This is personally one of my favorite chapters. You all will see why soon enough. :D I was practically giddy when I came up with this idea (again this was part of the Summer getting pregnant leads to another idea which leads to a very important part of this story). I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You know the drill, if you don't want to read my comments to my readers, skip on down to the chapter. Also, this story is reaching it's end. I decided the other day that I'm almost done with it (well I decided when I wanted it to end a couple weeks ago and was in the middle of a chapter and was like "Damn...It's almost there" so it kinda snuck up on me.) Anyway, I plan on the last chapter being Chapter 24 and then an epilogue. Also, I will begin writing a new fic, so keep an eye out for it. I actually started it a few years ago and I've been toying with the idea of it again. It's called "Right Where I Belong" and I plan on working on it in the next couple days or so. I haven't decided if I'm going to post the first chapter as soon as I get it done, or do like I've been doing and waiting until I have a few chapters of it before posting. Anyway, enjoy! Thoughts are much appreciated and I love you guys!
Jonte Aliscious: I am sooo happy that you still decided to read the chapter. I swear, it's a miracle my head didn't swell twenty times its normal size as my ego did when I read your reply. I was sitting in Denny's and got odd looks from others as I did a little "I am awesome" dance. :P Yes, Summer's parents are quite horrible and I dreaded writing that, but it's very important to showing why Summer is the way she is. Thanks so much for the wonderful review, it seriously made my day and I still can't read it without grinning from ear to ear!
crazymacky: I totally forgot about Angelina Johnson, but no, that is not Summer's daughter. Thanks for the review
Jenn222: Yes, Summer has amazing friends and they are going to become more important to her than even she realizes at this point. Thanks for your loyal reviews :D
imsuchanut: Thanks for reading despite not agreeing with some of my morals and those of the characters. I know a lot of people won't read a story if it differs from their beliefs, so thanks for not letting that sway you from reading the story. Once again I am pleased to hear that people don't think this is too cliche. :) I hope you keep reading and to get more reviews from you.
Bornatmidnight96: I updated! :P
aboutBlank: I like to keep my stories fluffy and I'm so glad you love it. :D I realized that in my other fanfics my OCs weren't really that diverse. That were all pretty interchangeable so I made sure to give them their own distinct personalities this time. I love all of them and I have a blast writing them. I love Carmen's fierceness and I'll admit that I kind of based Faith a little off myself. She's a ditz and she knows and embraces it. I love the relationship between Carmen and Kevin, they can't keep their hands off each other. And Faith and Dean are just adorable (In my humble but slightly biased opinion). Unfortunately I was trying to keep it as close to the real story as possible and don't like to write a love story where the characters broke up so that's my reasoning for keeping Remus and Sirius single. And I don't much care for Peter so I tend to pretend he doesn't exist :P I assure you, Sirius is not the father of the baby, they only had sex the one time. I will tell you that I don't ever reveal the father of Summer's baby. She's not sure who it is and neither am I. As she's said, he's not important. Hahaha I hate Robyn but I (guiltily) enjoy writing her. Mainly because it's fun watching everyone burn her. :P (Yeah, I'm a little evil) Thanks for the wonderful review. I hope you keep reading. :D
Super Cara: I loved writing Sirius' reaction to hearing Summer was pregnant but it broke my heart to have to write that it wasn't his child. I don't know who it hurt more, me or Summer. Thanks for reading.
4BlOnDiE4: I'm glad you read the note and don't worry, I'm nosy too :P. Yeah like I said a few years ago I toyed with the idea of it being Sirius' baby but decided against it for many reasons. It's too cliche, it doesn't fit cannon, etc. I probably won't reveal the baby's father. I kinda considered it being Michael's baby (Robyn's ex and the guy who assaulted Summer) but I decided that was much too cruel. I hope you continue to loyally review :)
Chapter 20
Carmen spotted the light brown hair in the crowded corridor. She pushed her way through the sea of students, grunting and swearing under her breath as someone elbowed her in the gut. Didn't these people have any manners? She finally caught up with her intended target.
"Hey," she greeted as Summer turned to her.
