I can't seem to stop writing this story! Every time I get a notification about getting a follow or a favorite, my instinct is to start writing another chapter. And when I get reviews... It's even more intense! So, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it.

Rose: Daria Sidorchuk

Diego: Jordan Rodriguez

More people came than I thought and I couldn't be happier. Bryn was talking up some leggy blonde fifth year and I winked as I passed by. I wanted him to find someone that made him happy, but odds were she would end up being just a hook up. Something in Bryn refused to be in a committed relationship and I kind of related, it was the reason our friendship made so much sense.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders from behind and Austyn whispered in my ear, "I think you were wrong about Potter skipping out on the party tonight. He just came in with Scorpius and Rose."

"Oh, so he's not too good to be here now?" I asked, the Firewhisky making me more sassy than usual. "I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind."

"Go get 'em tiger," she said, spinning me in the right direction and giving me a little shove.

Just as she said, Sev was standing awkwardly with Scorpius and Rose in the corner. I pushed my hair over my shoulder and made my way over to them. I wasn't drunk, far from it actually, but I had enough confidence to confront him without stuttering and that was just what I needed.

"What a surprise to see you here, Sev! I didn't think you'd actually come, especially after you shouted at me in advanced charms," I said, my turn to ignore pleasantries.

"We're going to go somewhere that's not here," Rose said awkwardly, grabbing Scorpius' arm.

"There's a table of drinks over there if you want some," I smiled, pointing to the corner across from us. "Drink as much as you like, we've got a ton!"

Rose smiled and thanked me before leading Scorpius away. I turned back to Sev with my arms crossed over my chest and my foot tapping. I wanted to know who he thought he was! The gall of him to come to my party after he told me I wasn't worth his time just this morning.

"I overreacted, I'm sorry," he told me, studying his shoes instead of looking at my face. "I thought it was going to be a prank or something…"

"Huh? Why would I prank you?" I asked, confusion taking the place of my anger for a brief second.

"Because you're a brilliant prankster, I know you were the mastermind behind most of James, Freddie, and Stef's pranks," he told me. "I mean, why else would a girl like you talk to a guy like me? It's not like you need tutoring or anything, you're smart, too."

"This would've been cruel and I'm not cruel," I told him, my feelings getting hurt at his insinuation. "You seem to think very little of me, Sev Potter."

Instead of waiting for him to reply, I disappeared back into the crowd of people. Rose and Scorpius were dancing close a few feet from the drink table. I thought they were just friends, but the way they were moving together told me otherwise. I kind of hoped I'd find someone to fit with like that one day.

I didn't want to dwell, I wanted to get drunk. I took a cup of whisky off the table and chugged it down, ignoring the burn in my throat. Then I grabbed another and sipped from it as I made my rounds.

"You're too beautiful to not dance with me at least once tonight, Ella," Diego Lent said, taking my hand in his and moving his body closer to mine.

Diego played Quidditch for Gryffindor and his body showed it. He and I never really spoke before, but he was definitely attractive. He had really warm brown eyes and messy black hair, the cliché cutie –the perfect guy to make me feel better. I wanted to lose myself in alcohol and cute boys, it was the only way to do so properly.

"Then take me to the floor and dance with me," I grinned, taking another drink from my cup as he led me into the thick of dancers.

I pressed my back against his chest and pushed my hair over one shoulder. Our hips moved together easily, his hands holding my waist with my free one behind his neck, my fingers knotted in his hair. As we danced, one of his hands started sliding up my stomach under my top, but I ignored it at first.

"You're so sexy, Ella," he breathed against the side of my throat, his fingertips brushing under my bra.

I made a noise of agreement but pulled his hand back down to my waist. I wasn't about to let him touch me that intimately in public. I might be wild, but i wasn't into having sex with random guys. I have super bad trust issues and sex called for a lot of trust, something I didn't really have.

He left his hands on my waist after that, he wasn't going to push me? That was new, I was used to guys trying to push their luck. I didn't even know they could graciously accept a refusal, I thought it always resulted in a huge fight that made me hyperventilate or dissolve into tears.

The song ended a little while later and I stepped out of his embrace. He didn't try to pull me back or walk away from me, he just watched my face. I guess he was waiting for me to say what I wanted to happen.

"I'm not going to have sex with you tonight," I told him matter-of-factly. "If that's what you're looking for, I'm sorry."

"That's not the kind of guy I am, Ella. If you don't want anything, that's cool," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I just wanted a dance."

"So that's why you hand your hand up my top?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Nice try, Diego. I'm tipsy, not stupid."

