The summer holidays were coming to an end and I wanted to take advantage of the last of the good weather before we returned to Hogwarts and subjected ourselves to months of typical British weather. But, my parents had decided that we were going to go to the Longbottom home for tea and I wasn't going to pass up the chance to see Frank. We floo'd to their home and as I stepped out of the fireplace, I wiped some soot off from my clothes. Looking around the room I spotted Frank as he stood, clearly waiting for our arrival and when I made eye contact with him, I grinned.

Returning the grin, he crossed the room to approach us. He went to my side, chuckling slightly as he brushed off some soot from my cheek which I'd managed to miss.

"You're always in such a mess," he chided quietly before turning to address my parents. "Mum's just setting up the table. If you want to come through with me; my parents are waiting."

Frank led the way through his home, or rather he directed us through his home. My parents walked before me and Frank hanged back to walk beside me. He began to chatter quickly about all the things he'd done during the summer and all the things he'd wanted to show me but was unable to. I listened in amusement to his ramblings; you could say whatever you wanted about Frank but you couldn't deny that he was enthusiastic about everything.

We reached the dining room where Frank's parents were waiting for mine, squabbling quietly between themselves about something. Their squabble came to an end when we reached the room and Mrs Longbottom reached out to swat her husband's arm to silence him and the older man simply sighed, relenting.

I hovered beside my parents, watching as the Longbottoms greeted my parents and waited for my turn. Mrs Longbottom stopped in front of me and I shuffled on my feet. The older woman had never failed to unnerve me; it was like she was always able to look straight through me to see whatever it was that I was hiding. And well, considering that I was hiding the enormous crush I had on her son, it was particularly unnerving.

"How have you been, dear?" she asked, looking me over with a contemplative glance.

"Well," I said finally, "And you?"

"I've been wonderful, thank you for asking." Clearing her throat, she began to smile softly. Rowena, why was that even more unnerving? "But shouldn't you be more than just 'well'?"

"P-Pardon?" Frank picked up on my stutter, looking to me in surprise as I looked away from his mother. I knew exactly what she had insinuated and there was no point in attempting to hide the truth any longer.

"Well, let's see the ring then."

"Ring?" Frank repeated, looking questioningly between his mother and me. All I could do was silently lift my left hand towards her and the older woman gasped in delight, reaching out to take a closer look at the ring settled innocently on my third finger.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" mum piped up with a proud smile as we began to settled at the table.

I swallowed nervously, avoiding looking in Frank's direction as he pulled my chair out for me. He made himself comfortable in the chair next to mine and I began to play nervously with the ring.

"Of course it's beautiful," Mrs Longbottom assured my mother. "Only the best for the future Mrs Higgs."

Frank's head snapped towards me and I cleared my throat again. His eyes were heavy on the side of my face and I reached out to take a sip of my glass of water as the food was brought to table.

"Son," Mr Longbottom called out, finally pulling his son's attention away from me. "Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing," he denied with a smile that was supposed to resemble his usually easy going one. "I was just wondering how I hadn't spotted the ring."

Because I'd made sure to hide my left hand from him.

He didn't speak another word throughout the rest of the meal. Instead he would take subtle glances in my direction, watching as I pushed my food around my plate. I'd lost my appetite but forced myself to eat something lest my mum pick up on my odd mood. Once dessert was finished and out of the way, Frank took a hold of my wrist.

"We're going to go for a walk," he declared aloud, pulling me out of the room before I could say a word.

Once we were out of the earshot of our parents and had reached the garden, he dropped my hand. I licked my bottom lip, watching as he began to pace around in front of me.

"Frank," I called out tentatively.

"What's going on? What is that?" he demanded eventually, pointing towards my left hand.

"My engagement ring," I answered quietly, fiddling with the ring.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." He ran a hand through his hair, "Why are you engaged? And to Higgs at that?"

"Our parents decided," I explained steadily, watching as Frank stopped in his step suddenly, looking to me with incredulous eyes. "And Higgs – Elliot – he isn't that bad."

"How can you be so calm about this?" he demanded, walking towards me with quick steps. Taking my shoulders, he shook me gently trying to bring some sense into me. "Are you even attracted to Higgs? Do you like him?"

