Alice didn't go to dinner that night. She was far too preoccupied to
think about eating, so instead she simply sat in a huge green velvet
armchair in the Slytherin common room with Clive on her lap, trying to
study her potions notes but being constantly distracted by the fire burning
brightly before her. She felt disconnected, but in the sense of being numb,
rather than free. Potions seemed the least of her troubles at the moment,
and she let the papers fall from her hands and flutter to rest in a sparse
collection on the plush emerald rug below, Clive hopping down clumsily to
try to catch them. Everyone else had gone up to the Great Hall, so she was
left alone and took advantage of the erie silence in a place that was
normally vibrant and alive with awry spells, nervously studying students,
and such... Laying down on the monstrous chair (it was almost big enough
for her to fully recline in), she let the warmth of the flames wash over
her. She shut her eyes, felt her kitten cuddle up next to her, and fell
asleep almost instantly.
Moments later, she was awoken abruptly by the sound of the door opening at the end of the hall and, assuming that it was her fellow Slytherins returning from dinner, she quickly collected her notes from the floor and straightened herself up, prepared to act as if she had been studying all along. However, she heard only the echo of a single pair of footsteps and looked up to see that it was none other than Seamus Finnigan walking toward her and looking around and seeming interested in everything as though he was in a museum. "Seamus?" she asked, confused.
"Oh..." his trance was broken. "Hey."
"What the HELL are you doing here?!" she demanded almost defensively. wow she thought to herself, I'm turning into my brother! "Sorry... I mean, why aren't you at dinner... and how did you get in HERE?" she revised her previous statement.
"Well, I noticed that you weren't at dinner so I asked your friend Claire and she said you were still in your dorm. I was just worried, you know... the conversation we had after potions and everything. Sorry if I got too personal," he slowly faded into a whisper. Clearing his voice, he continued, "I just don't want you to think I don't like you or anything..."
"Oh no, it's not that. I was just... tired," she lied. Covering up for her vulnerability, she shot back, "And what if i WAS in my dorm, huh? Would you have just marched on down to the Slytherin girls dormitory and barged in on me? I doubt you're even allowed in the Gryffindor girls dorm..."
"You know, you're beginning to take after your brother, Alice," he said, almost disappointed at her response.
"I know..." she agreed. "Disgusting, isn't it."
They both giggled a little, and when their amusement had subsided Seamus walked over to her and sat down on the floor below her chair. Pulling out a golden-yellow lump of something from his cloak, he handed it to her and said, "Cornbread... I figured you'd be hungry and Claire said you had a thing for corn."
"Yeah...heh, thanks," she snatched it from him and took a bite, smiling as big as she could without opening her mouth when the image of Seamus in a corn suit returned to her imagination.
"What's so funny?" he asked, playfully.
"Nothing... you," Alice relented, giggling. She stood up and handed Clive to him. "By the way, this is Clive." The two boys played together like siblings, and Alice watched, fascinated, until she became jealous that her... whatever Seamus was to her... was paying more attention her her cat than he was to her. She grabbed her cat away from Seamus.
"Hey!" he shouted, annoyed. He had gotten thoroughly engrossed in her precious little kitten. "Er... sorry."
"It's okay," she said, staring into his eyes as if they were pools of water and she was searching for something she'd accidentally dropped into one of them. She set Clive down on the ground because he'd been wanting to chew on a particularly tasty-looking tassel at a corner of the intricately embroidered rug for a while now, and she thought that this was about the right time to get him immersed in something that would keep him busy for a while.
Seamus reached toward her face and pulled a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his finger. Alice felt her stomach roll over excitedly. He's crazy... she repeated over and over in her head, trying to convince herself that it was a bad thing. He stared at her for a moment, then brought his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his for a short, soft kiss. She pulled away suddenly, looked down at her hands which were clasped together in her lap, the silent room, candles burning everywhere, Clive gnawing at the tassel... Seamus staring at her eagerly, his mouth slightly open. How could she resist? She moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. After searching his eyes for a second longer, she leaned in for another of his passionate kisses, unclasping his cloak from around his neck (she wasn't going to go any farther than that, she SWORE). For a moment it was only them, together, lost in the forest again...
...then the echo of voices from the hallway. "Shit..." she muttered, pulling away from him. Fortunately, only Claire and Hypothia had managed to walk in soon enough to see them sitting on the floor, still in one anothers' embrace, staring horrified into the hallway.
Grinning and chuckling, Claire said quietly, "I should have known," placing her hands on her hips as if to imitate a teacher or someone more important who might have walked in on them. Hypothia was paralyzed with laughter. "You'd better hide him (she pointed at Seamus, who was staring at her, terrified) quick, before the others get here."
Suddenly hit by reality, she leapt up and handed him his cloak forcibly, grabbing his hand and running downstairs to her dorm. Throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind her, she shoved him under her bed and hopped under the covers, prepared to act as if she'd been taking a nap... her heart was beating so loudly that she was almost afraid it would betray her.
The door creaked open and Claire, Hypothia and three other girls who shared the dorm walked in. "Maybe she's SICK or something!" said Hypothia, a few decibels louder than normal to be sure everyone could hear.
Claire walked up to the side of Alice's bed to perpetuate the masquerade, placing her hand on Alice's forehead. "She's AWFULLY warm... she MUST be sick! She wouldn't have missed dinner for any OTHER reason." (Alice almost laughed out loud at the inside joke)
"Oh, of COURSE not," answered Hypothia.
