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Chapter 11: Girl Problems
Caitlin POV:
"What the hell!" I exclaimed loudly. Everyone in Transfiguration turned around and stared. James and Fred ceased immediately, as Professor Macmillan gazed upon us imperiously.
"Problem, Ms. Turner? Mr. Potter?"
"N-N-No s-sir." James could barely get the words out; he was working so hard to suppress his impending snigger.
He and Fred had decided it would be fun to stab at my neck with a twig that wanted to kill me. I had heard them talking yesterday about this twig, and how they had stolen it from the giant tree down on the grounds that flailed around and wanted to kill everybody.
Hilarious. Really Hilarious.
I stormed out of the room as the bell rang, and walked down onto the grounds. I had actually been having a good lesson in what was quickly becoming my favorite subject. I guess James and Fred took this personally, as I screwed around a fair bit with them in most of our classes. James Freaking Potter, I thought.
Truth be told, I didn't really know how I stood with James. I guess I could count him as a friend, although he could sometimes annoy me to no end. That being said, everyone could annoy me to no end. Except Will. And Sydney.
However, there had been that night after the Quidditch match. I remember getting drunk. I also remember dancing with James. I couldn't recall anything else, however, and was continuously hoping that I hadn't made a horrible mistake without my wits about me.
Winter had come swiftly, and the amount of snow on the grounds had…well…snowballed. I could see my own breath mist in front of my eyes as I drew my jacket more tightly around myself. Luckily we had a free after Transfiguration, which gave me some time to cool down.
I headed down to the lake and sat Indian-style on the eastern bank. I was starting to genuinely appreciate how beautiful this place was. Even its quirks were beginning to grow on me. Except for Peeves, who had just yesterday dropped an ink balloon on top of my head.
I sat by the lake for a while, sitting in the snow. I tightened my scarf and looked at the faint sun. By its position I could tell the time (trick I had picked up in Salem). I gazed across the lake, lost in thought when I saw a solitary figure walking along the other side. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was…James.
This was odd to me, as James could barely ever be seen without Fred. As I watched, he made his way to the spot on the lake directly opposite to me. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"What are you doing out here? You must be cold." A voice spoke softly from right next to me, making me jump. I recognized Jason Belby, a seventh year Slytherin.
From my original Hogwarts experience, I had gathered that Slytherins were the bad guys. I had tried to stay away from them, especially with Will's whole Quidditch rivalry thing. So, my natural instinct was to ignore Belby completely. I stared across the lake, and saw James standing on the opposite bank, gazing across.
Just as I noticed this, I felt Belby gently place his coat around me and sit down.
"In case you get cold." He said kindly. I looked back over at James, and despite the great amount of distance between us, I could have sworn that I saw his eyebrows narrow. He began to walk back to the castle.
"I have to go." I muttered to Belby, casting his coat aside a tad harshly. I walked up to the castle, wondering if I had imagined the look on his face.
/
Will POV:
"Will Turner, full marks!" rang out the deep, slow voice of Professor Slughorn as he handed back my essay. I smirked at the Slytherins as I made my way up to his desk from the back of the dungeons.
As I sat back down, I noticed Al staring at Scorpius. He nudged me and whispered, "Looks like dear old Scorp isn't too happy that you beat him at his favorite subject, eh?"
I snickered at Malfoy as he continued to gaze at the ceiling, looking thoroughly put out.
"Rose Weasley, full marks as well!" Slughorn continued, as Rose went up to get her paper, also looking slightly put out.
"She can't be happy that you shared the top of the class with her." Al commented as I made a pointed attempt to avoid her glare while she stalked back to her seat.
"Holy crap, Al, shut up. It's not a competition, man."
"Whatever you say." He said in a singsong voice that made me stare at him and Rose turn around, press a finger to her lips, and shush at us loudly.
Well then, I thought as I set to brewing my Befuddling Draught.
/
"Mr. Turner and Ms. Weasley please hang back for a moment."
"See you at lunch," said Al as he gathered his things and left.
I eyed Rose suspiciously, not entirely sure that she hadn't gotten me in trouble. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Well, you two," he said, eyeing us fondly. "You must realize that my Slug Club Christmas Party is approaching swiftly."
Rose nodded quickly, smiling widely. I felt lost.
"Rose, I would like to have you help me plan it again. You did such an excellent job last year."
She beamed and replied with a very eager "Yes."
"And Mr. Turner, you are new to the Slug Club, so you probably don't know what I'm talking about."
I nodded slowly.
"Well, I'm having a Christmas party, dear boy, and you're at the top of the list! Won't you join us?"
"Oh…um…sure…I guess, I mean, of course." I stuttered very lamely.
Rose gave me a slightly pitying glance, and we left for lunch together after the dismissal of a happy-looking Slughorn.
She stared at me for a while, and eventually I just stared back.
"What?" I said irritably.
"Nothing." She replied just as abrasively. I was again completely lost.
"Why are you even made at me?" I asked with exasperation. To be honest, Rose had developed the habit of acting mad at me. We were friends, but she was always acting like I had done something wrong.
"Shut up." She replied. I stopped walking, completely taken aback. She paused, but kept walking. When I walked into the Great Hall, I headed straight for Al.
"What in hell is wrong with that girl?" I asked, staring at her from across the Hall, to where she was talking with Scorpius.