"Oh, it's you," Summer replied, visibly exhaling. She figured it had been someone coming to give her shit about her pregnancy. Speaking of which, she threw a glare at a passing classmate who stared at her as they walked by. She was sick of everyone gawking at her. She made a mistake, damn it. As if everyone who was judging her was so damn perfect. She knew for a fact that most of the people condemning her would be in the same boat if not for sheer luck. She smiled slightly to herself as she saw Carmen glaring at another student walking past as their eyes fell on Summer's stomach. She knew she was lucky to have someone so strong and intimidating on her side.
"You okay?" Carmen asked, finally turning her attention back to Summer as the student she had glowered at quickly scuttled past the pair. "Why are you going this way? I thought you had Charms."
Summer shrugged slightly. "I'm ditching. I can't sit there for forty-five minutes and have everyone gaping at me and pretending it's not me that they are whispering about behind their hand."
Carmen nodded, causing her dark curls to bounce slightly. "I can understand that. I'm really sorry you're going through this." She felt real sympathy for the girl, and Carmen didn't sympathize with people easily. Summer had had a rough life and this was just the cherry on top. How much rubbish did one person have to put up with in a single lifetime?
Summer thanked Carmen, meaning it with all her heart. She knew it was of the highest honor to receive such compassion from the girl next to her. She felt tears well up in her eyes and swore aloud, ignoring the looks of shock from some of the students surrounding her.
Carmen regarded her, alarm filling her chocolate brown eyes. "What?" she inquired urgently, stopping abruptly to examine Summer. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" She wondered briefly where this solicitousness was coming from. She had never really been one to feel such a sense of concern for anyone. There was something about Summer, something about her vulnerability that made her want to protect the small girl. Maybe it was that exposure-something she had never seen so much of in one person- that made her want to be there for Summer.
A small smile worked its way to Summer's face. Carmen's concern touched her deeply. "Yeah. I'm fine," Summer told the other girl. "I'm just sick of feeling so bloody emotional all the time. It's like every little thing makes me want to cry at the drop of a hat."
"Oh," Carmen stated, unsure of any words of comfort she could offer the pregnant girl. She settled for, "Yeah, hormones are a bitch."
This commented elicited a laugh from Summer's slightly parted lips. "That they are," she concurred, still grinning. "Hey are you busy right now?"
"Not really," Carmen answered. She had started walking once again now that she was sure the other girl wasn't in any danger. "I have a free period and Kevin's in class so I was just planning on going back to the dorm to study some. Why? What did you have in mind?"
"Well," Summer's eyes dropped to her hands, which she wrung nervously. She hesitated slightly before continuing, "I was kind of wondering if you would walk around with me. I don't want to be alone but I don't want to be in a crowded area either." She chanced a glance at Carmen. Her eyes caught the small look of amusement on Carmen's face. She sighed a little. "You don't want to. That's okay." Her heart was dropping a little. She didn't want to deal with all of her classmates but she also didn't want to be alone. Carmen thought she was just a silly little girl with a silly request.
"What? No," Carmen said, bemused. "You didn't even give me a chance to reply. Why would you assume that I don't want to?"
Summer shrugged sheepishly, embarrassment warming her cheeks. "I don't know. You looked like the idea amused you. Like you thought I was dumb to think that you would want to spend a free period with someone so pathetic."
Carmen's face hardened and fixed a glare on the other girl. "You are not pathetic, and don't ever think that." Her features softened a little as she added, "I looked amused because I couldn't believe it was such a small request. The way you hesitated made me think you were going to ask me to perform The Cruciatus Curse."
Summer smiled for a second before she realized the girl hadn't answered her question, she frowned slightly. "So...is that a yes?"
Carmen grinned. It was shocking that this poor girl wasn't terrified of her own shadow. She'd gotten a small background on her but wondered what in the world had happened to someone so gentle-hearted to cause her to be so timid. It was as if now that she wasn't playing the part of the bitch-and Carmen knew it to be just that, an act-she didn't know who she even was. Carmen nodded, "That's a yes."
Summer beamed. "Great. I know a few back corridors that are almost always empty. Sirius showed them to me. I don't know how he knows so much about this freaking castle."
Carmen glanced around the almost nearly empty corridor they stood in. Only a few students who had free periods or were running late to the classes they were supposed to be in remained. "What's wrong with the main corridors?" Carmen asked. "With classes in session they are pretty much empty."
