Chapter Eight – Photographs and an Unequivocal Sex Invite

For the remainder of the afternoon during an early dinner I couldn't help but feel utterly devastated. Hermione meant a lot to me, yet I pushed her further away. I pushed her so far away that I sent her to exile in Siberia.

"What's wrong?" Liv asked me. That afternoon we managed to sit beside each other again.

"I saw Hermione today," I replied sullenly.

"And …?"

"It didn't go well."

"Oh … I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I inflicted it onto myself. I was such a prat to her."

"You're not a prat," said Liv.

"I am," I argued. "You should have seen it for yourself. It was horrendous."

"When did this happen?" she asked.

"During group therapy," I responded. "I walked away while Malfoy, Regan and Vasco were having that fight. I don't think anyone noticed."

"Amelie did," Liv replied. "She asked me why you walked away."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Why did she do that for?"

Liv shrugged her shoulders in response. It didn't say much. "Why did you walk away?" she added.

"I don't know," I answered. "I guess I just wanted to get away from their 'banshee wailing'."

Liv nodded her head and chuckled. "It did give me a headache after a while," she informed me. "I suppose the longer we stay here, the more we would learn to become immune to all that."

"I've been here for five weeks," I said to her. "I'm not immune to it yet."

"Harry," said Liv as she twirled her spaghetti around her fork, "can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

It looked as though Liv was hesitant to ask what she wanted to ask but she brought herself around to it eventually.

"What was Ginny like?" she whispered.

I didn't answer straight away, for I didn't know how to answer that question. I could tell her that Ginny was the most beautiful girl in the world but it wouldn't suffice. Ginny was MUCH more than that. She was more than a soul mate to me. But what did I know about love?

Liv waited patiently for my answer. Her fork was stationary in mid-air and she gazed at me intently.

"Uh – er," I stammered, "Uh … well … if I told you how she was like when we were together you would accuse me of being sappy."

"Just tell me," Liv laughed.

"Well … I don't know. She was Ginny, my girlfriend."

"She must have meant more to you than that," said Liv.

Damn, she read my mind. I wondered briefly if she was related to Professor Trelawney but I soon remembered that the old bat was not telepathic. Her area of 'expertise' was prophesising. I knew all about it too well.

The silence that hovered over us was so uncomfortable. I felt it pierce into my skin. Thankfully, Liv broke it by speaking.

"Have you got any photographs?" she asked, out of the blue. "Even though I know how Ginny looked like, it would be nice to see her from your perspective."

I considered this for a moment before agreeing to it. "I guess I can do that for you. Just answer one question for me."

"What is it?"

"Why is it that you know Ginny?" I asked. "She was in the year above you."

"All the Hufflepuffs in her year kept telling me how much I looked like her," Liv replied. "They made a point of it all the time. It wasn't hard to miss."

It all made sense to me, so I nodded my head and led her to my room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vasco give a mischievous wink and encouraging thumbs up. I had enough sense in me to realise that he thought I was going to sleep with her. Little did her realise that it was the last thing on my mind.

When we finally reached mine and Vasco's room, Liv plonked herself on my bed and looked eager to see the photographs. Meanwhile, I got down on my hands and knees and grabbed the shoebox and the photo album. I blew off the small film of dust, which tantalised Liv's nose and made her sneeze.

"Bless you," I said politely. I reached over and gave her a box of tissues.

Liv took it gratefully and smiled in thanks. She blew her nose and then perused through the leather-bound photo album.

"That's my mum and dad," I said as I propped myself onto the bed. "I think you know that they died when I was only fifteen months old."

"I know the story," said Liv. "Do you actually remember your parents at all, vaguely?"

I shook my head sadly as a heavy, uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest. It was like water filling in my lungs. When I was younger, I wanted to be like Dudley. No, I didn't want an arse the size of the Acropolis but I wanted a family unit – people to call my parents. I didn't want parents like Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia but heck, I wanted parents.

"I don't mean to sound insensitive," Liv began, "but I'm really angry at my parents at the moment."

"Why?"

"They sent me here because of my severe depression," Liv replied. "I don't know what triggered it. It was one of those things that just appeared out of nowhere. It spiralled out of control and they couldn't handle it anymore so they sent me here."

I would've told her that it was for her own good but that would've made me the ultimate hypocrite. Instead I said, "I can see why you're not happy with them at the moment."

Liv nodded in assent and continued to flick through the pages slowly and carefully. "Your mother is beautiful," she commented. She then turned to me and gazed into my eyes. "I can see where you get your eyes." Liv reached out a hand and took off my glasses. "You look so young without them. Have you ever considered getting contact lenses?"

"Uh … no," I replied as I put my owlish spectacles back on. "I haven't any money."

"Oh well, it doesn't matter."

