003. ╱ 🦋⠀⠀ ❝ more in love than never. ❞

LAYLA AGAIN COULDN'T BELIEVE HER EYES WHEN, the following Monday, as she came down from her dormitory with Megan and met Wayne in the Common Room, she saw hanging on the Hufflepuff notice board a huge sign, so large that it covered almost all the other posters: the list of second-hand spell books for sale, Argus Filch's usual reminders of school rules, the Quidditch team's training schedule, chocolate frog trading offers, the Weasleys' latest advertisements for guinea pigs —which she still couldn't believe they would accept on their board— the dates of Hogsmeade excursions, and lists of lost and found. The new sign was written in big black letters, and at the bottom was an official stamp along with a neat, flourish-laden signature.

⠀⠀"That old hag!" Muttered Megan, looking at her two friends, who were still too shocked to say anything.

⠀⠀"She knows, doesn't she?" Wayne asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Layla nodded.

⠀⠀"And I want to know who the bastard was who did it," the blonde began to say thoughtfully, until suddenly she clicked her tongue and stared at them. "Smith! I'm sure it was him."

⠀⠀The trio had just seen him leave the Common Room before they were all the way downstairs, and the brunette shook her head.

⠀⠀"Yesterday Mione told me that there would be a consequence for the person who said anything," she whispered, returning to the sofas to sit down, "so I doubt it. Smith wouldn't have come down if he had."

⠀⠀"Is that what she told you?" Wayne tried to corroborate, and she nodded. "Well, in that case it must be true... Who could it have been?"

⠀⠀"Layla, have you seen this?" Ernie asked, approaching the three of them. She had just seen the ad, and nodded and grimaced. "Do you have any ideas?"

⠀⠀He seemed to only notice the brunette. Megan and Wayne already knew he had something going for their friend's attention, so they quickly intervened.

⠀⠀"What about you?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. Ernie shrugged.

⠀⠀"Only one..., but I doubt it."

⠀⠀She glanced sideways at Hannah and Susan, who had just seen the announcement. They both looked at Layla, and she didn't understand why. Maybe it was because she was the only one to be friends with the Golden Trio. She said nothing, and took her friends by the arm to leave the Common Room.

⠀⠀"By the way, we have Binns as the first class, and I'm pretty sure Umbridge is going to inspect the class," reported Megan, as they arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast.

⠀⠀Layla looked over at the lions' table, and saw the trio with the other boys who had gone to the meeting, such as Neville and Lavender Brown. Ron saw her and smiled at her; she couldn't help but smile back, and waved her hand in greeting, causing Harry and Hermione to notice her and wave back.

⠀⠀As she sat down at the Hufflepuff table, she also saw the Ravenclaw table discreetly eyeing Harry. Zacharias Smith was eating his breakfast without any pity, and Layla couldn't help but be annoyed when he looked at the three of them and walked over.

⠀⠀"Megan, we have to go to Professor Umbridge to ask her permission for the Quidditch team," he whispered with a grimace on his face and an annoyed look at Gryffindor.

⠀⠀The blonde gave him a dirty look, didn't respond but nodded, causing the boy to give her a dirty look as well. She walked away and sat back down with her friends.

⠀⠀"I hate him," she muttered, glaring at him. "He talks to me like we're friends, but we're just on the team together."

⠀⠀"Maybe he secretly likes you," Wayne said teasingly, sipping his juice. Megan glared at him, and gave him a slap.

⠀⠀"Shut up, idiot."

⠀⠀Layla rolled her eyes, though she continued to eat, letting the two of them argue like they used to. They were a hopeless case.

⠀⠀But her friends were wrong, as the Binns' class was as dull and tedious as usual, with Umbridge absent. Unfortunately, Harry's owl arrived injured, and he had to pretend to feel bad so that he could surely take it to be seen. She watched as Ron worried about the owl, but she had a feeling it was more about the message it carried, and wondered if Harry's mail was being intercepted. It didn't surprise her at all.

⠀⠀The next class was Defence, and all they did was read the book, with no objections from Harry and/or Hermione, much to her surprise. Maybe it was because of the Quidditch permit.

