Chapter 14
Vivienne trembled slightly as she picked up her quill and stared down at the questions in front of her. She had to blink for a few moments, before her mind would allow her to read the first one. It was something she knew the answer to very well, and she scribbled it down happily.
The Great Hall was silent except for the noise of scratching quills and the clock ticking. Everyone was looking at their own papers; a Gryffindor boy had been caught attempting to cheat during the Transfiguration exam, and nobody wanted to go the same way as him. Vivienne sighed as she glanced at the next question. Describe the characteristics of the Draught of Peace in detail. Her eyebrows furrowed together. Detail? Vivienne had no idea what to write. All she knew was that it was meant to relieve anxiety, and if brewed wrong it could put one to sleep. She couldn't come up with anything else. She scribbled down what she knew, phrasing it so that it took up more space.
The clock ticked as Vivienne slowly worked her way through the questions. There were those to which she knew the answer, and those which she was only vaguely sure about. One or two escaped her completely. By the time the examiner at the front of the room called out for time, she wasn't quite sure if she was satisfied with her paper or not. She handed it in reluctantly, and met Narcissa and Freya outside.
"We are not discussing this paper," Freya ordered. Her expression showed that it probably hadn't gone all that well for her. There was a frown on her face.
"Agreed," Vivienne replied. "Come on; I'm starving. We don't have much time to eat before the practical begins."
They ate lunch with the rest of the school. Vivienne glanced around the table, and saw Regulus sitting with some of his friends. Their eyes met briefly, but he didn't say anything to her. She wasn't sure how to answer if he asked her how her exam went. Should she be confident? What if she ended up failing? Vivienne forced herself to concentrate on her food. It wasn't over yet. She still had the practical to look forward to. If she could do brilliantly on that, then she would feel more confident about getting an E.
They all crowded into the little room where they had to wait to be called in for their practical. 'Black, Narcissa' was among the first people to be called. Vivienne wished her friend good luck, before settling into a comfortable chair. Her own last name started with R; she was going to be there a while.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly until finally, Vivienne heard her name. She bolted upright and followed a few other students into the Great Hall. A man pointed out the table to which he wanted her to go. "Miss Rosier. I believe Mr. Henderson is free. The tall wizard near the back?"
Vivienne's heart skipped a beat. Henderson. This was the man who'd worked with her father. Her legs trembled slightly as she approached the man's bench, but her face managed to maintain her usual pleasing smile. "Good afternoon, Mr. Henderson."
Mr. Henderson nodded and smiled. "Good afternoon. Please, take a seat. And you are Miss... Vivienne Rosier, is that right?" he asked, glancing at a few papers. Vivienne nodded.
"Yes, that's me."
Mr. Henderson looked intrigued. "Well, I believe I recognize your last name. I worked with a Mr. Rosier in the Department of Transportation, a few years ago. A tall man; I believe I can almost see a resemblance in your features. Are you related?"
Vivienne took a deep breath. Yes, he's my father, she wanted to say. It was almost instinct, and she bit her lip to stop the words from coming out of her mouth. He talks about you very often; it's such a pleasure to finally meet you.
But then her mind flashed back to Regulus. The whole reason she'd started this stupid bet was so that she could prove herself. She was perfectly capable of getting a good grade without the help of her name or her family. Her mind battled with itself silently. Mr. Henderson raised an eyebrow as he watched her. "Miss Rosier? Are you quite all right?"
Vivienne jolted back to the man in front of her, who was giving her an odd look. "Erm, I'm fine," she replied quickly. "And no, I'm not related to any Mr. Rosier from the Ministry. At least, not that I'm aware of. I'm not a pureblood."
Mr. Henderson's expression didn't change, but he did make some sort of a mark on a sheet of paper. "I see. My apologies. Now, if you would please brew for me..."
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Freya walked down to the Slytherin common room, and almost ran straight into Rabastan. He had been waiting at the entrance to the girls' dorms, and he looked a little relieved to see Freya. "There you are. I've been hoping you would come down. We need to talk."
