I felt on top of the world! After talking to Ginny, I just feel so free! Yes, there are a few questions I'd like to ask, and a few things I want to know, but at the moment, I'm just too elated to care about anything else…
Maleah ran into the common room. Grinning widely, she ran onto the couch, jumped on Michaelson, and kissed him. Within minutes they were snogging on the couch in the common room, not noticing the stunned silence that followed her action.
Michaelson pulled away and found himself grinning at the elation on her face. "So I'm assuming you dumped the prick, right?"
"He's not a prick," Maleah said archly. "But yes, I did."
"Good," Michaelson said before kissing her again.
"I'm not one to pry," Ananda said gently as Maleah stared at her canopy with a starry look, later that evening.
"Yes, you are," Maleah said. "But, ask away."
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ananda screeched.
Wincing, Maleah rubbed her ear. "Well, on the train, Michaelson said a bunch of dung and got me thinking. Then a week into term, he kissed me but told me to break up with Raymond. That got me thinking some more. I spoke to Ginny today, broke up with Raymond, came here and got snogged within an inch of ecstasy."
Ananda glared at her friend. "You're keeping details," she complained.
Rolling her eyes, Maleah patted the space next to her on the bed. Ananda cuddled in and Maleah took a deep breath before telling her friend everything, starting from the train ride, to the closet scene, the conversation with Ginny (which got a major snort on Ananda's behalf), and the break up with Raymond.
"Ooh," Ananda breathed. "That's rather romantic, isn't it?"
Maleah smiled goofily, and snuggled into her duvet. "Yes," she sighed happily. "It rather is."
Maria joined them on Maleah's bed and the three of them spent the rest of the night gushing about romance.
Before Maleah reached the common room the next morning, the entire school was abuzz with the knowledge that Michaelson and Maleah were back together. Of course, their last relationship only lasted about a minute, but they digressed.
Smiling brightly, Maleah took Michaelson's hand and they walked through the halls of Hogwarts toward the Great Hall. Chatting lightly, they both chose to ignore the incredulous stares that followed them.
"So, just because they're women, they're not real quidditch players?" Maleah asked, holding on to her temper.
"Women quidditch teams don't do anything but raise the testosterone in a bloke," Michaelson shrugged.
Maleah's temper snapped and she slugged Michaelson with her free hand. "You sexist pig! I cannot believe you think so little-."
Michaelson cut Maleah off by kissing her-in the middle of the busy corridor. "Are you done yet or do I have to kiss you again, Potter?" Michaelson asked.
Maleah opened her eyes and glared at him. "I hate you," she muttered dragging his head back to hers.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for indecent conduct," Hermione snapped.
Maleah backed up and flushed deeply. She felt a tinge of humor, but didn't know what that meant. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Hermione's eyes betrayed her anger, giving away her amusement. "Make sure it doesn't happen again," she nodded to the two of them and kept on to the Great Hall.
Michaelson took Maleah's hand again and they resumed their walk to breakfast.
"Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the day?" Michaelson asked dryly.
"You're so sexist," Maleah snapped. "I suppose you believe that witches should graduate from Hogwarts, get married, and pop out kid after kid?"
"Of course not," Michaelson exclaimed. "Having a bunch of kids would only make her boobs saggy. That's not a pleasant sight."
"Bounder," Maleah ribbed, but smiled nonetheless. This boy, even with all his sexist vies and insatiable appetite of food and women, could very well steal her heart if she let him.
"You love it," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to him as they walked through the door of the Great Hall.
Ignoring the slight stares from a few classmates, Michaelson and Maleah walked to Gryffindor table. After giving Maleah a short kiss, he walked down the table to where his friends sat and left Maleah with her friends.
"I'm assuming I'm the last to know of this development," Jake deadpanned.
"Just like I was the last to know of your little girlfriend," Maleah snapped.
"Ouch," Jake rubbed his heart. "That hurt. Like down in my heart."
"Funny," Maleah sneered. "Not."
"Touch crowd this morning," Jake murmured.
Maleah's eyes glazed over. "Tough crowd tonight," Katia murmured.
"Leah," Maria called. "Leah?"
Maleah snapped out her trance. "Have I told you guys about the dream I had on my birthday?"
Jake shook his head.
"It was a memory of my mum's," she told them quietly. "And now, anything that reminds me of her or something, the dream comes back. I can smell her again, you guys."
Ananda smiled brightly. "That's wonderful, Leah."
Maleah nodded, not meeting anyone's gaze. Just then she felt her Wiz-Phone vibrate. The phones weren't allowed to be used during school hours, but no one ever enforced the rule unless someone was caught using it.
She flipped the phone open to see a message from Michaelson: CRY OFF ANCIENT RUNES
She smiled slyly. WHAT DO I GET OUT OF IT
ME
Maleah's smiled slipped off her face. "You guys, I don't feel too well," she mumbled.
