The next several days passed without incident. Vanessa had spent them doing exactly what she had said she would while on the train. One day she spent practically the entire day at the stable and out wandering the manor grounds with one of the horses, Artemis in tow. Another day she spent with Angeline, mostly in the kitchen baking a bunch of goodies. It was now the last day of the Christmas holidays, and Vanessa was very happy to say she spent it finger painting with Myles and Beckett, even if her fingers were still a little discolored from the paint despite washing her hands several times. She was sure it was nothing a nice bath or shower couldn't fix. It was a lovely end to a nice break from school.

    Vanessa pulled the last piece of freshly folded laundry from the basket on her bed. Angeline had been so kind to make sure all her clothes had been washed and folded, ready to be packed back into her trunk for the trek back to Hogwarts tomorrow. Vanessa was more than grateful for her best friend's mother taking care of that for her. It was one less thing for Vanessa to worry about while she packed. She sat the folded shirt on top of the stack of others in her trunk on the floor. The deed was done and she could move on to the rest of her stuff. She felt like she had so much to do and so little time left.

    Of course, part of it may have just been her dragging her feet because she absolutely did not want to go back to school yet.

    She sighed, moving to put her textbooks into the trunk too. She had hardly looked at them beyond writing the couple essays they were assigned over break the other day with Artemis, and that was enough school-related thinking for her. The breaks were never long enough, but this one in particular certainly wasn't. Likely in part because she wasn't ready to go back to Draco.

    She knew the moment they reunite at King's Cross, the accusations would start up again. No matter how nicely he had worded his letters, she knew he was fuming and assuming the absolute worst about what was happening between her and Artemis. And the worst part was that he was likely absolutely right about all of it because she had certainly been fooling around with Artemis more. Draco knew something was amiss, and the lies were piling up faster than Vanessa could keep track of them. Vanessa knew it was only a matter of time before she could no longer deny the truth.

    She had a tough decision to make. The last two weeks had proved several things to her, things she had been denying all along.

    First and foremost, Vanessa wasn't happy with Draco. Being away from him and his toxic behavior proved that alone. The rare times he managed to be sweet and put a smile on her face didn't make up for the cruel things he said and the manipulation. It didn't make up for him degrading her, her family, and her friends. It didn't make up for him calling her a half-blood and making her feel horrible about herself. It certainly didn't make up for all the lies on his end, either. He was up to something sinister, if he was indeed sneaking off to the Room of Requirement to repair a Vanishing Cabinet like Artemis had said. The rumors of him being a Death Eater were still swirling, and the whispers from their peers were only growing louder. Vanessa knew deep down, the best thing she could do is leave him, but could she? Vanessa cared about Draco, but his callousness was wearing her thin. Once upon a time, Vanessa thought if he could just tell her the truth, they could fix their relationship, but it was far too late for that now.

    These last two weeks without him there to cause drama or upset her had been wonderful. This break away from him and class was the happiest period of time Vanessa had had in months. It had been nearly two weeks without tears; her eyes only swelling with them once since being at the manor- the first night they were here when she had the all-important talk with Artemis. Vanessa had nearly forgotten what it was like to not walk on eggshells and arguing near constantly. It was a breath of fresh air, and she was not ready to give it up. Being with Artemis and his family reminded her that happiness wasn't just a figment of her imagination, and that she could have it again.

    And part of her wondered if it would be with Artemis.

    It was something that she was still struggling to admit, even to herself, but Vanessa knew the feelings she had for her best friend were undeniable. She had always liked Artemis, obviously, but not like this. Vanessa was hoping it was just the alcohol at Slughorn's party that had made her see Artemis in a different light, but the last two weeks proved her so horribly wrong. Firewhisky or not, she was helpless to his charm. Artemis treated her the way Vanessa knew she deserved; he always had, not just during this little two week faux relationship. He had never invalidated her feelings, or put her down. He listened. He was comforting. He stayed after they had relations, holding her close as long as she wanted it. She was kicking herself for not seeing it all before- both Artemis' obvious attraction to her and her own feelings.

    Now she just had to make the ultimate call. Even if it hurt. Vanessa only hoped when the time came, she had the strength to do it.

    She took another deep breath as she turned to put her Christmas gifts that weren't clothing into the trunk, and she was caught off guard by Artemis leaning against the doorframe.

    "Were you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked. "How long have you been standing there?"

    "Only a few minutes," Artemis answered. "You seemed fairly concentrated on your task, so I didn't want to interrupt."

    Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Ah yes, I was so very focused on packing," she replied, smiling at him as she placed the gifts into the trunk. "I suppose you must be all ready to go?"

    "In terms of my trunk, yes," he responded. Vanessa could hear the hesitation in his voice, and she knew he was likely feeling similarly.

