Chapter Twelve: The Parting of the Ways

Disappointingly, I did not magically forget the events of the party when I woke up the next morning.

But if that night was bad, it was nothing compared to the next day. Hard to believe so many things can go wrong in the span of a few hours.

I would call it Murphy's Law – you know, everything that can go wrong will go wrong – but this wasn't little stuff like dropping bread buttered side down or picking the slow line at the store. This was some pretty major shit.

It started out as every other day had for the past three weeks; being roused out of my slumber by the sound of a Christmas carol. This morning it was Winter Wonderland.

"Again, Vicky?" I groaned. "You did that one last week."

"It's one of my favorites," she said, unnaturally chipper for – was it 11:30 already? Guess it wasn't that unnatural.

"I would have gotten you up sooner, but I know we all had a late night at the party! Wasn't it just the best? I had such a good time."

I grunted and flopped back on the pillow. Vicky was unfazed, and went back to her singing as she twined ribbon through her braid. I half expected cute woodland creatures to come help her.

The other girls had long since learned to put earplugs in before they went to sleep, so I was the only one awoken. Unlike me, I suppose they hadn't gotten to bed by midnight last night.

I normally loved Vicky's singing in the dorm; it reminded me of Jane, and filled me with a surge of sisterly affection strong enough to actually get my ass out of bed. But the party had left me in such a foul mood that it barely made me open my eyes.

My stomach rumbling did the trick, though.

I should have just ignored it. Getting out of bed was easily the worst decision I had made in a long time. Definitely a bad move on my part.

The sight of the barren Great Hall let me know that I had missed breakfast, which I would have remembered if I had been thinking clearly. My head was so foggy, I must have woken up in the middle of a REM cycle or something.

I could have just gone to the kitchens to snag some food, but I admit it, I was pouting, and I didn't want to put in the effort. So I dragged myself outside, figuring I could hang around the lake until lunch.

The blast of cold air as I walked through the castle doors helped wake me up a bit. It wasn't snowing, but it must have been this morning because there was a light dusting on the trees and the grass. There was something satisfying about feeling it crunch under my feet as I walked around the edge of the water.

There weren't very many other people out, considering how freezing it was, and that there wasn't enough snow to have any fun with. I didn't mind the cold, though. I generally preferred it, actually, at all times except when I was flying.

It matches the state of my soul.

Don't be so melodramatic, self.

I wondered what Charlotte and my sisters were doing. I wondered what George was doing.

I wondered what Darcy was doing. I guessed it involved stealing the souls of young children, but I could be wrong.

It was probably fitting that the one person I wasn't wondering about should happen upon me at that moment.

Though 'happen upon' wasn't the right phrase, I guess, since it was clear that he had very deliberately sought me out to torment me.

Big Terrible Event of the day number one: Billy Collins went for a direct approach.

I heard quick, heavy footsteps, and turned to see him running towards me around the edge of the lake.

Would I be willing to jump into the probably fatally cold water just to escape him? It was tempting. But he noticed me turn around, and waved frantically as he ran. I stood still, feeling resigned.

"Good afternoon, Lizzy," he was rather out of breath when he finally reached me.

"What's up, Bill?" I asked, not really caring, and I went to continue walking.

"May I have a moment of your time?"

I turned to face him again and sighed impatiently. Guess he wasn't developed enough to be able to walk and talk at the same time.

Or he felt that this was a discussion that would require my full attention.

Well, can't say I didn't see this coming. I just wasn't expecting it at the moment.

I took quick inventory of the surroundings. There were a couple of younger students a little ways down the lake skipping stones, but otherwise we were basically alone. I cursed myself for being so predictable; if I didn't spend so much time by the lake he might not have known he could find me here.

"Sure."

He grinned, stepping closer to me and clearing his throat. He straightened his aleady straight posture and stared way too intensely into my eyes.

Here it comes.

He cleared his throat dramatically, and, long-winded as ever, launched into his speech. "Lizzy, I am sure you have noticed my behavior over the past month or so, as I feel I have made my intentions rather obvious, although I hope still subtle enough to be considered appropriate. My feelings for you must be clear, but I am aware that a… declaration of sorts is usually required in these types of situations. I felt, considering that we now have less than a week before winter break begins, that this would be the optimal time to ask you the question that I have been anticipating asking ever since I developed these strong feelings."

