Chapter 10: June 2016
When exams arrived, Dominique found herself regretting her previous desire for exams to come sooner. When she sat down to her first exam, history of magic on Monday morning, she would have given anything to be back in defence class, duelling with Summer, or in potions and having to study twice as hard as normal.
When the two weeks were finally over, Dominique could barely believe it was true. She'd made it through and come out the other side unscathed. The only thing left to do was wait for her exam results and then she could relax for two months before having to come back for fourth year, which rumour had it was when things were going to get extra tough.
"That's not all that's left to do," Brooke voiced when Dominique told her friends as much.
"What do you mean?" Dominique frowned. "Classes are done."
"There's still the final Quidditch game," Brooke pointed out. "Gryffindor against Slytherin. The game everyone's been waiting for."
"Oh right," Dominique said unenthusiastically. "That."
"You're coming, right?" Brooke frowned, not liking Dominique's bored tone.
"Um… no?" Dominique replied, her answer sounding more like a question than a response. "Why would I?"
"How about because your best friend is the Seeker and it's the final game of the year?" Brooke suggested, shocked that Dominique hadn't immediately agreed to go to the game.
"So?" Dominique shrugged. "It's no different from all your other games, and I never went to those."
"Yeah, actually we've been meaning to talk to you about that…" Tom said hesitantly, entering the conversation.
"What are you talking about?" Dominique asked, looking around at each of her friend's faces. Brooke looked sad, Tom looked uncomfortable, and Miles was staring at the floor.
"Well, it's just… Don't you think as Brooke's friend, you should be going to her games and supporting her?" Tom asked.
"Come on guys, we had a deal," Dominique reminded them. "Remember, I went to a game. When I hated it, we all agreed that you'd never pressure me into going to one again."
"That was when it was strangers playing the game," Tom said. "It's different now."
"I don't see why," Dominique said, crossing her arms. "It's going to be just as boring as it was then. Just because Brooke's playing doesn't mean I'll be able to follow the game, or understand it in any way."
"That's not really the point though Domi," Tom insisted. "The point is that friends support friends."
"What's even going on right now?" Dominique demanded. "Am I on trial or something?"
"Of course not," Tom shook his head. "I just think – "
"Look," Dominique said, cutting in. "I hate Quidditch. It has nothing to do with any of you, and I don't like you any more or less just because you enjoy Quidditch or play Quidditch or whatever. We agreed that I didn't have to go to any more Quidditch games, and you all agreed to accept me even though I don't like Quidditch. Nothing's changed. I still hate Quidditch, I still don't want to go to the game."
"This isn't about Quidditch," Tom shook his head. "This is about – "
"Well it sure isn't about gobstones," Dominique interjected. "Look, you all do what you want, and I'll do what I want. Okay? Can we just agree to disagree on this?"
"No!" Tom cried. "This isn't – "
"Tom stop," Brooke jumped in, stopping him from saying whatever he had prepared. "Just… stop. Let Domi do what she wants. It's no big deal."
"But don't you want her there? To support you?" Tom frowned.
Brooke shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well sure," she nodded. "But I don't want her there if she's going to be miserable. I want her there because she wants to be there, and obviously she doesn't. I'm not going to force her do something against her will, and I'm not going to blackmail her by saying it's a requirement of friendship."
"It's not blackmail," Tom protested. "It's what real friendship is about. Supporting one another."
"Look, I support Brooke," Dominique insisted. "But can't I support her from the library? Wish her luck in the Great Hall and then congratulate her afterwards? Where's the rule that says that supporting someone requires attending their Quidditch games?"
"There, see?" Brooke said, still talking to Tom. "She'll support me from afar. It's fine."
"It isn't though," Tom shook his head, not ready to cave. "It's not right."
Brooke sighed. "Look, I have to get to practice," she declared. She stood up and grabbed her bag from the ground, swinging it over her shoulder.
"I'll come with you," Tom volunteered, standing up and grabbing his own bag. He turned to face Dominique. "Because I want to support her." He stressed the word support and Dominique shook her head angrily. It was one thing to disagree with her, but now he was just trying to make her feel bad. "Miles, are you coming?"