Summer's eyes dropped as she noticed a trio of Fifth Year girls passing, sneaking glances at Summer and whispering to each other. "It's still too many people," she told Carmen. Her blue eyes begged the other girl. "Please, can we just go to one of the smaller corridors?"
"Yeah, of course," complied the dark-haired girl. "Lead the way, mummy." She chortled as Summer shot her a small grin she tried to mask with a glare.
The two walked in a comfortable silence as Summer lead the way to one of the aforementioned corridors and focused on trying not to get them lost. She had always been with Sirius when they walked this path and she, admittedly, had been too lost in their conversation to pay much attention to which way they went. She had a pretty decent sense of direction though and allowed herself a little confidence that she knew where they were going.
"So are you going to try to figure out who the father is?" Carmen asked, assuming they were in one of the corridors that Summer had spoken of since she didn't recognize this part of the castle.
Summer shook her head, remembering with shame that she had admitted to Carmen that she had been too drunk at the time of conception to know with whom she had been having sex. "I don't think so. It's not important to me."
Carmen gaped at her slightly. "Not important?" she almost sputtered. "Summer, this is the father of your child. Don't you want him to take responsibility? Don't you want him to step up and be a man and help raise his kid?"
Summer shrugged slightly. "I really couldn't care less if he were to step up and be a man. This is my baby. Mine," she asserted with more aggression than Carmen had ever seen the girl produce. Carmen found herself smiling at the amount of heart Summer was showing. She had established a mere week ago that she was pregnant and already she was deciding to take full responsibility.
"Still, aren't you the least bit curious?"
Summer forcefully moved her head from side to side. She met Carmen's chocolate brown eyes. "I don't need to know who the father of my child is to be a good mother."
Carmen had a newfound respect for her new friend. She was about to tell Summer this when a rather unpleasant voice interrupted her.
"So, you really will be raising a bastard child."
Carmen didn't have to look at Robyn's face to see the girl's sneer. She and Summer turned around and Robyn walking towards them filled their vision. Carmen felt a hate she reserved for Robyn fill her. There was just something about this girl that could set her off in a heartbeat. Robyn was just such a…such a bitch. She always had to make sure she ruined everyone else's good time.
"Well so much for privacy," Carmen muttered apologetically to Summer through gritted teeth. Robyn had the worst timing in the history of the world. Then again, Robyn being around was never a good thing, really. Carmen felt Summer tense beside her. Glancing over she saw that the girl had taken to staring at the ground and fiddling with her hands again. Carmen's anger level rose. Robyn knew of her power over Summer. She knew how much she intimidated the girl. Carmen's eyes turned to an almost black color as they hardened on Robyn again. "What do you want, Smith?"
Robyn smirked, not looking at the girl who had addressed her, instead keeping her eyes on the unsettled Summer. She contorted her face into a too-big smile, her voice changing into a fake cheery tone, "I just wanted to congratulate Summer on being dumb enough to get knocked up."
That was it, Carmen had had enough. "You stupid—," she seethed charging at the girl.
"No!" Summer yelled, stepping quickly in front of Carmen. Her outstretched hands rested on Carmen's chest. She suspected her being pregnant was the only reason the raging girl didn't try to push past her. Carmen glared past Summer at Robyn as the girl planted an amused smirk on her face. "She's not worth it," Summer spoke once again. "You'll get in trouble," she continued, her plead evident in her voice. "She's not worth it," she repeated once again.
Finally, Carmen broke her glare on Robyn and looked down at Summer, meeting her eyes. She let out a sigh. She glanced back at Robyn, hardening her eyes once again. "Yeah. You're right. She's not worth it." This only made Robyn smirk more.
"Let's just…let's just go," Summer pleaded, dropping her hands from the girl's chest. She was satisfied that her friend wasn't going to try to attack Robyn anymore.
Carmen glanced back down at Summer. "Okay," she agreed a little more easily than Summer had expected her to. Carmen knew that if she were to stand there and look at the smirk on Robyn's face much longer she wouldn't be able to contain her anger as she had been.
Summer exhaled slowly. "Good. Good. Let's go."
She and Carmen turned to walk away and had only taken a few steps before Robyn stomped up to them, grabbing Summer's arm.
