Chapter 9

If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad

If It Makes You Happy- Sheryl Crow

Winter was fully upon us. In the few weeks following Halloween if possible the weather grew even colder. The halls ,already drafty, were absolutely freezing now. I had taken to wearing tights underneath my skirt, and wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath my blouse. I despise being cold. You turn blue, shake, and then just feel tense all over. I'd rather not deal with it. I've decided to move to anywhere warm once I graduate school. Maybe somewhere on the beach. I could have a cute little yellow beach house with a wrap around porch. It would have aged wood floors all through out the inside. Highlighting things in light green and possibly blue, maybe even some pale pinks. It would be small but not feel tiny. Most of all it would feel like home.

"What are you thinking about so intensely Rye bread?" Liam asked as he pulled out a chair sitting down at the table across from me.

Apparently one couldn't come to the library to do home work with out being interrupted.

"About how I'm moving away from this arctic land and to somewhere warm and amazing once I graduate. I'm thinking yellow beach house with a wrap around porch."

Liam just stared at me. He then promptly started laughing. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"You know you're never going to leave. Everyone you love is here, you're not just going to up and move because of the weather. Just learn a heating charm and you're all set"

"Heating charms are below me"

In all reality I never quite mastered them. Sometimes I caught things on fire. No big deal. Because of this fact I tended to stay away from them. My mother knew of my aversion to them and my dislike of cold. Sometimes when I was home she would cast them on my clothes to keep me warm. Merlin I love my Mum. I'm so excited to see her in a few weeks.

"Bull shit. I know for a fact you caught Rose's robes on fire last year during a Quidditch match" Liam laughed.

Damn. I hoped people had forgotten about that.

"Anyway" I began changing the subject " How are things going with Emma. I mean its been three weeks right?"

Much to my surprise Liam's whole face fell and he started to rub the back of his neck. A tell tale sign he was uncomfortable or embarrassed about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked closing my transfiguration book.

Looks like I wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"Nothings wrong" He stated, still rubbing his neck. His brown eyes were now darting around the library avoiding my eyes.

"Liam, you're rubbing the back of your neck incessantly and you wont make eye contact with me. Just tell me what's wrong."

Liam immediately stopped rubbing his neck and looked at me. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"Well its just that" he paused

"Come on just spit it out" I demanded growing impatient.

"She's too nice." He blurted.

"To nice?" I repeated.

"Yes."

"How can someone be to nice?" I asked. I've never heard anyone being called too nice. Complete bitches, cough Claire cough, yes. But I never heard anyone being called too nice.

Liam took another breath before continuing.

"Well it's more like. I don't know how to word this. She's too peppy."

I laughed.

It was Liam's turn to glare at me.

"Its more like when things go wrong she always finds the good in everything. It could be she completely failed test and she's all like ' I guess this means that I have to try harder next time'. There's no pissed rant or anything. She just to optimistic. Everything is always coming up fucking roses. It drives me nuts. We've been seeing one another for three weeks and I have never heard her say one bad thing about anyone."

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean you don't want to be with someone who bitches about people all the time"

"But I don't want someone who makes everything seem like its perfect all the time either. Example, lets say I were to pull some stupid stunt on a broom and wound up breaking my arms and legs what would you say?" he questioned.

I started laughing.

"Seriously?"

"Just answer the question"

" First I would call you a dumb ass and tell you how stupid you are and how could you do something as idiotic as that. Then I would say something like just be glad you didn't break your nose… again"

"See. You're an optimist but you're also sarcastic."

"How does that work?" I asked confused.

"Its like you complain and know when something's shitty but you still manage to find the good. You tell us what we need to hear not what we want to here. Now I asked Emma the same question and she told me and I quote ' You're just going to have to practice more so you wont get hurt. After all practice makes perfect.' She didn't mention anything about nearly killing myself or what I did was completely stupid. Like I said there's always something good."

"But you just told me I find the good" I pointed out.

Liam shook his head.

"You find the good in a different way. You do it in a way that acknowledges both the good and the bad. I don't know how to explain it but that's what you do"

I just stared at him.

"So what are you going to do about this new development?"

For the third time Liam took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure yet. I mean I don't think I can do this very much longer."

"Then don't," I said bluntly.

Liam just looked at me his brown eyes usually field with a bright light looked somewhat sad.

"Look Liam, I know you feel bad and I know you really liked her. But not everything works out. Would you rather end it now or later when there are much stronger emotions involved? If I was the one you were having these thoughts about I would rather you end it early instead of dragging me along."

"What are we talking about?" Morgan asked as she slid into the chair next to mine.

