A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Details regarding some of the mature content in this chapter are in the author's note at the end of the chapter. As always, if you have any questions regarding the mature content of this story, feel free to message us.
Alyson walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room and read a book in a cushy chair in the corner until she was the last person in the room. She hadn't seen Eric pass through at all. Huh, that was weird. She had been secretly hoping she'd see him walk in, but maybe he had already gone up to his dormitory by the time she came in. Trying to deny her own disappointment, she went up to bed and tried to sleep, failing because she couldn't stop thinking about Eric. Dustin kept popping up in her mind too, and how surprisingly kind he had been. She tossed and turned and eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.
2 September 1996
The next morning, Alyson went down to breakfast at her normal time. Haley was there to greet her with lots of hugs, and she immediately started with the questions. "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry. How are you? How did this happen? Do you need anything? Have you talked to him? I haven't seen him yet, not that I would talk to him anyway..."
Alyson gladly accepted all the hugs, still feeling sad, though she was determined to act as optimistic as possible today. "Thank you. I'm okay, I guess. I'll tell you about it at breakfast. I don't think I need anything, but thank you. I haven't talked to him, I actually haven't seen him since he broke up with me, not even in the common room."
"Well, let's sit down and get some food in you. I think I saw some chocolate eclairs close to the end of one of the tables, and we all know chocolate is the best medicine," Haley said with a sly smile. She didn't like seeing Alyson sad, and although she was putting on a brave face, it was clear she was not very happy. "Maybe talking about it will help some, anyway."
Alyson smiled when Haley made the comment about chocolate. "Yeah, maybe," she agreed. She sat down with Haley and began to put some food on her plate, even though she wasn't very hungry. "So last night I decided I wanted to talk to him about how I felt like I was the one putting all the effort into the relationship," she explained as she put pancakes on her plate. "And then you know what he told me? He never really had feelings for me in the first place, he was just leading me on that whole time because he didn't want to hurt my feelings." A little late for that, she thought.
"He did not say that! So instead of breaking it off before you really liked him, he let you fall for him before he told you, so he wouldn't hurt you? Wow, that's logical. That makes somuch sense," Haley said sarcastically. "God, guys can be such jerks sometimes. Why do we even bother with them? I'm sorry, Alyson. I know you liked him, but you deserve better anyway."
Alyson laughed a little at Haley's speech. She was always very passionate and dramatic about everything. "I know, I have to agree. I can't wait to get over him, I hate the heartbreak stage, you know? It really sucks." She started to eat some food, looking around the Great Hall. "I haven't seen him at all this morning either. I wonder if he's avoiding me."
Mary sat down as Alyson said this and replied, "I haven't seen him either, and I've actually been looking. If he's avoiding you, he's doing a pretty good job."
Lidiane came by and sat down next to Alyson, and her eyes flashed up and met Mary's momentarily. Lidiane felt her face grow hot for a moment before she shook it off and quickly turned her attention to Alyson again. "I'm so sorry," she said, giving her a hug. Alyson hugged her back, knowing they'd be having a good long chat about the breakup later that day. "You'll never guess who's in the hospital wing..." she told the group as though she was holding onto a huge secret.
"Oh, who is it?" Haley asked, eager for some gossip.
Dustin plopped down next to her and said, "Our old friend, Eric," as he reached for some bacon.
Alyson's face paled for a second, and her stomach dropped. What had happened? Dustin didn't really let those guys beat him up, did they? "Does anyone know what happened?" she asked.
Lidiane rubbed Alyson's back to help calm her down. "Rumor has it that he was beaten up by some burly Slytherins," she said, casting a shady glance at Dustin as if she read Alyson's thoughts. Mary and Haley looked surprised, but he just continued eating nonchalantly.
Suddenly Dustin shrugged and commented, "Even if it was, who knows? It was probably just Draco's cronies. You know how they get when they're hungry."
Alyson's brows furrowed a little. Maybe he was right. "Either way, it's terrible what happened," she commented, genuinely feeling bad for Eric, though a small part of her couldn't help but to feel he had it coming. He had broken her heart, after all. She decided she'd talk to Dustin privately after breakfast about it.
Haley also shrugged. "Serves him right, if you ask me," she told Mary, just low enough for the two of them. Mary couldn't help but to smile at her friend. She always had something to say, even if it was incredibly rude.
"Are you going to go and see him?" Lidiane asked Alyson.
Alyson bit her lower lip, hesitating with her answer. She honestly didn't know. Was it too soon after the breakup to go see him? "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I don't want to make him feel awkward, you know?"
"I don't think he's conscious," Dustin interjected, looking up at Alyson for the first time. Their eyes met and Dustin felt oddly attracted to her just then.
Alyson gave him a suspicious look, desperately curious as to whether or not he was responsible for this.
After breakfast, the heads of houses handed out their students' schedules, and the group figured out which classes they had together. Potions (big surprise), Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were all on the list of shared classes. Transfiguration was first.
When they all got up and started walking to class, Alyson gently grabbed Dustin's arm and pulled him aside. "Are you responsible for what happened to Eric?" she asked quietly, getting straight to the point.