"Don't walk away from, you slag. I wasn't— "Crack. Robyn fell to the ground in a heap, her hand clutching her nose.
Summer gasped and looked over at Carmen who was massaging her hand. Carmen didn't know what had happened. They had turned to walk away and when she saw Robyn grab Summer's arm like that, she just…she snapped. She had spent the last month watching Robyn torture Summer, all because Summer had decided she didn't want to be Robyn's friend anymore. Enough was enough. Robyn had no right to put her hands on another person, a pregnant person at that. Especially when said person was trying to walk away from the confrontation. Summer had actively stopped Carmen from beating Robyn to a bloody pulp, and instead of being grateful, the little cow then decided to assault her old friend.
"Shit!" Summer swore. "Carmen!" she chastised. Fear was taking over the small satisfactory feeling she had knowing that Carmen had punched Robyn for her. "Why'd you do that?"
Carmen gaped at the girl on the ground, still rubbing her hand. Damn that had hurt. It'd been a while since she'd punched anyone and she'd forgotten how much it stung. "I'm sorry," she apologized, not at all sorry. "I snapped. When I saw her grab your arm—I just snapped."
"Well as much as I app—"
"My nose," Robyn coughed, still lying on the ground. "You broke my nose, you bitch!" she wheezed as blood seeped through the hand pressed on her face. "You'll pay for this."
"Oh ye—," Carmen's retort was interrupted as Summer grabbed her arm.
"Let's go," Summer said, tugging slightly, desperate to stop things from escalating any more than they already had. "You made your point. Now let's go before someone shows up," she demanded forcefully.
Carmen was slightly irritated at the smaller girl for interposing. She had a million ripostes to Robyn's garbled threat. However, she sighed and knew it would not be in her best interest to be standing over the heap of a girl on the ground, slighting her when someone showed up. She turned on her heel and headed for the end of the corridor, leaving Summer to trail behind her. She was still simmering a bit but had found that punching Robyn had gotten out most of her anger. She distantly heard Robyn scuffling to her feet as they turned a corner.
"I still can't believe you did that," Summer reprimanded, gasping to catch her breath. She had almost had to jog to keep up with Carmen's quick, annoyed stride.
Carmen slowed her pace, feeling bad that she had made the pregnant girl work so hard to keep up with her. She honestly hadn't paid much attention to her speed. Stopping altogether to let Summer rest, she leaned against the stone wall. They were a few corridors away from where they had left the injured girl. Her irritation had subsided completely.
"Neither can I," Carmen stated honestly. "I lost control." She grinned as the sight of Robyn clutching her nose popped into her head. "That was bloody awesome though. Not that I'm proud of it or anything," she added as Summer shot her look. She fixed Summer with a knowing look of her own. "You can't deny that was wicked."
Summer lost a battle with the smile trying to creep upon her face. "Yeah, yeah," she agreed, shaking her head. "Thank you, by the way," she added once she remembered Carmen had punched Robyn to protect her. "How's your hand?" She reached down to grab the girl's hand, examining it. "Does it hurt? Is that your blood or Robyn's?"
Carmen glanced at it, licked the thumb on her other hand, and swiped it across the blood, which came off easily. "Robyn's," she stated so matter-of-factly it made Summer giggle.
"Well then," she laughed. The girl's actions had been so nonchalant. "Does it hurt?"
Carmen shrugged. "It did, not really anymore though."
Just then a bell sounded throughout the hallway, causing the two girls to jump. Once their hearts slowed down a bit, they looked at each other and started laughing. Carmen pulled her hand away from Summer's grip.
"C'mon, we better get going or we are going to be late to Herbology." She pulled out her wand and said a spell cleaning the rest of the blood off her knuckle. "I know a short cut from here."
Summer let out a dry laugh, "Yeah because that worked out so well last time."
Carmen grinned broadly at her before they made their way quickly down the hall. A few turns and the two were once again engulfed in the bodies of their classmates rushing to their next class. Summer barely noticed the other students staring at her and her belly as she laughed and talked with Carmen.