I looked at Liam. I wasn't going to just tell her about his personal business. At least maybe not right in front of him.

Liam nodded his head and I took this to mean that I could share with her.

"Liam is having some doubts about Emma."

"To optimistic for you huh." Morgan said with out the least bit of surprise in her voice.

"You knew?" Liam asked surprised.

"Of course I knew. Everyone in Hufflepuff knows. She's like a fucking Disney princess. I'm surprised animals don't come running to her when she opens her mouth."

Liam laughed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

Morgan shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought you needed to figure it out for yourself. I mean if I told you before hand that she's super perky what would you have said to me?" she asked.

"I would have accused you of lying to me," he answered.

"My point exactly. Besides from what I heard from Al you stalked her for a while, so I assumed you knew what you were getting yourself into. Now as much fun as this conversation is what are the two of you doing in the library on a Friday night? I mean how lame does it get?"

"I'm here to meet Al to go over transfiguration." I said.

I saw Morgan's eyes brighten. Clearly she was happy with the fact that I was spending time with Al. Part of me wanted to tell her not to get her hopes up. I mean as much time as I spend with him a week most of it involves homework and comfortable silence.

"You couldn't do it on Sunday?" Morgan asked.

"We normally do but he has a detention on Sunday."

"What for?" Morgan questioned. Of corse she was interested in why he had a detention. Apparently she never paid attention to him before last term. It seams that he, like James, had inherited a love of pranks and general shenanigans. In first and second year hell even third and forth year Al spent almost every weekend in detention for one thing or another. It wasn't until he started dating Claire that he really settled down. And his partner in crime was sitting across the table from me. Conveniently he was staring down picking lint off his dress pants.

"Care to tell her why you and Al have detention have a detention on Sunday Liam?" I asked.

"Who says I have detention? He fired back.

"If Al has detention you have detention. Now spill." I said.

"Merlin you're intuitive."

"Not so much. The two of you are just predictable."

"So what did the two of you do?" Morgan asked.

"You know the Halloween party we had?"

"Yes." Morgan said skeptically. She clearly she didn't know where this was going.

"Well we kind of saved the pumpkins until they were rotten and then put them all over the Slytherin table the other morning. We also enchanted them to change colors and written on them was something I would rather not repeat."

"That was you." Morgan demanded her eyes going wide with shock.

"It was indeed."

Liam looked kind of embarrassed again as he waited for her reaction. After a few moments Morgan smiled at him.

"That was fucking brilliant!"

"You think so?" he asked sounding surprised. He clearly thought she would react differently.

"Yes. I want in on the next one!"

Good lord Morgan involved in a prank. That wouldn't turn out well.

"No girls involved. It's strictly a bro team" Al said as he pulled the chair out next to Liam and sat down.

Morgan stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

"Please?" she wined.

"Come on Al she can join in on one prank" Liam said turning to face Al.

"No. Just us." Al said his tone hard.

He then began taking his books, paper, quills, and ink out of his bag. He didn't address us as he violently opened his book. The cover slamming onto the table with a sharp cracking sound.

The whole table plunged into silence. Clearly someone was in a bad mood.

I glanced over at the other two only to catch Liam hastily jerk his head towards the door.

Morgan's gaze met mine. Suddenly her brown eyes looked apologetic. I knew what she was going to do.

"Don't leave me with him" I mouthed to her.

"Sorry" she mouthed back

And with that she stood up.

"Well this has been lovely but I've got some very important… business to attend to and as much fun as this has been I have to leave. Liam would you care to walk me back to my common room?"

Liam immediately jumped up.

"Of corse I will. Can't have a pretty girl walking around the castle alone at night. By Rye bread see you later Al"

And with that the two of them walked out of the library, leaving me with Mr. Happy Pants. Brilliant. Let the fun begin.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours, in tense silence I couldn't stand it any longer.

"What's wrong?" I huffed throwing my quill down.

Al didn't even look up. He just kept writing.

Now I was getting mad. I know everyone is entitled to his or her moods and peoples moods change all the time, but I hated being ignored.

Finally I leaned forward, reached across the table and grabbed the quill out of his hands.

"Hey, I was using that." He all but yelled.

"What's wrong?" I repeated.

He just stared at me his green eyes hard. I stared defiantly back never breaking our gaze.

"What's wrong?" I repeated.

"You're really not going to drop this are you?" He asked his eyes never leaving mine.

"No".

With a huff Al sat back in his chair, running his hand though his hair making it stand on end.

"Where should I begin?"

