Written for The Houses Competition, Year 3 Round 5, and for Monthly Challenges for All (Fem Power Challenge, Sky's the Limit, Sapphic September)
House: Hufflepuff
Position: Prefect
Category: Standard
Prompt: [Colour] Gold
Additional Requirement: Include a member of your house (Hannah Abbott)
Representation(s): Katie Bell/Hannah Abbott, Stalking, Obsession, Being Ignored
Bonus Challenge(s): Schooner (SS), Shadow (SS), Second Verse (Not A Lamp (FPC), Ladylike (FPC), Cilo's Conclusion (FPC))
Word Count: 1124
Warning: Descriptions of stalking
Note: A somewhat-songfic wrote to "Shiver" by Coldplay
The wind whipped through Hannah's hair as the red leaves blew off the tree in the autumn air and flew around, making the whole scene look straight out of a movie. Her cheeks were a rosy red with the cold air around her. Her hair, tied up with a shiny gold ribbon, billowed almost gracefully in the wind. The black and yellow scarf wrapped around her neck displayed to the whole world which Hogwarts house she was in, although Katie always wondered what it would be like if her colours were red and gold, but there was no changing it now.
Katie watched Hannah from a distance, behind a rock, because she was far too nervous to stare at her where Hannah could see, she was too afraid of scaring her off. Hannah looked like a goddess, with her flowing blonde hair seemingly flying with the breeze, her flushed cheeks and her adorable dorky smile that was spread across her face as she ran to join her fellow Hufflepuffs.
Katie's heart always felt like it was beating out of her chest whenever she laid eyes on Hannah, and she would almost always hide and watch Hannah until she left, always hypnotised with her angelic complexion. She never knew why she hid anyways, it wasn't like Hannah would notice her, she never had any eyes for anyone except her friends. To Hannah, the rest of the world was invisible, only the ones she loved mattered.
The sixteen-year-old got up slowly, watching her fifteen-year-old crush jog away to join her friends. Katie saw the wind blew her gold ribbon out of her hair, letting her blonde locks fall to her shoulders as she ran. The ribbon blew through the breeze and landed on the ground beside the rock Katie was behind. She reached over and picked up the ribbon, clutching it fondly.
One day, Hannah would be hers, and she could give her back this ribbon, but until then, Katie would keep it as safe as possible.
Katie looked in Hannah's direction without hiding herself for the first time, but she paid her no attention. Katie looked fondly as the Hufflepuff beauty passed by the Gryffindor table alongside Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillian, arms linked with the two of them. Katie felt jealous as the three passed, wishing that it was her with her arms linked with Hannah's instead of those two annoying friends of hers. She felt around her pocket for the ribbon, and pulled it out, running her fingers over the smooth, golden silk. She was just waiting for the right time when she'd go over and hand Hannah the ribbon and confess her feelings.
She smiled as she got an idea and ran up to Gryffindor Tower as fast as her feet would take her. Burst into her dormitory, Katie felt slightly thankful for the fact that nobody was in there, and rummaged through one of the girls' drawers that she shared the room with, knowing that she had exactly what Katie was looking for. She smiled happily as she pulled out a bottle of gold ink.
She sat at the desk by her bed, with a quill and the borrowed bottle of ink, and wrote on a piece of parchment. Every word she wrote came out in a shining gold colour. A love letter, composed of all her thoughts and feelings. She stared at her work for a good five minutes before crumpling it up and throwing it in the wastebin. She then started from scratch, instead of a big detailed letter, she wrote her feelings in a nutshell, and asked Hannah to meet her in the Room of Requirement in two days, and then avoided signing her name: she didn't want Hannah to know how she felt until she gave her the ribbon.
Katie waited until the right time, and found the perfect moment to slip it in Hannah's school bag during lunch in the Great Hall. She made a detour past her at the Hufflepuff table, then pretended to stumble, which of course Hannah paid no attention to, and slipped it in her bag swiftly, just making it look like she reached out to grab something to hold onto.
And then she waited for Hannah to appear in the Room of Requirement that night. She waited for two hours, but she never showed up. Katie sulked all the way back to Gryffindor Tower after finally giving up hope. Did Hannah not read it? Did it get mixed in with her other school papers? Yes, that must be it, she made herself think, but inside she knew better. She knew that Hannah read her note and blew her off.
What was wrong with her? What made herself not appealing to Hannah? If she wanted Katie to change, she'd change everything for her, but if only she paid Katie enough attention for her to tell her this. She'd been following her love everywhere, just waiting to be noticed, for Hannah to open her eyes enough to see it. A feeling deep down in Katie told her that Hannah saw her all the time, she just ignored her on purpose. She felt like Hannah had always known she was there but was given the cold shoulder. So un-Hufflepuff-like, the icy cold sensation of being ignored the blonde gave her.
And the very next morning, Katie swallowed nervously as she confronted her love as she was getting up to leave with her friends once more. She almost couldn't do it. Today Hannah's face glowed in the light shinning down through the windows, her hair fell over her shoulders, and her rosy lips never looked so kissable, she was the very definition of beauty and grace. She took a deep breath, she couldn't let Hannah get away with this, she would let Hannah break her heart, because she would be Katie's one day.
"Abbott!" she said, finally, for once in her life, getting Hannah's attention and seeing her blue eyes look into hers. After seeing that the voice belonged to Katie, Hannah turned around and started walking away, but not before Katie stomped right up to her, and said; "I know you see me, so with how cold you are to me, don't you shiver?"
Hannah stared at Katie in dismay for a moment as Katie took the golden ribbon out of her pocket and shoved it in the Hufflepuff's hands. Katie quickly turned around and left the Great Hall as fast as possible, looking over her shoulder and seeing Hannah still standing there, not moving, still staring at where Katie was, all eyes on her, clutching the ribbon.
One day, that girl would be hers, and she would always be waiting for her.