The pair had Herbology and one other class for the day, which they also shared. Summer was grateful for Carmen as she suffered the gawking and judgmental looks of her classmates. She once glanced over in Herbology to see Carmen stick her tongue out at a girl who couldn't keep her eyes of off Summer's stomach. Summer stopped her laugh just in time, causing it to come out sounding like a hiccup. Her happiness was quickly halted as a queasy feeling hit the pit of her stomach. 'Not again' she though. Grabbing her wand, she recited, "Accio waste basket."
As the item flew toward her she ignored the professor's protest of "Ms. Johnson, what is the meaning of this interruption?"
Before Summer could answer, she was bent over the waste basket, throwing up. A bunch of the students surrounding her jumped back while Carmen stepped forward and gathered her light brown hair. When Summer was done throwing up she frowned at the contents in the waste basket and rid of it with a swish of her wand. Carmen carried the basket back to its original placement as one of the students timidly handed Summer a piece of gum, a look of sympathy in the girl's eyes. Summer smiled at her gratefully.
"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" asked the professor. "Are you ill, Miss Johnson?"
Summer heard the snort a few students away from her. "She's not sick," the snide voice spoke. She glanced up to see it was Slytherin in their year. "The dumb tart is up the duff."
"Ten points, Mr. Hughes," the professor declared, "for insulting another student. The same punishment will be handed out to anyone else who is caught making derogatory remarks about Miss Johnsons…situation."
Summer was thankful for the professor's words but knew that the woman was just as shocked as anyone else and was only threatening the students out of obligation. Summer ducked her head as the eyes of entire class fell on her. The professor called attention and continued with her lesson.
"We will go to Poppy later," Carmen was saying as the two made their way to their final lesson of the day. "Surely there is some potion or something she can give you that will help with your nausea."
Summer shrugged. "I don't mind it." She sighed as Carmen fixed a hard stare on her. "Okay, I do. It's annoying as all hell to throw up ten times a day, but it'll be worth it all when this baby gets here. It's my own fault I'm in this situation so I will suffer the consequences."
Carmen chuckled slightly. "I never knew you were such a masochist."
Summer's face reddened. "I'm not," she answered, ignoring the skeptical look on Carmen's face. "I just feel…responsible. And…I don't know. I feel like I should be punished. If that makes any sense."
Carmen nodded. "It does," she answered, glaring as she stepped around a student who thought it was perfectly acceptable to just stand in the middle of the crowded corridor. "But it's also the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. You made a mistake, Summer, everyone does. It's no reason to actively avoid anything that can help you stop puking throughout the day."
"It's not just that either," Summer said with determination Carmen has started to associate with anything that has to do with this child. "I already love this child more than anything else in my life. I would do anything for him or her, and if that means having morning sickness at four o'clock in the afternoon, then so be it. I would never forgive myself if a potion caused harm to my child."
Carmen nodded, knowing any argument with Summer would be futile. The two completed their journey to their next class without another word.
OooOooO
"Is it true?" Faith asked Carmen. Carmen turned her attention from the steak on her plate. She near laughed out loud at the sight of the blonde nearly bouncing in her seat.
"Is what true?" Carmen asked, confusion filling her chocolate brown eyes. She felt Summer tense next to her and looked over to see the girl paying way too much attention to the roll she was buttering. It seemed that bread was one of the few things she could keep down lately. However, Carmen did notice a few carrots and a piece of chicken on the girl's plate.
"Did you really punch Robyn in the face and break her nose?" Faith asked giddily.
"Where did you hear that?" Carmen had to fight the keep the pride from showing on her face.
"Some fifth year heard her telling Pomfrey about it in the Wing. He's telling everyone."
Carmen's face dropped. She would surely be in trouble for this. She chastised herself for not assuming that Robyn would run her mouth and tattle on her. "Shit."
A sharp voice interrupted Carmen's thoughts. "Miss Baldwin." Carmen turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing before her, staring down her nose at the girl.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to use such language, it slipped out."
"That wasn't my main concern," McGonagall continued, "though I am going to take a point from Gryffindor. Head Master Dumbledore would like to see you and Miss Johnson in his office immediately."
Carmen's glance immediately flew to Summer. She felt bad for the laughter that had started to bubble up in her throat at the girl's expression. It was as if someone had forced Summer to commit a horrible crime. Summer slowly lifted her head to meet Carmen's gaze. She saw the girl swallow.