"We've been owling regularly," I answered quietly, looking up into his eyes. "He's a nice guy Frank, a lot better than I could have hoped for."

"You're unbelievable." Letting out a deep sigh, he dropped his hands from my shoulders to my elbows, holding me close to him. I pointedly ignored the way my heart thumped in my chest. "Do you have any idea what you've agreed to? This is a lifetime commitment. What are you going to do, Rees?"

"I'm ok, Frank," I said earnestly.

"Godric, do you even want to marry him?"

Silence followed his question, making Frank sigh again. I removed his hands from me and instead held one of his between both of mine. He stared down at me, waiting for an answer to his question and I smiled carefully.

"I'm ok," I repeated, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Boarding the Hogwarts train was odd; I'd sat on this train for the last six years. And now, now that I was preparing to enter my final year at the school, I wasn't sure how to feel. Of course, there was the anticipation of the coming year, the excitement of leaving school but there was also the niggling voice in the back of my head that reminded me that I was a year closer to becoming Mrs Higgs. But, I wasn't 21 yet, there was still time.

Dismissing the thought, I walked through the train carriage, pulling my trunk behind me when I was pulled forcefully into a carriage. I struggled for a moment before spotting the face of my abductor and I sighed.

"Really Frank?" Rolling my eyes, I settled down into my seat as Frank took my trunk and lifted it into the overhead storage. "You couldn't just use words like a normal person?"

"I wanted to talk," he explained, sitting across from me.

"About what?" I asked absentmindedly, looking through my handbag. I'd remembered the pack my wand, right?

"Your engagement," he announced, making me still for a moment before I resumed my search. "I can talk to your parents if you want."

"And say what exactly?" Finally finding my wand, I settled back into my seat with a relaxed smile. "It's sweet that you're so concerned about me Frank, it really is. But I don't see how this is your problem. I can handle this myself."

"Obviously you can't. If you could then you wouldn't currently be engaged to someone you don't love." He met my probing eyes and sighed. "Look Rees, I like you too much to sit back and do nothing."

Rowena, I thought bitterly, feeling the words stab my heart. How many times had I dreamed that he'd turn around and tell me that he liked me? And he had, but he didn't mean them in the way I'd hoped.

"I like you too Frank," I said honestly, acting unaffected. "But it's ok. I'm ok."

There was a knock on the carriage door, halting Frank from whatever he was going to say. We both looked to the carriage door which opened to reveal Alice as she hovered slightly on the outside. She peered into the carriage and I smiled welcomingly, even if her presence disgruntled me slightly. But I should have expected her sooner. Where Frank went, Alice followed and it was only a matter of time before they placed a label on their vague relationship.

"I was looking for you," she explained, looking to Frank with a small smile. "You weren't in the carriage with the rest of the Gryffindor boys."

"Rees and I had some catching up to do," Frank explained, gesturing to me. Alice looked to me then, smiling to acknowledge my presence. When Frank made no move to invite her in, she cleared her throat, preparing to leave.

"I'll see you when we get back to Hogwarts."

"Alice," I called out to her as she turned to leave, ignoring the look Frank gave me. Was I so desperate to avoid having this conversation with Frank that I'd rather invite Alice, a girl that made jealousy burn deep in my gut, into the carriage? Yes. "You should stay."

"I don't want to intrude," she hesitated, looking to Frank who was staring silently in my direction.

"You won't be," I assured her.

Making up her mind, she finally stepped into the carriage and shut the door behind her. Going straight to Frank's side, she shook his arm gently, making him finally look to her. Smiling softly down at Alice, Frank answered her questions all while sneaking glances at me. If he saw the slight annoyance creep into Alice's features, he made no mention of it. But then again, he was quite dense when it came to things like this. The man hadn't noticed my feelings so there was no chance he saw her annoyance.

He might not have seen it, but I certainly did. Turning away from the pair, I pulled out a book from my handbag and settled back to read for the rest of the journey. I wasn't going to risk going off to find the rest of my friends because I didn't put it past Frank to follow after me. He claimed that running away was cowardice and as a Gryffindor he wouldn't stand for it.

I left the two love birds to their own conversation and lost myself in the world of my book. By the time I reached the end of my chapter the trolley lady was making her rounds. I rose to my feet, snagging my purse and shoving Frank out of the way when he offered to buy my food for me. Stepping out of the carriage, I joined the slight line at the trolley only to jump in surprise when someone put their hand on my arm.

