Chapter 12: Firelight and Scars

Harry looked down at the wreckage that used to be a knight. Peeves and Filch were at it again. Apparently, Peeves had been throwing sharp objects at Mrs. Norris, and almost killed her several times, much to Harry's dismay that it was only almost. So, in retaliation, Filch had been chasing him down, but Peeves threw him into a suit of armor. Vyk had been standing next to Harry calmly the entire time, but she turned and started to walk back to the hospital wing.

"If you two are awake, there's no point in you staying." The older hospital woman said. "Go back to your common rooms, and try to get to sleep there if you can." So, Harry and Vyk did the only thing they could do; they walked back to their common room quietly without any words said between them. The atmosphere of the hospital wing and their closeness had disappeared as soon as Harry had seen the look on her face when she heard the crash and clang of the armor. Harry led the way to the common room, since she had never been there before. He climbed the many staircases and finally stopped short in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Dragon's Blood." he said quickly, remembering the password. The Fat Lady yawned and swung open. It was pretty late, so not many people were in the common room still, but Ron and Hermione were. Ron was building a tower out of Exploding Snap cards, and Hermione was reading. When Vyk followed behind Harry, the door closed with a snap, and made Hermione glance up quickly to see who it was. She glanced back down, and back up again with wide eyes.

"You're back! Ron, their back!" She jumped out of her chair and threw both arms around Harry's and Vyk's neck. Vyk made a choking sound, and pulled on her arm to let some air flow into her lungs. Harry looked a her sympathetically, and shook his head. She smiled and rolled her eyes. Ron left his game and placed his hand firmly on Hermione's back.

"Come on Hermione, we don't want them going back to the hospital wing again, now do we? How ya doin' Harry? You okay?" He didn't say anything to Vyk, let alone look at her. Vyk stared at the ground, and pulled on her sleeves. Harry smiled lamely at Ron, but didn't answer his questions. He sat down in a big armchair next to the fire, and both Ron and Hermione followed, but Vyk stayed by the door alone.

"Vyk! Come on!" yelled a giddy and excited Hermione. Vyk looked uncertain and muttered something like she was tired, so Hermione hopped up and took Vyk away to the girl's dormitories. Harry used this as an opportunity to talk to Ron, alone.

"Hey, why are you treating Vyk so badly? She didn't do anything to you." Harry was staring at him intensely, and Ron's ears were bright red.

"She didn't do anything. I don't trust her, I don't know why I don't, but I...ugg. It's just..Hermione, and she likes her so much. She's the first real female she's had here." Ron replied. Harry looked stunned. "Hermione?" he questioned. "What does Hermione have to do with this?" Ron looked up at Harry, and Harry understood. Ron liked Hermione. But why couldn't he be friendly to Vyk too? But, as soon as Harry was about to ask Ron about it, Hermione showed up and plopped down in the seat next to Ron. Harry saw Ron shiver, but Hermione hadn't seemed to notice.

"So...whatcha been talking about? Vyk was tired so she went to sleep. I think I'll go soon, right after I finish this chapter." Hermione looked exuberant still. Ron jumped up when his game suddenly exploded on him, and made a huge black smear on his cheek. Harry laughed at him, and Hermione was clutching her stomach in laughter too. Ron's ears reddened and he laughed along with them. "I think I'll go to bed too, mate. See ya in the morning, Hermione." Ron brushed his hand at his cheek in an attempt to wipe the soot of his face, but it didn't really work. Hermione closed her book, and said, "Finished. That was easy, okay, I'm turning in too. Going to sleep yet, Harry?" Bur Harry shook his head, and Hermione left. Harry looked around the now empty common room, it seemed much bigger without everyone in there. He moved in his chair so he was facing the roaring fire. He was tired a little too, but he didn't want to move. He laid his head back and watched the fire flicker and sputter and he drifted off to sleep.

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As soon as Hermione had closed the door to the dormitory and she was alone with the other girls her age, she felt saddened and depressed. She was miserable here. She'd fainted twice in two days, ben attacked by Malfoy, shamelessly flirted with Harry Potter, which she never did, and Ron didn't seem to like her all that much. Hermione loved her, and Harry seemed to be on friend terms quality basis only. Vyk sighed; she wasn't tired at all. She heard the door open and through the gaps in her bed she saw Hermione enter. Vyk lay in bed for a while pretending to be asleep. She heard Hermione's soft breathing, and knew she was no longer awake. Vyk was restless, so in her pajama's she crept down to the common room only to discover Harry curled up in the same armchair fast asleep. Vyk sat down on the ground next to the fire; it was hot, but not too hot. Vyk loved fire, it was her element after all. Vyk could sit for days just watching fire flicker and sway and burn. The gray smoky residue, the red hot sparks, the glowing embers, the sooty ashes, the reds, the oranges, the yellows, the blues, the purples; everything about fire made her warm and fuzzy inside. Vyk reached out to the fire, mesmerized, when a hand caught hers and pulled her back. She snapped out of her trance to find Harry looking at her and clutching her wrist, holding it back.

"Watch it. Fire hurts. Hot." he said. He still seemed tired, but released her hand. Vyk blinked her eyes at him and smiled.

"But once your body experiences a certain amount of physical pain, it turns off and numbs itself. Physical pain goes away with time. And it isn't that hot." She smiled playfully, but kept her hand away from the fire. She liked to play with lighters and run her fingers through the flame, but she knew that the fire in the fireplace was at least ten times as hot as the ones in any lighter. Vyk returned to gazing at the fire. After a while Harry spoke.

"Why aren't you in bed?" He tried to mask the question like he didn't care, but he wasn't good at hiding it. Vyk just replied, "Couldn't sleep." Harry bobbed his head in understanding. They sat there for a long time, eyes glazed over from the flickering firelight. Harry finally moved, he glanced at his watch. He stood up and said, "Late. Going to bed. You should too." He walked to the stairs that led to the boys dormitories.

"By the way." he said as he turned around at the foot of the stairs. Vyk looked back at him. "Nice pajamas." He smiled and walked up the stairs and out of sight. Vyk looked back down at herself, she was wearing a black tank top and a pair of loose comfy black sweat pants. She smiled, and blushed, embarrassed that he'd seen her like that. No one saw her like that, not even her ex-boyfriend. He'd wanted to, sure enough, but Vyk didn't like people looking at her skin. She was hiding herself for that exact reason. She normally always wore long sleeved shirts, except in the summer, and pants. Never shorts, or tank tops, or anything that revealed her skin. She hadn't worn a bathing suit since she was very little, and way before she ever received her scars. Hopefully Harry hadn't seen her scars, and if he did, he didn't say anything about it, which Vyk was thankful for. Vyk stood up, and heard her legs pop. She returned to her room and found her bed with ease, although she'd only been once. She knew her way where ever she was. She sat in bad, and finally drifted off to sleep.

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Author's Note: Yay! I wrote. I read a really good fanfic, and it inspired me. So...I'm trying to write longer and better, did I achieve this? Hopefully, your opinions are welcomed. Thanks.

-Ash-