Dustin was completely taken off guard. He didn't like being interrogated like this. "Why's it matter?" he asked defensively as he narrowed his eyes.
"It doesn't, not really," she answered truthfully. "I would just like to know." She stood her ground. Dustin didn't intimidate her.
"Interesting," he pondered out loud. "I always took you for being a nice person. I may or may not have had something to do with this. Or maybe he just got what he deserved."
Alyson raised her eyebrows. "I've never had anyone do something like that for me," she commented, knowing that Dustin had to have been behind it. Part of her felt terrible about it, but part of her felt flattered. Dustin scoffed at the idea. "Maybe I'm not as nice as you think," Alyson added before walking off and catching up with the girls. She felt so conflicted about everything.
Dustin stayed there for a minute in shock. What had just happened? How did she know it was him? Was she seriously okay with this? And anyway, she isn't nice since when? He shook his head then got back to heading to towards class slowly this time, knowing he wouldn't catch up with them
Soon classes were over and Lidiane and Alyson headed to the library to go do their homework. Mary decided she was going to go visit Eric. She felt bad for him, even if what he did to Alyson was shitty. She entered the Hospital Wing and immediately saw the bed he was sitting in. It was the same one she sat in when she broke her arm while watching Quidditch. The bludger hit her, and they brought her to the same bed. It made her smile.
Even from the door Eric looked bad. She waved to him as she walked on over, taking a seat by his bed. "Hey," she said with the same little smile.
Eric could barely see her through his puffy eyes, but he thought she looked prettier than usual. He returned the smile as best he could. "Hey, Mary," he said. He didn't sound half as bad as he looked. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come visit you," she answered, which was the truth. "How are you feeling?" she asked. He looked even worse up close. His face was covered in bruises.
"Well, aside from my pride, I feel fine. Madame Pomfrey says the swelling should go down soon. The pain is already gone so that's a plus," Eric started. "I just wish I could remember who did it. Someone was there and saying something, but it's all wonky in my head now. I told McGonagall everything I remembered, but I don't think it was enough to catch whoever it was."
"My guess is some kids from Slytherin, maybe Draco Malfoy's cronies," Mary replied. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Do you know when you'll be released?"
Eric shook his head. "No, it definitely wasn't them. I remember leaving the library with some guy, and we went to a classroom where there was two other guys. They said something about treating a lady wrong and started hitting me." He shuddered. "I don't remember much after that."
That sounded like something Dustin would get his people up to, but Dustin didn't really like Alyson, so it made no sense that he would do that for her. "That's odd and terrible," Mary commented. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope those guys get caught and get punished."
A silence passed between them. Eric was checking Mary out as best as he could. She really did look pretty with the sunlight shining on her through the windows. "Thank you for coming here. Do you know if anyone else has been in?"
Mary shook her head. "You're welcome. Honestly, I wanted to come. I don't think anyone else has come, but I could be mistaken, though. I know Alyson wanted to see you. I think Lidiane, too." She noticed Eric looking at her and smiled a little.
"I kind of hope she doesn't come," Eric said honestly. "It's too soon to try to be friends. I mean, I really want to be friends, but seven months is a long time. It would be incredibly awkward."
Mary nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, she said that's why she didn't plan on coming—she didn't want things to be awkward. I'm sure you guys will be able to make up and be friends again," she said optimistically.
Eric couldn't stop smiling. He had always liked how positive of a person Mary usually seemed to be. "Why are you a Slytherin again?" he asked her.
Mary smiled a little. "I don't know, I've wondered the same a couple of times. Maybe the ambition thing? Plus my family has a history for being in Slytherin. I always wondered why you weren't in Ravenclaw; you're so smart."
He would have blushed if not for the already red face. "Thanks, but I'm not that kind of smart."
"Don't try to be modest, of course you are," she protested. "You got straight O's last year." She blushed a little, realizing he might see it as kind of weird that she remembered that. "Plus you always help me with my arithmency homework like it's the easiest thing in the world."
Eric laughed, then grimaced. "You remember my marks last year?" he asked, flattered. She blushed even deeper red. "Hey, it's fine. If it makes you feel any better, the only reason I passed potions is because I copied you."
"Oh, well, I guess we're even then," Mary teased, giving him another smile and a little laugh. They continued to chat about various things for the next several hours.
Dustin and Haley went to the Slytherin common room to do their homework. They only did about half of it, however, because they couldn't stop flirting and snogging. Eventually they called it a night on the homework and just cuddled and kissed in front of the fireplace.
They were the only ones left in the common room. In the middle of a snogging session, Dustin started to slip his hand up Haley's shirt.
At first Haley thought it felt nice, when it was just her back he was touching. Then he tried to unsnap her bra and she pushed his hand down. "Not yet," she said gently, still kissing him.
Dustin kept kissing her and let his hand fall for a moment. He soon reached back up and tried to unsnap her bra again. She pushed his hand down again, too. "Come on, Haley, I've been waiting for months," he pleaded.
Haley reluctantly pulled away from him. "Dustin, I know it's been months since we talked about it, but you've known me for years. You know I'm not going to just give it up," she explained. "I want it to be special."
