1Chapter 13: Cozy
Irvine gazed off at the lake from his spot underneath an old beech tree. He had a headache from thinking so much about the past few days. He really did care about Selphie... but he was young. He liked the ladies, almost as much as he liked his guns.
Maybe I never should have messed around with Selphie...
The sky was darkening quickly. Irvine thought he saw something move in the center of the lake but wrote it off to his nerves and the lack of sunlight. Soon the sky was sprinkled with thousands of stars and the lights of the castle glowed, their reflection on the flat glass lake. Irvine wasn't really thinking about anything anymore. He was nonchalant to everything; the darkness, the cold, the whole situation he had gotten himself into. The peace of nothingness had settled in, and he was actually pretty tired from the day's events. He knew he had to go back sometime, though, so he gathered himself up and headed back towards the castle.
The noise from the Great Hall was almost unbearable as he passed it on his way up the Grand Staircase. He wasn't hungry, nor did he care to see anyone in there at the moment. His head pounded as he entered the Common Room and he anxiously climbed the steps up to the Dormitory, wanting nothing more than to collapse on his bed.
He turned the door knob. Or rather, tried turning the door knob. He'd never found it to be locked before. In fact, he didn't even think it could be locked, otherwise he would have locked it himself a few times already. He tried it again but it still wouldn't give. He gave up after about two seconds. Whatever... too tired for this. He resorted to one of the Common Room couches, all thoughts of the mysteriously locked door out of his mind.
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"Yay, wands tomorrow!" Selphie exclaimed. Zell and Quistis had joined their group at the Gryffindor table and they were talking about actually taking part in wizarding life. "So, do we get to pick out our own wands, or like, do they pick them out for us?"
Harry, Ron, and Ginny all looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm... well, for us, the man just kind of picked one out that he thought would fit us," Ginny answered. "But who knows what they'll do for you."
Harry looked as though he were struggling against saying something. "Yeah," was all he could seem to find.
Rinoa hardly listened. Her mind was on two people at the moment. Three, actually. First she wondered where Seifer could have gone and why he was practically ignoring her, seemingly since they came to Hogwarts. Then she thought about Squall and... Hermione? Her feelings for Squall were mixed. He still held some sort of place in her heart for their quick relationship, but for some reason she really wasn't interested in him other than as a friend. Or was she? What was it about him and Hermione that made her so interested about their growing close relationship? And where had they gone?
Why do I even care? I'm the one who broke up with him. I have a boyfriend. And Hermione's sweet, so why should I care?
Rinoa laughed as Ron said something so funny she didn't even really understand it, and soon forgot about the triangles she was finding herself in.
They were leaving the Great Hall a few minutes later when suddenly Seifer came sauntering down the stairs. He instantly spotted Rinoa in the crowd and made his way over.
"I'll see you guys later," she told the others. There was an array of looks but she chose to ignore them. Once they were alone, Seifer gave her a pathetic look.
"What's wrong?" she asked him with concern. He sighed.
"Something happened this afternoon I think you should know about," he said, taking her in his arms. "Can we go somewhere alone?"
"Of course. I think I know somewhere."
Rinoa walked with him to the Owlery, a place which she had been particularly interested in for some reason during the tour Hermione gave them. Rinoa had always loved animals, and the soft hoots and ruffles of the owls calmed her down when they entered the open-ceiling tower.
It was cold, and she instinctively cuddled up next to Seifer. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her torso. "What was it you wanted to tell me about?"
He nibbled softly at her ear. "Do you like that girl, Hermione?" he asked.
"She seems really nice. Why? What did she say to you?"
Seifer broke their position and faced her. "I don't want you talking to her anymore."
"What? Why? Please tell me, Seifer."
Seifer pursed his lips and looked down. "She's in love with me, you know."
Rinoa laughed nervously. "No, I don't."
Seifer looked her in the eyes, a sad look on his face. "She approached me today while I was alone in Malfoy's room. She couldn't keep her hands off me. She kept saying how she didn't care what you thought, that she would have me anyway," he said sleekily, caressing Rinoa's cheek. She gazed at him, her heart filling with the terror of another girl in Seifer's life.
"Didn't you stop her? Please tell me you stopped her," Rinoa replied, tears coming to her eyes. How could Hermione be so cruel? She had trusted her, despite that she'd only known the witch for a few days.
"I tried. I told her no, that I had a girlfriend who I loved very much. But she didn't want to hear any of it. She said she had to go somewhere, to a practice or something, but told me I would get what I deserved. Then she performed some kind of spell, and now..." Seifer trailed off dramatically.
"What? What happened?" Tears were now rolling down Rinoa's cheeks. "What did she do to you?"
Seifer looked purposely down at his pants.
Rinoa's eyes widened. Her hands instantly went there, but there was nothing to feel. She screamed.
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"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
Hermione was sitting against Squall's chest in the window seat, and they were gazing out the window, moonlight bathing them.
"A whole flock of owls flew out of the Owlery, just over there," Hermione pointed to an odd shaped tower that was just visible from the Boys' Dormitory.
"Oh," replied Squall, rubbing his face against her neck. She smelled so sweet. Hermione giggled.
"Stop. That tickles," she laughed, writhing away from him. They found themselves in another kiss. Suddenly there was a loud BANG BANG BANG at the door.
"Alohomora!" came Harry's voice from the other side. Suddenly the magic lock that had kept the pair away from everyone else gave a small click and Harry opened the door. He stood, gaping at the cozy Hermione and Squall. Ron peeked over his head and saw too.
"The bloody hell?" he asked, bursting in and pushing Harry out of the way so hard he fell to his knees. "Hermione?"
"Yes, Ron?"
Ron turned a beet red and said quietly, "Girls aren't supposed to be up here."
She slipped off the window seat and said with a grin, "That never stopped Harry last year when he was with Ginny."
She turned back to Squall and said, "See you tomorrow at breakfast," before leaving for her own dormitory. Squall gave a small wave and out she went. Harry brought himself to his feet and his eyes followed her out. He faced Squall. "You and Hermione?"
Squall gave a reluctant nod. Normally he would have just ignored it, but he felt a happiness he hadn't felt since Rinoa. Besides, this Hogwarts place really wasn't so bad.
"I don't believe it!" Ron exclaimed, looking down at his hands. "Since when did Hermione stop telling us about this stuff?"
"She's never really talked about other guys to us," Harry answered simply. Looking back at Squall, he said, "Congratulations, mate. She's a good girl. Just don't hurt her."
"Or else!" said Ron, looking up and actually laughed. Harry joined.
"Yeah, or else."
Squall, for the first time since he got there, laughed along with them. Soon he launched into a whole series of questions for them having to do with the research project, finding a new passion for it that he obviously didn't have before. The inquisitions went late into the night, even after Seamus, Dean, and Neville arrived, and even once they all settled into bed around two, Squall's mind was still swimming with all the events of that day.
