Arianna spent the rest of the train ride trying to forget her interactions with Albus. Arianna apparently didn't do a fantastic job of masking her discomfort, because Olivia quickly confronted her about it.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously, though kept her voice quiet so the other gossiping girls wouldn't overhear. Olivia was the very definition of an exotic beauty. Her skin was lighter than that of her father's, and she had, thankfully, escaped much of her mother's appearance. Merlin only knew how Pansy Parkinson had ever ended up with Blaise Zabini. Olivia's hair was much like her mother's though she kept it much longer.

"You'll never guess who found out about Micheal and I," Arianna began, almost silently, feeling rather sheepish as she realized it was her own fault.

"Who?" Olivia asked curiously.
"Albus Potter," Arianna spat, rolling her eyes in irritation.

"Well, maybe you should just dump Micheal," Olivia suggested, sounding rather hopeful.

"Will you stop?" Arianna asked, half amused. "I like him a lot, alright?"

"Yeah, I know," Olivia sighed. "But he's a complete prat."

"You sound like Potter now," she said. "It's not just sex that Micheal wants," she sighed.

"How did you two get together anyway?" Olivia asked curiously, crossing her legs and turning to face her.

"Well, he was over at our pool. You were there too," Arianna told her. "And before I knew it, I was in one of the halls, snogging him," she admitted, blushing as she realized how bad it sounded. "He said he had been interested in me for years now, but he didn't want Scorpius to find out."

"There's your first clue, Ari," Olivia said. "He doesn't want your brother and his 'best friend' to know that he likes you?" she asked skeptically. "He doesn't care about you," Olivia said gently, not wanting to hurt her best friend.

"Just let it go," Arianna begged. "I'm not going to have sex with him any time soon, alright?"

"Fine, fine," Olivia said, then her smile grew mischievously. "He does have rather nice abs, doesn't he?" she asked, giggling.

"I'll say," Arianna agreed, nodding enthusiastically and giggling. The rest of the train ride passed without much more, the girls in the compartment just swapping stories about their summer.

"So how'd it go?" Hugo asked Albus, looking up from his Quidditch Through the Ages and smirking slightly.

"How do you think it went?" Albus asked sarcastically in response. "She's a Malfoy, you tosser," he sighed, falling into his seat.

"At least she's hot," Hugo offered, as if it was compensation for the bet.

"Will you stop saying that?" Albus said in exasperation. "I don't give a damn. I'm starting to think you've got a thing for her."

"No," Hugo said firmly, shaking his head. "I'm just saying, that if you have sex with her, you really should thank me," he chuckled. Albus shrugged a little, neither confirming or denying the statement.

"I'll tell you what, I've got my work cut out for me," Albus sighed. "Though, it probably won't be any easier for you."

"Who knows?" Hugo shrugged, a slightly dreamy look stealing across his face for a split second. "Merlin, she's beautiful," he sighed, his thoughts straying to Olivia for a few seconds.

"Tell your parents that, and see what they say," Albus suggested, grinning as he folded his hands behind his head, leaning back.

"Oh, shove it," Hugo rolled his eyes. Albus leaned back, falling asleep for the rest of the train ride.

Arianna got off the train, pulling at her skirt to straighten it slightly. If there was one thing she hated about Hogwarts, it was being forced into a uniform. At least green was a good color on her, to her relief. She didn't know what she would have done if by some horror she was sorted into Hufflepuff and forced to wear yellow on a daily basis. She boarded a carriage with her brother, Micheal, Olivia, and a couple other students. Micheal gave her an inconspicuous wink when Scorpius had turned away, and she had to work to keep the blush off of her cheeks. Her eyes, of their own accord, flickered to the carriage where Albus, Hugo, Rose, and several other Gryffindors were seated. Albus was watching her with a slightly amused expression, and her face burned scarlet.

"What's wrong with you?" Scorpius asked her curiously.

"Nothing," she muttered, shooting a dark glance at Albus. "How are you liking being Head Boy?" she asked to divert his attention.

"It's not bad," he shrugged. "Rose is insufferable, of course, but she'll make a good Head Girl," he admitted. "We've agreed to try and get along this year," he added, scowling as Micheal arched his eyebrows suggestively.

"There are worse people to share a common room with," Micheal laughed. "Weasley isn't half bad looking," he added.

"You think anything with boobs is good looking, Micheal," Scorpius rolled his eyes, oblivious to Arianna's discomfort. "How many girls have you shagged now?"

"I really don't see how that's any of your business," Micheal scowled, shooting Arianna an apologetic look in response. Scorpius made a show of counting on his fingers, naming several of Arianna's friends in the process. With each name, Arianna's eyebrows arched a little more, and Olivia gave her a knowing look. "Shove it, Scorpius," he snapped finally. A loud laugh from a neighboring carriage, made Arianna look up, and Albus winked at her as she did. She flicked him off, before staring at her lap.

She remained silent for the rest of the ride but was stopped before she could enter the Great Hall. Olivia began talking to Scorpius as they walked, distracting him as Arianna followed Micheal down the hall a ways where he looked at her carefully.

"Arianna..." he said quietly, lifting her chin so she would look at him.
"What is it, Micheal?" she asked, trying not to appear irritated or upset.

"About what Scorpius said-" he began.

"Listen, I knew that you'd slept with plenty of girls before we started dating, I had just hoped that maybe I was different," she admitted, showing a bit of her insecurity.

"You are," Micheal said, sounding sincere as he looked into her eyes. "You mean a lot to me," he assured her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Did you tell the rest of them that too?" she asked, her voice holding very little venom.

Only when they were this difficult, he thought, but shook his head at her. "Never," he told her. "You're the most important thing to me now." Arianna smiled at him, and allowed him to lean down and kiss her. She felt so...happy at that moment as she kissed him. His hands traveled a little more than she normally would have allowed as he stroked her side underneath her shirt, one touching above her bra. Micheal eventually pulled away, telling her that they would be missed if they didn't get back to the Great Hall. She went in first, him following a few minutes later.

She couldn't help thinking that she never really felt...overwhelmed with Micheal. It was never hard to push him away or to tell him to stop.

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Also: I will not update this often typically, but i'm on spring break at the moment! :) And I've been working on this for a long time, actually.