"Sebastian! What ever happened to your face?!" the tree in the picture on
the wall asked, as Sebastian wearily climbed the stairs to the Ravenclaw
wing.
"Fell off my Broom." He replied quietly. He was still somewhat shaken by the incident in the forest, but was instead working on his story. No doubt people were going to be asking questions, both when he returned to his house, and the next morning during classes.
"Should I yell for help? Maybe you should go see Pomfrey..." the tree said worriedly. It's old painted face, showing great concern.
Sebastian smiled and shook his head. "Thank you Fergus, but no. I'm Ok. It was just a tumble, and from not very high... Did Cho make it back?"
The tree followed Sebastian from painting to painting up the staircase and nodded his head.
"She arrive not long ago. She was quite upset about something. Nothing to do with your tumble was it?"
Sebastian smiled and nodded his head. "Peanut Brittle." he said.
The tree nodded and opened the portrait to the Ravenclaw common room and he stepped through. "Put some ice on those bruises!" he said before the painting swung shut.
Sebastian couldn't help but smile at the concern from the old tree. He was surprised to see a handful of pyjama clad people littering the sliver and blue common room of the Ravenclaws when he arrived. Had Cho gone for help for him? That was not going to go over well.
All of his roommates, One of the Perfects, and Cho were huddled around the fire. Cho was holding a heavy book to her chest and looking worried. The boys were perched nervously around the furniture, and the perfect stood slightly apart, arms crossed against his chest. Cho's face lit up with relief when she saw Sebastian step through the picture. and into the room. They weren't really friends, but she had been slightly worried, leaving him behind with Richard and Eric.
There were several gasps and concerned inquiries about the state of his face, and William, one of his roomamtes, slipped out to get some ice from the kitchen. He was the best at avoiding Ms.Norris, and wouldn't likely be caught.
"Seb..." the Perfect began.
"I fell off my broom. It's fine." Sebastian said quickly, giving Cho a look. She nodded and then looked uneasy as the perfect turned to look at her. "I'm going to bed." She said, before handing Sebastian the book.
"We're even now." she added, looking at Sebastian. Her expression was unreadable, but he smiled, nodding in agreement. She looked relieved, and then escaped to her own dorm, before the Perfect could ask any more questions. He
"She wouldn't say what happened, or where you were" The perfect said, crossing his arms, and giving Sebastian a look that told him, he knew that there hadn't been a broom accident.
"Don't press her, please. I had to bully her into helping me... Don't make her lie for me too." Sebastian said, turning his eyes on the Perfect, watching the boy waffle under his gaze.
"You bullied Cho into helping you?" The perfect asked, surprised at the statement. "Do what exactly?"
Sebastian smiled and shook his head. "I'll only say that it involved her helping me fly somewhere. Because you know I'm not very good on a broom myself. And she's a natural..."
The Perfect looked frustrated, sighed and shook his head. "And that book? She wouldn't let me see it."
Sebastian looked at the book, and felt a gentle smile take hold of his features. His fingers traced the leather etched cover. He looked at the gold embossed wings in the corners and then at the Perfect, not saying a word. His gold eyes pleaded to the Perfect to stop his questions. Sebastian was well aware of the manipulative qualities of his eyes. The perfect lost to them. He sighed deeply in defeat. "Whatever. Fine. I'm going to bed. Just... don't do this again, or I'll have to talk to Flick..." he said. "and I will talk to him, if I think you're over your head."
Sebastian nodded and watched as the Perfect left. He knew the Perfect would have gone to Flick if he'd known about Eric and Richard and that his injuries were due to those.
William returned as the Perfect was leaving, holding a chunk of ice in a cloth. He handed it to Sebastian and gave him a grin. "did you get the book?" The other boy's bright blue eyes shined, and waited for Sebastian to nod. The rest of the roommates looked eager as well, and crowded around as Sebastian pressed the ice to his cheek with one hand.
"I hope so. I doesn't feel like one of the decoys anyway..."
There was a hushed cheer, and the four boys slipped into their room to examine the treasure.
