'Puff Love
Justin Finch-Fletchley was trying very, very hard to concentrate on his Transfiguration homework. Really, he was. The quill in his hand was simply refusing to move because he just couldn't follow the train of thought involving the theory behind conjuration. The reason for this? She was sitting in the corner, laughing with her friends and playing exploding snap. He slammed his quill down, and banged his head on the desk, quite loudly, in frustration. Suddenly, the common room went silent, and everyone was staring at him. So was she. She raised an eyebrow. "What?!" He exclaimed.
He grabbed his books and, annoyed, stormed out, up to his bedroom. He fell backwards onto his ugly yellow sheets of his four-poster bed, huffing. Susan Bones. The little cow. How could she sit there and laugh at him? That's probably what she was doing with her little friend Hannah Abbot. Laughing at him. Like the little tart she was. Why did he even care so much what she thought? It wasn't as if they were together anymore. But he cared, almost too much.
It had hurt him so badly when he had found her in an unused classroom with Zacharias Smith, conversing in low tones very, very close together. As if they were "just doing a project," which is what she said. Yeah, "Project: Fool-Justin-And-Make-Out-While-We're-At-It" more like. The day before Valentine's Day too. He had bought Susan her favorite kind of chocolate from Honeydukes, and asked Professor Sprout if he could work in Greenhouse 10, where the flowers were, to breed some purple roses, her favorite color. And he had. They were sitting on his bedside table. A constant reminder of her betrayal. Magically charmed to last forever, to never die. Like their love, he had been planning on saying. Yeah, right. As if. He loved her, he was certain. Loved. In past tense. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. He was certainly a hopeless romantic, he knew it for a fact. He was loyal. A Hufflepuff through and through. He would have loved her for the rest of her life.
He threw his alarm clock against the wall. He missed horribly, and he watched it fall onto Zacharias' bed with a heavy crash. It had smashed all over the bed. "Serves him right. Twit," he thought savagely.
Zacharias was an arrogant prick. But, he was loyal. No one could challenge that. "Loyal to Susan, I suppose," he thought, and with that, he went to sleep.
Early the next day, Justin awoke, and looked out the window. It was cold, and a little rainy. He looked in his closet, and couldn't find his favorite jeans, that he knew he had put in the washing two days ago. He also remembered that he had not finished his Transfiguration the last night. Everything seemed to be pointing towards a dreary day.
He showered, dressed, and went down to breakfast. There were two seats available. Once across from Susan, and next to his best friend Ernie, and one in a small gathering of first years he didn't know. Sighing, an annoyed Justin walked over to Ernie, and whispered frantically in his ear, "Why didn't you save me a seat somewhere else, mate?"
Smirking, Ernie replied, "Why, can't you sit here without fuming?"
"No."
He stood up and realized that the other seat had been taken. He sighed and sat down. He picked up a piece of toast. He realized Susan was clutching the marmalade, his favorite topping. "D'you want the marmalade Justin?" She asked, when she noticed him looking.
He ignored her, and reached for the butter. She rolled her eyes, slammed the marmalade down in front of him, and got up, flouncing out of the room. "Was that really necessary?" Ernie asked.
"Yes," Justin answered, "besides, she's the one who had the hissy fit, not me."
Ernie rolled his eyes. "Well mate. I wouldn't want to be you in Potions. That's for sure."
Justin winced. They had double potions first thing, and though they were not paired together, (he was paired with Su Li, a vivacious Ravenclaw, and Susan paired with Zacharias) they sat at the same table. He sighed, resigning himself to a difficult fate, and slung his heavy bag over his shoulder. He walked to the dungeons, trying to keep a smile on his face.
He failed as soon as he walked around the bend to the dungeon corridor.
Draco Malfoy, the bane of everyone's existence, was getting screamed at by a crying Susan. She was yelling a couple of very graphic words, some very creative hexes, and aimed her wand at some very pointed body parts. She also pointed out to him that she was not, in fact, a prostitute. The girl sure had lungs. Then she stormed off, however, in the middle of her storming off, she slammed into him, because she couldn't see in her sea of tears. "Oof!"
"Get OFF!" She yelled, and shoved past him. She ran off, most likely in search of a ladies room to cry in safely.
"Wow," Ernie said.
"Agreed." Smith said.
