005. ╱ 🦋⠀⠀ ❝ trouble in paradise. ❞

DECEMBER ARRIVED, LEAVING MORE SNOW AND A REAL PILE OF HOMEWORK FOR THE FIFTH GRADERS.

⠀⠀Layla hadn't had much luck talking to Ron since that day: the boy had been avoiding her every time she'd come over to try and talk to him; to the blank stares of Harry and Hermione, who were also trying to get him to talk to the brunette again, but to no avail.

⠀⠀"I think Ron thought you had a thing for Ernie," Hermione told her once in the Library, while they were doing homework together. "Because he's been criticising him all the time..., even ignoring him at prefect meetings."

⠀⠀Harry had an opinion about it too.

⠀⠀"Ron is very proud, Lay," he said to her in the Library too, but he was only passing. "When something gets in his head it's very difficult to get it out... Remember how many times he has got mad at me and Hermione and stopped talking to us. He has self-esteem issues, even though we tell him that you and him are nothing... I've really tried everything, but he's an airhead."

⠀⠀Wayne insisted that she give him time, and that he would realise his mistake on his own. Megan, on the other hand, suggested that they should lock them both in an empty classroom until they worked things out. Layla wanted neither option.

⠀⠀The last DA meeting was coming up on that day, making the Hufflepuff even more nervous than usual, since after that she wouldn't have another chance to talk to Ron until after the holidays. As stupid as it sounded, she was afraid that the boy would forget her.

⠀⠀"You can do it, girl, I'm confident it'll all work out today," Megan told her as they walked with Wayne towards the Room of Requirement, in a crooning voice. "I have a good feeling about it!"

⠀⠀"Not to put you down, Lay," the boy interrupted, giving the blonde a dirty look, "but if you haven't achieved anything in the last few weeks... who's to say that you will now?"

⠀⠀On the one hand, that's what she thought. But at the same time she wanted to believe in her best friend's sixth sense and trust that everything would work out.

⠀⠀"Don't be a spoilsport," Megan scolded him, pointing her finger at him and sticking her tongue out as they entered the room. "She can do it, I know it."

⠀⠀Layla's nerves increased when she saw Ron standing near her as he chatted with Hermione and Neville. Harry was in front, with the girls from the Gryffindor team, and slowly everyone began to arrive.

⠀⠀"Well," said Harry, and called his colleagues to order. "I thought tonight we could go over what we've done so far, because this is the last meeting before the holidays, and there's no point in starting anything new before a three-week break..."

⠀⠀"Aren't we going to do anything new?" Asked Zacharias Smith in a disgruntled whisper, though loud enough for all to hear. "If I knew, I wouldn't come."

⠀⠀"Well, it's a pity Harry didn't tell you sooner," replied Fred.

⠀⠀Several students chuckled under their breath, including Megan, to whom the red-haired boy winked. She ignored him.

⠀⠀"We'll practise in pairs," Harry continued. "We'll start with the Paralysing Spell for ten minutes, then we'll sit on the cushions and practise the Stunning Spell again."

⠀⠀The students obediently grouped themselves in pairs. After the first meeting in which Ron no longer spoke to her, he paired up with Hermione and she had to go with Ginny, who had been the brunette's partner before.

⠀⠀To her surprise, she watched as Ginny quickly walked over to Hermione, leaving the red-haired boy on the side and stunned to see how he had been left without a partner. He gave Layla a sidelong glance, but seeing that Neville was alone, he walked over willing to go, but Harry stood next to the dark-haired boy, giving a pleading look to Ron, who after mumbling to himself, approached the girl.

⠀⠀The room was soon filled with intermittent shouts of 'Impedimenta!'. One member of each pair would freeze for a minute, and during that time their partner would look around to see what the other pairs were doing; then they would start moving again and it was their turn to practise the spell. In all the time they had been practising, Ron didn't look at her, even when he cast the spell he did everything he could to avoid her.

