C#4
"Morning, Molly." Elinor smiles at me. I look at her, and I'm sure my face shows some form of surprise.
"Morning, Elinor." I reply.
"You going for the match today?" she asks, sweetly.
"Um, I was thinking of going, yeah." I reply, finding her fake sweetness more sinister than disgusting.
"For Riven?" she asks, pointedly. Again, I look at her.
"For James and Fred, actually. My cousins?" I reply and she nods.
"Well, see you at the match then" she smiles and leaves the common room.
Whaaaaaaaaat? What was that about?
"Morning, you." says Riven, ruffling my bangs as a greeting before sitting down beside me, already in his Quidditch robes. I move my face away from him quickly without retaliating.
Okay, look, I feel weird around him ever since that little revelation in the Hospital wing, the other night. But you know what? I've decided to ignore it. I mean, I'm over him. I know I am.
"What happened to you?" he says, raising his eyebrows while tugging at my plaited hair.
"Stop pulling my hair, you idiot!" I yell, hitting him on the arm. Half of the people at the Gryffindor table turn to look at us.
"Loosen up for heaven's sake, Mol." Riven whispers, frowning at me. Great, I'm the bad guy. I don't mean to be all uptight and everything. And I don't want to take out my frustration and confusion on him either. He's done nothing to deserve it. Plus, he has a match in approximately an hour.
"I'm sorry." I mumble, looking away.
"Forgiven." he says, and I hear him grinning. "So, coming back, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I just had a weird encounter with Elinor." I reply, going back to finishing my scrambled eggs.
"Explain weird." he says, leaning in.
"She was nice to me. The fake 'nice', mind you." I say and he laughs.
"That's good, no?" he asks, his mouth full of cereal.
"I shouldn't think so, no." I reply, finishing my breakfast and getting up.
"Where are you going?" he asks, looking up with some concern.
"I need to return some library books." I say, making to walk away but he hold me back.
"You're coming for the match, aren't you?" he asks.
"Yeah." I reply, looking down at him.
"Great." he smiles and lets go.
"Madam Pince?" I whisper, peeking inside the empty library. Madam Pince looks up from a book through her cat-eye glasses and smiles at me.
"Ah, Miss Weasley. Come for another book?" she asks, fondly. It sucks to say this, but I really like Irma Pince. She's not as mean and irritable as everyone says. It's just that she has book-OCD. Yeah, that's what I call it.
And since I'm probably the first one after aunt Hermione to share a bit of the sentiment with her, we get along.
"No, I actually came to return these." I reply, tipping about half a dozen books over her table. She checks that all of them are in order and then nods at me.
"Going to watch the match?" she asks and I nod.
"Will you be coming?" I ask, politely.
"Oh no, dear. Far too noisy for my ears." she says, a slight frown forming on her forehead.
"Oh, that's too bad. Well, I'll be going then, Ma'am." I smile and leave the library.
On reaching the Great Hall, I find that almost everybody has left for the Quidditch pitch. Dominique is one of the few people still in the hall. She sees me and quickly makes her way towards me.
"Going to watch the match?" she asks and I nod.
"Let's go together then." she says and we begin to make our way to the Quidditch pitch when we're stopped by Professor Vector, the Deputy Headmistress.
"Miss Weasley, I need you to come with me for a minute." she says, looking at me, making us certain as to which 'Miss Weasley' she's talking about.
"I'll see you later, then." I say to Dominique, not the slightest bit concerned as to why Professor Vector wants to see me.
Dominique waves at me as I follow Professor Vector up the stairs, to the seventh floor and she leads me into her office.
"Sit." she says, occupying her own chair behind a rosewood desk. I obey as I look around her office, which I have been in only twice before.
"Miss Weasley, do you know why I have called you here at such an odd time?" she asks, placing her hands in front of her face, fingertips touching.
Now is the first time that I do wonder about the reason for being called to her office.
"No, Professor." I say, shaking my head slowly, a slightly perplexed expression forming on my face.
"Well." she breathes. She extracts something from a drawer and holds it up. For a second, I try to identify the object. And then I feel my stomach falling. Just falling without coming to a stop.
A tiny, clear bottle filled with Amortentia.
"I take it, you know what this is?" Professor Vector asks firmly. After a moment's hesitation, I nod.
"And I'm sure you know that it is banned at this school?" she questions. I nod again.
I want to ask her how she found it, but I can't- obviously. Almost as though she's read my mind, Professor Vector says, "This was found under your pillow by Miss Weston."
