two

"AND HE DIDN'T MURDER YOU?" Hermione snorted.

"Has Ron asked you about his bruise yet? He thinks it makes him look handsome." Arabella said, changing the subject. Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes as she spooned more pudding onto her plate. "I'm sure he does. So daft." She muttered under her breath, a small smile on her face that Arabella didn't miss.

Shoving her last bite of toast into her mouth, she carelessly wiped the side of her mouth with the sleeve of her robes as she jumped to her feet, giving Ginny and Hermione hugs before heading to her first class of the day.

Birds were chirping happily, as the last of the dew from the morning dried up from the heat of the September sun. The corridors were still empty, the majority of students still eating breakfast in the Great Hall.

Bella smiled softly, lifting her head to soak up the little sun she could get, due to her packed schedule this year, as a 6th year.

After only two minutes of peace, she was rudely interrupted.

"Oi, off to Div?" Cedric Diggory asked from behind her, slinging a heavy arm around her shoulder, a playful grin on his face. Unable to hide the joy he felt from seeing Bella annoyed, Cedric lowered himself to her height, trotting alongside her happily.

"Yes, Diggory. Now get off - you're heavy." She grumbled, tossing his arm off her shoulder, and pretending to dust off her robes. He watched gleefully, finding pleasure in Arabella's annoyance, and the way her pretty green eyes flared and darkened when she was peeved.

"Thought we could walk together." The tall Hufflepuff sniffed, looking around, waving carelessly at a Ravenclaw girl whose name he was too sleepy to recall. "Well, you thought wrong, Ced. Walk alone." Arabella sighed, silently wondering what Ginny saw in Cedric that she didn't in Harry. In Bella's humble opinion, Potter was a much better option than Diggory, with his handsome, cocky self.

Harry was equally as cocky at times, but at least he had a hint of personality. Bella quickened her pace, to which Cedric matched with ease, waving and grinning to girls as they swooned over his charming facade.

Now, there was nothing actually wrong with Cedric. He was kind, smart, and exceedingly charming. But there was something about his playboy personality that didn't sit quite right with Bella. At least Harry only focused on Ginny. But the on-again, off-again couple were currently in an off season, and according to Ginny, Harry was as good as chopped liver.

And Ron - well, he was beyond help. But Arabella knew deep down, there were deeper reasons behind his troublesome personality. Cedric came from a well-known, loving family of Healers, who might've spoiled him a bit too much in his youth. Ron was broken, as much as he tried to hide it behind posters of his favorite Quidditch players and Muggle women in bikinis.

Saying a silent prayer of gratitude when she reached the Divination classroom, she held back the urge to shut the door in Cedric's face, who had now resorted to lightly tugging on her hair to get her attention. Luckily, a pretty Hufflepuff girl beckoned him to sit beside her, and he gave Bella's hair one final goodbye tug, before going to sit beside the blonde girl.

She sat alone in the back corner of the classroom, getting her binded notebook and quill from her bag, setting both on the table in front of her before resting her head on the old wood of the desk in front of her.

Her attempt at rest was interrupted, by a small blonde girl who'd cleared her throat, in attempts to get her attention. Lifting her head, she blinked through tired eyes at Luna Lovegood.

Bella had never really spoken to Luna much, and she didn't know much about the quiet girl, other than the fact that she hung around Harry quite a lot. She'd always see them walking near the Black Lake together, seeing a rare, bright smile on Luna's face. Ron teased him about it, and Hermione called her "Loony Lovegood", but Bella thought she was sweet, as strange as she might be.

"Can I sit here, Arabella?" Luna asked shyly, gesturing to the empty seat on her right. Bella lit up, smiling kindly as she moved her bag off the chair, flinging it to the floor carelessly, startling Luna. "Sure!" She said enthusiastically, grinning as Luna took a seat beside her timidly, tucking her wispy, blonde hair behind her ears as she got her things out of a crocheted bag. "Did you make that?" Bella asked, as a shy smile engulfed Luna's face as she nodded.

