Thank you all for being so patient. :) Sorry for the really short chapter. Next chapter will be in Asa's point of view.

I was sitting on the floor, my head on my knees, staring into the flames of the fireplace. The fire had a calming, hypnotic effect. Hadley was somewhere behind me, mending my robe, meticulously sewing the black threads close together by hand. I wouldn't blame her if she'd wanted to do it by magic, but she insisted. Many of us Hufflepuffs enjoy crafts, and doing them by magic took away part of the fun, part of the sense of pride after you finish. Her brows were furrowed, and she was almost lost in her work. It was Sunday morning. Asa had left late last night, promising to see me tomorrow- which was now today. Glen sat straight-backed on a wooden chair, talking with a friend of his. Despite the buzz in the common room, it had a muted feeling, pressing heavy on my lungs.

I startled at the sound of footsteps behind me.

A fourth year walked towards me, a plate of cookies balanced in her small palms. "Hi, Ide," she said. She smiled thinly, apologetically.

I patted my hair down, trying to prove that her appearance hadn't ruffled me. She sat next to me, sitting cross-legged. I noticed her pajamas were flour-y. She smelled sweet, like spices.

"I made these cookies for you- the house elves let me cook with them before anyone else woke up." She smiled, putting the plate down in between us. She was silent for a moment- unsure of something. She bit her lip, then looked at me. "…I noticed you haven't been eating much. And I know sugar cookies are your favorite, so…" She looked at the fire in front of her. "You need to eat, Ide."

"Thank you." I swallowed painfully, taking a cookie between my thumb and forefinger. "That's very kind of you."

She smiled. "That's what we do." She shrugged her shoulders. "It goes without saying that all of us are worried about you." She stroked a strand of hair that had fallen from her messy bun. Her hair was the same shade as mine, but her face was narrower. She clenched her hands. "For once, we're sort of worried about ourselves, too. It's scary, knowing there's someone out there who would do such a thing. And we don't know who it is." She looked over at me. "What I'm trying to say, is we sort of understand what it's like. We're all more or less in the same boat."

I nodded, my stomach clenching. I chewed thoughtfully on my cookie. The undercurrent of the fourth-year's speech pressed against me. The rest of my house was scared, because there was no action being taken against the attacker. I imagined my friendslooking over their shoulders as they walked the halls, walking in groups for safety. The thought boiled my insides. I clenched the my hand, only realizing I'd smashed the cookie to bits when they started to plink against the plate.

The girl looked at me with wide eyes, then smiled lightly. She took my hand and wiped it off, brushing the crumbs out of the creases. I was very still. I was reliving my attack. She placed another cookie in my hand.

I stood up, and jammed the sweet in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Can you walk with me a moment?"

"Of course," she replied. "Just give me a moment to change."

She was back very quickly, dressed in black slacks and a gray vest. Her robe was thrown haphazardly over her frame, and she checked for her wand.

Hadley's eyes met mine. "Going somewhere? Need me to come?"

"No, I'm… I'm okay. I'm going to go find Asa. Thank you, though. Thanks for…" I gestured towards my robe, which she was still mending.

Her eyes softened. "Of course." She hugged me, saying, "Be brave."

That's all I'm doing- being brave, I thought.

"Ready?" the fourth-year asked.

I nodded. Ready.

She led the way out of the common room, supporting my arm as I scrambled out, my muscles shrieking. "Where we going?" she asked breathlessly.

"Slytherin common room." I said.