The second I entered the Ravenclaw common room, I was leapt upon by my boyfriend, Chase.

'Rose! Where were you? I haven't seen you in ages!' he demanded.

'It's not even been three days. I told you, I went to my cousin's wedding.'

'Oh. Well, I forgot!' he seemed angry and defensive.

'Chase, what's got you so riled up?' I asked, concerned.

'Nothing! Merlin, why can't I just talk without you assuming something?' He seemed even angrier.

'Chase, what's wrong?'

'Nothing! Stop asking me questions!' he put a hand on my shoulder and pushed me roughly away from him. I wasn't expecting it, and I stumbled and nearly fell. He just stalked away, up to his dormitory, leaving me dumbfounded.

'What was that about?' Louis' voice came from behind me. I turned.

'I have no idea,' I said, bewildered. Louis looked thoughtful, and also worried. I hugged him, hiding my own confusion. 'Maybe he had a bad weekend. Let's go to lunch.'

He nodded and we went down towards the great hall. I sat down with Lou, but didn't eat; my stomach felt a bit queasy. I felt confused and wrong-footed, and we didn't talk much.

The afternoon was spent with Lou and Al, catching up on all my homework, eventually giving up for lack of concentration, and then lying on the floor of the prefects common room, eyes closed, hands behind my head, lost in thought, listening to the rain outside. It was soothing, and the fire was warm as I let my mind drift into the soft darkness of nothingness…

The next I knew, someone was sitting next to me on the floor. 'Weasley? You're asleep. On the floor of the common room. What the hell?'

I sat up, brushing my hair out of my eyes, wincing when I hit the bruise on my forehead.. 'I wasn't asleep. I was listening.'

'Bullshit. You were asleep.' It was Malfoy, of course.

'What do you care?' I asked brusquely.

'Because it's four in the afternoon, and I want to study right where you're sitting.'

'Too fucking bad.' I lay back down and closed my eyes again, my hair falling back off my face.

He poked my bruised forehead, and I yelled. 'What the fuck is your problem, Malfoy?' I tried to hit him, but he jumped away. I stood to try and chase him, then nearly fell over as I got the mother of all head rushes. My eyes blacked, and I felt myself fall, barely registering my own hitting the ground, and a yell of 'Rose!'

I was very warm and comfortable, in a cozy sleepy blackness. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt glued shut. I tried again, and managed to get them open.

An amused voice greeted me with 'You're an idiot.' I turned my head to see Louis sitting on a chair next to my bed, elbows on knees. I looked around and realized I was in the hospital wing.

'What happened?' I asked, groggily.

'When you hit your head Floo-ing back, you concussed yourself. You stood up in the common room and passed out.'

It came back: feeling nauseous, not being able to concentrate, falling asleep when I wasn't tired, Malfoy waking me up, getting up to chase him and blacking out.

'Fuck.' I said.

'That's right, dumbass.' Lou was never one to mince words. 'You probably feel pretty stoned right now; that's the sleeping potion. When it wears off, you can leave.'

'What time is it?'

'It's Monday, about seven a.m. Madame Pomfrey said that she'd just give you a potion to make you sleep all night, because brain healing is difficult to do, even with magic. The best thing to do is let your body heal it.'

I sat up carefully, wincing as my head pounded. I took the water on the nightstand and took a careful sip, then another. The cold drink cleared my head, and my stomach rumbled.

'I'm hungry,' I stated.

'Well, you haven't eaten in twenty-four hours, so I would suspect so. Do you think the potions worn off yet?' I nodded.

He called Madam Pomfrey, and the matron came bustling over. She looked at my head, in my eyes, and nodded decisively. She handed my a goblet full of some potion, bright purple and shiny. I eyed it suspiciously.

'It's good for you. It'll fix your headache and get your strength up. When you drink it, you can leave.' I pinched my nose and knocked it back, then pulled a face.

'Merlin, that's disgusting. What did you put in it? Wait, I don't want to know.' I swished my mouth out with some water. Louis laughed as the matron bustled away, shaking her head.

'Here's some clothes. I got that girl in your dorm, the black girl, Denise, wasn't it? Yeah, I got her to get one of your uniforms.'

I thanked him and shooed him out, pulling the curtains so I could have some privacy. After I dressed, we went down to breakfast. Chase was there, and I sat next to him. He didn't say a word, even when I tried to get his attention, so I let it go. When he stood to leave the Great Hall, I followed. Once we were out of the public eye, I stopped him.

'Chase, what's up? Are you mad at me? Did you just have a shit weekend?'

He turned around, an ugly look on his face. I took an involuntary step backwards.

'Where the fuck were you last night?' His voice was soft and very angry.