Looking over my shoulder, I smiled warmly up at the blond-haired boy. "Higgs."

"How have you been?" he asked, ignoring his friends who began to jeer at the sight of me. I cleared my throat awkwardly when one of them started to address me as 'sister-in-law'. Seeing my discomfort Higgs elbowed his friend roughly in the stomach which had him doubling over in pain.

"Thanks," I said with a smile as the line began to slowly move.

"Well it's my job to look after you now, isn't it?" he grinned cheekily and I could do nothing more than nod. "You know, for a while I was worried that you didn't board the train. I went to look for you earlier but you weren't with your friends." Before I could ask why he'd been looking for me, he gestured for me to turn back. "It's your turn."

"Oh." Turning back to the trolley lady, I smiled apologetically. "Two cauldron cakes and two pumpkin pasties please."

Higgs leaned in close to me, peering around me to address the older woman. "Make that two cauldron cakes, two pumpkin pasties, one chocolate frog and a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, please."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out money and ignoring my protests. The older woman made a comment about young love that had me reddening in embarrassment but Higgs puffed his chest out in pride.

"I did well, didn't I?" he asked conspiratorially, taking the food from the lady. "She's way out of my league."

"Higgs," I hissed as we stepped out of the line, "stop it."

He failed to smother his smile and instead chuckled, nudging me with his shoulder. "You're cute when you blush."

"Stop it," I complained, bringing my hands to my burning cheeks. He only chuckled louder and quieted when I reached out to collect my food.

"Let me walk you back to your carriage?" he offered, adjusting his hold on the food.

"Sure." I nodded as we walked slowly.

"I just wanted to apologise," he said suddenly, making me look at him in surprise, "about the engagement. I know it was sudden and you were probably blindsided by it."

"That's a bit of an understatement."

He smiled sheepishly, staggering slightly when someone brushed quickly past him to get through quicker. I reached out to steady him, pulling my hand away from his arm when he smiled teasingly down at him. Looking further down the carriage to the person that had brushed past him, I furrowed my eyebrows when they turned into my carriage. Frank?

"I'd like to make this work," he said after a while, speaking seriously.

"I think that's a good idea," I agreed, stopping in front of my carriage. Elliot hesitated and I gathered my courage, gesturing into it, "Do you want to come in?"

"I'm not sure –"

"Come in Higgs," Frank called out from inside the carriage.

Higgs nodded and I led him inside. He seated himself beside me, handing me my food and I stared down at the spare pumpkin pasty I'd gotten. My eyes rose to Frank who appeared to be in the midst of sharing one with Alice and shook my head. He didn't need it.

"You're reading the book I got you," Higgs said, bringing me from my thoughts. He reached around me to pick up the book I'd set aside. "When I owled it to you I didn't think you'd read it."

"I decided to give it a try," I explained, seeing the way Frank was staring at Higgs with searching eyes.

"And?"

"It's good; not usually the type of stuff I read. But it's good," I agreed, taking a bite from my pasty. "You said you were looking for me earlier. Why?"

"I wanted to see you," he announced casually. "I haven't seen you since we got engaged."

Ignoring Alice's startled gasp, I looked to the uneaten pasty in my lap and wrapped the paper napkin around it more firmly. Hesitating for a moment, I picked it up and held it out to Higgs. "Here."

"Mine?" he asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

I nodded and he took it from me with a smile, leaning down to kiss my cheek in thanks. The action startled me so much that I drew back from him, making him chuckle. I flushed red in embarrassment, which only made him grin even more.

"Being engaged to you is going to be fun, Rees."

Although it had only been a few weeks since we returned to Hogwarts, the teachers had already begun to drown us in work. As our History of Magic lesson came to an end, I let out a deep sigh and rubbed a hand over my eyes. Rising to my feet, I began to pack my things when Frank walked from his seat to mine. He waited by my desk and I looked up at him suspiciously.

"What do you want?"

"Let me walk you to your common room," he offered, extending a hand for my bag.

Ignoring his hand, I slung my bag over my shoulder. "Even though our common rooms are on opposite sides of the castle?"

He nodded, smiling innocently. "We need to talk."