Elinor. Bitch extraordinaire.
"Why should it be under your pillow, Miss Weasley?" the Professor asks.
What am I supposed to tell her? That I confiscated it from James and Fred? I may look it, but I don't want to get them into trouble. And it's my fault. I should have done away with the vial the minute I confiscated it. What was I thinking, keeping it with me?
So I just look at my shoes, because I can't give her an answer. I can feel Septima Vector giving me a long, hard searching look. I just want to die. Now. NOW.
"Miss Weasley, you are one of the best students I have had the pleasure of teaching. And I would not think of you doing something like this. So if there is a reason as to why this has been found in your possession, I urge you to tell it to me."
I feel my mouth going dry as I look up at her. I can't lie to her. But I'm not going to get my little brothers into trouble either (Even though they completely deserve it.)
"No, Professor. It's completely my fault. I broke the rules." I say, sounding apologetic.
Professor Vector considers me. Then, adjusting her glasses, she speaks words that are alien to me.
"In that case, I will have to give you detention."
I nod. I will kill Elinor Weston. I will.
"Would you prefer to serve your detention now itself?" she asks. That's considerate of her.
"Yes, Professor." I reply, wanting to get done with it as soon as possible.
"Well, then, I think you can go down to the Potions store room. Professor Melrose said she needed help with relabeling the potions today." says Profesor Vector, getting up.
"That's- that's it?" I ask, slightly surprised.
"Yes, I think that will do for you." she says and I swear I can see the slightest hint of a smile on her lips. "Now, I have a Quidditch match to attend, so I suggest you run along."
I don't need telling twice as I walk out of her office and head for the dungeons. Even though my detention isn't much of a detention, it's detention nonetheless. My first detention.
"Professor Melrose?" I whisper, knocking on the open storeroom door. The storage room is small and square with nothing but hundreds of columns of dusty potion bottles lining the walls. I enter the room and notice Professor Melrose climbing down a ladder to my right.
"Yes, Miss Weasley?" she says, smiling.
"Professor Vector sent me to help you with relabeling the potions." I state.
"She did? Well, of course, I do need help. Here-" she says, getting off the ladder, "I'll show you what to do."
Helping Professor Melrose isn't that bad. Actually, it's rather nice. She tells me about how she hated Potions while she was at Hogwarts but then came to love the subject and also about her time at Hogwarts. She was, apparently my father's senior by a year and says I'm a lot like him. (Which is not true, by the way. Other than the studies and prefect and temper part of it, I'm not like him.)
Even though I say detention isn't that bad, I keep reminding myself that it is detention. And then that ruins my mood all over again. I don't want Professor Vector to think of me badly. I don't want anyone else to find out that I got detention. Especially my parents. What will they think? Mum wouldn't mind that much, but Dad? Uncle George would cry tears of joy, that I'm sure of.
I spend almost the entire afternoon helping Professor Melrose after which I decide to go to the Great Hall, one, 'cause I'm hungry. Two, 'cause I'm sure Gryffindor has won and they're definitely partying upstairs in the common room and I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially Riven.
When I reach the Great Hall, it's empty. Well, obviously it's not dinnertime as yet. What time is it anyway? I'm not even wearing a watch. Where to go now? What to do?
Ah. The Library.
I'm almost at the marble stairwell, when-
"Thanks for coming." I hear the terribly familiar deep, husky voice say.
I turn around to see Riven two steps away from me, poker-faced. I stare at him, saying absolutely nothing. What am I supposed to say anyway? But he still waits, expecting me to talk.
"I was occupied." I say.
"I see." he says, raising his eyebrows.
"I don't have to explain myself to you." I say, as a group of second years' pass by.
"What is your problem?" he frowns at me, taking a step further.
"How does it matter?" I glare up at him. Really now, why does he have to be so tall?
He looks at me for a couple of seconds and then-
"Whatever." he says and walks off. Just when this day couldn't get any better.
I stand without moving for a couple of seconds, mentally unleashing my vocabulary of swear words. Then, I decide to continue with my plan of going to the library.
"Accio Pride and Prejudice." I say, once I've seated myself in my favorite spot in the library, behind a bookshelf containing books on magical law. My novel zooms in through the open window only seconds later. Where had I stopped? Ah.
'Do you think anything might tempt me to accept the hand of the man who has ruined, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister? Do you deny that you separated a young couple who loved each other, exposing your friend to censure of the world for caprice and my sister to derision for disappointed hopes, involving them both in misery of the acutest kind?'