The next morning greeted Sebastian with several unpleasant surprises. Not only did he have to lie to each and everyone who asked him about his face, the Tri-wizard tournament was about to begin. And Harry Potter was the fourth competitor. By the end of the day, he was throwing a tantrum at the unfairness of it.
"It's always about Harry Potter! Harry Potter this. Harry Potter that. Harry Potter. HarryPotterHarryPotterHarryPotter." Sebastian shouted, flinging his school robe against the wall. He watched it hit and then slump to the ground in a heap. He glared at it, as if it were Harry Potter himself. The three other boys he shared a dorm with sighed inwardly.
Sebastian wasn't known for being angry. He tended towards a quiet bitter, and could smoulder for weeks about something inconsequential. It was annoying, but not too disturbing, since he kept it to himself. He was most unpleasant when he was angry however. He took it out on things like his robe, or the wall. Usually whatever inanimate object was closest. Poor William had been hearing him rant since morning when the discovery was made.
Sebastian's three roommates were curled in their blue and grey four-poster beds, waiting to go to sleep, but knew that when he was like this, Sebastian was impossible. They were going to be up for a while longer yet, while Sebastian worked his anger out and it faded enough for him to quiet down and be bitter by himself.
Despite his little tantrum, the Ravenclaws' tended to agreed with Sebastian. They all suspected Potter had managed to break the rules and that he had done it because he was desperate for the attention. They believed that Durmstrang and Quidditch had managed to steal some of his glory, and he had somehow gotten himself into the Tri-wizard tournament as a result. Compensation... And somehow, he had managed to succeed. And that was all anyone was talking about.
"He couldn't just let Cedric have the tournament! I swear, he does this all on purpose! As soon as someone else gets the spotlight-- What kind of person needs that sort of constant attention." Sebastian growled. He stalked forward, grabbing his robe from the floor and stuffing it into a drawer for the night. He was finally beginning to settle down. He would toss and turn for the night, and have a generally bad night, but his roommates would sleep, and they were glad.
*** The next few days passed without incident. Harry was shunned and thought suspiciously of by the school, and had taken to lurking with his house, since they seemed to be the only people who would talk to him--and even most of them had believed he's entered somehow. They didn't resent him however.
Eric found it amusing that Potter looked so miserable. He had taken to watching the homely boy mope about. He had a bet with himself that Potter would cry within the next few days, because people were being mean to him.
Eric also found himself partnered with Sebastian for Snape's potion class.
As with the Potter-watching, Eric was delighted. Sebastian on the other hand was feeling quite putout by this turn of events, and was being surely. He'd been trying to avoid Eric, but was having no such luck. Perhaps Snape was doing this out of some sort of spite and revenge. Sebastian thought ht looked more smug then usual. but that could also have been because of Harry Potter's misery.
The first task was coming up, and between it and Eric in his vicinity, Sebastian was in a foul mood. Fouler then usual. And that was saying something, given as how Eric realized he'd never actually seen the Ravenclaw smile. He didn't grin anymore, and his eyes always seemed dull. Eric tried to poke fun at him about it, but he just became icy and distant. Eric wondered if he was sleeping much at night, or if it was just a reaction to his behaviour in the forest. Whatever it was, Sebastian was off. He was making mistakes. Silly ones that even Eric didn't make.
When class finally ended, the students filed out and head towards the grounds where the first task would be completed shortly. There were rumours they would get to see Dragons, and most of the students were excited, and rushed, as soon as it was over.
Sebastian was lagging however, and Eric handed him a heavy black book while packing up his own belongings. "Who do you think will win?" he asked, keeping his hand firmly on the book, even as Sebastian reached for it.
"I really could care less." Sebastian replied, trying to pull the book from Eric's grip.
"I'm not even going to watch. I'm sure I'll hear about it from five different sources before it even ends."
Eric chuckled and nodded and released the book finally. Sebastian didn't put it in his bag, however. He hugged it close to his chest. It was an old thick book that smelt strongly of aged leather. Gold wings were etched into the corners, but Eric couldn't read the title. Looking at it, made his eyes blur.
