Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.
Chapter 6
The Halloween Weekend
"Al, what's the update on sports?"
The young Potter lifted his head up from his desk.
"Gryffindor's recruited Felicia Wood as their new Chaser, first game of the season is Hufflepuff vs Slytherin next week followed by Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor the week after, and I'll be writing up a preview for both matches."
"Great work, Al. Kira?"
The copper-skinned Ravenclaw strode from the corner of the room towards the front, carrying thick books and old photographs in her arms.
"Magical Creature of the Month is a Chimaera and I've received great clippings of recent sightings not to mention the library's stocked up with updated Magical Creature books so I have tons of references to choose from."
"Excellent. Marriot?"
The murmurs in the room silenced. Effie realized her mistake. Clearing her throat, the Head of Owl's Post shifted in her seat and shook her head at her crew.
"Er, sorry," she muttered. "Who did I assign Marriot's column to again?"
"Me," Lysander spoke, not lifting his head from his parchment and the scratching of his quill the only sound vibrating throughout the room.
After a few more beats of silence, the uneasy atmosphere faded and the students returned to their work. Effie caught a glimpse of third year Sarah giving Lysander a slight glare, but it was gone after a second. Pushing this to the back of her mind, Effie checked her watch and decided it was time to head to dinner.
At her announcement, everyone began packing their bags and hurriedly exiting the classroom. Effie watched as Spencer Abbott strode out first, giving her a polite smile before leaving. One by one, the rest followed until Lysander occupied the room alone with Effie, still scribbling on his parchment and making no move to pack up.
"Lysander, it's time for dinner," Effie told him, hovering by the door.
The Gryffindor continued writing as if he did not hear her. Effie felt the impatience prickling in her skin and the hunger bubbling in her stomach.
"Lysander?" Effie called a bit snippily.
Finally, he lifted his chin up, steely eyes boringly staring into Effie's own. "I'm not finished with Marriot's column."
"You can finish it tomorrow or something," Effie pleaded. "You know I can't leave until everyone's gone."
He sighed then gave her a tight smile. "I suppose."
Effie watched him take his sweet time stuffing books and parchment in his bag and clearing up his desk. By the time he joined her by the door, there was a mocking sneer on his face. Effie flared up, unamused by his antics.
"Have you got a problem?" Effie snapped.
"How could I possibly have a problem? Potions class cauldron leaks are all the hype these days; there's nothing more exciting than writing a three page article on it," Lysander deadpanned.
Effie's eyes narrowed. "If I knew you were going to react this way–"
"React like what?" Lysander feigned innocence.
"Come off it! Just tell me what your bloody problem is and we can sort it out."
Lysander snorted. "Use that brain of yours, Effie. Ravenclaws are the smart ones, are they not?"
It was Effie's turn to scoff. "I only asked in hope that it isn't what I think it is. You think Marriot was right to put me in my place."
"Perhaps." Lysander shrugged. "There's also the fact that you assigned me her stupid column when you bloody well know I don't interest myself in these things."
"You weren't complaining then."
He rolled his eyes. "You think I would complain like a spoiled first year in front of the whole club? Anyway I'm your best member and I'm pretty sure you and the rest of the club know that. It would be… out of character to refuse the offer."
Effie almost laughed, irritation building up. "Well now that I know, I'll just give it to Sarah."
"Nonsense," Lysander drawled. "I'm halfway done. I'm just saying if you'd listened to Marriot in the first place, you wouldn't see me complaining at all."
A wave of silence passed. Effie's grip on her bag tightened, knuckles turning white.
"You know she's right, Effie," he continued, taking advantage of the lapse in conversation. "You keep assuming that we can tolerate the fact that our monthly work is ignored and we don't get the credit we deserve. Has it ever occurred to you that your own crew might be unhappy?"
Finding her voice, she avoided Lysander's calculating gaze. "If you've got any ideas, then I'd love to hear them."
"You know what type of ideas I would suggest."
Silence once again took over. Effie was forced to meet his eye, heart pounding in her chest and palms sweating.
"I'm just trying to help, Ef," Lysander spoke again, voice hard. "If you want people to read our work, then we have to change things a bit."
