"No. I do not. I love him like a brother- Now can I g- OW!"
"Nice try Precious," Vanessa had forced down Gaby's attempt to escape again. "But you're not gonna get rid or us that easy..."
"Oh...cause I haven't brushed my teeth after tuna and spinach yet-"
Vanessa and Jade jumped back, looking repulsive. Gabrielle sprung for it- Jade yelped and Vanessa slipped on her robes. But Gaby had only touched the knob of the staircase to the girls' dormitory when she was flung back into the armchair. They intended for her to stay there-
"Mobil Leviticus!" Vanessa garbled and rope like chords entwined around Gaby's wrists- strapping them to the arm of the chair. They banned her skin when she pulled at them.
Vanessa blew the tip of her wand and Gaby leered at her. "Well done..."
"Thank you, you know I'm wonderful," she smirked.
"Pat yourself on the back."
"Pity how someone can escape death with an arrow right through her shoulder and not escape her best friends," Jade said, sitting down opposite.
"Don't flatter yourselves." Gaby sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. She waited.
"Ok, I repeat... Do- you- like- Camry- Smith?"
"No I do not- Next," she answered monotonously.
"We know you're not telling the truth," Vanessa piped.
"You're the one with the truth potion- if it is Veritaserum."
"Hey, only one way to find out and you'll be telling us all the names of your stuffed animals," Jade threatened.
"Next- question please."
"Do you know that Smith likes you?"
"What!" Gaby's head rose from the top of the armchair where she was resting it- to look at them.
"He does- didn't you know?" Vanessa continued.
"You can't be sure," Gaby said, doubting it seriously.
"Told us."
"You're lying."
Vanessa tut-tutted. "Little Shortstuffs, would I lie to you?"
"Yeah."
"Ok! Let's not get personal," Jade interjected.
"Well then, why are you tying to invade?" Gaby's tone rose.
"So it does bother you?"
"Shut up V," she turned to Gaby, "we're doing this because we're trying to help!"
It was because Jade had said it that made Gaby think twice; maybe she was being too evasive. And Gaby looked from her magical cuffs to their faces alternatively.
"Oh- well it was the only alternative next to the Veritaserum!"
Gaby tried a different route. She relaxed. "Ok, help away."
"Well he told us actually, he let slip, that's how we know he was telling the truth," Jade said.
Gaby resisted the urge to ask them why they didn't try threatening them with their veritaserum, to stay right on track.
"He said he doesn't really like that Kara girl."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, and he'd give it all up because of you."
"Really? Frankly I don't think he'll break her heart because of me," she said quickly.
"Oh, you'd be surprised Miss Flame," Vanessa said dramatically," I've seen you do some pretty amazing things with boys."
Gaby laughed. "Camry's my friend."
"But you care about him a little more that that, do you?" Jade said.
"No."
"You don't like him at all?"
"No."
"You don't have anything against him dating Kara?"
"Why should I?" she replied impartially.
"Doesn't it make you feel in the least bit bad?"
"No."
"Why are you rushing this?!" Vanessa started.
"Because I need to- GO!" Gaby folded her legs and Jade and Vanessa knew very well the circumstances under which she did that.
"But this will only take a minute!" Vanessa mused.
"No! I gotta go now!" The stared at her and she slid down in her armchair- and fingered into the pocket of her robes, but just as she closed her hand around her wand, Vanessa released her and she fell sprawled to the floor.
An instant later they chased her all the way to the girls' bathroom and waited outside the only exit. Gaby, determined to be difficult, prologues the use of a cubicle [which worked to an annoying advantage to the other occupants of her home actually] and her toothbrush, but they were more persistent than she ever imagined. She was just about washing her face and hands for the twelfth time when she saw Smith wave to the girls as he passed the exit, in the mirror. She ran to the door but froze just inside the doorway- mouth half open to call him but he looked over his shoulder and luckily saw her.
Vanessa and Jade were in the middle of a heated conversation- backs turned to the exit. She made the expression of slicing her neck with her hand and he winked at her and she hid behind the exit. "Oh, Vanessa I almost forgot, Denny's waiting for you downstairs-"
The girls shrieked and ran down the stairs and Gaby emerged ache flung her arms around Smith thanking him repeatedly.
"What, were they torturing you?" he asked, chuckling.