⠀⠀Layla's heart ached, ever since that day. She had never experienced 'heartbreak' before, since she hadn't been in love with Roger Malone when she was his girlfriend, so the day he yelled that horrible insult at her, all she could think was 'This has got to stop now'.

⠀⠀It was completely different to the way she felt about Ron.

⠀⠀The redhead had managed to captivate her in an impressive way, with small details and actions he had stolen her heart, forcing her to think about him even more every day than before, when she was a complete stalker. She loved him, and very much, therefore, for him to ignore her in such a way was like a dagger right to the heart, causing her to become sad every time she thought about it. She didn't like the feeling, and she was determined to put an end to it once and for all.

⠀⠀"Ron..." Layla muttered as he stood up from his paralysis and moved towards her to send the spell. The red-haired boy didn't respond, but she didn't give up and moved closer to him. "Hey, Ron..."

⠀⠀"What's the matter?" He answered a little rudely. The brunette swallowed dryly and stammered a little before answering.

⠀⠀"I wanted to talk with you," she tried to make her voice sound confident, and she thought it had worked.

⠀⠀The red-haired man looked up and after a long time looked her straight in the eye.

⠀⠀"We have nothing to talk about, Layla," he said sharply, and prepared to cast the spell when she quickly disarmed him by shouting 'Expelliarmus!'.

⠀⠀She could feel several stares at them for not practising and also because she used a spell that no one else did. Some even looked at Harry waiting for him to say something, but the black-haired boy just smiled at them and continued with Neville.

⠀⠀"We have to do it, Ronald," she tried to threaten him, but her voice no longer sounded as sure as it had in her mind; she reprimanded herself, but kept talking. "It's only fair that you give me an explanation as to why you've been avoiding me lately..."

⠀⠀"I have prefect stuff," he interrupted her. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

⠀⠀"I don't think so, because Mione has been able to do homework with me."

⠀⠀Ron's face flushed.

⠀⠀"W-well... I thought you should know they have a lot of assignments for us, or I guess your boyfriend Macmillan told you."

⠀⠀Layla blushed in annoyance. She opened her mouth ready to tell him he was an idiot for believing such things, but refrained.

⠀⠀"Ernie is not my boyfriend," she replied as she returned his wand and moved into position to be paralysed, "and that is a subject we will discuss when the meeting is over."

⠀⠀Ron didn't answer. Then Harry sent Neville back to them and they started practising with him.

⠀⠀After ten minutes of practising the Paralysing Spell, they scattered the cushions on the floor and moved on to the Stunning Spell. As there wasn't enough room for everyone to practise at once, half the group watched the other half for a while, and then they switched. Admittedly, Neville stunned Padma Patil instead of Dean, who he was aiming for, but for Neville it could be considered a minor flaw, and everyone else had improved tremendously.

⠀⠀After an hour —which Layla found most uncomfortable— Harry told them to stop.

⠀⠀"You're doing very well," he commented, smiling. "When we get back from the holidays, we'll start doing more serious things, maybe the Patronus Charm."

⠀⠀There was a murmur of excitement and then the room began to empty; the students were leaving in twos and threes as usual, and on their way out the door they wished Harry a Merry Christmas. Hermione left with Ginny on the grounds that she had something important to do, and Ron reluctantly stayed with Layla while they helped a (very animated) Harry pick up the cushions, which they piled in a corner. She and Ron left before the black-haired boy, who stayed behind because Cho Chang was still in the room.

⠀⠀As if the redhead definitely didn't want to go with her, he started to walk fast, but Layla stopped him by standing in front of him, and looking directly into his blue eyes, which she loved.

⠀⠀"I know a place," she muttered aloud, then dragged him to the old potions classroom, where she was told Professor Slughorn taught before his retirement.

⠀⠀She conjured up a Muffliato so that nothing would be heard from outside, and sat him at a table, and she sat opposite him.

⠀⠀There was discomfort in the air, and that worried Layla, but at least she knew that nothing they talked about in that classroom would get out. And she really hoped that no one would want to try to get in either, although Megan was the one who told her about the place, and apparently no one was going.