"Still, it might be entertaining. maybe Potter will get hurt. That ought to cheer you up."
Sebastian turned Eric his coldest look. Eric blinked in surprise at the look, not quite understanding what he had done this time, to piss off Sebastian. The look was something he had never seen on anyone except a Slytherin. It seemed wrong coming from Sebastian.
"I don't want the boy to be hurt. That wouldn't cheer me up at all!" he exclaimed. There was a brief flash of anger in his eyes, but then it faded to weariness again. Eric was growing a bit concerned. There was a lethargic- ness to Sebastian that had never been there before. Perhaps if Sebastian hadn't made mistakes that even he wouldn't have, he might have passed it over and not thought twice about it. But there was something quite wrong with Sebastian.
"But. you don't like him..." Eric said. I swear, he's like a whiny stupid woman sometimes. all touchy and moody and impossible to figure out!
"No. I don't. I hate that he's the star of our school all of the time, and that the staff favours him above the rest of us, but I don't wish harm on him! He may be an attention-greedy child, but I don't want him Hurt!" he stared at Eric, expecting him to rephrase what he had been saying, but Eric just looked at him with a touch of surprise, but more confusion then anything else.
" God. You really are a cruel.thing!"
"I just thought you would feel better if a bit of the pomp was taken out of him." Eric said, frustration in his voice.
"I would. But that doesn't mean he has to be hurt!" Sebastian replied. He suddenly recoiled from Eric. "Why are you still talking to me? You're a horrible person! Go away."
Eric rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything further. He slung his bag over his shoulder and left without another word to his lab partner. He had just been trying to be friendly and cheer him up. What had he said that was so wrong? Nothing bad ever really happened to anyone here. Madame Pompfrey generally made sure people were patched up, and there were doubtless going to be precautions taken, so even if Harry did get hurt, it wouldn't be serious...
Besides, nothing serious ever happened to Harry Potter.
***
"tied for first." "unbelievable!" "I never thought he was that good!" "The best.!" "Such quick thinking!"
Sebastian broke the tip of his quill and glared at the ink splash that marked his notes.
What annoyed him the most, was that half of the comments were coming from his house. Nearly everyone had turned out to be cheering for Harry, despite their earlier annoyance. Even Cedric didn't seem to mind.
Sebastian minded enough for him, and most of the Slytherin who had never really liked Harry and his friends.
Eric watched Sebastian fume about for the next two days. It was no secret that he was annoyed, but no one could quite figure out why. At least, to that extent. He seemed to be taking the whole thing personally.
Eric himself didn't know why Sebastian cared as much as he did, but was content to watch the Ravenclaw mope about, and snap at people. He was completely unconcerned with his own growing fascination with the other boy. In fact, he was the only one who didn't notice that he spent more and more time watching Sebastian from a distance, a dark smile on his face.
Others in Slytherin weren't so unconcerned, and there were smirks and whispers beginning to circle.
"You've been making time to socialize with him an awful lot." Richard said, one evening when they should have been studying, but were searching for a passage into the kitchen. They'd heard rumours about the house elves giving out free food, and wanted something sweet to curb the craving they'd both been feeling as the cool winter weather approached.
"I have not." Eric denied. It was the first time it was brought up to him, and he seemed surprised someone thought it out of the ordinary.
"You went to ask for help with potions homework last night. And two days before, you shared your frogs with him." Richard said. He had a list of six separate instances where Eric had made an excuse to seek out Sebastian, and that only this week.
"I offered him one. I didn't share. There's a difference. He didn't want one, anyway." Eric replied. "And that was because he proofread my detention essay for McGongall. I thought I should be nice. You know. In case I need him to do it again."
Richard gave him a strange look and then shook his head. "If you say so."
"Who are you asking to the Christmas ball?" Eric asked, deliberately changing the subject.
"Thinking of asking Sebastian?" Richard snickered. Eric stared at him impassively until Richard waved a hand dismissively in the air. "fine fine. I was thinking of asking Deborah Grommit."
