THREE GOODNIGHT, YOU LUNATIC

     Xander watched on as the familiar place of the great dining hall of Hogwarts settled in his bones. He sat beside Diana at the table he had been sitting at for five years now, surrounded by his friends donning faded yellow and black robes. His eyes shifted from the large man known only as Headmaster Dumbledore speaking at the front after the first years' had been sorted to the blond-haired boy sitting silently with a dead expression at the Slytherin table. He couldn't remember the last time he had thought about Draco Malfoy this much -- probably not since fourth year when he would sneer at Xander for always trailing behind Cedric Diggory. Now, that was someone that Xander had been thinking about a lot. Over a year now, but he didn't want to think about it. The first night back at Hogwarts was a day for reuniting with friends, a day for coming home. This was home, after all.

It felt like home when Diana clapped loudly at the announcement of the new potions professor, gripping his arm to say, "Dude, Snape finally got the D.A.D.A job, you've got to be joking! Ugh, it's gonna be right hell this year, I suppose."

"At least we'll be suffering together," was all Xander offered in response with a smile. He leaned his head on her shoulder from behind her as they watched the teachers speak. She laughed and grabbed his head with her hand, pressing a kiss to his temple. "I missed you, Diana."

"Don't get soft on me, you git, it's only the first day," Diana laughed, "You'll get to see me every day from here on out this year, you know that, right?  Sheesh, so emotional."

"I am not emotional!" the dark-haired boy argued with a laugh, a lock of hair flopping into his eyes which the girl pushed back with a smile. "I just care about you! So rude! C'mon let's eat."

Diana shook her head to herself, biting back a smile that rarely graced her sharp features. As far as Xander was concerned, he was the only one that was able to consistently coax a smile out of Diana, but hey, they were best friends for a reason. As they dug in, he found his eyes drifting to Draco again. However, when he turned away from the table, the girl next to him just smacked his head so he turned to face her again.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot she had hit even though she really didn't hit him that hard, he was just dramatic. "What was that for?"

"For staring at that prick!" Diana said with a laugh, handing him the piece of bread she had taken because she knew he was going to steal it anyway. "You have one actual conversation with him and now you can't keep your eyes off a' him! He's like the biggest asshole here, next to me. Are you trying to collect us like a set? Worst People At Hogwarts?

Xander just scoffed, offendingly taking a bite of the bread as he glared at her, but of course, it was all superficial. It was probably impossible to be angry with Diana considering it hadn't happened once in the five years they had known each other. At that point, the idea of being angry with Diana seemed stranger than fiction.

"I am not trying to collect a set, how rude of you to say that!" Xander exclaimed, throwing a small chunk of the bread at her, "I think you exist only to see the worst in people, really."

"Well, you see the best in them and someone had to come along and balance you out, you're like a little puppydog. Absolutely ridiculous. Have more to eat, you're like bones," Diana scoffed as she handed him more food while shaking her head. She smiled at him softly, "Stop looking at me like that! Eat your damn food, I swear, I'll hex you."

The boy groaned, "Why does everyone keep threatening me with hexes today? It's ridiculous! I'd expect something more creative from you Diana! Like, throw in some muggle shit in there. Threaten to punch me in the face, that's fun!"

"You drive me absolutely mad," Diana laughed, glowering at her best friend, but none of it meant anything. She motioned to the food on his plate that he hadn't touched yet and he raised his hands in mock surrender before picking up his utensils. "Mad, I tell you."

"You love me," he spoke through a bite of mashed potatoes and the girl just rolled her eyes at him.

Watching Diana grow up alongside him was odd. It was weird for him to look at someone he had known for the most pivotal years of his life and see them change. Then again, it was weird to look in the mirror and realize he himself had changed as well. Sometimes he didn't recognize the person staring back at him; he still felt like that little eleven-year-old stepping foot into a castle far too big for him and feeling like his life was about to change. It had changed in the best way possible, meeting his best friend was probably the best thing to happen to him. Still, nearing the end of their time at Hogwarts was utterly terrifying. What the hell were they supposed to do after this? Xander certainly had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. Sometimes he wished he shared some of the tenacity his older sister possessed, but he was shit out of luck in that department.

After dinner, they helped the prefects lead the new first year Hufflepuffs to the dormitories, the whole time Diana was talking his ear off about some muggle film she had seen. "So, I totally think they're onto us because it's about this little girl, she's like the age of a first year maybe a little younger, right? She loves to read and she has a shitty family life like she's totally neglected and she discovers she has powers! Young witch! I'm telling you it had to have been directed by a wizard, but no! It was Danny Devito!"

"Di, I don't know who that is," Xander muttered with a laugh as they entered the Hufflepuff common room. "It sounds like a good movie though, what was it called?"

"Matilda, it's wonderful. I'm gonna add it to the list of movies to show you when you visit for the summer," the girl said with a nod. As they were about to head up to their separate dormitories, she grabbed him by the robes and pulled him back down the stairs. "Dude, your mind is totally somewhere else! I just told you about the best movie I've ever seen and you said it sounds good."

"Last year you said that Empire Records was the best move you'd ever seen," Xander corrected with a nervous smile. So, he supposed he wasn't as subtle as he wanted to be.

Diana scoffed, "Well, Matilda hadn't come out yet! Still, you don't have to lie to me, what are you thinking about? Is it Alecks? Is it your mum?"

"You know I'm always thinking about them," he brushed her off, leaning against the wall next to the staircase with crossed arms. Clearly, that answer wasn't good enough for the girl because she glared at him until he caved, admitting, "Fine! Draco's been acting totally weird! He didn't even insult me in front of all his friends like he does when we get off the train every year! That's weird and you can't tell me it's not! Also, I think he broke Harry's nose! Why should that ever be necessary? I just think it's rude! But, I mean, Draco's always been a bully, but he hardly ever gets physical so I'm nosy and I want to know what's up! Is that so wrong?"

The girl stood and listened with her eyebrow raised the whole time, looking unimpressed. When he was done, she scoffed, exclaiming with a small chuckle, "Yes, it's wrong! Draco is an arsehole who doesn't deserve your brain power! Whatever he's dealing with, he's a big boy and he can handle it. His beef with Potter is endlessly confusing and ongoing, don't even try to understand it! Knowing Draco, it's probably some repressed... tension, if you catch my drift. Probably why he's so obsessed with you."

"I don't know what you mean, but by the way you say it, I'm not going to ask," the boy chastised, eyeing the girl as she played with the pack of cigarettes in her pocket. He hated that her brother bought her packs and that she snuck them in, it drove him mad especially considering his mum. Still, he couldn't control her.

She noticed him looking and stopped, bringing her hand up to rest on his shoulder as she said, "I think Draco's obsession with you is rubbing off. I love you, but you sound crazy. Just stop thinking about it, it's been a long day, everyone is probably just tired.  Don't worry your pretty little head about it, all right?"

"Aw, you called me pretty," was all Xander said in response, a lazy smile on his face. When she rolled her eyes, he sighed and admitted, "You're right, you're right, I'm probably just imagining things. I'll head up in a bit. Goodnight, Di."

"Goodnight, you lunatic," Diana pressed a kiss to his forehead before heading up the stairs. Maybe he was being crazy. That was always a possibility. Still, he had a feeling.

Maybe it was best that feeling remain ignored. He sighed, standing against the wall for a moment before heading up to bed. He'd be lying if he said Draco didn't stay on his mind, but that was for only him to know.

i literally love diana and xander's friendship so much they're so fun to write because diana is simultaneously the mean friend and the mom friend i just love her also i finished planning out this story today so i have parts one and two mostly fleshed out I'm so excited