⠀⠀"We need to talk, Ron, we really do," she said in a confident voice, looking him straight in the eye. Even though they were both sitting, he was very tall, easily two heads taller than the girl.

⠀⠀"I don't think it was necessary to do all this," Ron said with a touch of awkwardness, perhaps because he was alone with her. "You could have talked to me in the corridors..."

⠀⠀"I tried, Ron!" She interrupted him, a little annoyed. "I did, and you always found a way to run away and leave me with the word in my mouth..."

⠀⠀"I still don't understand what it is you want with me," he muttered under his breath, but with only the two of them there she could hear it.

⠀⠀Layla ran a hand through her hair in annoyance, took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

⠀⠀"Look, Ron... I don't know what I did to you, but since that day you've ignored me and I can't go on like this," she said biting her lip and shaking her foot nervously. "I need you to clear that up, tell me if you don't want to talk to me anymore, so I can stop bothering you."

⠀⠀The red-haired boy remained silent, dodging Layla's gaze. He didn't speak for several seconds, even opened his mouth to do so, but ended up closing it. Finally he made up his mind.

⠀⠀"Well, it bothered me that you never told me you were Ernie's girlfriend, b-because I thought... we were friends."

⠀⠀She wanted to laugh. She couldn't understand how Ron was so stubborn, because she knew that Harry and Hermione had told him no many times, and that he still believed it, even after she'd told him earlier in the DA meeting, was funny. She knew firsthand what he was like too —it wasn't for nothing that he'd fallen out with his best friends several times to the point where he'd stopped talking to them— and it was always because of his insecurities. Layla really didn't want him to feel that way about her, because Ron was a great boy and didn't deserve to have those thoughts running around in his head.

⠀⠀"Ron, I told you I'm not Ernie's girlfriend," she said once and for all and bluntly. The redhead blushed with grief, and was about to speak, but the girl continued. "I never have been and I never will be... That present he gave me, I don't even know what it was for, believe me, I tried to return it, but he refused, so it's at the bottom of my suitcase," she muttered amused as she still saw the look on Ron's face. "There's nothing between me and him, and of course you're my fr... a very special person to me...," she corrected herself, "and I would never keep something that important from you."

⠀⠀Ron seemed to have caught his breath by now, because he exhaled loudly and looked around as if he was searching for an answer.

⠀⠀"I-I..."

⠀⠀"You don't have to say anything," Layla interrupted him quickly, with a smirk. She held out her hand for him to squeeze. "Are we back to our old selves?"

⠀⠀The red-haired boy grinned like a fool and nodded, shaking her hand. She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek to his surprise, and he smiled even wider.

⠀⠀"And now that it's the two of us against the world... How about a trip to the kitchens?" Layla proposed excitedly, removing the spell. Still holding his hand, she pulled him out of the classroom and started walking towards the place. "We could order a cake... a reconciliation cake."

⠀⠀"I like the idea of cake," Ron muttered, still a little nervous, but she didn't notice, nodded and they walked on holding hands.

⠀⠀Layla, who was the one basically dragging Ron along, was the one who tickled the pear and went over to open the door. Inside, there were elves everywhere, perhaps preparing dinner, and they were excited to see them. Dobby was the first to arrive.

⠀⠀"Dobby is happy to see Miss Layla and young Ron! Dobby hopes they liked the decorations Dobby put up in the room that comes and goes!"

⠀⠀The brunette remembered the ones she had seen earlier, and was not surprised, for she knew that Harry was not capable of doing that on his own: he was a boy, and they were not usually so detailed.

⠀⠀"They were great, Dobby!" Said the girl, sitting down at the table with Ron, who was watching the other elves cook. "I loved them, they gave it a very Christmassy touch... Merry Christmas, by the way."

⠀⠀The elf's big eyes began to water. Layla knew she would send him a Christmas present.

⠀⠀After that she told Dobby what they wanted to eat and he instantly began to prepare it, to Ron's curious gaze, as if he had never seen elves cook before despite having been to the kitchens many times.