"We could make it special right now," he protested. "We could find someplace and set up, let it be just the two of us. It would be nice." His voice was smooth, but he was getting annoyed with his girlfriend.
Haley was also getting agitated with Dustin, who knew how she felt about this. "No, we can't make it special right now. Especially not with you acting like this. There's a lot of things that I don't mind you doing, but this is not one of them," she protested.
"Come on, Haley, don't be such a prude," Dustin insisted, the annoyance now apparent in his tone. He forcibly pressed a firm kiss to her lips and placed a hand somewhere he knew Haley probably would prefer he didn't, but he didn't care. She needed to get over herself. She had kept him waiting long enough.
Haley immediately felt scared of Dustin. She tried to push him off, but he held her tight. "Dustin, please no," she begged him. He didn't listen. He was kissing her neck and lips and rubbing her in places she had never been rubbed before. "Dustin, stop!" she said a little louder. She didn't want to cause a scene, but this was so wrong.
Adam, Mary's tall and handsomely blonde older brother, quickly came down the stairs of the boys' dormitory. "What's going on out here?" he asked, rushing over to the sofa. Dustin pulled away from Haley, still keeping her on his lap with a tight hold. She was still squirming a little bit.
"Go back upstairs and mind your own business, Smith," Dustin said harshly, annoyed he had been interrupted.
At this point Haley had started crying. "Adam, make him stop," she pleaded. This infuriated both of the guys for different reasons.
"Don't you love me, Haley?" Dustin asked Haley. She just kept looking at Adam pleadingly. She needed his help so bad. Surely he wouldn't let her be taken by Dustin like this? He had known her for years.
"Dustin, leave her alone," Adam said, walking over to Dustin and grabbing him by the arms, forcefully pulling him off of Haley. He was so mad at Dustin; he was making such an arse out of himself. Forcing yourself on a girl was wrong on so many levels.
Adam let him go and Dustin stepped back; Adam was much bigger than he was. Dustin was furious that Haley would do this to him. "Fine, if this is how you're going to act, we're done," he spat at her. "I don't want a prude like you anyway." He stormed off through the stone entryway into the dungeons outside. It was just Adam and Haley in the common room now, and she just leaned back on the sofa and started crying. What the hell had just happened? Dustin always had a temper, but he had never once turned it on Haley until now.
Adam sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, shifting himself so she could cry on his shoulder and marveling at how perfectly she fit into his arms. He didn't say anything, what could he possibly say to make her feel better? Her boyfriend—now ex-boyfriend—had just felt her up against her will then broke up with her because she asked someone to protect her. He was furious with Dustin. Adam wasn't done with him yet, but right now he wanted to comfort Haley.
Eventually Haley stopped crying and sat up. She smiled sadly at Adam. "Thank you. I don't know what would have happened...I just don't know what happened...it was fine, and then it wasn't, and I couldn't stop it. I'm so glad I have you," she said, reaching over and hugging him again.
Adam hugged her back, feeling protective. It was more than he should feel for his sister's best friend. "I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again like that, okay? I'm so sorry that happened to you," he said, arms still wrapped around her in a hug.
Eventually, the swelling went down in Eric's face and Madame Pomfrey let him leave with Mary. Apparently she had stayed there for more than a couple hours. They bade each other goodnight and went to their respective houses. Mary entered the Slytherin common room to a sight she was completely and utterly shocked to see. Haley and Adam were sleeping cuddled up on the sofa in front of the fire place.
Mary hesitated, unsure of what to do for a moment. This was crazy! Haley and her brother was such a weird sight...and Haley had a boyfriend. This wasn't fair to Dustin at all. "Haley, Adam!" she hissed, going over to them and shaking them awake.
Adam's eyes shot open, but Haley didn't move, so he shook her a little. She sat up and looked around. "Mary, what time is it?" she asked.
Mary was more concerned with what was going on, however. "What happened?" she demanded, crossing her arms.
Haley sighed. She got up, said goodnight to Adam, and went upstairs with Mary. They sat down on her bed together and faced each other. "Long story short, Dustin tried to force himself on me, and your brother stepped in. Dustin dumped me, and Adam comforted me," Haley explained.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" Mary asked, all worries about Haley being with her brother vanquished, at least for now. "I can't believe he did that," she continued, stunned. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm better now. I can't believe he would do it either. He's never done anything like this before!" Haley exclaimed. Although, if she were honest with herself, she wasn't entirely surprised. She thought again about how he had a violent streak in him, but he never used it against Haley. She had a violent streak too, though, and she wasn't scared of him. "I want to hurt him."
Mary sighed, "Yeah, me too. How dare he put his hands on you like that! I'm glad Adam was around. Who knows what would have happened?
Haley shuddered. "I don't want to think about that. I'm trying to look at the bright side to ease my mind. At least I'm single now…."
"Yeah, now you can move onto much better guys," Mary said optimistically, but she knew Haley wouldn't get over Dustin quite that easily and quickly. They had been together for a couple of years now and best friends since birth before that. "Maybe we can come up with some kind of revenge plan," she suggested, hoping that would make Haley feel better. It was juvenile, but she and Haley sometimes enjoyed playing pranks on people who had done wrong to them.