"Worse," Gaby said, releasing him. "Interrogation."
Smith chuckled more loudly.
"The fun never ends with you three doesn't it?"
Gaby shook her head. "I can't believe you just did that! She's gonna get so steamed- But...how long would it take them to reach downstairs and find you're lying?"
He searched the ceiling, "for Vanessa, I'd say...five minutes."
Gaby rose an eyebrow. He seized her hand, "C'mon I know a place where they'll never think of looking. He took her through an armored passageway and up some narrow stairs without railings; she did not realize that her grip on him was tighter than usual until they were on level ground again in an enclosed balcony.
"Filch'll find us though."
"Oh, he doesn't come up here, he avoids everything with this air." Smith assured her.
They reached a matted tapestry, and in the half-gloom Gaby could make out an elaborate gold crown a lady of royalty. Smith touched the jewel of her crown and the matted tapestry that made her portrait vanished away into an old door. They emerged into an Atlantean decorative balcony, perched magnificently on the Ravenclaw Tower, overlooking a sweeping view of the grounds and lake under a breathtaking atmosphere of the star speckled sky. It seemed just as if they opened up to the Heavens.
Gaby stepped forward, the chill night breeze blowing her hair back off her shoulders.
"How did you know about this?" she asked him as he leaned on the ledge.
"Let's just say I stumbled upon it in the era of my misery," he smiled and Gaby laughed. "Like it?"
"It brilliant! Hagrid's hut looks like a cake from here!...Only thing it reminds me of Astronomy," she said, wincing and turning away from the stars.
"Funny," Smith commented," every girls in the world probably likes stars and they give you a headache.
"Well, I'm from the underground and dotted lights make me sick." He laughed and she sat on the opposite ledge.
"Well, it's my secret hiding place."
"Not a secret anymore," she said to him, watching the still black silhouettes of the trees in the Forest.
"You're the first person to know about me since I had to help you escape from you fiendish friends."
"Cool," Gaby smiled.
"So think of it as out place- that is if you're afraid of heights like I am,"
"Oh great, we can overcome our fears together- just don't push me over the ledge without a broomstick- I don't think I can morph into Tower that fast."
"I won't, but I'd sure like to see you try."
"What were you doing in the Charms corridor all by your lonesome?"
"Lurking."
"Thanks for this," she told him.
"Don't mention- really. I don't know how stable this thing is."
They started talking about the other's embarrassing moments, trading likewise. Like the time when Vanessa decided to perform the first magical haircut on herself and instead of straight bangs, received half a bald head- and when she and jade had to pull her back from walking into the boys bathroom by mistake (I was really drowsy! she said when Smith started laughing his head off). He told her about Eddie's past experiences with flying (He's so persistent but he's very good at leaving indentations in Hogwarts external walls).
It felt great to be engrossed in something other that bookwork- and this was laughter. but there came a time when Smith cast his stare downwards, looking thoughtful and Gaby remembered how he left on the Quidditch pitch, and really felt like she was invading privacy now but thought for the better. She went over and sat next to him.
"Sorry I left you guys out there like that earlier."
"You came back though, didn't you?" Gaby told him. She waited, admiring the bluish greenish tile of the balcony in the fading light of the torches inside.
"My parents...it just happened so fast I swore I'd never be happy again..."
"Not because they die denies your right to live," Gaby said softly. He didn't speak for a while,
"I come up here to forget things," he sighed.
"No one close to me has ever died before," Gaby said cautiously," but it almost happened," she said, looking right at him, "I'll never forget that feeling of losing someone right before my eyes, and if I saw my parents die I'd never forget that too..."
He looked down, and swung his feet a little to deflect questions, but Gaby knew what was going on.
"Lucky thing I emptied my bladder first."
He sniggered, "How can I not be happy when you're here?"
"You're happy all the time."
He sighed and when Gaby told him that his parents were very good for him to turn out the way he did, he smiled at her sadly, and some of the colour returned to his eyes. "No wonder I like talking to you, you're complementary."
"Look, Leo's high tonight."
"What?"
"Leo, the lion- your constellation."
He smiled when he spotted it in the velvet black canopy. "And there's Gemini on the other side of it," he said, pointing it out to her.
Gaby squinted up at the two of them, like a trademark in the sky. "Kinda looks like they're one doesn't it?" He agreed.