⠀⠀Layla had so much on her mind that she didn't know how to act. Should she behave differently after they made up, even though it made her feel bad inside? Megan, as much as she wanted them to talk to each other again, would say, 'Be mean to him, he deserves it after what he did', and Wayne would give her a dirty look and then contradict the blonde, 'Don't listen to her, just carry on like you always have'. She wasn't like her friends, that was clear, but she didn't know what to do. Ron had serious self-esteem problems, as she could tell the day Ernie gave her the present and he walked away, perhaps upset because he could never give her something like that; but she just wanted to avoid that, so she shouldn't complain to him, not any more.

⠀⠀Nor was it in her plans to put up with a lot of anger, because it wasn't fair to her either; she would tell Ron what was going on, the truth, and let him decide: if in the end (in a hypothetical future problem between them again) he didn't understand, then there was nothing she could do for him. She only hoped she could keep her own promise.

⠀⠀They ate Dobby's cake and talked about how the Quidditch training was going, and that they had replacements for Harry, Fred and George (Ginny had been left as Seeker, and the redheads' were boys she didn't know), who, although they weren't as good as the last two, were the 'best'.

⠀⠀"I have to do my Transformation essay... Shall we do it together?" Ron asked Layla. The brunette blushed.

⠀⠀"I already did it, but I'll go with you to the Library, shall we go get your things?" He nodded.

⠀⠀"Lay, I wish you would forgive me," he said as they were walking towards the lions' Common Room. She stopped and looked at him curiously, as she didn't think he would. "I acted in a way I shouldn't have and I made you feel worried by not talking to you..."

⠀⠀"You're already forgiven, Ron,"  Layla interrupted him, smiling at him and taking his hands to walk on. She didn't really want him to stare at her, because she was blushing. "It's all right, really."

⠀⠀The redhead nodded, said the password quietly and entered the room, while the brunette stood outside waiting for him. It didn't take long, although ten minutes for her was long enough just to get her things, but she didn't say anything. He came out with Hermione, and she was wearing a goofy grin, so she wanted to ask.

⠀⠀"Did it happen, Mione? Or what's with the smirk?" She nudged her, and Ron scoffed.

⠀⠀"She wrote Viktor Krum a bible," he warned her with a smirk. The Gryffindor blushed.

⠀⠀"Really?" She asked excitedly. She knew the boy was after her friend, and she loved it, because she deserved someone who loved her no matter what, and that was definitely Krum.

⠀⠀"Well... he likes me to tell him how I'm doing at school, and he's always very interested, in fact," she replied, ending with a sigh of love.

⠀⠀"It makes me so happy that my friend has a foreign boyfriend," Layla murmured in amusement, slipping her arm around her shoulder. The Hufflepuff was very tall for girls her age, but much shorter than Ron, who was very tall.

⠀⠀"We're not dating, Lay," she said nervously.

⠀⠀She wanted to keep insisting and teasing her a bit, but decided not to because she liked Hermione a lot and didn't usually have that kind of attitude towards her. She nodded, and they took her to the owlery, and then they both went to the Library to do Ron's essay.

⠀⠀They spent the next few hours at the place, while Layla helped the redhead and they talked. She felt as if that incident had never happened, because after Ron apologised, they never talked about it again. She was grateful for that, as she didn't want to remember it, and she liked it better that everything was as it was before.

THE NEXT DAY, Layla had woken up in good spirits, something all her roommates noticed, but they didn't ask, only Megan.

⠀⠀"Did you two make up?" Was the first thing she said to her in the morning when the other girls had gone out. She nodded, trying to suppress a big smile.

⠀⠀"In fact, it turned out more than well... We went to the kitchens and then to the Library, I dined at his table as you noticed, and we were in the courtyard until nine o'clock, when we had to go back to our rooms, and he left me and I fell asleep as soon as I touched the pillow."