"Careful Frank," I warned teasingly as we walked towards the exit, "someone might think that there's something going on between us."

"The entire castle already knows about your engagement," he pointed out bitterly. He looked away from me, only to sigh. "Speak of the devil."

I followed his eyes, rolling my own when I saw that it was Elliot walking towards us. Swatting Frank on the chest, I waited for Elliot who dismissed his own friends. He greeted Frank quietly before looking to me with a smile.

"Let me walk you back to your common room?" he asked, hands tucked into his pocket.

"Frank already offered," I explained, gesturing to the now silent Gryffindor. "Maybe next time?"

Elliot gave an exaggerated wince, "Ditching your fiancé for another man, Rees? I might just get the wrong idea."

I rolled my eyes, motioning for him to hurry on his way. "Aren't you going to be late for quidditch practice?"

"Keeping me in line already," he said with a mischievous smile, walking backwards away from me as he walked down the corridor. He didn't see the way people had to swerve out of his way and instead waved widely at me before turning to run towards his common room.

When he was gone, Frank cleared his throat from beside me. I looked to him in surprise. "Frank?"

"What was that about?" he asked as we began to walk towards Ravenclaw tower.

"What do you mean?" He gave me a flat look and I shrugged. "Higgs - he's not a bad guy and I think we're friends now."

He looked down at me incredulously, watching me with clear doubt. I returned his look, waiting to see what he would say. Frank appeared to struggle for a moment, not quite sure what to say.

Eventually he settled for, "Do you like him?"

"I wouldn't be friends with him if I didn't like him."

He reached out to take my arm, stopping me from walking. "You're pretending not to know what I mean on purpose. Do you like him in the way you're supposed to like your fiancé? Do you love him?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I said with a shake of my head. "How can I already love him? When I found out who I was to be engaged to, I didn't know if I'd even be able to grow to tolerate him. This – being friends with him is more than I could have asked for."

His expression was full of disbelief as he scoffed, releasing my arm. "So what, that's it? You're just going to settle like this."

"You have to think of it the way I am," I placated quietly. "If it wasn't Elliot, it would have been someone else. This is the way it's been in my family for centuries. It's tradition."

"Traditions are made to be broken," he cut in firmly and I sighed, wondering how to make him understand.

"Frank, I'm actually glad it's him."

"Glad?" He repeated, eyes growing wide in shock. "You're glad it's him? Are you out of your mind?"

"It's the truth. I'm glad it's him. He's easy to like, easy to love." I looked away from Frank when his gaze, once again, grew too piercing to meet head on. "Who knows, I might even grow to love him one day, in the way he deserves."

We started to walk once again. We were both silent the entire time.

When the chance to go into Hogsmeade came, we all welcomed it with open arms. My friends and I headed straight to the Honeydukes to stock up on our sweet treats which I was certain were the only thing keeping me sane whilst I worked through my school work.

At some point during the trip, Frank had ditched his friends from Gryffindor and joined mine who, realising that he must have needed to talk to me, left us alone. I wasn't certain if he'd noticed the odd looks he got when he arrived, but I didn't think he cared either.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I picked up some white chocolates, reading the label at the back.

"I thought we could go around Hogsmeade together," he explained, plucking the box of chocolates from my hands. When I looked at him in confusion, he spoke with a smile, "Just think of me as your personal shopping basket."

"Honestly," I muttered affectionately, shaking my head. My eyes scanned the aisle, looking for some caramel chocolates and eventually settled onto the 7th year Gryffindor girls. Alice stood further down, sneaking peeks at Frank who was busy watching me. I looked contemplatively between the pair of them.

"What is it?" he asked, nudging me with his shoulder.

"Didn't you ask Alice to come to Hogsmeade with you?" He coughed slightly, looking away from me. "I thought that was what you were going to do? Ask her to Hogsmeade on the first trip of the year?"

"I didn't ask her," he confessed quietly, making me halt in my search. Frank reached out to snag a box of caramel chocolates from the shelf. "These ones, right?"

I nodded and he added them to the pile. "Frank? Why didn't you ask her?"

"I'm not sure how I feel anymore," he admitted, lowering his voice so only I heard his words. My eyes clashed against his.

"What do you mean?" I whispered back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "This is the girl you were sure you loved?"