Eric nodded his head, apparently thinking the choice an acceptable one for his best friend. "Maria asked me. I told her I'd think about it."
"She's been sniffing around after you for two years. are you going to say Yes?"
"I don't really care one way or another."
"She is rather cute. If a touch annoying. But all girls are annoying these days." Richard pointed out, running his wand along the wall, hoping it would open up and reveal the rumoured secret passage. Eric nodded, agreeing completely. There were stupid amounts of them lusting secretly after both Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy. One afternoon he had even thought he'd heard two girls whispering about how they ought to be friendlier. To Each-Other! One had giggled, nodded and accented the word friendly. Eric wasn't exactly sure what that was about, but found it vaguely creepy.
"What are you two doing?"
Both boys jumped in surprise and turned quickly to see Filch glaring at them. Ms. Norris was staring at them at his side, her tail lashing back and forth. No doubt she had seen them and alerted Filch to their wanderings after hours. "Off to bed with you." he grumbled, his eyes twitching at them. The two boys scampered off without a second warning. They would find another way into the kitchen, another night
Richard and Eric were on their way back to their dormitory, when they turned a corner. Not having been paying attention, they crashed head on into Sebastian and three of his Ravenclaw friends. Sebastian was pale, and didn't seem too well. The shadows in his face had gotten worse. He had also begun to loose weight. When he thought about it, he didn't think he had seen him a breakfast or dinner in the last while.
Filch reappeared however, and scattered the two groups, before Eric could question the other Ravenclaws. Once back in their own dormitory, Richard looked over at Eric. "He looked bad. Whatever you're doing to him. it's working."
"I'm not doing anything to him." Eric replied, pulling his pyjama shirt over his head. Richard didn't look convinced as he stared at him. "This started after the forest incident. Something that you caused after I left."
"I didn't do anything." Eric repeated, growing a touch irritated. It came through in his voice, and Richard backed off, and pulled his blankets back. He looked at Eric from the corner of his eyes, noting that Eric seemed worried about it too, but was hiding it well.
"Fell off my Broom." He replied quietly. He was still somewhat shaken by the incident in the forest, but was instead working on his story. No doubt people were going to be asking questions, both when he returned to his house, and the next morning during classes.
"Should I yell for help? Maybe you should go see Pomfrey..." the tree said worriedly. It's old painted face, showing great concern.
Sebastian smiled and shook his head. "Thank you Fergus, but no. I'm Ok. It was just a tumble, and from not very high... Did Cho make it back?"
The tree followed Sebastian from painting to painting up the staircase and nodded his head.
"She arrive not long ago. She was quite upset about something. Nothing to do with your tumble was it?"
Sebastian smiled and nodded his head. "Peanut Brittle." he said.
The tree nodded and opened the portrait to the Ravenclaw common room and he stepped through. "Put some ice on those bruises!" he said before the painting swung shut.
Sebastian couldn't help but smile at the concern from the old tree. He was surprised to see a handful of pyjama clad people littering the sliver and blue common room of the Ravenclaws when he arrived. Had Cho gone for help for him? That was not going to go over well.
All of his roommates, One of the Perfects, and Cho were huddled around the fire. Cho was holding a heavy book to her chest and looking worried. The boys were perched nervously around the furniture, and the perfect stood slightly apart, arms crossed against his chest. Cho's face lit up with relief when she saw Sebastian step through the picture. and into the room. They weren't really friends, but she had been slightly worried, leaving him behind with Richard and Eric.
There were several gasps and concerned inquiries about the state of his face, and William, one of his roomamtes, slipped out to get some ice from the kitchen. He was the best at avoiding Ms.Norris, and wouldn't likely be caught.
"Seb..." the Perfect began.
"I fell off my broom. It's fine." Sebastian said quickly, giving Cho a look. She nodded and then looked uneasy as the perfect turned to look at her. "I'm going to bed." She said, before handing Sebastian the book.
