Chapter 14
2 months until Round 2
Despite the hundreds of talking bodies cramped in the Great Hall Friday morning, it was as if a muffliato charm had been cast around my friends and I. None of us dared speak to one another, as the only sound penetrating the silence between us was the occasional buttering of toast or slurping of coffee and juice. Well, that was until G had decided enough was enough.
"So. This is weird." She stated, clasping her hands together and looking around at the three of us with a raised eyebrow.
Yes, it was only the three of us. Despite Albus definitely having a class in his first period, he failed to show up to breakfast, which did nothing to dispel my leftover worry from yesterday's events. Speaking of those events, I passed a very melancholy Mint on the way to the Great Hall, intensifying the guilt churning in my stomach.
As the image of her red-rimmed eyes and hunched figure filled my mind, I suddenly dropped my toast and pushed my plate away with a grimace.
"Yeah. I suppose I'd never really noticed how close we'd become to Albus. Well, you know what they say – you never notice how much you'll miss something until it's gone." Viv added, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Panna looked at her in alarm while G rolled her eyes.
I stared at Viv. "Er, you know, he's not actually gone, right? Like, he's still here." I said.
She shrugged. "Well I mean yeah, I know he's still here, but he's not exactly here. And being not exactly here, means that consequently Albus isn't here here. You know?" Viv explained wisely, looking around at our confused faces.
"Er, no." I replied hesitatingly.
G shook her head in bewilderment. "Viv, that was the most fake-deep thing I've ever heard."
Panna smiled before quickly covering her mouth, as I felt a small grin spread on my face at the sight of Viv's offended expression.
Viv sniffed delicately. "Oh please, your mum's a muggle fortune teller. You wouldn't know fake-deep even if it flew past you naked on a broomstick." She shot back.
I only vaguely registered G's snorts. I was too busy trying to make sense of Viv's comeback.
"Exactly. Mum's a muggle fortune teller and the most fake-deep person on the planet, which sort of makes me an expert on the matter." G returned, leaning back with a victorious smirk. "Check and mate." She finished smugly as Viv slumped back with a defeated huff.
Panna and I exchanged a glance.
"That was, by far, the strangest argument the two of you have ever had and I think I'd like to just forget it ever happened lest I spend the rest of the day trying to work out what exactly it was even about." Panna breathed.
I laughed, before a thought came to my head. "Ooh, Panna! You've – "
"'- got class today with Albus, right?' Yes Clio, I do. And yes, I will talk to him, don't worry." She interrupted, smiling kindly at me.
I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, but returned the smile nevertheless. "Thanks Pan."
"Anytime."
Double Alchemy passed in a boring blur. Despite most of the class, myself included, having successfully transmuted a base metal into gold or silver at least once last term, Professor Zeller was insistent on holding yet another theory class much to our dismay. I grimaced as I remembered the three feet of parchment I had to fill by next class with a detailed inside into muggle beliefs of the spirituality behind the practice of Alchemy.
Sighing, I slumped into the Great Hall and dropped onto a seat next to G at the Hufflepuff table.
G sent me a knowing glance. "I told you not to take that subject. Zeller's crazy. And trust me, I should know considering I dated her son who, need I remind you, kept a very large insect collection under his bed. He had to have gotten that from someone." She told me knowingly.
"Well, James Zeller's always been a tad strange. Besides, I like the subject and Zeller's a good teacher, but it's just exhausting. And I haven't even begun sessions with Binns for the second round!" I exclaimed, cursing myself for forgetting.
G shuddered. "I don't envy you. But speaking of the tournament and those competing," she begun, pointing at a figure walking towards us.
I sat up, my heart soaring but quickly settling as the person sat down across from us.
"Oh. Hey, Pan."
She shot me a look. "Well, no need to be so excited to see me Clio."
"Ugh, sorry. That was rude of me. I am excited to see you though!" I reassured her with a wince.
She waved me off. "Don't sweat it. Anyway, I have news." She said, as Viv joined us at the table.
The three of us leaned in close to Panna.
"So, Albus did show up to transfiguration – looking like absolute hell, mind you – and I sat next to him, struck up conversation, but he was having none of it. All one word answers and he didn't even make eye contact once! It was rather rude, if I'm being completely honest." She told us, sounding scandalised.