"But I'm not sure I did." My mouth parted in shock; I had no clue what to say. Frank nodded, looking away from me for a moment. "I know Rees, believe me, I know."

"Is there something that made you second guess your feelings?" Frank was back to avoiding my eyes and I sighed, "There is, isn't there? What is it?"

"Why don't I go and pay for these?" he suggested, approaching the cashier.

"Why would you pay for those?" I protested, following after him and distantly realising that his plan to distract me had worked. "Those are mine, Frank."

He hurried through the shop and I tried my best to follow after him and stop him from paying. And I would have caught up to him had someone not appeared at that very moment and stepped into my path. I looked up, meeting Elliot's waiting eyes and stepped back slightly, letting Frank get away.

"Didn't we agree to meet at the Three Broomsticks?" he questioned, eyeing my guilty expression with blatant amusement.

"Merlin's beard," I gasped, looking to him for forgiveness. "It completely slipped my mind. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not going to forgive you so easily," he teased, feigning anger as he crossed his arms. "You're going to have to make it up to Rees."

"Make it up to you? How?"

"Spend the rest of the day with me?" He held out his hand for mine.

I hesitated to slip my hand into his when Frank appeared with a shopping bag in his hand. His steps slowed as he drew closer to us and he instantly came to my side, looking Elliot over with a critical eye.

"Higgs."

"Longbottom."

"What do you want?" Frank asked, handing the shopping bag to me without a word.

"I'm here to take my fiancée off your hands," he explained looking between the pair of us with a knowing eye. Unable to meet his eyes, I looked to the floor. His hand was thrust into my eyeline. "Are you coming, Rees?"

Frank's hand shot out to catch my own before I could take Elliot's. I looked at him in surprise. "If you don't want to go then you don't need to."

"It's ok Frank," I assured him, pulling my hand from his and slipping it into Elliot's. He tightened his hold on mine the moment I took his hand. "I think I saw Potter and his friends in the back of the shop in case you want to go with them."

Without a word, Frank looked between the pair of us for a final moment before turning on his heels and walking away. I watched him go for a moment and fought the urge to sigh. Elliot reached out to take my shopping bag, making me look to him.

"I can see why you love him," he said quietly, calmly as though discussing the weather.

My mouth parted in shock as I tried to think of something to say. "Higgs –"

"It's alright," he assured me with a patient smile. "I didn't expect for you to love me back from the very beginning. It's enough for me if you're fond of me. Are you, fond of me that is?"

"Very," I said truthfully and the smile I got in return was breath-taking.

Rowena, if I was incredibly superficial then I would have ditched Frank for Elliot in a heartbeat. Elliot was the traditional example of a handsome man; broad shouldered and tall. His blue eyes were nothing short of gorgeous and yet, all I wanted was warm caramel eyes meeting my own. But Frank – well, Frank was confused about his feelings for Alice and in his own way, Elliot had just professed his love for me.

"Where should we go then?" I asked as I allowed Elliot to lead me out of Honeydukes.

"I was thinking we could go to the Three Broomsticks," he said, squeezing my hand gently. "But before that we need to stop by Zonko's. I need to pay back my dormmates for a particularly cruel prank."

The next day I found myself sitting in defence when the Professor suddenly called out for a volunteer. The words were the key; suddenly, everyone looked down at their notes, afraid of making eye contact.

"It looks like I'm going to have to pick someone," he announced and I prayed silently not to be caught. There was a short pause and then, "Miss Boot!"

From beside me Amelia cursed under her breath but rose to her feet. The rest of the class released a relieved breath, lifting their heads. "Yes, sir?"

"Come to the front of the class; you and I are going to have a duel."

"A- a duel?" she asked, not quite believing her ears.

"Yes, Miss Boot, now do hurry along."

Amelia hesitated for a moment longer before coming out from behind our desk. Walking to the front of the classroom, she faced off against our professor. They both bowed to each other and the duel formally began. All eyes were glued to them and I leaned forward in my seat slightly. The duel itself lasted only a few minutes and whilst Amelia managed to get some good blows in, she was no match for our experienced professor. It ended when her wand flew out of her hand and into his.

"Now class," the older man turned to address us all. "On your feet and find yourselves a partner."

Frank was by my side the moment I rose to my feet. "We're partners," he declared, leaving no room for argument.

