Lee picked out an oddly colored jelly bean from the box next to him, which was affectionately labeled 'Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans'. Without glancing at it, he popped the so-called candy in his mouth. He quickly realized his mistake as he tasted the foul flavor of sardines on his tongue. Gagging, he spit the slobbery white bean back into his hand.
"Yuck, why did I even buy these?" He muttered to himself, tossing the candy back into the box and throwing that in the trash can. His eyes traveled around the common room subconsciously, even though he knew it was empty. The person he waited for couldn't arrive quickly enough in his mind, although he had no idea what he was going to say to them when they did show up.
'What was he thinking?' It was the only thought on his mind since he had spoken with Usagi. The question would pop into his head at any given moment, canceling out anything he was doing at the time, like a hyper little kid craving attention. The reason, of course, was because his brain couldn't come up with a logical answer. So now, he figured the only way to resolve it was to ask the source of the question himself, and that was exactly what Lee planned on doing.
Said source entered the common room at that moment, alone for a change, which served as a convenience for Lee. His bright green eyes roamed over the room until they spotted Lee slid down as far down as he could go in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, which was currently just a pile of ashes and burnt wood. Lee was watching him almost predatorily as he dropped his bag on the couch and raised an eyebrow for the scrutiny.
"Is something wrong?" Harry finally asked, although the question was a given. He knew something was troubling the boy in front of him and he also had an idea of what it was. It was Lee's turn to raise an eyebrow, and he did so, while wondering where he was going to start. He didn't have to wonder long, Harry started for him. "Look, if this is about Usagi--"
"Good guess." Lee interrupted. "And we're going to talk about it whether you want to or not." Harry's mouth closed as Lee correctly guessed the next half of his sentence.
"Look, it's none of your business." Harry said sharply, reaching for his bag again.
"I'm making it my business Harry, because Usagi is my friend and she didn't deserve what you did to her." Lee retorted rather calmly. Harry's hand froze midway to the couch and his mouth twitched in anger, making Lee realize that he'd touched a nerve. This was about to explode into a full blown argument, and he was ready for it. If he hadn't found Usagi when he did, if he hadn't been there...well, he didn't want to even consider what Usagi might have done to herself. He wasn't about to let Harry get away with something like that. Harry spun around to face him, emerald eyes burning with anger.
"What I did to her?" He all but screamed, but Lee stayed silent, letting Harry continue in his tirade. "So I'm the bad guy? We should all overlook the fact that Usagi blatantly lied because she's having a pity-party? You think it's wrong for me to be upset after finding out that she's been lying to me the whole time I've known her?" Harry stopped; the anger in Lee's eyes told him he'd said quite enough for now. Regardless, Lee rose out of the chair to face Harry at eye level.
"Give me a break, Harry! Were you even listening when she told you the story of how her friends died? Do you even care? Stop thinking about yourself for a moment and consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, she had more going on in her life than her friendship with you. And don't even try to pretend that you're honest with everyone all the time. Do you tell Ron or Hermione all the things that you remember about your parents, or how you felt when you came face to face with You-Know-Who?" Lee stopped, realizing that he was yelling and took a moment to breathe. Harry didn't say anything as he considered what Lee had said. There were some things that he didn't tell Ron and Hermione...that he probably never would, but...
"Bloody hell, Harry. You knew, you knew that she'd tried to commit suicide more than once before. Hell, we both saw her pull a knife on herself when she was in that weird trance thing. What would you have done if she'd gone through with it last night, Harry? She does care for you as a friend, not just as someone she's supposed to be protecting, you know. She feels terrible that she lied to you and that she hurt your feelings. She's a good person, and she shouldn't have to hear any different, especially from someone who is supposed to be her friend. Why don't you think about that for a while?" Lee ended his 'talk' and waited for Harry's response. The black-haired boy didn't move to speak, so Lee walked past him and out of the common room, intent on being anywhere but with Harry.
"Helios, pay attention," Usagi said, bringing said Pegasus out of his daydream. Helios blinked, his reddish eyes filling with guilt as he surveyed Usagi's anxious expression.
"I'm sorry, Usagi, what did you say?" He asked.
"I said: I think I ruined the mission. Harry hates me." Usagi repeated quietly.
"Well what happened?" Helios inquired, looking quite confused.
