And welcome, one and all, to the 21st chapter of Seduce! Don't worry, everyone! We've nearly reached the end of our journey together! There are.. *searches for the paper with the ideas written on it* ..3-4 more chapters, I do believe! Don't quote me on that though!

Anyways, the story gets a bit confusing near here. I realized a bit too late that I left a lot of untied ends and should really, yknow, get those cleaned up. So the endings will make sense, but they might be a bit unorthodox is all. Don't complain. After all, I could've deleted this story.

Enjoy!

Rage was searing through Eryn's veins, burning her as she stormed throughout the castle. She had her sights set on whom to go to, so it was now only a matter of finding and confronting him. And while some logical part of her brain was shrieking at her to get back to the common room and just drown her sorrows in butterbeer and chocolate, the rebellious side that she let out so rarely was taking the reins and pushing her along.

"He'll pay," she snarled under her breath, frightening several first years she passed with the mad look in her eyes. Her hands were clenched into small, tight fists by her sides in anger, and she could swear that everyone could hear her hammering heartbeat.

Finally, she came across her prey, and for once, he was alone. His leech of a girlfriend wasn't sucking on his face, which was exactly what Eryn needed right now. Willing herself not to wimp out now, she stormed forwards and turned him round so he faced her.

"Oh," Ron coughed, a bit taken aback at her sudden abrasive touch. "Hey Eryn. I don't know where Rose is. Actually, could I ask-"

"You need to tell Harry to get it through his thick skull that I'm not going to be here forever!" she called over him, making his eyes widen and his jaw drop.

"Uhm… Okay?" he stuttered.

"I'm madly in love with him, but he doesn't seem to be doing something, and you know damn well what I'm talking about. And no, it's not sex!" Her eyes narrowed further when his face flushed, giving his perverted thoughts away. "Since there's no other way to get his attention, I'm taking drastic measures." She let out a bit of a weary sigh and muttered to herself, "I hope Rose can forgive me."

Ron's brow quirked up a bit. "What-"

He was shut up by her suddenly kissing him. Hard. And she was pleasantly surprised that he didn't kiss her back. Not that she didn't think he could do the job well, but the idea of snogging her not-officially-made boyfriend's best friend, and her own friend's crush, made her stomach churn a bit. But after a few more moments, she dropped her hands and pulled away, dropping down to her short stature.

"Knowing Lavender Brown, she's probably lurking and this'll spread like wildfire," she informed him briefly, then turned on her heel and stalked away. Ron was left to look after her, dazed and confused, and hoping that she was wrong.

Unfortunately, hope doesn't always work.

A small moan came from beneath the sheets, followed by a throaty groan, and rhythmic panting. The blankets were pulled aside, and Sam curled up closer to the boy of the night at the chilly air. It might have been nearly June, but the Ravenclaw common room could get cool. His arms instinctively wrapped round her.

"You're so perfect, Sam," he murmured in her ear. A practiced giggle emitted her lips as she kissed along his shoulders. She'd heard it before – not in a while, though – yet always liked the little compliments that followed sex. In the post-fucking haze of bliss, one says the most sincere things. But at this time, Sam couldn't find it in herself to return any compliment. Not that it really mattered. He had passed out already.

She was normally the kind of person to return any kind wishes given, but she couldn't. Because she knew if she did, it would be a lie. The fact of the matter was that the entirety of the time she had been pushed down against the mattress and kissed so sweetly, she wasn't picturing the good looking bloke beside her.

Neville had been the image in her mind. And she hated herself for him being the one she wanted there.

When she said she'd sooner be damned before shagging Neville, she had meant it at the time. She really had. All her pent up frustration from being blamed for spreading a disease throughout the school had gotten to her and she couldn't help but snap at his attempts to apologize whenever he saw her.

But now she was clean. Magical medicine worked so much quicker than the Muggle stuff, and in a week or two, she had been sent through many tests and found to be completely chlamydia-free. So what did she do to celebrate? She got laid.

Biting her lip, she turned over so her back was to the man beside her. The sheets shifted, so she pulled them up over her bare shoulder. Watching the shadows of the flickering candle by her bed dance around on the stone floor, she found herself being lulled to sleep.

Morning crept up on Sam far too quickly for her likes. Luckily, it was a Saturday, so she wasn't needed anywhere anytime soon. But according to the clock on the wall, it was only 6am. She let out a bit of a whine and turned to cuddle up with her lay, but found the space next to her empty.

She sat up slowly, letting the sheet bunch up at her hips. No one else was awake, and those who were had left. Looking around, she let a hand run through her auburn curls – they seemed to be going darker as the months dragged on – and watched a wave fall into her face. As she blew it away, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

On her nightstand was a folded piece of parchment. A small grin slid upon her face as she picked it up and slowly opened it. At the top of the page was a Gryffindor emblem, with the lion in the centre magically scratching at the edges of the crest and looking around curiously. Was the bloke from last night a Gryffindor? She couldn't seem to recall.

Her eyes scanned the paper, and she felt her expression grow darker and more worried with each word that seeped into her mind. And as she read the name that it was signed from, she threw her blankets off, pulled on the nearest pieces of clothing she could find, and ran from the dormitories.

Splayed open on her mattress was the note, and in fine cursive, it read:

Since I can't seem to gain your attention when I talk to you in person, perhaps the written word will make you listen. By the time you wake and find this, I'll be up on the Astronomy Tower, perched and ready to let go of the rail.

