Disclaimer: I do not own the Potter verse, but I do have a few of my own OC's.
Chapter 7
I've finished packing before everyone else, per usual. Three hours ahead of everyone!
After double check my packing, I check behind my bed, to be sure.
Three items found: A pair of lacy pink knickers that are most decidedly not mine, a toothbrush probably a century old, and a Slytherin tie.
This puts the vomit-inducing image of Scorpius and Pippa on my bed.
I feel kind of sick.
What's done is done. I can't change the past, and so I shake it off.
Heather walks in, not having put anything in her trunk yet.
"Professor Longbottom told me to say you left your text book in his office."
"Okay." I wanted to say goodbye for the summer anyway.
:::
"H'llo?" The morning light bursts through the window illuminating the raised dust in the room. Boxes are stacked, and pots, both filled with flowers, vines and bulbous cactus looking things make it like a diverse forest. I find Longbottom sitting cross-legged in a large wardrobe sifting through endless browned sheets of parchment.
"Professor?"
He lifts his head, a smile already on his face.
"Good morning, Edith."
"How are you?" I ask, craning my neck to see what he's looking at.
"Better for your asking, thank you!" He dunks his hands back into the pile of paper and retrieves a rather dusty one from the bottom. "Are you all packed up?"
"Yes, just making my rounds to all the teachers for the summer, although Phoebe and I have a load of planning to do for the muggle sports club, so I will probably see you around."
"Good!" he says, as if not paying attention. "Look!" he raises the paper to me. "I wrote this essay when I was in forth year. Fourth year! Can you believe it?" He laughs to himself in delight. "She kept everything."
I take the paper from him. The page is filled with Longbottom's uneven scrawl, there's hardly any marginal room. From what I skim, I can see it's a paper on caramelizing rusted Shmere root for various potions.
"I can't wait until I'm one of those old professors who's seen it all, and knows what there is to know about teaching."
I smile at him. He really is my favorite teacher, despite his bumbling awkwardness. I mean, I look up to McGonnagal, and Professor Lupin is quite fit, but Longbottom is really cool.
"If you see Phoebe can you tell her that her mother is picking her up at King's Cross? I have to be here a bit longer than expected..." He picks up a vial of unidentifiable stuff and snickers at it.
"Sure, I'll tell her."
"Thanks, Edith. I'll see you around!"
"Professor? " I start, but he beats me to the point.
"Wait Edith! Don't forget you text book, and portfolio they're in the pile over on my desk."
There are three left on the desk, which I had to search through, since there are about ten stacks of books. I check the books for my name in the cover, and before I find mine, I find Albus's. In a moment of hesitancy I begin away, but think twice and grab the book.
I don't know why.
I mean what if he was sent there like I was to go get it? But what if I'm doing him a favor? Apparently we're friends...
It's not like I want an excuse to talk to him or anything. I won't see him till next term, I might as well say goodbye to him.
:::
I hollered a 'bye' down the field to Hagrid, because neither of us felt like walking, Lupin patted my back genially while I gazed into his crystal clear eyes, McGonnagal and I bickered about how appropriate it was for me to constantly pester her about the head girl situation – but as I left she told me to enjoy my last summer, and then winked at me! If that's not an affirmative, I don't know what is! – and Professor Tennenbaum high-fived me, doing a sort of tap dance in the process. He is a weird bloke. He is the muggle studies teacher, after all.
Finally, on my way back up to the upper hallways, I found Albus. He jogged over and jumped into the spot in front of me, a grin on his face.
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, I pushed his book into his chest.
"Here."
He peered down at it for a good three seconds before finding my eyes again.
"Thanks, Ed!"
"Erm, no problem."
Awkward silence.
"Are you as excited for summer as I am? Because I am really excited."
"Yeah I guess I am," I said. It was a lie. I hated it at home.
"Well listen, Ed," he said, putting a hand at the top of my back, and guiding me to a different spot in the hallway. "There are a load of us turning seventeen before the year starts, and we all wanted to spend a night in Diagon Alley going to pubs." His smirk was ever clear. "When is your birthday?"
"I turned seventeen last month," I replied. He fist pumped the air.
"Perfect! We'll keep in touch, then."
"Sounds fun," I admitted.
