I sat at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, eating dinner with Daphne, Bran, and Edna like usual. We discussed how our classes went for our first day back.

"History of magic was pretty easy," Daphne said.

"Professor Hawthorne didn’t mention my name?" I said, glancing at Hawthorne far away at the professor's table.

"No, not at all. It was like you were never even scheduled to be there," Daphne said.

"Thank goodness. That's such a relief. I was worried he might say something or call my name out for attendance. I wouldn't put it past him."

"He seems to have a different demeanor now that he's here at Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Bran added, "Edna and I had him last semester, and his class wasn't bad. Dry and boring, but he seemed nice enough."

Edna wouldn't give eye contact during our conversation. She was focused on her plate. But after Bran said something, she finally spoke, "Let's not defend Professor Hawthorne here or try and make Rollie feel bad about switching classes. I think we should change the subject in case anyone overhears and asks Rollie a bunch of questions he doesn't want to answer."

"Thank you," I said, "I didn't really want to talk about it much more, so I'll happily change the subject. Let's start with this: my first day of Arithmancy totally sucked!"

Everyone chuckled.

"Why was it so bad?" Daphne asked.

"The class is brutal! Professor Vector even assigned us homework on the first day! Which reminds me, I'm supposed to meet up with Magdalene from Gryffindor later. I think she's going to be my study-buddy for the semester."

My friends stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Really? You better not let Oliver see you with her." Bran chortled.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Last year, he almost beat up a kid that was studying with Magdalene. And it wasn't like the kid was a Slytherin, he was a Gryffindor!" Edna said.

"Well, I'm not too worried about it even if he does see us together. I'd be happy to defend myself if he throws a punch. The dude is a total ass-"

"Laaanguaaaaaage, Mr. Magpie," the Friar said as he floated above us.

“The Friar always knows! I didn't even see him up there a moment ago," I said.

"Don't worry, if anything happens to you, Rollie, I got your back," Bran said. He fixed his gaze to the Gryffindor table and sank into deep thought. "I'm looking over at Oliver and Magdalene right now. Their body language is kinda weird. They're just sitting with each other, not saying a word.”

“Well don’t stare at them," Edna said.

"Do you study them often or something?" I snickered.

"No, it's just, Oliver is always boisterous and booming. If you listen for him, you can hear him anywhere in the Great Hall at any given time. Ah, it looks like they're finishing up and leaving early. They’re barely saying a word."

"Whatever." I sighed. "I better get going to the common room. I need to get my things ready. I'd like to meet Magdalene upstairs early to show I'm serious about passing Arithmancy."

"Have fun on your date," Bran teased. Daphne and Edna chuckled.

"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh all you want, but when she helps me get a passing grade, I'm gonna yell about it from the mountaintops."

I headed up to the seventh floor next to Professor Vector's classroom and waited, sitting against the wall. I pulled out the textbook and tried reading it, but it was brutal getting past the first few paragraphs. Big words and equations I didn't fully understand. After about a half-hour of waiting, Magdalene came strolling down the empty corridor. She had a frown, but once we made eye contact, her lips curled up.

"Hey," she said, with more optimism than I imagined.

"Hey, how's it going?" I asked.

"So I have a place I always like to study, and no one will bother us. It's a Hogwarts secret. Would you be up for going there?"

"Uh, where is it?"

"It's on the seventh floor here, actually, just in the left corridor. Follow me," we came up to a stretch of blank wall, and she stopped.

"This is it!" she said.

"Uh, Magdalene, I don't mean to rip on you, but this is hardly a good study room."

"Wait just one moment. Stand right there," Magdalene instructed as she paced back and forth in a particular section of the wall. I had to do a double-take as a door appeared out of nowhere.

"Well, I know there's a lot of magic in this castle but, it's still surprising to see it. That door wasn't there a moment ago? Right?"

"Correct. It's the Room of Requirement. Only shows itself when you need it, and we need to study," Magdalene said, but she lost her smile as if she had forgotten to keep it going.

"You okay?" I asked.

Her eyes widened. "Let's go in."

She opened the door, and I stepped in first. We were in a small flagstone chamber. A modest chandelier floated above our heads and in front of us was a table with two chairs, tucked underneath an arched window. Through the window, I recognized the Hogwarts castle grounds but on a rainy day. I was surprised to see that the hills were green. What happened to all of the snow?

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The Room of Requirement takes on a different shape if need be. This is the room I use for studying. I find the gentle rain calming, and it keeps me focused." Magdalene set her book on the table and took a seat while her lips fell.

"Are you sure you're okay, Magdalene?"

