Now that everybody was back from their filling Christmas break, the Fifth Years and upper grades were practically suffocating from the amount of homework they were receiving. All of the teachers claimed that this would help them in the future; but Amber was having none of it once she, Ami, and Tom were hanging out in the library after dinner trying to finish their piles of homework.

"How can they possibly expect us to do all of this homework AND study for tests, quizzes, and pop quizzes before we die of a heart attack with all of this rubbish clogging my trachea!" Ami and Tom looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders uncaringly. Amber had been ranting like this since she and Ami returned from their joint Christmas vacation.

"Well the load isn't going to suddenly become lighter, Duncan. Just shut up and do it like the rest of us." Tom snapped. He couldn't take her complaining anymore, as it was disrupting his concentration; so he magicked his belongings into his bag and left the two girls to deal with their homework on their own.

"Geez, what's up with him, Ami?" Amber asked the red head, who was currently glaring at the blonde.

"What's up is you haven't stopped bitching about your load of homework! We all have the same amount to do and yet you seem to think that you're the only one who's stressing. You're lucky Tom and I haven't hexed you yet with how annoying you're being!" Ami retorted; and she, too, gathered her things and left the library.

Ami stomped angrily away from the library and decided she needed a lot of help with her potions assignment. Not knowing where Tom, a member of the Slug Club, had went, she ventured to Mr. Slughorn's office.

After knocking on the door, she yelled as someone from Slugnhorn's office pushed by her quickly; but before she could tell whoever it was off, she was greeted by a startled potions master.

"Oh, Miss Maurice! I'm sorry, Dear; but I will not be taking questions about the homework for tonight. I will excuse you the day after next from the homework if you remind me that you came to stop by this night."

Before she could even bid her professor a good night or ask what had startled him so, the door to his office slammed. Ami stood there in bewilderment for a few minutes, wondering if the student had brawled with the professor right before she had showed up. Shaking her head, she gladly accepted to be excused from her potions homework as she made her way back to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Basilisk." Ami said; and the portrait opened to reveal groups of students all around the Common Room. Many were playing games of Exploding Snap while other groups were clearly studying for the final exams, whether they were O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s.

Ami's head began to spin with all the commotion in the Common Room and decided it was best for her to go to her dormitory. She broke off to the right of the Room, while having to shove through the packs of younger students in her way, and headed to the Sixth Year Girls' Dormitory.

She didn't expect to see Amber in their shared dormitory so early in the evening. The recent events of their argument was led through the girl's mind as she blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry about earlier, Amber."

"Don't be sorry, Ami. I shouldn't have been so selfish with thinking it was just me. Obviously your panties have been in a twist from two sources." Ami raised her eyebrows at her best friend's words. Thankfully, the other girls who belonged to their dormitory were not there at the moment.

"What are the two sources to my stress, my personal Healer?" Ami played along cautiously and tried to make Amber's words less dirty. Amber knew of her friend's attempt to make her words less dirty, which only made her smirk.

"Your panties have two knots in them: one tiny one from our classes and a giant knot from a certain guy in our year. I'll give you a Riddle with his name." Ami groaned and dramatically fell backward on her bed as Amber nearly pissed herself from her pun and her friend's reaction.

"Remind me why I'm still friends with you, Duncan?"

"It's probably because we're somehow related."

Ami groaned. "Just my luck! Related to some pureblood idiot!" The girls giggled, thinking about what a half-blood would make of the sudden turn into blood purity.

A moment of silence fell upon the duo as they trailed into their own thoughts. "Hey, Amber?"

"Mm?" She muttered as she changed into her pajamas.

"What do you think of blood purity? I've known you for six years and I haven't bothered to ask you a common question." She peered over at her friend, who was climbing into her bed. Ami noticed the split-second fearful gave that appeared on Amber's face.

"Promise not to judge me, Ami?" Amber's voice was suddenly a whisper and Ami had to strain her ears to hear it.

"I promise, Amber." She saw Amber shift uncomfortably in her bed.

"Well, I don't really believe in all the 'blood purity' mania that's going on. I guess I did when I was younger; but I realized people were dying and being ridiculed mercilessly for being in love and having a child with their soulmate."

Ami was silent as she took in the words her best friend was saying. She was always told that pure blood was important because it kept the Wizarding World safe from people with different minds, which could destroy the balance of magic and sanity. The young girl was never taught to ridicule others for being muggle-borns, half-bloods, or even half-breeds because it wasn't their fault their parents destroyed a part of the balance.

Ami never realized that they were just expanding the opportunities for the Wizarding World to grow with new people who were born from love.

A sudden thought struck her hard.

Maybe this, she thought, is why Tom Riddle is never happy— because he wasn't born out of love.