Justin looked at Malfoy, who gradually getting back to his smirking self, and straightening up. He walked straight up to him. "What did you say to her?" he demanded.
"Oh, I merely was wondering if now that she was done with a mudblood like you, if she was planning on cleansing her blood by sleeping with a real man. I may have offered her a couple-"
He was cut off as Justin's fist connected with his jaw. Malfoy slumped against the wall, bleeding from the mouth, and many a tooth knocked out.
"You're not a real man Malfoy. You are a piece of-"
"What exactly is the meaning of this?" Said a silky voice behind Justin.
Justin felt fear in his gut. He knew to whom that voice belonged to. He turned around and was almost nose to nose with Professor Dumbledore. "Why is my student on the floor bleeding? And almost more importantly, why are you and Miss Bones not in Potions?"
"Um, well you see Professor, Malfoy-"
"Did I ask for what he did? Because I am almost sure that it is not Mr. Malfoy's fist that connected with his jaw in that manner Mr. Finch-Fletchley. Am I correct?"
"Yes sir."
"All right then. Now what happened?"
"I punched him sir."
"Is that why you neglected to show up for class?"
"Yes sir."
"You are assigned three days' worth of detention, for missing class, and 25 house points will be taken from you for punching Mr. Malfoy. You will find that I have been quite generous, because, although you did use violence, what are the correct words? Ah yes. I believe that they are, in Mr. Potter's words, 'The little git deserved it.' You will also have the responsibility of informing Ms. Bones that she will serve the detention with you, because, of course, she missed class as well. That will be all. Thank you, Mr. Finch-Fletchley."
Justin almost smiled. Almost.
As Dumbledore swept out of the corridor, he decided that as he already had detention for missing class, he might as well use it as a free period. The question was, use it as homework time, or find Susan and inform her of the detention? He decided to use it as homework time. He'd just write her a note later.
As the rest of the day passed, ever so slowly, he completed his Transfiguration during that period, and turned it on time, for once. He hated Transfiguration. He then got through Charms. Then, he had the rest of the day to himself, until he realized at dinner he had yet to tell Susan that she had detention. He went up to her nervously.
"Susan," she didn't look at him.
He tried again.
"Susan." She still didn't look up.
"SUSAN!" he all but yelled.
She was ignoring him. He was sure of it. So, knowing that she was listening, he rattled off that they had the three days worth of detention and that they were to meet Professor Snape about it tonight, at eight o'clock in the dungeons. She still didn't answer. "I'm sorry about what happened," he tried.
Nothing.
Sighing, he went back to his place at the dinner table, and ate almost nothing.
Time passed quickly, and soon enough it was seven fifty-three, and he walked with heavy feet to the dungeons. Professor Snape was waiting for them in his classroom. Once Susan arrived, at exactly eight o'clock, he began to speak. "You will be alphabetizing the potions on the shelves of this classroom, from wall to wall. I will leave you alone to work as I have business to attend to tonight. As you are both Prefects, you should be able to behave yourselves accordingly. I hope neither of you brought your wands tonight?" Both shook their heads. "Good. You may begin."
His cloak billowed behind him as he walked out of the room. Justin sighed as he went to work. Studying the bottles, and found, somewhat annoyed, that they were all about one inch square. The shelf was also about 15 feet wide. It would take hours! Susan was at the other end, and seemed to have come to this conclusion herself. He sighed. His wand was up in his dorm, as it was commonly known that if you brought your wand to detentions, they would confiscate it. He picked up a bottle. It read, "Common Shrinking Potion".
"Now, I wonder. Would this go under 'S' for shrinking? Or 'C' for 'common'?" He wondered aloud.
"Well," she answered back, hesitantly, "we should probably do it one way consistently, or else he'll be angry."
"Lets do it by the first letter of the label."
"Okay."
And so it began. It seemed like hours. And he noticed that she was working hard to do things right. "Hard-working, Hufflepuff" he thought.
Sometime after what felt like at least an hour, he looked at her again. She was so pretty. He knew this, of course. He had always told her this. When they were dating. But he did a double take. She had taken off her robe, and she was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. It set off her hair perfectly, and the candlelight made her skin glow with a luster that he personally believed was unmatched by any other girl. Her lips were a light pink, and full, and he wished he could claim them with his own…
He was so whipped.
