A companion piece to 'Calliope's Guide To Hogwarts'. Please read the other story first as this will make no sense without it.
The Boys of Chrissie
"So you and Wood hang out at these parties too?" Cedric asked, trying to appear nonchalant, but somehow it didn't quite work out that way.
"Yeah along with Aiden, Ethan, Abby and the rest of the girls," Chrissie replied with a sigh, as she fixed her gaze upon the tall Hufflepuff.
"So you just sit around and get pissed and do stupid stuff?" he asked as he looked around the room.
"Pretty much. I mean there's usually a bit of dancing involved in there, maybe some grinding depending on the mood," she replied casually, a hand on her hip.
"Oh come on, Ced, I'm joking!" Chrissie cried out, but Cedric just stared at her wearily.
"Did you think that it was a bit strange how close you are to your ex. I mean you're always hanging around with him and if anything you're probably leading him on too," Cedric uttered solemnly, his piercing grey eyes fixed upon Chrissie.
"Why does it have to be a choice between you and my friendship with Oliver? Can't I have it both?" she asked him, her tone pleading as she fixed her hazel eyes on his. By this point they had stopped walking, and were near all the sofas in the corner where the rest of her friends had slumped themselves on.
"Because Chrissie, I love you!" Cedric blurted out, his voice thick with emotion.
"I love you too," she replied so easily as Cedric cupped her face and kissed her.
oo|oo
It would be stupid to suppose that Chrissie's friends, who had amassed themselves on a couple of sofas in the corner of the Come-And-Go Room didn't hear Cedric's declaration or Chrissie's admission. They were only seated ten feet away after all. And even though they were not a part of the conversation, they had heard every word and were now processing this new piece of information with a furious silence that would make Chrissie proud.
Abby was the one who worried about the ramifications the most, for her eyes grew wide at the admission, not quite believing Chrissie had just said 'I love you' to Cedric. Those chocolate eyes of hers darted from Ethan, who was wearing a frown on his face to Oliver, who looked more stoic than usual.
Tess was speechless, a rarity for her and she let out a sigh as her eyes fixed on Oliver, but he was resolutely refusing to look up at any of his friends, instead turning his attention to his fingernails.
It was Jackie of all people to break the silence as she said softly, "Oliver, you okay?" But the boy in question just set his jaw in a hard line and abruptly got up and walked away from the sofas and where Chrissie and Cedric were still kissing each other.
"Ah shit!" Ethan intoned, sending Jackie an annoyed look for pointing out the one thing he had hoped the group would never touch; Oliver's feelings towards Chrissie. They were all acutely aware of how the two felt about one another, but he had hoped for blissful ignorance for a little longer. By openly admitting that these feelings existed, it was just going to open up a whole trunk full of new problems and he was not in the mood to deal with them.
Jackie for her part looked sheepish and dropped her head down as Ethan stood up quickly and uttered, "Aiden, mate you coming?"
Aiden, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa had been hoping to be kept out of this, but when Ethan addressed him, he let out a deep sigh and reluctantly nodded his head. The two quickly disappeared into the crowd after Oliver leaving the rest of the gang in a stupor, unsure what to talk about.
The boys didn't have far to go to find Oliver; he was just on the other side of the room, back leaning against the wall as he observed Chrissie and Cedric in front of them. They had stopped kissing and were just chatting quietly to one another, holding hands and in their own world.
"So…" Ethan said, letting the word hang in the air as he leaned himself against the wall next to Oliver. Aiden placed himself on the other side of him and they both exchanged glances before they fixed them on Oliver.
"Whatever it is you wanna tell me, I'm not in the mood," Oliver replied harshly, taking a large gulp from the bottle of Troll Ale in his hand, his eyes fixed on the couple in front of him.
"Alright then, how about I talk and you just drink that beer of yours. Don't suppose you have another one, do you?" Ethan replied flippantly and Oliver's dark steely gaze moved from the couple in front of him to his best friend on his right. He pulled an unopened bottle out of his back pocket and handed it to Ethan, before he fixed his gaze on Chrissie and Cedric again.
