Chapter Three:
Layla Travers
"Roro, you have to go to the game today! There's so few games left and this match has been all anyone has been talking about." Brittany pouted as we sat down at breakfast.
"I'm just not a fan of sports and that includes Quidditch." I said as I filled my plate.
"You promised you would go to a game with me since I helped you write all those Christmas cards." Brittany pointed out.
I cringed remembering the hell I put Trent and Brittany through. I had gotten the bright idea to send every student and professor in the school a Christmas card. I got the students addresses from some very trusting Hogwarts ghosts. They were also helpful in finding out who was going home for break versus who was staying at the school. After staying up until 2 in the morning making the cards for about a week and not making progress quickly enough I enlisted the help of Trent and Brittany with the promise of paying them back somehow.
"Who's playing today?" I asked while turning to face the Ravenclaw table.
"Ravenclaw and Slytherin." My brother answered.
"As long as it's not Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor I guess it'll be okay." I said thoughtfully.
"Why would that be a problem? Clearly you would cheer for Ravenclaw in that case." William said.
"No, then it would be like cheering against Trent and Mark." I said shaking my head.
"You think too hard about these things." Brittany sighed.
"We should really cheer for Gryffindor when they play. Mark is actually on the team. We don't really know anyone on the Ravenclaw team and Mark is our friend." Jason pointed out.
"Dude! House loyalty! We support our house first and Mark second." William said passionately.
Brittany and I couldn't help but giggle at them.
"Excuse me. Are you Rowan Vuturo?" a silky voice asked.
I looked over to see a petite girl with long black hair and sharp pale blue eyes staring at me impatiently. She wore the green and silver Slytherin colors. Behind her was a blonde Hufflepuff boy, another first year named Brendon.
"Yeah, I'm Rowan." I said giving her a small confused smile.
"What's this about?" she asked holding out a birthday card.
"Oh, you must be Layla! Happy Birthday. I send everyone a card on their birthday." I explained giving her a broad smile.
When the Christmas project had gone well I started the Birthday project too. Though I refused to rope anyone into the Birthday project like I did with the Christmas project. This one was easier to manage anyway.
"Its like what she did at Christmas. She just wants to make sure everyone gets a gift on their birthday." Brittany elaborated.
"Why?" Layla asked sharply.
"Well, like Brittany said I just want to make sure everyone gets something on their birthday. You never know if that could be the only thing someone gets. Everyone deserves something even if it's just a card." I explained while trying to hide my shock.
"No one does something like that for no reason. What are you expecting in return?" she asked coolly.
"Nothing. I mean a thank you would be nice but I'm not expecting anything." I said not hiding my shock any more.
"Layla, I said I would point her out if you didn't start anything." Brendon whispered.
He seemed a little nervous about interrupting the conversation but I was grateful that he did.
"I'm not starting anything. I'm just asking some questions." Layla replied calmly.
"Well, you don't have to worry about Rowan having any ulterior motives. She's just trying to be nice." Mark said.
I looked over to see Mark and Trent were now standing next to Brittany. They must've rushed over when they saw there might be trouble. Both of them wore hard looks as if to deter her from insinuating anything further.
"Are you trying to get in good with my family?" Layla asked never taking her eyes off of me.
"Your family?" I asked confused.
"Travers. One of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." She said as if it were obvious.
"Oh." I said smiling, relieved that I could get rid of this misunderstanding. "I don't care about your blood status."
This was the only thing so far that got a reaction out of her. Her eyes widened and her cheeks started to turn pink.
"Just…don't send me things like this anymore." She snapped turning on her heels and rushing away.
Brendon shook his head and followed after her. I noticed suddenly how quiet the Great Hall was and looked around. A lot of people had been watching the interaction, not everyone but we had clearly drawn quite a bit of attention. Some teachers were standing even, as if ready to rush over if a fight broke out.
"I told you those birthday cards were a bad idea." Trent said as everyone started to go back to their own business.
"Just because one person took it the wrong way doesn't mean it was a bad idea. Plenty of people have appreciated me sending them a card." I mumbled.
The interaction had bothered me for a few reasons. I was a little offended that she thought I had ulterior motives. I didn't care that she had been mean to me at all though. Mainly I was concerned about her. Had no one ever shown her kindness without wanting something out of it? Why else would she assume that?