⠀⠀"Umbridge told Angelina that she would think about the Gryffindor permit, can you believe it?"

⠀⠀Ron used to tell Layla about his day, when they were in the Library doing homework. It had become a habit, and it was something that meant a lot to her, because they could spend quality time together.

⠀⠀"Hufflepuff did get permission," she said, biting her lip inwardly when she saw the red-haired boy's sad face. Quidditch was one of the few things he had to love, especially now that he excelled at it. "But it shouldn't be long before she gave it to you too... Why doesn't Angelina tell McGonagall? Maybe she can talk to Dumbledore and leave her with no choice."

⠀⠀"That's a great idea!" He exclaimed happily, looking at her with a big smile. Layla's heart began to race at the sight of him like that, and she smiled too.

⠀⠀"I tend to have great ideas when I put my mind to it," she muttered with a laugh. Ron nodded.

⠀⠀"And you do, believe me."

⠀⠀Both fell into a short silence, and there was only the sound of their quills scraping against the parchment and the splash they made as they dipped them into the ink.

⠀⠀The Library was very quiet, and there were hardly any students there. That surprised her a lot, but she was grateful for it.

⠀⠀"Is Harry's owl alright?" She asked to break the ice. Ron looked at her curiously, perhaps thinking she hadn't noticed that in class earlier. "I hope so, she's very nice," she smiled, remembering something. "She's good friends with Megan's owl, and several times when we've gone to the owlery to drop off letters she's often come over."

⠀⠀"To her parents?"

⠀⠀Layla blushed at the question, and shook her head quickly. That was not her concern.

⠀⠀"Ah, no, no. It's complicated, but nothing that is relevant to the conversation."

⠀⠀"Oh, I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds," the red-haired boy apologised, smiling sideways.

⠀⠀"Yes..."

⠀⠀Silence again.

⠀⠀The Hufflepuff constantly wondered what Ron was thinking in those moments when no one was talking and they were just doing homework. She liked being there with him, because that way she could make sure that he turned in his homework properly, in a timely manner; it would help him with Quidditch training and the meetings they would have, because then he wouldn't have all the burden of homework on him.

⠀⠀Ron was often very awkward around her, and she was constantly trying to ask him how he was doing or about his life. Everyone knew the Weasleys, but he was the one who was least on the lips of the Hogwarts student body. Fred and George were clearly known for their pranks, their attitude and their flamboyant personalities; and Ginny was naturally beautiful, with a powerful attitude and always attracting attention wherever she went.

⠀⠀Perhaps he believed that the people who approached him were to be friends with the Chosen One, as they had begun to call him after the Lord Voldemort event, and she hoped he knew that this was not the case.

⠀⠀She couldn't forget the day she saw him, and thought he was cute. She was struck at first when she saw Professor McGonagall look at him disapprovingly because of the spot on his nose, causing her to feel tenderness. Megan and Wayne told her that he was a Weasley, because of his hair and complexion, and about having many siblings.

⠀⠀They were both children of magical families, so they were the ones who introduced her to this wonderful world. Her parents were pre-school teachers, so she had grown accustomed to them being a bit overprotective but good at what they did; when they found out she was a witch, it was such a surprise that her mother began to cry, believing that her only little daughter would abandon them.

⠀⠀Layla loved her parents, and they loved her life as a witch and her friends. As Wayne was hated in her family, she had accepted him with open arms at Christmas and summer holidays, along with Megan, so they always supported him in everything. Her best friends could be the most stubborn in the world, causing them to argue all the time, but at the end of the day they were friends, and they always ended up talking as if nothing had happened.

⠀⠀"What are you thinking about?"

⠀⠀Layla blinked several times, realising that she had been lost in thought and had stopped writing for a while. She blushed instantly, seeing the way Ron was looking at her, and laughed.

⠀⠀"I'm sorry, but I tend to zone out when I'm thinking," she explained apologetically. "Actually, it happens to me quite often."

⠀⠀"It happens to me too," said the red-haired man, smiling, "but most of the time I'm thinking about food."

⠀⠀The brunette had to cover her mouth to stifle an incoming laugh, because madame Pince could scold them, and she got on too well with her to do so.