Then, all he did really was look at me in a combination of a laugh and a grin, and it was so charming. His hair all swept around and soft looking, his eyes sparkling in amusement.
His teeth: perfect.
And then I did something unimaginable...
I giggled. A simpering, swoon. My hands clasped in front of me, and I leaned back a little bit. It's like the girly-girl that I had banned to my innards long ago high-jacked my personality.
I couldn't stop her, because, then Albus had this body language, where he looked happy and pleased with himself at making me react in that abominable way. He rocked on his toes then his heels, beaming, with his hands in his pockets.
And what was I doing?
Oh, not damage control...
I was still smiling – I had a goddamn blush on my cheeks. This whole exchange hadn't been more than three or four beats, but it still happened. It happened noticeably.
I said goodbye promptly, leaving a very pleased Albus in the hallway. As soon as I turned the corner I leaned against the wall, and rubbed my eyes.
Merlin, I had never known this whole teenage, sexual body language thing was natural instinct. I thought it was an act. A game! It just flew out of me, and he reacted just as naturally. Just like any teenage boy with an ego would when a girl cracked under the pressure of a dashing smile.
Umm... no.
No.
No, that can't happen again.
As I began again back down the hallway, my stomach felt twisted, my heart was beating forcibly against my chest, and the image of Albus Potter's bright toothy smile was stubborn on my mind.
:::
Phoebe wasn't at our usual table in the caboose when I got on the train. I wanted to do a bit of goal-making for the summer, like we had done for the last three years. I found Tucker talking to a pretty black haired girl and he told me to look in the second car compartments. Before I left the two I did a double glance between them. The girl was Hufflepuff. Never once had I seen her around...Whatever.
Phoebe was sitting squished next to David in a compartment filled desperately to the brim with Potter's and Weasley's.
Merlin, she's holding his hand!
I stand tall, pick up my head, and assume an air of business. I am only here to collect Phoebe.
I don't want her to know I see her with David though, that's just awkward.
So I knock.
I know, who knocks? I do, to avoid unpleasant scenes.
They all turn their heads to me. Through the window, I see Rose and Albus smiling their usual ridiculous (beautiful) smiles.
Phoebe lets go of David's hand promptly. Rose waves me in.
Among the group is Hugo, a graduated Dominique and Fred Weasley, Lily Potter, Lucy Weasley, and little Louis Weasley.
"Afternoon," I reply in a tone of direct normalcy.
To my chagrin, I hear a bunch of 'hi Ed''s in response.
I look at Phoebe, and point behind me meaningfully. "You want to do a bit of planning?"
She bites her lip anxiously. "Edie, I'm not really in the mood." Her face is apologetic but determined.
I don't know how long I've been here staring at her in unpleasant surprise.
"Erm... Okay, I'll just find Tucker," I say quickly, turning to leave.
Albus follows me out.
"Come sit with us." He says shrilly as he shuts the door behind him. Everyone in that compartment is staring curiously at us.
"I've got loads to do," I say, shaking my head, and trying to hide the hurt behind my eyes. "And it's too full in there as it is, I could dock points for that." I say, without any intention to.
"You can have my seat, I'll sit on the floor."
All of a sudden I'm angry. Angry that Phoebe ditched me so that she can hold onto some guy's sweaty palm for four hours Angry that Albus is feeling sorry for me, and still making me feel slightly fluttery on the inside.
"No," I say coldly. "Bye."
And I leave. That wasn't exactly a professional way of declining, but I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, before... well before I started opening up to him again.
I don't even bother finding Tucker, and go back to my table. I'll do it myself.
"What's wrong with you?"
I spin around in my seat, and there stands Dom Foster with a bag of crisps in his hand. He sits down across from me at the table and pops it open.
I just tell him: "Phoebe would rather hang out with that dumb jock, David, then spend time doing things that need to get done with me." I point to myself accentuating that I come first. Obviously.
"Why are you more important than David," he asks with no real care in his voice. It doesn't faze me, though. That's just Dom.
"We're practically sisters!"
He pauses for a moment holding a crisp halfway from the bag and his sexy face. "Yeah." He pops it into his mouth. "The kind of sisters that are business women that like each other, but still only talk on business."