"Did you talk to her yet?" Ethan inquired, flicking off the lid and taking a gulp of the drink. He let the tangy taste burn down his throat before he glanced up at Oliver again.
The question only elicited a snort from Oliver and another large gulp of his drink.
"Are you going to?" Aiden asked, an eyebrow rose at Oliver next to him. This elicited another snort from Oliver and another large gulp. If he kept this up, he would be through his drink in no time. But maybe that's what he was after – to just get blindingly drunk.
"Well this is gonna fuck up the group dynamic!" Ethan remarked callously, letting out a snort of his own and Oliver nodded his head a cynical grin on his face. The two best friends clinked bottles and took a swig in unison.
"Does that mean we're gonna have to deal with Cedric in our group from now on?" Aiden asked, frowning at the concept. "He's a decent bloke and all, but he's such a Prefect!"
"You mean he's got a stick up his arse!" Oliver snorted and both boys chuckled at that one.
"Sucks to be you, mate," Ethan said sympathetically, patting Oliver's shoulder, who just nodded his head and took another swig.
"You guys had a really strong friendship there," Aiden added and Oliver smiled at Aiden next to him.
He momentarily ignored the boys as he pulled his wand out of his other back pocket and muttered, "Accio Troll Ale." A bottle zoomed its way through the crowd with people jumping out of its way to avoid being hit in the head by it. Oliver caught it easily with his Keeper skills and handed it to Aiden.
"If you're gonna be here advising me on my love life, you need a drink too," he spoke, a twisted grin on his face. Aiden chuckled and opened the bottle, taking a swig himself.
"You think your friendship will survive this?" Aiden added, not looking at Oliver. Instead his attention was on the crowd around them as he took in all the faces.
"I don't know," Oliver replied heavily, finally admitting something to the boys. "It really shouldn't change anything between us. It's not like we were seeing each other."
"Yeah, but it didn't feel like that, did it?" Aiden prodded him and Oliver sighed, leaning his head against the wall as he closed his eyes.
"No it didn't," he admitted softly, almost too quiet for the boys and for their part as his friends they pretended not to hear his admission.
All three boys glanced out at the busy room in front of them, silently drinking their beer and avoiding the large elephant that was ever present in their conversation.
oo|oo
Out of the three of us, I'm friends with Chrissie the longest. I knew her when she was still a tiny and timid second year, with hilariously frizzy hair and gangly limbs. Her hair was blonder then too, but it didn't look much better. I was just starting my growth spurt and we both looked like we didn't quite fit into our bodies. And with it came a clumsiness that both of us could attest to. It was our running joke between us. She would laugh at my gawkiness and call me the gangly Irishman and I would laugh at her ability to trip over her own feet.
And the way she trilled 'Aiden!' when she got angry at me never got old. I used to tease her a lot just so she would get mad and use that voice. We were the best of friends, as close as her and Abby, so in a way it was natural that I fell in love with her.
I've no idea when those feelings changed, but bit-by-bit I fell for her. And she was completely clueless. In fairness the girl was completely clueless to a lot of things, including how beautiful she was becoming and how she was starting to attract a bit of attention around her. It's amusing to think back to those first moments of love, and think they were the most important thing in the world. How naïve and clueless I was, but she was my first love, even if it never was reciprocated.
But I grew up, even if my feelings never really did and then she found out I liked her earlier this year.
To say she reacted badly would be an understatement. She completely freaked and refused to talk to me for a few weeks and when she did, it was like she was handling a dying patient. Gone was my best friend and the girl I fell for, and instead I was left with a girl who couldn't be honest with me and was acting like a right bitch. It hurt to lose my best friend like that, after all the years of friendship and everything we had been through. Chrissie just threw it away like that, without a thought to how it would feel for me. The most galling part was when she walked down the corridor, and when she spotted me quickly turned around and walked the other way.
That part really killed me, but at the same time it woke me up. I got over my silly infatuation and realised I couldn't have loved her. I got friends of my own and started to realise there were plenty of girls left at Hogwarts who wouldn't walk the other way in the corridor just to avoid talking to me. I would find a girl who would be honest with me and not treat our friendship like shit.