⠀⠀"Well, I won't say it isn't true, because I know it is," she commented, remembering how she used to watch Ron eat as if his life depended on it, and she couldn't help but laugh a little. "Megan also has a weakness for food, even if she denies it... I've caught her on several occasions going into the kitchens at night."

⠀⠀"Do you know where the kitchens are?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow, and she nodded.

⠀⠀"Of course I do! All Hufflepuff knows, when did you find out?"

⠀⠀"Last term," he replied, blushing. "Fred and George had apparently always known and never said anything to me..."

⠀⠀"Oh, I know, I've seen them there sooooo many times," she laughed. "That's how Megan met Fred, and well, me too."

⠀⠀And it was true. She remembered vividly how, in first year, she and Megan had been hungry when they hadn't gone to dinner because they had overslept, so they decided to go to the kitchens to get some food. As they entered they saw the twins eating with Lee Jordan, while laughing at something Fred had apparently said. Megan had blushed so much that her face looked like a Weasley's hair, and this was because ever since the Selection, she thought he was cute.

⠀⠀As fate would have it, they talked that time, but never again; until third year (after Megan's worst summer ever), when she decided it was time not to let her feelings stay bottled up, and spoke to the twins, thus triggering their good friendship, the blonde's strong crush on her, and the disappointment she got at the end of last year when she found out that Fred didn't want anything serious with her.

⠀⠀Since that day she had acted indifferent every time she saw him, and the redhead didn't understand why (since he hadn't found out that Megan knew the truth), so she started doing everything she could to make him fall in love with her. It was working.

⠀⠀"There's a lot of things they don't tell me," he began, frowning. "Like the passages, and also the map... Ignore it," he added quickly, realising he had spoken too much.

⠀⠀Layla raised an eyebrow, but left him alone. She wasn't going to push him.

⠀⠀"Oh, don't worry, it's all right," she smiled at him. "You must have a lot of secrets, Ron, I can see that. Not for nothing, but you're one of the most interesting people in school," she murmured, but the red-haired boy could hear her, so he blushed.

⠀⠀"Do you think so?" The brunette bit her lip inwardly as she realised that he did hear what she said, but nodded.

⠀⠀"Yes... I, uh, have you finished the essay yet? I can give it a read and let you know how you're doing..."

⠀⠀The Hufflepuff began to ramble, and it was something she did when she got really nervous. Ron noticed, but didn't say anything either, just smiled at her and gave her his essay.

⠀⠀For the next two days, there was nothing interesting enough to bother Layla. Perhaps only the fact that Professor Trewlany was on probation, or learning that the atmosphere at school was getting heavier and heavier.

⠀⠀She had taken to making an escape plan every time she was in the corridors and met Roger seeking his forgiveness, or when she was with Megan and Kevin came along and asked her out. It was frustrating that both friends couldn't go anywhere in the castle without being tormented by annoying boys; and she thought seriously about talking to Dumbledore, but she thought he must be very busy too, and she didn't want to leave her teenage problems to him.

⠀⠀It had been raining all day that day, so at the end of class, Layla eagerly went to her Common Room to meet Susan, who agreed to teach her a spell to fix her hair without having to use any muggle products.

⠀⠀As she turned down a corridor, she inwardly berated herself for not being quicker and moving away from Roger as he began to approach her. She tried to walk much faster without success, as she felt him grab her arm roughly.

⠀⠀"What do you want?" She asked annoyed, pulling away from the blond's grip.

⠀⠀"Apologise, again... Lay, I know what I said to you was wrong, and it was without thinking, I really need you to believe me..."

⠀⠀"If you said that 'without thinking about it'," she made inverted commas with her hands, giving him a dirty look, "then it's because you really believed it, but you didn't have the courage to say it out loud."

⠀⠀She started to walk back to her Common Room, but was held back by the boy again.

⠀⠀"No, I swear I don't," Roger quickly corrected her, as he reached her side and walked with her. "I don't know what I was thinking, but no, I don't think so, I swear."