⠀⠀"Lay, that's great!" Megan exclaimed excitedly and gave her a quick hug. "Now, the question is: did you kiss? Did he apologise properly? Did you kiss?"

⠀⠀"We didn't kiss, Meg," Layla muttered sadly, and couldn't help blushing. She finished changing and grabbed the girl's arm. "We'd better get some breakfast, I'm really hungry."

⠀⠀The blonde rolled her eyes, but followed her down the stairs. They didn't see Wayne there, and decided to sit and wait for him. Luckily there were no other people in the Common Room.

⠀⠀Layla had also been avoiding Ernie, and it was no surprise to anyone that it had been because of Ron, as everyone in the Great Hall (who had eyes) realised that she had been pushed away by the Hufflepuff's approach to her. Despite that, he had been looking for her, and the fact that they were in the same house made it easier, but thanks to her best friends she had managed to avoid him, even Hannah and Susan helped with it.

⠀⠀"I didn't think you'd wait for me," was the first thing Wayne said as he came down the stairs and waved to the girls. He looked like he'd fallen asleep, he still had pillow marks on his face. "But I appreciate it... And tell me, Lay," he turned to her with a sly grin as they were leaving the common room, "how did it go yesterday?"

⠀⠀The brunette couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the look on his best friend's face, but he just wanted to know the gossip. She told him the same thing she had told Megan, and added details of how they had talked in the classroom.

⠀⠀"She learned from the best, obviously," Megan finally added, patting Layla's cheek. She grimaced, trying to push her away.

⠀⠀"Your methods aren't the most accurate, but I suppose it could be worse," Wayne scoffed. The blonde gave him a dirty look.

⠀⠀"I hate you," she said, dragging Layla into the Great Hall and leaving the boy behind. When he reacted, he ran off to catch up with them.

⠀⠀"I hate you more, if that's what mortifies you," he smirked. The brunette could have sworn she could hear Megan's teeth grinding, but she didn't object.

⠀⠀When her best friends argued, it was best not to mess with them... even if it was stupid.

⠀⠀"Do you know where Harry and Ron are?" Layla asked when they came in. Her gaze had quickly gone to the Gryffindor table and they weren't there, on the contrary, Hermione was eating alone. She couldn't help but worry.

⠀⠀"Maybe they fell asleep?" Megan dragged the girl over to the Hufflepuff table, and began serving herself waffles. "Don't worry, Lay, there's nothing to investigate, I'm sure they're still with their faces in their pillows, drooling... ugh," she grimaced.

⠀⠀Wayne rolled his eyes.

⠀⠀But Layla wasn't so sure that was all it was. Her gaze was fixed on the lions' table, and the more she looked at it, the more she saw that they hadn't fallen asleep: there were no Weasleys sitting at it.

⠀⠀She frowned as her mind began to imagine bad situations for which they could have left, because that was the first thing that came to her mind when she saw Professor Umbridge complaining to McGonagall; she didn't hear any of the conversation, but the pink toad looked very annoyed. They both left the Great Hall to the curious gaze of many students.

⠀⠀"And why aren't any Weasleys there?" She asked aloud to her friends. "Did you see Umbridge and McGonagall arguing? I don't think it's all a coincidence."

⠀⠀"What if it is?" The blonde shrugged, doubting Wayne's words.

⠀⠀"Now it does seem strange to me," he muttered.

⠀⠀Perhaps Megan had already realised that it wasn't that easy. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she cared about Fred, despite the strange relationship she might have with him on the sly.

⠀⠀After a couple of minutes, Professor McGonagall came in, walking straight to the lions' table. She said something quick to Hermione and walked out again. Layla didn't take her eyes off her, until the girl noticed her gaze and waved her over.

⠀⠀"I'll be right back," she told her friends, and without waiting for an answer, she left. It was common to see Layla with the Gryffindors, so no one else paid any attention to her as she got up and walked over there.

⠀⠀She hoped it was nothing serious.

⠀⠀She was worried, and she didn't even know why.