Haley shrugged and looked down at her hands. "He's not really worth it," she said sullenly. "I can't think of anything anyway that would make this better." She was lying. She could think of something, but it didn't have anything to do with Dustin. and she didn't want Mary to know she was thinking about her brother.
Mary gave her best friend a sympathetic look and hugged her. "Okay. Just let me know if there's anything I can do for you, yeah?"
"Yeah, of course," Haley replied. "Thank you, Mary. Do you mind if I go back downstairs? I'm not very tired right now..." Mary said she didn't mind, so Haley went back down to the common room. Adam hadn't moved so she went and sat next to him on the sofa, although not as close as she had originally been.
"I want to kill him," Adam said after she got comfortable.
"He's not worth it. He never was. I just want to forget he ever existed," Haley responded matter-of-factly.
"I can't blame you. He's a total prick. I never really liked him. I pity the next girl in his life..." Adam gave Haley a sympathetic look, then realized she probably wanted to talk about anything else. "I mean, who are we talking about? I've never heard of this kid before, are you sure he exists?" He winked.
She shoved him playfully. "Anyway, thank you for being here. I don't know what I would have done without you," she said truthfully. "Now if only you could hang around all the time to keep my mind off it when he's around."
Adam gave her a sympathetic smile. An idea struck him. "We could hang out more, you know, if you would really like that," he told her, eyebrows raising slightly in anticipation. He always enjoyed Haley's company over the summers when she stayed with Mary for weeks at a time.
Haley smiled a little to herself. She had always fancied Adam a little when they were kids, and this was bringing back very old memories. "Yeah, I might like that," she replied passively. "Your friends wouldn't think you were lame for hanging around a fifth year?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Even if they did, I wouldn't care, you're far cooler than a lot of the seventh years." Adam would probably never admit this to anyone, but even as kids he had a bit of a crush on Haley.
"Please, you don't have to tell me things I already know," she scoffed. "I just don't want you to be shunned, is all."
He laughed out loud at her. "I am King of Slytherin, Haley. If anyone is to be shunned it will be by me," he returned.
It was her turn to laugh. "The King of Slytherin? I've always wanted to be royalty," she joked then blushed deeply.
"Maybe you will be some day," he told her with a triumphant smile. "You're already on very good terms with the Royal Family, being friends with both the King and his sister," he joked, shifting so they were sitting slightly closer, though not enough to really suggest anything.
"Yeah, except the sister would be a royal nuisance in that case...and anyway, I just got dumped. I can't start planning our wedding yet, it'll look suspicious," she joked back. Then she looked sad again. "I wish I could just forget about this whole catastrophe for a while."
Adam gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Haley. I wish you could too. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?
"Unless you have something that will give me temporary amnesia without hexing me, then no. Although I would enjoy some company for a while," she stated. She readjusted so her knee rested on his leg. Adam had a sort of reputation for smuggling Muggle drugs sometimes, but she didn't want to say so outright, and she wasn't lying about wanting the company.
"I might have something, if you're really interested," Adam offered, a little hesitant because he was unsure of whether she was implying she wanted drugs or not.
"What is it?" Haley asked quietly, quite interested indeed.
"It's an herb that you smoke and it gives you a really euphoric feeling. It's my favorite," he added with a slightly mischievous smile.
"Does it make you forget about bad things?" she asked him.
He thought for a moment before answering, "Not exactly, but it will make you forget about thinking about it."
She nodded. "I'd like to try that."
Adam gave her another mischievous grin. "Want to try some right now? We'd have to find someplace to smoke it.
"I know somewhere," Haley offered immediately. She waited while he darted upstairs to get it, and then they snuck out of the common room. She led him to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "It's not ideal, but it's private enough."
"This place is actually really good, I've used it before," he told her. They sat down on the tiled floor, and he handed her a joint.
Haley looked at the unfamiliar object, unsure of what to do. Adam smiled and lit it for her then showed her what to do. They sat in the bathroom and smoked it. Twenty minutes later, they were both feeling the effects. Haley couldn't stop giggling, and Adam was just staring at the wall with a goofy grin on his face.
"This is great, isn't it?" Adam asked her with a big smile. He laughed a little at how cute she looked. She looked like nothing was wrong in the world, like she was completely care and worry free, on top of feeling happy, which was nice.
Haley just looked at him and started giggling again. He was right, though. She had completely forgotten about her troubles earlier in the evening. Eventually she calmed down enough to say, "I never want this feeling to stop."
He nodded, "It doesn't have to. I have loads of this and, well, I'd be willing to offer you some, for a price."
She laughed and replied, "I'll pay anything as long as you'll do it with me."
Adam gave her a big, goofy grin. He decided a change of scenery would be nice. "How about we take a tour of the school?" he asked happily, standing up and reaching his hand out to help her up.
Meanwhile, Alyson and Lidiane had finished their homework quickly and spent a little time out on the grounds.
They were both sitting down under a short tree with thick leaves and branches, just hanging out. Lidiane was leaned against the tree, while Alyson sat cross legged in front of her. "So what did you talk to Dustin about?" Lidiane asked curiously. "I saw you pull him aside this morning before class."