"Girls?" McGonagall said authoritatively, snapping Carmen and Summer to attention. Summer quickly dropped the knife and roll, finally turning to look at the Professor.
"We're coming," Summer assured the woman. She and Carmen swiftly stood from their seats. Carmen took one last glance at her friends. They were whispering among each other and she could see the confusion and worry evident on their face.
OooOooO
"I'm so sorry," Summer apologized as the two made their way through the empty corridors. Carmen jerked her attention to the girl.
"Sorry?" Carmen asked, confused. "What the hell do you have to be sorry for?" she continued, a little harsher than she had intended. She softened, and lowered, her voice a bit. "You didn't punch Robyn."
"I know I didn't," Summer said, following Carmen's lead and keeping her voice at a whisper. "But if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have. If I hadn't made such a big deal about sleeping with Sirius, I wouldn't have gotten drunk and slept with some random bloke. I wouldn't have stopped being friends with Robyn. I may not have punched her, but it's my fault it happened."
Carmen laughed, shaking her head. "Trust me," she began as Summer looked at her as if she'd gone completely gone off her rocker. The two were on their way to the Head Masters office where Carmen was probably going to get detention, if not worse, for assaulting another student, and here she was laughing. "I probably would've punched Robyn for some reason or another. So it's not exactly your fault it happened. It was actually pretty imminent. And besides, I'm glad you made a big deal of sleeping with Sirius, I much prefer you now than to when you were friends with that cow."
Summer felt the tears well up in her eyes. She very much appreciated, but didn't believe, the girl saying it wasn't her fault that she punched Robyn. "I should've just kept my mouth shut. I should've made up some bullshit about a family member dying or something when Lily found me crying in the Common Room. I could've just broken up with Sirius and went about my life, suffering through Robyn's rubbish. I only had another nine months to deal with her and her crew then I would've been ridden of them for the rest of my life and we wouldn't have all this going on." Summer choked out these few sentences, willing herself not to cry. "I may not know who I am but I'm a damn good actress."
"Maybe that's why you're such a good actress," Carmen commented. "It's easy to pretend to be someone else when you don't have much a personality to stray away from. And I'm glad you didn't keep pretending to act like Robyn. You're a lot happier now, that was evident from the first day you started sitting with us. And so what if all of this drama is going on because you aren't friends with Robyn anymore?" Carmen was stubborn and when she set her mind on something, she didn't give up. She was determined to convince Summer that none of this was her fault and that she was a million times better off without Robyn.
Unfortunately their conversation was cut short as they stood outside the Head Master's office entrance. Carmen whispered the password to the gargoyle and motion with an outstretched arm for Summer to stand upon the steps. Summer obliged with a heavy sigh as Carmen followed suit. The two were quite as the spiral steps lead them up to their fate. Summer hesitated at the door before raising her hand to knock.
"Come in," said the voice behind it.
The two girls walked into the office as the sound of all the magical items clinking filled their ears. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and a very angry Robyn stood on the other side of it. Carmen forced back the smile at the bandage on her nose. No doubt Poppy had fixed her broken nose but it would take a few days to heal completely, thus a bandage was needed to hide the grotesque injury. Carmen would bet ten Galleons that Robyn had insisted on the bandage. She was so vain it almost hurt to watch how much she loved herself. Of course, she wouldn't be one to walk around with such an ugly site upon her face.
"Miss Baldwin. Miss Johnson," the Head Master said, addressing each with a nod. "I assume you know why I've called you two here." Carmen fought herself not to gape at the twinkle in his eye. When she shifted her head for a better look, it was gone. His face was the definition of authority and fairness.
"No, Head Master," Carmen lied. She was taking her usual route. Deny. Deny. Deny. Though she, admittedly, wasn't sure how she was going to be able to get out of this one.
"Well, Miss Baldwin," Dumbledore began, standing from his seat. He seemed to glide over to the perch upon which Fawkes, his phoenix, sat. He reached out a wrinkled hand, gingerly stroking the bird. Fawkes lifted his head in appreciation. "Miss Smith here has informed me that you assaulted her this afternoon. An assault which resulted in a broken nose."
