Hogwarts had not been the same since Professor Umbridge stepped into the position of headmistress.

Since then, everything that made the school fun and unique was no longer there. The woman put even more strict rules on the students, along with all of the classes to have very little hands-on learning as possible. On top of that, all of the talking portraits throughout the castle had been taken down by Filch himself, leaving Hogwarts to be just as lifeless as ever. Needless to say, the school was in shambles. However, the ones who got the worst of this living hell was Dumbledore's Army.

Rosie had lost count of how many detentions they served in the Great Hall after dinner over the last few weeks, but it was clear that Headmistress Umbridge thought the punishment had yet to fit the crime. During the late nights everyone had to do lines, letting the message literally sink into their skin. After each session, the students would massage their wrists and clean off the blood once the burning sensation had passed, then having to repeat the routine all over again the next night. After a while, Rosie got used to the pain, along with everyone from Dumbledore's Army not speaking to her. Hell, even Neville didn't say much to her anymore, which came as a shock and sadness to follow. And because she wasn't talking to her Slytherin friends, either, Rosie was officially alone, but was slowly becoming okay with it.

When she was tired of being stuck inside the castle, Rosie found the time to go walking along the castle grounds, seeing it as a good escape, even if it was only for a short amount of time. She would sit on the shore of the Black Lake, where it was a good spot to be alone with her thoughts, as hardly anyone ever came around to interrupt her. With the weather warming up, Rosie was outside a lot more, feeling like she could breathe again. She hated suffocating inside the castle, the one space she and so many others felt safe. Now, it was more like a prison for most of the students and teachers, and Headmistress Umbridge seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

Rosie took her usual stroll along the shore, then decided to head for the water instead of sitting down. She glanced down at the rocks and attempted to skip them along the water, though she was not having much luck with succeeding. The more she kept trying, the more frustrated she got.

"Having trouble there?"

The girl turned around to find Adam making his way over. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't when her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. "I'm still figuring it out," she answered once he stopped next to her.

"I can see that," he replied, chuckling a little. "Need any help?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

Adam let out a sigh. "You're still mad at me, I presume." It wasn't a question, as if he already knew that was the case.

Of course Rosie was still mad at him. In fact, it seemed like she was always mad at her Slytherin friends nowadays. She had gotten used to not talking to any of them this year, something she never expected to happen. But with things being different now, she didn't look at them the same way anymore. Really, she didn't know what to think of them, and whenever they came to mind, she only became annoyed and confused by it. And locking eyes with Adam only made it worse.

"What do you want, Adam?" she finally asked.

"I want to apologize."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." He paused, adjusting his stance. "I should've talked to you first before telling Gavin about your secret organization. But there's a reason why I did."

Rosie scoffed, turning to pick up another rock. "It better be a good one."

Adam sighed. "He was tired of seeing what Umbridge was doing to Hogwarts."

"So what, he was just going to quit her little Inquisitorial Squad quad and join Dumbledore's Army?"

"There's a lot more to it, but that was sort of a start in the right direction," he answered. "He wouldn't have quit to avoid suspicion, but he did think about joining Dumbledore's Army and help give information as to what Umbridge was up to."

"You mean, become a spy." She attempted to skip another rock, though she got the same result as before. "I was already accused of being that before Dumbledore's Army was officially formed."

"Maybe if your little club had one--"

"I don't think it would've made a difference," Rosie cut him off, grabbing another rock. "It's obvious that the old toad has her ways of getting what she wants." Trying her hand again at skipping the rock, she let out a groan when all it looked like she did was throw it into the water. "Bloody hell..."

"Here, let me help you," he stated, picking up a rock and putting it into her hand, though his own hand started to move over hers. "Right, it's all in the wrist. You just gotta bend it like this..."

Rosie began to tense up a little, along with feeling her heart beating faster with how close Adam was now.

Moving behind Rosie, Adam pulled her arm back, getting it ready to throw the rock. "One, two..." Before he could finish, Adam guided Rosie with her arm and sent the rock towards the water, in which the two watched it skip over the surface and eventually disappear. "Okay, now you try it like that."

Rosie was more at ease when Adam let go of her, though she almost wished he hadn't. Grabbing another rock by her feet, she positioned her wrist and arm the same way he showed her, taking her time. She knew Adam was staring at her, which made her nervous to even attempt to skip a rock this time around. But when she cast the rock out to the water, she beamed when it was gliding across the top before it fell down to the bottom.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, turning towards Adam. "Holy cricket, I did it!"

"Good job, Rosebud!" he responded, smiling.

Rosie's smile was close to fading at the mention of her nickname, staring at him while clearing her throat and speaking again. "Uh, thanks for teaching me that."

"Yeah, no problem." Adam paused as he glanced down at her bandaged hand, growing concerned. "I noticed your hand earlier. Is it alright if I take a look?"

"It's nothing," she lied, using her other arm to cover it up.

"Rosie--"

"Seriously, I'm okay."

"No, you're not," he said firmly, stepping towards her. "Just let me see."

There was something about his soft eyes that caused Rosie to reluctantly reveal her messed up badly hurt hand and let him see it. Adam gently unwrapped the bandage and examined the injury, growing concerned as he carefully traced his fingers along the words etched into her skin.

"Merlin's beard," he muttered. "What the hell is this?"

"Umbridge's punishment," she said bluntly.