I really appreciated that Oliver took me under his wing and asked me to hang out with him those first few weeks. It made me realise how decent the bloke was, even if Chrissie had resolutely refused to acknowledge it for all those months.
Chrissie and I eventually fixed our friendship, but it really isn't the same anymore. Not that I want it to go back to what it was. I'm with Allison now and she is absolutely great. She makes me laugh and there is no drama revolving around her. No competing for another bloke just to get her attention like with Chrissie, when all along all she ever wanted to talk about was Oliver.
The anger is gone towards her though, it had to for our friendship to survive. But I suppose she and I were never what she has with him. Those two at times seem like supermassive black holes, orbiting around one another and sucking in everything in their path. They are so destructive they don't belong together, but because of gravity they are constantly drawn together. That is their cycle and the latest victim was one Cedric Diggory. He might be a bit too uppity for my liking, but even I didn't want him to get sucked into this.
Realistically Chrissie and Oliver could never make it work if they tried at a relationship. There was always too much inequality in that relationship, and even if they were friends now, how long would that last? For their sakes, I hope this would be the end of the line for them, and with Cedric's admission it just might be.
I sighed and frowned out into the crowd, taking another swig as I pushed myself off the wall.
I turned to Oliver next to me and patted his shoulder, as I uttered out, "You'll be grand, mate." I then nodded at Ethan and went off in search of the girls.
oo|oo
I watched Aiden walk away with a frown on my face. I flicked my gaze over to where Oliver was still nursing his bottle of beer, a stoic expression on his face. Though his facial expression gave nothing away, I knew what he was thinking, and I knew he was about to do something monumentally stupid as a result.
"Mate, don't even think about it," I urged him, my tone heavy and serious. Oliver slowly turned his attention on me, those inscrutable eyes of his boring into my own. But I wouldn't let him win this one.
"She made her choice and you can't just go and do something stupid in the hope she would change her mind," I added seriously, but Oliver just snorted at that.
"What makes you think I'd do something?" he replied darkly and I sighed, shaking my head at my best mate.
"Because I know you, and you're trying to think of a way to win her back. Face it mate, she's gone. She made her choice when she told Diggory she loved him too," I added and I saw a flash of such extreme anger flash across his face, only for it to disappear and be left with a morose look. The boy looked absolutely defeated and I felt for him.
"Don't say it," Oliver said quietly, hanging his head so I wouldn't see the look in his eyes.
"I have to. She made her choice; now it's time to give up on her. If you truly cared for Chrissie you would want her to be happy," I urged him, but Oliver wouldn't respond. In fact he didn't move at all, other than to slump down onto the ground and nurse his bottle of beer. I slid down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. If we would sit in silence, then so be it. He was my best mate and he needed me.
I wished Oliver would realise that the game was lost, it was over and it was time to pack up and move on. But the bloke wouldn't, that I knew. He had held out hope for Chrissie for too long to give up now. And that would be his downfall.
I loved them both dearly, and in theory they could be so great together, but the reality always looks so different from theory. Even if Oliver forgot their disastrous attempt at a relationship, I didn't. They fucked that up royally and unless they learned from their past mistakes the same thing would happen again. I wasn't in the mood to have to choose between those two again, and I highly doubted their friendship could survive another attempt. That would break up our group and I liked it just the way it was.
Maybe it was selfish to put the wellbeing of our group ahead of the happiness of two of my friends, but I was a pragmatist. Even if they managed to defy the odds and make a good go at a relationship together, Chrissie still had a boyfriend, a boyfriend she said 'I love you' to. That wasn't something you could easily sweep under the rug.
Merlin knows what's going on in her head, if she even feels as strongly about Oliver as he does about her. Either way it doesn't really matter, because if she did love Oliver like we all thought she did, she wouldn't have said that to Diggory.
But she did and it was time Oliver realised it too; she made her choice and unfortunately it wasn't him.
I was just debating with myself on the best way to cheer up Oliver when Roger Davies of all people made a beeline for us, wearing the biggest shit-eating grin around.
Oh great, I thought. What does this idiot want?