"What, like take advantage of people's private businesses and spread it throughout the whole school for readers?" Effie flared up. "I don't know how many times I've said that I don't work that way. You've manipulated me into thinking otherwise once and look where that got us!"
"Where that got us?" Lysander said in incredulity. "Where that got you, you mean? As far as I'm concerned, assuming us pertains to Owl's Post, it got us more readers than we've ever dreamed to imagine and that's hardly a bad thing!"
Effie faltered. "Lysander, this is wrong. I refuse–"
"Successful journalists don't become successful by playing nice. Our job is to get the best stories possible in any way imaginable to feed the public."
"Our job is to spread information," Effie said, "and there are various ways we can get that information that doesn't involve taking advantage of people for it. You make me sick."
The two stood their ground, glaring daggers at each other. After a moment of silence, Lysander stalked out of the room with a swish of his scarlet-lined robes without another word. Effie saw him pause just outside the door, narrowing his eyes at something by the hallway before completely deserting the area in a brisk walk. Breathing heavily, Effie felt her temper subside as she walked out as well, curious to know what Lysander had just seen.
Casually leaning against the stone wall of the hallway just a few feet from the entrance of Owl's Post's assigned classroom was Al. He straightened up when he saw her, hand jumping to his jet-black hair and ruffling it in haste. Effie was distinctly reminded of his older brother.
"Al," Effie said. "What are you still doing here?"
"I, er, saw Lysander stay behind and I wanted to see if he was going to cause you any trouble."
Effie blinked. "Oh. Well, that's nice of you. He was just… dissatisfied with my decisions."
"I just wanted to say," Al began then cleared his throat, "I think what you're trying to do is great. My mum's a journalist and she's great. I mean, she doesn't sound like what Lysander described about successful journalists and I think sticking to what you believe is right is perfectly cool."
Effie's stomach fluttered in gratitude. "Thanks, Al. That means a whole lot."
He grinned charmingly. "Shall we head to the Great Hall then?"
Effie smiled and followed him out of the hallway. Ever since Al and Kira joined Owl's Post things ran smoother than ever. Nobody seemed especially put out at Marriot's desertion and most were ecstatic at the new recruits. Spencer looked on the verge of passing out when Effie introduced Al, and even Sarah could not take her eyes off the Potter boy.
"Excellent job, Ef!" Spencer had whispered excitedly to Effie during their first meeting with Al and Kira. "With Al Potter here we're bound to get twice as much readers!"
He was right in a sense. Al joining Owl's Post triggered gossip and whispers throughout the school during the past week although it did not seem like it bothered him all that much. It was as if he did not notice it at all. Kira, his snarky fellow fifth year Ravenclaw, never failed to point the obvious whispers out to him for a laugh. The pair vibed exceptionally well with the group and even Lysander's brooding personality could not destroy the good atmosphere.
Unfortunately, Effie's luck had run out and Lysander decided to drop all his complaints on her shoulders a week and a half after Al and Kira officially joined the paper. She managed to avoid all discussion about Marriot and the rest of the crew did not seem to mind until now. It should not have been a surprise to Effie that Lysander was taking the Slytherin's side, but it still stung. Al's comforting words could only do so much, and as they walked closer to the Great Hall, Effie felt heavier and heavier with each passing step, Lysander's words echoing endlessly in her head.
"You should ignore him," Al said.
"Hm?" Effie said unintelligibly, snapping out from her thoughts.
Al looked at her. "You should ignore Lysander. It's not going to do you any good, caring about what he thinks."
"I can't help but," Effie admitted.
They reached the double doors, deafening chatters filling Effie's ears. Al stopped walking, and so did she. He gave her a curious look, green eyes glinting prettily.
"You're an odd one, Effie Greengrass," he said.
Effie snorted. "I'd prefer I wasn't."
"That's unfortunate." Al smiled.
The two stayed silent for a moment as they stood. Effie shifted awkwardly but Al stood confidently still. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a bold Gryffindor girl exiting beat him to it.
"Hey, Al! Happy birthday!"