The two of us parted ways and I went to refill my cup. One of the cons of drinking as much as I do is my very high alcohol tolerance. I would have to drink an entire bottle of Firewhisky to get drunk, but I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to be tipsy enough to have fun, it was the best way to be at parties you were hosting.

I was just thinking about how good the party was going when I heard shouting. In the middle of the Room, a huge fight had broken out. Bryn was too drunk to do much so I stepped in to see what was up. Two guys were throwing punches at each other and shouting, something about a girl sucking one off and fucking the other. I don't know, I just knew I had to stop it before someone got hurt and we got in serious trouble. Fights were prohibited on school grounds, a very hard-kept rule.

"Hey, what's up? Don't fight, there's too many people packed too closely together here," I shouted, moving between them and trying to put some distance between the flailing limbs. "You're going to hurt someone. If you want to fight, do it somewhere else."

"Fucking bitch, don't get involved. This doesn't concern you," Adam Flannigan said, grabbing my wrist and using it to pull me out of the way.

"Stop, you're hurting me!" I whimpered, trying to pull my arm out of his grip as my chill façade instantly dissolved and memories tried to rush in. "You need to go, Adam. You're drunk and you're making a scene."

He sneered down at me and I had more flashbacks, this time of cruel, alcohol-induced sneers. He used his grip on my arm to push me completely out of the way. Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them away because I knew I had to break this up. I could have a breakdown later, I just couldn't be in detention for the rest of my life. If I was big enough to throw this party, I was big enough to handle what happened at it.

"Oi, the lady said you need to get lost!" Scorpius shouted, moving to stand between them like I was earlier and forcing Adam to drop my arm.

I felt hands timidly holding me and navigating me out of the Room. When I looked behind me, I realized they belonged to Sev. I tried to ask him what he was doing, but I couldn't seem to get enough air to say anything. This was a full-fledged anxiety attack and I was helpless to stop it. Even worse, I was having it in front of Sev Potter, the boy I'd made a dramatic exit from an hour or so earlier. Wonderful.

We slipped into a passage and the next thing I saw was a huge room with a comfy couch and fireplace. Sev led me over to the couch and sat down beside me, pushing my hair out of my face before taking my hands in his.

"Hey, it's okay. We're in the Head common room, no one's here but us. Fiona went to sleep a couple hours ago and she sleeps like the dead," he told me, rubbing my hands as he spoke. "Those pricks are gone, I'm not going to hurt you or shout at you. Never again, Ana."

Then he started talking about his gillyweed paper and I listened closely. Not because I wanted to know about the herb, the calm lull of his voice soothed my ragged nerves and quick breathing. After a couple minutes, my breathing was regular again and I wasn't sweating anymore. Something told me he had experience with anxiety, he couldn't just know how to calm someone down...right?

"Thanks," I told him, pushing up from the couch. "I've got to go back and make sure everything's okay at the party."

"Sometimes talking to someone you don't know about things is easier than talking to your best friends and you look like someone who needs to talk…"

"What do you mean? There's nothing to talk about," I told him without turning around.

"I saw you have a total meltdown because those dumb pricks were yelling and holding your wrist. There's something bothering you," he replied, I heard him get up and felt him stop walking just behind me. "Is your wrist okay?"

Alex did yank me around by it earlier, and it was kind of aching now. I just didn't realize it because I was struggling so hard to breathe earlier. When I actually looked at it, it was red and I knew it'd be a nasty bruise in the morning. I also knew it could've been a whole lot worse.

"Uhm, it's not broken…" I replied in a hollow voice. "It's just bruised, it'll be okay."

He moved to stand in front of me and waited until I looked up at him to start speaking. "I want to hear everything. Tell me about it, start wherever you're comfortable and tell me whatever you want, just talk to me."

No one had ever taken such an interest in me, not even Alexia and she was my best friend. "I don't know where to start, it's a really long story."

He looked at his watch before looking back up at me. "It's only one in the morning, I don't have rounds until five in the morning, I've got time."

There was a ton of reasons I should go back to my party. I'm sure my friends were all looking for me, but I couldn't seem to make myself leave the room. I pulled my booties off and tucked my feet under me after I sat down beside Sev on the couch.

"Whatever I tell you can't leave this room, no one can know about it. Not even Rose and Scorpius because my friends don't even know."

And just like that, I was about to burst like a balloon and spill my secrets to Sev Potter.

The next chapter is going to be Ella's backstory, every part of it. So hang around for that, it's definitely going to be intense.

Also, drop a review and tell me what you think and maybe the next chapter will be out sooner...