Disclaimer: I own neither Downton Abbey nor Harry Potter, although I wish I did. This work is for entertaining purposes only.
Robert hated Arithmancy with all the devotion which could ever be found in his heart. Numbers, numbers, numbers — they seemed to be playing tricks on him because he could not understand how else nearly every solution he had ever come to turned out to be wrong.
The only consolation for him would be that it was going to be his last year at Hogwarts. Robert preferred not to think what would come next. Mother had some ideas in mind, that's for sure. Sometimes – pretty often, actually – doing what he had been told to do was the easiest way of things. Which was not the case with Arithmancy, obviously, since Robert had taken (and not dropped it!) because Mama had insisted the subject would prove useful in his future of the master of the estate.
"Robert, it's very late, aren't you going to bed?" came Eudora's low and caring voice from behind. She stepped closer. "Arithmancy again? Your visit to the library didn't help?"
Robert angrily shut the book and stood up. Yaxley was right, of course – it was nearly midnight.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
He finally looked up, piling books one onto another to carry them to the bedroom. Eudora yawned, politely covering the mouth with her hand.
"I was. Don't know why I woke up. Well, I did, and I wanted to check on you."
"Thank you. Good night."
Robert made it to the boys' dormitory. At that hour even dim greenish light from the lanterns on the walls seemed too much for his tired eyes. Closing them while lying down on his cold, yet insanely comfortable bed, he fell asleep, all the thoughts about tomorrow classes gone.
"Cora, please! You know how things are these days."
Cora knew what Phyllis meant but kept walking, determined to get to the Quidditch pitch. Well, her friend wasn't wrong — things were tense and awful, but Cora did not understand why it should keep her away from watching the Slytherins practise.
Phyllis finally caught up with her, out of breath and visibly worried.
"Cora, what if—"
"I have every right to go there, it's not like they have occupied the place! Come with me, keep me company."
Phyllis sighed and accepted surrender. At least her friend wouldn't be alone in trouble — and there was a pretty big chance for one.
Soaring up, Robert saw two figures approaching the field. They both were wearing scarves, and it took him little time to understand that those self-invited spectators were from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Whatever did they come for?
Eudora Yaxley was utterly disgusted. Moments ago, two Mudbloods had seated themselves onto the front row of a nearby stand, and she recognised them easily — Levinson and Baxter. What had they forgotten here? The Ravenclaw team had been scheduled to play against the Slytherins in February, which was months away, and that Baxter didn't even play Quidditch, for Merlin's sake!
Eudora took a deep breath, reminding herself that a real lady never loses her temper, even if the cause is justified. Watching Robert attack the hoops, she kept eyeing the girls when he was not holding or passing the Quaffle. The Levinson girl had something on her lap — some kind of a book, it seemed. She was sketching, Eudora realised, seeing her hand move above the surface. For some reason it made her even angrier.
"Robert, go! Yes!" she cried after Robert tricked the Keeper, and the Quaffle went right through the left hoop. He turned to her and smiled shyly. Cora felt her heart melt. That smile was not addressed to her, but did it really matter? She knew almost nothing about miss Yaxley except that lately she could often be could near Robert Crawley. That, and her family belonged to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which made her unbearably haughty.
The training was over; Cora and Phyllis went down and were about to cross the lawns. Eudora stood there already, Robert landing eight feet away from them. She couldn't resist the temptation.
"Hey, Baxter! Have you lost your idiot boyfriend?" she giggled and looked at Robert. He smiled feebly. Molesley was Levinson's classmate and, well, a little bit an idiot. This awkward Muggle-born was famous for third year, when he had taken too many subjects and simply collapsed in the Great Hall near the end of the first semester.
The girls turned to Eudora. Before Phyllis had any chance to reply, Cora jumped in:
"No, why? Have you lost yours?" Eudora narrowed her eyes and did not answer. Ignoring her, Cora smiled to Robert. "You played very well today. Thanks to Morgana we still have time."
The truth was, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team had seen better days. Robert failed to understand the logic behind their choice of players. But again, what should one expect from the House of geeks and know-it-alls? Take one of their Beaters, for instance — that pale boy with long dark hair looked as if he could pass out any minute. His mate was only slightly better. Levinson's position of the Seeker was also questionable. She had the fastest, most expensive broomstick — which even some of the Slytherins secretly envied — and seemed to enjoy flying and speed, but almost every game she looked… distracted? As if not present in the moment, and one could hardly think of a worse characteristic for a Chaser. One thing she was good at, though: dodging. As far as Robert could recall, she had managed to catch the Snitch once or twice within the past two years.
But did she really come here today to see that the Slytherins are still going strong?
"Thank you. See you tomorrow."
And he made it to the changing room, annoyed Eudora following close behind.
They were walking back to the castle, and the winds were raging, making it hard to move in the needed direction. Gently guided by Phyllis, Cora didn't seem to notice, deep down in her thoughts. The idea that it was going to be her last year at Hogwarts pained her. Very much. One cause of pain was that after graduation she would have to find herself in the magical world, in the middle of a war. Hogwarts was safe and welcoming; the outer world was not. Especially not for a witch of her position. Every morning she almost dreaded scanning a fresh issue of the Daily Prophet. Deaths. Murders. Of Muggles and Muggle-borns mostly, but then there also were half-blood wizards and "blood traitors". She was a "Mudblood", as she had discovered several years ago. The word was not being used at Hogwarts, at least not patently — yet. Every time Cora caught herself thinking about it, she felt stupid about still worrying about N.E.W.T.s and her wish to attach herself to art. Her mother had one answer: America. And, as more time was passing by, Cora was becoming more and more convinced that perhaps America for her would be best.
The other cause of pain was Robert Crawley. Cora was sure that he had no such worries. He was a Pureblood, his family — ancient and wealthy, and his future was going to be as bright as possible. But Cora wasn't unhappy because of that. She was unhappy because she knew that after graduation she wouldn't be able to see him again even if she chose to stay in Britain. Wouldn't be able to hear him laugh aloud, or watch him study in the library, or look right into his friendly eyes.
Only Phyllis knew that this particular energetic and smiley girl from Ravenclaw, who also happened to be her best friend, was in love with the young Crawley. She had been shocked when Cora had confessed it to her, but she had soon admitted that Crawley was not bad. A Slytherin, yes, but he and his family did not stick to all that pureblood supremacy ideas. Cora described him as attractive, smart, and different. And she drew him. A lot. Phyllis decided to judge neither the given characteristics nor the drawings and only once asked her friend whether she was ever going to tell him how she felt. The definite answer was "no".
It was going to be their last year at Hogwarts.