"Davies," I addressed him, wearing a stony expression as I raised an eyebrow at the Ravenclaw. Oliver, to his credit, was ignoring the bloke and staring absently into space.
"You get lost or something?" I asked him, in a deadpan voice that would make everyone else proud. It was a specialty of mine.
"No, just came over to commiserate Wood here," he replied, that shit-eating grin not disappearing and I grit my teeth at it.
"Oh you mean how we're in the Quidditch final and you're not?" I retorted and I was pleased to see that grin of his slip for a moment before it returned.
"No, just here to commiserate him on Chrissie. I guess she didn't choose you either," he directed the last part at Oliver. I sighed, knowing the storm that was about to come.
Oliver pulled himself up and glared at Davies standing in front of him as he took in his rival.
"Davies, you haven't got a clue what you're talking about, so I suggest you turn around and go join in with your little friends over there, because I'm not in the mood for your idiocy," Oliver replied, fixing a steely gaze on Davies. The boy put up a good fight, to his credit, or stupidity, but eventually relented and left with a sneer on his face. I watched as Wood's gaze followed Davies' retreating back, before he slumped back down and took another gulp of his beer.
oo|oo
Wood was an idiot if he thought I wasn't aware of the little dance he's had with Chrissie for the last year. Any fool could see how head over heels he is for her, though he does put up a good show to the contrary. I've never seen a bloke treat a girl worse than he did and yet she doesn't hate his guts. It's absolutely baffling how blind she is when it comes to him. What I did to her might have been shitty, but at least I owned up to it and apologised to her. Wood's too proud to ever think of the concept.
The part that's most galling about all this, is she's willing to give him a second and even a third chance, if their recent friendship is any indication; but does he appreciate it? Heck no! I'm not too proud to say that Chrissie is one hell of a girl and I was a fool to lose her.
I wonder would Wood do the same now? As far as I can see she's lost to him now. Cedric is a decent guy for her and I never heard anyone say a bad word about the bloke, so if I can't have Chrissie, then at least Wood can't either.
They did have one hell of a chemistry between one another though.
I turned as I glanced at Chrissie and Cedric behind me, only to see Chrissie had disappeared to leave Cedric on his own.
Poor guy, I wondered, did he realise that his girl was yearning after another?
oo|oo
Chrissie looked absolutely beautiful when she laughed, much like she is doing right now with Karine Bakshi. She would dip her head back and those frizzy curls of hers would fall down her shoulders as her entire body would shake with that infectious laughter. She is so carefree and relaxed when she laughs, her eyes would sparkle and her dimples would appear.
She might not be the most beautiful girl in the year, her best friend held that crown, but to me she was stunning. It is so rare to see her dark and brooding, so most of the time you just got a girl so incredibly cheerful about everything. And she will sing and hum all day.
I never understood her fascination with Muggle music; she is a Pureblood and our Wizarding music is more than good enough, but she loves that stuff. I never like it much myself, but she'll chatter on about some band or some song for hours and I'd just let her, because it's nice to see her so animated about something she loves.
Not to mention how loyal she is to her friends and those people she loves. I've never understood why she gave Wood another chance after how rotten he had been to her, but I suppose that's part of her loyalty to her friends. She's incredibly naïve to think the whole thing with Wood isn't going to blow up in her face though.
Then again, maybe I'm the naïve one to still cling to her when she so obviously has something with him. I see those looks, I hear the whisperings and I know my mates must be shaking their heads at me. But what can I do? I love her and even if I can only have half of her, it's better than nothing. I would just be the naïve fool and cling to the girl of another man.
I let my eyes wander around the room to see the bloke in question leaning against the wall in the corner, nursing a bottle of beer as more were littered around him, watching Chrissie too. I sighed, knowing the inevitable that was about to come and it was at this moment that Wood looked up and spotted me watching him. I pulled my eyes away and dug my hands into my trouser pockets. I glanced once more at Chrissie, before I left to find the Hufflepuffs and a bit of fun.
oo|oo
Chrissie was giggling away with Karine about something I couldn't hear and I, like the sad pathetic bastard that I was, couldn't help but watch the exchange. I was like a dying man, craving for water when it would only poison me.
