I sat at the bar, burying my sorrows and anger of the day in a large glass of imported beer. Obviously, like any good German, I believed that beer could solve any problem. And it could, to a certain extent, at least until the one moment you've been dreading trudges up to your doorstep and knocks rather obnoxiously.

A lilting Scottish accent reached my ears, "Mind if I join you, Rue?"

I couldn't help but wince, "Actually, I-"

However, being the same stubborn bloke I had left him, Oliver pulled the chair out and slid into it effortlessly, and I couldn't help but to be ashamed of my struggle only ten minutes ago to climb into my own seat.

"Anything for you tonight, Wood?" the bartender asked as he dried a clean glass.

"I'll have what she's having," he said, gesturing towards me. The bartender quickly filled a glass and slid it in front of him before walking to the other end of the bar.

I bit my lip before taking a deep swig of my drink, noticing how my body physically tensed at his proximity.

"So, how are you?"

"Well, aside from a splitting headache and a slightly distorted nose thanks to your girlfriend, I'm bloody fantastic."

I saw him roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye.

"You're overreacting, your nose looks just the same as it always has."

"Oh, oh yeah? You see this?" I pointed to the new slight curve of my nose. "Now I look like a fucking Italian."

I lowered my voice. "'Your nose looks just the same,'" I mocked before snorting into my glass as I took another drink.

"If you had been paying attention instead of making eyes at your new boyfriend-"

"Excuse me?" I interrupted. "You're saying this is my fault, not Bray's for maliciously attacking me?"

"That's not what I said,-"

"Of course you're on her side," I said, finally turning to him. "I'm so overwhelmingly happy that you two found each other. Vampire Bitch and Macduff, the perfect couple," I spat.

I took in his hurt expression for a minute before knocking back the rest of my drink and motioning for a refill.

Oliver still sat beside me.

"I thought I made it quite clear that I want you to get away from me, Wood," I said venomously.

"Rue, please-"

"What?" I said, fully turning to him. "What could you possibly have to say to me, hmm?"

He raised his eyebrows and rubbed his scruffy cheek with his palm, clearly exasperated with me.

"Are you happy? That's all I want to know."

"Far happier with Clancy than I ever was with you," I lied through gritted teeth.

"Really? Because it seems more like a show than a relationship," he trailed off, his chocolate brown eyes searching mine.

I felt my heart flutter before I straightened and went on the defensive, "Yeah, and what would you know about my relationship with Clancy?"

He opened his mouth to respond when Keira suddenly threw her arms around his neck. "Oliver, I've been looking all over for you," she gushed shrilly, momentarily reminding me of a banshee. Her eyes met mine. "Oh, I didn't know you spent your time talking to inferiors when I wasn't around," she said haughtily, fixing me with a glare.

"Really?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "That's the best you've got? I'm your 'inferior'?" I slid from my seat and took my full glass with me. "You really picked out a keeper there, mate," I said to Oliver before slinking off to join Clancy who sat with Sean and Robbie at a nearby table.

Clancy's eyes met mine, a look I couldn't quite place on his face. I wondered if he'd heard my exchange with Oliver, and if he could tell I was lying. I glanced over my shoulder at Lara and Toni who had obviously been eavesdropping on the whole ordeal. Lara frowned and Toni shrugged sympathetically.

I sighed, quickly downing my beer and eager to ease my troubles. I pulled Clancy towards me, taking one last glance at Oliver, before kissing him with all the passion I could muster.

The following morning I rolled out of bed and pulled on my training robes, an odd, anxious feeling having settled in the pit of my stomach sometime in the night.

I joined Lara and Toni downstairs. Sean waved us out the door, saying Robbie was already on the pitch waiting for us with the team. Clancy was nowhere to be found, and when I asked Sean about him, he merely shrugged.

"I hope he's alright," I said, my voice sounding distant even to me.

Lara gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "I'm sure he's just tired."

