"You've missed the last two DA meetings," Ginny said as Evanna lounged in her usual hammock in the Castle Centre, a trashy romance novel in her lap. Luna had been quietly reading a copy of the Quibbler in the corner while Bridget doodled in a sketchbook. It had been a rather peaceful Friday evening. But, that changed when the Gryffindor arrived.
Bridget glanced between them nervously, but it was Luna who spoke up and said, "I hardly think Evanna needs more defense training."
"Well, yes, but Hermione has been complaining endlessly about it," Ginny said, flopping onto Evanna's hammock beside her. Evanna frowned, but refrained from dumping her friend out of it. She would likely fall out too. "Ever since you duelled with Harry, she's been plotting having you give some sort of demonstration."
"Last I checked, Granger hated me. So did your brother," Evanna said, swinging her legs around to try and get more comfortable with Ginny crowding her.
"Well, I think she's changed her mind. Rather, I think I've yelled at her enough times, and so did Harry before Yule," Ginny said.
Evanna gaped, then closed her mouth quickly, trying to cover her shock at that. Harry had been ready to kiss her, had been wanting to start the world's most ill-fated relationship until just a few weeks ago. It should not surprise Evanna that Harry would defend who had thought she was, even if it opened another gaping wound in her heart.
"But that's not the point," Ginny continued. "Why haven't you been coming to the DA anymore? It's not as fun without you."
"Oi!" Bridget said from across the room. "Luna and I are literally right here."
"Oh, you know it's true, B," Ginny said. "Besides, I feel like we don't get together all four of us like we used to, and we could do that during the DA meetings."
"Well tomorrow's Hogsmeade weekend. You don't have to go on some fake date with your 'betrothed' for Valentine's, do you Ev?" Bridget said.
"No, he has a detention with Professor Snape. He overslept Transfiguration class and Slytherin is going to win the Cup this year," Evanna said with a sly look toGinny. "So shall we all go to Broomsticks together? Would that appease you?"
Ginny did not rise to the usual bait. Instead, she had flushed red, biting her lip so hard it was white. Evanna exchanged a glance with Bridget. The Hufflepuff shrugged.
"I can't. I have plans," Ginny said. Evanna rose her eyebrows.
"Then I guess it'll just be me, Ev, and Luna," Bridget said.
"Actually, I have plans as well," Luna said lightly. That almost shocked Evanna more. Though there had been notably fewer and fewer incidents of Luna's housemates stealing her shoes and the like, she was hardly a Hogwarts socialite.
"You both have plans?" Bridget said. "On Valentine's Day?"
"That such a surprise, Travers?" Ginny mock growled.
"That this is the first we're heading about it? Yes," Bridget said. "What are your plans?"
Ginny and Luna spoke at the same time.
"Secret Quibbler business."
"None of your bloody business!"
Both of them said 'business' at the same time. Evanna was fairly certain she did not want to know what secret Quibbler business Luna would be on, but she very much wished to know what Ginny's business was. She did not even have to glance at Bridget to know that the other girl agreed.
"Come on, Ginny," Bridget wheedled. "We're your best friends. Who can you tell if not us?"
"No one," Ginny snapped. "You lot have all had your secrets-I can have mine."
Despite knowing just how true and dangerous Ginny's statement was, Evanna briefly considered pushing her friend on the subject, but meeting Ginny's brown eyes, Evanna knew she had more to lose.
Bridget, however, had no such compunctions.
"But this is 'secret plans' happening on Valentine's Day," she pushed. "You have to tell us."
"Then Evanna has to come back to the DA."
Luna gave Evanna an understanding look. Having apparently talked to Harry, Luna knew exactly why Evanna was reluctant to return to meetings. She would not be welcome, not anymore.
"I guess it will just be Bridget and I then," Evanna said lightly, trying her hardest not to notice the disappointed slump in Ginny's shoulders.
"If you're going to be stubborn about it," Ginny grumbled.
"I can at least walk down with you two," Luna offered.