"We're even now." she added, looking at Sebastian. Her expression was unreadable, but he smiled, nodding in agreement. She looked relieved, and then escaped to her own dorm, before the Perfect could ask any more questions. He
"She wouldn't say what happened, or where you were" The perfect said, crossing his arms, and giving Sebastian a look that told him, he knew that there hadn't been a broom accident.
"Don't press her, please. I had to bully her into helping me... Don't make her lie for me too." Sebastian said, turning his eyes on the Perfect, watching the boy waffle under his gaze.
"You bullied Cho into helping you?" The perfect asked, surprised at the statement. "Do what exactly?"
Sebastian smiled and shook his head. "I'll only say that it involved her helping me fly somewhere. Because you know I'm not very good on a broom myself. And she's a natural..."
The Perfect looked frustrated, sighed and shook his head. "And that book? She wouldn't let me see it."
Sebastian looked at the book, and felt a gentle smile take hold of his features. His fingers traced the leather etched cover. He looked at the gold embossed wings in the corners and then at the Perfect, not saying a word. His gold eyes pleaded to the Perfect to stop his questions. Sebastian was well aware of the manipulative qualities of his eyes. The perfect lost to them. He sighed deeply in defeat. "Whatever. Fine. I'm going to bed. Just... don't do this again, or I'll have to talk to Flick..." he said. "and I will talk to him, if I think you're over your head."
Sebastian nodded and watched as the Perfect left. He knew the Perfect would have gone to Flick if he'd known about Eric and Richard and that his injuries were due to those.
William returned as the Perfect was leaving, holding a chunk of ice in a cloth. He handed it to Sebastian and gave him a grin. "did you get the book?" The other boy's bright blue eyes shined, and waited for Sebastian to nod. The rest of the roommates looked eager as well, and crowded around as Sebastian pressed the ice to his cheek with one hand.
"I hope so. I doesn't feel like one of the decoys anyway..."
There was a hushed cheer, and the four boys slipped into their room to examine the treasure.
The next morning greeted Sebastian with several unpleasant surprises. Not only did he have to lie to each and everyone who asked him about his face, the Tri-wizard tournament was about to begin. And Harry Potter was the fourth competitor. By the end of the day, he was throwing a tantrum at the unfairness of it.
"It's always about Harry Potter! Harry Potter this. Harry Potter that. Harry Potter. HarryPotterHarryPotterHarryPotter." Sebastian shouted, flinging his school robe against the wall. He watched it hit and then slump to the ground in a heap. He glared at it, as if it were Harry Potter himself. The three other boys he shared a dorm with sighed inwardly.
Sebastian wasn't known for being angry. He tended towards a quiet bitter, and could smoulder for weeks about something inconsequential. It was annoying, but not too disturbing, since he kept it to himself. He was most unpleasant when he was angry however. He took it out on things like his robe, or the wall. Usually whatever inanimate object was closest. Poor William had been hearing him rant since morning when the discovery was made.
Sebastian's three roommates were curled in their blue and grey four-poster beds, waiting to go to sleep, but knew that when he was like this, Sebastian was impossible. They were going to be up for a while longer yet, while Sebastian worked his anger out and it faded enough for him to quiet down and be bitter by himself.
Despite his little tantrum, the Ravenclaws' tended to agreed with Sebastian. They all suspected Potter had managed to break the rules and that he had done it because he was desperate for the attention. They believed that Durmstrang and Quidditch had managed to steal some of his glory, and he had somehow gotten himself into the Tri-wizard tournament as a result. Compensation... And somehow, he had managed to succeed. And that was all anyone was talking about.
"He couldn't just let Cedric have the tournament! I swear, he does this all on purpose! As soon as someone else gets the spotlight-- What kind of person needs that sort of constant attention." Sebastian growled. He stalked forward, grabbing his robe from the floor and stuffing it into a drawer for the night. He was finally beginning to settle down. He would toss and turn for the night, and have a generally bad night, but his roommates would sleep, and they were glad.