Practice was just like the previous day, only we practiced slightly more advanced moves over and over again. Still, nothing was new to me since I had been a Chaser at Hogwarts and had been nearly as fanatical about the different techniques as Oliver. Lara had a few, near-plummeting-to-her-death scares as she tried more experimental blocking techniques at the goalposts, and Toni looked happier than I'd ever seen her as she whacked away at the Bludgers to her heart's content.

Keira seemed to be keeping her distance that day, probably under Edward's orders judging by the warning looks he gave her if she got too close to me. However, that didn't stop her from glaring or throwing out a rude comment every now and then.

"Having difficulty seeing beyond that new nose of yours, Von Straussburg?" she called as I threw the Quaffle at the centre goalpost that Edward rushed to block at the last second. Sweet Merlin, she reminded me of that bloody Malfoy kid.

I turned around to glare at her. "At least I have a decent nose, prick," I called.

I could see her roll her eyes, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I shrugged nonchalantly as I took in her slightly turned-up button nose, "just that I'd rather have my nose than that of a Vampire Pig."

She let out an exasperated cry and rushed her broom forward as if to have a go at me, but I ducked out of the way and flew towards the safety of Edward.

"Bray, that's enough, I think you should take a break," he said warily, glancing between us.

"Fuck you," she mouthed at me as she flew away, causing quite the scene as she joined Oliver at the other end of the pitch.

Lara, Toni and I sat in the chairs arranged in front of the fireplace in the Trenthide Downs lobby. We were all enjoying tea when the sound of a clearing throat interrupted our mindless chatter.

I turned around in my chair to find a disheveled Clancy standing awkwardly looking between us. I set down my tea and stood to join him.

"Yes, dear?" I asked, concerned about his odd behavior today. He hadn't turned up on the pitch, and when I had knocked on his door after practice he said he was busy with something.

"Rue," he gently pulled me aside. I looked up at him expectantly. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Lara and Toni glanced in our direction.

"Privately," Clancy added.

"Sure," I said and allowed him to lead the way upstairs to his room.

He shut the door softly behind him. His shoulders drooped as he sighed and ran a hand through his dark curls.

I reached out and gently put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged me off before he turned to me.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said softly, avoiding my gaze. "Do you, uh, still love him?"

I rolled my eyes, "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

"Do you love him?" he asked more forcefully.

"Clancy, I don't-"

"Wood. You still love him," he said with a finality, not even bothering to hear my response.

"And what, exactly, has led you to this conclusion, then?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

"We only make out if he's around with Keira, and don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at him," he said lowly, glaring at me. So he had figured it out last night at the pub, that's what the look was.

"What the bloody hell are you on about, 'the way I look at him'?" I hissed, taking a step towards him.

He fidgeted with the cuff of his shirt, "It's the way I wish you'd look at me."

"You've got to be joking," I mumbled.

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say at precisely the wrong time. "Me? Don't you dare try to turn this around on me, Rue. This little scheme is entirely you're own doing and, unfortunately, I allowed myself to be pulled into it." He used his finger to accent his words.

Affronted, I stared at him. What else was I supposed to do?

"I allowed myself to be dragged into this because I believed that maybe there was hope for us, that maybe you could finally love me. I never knew you to be a manipulative, cold-hearted person, and yet it seems that is what you truly are."

Flabbergasted, I looked blankly into his eyes, my heart pounding against my chest.

"As a friend, I suggest you rethink how much you value your relationships and if it's truly worth destroying those to hurt someone else."

"Clancy," I started, reaching out for him. I had finally collected myself. "I care about you, so much," I managed hoarsely.

He shook his head. "Then you've got to choose."

"What?"

"You can either take me as I am or you can waste your time torturing Wood so that he'll change his mind."

"You can't possibly-" I started, before it registered what precisely he'd said. "Wait, no, stop. I'm not trying to change Wood's mind at all! I just wanted to," I trailed off, my eyes meeting Clancy's.

