Carter nodded. Violet was starting to get it. "No, no hugging. Not until after you've had several proper conversations where you don't hug him and don't call him little names." he said.

"Alright. Now let's start over." he said.

Aw, no little names and no hugs? Thats no funnnnnn. But she nodded anyways.

Yay, acting time! "Hey, Evan. So I know your into football and stuff and I was wondering if you could teach me." she said.

Out of acting mode! "How was that?" she asked, biting her lower lip. "You know you know a lot about Evan, its cool. Your gifted with 'Evan Knowledge'."

Oh. He was alright. She was, too. Except that her world was pretty, pretty topsy-turvy. She had still not gotten sued to the fact that Dylan was around. She didn't think of him any more than she had used to, when he wasn't at Hogwarts. Because she had thought of him pretty much all the time, then; and that wasn't fun at all.

"That's nice."

She tried to smile up at him, and failed.

Great.

Dylan sighed. She didn't miss him. She truly didn't want him anymore. He was too late. She had completely moved on, and he was stuck. Oh well, better to be stuck, hoping for the future, than moving on. Well he thought so anyway.

Then he saw her attempt at a smile. Even better. She couldn't even smile at him anymore. That was a sign of her hating him. "Yeah. Nice," he mumbled.

Gold bit her lip. He didn't love her anymore, did he? She had thought as much. But she didn't want to believe that. She eyed her feet, wondering why she hadn't worn the new heels she had gotten last month but never tried on, yet; before looking back up at him.

"So, what have you been up to?"

This was a conversation, wasn't it? It felt like one. Or maybe it didn't. Gold eyed her feet, again.

Dylan could slowly feel his heart breaking in his chest. He wanted her to love him again. He wanted to stop the awkwardness with a kiss. But he couldn't. She was with Chris. Stupid Head Boy Chris. Dylan hated that boy. He'd better hope that they didn't meet in a corridor, or Head Boy Chris was gonna get a punch in the face. And Dylan wasn't usually a violent man.

"Not a lot really. Wandering around the grounds mainly. Trying to keep my little sister sane. Well I say my little sister, I have adopted her into my family." Sigh. This was depressing him. "You been up to a lot?" Thinking about me?

Oh. She wandered about a lot, too. It was a surprise they didn't run into each other more often. Then again, that was probably for the best. Gold shook the thought off, and registered what he had just said about an adopted little sister. That was certainly new. "Do you mean Lexi?" She asked. That was the only guess she felt like venturing.

Or could venture.

"No, not really." What had she been up to? "Trying to live up to some expectations, and not live down to others."

Dylan nodded, "Yes I do mean Lexi. She is coming to live with me. It should be fun." If she didn't flip out of course. Which she was prone to do right now. It was a shame. Hopefully his mother could fix her.

"What expectations were you hoping to live up to? You are perfect as you are." Was Chris trying to make her be something she wasn't? He would punch the boy for sure.

Oh. Lexi and Dylan were pretty close, Gold knew. Should be too, given that they could relate to each other. Gold had tried to help out the younger Gryffindor, but she wasn't sure if she had succeeded. Maybe Lexi was better having Dylan to help her out, after all. She nodded. "I hope you can make more progress with her, than I did," she said quietly.

"I don't .... know," she said, truthfully. "People expect ..... stuff of me." Good stuff. "I know not all the professors are happy with me, this year." She couldn't point out even one that was unhappy with her, if you asked her, and yet she felt like she wasn't half as good at a lot of things as she had been, last term. She couldn't help thinking something was lacking in her grades and... and attention, and a lot of other stuff.

Dylan nodded, "I am trying. But for some reason she doesn't want to let me help. Seems to think she has gone crazy or something. I think my mum can help though. We shall see."

"Gold...you are doing great. There is noone that is unhappy with you. I think you may be imagining it." He smiled at her. "I can help you if you want. I have gotten better at Muggle Studies since I left. If you are still doing that class of course."

Gold frowned. "It was a stupid decision, to cart her off to St. Mungo's," she said, frankly. "She should have been here with the rest of us, moving on. Or anywhere else, really, but moving on. Not at a place where all she could dwell on was what she had to go through."

Still, better late than never. Or so Gold liked to think.

"No." She bit her lip. "Everything's been wrong, since the end of last year. My grades fell, and --" She paused. "My OWL grades are disastrous," she admitted. This was the first time, she had admitted her own failure to anyone. She hadn't the courage, before. "You left, and everything just kept getting even worse. I thought I was starting to get stable again, that everything was starting to get stable again, and now you're back. I can only handle so much of landslides, Dylan. I'm a person, not a superwoman, or something."

Forget Muggle Studies.

Dylan nodded, "I intend to write to her Uncle Silas to tell him that it was a bad idea. But everything will get better. You'll see. When she starts school again next year, she will be a happy, smiley kid again." Well he could hope.

"Your OWL grades are disasterous? I have one OWL. And that is an A in Muggle Studies. I should probably shoot myself right now." He sighed and looked up at her. "Gold. I am sorry I left. I owled you. But I don't think the owl got through, or got lost. I swear I did. And then when I didn't get a reply from you, I thought you had forgotten about me. I am never leaving you again. I promise. Never again. Please forgive me." Please.