Ethan was right; she was lost to me but I just couldn't seem to let go. There was just too much there between us to let go so easily, but when I look at her all I want to do is go to her, kiss her and hold her in my arms.
It wasn't always like that, though. I remember the first time I saw her as if it was yesterday, when it was almost seven years ago by this point.
We were two first years, fresh of our first Hogwarts Express ride and sitting in the same boat on our way towards the castle. Everyone else was clinging to the side of the swaying wooden boat, terrified of falling in, apart from her. Her hands were on her lap and she was grinning from ear to ear as Hagrid rattled on about how bloomin' great the school was. It was the first time that she stood out as someone else from the student body, but it would take me another three years to see her as a girl I could like.
Then fourth year and puberty hit and in between the horrible acne and voice breaking, I started to notice girls, including Chrissie. It wasn't anything in particular she did, but she would always giggle with her girls, so carefree and relaxed I just thought she was a cool girl. I supposed I noticed it too that suddenly she had boobs and that she was quite good-looking.
But the moment where I really started fancying her was a Care of Magical Creatures class in fourth year, when she walked away from the lesson on a hot sunny day with her school shirt half undone and dirt stains all down the front.
There wasn't anything particularly salacious about it; only the top four buttons were undone, but it was the fact that she didn't care or worry about her appearance that done it for me. Every other girl would have freaked out, apart from her. It was also the year that I found out she loved Quidditch.
Usually at this point we boys would have forced our best mates to go and try and chat to the girl or her best friend on our behalf in the vain hope that they might realise we fancied them and consent to a good snog behind some statue. But I was a lot shyer back then, not that I would ever have done anything anyway; girls terrified me and Quidditch was so much easier to obsess over.
Instead along came Karine in my fifth year and she was a girl that was actually keen on me, not to mention hot and eager for a lot and what more could a fifteen-year-old bloke want? So I went out with her for over a year and Chrissie got pushed to the back of my mind. She had her own boyfriend by this point and for about a year she completely fell of my radar.
That was until the end of sixth year party after the Chamber of Secrets incident.
She had gotten so wasted it was amusing and she was openly flirting with me. By this point her dickhead boyfriend was out of the picture and the sting of what Karine had done to me was easing off. We ended up snogging that night and there was something about that heady snog that was like catnip for me. I went wild for her and it was the first time that I understood when people spoke of that spark between two people. We ended up in my dorm that night and every kiss and touch from her was the best thing ever. But she was classy enough not to put out and despite how much I wanted to sleep with her, I respected her even more for not giving in.
Even though it made it incredibly awkward for us the next few days until term ended, I'll admit I didn't help matters when I kept teasing her about our night, purely just to see her blush and become so discomposed. It always reminded me of that night when she got flustered and I got a kick out of it. It might have been an asshole move to make, but I just couldn't help myself with her. I had to have her again.
I don't think I ever spent a summer fantasising about a girl as much as I did about her, so when our seventh year finally began in September I was itching to see her again.
What had been just a drunken night and a mild interest in a pretty and sassy girl had turned into a full-on obsession. I teased her, riled her up and flirted with her, anything just to get her attention on me and see her become flustered. By this point I knew she was attracted to me too and it was just one ego stroke after the other.
In a way it was inevitable we ended up together again at the 7C Halloween party, but after months of expectation the reality was suddenly absolutely terrifying. It didn't help that the lads, Ethan especially, would tease me about her, and half the school already thought we were dating.
The last thing I wanted was a repeat of Karine and I freaked out and balked. I'll admit I acted pretty shitty to her, considering she never knew why and I tried to apologise to her a few days later, but like my dismissal of her, it was pretty poor.
And then she kept flaunting that dickhead Davies in front of my face and it just pissed me off. Did she not learn her lesson the first time with James? And so she got cheated on again and hurt by that jackass and I was left with a girl I suddenly felt protective over.
Honestly I had no idea how my obsession had turned into feelings, but when I saw her crying quietly in the common room that night, it just changed and my anger towards her disappeared. I may not have been capable of being in a relationship with her, but I could damn well make sure that no one else messed her about.