⠀⠀"I hold no grudges in my heart," she said, standing in front of him and looking at him, frowning. "So you're forgiven, alright? But I don't want you talking to me again, or bothering me, or else I'll go and talk to Professor Dumbledore and see if you'll understand and stop..."

⠀⠀"I'm not going to walk away from you!" He shouted in the middle of the corridor, pointing his finger at her. Layla's heart began to race at the bluntness of his words, and she began to walk away in small steps; but every time she took one step away, he moved forward. "I told you last term and I'll tell you now! You're fucking mine, alright?!"

⠀⠀The brunette was speechless, and began to breathe heavily; her gaze clouded over and she didn't know what to do. She went blank. A tightness in her chest began to make itself felt in a way it never had before, she felt shivers and began to tremble.

⠀⠀"Hey you! Watch how you talk to her, you idiot!"

⠀⠀Punch.

⠀⠀The Hufflepuff blinked several times as she realised that Ron had punched Roger in the nose, causing it to start bleeding very quickly. She looked at the red-headed boy, and saw how furious he was, his hand fisted in the Slytherin's blood; who had taken a couple of steps back while holding his nose with his other hand, as if he was going to fall.

⠀⠀"Watch where you're going, traitor," he spat, a little bloodily. "You don't want to come out worse yourself."

⠀⠀"You'll come out worse off if you don't leave her alone," Ron held her arm carefully, and they started to walk away, while Roger angrily ran the other way.

⠀⠀The girl still couldn't quite figure out what had happened there, but she looked at Ron and stammered, unable to say anything. His face was still red in anger.

⠀⠀She began to breathe calmly as she had been taught and as she always did when she had an attack, holding his hand tightly as he told her that everything would be fine and that he was with her.

⠀⠀They inadvertently reached the entrance to the Common Room, and the red-haired man ran his hand through his hair in annoyance, after which the brunette felt a little better, and calmer. He sat her down on a bench in front of the place, and stared at her, intimidating her a little.

⠀⠀"Did he do anything else to you?" He asked, looking around as if Roger was suddenly going to come and hit him. "Did he touch you?"

⠀⠀Layla choked on her own saliva, but after a couple of seconds it passed, and she shook her head.

⠀⠀"I..., no, Ron, it's all right."

⠀⠀"It's not right if he treats you like that, Lay," he scolded her, and she couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. "I know he's your ex-boyfriend, Harry told me, but I won't let him lay a finger on you again. That idiot...," he mumbled to himself, but he was so close to the girl that she heard him. "You don't have to be alone in the corridors, okay?" She nodded weakly.

⠀⠀"Layla!" Megan exclaimed as she came out of the Common Room with Wayne, and saw her in that state. The blonde took a quick glance at Ron, and saw his bloody hand; she squatted down with Wayne behind her, analysing everything. "What happened?"

⠀⠀"That idiot, Malone. That happened," the redhead answered for her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze; the brunette swallowed dryly as she felt butterflies in her stomach at the gesture.

⠀⠀"Lay, are you okay? He didn't do anything to you, right?" Wayne asked, concerned. She denied.

⠀⠀"H-He just held my a-arm very badly," she spoke with difficulty, as she felt a big lump in her throat.

⠀⠀"And he was shouting very rude things at her," Ron interrupted her, shaking his head.

    "Everything's o-okay," Layla hiccupped, and blushed at that. "I... ah, I want to sleep."

⠀⠀"Oh, I was actually going to tell you something... The meeting will be today at eight o'clock on the seventh floor, in front of the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry."

⠀⠀"We'll be there," Megan assured him with a smile, and the redhead nodded.

⠀⠀"Uh, Lay... See you in a bit," he said goodbye, and surprisingly, kissed her cheek and almost ran out of there.

⠀⠀Layla couldn't help but place her hand on her cheek, as she blushed all over. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his lips on her cheek, as she was the one who usually said goodbye that way. Her friends smiled at that, because it had distracted the brunette from the situation less than ten minutes ago.

⠀⠀Wayne cleared his throat to snap the Hufflepuff out of her thoughts, and she looked up in embarrassment. She gave a glance around and stood up from the bench.

⠀⠀"I think I'll get some sleep before we go."