I nodded, holding my wand at my side as our professor cleared the desks away to create some space for the duelling.

"Now, stand is your pairs. Remember that this is a friendly sparring session." Our professor paced around the length of the room, looking over each of the pairs. "Bow to each other and begin on my count. 3…2…duel."

Neither of us moved for a moment and my grip on my wand tightened slightly. Frank licked his bottom lip nervously. The moment I saw his hand twitch on his wand I sent a stinging hex his way which he blocked effortlessly.

"What happened with Higgs?" he asked before launching his own offensive curse at me.

I barely dodged out of the way, shooting a curse at him as I wondered why he was bringing Elliot up. "Nothing; we went to Zonko's and then to the Three Broomsticks."

Frank didn't speak again for a few moments and instead concentrated on sending curses my way. I did my best to avoid the spells which even if they hit me, weren't going to do much damage. Not when the strongest hex he sent my way was a tickling charm.

"And he didn't do anything to you?" he asked heatedly, easily deflecting the spell I threw at him. He dropped his duelling stance, wand held against his side and I copied him, waiting for his next move. Frank swallowed thickly and I furrowed my eyebrows. There was clearly something he wanted to say and yet, he didn't.

"What's wrong?"

Frank sighed deeply, rolling his shoulders back and spoke quietly, "I thought you didn't like him that way."

"I don't," I admitted, "but that's ok. I might be able to in the future, so it's all ok –"

"Why is everything ok for you?" he demanded loudly, startling the duelling pair next to us. Lupin and Pettigrew looked between us in concern but I was too shocked at the outburst to be embarrassed that they were listening. "Why is it ok for you to be stuck in a loveless engagement? To throw away your ability to choose the life you want for yourself? Why is everything ok?"

He waited for an answer, one I wasn't sure I could give him. It wasn't as if I could tell him that everything wasn't ok, because it wasn't. I didn't love Elliot, I didn't want to marry him and yet I was clinging to the one hope that because he was so sweet, I would grow to love him. It was the single ray of hope I had and by repeatedly reassuring him and myself that everything was ok, maybe somewhere along the line I would begin to believe it too. Rowena, I needed to believe that everything would be ok.

I'd fallen into the habit of letting Elliot walk me back from our shared Potions class. He always appeared by my desk at the end of the lesson, extending a hand for my bag before offering me his arm. I had long since given up protesting and instead handed him my bag, slipping my arm through his. We walked through the castle, ignoring the whispers that seemed to follow us wherever we went. It was only natural for people to be curious but I couldn't wait until we no longer attracted so much attention.

I listened attentively as Elliot spoke about his last quidditch practice and how the team captain was preparing for the game against Gryffindor. He spoke about the game passionately and it was enough to bring a smile to my lips. He glanced at me as we walked, voice trailing off for a moment and I looked to him, waiting for him to continue.

"Will you come to the game?" he asked quietly.

"I never miss a quidditch game," I confessed.

"Good." He grinned and went on to ask, "Will you support me during the game? By wearing my scarf?"

"Your scarf," I repeated uncertainly, pulling away from him when there was a sudden call of my name.

Elliot cleared his throat, looking slightly disappointed as we both turned to Frank who was jogging towards us. He made no move to acknowledge Elliot's presence and instead took my arm, pulling me to his side.

"Frank?"

"I need to tell you something," he explained and I looked apologetically to Elliot.

Frank finally looked to him and spying my bag slung over the Slytherin's shoulder, he reached out to take it before Elliot could complain. "You don't mind giving us some space, do you mate?"

"No of course not," Elliot said quietly, shaking his head as he stepped away from us.

He hesitated for a moment before sighing and bidding me goodbye. I watched him walk down the corridor and when he turned the corner I looked to Frank with raised eyebrows.

"Well?" I asked, "What did you need to tell me?"

"I think I found a way to break your engagement," he confessed excitedly.

"Stop it Frank," I cut in, making confusion flicker across his features. "I don't need saving Frank."

Obvious shock replaced his confusion and he reached out to touch my arm. I shuffled away from his contact, swallowing tightly when I saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes. "What are you talking about Rees?"

"I mean it," I insisted steadily, "I don't need saving Frank; ever since we were little you were always so adamant about saving me from anything that troubled me. But this time – this time I don't need saving."

