Chapter 8: Prefect Duties
By the time I crossed the threshold into my relatively new home, I was beyond cold. The frigid temperatures outside were the sort that seeped into your bones if you were left vulnerable to its harsh bite for too long. Crookshanks was there as soon as I had shut the front door. He rubbed his body around my legs, pressing his head into my hand as I crouched down to make a fuss of him. Instead of talking to him I remained quiet, just letting him comfort me in a way that demonstrated the fact he possessed knowledge of the cause of my distress. He was my only real friend at this moment in time, which isn't as depressing as it sounds because the quality of our bond was probably equal to a few strong friendships put together and then some. I'd long since learnt the joy of true friends. A pang in my chest resulted in me thinking of Hedwig and Harry. Their relationship was similar to the one Crookshanks and I had, however I would not be surprised to learn that theirs was a deeper bond not just because of the extended period of time of knowing each other, but because I would say Hedwig was very close to being his familiar. A shaky sigh left my lips and I meandered into the living room, slowly shuffling towards the mirror. I stared at my pale face, taking in my dishevelled appearance before I met my own eyes. "Okay, Granger. That's it. You've had your day of sulking. Pull yourself together for Merlin's sake! He's not him, and dwelling on what used to be won't change things. Get. Your. Act. Together, goddamnit! Don't be the mudblood they think you are." I hissed, with a look of disgust that could rival Malfoy's.
I spent the rest of the evening doing work. I caught up and expanded the notes I'd made in lessons so that they were of a better quality, and then started on the few pieces of homework I had been set. It was quite relaxing, although having to go over classwork to improve it made me hate myself a little bit more. I was usually the one to tell others off for such antics, and now I had succumbed to them! Although, considering how long I ended up spending time to catch up, I made a promise to myself to never do it again. This occasion was a one off, and actually it was useful because it kept my mind occupied and aided me in procrastinating going to bed. I was rather anxious about having another Cedric dream. It was unlikely given how awful I'd felt today, but in regards to how much I had relived memories of him over the course of the day... improbable, but entirely possible. It was almost 11 o'clock before I managed to get into bed, and Crookie lay down next to me protectively. Despite my apprehension, my body was exhausted from lack of food, water and sleep and due to this I was out within minutes.
The next day at school was a lot better. I was somewhat on the way towards recovery, and I managed to at the very least engage in conversation in some average 'look, it's cloudy again' sort of way. I still wasn't as bubbly as I was on my first day here, but I didn't really expect to return back to normal so quickly even after I told myself off. My note taking was a lot better however, so that there is my silver lining. After fourth period, I went to the cafeteria to eat lunch. My sandwich was adequate, and the apple I bought was sweet and juicy, and not made from slave labour (S.P.E.W. had really not taken off as much as I wanted it to at Hogwarts).. Having carefully selected a seat next to Angela, with Eric opposite me, I was in good company too. They told me how they were school journalists, and that they were really excited about the whole thing. We were having quite the conversation about possible future topics that could get people interested when the door to the cafeteria burst open.
Two guys were fighting. I didn't know who they were, but they were really going for each other so I figured there must be bad blood between them. I was so preoccupied with trying to work out what had caused the fight and who they were that it took me longer than it should have to noticed that one of them had a bloody nose. I felt my muscles tense up. This was not good. I snapped my head around to where the Cullens were to discover that they were all looking at Jasper. The biggest guy, Emmett, had his hand on Jasper's shoulder and Alice was watching him anxiously. Instant concern went out to them all. Forks was such a small place, and the school did not have a large number of students so I could not imagine that this sort of thing was very common. Yet, I was reminded of my initial fear of the vampires being in a school. Accidents did happen. What if Jasper was here alone? Would the situation be the same? This was a potentially very irresponsible situation. My staring at the Cullens however, soon caught Edward's attention because he suddenly frowned at Jasper, and then his eyes darted to me. I was about to ask whether Jasper was okay, before remembering that they didn't know that I knew what they were. Instead, I tore my eyes away from his and rushed towards the fighting boys without hesitation. I missed being able to do magic at times like this.
Some of the other students were cheering the fight on, and as I got closer I had to stumble back to avoid an elbow that suddenly came swinging back. That really got my goat. Feeling my hair prickle, I kept my place at the front of the circle that had gathered. Ideally I wanted to use a table to ram it in the middle of the two brawling students but I couldn't see how that was possible with the enclosed students, so instead I threw myself into the middle of the fight. One of the boys tried to push me out the way, but I stood my ground, placing one hand on each of them pushing them away from each other. I was not particularly strong, but someone else came to help pull them apart. I realised with a start that it was Mike that was trying to help.
"What the heck do you think you are doing, brawling in the canteen? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" I said in a raised voice. I didn't care that I wasn't a prefect here, this behaviour was totally unacceptable. Someone told me to shut up, but I sent a glower in their direction that seemed to silence them. "Need I remind you that we are all nearly adults? Egging on a fight is as bad as starting it. Someone else could have been hurt, besides these two idiots." I hissed, and I jumped slightly when Mr Banner's voice rang out from behind me. "You two. My office. Now." He sounded extremely annoyed, and I stood aside as the two students left to go to his office. I had no idea how long their fight would have gone on if it weren't for the teacher's arrival. "Miss Granger, I take it you intervened?" I nodded silently. He smiled at me. "Thank you for behaving in such a mature manner. You too, Mike. It seems we need more students like you." He said, sending a dark look at the rest of the crowd that had done nothing to stop the boys. Some of them looked a bit sheepish, and the cafeteria was still in silence when the bell rang for next lesson.
