A Woman Scorned
A/N: I really, really like this. It's probably the best and longest thing I've ever done. I hope you like it just as much as I do!
******
It's over and done
But the heartache lives on inside
And who is the one you're clinging to, instead of me tonight?
Susan Bones, for the first time in two years, was alone.
And for the first time in two years, she hated Justin Finch-Fletchley. Justin had left her for 'some reason I just can't describe.' Like hell. She had seen him with Alisa Sanders when he was supposed to be with her.
But for some undescribable reason, she missed him. Susan had already had six butterbeers, which Hannah Abbott had suggested would make her feel better. They didn't. She had shredded photographs of him, saw him screaming in the moving pictures as he rushed to move somewhere to avoid her vicious hand. Katherine Fend had suggested that to make her feel better. It helped, but she had cried during it and hadn't finished the last sixteen pictures she had planned to destroy. She took a bath, had a cup of apple cinnamon tea, drank the butterbeer, ripped the pictures and still, she didn't feel better.
She needed Justin.
And where are you now?
Now that I need you
Tears on my pillow
Wherever you go
"Pansy, I need my space."
Space? Space?! Space?! What the hell did he mean by 'space'?
Pansy pummeled the pillow again until feathers fluttered around her. Pansy somehow found this funny and started to laugh. That didn't last long. Soon she was sobbing into the torn pillow. Torn like she was.
'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' She remembered that quote. Her mother had repeated it over and over when Pansy's father had left her.
And now Pansy knew it was truer than anything else.
Anything.
Just like her father, Draco had left her without a fairly good reason. She had fallen hard for him. Hard.
"Mother was right," Pansy said softly and sadly to herself. "He really will amount to something. And leave me in the dust. Forget me."
She turned over on her back and stared at the velvety green curtains.
"So why can't I forget him?"
Cry me a river
That leads to your ocean
You'll never see me fall apart
The curtains were drawn. It was dark.
"Padma? Are you in there?" Mandy Brocklehurst whispered.
Padma stifled another wail. She didn't want comforting. She just wanted to be left alone. After all, Justin had left her alone. Why should she be with anyone at all?
"Padma?" It was Lisa Turpin this time. Padma tried to hold back another sob, but she choked and the floodgates opened.
"Padma, we brought you some- some tea. It's lemon spice, your favorite."
"Go away!" Padma found herself crying out. "Just leave me alone. Just go!"
She could tell Mandy and Lisa were having quiet conversations. "Should we…?" she heard Mandy say.
Lisa probably nodded, because seconds later, Padma heard the door open and shut quietly.
They probably think I'm crazy, she thought as she cried. Well, Terry's crazy for leaving me!
What did I do? I kissed him right—I think. He's the only boy I've ever kissed, so I don't know if I'm doing it right…
Maybe I wasn't pretty enough? Or… or what if Parvati did something…?
"I'm going to kill her," Padma decided. A fresh wave of tears overcame her and she buried her face in the pillow again. She drew the blankets closer to her.
"I'm never leaving here again!" she declared softly.
"Never."
In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotions
Taking me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
"Hermione, I love you…" Ron had began.
"I know," she smiled.
"No. It's not the way you're thinking."
The smile disappeared. "Well, how do you mean?"
"I love you…as a friend."
"A friend," Hermione repeated.
How lame! she thought now. She was the smartest kid in her year, and all she could think of to say to someone she'd known six years was to repeat what he'd said! How could she possibly think he still loved her after all this? After she'd caught him with Sally-Ann Perks! Sally-Ann, kissing the lips that Hermione thought still belonged to her. Sally-Ann, reaching up to touch his fiery red hair—the hair Hermione believed only her hands had touched that way. Sally-Ann, returning his sweet smile—the smile Hermione assumed he only gave to her.
How wrong she had been.
And now she hated herself for it. He was cute, cuter than she had thought previously.
How could it be that someone she loved so much hurt her so badly?
But if you don't come back, come home to me darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss good night
Good night…
All four young women were experiencing the same thing. And yet all four of them believed that they were the only ones in the world experiencing what they were.
Susan drank another butterbeer. She was leaning towards insanity. Hannah and Arden Moon were becoming increasingly worried. Arden tried to concentrate on her homework, and Hannah was attempting to continue her cross-stitching project, but Susan was slowly making herself drunk. She had had thirteen cases of the stuff, and thrown up twice. She was going to make herself really sick if they couldn't stop her. But right now they were worried just as much about not killing themselves on all the shattered glass on the floor from Susan throwing the bottles at the walls. Their wands were across the room.
They were trapped.
"Damn you, Justin," Hannah muttered. Susan heard her and started making a song out of it.
Susan, unbeknownst to her roommates was, in all actuality, sane. She knew what was going on. She was about to cry (again) but refrained herself by drinking. This was quite dangerous, as butterbeer had a small amount of alcohol in it, and too much could really make you drunk.
This was all Justin's fault.
I'm there at your side
I'm part of all the things you are
But you've got a part of someone else
You've got to find your shining star
Pansy looked away from the canopy again and to her nightstand. Several photos littered the surface. In a fit of rage, she knocked all but one to the thinly carpeted floor.
