Saturday came, and I was feeling a little unsure. I could only hope that today's plan would go off without a hitch.
Adam was really nervous. At breakfast, he would hardly eat, which was very unlike him.
"What's wrong?" I asked him, brushing his long fringe out of his eyes.
"Just feeling uneasy about today," he said. "I've got a bad feeling."
I studied his face, but thought he was just being paranoid. "It's called hunger, now here. Eat this toast," I placed a piece of toasted rye bread in front of him and he nibbled on the crust. "I have never seen anyone practice as hard for today as you have. You will be fine."
He just nodded, though he obviously didn't believe me. Eventually, he gave up on eating and headed down to the locker room to prepare. I hoped he would be okay.
Harry and I met in Snape's office to get out assignment for the day's detention assignment. I was still not very happy with Harry, but I was working to be more civil. He had potentially saved me from definitely ruining my relationship with Adam, and I had to be grateful for that.
"You'll be going through files for Mr. Filch today," Snape said, leading us to a room on the first floor that was full of files. "Sort them. If they are damaged, make a new file. You are to begin with the box one thousand and twelve, and are not to leave until box one thousand and fifty six is complete."
I mentally calculated that we had forty four boxes to sort through, which meant twenty two each. I wondered how long that could possibly take us.
After Snape left, I saw that these boxes contained a hundred files a piece. This would take a very, very long time.
I started at one end and he started with the other. We worked in silence for awhile, but after twenty minutes when I was still on the same box, I began to get bored. "Still not with Ginny?" I asked him.
"Nope," he said, sighing as he moved on to his second box.
"Really, I don't understand the big deal," I told him. "What is stopping you again?"
"Lots of things," he told me, "too much of a back story there."
"It's like you don't want to be happy," I told him.
He just shrugged. "It's not that," he told me. "Really, it isn't."
"Are you nervous about it?" I asked.
"Well, no," he said, but I could see hesitation all over his face. "I mean, yeah, maybe, but that's not a huge factor."
"I guess I'm lucky that Adam was straightforward with me about fancying me," I said. I had finished my third box of filing now, but we still had many more to go.
"He means... an awful lot to you," he commented, and there was a weird tone to his voice.
I wanted to know what he meant. "Why do you say it like that?" I asked.
"Well, look at the lengths we're going to in order to make him think you're at this game of his today," he said. "You freaked out when you found out you couldn't go, thinking your relationship was over. Isn't that... a little harsh? Shouldn't you want to break up with anyone who wants to dump you for something like that?"
I could see his point, but it was different. Our relationship was under a lot of strain this year, and we didn't need any more. "I love Adam," I told him.
"Apparently," he commented.
"He means everything to me," I said. I hadn't ever really vocalized my feelings to Adam, other than telling him that I loved him. "He is my family... I can't wait until we're both out of school and working and we have our own flat. I don't really have... a family, you know. My mum died when I was little and my dad married this awful woman... anyways, I always have Adam. He's my best friend and I love him. I'm not losing him because you were an idiot."
He was quiet for a bit after that, which was fine. I tried to get really focused on the boxes, so that hopefully I would be able to catch the end of the game. I wondered what the score was...
"Oh, hey! This card has your dad's name on it," I said, looking at it more closely than I had looked at the previous ones. I tried to figure out what said, but he took it.
"Cool," he said. He paused to read the card, which was fine, but it slowed him down. I was getting through my boxes quickly, but he was slowing me down. I hadn't expected that, as he was much better with charms than I was.
I could hear a massive cheer from outside, and wondered what that meant. "No offense," I said. "But I seriously hope we win today."
He shrugged. "Ginny took my spot as a Seeker, she's pretty good," he said.
"Adam has worked so hard for this," I told him. "I'm sure she's good, but it's one game. Adam's got a whole career riding on this."
"Is he getting scouted?" he asked.
"Yeah, Alex Sturgeon was coming today," I said. I knew that Harry would know who that was, since he would definitely have a career option in Quidditch.
"Oh, for him too?" he asked. "He was coming to watch me play, but I'm not interested in a Quidditch career."
I just nodded. "And I seriously hope he gets something, anything, really, just so long as he can have something to do next year."
"Well, I hope so too," he said, before returning to work on the boxes. From there on, we worked efficiently as possible.
