Vanessa didn't even go back to Potions class. What was the point? She was too upset and frazzled to finish her work, let alone face her friends, classmates, and professor. She had other classes she needed to attend that afternoon, but she decided she was going to skip out on them too. Missing one day wasn't going to make or break her grades, and she thought her mental health was far more important than dealing with class right now. She would deal with her professors' disappointment in her later.

So there she was, curled up on the sofa in the Ravenclaw common room, alone and still crying quietly as she toyed with the broken necklace on the arm of the sofa. The chain was broken just beneath the clasp, the acrylic charm holding the clover cracked from hitting the stone floor. She was upset about the necklace almost more than her possible breakup with Draco, if she was honest. But that was probably because of the feelings for Artemis she was trying her damnedest to repress.

Vanessa knew she was going to have to face Draco again, and figure out what the hell was going on with their likely doomed relationship, but it was probably not going to be tonight. Even if she went to dinner, there was a chance he skipped it once again. She'd deal with that later; if she saw him now she was likely to hex him, and rightfully so. Vanessa knew that a lot of their problems were truly her own doing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she would've never made those mistakes (and were they even mistakes at this point?) in the first place if he had simply treated her better. Had things stayed the way they were when the two of them had first gotten together and not deteriorated into the hell it had, this would've never happened. She was more than sure of it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door to the common room open. Vanessa looked up from the necklace, glancing to the doorway. She was relieved to see it was only Artemis and Alex, but the concerned looks upon their faces told her all she needed to know, just as she was sure her tear drenched face told them everything too. Before either of them even spoke, Vanessa knew where this was heading.

"What did he do?" Alex broke the ice, the concern dripping from her voice.

Vanessa shrugged, wiping her face free of tears as she took a shaky deep breath. "Just the usual, I suppose," she replied. "But I think this time may have been the final straw."

Vanessa watched as her friends moved from the doorway and to her side, dropping their respective bags and the one she had left behind next to the sofa. Alex plopped herself down on the floor in front of Vanessa, sitting cross-legged, while Artemis sat beside her, neither of which surprised her. Both of them were silent for a few moments, but it was Artemis who asked for clarification first.

"What exactly did he say?" he asked, his voice sounding probably the angriest Vanessa had ever heard it. She swore as time went on he was only becoming more annoyed and losing the ever-in-control persona he had for so long. Draco's antics surely brought out the worst in him.

"It was basically the same argument we always have," Vanessa answered. "Him insisting you and I are a thing, me vehemently denying it." She paused for a moment, sighing. "Only this time he told me he couldn't do this anymore, and... and he did this..." Vanessa's voice trailed off as she scooped the necklace off the arm of the couch and gently placed it in Artemis' hands. "I'm sorry it's in this shape. I'm sure you paid a lot for it..."

Artemis sighed. "It's not about the money, Nessa," he replied, shifting the necklace to one hand's palm. He shook his head as he reached into his robes' pocket to pull out his wand. "I'm going to assume your emotionally charged and clouded brain wasn't thinking about this, and that's why you hadn't done it yourself yet." He aimed the wand at the necklace and said, "Reparo."

Vanessa watched as the necklace danced around her friend's palm, the metal chain reconnecting itself as the cracks in the charm slowly faded away. It sparkled in the sunlight coming from the window, looking just as radiant as the day she received it. The necklace finally stopped moving from its repairs a few moments later, resting gently in Artemis' palm once more.

"Good as new," he stated. He reached over and quickly undid the clasp and placed it around Vanessa's neck once more before hooking the clasp back together. Artemis gently lifted her hair out from underneath the chain and then moved back to his seat on the couch beside her.

Vanessa glanced down at the pendant, staring at it for a moment before she began toying with it between her fingers. "I feel so stupid; I'm not sure why I didn't realize it would be that easy to fix," she mumbled. "One simple damned spell we learned in second year."

"Don't," Artemis said calmly. "Under normal circumstances, you would've. Your mind is focused on other things right now."

"Yeah, like punching Malfoy in the damn jaw," Alex interjected. Her voice was weirdly angry and excited all at the same time.

Vanessa shook her head. "Kind of. I want to be mad at him- and I am- but... he's right," she answered with a sigh. "I have been continuously unfaithful to him since the Christmas party. He's got every right to be mad at me, and honestly you too, Artemis."

"Yeah, but he's been a right prick," Alex countered angrily. "You can be mad at someone without getting belligerent and physical with them." She paused for a moment, seemingly debating her words over carefully. "Nessa, he ripped your necklace off your neck. Regardless of what you feel, at this point you have to recognize this could be a sign of a more dangerous pattern. Next time it could be something a hell of a lot worse than your favorite piece of jewelry that he breaks."

It was a valid point, one Vanessa hadn't truly considered to this point. Did she know the possibility that he was a Death Eater could end up with her getting hurt? Yes. But had she considered that it could truly end up as obvious and blatant abuse? No. She already knew they walked the line of verbal abuse at best, so it certainly wasn't strange for Alex to suggest that it could get worse. Her friends had never been blind to the toxicity of their relationship, and Vanessa only wished she had seen it before now.