Alyson twisted some grass in her hands nervously. "I asked him if he had any idea who beat up Eric," she answered truthfully. "I thought he might know."
Lidiane was curious. "Did he know anything?" she asked.
Alyson shook her head. "No, he didn't. At least he claimed he didn't," she lied. He didn't explicitly say it was him, but she had a feeling it was.
"Hm, I'm sure he was lying," Lidiane said quietly. "Wasn't Dustin the first person to know? It kind of fits, you see? The timing, I mean."
"You both sat down at nearly the same time this morning, I thought you were technically first. You were going to make the announcement, he just finished it for you," Alyson pointed out. God, was she defending Dustin? That was terrible, especially since she knew he was behind it. "Maybe he is lying, but I guess we might never know."
Lidiane eyed at Alyson through her lashes for a minute. "Let's go see Eric and ask him about it," she suggested. "Maybe he can tell us what happened. I'm just curious to know who would do something like this. I mean, can it really be a coincidence that it happened right after he broke up with you?"
"You can go see him, but I...it's not that I don't want to go, I just think it would be really awkward for both of us, and I don't want to put him through that, you know?" Alyson hoped Lidiane understood what she meant. "Mary probably visited him in the Hospital Wing. We could always ask her about it tomorrow."
Lidiane nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. I don't know if I want to talk to him right now, anyway. I know it doesn't directly affect me, but what he did was incredibly rude, you know? He broke my best friend's heart."
Alyson nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty rude what he did. God, I still can't believe it! It all still seems so unreal, almost like it didn't happen, but it did."
Lidiane rubbed her friend's knee. "It'll get better in time, it always does," she soothed. "Anything I can do to help while we wait? Prank seventh years? Buy you huge books and bags of candy in Hogsmeade later?"
Alyson smiled a little at her friend's response. "We'll see what happens," she said, appreciative of Lidiane's kindness. She looked at her watch. "We should probably start heading back to the common room, it's almost nine."
Lidiane nodded. "Okay, sounds good," she said as she started to get up. "They really should extend the older students' curfew until at least ten."
Alyson got up as well, and the two of them started walking back to the castle. "I know! Nine is ridiculous."
Lidiane nodded in agreement, and they walked in silence for few minutes. Lidiane started to say something about their classes, but she noticed someone headed their way and held her tongue on the subject. "Is that Dustin?" she asked instead. "I'm not entirely shocked that he's out this late, I suppose." They kept going, and as they got closer they noticed that he wasn't going towards them, but towards the forest behind them; he looked furious.
"He looks upset," Alyson commented, watching him walk by. He didn't even seem to notice them standing there staring at him. "I'll catch up with you in a minute, I'm going to go see what's wrong," she told her friend, looking at her briefly before heading in Dustin's direction. She realized she never told Lidiane about how Dustin comforted her, so she was probably wondering why Alyson was doing this. Oh well. She caught up to Dustin and kindly asked, "Hey, is everything okay?"
Dustin didn't stop walking, but he cast her a dumbfounded look. "What business is it of yours?" he asked harshly.
His tone stung a little, but Alyson wasn't one to let herself be offended by Dustin's attitude unless he was really being horrible. "It's none of my business, actually. I just thought maybe you'd like someone to talk to, but if that's not the case, I can go," she said coolly.
"No, what I would like is someone's arms to break and a practice dummy to test some not-so-legal curses," Dustin replied angrily with a specific person in mind. He stopped walking and faced her. "Why are you talking to me after everything I've done to you anyway? Just because I let you cry on my shoulder doesn't make us best friends."
"I know that," Alyson replied. "I'm just trying to be nice." She refrained from fully snapping back. "You know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom has some dummies you could practice on, if you want to sneak in there. You could either stay there or bring a dummy outside or something, I don't know. Good luck with everything." She gave him a smile the turned around, walking back to the castle.
Dustin hesitated and weighed his options, then quickly grabbed her hand before she got too far. "Hey, look I'm... I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, it's just that, well, me and Haley just broke up, and I'm not sure how to handle it." He didn't drop her hand after getting her attention.
Alyson squeezed his hand a little when he told her the news. She was stunned, she never would have guessed they'd break up, at least not now. They seemed like such a happy couple in their own way. They always bickered, but they had bickered since they were old enough to do so. It wasn't anything weird. "I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. She kind of lifted her arms to offer him a hug, feeling slightly awkward because of all the things he had done, but she felt bad for him.
Dustin turned away, thoroughly ignoring her offer, simply because he was not in the mood for sympathy. "I dumped her," he said angrily. "I don't want your sympathy, I want to kill them both. I need you to stop me."
His anger made her feel a little scared (he sounded too serious for her liking), but she decided not to let it bother her. She crossed her arms, thinking about what to do. It occurred to her he said 'them,' and she didn't know who the other person was. "I know this wouldn't be as good, but I was serious about stealing that dummy from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, then using it to practice unsavory spells on. You could always write their names on it or something, I know a spell to erase it." She felt a little bit guilty about suggesting that, since Haley was her friend, but she supposed she was preventing Dustin from actually going and bothering Haley, so that was a good thing, right? That reminded her, why did he break up with her anyway? What if it was an awful reason? She made a note to ask later.