Liv turned to the next page and on it was a picture of Ginny and I during happier times. "Wow …" she said breathlessly. "She really was beautiful."

"I know," I said.

"How did you meet?" she asked me.

I laughed at the memory, "Long story," I replied.

"Tell me," Liv cried.

"Well," I cleared my throat and I began. "We actually knew each other for a long time because she was my best friend's sister. I actually saw her on September the first on Platform 9. Her brothers were going to commence their school year. I never actually 'met' her until my second year when I spent some of the summer in The Burrow – that was the name of their home by the way. It was then that I was under the impression that she had a crush on me. That was the same year I saved her from the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets. She was taken into the Chamber-."

"I heard about that," Liv interjected. "My brother told me all about that but I didn't believe him. It seemed farfetched that a great big snake was getting around the castle attacking Muggleborns and even more so that it was killed by a twelve-year-old kid."

"It's true," I told her. "Anyway, back to the story. Nothing really happened until sixth year, when I stole her away from Dean Thomas. She was going out with him out of common courtesy. She told me later that she thought she liked him but in the end it turned out that she was wrong. That was when I started to fall for her as well and before we knew it, we were a couple."

"You guys share quite a history together," said Liv in awe.

"Yeah," I replied solemnly, "and now she's dead."

The next four hours were spent talking about whatever came into our heads and the photographs became forgotten. We spoke about Hogwarts, Hogwarts and … well, Hogwarts. Our lives as a teenage wizard and witch lacked diversity, as we spent most of our time there. We spent summers at home and even that wasn't that interesting. I learned that like me, Liv's family treated her like a non-entity and it was during the two hours that I realised that I could relate to her more than any other person I had ever met in my entire life. So hence, we did not dwell on the subject of our families because it only brought us down to a lower level.

Suddenly, midnight fel upon us and Liv fell asleep on my bed. Being the gentleman I was, I pulled a blanket over her petite body and stroked her hair. I decided to sleep on Vasco's bed that night as he hadn't returned yet. I figured that he could sleep on the floor. I didn't think he would miss sleeping on his comfortable bed for one night. He always ended up on the floor by the morning, the git slept like a violent egg-beater.

Two hours later, I learned that I was wrong about Vasco sleeping on the floor.

"Oi! Wake up."

Vasco prodded and poked at my ribs in attempt to wake me from my slumber.

"This is my bed! You have your own bed over there."

"Sleep on the floor," I murmured.

"No!" he cried exasperatedly. "What do you think I am, a Neanderthal?"

"You look like one," I retorted sleepily.

"Harry, get up!" he hissed.

"You'll wake her," I murmured again.

"Get out of my bed," Vasco demanded.

"No."

Vasco took the initiative and pulled off my bedclothes. "Get out of my bed," he repeated.

"Fine," I groaned. "I'm taking your pillows!"

"Go back to your own bed," Vasco demanded again. "Leave the pillows here."

"Liv is on it."

"The more the reason to go back to your own bed."

I glared at Vasco in the dark, "Is EVERYTHING you think about relate to sex?"

"I'm not asking you to screw her!" Vasco spat. "If you must, bring her back to her room. Give her some company or something – JUST GET OFF MY BED!"

I groaned and trekked all the way over to the other side of the room. I looked at Liv, sleeping peacefully on my bed. I didn't want to interrupt her untainted sleep so I walked back to Vasco. No, it was too much, sleeping on the same bed as her. It was practically a sex invite and I wasn't ready for that.

"Vasco," I hissed. "I can't sleep with her. I'm going to have to sleep with you. Shove over!"

Suddenly, Vasco rose from his bed and propped himself onto his elbows. "Come to me, you naughty boy," he purred, complete with a seductive growl. Being the presumptuous person he was, he reached out and stroked my thigh. "You know you want to," he added.

"Alright! Alright! I'm going!" I groaned fearfully as I scrambled away. And then I distanced myself far away from Ferdinand Vasconcelos – VERY far away.

Vasco laughed raucously. "The price I pay just to get you to sod off!" he said through gasps for breath.

He quickly went to sleep. His snores reverberated around the tiny room. I knew then that it was going to be a long and excruciating night.

Moments later I found myself towering over Liv. I then heaved a sigh and climbed in between the sheets. Just like I did with Ginny during happier times I draped an arm around Liv's waist and buried my face into her hair. I didn't know why I did it then but it felt good.

Half an hour later I decided that with Vasco's monstrous snoring getting some decent sleep was an impossible feat. Instead, I hurdled myself over Liv's sleeping form, walked out of my room and headed out to Silverwater gardens.

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Next Chapter: Rearranging Malfoy's Face

A/N: I'll remind you again. Liv's NOT a Mary-Sue.