Sunday morning dawned clear and cold. I headed down to breakfast without any particular enthusiasm. I slid into my seat at Ravenclaw table next to Chase, who poured me coffee.

'Hey, doll,' he said, kissing my cheek. I greeted him back, and added raspberry jam to my scone.

After breakfast, I went to the library, where I knew I would find Sha. I was not disappointed. That girl was sticking to a freakishly predictable schedule lately. Like, whoa.

'Sha?' her head jerked up.

'Hey, what's up?' she asked.

'Not much. How are you?' I was concerned; she looked very pale, even for an albino.

'I'm fine.' Her answer was automatic, completely not thought of.

'Sha, how are you really?'

'I'm fine, really,' she said. Then, she changed the subject. 'So, I saw you and Chase Rawlings at the Ravenclaw table this morning. Are you guys together?'

'Yeah, pretty much. It's one of those "we're not together yet, but give us another day or two" things.' She nodded, then bade me goodbye, as she had studying to do. She studies a lot. She ought to be in Ravenclaw, with brains like hers.

I turned away, to go sit at another table in another nook of the library, out of the usual run of people. I took out my books, and got another one I needed for reference from a shelf, then spread it all out on a table. I tried to study, but was too distracted by worry for Sha.

'You're not studying.' The voice was smooth and slightly mocking, a voice I knew well.

'It's really none of your business, Malfoy.'

'What's the matter? Worried about your boyfriend being in the stacks with someone else?' This was the Scorpius Malfoy I knew and hated, not the strangely kindly confusing creature who had been occupying his body of late.

'No, actually. I'm worried about my sort-of-cousin.' This threw him off guard; he was expected something witty and cutting, not the truth. He recovered quickly, though.

'How do you have a sort-of-cousin? Is that like a half-cousin, but more inbred?'

I looked at him. 'How do you have a half cousin? They're either your cousin or they aren't, end of story. But she's more complicated. She's my god sister as well, I suppose, but I grew up with her just like the others.'

'Why are you worried?' he seemed genuinely curious.

'She's been fighting with her friends and Al, and she's losing weight, and spending all her time with schoolwork.'

'She's not friends with Al?' I thought that this was a very odd sort of question.

'She is, I guess. They were getting to be better friends in the fall, but I dunno what happened. Al's been pretty miserable lately, I didn't want to bother him about that. I just wanted to find out why he's upset.' I fiddled with a curl, flicking it across my cheekbone, back and forth.

'They're the reason that the other is upset. Something happened between them,' he suggested.

'No, not them. Al's too…level-headed. Calm. And Sha's kind of…how can I put this…crazy. She takes after her mum, they're both a bit strange. They're kind of like this albino hippie crazy double team.'

'Albino? You mean the skinny one who used to be blonde?'

'That's the one. Sha. Short for Saoirse, Saoirse Lovegood.'

'I rode back on the Hogwarts Express with her. Stared out the window the whole time, didn't move a muscle or speak a word. Odd bird. Striking, though, even after getting rid of the hair.' I levelled a finger at him.

'You stay away from my cousin-creature god-sister thing.' It wasn't as good a threat as I've ever made, but it'll do on the basis that it was half a joke. He raised his hands defensively in the air.

'I wouldn't do anything of the sort. She's much too young for me, and besides, she's pining for your cousin Al there.'

'Okay, she's not pining for him, nothing happened there. You're an idiot of the noblest class.' He directed what he clearly thought was a winning smile my way. 'Did I forget to say annoying? Clear off.' I bent my nose back to my book.

'Ouch. Babe's got bite.' I shot him a look that would have peeled paint. He just shook it off. 'So, are you just not going to talk to me now?' he asked.

That was exactly what I was planning on doing. And I didn't reply, obviously.

'Really? Not even if I say that I am the most handsome man in the world?' I held back my snort of laughter. He leaned in closer to me. 'You know what? I don't believe that.' I shot him a look. 'No, really, I don't. I actually suffer from low self-esteem.' I nearly busted out laughing, but held it in, which quite possibly shattered my ribs. Ow.

'It's really true.' He picked up one of my quills and started flipping it over and over in his hand, narrowly missing the tender flesh of his palm with the sharp nib, closer with each toss. 'I don't actually think that I'm smart, or handsome, or even mildly talented. Except for at this,' he said, gesturing to his quill tossing. 'You even have to admit, this takes a special sort of skill. Look at how high I can toss it and catch it perfect.'

He chucked the pen in the air, and I watched as it rose, five, seven, ten feet in the air, and then dropped, revolving slowly. He caught it in his palm, and I saw the wince of pain before his hand fell open, dropping the quill and revealing a long shallow cut.

I sighed and grabbed his hand. Placing my wand on it, I healed it. I'm not very good, so it left a thin scar, but it was better than nothing. I tried to drop his hand, but he loosely caught my fingers in his.

'Thanks, Rosie.' The nickname startled me into speech.

'No need, Malfoy. You owe me now. And don't call me Rosie.' I shook him off and stalked from the library.

As I stalked down the hall (gifted with my father's height, I am one of the few girls of Hogwarts who can stalk properly. Girls without legs simply cannot stalk, no matter how hard they try.), I thought about what Malfoy had said. Not about the quill tossing, about his self-esteem. It couldn't be true; he was a smarmy, cocky bastard, so why was I even thinking about this? I shook my head, ridding it of stupid thoughts, and continued to the Ravenclaw common room.

I threw myself down on a couch next to Chase. 'Hey, doll, what's got you so riled up?' he asked.

'Malfoy,' I fumed. 'He is infuriating. I'm just trying to study and he comes over and keeps bothering me.'