"He must have thought that would help her," Gold said, softly. She didn't want to think Lexi's uncle didn't care about his ward's well-being. That was such a terrible thought. Thank God she had amazing parents. Thank, THANK God. "Good luck with that."

She bit her lip. She wasn't angry at him, anymore. She couldn't be. Did she believe him? Gold had no idea. She had always trusted Dylan, and then he had just shattered that trust. "It's okay," she said finally, placing a hand on his forearm. "Doesn't matter."

She wasn't even thinking of her OWL's, anymore.

No idea what she was thinking of.

Dylan shrugged, "I guess he thought it did. But it didn't. She is safe now though." Well as safe as you could be with a hippy for a mother, and a two year old wizard.

He shivered, as he felt her hand on his arm. That touch was electrifying. She had always had that power over him. "It does matter. And I am sorry. I want to make it up to you."

Somehow he would make it up to her.

Gold nodded. "I think so."

Make it up to her? He couldn't undo what had already happened. Gold had to live with those memories. But at least he was here, now. She shrugged, not sure what to say. She couldn't put her emotions into words. Never had been able to, not properly, not really.

"What did you do, all the time you were away?" She asked quietly. She knew he had interned. But that was pretty much all that she did know about what he had done, while he hadn't been around.

Dylan smiled. She didn't seem angry anymore. "I went to America. Spent three months working for Marvel Entertainments. They are the film branch of my comic book company. I did some directing, and some tea making. It was great fun. I learnt a lot about the film making process." Oh it was fun. "When did you and Chris get together?" It was bound to come up. So here it was. The topic.

Oh, that. It made Gold think of France. Because, you know, every time someone talked of a country, she thought of her real home. "That must have been fun," she said, quietly. Great. So he had been having fun, while she had been dying on the inside. Just great.

Then he had to bring up Chris.

"I don't remember," she said, quietly. It had only been a couple of months, she knew. But she didn't want to talk about her relationship with Chris, to Dylan. She didn't want to give him any reason to dislike Chris. Though why would he dislike anyone, because that "anyone" was with her?

No reason for Dylan to.

Dylan nodded, "It was fun. It kept my mind off things. I needed it. I don't think I could've survived if I didn't have the distraction. You are the hardest thing I have tried to get over. And I still haven't."

"Oh." He remembered when they got together. And how he got her a necklace for Valentines Day. And some shoes for Christmas. And how they spent that day in Hogsmeade. When she had kissed him for the first time.

Why could he not forget it all?

Gold chewed on her lip. "That's good," she said, softly. She didn't want to talk about whatever love there had been, between the two of them. That wasn't a topic she wanted to discuss. Which was exactly why Gold was quick to steer away from it.

"So, what classes are you taking?" She knew he would take up Care of Magical Creatures, again. But other than that, no idea.

Might as well ask.

So she didn't want to talk about them? She didn't love him anymore obviously. This hurt now. Was it worth sticking around another year at this school. He could go off to WADA in the fall and it would be much much easier. A new start. He could find a new girl, or cover up the pain with many conquests. The latter was more likely.

"Muggle Studies. Care of Magical Creatures. Transfiguration. Charms. Astronomy. That is it. What are you taking?" Hopefully similar ones. So they could be together.

Carter smiled. "That was fantastic!" he said happily. Now if she could just control herself in front of the real Evan they'd be set.

He laughed. "Well... I happen to know a thing or two about guys." he said. Although he hated being classified in the same group as Evan.

"Really?" she asked, excited. Now, she wanted to see Evan, why couldn't there be a button you could push to make Evan magically appear? She had no idea.

"Yeah. So don't you love Evan? I love everything about him." she replied. She wanted to have Evan talk!

"Yeah. Just do it just like that when you see him." Carter told her.

"Umm... not quite." he said. There were strong feelings there. They just happened to be the opposite of love.

Great, now was he going to be the one Violet went to with all her Evan problems? If it kept him away from Ella and Mina he'd do it. He just hoped that Violet would take his advice.

"Okay, but I can't hug or flirt with him?" she asked. Gah, if there was no flirting Violet wouldn't surviveee! She had to flirt with Evan, it was a need.

"Aw, why? I thought everybody loved him." she replied. But another question popped in her mind and it was a question that would save Carter from telling her why he didn't love Evan. "Oooooh, are you in Evan's World? I am!"

Evan, in search of either Ella or Mina, walked down the corridor to grounds slowly, thinking the places they were more likely to be at. Since he couldn't get into their common rooms, he relied on them wanting to spend some time in the open air, but it was winter, and he didn't see them getting out much. Nevertheless, he had to take the chance. It was better than to stay in the common room anyway, and he liked the grounds...

...Violet and Carterless grounds. He froze at their sounds in a funny position, his right leg in the midair. What were his chances of slipping unseen? He had to take them didn't he? With a breath to calm down, he walked quickly, turning his head to avoid any eye contact. Hopefully, they were too deep in their conversation that they didn't see him.