It was a weird analogy, but I guess it made sense. I didn't even care to defend myself, because he was probably right. Dom is unfailingly right, in the way that a spoon is blunt.
"I understand her need for a normal teenage life." He eyed me skeptically. "I really do! Not everyone can be part non-conformist like me, and she has a connection with the most popular crow at Hogwarts, there's a boy that likes her, and she just wants to hang out. It was selfish of me to ask her to sit here and take down my dictation."
I feel a jolt pass through me for a moment.
Oh my god, does Phoebe hate me? I treat her like a personal assistant. Dm is examining me. I can tell he's following my train of thought like a legilimens.
"I mean... She's not the awkwardly blonde frail thing with the center part anymore. She's
pretty, funny and smart. She shouldn't be hanging out with me!"
"I'm gonna stop you there," said Dom, holding up his oily chip hands. "Now you're over-thinking. Sure you make her follow you around, and boss her to no end." I cringe in my seat, but he continues. "She keeps your planner for you, for Dumble's sakes!"
I drop my head in my hands. My hair falls out of the pencil hold and pools around me in despair.
Dom reaches over and draws some of it back like a curtain, peaking in through to my face. "It's simple... just treat her like a friend, not an employee."
I whimper, a third from my Phoebe revelation, another at the hard truth that I was just told, and another at the silly feeling I get from Dom touching my hair.
I mean he's right. It might have been a harsh way of saying it, but that's what I like about Dom. No bullshit. No bush to beat around. He's a 'point a' to 'point b' type of bloke.
"Do you want to get lunch in a week or two in London?" He asks me out of the blue.
I cough a little before responding excitedly. "Sure!"
Dom gives me a smirk that he saves for the special times when he feels like smirking, crumples up his garbage, and slides out of the booth.
"I'll floo you when I'm free."
And then he turns on his heel and leaves me.
I'll admit, I watch his bum a bit as he goes. I can't help it, he is like a god.
And... he practically just asked me out!
As dom passes the line at the café, I see a new face.
Albus comes walking down to me holding a tray with two little meals on it. He sits where Dom had just gotten up, and sets his stuff down, putting one of the baskets of food in my place setting.
"Fish and chips!" he responds brightly. "You're hungry right?"
I gaze down at it. It looks pretty good. "Yeah, thanks... but you didn't have to buy me lunch, Albus."
He smiled at me, in a sheepish way. "I wanted to."
And all of a sudden that stupid, stupid girl comes out to blush and smile to herself. Outwardly, though. Albus sees, and he smiles too.
What the hell is this, some sort of muggle preteen movie? I feel so juvenile.
"What were you and Foster talking about?" I shrug, because I don't want to tell him that I was fretting about Phoebe, and for some reason I don't want him to know about Dom asking me to see me over break.
"He is a bit too cheeky for my taste," he says, taking a bite of his food. I dig into mine as well.
"He's one of my good friends."
"Why, though? He can be such a blighter sometimes. He thinks he's better than everyone, and... and his hair is always too brushed."
"Too brushed?" I relpy incredulously.
"Yeah, I saw him not hold a door open for a girl last week. It practically hit her in the forehead!"
"I'm sorry we all can't be as chivalrous as you, Albus."
"It was a really heavy door. It is common courtesy to at least keep it open for someone, especially a girl!"
I don't like how self-righteous he is, so I defend Dom testily. "Well at least he's not a dramatic bullshitter like you! And at least he has some fucking grooming skills" I cry.
People all around look at us curiously.
"Wow." He says simply.
"What?" I reply with indignance.
"I don't know, I've just never heard you swear like that before."
"What? I swear all the time!"
"I have never heard you swear," he repeats.
"Well I swear all the time in my thoughts," I muse, fastening my hair back up in it's pencil. Albus' watches me do it.
I must say; I'm glad I didn't offend Albus with that comment.
Instead, he appears pensive, as he considers my face, as if he's mulling over a piece of advice that I gave him. I eat my food self-consciously.
"Phoebe said that she feels like crap for ditching you."
"She did?"