⠀⠀And she went straight to the Common Room.

HOURS LATER THEY LEFT THAT PLACE, with a calmer and more rested Layla, a worried Megan and an alert Wayne. They weren't going to let anything else happen to the brunette.

⠀⠀They arrived at the place, and at that moment Ginny, Neville, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas were entering through a shiny wooden door in the wall. She swore she had never seen it before, but she couldn't say for sure.

⠀⠀The walls were lined with wooden shelves, and instead of chairs there were huge silk cushions on the floor. On racks on the far wall of the room were a number of instruments, including snitching scopes, cloaking sensors and a large, cracked enemy reflector.

⠀⠀"Wow," exclaimed Dean, looking around him in awe. "What's this?"

⠀⠀Harry began to explain to them how the room had appeared, but just as he was about to finish, more people arrived and he had to start again. By eight o'clock all the cushions were taken. Harry went to the door and turned the key in the lock with a rather loud noise as everyone stared at Harry. Hermione put the book she was reading aside.

⠀⠀Ron sat down next to Layla, and she couldn't help but smile at him, even more so when he greeted her with a kiss.

⠀⠀"Well," said Harry a little nervously. "This is the place we've found for our practice sessions, and as far as I can see... everyone approves."

⠀⠀"It's fantastic!" Cho exclaimed, and several people also expressed their agreement.

⠀⠀"It's weird," Fred commented, glancing around with a furrowed brow. "We hid from Filch in here once, remember, George? But then this was just a broom cupboard."

⠀⠀"Hey, Harry, what's that?" Dean asked from the back of the room, pointing to the snitches and the enemy searchlight.

⠀⠀"Tenebrous detectors," Harry replied, and gave everyone cushions. He then went on to explain what it was, but was interrupted by Hermione.

⠀⠀"I think we should choose a leader," she suggested.

⠀⠀"Harry is the leader," Cho said, looking at Hermione as if she was mad.

⠀⠀Ron scoffed, and Layla elbowed him when she noticed that. It was obvious that Harry liked Cho Chang, and the Asian girl was also doing things that gave away her feelings for the dark-haired.

⠀⠀She also suggested that they should name the group, and it ended up being «Dumbledore's Army», because that was what the Ministry was most afraid of, in Ginny's words. The brunette smiled at her and the redhead returned the gesture. Layla couldn't help but feel good about liking the girl. Hermione then wrote the name on the parchment they had all formed and stuck it on a wall, for all to see.

⠀⠀"Very well," said Harry when Hermione had sat down again. "Shall we start practising? I thought the first thing we should do is practise the Expelliarmus, that is the disarming charm. I know it's very elementary, but I found it very useful..."

⠀⠀"Wow, man!" Exclaimed Smith, looking up at the ceiling and crossing his arms. "I don't think the Expelliarmus spell is going to help us much if we have to deal with You-Know-Who."

⠀⠀"I used it on him," said Harry calmly. "In June, that spell saved my life." Smith's mouth dropped open, looking stupid. The other students were very quiet. "But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," Harry added. Smith didn't move, nor did anyone else. "Okay," continued Harry, "we could split into pairs and practise."

⠀⠀Ron quickly looked at her, and she couldn't help but laugh.

⠀⠀"I'll rip you to shreds," she said, standing up with the redhead's help and laughing. He shrugged.

⠀⠀"I couldn't say."

⠀⠀For Layla, that was a hint that she would do it.

⠀⠀They all repeated their action and paired up, leaving Neville alone, and quickly Harry took his place with him.

⠀⠀She knew how to cast the spell perfectly, and it seemed to her like a good idea for the dark-haired to suggest it when she disarmed Ron so quickly after uttering 'Expelliarmus!' with ease. So many others had their spells so poorly executed that their wands went into the books on the shelves and blew them up, as in Neville's case.

⠀⠀Layla watched out of the corner of her eye as the Gryffindor disarmed Harry, taking advantage of the fact that he was distracted; he was very excited, as he said he had never been able to do it before. Harry then sent the boy to practice with them and take turns letting him watch the others.

⠀⠀"Expelliarmus!"

