Hello all. Sorry for being MIA the last few weeks, real life has been rather hectic. But I'm back now and will (hopefully) be returning to a more regular schedule of posting.

Chapter Eight:

Bari's heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. Flying on a broomstick always exhilarated her and doing it in front of crowd increased that tenfold. Especially when there was a competition involved.

And especially when that competition involved Albus.

Bari had a feeling she would beat him, seeing as she thought very highly of her own flying abilities, but it was still nice to have actual, solid proof that she was faster. Though her time was only slightly better than his, Bari felt that her exhilaration and current feeling of euphoria was warranted. Having a step up on anything over Albus was a good thing in her book.

So when Bari turned towards the boy beside her, expecting the opportunity to take the mickey out of him, she felt herself deflate. Albus was staring sullenly at the ground beside her, clearly feeling very differently about the outcome of the race.

She glanced at him briefly before turning away, unaware of how to appropriately react. The smile on her face now felt hollow. Bari looked to see if anyone else had noticed, but the crowd was fixated on the blonde boy speaking beside her. Scorpius, who was addressing the small gathering of people, was seemingly unaware of his friends distress.

Boys could be so thick sometimes.

Bari did not think Albus would want her, or anyone else, to bear witness to the feelings that were so evident on his face. She desperately wished for the crowd to disperse so Albus could have some space. So that she could have some space. Because Bari hated feeling responsible for someone else's emotions. She could hardly keep track of her own.

Albus gave a sharp breath as Scorpius stopped talking. Bari glanced over at him again. There was an unreadable look on his face as he turned towards her.

She faced him full on as her heart sped along, no longer because of the adrenaline from the race. She gave a cautious smile as her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself in the crisp evening air. The cold was starting to settle into her bones as her body tightened in anticipation.

The noise from the crowd seemed to fade away as Albus gave her a faint smile in return. It didn't seem genuine.

"Good job," he said softly before turning and heading back into the house.

Bari was confused. It felt as though her stomach had dropped out of her body.

This was a new reaction from Albus. In all their years of competition and rivalry, neither one had ever responded with such quiet surrender. Anger and pain, mostly. The silent treatment, probably. Once Albus had refused to speak to Bari for two weeks after she'd beat him at Wizards Chess. Granted, that had been more about their wager, seeing as he had bet her his quidditch card collection, which she still kept under her bed for safe keeping.

Sometimes it was worse than mere words, or lack thereof. Bari had once punched Albus square in the jaw after he'd successfully lobbed dung bombs into the alcove she had been ... getting acquainted ... with a boy a year ahead of them.

Those reactions Bari could understand.

But not this. Never this.

Never a sad smile and a shake of the head. Never defeated quiet, never silence and dejection. Not on either side.

Bari didn't know how to read Albus' reaction because it was so foreign to what she had come to expect from him.

She'd have preferred him to have hit her in the gut, at least then she'd know how to move forward.

Bari stared after Al as disappeared farther into his home.

In a way, it felt like he had punched her in the gut. She felt like she might cry.

Or maybe smash something.

Sometimes there was overlap in those feelings for her.

Instead, Bari let out a frustrated breath of air and turned her back on the manor.

The crowd itself had seemingly lost interest in Bari and Albus. Most people had returned to conversations or had gone inside to seek shelter from the cold night air. Bari shivered again and pulled at the sleeves of her shirt, wishing for a jacket.

Bari's eyes caught on Rose, but before she could make her way over, someone was speaking to her.

"You did well," a voice beside her said.

"Thank you," Bari said, tearing her eyes from her friend, turning to the person that had addressed her.

Vince stood with his hands behind his back, looking thoughtfully at Bari.

"He's being a right prick you know. He'll figure it out eventually," Vince paused for a second, before shrugging his shoulders. "Probably."

Bari raised her eyebrow at him. Vince continued without a her verbal response.

"He just being a prat because he's an idiot," Vince said, with another shrug. As though that reasoning explained Albus' unexplainable and incomprehensible behavior.

"Well, yes," Bari said, trying not to roll her eyes. It was not Vince's fault his friend was a bit of a wanker. "I know he's an idiot, alright," Bari said with a half-smile on her face. "But in what way specifically do you mean this time."

Vince looked at her for a moment, as if contemplating what he wanted to say next. He tilted his head in a way that made Bari feel like a dog about to be reprimanded. But when Vince spoke next, his voice was not harsh.

"I mean, he's confused," Vince sounded almost tired.

