Chapter 11: Stirring The Cauldron
Louis was glad Lorcan had left at the last corridor his own class. He wouldn't have wanted his friend to see how he stopped with a jolt at the sight of the scene before him, on the way down to Potions. He wouldn't have wanted Lorcan (or, well, anyone) to see the way Louis's face paled or how his breath caught in his throat.
He couldn't understand why his stomach felt like it'd been tied up in knots because it was just Scorpius and Rose and he knew they were together and he'd never even thought about that, let alone had it bother him. But there they were, wrapped in each other's arms, laughing and kissing and really just making a big show of it all, and for some reason it hurt. And Louis was annoyed because he'd never meant for Scorpius and his stupid, crazy mixed messages to get to him. Wasn't that the point he was trying to prove to Al? Whatever. Screw Scorpius. He didn't care. Why should he care?
He was nice one time. In Care of Magical Creatures, with the book. But that was nothing. That meant nothing. And yeah, maybe he was one of the few people that spoke to him in a way that didn't completely piss Louis off. He wasn't overly nice, wasn't overly awful. It had been a nice change, but that didn't mean feelings had to get involved.
This seemed to be just what Al had been warning him against.
Annoyed, Louis swung his book bag over his shoulder and stormed off down the corridor. There was the sound of hurried footsteps behind him as someone half ran, half walked to catch up to him. He increased his speed slightly in hope they wouldn't –or couldn't- catch up.
It didn't work. Jez Zabini turned up beside him anyway. "Oh my god," she said, catching his arm with her hand. "Which one is it?"
Louis stopped in his tracks, sucking in a deep breath of air and causing Jez to almost walk straight into him. "What?"
"Which one of them is it?" she repeated, brown eyes wide and serious.
Louis started walking hastily again, but Jez stayed by his side. "I- I- don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"You do!" she exclaimed, as if suddenly convinced. "I know jealousy when I see it. Is it Rose?"
He shook his head frantically, face twisting with disgust. "That's so wrong. She's my cousin for one-"
She shrugged. "What's a little incest between cousins?"
Louis shot her a look, eyes wide. "Eww."
"Whatever, she's pretty."
"You date her then."
"No, thank you."
Louis desperately hoped that was the end of their conversation, but the Slytherin wasn't giving up that easily.
"So, if it's not her…" she said, trailing off suggestively.
"Don't," he said, warningly. "Just don't."
She looked at him with wide eyes. She didn't sound entirely shocked, more excited, gossip hungry. "I'm right! Aren't I? Salazar-"
"You're not right," Louis cut in abruptly. "For one, he's a …he."
Which, of course, was not the issue here.
"So?"
"Well, I'm not-" lied Louis feebly. "He's not…"
Jez laughed, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder. "No way, he'd totally be up for it."
Louis's stomach jolted slightly at the thought, but he ignored it. "Oh yes," he said, with a roll of his eyes. "As his girlfriend, clearly indicates."
Jez somehow managed to co-ordinate both shrugging and dodging nimbly out of the way of a few Hufflepuff boys as they ran laughing and pushing down the corridor, as the two sixth years made their way down towards the dungeons. "That means nothing," she said. "Everyone knows Scorpius would hit on anything that moves."
Well, although that wasn't exactly reassuring, it could explain somethings...
"I don't really get what-" began Louis.
Jez finished his sentence. "-What I'm talking about? Merlin's fucking beard, for a Ravenclaw you sure are thick. He, uhh, what's the expression? Stirs his cauldron in both directions." She paused, her eyebrows furrowing in thought as if trying to work out what she'd said. It was lucky that she'd stopped walking, for Louis had frozen too. Not for the same reason. "Whatever, I'm no good at this metaphorical bullshit. Point is he's into guys too."
"Really?" He asked, biting down on his lip so hard that it almost drew blood.
"Didn't you know?" asked Jez conversationally and they started walking again, having become something of a traffic hazard. "I thought everyone did," she continued, then more uncertainly. "Or, well, Slytherin does." She paused again. "I think." A shrug. "Well, I do. Al does."
"Really?" Louis asked, genuinely surprised at that last name.
"Stop saying that," she snapped, voice annoyed, although Louis could tell it was only surface deep. "I'm not making this all up for my own amusement."
"Really?"
Jez rolled her eyes and they turned a corner. The walls around them had changed to bare stone, having reached the dungeons.
"I don't know if you've realised," she continued dryly, ignoring Louis. "But they're pretty close, Al and Scorpius."
"I've noticed."
"Oh Merlin," Jez said suddenly. "I hope they're not hiding some sort of torrid homosexual affair."