I was on box twenty, but the game still was not over. I heard a metallic noise, and Harry jumped. He pulled a coin out of his pocket, and I was confused- what did he need a Galleon for?
"The game's over," he told me, looking up from the coin. "Hermione's on her way."
I stood up and collected my stuff. "Who won?" I asked, nervously. I didn't want to hear him say what I was pretty sure he was about to say.
"I don't know," he said. "These were from Dumbledore's Army last year; all I know is that Hermione is coming."
Harry handed me the vial of Polyjuice Potion. I raked my hand through my hair and caught a loose strand to add to it.
By the time Hermione slipped in the doorway, she was out of breath. My heart was pounding in my chest as I waited in anticipation to find out who won.
"I'm so sorry," she said. "Ginny caught the Snitch and won the game."
I let out the breath of air I hadn't noticed I had been holding in. "Thank you so much, Hermione," I said, before brushing past her to go find Adam.
~.~
I waited outside the Hufflepuff locker rooms for a long time. I watched as every player left the room, except for one. The expressions on their faces weren't cheerful, but I knew Adam would be even worse.
Finally, the last player besides Adam left. Penny McArthur, the reserve chaser and seeker, stopped to actually acknowledge me.
"He's still in there,"she said, chewing on her lip. "I'd go in and make sure he's okay."
"Thanks," I said. I found Adam sitting on a bench in the locker room. He had showered and dressed, but his hair was still wet and he didn't look like he was planning on going anywhere. His held his hands in his head.
"Adam," I said softly. I knew he heard me, but he didn't look up. I walked over to the bench and sat next to him, wrapping my arm around him. "I'm so sorry."
"Alex Sturgeon didn't even stay," he told me. I could see he was holding in tears of disappointment. I had no idea how I could possibly make him feel better from this point.
"Maybe he was sick," I pointed out, trying to be optimistic.
He snorted, and I could see his eyes. But it only took a second for him to sink back in to himself again. "Doubt it," he said. "I played terribly. I was so focused on practicing to build the skills that would beat Harry that I didn't consider the possibility he would be... wherever he was today."
"Detention," I said and he looked up in genuine surprise.
"How do you know?" he asked, looking up.
"Hermione told me." I said. "But believe me, you played really, really well...Please don't take this as hard as you are."
"I'm acting like this because I care about Quidditch! Because I now have nothing to offer anyone anymore. I'm not going to have a career and I'm not going to be able to take care of you and my parents won't be proud of me and I have absolutely nothing." He choked.
"That's not true," I said, leaning forward to kiss him. "You have me. And I've got some money saved up if you need it. We could rent a flat together this summer, and I'll pay for it, and then you'll have time to find a job until we can figure something out."
"I'm not taking hand outs from my girlfriend, Kat," he said. "I want to have something that will make my parents proud of me."
"I know," I said. He wanted so greatly to make his parents proud of him. He struggled with his family so much, all he wanted was to hear his father tell him how proud he was. I thought it was pretty admirable. "It's one of the reasons I love you so much."
"I love you too, Kat," he said, leaning in to kiss me. I curled my fingers in his hair, even though it was wet. I pulled him close to me.
"Adam," we both jumped when someone called his name. I moved off of him and stood up. Whoever it was wouldn't be happy to find us like this.
His father came into view as he rounded the lockers. Adam stood up, trying to make things look okay. I knew it wasn't a good thing that I was here. His father did not like me, although I wasn't sure why. I was a good girlfriend to Adam, came from a good family, and had more prospects than Adam did.
"Oh, Katherine," he said, as he saw me. "What are you doing back here?"
"She was just coming to say hi," Adam said, placing his arm around my waist.
"Ah, that's what they're calling it these days," his father said, his eyes cruel.
"I'll head up to the Common Room," I told Adam. "I'll see you later."
He just nodded. I knew that he was about to get grilled by his father and he would come back in a state even worse than how I had left him. I just wanted him to be happy. As I walked to the Common Room, I tried to figure out what I could do to make him happy. I would send off to Honeydukes for his favorite candies to surprise him. That would be a good start... but I wanted him to know just how much I loved and appreciated him. He didn't need a stupid job to make me love him.
On my way up to the Common Room, I ran in to Harry. He looked really happy. "Oh, Kat- you're just the person I was looking for," he said.
"Did everything go smoothly?" I asked, concerned.