"No, that wouldn't help. Or maybe it would. I've never been this mad before. What do I do?" Dustin said, painfully aware that he was more vulnerable now than he ever had been.
Alyson had never seen Dustin like this before. "I think the dummy thing might help," she answered, "or we could talk about what happened. I know that sounds cliché, but talking over things sometimes does really help."
Dustin smiled a smile that Alyson was none too fond of. It was mischievous and malicious. "Let's do the dummy thing, but let's do it my way. How good are you at transfiguration?" he asked, knowing that she was one of the top students in class.
"I'm good at it, I guess," she replied warily. She had an idea of what he was getting at, and she didn't like it.
"Then let's go," Dustin said, not wanting to wait to act out his plan. He began to walk towards the castle and Alyson followed, slightly apprehensive of what she had just gotten herself into while also intrigued, plus she did want to help Dustin feel better.
They snuck into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and got their hands on one of the dummies. "The reason I asked about your abilities," Dustin began, "is because I want you to try to make these dummies look a little more...lifelike." He wanted them to look as much like the people he was furious with as possible. He wanted to feel like he was hurting them in order to get this anger he felt on the outside instead.
"Okay," Alyson hesitantly agreed. That sounded slightly sadistic, but they were just dummies, not the real people, so there was no real harm…at least that's what she told herself. "What do you want them to look like?" she asked, looking at him curiously.
Haley, eager for the tour of the school, took Adam's hand and stood up with his help. They walked around and went in and out of the classrooms, taking corridors off the beaten path since it was well after curfew. They got to the third floor and went into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, coming face to face with the reason they were together in the first place. Haley froze and Adam immediately tensed up. This wasn't going to end well.
Dustin turned around and took on the same posture Adam took on. A tense, uncomfortable silence overcame the room. Alyson, unsure of how to act at the situation, stayed quiet out of awkwardness. It was Dustin who broke it.
"I'm glad to see you managed to get over me so quickly," Dustin said coldly to Haley, glaring at her, his eyes like daggers. He was seething with rage. "I guess that's what whores like you do."
Suddenly Haley was almost just as mad as he was, her entire buzz gone. She opened her mouth to retort, but it was Adam who spoke up first. "How dare you! You have absolutely no right to call her anything, you bloody coward, let alone speak to her!" he spat at Dustin.
"I can call her whatever the hell I want, you bastard!" Dustin spat back, marching up to Adam. His fear of Adam's size seemed to evaporate. "Do you realize how shitty it is to steal someone else's girlfriend right after a breakup?!"
Alyson felt so awkward, she didn't know what to do. She looked over to Haley, who looked furious.
Haley noticed Alyson for the first time and their eyes met. The confusion of Alyson's presence added to her rage. "What the hell are you doing with him, anyway?" Haley demanded. She realized she shouldn't be snapping at Alyson. None of this was her fault, though she was still curious as to what Alyson was hanging out with Dustin for. They had never been friendly.
Alyson felt some anger rise in her. She opened her mouth, about to say something back, but Dustin cut in first, turning on his heel to face Haley. "That's really none of your business now, is it?"
"First off, you have no right to talk to her like that, so fuck off," Adam said and he stepped in front of Haley right into Dustin's face. "Secondly, I didn't steal your girlfriend. She's you ex-girlfriend. You screwed up, remember? So do as you're told, and back the fuck up."
The girls watched in horror as Adam and Dustin kept fighting.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Dustin yelled angrily, shoving Adam with such force that Adam actually stumbled back a bit. Adam looked shocked, but he knew he could take Dustin. He decided not to pursue it, though.
"Oh, look at you acting all high and mighty now that your new girlfriend is around. I never thought you'd sink so low, anyway, hanging around a Mudblood," Adam spat back right in Dustin's face, striking a nerve with everyone in the room.
Dustin gave a cold, humorless laugh. "You better watch who you call a Mudblood," he said, his tone darker now. His hate filled eyes flashed over Adam's shoulder to Haley, who he noticed looked slightly scared, before focusing back on Adam.
"Adam, let's just go," Haley said, grabbing Adam's hand. This, of course, infuriated Dustin all over again. He pulled out his wand as he backed up and sent a hex at their hands which shocked them apart before they had time to think. Adam pulled out his wand and pointed it at Dustin.
"I'll give you one warning, prick. Don't ever point your elementary magic at me," he said darkly, keeping his wand raised. "I've dabbled in magic your puny little mind couldn't even comprehend. If you want a taste, go for it, but I'm going to warn you to stand down."
Dustin gave him a smirk. "I might just take you up on that offer sometime," he said coolly.
"Dustin, let's go," Alyson said, thinking Haley's suggestion was a good idea. She hesitantly grabbed his arm.
Haley met Alyson's eye again, all suspicion gone and replaced by fear. "Adam, come on," she pleaded, grabbing his hand again and getting the same reaction from Dustin. Adam sent a curse meant to stick Dustin's tongue to the roof of his mouth.