"He found out about everything, Helios. What really happened to the senshi, why I came to Hogwarts, everything. He was...upset, that I lied to him. I don't know what to do." Usagi swallowed, her voice thick with emotion. She looked around the library and briefly wondered why she'd chosen this spot to talk to Helios. There were groups of students scattered sporadically across the room, tables chaotically stacked with books and parchment. Apparently some of the Hogwarts attendees wanted to pass their exams, something that Usagi hadn't found the time for.
'I wonder if Hermione would help me study...' Usagi wondered suddenly, remembering that her brunette room mate was quite the brain. She shifted her eyes back towards Helios, but the boy had drifted off again and wasn't going to respond any time soon.
"Do you know where Luna is?" She sighed. Helios jumped and looked at her with a guilty expression identical to the one he'd shown a few minutes ago.
"Um...she said something about Veela, I don't know what she was talking about. She should be back in a few days." He responded slowly.
"Alright, I don't want to hold up your date with Fleur any longer, you can go now." Usagi said with a sly smile, effectively making Helios blush.
"It's not a date!" He replied indignantly.
"Whatever, just go so you aren't late!" Usagi prompted, grinning broadly at her friend's scarlet cheeks. She dragged him out of his seat and begin to push him towards the door.
"Alright! I'm going!" Helios cried, turning redder as the people in the library begin to stare, most glad to have a distraction from their rigorous studying. Usagi still held her lighthearted grin, and Helios was glad to see it after the somber look she'd walked in with. He turned and rushed off down the hallway to prevent being bowled over by the enthusiastic blonde. As she watched her silver-haired friend leave, her smile faded.
She couldn't erase her argument with Harry that had taken place the day before. Being someone's friend had never been so complicated, especially for her, and she had no one idea how to fix it. Whenever she seen him, he would look the other way. Whenever she tried ot approach him, he quickly avoided her and rushed off in the other direction. His adolescent mood swings were worse than her own, and that was saying quite a lot.
Shaking her head to erase her thoughts, she looked around and realized that she'd subconsciously been walking towards the Gryffindor common room. Shrugging, she figured she finish the trip since she really hadn't nothing else to do for the moment, and maybe the twins would be there to cheer her up. Sadly, the Weasleys were no where to be found, so she shuffled up towards her dormitory to see if maybe Luna had returned from whatever strange Veela research she was doing. Usagi really didn't see any point to worrying about the relationship between the Lunarians and the Veela, because it didn't seem very relavent.
"Oh my god, what is all this?" Usagi exclaimed as soon as she crossed the threshhold to the girls' dormitory. Unopened letters and shreds of what used to be unopened letters littered most of the floor in a completely pandemonious fashion. The source of this letter zoo stood next to one of the four-poster beds with very flushed cheeks, still mangling every envelope she could get her hands on until she couldn't rip it anymore. "Hermione? What's wrong?"
"Oh!" Hermione looked up at her, startled. Her hands slackened, and the half-ripped ripped letter in her hands drifted to the floor like poorly molded snowflakes. Usagi stared at the piles of paper to the brunette girl in mild shock.
"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up." Hermione said, quickly fishing in her robes for her wand. Usagi shook her head.
"I'm not worried about that, I just wondered why you were going crazy on these letters." The blonde replied, gesturing towards the mess to emphasize her point. Hermione flushed deeper and looked down at the letter half-heartedly.
"It's all that terrible Rita Skeeter lady's fault. She wrote an article about me and Harry and Viktor Krum supposedly being in some love triange. It's all hate mail from Harry Potter fans saying that I should stay away from him." She sighed with frustration and fell dully onto her four-poster bed, the paper littered across it crinkling under her weight. Usagi bent down, dug for a letter that hand't been mutilated, and opened it only to read: 'Stay away from Harry Potter, you filthy mudblood, or else. He's way out of your league.'
The blonde almost outwardly winced at the harshness compacted into those two short sentences. She looked up at the bushy-haired girl sympathetically. Tears were collected in her eyes, and she was furiously trying to blink them away.
"It's not as if I really like Harry that way, it's just kind of degrading I guess." She said slowly. Usagi looked down at the letter in her hands as she tried to think of something to say. No words came, but she did get an idea.
"I suppose we should finish what you started then." She declared, gripping the letter in her hands and tearing it in half. Smacking the two halves together, she ripped them again, and again, until all she had were a dozen awkward looking circles. Grinning, she tossed them into the air above her and watched the gravity carry them to the floor. Hermione was staring at her strangely the whole time. Blue eyes shimmering, Usagi said, "They made splendid confetti."