The one she saved was of her and Draco at a dance. That was the night…the night he told her he loved her…
They had stood in line for over twently five minutes just for their picture. Draco wanted to go dance or eat or something other than stand in line just to embarrass himself. But Pansy insisted on staying—the night was too magical, too magical for her to forget…
Pansy smiled ironically. It was funny, all she wanted to do was forget now. But her heart pushed her to remember…
And Draco believed he was. But still, he clutched Pansy's shoulders protectively. She fell into him, letting him hold her. Millicent scowled at her from the punch table. Draco had paid her to go with Crabbe, even if she did like Draco himself.
Just before the photographer snapped the picture, Draco whispered "I love you, Pansy."
She smiled then.
And where are you now?
Now that I need you
Tears on my pillow
Wherever you are
Padma still wasn't ready to get up. The tears were coming more slowly now, and she really wanted a shower. But she couldn't bring herself to stand. She was afraid she'd fall. Before Terry decided he hated her (okay, so he hadn't really said that—but he meant it) she wouldn't be able to go to sleep, too excited about seeing him the next day.
Now Padma just wanted him to go away. She wanted everyone to go away. She drank the tea Mandy had left by the bed, but that didn't give her the stregnth to get up, which was odd. Tea was her favorite drink. Mandy knew this, it was probably her motive. Tea usually helped her. But this time it offered no comfort.
Padma pushed the covers away from her. Immediately, a rush of cold flooded through her body. She pulled the covers back and cried some more.
When was this hell ever going to be over?
Cry me a river
That leads to your ocean
You'll never see me fall apart
In the words of a broken heart it's just emotions
Taking me over
Hermione tried reading. She had in fact been on the same page for fifteen minutes. She should have been four chapters ahead by now, since the page was only a paragraph long and the introduction to a new chapter. But tears kept falling down her face, blurring her vision. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and chucked the book at the wall, leaving a small dent. Hermione promptly burst into tears.
She knew what her mother would say now. "Hermione, honey, it'll be okay. Just try to sleep. Everything will look much better in the morning."
Usually, this advice helped her. But today she was sure that in the morning things would be worse. Everyone would know and stare. She decided to try to write to her mother anyway.
Der Dear Mum,
I—
Hermione balled up the paper and threw it at the door. It hit Lavender as she was coming in. "God, Hermione! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Hermione didn't answer—just buried her head in the pillow and sobbed.
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back, come home to me darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight
Once Hannah and Arden were out cold on the floor Susan set to work on a list:
Things I Hate About Justin Finch-Fletchley
- He's so annoying- he talks all the time
- The fact that he gets better grades than I do and brags about it.
- The way he walks—it makes him look retarded!
- His voice. It's so…high.
- The fact that I can't get over him
And with that she started to weep uncontrollably.
*
Five minutes later, she looked at the clock. It was 10:17. Justin was asleep by now. He liked to go to bed at about ten. At 9:45 he would have kissed her goodnight. Susan's lower lip began to tremble.
And where are you now?
Now that I need you
Tears on my pillow
Wherever you go
Cry me a river
You'll never see me fall apart
"Flarius," Pansy whispered to her wand. A tiny, golden red flame appeared at the end of it. Pansy gave another ironic smile. She slid the picture out of the frame and held it to the wand. She had planned this carefully: fireproof charms on everything in the room, windows open to free smoke. She dropped the burning photo onto the floor. Draco's smile was being turned into ashes. Pansy swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Goodbye, Draco," she whispered and left the room.
The picture Pansy burned.
In the words of a broken heart it's just emotion
Taking me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back, come home to me, darling
*Come on Padma.*
*I can't.*
*Try.*
And she did. Pulling herself up off the bed wasn't so bad.
Getting to the bathroom was.
Every step felt like she was walking on knives, every breath was like inhaling them. *Shower. Get to the shower, Padma!*
She fumbled for the doorknob, but slipped.
"Padma?" Mandy's voice sounded so distant. "Padma! Are you okay? Talk to me Padma! PADMA!"
"Shower…" Padma whispered.
***
"It appears to me, Miss Brocklehurst, that she has scarlet fever. Any emotional stress would surely have sent her overboard," Madam Pomfrey explained, sponging Padma's head.
"Well, she sure had emotional stress," Mandy said softly.
Nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
"Well, Lavender, you weren't exactly sentimental," Parvati said, exasperated with her friend.
"What?! It's just a breakup. She'll get over it."
"Just a breakup?! Lav, do you remember your first breakup?"
"How couldn't I? I locked myself in the bathroom for six days. God, that was boring."
Parvati rolled her eyes. Hermione, who was listening, gave a little giggle in spite of herself. Luckily they didn't hear her.
It was after midnight, and both girls thought Hermione was asleep. Really, she was just waiting for them to go to sleep so she could use the bathroom.
She smiled to herself, remembering the quote she had just thought of.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Goodnight, goodnight.
Damn straight.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Yeah ::grins::. About as depressing as I'm gonna get.
Disclaimer: All the things mentioned belong to all the people unmentioned.
