That Which Will Be
Gilderoy Lockhart stared imploringly at the dark, pretty girl in front of him. His hair was tousled, his robes rumpled and his tie was hanging loosely from his neck. In contrast, the girl was immaculate. Her black locks were set perfectly in place and her robes were out of a magazine (literally). She was the model of the perfect student, one not worried by homework, or anything for that matter.
"You knew this was going to happen. It was just a question of when."
"Jeanne, don't do this to me, I can change, I promise you. Just give me a little more time-"
"Your time has passed; there is no longer any reason for us to stay together. You failed me." In the dungeon they were occupying, the coldness of the air chilled Lockhart to the bone. Jeanne turned on her heel and marched over to Benjamin Sutters, the new boy she'd designated to be her...man.
"Wait, Jeanne, just wait!" Gilderoy ran over to where she was standing and grabbed her by the arm. "Listen to me. I may not have done exactly what I was supposed to, but I did something, right? That's better than what this guy," he pointed to the one standing protectively next to her, "has ever done. I mean to say, he looks like he couldn't even perform a simple hover charm. How do you expect him to be able to wipe Slughorn's memory? Huh?"
"I'm not saying that he can do better than you, Roy, but at least he hasn't failed yet! When you stood up in class and pointed your wand at the potions master, I expected something to happen apart from a few mumbled words. I thought you were supposed to be good at this memory thing. Instead I find out that you've been bluffing all along and my T in potions will never be fixed! " she stamped her foot.
"You promised me the world last night, and I gave you everything I had. My knight in shining armour turned out to be a fraud, so I must accept the help of a humble courtier, isn't that how it goes? Benjamin knows all about potions, so even if he can't fix my T he'll make sure that I don't get another one!" Jeanne clung to the boy next to her and caressed his face. He seemed too stunned by his good fortune to do anything about it; he looked down at her dumbly.
"I thought I was special to you! Who the hell was I if you could replace me so easily?" Lockhart bellowed. By now the happy couple's shouting match had attracted a fair audience. It was lunchtime, so everyone had plenty of time to watch a fight and not worry about tardiness.
Jeanne stepped right up to Lockhart and glared. Her bright green burning eyes were full of loathing for the boy who'd embarrassed her in front of everyone. She wasn't going to let him live this down. So she jabbed a finger into his chest. This small act of violence caused Lockhart to totter, then right himself with an indignant 'harrumph!'
"You," she said coldly, "were nothing more than someone I could use. It's as simple as that. In fact, I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with you. I really don't care enough to talk to you anymore. Goodbye." She flounced off with Benjamin in her wake. The other Hogwarts students nearby looked pityingly at Lockhart, then continued on with their lives as if nothing had happened.
Lockhart stared after the girl who'd crushed his fragile ego. It was true, he had promised to wipe Slughorn's memory, but how could she expect him to be actually good at it? The memory charm was far too advanced for the likes of him, a puny little fifth year. He'd never even tried to do it before, but that day she had been so convincing…