I Bid Adieu Chapter 2- After You Fall Asleep (Tayeang)
The day after the Quidditch match, everyone was impressed at how Harry managed to stay on his broomstick, and Mizy and Nooni were no exceptions. No one had a clue to why it behaved that way, though. At breakfast, Mizy caught sight of the bushy haired girl sitting next to Harry Potter and a ginger. She felt a slight anger towards her, as she had knocked down Quirrell, though it was probably unintentionally. Mizy turned back towards Nooni and engaged her in a conversation.
"Finally! Slytherin might not win the House Cup this year!" Mizy said.
"I know right? But the troll should have finished them off for good…I'm kidding, kidding." Nooni said in response. Mizy chuckled. She could hear a first year Slytherin with a pale, pointed face and blond hair claim that a wide-mouthed tree frog could replace Potter. The kid must be way jealous. She picked up her bag and the two exited the Great Hall to Transfiguration.
In Transfiguration, they were attempting to transfigure salamanders into rabbits. Nooni had managed to pull the spell of perfectly, her salamander now a pure white rabbit. Mizy's still had a tail attached to the back of her rabbit.
"For homework, Ms. Yaru, practice." McGonagall said, peering down at Mizy's rabbit. Mizy sighed, making a mental note to ask Nooni for help. The bell rang, and the two packed up and headed for DADA. As they entered the classroom, fanning away the smell of garlic with their hands, they took up the seats up in front of Quirrell's desk. As the bell rang, Quirrell walked in and sat at the desk. He called attendance, and then asked them to take out their books and turn to page 96.
Mizy finished reading the selected paragraphs on vampire bats, and looked up at Quirrell. She was shocked to see that he looked paler than usual, and thinner. He also looked very down, as though he had endured a rather harsh scolding. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, and his hands slightly trembled as he wrote on a piece of parchment. Perhaps the handwriting was illegible, due to his trembling hands, so he reached across for a new piece of parchment, knocking over a bottle of black ink. The bottle fell to the ground, the 'thud' masked by the conversations of the other students, and ink spilled out. "Oh!" he murmured, staring at the mess.
"I'll clean it up, Professor." Mizy said, getting up and bending down to pick up the bottle.
"T-thank you, I'll c-clean up the i-ink, M-Ms. Yaru." Quirrell said, pulling out his wand and mumbled, "scourgify" which siphoned the ink off the floor. Mizy picked up the bottle, straightened up, and passed it to Quirrell, their fingers briefly brushing against each other. Quirrell pulled his hand back rather quickly, seemed to realize this, and continued to place the empty bottle on his desk.
"Professor," Mizy began, "Are you alright? You seem really out of it today." Quirrell looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face, and studied her for a full few seconds, then managed a small smile."N-nothing to w-worry about, j-just a l-little off t-today." He said with a nervous "hehe". Mizy gave him a small smile, and went to sit back down with Nooni.
"What's with you? So interested and caring for him." Nooni questioned. "You don't even do that with me!" She added, feigning shock and hurt. Mizy could tell Nooni was a little hurt, so she said, "Tell you later. Want to stay after class for a little while?" Nooni declined.
A few moments later, the bell rang, and the class filed out, except for Mizy, waving good bye to Nooni. She walked up to his desk and, feeling bold, asked, "Professor, I'm asking as a concerned student, a friend." He looked up at her strangely at the word "friend". "Is everything alright?" She held his gaze, watching for a sign of emotion, while also admiring his eyes. After a few seconds, Quirrell began, "Well…" Mizy continued to look at him, trying to make her eyes reflect her concern, attempting to encourage him to continue.
"I….I'm f-fine. T-thank you for your c-concern, Ms. M-Mizy." He said, smiling as warmly as he could. Mizy raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Professor, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here." She said, feeling her cheeks burn. Quirrell lowered his gaze. "Well, there is something." He said quietly. Mizy was taken aback by the absence of his stutter. Before she could ask about it, Quirrell winced, as though something had pained him.
"P-perhaps you ought to go, m-might be late for your n-next class." He said nervously, avoiding her gaze. Mizy nodded, hoisted up her bag, and left the room, hurrying to Charms.
Mizy entered just as the bell rang, and took the seat next Nooni at the back of the room. Although Nooni did not press Mizy to tell her what happened, for the sake of their friendship, Mizy decided to tell her. "I like Quirrell." Mizy said as quietly as she could so that only Nooni could hear. "Way to state the obvious." Nooni said, giving Mizy a knowing look. Mizy was surprised.
"Wa-what?"
"I'm just kidding. But I did suspect you liked him. Always staring, trying to be considerate to him." Nooni said, taking notes on the Silencio charm."My little girl's all grown up." She added with a giggle. She waved her wand and succeeded in silencing a raven that was cawing away in front of her.
"Do you like someone?" Mizy asked, curious. Nooni chuckled.
"…One of the Weasley twins." Her cheeks flushed slightly. "I can't tell which one is which, but they're really funny and cute." The two launched into a conversation discussing them.
