Arabella's POV - 20 minutes later

"Bella!" James whines as he walks in.

Remus is with him, along with the Gryffindor quidditch team.

I look at the ground, nervous as the team surrounds us. "Come on Potter. Everyone wants to celebrate your win today." Captain says to me.

I stare the table, not sure what to say.

Everyone smothers me and it gets to be too much.

"Alright! Alright! Who are you kids smothering?" Madam Pomfrey asks as she walks in and then sees me.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Captain asks confused.

"Evans came to get me, saying there was a commotion in the kitchen. Miss Potter, what are you doing down here? I thought for sure after the long day you've had, you'd have been in bed dear?" Madam Pomfrey asks me worried.

"She was helping us with Transfiguration, she excels in it, so we asked her for her." Evans says to Madam Pomfrey.

"I know it close to lights out Ma'am, I'm sorry for the commotion, I was baking cookies to snack on while my house was partying. It was a bit crowded in there for me." I say to her nervously as I bow my head.

"Too crowded? Your a Gryffindor." The keeper says to me with a pout.

"She's socially awkward dingus. She's got social anxiety and hates crowded places." A chaser from the hufflepuff team says to him and the two get into a heated argument.

"I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey, I really didn't mean for all this to happen." I say to her nervously and started to get overstimulated by my surroundings.

Everything quiets down as Madam Pomfrey tuts. "Your stressed over nothing my dear, your team was probably worried." Madam Pomfrey says to me. "Now it is close to lights out, and I will over look it this time since you guys did win today in your game. But I think the lot of you should be going to bed. You 4 can pick up your session tomorrow afternoon in the library." Madam Pomfrey says to us.

"Again, I'm really sorry I caused all this commotion before lights out." I say to Madam Pomfrey, worried.

"No need, your kids, it's quite alright, now off to bed, all of you." Madam Pomfrey says to us and everyone leaves while I follow behind.

"Thank you Evans." I whisper as he follows me.

Evans grins. "Just take it as thanks for the lesson." He whispers back and I nod.

When we get to the common room, the party is still going.

I really don't want any part of it at all, so I go up to my room and I shower.

I then hide under my covers, willing myself to go to sleep.

In the morning, I get pelted with questions but Sirius and James about why I was helping the Hufflepuff chasers last night as we walk to breakfast.

"Please drop it. I don't like being the center of attention." I say to them quietly. "Which means I wanted nothing to do with last nights party, because regardless, there was gonna be drama. So drop it. I helped them out of goodwill, not to get at them like your supposing. I helped them because I wanted to. Now drop it. Please." I say to them quietly.

Sirius and James look doubtful and keep asking me questions.

"Hey, Bella said to drop it, she didn't want to be at that party after being harassed all day yesterday by Slytherin, even during the game she was targeted and after the game she was targeted. I think it was perfectly reasonable that she wanted to have some time in a quiet place where she wasn't constantly under attention all the time. You two might like the attention, but think about how difficult yesterday was for Bella." Remus says to Sirius and James.

The three get into an argument and I almost start to cry in frustration.

"Shut it!" I say to the three and they don't hear me.

I leave, not dealing with them right now and quite upset and frustrated.

I see Marlene and I go hug her. She hides me in her robes and quietly soothes me. "It's ok Bella." She whispers as she hugs me.

I feel better after a few minutes and I step back, only then to get picked on my Lucius for being weak and what not.

"Leave her alone Malfoy." Marlene says to Lucius and I can't handle the bullying today.

"Leave me alone today Malfoy, otherwise I will hex you until you pass out in fear from your snout." I say to Malfoy, on the verge of tears.

"It must be frustrating for you to be at the center of attention after being deprived of it your entire life Arabella, you must love having the attention on you all the time, which is why you have the best grades of our year and are perfect at Quidditch and everything else you do, so you can have that validation." Lucius keeps going on and on while I really want to cry from the bullying.

"Make me out to be the bad guy, I don't care Malfoy, I really don't care anymore, I'm already insecure enough, so just leave me alone, I didn't ask for any of this. I work hard to be good at everything so I don't feel lile a total loser like you who has to manipulate and weasel under everyone's skin and get to them to make them feel lower than you so you can fill that big empty void where your heart should be, with a superiority complex that never ceases to turn off. So just shut up. Seriously. All your doing is talking to someone who can not be bothered by your lack of common courtesy." I say to Malfoy who freezes at that. "So just shut up and leave me alone today Malfoy or I will dig deeper into your brain and pull out every little thing you hate about yourself that your trying to cover up with your complexes and bully others because it makes you feel good." I say to Malfoy and I leave the area.

I go to breakfast and I eat quietly as Lily questions me about helping her brother and what not.