"Yeah, but she also said she-"
"Don't worry, I know. I'm not mad at her." I pull my bangs out of my squinting eyes. "I'm actually kind of mad at myself." Albus's eyes were wide with understanding and supporting. Part of me wanting to recoil and stop talking, but a bigger part made me want to put everything out on the table between us. "I have been a terrible friend to her."
"Well, your just busy."
"I hardly ever listen to her problems. And I truly don't want anything to do with that weird thing that's going on with David. I mean I kind of feel bad that she knows she can't talk to me about boys."
"Why can't she?"
"Because I-"
I stop myself. Why is it?
"Because you're jealous of her?"
And now I feel super awkward. It's not like I've been rejected by boys, I've just never sought them out. Not even Dom, and to be perfectly honest for one of the first times, I fancy the pants off of him.
I avoid his eyes like I'm avoiding the question, but after about ten seconds of silence, I flicker my gaze at him, and he's looking out the window, with a twitchy look about him.
He really is very good-looking. He has a very boyish adorableness to him. And I like the shape of his neck. But don't think I'm mad because of that, I mean, he just has a nice neck – well I guess I could just say he has a nice body altogeth-
My thoughts are interrupted by him leaning over the table to grab my empty plate for me. As he gets up he looks at me one last time. His face went from all too serious, to all too easy-going. "You don't have to be, you know."
"What?" I say, disorientated.
"You should never have to be jealous of someone else."
I smile because it's a nice thing to say, and then he leaves me bemused at the whole interaction we just had.
I know I don't have to be jealous of everyone else! I grew up refusing to be jealous of other people, and forced myself to make it so that I didn't have to be. I like my life and I like the way I look, so who cares if people get boyfriends and I don't? This is Hogwarts, I have plenty of time to find a soul mate. Who knows, maybe I'll end up marrying a super smart and rich muggle doctor one day?
Hmmm...
Suddenly, Albus is back without the tray, sitting back down in the seat that he vacated five minutes ago.
"Alright, then!" he says cheerfully, grabbing my planner and parchment from my side and setting them up in front of him. "Let's make some goals." His hand is reached out towards me and I look at it with impertinent confusion. "Erm...can I see your quill?" he says after a few beats of silence.
"Why?" I don't move an inch.
"Well you'll dictate to me some things, and I'll write them down, and make various suggestions and comments."
I choose to keep my apprehensive face on as I slowly pass him the quill. He watches me expectantly, until I finally push over my ink as well.
"Ok now we can get started. Do you usually start with the most important, or do you sort them out by priority when you're done listing them."
He makes a pretty good Phoebe.
"For this list, I want to make a few groupings, and then we'll prioritize the groupings."
"Sounds good." His quill is at the ready, and his eyes are focused on me... on my mouth, which is making me uncomfortable.
"Er... Group one: Muggle Sports Club..." He sets to work scratching diligently against the page. "Two: WGA next term planning..." I crane my head curiously. He's biting his tongue, and his brow is furrowed in concentration. He's one of those kids that work extremely close to their paper, backs hunched. From here I can tell he has chicken scratch for handwriting. He notices my pause and looks back up to me, smiling encouragingly. Hesitation hasn't left my face. "Three," he quickly goes back to work. "...personal. That will be all for the groups unless I think of something else."
"I wish I was this organized."
"You could be," I say.
He shrugs and goes "eh" disinterestedly.
"Under the WGA heading, add 'visit Gringotts with Tucker and Phoebe to withdraw.' Next bullet... 'Wire fraction to the universal group.' Next bullet... 'Shop for self-dictation-quill.'"
We go through some things I need to gather for the sports club, some research we need to do, and some more recruiting.
"Alright, that'll do for now," I say reaching for the parchment. He pulls it back.
"What about the 'personal' column?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, I can just finish it up."
"Just let me do it."
"It's not a big deal Albus, I can just finish it another time."
"Why not right now? We don't get home for another couple of hours."
We sit there for a moment in suspension of the argument. I now have no real reason to not carry on. I have to be careful with what I say here. I don't want him getting all nosey on my home life.
"Bullet number one..." I say slowly, considering my words. "Begin jogging in the morning instead of in the afternoon."
A smirk is on his face as he writes.
"Bullet two: Add previous years accomplishments on resume. Three: Read through at least three non-fiction books, go lightly on the novels."