"Nice try Precious," Vanessa had forced down Gaby's attempt to escape again. "But you're not gonna get rid or us that easy..."
"Oh...cause I haven't brushed my teeth after tuna and spinach yet-"
Vanessa and Jade jumped back, looking repulsive. Gabrielle sprung for it- Jade yelped and Vanessa slipped on her robes. But Gaby had only touched the knob of the staircase to the girls' dormitory when she was flung back into the armchair. They intended for her to stay there-
"Mobil Leviticus!" Vanessa garbled and rope like chords entwined around Gaby's wrists- strapping them to the arm of the chair. They banned her skin when she pulled at them.
Vanessa blew the tip of her wand and Gaby leered at her. "Well done..."
"Thank you, you know I'm wonderful," she smirked.
"Pat yourself on the back."
"Pity how someone can escape death with an arrow right through her shoulder and not escape her best friends," Jade said, sitting down opposite.
"Don't flatter yourselves." Gaby sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. She waited.
"Ok, I repeat... Do- you- like- Camry- Smith?"
"No I do not- Next," she answered monotonously.
"We know you're not telling the truth," Vanessa piped.
"You're the one with the truth potion- if it is Veritaserum."
"Hey, only one way to find out and you'll be telling us all the names of your stuffed animals," Jade threatened.
"Next- question please."
"Do you know that Smith likes you?"
"What!" Gaby's head rose from the top of the armchair where she was resting it- to look at them.
"He does- didn't you know?" Vanessa continued.
"You can't be sure," Gaby said, doubting it seriously.
"Told us."
"You're lying."
Vanessa tut-tutted. "Little Shortstuffs, would I lie to you?"
"Yeah."
"Ok! Let's not get personal," Jade interjected.
"Well then, why are you tying to invade?" Gaby's tone rose.
"So it does bother you?"
"Shut up V," she turned to Gaby, "we're doing this because we're trying to help!"
It was because Jade had said it that made Gaby think twice; maybe she was being too evasive. And Gaby looked from her magical cuffs to their faces alternatively.
"Oh- well it was the only alternative next to the Veritaserum!"
Gaby tried a different route. She relaxed. "Ok, help away."
"Well he told us actually, he let slip, that's how we know he was telling the truth," Jade said.
Gaby resisted the urge to ask them why they didn't try threatening them with their veritaserum, to stay right on track.
"He said he doesn't really like that Kara girl."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, and he'd give it all up because of you."
"Really? Frankly I don't think he'll break her heart because of me," she said quickly.
"Oh, you'd be surprised Miss Flame," Vanessa said dramatically," I've seen you do some pretty amazing things with boys."
Gaby laughed. "Camry's my friend."
"But you care about him a little more that that, do you?" Jade said.
"No."
"You don't like him at all?"
"No."
"You don't have anything against him dating Kara?"
"Why should I?" she replied impartially.
"Doesn't it make you feel in the least bit bad?"
"No."
"Why are you rushing this?!" Vanessa started.
"Because I need to- GO!" Gaby folded her legs and Jade and Vanessa knew very well the circumstances under which she did that.
"But this will only take a minute!" Vanessa mused.
"No! I gotta go now!" The stared at her and she slid down in her armchair- and fingered into the pocket of her robes, but just as she closed her hand around her wand, Vanessa released her and she fell sprawled to the floor.
An instant later they chased her all the way to the girls' bathroom and waited outside the only exit. Gaby, determined to be difficult, prologues the use of a cubicle [which worked to an annoying advantage to the other occupants of her home actually] and her toothbrush, but they were more persistent than she ever imagined. She was just about washing her face and hands for the twelfth time when she saw Smith wave to the girls as he passed the exit, in the mirror. She ran to the door but froze just inside the doorway- mouth half open to call him but he looked over his shoulder and luckily saw her.
Vanessa and Jade were in the middle of a heated conversation- backs turned to the exit. She made the expression of slicing her neck with her hand and he winked at her and she hid behind the exit. "Oh, Vanessa I almost forgot, Denny's waiting for you downstairs-"
The girls shrieked and ran down the stairs and Gaby emerged ache flung her arms around Smith thanking him repeatedly.
"What, were they torturing you?" he asked, chuckling.
"Worse," Gaby said, releasing him. "Interrogation."