"Oh, Freya replied. She hadn't seen Rabastan since her OWLs started. Even though he'd told her that they needed to meet, she simply couldn't find the time. Once her practical was over, it went straight to revising for the next day's exam. She looked at him and saw that he seemed a little tense. "Is everything all right?"
Rabastan shrugged. "I don't know. Can we please go outside?"
Freya followed him out of the Slytherin dungeons, her heart hammering. What did he want to talk to her about? The expression on his face suggested that it was nothing good. He was walking too fast, and Freya had trouble keeping up with him. "Rabastan; wait, what's the rush?"
She grabbed his arm in an attempt to slow him down. He stopped abruptly and yanked his arm out of her grip in a forceful motion. Freya froze in shock. He'd never done anything like that before. Rabastan saw her hurt expression and sighed. "I'm sorry. You just shouldn't have touched me there."
Freya blinked. "Touched you where? Your arm? Rabastan, what is wrong with you?"
He shook his head. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He pulled down the sleeve of his left arm absent-mindedly, even though it safely covered what was underneath. He'd never quite flinched when someone touched it before. All the same, the idea of Freya finding out he was a Death Eater... it wasn't shame that stopped him from telling her, but rather concern. She was too innocent to be mixed up in anything like this. He wasn't going to ruin her innocence. It was what had enraptured him about her in the first place. "Freya, I don't know how to say this. I just... "
The agony in his expression told Freya everything she needed to know. Her heart sank. She'd been expecting this, waiting for it, almost, but that didn't make it any easier. "You just what?" she asked, softly.
"Whatever there is between us... it needs to end."
That hurt more than she'd thought it would. "Whatever this is? I see, you can't even bother to name the relationship we have?" she asked him, icily. She was holding back tears, but the anger was raging in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn't let him see her cry. She wouldn't.
Rabastan looked confused. "I don't... I don't know what to call it. Freya, I enjoyed spending time with you, I really did. And you're beautiful. But..." he trailed off.
Freya gave him a sharp look. "But?"
"I..."
"Say it, Rabastan," she whispered. It was getting more and more difficult to maintain the cold expression when she wanted to sink to her knees and cry. She folded her arms across her chest and took a deep, shuddering breath. "The least you can do is say it."
Rabastan bit his lip. "We would never work out. You had to know that. You had to know when I first asked you that... we're not... we're not from the same place. Freya, this can never go anywhere. You knew that, didn't you?"
Freya could feel her lower lip trembling. "I did. But that doesn't mean I didn't...didn't believe that maybe you..." a choked sob escaped her lips and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She felt so used and humiliated at the same time. Her body shook as the sobs racked her.
Rabastan didn't know what to do. He couldn't stand the sight of watching her cry, and knowing that it was his fault. Guilt rose up inside of him. Why couldn't he have just left her alone? He'd known that things could never work with her; she wasn't rich, she wasn't even a pureblood. But he hadn't expected anything to go quite this far. "Freya, I'm sorry." She was still sobbing and he put an arm out to touch her shoulder but she moved away from him instantly.
"Don't apologize," she said. "After all, I'm the half-blood, so it must be my fault, right? Because I'm such an idiot. I suppose it's the Muggle blood in me," she bit out.
"It's not your blood," he tried to say, but he knew it was a lie. Of course it was her blood. Ultimately, everything was about blood.
"Then what?" Freya demanded. "Did Vittori finally pull that stick out of her arse and see you for who you really are? Actually, never mind. That can't be what happened. Because if she saw who you really were, then even a bitch like her wouldn't want anything to do with you."
Rabastan flinched. "Freya, don't say things like that. It's not like you."
"I'll say whatever I want. Go to hell, Lestrange. Go to hell."