Chase shrugged it off and returned to his own studies. I remembered the crazy amount of homework I had and went to it.

The next week passed quietly. Chase made me happy, someone to kiss and cuddle. He wasn't exactly the fastest broom in the shed, but he was sweet, and I was contented with my life. Still, as the snow began to melt, I watched Sha. She was disappearing, becoming a small, black-clad ghost. I wrote to Indy in NZ, wondering if Sha had told her anything. The last Monday in February, I arrived at breakfast still half-asleep, tired from my late night studying. Chase gave me a quick kiss and poured me coffee, same as every morning. It was both sweet and annoying; nice because he thought to do so, but irksome that he'd not noticed that I never drank it. As I was heaping marmalade on my toast, the post arrived. I had two letters, one from Indy and one from James, to my surprise; James isn't much of a letter-writer.

I put them in my bag, since I had to get to class. I completely forgot about them until that Thursday, after supper, when I was getting my books in my dorm and they fell out of my bag.

Indy's letter was just full of chatter; how she was learning to play the guitar, these gorgeous butterflies she'd seen. She sent a picture with it, of her with one of the butterflies landed right on the bridge of her nose, flapping it's wings out to cover her face and then together again. It was a great picture, and she sounded really happy, but I felt a pang reading it, I missed her so much.

James' letter was a bit more of a shock, driving Indy's from my mind.

Rosy-Pose,

Indy said that you were wondering what was wrong with Sha.

She was with Al, didn't you know? I guess they were like, completely

In love with each other, and then Lilykins found out and threw a right tantrum. Sha broke up with Al, and they're all right miserable. Fun, hey?

Anyhow, I'm doing pretty well, but still torn on what I want to do.

Hope you're well, I'll see you again at Easter.

-James

PS-George says hi too.

Well bugger me. I had no idea.

And suddenly, I wanted to kill Al. Wanted to absolutely wrend him limb from limb for being such an idiot. I threw my books down and stormed out of the dormitory. I didn't even glance around the common room, just threw myself out of the door. I stomped down the winding staircase, fuming. I stormed through the hallways, not caring when I bumped people. Al wasn't in the library, but as I opened him in the joint common room sitting with Louis and Malfoy of all people. I stalked up to him, ignoring them.

'Albus Severus Potter, tell me that James is lying. Tell me that this is completely untrue. Tell me that you were not so infinitesimally fucking stupid as to fall in love with Sha, our Saiorse Lovegood. Tell me that that isn't true.' I looked him straight in the face. He looked at his feet and mumbled something. 'Sorry, Albus, what was that? I didn't hear you.'

'I can't tell you that. I did.' He put his face in his hands.

'Al! How could you do that?' I groaned and fell onto the couch between Lou and Malfoy, still ignoring that.

'What, you mean that you think I did it on purpose? Just set out one day going "Oh, I think that I'm totally going to fuck myself over today, just for shits and giggles"? Fuck.' His voice was muffled by his hands.

'Al, have you got any idea of what this has done? You've caused this huge rift; everyone is miserable and I think that Sha is on some kind of hunger strike! Hugo won't even talk to me about it, Sha won't even admit that anything's wrong, and fucked if I know what's up with Lily and Asher! And you're sitting here with your friends, having a grand old time, when you've fucked everything up.' I put my own head in my hands, muttering curses. When I looked up again, I realized that Al was crying and Malfoy and Louis were looking at me, Malfoy astonished and Louis pleadingly. He gestured to Al and I sighed, then went over and put my arms around my silly, lovestruck cousin. I rummaged around in my pocket and handed him the crumpled hanky that I found there. He wiped his face with it and took a deep, shuddering breath. When he spoke, his voice was even again.

'Rose, how do I fix this?' he looked at me for help, and I realized I didn't have a clue. I took a deep breath, then another. 'Rose?' I put a finger to my lips to quiet him, then closed my eyes and thought for a minute. Fix this, how to fix it. A minute later I opened my eyes.

'Al, you owe all of them. And me. And there's really nothing that you can do. I'll talk to Sha.' I sighed; once again, I was everyone's mother.

'Rose, I owe you a million. And I am really sorry that I screwed everything up.' He gave me a hug.

'I know you're sorry. Next time, don't. Fall for her if you have to, but tell me, for Merlin's sake.' He grinned sheepishly. I glanced at the other couch where Malfoy and Louis still sat watching us. Malfoy hadn't said anything yet, which struck me as odd. He and Louis looked at one another then back at me, movie-style.

'Did you hear that?' Malfoy asked, with a touch of awe in his voice. 'She swore. The head girl just completely bitched someone out.'

'Shut up, Malfoy. It's not the first time. I've been doing it to Al since the time when we thought 'Darn' was a bad word.' Al nodded agreement beside me.

'She's the only one who doesn't put up with my shit, other than Lou there, and he doesn't actually cuss me out, just raises his eyebrows and makes me feel like a total asshole.' We all looked at Louis, who shrugged and returned to his book.

Malfoy shook his head. 'I will never understand your family.'

'Be glad,' Louis's voice floated out from behind his book. Be very, very glad.' We all laughed.

I spent the rest of the evening with them, finishing homework due the next day and leaving the rest for the weekend, talking and laughing. It was surprisingly easy to get along with Malfoy with Al and Louis around.

This chapter was like pulling teeth. No matter how much I wrote, it just wouldn't get any longer! It was maddening! AAAHHH!!

But now, I have a great sense of accomplishment, now that I've dealt with that strange phenomenon, no doubt brought on by excesses of cough medicine, because, although Rose has gotten over her illness, I'm still sick.