things i'll never say ~ l.l.p.

twenty-one - friends

Christmas passed without event. I had my presents sent over to Gryffindor tower, so I could open them with Lysa and Rose. We hung around for a long time, chatting and laughing and wondering how the Weasley family events were going. After the feast, I went back to my dormitory and read a huge chunk of the new book Aunt Hermione had sent me, and ended up falling asleep and losing my place.

Like I said... rather uneventful.

I spent the next week sitting around doing a lot of nothing. The Ravenclaw quidditch team was going out early and coming in late almost every day, and both Rose and Albus were spending pretty much all of their free time revising for NEWTs, so there weren't many people to hang out with. The day after Boxing Day, I ran into Bella Gracechurch — that was her last name, according to Lysa — after lunch, and we ended up spending the afternoon walking around the grounds.

There were soft snowflakes drifting down from the sky, but it wasn't horridly cold out. We were strolling in the courtyard, talking about all sorts of random things. "Say... do you fancy anyone?" Bella asked suddenly, her tone curious but not pushy.

I pursed my lips. "I... yeah." A couple of months ago, I would have denied it fervently, but for some reason, I trusted this girl. I said, "Do you know Charlie Corner?"

Bella nodded, cracking a smile, and tugged on the snow-speckled french braid draped over her shoulder. "Sure I do. It would be hard not to, considering I've got a thing for his best friend."

I coughed, my eyes widening. "Mason?"

The blonde girl looked down, blushing. "Yeah. I... he helped me out when I was struggling in DADA at the beginning of the year... He's really smart, you know. Even though he's such a goofball."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I know." Then, biting my lip, I added, "So, do you think he... likes you back? Is there a potential relationship there?"

She scoffed. "I doubt it. I mean, we're friends, and he's always very nice... I know he flirts with me... but it's hard to take that seriously when he flirts with everyone else, too. Besides, he's actually... well, I can't tell you that. But he's definitely not looking for a girlfriend right now."

My eyebrows shot up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bella shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, Lily, but I'm sworn to secrecy. It would be different if you two were friends, but... from what I've seen, you don't seem to like him very much."

"Yes," I agreed slowly, "we don't always see eye to eye. It's... a bit of a long story."

She nodded pensively. "There are certainly a lot of long stories in the world. The one I'd like to hear at the moment, though, is how you fell for Charlie Corner! Have you fancied him for long?"

I blushed. "Not a terribly long time; just since the end of last year. You've got to swear not to tell anyone, though... Scarlett Boot is always trying to find out who I've got my eye on, and I can't very well tell her it's her man, so I try to keep my feelings quiet."

"Ah, I see," Bella chuckled. "That's understandable. Would she really care, though? It's not like he's her boyfriend."

"He doesn't have to be," I said, somewhat dryly. "Scar likes to be in control and the center of attention, and she turns on anyone who threatens that. I don't particularly want her to turn on me, so..."

"You've certainly got a dim opinion of Scarlett."

I smiled in a sour sort of way. "I know, it's not very generous of me. She's really not that bad; I just have a tendency to exaggerate."

Trust me, she was that bad. Don't get me wrong, Scar was my friend... But she was the kind of friend who turned vicious at the blink of an eye, and although I'd never admit it, she'd said plenty of things to and about me that I resented deeply. She thought she was better than everyone in the whole wide world. It didn't help that she was one of the prettiest girls in school, and all the boys fawned over her. Honestly, she might have had a bigger ego than my brother, James.