Smith chuckled more loudly.
"The fun never ends with you three doesn't it?"
Gaby shook her head. "I can't believe you just did that! She's gonna get so steamed- But...how long would it take them to reach downstairs and find you're lying?"
He searched the ceiling, "for Vanessa, I'd say...five minutes."
Gaby rose an eyebrow. He seized her hand, "C'mon I know a place where they'll never think of looking. He took her through an armored passageway and up some narrow stairs without railings; she did not realize that her grip on him was tighter than usual until they were on level ground again in an enclosed balcony.
"Filch'll find us though."
"Oh, he doesn't come up here, he avoids everything with this air." Smith assured her.
They reached a matted tapestry, and in the half-gloom Gaby could make out an elaborate gold crown a lady of royalty. Smith touched the jewel of her crown and the matted tapestry that made her portrait vanished away into an old door. They emerged into an Atlantean decorative balcony, perched magnificently on the Ravenclaw Tower, overlooking a sweeping view of the grounds and lake under a breathtaking atmosphere of the star speckled sky. It seemed just as if they opened up to the Heavens.
Gaby stepped forward, the chill night breeze blowing her hair back off her shoulders.
"How did you know about this?" she asked him as he leaned on the ledge.
"Let's just say I stumbled upon it in the era of my misery," he smiled and Gaby laughed. "Like it?"
"It brilliant! Hagrid's hut looks like a cake from here!...Only thing it reminds me of Astronomy," she said, wincing and turning away from the stars.
"Funny," Smith commented," every girls in the world probably likes stars and they give you a headache.
"Well, I'm from the underground and dotted lights make me sick." He laughed and she sat on the opposite ledge.
"Well, it's my secret hiding place."
"Not a secret anymore," she said to him, watching the still black silhouettes of the trees in the Forest.
"You're the first person to know about me since I had to help you escape from you fiendish friends."
"Cool," Gaby smiled.
"So think of it as out place- that is if you're afraid of heights like I am,"
"Oh great, we can overcome our fears together- just don't push me over the ledge without a broomstick- I don't think I can morph into Tower that fast."
"I won't, but I'd sure like to see you try."
"What were you doing in the Charms corridor all by your lonesome?"
"Lurking."
"Thanks for this," she told him.
"Don't mention- really. I don't know how stable this thing is."
They started talking about the other's embarrassing moments, trading likewise. Like the time when Vanessa decided to perform the first magical haircut on herself and instead of straight bangs, received half a bald head- and when she and jade had to pull her back from walking into the boys bathroom by mistake (I was really drowsy! she said when Smith started laughing his head off). He told her about Eddie's past experiences with flying (He's so persistent but he's very good at leaving indentations in Hogwarts external walls).
It felt great to be engrossed in something other that bookwork- and this was laughter. but there came a time when Smith cast his stare downwards, looking thoughtful and Gaby remembered how he left on the Quidditch pitch, and really felt like she was invading privacy now but thought for the better. She went over and sat next to him.
"Sorry I left you guys out there like that earlier."
"You came back though, didn't you?" Gaby told him. She waited, admiring the bluish greenish tile of the balcony in the fading light of the torches inside.
"My parents...it just happened so fast I swore I'd never be happy again..."
"Not because they die denies your right to live," Gaby said softly. He didn't speak for a while,
"I come up here to forget things," he sighed.
"No one close to me has ever died before," Gaby said cautiously," but it almost happened," she said, looking right at him, "I'll never forget that feeling of losing someone right before my eyes, and if I saw my parents die I'd never forget that too..."
He looked down, and swung his feet a little to deflect questions, but Gaby knew what was going on.
"Lucky thing I emptied my bladder first."
He sniggered, "How can I not be happy when you're here?"
"You're happy all the time."
He sighed and when Gaby told him that his parents were very good for him to turn out the way he did, he smiled at her sadly, and some of the colour returned to his eyes. "No wonder I like talking to you, you're complementary."
"Look, Leo's high tonight."
"What?"
"Leo, the lion- your constellation."
He smiled when he spotted it in the velvet black canopy. "And there's Gemini on the other side of it," he said, pointing it out to her.
Gaby squinted up at the two of them, like a trademark in the sky. "Kinda looks like they're one doesn't it?" He agreed.