"Susan, can I ask you a question?"
"You already did," She said, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Well, can I ask you another one?"
"I suppose."
"Why?"
"Why. What. Justin?" She said, pronouncing every word separately and annunciating perfectly.
"Why Smith?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes. You do."
"No, I don't. Because Zacharias is a friend, and only a friend. And if you weren't blind, you would see it."
"I don't understand."
"You should."
"Well, I don't."
She huffed irritably, and looked straight at him. Her green eyes piercing into him. "We weren't doing anything bad, Justin. We were working on something. For you, in fact. But you didn't trust me enough to give me a chance, and you don't like Smith anyway, so you assumed. And do you know what assuming does Justin? It makes an ass out of you and me."
"Fine then."
"Yes. Fine."
And she turned back and began organizing the unicorn blood.
He sighed, not knowing what to think. Eventually, all of the potions were reorganized, and they walked back to statue of Farley the Frivolous and Justin poked his nose. They were then allowed entrance to the common room.
"Goodnight Susan," Justin said.
Susan walked up the stairs without saying a word. He sighed, again, and went up to his dorm. Flopping down on his four-poster. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
The next morning he awoke to sunshine on his face. He wondered why it felt so late, and why his alarm clock hadn't woken him up. He then realized he had thrown his alarm clock at the wall yesterday when he was angry. Swearing, he got up and looked at Ernie's clock. 8:45. 15 minutes until class started. Sighing, he donned a new pair of robes, and ran down the stairs to the common room. This was going to be a mediocre to bad day, he thought.
He was correct.
After sprinting to Charms, he struggled through a double Ancient Runes period, and then went to Herbology. After trying desperately to stay awake through Professor Sprout's droll lecture on man-eating daisies, (and honestly, he didn't know how anyone could make man-eating daisies droll) he went to lunch, where he was greeted by Professor Dumbledore, who handed him a note, and glided up to the staff table.
Mr. Finch-Fletchley,
As you were not at breakfast you did not receive the notice that tonight's detention will be held in the Potions classroom at 7:00. Please do not be late, as Professor Snape will be, I'm sure, quite upset with you.
Sincerely,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Headmaster
Justin scowled. He loaded his plate, and as he ate, he noticed Susan wasn't in a chipper mood either. This further dampened his spirits.
He got through the rest of classes and did his homework, trying not to think about detention, and what he would be doing in detention, and how Susan would be at detention, alone, with him. And how if he could just get her to listen to him, maybe he could…No. Bad thoughts, he scolded himself.
But he wished he could.
Seven o'clock came faster than it seemed it should, and he made his way down to the dungeons. Susan and Professor Snape were waiting for him there. "You will clean the cauldrons that were administered to the first-years by the school for student use. I have my duties to attend to, so, as before, you will be left alone. Behave appropriately. Begin."
He strode out, after glaring at both of them in turn.
Susan took off her robe and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt. Justin did the same. They began to clean the cauldrons. About 30 minutes passed, and Justin found himself looking at her, as his hand made the same circle it had for the past 5 minutes.
"What?" She snapped.
"Um, nothing," he said uncomfortably.
"It's not nothing. You are staring at me."
"Sorry," he replied.
Minutes passed.
He threw down his sponge. "How long do you think we're going to go on like this?"
"Until you come to your senses and apologize to me…"
"Me? Apologize to you? For what?"
"For accusing me of cheating on you with Smith," she spat out the name as though it were dirty.
"Alright. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for being jealous. I'm sorry for being angry, and I'm sorry for yelling at you for it," he said bitterly, throwing his sponge in the cauldron, sitting down on Snape's desk, and putting his head in his soapy hands.
She sighed. "I just wish you would trust me," she said, and she too put down her sponge, and sat down next to him.
"I do, I do, but I just reacted badly, you know?"
"I guess I do."
He put an arm around her shoulders, and their foreheads touched. She leaned into him, and as soon as their lips touched, they both just felt right. Susan smiled into the kiss, snaking her arms around his neck, and pulling him forwards so he was on top of her, and he put his hands on her hips. Their tongues battled for dominance, and Justin buried a hand in Susan's thick, curly hair.
In the distance, they heard a door open, and a voice shout,
"Are you done with clea- GET OFF MY DESK!"
Well, shit.