The Buddy System. *Complete*

Potions Class

He may have only left my side 20 minutes ago but thanks to this new 'buddy system' I arrived into the great hall to see the younger years at their normal tables. The seniors however seemed to have arranged seating. Little bistro tables had been set up next to each other so you and your buddy were alone.

I sat down at the table with our names on it and began to butter some toast for myself.

"Well you haven't killed each other yet so I'm guessing that's a plus," I hear from beside me. Turning I see Ginny and Pansy looking at me.

"Not yet at least," I smile back.

"Ginny, this is my friend Raelyn. Raelyn this is Ginny Weasley but probably soon to be Potter."
Ginny blushed as Pansy said this for Harry and Blaise were seated at the other side of them.

"Hello Ginny."

"Hi Raelyn. You are a friend of Luna's right? I have seen you with her before."

"Yeah I am. Luna is lovely."

"Are you talking about Lovegood?" Draco asks sitting down across from me.

"Isn't she a bit....not all there?" Pansy asked.

"She's mental...harmless...but mental!" Draco laughed.

"She isn't mental," I argue. "She sees the world differently than us but that's not a bad thing. Until last year plenty of us saw the world differently. She isn't hurting anyone with her way of thinking so leave her alone."

"Merlin keep your knickers on. I was only saying she-"

"I heard you. I just think it's mean to call her that."

"Whatever," he scoffed lifting a piece of my toast and biting into it.

"Hey!"

"What - didn't mummy teach you to share?"

It was a simple statement that shouldn't have annoyed me. But it did. By Merlin it did.

I lifted an apple off the bowl in the middle of us and headed off out of the hall. Checking my timetable I see my first lesson is potions so I head there very, very early.

So early that there is no one in the room - not even Slughorn himself.

Choosing a seat in the middle, I lift my books out of my bag and sit down. It would be 30 minutes or more before everyone arrived for class and I felt silly for walking out like that.

Of course my mum had taught me to share. Probably when I was about 2/3 years old. But it was still painful to talk about my mum or Cedric without getting upset.

It seemed childish but I couldn't help it.

Playing with a spare bit of parchment I transfigured it to the shape of a rose and made it float in the air in front of me.

To make it prettier still I flicked my wand and in perfect cursive, some text appeared on the flower. All quotes from Little Women.

"Be comforted dear soul, there is always light behind the clouds." I turned to see Harry and his friends stood at the edge of the table. "That is a pretty neat spell."

"It's Little Women right?" Hermione asked.

"Little who?" Ron asked but Hermione just gave him a look that told him to shut up.

"It's my favourite book," I explain to him, although he still looks confused.

"I love it too." Hermione smiled. "I've read it many times before. It's a classic!"

"It is. I wasn't as fond of Jo's Boys or Little Men but they were still good."

"I agree. I love period literature."