He took a deep breath. The rehearsed nature of his speech might have made me feel guilty, had I not known that he felt no such 'strong feelings' for me.

I had put my people observing skills to work, and it wasn't hard to figure out Collins. He did at least have one thing right: his intentions were rather obvious. He wanted a girlfriend for the same reason so many people did – because he felt like he should. He had chosen me to fill this role for some reason, and now it fell to my joyful lot to tell him that wasn't gonna happen, even if they issued a freeze warning in hell.

"Though I have known you for years –"

Damn, he was still talking.

"I have only recently realized what a true treasure you are. I know we would make a wonderful match, and I am positive that –"

"Bill?"

"-you will find being my girlfriend a most… ahem… pleasurable experience –"

"Dude."

"-and now that you are fully aware of my intentions, the only thing left to do is to assure you of my feelings. Elizabeth Bennet –"

"Collins! Shut up!" I snapped.

A couple of birds that had been hanging out in the trees above us suddenly took flight. The kids skipping stones stopped to stare. I did always have trouble controlling my voice when I got upset.

Meanwhile, that comically shocked look had popped up on Collins' face, and he was stunned enough to halt his speech. I took advantage of the silence while I had it.

"Look, Bill, I'm… flattered," I lied. "But the answer, in case you were interested in actually asking the question, is no."

"I…" he opened and closed his mouth several times. He clearly hadn't rehearsed anything for this scenario. He recovered himself rather quickly though, and smiled, which seemed rather out of place.

"Lizzy," he chuckled, shaking his head like he was amused. "I get it. You're playing hard to get."

Please be joking.

"I know it's a custom rather typical of young ladies your age. I didn't anticipate it from you, but no matter. Don't worry, I understand that it's because you think I'm only interested in the chase, but let me assure you-"

He's not joking.

"Collins! I am not playing hard to get, okay? I mean it, I am not interested in you in that way."

Or in any way.

His amused expression did not change.

"Alright, alright, I suppose I'll have to let you sit for a while, let you see that I am unwavering in my affection. Fear not, I'll be back to ask again later, until you are assured -"

I felt something inside me click.

That's it. Patience used up.

The wand was out of my pocket before I had even really thought about it, and pointed directly at his slimy little face. That certainly got his attention.

"Look, Collins, you picked a really rotten time to test my patience, alright?" I felt the harshness of my tone, and did nothing to try to calm it. He had been bugging me for a month, and I'd be damned if I was gonna let it keep happening just because he doesn't understand the word 'no'.

"I am not in the mood for your insistence that you somehow know what I want better than I do. I am not one of those girls who play those stupid fucking games, if there even are any girls like that in the first place. So how about you try out a novel idea, and take what I say as what I mean?"

In the face of my wand and my best 'fuck you' expression, he at last looked less confident in his opinion. Though his eyes were still narrowed in skepticism.

He cleared his throat. I was quite pleased to note that his formerly obsequious tone was gone, and was replaced by something edging on indignation.

Wounded pride? Just mad that I interrupted his speech?

"Well, Lizzy, if that's really how you feel," and he didn't seem to quite believe it was, "I suppose I would just like to remind you that although I am capable of seeing past your rather… feisty… personality, there are not many men out there who are as high-minded as me. It may be quite some time before –"

Silencio!

His mouth moved, but sound no longer came out. He looked at me, more shocked than he'd been the entire conversation, and waved his hands ridiculously at his mouth. He tried to form words, but ended up looking like a gasping fish.

I lowered my wand and stormed away, leaving Collins searching through his pockets for his wand.

I was too pissed off to even be happy that I'd finally mastered a silent spell.

Little cretin. Let's see him try to rationalize that as playing hard to get.

...

Okay, I'm normally not one who subscribes to any sort of fate idea. I don't think that there is some sort of destiny written out for us, or that the events in our lives follow some plan, no matter how much I joke about it.