'I had hit my head Floo-ing back, and I must have concussed myself, so when I stood up to get Malfoy back-'

'Fuck.' Now he was louder, angrier. 'You were with Malfoy. Is that what I deserve? A girlfriend who openly takes the guy she's cheating on me with home with her, and then spends the night with him!' He stalked off, and I followed him.

'Chase, stop it. We're not like that; I hate Malfoy. It was a favour for Teddy, taking him home like that.' I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, making it bush out even worse.

'Then where were you last night? Out with him.'

'No, I was in the hospital wing. Chase, you're being an idiot.'

He stopped suddenly, whirled around, and grabbed me by my upper arms, hard enough to bruise.

'Never,' he said, voice shaking with anger. 'Never call me stupid.' He put his face right up next to mine, his eyes smouldering with anger. 'Got it?'

I looked into his eyes and felt fear, true fear, for what was maybe the first time in my life. I nodded and he let go, stalking away. I stood there in an empty corridor, arms wrapped around myself, shaking, for a good long while.

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I know that after that, I should have dealt with it, been more wary, confronted him about it, something. But at lunch, he was all smiles and kisses and pet names, and it was hard to make any connection between this happy, loving guy and the angry one who had grabbed me so hard that he left bruises around my biceps. Being angry at someone who brought you flowers at suppertime just makes you look bitchy and unreasonable. I just put it out of my mind, pretending that it had never happened, and continued on with my life.

On Friday, I finished classes with a pile of homework that almost rivalled my migraine in size, and I did not want to be around other people, talking and making other noises. My headache was so bad that I didn't even like hearing myself breathe.

So I took refuge in a secluded corner of the library, spreading my books on a table and putting out the nearest torches, lowering the light levels to a manageable setting. I stuck my head out and looked around, but there was no one who would care, so I took off my shoes and tie, curling my feet under me. I finished my Potions and Arithmancy assignment, and got a good start on my Transfiguration essay, as my brain slowly started to melt. I hadn't slept well, and I was extremely warm and comfortable in this comfy chair in this comfy sleepy warm library…

I sat up straighter and shook my head, trying to clear it.

'Too warm, that's the problem.' I said this out loud, and then looked around to make sure no one had heard me; I saw no one anywhere near. I took off my school shirt, revealing the plain black tank top I wore underneath. I continued on my essay.

' "So, in summary, the five principles of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration are"… Damn, what are they?' I spoke aloud again. 'I've got to stop doing that.' I said aloud, and when I realized, I let my head drop so that it banged against the table. 'Ow! Fuck!' I put a hand on my throbbing forehead.

I had a ton of homework and I was tired and my bruise hurt and I had a migraine and I missed Indy and I'd had a shit day and it all piled up at once, and I started to cry. Hot, salty tears began to stream silently down my face, dripping from my cheeks to drop on my grey wool skirt. I pressed my hands over my face and just cried, just let the tears fall.

'Rose?' I heard the voice and tried to stop crying, but I couldn't. I heard footsteps get nearer, and a chair scraped the floor as someone pulled it over next to me. I didn't take my hands away from my face as someone hesitantly stroked my hair, like they expected me to pull away. When I didn't, they put their arms around me and I buried my face in their neck. On some level, I realized that it was Malfoy, and I didn't care; I just needed a hug.

I don't know how long we sat there, Malfoy holding me and stroking my hair while I just cried and cried and cried. When I'd finally stopped, I pulled away and looked at his face. He had a strange look, one I'd never seen on him before.

'I'm sorry. I don't usually do this. I just…I just had a really bad day.' I took a deep, shuddering breath.

'It's fine, Rose.' He still had that odd look on his face. He took one of my bare arms in his hands; he was surprisingly gentle. 'Rose, who the hell did this to you?'

'No one. I fell and bumped my arm.' Even hearing myself say it, I knew that it was a lame excuse.

'Don't bullshit me, these are finger marks.' His hands started to shake and he let go of my arm. 'Rose, what's going on?'

I pushed myself away from him, put my blouse back on and began to gather my books and papers. 'Nothing. I'm fine.'

'Is it your stupid fucking asshole of a boyfriend? Is he hurting you?' He looked angry now, but not at me. I felt angry, and frightened in a different way than I had been with Chase. It didn't feel like I had to run away; it felt like I had to stay, that I was afraid of what was everywhere else right then.

I stuffed my papers in my bag with shaking hands. 'Fuck off, Malfoy. Mind your own business.' I slung my bag over my shoulder and stalked out of there, head down, face still tear-streaked.

That night, when I was lying in bed, almost asleep, his face flashed into my mind, the odd look he'd had before and the hurt look when I told him to fuck off and mind his own business. I tried to shake it, but I felt guilty, and his face followed me into my dreams.