Effie felt her jaw drop, Al's thanks entering one ear and escaping through the other. She watched the girl giggling incessantly with her friend as she probably gushed about her encounter with the young Potter.
"It's your birthday?" Effie asked, feeling shameful.
"Nope," Al said.
She shot him a glare. "Wha–Do you even know that girl?"
He shook his head.
"I don't suppose you're going to explain what just happened then?" Effie chuckled uneasily.
A flicker of emotion passed through his eyes but it was gone in a second.
"It started out as a joke during my first year," Al said, hand darting up to ruffle his hair. "Er… James told everyone it was my birthday and imagine my confusion, waking up to my dorm mates singing happy birthday and all my classmates and professors greeting me wherever I went. A few people still believe it's my birthday on this day. It's ridiculous."
He laughed but it did not quite reach his eyes.
"When's your real birthday then?" Effie asked, not entirely sure why she was still attempting to continue a conversation Al obviously did not want to have.
"Next week, Halloween," he replied.
With that, he bade her a quick goodbye and briskly walked to the Ravenclaw table. Effie watched him go, feeling unsettled. She briefly wondered what she said to cause him to react that way, but with a shake of her head, she made her way to her house's table as well.
All thoughts of Al Potter disappeared at the sight of Dominique talking animatedly to Andy, sitting on their usual seats. Effie approached the pair with a wide grin. Dominique caught her eye before she could speak and abruptly stopped talking.
"Dom–"
But she was already halfway out of her seat and walking down the hall, head down and not once looking back. Effie's smile dropped as quickly as it came. Andy gave her a sympathetic look.
"She's trying, Ef," Andy said as his best friend dejectedly flopped down on Dominique's vacated seat.
"It's been more than a month, Andy," Effie snapped, attacking her meal with furious bites.
"You know Dom," Andy said uneasily. "She holds grudges as if you'd punched her mum."
Effie snorted. "That's one way of describing it."
Before Effie knew it, October came to an end. She was not complaining considering it was hardly any better than September. At this rate, Effie had little no hope at all for November, but Andy thought differently. November meant Quidditch season, and Effie's best friend so desperately could not wait. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to escape all talk on Quidditch since majority of the castle's population harbored a passionate love for the sport.
The atmosphere in the morning of the last day of October always seemed chirpier than usual since amongst the excited talk of Quidditch, students eagerly awaited the feast. When Effie walked down to her common room, lively chatter filled her ears and acquaintances greeted her as she went. Having overslept, she was not surprised that the room was already so packed, seeing as breakfast should have just finished. Halloween was especially more enjoyable when it landed on weekends, and the happy Ravenclaws around her did not fail to express that thought.
Just as she reached the door, Effie spotted an odd group by the fireplace with their backs slouched against the sofas and their faces ridden with distraught. They looked immensely out of place in the lively common room, and Effie felt a pang of worry when she saw a familiar tuft of messy brown curls amongst the brooding bunch.
"Andy?" she said, cautiously approaching.
He gloomily looked up from his armchair. "Hey, Effie."
"Are you quite alright?" she asked, eyes scanning the rest of the group which apparently was Ravenclaw's Quidditch Team.
"Our Seeker's injured," the team's captain and Effie's fellow seventh year, Mito Chang, spoke up.
"You wouldn't happen to know any good Seekers in Ravenclaw House, would you Greengrass?" a broad-shouldered brunette opposite Andy said.
Effie quickly identified her as sixth year Della Goldstein.
"Didn't you lot hold tryouts?" Effie said, mostly addressing Andy.
"Not for Seeker," Andy mumbled. "Miller was perfectly capable until he got himself in a Potions accident just yesterday. We thought he'd be fine after a few nights in the hospital wing but apparently the explosion was more toxic than expected and now he's in St. Mungo's."
"We've got no time to hold another tryout and we've absolutely no idea who's good enough to be Miller's replacement," Chang said. "We haven't hosted a Seeker tryout in four years!"
"Maybe Callahan knows someone," Della suggested. "He's the one who collects the names of those who want to tryout. Maybe someone tried asking him if the Seeker spot was available?"
"If we're going to approach Callahan for help, I'd rather forfeit," Andy said seriously.