In DADA classes, Mizy began telling off people for laughing at Quirrell's stutter, even if they did not acknowledge her comments. She started trying to help him out more, as he was now prone to knocking things over due to his lack of concentration. In incidents such as those, Quirrell would look at her quickly and then busy himself with straightening paperwork of rearranging his quills and ink bottles. Mizy didn't mind; it made it seem less awkward.
Christmas was coming up. She wondered whether or not she should give a Quirrell a Christmas gift. Nooni was all for it, encouraging her to give him something ranging from a book to kiss. Mizy responded by teasing her about what she should do for the Weasley twins. Just before Christmas, Mizy decided to bake some Cauldron Cakes and a tin of treacle fudge for Quirrell. She honestly did not know if he would like them, but she didn't have any other ideas.
On the day of Christmas, Nooni and Mizy wanted to go and wish the three a happy Christmas. They decided to go find the twins first. As they wondered around the grounds, wrapped tightly in a cloak and wearing beanies, scarfs and gloves, they found the Weasley twins, Harry, and Harry's friends, all engaged in a furious snowball fight. Nooni waited until the twins had ceased fire, and walked up to them. She wished them a merry Christmas, and they her. One of the twins reached down and picked up a handful of snow. With the other hand, he took out his wand, and waved it at the snow. The snow lifted and swirled and hardened into an ice angel. He handed it to Nooni, who giggled, said a quick thanks to them, and half walked, half ran back to Mizy.
"They're so cute!" She exclaimed, examining the figurine.
After the fabulous Christmas dinner (which Mizy was pleased to see Quirrell had attended and eaten some chocolate pudding, which meant he probably liked chocolate), she and Nooni stayed behind for a bit in the Great Hall, playing with the wizard crackers. After playing a game of chess with a chess set that had come out of one wizard cracker, the two got up and exited the Great Hall. As they reached the first floor, Mizy said, "I'm going to wish Quirrell a merry Christmas. Meet you in the common room later." Nooni nodded, gave her an assuring smile, and headed up the stairs. Mizy took a death breath, and walked to DADA classroom. She knocked on the door, and heard a "Come in." She opened the door, and saw Quirrell seated behind his desk. He looked up, and smiled at her.
"Yes, Ms. Y-Yaru?" Mizy smiled back, and took the box of her homemade Cauldron cakes and fudge out.
"Merry Christmas, professor Quirrell." She said, handing him the box. "I hope you enjoy them." Quirrell sat, transfixed, then reached and took the box and set them on his desk.
"T-thank you, and merry C-Christmas to y-you, too, my d-dear." Mizy's heart leapt when he said "my dear". "I o-only wish I h-had gotten you s-something."
"It's alright, professor." Mizy said with a big smile. "Have a good night." Quirrell nodded, and muttered back a good night to her. She turned and headed out the door. When she closed the door behind her, she could not help but smile widely, and did not stop smiling until she came to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room. After failing to answer the riddle several times, she sat outside for some time, waiting for someone to come and open it. When she was just about to nod off, she heard footsteps coming. She sat up straight, wide-eyed; scared that she was going to get points taken off. She heard a voice murmur, "lumos", and light radiated from the tip of a wand. She saw Quirrell's face, illuminated by the light.
"Professor!" She said, smiling at the sight of him, and then lowered her head, as it was embarrassing to not have been able to answer the riddle to the common room. "Why are y-you out so l-late?" Quirrell asked, walking up to her. "I couldn't answer the riddle to get in." Mizy said, blushing furiously. The corners of Quirrell's mouth turned up, and he held out a hand to her. She took it, and he lifted her up to stand. They walked up to the entrance of the common room. Quirrell knocked on the door.
The eagle's beak opened, and in a soft, musical voice, said, "What is pointless?" Mizy blushed even deeper; Quirrell must think she's an idiot for not being able to answer the riddle. However, he just smiled at her again, and said, "A circle."
The eagle responded, "Correct." And the door opened.
"Thank you, professor." Mizy said, giving him a thankful smile, and stepped into the room when Quirrell grabbed her arm gently. "By the way, t-thank you for the c-chocolate, they were d-delicious." He said quietly. Without another word, he let go and left. Mizy stood at the door, watching him until he turned at a corner. She turned and went up to the dormitories to find Nooni already asleep in bed, who later claimed that she thought there was no point in waiting for Mizy because "things happen under the influence of Christmas and mistletoe s."
-the day before the 2nd Quidditch match of the year-
"Snape? Referring?" Mizy asked, surprised. Nooni had earlier began up a conversation with Fred (or was it George, they could have been lying) in Herbology. Fred had mentioned that Snape was going to referee the next Quidditch match.
"I know right, how weird? Hard to think of him flying on a broomstick, like an overgrown bat taking flight." Nooni said, pouring over her Transfiguration homework. "He probably wants to stop Gryffindor from winning." Mizy grinned. She wondered if the Potions professor had a secret agenda.
On the day of the Quidditch match, Mizy and Nooni left the Great Hall early to get front row seats. As other people began filling in the seats, Mizy noticed that the headmaster, Dumbledore, was present. Another surprise, the headmaster didn't always show up for the Quidditch matches. Maybe he was there to watch Harry Potter in action. "Look, Snape looks really angry for some reason." She said, pointing to the professor, who indeed did look very angry. "I wonder why."