The curse worked, and Dustin was furious. They hadn't reached the point in their studies of learning how to do nonverbal spells, so he couldn't do anything in return. Alyson pulled him away before he did anything stupid, afraid he would resort to punching Adam or something. "Let's go," she said insistently. She kept her hold on his arm and began to walk away, hoping he would follow.
Dustin jerked his arm out of her grasp and gave Adam a glare that could have boiled his blood. Alyson's hand fell helplessly to her side.
"Adam, undo it and let's go," Haley insisted again.
Adam didn't undo it; he just continued to smirk at Dustin. "It'll undo itself eventually. Probably," he added with a wink at her.
She kind of laughed at his joke, but she still insisted, "Come on, Adam, let's go."
They started to walk out of the door, but Haley stopped and turned back. "We'll talk about this later, Alyson," she said coolly, then she followed Adam out of the door.
Dustin was fuming. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and he had no idea how to undo it. He turned to Alyson with a pleading look, hoping she knew a countercurse.
Alyson just watched Haley and Adam go, not really responding to her last comment, just sort of nodding. Once they were gone, she turned to Dustin and performed the countercurse on Dustin. She had learned it a year previously due to having the same curse placed on her. Thankfully, it worked.
"I guess asking if you're okay would be stupid, because clearly you're not," she told him. "What exactly was that all about?" She wanted some answers, because there was no way in hell she was going to pick Dustin's side over Haley's without good reason.
Dustin was still fuming and trying to get feeling back in his tongue. "He is why we broke up. We were snogging in the common room like always and suddenly he walks in and breaks us up. Who the hell does that? Anyway, she pretty much agreed with him and we stopped snogging and she started talking to him instead. I was furious that she would take his side in something like that! I asked her if she would rather have him and she didn't answer, so I broke up with her. Now I guess they're together or something," he explained, leaving out the details of how he almost raped her and she was begging Adam to stop him. He wanted to spare her the gory details. "I'm so sorry you had to get in the middle of that." He was surprised to know that he meant it.
Alyson attentively listened to Dustin vent. "It's okay, I'm glad I was here. If I wasn't, your tongue would probably still be stuck to the roof of your mouth." She paused for a second, thinking over what Dustin said. "That's horrible, I'm sorry. That was quite the douche-y move on Adam's end, and I'm surprised Haley did something like that, though I know she's always had a bit of a thing for Adam." She stopped talking and nearly covered her hand with her mouth. She wasn't supposed to tell anyone that, it just sort of slipped. She wasn't even sure if she believed Dustin, at least not yet. She wanted to hear Haley's side of the story, though she couldn't help it—she felt genuinely bad for Dustin.
"Oh, so then this isn't a new thing. Well that explains why he stepped in. I bet she was cheating on me the whole time!" He was even madder hearing that Haley had always liked Adam. He forced himself to calm down after a minute so his anger didn't transfuse onto Alyson. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a hug to help calm down. Again he was surprised to feel himself enjoying her company.
Alyson was quite surprised when Dustin grabbed and hugged her, not really expecting him to do that, but she didn't mind. She hugged him back, hoping it would help calm him down. She was surprised by how much she wanted him to feel better. "If it's any consolation, she wasn't cheating with him to my knowledge, at least," she said softly.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's getting late. Maybe we should go bed," he suggested. "Unless you want to hang out for a little while..."
"What would make you feel better?" Alyson asked. They pulled away from the hug. "I know after my break up I just ended up lying in bed for hours because I couldn't get to sleep."
"I'd like to hang out with you for a while," Dustin said quietly.
That had been the answer she was expecting, but she was still generally surprised by how nice Dustin was being to her as of late. "Okay," she said with a smile. "I don't have much experience with staying out past curfew, so you'll have to take the lead," she joked, but there was some truth to her statement.
He looked at her suspiciously. "Seeing as this is your first time out past curfew we should do something awesome to celebrate. Want to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom again and actually do what we were originally going to do? Maybe we can teach each other something," he suggested hopefully.
She smiled at him again. "Okay," she said. "That sounds good." They headed back into the classroom and proceeded to make the dummies look as much like humans as possible. They were only fifth years, so of course the results weren't realistic, which resulted in quite a bit of laughter. They had a good time together that night. Dustin spent most of his time hexing the dummies, but eventually he sat down next to her and they just talked. After a while, Dustin noticed Alyson started to get tired, so he suggested they go to bed.
"Are you sure? I can keep you company longer if you'd like," Alyson said, covering her mouth as she yawned.
"Yeah, I'm getting tired too," he replied. Which wasn't really true, he was still mad, but much to his surprise, hanging out with Alyson had made him feel a lot better.
"We'll have to take some hidden corridors. It's about the time for everyone to be out patrolling, but I'll walk you back," he said sweetly. He was laying on the charm thick, and he knew it.
"Thank you," Alyson said. She felt a few butterflies in her stomach. A guy had never officially walked her back from somewhere before, not even Eric. He walked her back to the Gryffindor Common Room, taking extra care not to get caught by anybody patrolling, because that would certainly kill nice night the two had together, and before they knew it they were standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Thank you for walking me back. Good night!" Alyson whispered happily. She wasn't going to tell the portrait the password until Dustin left.