But I might have to change that opinion, because the universe clearly felt that I was deserving of punishment for some reason. It only took about two minutes after that unpleasant little run-in for the next in a series of ridiculously unfortunate events to occur.

Big Terrible Event of the day number two: Darcy's existence.

Specifically, Darcy's existence right in front of me. About a foot and a half in front of me.

"Lizzy?"

"Not now, Darcy," I said through gritted teeth, staring down his Head Boy badge.

He stood still right in the center of the doorway into the castle. I could have stepped around him and used the other door, but in my stubborn anger, that little bit of effort sounded absolutely monumental right now.

"Lizzy, you're flushed. Are you alright? Are you sick?"

He suddenly grabbed my shoulders, bending down to try to look at my face. I finally tilted my head up to look him in the eyes.

"I'll be alright if you get the fuck out of my way!"

In my head I screamed this at the top of my lungs, and blasted Darcy into the castle wall. But in real life, I couldn't find the energy to unclench my fists or un-tense my jaw, so I just hissed it out, barely audible, as I glared up at him.

"Honestly, Lizzy, you don't look well."

"Gee, thanks. Can you move now?"

He stared for another second or two, and then he lifted his hands off my shoulders, something happening in his expression. I would normally have some scathing thought about it, I'm sure, but at that moment I only had enough energy left to walk through the doorway he had finally vacated. I didn't look back.

Yeah, so Big Terrible Event number two only lasted about a minute, but since Darcy was easily the worst person on the planet, any interaction with him would always count as a BTE.

Too angry to think about lunch, I made my way back to the Gryffindor tower. My head was pounding, a frustration headache well on its way. I figured I could just curl up in my bed and not set a foot out of it for the rest of the day. I just had to wait this day out, and then I'd wake up tomorrow and everything would be fine, right?

Please, please, please –

Jane?

"Jane?"

I skidded to halt when I caught sight of her, then gathered myself and ran the rest of the way down the hall.

"Jane, what are you doing out here? What happened?"

What happened was Big Terrible Event of the day number three.

Leaning against the wall outside the Fat Lady, on the side opposite where I'd been just the night before, my twin sister sat staring blankly ahead of her. She looked up when I approached her.

I threw myself roughly on my knees before her, checking her forehead for a fever.

The look she leveled me with stopped me cold. Her eyes, formerly dazed and unfocused, were now filling with tears. Her lower lip quivered. This wasn't illness.

"Jane?" I made my voice more gentle this time, the shock of finding her here wearing off. At least enough for me to compose myself.

"Charlie –" her voice broke on the name. She closed her eyes, but two tears slipped past the barrier anyway. "Charlie broke up with me."

This sentence seemed to have used up the last of her restraint, and she flung herself forward and sobbed onto my shoulder.

And my shock was back. There was something I never expected.

"Shhhh, Jane, it's okay. Shhhh."

I made soothing noises while she cried. Jane was quite rarely this sad – I hadn't seen her like this since the family cat died three years ago – but I knew that she needed to let it out.

I listened to her sob for a couple of minutes, before I realized that she was saying something muffled against my shoulder. I struggled to make it out.

"I don't understand. I don't understand."

Over and over again through her sobs.

"Come on, Jane," I whispered. "Let's get inside, alright? You'll feel better if we get out of the hallway."

I'm not sure she believed me, but she nodded anyway and pulled her head off my shoulder. I smiled encouragingly at her, but she didn't notice.

…..

Two hours, a brief power nap, and one more crying session later, Jane was finally coherent enough to tell me what had happened.

And I added the name "Charles Bingley" to my shit list.

Apparently, everything had seemed perfectly normal when they left the party last night. They got back to the Hufflepuff common room, kissed goodnight, and went their separate ways. Jane said, looking back, he seemed a little distant, but she thought he was just tired at the time.

And then he broke up with her in the morning.

Well, it was really more Caroline who did the breaking up.

Yeah, that's right. Bingley didn't even break up with Jane himself. His little sister did it.

When Jane got down to the common room that morning, she was "pleasantly surprised" to see Caroline and Bingley waiting for her. But then she noticed their faces. She said Caroline looked serious and regretful, and Bingley looked "sad". It took her a full minute just to get that sentence out, what with the renewed crying.