Afraid they were going a little over the top, Alice pretended to wake up. She sat up in bed, stretched her arms out, yawned dramatically, and announced in the sleepiest tone she could manage, "Oh, I had the most WONDERFUL dream!"
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*by the way. if anyone knows how to get italics and indentations and things to upload right, please let me know. in microsoft word, it doesn't work if I save it as HTML (says the file is empty) so I always just save it as a .doc file. somehow I got it to work for the first chapter but I don't remember how. 'tis very frustrating.
Moments later, she was awoken abruptly by the sound of the door opening at the end of the hall and, assuming that it was her fellow Slytherins returning from dinner, she quickly collected her notes from the floor and straightened herself up, prepared to act as if she had been studying all along. However, she heard only the echo of a single pair of footsteps and looked up to see that it was none other than Seamus Finnigan walking toward her and looking around and seeming interested in everything as though he was in a museum. "Seamus?" she asked, confused.
"Oh..." his trance was broken. "Hey."
"What the HELL are you doing here?!" she demanded almost defensively. wow she thought to herself, I'm turning into my brother! "Sorry... I mean, why aren't you at dinner... and how did you get in HERE?" she revised her previous statement.
"Well, I noticed that you weren't at dinner so I asked your friend Claire and she said you were still in your dorm. I was just worried, you know... the conversation we had after potions and everything. Sorry if I got too personal," he slowly faded into a whisper. Clearing his voice, he continued, "I just don't want you to think I don't like you or anything..."
"Oh no, it's not that. I was just... tired," she lied. Covering up for her vulnerability, she shot back, "And what if i WAS in my dorm, huh? Would you have just marched on down to the Slytherin girls dormitory and barged in on me? I doubt you're even allowed in the Gryffindor girls dorm..."
"You know, you're beginning to take after your brother, Alice," he said, almost disappointed at her response.
"I know..." she agreed. "Disgusting, isn't it."
They both giggled a little, and when their amusement had subsided Seamus walked over to her and sat down on the floor below her chair. Pulling out a golden-yellow lump of something from his cloak, he handed it to her and said, "Cornbread... I figured you'd be hungry and Claire said you had a thing for corn."
"Yeah...heh, thanks," she snatched it from him and took a bite, smiling as big as she could without opening her mouth when the image of Seamus in a corn suit returned to her imagination.
"What's so funny?" he asked, playfully.
"Nothing... you," Alice relented, giggling. She stood up and handed Clive to him. "By the way, this is Clive." The two boys played together like siblings, and Alice watched, fascinated, until she became jealous that her... whatever Seamus was to her... was paying more attention her her cat than he was to her. She grabbed her cat away from Seamus.
"Hey!" he shouted, annoyed. He had gotten thoroughly engrossed in her precious little kitten. "Er... sorry."
"It's okay," she said, staring into his eyes as if they were pools of water and she was searching for something she'd accidentally dropped into one of them. She set Clive down on the ground because he'd been wanting to chew on a particularly tasty-looking tassel at a corner of the intricately embroidered rug for a while now, and she thought that this was about the right time to get him immersed in something that would keep him busy for a while.
Seamus reached toward her face and pulled a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his finger. Alice felt her stomach roll over excitedly. He's crazy... she repeated over and over in her head, trying to convince herself that it was a bad thing. He stared at her for a moment, then brought his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his for a short, soft kiss. She pulled away suddenly, looked down at her hands which were clasped together in her lap, the silent room, candles burning everywhere, Clive gnawing at the tassel... Seamus staring at her eagerly, his mouth slightly open. How could she resist? She moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. After searching his eyes for a second longer, she leaned in for another of his passionate kisses, unclasping his cloak from around his neck (she wasn't going to go any farther than that, she SWORE). For a moment it was only them, together, lost in the forest again...
...then the echo of voices from the hallway. "Shit..." she muttered, pulling away from him. Fortunately, only Claire and Hypothia had managed to walk in soon enough to see them sitting on the floor, still in one anothers' embrace, staring horrified into the hallway.
Grinning and chuckling, Claire said quietly, "I should have known," placing her hands on her hips as if to imitate a teacher or someone more important who might have walked in on them. Hypothia was paralyzed with laughter. "You'd better hide him (she pointed at Seamus, who was staring at her, terrified) quick, before the others get here."
Suddenly hit by reality, she leapt up and handed him his cloak forcibly, grabbing his hand and running downstairs to her dorm. Throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind her, she shoved him under her bed and hopped under the covers, prepared to act as if she'd been taking a nap... her heart was beating so loudly that she was almost afraid it would betray her.
The door creaked open and Claire, Hypothia and three other girls who shared the dorm walked in. "Maybe she's SICK or something!" said Hypothia, a few decibels louder than normal to be sure everyone could hear.
Claire walked up to the side of Alice's bed to perpetuate the masquerade, placing her hand on Alice's forehead. "She's AWFULLY warm... she MUST be sick! She wouldn't have missed dinner for any OTHER reason." (Alice almost laughed out loud at the inside joke)
"Oh, of COURSE not," answered Hypothia.
Afraid they were going a little over the top, Alice pretended to wake up. She sat up in bed, stretched her arms out, yawned dramatically, and announced in the sleepiest tone she could manage, "Oh, I had the most WONDERFUL dream!"
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*by the way. if anyone knows how to get italics and indentations and things to upload right, please let me know. in microsoft word, it doesn't work if I save it as HTML (says the file is empty) so I always just save it as a .doc file. somehow I got it to work for the first chapter but I don't remember how. 'tis very frustrating.