"Bullet four," he interrupts. "Come to Diagon Alley to drink with Albus..."
"This isn't a calendar, Albus, it is a list of goals and to-do's"
"...Buy fantastic party dress for night with Albus and friends." He continues happily without looking up from his writing. He's messing it all up!
"Stop it!"
"Bullet six...Start treating Phoebe more like a best friend, and make good friends with Rose."
"Albus cut the shit!"
"Bullet number seven...Have fun sleepover parties at the Weasley's house so that Albus can harass all of you."
He is so annoying sometimes. "Bullet eight: kill Albus Potter." He's still writing this with a smug little smirk, not bothering to look up at my fuming face. I grit my teeth and ball up my fists in agitation.
"Bullet nine: have large out of control party while parents are away."
"Bullet number ten..." I shout. "Go on date with Dom Foster!"
Silence. Not even the scratching of the pen.
I chance a look at Albus, and he is looking down at the page as if he's frozen.
What compelled me to say that? I knew it would bother him, I just didn't think of the reason at the time, and the implications of how I said are... oh merlin.
He starts writing again, with a calm, more serious demeanor. When he's done, he pushes the paper over to me, with a glued on expression of easiness.
"Is that all of it?"
"Um – yeah, I think we've covered everything."
He stands up, smiling, but not.
"Alright then I'll leave you to set those into importance. See you around, Ed."
"Bye," I say waving lightly.
Damn.
:::
The whistle blows and then engine starts pumping away as I stand next to all my stuff at platform 9 ¾ waiting... again, for my sister to pick me up.
It's a possibility that I just don't see her yet, it is slightly crowded, but I'm pretty sure she late again.
"Edith!"
I turn around to Phoebe's mother waving at me, and Phoebe smiling sheepishly next to her. They are exact replicas of each other.
Hannah Longbottom comes over and gives me a warm hug. "How's Edith?" she says.
"I'm doing fine, thank you. How are things at the Cauldron?"
"Same as usual. Do you need to get home with someone? I can apparate with you if you like."
This is my problem every year. Some very nice parent, usually it's Tucker's mom, offers me a ride home, and I don't know whether to say yes or no. My sister might remember, and she might not, and what if she doesn't and I've already left? Then I have inconvenienced her, without any way of telling her I'm home already.
It's twisted how she forgets about me, and feels bad about it, but then when se doesn't know where I am she gets worried sick and then yells at me for 'scaring her like that.'
"Thanks, Mrs. Longbottom, but I better wait for Julia." She nods with an understanding expression.
I look to Phoebe. "I need to talk to you about a few things next time I see you." Her mom waves at someone else and goes to say hi.
"When do you need me?" she asks back dutifully. I can tell that she doesn't want to hang out with me all day doing office work.
"How about this: Why don't we spend an afternoon Oxford street one day?"
Her face lightens up. "Ok!"
"I need to get new clothes, if I want to be a sexy head girl." I say it with sarcasm, and she laughs, but we both know it's true. I sigh a little, and has the smile on her face that is reserved for our good moments. "I have to stop dressing like a middle-aged ministry official."
"Just owl me whenever," she says. "Owl me your list of goals as well, I'll annotate it and put it into print for you."
I love this girl. We hug, and wave and then she and her mom are gone.
I set up my stuff by a pillar, and sit on my trunk. Who knows how long I'll be her. In third year a waited for two hours until she apparated to me drunk and crying. Her boyfriend had broken up with her and she spent the evening downing a bottle of wine, and forgetting about her sister.
I am highly against drinking and apparating, so I had flagged down a taxi, and brought us home. Later I had to put her on her bed and take her shoes and socks off. I made her a quesadilla that she threw up after eating.
Not wanting to put myself through that, I go outside to owl her.
"Oi! Put that thing away, Eed, somebody will see you!"
Lo and behold, my sister Julia, is walking up to me. Her hair is a mess and one of her trainers is untied.
But there's a smile on her face. She picks me up from my seat and crushes me with one of her hugs. "Welcome back pahta!"
A/N: Ahh mysterious sister is mysterious!
She won't be for long, next chapter is all about the seester.
What do you think of Edith's surprise girliness? Albus is digging his way under her skin, it seams...
Review if you have the time, please!
