Chapter 11: Concerned
Hugo's POV
Would she kill me? I knew I shouldn't have meddled, but she needs someone more than ever. I needed to do it. I needed to help her. I needed to take care of her.
"Believe Me"
Irisa angrily crossed out something on her parchment. Irisa, Albus, Brandon, Lily, and I were in the library each of us for the sixth time in a week. Originally, it was only going to be Irisa, Lily, and I, but Al and Brandon had come over to give us a bit of a break from our work by updating us with some news they've heard.
Lily was sitting a bit far away from us. I figured it was either to give Irisa and me some space, even though we have plenty of it, or that she wanted to stay away from her brother.
I wish Lily and Irisa would just talk things out or become friends at least. It would just make things easier. I looked at Irisa. She was glaring down at her own work. I was getting worried for her. She hasn't been hanging with her friends lately and she's been staying up late a lot working on homework. Something obviously went wrong, but I know she'll eventually tell me.
I sighed. I think I know why she's a bit shady with her friends. It was just like before we became a couple. Also, before she became friends with Lauren and her lot.
Annie Ruefle was in our year. She was a Hufflepuff like Irisa. She and Irisa were good friends up until Christmas Break two years ago. Apparently from what Irisa has told me, she and Irisa practically grew up together. However, Annie's parents planned to move to Africa since her father was offered a good job there. Irisa said Annie had pleaded with her parents to let her stay at Hogwarts, but her parents were scared to leave in a different country on her own especially since her parents were muggles.
So Annie and Irisa said farewell to each other and promised to write every day. It worked just like they imagined for awhile, but Annie stopped writing. Irisa mentioned that at first Annie was having a tough time making friends, but eventually she made a few friends. Once Annie started to make those friends, she had stopped writing.
Being sweet, friendly, selfless, Irisa, she decided to visit her during Easter Break. I suppose she thought things will go back the way they did once they hung out or that Annie was really having a tough time over in Africa and all she needed was a friend.
That wasn't it at all.
When she arrived in Africa, Irisa found Annie all right, but she wasn't the Annie she remembered. Annie greeted her like she used to, but when Irisa met her friends she realized Annie didn't make friends with people she imagined her to be friends with. No, Annie made friends with drug addicts. Irisa had been shocked, but she knew enough not to judge.
She still felt that even though Annie may have taken a path she refused to follow doesn't mean they still couldn't be friends. However, no matter what distance ruins relationships no matter what people say. So can you guess what happens next?
Annie uses Irisa as a diversion so they can sneak in some imported drugs. Irisa almost went to muggle jail for it, but accidentally used a memory charm to oblivate his mind. She would have gotten in trouble for using under-age magic, but that rule doesn't apply outside Britain.
So after that, Irisa packed up her bags, told Annie she would write and perhaps, return. She never did. She was too hurt that Annie had done that to her.
She came back a mess I remember that. She cried a lot at meals. I suppose Tal and Maureen became her friend when they found her in the bathroom crying, so I heard.
I suppose after she made friends with Tal and Maureen, she cheered up a bit. She was almost back to her normal self. Most people were gossiping that a guy broke up with her and that was why she was crying.
One night, Will, Lily, and I were sneaking out at night to venture around Hogwarts. We had it in our heads that we can find as many secret passageways that the Marauder's Map might have missed, but we failed. We never got caught by Filch though.
We were sneaking around corners on the second floor when Lily heard Filch approaching up ahead. Lily led us into the girls' bathroom. At first, Will and I wouldn't go in, but Lily assured us no one ever went in there.
Once we were in, she explained as much as she could about Moaning Myrtle in a hushed voice. It was strange how Dad never mentioned her or the bathroom from his past. But, we found out we weren't the only ones who knew about the haunted bathroom.
We heard someone sniffling in one of the stalls. I opened the stall to find Irisa huddled in the corner apparently crying.
I never noticed Irisa as much over the years I spent at Hogwarts. Mostly because I was in Gryffindor and she, in Hufflepuff. She's a very pretty girl, even when she had been crying, but I never had any attraction to her until later on.
"Irisa?" Will had said. He was a House mate of hers, so he would know who the poor girl was. I squatted down as she looked up at us.
"What are you doing here?" I remember asking. "And why were you crying?" She had stared at me like she hasn't seen me before when I know perfectly well we were in a few classes together.
"I'm…I'm not having a good day," she had said, "And I couldn't sleep." I had looked up to see if Lily and Will had anything comforting to say. They were just as shocked as I was to find her here, but they were both speechless. I turned back to her.
"Well, Filch may find us in here and we better get out why we can before we get detention," I had said. "Why don't we help you get back to your House?"
"Ok," she said. I stood up and held out my hand to help her up. She looked at it for awhile, but took it as I hoisted her off the ground.
Lily peeked out the door and told us the coast was clear. We walked down together to the Hufflepuff House. We could have split up and gone our separate ways to our Houses, but Lily, Will, and I established that if one of us gets caught then we all get caught. It was our code.