⠀⠀Layla's wand went flying into Ron's hand, as he smirked self-satisfiedly at being able to disarm her. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, snorting and going to snatch it back.

⠀⠀"If you do it when I'm distracted it doesn't count!" She laughed, but gave him a dirty look. The red-haired boy shrugged, as he tried to do it with Neville's wand, and it worked, although he couldn't reach his hand and it flew away, and Layla had to fetch it.

⠀⠀"STOP!" Harry shouted, causing everyone to stop and put down their wands, and causing the brunette to hit her head on a bookshelf as she stood up with her wand in her hand. Megan started laughing at her. "Oh, sorry, Lay," she waved her head and went to Ron and Neville. "Well, not bad, but you can still improve a lot."

⠀⠀She and Neville dueled, and she evidently took the wand away from the boy. Realising that he and Ron needed more practice, he decided to leave them alone and stand next to them to correct any bad posture or wand waving.

⠀⠀Harry was still watching the couples, and she saw him talking to Cho Chang. Suddenly everyone fell silent as Terry Boot's wand flew past Harry's ear and hit Alicia Spinnet square in the nose; Layla couldn't help but laugh.

⠀⠀"Relax, Nev, you're doing fine," the brunette tried to reassure him when she saw that he was getting desperate when he couldn't do it again after Harry. "It worked with Harry, so you can do it, you just... need to concentrate more."

⠀⠀He threatened Ron not to try to disarm him first and his wand went flying into Neville's hands, who smiled and thanked Layla for the motivation.

⠀⠀Suddenly a whistle blew across the room, causing everyone to stop casting spells and look at Harry.

⠀⠀"Well, that was all very well," Harry commented. "But the session went on longer than expected, so we have to leave it here. Shall we meet next week at the same time in the same place?"

⠀⠀"Earlier!" Dean Thomas exclaimed enthusiastically, and many of his classmates nodded in agreement.

⠀⠀Layla smiled, and Ron smiled at the sight of her. But Angelina said instead:

⠀⠀"The Quidditch season is about to start and the team has to practice too!"

⠀⠀"Next Wednesday night then," said Harry. "We'll decide if we have any additional meetings. Now we'd better get going!"

⠀⠀They were to leave in groups of three or four. Justin, Ernie, Hannah and Susan were the first Hufflepuff to leave, followed by Layla, Megan and Wayne. As they were about to walk out the door, she felt someone gently grab her wrist and looked up, seeing Ron.

⠀⠀"I, uh, take care of yourself," he murmured with red cheeks. The brunette also blushed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

⠀⠀"Goodbye!" She exclaimed happily and nervously at the same time, then looked at the leader. "Thanks for today, Harry. See you tomorrow!"

⠀⠀And she left the Room of Requirement with a smile on her face and her heart racing.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, LAYLA'S FIFTH YEAR PROMISED TO BE VERY ENTERTAINING, AND DIFFERENT FROM PAST YEARS.

⠀⠀Firstly, because her relationship with Ron was getting better and better, to the extent that they got together every other day (even if most of those times it wasn't for homework) and never got bored in their talks.

⠀⠀The red-headed boy had some very interesting topics to tell her, and most of them were about his family and all the magic involved in the stories. For example, when Ron was three and broke Fred's toy flying broom, and Fred, in revenge, turned his teddy bear into a giant spider, which unleashed his arachnophobia; or when the twins almost got Ron to swear an unbreakable oath, and according to him, 'Fred knew which buttock was right and which was left from that moment on'.

⠀⠀Layla told him about her family, who were pre-school teachers and dealt with children, as well as when they went for walks with her and the many times she had gone to parks and fairs, so her room was full of stuffed animals. She had a great obsession with butterflies, and even had one as a pet once.

⠀⠀"And how does it feel to have a pet like that?" Ron asked curiously as he ate. They were in the kitchens.

⠀⠀"It was the best thing I could have had before I came," she answered, smiling genuinely, and brushing a lock of her hair over her ear. "She went everywhere with me, almost always on my shoulder, and even thanks to her I had to have my hair always in a ponytail, so it wouldn't bother her," she added with a laugh. "Oh, certainly the best twelve months of my life. It's very nice to have a companion, and as I was always very shy at muggle school I didn't have so many friends, so she kept me company so I wouldn't be alone."