"Yeah, he never suspected a thing," he told me. "Anyways, that's not what I wanted to tell you- I kissed Ginny."
My jaw dropped a little. I hadn't expected him to actually make a move. "Congratulations," I said. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks," he said. "Me too!"
"So why are you out here?" I asked him. "Go find your girl!"
"Yeah, you're right," he said. "Thanks, Kat!"
"You're welcome..." I trailed off, but Harry was already gone. He was really nice. Although he had gotten me in a ton of trouble, I didn't mind having him as a friend. And seeing him happy made me happy. I was glad for that friendship.
~.~
After two hours, when Adam hadn't shown up to the Common Room, I was definitely worried. I knew he was exhausted and needed some rest, and there was no way he had gotten up to the dorms without me seeing.
It had started to rain, and I was becoming irritable. Worrying made me feel awful. I just wanted to find Adam and wrap my arms around him tight. I paced when I was anxious, and was doing an awful lot of it today.
Finally, he showed up in the Common Room. He was soaking wet and looked awful. "Adam," I said, reaching out to pull him close. He could have been frozen, but I didn't care. I just wanted him in my arms to reassure me. He slipped away from me though. "What... happened?"
"I'm never going to amount to anything," he said. His eyes were so empty. His father had absolutely destroyed him. He had taken my already crushed boyfriend and destroyed every ounce of hope in him.
"Shh..." I hushed him. Now wasn't the time.
"Don't shush me!" he said, loud enough that the whole Common Room quieted and watched us instead.
"Adam," I choked. I was embarrassed and upset, and all I wanted to do was get close to him. "Can we do this somewhere else?"
He sighed angrily, and went upstairs, leaving me alone, wondering if there was anything I could do. Why was he taking this out on me when all I wanted was to be there for him?
~.~
Adam's Point of View
After my father and I watched Kat leave, I could feel the tension rolling in waves between us. I knew whatever he had to say wasn't going to be pleasant. Little did I know how crushing it would be.
After Kat was out of sight, he started in on me.
"That was the most pathetic and disgraceful thing I have ever seen. Did you even practice?" he yelled. "I cannot believe you would blow such an opportunity like this. You were beaten by a pathetic girl!"
I opened my mouth to retort but realized too late that I had nothing to say, I had played rather horribly because I had trained for going up against Harry Potter, who flew much differently than Weasley. Speaking of him, where was he today? My father had a guess about that.
"Not only were you beaten by her, but Harry Potter must have known you wouldn't be a challenge, so he sent her in his place. If you were a decent flyer he would have been here."
That couldn't be true could it? Did Potter really think that? Before I could think about it much more, my father continued.
"You know it to be true don't you? That you are so pathetic, no one cares to watch you play. I saw the recruiter leave eighteen minutes after the match started! Most people get scouted for an entire game! Even if they don't end up getting recruited! It was a disgrace!"
He stopped and stared at me, so I assumed his rant was over.
I was wrong. It was just a temporary ceasefire.
"And guess what; I was right about that little tart, Katherine!"
That stopped me cold, but I had to ask, "What do you mean you were right?"
"That little girl doesn't even care about you. I bet as soon as you graduate, if you even do, that she will leave you."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, panic setting in.
My father laughed a cold and cruel laugh, "Except show up to your games!"
That stopped me cold.
He continued, "You didn't even notice did you? She wasn't in the stands during the game; I saw her walk out of the castle after your worthless self lost the game. Then she walks into the locker-room, you, being an idiot, didn't suspect anything! You are so pathetic that even your girlfriend doesn't bother to show up to your games! You are worthless and will never amount to anything."
And with that parting comment, he turned and left. I just sat down, not believing what he had just told me.
It couldn't be true could it? Had Kat been in the stands? I couldn't remember seeing her. I needed some time to think, so even though I had just taken one, I stepped into the shower.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait guys! I'm all over the place lately. I'll try and get them out more regularly. Not having a beta is making me really lax about it, and I've decided not to have a beta for the rest of this story, but will pick one up with the next story :) This chapter celebrates the release of the last Harry Potter movie. I've seen it already (in Harvard Square! Early release! woo!) and it was fantastic, everyone will enjoy it. Bring tissues! HUGE thanks to potter-reading-coastie, who betaed this AND wrote Adam's POV at the end. Thanks! :D Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think.