"Can't anyone drop it today? I don't see what the huge deal is. I was helping them out of goodwill and because I was comfortable in their presence because they didn't put any pressure on me to be somebody important." I say to Lily quietly, really done with all this attention today.

Lily looks surprised by that. "You were having a bad day yesterday, I completely forgot you were constantly at the center of attention all day. Oh my god, Bella I'm sorry, if I had known, I wouldn't have questioned you so bad about anything today." Lily says to me worried.

"It's ok Lily, you were just curious." I say to her quietly and she hugs me tightly.

I eat while she talks about something else and it's relieving.

"When the afternoon rolls around, I sit with the Hufflepuff chasers and I help them as well sit in the library at a table. I have my books this time and Nimbus is sleeping on my lap.

I relax as I read over the lesson with the three hufflepuff chasers who don't quite understand it.

"I see your helping them study Potter." Professor McGonagall says to me surprised as she walks over to us.

"Hello Professor." I say to her.

"Yeah, thanks to her, we're able to finish our homework easier now." Evans says to Professor with a grin.

"That's good. Now Potter, you friends are sitting in detention right now for fighting in the hallway, they're demanding you see them and won't tell me what the fight was about until you get there." Professor says to me troubled.

"That was still going on? They've been arguing since before breakfast. James and Sirius were pelting me with questions about yesterday night when I was helping these guys with transfiguration in the kitchen, instead of being at the house party as the center of attention. Remus was defending me, since I was being harassed basically all day yesterday by the Slytherin Team and wasn't really up for all that attention and confrontation. They started arguing and I left them be, since they didn't hear me when I told them to be quiet." I say to Professor McGonagall.

"I'll have to talk with Professor Slughorn about the Slytherin Team, but would you please come with me Potter so we can sort this out, and quickly?" Professor McGonagall asks me.

"Go ahead, we can reschedule." Evans says to me with a grin and I nod.

I pick up Nimbus and I follow Professor to her classroom where the three boys are sitting, James and Sirius glaring at Remus who is glaring back.

"Well I've brought Miss Potter and heard her statement on how your fight started." Professor McGonagall says to the boys.

"You we're fraternizing with the enemy team!" Sirius accuses me.

"I was helping them with Transfiguration like I do with you and James all the time." I defend myself, worried. "Because at the time, I was doing it out of goodwill and because they weren't putting pressure on me to be perfect. They just wanted my help. You need to get your head unstuck and see that because I had a long day yesterday dealing with being the center of attention all day which I didn't want to be dealing with, or have you forgotten that I hate being the center of attention?" I ask Sirius who grumbles.

"They could've found somebody else and you could have come back to the party." James says to me.

"I didn't want to be at that party to begin with. I didn't like any of the attention I was receiving at all James, now listen to me for once and just shut up about the whole ordeal that happened yesterday and drop it. I've dealt with this enough today and on top of that, I snapped at Malfoy earlier too for trying to pick on me when I was about to cry in frustration while you three were arguing in the hallway." I say to the three who instantly look down. "Just drop it, please." I say to them softer.

Professor McGonagall sighs. "You should try to be more included with your house though Miss Potter." Professor says to me.

"I am including myself Professer, I play quidditch, I talk to the other people in my house, I sit through most of the parties, I help the others in my grade with Homework, I do include myself Professor, yesterday just wasn't a good day." I say to her and she smiles at that.

"Sorry Bella." Remus says to me as he gets up and walks over to me.

"It's ok, you had my back in that argument." I say to Remus and he hugs me tightly before sitting back down.

The other two refuse to talk to me for now, so I leave. I head to the Library and I continue to study by myself on some subjects since I have nothing better to do with now.

A cookie gets held in front of my face after a bit and I look behind me to see Lily and her brother.

"How long have you been trying to get my attention?" I ask the two.

"The past 5 minutes." Evans says to me amused.

"You never study Bella, so I was worried." Lily says to me.

"She doesn't study but gets good grades?" Evans asks her and Lily nods.

"I didn't really have anything better to do and thought I might read up a little on Herbology." I say to them nervously.

The two sit with me and we talk for a bit.

"I'm not gonna loudly announce it like your brother, Potter, but I'm gonna get you to fall in love with me, by our seventh year." Evans says to me with a grin.

"Oh dear." I say and Lily giggles at that. "Why? I'm not even that good of a person, I just barely function and I have issues clearly seen at any time of day or night." I say to Evans.

"Because your smart, and your pretty, and your incredibly kind and," Evans keeps going while Lily smiles and I feel awkward that he knows these things about me.

"Ok, uhm, good luck." I say to Evans who grins.

"Thanks. So want to have dinner with me?" Evans asks me.

"No." I say to him and Lily laughs.

"Come on Bella, let's head back to the house for a bit." Lily says to me.

I follow Lily back to the house and we relax in the common room where I continue to study Herbology.
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