"Rees –"

"I know that it goes against your Gryffindor chivalry and honour and your earned title of Gryffindor's gentleman knight but I don't need you to save me. Not this time."

He watched me steadily, eventually sighing. "Do you love him?"

"Frank –"

"Just answer the question; do you love him?"

"No," I admitted with a sigh. "But I don't see why that matters."

It proved too much for Frank. He reached out to grasp my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "Are you mad? Of course that matters, you infuriating girl. You deserve to love and be loved and spend the rest of your life with a man who worships the ground you walk on –"

"Why are you doing this to me?" I demanded quietly, shrugging out of his arms. My eyes were locked onto his and Merlin, I knew I sounded desperate but it was too late to try and stop it now. "Why are you acting like you care about me more than you actually do? This behaviour – this isn't just friendship Frank but I don't know what it is. It's so confusing and the worst part is that you don't realise how complicated your behaviour's making everything."

"I don't understand," he trailed off quietly.

"I didn't think you would," I said with a sigh, reaching out to take my bag from him. Before he could reach out to stop me, I moved away from him. "I need to go to the library."

A few days later I found myself at the Ravenclaw table for an early breakfast. The great hall was virtually empty with a small smattering of students seated for breakfast. As I helped myself to a slice of toast, more students filed into the room, Elliot was one of them. I watched curiously as he stopped in the open doorway of the hall, scanning it until his eyes rested on the Ravenclaw table. He looked down the table until his eyes eventually came to rest on me and my eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What does he want?" Amelia asked quietly from beside me as we both watched him approach the Ravenclaw table.

"I have no idea," I murmured, following his progress down the table.

He eventually came to a stop across from the pair of us and with a charming smile he gestured to the empty seats across from us. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, no," Amelia insisted, looking between the pair of us with searching eyes. "Help yourself."

"Did you need something?" I asked cautiously, watching as he began to spoon some scrambled eggs onto his plate.

His smile dimmed slightly before it returned at full strength when he looked up at me. "Give me a little longer; you might not want to be around me later so just give me this time."

"You're beginning to worry me," I admitted, pouring him a glass of juice which he took with a thankful smile.

Elliot, without another word, tucked into his meal and Amelia and I cautiously followed suit. We eyed the Slytherin settled across from us even as we tried to continue our breakfast. Oblivious to our gaze – or rather acting oblivious to our gaze – Elliot ate his breakfast with relish. When he was finished, he placed his fork down and looked at me with a smile that was nothing like his real one. This one was sad and it made my heart hurt a little.

"Higgs," I called out gently, reaching out across the table to take his hand comfortingly.

He sighed, taking that hand – my left hand – between both of his. Staring down at our hands, at the ring on my finger, he cleared his throat and spoke in a voice full of faux happiness, "I owled my parents a few days ago about breaking our engagement. And they agreed, it's all sorted out."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. Even Amelia was looking at him in shock. "Why?"

"It's too selfish of me," he admitted, glancing up at me with a hesitant smile. "I couldn't do it to you."

"Elliot," I called out to him. His smile became a little more genuine upon hearing me call him by his first name. "I don't understand."

"When my parents suggested getting engaged they let me choose who I wanted – they wanted me to pick my poison and that's when I remembered you. And Merlin, I'm sorry Rees but I couldn't let the opportunity slip me by. I was too focused on having you by my side that I never stopped to think that maybe it wouldn't be something you wanted." As he spoke his eyes lowered back to my hand as he rubbed his thumb across the back of it. "Salazar, I know you don't love me but I love you, did you ever realise that? If I loved you a little less then I'd have continued to play oblivious, but I do love you a lot, so much that I can't force you to stay by my side if that's not what you want."

"I don't know what to say," I muttered, meeting his eyes with my own.

"Then don't say anything," he advised with a smile, rising to his feet. He still held my hand and glanced down at it. Running a thumb over the band of the ring, he spoke casually, trying to hide the strength that this conversation needed from him. He didn't do a very good job of it. "This ring – the moment I bought it, it was already yours. I wanted to see you wear it so just keep it, as a gift from a friend."

"Elliot –"

"I'm ok," he cut in but I knew better. I'd spent months hiding behind the word ok and now, now he was doing the same. "Just – just forgive me for one more thing."

