Chapter 19
The first thing that I thought about when I got up were those stormy grey eyes and the way they had looked at me last night.
My cheeks flushed instantly and I swear the spot on where he kissed me started to tingle.
Ugh this is so bad.
Taking a deep breath and drawing the curtains, I lazily got ready for the day, having to pull my mind back to reality every few minutes.
Lily and Marlene had gone down to breakfast early, saying I was taking too long. Mary was the only one sweet enough to wait for me.
As we were heading down the stone steps, I noticed Edgar Bones, a sixth year Ravenclaw, good friend of Rodger's, and generally friendly person giving me a rather curious look. Curious probably wasn't the right word for it, he looked rather hostile.
Taken aback, I greeted him, hoping I was reading his face wrong, "morning Eddie!" I smiled.
He seemed to narrow his eyes slightly, "morning" he said tightly, before hurrying past Mary and I.
I looked at my friend to see her mirroring my confused expression.
"What was that about?" She asked, baffled.
"I have no idea.. Eddie's usually so nice."
I pondered what it could be for the rest of the journey.
As we entered through the massive double doors into the Great Hall, everyone was chatting to their friends and eating their breakfast as usual, but as I passed Rodger and his friends, I felt a wave of icy glares, even Winston, Rodger's best friend. I looked at each of them, questioning. Rodger was the only one who didn't look up, he continued to pick at his plate with a solemn expression.
I haven't sat with him for a few days, could he be angry with me because of that? No, he's not that type of person. What's up with him? And all his friends?
Making a mental note to talk to Rodger as soon as possible, we continued up to where Lily, Marlene and the marauders were sitting.
I sat next to James, across from Sirius, he gave me a meaningful look and I found myself momentarily lost in our connected gaze. I broke my stare when I noticed Lily shooting me an odd look.
I hadn't told the girls what happened last night, truthfully, I wanted to but there didn't seem much to tell. All he did was kiss my cheek and give me my broom. But why did I feel a blush coming on every time I saw him?
I felt his gaze on me again and began to scoop scrambled eggs on my plate before my cheeks became too red.
I felt a light tap on my shoulder, turning around, I saw a small third year boy whom I had never spoken with standing there. He had ruffled blond hair that fell into his eyes and he was holding out a piece of ripped parchment with a somewhat sour expression on his face. His robes were a little too big for him so that the sleeves fell past his hands and he was holding the note through the material, and not making contact with his hands.
"That girl asked me to give this to you" he said in a flat voice, pointing with his thumb at none other than Abigail, who was flipping her hair and flirting with some boy, and pretending not to notice I was looking at her.
Confused, I took it, and he scampered away before I could say thank you, or enquire what it is that he had just handed to me and why.
I watched him run back and take a seat next to his friends again, and they began whispering and pointing at me.
I was snatched from my thoughts when my hands started to heat up. I looked down and saw painful blisters forming all over my finger, as if they were being burnt.
James looked down and immediately snatched the parchment away and threw it on the ground.
"What is that Bells? Who gave it to you? I'll jinx them!" He said, angrily.
I felt tears burning my eyes due to the pain, and tried to rapidly blink them away. My hands were red and shaking, my friends were suddenly huddled around me, asking me what happened but I couldn't hear what was being said past their concerned tones.
"Move aside, move aside" I heard Professor McGonagall order. "Show me your hands, Bella"
I mutely brought my hands out in front of her. I heard her gasp in shock.
She summoned some never-melting ice with her wand and placed it in each of my hands, instructing me not to drop them.
"That's a nasty curse. Come with me to the Hospital Wing." She used her wand to levitate the parchment that was lying on the ground and led me out of the hall, allowing only one person to follow, I didn't have to turn around to know it was Lily who jumped up and ran to head out with us.
"You're a lovely student Miss Harper." Madame Pomfrey said, her lips pressed into a thin line, "and I don't know why you're in here so often."
Were those tears forming in her eyes?
She hurriedly wiped her face with a handkerchief and I felt a surge of affection for the medi-witch.
"Miss Bella Harper" I startled and looked up at the voice of the headmaster, as he strode in through the doors, looking wise as the sunlight that was filtering in through the room glinted off the jewelled band that held his beard together, and his shiny, pointy cap.
"What an unfortunate thing that has happened to you. I agree with dear Madame Pomfrey's sentiments that you are quite undeserving." He offered a kind smile, and I strangely found myself feeling much better through this gesture that involved no magic whatsoever.
"May I see the cursed parchment that caused this event, Minerva?" He asked the professor with the same air of calmness.
While they examined it, Lily fetched me a glass of water and Pomfrey finished the curing spell for my blisters.
"Now, this piece of parchment was not cursed at all, it was doused in a particular potion that, when in contact with human skin, produces the effects that we have seen here." Dumbledore indicated to my hands. "That was quite the advanced potion miss Bella" he said to me, more seriously. "Luckily it was not performed very well, if it had been done correctly, you may not have had any hands left for Madame Pomfrey to heal."
The collective gasps of Lily and the elderly matron echoed through the empty ward. McGonagall shook her head gravely.
"Do you have any clue as to who could be behind this?" He stared at us hard. I gulped.
"Abigail Florence." Lily said without hesitation.