We safely got Will and Irisa back to their House and Lily and I snuck up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor Tower.
Along the way up, I started to worry about Irisa. Lily and Rose are the closest girls I have ever known or even let close to me. I imagined putting Lily or Rose in Irisa's position and what I would do if I had found them crying in the corner of a bathroom stall.
I would want to check up on them and see if I can do anything for them. And that's the task I took upon myself to do for Irisa.
I found her walking in the hallway with her friends and I would stop in front of her and friends with Lily or Will or both and ask how she was doing. Her friends would giggle beside her, which was quite annoying, but she would give me a small smile and reply: "Better. Thanks for asking, Hugo."
I found her sitting by herself twice and struck up a conversation with her. Once I got to know her, I took a fancy to her.
I remembered trying to hide the feelings for at least a week, but I eventually told Lily that I fancied her. I didn't tell Will until another week later. However, by then, I had worked up enough courage and asked her whether we could hang out some time.
And she said 'yes.' I was quite cheerful that day that I remember. Lily joked a few times saying I looked like a goldfish she once had (the goldfish didn't last long, since Lily forgot to feed it.)
Ever since then, Irisa and I got to know each other more. She told me more things about herself than she told her own friends. She trusted me and I trusted her.
So now I had three close girls as friends, but Irisa now becoming the closest. I mean I never kept anything from Lily, but she was my cousin, and was no Irisa. Lily never made me feel like the luckiest guy alive.
So, I was a bit worried about Irisa and what she might be thinking about.
"People do crazy things to fit in," I heard Brandon say. I turned to listen to their conversation.
"I know take Lily, she's a good example," Al said to him.
"What did Lily do?" I asked looking over at Lily who was looking through a book; most likely for homework.
"Once she tried to cut her hair in order to look like a guy so she can join in with us," Albus said. Then Al lowered his voice, "Mum nearly almost killed her."
"No, she didn't," Lily said, who clearly had heard what Albus said. "She was angry at you and James for not letting me play with you guys."
"Yeah, until you had to cry about it."
"When have you seen me cry? I whined about it, I'll give you that, but the only person who actually cried was you, especially, when James picked on you." I started laughing.
"Lily!" Albus said angrily. "You weren't supposed to…"
"Oh, yeah, whoops. Well, you never actually said 'promise not to tell'," she said quoting with her fingers.
"Please, don't tell,' is an alternate for 'promise not to tell," Albus said bitterly.
"Well, I was six, how was I supposed to know," she defended herself.
"You were eight?" Irisa asked astounded for she was listening in on the conversation so she didn't have to look back at her parchment.
"Lily!" Albus groaned as he put a hand over his face of embarrassment.
"Er, did I say six?" Lily asked guiltily.
"You can be so-" Al began.
"So what?" Lily asked angrily.
"Can you ever keep your mouth shut?" He asked her coldly. "Because frankly, you can't help yourself and no wonder guys don't like you." Ouch.
Lily jumped out of her seat and slammed her fists on the table.
"Geez, L.P., they're trying to keep this place standing," I replied. She ignored me.
"Well dear brother, say what you want, but clearly have you looked around lately yourself? You don't have a girlfriend either."
"I can get any girl I want, but since I have a sister like you hanging around me all the time, they don't bother," he said.
"Guys, come on. Quit fighting," I tried to cut in.
"No, let them go, I want to see what Potter will win, I was always curious," Brandon said.
"I'm so sick of hearing your mouth running like a train. You never consider what you're saying. We're not kids anymore, so you either need to grow up or find a new crowd of people to hang around with." He shouted at her. Lily glared at him.
"Ok, that's enough, you two," I said trying to play peacemaker. The last thing we need is Lily to launch herself over the table and wrestle Al to the ground. She would do that if there weren't a thousand people or so in here.
"Hey Lily," I looked over to see Violetta making her way over. Good, she can calm her down because whatever was going to come out of Lily's mouth would just make things worse; a whole lot worse.
"Hey," she said sternly sitting back in her seat. Al looked at Vi like he was going to throw insults at her too. "Al, it's rude to stare at my friends," she gritted her teeth at him.
"Just surprised that you make fun of my friend who is a Slytherin, but here you made friends with one yourself."
"That's because your so-called friend is an arse," Lily said.
"See, what I mean?" he argued.
"Al, just leave it alone," Brandon told him. "Let her be." Al glared at Lily one last time and he and Brandon left. I turned to Lily as Vi sat down beside her.
"Must you always drive him up a wall?" I asked her, frowning.
"I can't help it, he just ticks me off sometimes and I just snap." I was about to argue until Vi cut in.
"Look Hugo, if you had an older brother you'd understand. We always feel victimized."
"I have an older sister and she annoys me sometimes, but I don't have a shouting match with her every chance I get," I said.
"Boys are different from girls," Vi said.
"I suppose, you're right," I said. As the four us, went back to the load of homework we had to deal with.