So the next morning, Bridget, Evanna, and Luna all walked down to Hogsmeade together while Ginny did Merlin knew what. The Hogwarts student body were all in high spirits for Valentine's Day, which only served to give Evanna a headache as she fought to block out all the excitement, hormones, and nervousness surrounding the day.
"Merlin, you'd think they had never seen the opposite sex before," Bridget muttered derisively as they passed a pair of seventh year Gryffindors snogging with abandon. Evanna could only pray that Professor McGonagall would spot them soon.
"I think it's sweet," Luna said lightly. Bridget snorted. "And you're only irritated because you have a Kenneth Towler."
"What-how-" Bridget spluttered a little as Evanna and Luna both laughed. She wagged her finger at them. "Menaces-the both of you."
"He's rather old for you, don't you think?" Luna said sagely, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Doesn't mean she can't appreciate his backside," Evanna drawled.
Bridget let out a noise somewhere between a choke and a growl as she swiped at Evanna. Evanna ducked, laughing at the Hufflepuff. Luna grinned as well before casting a tempus charm to check the time.
"Ooh, I have to go meet Daddy's reporter," she said before scurrying off. Evanna rose an eyebrow at Bridget, who shrugged.
"Don't ask me. I try not to ask too much about the inner workings of the Quibbler," she said.
Evanna shook her head in bemusement as they made their way to the Three Broomsticks, both ordering steaming hot mugs of butterbeer before finding a table to squeeze into. Bridget took a long swig of the hot drink before leaning back and studying Evanna carefully.
"What?" Evanna finally snapped.
"Have you spoken to him?"
Evanna pursed her lips. She was not quite sure who Bridget referred to, whether it was Harry or her father. Either him was equally dreadful to think about.
"You will have to be more specific," she said, taking a drink of her own butterbeer and snarling her nose a bit. She had not inherited quite the sweet tooth her father had.
"Our resident celebrity," Bridget said dryly. Evanna forced more of the butterbeer down her throat, avoiding the question for just a moment longer. "Ginny wasn't lying-I've seen Hermione Granger talking to Harry about asking you to rejoin, do a workshop or something. It's like she's become convinced that you are what she needs to earn an 'O' on her OWL."
Evanna snorted at that, the warm drink burning at the back of her nostrils. "Granger needs to learn how to read a room."
"It's obvious that he doesn't hate you as much as you think he does-he would have gone to Dumbledore-"
"The good Headmaster has known since Yule," Evanna muttered in a low voice.
"What? But why-"
"I don't know, and we shouldn't talk about it," Evanna said before downing her butterbeer in one go, ignoring the image of Narcissa scolding her for such unladylike behavior. "I need to go to Scrivenshaft's for some new parchment, are you almost done?"
Bridget blinked at the sudden shift, but took a few moments longer to savor her own butterbeer before standing with Evanna. They moved quickly through the cobblestoned streets, the snow picking up as they made their way to the stationary store, right next to the ever favorite Madam Puddifoots. The tea parlor was booming with the combination of Valentine's Day and Hogsmeade weekend as Hogwarts couples circled in and out of the doors.
"Merlin have mercy, Potter really took Chang there?" Bridget muttered behind Evanna.
Evanna watched as sure enough, Harry lead a pretty girl with long straight black hair into the tea parlor. Without even realizing it, Evanna's lip had curled into a snarl.
"Who is she?"
"Cho Chang? The Ravenclaw Seeker?" Bridget said. But Evanna typically avoided Quidditch games-too many people, too many high emotions. "She was dating Cedric Diggory last year."
A quidditch player with a sad story-the victim of a sad story, not the child of the perpetrator. A simple, if emotional, romance. A story that would make the school coo over the melancholy of it, how two people could come together through tragedy. A much better match for Harry than the strange little sister of Draco Malfoy, than the Heir of the Dark Lord himself, the scion of Salazar Slytherin. That would not do for the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Good for them," Evanna ground out.
"You would sound more convincing if you put your wand back in its sheath," Bridget said dryly.
Evanna jerked, looking down at her hand. Her wand was still safely in its arm sheath. She scowled at Bridget, who snickered.