"Confused?" Bari repeated, unsure of what that meant exactly. He was confused why he lost? Confused by Bari's happiness at being faster? These weren't particularly confusing things.

Bari looked at Vince, hoping for an answer to her half formed question. But he stood there looking at her, being so annoyingly vague. Where all Slytherins this intentionally cryptic and ambiguous or just the ones she knew?

"I don't know, he just acts differently around you," Vince finally said, looking away from her. He was seemingly losing the patience and the ability to continue talking. Vince had always been a man of few words. "Maybe he should explain it to you. I'm clearly not doing a great job."

That's abundantly clear, Bari thought but said instead:

"Yeah, thanks," Bari said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. Though she didn't particularly care if she succeeded.

That was all the dismissal Vince needed because he gave her one last nod before turning away to go back into the warm house, like so many others.

"That was so very unhelpful," Bari mumbled to herself. "He's confused. What the bloody hell does that even mean. Now I'm confused as well."

Kicking the grass angrily, Bari glanced around to see most people had fled for the warmth. Only a few people still stood outside, most of them were huddled in pairs. She saw Malfoy still a few paces away, staring at Rose who was still gazing at the stars.

That seemed like a nice idea.

And even though the cold air had finally sunken its way into her extremities, and even though she really knew she should make sure her friend was okay, Bari turned her back on the light and the warmth and walked down to the open field behind her.

She took in a deep inhale of the cold air around her, filling her lungs and slowing her fast beating heart. She stared up at the stars above, moving farther from the house so the light emanating from the windows would not obstruct her view. Stars glistened overhead, spread out far above the lawn and pond and trees.

She was past where the race had started, past where most other people were. The trees rustled softly as Bari neared the forest line.

Bari stood like that, head tilted up, her brain and nerves slackening. She tried not to fester too long trying to comprehend her conversation with Vince. She tried not to think too hard about what Albus' attitude towards her was all about.

Sometimes all she wanted to do was stay outside by herself, long enough that her problems went away. She didn't want to have to make sense of what was happening in her life.

But she knew that wasn't possible.

So instead, Bari took a deep breath and counted the stars.

The breeze of the night air seemed to flow through her, around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, letting the smell of trees fill her senses, bringing her back down to earth.

Her neck ached as she gazed back down around her. She had travelled farther out than she'd realized, the manor was a glowing beacon, not a single person was visible. Bari shivered again.

The last thing she wanted to do was stand alone by herself in the dark forest. Especially as the cold settled back into her bones.

Bari walked slowly back to the house, keeping her eyes on the ground this time.

Her brain drifted to the thoughts she'd been avoiding. Thoughts of Albus and his stupid inability to just be normal around her. A non-insignificant part of her new that if she had never asked him out, if she'd never opened a door for more of a relationship just to have it slammed in her face, she probably wouldn't feel this way. She'd pass off his passivity as simply discomfort in loosing. Not, as she currently felt, his even more solid rejection of her as a woman, friend and opponent.

His silent apathy felt so much stronger because Bari felt like it meant so much more after the awkward year they'd had. It almost felt like they were back to the relationship they'd had all the months ago after she'd asked him to Hogsmeade.

Delicate.

Finally back in the house, Bari kept her eyes forward, not in much of a mood to speak directly to anyone.

She smiled politely and thanked those who congratulated her on her win but all she really wanted to do was find a quiet place to think for a moment. She was regretting leaving her quiet corner of the world outside, but the cold had driven her in. As the blood flowed back to her hands, Bari knew, for the sake of her ligaments and her burgeoning quidditch career, she'd made the right call.

Though she still felt nauseous.

Her heart had stopped racing a while ago, but her mind now took its place. Thoughts flooded her brain, a jumble of issues she couldn't begin to sort until she had time to herself. She quickened her pace, weaving around the thinning crowd, noticing absently that there were fewer people around.

The decorations had drooped in the intervening hours since her and Rose's arrival. The tops that had once been spinning now lay on the floor beneath the table. One lay broken on its side, smashed by someone unknown. The clock in the corner read that it was nearing half past one in the morning. A group of Slytherin's stood by the fireplace. Bari made brief eye contact with Vince, who had that same look in his eyes he'd had earlier. As though he were about to reprimand her. She looked quickly past the group, unable to potentially make eye contact with Albus if he was with them.

Once in the hallway, Bari took a deep breath, unsure which direction to head in. She glanced right, towards where she knew where James and Lily's rooms. That wouldn't do, she didn't want to impede upon their privacy any more than she had to. So she headed left, back towards the loo and Albus' room.