We all sat back, looking thoughtful.
"That seems so out of character." I mused.
G looked at me incredulously. "Er, Clio? Are you talking about the same Albus here? You know, moody, incapable of talking about his feelings, always looking like he's plotting to murder somebody Albus?"
"He may have been like that before, but he changed so much!" Viv answered before I could open my mouth.
"Exactly! And we don't want him going back to that," Panna said. "So, Gang, what are we going to do about it?"
I scanned the Hall quickly. "Well, he's not in here, so first we have to find him."
G nodded. "And when we do, I suggest we corner him and pull that stick out of his ass," She added, looking pleased with her input as the three of us rolled our eyes.
"While I don't like the vivid imagery G's put forward, I have to agree with the general gist of her suggestion," Panna added, as G puffed out her chest proudly.
"Okay sure, but first things first – how are we going to find him?" Viv said, looking around at our stumped faces.
The next minute was filled with a lot of er's as quite a few uh's, before a thought suddenly struck me.
"James!" I exclaimed, looking around at my friends excitedly.
"Ew, what about him?" G asked, looking as though she had swallowed something distasteful.
"Well, he found us in the kitchens, didn't he?" I said, referring to yesterday before the figurative storm had arrived.
Panna looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I suppose he did. I guess we should talk to him then," She said reluctantly.
And then –
"Not it!" G and Panna both yelled, touching their noses, closely followed by Viv.
I groaned as I slowly stood up. "I hate you all."
"You love us!" G shouted after me as I made my way to the Gryffindor table.
A small smile spread across my face because yeah, I really did love the Gang. They were family to me and that's why it was so important to find out why Albus was avoiding us.
Squaring my shoulders, I made the few steps towards where James Potter was sitting, surrounded by various family members and what looked like the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team. Which, now that I think about it, was practically comprised of his family.
A tad nepotistic, but hey – talent is talent.
Swallowing nervously, I ignored the curious glances of those seated around him and tapped James on the shoulder.
"So then I told the old hag to go – oh, hey Clio!" James greeted with a wide grin.
"Er, hey. Would I be able to talk to you quickly?" I asked quietly.
He nodded.
I sighed when he didn't move. "Privately?" I added, looking around at the others meaningfully.
"Oh! Yeah, of course." He agreed, standing up and following me out of the hall with a wave to his friends.
I stopped walking once we were out of the hall and turned to face James, almost jumping back in surprise when I saw the concern on his face.
He bent down (I wasn't exactly short, but James' height was just plain ridiculous). "I hear about what happened yesterday, and wanted you to know if you and Wen need me to deal with any of those prats-"
I interrupted his whispers with a strangled sound. "Er, James, that's very sweet of you? But, er, this isn't about that. Well, it kind of is, I suppose, but not entirely – though I suppose it stems from what happened – but, well, again it might be something else-"
"Clio!" James exclaimed, interrupting my rambling.
"I'm fine." I murmured, before taking another breath. "Okay, basically after what happened last night, Albus has been completely avoiding us and we can't find him and we're all really worried. And, well, when we were thinking of ways to find him, I remembered how you and Rose had found us in the kitchen last night and was wondering if you could help us find Albus so we can talk to him." I explained.
"No problem. Albus does tend to be a prat every once in a while. He just gets in these moods sometimes, you know?" James replied, as he searched his robe pockets.
A grin and a small "aha!" followed shortly, as he brought out a worn and slightly brown piece of parchment. Taking out his wand, he went to tap it before suddenly glancing up and looking at me pointedly.
Taking the hint, I slowly turned around in confusion. How an old and mouldy bit of paper was supposed to help find Albus I had no idea, but if it worked, then I was happy.
I heard James muttering to himself for a few seconds; before he told me I could turn back around.
He stuffed the parchment back in his pocket. "He's in the paddock near the Forbidden forest. You know the one?" He asked as I nodded.
"Thanks, James." I said gratefully.
"No problem. Now, go to him, Clio! Run like the wind!" He yelled dramatically with an arm flourish.
I stared at him. "Er, well, I was actually gonna tell the others first."
