Sorry for the pause (again). Grey is supposed to remind me to update! But here you go…

Ch. 12

Midnight Advice

"Hi," said the voice of the boy that was lying on top of her.

"Hi," she said, lying as still as possible.

How truly embarrassing the situation was.

A hand was suddenly on her wrist, pulling her to her feet. "Sorry about the landing," the voice said again. It sounded…vaguely familiar.

"Cedric Diggory," Ari said, looking into the blonde's face, which was extremely close.

"Draco went to look for you," was the only thing she could think to say next. Cedric laughed, falling back down on the forest floor. "I ran off a long time ago," he smirked. "I don't like having so many people around."

Ari crawled over to him, smiling. "He said he'd bring me to see the dragons, but then he ran off to look for you."

Cedric bolted up into a sitting position. "So you came by yourself?" he asked, alarmed. She nodded. "You should have waited," he said, concerned.

Ari puffed out her cheeks and looked away from him. "I didn't need to wait!" she told him angrily.

The blond laughed again. "Aw, I didn't mean it like that. I meant his probably running around looking for you in a panic." Ari looked at him, and then laughed too.

"We should get back before Finch comes looking for us," the Hufflepuff said, and the Slytherin nodded in agreement.

…

"Ari, there you are!" Draco said when she walked into the great hall.

She ignored him and the twins and tried to walk passed. "There's a trip to Hogsmead tomorrow," Fred said. "When do you want to meet us?" George added.

She turned around, very abruptly, and said "I have a date tomorrow," before stomping off with a huge blush on her face.

"WHAT?!" the three boys yelled after her.

…

Ari neither knew what to wear on a date, nor had any Slytherin friends to tell her what to wear, so she resorted to…the library.

Not for a book – she didn't believe the library would have a book on that sort of thing – but for two mostly-reclusive Gryffindors.

"Help," she squeaked, stopping in front of Hermione and Neville.

"What?" the bushy haired brainiac asked, looked up from her book. "I, um, need some help," Ari stuttered, blushing.

"With what?" Neville asked, paying attention now.

Ari blushed even harder.

"Well, tomorrow is a trip to Hogsmead, and I , um, was asked on a…date." She finally got out. Neville dropped his book.

"With who?!" Hermione whisper-yelled in excitement, pulling the tiny girl down into the seat between the two Gryffindors.

Ari sat down and told the two the whole story, and they immediately replied with thousands of types and encouragements and to do's and not to do's. Ari was, for once, very happy to be bombarded with suggestions. It made her feel like she had…friends.

By the time she finally escaped, her head was swimming too much for her to sleep.

Ari hadn't been to the Astronomy Tower since she first arrived at Hogwarts. But she felt it would be a good place to go now.

Ever the dare-devil, she sat on the "safety" railing of the balcony, swinging her legs over the 9 story drop. The stars were bright tonight, and Crookshakes had taken the liberty of following her all the way up there. Though he refused to allow her to hold him while she was so close to the edge.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked him quietly. "A date? I didn't think I'd ever get one! I'm sure it'll only be one, of course, but it's still nice." The large orange cat meowed, as if encouraging her to continue.

"And Christmas is coming up! I don't want to go home, but what should I do? Stay here? Go to the Weasleys or Draco's?" Crookshakes cooked his head to the side, just as confused as she was.

"Well, you're a big help," she told him sarcastically.

And, for the first time in over three months, Ari wrote to her mother.

Dear Mother,

I'm doing well here. I really love my classes, and I've even made friends!

I know you aren't much into writing letters, but I really wanted to tell you…

I've been asked on a date!

He's really nice, and a Hufflepuff. He's a sixth year, though.

I love you.

Please write back.

- Love, Ari

"Are you coming to the Owlery with me?" Ari asked the cat, but he curled up in a ball and began to lick his paw. "I'll take that as a no."

She ran down the slippery stairs of the tower, trying not to fall. She skidded to a stop, outside an office, when she heard a voice.

"I'll need more potions if I'm to follow out this year." The voice said. "But turning into Mad Eye Moody all the time is disgusting."

The voice, she realized, was Professor Moody. Or, who she thought was Moody but was now, obviously, someone in disguise. She had an urge to open the door and ask what Polyjuice potion tasted like, but she figured that was rude.

Instead, she tiptoed by and ran the rest of the way to the Owlery.