"What?" I questioned quietly, watching as he released my hand.

He didn't answer my question. Instead he hesitated for another moment, pressing his palms flat against the surface of the table. He leaned across the table and kissed me soundly. My eyes widened in surprise for a moment and I felt the tips of my ears redden as whispers filled the hall. But, my eyes fluttered shut for a moment and I returned the kiss; it was the least I could do.

Elliot pulled away from me, pressing his forehead to mine for a moment. "Make sure you end up happy, Rees. That's all I want for you."

"I'll try," I promised, watching as he straightened up, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Good." He gave a deep sigh, eventually smiling. "And if Longbottom doesn't realise how lucky he is, run back to me and I'll be there."

Elliot gathered himself then, and headed out of the great hall as though he was oblivious to the gossip following his exit. I watched him go before settling back into my seat and ignoring the questions that were asked of me. Looking to the ring on my left hand, I took a deep breath and felt a sense of freedom that I hadn't in a while. The ring no longer symbolised a lifelong commitment, it wasn't a shackle, it was a memento gifted to me by a dear friend. One I had made in the most odd manner.

"He kissed you," Frank accused, accosting me in the hallway as I made my way to my lesson.

I didn't even need clarification. This morning, the kiss, the broken engagement, it was all I could hear people whispering about wherever I went. Not many people could understand how a broken engagement led to a kiss and truthfully, neither did I.

"What about it?" I asked, hugging my textbook defensively to my chest as I met his eyes.

"Higgs kissed you in the middle of the great hall. But there's also rumours that your engagement's broken." He raised an eyebrow, "Which is the truth."

"Both of them," I answered steadily, catching him by surprise. "They're both the truth."

"What? How?"

"He owled his parents to break the engagement," I explained, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. "He said something about not wanting to force me and then he kissed me."

"Talk about mixed signs," Frank muttered under his breath.

"Leave Elliot alone." I swatted at his chest, making him bring a hand up to rub the abused area.

He eyed me strangely, "How are you doing then? It's not every day that your engagement is broken."

"I feel like I can breathe easier," I admitted after a moment's thought. "My parents are probably going to talk to me about it when I go home for the holiday but I've got some time to think about what I'm going to tell them. Besides, out of all of this, I made a good friend. I'll probably turn 100 and still be friends with Elliot."

Frank scrunched his nose at my admission and cleared his throat, asking quietly, "So, why did he break it up then?"

"Ah," I glanced away from him, "he thinks I like someone else and I do, like someone else. A very dense, very confusing someone else."

He met my words with silence and I don't know how I'd been expecting him to react to my hinting words. Before the silence got too long and too awkward, I made an excuse about being late to my lesson and went to move around him to continue on my way. He took my hand, stopping me from moving away and I glanced back at him in surprise.

"Frank?"

"The last time we talked, you told me that I kept saving you and I did some thinking." He swallowed nervously and I turned curiously towards him. "I think I know why I do it, why I'm so intent on saving you from anything that's even slightly harmful."

Half afraid of the answer he'd give my question, I asked quietly, "Why?"

Shaking his head self-deprecatingly, Frank began to smile cautiously. "You'd think that because I'm a Gryffindor this wouldn't scare me. The idea of facing off against dark wizards doesn't scare me and yet this does."

"This?" I repeated, thoroughly confused.

"This," he confirmed, leaning down to press a quick kiss to my lips. He drew back just as quickly, grinning widely and rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "So? I'm a better kisser than Higgs right?" I gaped at him, trying to come to terms with what happened. Sensing my inner confusion, he leaned towards me and asked cheekily, "Do you need me to do it again?"

Shifting my textbook to one arm, I pressed the other against his chest to halt his descent. I spluttered, trying not to appear so flustered. He only grinned wider. "Did I say you could kiss me in the first place?"

"I didn't know I needed your permission," he confessed, glancing at his watch. "I'll ask your permission next time. For now, I need to go or I'll be late."

With those words, he was jogging away from me and I stared after him in shock. What the hell just happened? Frank turned to face me, waving wildly towards me.

"Hogsmeade," he called out before he was out of earshot. "You and me."

"Merlin's saggy bollocks," I whispered in shock, trying to wrap my head around what just happened.