It was a bit awkward as we all left. I was getting a few glares for being a teacher's pet, but I didn't care about that. I was more concerned about Jasper being able to cope with the rest of the day. Goodness knows if anyone was bitten... It would not end well, least of all for the Cullens. I cannot begin to imagine what it's like to have to uproot and start again every however many years. I suppose in a sense they were fugitives. Kind of like how Sirius used to be.
My mood sobered. Poor Sirius. I am sorry for his death. Harry was so devastated by his passing, and I too felt it. I was never close with him and I still think he was reckless, but I do respect him. I just wished that there had been a way to check whether Sirius had been at Grimauld's Place. With a sigh, I hastened to Biology where I claimed my seat next to Edward. He was already there, and he turned to look at me as I sat down. His posture temporarily stiffened, causing me to tense up fearing that I stank of blood. Before I could get too worked up, I quickly started conversation.
"How is Jasper?" I quietly asked, feeling certain that no one else had ever noticed the Cullens' absence from the circle. Edward frowned at me slightly, but not in a 'shut-your-face' kind of way.
"He's better, thank you. It's not the first panic attack he's had," Edward lied skilfully, and I pressed him for no further comment. Neither of us spoke for a few seconds and then, "Why did you stop the fight?"
"Because they were behaving like idiots, and no one seemed prepared to do anything about it," I snapped. I did not need him questioning me too.
"You could have been hurt," He sounded concerned, and that stopped me in my tracks. I turned to look at him and noticed the lingering confusion around his eyes, but at that moment Mr Banner walked in. He still looked as annoyed as a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but he appeared able to rein it in.
After an hour of almost silent workbook exercises, I headed to gym for a game of volleyball. Until coming here I had never actually played this sport, and I was far from being one of the strongest members on the team. I tried, even if people were half ignoring me today. Nonetheless, it was a relief when the day ended. I quickly changed and then left the building. I hadn't walked far when Edward joined me. I smiled politely at him in greeting.
"Would you like a lift home?" I hesitated with his abrupt question. A lift would be welcome but I was suspicious. It was unexpected and given the events of the day I felt reluctant, especially after a furtive glance towards his sister.
"No thank you," he was surprised by my answer, I think, because he frowned at me but then he followed my line of sign, inclined his head, and walked off.
A small sigh escaped me as I watched him walk away. It was much easier to deal with him when there were several feet of distance between us because that way I didn't have to think about his eating habits, his awareness of what I did or did not know and for a while I could even semi-forget his existence. It wasn't the same as at Hogwarts, where there were several floors and corridors between people at times, but separate classes at Forks High School were the best I could hope for as a buffer. Shaking my head to rid myself of my wandering thoughts, I headed home feeling quite relieved that I was alone.
The path homewards was quite familiar to me now, and even the splattering of rain was somehow soothing. I liked to pretend that each droplet was carrying away some of my stress. This stopped the moment the heavens opened up so completely that a thick, icy sheet of rain drops was drowning me. I sprinted to my front door, and almost tripped over myself as I avoided a letter that was on the floor. As I slammed the door shut carelessly, I stared at the envelope on the matt with a grin rapidly developing on my face. I'd recognise that handwriting anywhere! Eagerly picking up the letter, I tore into it to get to the message.
Dearest Mia,
It has been so long since you left to go on your travels! Have you tried the ginger snaps, yet? I hear they are good, even if crumbs end up everywhere. I know how much you have been craving the comfort of your homeland. I feel it too - work is steadily building up. I'm sure overtime payment is not good enough, especially as I'm helping a colleague who doesn't seem capable of retaining the proper procedure schedule. I'd wager anything that you'd still be more efficient than us whilst you journey across the world so I shouldn't complain. Grandpa sent us a postcard by the way, which you really need to see soon. The old man has really outdone himself this time! Perhaps you will see him when you get to your next destination?
I can hear the children kicking up a fuss in the next room, so I will end this letter. I hope you are well and that my relatives aren't driving you too crazy. Who'd have thought they'd have emigrated? Perhaps they'd like to adopt our Siamese cats as they're driving me insane.
All my love, and that of our children,
Jim
I snorted as I read the letter. The amount of coding that went into it clearly meant that things weren't doing so well in Britain, but it somehow made the letter so much more entertaining. Ron was eating with his same old table manners, and they both hated homework. I think the rest of the Weasley clan and our friendship group were the children, with the twins somehow still somehow influencing things. That, or Ron and Ginny were at each others' throats. The only thing that was confusing me was the sentence about Dumbledore. Next destination? I frowned a little, unable to come up with a solution to that particular riddle. As far as I knew I was not leaving Forks, and I certainly didn't intend to be changing schools every couple of weeks. With a small shrug, I put the letter down on the work surface. It was lovely to hear from Harry, but it made my loneliness more pronounced. Oh, how I missed my best friends! I didn't even know how I was supposed to reply to him seen as I had no owl. Still, with the letter freshly imprinted in my mind I got started with my homework and slipped back into my usual routine.
