silence reigned after that, in which I sipped my tea and Potter devoured his ice-cream. It made me feel weird. It wasn't an awkward silence, but the lack of this awkwardness was awkward. Basically, it was awkward because it wasn't awkward, as awkward as that sounds.

I was trying to think of something slightly intelligent to say, but Potter beat me to it.

"Scorpious Malfoy is your cousin, right?" Not what I was expecting but okay.

"Yes." I nodded curtly.

"Have you known him for a long time?" This was starting to sound creepy. Still, I answered honestly.

"Seven years."

"Do you know him well?" I was done.

"Why are you interrogating me?" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well umm... I really don't think... It's not in my place to tell you..." Oh, maybe it was because of Scorp's love affair with the Weasley girl.

"Cut the crap, Potter. Is this somehow related to a younger cousin of yours?"

"Yes...? Are you talking about what I'm talking about?"

"I don't know, maybe it would help if you told me what you were talking about" I snapped, getting annoyed.

"Well I can't tell you if you don't know it already."

"Okay now this is just silly. Why don't we call Ditz, we both tell her what we're talking about and if it's the same thing she tells us?" I finally answered.

"But the Ditz would find out, and nobody's supposed to know."

"She probably already knows, Potter. Ditz knows everything."

"Fine."

And so, we called Ditz over. We each whispered something to her, and when we asked her if it was the same thing she nodded, making me smile smile up at Potter.

"So you know about the love affair. Who told you?"

"Rosie."

Oh, so they were close. How sweet. "Well I hope Rosie treats Scorp right, or I'm going to kick her arse."

"I'll do the same thing to him if he hurts her."

An uncomfortable silence ensued, as we glared at each other, like two wolves protective of their puppies.

Suddenly, he deflated, an easy smile spreading over his face. I had never seen him smile like that before. It made him look all innocent and nice and sweet, but I knew better; he was a devil inside.

"So tell me about yourself, Miss Malfoy." He said in a creepy angelic voice.

Well two could play at this game.

"There's not much to it, really. I'm a sweet little girl." He leaned back in his chair, watching me almost carefully.

"You're sarcastic."

"Yes"

"You have a sense of humor."

"Sometimes."

"We're in a lot of detentions together."

"Your point, Potter?"

"We should be friends."

First, I choked on my tea. Then, I stared at him, mouth open and eyes wide. Finally, I realized he was actually kidding, so I started laughing loudly.

"I'm not kidding."

"Right"

"We would be great friends!"

"But... why?"

"It'd be fun!"

"What do you get out of it?"

"The pleasure of your company."

"What do I get out of it?"

"The pleasure of my company."

Insert snort here.

"The whole idea is pure bollocks."

"Will you be my friend or not?"

"I'm a bad decision maker under pressure."

"And the decision is...?"

"Fine. I'll be your friend."

-o0o-

James' dad spends a lot of time away from home, working. My dad left before I was born.

"You're kidding, right? I can't believe you're asking my favorite color. How cliche is that?" I could feel laughter bubbling at the back of my throat, because of the pure absurdity of the situation.

James loves his Mom more than anything, they play a lot of Quidditch together. My Mom died.

"Shut uup. I like cliches." His eyes were wide and sparkly, and the huge lopsided grin I had gotten familiar with over the past two hours was again making an appearance.

James is very protective of his sister and of Rose, but fights a lot with Albus. I love Draco, but hate Astoria.

"Goodnight, James. Or good morning. Or whatever." I sighed, dragging my feet toward the entrance of the Common Room. He laughed at the patheticness of me.

James liked History, but nobody knows that. I don't trust people.

"Don't I get a hug? In celebration of our friendship?" I turned back to see his childlike grin again.

James hates that he looks like his grandfather; he hates his name and he hates being fake. I hate that I'm fat, and short and nasty.

"You're a cliched idiot."

James is scared of not being good enough for his Dad. I'm scared of heights.

I did hug him though.

-o0o-

AN: Hello peoplees. I hope this chapter was halfway good, and thank you all so much for reading, seriously. I haven't been getting many reviews, but just knowing you guys are reading is great so THANK YOU. Anyway, byeeeee