"No, I'm think I'm going to stay here," Miles decided.
Tom frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked, his tone obviously saying that to stay behind with Dominique was to take her side. At least in Tom's view of things.
"Yeah," Miles nodded. "You go along."
When Tom didn't immediately move to follow Brooke, Miles spoke again.
"Don't worry, I'll be at the game on Friday," he assured the boy.
Tom nodded. "Alright then," he said. "Catch you later."
Brooke and Tom left the common room then, leaving Miles and Dominique alone.
For the first few seconds, they just sat in silence. Then Dominique sighed a heavy sigh and slouched down in her chair wearily.
"You agree with Tom, don't you?" she said, dreading his response. "You think I'm being unreasonable."
Miles sucked in a breath and Dominique waited in fear for him to tell her off.
"I don't."
"You don't?" Dominique frowned.
"I don't," Miles repeated. "Tom's the one who's being unreasonable. No one should feel forced to do something they don't want to do."
"Thank you," Dominique said, feeling vindicated. If Miles was on her side, then she knew Tom couldn't be right about everything.
"Except…" Miles hesitated.
"What?" Dominique demanded, crossing her arms. "Except what?"
"Well didn't you see how much Brooke was hoping you'd agree to go?" Miles asked.
Dominique softened and loosened her arms. "Yeah," she nodded, glancing at the floor and feeling guilty.
Miles shrugged. "Look, whether you go or not is up to you. Just consider what matters more to you. Brooke's feelings, or your own boredom. These games don't usually last more than two hours, and sometimes they're even shorter. It's not so terrible a commitment."
"I guess," Dominique nodded thoughtfully. "And Brooke is my best friend."
Miles nodded. "Just think about it," he said. "Either way, we'll all still be your friends when it's over."
Dominique nodded. "Thanks," she said. "And thanks for not screaming at me like Tom did."
"He means well," Miles defended his friend. "He's just looking out for Brooke's feelings."
"I guess so," Dominique shrugged. "I just wish he didn't have a point."
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The day of the final Quidditch game of the year arrived, and Dominique was no closer to coming to a decision. Over the past few days, Dominique and her friends had carefully avoided the topic for fear of another argument breaking out, for which Dominique was grateful. But she was going to have to make a choice very soon, and she wasn't sure how to do that.
"Alright, I can't eat any more," Brooke declared about halfway through breakfast. "I'm too nervous. I think I'm just going to go fly around the pitch a few times to get warmed up."
"We'll see you down there," Miles said as she stood up from the table.
"We'll be cheering loudly, so look for us," Tom added.
Dominique remained silent.
Once Brooke had left, Dominique started feeling even more stressed out than she had been feeling before. With Brooke gone, the boys would want to head down soon and she had no idea whether to follow them or not. Before she was ready, Tom put down his fork and pushed his plate away, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
"Well I'm done," he declared. "We should head down and get some seats before all the good ones are taken. What do you say man?"
"Definitely," Miles agreed. "We should try for the front, so we don't have to struggle to see over people's heads."
"Don't you think the back would be better?" Tom wondered. "Since it's higher up? Then we won't have to strain our necks."
Miles shook his head. "It might be higher up, but it's also further away. The players won't be as visible."
"Good point," Tom nodded, conceding to Miles.
The boys stood up while Dominique pushed some eggs around on her plate and twirled her hair with her other hand. Tom and Miles both stepped away from the table and then Tom fixed Dominique with a glare.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked. He used the most condescending and scornful tone. Dominique had just been thinking about joining them in the stands, against her better judgement, but when Tom spoke, all those thoughts flew out the window.
"I don't think so," she said, crossing her arms defiantly. "I think I'm going to stay right here. In fact, maybe I'll go to the library and do some reading."
"Suit yourself," Tom sneered before striding off towards the doors.
