CHAPTER 7
Annora POV
I looked as surreptitiously as possible at a certain blonde-haired boy whispering in a girl's ear.
The girl was auburn haired and blue eyed, small and slim. Her name was Tamara, and she was my best girl friend. She leant back and gazed at the blonde adoringly, running her hand through his hair. He whispered something else which made her smile.
The boy had platinum-blonde hair and cinnamon eyes. Quidditch had shaped and changed him well since Second year. That was Scorpius, and he was my best boy friend.
Note the space there.
I looked over at the two on the couch again and saw Scorpius nibbling at her ear. I sighed, slammed by book shut, and stomped past them to the dormitories.
They didn't notice me pass.
I growled as I paced in the dormitory. "Oh no, 'Nora, I don't like anybody right now," I mocked Tamara's past words. "No, the looks between Scorpius and I don't mean anything. I understand how you feel about him, 'Nora. Believe me when I say I know he's off limits. He's a player anyway."
I kicked Tamara's trunk, hard. It moved halfway across the room. "I should've known better than to believe her," I muttered, moving it back slowly.
"What are you doing with my trunk?"
I looked up and saw Tamara standing at the door with her arms crossed. "Merlin, Tammy, you scared me! I–I... um, I..."
She wasn't listening. "I heard a bang. Scorpius and I were just saying goodnight..." She saw my face which had evolved into a deep scowl, and shut up quickly.
"I tripped," I muttered, standing up and glaring at her subtly. She shifted uneasily.
"What's wrong, 'Nora?" she asked. I held back a scoff.
"Like you don't know already."
"It's Scorpius, isn't it?" she said knowingly. I frowned.
"Last I heard, he wasn't worth anyone's time because he was just a player," I snapped. Tamara blinked and sat on the edge of her bed, moulding her lips together.
"'Nora, I know how you must be feeling..." she started, but I didn't let her talk.
"What's going to happen when you two break up? Who's going to end up in the middle? Tamara, you two are my best friends. When you're over, I'm going to have to choose between you! How could you be so inconsiderate?"
My rant seemed to have no effect on the girl. "Oh, 'Nora. We aren't going to break up," she laughed, like the idea of it was ludicrous.
I hope you do. And soon.
"You can't know that," I grumbled. Tamara started brushing her hair; long, careful strokes.
"In Divination, when we were looking into the crystal balls, I saw someone. Professor Bellberry said that someone is the person I'll spend the rest of my life with. He looked like Scorpius."
"Plenty of people could look like Scorpius," I muttered. "On average there are seven people in the world who look similar to each other."
Tamara shrugged and got changed into her pyjamas silently.
"You said you didn't like anyone," I reminded her. I saw her shrug once again.
"It's not like I lied," she said thoughtfully, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. "I mean, Scorpius isn't just anyone, is he? You know that."
"You know I like him," I said quietly. Tamara shrugged for a third time, like it was no big deal.
"Hey, he asked me out. If you have a problem with it, you go talk to him about it."
"I will tomorrow."
The look I received from Tamara told me that she clearly believed I wouldn't. Slinking into my covers, I promised myself that I would. Tomorrow. Today, the scar was just too fresh.
Scorpius and I were doing our homework in the Library, avoiding the usual noise of the common room. I had avoided the topic all day, but I couldn't hold in my emotions any longer. It was time to face the elephant in the room – an elephant that Scorpius wasn't even aware of.
"How's Tamara?" I asked casually as I bent over my essay, hiding most of my face. He shrugged.
"Eh. Alright."
That wasn't helpful for the conversation. I scrambled for something else to say.
"You guys seem pretty close," I ventured. Scorpius looked up at me over the table.
"She's my girlfriend," he said slowly, as though he thought I was the slow one.
"Yeah, I noticed that last night." My voice was harsher than I intended but it caught his attention. Scorpius looked, if possible, slightly guilty.
"How much did you see?"
Oh. Ugh!
"I saw you biting her ear, then I left. It was revolting." I knew my comment would have no effect on Scorpius, because I had often used the phrase when it came to him and his pursuit of girls.
"Oh yeah, I heard you pass. You sounded pissed."
I waited for him to piece everything together patiently. Scorpius was bent over a book but he didn't seem to be reading; his eyes flickered around the desk, and his fingers played with the edges of pages. He was obviously deep in thought.
It took a long time, at least five minutes, for Scorpius to come to a conclusion which surprised me. He was usually so quick at noticing things.
"Hey," he began. "Are you mad because she's your best friend?"
Almost. "I guess so."
He groaned. "Annora, come on. Out with it. I know there's something on your mind."
"Just... I don't want to have to choose between you when you break up. And don't tell me you won't, because I know you will, sooner or later." I stared at him defiantly while he tapped his quill on his chin.
"Have you talked to Tamara about this?"
I sneered. "Yes. She told me about her Divination theory."
Scorpius tilted his head. "Huh?"
I jolted. "Oh. Um, never mind."
Scorpius stood up faster than my eyes could follow. I froze when he sat next to me and looked deep into my eyes. "Annora," he said in a deep voice. "What Divination theory?"
"The one where she saw the guy she was going to spend the rest of her life with," I breathed. Scorpius snorted.
"Tell me the whole story."
"It's nothing, really," I tried to convince him, to no avail. I sighed. "Apparently, she saw the guy she was going to spend her life with in a crystal ball, and he just happened to look like you."
Scorpius groaned. "Oh. Ugh. She's... clingy, isn't she?"
"More like determinedly positive," I allowed. He laughed, and then sighed.
"I'm going to have to drop her, aren't I?"
I nodded, silently cheering inside. It was so simple! "And I'm going to have to choose, aren't I?"
He shook his head, ruffled my hair, and went back to his side of the table. "No, Annora. You and I both know there's no choice here. You'll always choose me."
I scoffed. "Oh, don't be so cocky."
He grinned at me. "Sometimes, Annora, I have to be around you."
I blushed crazily.
Scorpius sighed loudly and packed up his stuff. "Well, it looks like I've got a little something to deal with. I'll see you later." Winking, he sauntered out.
I sighed, smiled, and rested in my chair. "Well, there's no way I'm finishing this tonight," I mumbled, and followed Scorpius out, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