Effie snorted.
"Well, no one else has got any ideas," Della shot back.
The depressing atmosphere slowly prickled at Effie's neck, and she decided she much preferred the company of the rest of her house. Unable to relate to the problem anyway, she opened her mouth to tell Andy she was going to head to the kitchens for a late breakfast. The words died in her throat when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Morning, Effie!"
Turning back, she was greeted by Al's trademark grin. She was painfully aware of the fact that the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch Team was watching their exchange with curious eyes. Andy even looked suspicious.
"Hey," Effie said, smiling timidly back. "Happy birthday, by the way."
"Thanks," Al replied gratefully. "Sixteen is a big one. I actually just, er, bumped into James outside. I thought for a moment he was here to greet me but–"
"Hold on, Potter."
Al paused at the interruption, blinking at the speaker who happened to be Chang. He was up on his feet, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Er, sorry?"
"You play," Chang breathed, a grin slowly forming on his face. "You play Quidditch."
Effie saw Andy's frown deepen and his eyes watched the exchange curiously.
"I, er…don't, actually," Al slowly said, looking utterly baffled by the seemingly random conversation.
"You and Miller tried out together while you were both in second year," Chang insisted. "I remember because we picked you over Miller but you backed out at the last minute."
"That also happened to be four years ago," Al said, finally catching on but not looking too pleased by the way the conversation was going. "Miller's been great so far. What's the problem now?"
"The problem is that Miller's in St. Mungo's, Potter," Andy spoke up.
Al gasped. "St. Mungo's?"
"We need a Seeker who can play next week against Gryffindor," Chang said.
Al visibly blanched. "I can't help you," he said weakly. "I, er… haven't played in–what, two or three years?"
"That's rubbish," a new voice spoke owned by a slim blonde figure lounging closest to the fire. "You play with us at home all the time. Uncle Harry never took no for an answer."
Tension suddenly thickened in the air. Effie found it almost hard to breathe. Al and the blonde boy exchanged heated glances and nobody dared to speak. While no resemblance was shared, the manner of addressing each other made it clear that they were related, at least to Effie. Then sparing the boy another long glance, Effie almost slapped herself for not recognizing him quicker. The strawberry blonde hair and almost literal radiating beauty were the giveaways.
"You're not all that rusty, from what I recall," Dominique's fifth year brother, Louis Weasley said, breaking the tense silence. "Anyway, it's just for one game. What's James going to do?"
Effie frowned deeply at the mention of the older Potter. Next to her, Al seethed.
"Well, no," he said through gritted teeth. "I don't want to play." He turned robotically to Effie. "As I was saying, I bumped into James outside and he asked me to call you."
Without another word, he stalked off. Effie faintly heard Chang scolding Louis for bringing in a family matter. She looked to Andy but she had lost his attention as well, his blue eyes fixated on the argument between his team captain and fellow Chaser. Just as Al's words finally sunk in, Effie realized James must have been standing outside longer than he probably wanted to. She hurriedly walked towards the door and stepped out of the common room.
Despite Al's warning, Effie still felt surprised to see James patiently waiting by the knocker, slouching against the stone wall. He straightened up as soon as she appeared and politely greeted her with a small smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Effie said. "There was, er… a bit of a fuss."
"No worries," James said.
She allowed herself to look him over, still in shock that he was actually here. His hair was as black and untidy as ever. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses, his hazel eyes held the usual uneasiness in them. It was their first proper encounter since their detention with Callahan. James asked her if she could help him with Lily but failed to contact her in the next two weeks. It was a clever thing not to get her hopes up in the first place but that contributed to the initial shock of him actually looking for her in her living quarters.
"Remember when I asked if you could help me confront Lily?" James slowly began.
"You'd like to do it soon then?" Effie said.
"Yeah, I was thinking right now."
Effie faltered. "Right–Right now?"
There went her perfect Halloween weekend. It was one thing to start it off with a minor Potter-Weasley feud involving Quidditch, but having to sit in a possible feud between two Potters involving one of the controversial articles from her paper was fifty times worse. Unfortunately, she could not bring herself to say no and managed to give a half-hearted nod.
"Brilliant." James grinned, either purposely ignoring her weariness or Effie was a much better actor than she gave herself credit for.
He marched down the steps and Effie dragged her feet forward to follow him.
"Might I ask why you chose today out of all days?" Effie asked, trying her best to filter the irritation from her tone. "You've had the past two weeks to choose from."
"You're wondering where I've been," James said.
Effie almost stumbled, cheeks flaming. "I didn't even think you actually wanted me to come with you."
He gave her a curious look. "I asked you, didn't I? Anyway, I've been busy the past two weeks. It's almost Quidditch season and I had to schedule practices almost everyday."
"Right."
James chuckled. "I wasn't ignoring you if that's what you were thinking."
"I didn't think that at all."
"Well, good."
The rest of the walk was silent, but to Effie's genuine surprise it was not awkward in the least. She managed to shake the embarrassment from the assumption James cooked up from her irritation and she was able to endure the quiet. She did not feel it was the right moment to ask where exactly they were meeting Lily, so she merely followed in James' direction, wishing desperately the encounter would go over quickly.
Effie hurried her walk when James suddenly paced quicker. The two exited the castle's indoors and walked towards the lake. At first, Effie did not spot the familiar red hair in the direction they were going, but as they strode further, she saw the petite female Potter reading and sitting against an isolated tree, far from the groups of students by the castle. Effie glanced at James and noticed the uneasiness in his expression thicken. Once they were close enough, Lily looked up from her book, brown eyes glinting. James halted directly in front of her while Effie stood a reasonable distance away from the pair.
"Thanks for bringing me a friend, brother," Lily said. "I was getting rather lonely."
James narrowed his eyes at her. "You know why I'm here, Lily."
"Even Hugo, as dumb as he can get, can probably tell," Lily laughed. "It's written all over your face." She stood and stuffed her book in her bag. Turning back to her brother, she smoothly said, "I didn't send those pictures, James. If I did, I wouldn't waste my time trying to stay anonymous. Too Slytherin." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
The redhead made to leave, but James blocked her path before she could take a step.
"I'm not done with you," James said irately.
"What do you want, James?" Lily snapped, losing her cool. "I didn't send those bloody pictures, alright? Unless you've got anything else to say, which I highly doubt based on the look on your face and the fact that you had to bring Greengrass here with you, I'm leaving."
"I want you to tell me the truth!"
"I am telling the truth," Lily threateningly smiled. "Don't you trust me?"
"Would it be a shock if I said no?" James deadpanned.
"No, it wouldn't," Lily admitted. "But I didn't send those photos. You can ask your girlfriend here to check. My handwriting would look nothing like the one she received. I've got no reason to send pictures of your cheating behind your back, James."
"Got no reason?" James laughed hollowly. "You've got all the reasons! With that bloody inferiority complex of yours, you've dreamt of putting me in my place!"
He seemed to have struck a nerve. Effie watched nervously as Lily's eyes narrowed into slits and her knuckles paled as she gripped her bag. Feeling immensely out of place, Effie debated whether or not she should attempt to leave. She had no idea what good she was doing for James when she was just standing there, and she was sure he would not want anyone to hear their heated conversation.
"Don't go there," Lily whispered dangerously.
"You've been out to get me since you tried out, don't think I haven't noticed!"
"Maybe I was being a bitch because you were a right arse from the beginning," Lily said scathingly. "You told Fitzgerald not to accept me because you were afraid I'd steal your bloody spotlight!"
Effie recognized Fitzgerald as the captain before James, a Gryffindor who graduated last year.
"I could care less about the spotlight," James said but his confidence wavering.
"Rubbish. I don't know what sort of angle you're trying out this year, but I've seen the worst of you, James Potter," Lily said. "You're nothing but an arrogant sod, and it's best Effie knows what she's dealing with hanging around you."
"You think you're any better?" James flared up. "Always feeling sorry for yourself and finding someone to blame for all the bad things that happen to you?"
"At least I don't plan on spending six years in Hogwarts bullying first years and strutting like I own the castle."
That effectively shut James up. The older Gryffindor looked at his sister, breathing heavily and eyes filled with what looked like shame. Lily immediately took advantage of the silence.
"Smart of you to bring Effie here in hopes of coaxing me into telling you the truth," Lily said, "but you'll both be disappointed. I didn't send those photos, but right now you're bloody well making me wish I did." She made to leave but paused at the last second. Turning back to a speechless James Potter, she smiled sadly. "It's Al's birthday, by the way. Knowing you, you'd probably forgotten."
If it was possible for James to look even more broken, that was the expression on his face at Lily's last words. The redhead acknowledged Effie with a nod of her head before briskly walking away. Effie was almost tempted to follow her back in the castle, but it seemed cruel to leave James in the state he was in. She wondered if he had really forgotten his own brother's birthday then Effie remembered Al briefly saying he thought James visited Ravenclaw Tower to give him a greeting but apparently not.
Effie watched as a plethora of emotions passed James' handsome features. He stood completely still, even his eyes unmoving. After a few moments of tense silence, he burst into a quick walk towards the castle without another word. He did not look back to check if Effie was following him. She took this as a clear sign that he would much rather be alone.
Feeling slightly dejected and rather embarrassed by his desertion, Effie hung around the isolated area by the lake a bit longer. The conversation of the two Potters endlessly echoed in her head. Lily mentioned what Effie had seen in James as an outsider for years, but the shame in James' eyes made it clear to her that he was not proud of it. Lily, on the other hand, was a lot more defensive against James' accusations. If she were anyone else, Effie would have already pegged her as a liar. Unfortunately, she was Lily Potter, and Effie realized she was much harder to read than a regular student. The defensiveness in her tone did not seem to come from a secret to hide but more from years of bitterness and perhaps jealousy.
Then Effie recalled her conversation with Fred, who so fondly spoke of James as if he would not hurt a fly. She did not sense a ounce of dishonesty from his statements, but how could both Lily and Fred be right about their opinions on James' character? How can James apparently be so non-confrontational but a bully at the same time? None of it made sense to Effie and she wished she was anything but involved in their family drama. James' lack of acknowledgement as he left could be a good sign. Perhaps he thought bringing her was a bad idea and proceed to ignore her for the rest of year.
Effie ignored the twist in her stomach at the thought of it. It was true that whatever good Freed saw in James, Effie was able to witness it too. Unfortunately she had to acknowledge his temperamental personality. One moment he was perfectly polite and even cracked a joke or two, then next he was ditching her on the far side of the lake, standing alone with an oak tree.
She skipped lunch. Lily's place by the lake was more relaxing than Effie expected and she spent the rest of her afternoon leaning against the tree with her Charms book out. She scribbled notes on her parchment and managed to finish her homework for the weekend by dinner. Effie briefly considered skipping the feast, but she could only imagine Andy's reaction if she left him to eat alone.
The Great Hall was decorated exquisitely as per usual. The magical sky was dark and cloudy, thunder rumbling once or twice. The candles lit up the room with a golden glow, enchanted carved pumpkins floated above the tables, sneering down at the students, and Hogwarts' resident ghosts glided through the aisles (and sometimes through terrified first years). Hearty laughs and good-natured conversations filled Effie's ears as soon as she entered, and she scanned her house's table for Andy as soon as she saw a different set of Ravenclaws seated on their usual places.
"Effie, over here!"
She sighed in relief when she found Andy waving frantically at her by the center of the table. Plopping down opposite him on the bench, her friend did not waste time in interrogating her.
"Where have you been?" Andy demanded. "I haven't seen you all day!"
"I was doing homework by the lake," Effie replied, avoiding his eye.
"People have been saying you were there with James Potter," he said.
"Well, people can mind their own businesses."
"Were you really?" Andy stared unsurely at her, a strange look in his eye.
Effie almost laughed. "Whatever everyone's cooked up about me and James by the lake, none of it is true. In fact, if you knew what we really were doing, you'd probably die of shock."
Andy blanched. Effie backtracked.
"What I meant," she said, blushing furiously, "is that you'd never guess what he brought me there for. He wanted to confront Lily because he thinks she sent me the photos and decided to bring me along because he thought she'd be more willing to say the truth if I was there. Barmy, I know."
Andy opened his mouth to reply, still looking irate, but before he could speak, his eyes flickered to something over Effie's shoulder. Wondering what it could possibly be now, Effie turned her head only to see Dominique Weasley practically glowing with beauty where she stood but her expression a mixture of wariness and determination.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked, gesturing to the empty space next to Effie.
"No," Effie breathed, unsure of how to react.
Dominique smiled tightly and lowered herself on the bench. Andy watched them both with wide expecting eyes. Effie shifted awkwardly in her seat.
"Prefects did a good job, didn't they?" Dominique said casually, admiring the Great Hall's Halloween setup.
"Impeccable," Andy deadpanned.
Silence took over the trio, Effie feeling significantly more uneasy after each passing second. Then Andy cleared his throat and pretended to look to his right in surprise.
"I think I just heard Chang calling me over," he said, turning back to pointedly look at Dominique. "Er, I'll be right back."
He was on his feet in record time and sped towards Mito Chang who sat at the far end of the Ravenclaw table. Any attempt in calling Andy from where he sat would have been impossible, but clearly he was not leaving Effie with Dominique to talk Quidditch plans with his captain.
The pair were silent for the next minute, sitting stiffly side by side. Everything Effie wanted to say–from the million apologies for her past behavior to her right to accuse Dominique for being petty and unfair–flooded her thoughts. She was unsure where to begin. Luckily for her, Dominique caved first.
"I'm dating Chang!"
All Effie's initial thoughts disappeared in a millisecond. She turned to face Dominique in shock. The blonde grinned uneasily back. Once the initial surprise subsided, Effie realized the most beautiful girl in their year dating her house's Quidditch captain did not seem like the most shocking of circumstances. It was rather cliché, even.
Then Effie remembered their first real conversation in a month and a half should not have been about Dominique's dating life.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Effie said somewhat coldly.
"Oh, Effie!" Dominique wailed, burying her head in her hands. "I'm sorry! I've been such an arse lately and I understand if you hate me. I know you've learned from your mistakes and you didn't publish that article about me, but I just couldn't look at you without being reminded how bloody terrible my relationship with my cousins is!"
Effie softened. "I don't hate you, Dom. Quite the opposite actually."
"Oh, but I don't deserve it," Dominique said. "Andy's been badgering me for weeks but I wouldn't budge. Then yesterday I snogged Mito and I couldn't tell anyone about it because we still weren't talking. I had to resort to telling Andy and Merlin knows that was a mistake." She gave Effie a pointed look. "But I couldn't do it without James. He approached me during lunch earlier and we had this really long talk about friends and family, and well, I realized how stupid I've been."
"James?" Effie said, surprised. She fleetingly remembered him saying he would talk to Dominique about it, but since he pretty much ignored her for two weeks after their detention together and not to mention he ditched her by the lake earlier that morning, Effie did not believe for a second that he would.
"Yeah, James." Dominique nodded shamefully. "I'm really sorry, Ef. I've been a horrible best friend."
"To be fair, I've been just as bad," Effie chuckled.
Dominique sighed and smiled warily at her. "Can we start the year over?"
By this time, the Headmistress had arrived in the Great Hall and the students hushed. Effie gripped Dominique's hand under the table and gave her a reassuring grin.
"Definitely."
Author's Note:
Another long chapter. I hope it wasn't too draggy. Anyway once again, thank you to my wonderful reviewers! To the rest of my readers, I would really appreciate it if you would all tell me what you think of the story so far. But I love you all for taking the time to read this anyway.
If you noticed, I also changed up the chapter format a bit (I added chapter names and disclaimers).
A couple of review questions as usual:
1. What do you think of Andy? He's sort of my comic relief for this story but he's a big part of the plot too so I want to know what you think of him? He's one of my favorite OCs so I hold his character dear to my heart.
2. How is James so far? He's a confusing character, I can admit that, but it will all come to place soon I hope.
3. Favorite character so far and why?
Till next time.
-Finner
Next chapter: November issue is published, Ravenclaw plays their first Quidditch match against Gryffindor, and a trip to the hospital wing