"And then – and then she – she said –"

"Okay, Jane, I get it," I said, rubbing her back soothingly. She continued to cry loudly.

The dorm was mercifully empty. Shawna had been here when we arrived, but one look at the distraught Jane and she had quietly slipped out, throwing me a sympathetic look as she went.

"I just didn't have any idea!" She chocked out, once her sobs weren't racking her body quite so hard anymore. "Everything seemed so normal. I have no idea what I could have done."

"I'm sure you didn't do anything, Jane. He loves you, I know it! Nobody who has seen you two together could doubt that!"

Except maybe a couple people…

"Then why did he break up with me?" She sniffled.

"Have you thought that maybe Bingley didn't really want to break up? That Caroline was manipulating him or –"

Jane shook her head vehemently.

"He was standing right there the entire time, Lizzy," she laughed bitterly, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "He had plenty of time to say something. He didn't say a single word the entire time. He looked away when I tried to even make eye contact. Caroline was clearly acting on his orders. If he didn't want to break up with me, then why did he just stand there?"

I didn't have an answer to that. She didn't expect me to.

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I just have to accept that I was reading more into this relationship than there was. And try to move on."

I smiled encouragingly again, and this time she noticed.

I had a lot of thoughts, but I didn't voice them, as they were neither helpful nor fully formed. Expressing my vague feelings that Caroline, and probably Darcy too, had clearly manipulated Bingley into this, was not going to help Jane get through it.

So, I did what any good sister would do. I dug into Vicky's emergency candy stash, grabbed Marianne's hair products, and set to work stuffing Jane with junk food and allowing her to style my hair. The minuscule brightening of her face when I presented her with my mop of curls as a canvas was worth the torture.

Studiously ignoring the obvious topic, we talked about childhood memories, upcoming exams, what we thought mom and dad got us for Christmas.

Every once in a while I felt a tear fall on my head, and I ignored it.

By dinner time, Jane was feeling a little better, and I was feeling worse than I had felt all day. I was playing martyr, pushing all my pain aside and focusing on Jane, but the pounding in my head felt like someone was cutting through the inside of my forehead with dull glass, and my empty stomach was vehemently protesting that lone snickers bar.

"Are you hungry?" I ventured, applying outlandish orange eye shadow to Jane's lids.

"A little," she said. I glanced at the pile of empty candy wrappers on my bed.

Vicky is gonna kill me.

"I'm gonna go run down to the Great Hall okay? I'll bring us up some food."

"'Kay. I'm kinda tired anyway."

Jane settled back in my bed, staring up at the posters of various Quidditch players on my ceiling, but not really seeing them. I grabbed the candy wrappers on my way out.

All I wanted to do was grab some dinner and get back to my room as quickly as possible. Once I got some food in my stomach I knew I would feel better. Physically, anyway. The emotional turmoil of the day would probably take longer to heal.

Especially since it only got worse.

Presenting: Big Terrible Event of the day number four! Drum roll, please.

My plan to just grab food and run was derailed when Charlotte saw me approach.

"Lizzy, there you are!"

She was sitting at the Gryffindor table, which meant she had been waiting for me. She looked different...

"Where have you been?"

"Sorry, Char, Jane's having an emotional crisis."

I gave her the abridged version, but I was exhausted enough that even those 20 seconds of talking wore me out enough to need a breather. I sat down to pile food onto the plate.

"Anything you need me to do?"

"No, she just needs time." Hopefully.

"Oh, but did you want to tell me something?" I asked, once I finally regained some presence of mind.

Ooo, baked potatoes!

"Oh, yeah!" Charlotte perked up, suddenly smiling. Something about it seemed a little forced, though... and when did she remove the purple dye from the ends of her hair?

"I'm interning at the Ministry over winter break!"

I blinked. "Oh. That's… neat. Came out of nowhere but…"

Why was something about this nagging in the back of my head?

"Yeah, I know it's sudden," Charlotte was still smiling.

If I can just get the pounding in my head to stop for like two seconds I could think about this.

"I'm really excited, though, it's a great opportunity!"

Why was this bothering me so much? God, my head really hurt.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Or like Collins appearing right at that second and leaning down to kiss Charlotte on the cheek.