Dustin gave her a grin that he had never given her before. He usually reserved it for girls he was trying to impress. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" He said, trying to sound hopeful. He was having conflicted feelings about hanging out with her. She was a Mudblood, after all.
Dustin's grin put another butterfly or two in Alyson's stomach. She felt a little conflicted because she was still upset over Eric, but she decided to push her feelings aside. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she replied with a small smile of her own.
"I'm looking forward to it. Good night," he told her, still smiling, before he walked off. When he was out of earshot Alyson went into the common room and headed up to bed. Nobody was awake.
Meanwhile, Adam was still fuming as he and Haley left. "The nerve of him!" he commented, half to himself, half to Haley. "God, I could have killed him," he continued angrily as they walked through the corridors they had taken to get there.
Haley wanted to agree, but her heart wouldn't let her. "I know what you mean, but he is so beyond not worth it," she said instead. "And what was he doing with her? Of all people, I never expected him to be hanging out with Alyson. He usually talks about how much he wishes I wouldn't."
"I guess you're right, neither of us should waste our time on him," he replied, though he still felt furious. Dustin did so many low things, yet he still acted all high and mighty. "I would never have expected him to be hanging out with a Mudbl-someone like her, either," he agreed, refraining from calling her a Mudblood because he knew she was Haley's friend for some reason. "How pathetic is that?
Haley blushed because she also hung out with "someone like her." She was used to getting that sort of treatment about her, and she knew what he meant. Alyson wasn't exactly Dustin's favorite kind of person. A Muggle-born Gryffindor who got marks higher than any purebloods he knew personally was the type of person he made it a point to hate. She was also curious as to why they were together, but for different reasons. What if tried the same thing with her? Even worse, what if she let him?
"I'm going to need something a little stronger than that stuff we had earlier to sleep now," Haley said jokingly. Suddenly she felt exhausted and knew she would really pass out as soon as she hit the pillow.
Adam gave her a smile, forcing himself to calm down for Haley's sake, at least temporarily. "Maybe some other time," he said lightly. "Trust me, you'll fall asleep just fine." He could tell she felt tired even just by looking at her, plus he knew the effects of drugs quite well. "So will we be spending other nights together like this?" he asked, referring to the drugs, not the running into Dustin part. He was hopeful of a positive answer. He knew she said she wanted to earlier, but she had been high as a kite then.
Haley hesitated. She liked Adam but she didn't want anything to get in the way of her studies. "As long as I can keep my marks up, then I want to do this as much as I possibly can," she said finally.
"I like the sound of that. I'll make sure you can keep up with school just fine," Adam promised. They reached the Slytherin Common Room, and he let her walk ahead of him, making sure she didn't stumble her way through.
She went in and sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, casting Incindio at the same time so that they actually had a fire. Adam sat down closer to her than he would have a couple of hours ago.
He put his arm on the back of the sofa so it was behind Haley's shoulders but not wrapped around them. "How are you feeling?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was okay after what happened in the classroom, as well as make sure she was coming off of her high just fine.
"I'm feeling wonderful again. Extremely relaxed," she said as she shrugged a little closer to him. "The high is gone, but I still feel pretty happy. Fuck those guys, anyway."
"Glad to hear that," Adam said, mirroring Haley and scooting a little closer to her as well. "Yeah, fuck those guys," he agreed.
Haley laid her head on his shoulder. The fire and the warmth coming from Adam was overpowering and soon she fell asleep. He stayed awake with her for a little while and watched her sleep. She looked extra cute, and she sort of drooled on his shoulder. He smiled fondly. Soon he started to feel sleepy as well so he shook her gently awake. "Go get in your bed," he told her softly.
She reached up, still half asleep, and kissed him full on the lips. She had actually been dreaming about him. She fully woke up in the middle and realized what was going on and pulled away. She was a very deep shade of scarlet. "I, er...I didn't….um...I'm sorry. I'll go now."
"Haley, it's okay-" Adam started, but before he knew it Haley had gotten up and ran off to the girls' dormitory. Huh. He rested his chin in his hand for a moment. He certainly liked Haley, but he wanted her to get over Dustin before he made a move or anything. Still thinking about Haley, he got up and went to bed.
Haley ran upstairs and directly into Mary who had been up late doing homework and waiting for her best friend. Haley was glad to see her up, because she had a lot to talk about. She spent the better part of an hour explaining the events of the evening, including the experience with Adam in the bathroom, but excluding the most recent events. She doubted Mary would approve of her kissing her brother.
Mary and Haley discussed the whole ordeal in detail, particularly the drugs. Mary wasn't too happy about Haley trying them out and made her promise to not get too crazy. Mary was also concerned that Alyson was hanging out with Dustin. She asked a lot of questions about that. Eventually they got tired and went to bed.
Mature content details: This chapter contains the beginning of a non-consensual act exclusively involving two minors (fifteen year olds), but the non-consensual act is stopped in its tracks early on. There is also drug use between two minors (a fifteen year old and a seventeen year old).