*** The next few days passed without incident. Harry was shunned and thought suspiciously of by the school, and had taken to lurking with his house, since they seemed to be the only people who would talk to him--and even most of them had believed he's entered somehow. They didn't resent him however.
Eric found it amusing that Potter looked so miserable. He had taken to watching the homely boy mope about. He had a bet with himself that Potter would cry within the next few days, because people were being mean to him.
Eric also found himself partnered with Sebastian for Snape's potion class.
As with the Potter-watching, Eric was delighted. Sebastian on the other hand was feeling quite putout by this turn of events, and was being surely. He'd been trying to avoid Eric, but was having no such luck. Perhaps Snape was doing this out of some sort of spite and revenge. Sebastian thought ht looked more smug then usual. but that could also have been because of Harry Potter's misery.
The first task was coming up, and between it and Eric in his vicinity, Sebastian was in a foul mood. Fouler then usual. And that was saying something, given as how Eric realized he'd never actually seen the Ravenclaw smile. He didn't grin anymore, and his eyes always seemed dull. Eric tried to poke fun at him about it, but he just became icy and distant. Eric wondered if he was sleeping much at night, or if it was just a reaction to his behaviour in the forest. Whatever it was, Sebastian was off. He was making mistakes. Silly ones that even Eric didn't make.
When class finally ended, the students filed out and head towards the grounds where the first task would be completed shortly. There were rumours they would get to see Dragons, and most of the students were excited, and rushed, as soon as it was over.
Sebastian was lagging however, and Eric handed him a heavy black book while packing up his own belongings. "Who do you think will win?" he asked, keeping his hand firmly on the book, even as Sebastian reached for it.
"I really could care less." Sebastian replied, trying to pull the book from Eric's grip.
"I'm not even going to watch. I'm sure I'll hear about it from five different sources before it even ends."
Eric chuckled and nodded and released the book finally. Sebastian didn't put it in his bag, however. He hugged it close to his chest. It was an old thick book that smelt strongly of aged leather. Gold wings were etched into the corners, but Eric couldn't read the title. Looking at it, made his eyes blur.
"Still, it might be entertaining. maybe Potter will get hurt. That ought to cheer you up."
Sebastian turned Eric his coldest look. Eric blinked in surprise at the look, not quite understanding what he had done this time, to piss off Sebastian. The look was something he had never seen on anyone except a Slytherin. It seemed wrong coming from Sebastian.
"I don't want the boy to be hurt. That wouldn't cheer me up at all!" he exclaimed. There was a brief flash of anger in his eyes, but then it faded to weariness again. Eric was growing a bit concerned. There was a lethargic- ness to Sebastian that had never been there before. Perhaps if Sebastian hadn't made mistakes that even he wouldn't have, he might have passed it over and not thought twice about it. But there was something quite wrong with Sebastian.
"But. you don't like him..." Eric said. I swear, he's like a whiny stupid woman sometimes. all touchy and moody and impossible to figure out!
"No. I don't. I hate that he's the star of our school all of the time, and that the staff favours him above the rest of us, but I don't wish harm on him! He may be an attention-greedy child, but I don't want him Hurt!" he stared at Eric, expecting him to rephrase what he had been saying, but Eric just looked at him with a touch of surprise, but more confusion then anything else.
" God. You really are a cruel.thing!"
"I just thought you would feel better if a bit of the pomp was taken out of him." Eric said, frustration in his voice.
"I would. But that doesn't mean he has to be hurt!" Sebastian replied. He suddenly recoiled from Eric. "Why are you still talking to me? You're a horrible person! Go away."
Eric rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything further. He slung his bag over his shoulder and left without another word to his lab partner. He had just been trying to be friendly and cheer him up. What had he said that was so wrong? Nothing bad ever really happened to anyone here. Madame Pompfrey generally made sure people were patched up, and there were doubtless going to be precautions taken, so even if Harry did get hurt, it wouldn't be serious...
Besides, nothing serious ever happened to Harry Potter.
***
"tied for first." "unbelievable!" "I never thought he was that good!" "The best.!" "Such quick thinking!"
Sebastian broke the tip of his quill and glared at the ink splash that marked his notes.
What annoyed him the most, was that half of the comments were coming from his house. Nearly everyone had turned out to be cheering for Harry, despite their earlier annoyance. Even Cedric didn't seem to mind.
Sebastian minded enough for him, and most of the Slytherin who had never really liked Harry and his friends.
Eric watched Sebastian fume about for the next two days. It was no secret that he was annoyed, but no one could quite figure out why. At least, to that extent. He seemed to be taking the whole thing personally.
Eric himself didn't know why Sebastian cared as much as he did, but was content to watch the Ravenclaw mope about, and snap at people. He was completely unconcerned with his own growing fascination with the other boy. In fact, he was the only one who didn't notice that he spent more and more time watching Sebastian from a distance, a dark smile on his face.
Others in Slytherin weren't so unconcerned, and there were smirks and whispers beginning to circle.
"You've been making time to socialize with him an awful lot." Richard said, one evening when they should have been studying, but were searching for a passage into the kitchen. They'd heard rumours about the house elves giving out free food, and wanted something sweet to curb the craving they'd both been feeling as the cool winter weather approached.
"I have not." Eric denied. It was the first time it was brought up to him, and he seemed surprised someone thought it out of the ordinary.
"You went to ask for help with potions homework last night. And two days before, you shared your frogs with him." Richard said. He had a list of six separate instances where Eric had made an excuse to seek out Sebastian, and that only this week.
"I offered him one. I didn't share. There's a difference. He didn't want one, anyway." Eric replied. "And that was because he proofread my detention essay for McGongall. I thought I should be nice. You know. In case I need him to do it again."
Richard gave him a strange look and then shook his head. "If you say so."
"Who are you asking to the Christmas ball?" Eric asked, deliberately changing the subject.
"Thinking of asking Sebastian?" Richard snickered. Eric stared at him impassively until Richard waved a hand dismissively in the air. "fine fine. I was thinking of asking Deborah Grommit."
Eric nodded his head, apparently thinking the choice an acceptable one for his best friend. "Maria asked me. I told her I'd think about it."
"She's been sniffing around after you for two years. are you going to say Yes?"
"I don't really care one way or another."
"She is rather cute. If a touch annoying. But all girls are annoying these days." Richard pointed out, running his wand along the wall, hoping it would open up and reveal the rumoured secret passage. Eric nodded, agreeing completely. There were stupid amounts of them lusting secretly after both Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy. One afternoon he had even thought he'd heard two girls whispering about how they ought to be friendlier. To Each-Other! One had giggled, nodded and accented the word friendly. Eric wasn't exactly sure what that was about, but found it vaguely creepy.
"What are you two doing?"
Both boys jumped in surprise and turned quickly to see Filch glaring at them. Ms. Norris was staring at them at his side, her tail lashing back and forth. No doubt she had seen them and alerted Filch to their wanderings after hours. "Off to bed with you." he grumbled, his eyes twitching at them. The two boys scampered off without a second warning. They would find another way into the kitchen, another night
Richard and Eric were on their way back to their dormitory, when they turned a corner. Not having been paying attention, they crashed head on into Sebastian and three of his Ravenclaw friends. Sebastian was pale, and didn't seem too well. The shadows in his face had gotten worse. He had also begun to loose weight. When he thought about it, he didn't think he had seen him a breakfast or dinner in the last while.
Filch reappeared however, and scattered the two groups, before Eric could question the other Ravenclaws. Once back in their own dormitory, Richard looked over at Eric. "He looked bad. Whatever you're doing to him. it's working."
"I'm not doing anything to him." Eric replied, pulling his pyjama shirt over his head. Richard didn't look convinced as he stared at him. "This started after the forest incident. Something that you caused after I left."
"I didn't do anything." Eric repeated, growing a touch irritated. It came through in his voice, and Richard backed off, and pulled his blankets back. He looked at Eric from the corner of his eyes, noting that Eric seemed worried about it too, but was hiding it well.