Chapter 35: Out of the Frying Pan...

Given the summer, most people were revising outside. This meant that the common room was virtually empty. I walked into the ruby room, looking over to the crackling fire. Someone had ignited it despite it being exceedingly hot and in the afternoon.

I put my hands in my trousers, seeing the smartly-uniformed girl sitting by the fire, sniffling quietly. I bit my lip, deciding whether or not I should talk to her - it had only been an hour since I had heard her and Vreyair arguing. I decided I should try to cheer her up - after all, I was why she was so upset.

"Hey." Rinée spun around to see me, wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand, silently sniffing

"Hi Aiden." I sat down next to her on the couch, trying to act as cavalier as ever.

"Who's upset you?" I asked innocently. She looked at me, pretending she hadn't been crying.

"Who says I'm upset?" She asked with a weak smile.

"Well, it's either that or hayfever, and we're inside..." Rinée's face relaxed, seeming less forced.

"Yeah... I-I'm..." She searched for words to say.

"Don't have to talk about it you know." I put my bag down on the floor.

"Sorry." She said with another sad smile.

"Hey, I know where you're coming from." I reassured her. "Sometimes the last thing you want to do is talk about it."

"More like you want to, but you just..." She trailed off, shaking her head and looking up from her book into the fire. I searched for something to say that would cheer her up.

"If you want, we could go and hex Vreyair? Trust me - it's cathartic." She chuckled slightly.

"Maybe in a little bit." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, deciding there was no better time to bring up the topic of what Vreyair had said to her.

"So... I sort of overheard you and Vreyair..." She looked up at me with wide eyes, no longer smiling, but looking rather shocked instead. "I didn't mean to, I just... yeah." I sighed. She groaned and put her head into her hands. "If it helps, Kat was pretty much the same in Hogsmeade?" She looked up at me.

"Really?"

"Yeah - sort of similar stuff was said."

"How similar?" She inquired. I thought for a moment.

"Fairly similar. She said I... you know." I gestured towards her; saying it just felt too awkward.

"Oh." Was all she could muster. We both looked into the crackling fire, unsure of what to say next. "Do you?" She asked after a time.

"Do I what?" I asked, doing my best to sound casual.

"You know..." She shrugged.

"Yeah- I'm sorry, I'm not good at this stuff." I tried to inform her. "It's just..." I shuddered, feeling ridiculously awkward. "Was he right?" I asked, trying my upmost to be cavalier. She bit her lip.

"About me and you?" I nodded. "...I...I don't..." She shook her head. My stomach dropped before she even finished the sentence - she didn't like me back. Figures - the one interesting girl at Hogwarts that wasn't a she-devil that I liked didn't want me.

"I guessed." I muttered. "I- I just knew someone like you wouldn't be interested in someone like me..." I said, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach.

"Someone like me?" He oceanic blue eyes turned into enraged slits. "What's that supposed to mean, someone like me?" She stood up in a fiery manner. "Listen, I might not start giggling and fawning all over you like other girls, but let me tell you something Aiden Shanks, don't think for a second I'm some sort of heartless person who enjoys the attention, unlike you! I mean, you go around hexing people for the fun of it - you're nothing more than an impetuous, self-obsessed bully!" I bit my lip, trying not to smile - only she could have taken that as an offensive statement. "What?" She demanded why I was smiling. I moved my hand away from my mouth.

"I meant someone nice." I said. Her brow relaxed and aquatic orbs returned to their doe-eyed state.

"Oh." She said eventually, sinking back down onto the couch, turning a deep deep shade of scarlet. We stayed like that for a moment, eyes glued to the fireplace. "He was right." She said eventually. I couldn't help but stop smiling, looking over at her. "Diedrich, he... he was right." She turned to me. "About all of it."

I could have sworn my jaw dropped onto the ground then - it felt strange, as if it wasn't really happening, as if something would happen in the next sentence to stop this daydream, like Professor Twig snapping his fingers in front of my closed eyes. But nothing happened, we just looked at each other.

"So... so we both...?"

"I guess so." She said, letting out a deep breath. "I"m sorry about what I said before... I don't really think you're conceited." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, I do but..." She took another deep breath. "I like you." She finally said, her cheeks flushing a bright shade of sanguine. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from beaming at her - mainly I was confused. It had seemed obvious that she hated me.

I then started to notice she was coming closer - leaning in, wait, was she going in for a kiss? I found myself leaning in as well on pure instinct. I was inches away from her face, able to count the freckles on her nose, able to see my own reflection in her fluorescent eyes. I finally closed my own and felt my mouth brush onto her own soft, petal-shaped lips.

It was so surreal - I immediately felt weightless. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins like I was chasing after the Golden Snitch on my Firebolt. I could feel myself surging through the air, wind whipping my hair back, the joy of hearing a crowd chant my name - I felt as if I could fight off a hundred Dementors!

We both finally leant back, and it took me a good five seconds to open my eyes and close my mouth. I looked at a bright red Rinée, who was awkwardly pulling her shirt cuffs over her wrists and knuckles. I moved up the couch next to her, placing my arm around the back of the sofa and allowing her to lean into me, watching the fire.

"Well, why wouldn't you?" I grinned. She hit my in the ribs, but I could see the smile on her face as she muttered how conceited I was. And I could have stayed like that forever, missed every exam - even if there was a Quidditch match, I wouldn't have missed it. It was just a pure, happy moment. One of the happiest I had had in a long time.

I heard a burst and a scramble as someone ran into the common room. Rinée and I jumped apart from each, looking to see who was there.

"Shanks! Did you hear?"

"Anouke?" I asked, slightly frustrated. "You've got really crap timing-"

"Have you heard about St. Mungo's?" Her tone was one to make my smile drop and my stomach plummet.

"What? What about St. Mungo's?"

"It's been attacked."

Let me know what you guys think about the whole Shanks/Rinée sequence, and the shocking development involving St. Mungo's!