The teams flew off. Just a few seconds later, one of the Weasley twins had hit a Bludger toward Snape, who narrowly avoided it, and awarded Hufflepuff a penalty as punishment. Nooni tapped Mizy on the shoulder, and pointed to the tower next to them. Mizy brought her binoculars to her eyes, and watched as 2 first year Gryffindors were attempting to take on 3 first year Slytherins. Amused, she turned back to the match, just as the Gryffindor seeker go into a dive, zoom past Snape, and pull out of the dive, waving his hand, which was clenched around the Snitch. There was a deafening roar of cheers and applause; the match had barely lasted even 5 minutes, it must have broken a record! Dumbledore had climbed down to the field and seemed to be congratulating Harry, as he was patting his shoulder. Mizy and Nooni exited the stands to head back to the school, praising the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
As they sat down in the Great Hall for dinner, Mizy noticed that Quirrell was missing. (When she pointed this out to Nooni, Nooni called her a creeper, and pointed out that Snape was missing as well). Mizy, who had eaten a large lunch, decided to skip dinner to see where Quirrell was. She had noticed that Quirrell barely ate anymore, and seemed more distant from everyone. She was afraid that something was wrong with him. Nooni egged her on, saying that they might as well try and be more outgoing or waste their years at Hogwarts by being boring. They went to the first floor to his office, but he was not there. Already giving up, they decided to go outside for a stroll along the river until it was time to go in. As they wondered pass the steps, Mizy caught sight of Snape coming out of the forest. She grabbed Nooni's arm and pulled her down behind a bush. As he strode into the castle, Mizy and Nooni ran quickly to the part of the forest where Snape came out from, curious. They ran into Harry, who quickly stuffed something out of sight.
Mizy wasted no time in asking, "Have you seen Professor Quirrell?" Harry hesitated, and then pointed back at the forest. Mizy pulled Nooni to follow her into the forest. Nooni turned around and said, "Great match, Harry!" The boy waved at her, and set off. They barely took 3 steps in when Quirrell came into sight. His head was down, and his hands moving over each other. Nooni pushed Mizy forward, and hid herself behind a tree. Quirrell looked up just in time to catch Mizy, who had tripped over a tree root. At first, he stood, shocked, as Mizy threw her arms around his neck for support, then he quickly recovered and held her at arm's length and straightened her up. Mizy muttered a quick thank you, and lifted her head to look at Quirrell.
"What are you doing here, Professor?" She asked. "I s-should be the o-one a-asking you that, Ms. Y-Yaru." Quirrell said. Mizy heard a twig snap in the back. Ignoring that, she continued, "I was actually looking for you." Thinking it'd be best to tell the truth. Quirrell seemed to have expected an answer like this. He smiled a smile that Mizy could only catch because of the remaining light from the sky.
"That's v-very kind of y-you." He said with a nervous laugh. "S-shall we h-head up to the c-castle, then?" He held out his hand towards the exit of the forest, bidding Mizy to go first. Mizy walked out, with Quirrell by her side. Behind, she could hear Nooni's footsteps quietly following them.
"What were you doing in the forest, Professor?" Mizy asked, hoping Quirrell didn't know that Nooni was behind them. "Oh n-nothing, just a l-little c-chat with S-Severus." He said. "In the forest?" Mizy asked, wondering why he would have wanted to talk in such a place. "Y-yes. It was n-nothing." He gave Mizy an assuring smile, and opened the doors to the castle. As they entered the castle, Quirrell walked without a backward glance to the stairs. Mizy stared after him, wondering if she should follow, when Nooni came up and prodded her.
"Where do you want to go?" Nooni asked. Mizy stood there, deciding on whether to enter the Great Hall or follow Quirrell, or go to the common room. Nooni, who was probably already tired of waiting for a response, pushed Mizy towards the stairs. Mizy, choosing to follow her friend's decision, started up the stairs. "Go ahead to Quirrell's office; I'll be up in the common room." Nooni said, following Mizy up the stairs, and continuing when Mizy stopped at the first floor to go to Quirrell. She waved good-bye, and trudged towards his office. She knocked on his door, and heard a distant, "Come in." She turned the doorknob and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "Professor?" She called into the dimly lit room. "I'm h-here." Quirrell responded, stepping into the room from another room.
"How m-may I help y-you?" He said, walking towards her.
"I just wanted to see how you're doing." Mizy said, hoping anything she said did not make things awkward. He stood in front of her, watching her closely. He suddenly shuddered. "Did someone send you?" He asked quietly, again his stutter was absent. Mizy was confused, and realized that the atmosphere had changed.
"What? No one sent me. What do you mean?" She asked, her questions spilling out. He leaned toward her, his arms reaching out and palms resting on the wall, so that Mizy was trapped.
"Did someone send you to talk to me?" He asked, in a more gentle, slighly higher voice.
"No, no one did. I'm because I…" She did not finish as she was distracted by how he stood over her, and had a sudden thought that this was the perfect time to confess her crush on him. Mustering up all her courage, she looked at him full in the face, and said, "I like you."