"Hey, Lily? I'm going to beg some food off of the kitchen elves. Do you want anything?"

The kitchens. Right down the hall from the Hufflepuff dormitory. Where Mason was. I sighed, shoved the blankets back, and slid out of bed, wincing as the cool air raised goosebumps on my flesh. "Give me five minutes," I said in response to Autumn's questioning eyebrows. "I'll come with you."

"Three," she replied. "I'm hungry."

"Oh, bloody hell... fine," I groaned, already rummaging through my trunk in search of something slightly more becoming than the clothes I'd fallen asleep in, which reeked faintly of alcohol. After a moment's hesitation, I settled on a pair of light skinny jeans and a fuzzy navy blue sweater that was two sizes too big. After dressing, I gathered my hair into a messy bun and cast a quick teeth-cleaning spell.

After a cursory glance in the mirror to make sure the dark circles under my eyes weren't dreadful, I turned to my friend with a grin. "Ready."

"That was 3 minutes and 5 seconds," Autumn said, smirking. "Also, you've forgotten something rather important... shoes."

I swore and snatched a pair of ballet flats from underneath my bed, tugging them onto my bare feet as I followed her out the door. In the common room, Maysie and Livia were on the sofa, deep in conversation about who knew what, and didn't look up as we arrived. Charis was across the room messing with Darius, who was laughing at her. Those two always seemed embroiled in some sort of friendly altercation, and it was my personal opinion that they ought to have begun dating long ago. Unfortunately, nobody ever heeded my matchmaking advice.

Around a table at the far end of the room sat Harper Kraft and Allison Corner, who were pretending not to notice Dominique sitting and laughing with some of the sixth years from the quidditch team. My cousin had drifted away from her friends of younger days in exchange for a spot with the popular crowd, and I knew it hurt them, but they never showed it. Harper and I hung out sometimes, and I saw the way she flinched when I slipped up and said something about whatever Dom was up to. I waved at her and Allison, but didn't bother doing so for Dom, who was clearly wrapped up in whatever her and the others were gossipping about.

"I wonder where Charlie is?" I said to Autumn, almost without thinking.

My friend snorted. "You're pathetic, Lily."

"I know."

She patted me on the arm. "Don't worry, it's a tolerable trait." I rolled my eyes, and she added, "Maybe we'll see him downstairs. You can wish him a happy Christmas and ask him to wait under the mistletoe for you."

I jabbed my elbow into Autumn's ribs, and she grunted in pain but then stuck her tongue out at me, holding back a laugh. In return, I glared. "You can't just go around saying shit like that!" I hissed. "Somebody might hear you."

"Oh, calm down," she said, as she waved me out of the common room into the hallway. "Anybody who cared could see it without me saying a word. You are horribly obvious."

"Shut up," I muttered, even though I was holding back a smile. Yes, Autumn was annoying as hell, but she was my friend and I didn't mind her teasing that much. "How about you and Mason?" I said, to fill the silence as we reached the stairs and began to descend.

She laughed. "Oh, that was over long ago. You know I'm not capable of fancying a guy for more than a few weeks at a time."

I shook my head in reply. "I've never understood that about you."

"What? My lack of commitment to silly crushes that will never be returned? I'd say it's rather preferable to your permanent state of being."

"Which is...?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know. Falling head-over-heels for a guy, keeping the feelings painfully hidden for a horridly long amount of time, and then ultimately letting the guy break your heart."

I scowled at Autumn. "I've only liked one guy other than Charlie in the time we've known each other. I don't think you can really make that generalization about me."

She snorted. "Yeah, one guy that you liked for nearly three years. And how did that work out?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and didn't answer. My head hurt enough this morning without the added burden of thinking about last year. I'd spent every moment since June trying my hardest to forget Alec Scamander, and I certainly did not want to start a conversation with Autumn about it. It was bad enough watching in silence as he built his newly embraced fuckboy reputation, knowing I had pushed him into it.

"Lily! Hey, wait up."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and kept walking. The sound of his voice made my stomach twist into knots. I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to have the discussion I knew we had to have.

"Lily." A strong hand caught my arm, and I winced, pausing but not turning back to look at Alec. "Will you talk to me, please? Obviously something's wrong... I can't fix it if I don't know what the hell it is."

I swallowed hard, glancing around the common room, where people were scattered around, talking with their friends or doing homework. "Can we not do this right now?" It came out more raw than I would have liked it to, but hopefully he hadn't noticed. "I... I'm supposed to meet some people in the library. I've got a load of Transfiguration work to do."

Alec let out a sigh that could have been frustrated or sad. It was hard to tell when I couldn't see his face — I was busy staring at my shoes. "Can I walk you there?"

I bit my lip. I really did not want to do this with him right now. "Um... I don't... You don't... you needn't bother. I... I'm perfectly capable of getting there on my own."

The next sigh was definitely exasperated. "It's not a bother— Merlin, can't you even look at me?" I continued to stare determinedly at the ground. "For fucks sake... I'm trying to understand what's going on here. It would be nice if you'd at least try to work with me."

I wanted to snap back Yeah, because you're so keen on discussing things with me! Things like how far you want this relationship to go! But instead I crossed my arms protectively over my chest and said, "I've really got to go, Alec."