My eyes follow the sentences without actually registering anything. It's pointless. I just want to go to bed. This day has been emotionally exhausting and it's not even four thirty yet.
Enough thinking. Just read the damn book, Molly.
'I do not.' says Darcy. I turn the page. I read. I turn the page. I read. I turn the page. Minutes turn into an hour.
"Let's go for dinner."
I look up.
"I'm not hungry." I reply, going back to my book. What does he want now? Didn't he just walk away from me some time ago?
I hear him pull up a chair and sit down beside me, but he doesn't say anything. I turn a page again.
"Did you get detention?" Riven asks, quietly. I shut my book and look at him.
"Did Elinor tell you that?" I ask, hatred written all over my face.
"No, not really. I overheard her telling her friends something about a love potion and getting you into trouble, so I kind of put two and two together and…" he trails off.
"You did it because you didn't want to get your cousins into trouble?" he asks.
"How many people know about this?" I ask, disregarding his last question. If this girl ruins six years worth of my hard work on building up a reputation, she might just find herself looking like a Mandrake.
"I don't think she's told anyone but her friends. I just overheard her." Riven replies.
Silence falls between us, broken only by the sound of me breathing heavily, trying to gather myself.
"I thought we were friends, Mol." he says, after some time.
"So?" I reply, looking away.
"So why didn't you tell me?" he asks.
"I don't remember you giving me a chance." I answer, pointedly. "All you could see was that I hadn't come for the match. That was all that mattered to you, because that's they way you are, Riven. You only see what's right in front of your face, but you'll never try to see the reason behind it."
He looks at me disbelievingly. Clearly he has never had anyone point out his flaws. I doubt he thinks he has any.
"What about you? Couldn't you just have told me what had happened?" he replies, his volume rising. No sign of Madam Pince.
"Oh, yes, because you were kind enough to ask me what was wrong." I retort, sarcastically, getting up and taking my book, making to walk away, but Riven's too quick.
"Oh no you don't." he says, standing up, and in one swift motion, I've been pinned against the wall.
It takes me a moment to realize what's happened and when I do, he's inches away from me. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.
"How many times do you think you can run away from me?" he smirks.
"Get away from me." I say, through gritted teeth, struggling against his strong hold.
"How about… no?" he says. He knows that I know I can't shout in the library because Madam Pince will hate me for it and I can't get into trouble twice in one day.
"Now, you listen to me for a change. I'm not the only one with a pacific sized ego here and we both know that. Don't give me that shit about me not asking you. You could have very well just told me, but you didn't. Where does that put you?" he says in hushed but firm tones.
I give him the dirtiest look I can. "Would you want to tell me something after I've been an arrogant jerk to you? I didn't think so. And just so you know, my problems have nothing to do with you." I snap back.
Riven looks momentarily lost for words. But only momentarily.
"This has everything to do with me, Mol." he mutters. All of a sudden, he looks kind of… never mind.
"You know what?" I reply, "You're right. This is your fault. Elinor hates me because you spend time with me. No one has ever hated me before. And it's happening now, because of you. I am so sick of being glared at by those bimbos, because of you. I got detention today, just because Elinor doesn't like me! Because of you!" I whisper urgently. I feel Riven's grip on me slacken. What have I just said? It's true, but I don't want it to sound like I'm blaming him.
"I can't believe you're putting this on me." he says, his voice calm yet unnerving.
I close my eyes and as I do so, I feel everything inside me disappear. It took so much, so long to get our friendship back. It took so much. This can't go away so soon. But I can't tolerate being hated. I can't tolerate getting into trouble. I can't. My reputation is really all I have right now. And I intend to build myself on it, and nothing can stop me from doing that. There can't be obstacles. No matter how important they are.
"Stay away from me." I hear myself say. The words sound foreign in my mouth.
When Riven doesn't reply, I take the opportunity and free my arms from his hold.
He looks at me and I look at him and all I want is for him to stop me from leaving. I search his face and it's the first time I see that his eyes don't have that twinkle in them. It's torture. Torture, because I'm realizing that my feelings for him probably never went away. And that scares me. I really cherish the friendship we've had for this time but… I can't do this. I have to walk away.
And with that thought in my head, I move past him and walk out of the library.
A/N: Sorry for the late update, I was having a writer's block. Please review :) Thank you for reading!