She met my gaze and then put her head in her hands and sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm going through a tough time, but we don't have to worry about that. We should focus on our homework."

"Honestly, I'm in no rush. We can study all night. It usually takes me a while to go to bed anyway. I know it helps me if I talk about things sometimes. I used to punch walls back in the day." I chuckled. "But I wouldn't recommend that. It really hurts your knuckles and you still feel bottled up. Anyway, all I'm saying is, if you want to talk, I'm all ears. I'm not worried about the time."

"Well, I don't want this to take too long, so I'm a little worried about time." Magdalene looked down at the table and thought for a moment. "I suppose it might be good to get it off my mind. The holiday season was strange and stressful for me."

"Yeah, tell me about it. What happened with yours?"

"Oh, well, I spent last Christmas with Oliver and his family, and he said he would spend time with my family on Christmas next year. Then before break, he pretends as if he never said that and then gets upset with me when I tell him I can't skip out of my family's Christmas again. I mean, isn't that a little selfish? I understand if he has family obligations and can't leave them, but to expect me to leave my family two years in a row? That would be so egregious."

"Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from. He's got some nerve to expect that from you."

"Yeah, he's just been driving me crazy lately. We've been dating a little over a year, but I've been doing a lot of thinking. We had a big fight just before leaving Hogwarts, and we didn't talk at all during the holiday. It was the longest we had gone without talking, and to be honest, it was pleasant. And it feels so wrong to say that, but it's true. He can be so stressful to be around, and I think it's starting to get to me."

"Getting to you? How so?"

She paused and hesitated. "I've actually been thinking about ending things with him."

My eyes widened. "You're kidding?"

"Not one bit. Part of me wishes I did it before the holiday, I may have been happier, but it's tough when you really care about someone. Obviously, I appreciate him, but I don't think it's right in the long run."

"And that's what's most important."

"But do you realize how awkward and horrible the rest of my years at Hogwarts would be? We are always in the common room. We're both so involved in Gryffindor, with him being a Quidditch captain and me being a prefect. I guarantee he would make my life a living nightmare at Hogwarts."

"Nightmare..." my voice trailed off, and I remembered the nightmare I had staying at Daphne's house. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, just that he would insult me and try to get other people in Gryffindor to undermine me. I know the way he works."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I've seen his behavior around me, and to tell you the truth, I don't know what I ever did to him." I snickered.

Magdalene smiled. "I like how you're able to laugh it off. Everyone is so afraid of him. Even kids that Oliver dislikes, they'll come up to me and ask how they can get on his good side."

"It sounds like they don't have any respect for themselves."

"I just think that a lot of them want to kiss up to him since they think he's going to be a professional Quidditch player. Gosh, that would be so annoying to hear his name for the rest of my life... Speaking of professional Quidditch players, you looked pretty impressive yourself."

"I do what I can." I smirked.

Magdalene took a deep breath. "It feels so good to finally say all that out loud. Thank you for indulging me. How was your holiday season?"

I told her about how I had a pleasant time at Daphne's but didn't detail the awkward dinner.

"Are you and Daphne dating by chance?" Magdalene asked.

"No, we're just really good friends."

"Ah. I've always appreciated my conversations with her. She's pretty cool, wickedly smart, and talented. Was it tough being away from your family and friends from America?"

"Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I don't really miss the U.S. that much. My parents are both squibs, so I'm the only magic one in the family. They live their lives like muggles, and I'm not sure if they're jealous of me or what, but I felt like I was always a nuisance to them. I stayed at the Huntshrow castle and a few other kids during Christmas break, but I wasn't really friends with them. To be honest, I wasn't really friends with anyone back there."

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"It's okay. I'm in a much better place now." I beamed.

"So you've been enjoying Hogwarts then?" She smiled at me with the same warm look from my dream.

"Yeah, definitely.”

“Great, well, shall we get studying then?"

I nodded. We were all smiles as we cracked open the books, and she taught me about Arithmancy. I squeezed in a few jokes at my expense, and each one got a sincere laugh. She took her time covering the material and I felt like I had an inkling of what I was doing with the equations. I just needed that slower pace.

"Thank you for all you’ve done, Magdalene. If it's not too much trouble to ask, it would be great to get your help on this stuff regularly, but I understand if you're busy, I'll have to look into a tutor or something."

"I would be happy to keep helping you. Not only did I get my homework done, it was also a lot of fun hanging out with you."

"Looks like we'll be doing this again soon then." I packed up my belongings. "How do we leave this place? Just walk back out of the door, and we're in Hogwarts again?"

