Relief
" Don't worry. We'll definitely help you."
Upon seeing Gryffindor's determined eyes, I burst into tears. I squatted down and covered my face with my arms. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the next best position to adopt when one needs comfort and to cry more. This is all so embarrassing. I couldn't stop my tears at all.
"What's wrong, Potter?" all of them asked together.
That made me cry harder. It felt good to know that there is someone out there who cares about you. In this case, there are four of them. That's more than what I can ask for.
"What's going on? Why are you crying so much?" Gryffindor asked, his voice slowly rising in panic.
Ravenclaw patted my back. She moved her palm up and down my back in circles. It was very comforting and it made me cry even harder.
"Rowena! You're making it worse!" Gryffindor said hysterically. "Argh! I can't handle people who cry!"
"You don't have to, Godric," Slytherin said impatiently. "Just shut up. You're making everyone paranoid."
Gryffindor became quiet for a few minutes. That was almost enough time for me to recover. I took a peek from under my arms.
Gryffindor and Slytherin were tangled in their wrestling. An unknown elbow is prodding Slytherin's chin, and an unknown leg is twisted at an awkward angle. I didn't know whether to laugh or continue to cry. A snort escaped as I tried to hold my laughter. Gryffindor caught me peeking at them.
"That's right, Potter! You should stop crying. A real man doesn't cry at such a minor problem," Gryffindor said through his strangled voice. Somehow, Slytherin managed to grip Gryffindor's neck with his free hand.
"What are you talking about? Anyone who gets trapped in a time travel has the right to panic and cry. Besides, girls are more emotional," Hufflepuff said, sighing at the men's unsightly position.
"Hm?" Slytherin said as he tried to untangle himself from Gryffindor. "Potter's a boy."
I looked up. I was already sitting on the floor from exhaustion. I blinked and a tear rolled down my wet cheek.
"You men are ignorant. That was definitely an insult; saying that Potter is a boy and all," Hufflepuff said angrily.
I blinked again. This conversation is getting weird.
"What? Ask Rowena! She knows that Potter is a boy," Gryffindor argued, pointing his finger at Ravenclaw.
She shook her head.
"See? I was right? Potter is a girl!" Hufflepuff started triumphantly but Ravenclaw interrupted.
"It's not that," Ravenclaw said simply.
"HAHA!!! I WAS RI…" Gryffindor's lips glued together after Ravenclaw waved her hand and muttered a spell. It was punishment for interruption.
"I don't know either," she said, looking at me.
My eyes opened wide. The four of them was looking at me curiously. They really don't know what I am. Isn't my gender obvious?
"… What makes you think that I am whoever you think I am?" I asked curiously. There must be some criteria for judging between two genders. After all, I'm from the future; specifically, one thousand years later. The differences between trend, fashion and behavior could have misled them somehow on the way.
"You drew on our faces."
" You're afraid of heights."
"You drank tea with us without complaining."
"You played Quidditch with us."
"You blasted me through the tower walls."
"You like sweet food."
I stared at them. No mention of big boobs? (No that I have any and I don't want it either.) No one mentioned I looked muscular? (Not that I am and I personally hate training muscles.) They decided what I am on the things I do?
My heart sank as I thought back to the moment before I was sucked into the time warp. Was this the reason for the hesitation before replying me to my proposal? The thought that I might never get to see the person that I had liked for the past three years, let alone know what the response to the proposal would be stung my eyes.
"Oh no!" Gryffindor said suddenly. "Don't tell me that there's no such thing as gender in your time?"
The idiotic comment made my brain cells laugh. In fact, I laughed and cried at the same time. The interception was so sudden that the tears could not stop in time. Maybe it stopped. Maybe these were the tears of laughter. However, the others did not laugh along with me. I stopped short and watched them. From their looks, I could tell they were struggling to decide if I was laughing because it was the truth or because it wasn't.
"Gryffindor, are you going to ignore me if I tell you that I'm a girl or that I'm genderless?" I asked.
"Eh? No way I would do such a thing. Gender doesn't matter much," he answered honestly.
"Me neither," Ravenclaw said. As expected, she caught on to what I was trying to do.
"That settles it. Come on, all this crying is making me hungry," I said, getting up from the floor.
"I'll prepare something for supper," Hufflepuff volunteered and left the room. This lady seemed to have a hint on what's going on too.
Gryffindor followed after her eagerly.
I could hear Slytherin and Ravenclaw whispering to each other.
"What was that supposed to be? He… I mean she…I mean… whatever didn't answer Godric's question! Why are you all looking satisfied and excited about supper?"
"I'm hungry too, after all this commotion. We would need the energy to help Potter, won't we?" was Ravenclaw's answer.
I smiled to myself when I heard Slytherin sigh exasperatedly. And I'm pretty sure that Ravenclaw knows who I am.
A/N: Thanks to RabbitohsGirl for your reviews! Because of your support, I have the motivation to write more! Thanks a lot!
About this chapter: This is about the founders' decision to help Potter when they learnt the fact that he was from the future. I was trying to show that he cried from relief, hence the subtitle 'Relief'. I am so tempted to make Potter a male. James Potter... he seems interesting. Haha... I might consider...