Yes, this is overdramatic. No, I don't usually do things like this. But people do crazy things when they're in love.

-Neville

"Did you hear?"

"What did I hear, Leanne?"

"Lavender Brown's been telling the whole school! How could you not hear?"

From the Eryn's bed in the sixth year Hufflepuff girl's dorms, Rose hid quite well behind the drapes she shut earlier. She'd been reading for a while, until Leanne came bursting in, seemingly filled with excitement. Rose didn't know who else was occupying the space, but it was now evident that Hannah Abbot was here, too.

For the past week, Rose had been spending her nights here as opposed to her own dorms. Mostly because Lavender was there, and Rose didn't need to be put into detention for giving the hairsprayed-to-perfection little bimbo a bloody eye and black nose. So, for the safety of Gryffindor-kind, she was staying here.

"You aren't making any sense," the voice of Susan Bones rang from the bed next to Eryn's. Someone huffed, presumably Leanne.

"Brown's been telling the everyone that her boyfriend cheated on her!"

Rose quirked a brow at this, though no one could see it. Ron had cheated on Lavender? That seemed a bit farfetched. Though she was incredibly angry with him for making her so in love with him, she knew he wouldn't hurt someone like that.

"Ron Weasley cheated on Brown?" Hannah laughed. "Didn't see that coming."

"It gets better though!" Leanne cut over. "You know how Brown seems to hate Carson, that blonde girl in her year?" Nodding happened, or so the rustling of necks against blouse collars made evident. "And how Carson is friends with Eryn?" More nodding. "Weasley cheated on Brown with Eryn!"

In an instant, Rose's head snapped up and she was gaping in the direction of Leanne's voice.

"No!" Susan gasped.

"She did! Brown seems to think that it's all because Carson is in love with Weasley and wants to get at her inadvertently for being the one he chose, but it's all a bunch of bullshit if you ask-"

The drapes tore open, making all the girls yelp a bit in fright, and they watched wide-eyed as Rose stormed out of the dorms, down the stairs, out of the common room, and to find the boy in question.

Ron wandered through the corridors on the fifth floor, watching his feet go in and out of his view as he moved. He was alone, or so the lack of noise made him assume, and he was happy like that. Because for the past few days, Lavender wouldn't leave him alone, and was wailing half the time she was near.

Apparently, because Winters kissed him, he had cheated on his girlfriend. Or, rather, his ex-girlfriend. Not three hours ago, he'd worked up the nerve to tell Lavender to piss off and that he was done with her. Unfortunately, those exact words cost him a heavy slap to the cheek and tears streaking her face. Not that he minded too much.

So now he was just walking, hoping to find some piece of sanity on his journey.

"WEASLEY!"

His hopes would not be answered soon, apparently, as he spun round and narrowly dodged a curse thrown towards him. He gawked at the force of the spell, but when he saw who had cast it, he was even more surprised. Rose Carson was stalked towards him, her tiny body shaking in what he could only assume was rage. He made to say something, but watched as her wand was pressed against his neck.

"What did you and Eryn do that made Lavender so angry, she felt the urge to send the news around the school and back again?" she asked, her voice low and deadly. For once, though, Ron wasn't threatened by her. Instead, he rolled his eyes.

"Eryn kissed me. That's it. She came up to me and kissed me and told me to tell Harry to get his head out of his arse," he explained easily. Her eyes didn't stop glaring.

"Then why does Lavender seem to make it a whole helluva lot worse?"

"Because she's a drama queen and she loves the attention of it all," he replied easily. "Now move your wand would you? It's digging into me."

She pushed it in harder in response, making him splutter a bit. "Don't lie to me, Weasley. I know that she's in love with Harry and would have a hard time even considering to kiss someone else. And I know that your girlfriend would sooner-"

"Ex."

This caught Rose off-guard, and Ron felt her wand let up a bit from his skin. Her eyes widened slightly, and her lips parted in surprise.

"Ex? As in she dumped you?" she managed to get out weakly. He felt his stomach churn with a bit of annoyance, but didn't say anything. Pushing her wand from him, he corrected her.

"Ex, as in I dumped her. We're done. No more Lavender Brown meltdowns."

A small smile turned the corner of Rose's lips upwards, but she shook her head to rid herself of it. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why dump her? She's done worse it would seem. Why dump her for this?"

Ron sighed slightly before shaking his head at Rose and looking her in the eyes. "She spread that rumour to get to you. It didn't matter that everyone else knew, as long as you somehow got the message. I can guarantee that she was hoping to get you angry at both me and Eryn, and that maybe the rage would make your crush wear off-"

"I don't have a crush on you."

"Oh, give it a rest, Rose!" he cried out, making her jump a bit. His large hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly, but not enough to hurt her. After all, though she was surprised, she would sooner punch him out then let him hurt her. "You admitted it to both of us the other day. Why d'you have to keep lying to yourself?"

"Because if I don't, then I'll give in to you and to myself and I'm not ready to do that!" she screamed over him. "I don't want to get hurt because of some stupid, tall, red-haired asshole who has hurt me and made me want to cry, but has also made me happier than I've been in a long time! And I don't want to have to deal with Brown breathing down my neck everytime I talk to you! Just let me go, We-"

"I love you, Rose."

And his lips covered hers.

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