So I know I should've been working on Chasing Freedom, but this chapter was coming to me better for the moment, so I went with it. It's a little shorter than I'd like, but that's okay. Things should be picking up here shortly! Hope you all enjoy! Special thanks to Ally for all her help with this story thus far. She's the greatest. :)

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                A few days had passed, and Vanessa was grateful for a weekend, even if it meant spending a majority of it doing homework. For the time being, she had pushed the mountain of work aside so she could spend some time with Emily, one of the few friends who hadn't been judgmental when she announced she was seeing Draco. It was nice to hang out with the girl she viewed as a younger sister for the first time since class had started. Vanessa hoped maybe she would provide some sort of insight as to what the hell was running through her friends' minds. She was starting to think she had awoken some sort of curse when she agreed to date Draco. Based upon how people were acting, she wouldn't be surprised.

"So Alex is still not talking to you?" Emily asked, leaning back against a nearby tree. The two of them were sitting close to the Black Lake, enjoying the slightly warmer than average temperatures they had after the cold weather earlier in the month.

"Yup," Vanessa sighed, tossing a pebble into the lake.

"Any idea as to why? I thought she was supposed to be your best friend," Emily responded. "I was under the impression best friends didn't stop talking without a good reason."

Vanessa shrugged. "She doesn't like Draco," she replied, "which would make sense if he had done something wrong. But he hasn't. I mean if anything, since he's been seeing me he has been more tolerable."

Emily rolled her eyes. "She needs to get a grip. So what if she doesn't like him? Maybe he doesn't like her either. Ugh. People are so dumb, Nessa."

"You're telling me," Vanessa muttered, staring out over the lake. "Like I didn't realize making a decision that made me happy meant losing my friends, but apparently I was wrong."

"Arty isn't acting like that, is he?" Emily asked.

Vanessa shook her head. "No, your cousin is acting mostly normal," she answered. "I mean, he seems... somewhat disappointed, but other than that he's not acting like a prat about it."

"Somehow I'm not surprised by that," Emily said, a smirk forming on her face.

That statement caught Vanessa's interest. "What do you mean? You're not surprised?"

The smirk on Emily's face dissipated, and she quickly answered, "Oh nothing, nothing. He's just very protective of you, you know, as his best friend and all."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Emily was right. Artemis always had been somewhat protective of her, but even that seemed a bit far fetched as the reason behind his more cautious and melancholy behavior as of late. Vanessa wasn't quite sure what was bugging her friend, but she was sure she had to get to the bottom of it.

"Is he feeling alright?" she asked. "He's been really gloomy recently."

Vanessa watched her friend's face search for a way to word whatever she was going to say. "Who truly knows if he is? Artemis has always been incredibly complicated. His mind is an enigma," Emily mused, flipping through the pages in one of her journals. "He hasn't mentioned anything troubling him but... that doesn't mean there isn't something wrong. He's an incredibly private guy."

Vanessa didn't entirely buy that answer, knowing how close Emily was to her cousin, but said nothing more to it. "How is your quest to win Seamus' heart coming along?" she changed the topic. "Have you swept him off his feet yet?"

The younger girl's pale face flushed pink. "No better than it ever has. You know I am too afraid to talk to him," she muttered.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Vanessa asked. "Seriously. I'll talk to him for you. You deserve to be happy, you know? Maybe he likes you too."

Emily shrugged. "Why would he like me? I mean really. I'm two years younger than you guys. There's a ton of girls in this school. I mean... I don't even think he knows I exist."

Vanessa frowned. "You'll never know if you don't ask. You just say the word, and I'll make sure he knows who Emily Clarke is," she said.

"I think you need to do some asking yourself," Emily said quietly, hoping Vanessa hadn't heard her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's nothing," Emily insisted. "Anyway, back to what we were initially talking about. What's that best friend of yours doing? What kind of nonsense did she try to get the trio to do by only talking to Artemis?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "She wanted to go watch the Gryffindor Quidditch practice again. Merlin only knows why," she muttered. "Artemis has no interest in watching, and obviously I wasn't going to go with or without him at this point. So... he's doing homework, and here I am." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Honestly this whole situation is beyond ridiculous. I just don't understand what I did, or why she dislikes Draco so damn much."

Emily shrugged. "She's probably mad that she has to share you with him now. A lot of people who have been friends with someone for so long get jealous when their friend gets in a relationship. Other than that, I honestly have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine."

"And you say Artemis has a complicated mind," Vanessa sighed. "I can usually get a pretty good reading on how he's feeling and thinking. But Alex as of recent has lost all common sense and reasoning. I have no idea why she is being so selfish. Like where the hell are my feelings being factored into her little pity party?"

"My guess is not at all," Emily said. She tossed a stone out onto the lake. "But enough about that. How was that first date with Draco anyways? I'm sure no one has really talked to you about it, except maybe Artemis, and he was probably no good at it."

Emily was right. While Artemis had inquired about it, he didn't ask for any details, and Alex was mad before she could get out more than they were official. "I mean, it was fairly ordinary as far as dates go. We got some butterbeer, talked, and that was about it. The excitement from that day just stemmed from whatever happened to Katie Bell," Vanessa explained. "They still don't have any idea who cursed her, do they?"

Emily shook her head. "No idea."

That was a bit unnerving. Someone was out there cursing necklaces and probably other objects and giving them to people. Normally Vanessa wouldn't be too bothered by it, but it was all too strange to ignore- especially since Katie didn't remember who had given her the necklace in the first place. Vanessa shuddered at the thought.

"Hopefully they figure that out soon," she finally said.

"Somehow I doubt they will."

Vanessa frowned. "Why can't we ever just have one year of normal schooling? It's always something at this hellhole. Basilisks, prisoners breaking in, tournaments, freaking Umbridge... we can't catch a break."

"We really can't," Emily agreed. "As long as this doesn't turn into a yearlong ordeal, I will consider this a successful year."

Vanessa nodded. "Although exams being cancelled again would be great."

As Emily continued the conversation, Vanessa's mind wandered, not focusing on any one predicament in particular. There was a lot going on in her life at the moment, and it was strange to process it when one of the people she had relied on for so long abandoned her. Life was hard enough without friends, and it was only going to get harder.

Vanessa was closer to the situation developing at the school than she realized, and was about to be caught up in her own personal hell on top of it; she just didn't know it yet.