    "You're not ready to go back either, are you?"

    Artemis lightly shook his head. "No. Not really," he answered softly. "I was enjoying our time here, and I know what returning to Hogwarts means for that."

    "Draco," was her simple reply.

    Artemis nodded, and that was good enough of a response for her.

    She took a deep breath, steadying herself a bit. "Don't worry about him. I don't think either one of us will be dealing with him much longer."

    It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. She knew she was likely breaking up with Draco; she just didn't know when or how. It was what was best for her sanity and overall well-being. She wanted to give him one more chance to change, but she wasn't sure it would truthfully make a difference. Especially since she was no angel in this mess either.

    Artemis raised an eyebrow, but his voice certainly sounded more cheerful than it had moments before. "Oh? Have you made a decision then?"

    Vanessa nodded slowly. "I think so," she replied. "He's got one chance to fix things... and if he can't manage to do that, I'm calling it quits."

    Artemis' tone changed back to the more depressed one from before. "I see."

    Vanessa knew why, and she hated herself for it. Especially because she truthfully wanted to be with him too. "I hope you can understand that," she started, trying to carefully choose her words so as to not upset him further. "These last two weeks I have been the happiest I have been in months, and that's thanks to you. Please believe me when I say I want to be with you, but I just... I just want to be fair and give him one last opportunity to do things right."

    She wasn't sure what he was thinking, and it worried her when he was silent for a few moments. Did she just ruin everything? It certainly felt like it.

    "Vanessa, while I wish you didn't think he deserved another chance, I understand your choice," Artemis said quietly. He took a deep breath, glancing at the floor before back up at her. "Can you picture it though? You and I together?"

    "I absolutely can, and that's why I want to make sure without a single doubt that I don't want to be with Draco," Vanessa answered, her voice almost pleading. "I don't want to be with you and then ruin it by second-guessing a relationship with him, wondering, you know? The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Arty. More than anything else."

    Artemis nodded slowly, seemingly understanding. "I have waited this long for you; I think I can handle a little while longer."

    Vanessa released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Thank you, Artemis. It truly means a lot to me," she replied. She took a step forward, closing the space between them before pulling him into a tight embrace.

    Artemis hugged her back, resting his head against hers, and it reassured her just a little bit. "You're welcome." He was quiet again for a few seconds while they continued their embrace. "However, it's going to make things a bit awkward when we go back to school now."

    Vanessa frowned. She knew exactly what he meant. If she wasn't breaking up with Draco immediately, it would certainly make things for the two of them a tad difficult. It was already hard enough to fake not being in a relationship while at the manor; Vanessa was sure it wasn't going to be any easier at Hogwarts. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to stop herself from being affectionate with him, at least not when they were in private.

    Vanessa tried to shake the thought as she replied, "You're probably right, but only time will tell. Maybe it won't be this way for long." She paused for a moment, but then added, "In any case, we could get some of that out of our system now."

    Artemis pulled away from her slightly so he could look down at her. "What do you mean?"

    Vanessa moved away from him too, taking his hand in hers as she pulled him over to her bed. The two of them sat down just for a few seconds before Vanessa pushed him gently back onto her pillows. She laid down next to him, quickly cuddling up next to him, wrapping herself around him. Artemis' arm was pressed tightly to her back, holding her close to him while his other hand held hers on his chest. The silence between them was fine; Vanessa was more than content listening to his slow breathing and his heartbeat. She didn't care that the door was wide open and that anyone could walk in and see them like this. That didn't matter right now. She just wanted to soak all of this in, enjoy it while she could.

    Vanessa knew she was going to miss this intimacy when they got back to school. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew Draco would never give her something like this. He'd never hold her- with or without sex involved. That alone already had her regretting saying she would give him another chance. That wasn't even factoring in all the lies of his own and his general horribleness. But she knew she needed to at least try once more. She had seen too many people leave their significant other for someone else only to have regrets later, and Vanessa certainly didn't want to do that- to herself or to Artemis.

    She closed her eyes, willing herself to stop thinking about Draco. She'd have plenty of time to dwell on him later. Right now she was with Artemis, and that was far more important to her.

    For one more night, she could pretend everything was perfect.

*****
Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. Between crazy than usual work days and some stuff in my personal life, I haven't had much energy recently, and had been going to bed early instead of writing. I also swear every time I think I have a rhythm figured out for my writing time, something pops up and changes it again. We've had to adjust my daughter's daily routine, but now that we have it more consistent, I hope I can get my writing back to some sort of normalcy as well. I suppose only time will tell. As always, I appreciate your patience with me! I hope I can give you all an update in this again soon. Hope you all are staying safe!

~arty_writes