"Would that bother you?" asked Louis, uncomfortably.
"Well, as Al's girlfriend, I'd be pretty pissed," she said, then paused. "But then I'd probably like to watch, because you must admit, that's pretty hot."
Louis stared at the approaching wall in front of him, forcing himself to focus purely on the pattern of the brickwork to stop his mind from roaming.
Jez looked at him oddly. "So you swear you're not gay, nor do you fancy Scorpius?" she asked, her gaze scrutinizing.
Louis gave a non-committal hum in response. The last person he was going to share anything like that with would be this over-confident, gossiping Slytherin. Even if she did seem non-judgemental.
Jez looked at him for a moment and Louis thought she was going to say something. However, she just shrugged. "You're missing out."
They walked the rest of the corridor in silence, both pretty focussed on their thoughts. "You and Al don't get along, do you?" she asked eventually, leaning against the wall outside their classroom, having finally reached it.
"Not really," answered Louis, joining her against the wall.
"Why's that?" she asked, not exactly curiously, but politely enough.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "We used to."
"He doesn't seem to like to see you around me," said Jez, smiling slightly, in a way that didn't reach her eyes.
Louis glanced at her. "Is that why you're practically my second shadow these days?" he asked with a slight teasing smile.
She grinned. "Of course. You didn't think I actually liked you for your company, did you?"
He smiled in return. "Of course not."
Jez looked away after a few moments, her eyes trailing off down the corridor. "Hey, look," she said, nudging him with her elbow. Her smile was almost cruel. "It's your Hufflepuff."
Sure enough, Rorie had broken away from the group of approaching Hufflepuff girls.
Louis felt the almost familiar guilt twist in his stomach. "How do you know about that?" he asked Jez.
She rolled her eyes. "The whole school knows. Hufflepuffs couldn't be subtle if they tried."
Rorie reached them, twirling a finger through her long, wavy hair self-consciously. "Hi, Louis," she said with an unsure smile, glancing at Jez out of the corner of her eyes.
"Hi Rebecca!" said Jez loudly, before Louis could answer. Her tone was loud and over the top with faked friendliness and enthusiasm.
"It's Rorie," said the Hufflepuff coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Good for you!" Jez exclaimed with the same false brightness.
Louis rolled his eyes. "Could you go be a bitch somewhere else, please, Jessamine?" he asked with a smile.
Jez fixed him a glare at the use of her full first name, but she ruined the effect by almost-laughing. "Urgh," she said, adjusting her chest and loosening her tie even further, in a way that was not at all subtle. "Where is my stupid boyfriend?" she asked, looking down the corridor in annoyance. She shrugged. "Whatever, I'll use you against him some other time, hey partner?" She elbowed Louis in the ribs, sending him a friendly wink. "Bye Rylee!" she said, before turning and gliding off, hips wiggling from side to side.
"Wow," said Rorie, watching her departure with wide eyes. "She's lovely, isn't she?"
Louis laughed. "Delightful."
"You've been partnered with her for potions, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
Rorie shook her head sadly. "You poor thing."
"Mmmm."
Suddenly Rorie grinned. "It's not too bad," she said. "I'm sure she'd let you have a look at her rack if you asked nicely."
Jez spent most of the Potions lesson sliding closer to Louis on the bench or giggly excessively loud whenever Louis would say something as simple as the name of a potions ingredient. Pausing only in her efforts for attention to kick Louis under the bench or to glare at him for laughing at her. "I know I'm pathetic," she'd hissed under her breath. "But it's the only thing that works."
Later, and completely out of the blue, she'd snapped, "You know, you're not even that good looking up close," as if she took personal offense to the matter.
"How kind of you to say," said Louis, not taking his eyes of the roots he was carefully slicing.
"Could you not be sarcastic for one second?" asked Jez with a roll of her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and sunk further in her chair, clearly working extremely hard.
"Could you not be insulting for one second?"
"I'm serious, Weasley. You look like shit. Are you sick? Please tell me I don't need to be concerned…"
Louis's grip on the knife slipped and he gasped as blood welled from his other hand. "I'm fine," he practically hissed, pulling his cut hand up under his sleeve.
"Are you sure?" asked Jez, leaning towards him. "You don't look it." She reached forwards, as if to touch the deep, blue-black circles that marred the pale skin under his eyes. He flinched away.
"Jez."
Surprised, the two potions partners' heads flipped up. Al stood standing over their table, not looking very happy at all.
Jez snapped out of concern-mode right away and grinned. "Hi Albus," she said with a flutter of her long eyelashes.
Glad of the distraction, Louis ducked his head in hopes of avoiding both her and Al, and resumed the work on their potion.
