"All right, that should be enough for today's class," said Professor Flitwick from where he stood upon the pile of books that he used in order to make himself taller.
He gave a swish of his wand and made the toads on the students' desk fly toward the large box near him, which the students had been trying to charm into singing.
"And don't forget," the short professor yelled over the sound of the students packing, "you must turn in your essays after the break. Happy Christmas to you all."
The chattering class stood from their seats once Professor Flitwick dismissed them, quickly packing their stuff so they could leave the room as fast as possible to get to lunch.
"That's so unfair!" Diana raved as her and Layla walked out of the classroom and made their way down the hallway. "McGonagall gave us two essays, so did Slughorn, and today Flitwick gave us more to do during the holidays. Not to mention we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts test as soon as we return from break! I know I'm not one to ever experience the whole Christmas spirit back at home, but I would still appreciate some time off to rest! Ugh! Stupid N.E.W.Ts."
No reply.
Diana frowned, looking sideways at her friend. "Layla? Are you even listening to me?"
"Huh?" Layla muttered distractedly.
"What's on your mind?" Diana mused.
"Yeah. Totally. Same." Layla nodded quickly, looking somewhere down the hall.
She still wasn't listening.
Diana followed her gaze, realizing that Layla was staring at a group of girls who were walking a few feet ahead of them, talking to each other.
"LAYLA!" Diana suddenly yelled out, finally catching her attention.
"Merlin's beard! You scared me!" Layla placed a hand over her heart, giving Diana a look.
"No. It's you who's scaring me." Diana shook her head. "Can you please tell me what's up with you?"
Layla sighed, running a hand over her forehead. "I don't know... it's just..."
"Yes...?" Diana tried to encourage her to carry on, but the problem seemed to be more dire than Layla could put to words.
"Never mind." Layla gave a shake of her head, and Diana noticed the sudden change on her expression. She had gone from a daze to an unavoidable sadness.
"Please just tell me what's wrong." Diana tried to push the matter, knowing very well that if Layla didn't speak up and bottled it all up, she would end up overthinking everything and inevitably making the problem seem worse in her head. "Please?"
"Nothing."
"Come on!"
"It doesn't matter!"
"You're obviously in the middle of an internal crisis! If you could just tell me what's wrong, maybe I could help you figure things out!"
Layla huffed out and stopped walking, turning to face Diana with a decided look. "It doesn't matter, okay?" she repeated, more firmly this time.
"No, not okay!" Diana said stubbornly. "Look, you can trust me. You're my best friend, and I love you, and I would do anything you want."
"Well, I want you to mind your own business."
"Absolutely not."
Layla let out a small laughter. "You're impossible, you know that?"
Diana smiled. "I'm aware."
"How does Remus tolerate you?"
"The same way you have for years."
"Fair enough." Layla grinned.
"Okay, don't change the subject," Diana said earnestly. "Is it — does this have something to do with your parents?"
Diana knew that Layla's father — who used to be the head editor of the Daily Prophet — was still in hiding from the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, and so Diana assumed that this was what Layla was worried about. But in response, Layla merely shook her head.
The smile slowly faded from Layla lips as her gaze fell down to the floor. "I just... don't know how to feel."
A concerned frown formed on Diana's forehead as she looked back at her friend. "How to feel about what?"
"I... I don't..." Layla fumbled with the words, biting her lips. "I just don't know what's right and wrong anymore."
"What do you mean?" Diana asked softly, searching Layla's face for an answer.
Layla sighed once more. "Like you and Remus," she whispered, so no one around would overhear them. "Rosier threatened you that he would do something horrible if you didn't break up with Remus soon. But you two are still together. You're together, even though you know you're not supposed to. Even though you know it's wrong. Is that... is that hard?"
Diana felt her heart clenching in her chest. It was almost Christmas break, which was the deadline Rosier had given Diana to end things with Remus, and yet she couldn't bring herself to think about it. Even the thought of being married to Evan Rosier was like torture to her.
"Of course it's hard," Diana finally spoke, her tone weak and weary. "But... I can't hide how I feel about Remus. I just can't help it. He's the only reason I'm keeping it together right now. I can't let him out of my life, even though I know we shouldn't be together anymore. Even though I know it's wrong. I guess... I'm just too weak when it comes to him. Or maybe too selfish."
Layla didn't reply. She just took her words in, as if pondering the matter deeply. "So... would you say one should follow their heart, no matter what others think?"
Diana tried to give her a teasing smile. "Well, I wouldn't put it that poetic, but I guess so. Yeah. Just... As long as no one gets hurt."
"Right. You're right." Layla nodded briskly as her face lightened up, as though suddenly coming to her senses. "You're absolutely right!"
"Er... are you okay?"
"Never better!" Layla yelled out as she began to quickly walk away, leaving Diana behind.
"Layla? Layla!" Diana called out and stared at the back of her afro, watching as she disappeared into the next corridor.
Diana sighed, shaking her head. "I deserve that. Been doing the same to her for years."
***
Layla ran down the hallways, looking around for the familiar face of the person she was looking for. For that sight of straight blonde hair.
And that was when she found her, walking down the corridor with three of her friends.
"Okay... okay, you got this..." Layla muttered to herself before quickening her pace once more until she finally caught up with the group of Gryffindor girls.
"Hey!" she called out to them loudly as she approached them, catching their attention.
"Oh, hello." Lily Evans gave her a warm smile as soon as she turned around and saw her. "Layla Miller, right?"
"Er... yes. Hi." Layla tried to say as politely as possible and returned the smile.
But she couldn't help herself as her eyes fell upon the blonde girl standing next to Lily, whose cheeks were now so red as though she had been running.
"Hey, Marlene." Layla sent her a small wave of her hand. She didn't know why she was feeling so nervous. She'd never had any problem flirting her way through the past six years at Hogwarts when it came to boys. But now, here she was, struggling to find the right words. "Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?"
Marlene's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of pink, if that was even possible. She looked around at her friends. "I... um... catch up with you guys later?"
"We'll save you some pudding," one her friends said sweetly, who had very short brown hair.
"Save me two, Al," Marlene said severely.
"Of course." Her friend giggled.
Marlene smiled. "Thanks."
Though they looked extremely curious as to why Layla — a Slytherin girl they barely knew — wanted to talk to Marlene, her friends left the hallway and walked away, leaving the two girls alone.
"So what's up?" Marlene tried to say as casually as possible once she found her voice again.
"Slughorn's Christmas party."
Marlene raised her eyebrows. "Er... what?"
"Slughorn is having a Christmas party," Layla repeated herself.
"Oh... well... good to know. Thanks for the information, I guess?"
Layla laughed. "No. What I meant to say was that I would like you to come with me."
If Marlene used to look confused, it was nothing compared to the expression she had on right now. "I — you — what?"
"I'm part of the Slug Club. I'm invited the the Christmas party. And I was asked to bring someone." Layla shrugged, smiling her usual charming and smooth smile. "I really enjoyed talking to you when we went to Hogsmeade, and I know Slughorn's parties can seem boring to some people, but... I was thinking that maybe it would feel a less boring if you were there."
"Oh..." Marlene nodded, looking dazed. She seemed almost out of breath. "I... well... Actually, two of my friends are in the Slug Club, too. I've asked them before if I could go with them once, but apparently no one's allowed to bring friends. Just... just dates." She said the last word quietly, looking away awkwardly.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Layla chuckled, shaking a hand at her. "I'm one of Slughorn's favorite students. I'm sure he would make an exception for me." She winked at her. "So, what do you say? Would you like to come with me?"
Marlene blushed once more, a little smile forming on her lips. "I would love to."