Okay let's just settle it here then...

Having been discovered a couple times by various people, Emily paced the common room, trying to think of a place to settle hers and Lavender's argument with Aurora. She figured they could just finish it here. The problem was waiting for them to come. Emily sat down patiently and waited for either Lavender or Aurora to arrive.

Lavender wondered into the common room, not really paying much attention to her surroundings. Hester was instead on her mind, as usual. Though these thoughts were reluctantly pushed aside when she saw Emily standing by the fire.

"Hey," Lavender smiled a greeting. "You all right?" She asked. The other girl looked a little uneasy, she was pacing.

"Hey there, Lavender, I've been waiting for you," Emily said breathlessly. "I want to ask you once and for all: Do you think, by the odds of one to whatever number you want, that I might have the slightest chance of becoming something remotely close to friends with Aurora Greengrass?"

Lavender frowned when the girl in front of her explained and then asked what she thought. The fire was warm and tempted her closer, so she slumped into an arm chair crossing one leg over the other. When she sat like this it made her feel important, though she didn't know why and it made her feel a bit shallow.

"Emily, you have to understand..." Lavender thought hard about what she was going to say, this was a difficult situation but she would do anything she could to help Emily. "You and Aurora are completely different people, from completely different ends of the spectrum. You're kind and caring, never mean, while Aurora...well she's Aurora. I've known her family for a long time and I just don't think she'll ever change," Lavender finally breathed in. Hoping Emily wasn't too disheartened. "I personally don't see why you would want to be the girls friend," She added, it was true, she didn't see why.

"Yes I suppose so," Emily said soberly. Lavender did have a point - Aurora was just Aurora. And it suddenly dawned on Emily that she and Lavender were the same - they were just themselves. "You know what, Lavender?" Emily said. "You're right. And that's exactly what I'm gonna tell Aurora when she arrives." She smiled in triumph.

Lavender smiled slightly, glad the girl wasn't sad. Instead she seemed confident, which was new for her. Though, she wasn't sure how Aurora would react when she did arrive. If she arrived.

"Did you send her an owl to meet you here?" Lavender hadn't even thought of this question until now. Plus, even if the answer was yes and Aurora got the owl, that didn't mean Aurora would take notice and bother to turn up.

Emily certainly hadn't thought of that! "No, I didn't," she said sheepishly. "I didn't think I'd have to; I thought she'd figure we were in here discussing this. Besides..." Emily shuddered a bit. "You know me - I'm shy; I'd be too scared. It'd mean a lot if...if you sent it. She'd pay more attention to you 'cos she knows you better." Emily hoped Lavender would say yes.

Lavender glanced into the fire as Emily spoke, only to snap her gaze back to the girl when she asked Lavender to send the owl.

"Me? She hates me, why would she agree to meet me?" Lavender did wonder about Emily sometimes, this made her smile a bit. The girl probably had a point there. "Oh, fine. I'll be right back," Lavender pushed herself off the chair and ran up to their dorm where her owl was sitting on the window by her bed. She returned back to the common room mere minutes later. "Done,"

"Thanks a million, Lavender!" Emily cried as Lavender went up to the dorms to send the owl. She really is a nice girl, Emily thought. As soon as Lavender came back down, Emily repeated her thanks. "Lavender, that was really nice of you. I know Aurora hates you, but to be honest...I think she might hate me more - the weak, annoying first-year." Reminding herself about Aurora's remark from long ago made her laugh.

Lavender smiled at Emily and sat back down where she had been before.

"You're welcome," There was silence as they waited, until Lavender cleared her throat. "She won't necessarily come you know," It was true. Then another question popped into her mind. "What do you plan to say to her exactly?" Lavender lent forward in her chair, resting an elbow on her knee and placing her chin on her hand. Looking to the fire for help, perhaps.

Emily frowned in thought. "I hadn't thought of that either..." she said slowly. "Probably the same that I've said to you - that I accept the fact that she probably doesn't like me very much, but if she ever needs help or such - however odd that may seem to you - she can call on me. What do you think, too weird?"

As soon as Aurora finished her sentence, Emily walked over bravely and said her well-rehearsed piece: "Aurora, I've been thinking this over for a while, and I wanted to tell you a couple things. First, I'm sorry for being so annoying. Second, I want you to know that I'm going to leave you alone now. You can go on being your fabulous Aurora self, and I can go on being my weak and Muggleborn Emily self. But just know that if you need something - I don't even care if you take it without asking - I'm ready to help. That's all you need to know." Emily took a deep breath and awaited an answer.

Lavender stayed put in her chair, standing would have been polite but Aurora didn't deserve her kindness. As Emily spoke Lavender crossed her arms, shifting in her seat slightly. Emily was good at saying what Aurora wanted to hear, though she was degrading herself far too much. Lavender thought back the urge to say something, instead glancing into the fire. She was simply there for moral support, Emily needed a little guidance and help sometimes. Though she was doing pretty well on her own. Other than the comments that put Emily below Aurora, those she didn't approve of.

Emily was grateful for Lavender's presence - it was kind of like having a guard there, waiting to jump in if need be. Emily looked at Lavender and smiled to show her appreciation, just to show her she was thankful and wasn't ignoring her. The smile also told her to let Aurora say whatever she needed to - Emily couldn't care less about insults, she just wanted to tell Aurora what she wanted to hear and then disappear for a while. Maybe to the Forest, or the Astronomy Tower...

Lavender stood from the chair and made her way closer to the girls slightly, crossing her arms in annoyance. The image of a bodyguard came to mind. It was a warning to Aurora that she'd said enough, though she was sure Aurora wouldn't pay attention to it. Probably just laugh like she usually did, her facade.

Emily was shaken but relieved. She had finally been brave enough to say her piece, and she really hoped Aurora now knew that she'd be away and out of her face. But she was stung by the fact that she'd worked so hard to become friends and Aurora didn't give a darn. "Aurora, that's all I wanted to hear. Thanks for listening to me; you've made a weak Muggleborn's life much less anxious now." She kept reiterating Aurora's insult from long ago because she knew that she'd love it. "It's good now. Hopefully we may be friends someday, or at least not enemies." Emily walked towards the portrait hole, but turned back. "Thanks for helping me out, Lavender. Sweet of you." She left the room, sobbing quietly out of sadness and relief. Mostly relief.

-25 galleons from Emily Jackson for double posting
-25 galleons from Emily Jackson for double posting

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TOTAL: -50 galleons from Emily Jackson for double posting

Additionally, the offending posts have been deleted.