"What?"

"She has us writing lines with these special quills. Something about letting the message sink in. Turns out she meant it literally."

"How long has this been going on?" he asked.

"A few weeks."

"A few weeks?!"

"She's going to keep up with it as long as she can," Rosie said.

Another sigh escaped Adam's lips as he dropped her hand and gave her a frustrated look. "She can't do this to you guys."

"There's no stopping her, not when she's headmistress," she pointed out. "Believe me, everyone knows what she's capable of."

He shook his head, scoffing. "This is what Gavin was worried about. I'm not sure how he's going to leave his family if he can't even quit the Inquisitorial Squad."

Rosie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

Adam looked at her once he realized what he just said. "That was the other reason why I told Gavin about Dumbledore's Army. He figured if he could be a part of that, then maybe it could help him learn how to defend himself against his family should the time come he has to do such a thing."

Rosie's heart sank hearing what Adam had to say about Gavin. If only Adam had come to Rosie in regards to telling Gavin about Dumbledore's Army. Maybe she would have been able to convince Harry to let him join, given the circumstances.

"How does Greer feel about it?" she questioned.

"She doesn't know," he answered.

"But I'm sure she'll find out soon enough."

"No, she won't."

"Oh, please, you know how Greer--"

"I broke up with her, Rosie."

She froze, surprised plastered on her face. "You did?"

"Yeah, a couple of weeks ago," he told her. "Of course, she didn't take it too well, which was to be expected. Haven't talked to her since."

"Oh, wow." Rosie left her mouth open, in shock that he actually--no, finally--broke up with her. It was for the best, and maybe now they could start moving on from each other. "I'm sorry, Adam."

He cracked a small smile. "Are you, really?"

She grinned a little in response, even though she really did feel sorry for him. "I mean, you two were together for quite a while."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me the truth."

Rosie didn't say anything right away, but kept looking at Adam instead, and the same warm feeling from before came back to her, only it was much stronger this time, so strong that she didn't think she could stop it. Butterflies began to fill up in her stomach, followed by the confusion swirling around inside her head. And all of sudden, she glanced down at the ground, breaking contact.

"I've gotta go," she finally said, moving past him.

"Wait, Rosie--"

"Adam, I can't do this right now." With that, she kept going and didn't look back at him, quickening her pace and heading back towards the castle.

Merlin, why did she have to feel this way? Especially towards Adam, of all people. Their friendship was something that was safe, something that she could always count on. But it was clear that there was a shift somewhere, a shift that now changed everything between them. What the hell was she supposed to do about it?

Before Rosie could give herself time to ponder on it more, she spotted the familiar blonde hair and cold expression that could kill belonging to Greer Thomson storming her way.

Oh, great.

"Have a nice little chat with Adam?" Greer questioned harshly, folding her arms over her chest.

Rosie raised her eyebrows in puzzlement. "What?"

"Your talk with him just now. How was it?"

She couldn't help but let out a scoff. "Crikey, were you spying on us?"

"Merlin, I should've known there was something going on with you two," the blonde muttered, shaking her head and chuckling.

"What are you going on about?"

"How long have you liked him?"

Rosie was quiet for a moment, not wanting to tell her. So she didn't. "Why does it matter?"

"Because I have to know."

"You don't have to know anything."

"Yes, I do."

"Greer."

"Rosie."

She started to get frustrated at the jealousy plastered all over her friend's face. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

"What?"

"This isn't about my feelings for Adam."

A smirk came across Greer's face. "Enlighten me, then, Rosie. What is this all about?"

Rosie shot her a glare. "It's about you trying to keep control of everyone."

"Oh, bloody hell--"

"That's always what it's been about with you and me, hasn't it? You just wanted someone to always be there when you needed them, and that person was me. You saw me as some innocent Gryffindor that you could use and manipulate whenever you felt like it." She paused, inhaling before going on. "Maybe I was too naive to see what your intentions were back then, but I realize now that you never wanted to be my friend."

Greer's expression turned cold. "Are you forgetting that I was the one you came to for advice? I was the one you asked about becoming a Death Eater when the idea interests you."

"You assumed, as always," Rosie retorted. "Just like you're assuming that there's something going on between me and Adam."

"Don't be stupid, Rosie," Greer stated. "You think I haven't noticed the way you two look at each other? You really think you're not the reason we broke up?"

Rosie wanted to tell her that she truly had no idea why they broke up. But she got thinking back to the times she and Adam exchanged glances, had private conversations, remembering the gaze he had on her. Was Greer really onto something? Could there have been something that Rosie didn't notice?

"Admit it, Rosie. You're no saint. In fact, we're more alike than you realize."

"That's not true and you know it."

"Isn't it, though? Why else would you be friends with me? Something about me had to make you think that I was like you in different ways."

Rosie felt the anger rising inside her, blood boiling with every second she continued to stand in front of her ex-best friend, spitting out words that Greer would never listen to. It was not worth it to waste any more energy on someone who never cared for her to begin with.

"We'll never be the same, Greer," she finally spat out, storming past her and back towards the castle.

While there was somewhat of a weight lifted off her chest, Rosie still felt there were things left unsaid. Things that might come back to haunt them both sooner rather than later.

~~~~~~~

A/N: AHHHHH THE DRAMA IS GETTING REAL.

What do we think?

Comment, vote, no too long until we're done with Part I!

-A