Hermione chuckled, and then began to giggle, and Usagi joined in. They both dropped to their knees on the common room floor, ripping and tearing every piece of parchment they could find, and then throwing into the air. All while laughing hysterically, though they didn't know what they were laughing at anymore. It all seemed quite silly. That's how Lavender Brown found them, throwing shards of paper and laughing like a couple of hyenas. She didn't even consider retreiving the book she'd come for and quickly exited, wondering what had come over the two girls.
Usagi lowered her head towards her plate and sighed lowly. It was Easter, and almost everyone around her had packages full of goodies they were digging through. Some people were even swapping sweets, but it wasn't the lack of an Easter gift that was getting to the blonde girl, because she really didn't mind. All she could thik about was her previous Easter, when she had attempted to bake a batch of bunny shaped cakes for Mamoru, with the help of Makoto.
Surprisingly, she had managed to make a decent dessert, by some divine miracle no doubt. Although Makoto's still put her own to shame, they were only mildly burnt and tasted very close to what a cake is supposed to taste like. She was extremely proud of her success, and was extra happy because Rei had added too much sugar to hers and they actually tasted worse than her own. Afterwards, she delivered the goodies to Mamoru and they ate them together with mugs of hot chocolate. He'd complimented them and said she was growing into a mature young woman, and though it was an odd thing to say, it had made her very happy.
Now it was just a fond memory, but it brought her more joy than sadness. She jumped back into the present time, however, when she felt herself being tugged under the table. Oh boy.
"Is this the only way we communicate privately now or what?" Usagi asked, trying to act annoyed, but the grin on her lips suggested otherwise. Lee grinned back at her and shrugged. Something in the back of her mind was trying to make her feel awkward, since the last moment she'd spent with Lee had been that kiss, but Lee's completely carefree attitude didn't leave her any room to feel uncomfortable about it.
"Pretty much. You like chocolate, right?" He asked. Usagi's eyes lit up.
"About as much as Fred and George like playing pranks on people." She responded, and they both laughed. Lee produced a huge slab of chocolate from seemingly nowhere and dropped it right into usagi's lap. She stared at it in shock.
"Happy Easter, then." He said.
"I can't accept this, I didn't get you anythign in return." Usagi protested trying to hand the gift back to him. Lee pushed it back at her stubbornly.
"It's a gift, and I didn't ask for anything in return, did I?" He said flatly.
"Well no, but..." Usagi trailed.
"It's no big deal, just take it. A 'thank you' would be nice too." Lee added with a grin. Usagi grinned broadly and enveloped him in a hug that bowled him over, sending him crashing into someone's legs.
"Thank you." She laughed. Fred leaned over to stare down at them.
"Oi, Lee, Usagi. Stop doing the nasty under the table, people are trying to eat up here. not to mention you almost broke my legs." He complained. They both went a brilliant shade of crimson, and Fred burst out laughing. George, who had heard his brother's not-so-quiet comment, also began laughing, and Usagi and Lee joined in as well, though both were still rather red. The two rejoined their classmates at the table, Usagi holding her chocolate securely in her lap, and feeling indefinitely happier in the prescence of Lee and the twins.
It hit almost like a bolt of lightning, completely out of the blue. Usagi mentally kicked herself and wondered how she could've let something so important slip her mind for such a long period of time and jumped up from her perch on the common room couch, where she had been getting study help from Lee since exams were just around the corner and she was extremely behind. Said boy jumped in a startled fashion and looked up at Usagi with a surprised expression.
"Wow, I didn't think bubotubers were that exciting." He mused. Usagi rolled her eyes.
"Don't be stupid, I just remembered something." She replied with exasperation, only succeeding in making Lee chuckle with amusement. Her eyes grew serious, and she sprinted for the staircase leading to her dormitory. Hesitantly, Lee followed her, not really sure if he should be or even what the whole thing was about. Truthfully, he was a little hesitant to leave Usagi by herself, even though he really didn't expect her to do anything towards harming herself. It was just an uneasiness
When he entered the room behind her, she had already dove for her trunk full of belongings and opened it. After only a few moments of digging she came up with a triumphant 'aha!', holding a small, gift-wrapped package in her hand with a letter attached. She paused, apprehensive towards opening the letter. She didn't know what to expect, because the reply to her letter that she sent to her parents could hold any range of things, from anger to betrayal. Truthfully, she wouldn't blame her parents for hating her after all she'd put them through over the past year.