"Wanted to what?"

I bit my lip, "To, er, show him that I'm well enough off without him."

"So you decided to take advantage of me to do that?"

"Not at all, Clancy," I began, desperately raking my mind for a proper response that wouldn't get me into more trouble. "I love-"

The look he fixed me with would have been enough to quiet a bunch of Slytherins. Then, he brushed past me and began wrenching open the drawers and throwing his clothing into a suitcase that lay open on top of his bed. I'd just noticed it and deduced that he must have been thinking about this confrontation all day.

I caught his sleeve and tugged on it. He glanced down at me. "Please don't do this," I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. "Don't leave me."

He sighed, waving his wand so that his packing continued before he turned to me and placed his hands over my shoulders.

"Rue, you'll get through this. I know you, for better or worse, and you will figure some way to right things with your ex. You don't need me. And, to be honest, things'll be better if I get away from here."

His eyes drifted to the ring on my right hand, and I decided in that moment to return it to him. "Take this," I said, placing the golden band in his palm.

His mouth twitched in what I suppose was a smile for a fraction of a second.

I awkwardly slipped my hands into my trouser pockets and looked at the ground. "So, are we still mates or is everything over?"

I heard the click of the latches on his suitcase, "We can still be friends, and I'll still take care of Sam while you're away." He shrunk it down and slipped it in his back pocket, "But, I think for the sake of preserving that friendship, you should wait until I contact you."

I nodded slowly, my eyes on his feet as he turned from me and went to the door. I looked after him when he stopped suddenly and halfway turned toward me.

"You know," he began, a forlorn look on his face, "I really do hate that I love you so much. I see now that I never could compare to him."

I wanted to say something else, but he had already left the room. I physically felt my heart breaking.

The next two days at practice were considerably worse than previous days. I found my anger snapping out and clawing at anyone who even dared look at me the wrong way, and I honestly believed I had cause more damage to members of Puddlemere United singlehandedly than they had received in all of the last year's games combined.

Oliver, in particular, was a recipient of my scathing remarks whenever he tried to approach me with sympathy in his eyes. I was only more infuriated whenever I saw Keira and how she flung herself at Oliver.

That, and she was now going out of her way to provoke me, making snide remarks whenever she graced me with her presence.

"Did you finally scare that Yank off with your atrocious personality and abnormally large nose?"

"Poor thing, you look as desperate as a single girl sitting alone at the bar. Oh, wait, you are, aren't you?"

"So, was it your lack of Quidditch skill or your lack of skill in bed that sent the Yank packing?"

And on and on.

I was often too flustered or annoyed to bother responding, so I allowed my animosity towards Bray to continue growing as the comments became more bold and degrading.

Little did that girl know, she was in for a world of hurt.

Oliver's Point of View

"Keira," I said, gently pulling my girlfriend aside as we prepared to go on the pitch for the fifth day of training with Rue and her friends.

"Yes, darling," she said sweetly, smiling up at me while she brushed a lock of hair from her face.

"Would you mind letting Rue alone today?"

"Why?" she asked. "I'm not really doing anything."

I gave her a pointed look, "Those comments you've been making to her the past few days? You've got to stop, I'm warning you."

"Oh, she's not going to do anything. And I can handle myself," she smiled. "I'm a big girl."

"No, Keira, listen, you're only making yourself look bad, and things are going to get nasty if you keep-"

"Oliver, why are you defending her? She left you, and she's a rotten person to her very core. You know what she did to Clancy, we all do. She used him. Now, I'm going to do as I please, and if you have a problem with that, I suggest you get over it quickly, or we'll be having our own problems."

"You don't know her like I do," I sighed as she stormed off.

Boom, two chapters in one day! Expect another chapter or two by the end of the week, but not before the premiere of Part 1! J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter Universe, I own what you don't recognize. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review! Yours.