Miles sent a sad look in Dominique's direction before following his friend outside and Dominque felt herself deflate. She'd been so focused on not caving to Tom's peer pressure that she'd let down both Miles and Brooke. She supposed she could still change her mind and catch up with them, but the thought of how Tom would gloat if she gave in made her stomach turn. She knew it was terrible, but she was too proud to admit that her decision to skip the game was wrong.
With a sigh, Dominique finished her breakfast and dragged herself out of the Great Hall. She figured she'd pick up her exam results – which were waiting for her in Professor Longbottom's office – and then see if she could convince Madam Maxwell to let her bring a couple of novels home for the summer.
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"Well that totally sucked," Brooke groaned when she arrived back in the common room later that day. "We were slaughtered."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Dominique said, hurrying to her friend's side almost immediately.
"Yeah well, we might've won if only we'd had as much support as the Slytherins," Tom muttered, following behind Brooke. "Summer had a whole benchful of Slytherins cheering her on."
Fed up with Tom's attitude, Dominique stood and faced him. "Alright Tom Kelley, you listen here. I love Brooke, and I value our friendship and I was thinking about going to that Quidditch game until you were so rude to me this morning. You've been making all these comments about me and about my friendship with Brooke, and I'm getting sick and tired of it, so if you have something to say to me, then say it. Right now."
"Alright," Tom said, meeting Dominique's glare. "I think you're a bad friend. I don't think there should have been any question in your mind whether to go to the Quidditch game or not. I think it's unacceptable that this conversation didn't happen until Brooke's last game, because a real friend would have gone to all of them. I think that you're selfish and entitled and I think Brooke deserves better than that."
Dominique was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and eerily calm.
"I see," she said, a lump forming in her throat. "Well I'm glad you finally got that off your chest. It sounds like you've been thinking it for a while."
She waited for Tom to say anything, but apparently he had said everything he'd needed to say.
"I'm just going to – I have to go speak with Professor Brunwell about my Astronomy grade," Dominique said, desperate to get out of there. She couldn't just stay there with Tom and the others, she needed to escape.
She turned and fled, bulldozing her way through the portrait hole, much to the disgruntlement of a fourth year who'd been about to come through. She ran down the hallway, trying to put some space between the common room and her, coming to a stop only after she'd reached the other end of the seventh floor, where Ravenclaw Tower was located.
Slowly, Dominique crumpled to the floor, leaning her back against the wall. She pulled her knees forward and felt tears start to fall from her eyes.
She knew she'd provoked Tom into saying what he'd said, but still it had been harsh. If he hated her so much, why did he even stay friends with her? Was it just because of Brooke and Miles? Dominique felt miserable.
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching and Miles appeared from around the corner. Frantically, Dominique wiped the tears from her face, not wanting him to see her crying.
"Hey," Miles said softly, coming over and sinking to the ground next to Dominique.
"Hey," Dominique muttered.
"Listen, Tom was totally out of line – "
"No," Dominique cut in. "I told him to say what he thought and he said it. It's good that I know. At least now he doesn't have to lie about being my friend."
"He didn't mean everything he said," Miles said sadly. "He regrets it already, though he's too proud to come and apologize."
"I highly doubt that," Dominique sniffed. "Besides, he was right. I am selfish."
"No you're not," Miles denied. "No more than the rest of us. Everyone's a little selfish."
"Okay that wasn't very helpful," Dominique muttered.
"Sorry," Miles apologized. "But look – Tom will cool down, you guys will make up, and everything can go back to normal."
Dominique shook her head sadly. "I don't think it can," she said sadly.
"Sure it can," Miles assured her. "Maybe not tonight, but tomorrow – "
"I can't be friends with him after this," Dominique insisted. "Not after what he said about me. Even if he wishes he didn't say what he did, the fact is that it was there. The thoughts were in his head. And knowing that's what he thinks of me… it changes everything."
Miles exhaled sadly. "What's going to happen to us all now?" he wondered. "How do we move forward?"
"I don't know," Dominique shrugged. "I honestly don't know."