"Made you look," she teased.
"You're a child," Evanna told her. Bridget shook her head.
"Why don't you just talk to Harry?" she said. "You obviously want to. You don't have to self-sabotage your entire life-you're allowed to be happy."
"I need some parchment," Evanna said again, pushing past her friend and walking into the shop. She made her way over to the enchanted parchments-parchments that would prevent anyone from reading what she wrote, that would show a completely different letter to anyone it was not intended for.
Bridget let out a low whistle. "Enchanted parchments. Expensive."
"My family is wealthy, Travers," Evanna drawled as she picked out the parchment she wanted.
"If you are so rich, you could use that for-"
"I swear to Merlin, Travers, if you say anything more about bloody Harry Potter-"
Evanna might have finished her threat, if she had not bumped into a familiar pale-headed boy, who all but towered over her now. He blinked, the quills in his hand disappearing behind his back quickly.
"Draco," she said coolly, eyes flicking over her brother's face. He looked nervous standing in front of her. Despite being in the same House, Evanna had seen very little of her brother since before the break. She knew it was by design on Draco's part and she did not know quite how to fix it. "If I'd have known, I could have picked up what you needed from here," she offered, hoping he would take the olive branch.
He didn't.
"I can buy my own supplies," he snapped. Bridget had been wandering up behind him.
"Is that a Juliet quill?" she said. He whirled toward her, face a unique shade of purple. "I was reading about those in Teen Witch Weekly-who are-"
"Hey are you-Ev! What are you doing in here?"
Ginny had come over to their little corner and looked entirely too shocked to be innocent. Evanna frowned at her friend.
"I thought you had plans today," Evanna said, studying her redhaired friend.
"I did-Angelina had us doing some team-building thing-what with so many of us being added to the team only recently-"
Ginny was babbling, something Evanna had come to recognize as nerves. Her eyes slid back to Draco, who had shifted on his feet.
"I've got Prefect duties to attend to," he said gruffly before turning on a heel and stalking toward the cashier. Before Evanna could say anything, Bridget turned to Ginny.
"Did you know Potter and Chang were a thing?" she demanded without preamble. Ginny shrugged and despite herself, Evanna's heart sank and there was a strange burning in her belly at the thought.
"Fred and George had been doing a reenactment of him asking her out in the Common Room, but I didn't really pay much attention to it," she said. "Personally, I think it's a bit weird after the whole Cedric thing, but Harry seemed pretty excited about it this morning. But, I'll talk to you later-have a lot to do today."
Ginny had made her way to the door before Evanna or Bridget could put up any argument. Evanna was trying to push away the image of Harry with Chang, but could not quite achieve it.
"Is it just me, or was that really weird?" Bridget said as Evanna mechanically checked out with her enchanted parchment.
"What?"
"That whole thing with Gin-don't you think she was acting strange? And your brother-"
"Draco always acts strangely around me these days," Evanna said. "You think Chang and Harry…." Evanna trailed off, trying to think of something that wouldn't have her sounding as desperate as she did in her head. "I mean… it's weird, isn't it? I mean-what are they going to do both…. Playing Seeker against each other I mean?"
Bridget desperately trying to hide her smirk told Evanna she had failed in her mission.
"Harry Potter has a lifetime ban on quidditch, remember?" she said, moments away from laughter. "Got a little green-eyed monster there, Ev?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Evanna grumbled, handing the cashier her galleons. "We should see if Luna is finished yet."
"Okay, sure," Bridget drawled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"You know who I am," Evanna growled.
"Yes-the biggest lovesick dork in all of Hogwarts," Bridget crooned. Evanna slammed the door in the Hufflepuff's face as she walked outside, but that did nothing to stop the other girl's laughter.
A/N: I'll admit, I'm not the happiest with this chapter, but I just started working as well as my online teaching program (though I am expecting public schools will be shut down just about as soon as we let kids in). Any way, expect updates to be more sporadic as I get back into the work and school routine for the first time in five months. Or not. It's 2020, who knows?