"No way. Can you make me one? I'll pay you." Bella asked, running her fingers over the soft material of the bag, with intricate patterns crocheted on the sides. "Sure." Luna smiled, a soft blush on her freckled cheeks. Who'd have known Arabella Brooks was so friendly?

•

"I'm telling you, mate. I'm this close to getting Hermione to come to Hogsmeade with me next week. I asked her this morning, and she just rolled her eyes at me. Didn't even call me any names!" Ron argued, walking backwards and almost smashing into a first-year. "Wow. Romance isn't dead." Arabella replied sarcastically, shooting an apologetic glance at the young boy, whose glasses were hanging haphazardly off his face.

"Shut it, Brooks. What do ya think Potter?" He asked Harry, who was running his fingers through his hair, checking his reflection on the stained glass windows they were passing by. "Sounds like progress to me. You should ask her before that twat, Viktor." He offered, feeding Ron's delusions. He clenched his fists in annoyance.

Bella sighed at the exchange. Ron Weasley would never get over his delusions if Harry constantly fueled them.

"Granger isn't into pretty boys like him. She's more into the ruggedly charming type." Ron grinned, running his hand through his hair. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Besides, who beat Hufflepuff last year for the Quidditch Cup? Me." Ron said, turning to walk backwards once again, this time fully bumping into Pansy Parkinson, who hissed at him. Arabella rolled her eyes, pushing past the pale Slytherin. "Right, Ronald. Rugged and humble. Whatever is Hermione thinking?"

•

After a long, snoozeworthy Divination class, Bella bounded off to Potions, only to see Neville and Dean holding back Ron, who was inches away from Mattheo, his face so red she was afraid he'd kill someone. Almost dropping her bag in the process, she rushed over to the group.

She found Harry sitting on the floor, cradling his face with a bloody nose. Her panic faded, and annoyance settled in its place.

"I don't even want to know." She sighed, stepping over him and sitting down beside Lorenzo.

"Aren't you curious as to what happened?" He asked, leaning over to whisper to Bella. She rolled her eyes, massaging her temples slowly. She felt a migraine coming on, and it wasn't from the putrid smell of the petrified bat wings that sat in a jar in front of her. "Not particularly. I'm sure I know some of variation of what happened." She sighed.

"Well, they've been standing off like that for the last five minutes. Snape will be here soon, and unless they want to sort through horned slugs the entire afternoon, you should go and break it up." Lorenzo said, making Arabella sigh loud enough for the ground to shake before standing up, as he chuckled behind her.

"What happened?" She asked as she approached the group, completely uninterested and exhausted. Mattheo and Ron briefly glanced at her, before re-engaging in their stare off without a word. Harry was busy getting "comforted" by Ginny. Meaning his face was fully buried in her chest. Bella knew damn well that Harry was as healthy as a horse. His nosebleeds were as common as a cold. She could even see a hint of a smile into Ginny's robes.

Neville took the chance to step forward, his hand still holding back Ron's' shoulder as he whispered a quick recount of what happened into Bella's ear. Her eyes widened slightly, and she turned to deliver a kick to Ron's shin.

He inhaled sharply, before turning and glaring at her. "Go on. Apologize." She said, watching as Mattheo stared at Ron expectantly. He turned his head back around, ignoring her, but Bella tapped him again, slightly harder this time.

"Fine." He sighed, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his robe, sniffing as he glared at Mattheo.

"Sorry I said to fuck yourself." Ron said abruptly before turning back around, making Bella clear her throat loudly.

"And that I said to go die in a hole. Don't, or whatever." He mumbled, before shooting a side eye to Bella, who nodded, accepting his lame attempt at an apology.

"See? That was easy. Now the both of you, sit down before Snape comes in and gives you both detention." Bella said, holding back laughter as she coaxed Ron away, pulling him to a desk far away from Mattheo's.

Lorenzo clapped and gave her a thumbs up as she returned to their desk.