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At the end of term feast that night, Dominique and Tom sat on opposite ends of the Gryffindor table. Brooke was already sitting with Tom when Dominique and Miles walked into the Great Hall, so Miles elected to sit with Dominique. Dominique and Brooke had spoken earlier, after Dominique's talk with Miles, and Brooke had assured Dominique that she didn't share Tom's feelings one bit and that Tom shouldn't have said what he said, and that he knew that. Dominique appreciated Brooke's effort to smooth things over as much as Miles', but nothing was going to fix what Tom had broken.
Before the feast began, Headmaster Slinkhard stood to make his end of term speech. He congratulated Slytherin on winning the Quidditch cup and awarded the House Cup to Hufflepuff – who'd managed to come out three points ahead of Slytherin, and seven points ahead of Gryffindor. It had been a close year.
Then to Dominique's shock and horror, Headmaster Slinkhard announced that Professor Flitwick would be retiring. Dominique couldn't believe it. Her favorite Professor – the one that had encouraged her with her charms work – was retiring? Who would replace him? Whoever it was surely couldn't be as good as Professor Flitwick. He'd been teaching for so many years, Dominique couldn't imagine Hogwarts without him.
When the feast was over, Dominique made a beeline straight for Professor Flitwick's office, wanting to corner him and demand to know why he couldn't stay another year – or maybe until her graduation. In the back of her mind, she knew she should be congratulating him on his retirement, but logic had never been one of Dominique's strong suits.
"Professor Flitwick!" Dominique greeted him. His office door was open and he was packing his things away into boxes.
"Dominique," Professor Flitwick smiled when he saw her. "What a pleasant surprise! Do come in."
Dominique obliged, and took a seat across from him at the desk.
"I can't believe you're retiring," Dominique said, realizing now that she hadn't really put much thought into what she would say when she got here.
"Yes," Professor Flitwick nodded. "Well it's been a number of years now that I've been thinking about it, and with Minerva gone and all these young new Professors coming in, I just decided it was time."
"It won't be the same without you," Dominique said sadly.
Professor Flitwick smiled at that and patted her hand. "Don't worry," he assured her. "My replacement will surely be a wonderful teacher. Why, my very own niece has already applied for the position, and she's fantastic. You'll be in excellent hands next year."
"I just – " Dominique paused. She thought about what Tom had said earlier, about her being selfish, and realized that asking her Professor to stay for her benefit would be just that – selfish. "Congratulations," she said instead.
"Thank you Dominique," Professor Flitwick said. "Now run along. I'm sure you have packing to finish as well."
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The next day, Dominique woke with a weight in her chest. She'd been so looking forward to summer vacation, but now all she could think about was Tom and the things he'd said. She'd probably spend the whole summer thinking on it. She wouldn't have a chance to see him again until September. She wondered if she should try to smooth things over with him before they left, but when she saw him sitting with Miles in the Great Hall, she just couldn't do it.
"Look, it'll be fine," Brooke assured her, sitting down to breakfast. "You'll take the summer to mull things over, let the anger dissipate, and in September things will go back to normal."
Dominique shook her head sadly but didn't argue with Brooke this time. It was no use. Things were what they were and there was nothing she could do to change that.
They headed to the train station and there was an awkward moment when the four of them found themselves all trying to board the train at the same door. Tom adamantly refused to look at Dominique and immediately strode down the hallway towards the front of the train, leaving Dominique to turn towards the back end of the train to find a compartment.
Torn between their friends, Brooke followed Dominique and Miles followed Tom, agreeing to switch between compartments every few hours. It wasn't an ideal situation, but they would make it work.
With a sigh, Dominique plopped herself down in her seat in her chosen compartment and stared out the window at Hogwarts. She'd been so excited about coming back for her fourth year. Sure, she'd known it would be more challenging, but she'd also been excited for the adventures she and her friends would have. Now she never wanted to come back.
"Come on," Brooke said, dragging Dominique's attention away from the window. "Think of something happy. Aren't you excited to see your parents soon?"
"I guess," Dominique shrugged as the train started to pull out of the station. She sighed yet again. Everything was so messed up. How would she ever make things better again?
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Next up in Dominique's story: Friends and Foes