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Vivienne was sitting alone, staring blankly into her Care of Magical Creatures notes. She honestly didn't care for the subject; animals didn't like her and she didn't like them. Even the owl that her parents had bought her when she was eleven had enjoyed biting her at every opportunity it got, until she finally gave the infernal thing away. Vivienne had wanted to dispose of it in a more... creative manner, but her mother had given it to some cousin of her's.
She flicked her quill absent-mindedly. It was a rubbery one that bent backwards; she'd snapped so many quills just by playing with them that her brother had bought her a flexible one last Christmas. It actually worked as a bit of a stress-reliever, not to mention a pastime when she was bored.
"Well, then? How did you do?" a familiar voice asked. She looked up and saw that Regulus was standing above her, with a smile. She shot him a dark look in return. She didn't really want to discuss her Potions paper with him.
"We'll see, won't we?" she replied simply.
"That awful, eh?"
"Why would you say that?"
Regulus shrugged. "I don't know. I simply assumed that if your paper had gone well, you would have come to me and gloated about it instead of waiting for me to find you. I suppose I can cancel that order for the broomstick, then?"
"I wouldn't be too hasty," she said. Her heart panged when she thought about the beautiful Nimbus that she might or might not get within a few months. She could only keep her fingers crossed. She smirked up at him. "As a matter of fact, once I get that broom from you, I think I'll talk to your mother again. This time, I may just convince her that I would make a wonderful bride. Perhaps she'll even force you to propose to me?"
Regulus looked shocked, but he quickly composed himself. "As if."
"What? You don't think I could do it?" she asked, teasingly. She stood up, and walked over to him so that they were only inches apart. His grey eyes looked a little panicked, but he stood his ground. Vivienne enjoyed the control she had over him. It was funny, how embarrassed he looked. Perhaps he was remembering the time she'd kissed him on the cheek. "Believe me, Black, I can make anyone do anything."
Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"
Vivienne nodded. She leaned closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder lightly. The OWLs had robbed her of a lot of her confidence, and she needed to feel in control once again. Not to mention that Regulus looked adorable, with his mouth slightly open. She wondered what he would do if she kissed him. The way his eyes were fixed on her lips, she was confident that he was at least a little attracted to her.
Regulus couldn't believe how close she was. They were standing in the middle of the common room, yet she was looking at him with those big chocolate brown eyes and biting her lip innocently. He felt a sudden urge to pull her closer and kiss her, but his mind stopped him. He knew that she was playing some sort of a game; if he did that, it would mean that he'd lost. He forced himself to stay stiff as Vivienne's fingers trailed over his collar bone and her eyes fixed on his mouth. "What are you doing, Rosier?"
Vivienne smiled. "I don't know, Black. Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"Yes, it does. You're in my breathing space," he choked out, putting his hands on her upper arms. For half a second, Regulus contemplated pulling her towards him and kissing her senseless. He didn't give a damn who won, he just wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. But he forced himself to remain calm and pushed her away to a safe distance. "I thought you had a little more self-control than that, Rosier."
Vivienne's smirk dropped. She shot him a dirty look, and was about to bite out a sharp remark when she saw something that stopped her. Freya had just entered the common room, her hand covering her mouth as her shoulders shook. She was crying. Vivienne's eyes widened as she watched her sobbing friend dart up the stairs to the girls' dorms. "Erm, I have to go," she muttered. Regulus nodded still trying to compose himself.
He watched as Vivienne disappeared, and ran a hand over his face. Bloody hell.
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A/N – Phew! This took longer than I thought. Sorry.
Honestly, Vivienne didn't care much about her other OWLs. She only wanted to do Potions well, because it was a matter of getting herself a broom and also pride. Obviously she's got a bit of an ego battle going on with Regulus and she doesn't want to lose that.
You know what's funny? Freya was (sort of) a negative character in La Trahison and now in Semper Vivens, Rochelle is coming off as the negative character. It's hard for me to show Rochelle in such a bad light, but I think that's the way Freya and her friends would see her.
Let me know what you think! Review!