confession, Arabella had not said a single word to him; not even spared him a small glance. Every time he thought about her, his head started racing - questioning what he had done to deserve her absence. It was a punishment in the form of torture, for a crime of which he did not commit.

The worst was when she laughed.

But in truth, the laughter was a mask for Bella. While her face displayed positive emotions of an upturned smile and a warm bellowing in her stomach, it soon turned to burning sadness and a broken smile; the salty taste of her own tears barely touching her pale lips.

She didn't want to be away from Viktor - truly she didn't - but once again, he frightened her.

The first time he scared her was the night of discovering Zoe's phased form. He attacked the werewolf in a way so cruel that even she, for a moment, thought of him as a monster. And he knew she thought that. He even began to think so himself.

The second time he scared her was on the Durmstrang ship, when she was thrown over Viktor's shoulder and into the lake where the ship resided. But this fear was an enjoyable one. One to lie in bed at night smiling in memory of the previous day, anticipation bubbling around her chest of what was going to happen the next morning, where more happiness would be shared.

The third and most recent time he scared her was what caused their current absence from each other; he confessed that he loved her.

It was silly, really - and Bella knew it was. She ran away from both his and her own feelings, in fear that maybe she didn't love him back. There was that word again. Fear. It was becoming a prominent part of the redhead's life at the moment, and she was slowly starting to hate it.

But deep down, Arabella Flannery did love Viktor Krum, just as Viktor Krum loved Arabella Flannery (with all of his heart, in fact).

The Ravenclaw just didn't want to admit it, especially now that she didn't have Fred and George to consult. They were avoiding her too. Not that she could blame them; she hadn't exactly been the most supportive friend, but it was still painful knowing that her only current true friends were Deanna, her sister Eleanor, and her bloody owl Henry.

In Arabella's defence, Henry was more trustworthy than the rest of them; and he didn't talk back. Evidently, she cried to him often about her problems. In fact, she cried to him more often than she did anyone else.

This was why it was especially embarrassing when Harry Potter found her crying in the Owlery - babbling through tears to her beloved owl, ironically, about how she thought nobody loved her.

When she heard footsteps, her curled body immediately stood up in a defensive stance. When she saw Harry, she relaxed a little, but still attempted to wipe away her tears with her sleeve; embarrassed to show him that she was upset. Yes, he was a friend, but Bella did not feel that they were not close enough for her to worry Harry with all of her problems just yet. Besides, he had enough troubles of his own.

"A-Are you crying, Bella?" He spoke softly as she sniffled through her nose.

"Yeah." She shyly turned away from him as he attempted to advance closer to her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Is this about what Rita Skeeter put in the Daily Prophet?" When the girl didn't react to Harry's question, he continued. "I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, she wrote a whole article about Hermione and I, apparently we're dating, and I'm fine about all the lies put in my article." He chuckled to himself at the thought.

"That's not what I'm upset about." She murmured, still unable to face the younger boy in front of her.

"What is it, then?" He sighed.

"Viktor confessed that he loved me and I'm-- I don't know, I'm just scared at the thought of somebody loving me that I don't love back. Part of me feels like I love him, but I'm so scared to show it that I'm not sure whether I love him as much as I think I do." She slumped against the wall again. "Look at me, asking a fourteen-year-old for relationship advice."

Harry took a seat on the floor beside her. "I've seen the way that you look at Viktor, and I think you really have feelings for him. He looks at you the same way, y'know." He said. "Speaking of feelings, I came here looking for Cho, actually. I was going to ask her to the Yule Ball."

"Yule Ball?" Arabella questioned.

The bespectacled boy nodded. "It's a dance that's going to be on Christmas night, haven't you heard? The Triwizard champions are the spotlight of the event, and we need to attend with dates. You may want to tell Viktor that you actually love him soon, or else he won't have a date to go with - and that'd be embarrassing."

The Ravenclaw scoffed. "He's probably already got a date right now. All of the girls adore him, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Harry?" A familiar voice called, evidently belonging to Cho Chang as she emerged up the stone staircase. "Oh, is this a bad time?"

Bella scowled at Cho, then softened her face in regret of her scornful feelings towards the girl. "No, it's fine." She smiled, drying the old tear stains down her cheeks, which her eyes were now vacant of. She winked playfully at Harry. "I was just going anyway. I need to speak to someone."

●

The redhead found Viktor in the courtyard after her Astronomy lesson. Without the need for speech, they naturally fell into step with each other and began walking along the lush grass of the Hogwarts grounds. Arabella was staring at her black and freshly polished shoes, because she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes - those soft brown eyes - just yet.

"So, uh, you know about the dragon egg that I got from the First Task?" Spoke Viktor amidst the silence.

Bella chuckled lightly. Viktor thought he hated it when she laughed, but from that moment, he realised that he loved it and hated it all the same. "If you're asking me to help you again--"

He took her hand in his, interrupting her words when she became startled from the sudden display of affection. "I opened the egg, and all it did was scream. It didn't reveal a clue at all. The Second Task is in two months and I have nothing."

"Fine, I'll help you, but this just means that you owe me twice now." The Ravenclaw smirked.

"Can I start by taking you as my date to the Yule Ball?"

Viktor expected Arabella to scowl and violently release her hand from his grasp as she rejected him with a cold tone (one as cold as the current December air). But she kept her hand in his - something she had not done prior when he attempted to hold her hand - and rubbed her thumb lovingly along his skin. Her expression wavered into something innocent and pure, as she grinned delightedly. Her red nose and icy pale skin contrasted to her voice that was warm and comforting, much like milk and honey. "I would love to."

He expected her to kiss him, then. And oh, what a fool he was to think such a thing.

Bella arose from her seat that they had acquired on a bench in the courtyard, and dusted the snow off her uniform. He got up too, albeit reluctantly. She smiled at him when she noticed his solemn expression, and when he saw her smile, he couldn't help but smile too.

"I thought you hated me after I told you I loved you." He murmured.

She laughed again. "I didn't hate you. I don't think I ever could hate you. I was scared of my own emotions, Vik. By running away from you, I ran away from my feelings too."

"And are you still running away from them?"

"N-No, I don't think I am."

Viktor's brows furrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that . . . that I feel bad because I never said it back." The redhead took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and finally; she looked him in those soft brown eyes. "Viktor, I think I love you."

WOOOOOOOOOOO

& that's all I have to say lmao. (not really tho.)

Also, I finished my exams at the end of June (it's now August lol I'm a mess at trying to update) so I'm just waiting for my results and I'm a lil scared aha, but at least it means I get to update more before I go to college in September.

Hope you liked it anyway! x