⠀⠀She sat down next to Hermione, and she could see that her eyes were glazed over. She wanted to ask, but decided that she would wait until she spoke first, because she didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

⠀⠀"Ar-rthur, Ron's dad... was attacked last night... he's in serious condition..."

⠀⠀Layla could feel her heart racing. There was no need for Hermione to explain how, where, or why this had happened to Mr. Weasley, but it worried her. She knew they all loved him dearly: he was their dad, and even she would be this worried about hers. She wanted to be with Ron at that moment and tell him that everything would be alright, but she knew that wasn't possible, maybe they'd all be at St. Mungo's or at home by then.

⠀⠀"Do you know where they are?" She asked her friend carefully, and she hesitated a little before answering.

⠀⠀"I'm not sure... but maybe St. Mungo's," she sighed, and the Hufflepuff put an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Hermione was very close to the Weasleys, she had told her, and it probably hurt a lot more than it would hurt her, by far.

⠀⠀"I guess it's good that the vacation starts tomorrow, isn't it?" She asked her to lighten the mood. "Then there wouldn't be so much trouble... at least not as far as Umbridge is concerned."

⠀⠀Hermione let out a giggle, and nodded.

⠀⠀"You're right, Lay... Thank you so much for being here," she said, smiling at her. The girl motioned for her not to worry about it.

⠀⠀"No need to thank, Mione, I know you love them very much," she answered, giving a sidelong glance to her friends, who made signs of wanting to know, but she shook her head: she wouldn't leave the Gryffindor alone. "We can be together all day today, what do you say?" She proposed, smiling.

⠀⠀"Sounds like a good idea to me," she gave her a quick hug, which surprised Layla but she didn't judge, just hugged her back.

⠀⠀"Do you think it's a good idea for me to make them some letters?" She wanted to know. Hermione looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, not only to Ron, but also to Ginny and the twins? I don't have an owl, and I thought maybe you could give them to them when you see them."

⠀⠀"My parents and I agreed to go climbing," she said, grimacing. "I guess I'll have to lie to them and go with the Weasleys."

⠀⠀"You're a good friend, Mione, you really are," the brunette blushed. "Come on, let's go, come with me to my Common Room, I need to write those letters from now on."

⠀⠀"Will you be staying at the castle for Christmas?" Layla shook her head at Hermione's question. "Oh, well, are you going to your parents?"

⠀⠀"That's right," she muttered in a mocking tone. "They need to let off some steam and tell me how they're doing with the pre-schoolers... Even if they're little, they're real demons when they put their minds to it," she chuckled, and so did Hermione.

⠀⠀"Well, my parents also tell me about the patients they have," her parents were dentists, the brunette once told her. "In the summer a boy bit dad... He got five stitches," she teased.

⠀⠀If Layla had been told that she would be spending her last day of term with Hermione, she wouldn't have believed it; not because she didn't get along with her —on the contrary, they were good friends— but because they didn't usually spend time together except at meals or doing homework. In truth, she appreciated her, and felt it was the least she could do for the girl after having helped her on so many occasions.

⠀⠀As it was Sunday and all the students were enjoying their last day at school in the snow, she found no problem in ushering Hermione into the Hufflepuff Common Room. Needless to say, she had been impressed with the way they had entered, and passed with Layla straight to her room. It was a bit messy, because Sally always left her clothes everywhere, until the elves cleaned up, Megan only in her bed space, and Susan her books and parchment on the floor. Hannah and Layla were the only tidy ones in there.

⠀⠀"Sorry about the mess... My roommates aren't very clean," apologised the brunette, quickly picking up everything that was on the floor with a flick of her wand. Hermione said nothing and sat down on her bed a little uncomfortable, perhaps from being in a Common Room that wasn't her own, and watched as the Hufflepuff sat down at her desk and pulled out several pieces of parchment.

⠀⠀"Is it right for me to be here?" Asked the lioness, and Layla looked at her as if she had made a joke, almost wanting to laugh.

