Disclaimer: Not JK…So, HP does not belong to me! Even Molly's quote is Henri Frederic Amiel's!
Molly shook her head vehemently, trying to clear her head of the images of the afternoon. She had a Potions test tomorrow and she needed to concentrate on the book open before her. Not that she needed to study to ace the test, just making sure. But the face behind her eyes refused to move away, as stubborn as the actual person. Molly gritted her teeth unconsciously at the reminder and wished with all her heart that Lorcan Scamander would go annoy a mad Hippogriff so that she could have her peace. It would be the Hippogriff she'd pity, in any case.
She closed her eyes trying to calm herself, without much success. It was as if even her mind was conspiring against her, hell bent on repeatedly playing out the face she absolutely did not want distracting her, each with a new expression, amusement, anger, sorrow, disappointment, frustration, calm and then the last one, the one she couldn't define. She found herself unable to move from that look, when he had confronted her this afternoon.
"Go bother someone else, Scamander!" I shouted as I threw a very large book at him, my Quidditch skill making itself known. It hit him on the head and he winced, instantly making me feel guilty. That must have hurt. "I'm sorry" I offered in a lower tone, a tone so low I knew the nearby Ravenclaws wouldn't have been able to hear.
"I'm fine, Molly. Now if only you would…"
"That will never happen, Lorcan. You can stop deluding yourself now" I cut him short, not wanting to hear the words I knew he'd say. Somehow, it was becoming increasingly difficult to just turn my face away and ignore him. And I knew he'd play upon even my most insignificant weakness if it showed in my eyes.
"But why not?" he asked. This wasn't the first time he was asking me this. And he must know the answer well enough by now. It was the same everytime. "Women wish to be loved not because they are pretty, or good, or well bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves" I recited with perfect clarity, my voice the exact emotionless drone I had wanted it to be. With that I stood up from my place to go to my safe haven, the library.
It had been no different from all their other encounters, but she felt that something had changed. She felt as if her logic was becoming slack. As if she was losing her grip on her sensibility. As if her reasons no longer applied. She opened her eyes only to be jolted by the sight before her.
Lorcan was seated in the chair opposite her, watching her intently with his pale blue eyes, his expression one of perfect ease. As if he would much rather be here, simply staring at her, rather than anywhere else. A smile broke out on his face when she looked at him, and he sat straighter in the chair, obviously having something to say. He clenched his fists and unclenched them, playing with the cover of one of her books, his eyebrows drawn together.
She wondered at the sudden change in his demeanor. When he finally spoke, it was in a low voice and he was perfectly serious, so very different from his normal happy go lucky tone. "I wanted to ask you something" he began, hesitating to see if she was following. Molly nodded her head, encouraging him to go on.
"Were you really giving me the reason or was it just something to keep me away?"
Molly stared at him for a minute, trying to find why he was suddenly interested in knowing. "It's the truth" she said after some contemplation, going along with the easiest route-the truth. She had been caught in that one quote ever since she had read it in a Muggle book in her second year. She had hoped for such a person then, before reality had slapped her in the face.
Lorcan nodded, his face sporting a 'deep in thought' expression. Molly just sat there waiting, as he tried to process something in his mind. He gave her a big grin after a few minutes, saying, "I'm sure I like you because you are you. None of those other things. So what do you say?"
Molly laughed, relieved in a way that he hadn't gone away, given up. She shook her head once again, exasperated with his undeterred attempts at asking her on a date.
"One date, Lorcan. Now leave me alone"
"Sure, sure" he said before he stood up to leave. He rounded the table to reach her and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "See you Saturday at ten"
He was gone in a flash, and Molly wondered if it had all been a dream. The tingling atop her head proved her otherwise.
A/n: Review!