⠀⠀"What was her name?"

⠀⠀"You'll mock me if I tell you!" she pointed her finger at him with a clean laugh. "I'd rather keep it to myself."

⠀⠀"Come on, Lay, pleeeease," he began to shake her shoulder insistently, and she was denying.

⠀⠀"I have dignity."

⠀⠀Ron seemed to be very insistent, because even for the next two weeks, every time they talked, he wanted to know the name she'd given her butterfly as a girl, causing Megan and Wayne to want to know it too, because that was something she'd never told anyone until the redhead.

⠀⠀The «Dumbledore's Army» meetings were really helping Layla and everyone who belonged: Neville had managed to disarm Hermione, Colin Creevey had performed the Paralyzing Spell to perfection; after three sessions of hard effort, Parvati Patil had cast a Reducer Curse so powerful it had turned the snitch table to dust, and much more. The brunette had had almost no trouble with most of the spells and was feeling pretty good about it.

⠀⠀Her favourite time of the week began to be when Ron would approach her with the excuse of telling her about the next meeting, and they would eventually spend the rest of the afternoon together (either at the Black Lake or in the Courtyard, watching the Gobstones club boys play). She was really falling hard for him, and couldn't help believing that he might reciprocate her feelings; but Layla was too embarrassed to make the first move, fearing that it might be a misunderstanding.

⠀⠀The meetings didn't usually have a fixed day or time, which she was grateful for as it meant that there was no pattern and it was difficult for Umbridge to spot the next one. Hermione then quickly devised a very clever method of communicating the date and time of the next meeting to the DA members in case it had to be changed at the last minute, as it would have been suspicious for students from different houses to cross the Great Hall to talk to each other too often, and handed each of the DA members a dummy galleon.

⠀⠀"See the numbers around the edge of the coins?" She said, holding one up for them to examine at the end of their fourth meeting. The coin, thick and yellow, reflected the light of the torches. "On the real galleons there is nothing more than a serial number referring to the elf who minted the coin. On these fake coins, however, the numbers will change to indicate the date and time of the next meeting. The coins will heat up when the date changes, so if you carry them in your pocket you will notice it. We will take one each, and when Harry decides the date of the next meeting, he will change the numbers on his coin, and the numbers on the others will also change to mimic Harry's because I have cast a Protean Spell on them."

⠀⠀Hermione's words were met with stony silence. She looked around at her classmates, who were looking at her in bewilderment, though Layla was actually astonished.

⠀⠀"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea," she stammered. "Because even if Professor Umbridge ordered us to empty our pockets, there's nothing suspicious about carrying a galleon, right? But... well, if you don't want to use them..."

    "Do you know how to do a Protean Spell?" Asked Terry Boot.

⠀⠀"Yes."

⠀⠀"But if that..., that corresponds to the level of NEWT," she remarked in a whisper.

⠀⠀"Yeah," Hermione replied, trying to sound modest. "Yeah, well, yeah, I suppose so."

⠀⠀"Why didn't they put you in Ravenclaw?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione. "With the brains you've got!"

⠀⠀"Well, the Sorting Hat was about to send me to Ravenclaw," Hermione replied cheerfully, "but in the end it decided on Gryffindor. Well, what do you say, do you want to use the galleons?"

⠀⠀There was a general murmur of approval, and the companions approached the basket to take their coin.

⠀⠀"I marvel at Mione's ability more and more," Layla whispered to Ron as the two of them left the Menesters Hall for the Library to do their Potions homework.

⠀⠀"Me too... The Hat must have given it a lot of thought."

⠀⠀The brunette couldn't help but laugh and nod.

⠀⠀Sadly, DA meetings were then called off because the first Quidditch match of the season was coming up, pitting Gryffindor against Slytherin, causing Ron to be much more nervous than usual, and Professor McGonagall to leave them no homework, probably so that they would have more time to practice.

⠀⠀Layla had then offered to help the red-headed boy a lot more when Snape started giving him and Harry a lot more homework so that they would have less free time to practise and win against the snakes.