"Hey Rowan? You okay?" Mark asked gently.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" I found myself asking.
Everyone exchanged some confused glances before anyone answered me.
"Of course she will. She seemed very strong to me." Brittany said.
"Ro, you shouldn't worry about people like her. People who push away kindness will only cause you pain." Jason said very seriously.
What he said may have been true but I couldn't help it. I saw someone who may be hurting and I wanted to help them even if they didn't want me to. The air felt very solemn and I tried to smile as I noticed everyone was giving me concerned looks.
"Did you two hear Rowan is going to the Quidditch game with me?" Brittany asked coming to my rescue.
I gave her a grateful look and she discreetly gave my hand a pat in response.
"No way! Rowan, you never go to any of the Gryffindor games!" Trent complained.
"W-well, it's not like I even want to go though. I'm just paying Brittany back is all." I explained.
"You have to come to a Gryffindor game now. You know I'm on the team so you have to come cheer me on." Mark said proudly.
"Oh, come on guys." I pouted.
We all agreed to meet by the Black Lake about an hour before the match so we could all sit together. Trent, Brittany and I were the first ones there.
"By the way Rowan," Trent said after making sure no one else was around. "You need to stop sneaking around the castle at night."
"I already told you guys why I do it and I won't stop without a counter argument that convinces me." I said stubbornly.
"What about the argument that you shouldn't be breaking school rules." Brittany said pointedly.
"This is bigger than you twos argument over what real justice is. The Weasley Twins have seen you wondering around at night." Trent said.
"What?" I asked shocked.
"Why am I not surprised that those two would be wondering around at night too?" Brittany asked sighing.
The twins were already getting a reputation for being trouble makers. Though honestly it was only a few harmless pranks that were getting them all this attention. Enchanting some armor to move to scare passerby's, setting off some fireworks on the grounds, and sending Dumbledore some chocolate from a secret admirer. That particular prank actually failed as Dumbledore appreciated it and never even tried to figure out who sent the chocolate. We all figured he knew from the start it was a little joke being played on him.
"How did you find out they saw me?" I asked worriedly.
"Honestly, they have no idea that it's you but they mentioned seeing someone several times while they were sneaking around." Trent said.
I felt a little relieved at that.
"Well, they can't turn me in without revealing themselves too so I'm not that worried about it anyway." I said uncertainly.
"It's the twins we're talking about; they wouldn't try to turn you in. They would more likely try to scare you or tease you to see you get flustered. Just, if they can catch you roaming the castle that means a teacher could too." Trent explained.
"Okay… I'll be more careful but that's all I can promise." I said thoughtfully.
"Rowan, when getting caught is such a big possibility why can't you just follow the rules?" Brittany asked exasperated.
"Your sense of justice is to follow the rules. Mine is to question the rules if they seem unfair. Can't you just let me do what I need to and you can do what you need to.?" I asked.
"No, you're lucky I don't turn you in. That's enabling. If someone is doing something wrong stopping them is the right thing to do even if they're your friend. Actually even more so if they're your friend because you don't want them going down a wrong path and ruining their lives." Brittany said getting a little worked up.
"You wouldn't really turn me in would you?" I asked sadly.
She stopped and gave me a sad and conflicted look.
"No. What you're doing isn't hurting anyone." She muttered.
"Thank you, Brittany!" I said almost tackling her with a hug. "You're such a good friend!"
"Oh but don't thank the guy whose loyalty you never even had to question." Trent said pretending to be upset.
"Well join the hug then if you're so upset." I said laughingly.
Just then the rest of the group showed up. The match was more fun than I expected it to be. Though the best part of the game was having a group of friends to joke and cheer with.
The rest of the year flew by. I went to every Quidditch game with Brittany which made everyone happy, especially Mark since his friends were there to cheer for him. I snuck out less often and tried to be way more careful. Trent and I went to my brother, Dean, and William for help with our school work way more often than either of us were proud of. While Layla never openly came up to me to be mean she did seem to remain hostile as time went on. Glaring at Brittany and I in the halls and during class. She did seem to be trying to get close to Trent though which really confused everyone.