"Yes, it's like any other room in the castle."

We stepped out and strolled down the corridor, side by side. We moseyed through the halls, caught up in a meaningless conversation. She asked me what kind of candy was popular in the magic community in America. I explained to her all the different morsels and how these marshmallow covered chocolates were my favorites, "The inside-and-outs."

"Sounds yummy, but chocolate isn't among my favorites of sweets actually," Magdalene said. "Have you had any Bertie Botts Beans? Those are probably my favorite, but they have every flavor imaginable, so you HAVE to be careful. There's a vomit flavored bean and grass, so I avoid all of the green ones just to be safe. But their peppermint, apple, and marmalade are to die for. Sometimes, if I buy a bag, I'll just sit there and pick out all of the colors that are my favorites. I've done a great job of avoiding all of the nasty ones."

"Well, I'll definitely have to try one of those. They sound awesome."

"I'll see if I can get one for our next study session, not to get ahead of myself."

"I mean, I don't think you're getting ahead of yourself. You're really committed to your studies, it sounds like, and I appreciate your offer to help me out."

"Yeah." Magdalene smiled as if the frown she had earlier had been remedied. As we came closer to the Gryffindor common room, Oliver came marching down at the other side of the empty hall. "Oh no, Rollie!" she whispered, and she slowed her pace. "Maybe you should wait here."

"It's all right," I whispered as I continued walking towards Oliver pretending like nothing was wrong. "They have these muggle candies back in America that I really like as well. Some of them are as good as the wizarding morsels; if not, better."

"Cram it, yankee!" Oliver roared.

I chuckled. "Relax, dude. What's wrong?"

Oliver's brow furrowed. "Magdalene, what were you doing hanging around this creep?"

"She was helping me study. Arithmancy is a tough class, but I guess you wouldn't know since you probably avoid challenging academics."

Oliver had a fire raging in his eyes. He shoved his arm against my throat and pinned me to the wall. He drew in deep breaths as his eyes narrowed. "You got some nerve talking to me like that."

"Don't wanna get suspended for the Quidditch match, do ya? Or maybe you do so you don't have to worry about me embarrassing you on the field."

Oliver grinned and a laugh puffed out. "You better watch yourself, yankee." He gripped my mohawk and hurled me to the other side of the wall and held out his arms victoriously. "I'm feeling generous today, yank. But be careful, don't go pissin' me off, or I promise you, there'll be hell to pay."

Magdalene was standing off to the side, completely still with her jaw dangling. She stared at Oliver with resentment.

"You get pissed off if someone steps on a twig. Maybe if your skin wasn't so thin, you'd be okay about Magdalene having friends outside of you." I sneered.

"Can we just leave, please?" Magdalene said, but Oliver took a step closer, glaring at me.

"You're gonna do something after all?" I snapped.

Magdalene clutched Oliver's arm and tried to pull him away, but he didn't look back at her, he continued glaring at me and pushed through her defense.

"You should really listen to Magdalene," I said.

"Don't you dare speak her name!"

"Could you even tell me what her favorite candy is? I mean, how well do you really know her?"

Oliver sealed his lips shut as he came to me and gripped up my robes by the chest. He was only a couple inches taller than me. Probably the only person he ever picked on that was his size. Magdalene sniffled and cried behind us. At that moment, I wanted to put my arm around her and walk away from the whole situation, but I knew Oliver was going to throttle me, and that had to happen first.

"You don't know her favorite candy, do you?" I smirked.

"Boys!" a voice shouted from behind. It was Mr. Lancaster jogging towards us.

Oliver's hands returned back to his side, and he flashed a well-acted smile. "Mr. Lancaster, how do you do?"

"Just what exactly were you two doing?"

Magdalene tucked her head down and paced down the hall.

"Magdalene! Are you all right?" he asked, but Magdalene turned the corner, her sniffling echoing off the walls. Mr. Lancaster fixed his attention on both of us. "Whatever was going on here, I want you to apologize to each other and shake hands. Got it? I don't like what I was seeing."

"Of course, we were just messing around." Oliver shook my hand with a bone-crushing grip. I also matched his strength.

"I still want to hear an apology," Mr. Lancaster said.

"I have no problem being the bigger man, sorry about that chap." I grinned.

"Always with the jokes." Oliver feigned a laugh. "Nevertheless, apology accepted."

"Very good, you two. Now let's go back to our common rooms, it's getting late." Mr. Lancaster escorted us through the halls. Our entire walk was silent, but thoughts of Magdalene came flooding through my mind. I couldn't wait for my next Arithmancy assignment.