James sighed. "Fine. First, tell the others. Then go to him and run like the wind!" He conceded.
I gave him an awkward smile. "I will?"
He nodded seriously and ruffled my hair, ignoring my grimace.
"I have full faith in you, young one."
"Well, we already know James is a tosser," G said as we made our way to the paddock, after my explanation of what James had told me.
Panna glanced at G with a raised brow. "You know, G, some people would say that all this hostility is a cover-up for some, ahem, deeper feelings."
Hearing a squawk, I turned around to see G dry retching.
She straightened up after a few seconds, breathing heavily. "Pan, I love you and all, but never say that again. The thought of James and I together-"
She paused to dry heave again.
I rolled my eyes. What a drama queen.
"-excuse me. As I was saying, thinking of him in any sexual situation is enough to make me vomit." She finished with a large shudder.
"You can like somebody without feeling the need to have sex with them, you know." Viv said, sounding disgruntled.
I frowned, and swung an arm around her shoulders. G scratched her head. "Sorry, Viv." She apologised, looking concerned.
"We know the two aren't mutually exclusive," Panna added softly, as I squeezed Viv's shoulders. "Is everything okay?"
She sighed rather violently. "I dunno. Just, that berk Wood made an offhand comment the other day-"
"But he doesn't know, right? About you?" G interrupted.
What G was referring to was the fact that Viv had come out as asexual a few years back. After our confusion had settled a bit, she explained that essentially (in her case, at least) it meant she experienced no sexual attraction nor had any desire to partake in any sexual activity. It had followed from a rather horrid summer for her, in which her primary school friends had forced her to join them in a very nosy game of 'never have I ever'. Viv had borrowed her mum's laptop and researched, until she had found a definition and along with it, the assurance that she wasn't the only one experiencing these feelings.
Viv shook her head. "No, of course not. Only you guys and Albus, as far as I know."
"Wood's always had some rather unsavoury views on everything though." Panna said.
I grimaced, remembering his disgusting tirade of insults when Ravenclaw beaters Alberto Morales and Eoin O'Sullivan came out as a couple after they won the Quidditch Cup last year. I then smirked, remembering the black eye and broken nose Roxanne Weasley (Ravenclaw star Keeper and best friend to Alberto) gave him.
I nodded. "He's a grade-A git and you shouldn't listen to a word he says."
"It's not like anybody else does," G added with a smirk, which made Viv giggle.
"Yeah, I suppose you guys are right. Thanks." She told us, smiling.
"Never doubt yourself, okay? Only you know who you are." Panna replied seriously, as Viv nodded.
"Okay, that's either a dead animal on top of his head, or Albus is in that field and has somehow been electrocuted." G stated, pointing ahead.
Pulling my cloak tighter around me, I squinted against the wind to follow G's line of vision.
"What are you talking about, G? That's how he normally looks." Viv said.
G pulled a face. "Oh Merlin, it hasn't even been twenty four hours and I'm already forgetting what he looks like."
"You sound like a devastated lover."
"Yeah G, maybe you should tone it down a bit or Clio will get jealous." Panna threw a smirk my way.
"I don't know what your talking about," I replied with my head held high, ignoring the bright blush that was spreading across my cheeks. "Let's go."
"What's he doing?" Viv asked, as we got closer to the gate of the paddock.
Squinting to where he was kneeled, I saw that Albus was actually petting-
"A unicorn foal. He's petting a unicorn foal." Panna replied, sounding as dumbstruck as I felt.
"How'd he manage to pull that one off?" G whispered in disbelief as we observed the scene in front of us.
"Dunno," I murmured back, "but unicorn foals don't mind blokes patting them too much. It's the adults that hate it."
"Still, how'd he find a foal though?"
"'He' can hear you."
We all jumped at the new, deep voice and guiltily glanced over to where Albus was staring at us with a raised brow.
"Er…" I begun apologetically, before awkwardly clambering over the locked gate, the others (Panna, after what looked like an internal debate over whether this counted as rule breaking) following shortly.
We slowly approached the pair, the unicorn foal regarding us shrewdly. We stopped about a metre behind Albus, all of us paralysed in awe.