"Well?" Lee questioned, wondering why they blonde hadn't moved over the span of the past two minutes. Usagi looked over at Lee, startled.
"Oh, right." She said sheepishly, detaching the letter and slitting the muggle-style envelope open messily with her finger. She pulled out the pages of notebook paper, folded neatly into their holster, and unfolded them. She sat down on the bed to read it, and Lee sat on Hermione's bed to simply wait.
Dearest Usagi,
You can't imagine how surprised and relieved I was to receive your letter. I knew you were still alive dear, somehow I knew. I'm so glad that you're alright, and that you're making friends again. As your mother, I only want your happiness, and I'm not angry with you for running away. Slightly hurt, yes, but I understand, and I certainly don't hate you. Your father and I love you so much, and nothing can change that.
It's quite lonely around here without you. Your father doesn't talk much, but I know he misses you terribly, as I do. Don't think for one minute that you're a bad daughter, because you aren't. I know that you've been trying to get through some pretty hard things on top of what happened with your brother, but just try to understand that we don't blame you for anything that happened and we both love you unconditionally. At your request, we won't try to find you, but I'm begging you to come visit us this summer. I won't ask you to stay, I just need to see you again, to know that you're okay.
Love,
Your mother and Father, who will always love you
Though the pages were already stained with dried tear spots, no doubt from her mother, Usagi couldn't stop her tears from joining them. Leave it to a mother to be so completely caring and forgiving, so much so that Usagi felt ashamed for doing so much to hurt her. She folded the letter and held it close to her chest, bowing her head.
"I love you too, mom." She whispered, so low that Lee couldn't hear her, but he was looking on with worry.
"Um...are you okay, Usagi?" He asked, moving over to the spot next to her. She sniffled and nodded, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her robes.
"I'm perfectly fine, Lee." She said with assurance, handling the gift in her hands now. She slowly unwrapped it, careful not to even rip the paper. Once the wrapping was shed, she opened the bow within and her eyes widened. It was a bracelet, a charm bracelet.She lifted it and spread it into her palm, examining each charm carefully.The first was a simple moonstone, and Usagi knew that it was meant to refer to her birthday, because her birthstone was the moonstone. The next was a rabbit, and Usagi recalled her mother telling her that she'd named her Usagi because she absolutely loved rabbits.
Usagi spent at least five minutes just looking at the charms and connecting them to moments in her life. She soon realized, however, that she was being incredibly rude to Lee by ignoring him.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry Lee, you must be--" She stopped, realizing that Lee had dozed off with his chin in his hands. She shook him awake. "Hey! Wake up!"
"Oh, um, I wasn't sleeping." Lee said quickly, blinking himself awake.
"Really? You were just resting your eyes then?" Usagi asked skeptically.
"Of course." Lee grinned.
"Oh come on, let's go finish studying." Usagi said, laughing and dragging him downstairs with her. Lee halted her about half way down, and she turned towards him with a confused demeanor.
"Wait a minute, you aren't going to tell me what all that was about?" He asked. Usagi smiled lightly.
"That was my mom telling me it was okay to come home." She said brightly. "Oh, and that reminds me...though I'm not sure why. It doesn't really have anything to do with that..."
"What?" Lee inquired, intent on stopping the blonde before she got going. Usagi grinned and stood on her tiptoes, providing she was one step lower than Lee, and brought there lips together. His breathe caught in his throat, and she pulled away just as quickly.
"Happy Easter," and she skipped the rest of the way down the stairs.
La la la la. has made a few changes since last posted chapter, so I'm kind of edgy. Plus, I'm stuck using WordPad so there is no spellcheck. I'll fix it up the best I can in QuickEdit, but you can expect a few errors throughout the chapter. Not much to say, except the people who want me to change the pairing specifically because they want it that way are getting on my nerves a little, but I'll live.
I kept putting the whole letter thing off way too long, it's EASTER now, she got it at Christmas. I'm a ditz. Anways, I hope you enjoyed, and I'm almost there. The third task should start...next chapter hopefully. See you then!
I think I've pushed some people away from the story by making it Lee/Usagi. Sorry dears, but I'm grounded on the decision and the couple is not changing, under ANY circumstances, so if you have a serious issue with it then stop reading the story. It's that simple. Am I too bothered by this? lol
-SachiNyoko- "I love you like a fat kid loves cake" (50 cent)