He made a frustrated noise. "Fine. Go. But we're talking about this later, okay? Tonight. I'm really bloody tired of being avoided by you and not knowing the reason."

I let out a deep sigh. "Alright. I guess... after supper, then."

"At our spot?"

I nodded mutely, already dreading the conversation to come. "I'll be there at eight," I said, trying not to give away how agitated I was about the whole thing.

"Good," Alec sighed. "Whatever is bothering you... I'd really like to work it out, Lily. I don't want to fuck this up over something that can easily be fixed."

I walked away without bothering to reply, thinking it's already too late to fix this.

Lost in my thoughts, my foot reached too far and I tilted forward, squealing as I stumbled over the last two steps to the basement and found myself on the floor. "Damn it!" I groaned, touching the now aching spot where my hip had collided with the hard stone.

"Merlin! Are you alright?" Autumn exclaimed, offering me a hand. I could tell she was holding back a laugh.

"I'm fine," I huffed, pulling myself off the ground with an eye roll. "Still a little groggy, I guess. I'm sure some caffeine will wake me up." Of course, I knew very well I'd only fallen because I was preoccupied with the memory of Alec, but I wasn't going to tell Autumn that. I mean, I was only half lying... I was still rather groggy, considering how little sleep I'd gotten.

I glanced around the hallway as we made our way towards the kitchens, taking in the details of portraits I had squinted at in vain the night before. One on the left side of the hallway — depicting what seemed to be Bacchus dancing at a rather wild party — made me wince. I fidgeted with my hands, worrying that I would have to speak with Mason but also worrying that I wouldn't get a chance to. We passed a few Hufflepuffs and at least one Gryffindor in the hall, but there was no sign of the dark-haired boy.

We reached the fruit portrait, and Autumn reached out to tickle the pear. The frame swung back, and we grinned at each other as we took in the sweet scents wafting out of the hole. I quickly scrambled through, with my friend right on my heels, and we found ourselves in the middle of a chaotic jumble of house elves. They clearly had a lot on their hands, but after a few moments of calling out, we managed to flag one down.

The elf was shorter than average and seemed to have a piece missing from one of its long, floppy ears. It frowned up at us. "Students are wanting a lot of yummies this morning," she said, in a low, whiny voice. "Toomi is a busy elf! No time to be bothered, but I does what you ask. What can Tomi do for students?"

Autumn glanced at me, clearly amused. "I would like a roll with butter, and a tuna sandwich for the train, please," she said to the elf. Toomi nodded and looked at me questioningly.

"I'll have two rolls, please. No butter. And some black coffee."

She nodded again. "Very well. Students will get what they are wanting. Just some moments, please."

Toomi snapped, and a large mug appeared in her hands, steam floating up from it. She passed it to me, and I grinned as I breathed in, inhaling the lovely aroma of pure, dark coffee. Before long, I was handed a bowl with my rolls, and Autumn was given her sandwich in a bag and a roll in her hand. We thanked the elf profusely and carried our findings out through the portrait hole — nearly colliding with Charlie Corner just outside.

He had awful bedhead, and needed to wash his face, but somehow the look worked on him. I stumbled back, blushing and trying not to slosh any coffee over the edge of the mug. "Sorry!" I exclaimed, hoping he didn't see how flustered his sudden appearance made me.

Charlie laughed. "No problem. Hey, Autumn," he said, greeting my friend, who was almost too busy smirking at me to bother with a reply. The brown-haired boy glanced at the food in our hands. "You lot missed breakfast, I suppose."

"Yes, we—"

"Charlie! What are you lingering there for? You've got to see if they have any— oh." My grip tightened around the steaming mug as Mason appeared at Charlie's side, eyebrows raised. He chuckled and patted his friend on the back. "I see you're busy with the ladies here."

I rolled my eyes and pretended not to notice that his gaze was resting intently on me. Autumn sighed and said, "I was just going to tell Charlie that we missed breakfast because one of us" — she jabbed me in the ribs — "only dragged herself out of bed ten minutes ago."

"Is that so?" Mason's voice was dry with amusement. "I suppose Lily must have had a late night."

I finally tilted my head up to scowl at him. He was smirking, but there was also a question in his eyes. I shot him a deadly glare as I lifted my mug to sip the coffee, my nose wrinkling at the bitter taste.

"Strong drink you've got there?"

I choked, nearly spewing the coffee right in his face. Godric... had Mason always been such a cheeky bastard? I glanced at Autumn, and she was giving me an inquisitive look. I forced a smile. "Autumn, do you want to head back up without me? I need to have a word with someone... "

My friend was clearly perplexed by this request, but thankfully did not question it. "Sure. I'll see you back at the dorm... Don't be too long, though, or I'll have to leave without saying goodbye!"

"Don't worry; this shouldn't take long," I assured her, trying to read Mason's expression, which had shifted a bit. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Alright, I'll see you guys around," she said, smiling at Charlie and Mason before turning to head for the stairs.

When she was gone, Mason sighed. "Charlie, why don't you go on and get the food? I think Lily wants to talk to me about something." I pressed my lips together, wishing there had been a better way to get him alone. I didn't want Charlie to question it.

Sure enough, Charlie glanced back and forth between us, then shrugged. "Okay. I'll see you in a bit." He disappeared through the portrait hole into the kitchens, and Mason and I were left alone.