"I know, Alex," she answered quietly.

"You can't stay with him," Alex insisted. "Between the whole Death Eater shite, just generally being an arse... and now this, he's a danger to you."

"I never said I was going to stay with him," Vanessa retorted. "He said he couldn't do it anymore, so if that's what he wants I'm going to give it to him."

"But what if that's not what he wants?" Artemis countered. "What if he comes crawling back, begging you for forgiveness? What then?"

Vanessa was quiet for a moment. What if he did come crying back to her? Would that change anything? He had already promised once that things were going to get better, and yet they only got worse. Would an apology change anything? Especially considering she couldn't shake the feelings for the boy sitting next to her, and the temptation was becoming harder to resist.

Vanessa shook her head. "No. This is it," she declared. "He had every opportunity to change his behavior, and he chose to go this route instead. He made his bed and now he has to lie in it." She paused for a moment, realizing what she had just said. "I know I can't keep continuing to give him chances when he has proven to be unworthy of them and just hell bent on making me miserable. Even though I know I've messed up too."

"Well, we're just going to overlook that fact," Alex replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "Because quite frankly, he was treating you like rubbish long before you slept with sweet little Arty here."

Artemis glared at her. "Remind me to kill you. Please."

"Oh you know you love me," Alex said sweetly. "Besides, if I wasn't here to help guide you through this debacle, what ever would you do?"

"Probably be a tad more sane," Artemis muttered, unable to hide his annoyance.

"Only a tad?"

"Getting off topic, guys," Vanessa sighed, interrupting her friends' bickering.

"Sorry, sorry," Alex apologized. "So you're done? Without a doubt?"

Vanessa nodded. "I need to be. Truly, nothing good is going to come out of me staying with him. It's time."

"Okay, good," Alex replied before clapping her hands together excitedly as she glanced between Vanessa and Artemis. "So this means you two are going to officially be a thing now, right?"

Artemis sighed. "Seriously, Alex? I hardly think now is the time to be worried about that," he snapped. "Vanessa is having a crisis, and I certainly don't think she's quite ready for any of that."

"I know you live for the drama and all that, but he's right," Vanessa agreed. "Do I think we will probably be officially together at some point? Yes. Right at this moment though? No. I need a little time to resolve this issue and get my head right."

Alex frowned. "All I'm saying is we all already know there's something there. It's been all but official for over two months now. Malfoy was the only complication to that, and he's out of the picture."

"Okay, but hear me out," Vanessa countered. "Draco was rightfully suspicious that Artemis and I were a thing. How the hell is it going to look if all of a sudden we are together the moment he and I have broken up? It's going to make him fly off the rails."

"He's going to do that anyway," Alex huffed. "No matter when you go public with it, his reaction is going to be the same."

Vanessa hated to admit it, but Alex was probably right. Even before she began sneaking around with Artemis, Draco had been incredibly jealous of her friendship with him, even going so far to insinuate that they had previously been together. And now that there was a legitimate reason for him to be suspicious and jealous of Artemis, she knew once they were actually together it was going to be absolute hell dealing with Draco. The situation was going to become more of a nightmare than it already was.

"You're right. He's going to be pissy regardless, but I want to resolve that before I jump into anything else," she answered. Vanessa glanced up and caught a glimpse of the clock. "It's getting late; you two should probably head to your next class."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You're not coming?"

Vanessa shook her head. "Honestly I don't feel like dealing with classes any more today."

"Understandable," Alex mused.

"Well," Artemis decided, "we are all skipping together then."

Vanessa blinked a few times in confusion. "Really? Are you sure? I don't want your grades and reputation suffering because of me."
   
Alex shrugged. "If we go down, we go down together. It's what best friends are for."

Artemis echoed that sentiment. "What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned you in your time of need?"

Vanessa opened her mouth to answer him, but Alex spoke up first. "Technically you guys are friends with benefits," she retorted.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but she smiled as she leaned over to rest her head on Artemis' shoulder. She assumed she was going to be spending the rest of the afternoon crying, distraught over a failed relationship and a broken necklace. Vanessa hadn't anticipated her friends' arrival to the common room, nor did she plan on the two of them helping her get through this ordeal so quickly. She knew the worst was still likely to come when she officially broke up with Draco, but she knew with these two by her side everything would be okay.

*****

Hello again! Sorry it has once again taken me a bit to get a chapter written. It's been quite busy since my last update. Between work and stuff around home I have had little time to focus on my writing, let alone both this and Shine Again. This story got put to the back burner for a bit. Good news is that I sort of know what I'm doing for the next two chapters at least, so when I have the free time (and after I finish the next chapter for Shine Again) I can bounce back to this and maybe be quicker than I have been.

As always, thank you so much for your patience with me. I appreciate it. Truly.

I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe out there!

Til next time,
~arty_writes