Carmen barely had time to force her face into a glare as she saw the smirk on Robyn's face before a voice broke through her agitation.
"That's a lie!" Summer said indignantly. Carmen glanced quickly at the girl. The look of determination and injustice upon her face shocked Carmen. Damn, she was good.
Dumbledore, almost lazily, turned his attention to the light haired girl. "Is it, Miss Johnson?" She nodded firmly. "Well then why don't you tell me what happened?"
A look of panic passed Carmen's face as she continued to watch Summer, who's own face was cool as a cucumber. "Carmen and I were just walking down the corridor. She had a free period and I was skipping Charms. You see, I'm pregnant, and I wasn't feeling very well and didn't want to interrupt the class with my numerous…stomach problems." Dumbledore nodded at her knowingly, encouraging her to continue her story. "So that's when Robyn found us. She started calling me names. We tried to walk away from her but she grabbed my arm. When I jerked myself out of her grip, she lost her balance and fell. I'm assuming that's when she broke her nose."
Carmen watched Summer in complete awe. The confidence with which Summer told her story almost made Carmen believe it had actually happened. Her blue eyes had never wavered from the Head Master's own. Carmen was so impressed she almost didn't hear Dumbledore speaking to her.
"Is that what happened, Miss Baldwin?" he asked her.
She turned to look at him, hoping her own face didn't give them away and ruin Summer's magnificent performance. She nodded, "Yes, sir. That's exactly what happened."
Beside her, she heard Robyn sputtering in anger. "Professor, you don't believe their lies do you?"
Dumbledore turned to her calmly. "Miss Smith, you are not suggesting that I don't know when the wool is being pulled over my eyes do you?"
Robyn didn't respect anyone, Carmen imagined, but she also wasn't about to call Dumbledore daft. She had lost this argument.
"I…" Robyn was at a loss for words and settled for stomping her foot. "She punched me, Head Master. I swear it."
"Well, it is their word against yours, Miss Smith." Dumbledore glanced back at Carmen and Summer. Carmen swore he winked at them before turning his attention back to Robyn. "There was one part of their story that interested me greatly. Did you grab Miss Johnson's arm?"
Robyn's silent seething answered his question. "That'll be a week's detention for assault on another student." He ignored the glare that Robyn threw at him. "You are free to go, I will have Professor McGonagall contact you tomorrow with further details on your detentions."
Robyn huffed, stomping past the other two girls. She could do nothing but glare at them while in the presence of the Professor. Dumbledore watched her slam his door before turning back to Carmen and Summer.
"Also, Miss Johnson, you will receive a detention for skipping Charms. While I understand and commend your reasoning, it is not acceptable behavior. I will be informing your professors of your condition and instruct that they give you free reign to leave class when you need to. Are there any other arrangements I need to make to accommodate your situation?"
Summer shook her head. "No. Thank you, Head Master."
"I assure you it is my pleasure," Dumbledore spoke again. "I will recommend that you visit Poppy sometime next week and then at least once a month to see that all is well with you and the baby."
Summer nodded. The Head Master then let the two girls go. Carmen waited until they were a few corridors away from the statue until she spoke.
"Why did you admit that you were skipping class?" she asked. "I mean, you did a great job…beyond a great job, you just saved my ass and got Robyn in trouble, but you could've easily left out the part about you skipping."
Summer grinned. "If you admit to at least one thing, they are more likely to believe the rest of your story. Robyn taught me that," she laughed, obviously extremely proud of herself for getting the girl in trouble using her own technique. "Besides, me spending a night in detention is a lot better than you being expelled."
"Thanks, for that, by the way," Carmen said, almost forgetting to say the words as she was still in awe of her new friend stepping up the way she did. "I mean, you didn't have to lie for me."
"Yeah, I know," Summer said. "You didn't have to punch Robyn for me either, but you did. None of you had to do what you've done for me. I just wanted to give back a little for all the trouble I've caused."
Carmen opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. The two walked quietly to the Common Room. They found the others all sitting on the various couches and chairs. Before either could say a word, Faith was bouncing in her seat again.
"So spill," she urged in a hushed tone, glancing over to Robyn who stood in the corner with some of her friends. "Did you really punch her?"
Carmen glanced over at Summer's grin and shrugged slightly. "She tripped."