I explained what happened to Al, who seemed nonplussed. "Yeah, my cousins are all pretty crazy."
"What the hell am I supposed to have done? Is she the only one allowed to get good grades?"
"I don't know, man." Said Al absently, while spreading jam on his toast.
Whatever, I thought, stabbing some eggs and eating them viciously. That calmed me down. Nothing was better than breakfast for lunch. Nothing.
/
As Al and I walked back from dinner, we took our usual shortcut. Behind the tapestry with a goblin massacre on it, through a fake wall, and into a hidden door. We had reached the hidden door when we heard a strange noise coming from within.
I looked at Al, apprehensively, but he turned the knob and opened it. We were met with the sight of Rose and Scorpius, locked in a fierce embrace, breaking apart and looking towards the doorway with a mixture of horror and sheepishness. Al and I stood, motionless, until:
"You complete assholes! What the fuck? Take a fucking picture, it'll last longer!" screeched Rose, brandishing her wand in our direction. Al looked ready to jinx Malfoy's eyes shut permanently, but she sent a hex flying our way. I drew my wand and blocked it just in time. Now it was my turn.
"What the hell, Weasley? We didn't do anything. Why the fuck would you hex us for walking in on you idiots in the middle of a hallway?" I snarled back. She replied,
"You know damn well why, Turner, so why don't you both just turn back and leave the way you came in."
But Al had decided to act. He dashed past my outstretched arm, dodged Rose, and hurtled at a terrified Malfoy, who ran away, with Al tearing after him.
Rose looked murderously at me, and then slunk down to the floor, leaning against the wall, and covered her head in her hands. This made me extremely uncomfortable.
"Look, Rose…I…I'm sorry." I said reluctantly, knowing perfectly well that it wasn't me who should be apologizing.
She didn't respond.
"Ok. Out with it then. Why are you angry with me? Did I do something, because I wasn't trying to, and-"
She cut me off. "How do you get good grades?"
"Wow. Really? Your mad because of that Potions essay, aren't you? Wow. That's pathetic."
She looked back at my angry stare, and replied with a rush of words, "You never even study! I never see you doing homework! At all! What the hell? You don't even try hard in class! I work harder than everyone combined, yet I can't even beat you in a damn Potions essay!"
"Well…we tied…erm…" I was really uncomfortable now. She looked back up at me and continued.
"OWLs are coming up, and everyone expects me to be the best. My own mother would disown me if I don't get twelve OWLs, and I just know I'm going to fail! I know, I know, I know!"
She was getting hysterical. This was getting out of control.
"Hey, hey, listen." I said, sitting down next to her. "Your mother would never disown you for something so stupid. I bet she loves you no matter what."
She looked back at me, probably finally realizing how insensitive that comment could have been to a person with absolutely no parents.
"And what's more," I continued, "Why would you think you're going to fail? Your top of the year, everyone knows it! All the teachers think you're the best student! You study more than everyone, and it pays off! Besides, OWLs aren't for months! Don't worry about them! Now let's go upstairs, you idiot!" I said jokingly. She punched me in the shoulder.
"Ow…" I muttered. "What…why?" She just grinned and set off down the corridor.
"Well," she said slyly after a long silence, "I bet you're excited for Christmas break this year."
"Why? We'll have to stay here, won't we?"
She looked at me weirdly. "Wait, Al hasn't told you yet? I told Caitlin ages ago!"
/
Caitlin POV:
Will and Rose walked into the common room where I was sitting dejectedly on a chair. They headed straight for me.
"Really?" said Will hotly.
"Really?" I replied just as hotly.
"You didn't tell me they had invited us over for break? Why not?"
"I thought Al invited you…"
"Whatever," Rose cut in quickly. "Either way, our parents heard about you guys from us, and they wanted to see if you could stay over for the break. Uncle Harry always said that his Christmases were great when he spent them over at my dad's house."
"Awesome-but you and Al don't live in the same house, right?" asked Will.
"Nah, but they're right next to each other, in Godric's Hollow. We might as well just share a house."
"Great." I muttered angrily.
"What?" they both asked.
"It's James. He saw this Slytherin hitting on me down by the lake and he won't talk to me now. Just look at him!"
They both looked over at James, whose gaze was flickering from the fire over to me every ten seconds.
"That's enough." I said. "I'm gonna go talk to him."
"Good luck." Came Al's sarcastic voice from the portrait hole. "Oh don't worry Rose, I only scared him off!" Will laughed. "Go get 'em, girl" he said with a smirk, turning back to me.
I flipped him off before heading over to James angrily. I glanced back to see them all exchange knowing glances and head up to their dorms. Probably a good idea, but they most likely still heard the shouting the shouting that continued for about twenty minutes before our shouting match was over.
Everyone was laughing as we headed up to bed. I guess me shouting at James was something everyone had taken to, and expected. I, however, didn't feel any better, as James had seemed genuinely hurt, and I had been judged completely unfairly. Syd comforted me as I vented for hours through the night, until I realized that she was asleep, and I promptly fell asleep too.
So, another chapter up! Sorry for the delay! I had a really busy weekend! Anyway, this chapter was a bit of a force, but at least I got it out there! Please tell me what you think! Review! It means a lot to me! I want suggestions, complaints, and flames, whatever! Just leave your comments and I will read them carefully! Thanks so much!