"It's beautiful," I breathed, my eyes dancing over the golden creature.
"She's only about a year or so old, "Albus begun, before gesturing for us to move forward. "You can come closer, she won't hurt you."
Tentatively, we all crouched down and shuffled slowly forwards, hands held out in a non-threatening manner. Stopping around the foal, we slowly begun to pet it. I felt a delighted smile spread across my face as the unicorn responded happily.
"Where's her mum?" G asked curiously, gazing fondly at the small animal in question.
Albus sat down, letting us pat her. "She's getting patched up by Hagrid. Had a nasty run in with some acromantula. He thought her foal would be safe in here." He explained, running a hand through his hair.
I smiled fondly at that. "I missed that."
Five heads swiveled towards me in confusion, some in horror.
"The fuck are you talking about, Clio? Why would you want a unicorn to be hurt?" G asked incredulously.
I felt my cheeks heat up. "Oh Merlin, that came out wrong. Shit, I didn't mean that, it's absolutely horrid what happened to the unicorn and I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery! I just meant that, well, okay it still sounds weird now that I think about it, but I missed Albus running his hands through his hair every five seconds." I explained sheepishly, averting my eyes to the grass.
I heard a snort, followed by an, "of course you did," courtesy of G.
"Yeah, Albus, what's up? Why have you been avoiding us all day?" Panna enquired softly, accepting my grateful look with a wink.
He sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "I, er, well it was – I just mean that, well – maybe it – er, because," he sighed, "I dunno," Albus finished rather lamely.
G shot him a vicious look. "'I dunno'. We haven't seen hide nor hair of you all day with absolutely no explanation, and especially considering what happened yesterday, and all you have to say for yourself is 'I dunno'?!" She reprimanded, nearly yelling by the end of her speech.
And irritated screech broke the ensuing silence and G soon turned all her attention to the disgruntled unicorn foal.
"Blimey, you sound like my nanna." Albus commented, rubbing the back of his neck.
"If you don't explain yourself mister, next thing you know I'll be channeling the spirit of McGonagall." G replied in a warning tone.
Albus visibly recoiled as Panna lightly whacked G's arm.
I sighed. "Look, you don't have to tell us why, but we were just really worried about you." I told him truthfully.
He met my eyes for a few seconds before turning away with a huff.
"Well, nobody asked you to be worried."
"Well, of course they didn't! You're our friend, Albus." Viv said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I didn't ask to be that either!" He shouted.
It had felt as though somebody had punched me in the chest, and one glance at the rest of the Gang told me the same.
My eyes teared up against my will. "You don't ask to be people's friends, Albus. It's something that happens naturally, and our friendship with you is something that happened naturally. We care about you, Albus. We love you. Of course we're going to worry about you when you avoid us and of course we're going to care about you! Because that's what friends do," I said, feeling tears slide down my cheeks.
I wiped at my tears as I took in his startled expression. "Now I'm crying. Merlin's beard. I hate crying," I blubbered, sniffling pathetically as I wiped the sleeve of my robe across my face.
Taking a deep breath, I composed myself (slightly – by which I mean I at least could form words again) and narrowed my eyes at a now slightly guilty looking Albus.
"If you don't want to be our friend, that's fine. But we want you to be our friend. We care about you." I finished, continuing to stem the flow of tears with my sleeve.
Ugh, rather pitiful of me, isn't it? I've always been a bit of an easy crier though.
One time, a drunk bloke on the street swore at me and spat on my favourite jumper as I passed him. I stood there in shock for a few seconds and then promptly burst into tears right there on the sidewalk.
Yeah, I know, rather expected when you're young, right?
Wrong. That happened last week.
"Now, can somebody please say something? I can't deal with the silence on top of, well, this," I pleaded, gesturing to myself (smeared eyeliner and mascara included – I'm quite the catch, I know).
"Er," Albus began, staring at me with wide eyes.
"What's wrong, Smellbus?" G asked maliciously. "Never seen a crying girl before?"
"Actually, he saw Clio crying two nights ago, remember?" Viv added in, helpfully.
Please note the sarcasm.
I growled, which must have been rather nonthreatening due to how it evolved into hacking coughs.