⠀⠀All Hogwarts had always had an unwritten pact, and that was that everyone would rather let Gryffindor win just so that Slytherin wouldn't.

⠀⠀She also knew that Harry was very used to the snakes' insults before matches, causing him to just laugh at them and wipe the smiles off their faces. Ron, on the other hand, was not: when Slytherin, including some seventh years much taller than him, muttered as they passed him in a corridor 'Have you booked a bed in the Infirmary yet, Weasley?' Ron didn't laugh, but turned red within seconds. Also when Draco Malfoy bullied Ron by dropping the quaffle —which he did every time he bumped into Harry and Ron, as the dark-haired told Layla— Ron's ears would turn red and his hands would start shaking so much that if he was carrying anything in them at the time, it would fall off too.

⠀⠀October was an unbroken succession of blustery windy days and torrential rain, and when November came, it was freezing cold; the icy wind and heavy morning frost would hurt hands and faces if they were not protected. The sky and the roof of the Great Hall took on a light, pearly grey hue; the mountains surrounding Hogwarts were crowned with snow, and the temperature inside the castle dropped so low that many students wore their thick dragon-skin gloves as they walked the corridors from one class to the next.

⠀⠀"You can do it, can't you?" The Hufflepuff tried to reassure him the day before the match, when they were in the kitchens, with Layla trying to get Ron to eat. "You're an excellent Keeper, don't let anything stop you!"

⠀⠀The red-haired man took a bite of the pie in his hand reluctantly, and let out a long sigh.

⠀⠀"I don't know..., Lay, I... I'm afraid of tomorrow."

⠀⠀Her heart squeezed at that, and she took Ron's hands in hers, even though they were much smaller, giving them a good squeeze.

⠀⠀"I trust you, okay?" he gave him a big smile, and the red-haired boy blushed. "I know you can do it, and I know you'll be great, just like you always are."

⠀⠀Ron looked at her curiously and thoughtfully at the same time, causing Layla to raise an eyebrow.

⠀⠀"What happens?"

⠀⠀"Nothing," replied the red-headed boy, smiling and drinking pumpkin juice.

⠀⠀She wasn't convinced by that, so when she got to her Common Room and saw her friends on the sofa eating chocolate, she couldn't help but walk over and take them to the girls' room, where luckily no one was there. Megan asked her what she wanted, and Wayne laughed at the blonde's attitude.

⠀⠀"Why did you bring me here against my will?!" Her best friend asked, purposely exaggerating everything.

⠀⠀"Shut up, dummy," the boy silenced her, and forced her to sit on her bed, so that he could sit next to her and leave the brunette in front of them, on her bed. "And you'd better tell us, Lay, what is the urgency?"

⠀⠀"I think I messed up," she said worriedly. Megan raised an uncomprehending eyebrow.

⠀⠀"What do you mean 'messed up'?"

⠀⠀"Oh, I accidentally told Ron he was great, and that's what I tell him in every letter! I think he thought so, because he looked at me like... weird. I don't know."

⠀⠀Layla was completely blushed, and waved her hands nervously. She kept glancing at the window and the door, perhaps checking to make sure no one was coming in or peeking in.

⠀⠀"How about dropping him a letter tomorrow? Treat him normal, and still tell him he's great," Wayne proposed. "And then maybe he'll think it's not you, because otherwise you wouldn't send him a letter, would you?"

⠀⠀"I hate to say you have good ideas," Megan mumbled, folding her arms, and the brown man smiled self-satisfiedly, "but he's right, Lay."

⠀⠀"Shit," muttered the Hufflepuff, reaching for parchment, quill and ink and beginning to write.

⠀⠀"If he notices it, I only hope he will come and ask me straight out, because I won't," she said to her friends as she finished writing the letter and put it in her pocket. She had thought of sending it to him by owl the next day, to perhaps help him with his pre-match mood.

⠀⠀"And I hope he kisses you, because I don't want to wait any longer," Megan teased, causing Layla to throw a pillow at her and sink into her bed in embarrassment.

⠀⠀Although the idea of a kiss did not displease her.