This cannot be real. Maybe I'm hallucinating because of the pain in my head. Snap out of it, Lizzy.

"There's my darling Charlotte! Ah, Lizzy! Hello, there."

I'm pretty sure my jaw had dropped so much that it snapped off its hinges and was currently rolling around somewhere on the floor.

"Has my dear Charlotte told you the good news?"

His dear Charlotte wouldn't meet my eyes.

Collins went on without waiting for an answer.

"Yes, my girlfriend is going to be interning alongside me at the Ministry! Isn't that exciting?"

"… very."

Charlotte finally looked up from the table. She was blushing, but she met my eye defiantly.

"Hope you have fun with that," I said tonelessly. I grabbed my now full plate and walked quickly out of the Hall. I squeezed my eyes shut really hard and then opened them, hoping to find I would wake up in my bed and that this entire day had been a terrible dream.

"Lizzy!"

No such luck.

Barely out the doors of the Hall, and Charlotte had caught up with me. I turned to look at her. I wasn't sure, but I think I managed to keep my expression completely neutral. Though this probably concerned her more than an angry expression would have.

Good.

"Lizzy, I know what you're thinking."

"Oh? What am I thinking?"

"Don't pull that tone with me Lizzy." Her voice was ice but her eyes were fire. "You think I'm settling. You think it's morally wrong for me to go out with Bill."

"Look at that, you do know what I'm thinking. Guess you know me better than I know you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I never would have expected this of you, that's all."

"Not everyone is holding out for perfection, Lizzy!" Charlotte whispered, looking over her shoulder. Couldn't blame her. Her boyfriend – even in my head I spat the word – had been known to show up unwanted.

"Bill is nice to me, alright? And he asked and I…" she trailed off, shrugging.

"You know he doesn't actually like you, right?" I finally dropped my neutral expression. My heart was threatening to beat a hole through my chest with the sudden adrenaline rush. My body was bracing itself for a fight. "He literally asked me out a few hours ago!"

"Lizzy, keep your voice down!" She hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me further away from the door.

"I suppose you realize that, though, huh? You just want a boyfriend and anyone with a p-"

"So what if I want a boyfriend? You're not some special snowflake just because you don't!"

"And what the hell is this about the Ministry internship?" I spat, disregarding her last statement.

"It's a great opportunity!" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"But why the fuck would you want it? You don't need a resume to go into Quidditch –"

"Again with this Quidditch delusion, Lizzy?" Her voice had risen too, and she looked around nervously. "You still think we're going into the Holyhead Harpies together, don't you?"

Lowering her voice again, her expression hardened. "You have to realize that I haven't had that child's dream running around in my head for a long time." Child's dream? "It's the real adult fucking world out there Lizzy, and Quidditch cannot be my only skill! I'm trying to be prepared here."

Oh… oh.

Suddenly Charlotte's dancing with Collins last night, which I had viewed as a selfless rescue of me, took on a whole new meaning.

"Oh. I see," I laughed a hollow laugh. "So not only are you using Collins because you want a boyfriend, but you're using him because you want a stupid internship?! How long have you been planning this?"

She just glared, so I continued. "I can't believe you would use him like that!"

"Why do you care?" She snapped. I thought there might have been tears in her glare. I couldn't tell very clearly through mine. "You don't even like him!"

"Because it's a low thing to do, and you know it."

Her eyes widened briefly in shock, but that was her only response. Well, guess neither of us had anything else to say.

So, there I was. Standing only a few feet away from my best friend, yet it felt like the furthest apart we had ever been. It was like I was like seeing her through new eyes.

After a moment I broke the silence.

"You better get back to your precious boyfriend," I said, my voice flat again. I felt drained.

Charlotte might have felt the same way, judging by her deflated posture. But who knows, really? I was apparently not very good at reading her.

She took a deep breath, looked for a second as though she was going to say something, thought better of it, and then turned and walked back to the Great Hall without a look back.

I followed suit in the opposite direction.


A/N: These last couple chapters have ended up being a little longer than I anticipated. ALSO, shout out to Sailor Celaeno for the Silencio idea with Collins!