"How about you start in the beginning." I said. I don't know why but I felt the urge to reach my hand out and cover his. Must be some maternal instinct or something. Its what my Mum does whenever I'm upset.

"Well my Mum's mad at me because I got a detention, Lily and I are fighting because she's the one who told Mum that I got a detention, and Claire's pissed at me too. I can't go fucking anywhere with out some female yelling at me. "Albus, you need to spend more time studying and less time in detention. "Al, you have no right to be mad a me for telling Mum, I believe you were the one who told her when I got a detention a few weeks ago so now were even. And Claire I don't even know where to start with Claire. Merlin why are girls insane?"

Al stopped. He was breathing hard. Clearly he had kept that bottled in for quite sometime.

"First of all I would like point out that I'm a girl and I'm not insane."

"One of the rare ones" Al interrupted.

I almost smiled.

"Second, I understand where your Mum is coming from. She just wants you to do your best. I mean its been ages since you got a detention. I think she just wants to know why you reverted back to your old habits. Third Lily is being a typical younger sister. She's in her fifth year she's stressed with O.W.L's and everything. I don't think she meant to get you in trouble. I think she was more just telling your Mum what's been going on. I bet you don't write to her often do you?"

Al's cheeks tinted pink as he blushed slightly.

"You write to her often?" I asked. I never pictured Al to be a Mummy's boy.

"So what if I write to her often. Were close."

"I never said anything was wrong with it. I just never thought you would be close to your Mum."

"What you thought I just did my own thing not thinking about anyone but myself like my brother?" Al asked.

"I didn't say that. I just thought that you would write to her once a month or so like most seventh year boy's do."

"Well I'm not most seventh year boys." Al said.

"I'm beginning to realize that."

Al's eyes changed. I don't know how to explain it but they weren't as hard anymore.

"Does she know that you want to teach?" I asked softly.

Al shook his head no.

"Why not?" I asked. I was genuinely curious.

"To be honest I haven't really told anyone but you."

"What?" I asked shocked. I thought that he would have shared that information with someone else other then myself.

"I haven't told anyone but you" Al mumbled.

"Not even Claire?"

"Not even Claire. And that's why she's pissed at me. She thinks I'm keeping secrets."

"Well, are you?"

Al shook his head again.

"No. I sense she's upset about something but she won't tell me what. I started asking her about what's wrong with her and then we started fighting. I don't even know what her deal is. I walked away and I'm pretty sure that was a dumb decision. But I had to get away before I said something that I would regret."

Al sighed. His green eyes looked tired and somewhat sad. This conversation hadn't gone anywhere I thought it was going to go. Again I felt the urge to reach out and touch him but refrained from doing so.

"Since you told me something that you haven't told anyone else, do you want to hear something I've never told anyone?" I asked. I needed to brighten the mood and take his mind off Claire. She was just making him depressed.

Al smiled a little and his green eyes brightened.

"You have secrets you never share with anyone? Not even Rose?" He asked.

"Not even Rose."

"Ok. Lets hear it." He said leaning forward across the table so we were closer together.

"Now you can't laugh." I told him. I unconsciously leaned forward myself. There were now only a few inches separating us.

" I won't laugh." He said his tone serious.

"I've never been flying at night and I want to do it more then anything."

Al leaned back meeting my eyes once again.

"Are you serious? I tell you what I plan on doing with my life and you tell me you want to go flying at night?"

"What I told you was something I've never told to anyone else before. Also knowing my siblings you should know this is a big deal. They go flying all the time and neither of them know that I've never been flying at night."

"Oh you're such a bad ass Riley" Al said sarcastically.

"You're not taking this seriously," I said defensively " Its been one of my goals since I was a little kid but I have never been able to accomplish it. I'm a horrible flier and adding darkness to the equation scares the shit out of me."

Al stopped laughing at me.

" I never knew you hated flying so much" he said softly.

" I don't hate it. I think its one of the best feelings in the world. I'm just complete rubbish at it."

Al's eyes looked distant. Like he was thinking hard about something. After a few moments he spoke,

"I'm going to go. I don't think I'm going to be able to get any work done anyway. See you later Riley." He packed up his stuff gave small wave and then set off out of the library.

After watching him go I turned back to my homework. I stared blankly at my book for a few minutes. With a sigh I began packing up my belongings. After that conversation I wasn't going to be able to accomplish anything either.

Hello readers,

Once again I would just like to thank all of you for reading. The reviews you have been leaving are wonderful. I know this is kind of a filler chapter but it had to be done. Let me know your thoughts. Reviews are the best :) The lyrics at the top are from If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow.