All week Aubrey and Jessica had to endure the ceaseless whispers, stares,
and suspicious looks of their peers. Aubrey even caught her beloved Alan
shooting her a questioning glance from time to time. Everybody wondered.
They wondered how Aubrey and Jessica knew that the drink was poisoned; they wondered how they knew who was responsible. Marina Randalls and Patricia Parkinson has been on the edge of expulsion when Hogwart's Board of Council members had suddenly decided that they should "give the girls another chance".
"Saved by their daddy's wallets, were they?" Toni had asked bitterly when she heard the news. She absolutely despised Patricia Parkinson, for reasons unknown to Aubrey.
"Seems so," Corey had replied in the same bitter tone.
Aubrey had even received a few owls from her friends in Godric's Hollow. But it wasn't as if she could answer their questions. She was just as confused as they were on the whole matter, if not more so.
What had Dumbledore meant by "It's beginning." If he had meant that all her teacher's would begin to treat her like a ticking time bomb, then yes, it had begun. But other than that she didn't feel any different. Unless you counted the various and sporadic dreams predicting things that came to be the next day, the feeling that she knew what was going to happen the next second, and being able to tell who it was who would get their leg stuck in the trick floorboard that afternoon. And if being called a "weirdo", constantly under the threat of death (from Marina), and having your homework burned and charred by Joyelle wasn't bad enough she had to deal with Midas.
Ever since he had woken her up in the common the night before the poisoning incident he had acted most strangely around her. If he wasn't shooting Aubrey those totally adorable looks-which Jessica had jokingly said with lovelorn-then he was purposely avoiding her or whispering secretively with Morgan and Thomas, glancing over at her every few seconds.
Once or twice Aubrey had asked Whitney if her older brother was feeling all right. Whitney would just snort and say in a snippy tone, "Wouldn't you like to know!"
That was another matter. The Snapes-save Midas-had taken to sending Aubrey Go-Shrivel-Up-and-Die looks whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Even Justine, who had always gone out of her way to say hello to Aubrey, had hopped on the Aubrey's-a-git train.
But, despite all that, Aubrey's biggest problem was just unfolding. Alan had gotten fed up with people asking him what was "up" with his girlfriend.
It had begun with a friendly, "Aubrey, we need to talk in the library." He had shot Toni and Lenny 'get lost' looks. Aubrey knew it couldn't be good. She had heard, and been told, various rumors about Alan and Sandra Dinclair, a fellow Hufflepuff and a cheerleader for the Hufflepuff cheer squad. She had also heard rumors about Alan breaking up with her. And now, when the time had finally come, Aubrey felt a surge of power.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Aubrey asked, raising an eyebrow in a way that she had seen her oldest cousin, Kiki, Charlie's oldest daughter, do many times when she talked to boys.
Alan had looked up and down the row of shelves before answering. "I've been thinking a lot about us," he replied in a shaky tone. Aubrey, carefully taking into memory every story Kiki had told her about the way boys broke up with you, smiled in a catlike manner.
"Have you, now? I've been thinking about us too."
Alan raised an eyebrow as well. "Really? About us?"
Aubrey widened her eyes in pretend surprise. "Us? Did I say us? Forgive me Alan, I meant to say that I had been thinking about me."
"What.?"
"Yes, Alan, myself. I'm not stupid, Alan. I know all about you and Sandy Dinclair. And if you're cheating on me then how am I benefiting from all this? The answer is that I'm not. Not one little bit.What I'm trying to say is that we're over. I don't want to have some time to myself and I don't need my space. I don't want to go out with you any more. Okay? I think that's where you were aiming as well." Before Alan could answer Aubrey was halfway to the door.
She never even bothered to look back.
And, within dumping Alan Grey, Aubrey became a legend.
But not all legends are good.
***
Everyone was talking about it.
Everyone knew about it.
Everyone thought about it, too.
Aubrey Potter, a first year, had dumped Alan Grey, not only a seventh year but also the captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team. It was unheard of, outrageous!
If Aubrey had thought people had been talking about her it was nothing compared to now. Now no one bothered to pretend that they weren't talking about her. This only caused Midas and Whitney to drift further away and finally Aubrey found that they no longer chose to be in her social circle. But she didn't dwell on the matter. She didn't have the time.
Ever since her breakup with Alan (who sulked very often with ditzy Sandra Declair) Aubrey found that she, along with Jessica and Toni-decidedly her two closet friends-had a fair number of suitors. Which brought about her problem. Who should she go to the Yule Ball with?
It wasn't as if she could just go; you had to be a fourth year or higher to do that.And it wasn't as if anyone hadn't offered to be her date; no, there were far to many willing boys.but none seemed to be right. For a moment Aubrey had considered asking Midas if he'd take her but, after talking to Sarah Grant, she found that he and Tilly Motser, a third year Gryffindor, were seeing each other "quite seriously".
Finally, five days before the Yule Ball, Kevin and Lenny began to tease her. "Got no date, eh?" Lenny had asked in a sly voice.
"It's no big deal," Aubrey muttered, pretending to be suddenly engrossed with her Charms homework.
"Oh, but Len-Isn't Marina Randalls going? With none other than your dear Midas?"
That caught Aubrey's attention. "She and Midas-but what about-"
"Tilly Motser? She and Midas decided to just be friends. Something about him liking another girl. Must have been Marina," Lenny said jokingly, freezing when he saw the look on his friend's face. "You really like him, don't you?" he asked, frowning a bit.
Aubrey shrugged. "Who knows?" But the lovelorn look on her face said differently.
"Gosh, Brey-I'm sorry," Kevin said, and he looked very sympathetic, as did Lenny. Just then the answer to their problems arrived.
"Hey, Aubrey-got a minute?" It was Devin Norfolk-a fourth year Gryffindor like Midas and on the quidditch team as well, as a chaser. He wasn't the best of the lot-with freckles, dark hair, and a goofy smile that made him seem eight years younger than her really was-but he was one thing many of the boys of his year weren't: romantic. And that alone attracted the ladies.
"Sure, Devin. Need something?" Aubrey asked.
"Well, I'm what some might call sick," Devin said.
"Sick? Really? What with?" Aubrey asked.
"Well," Devin said, and by now the whole common room was watching, "for a while now I've been thinking about one.thing, and feeling all giddy.and sometimes I feel hot all over."
Aubrey had cocked her head. She didn't know Devin well, but he had always been nice to her and she didn't want him to be ill. "Well, why do you think I might be able to help you?"
"Because," Devin said, "you're the antidote." And then he kissed her, in front of the whole common room, Midas and Whitney included. When he pulled away Devin got down on one knee, grinned, and produced a rose out of thin air.
"Aubrey Potter, will you be my date to the Yule Ball?" he asked, kissing her hand and handing her the rose. Aubrey felt a flutter in her stomach. How could she say no?
"Alright, Devin," she said, and she giggled a bit as Toni and Jessica began to make kissing noises. For a moment her eyes strayed to Midas. He was sitting at a table, with Morgan and Thomas, and the look on his face took her breath away.
Midas looked more sour than a lemon and angrier than any storm Aubrey had ever seen. It was almost frightening, the way he was looking at her and Devin, as if they were horrid scoundrels. Sighing, Aubrey turned away. Midas could have Marina; she had her Devin.
They wondered how Aubrey and Jessica knew that the drink was poisoned; they wondered how they knew who was responsible. Marina Randalls and Patricia Parkinson has been on the edge of expulsion when Hogwart's Board of Council members had suddenly decided that they should "give the girls another chance".
"Saved by their daddy's wallets, were they?" Toni had asked bitterly when she heard the news. She absolutely despised Patricia Parkinson, for reasons unknown to Aubrey.
"Seems so," Corey had replied in the same bitter tone.
Aubrey had even received a few owls from her friends in Godric's Hollow. But it wasn't as if she could answer their questions. She was just as confused as they were on the whole matter, if not more so.
What had Dumbledore meant by "It's beginning." If he had meant that all her teacher's would begin to treat her like a ticking time bomb, then yes, it had begun. But other than that she didn't feel any different. Unless you counted the various and sporadic dreams predicting things that came to be the next day, the feeling that she knew what was going to happen the next second, and being able to tell who it was who would get their leg stuck in the trick floorboard that afternoon. And if being called a "weirdo", constantly under the threat of death (from Marina), and having your homework burned and charred by Joyelle wasn't bad enough she had to deal with Midas.
Ever since he had woken her up in the common the night before the poisoning incident he had acted most strangely around her. If he wasn't shooting Aubrey those totally adorable looks-which Jessica had jokingly said with lovelorn-then he was purposely avoiding her or whispering secretively with Morgan and Thomas, glancing over at her every few seconds.
Once or twice Aubrey had asked Whitney if her older brother was feeling all right. Whitney would just snort and say in a snippy tone, "Wouldn't you like to know!"
That was another matter. The Snapes-save Midas-had taken to sending Aubrey Go-Shrivel-Up-and-Die looks whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Even Justine, who had always gone out of her way to say hello to Aubrey, had hopped on the Aubrey's-a-git train.
But, despite all that, Aubrey's biggest problem was just unfolding. Alan had gotten fed up with people asking him what was "up" with his girlfriend.
It had begun with a friendly, "Aubrey, we need to talk in the library." He had shot Toni and Lenny 'get lost' looks. Aubrey knew it couldn't be good. She had heard, and been told, various rumors about Alan and Sandra Dinclair, a fellow Hufflepuff and a cheerleader for the Hufflepuff cheer squad. She had also heard rumors about Alan breaking up with her. And now, when the time had finally come, Aubrey felt a surge of power.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Aubrey asked, raising an eyebrow in a way that she had seen her oldest cousin, Kiki, Charlie's oldest daughter, do many times when she talked to boys.
Alan had looked up and down the row of shelves before answering. "I've been thinking a lot about us," he replied in a shaky tone. Aubrey, carefully taking into memory every story Kiki had told her about the way boys broke up with you, smiled in a catlike manner.
"Have you, now? I've been thinking about us too."
Alan raised an eyebrow as well. "Really? About us?"
Aubrey widened her eyes in pretend surprise. "Us? Did I say us? Forgive me Alan, I meant to say that I had been thinking about me."
"What.?"
"Yes, Alan, myself. I'm not stupid, Alan. I know all about you and Sandy Dinclair. And if you're cheating on me then how am I benefiting from all this? The answer is that I'm not. Not one little bit.What I'm trying to say is that we're over. I don't want to have some time to myself and I don't need my space. I don't want to go out with you any more. Okay? I think that's where you were aiming as well." Before Alan could answer Aubrey was halfway to the door.
She never even bothered to look back.
And, within dumping Alan Grey, Aubrey became a legend.
But not all legends are good.
***
Everyone was talking about it.
Everyone knew about it.
Everyone thought about it, too.
Aubrey Potter, a first year, had dumped Alan Grey, not only a seventh year but also the captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team. It was unheard of, outrageous!
If Aubrey had thought people had been talking about her it was nothing compared to now. Now no one bothered to pretend that they weren't talking about her. This only caused Midas and Whitney to drift further away and finally Aubrey found that they no longer chose to be in her social circle. But she didn't dwell on the matter. She didn't have the time.
Ever since her breakup with Alan (who sulked very often with ditzy Sandra Declair) Aubrey found that she, along with Jessica and Toni-decidedly her two closet friends-had a fair number of suitors. Which brought about her problem. Who should she go to the Yule Ball with?
It wasn't as if she could just go; you had to be a fourth year or higher to do that.And it wasn't as if anyone hadn't offered to be her date; no, there were far to many willing boys.but none seemed to be right. For a moment Aubrey had considered asking Midas if he'd take her but, after talking to Sarah Grant, she found that he and Tilly Motser, a third year Gryffindor, were seeing each other "quite seriously".
Finally, five days before the Yule Ball, Kevin and Lenny began to tease her. "Got no date, eh?" Lenny had asked in a sly voice.
"It's no big deal," Aubrey muttered, pretending to be suddenly engrossed with her Charms homework.
"Oh, but Len-Isn't Marina Randalls going? With none other than your dear Midas?"
That caught Aubrey's attention. "She and Midas-but what about-"
"Tilly Motser? She and Midas decided to just be friends. Something about him liking another girl. Must have been Marina," Lenny said jokingly, freezing when he saw the look on his friend's face. "You really like him, don't you?" he asked, frowning a bit.
Aubrey shrugged. "Who knows?" But the lovelorn look on her face said differently.
"Gosh, Brey-I'm sorry," Kevin said, and he looked very sympathetic, as did Lenny. Just then the answer to their problems arrived.
"Hey, Aubrey-got a minute?" It was Devin Norfolk-a fourth year Gryffindor like Midas and on the quidditch team as well, as a chaser. He wasn't the best of the lot-with freckles, dark hair, and a goofy smile that made him seem eight years younger than her really was-but he was one thing many of the boys of his year weren't: romantic. And that alone attracted the ladies.
"Sure, Devin. Need something?" Aubrey asked.
"Well, I'm what some might call sick," Devin said.
"Sick? Really? What with?" Aubrey asked.
"Well," Devin said, and by now the whole common room was watching, "for a while now I've been thinking about one.thing, and feeling all giddy.and sometimes I feel hot all over."
Aubrey had cocked her head. She didn't know Devin well, but he had always been nice to her and she didn't want him to be ill. "Well, why do you think I might be able to help you?"
"Because," Devin said, "you're the antidote." And then he kissed her, in front of the whole common room, Midas and Whitney included. When he pulled away Devin got down on one knee, grinned, and produced a rose out of thin air.
"Aubrey Potter, will you be my date to the Yule Ball?" he asked, kissing her hand and handing her the rose. Aubrey felt a flutter in her stomach. How could she say no?
"Alright, Devin," she said, and she giggled a bit as Toni and Jessica began to make kissing noises. For a moment her eyes strayed to Midas. He was sitting at a table, with Morgan and Thomas, and the look on his face took her breath away.
Midas looked more sour than a lemon and angrier than any storm Aubrey had ever seen. It was almost frightening, the way he was looking at her and Devin, as if they were horrid scoundrels. Sighing, Aubrey turned away. Midas could have Marina; she had her Devin.