⠀⠀"Oh, I thought you weren't serious," she muttered teasingly, dipping the tip of her quill into the ink and beginning to write a little letter to the twins. "But it's legal, Mione, lots of people have been here."

⠀⠀"Ron too?" The Hufflepuff choked on her own saliva and laughed nervously, but shook her head. Hermione smiled apologetically. "In our Common Room, boys aren't allowed to go up to the girls' rooms,"  she told her.

⠀⠀"I didn't know that!" She dipped her quill again. "Well, here it is. I suppose Helga Hufflepuff thought that badger boys would be more proper... I mean, I'm not saying no, most of them are, but there's a bit of everything in every house, Mione; sometimes they have loud parties that end up with my roommates in other rooms or boys here," she laughed as she remembered the time she'd found a boy she didn't know at the foot of her bed. "Oh..., once, last year when Cedric took the dragon task, Hufflepuff partied like never before... I really don't know how they all managed to stay alive: it was completely crazy... there were even people lying on the staircase."

⠀⠀Those were good times, Layla thought a little wistfully as she remembered Cedric. She had never been that attached to him, but he was just another mate, and badgers were very kind to all other badgers. His death, like everyone else's, had shocked and saddened her, because he didn't deserve it. Perhaps that was why the Hufflepuffs hadn't had any more parties after that.

⠀⠀Hermione noticed the look of sadness in the girl's eyes when she mentioned Cedric, but she didn't say anything. She tried to make her forget it.

⠀⠀"I... I didn't know Hufflepuffs had fun like that, no offence," she added quickly as she saw Layla turn her gaze back to her, but shook her head with a laugh.

⠀⠀"We're a lot of fun when we want to be, really," she teased, going back to finishing Fred and George's letter. "Any time, if they do one again, I can invite you."

⠀⠀"Oh, no, I'm a prefect, I shouldn't," she quickly declined the offer, blushing. "But thank you very much for the invitation, Lay."

⠀⠀"You're welcome, Mione," she looked up at her and gave her a big smile, trying to forget the Cedric thing, because it made her feel bad whenever she thought about it.

⠀⠀"Do you send letters to Ron?"

⠀⠀Layla turned her head very quickly towards her friend, blushing all over. She stammered a little, but finally shook her head. Hermione didn't believe her.

⠀⠀"For the last three years he's been getting letters from someone... He has never said anything to us, really, but we see how he gets, and then Harry and I have thought that someone has been sending him love letters... I don't know why, but I thought of you all the time and more now that I saw you write..."

⠀⠀She blushed even more when she heard her friend's confession. She didn't know what to think. She thought that in all those years no one would have noticed (other than her best friends), but now she felt that she had been too obvious. Or maybe it was Ron who didn't know how to hide when he got them: like the time he was watching a lot of girls (not discreet at all) doing their homework in the Great Hall.

⠀⠀"I-I... not at all, Mione," she murmured in a trembling voice. Her friend smiled.

⠀⠀"Now I have no doubt that it's you... I won't say anything to him, Lay, or Harry," she said, reassuring her greatly.

⠀⠀"T-thank you, really," she said apologetically, shaking her foot nervously. "I'd die of embarrassment if he ever found out."

⠀⠀She tried to go back to what she was doing before that, and continued writing the letter to Ginny. Her letter would be longer than the twins', because she didn't have such a close relationship with them, but it would be a little shorter than Ron's.

⠀⠀"Nothing will come out of my mouth, rest assured," she looked discreetly down at her parchment. "Will it be strange to write a letter to Ron not being that 'secret admirer'?"

⠀⠀"I hadn't thought of that," she admitted with a laugh. "But yes, I suppose so. Anyway, it's a short one, Mione, just to show my support. I hope you'll also make it very clear to Ron that he can write back to me, and tell his owl to wait for my reply..."

⠀⠀"I'll tell him," Layla looked at her gratefully and continued writing.

⠀⠀It would certainly be different to write to the redhead as her, but she hoped he would like that 'her' much better. She just wanted him to feel better reading it, and to know that he could count on her support whenever he wanted.