Then there was that fight just before Christmas. We had squabbled and fought often enough before, but this one was different, and in true style it had been Karine Bakshi that had caused it. In hindsight, I couldn't keep blaming Chrissie or even Karine for my issues with my ex-girlfriend, but there was always something about their friendship that I didn't like. I was so protective of Chrissie I couldn't even stand the concept that Karine could be friends with her. Chrissie was just too damn naïve and trusting of everyone and I just didn't want her to get hurt again. That had been my reasoning, but now I know it was something else. Maybe Chrissie had been right all along and I should just forgive Karine for cheating on me and humiliating me – if Chrissie could forgive Roger, then maybe it was time to put the past behind me too.
I glanced up at Chrissie and Karine still animatedly chatting to one another, laughing and poking each other sporadically in the sides it made me smile. Maybe it was time I took a leaf out of her book and lived life like her, so easy-going and open and trusting. I watched as Chrissie swiped some of her unruly curly hair aside and smiled at the gesture and how her cheeks were pink from the alcohol and the heat in the room.
She really was beautiful, but she wasn't the kind that was beautiful because she had the looks. It came from within her and radiated outwards so strongly when she was happy that it bathed everyone around her in a warm glow.
It kills me that she's with Cedric. I try and be the bigger man and be happy for her happiness and for the fact she got one of the few really decent blokes in this school, but I can't. Her friendship is something I never thought I'd appreciate, but I know it's something I can't go without now and it isn't worth jeopardising just to get her attention.
I thought back to the blokes in her life and sighed. It was easy to hate Davies because of his reputation with girls and the fact that he was a smarmy bastard and it was easy to hate James too because of everything, but I couldn't hate Cedric, no matter how hard I tried. He treats her well, worships the ground she walks on and will bend over backwards for her. How could you hate someone who's so good?
Cedric wouldn't cheat on her or hurt her like I did and, as much as I don't want to; I have to concede defeat for her sake. She deserves to be happy, and if she can find it with someone else then who am I stand in her way? I love her enough to know that sometimes the kindest thing to do is to step aside.
Ethan was right and I knew it. As much as it kills me to know she loves another, what use was it to constantly try and chase after her like some sad and pathetic little puppy? It was time to let go and realise I lost. As much as I treasured and yearned for our friendship, I knew it couldn't go on forever. We had too much chemistry and she owed it to her boyfriend to be completely faithful to him. I would always distract her from it, and what kind of a friend would get in the way of their relationship. I hated the concept of a martyr, but maybe it was time I was one. I would sacrifice our friendship for her happiness, and it might not be much, but it was all I could offer for the girl that I loved.
I downed the last of my flat Troll Ale, grimacing at the bitter taste and wondering if that was just the alcohol or the bitterness of my decision. I awkwardly pulled myself up and began my walk over to where she was just finishing her conversation with Karine.
I felt like a man making the long walk to his execution, and in a way maybe that's what it was. I was ending our friendship and I was too cowardly to tell her this. But I would give myself one final meal, one last precious moment with her before it all ends. Life would go on at Hogwarts, but I grimaced as I thought of life without her laughter to brighten the day.
After all, as that Muggle band would sing, the show must go on.
Author's Notes:
To all those of you who are confused by this piece, let me clarify it for you. This is a companion piece to 'Calliope's Guide To Hogwarts' told from the perspective of the boys that know Chrissie best. This idea came to me quite a few months ago and it needed the right time in the story to tell it. As you can see it was too big for a chapter and in my usual writing style, has surpassed any predicted word count I had on it.
This short occurs during the timeline of chapter 15 of 'Calliope's Guide To Hogwarts' so while there are events in this story that don't make any sense outside of their context, I highly urge you to read chapter 15 when it comes out and then re-read this story again. It ties in very much to what is happening in that chapter, and while it doesn't make much sense now it's enough of a delicious teaser to keep you guys going until then.
So yes I do drop quite a few bombshells and a lot of it might not make sense, but have faith and it soon all will.
Agrolass
xxx