Stopping in front of the loo she and Rose had found refuge in earlier that night, Bari made to turn the handle, hoping it would be unoccupied and therefore a new place for her to sit. Bari pulled on the door. However, it appeared that luck was not on her side tonight.

She pulled on the door again and a voice behind it yelled "occupied!" as another giggled.

Bari rolled her eyes and surveyed her options. Her head was beginning to throb faintly, but she ignored the thoughts that seemed to be screaming for her attention. She needed to sit down. She needed somewhere dark and cool and calm.

Bari briefly thought of just leaving. In that moment, she ached to lie under her covers and block out the rest the world.

The party was winding down, no one would notice if she just slipped away. She'd see everyone on the train in a few days anyway. But then she realized she couldn't leave, not without Rose. The problem was, Bari hadn't seen her friend anywhere during her tour of the house in her search for solitude.

A search that had also ended up fruitless. Maybe.

Bari ran her tongue over her teeth as her eyes focused on Albus' door. It was slightly ajar and there was only a dim light emitting from it. She walked closer, knocking the door open ever so slightly more with the tip of her show.

It was empty.

Surely Al wouldn't mind if she hid out in there for a few moments. He wouldn't even know, she'd only be there for a few minutes. He was certainly still in the other room with his siblings and his guests, unaware Bari was using his room to deal with her rambling thoughts he'd caused. Her mind was so loud now, Bari didn't feel the need to rationalize it any more.

She opened the door further and slipped in, closing it behind her with a tight click.

The room looked infinitely smaller now that it was empty. Before it had seemed cavernous with the multitude of people that stood crowded against its walls. Now it looked exactly as it was, a teenage boy's bedroom. Soft nighttime light flooded in through the window across from her, its curtains still thrown open wide. There were some empty red cups littered throughout the floor along with forgotten wrappers and other pieces of small garbage, illuminated by the patches of night light.

Bari crossed the room in only a few strides. The Harpies on Albus' poster eyed Bari as she walked toward them.

She stood by the window looking out at the swaying trees in the distance. Maybe she stood have stayed out there, but at least now her toes were warm.

Turning back into the room to observe what remained, her eyes caught on the drinks table in the corner. It stood not far from the bed Al had pushed into a corner. She walked over to it and ran her hands over the sticky wooden surface, empty bottles of alcohol haphazardly littered across it. Bari debated grabbing another drink, seeing as most of the alcohol already in her system had all but burned off in the adrenaline rush of flying. Maybe it would help calm her, and her brain, calm down. But she thought better of it as she picked up a sticky red cup from the table.

"Oh, hello," said a voice from across the room.

Bari nearly jumped out of her skin. She dropped the cup and it hit the table with a weak thud.

It was Albus. Of course it was Albus, this was his room after all.

He'd emerged from a small bathroom en suite across the room, a towel clutched in his hand. His hair looked messier than usual, as if he'd been running his hands through it more than usual.

"Oh sorry I was just-" she started to say, he made to cut her off.

"No, don't worry about-" Albus was saying but Bari was still speaking.

"I didn't mean to intru-"

"You're not intruding."

They were both silent for a beat as they both stared at each other uncomfortably.

"I was just leaving," they both said at the same time.

They stood there for a moment, neither moving towards the door. Bari recovered first, from whatever it was that was happening.

"It's your room, I shouldn't probably even be in here," She said, starting to cross back to the door. She'd made it just past his bed when Albus spoke again.

"You can be in here," Albus blurted. He then seemed to want to take back what he said for a moment, his mouth hung open, unable to find another word or two.

After another painful moment of silence, he found them. "I was just putting my broom away," he gestured lamely to where the broomstick they'd both just flown was leaning against a dresser. Bari hadn't noticed its reappearance when she first walked in. "And trying to clear my head for a moment."

"So was I, I suppose," Bari said, glancing again at Albus. He had run a hand through his hair again. Now it was sticking up in the back. She looked back towards the large window, smiling faintly, unable to actually face Albus full on.

It seemed that each of their intentions to flee the room had faded away, for now Albus and Bari stood a few feet apart. Air did not appear to be circulating fully to Bari's brain as, for once in her short life, she had no idea what to say.

All the jumbled thoughts she'd been attempting to deal with had fled her brain the second Albus had walked into the room and now she didn't know what to do. She was frozen to the spot.