Recovering swiftly I sat back up and glared at Viv. "Okay, I think we've established that I cry a lot. Can we move on, please?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Of course, of course. So, Albus?" Panna replied, gesturing to the boy.
He still had that wide-eyed look on his face. A quick shake of his head brought him out of his daze once he noticed that all eyes (unicorn included) were on him.
I bet that unicorn's enjoying all of this drama.
Smug little bastard.
Albus exhaled heavily through his nose. "I was a bit of a prat – I heard that, G – and I'm sorry. For just before and for avoiding you guys. And, well, thanks for caring." He apologised, finishing with his eyes firmly on the tree line ahead.
G looked at us as if to say, 'was that it', but Albus has always been a bit stumped over the whole concept of emotions.
"Of course. You know we're here if you need to talk, right?" Panna reminded him softly, a slight mothering tone coming through.
Panna is the mother hen of the group, after all. The amount of times she's stopped G from accidentally dying (let alone all of us) is staggering.
He nodded hesitantly. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Thanks. For finding me and for putting up with me. And, er, Clio, I'm sorry for making you cry," he added, staring at me in worry.
I waved off his apologies, a bright grin on my face. "Nonsense, I cry a lot. It was bound to happen sometime today, believe me."
"Mhmm. A day's not complete until Clio cries like a character on a soap opera." G stated, before returning to cooing at the unicorn foal.
I frowned. "It's also not complete until G gets shirty with someone for using her full name."
She slowly looked up at me. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would."
"Clio, don't you dare – "
"Okay fine, chill. Merlin." I interrupted, holding up my hands. I turned to Panna as G breathed out a relieved sigh. "Pan, isn't that Geraldine Gribbles' headband?"
"CLIO!"
I laughed along with the rest of my friends.
"Okay, okay, sorry G. It was just too good to resist." I said, giggling.
She huffed, but accepted my apology anyway.
I lowered myself onto the ground and stared at the clouds, hearing Albus lie down next to me a moment later. Turning my head, I smiled at him.
"I really am sorry, you know. Ramsbottom just really got to me and I just don't really know how to deal with – things – that well." He murmured to me after a beat of silence.
I reached over awkwardly and patted his arm. "It's okay. But, maybe next time, just tell us you need some time to cool off. It might stop another misunderstanding."
He quirked a smile. "Yeah, I will. Sorry again."
I simply smiled and hooked my arm around his, as we both looked at the sky together.
…
"As romantic as this all is, I hope you two remember we're still here."
I heard Panna tut and reprimand G.
I laughed. "How could we forget you, G?"
"She wouldn't let us." Albus muttered.
"You're damn right I wouldn't. Now, budge up Smellbus. Goldilocks and I want to stare at the sky too."
And that's how Hagrid found the five of us (six, if you count the unicorn foal - fondly dubbed 'Goldilocks'); laying on the cold ground on a January afternoon, staring at the clouds and laughing.
A/N: Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter – it of course belongs to the magnificent J.K. Rowling!
So, I finally finished this chapter! It took me a while to get into the swing of writing it and life got in the way, but it is here!
I was going to have their first apparition lesson at the end, but I liked how it finished so that'll definitely be in the next chapter (which I'll hopefully get up earlier). This chapter and the past few have been a bit intense which I'm really sorry for, but you can definitely expect them to get a bit more light hearted soon!
Also, I am definitely not intending to offend anybody who cries a lot (I myself cry very easily)! That's just something that's important to who Clio is, so I wanted to show it.
And the deal with Christopher Wood - Oliver Wood is one of my absolute favourite characters ever and you can definitely tell from reading the books that he doesn't have any prejudices at all (only against the other Quidditch teams - classic Oliver). So his son didn't get any of his horrible views from him!
Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews and for the faves and follows! They really encouraged me to finish this chapter :)
I hope you guys have a lovely day/night! Xx
p.s. – the second round of the tournament will be in two or three chapters time! :) you may notice that I changed it a bit – instead of being in the Easter holidays, I'm going to have it in March, so just a bit before hand as that fits in better with the last round :)
p.p.s - I really hope I wrote the bit about asexuality correctly, I researched it but please tell me if it's wrong!