Dumbledore and McGonagall looked to me and I looked down at my hands, they must have taken my expression as confirmation because they solemnly wished me a quick recovery and exited the ward briskly.
Madame Pomfrey lingered back, she took my hands and gave them a squeeze, "be careful my dear!" She whispered urgently, before bustling back into her office.
I signed and looked out the window. "I never knew Abigail could brew a potion to save her life, let alone something like this."
"Yeah, funny, I would have thought so too" Lily agreed.
I glanced at the parchment, to my surprise I could see writing on it. Picking it up hastily, it read:
You don't cover up well enough.
I knew you were seeing him.
I don't like to resort to such means
but it's only fair since you are the
reason Sirius and I broke up.
I read it a few times over before Lily snatched it out of my hands.
"What? What does she mean 'you don't cover up well enough'"
"I have no idea"
"And I knew she was jealous of you and Sirius!"
"But why? She was dating him, not me!"
Lily paused, then seemed to change her mind about something, "never mind that, the others must be worried sick, let's leave already."
As we were heading towards the common room, we turned a corner and I almost bowled over a mouse of a boy. I looked down and saw it was the same boy who had handed me the parchment this morning. He seemed even smaller now that I was standing up.
Lily seemed to have made the connection too because, to my shock (and his), she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"You. You little toad, how many galleons did she promise you to give that parchment to my friend?" She seethed in his face.
"Hey, HEY!" A voice yelled. We looked up.
Lily dropped the kid, who turned around and fled to the boy who had just called.
It was Winston, Rodger's best friend.
"What do you think you're doing to my brother?" He glared down at Lily.
What do you think he is doing?" Lily glared right back and pointed at the little boy. "This boy gave Bella a parchment that was-"
"Yeah yeah I know what he did." Lily looked outraged. "He didn't know what it was, he was just told to give that note to Bella without touching it. And besides, from what I hear, she deserved it." He turned to glare at me.
Shocked, my mouth fell open but I couldn't speak.
"What are you going on about" Lily took a step forward, looking positively wild.
"Your best friend here, is being unfaithful to my best friend!" He pointed an accusatory finger right at me.
I shook the surprise off me, "what? That is completely untrue!" I said angrily.
"No it's not!" The scrawny boy piped up from behind his brother's back. "I saw you! I saw you last night from behind the couch! Sirius Black kissed you on the cheek! And he said you had wanted to kiss him the night before!"
"Rubbish!" Lily spat out at him, effectively scaring him to return to his hiding spot.
But I had frozen.
"Bells?" Lily said, losing some of her aggression. "Its...It's not true is it?" She said uncertain now.
"Well I'll let you two best friends discuss" Winston smirked and left, pulling his brother along back down the corridor.
"Bells what happened?" Lily urged as soon as they were out of earshot.
I quickly filled her in on what had happened between Sirius and I.
"Oh no. Oh no no no" I said after finishing my recount. Lily didn't say a word.
"I need to go find Rodg, Lils. I need to talk to him now!"
"It's free period, he's probably in the common room" Lily said, and we hurried along.
"Caput Draconis" I breathed out to the portrait of the Fat Lady
"What's the rush?" She shot back, fanning herself with a haughty look.
"CaputDraconisCaputDraconisCaputDraconis-"
"Aright alright alright!" She said with an air of annoyance. "In you go."
The portrait door had hardly swung forward and I was already barrelling through the entrance.
Ignoring her complaints about my 'insolence', I barraged into the common room.
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all seated by the fire.
Sirius stood up and began to walk towards me, "how are you fee-"
"Has anyone seen Rodg?" I cut him off desperately.
He stopped mid-stride, and his hand lowered back down to his side.
"Over there" Remus pointed to the back of the common room with his thumb.
I quickly made my way over and, ignoring the glares of his friends, and the fact that they stopped their chatter as soon as they saw me approaching, I boldly walked up to Rodg. "Can we talk please" I pleaded with him.
He looked up at me, and after a few moments longer, he sighed and leisurely got up.
"I'll be back in a tick" he said to his friends over his shoulder.
Pretending like that didn't bother me, I led him back out of the portrait hole.
As soon as the door swung shut, I grabbed his hands, "Rodg please listen to me, I need to explain everything -"
"Shhh" he hushed me. He took my hands and kissed each of my palms in turn. He then pulled me into a tight hug.
I reciprocated in stunned silence.
"I'm so sorry that she did that to you. Are your hands feeling better?" He pulled back and looked at my face with concern.
"I-I"
"Oooooh. This is too sweet. Where art thou my lover? That I may bestow upon thee such affection as these young doves?" We both slowly looked up to see the Fat Lady, with tears sparkling in her eyes, looking down at us with conviction. She pulled out a handkerchief and blew shockingly hard into it, sounding like a beached whale.
Rodg looked down at me with a smile. "Let's go somewhere else" he whispered in my ear.
I had to tell him everything. No secrets, no lies. I re-winded my mind back to the events in the Forbidden Forest. I had almost kissed him! Willingly! And in the common room last night.
Merlin I hope he understands.
I took a deep breath as he pulled me into an empty classroom.
Reviews would be much appreciated! How will Rodg react? And what will happen to BeSirius? Will the ship sail or sink?
Stay sweet :)
- Sugar~