"Michaelson-itis, right?" Ananda asked with a smirk.
Maleah nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it's been bugging me for a while now."
"Oh, poor you," Maria murmured. "Why don't you go take a lie-down and I'll tell Professor that you aren't feeling well?"
"You are such angels," Maleah said. She stood feebly and slowly made her way out of the Great Hall.
A few minutes into divination, Michaelson jerked. "Professor," he called weakly.
Trelawney swooped upon him. "What's wrong, my dear?"
"I see darkness," he whispered. "Lots of darkness."
Then he fainted.
Five minutes later he was 'on his way to the hospital wing'. Yeah right. He walked up a flight of stairs and met Maleah in the largest broom closet on campus. She smiled.
"Take any longer, why don't you?" she teased.
Michaelson began to unbutton his robe. "Sorry, had to throw Trelawney off."
"Mm, 'darkness, lots of darkness'?"
Michaelson stared at her for a second. "How'd you know?"
"Ron Weasley practically invented it," Maleah replied smugly. "I can't believe you took Divination. It's so pointless."
"I needed a class to nap in," he said simply. He shrugged off his robe, leaving him in the minimum uniform.
Maleah cocked her head to the side. "So? Why are we skiving off class?"
"Ah," Michaelson said, wrapping and arm around her to bring her closer. "I was thinking 'classes' as in plural."
"No! We have History of Magic today, and we're talking about Grindewald!"
"You rather talk about some dead wizard than snog me? You wound me, Potter," he joked, rubbing his heart.
She kissed him softly. "I'm actually rather tired," she told him.
His face fell. "Fine," he pouted.
They sat on the floor, leaning against a wall, cuddling.
"I know nothing about you," she said a moment later.
"So you want my life story?" Michaelson looked at her. "Nothing much to tell."
"That's not true," Maleah protested.
"How about you tell me your life story first?"
Maleah looked away. "I think my life story needs be told after more than twelve hours of dating."
"I'm going to have to agree on my sake as well," Michaelson said impishly.
"Naughty boy," she whispered before using his tie to bring him closer.
Hermione's brown eyes surveyed her class of sixth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, immediately noticing the lack of a Potter girl and Michaelson boy.
"Where are Miss Potter and Mr. Michaelson?" Hermione asked.
Ananda and Maria exchanged a look.
"I bet they're off shagging," a Ravenclaw said. "Potter's always been a slag."
"No more so than you, Gretna," Ananda snapped.
"Cease! Now, if Ms. Manuel and Mr. Timberlake can go retrieve the two, we can begin class," Hermione said, pointing at the door. "Go."
Ananda stood and walked out with Jason. "Where on earth could they be?" Ananda asked as they stood in a corridor.
"Largest broom closest on campus on the fourth floor," Jason said automatically.
Ananda stared at him.
Jason shrugged sheepishly. "Everyone knows about it."
Ananda smiled like she would smile at a baby that just spit up on her favorite Eight jeans. "That's wonderful," she said with barely concealed contempt.
Ananda yanked open the closest and nearly squealed in delight. Inside was the cutest scene she'd ever witnessed. Michaelson and Maleah were asleep against the wall with his robe covering the both of them. Maleah's head was firmly tucked on his shoulder and his arm tightly around her.
Reluctantly, Ananda screeched, "Wake up!"
Maleah shot up and stared at Ananda as though she'd never seen her before. Slowly, the sleep left her eyes and she focused on her friend. "I hate you," she yawned.
Michaelson stood leisurely and wrapped his arm around Maleah's waist. "What's with the wake-up call?"
"You're late for History of Magic," Jason told them. "Granger is not happy."
Maleah paled. "Oh, no," she moaned. "ohnohnohno!"
"Oh yeah."
Maleah took Michaelson's hand and rushed toward the History of Magic classroom.
"You don't have to run, you know," Ananda called after them.
Maleah stopped and pushed Michaelson away when he tried to hug her. "Don't you see? Hermione is going to tell Ginny! Ginny will tell my dad and somehow I'm going to get in trouble!"
"Calm down, Potter, no one is going to find out," Michaelson said.
"No! No one can keep a secret in this school! It's going to get back to my father and my father is like, permanently PMS-ing!"
Maleah was on the verge of hyperventilating until Ananda caught up and shook her. "Calm down!" she screeched. "Professor Granger is cool. You won't get in trouble. Now, shall we?"
Ananda linked her arm with Justin's and they lead Maleah and Michaelson to the classroom. Maleah tried to ignore the disappointment on Hermione's face when she entered the classroom. She could only imagine how she looked: frazzled and mussed up, and chances were that her lips were appeared even more swollen than they usually did.
"Where were you two?" Hermione asked.
"I wasn't feeling well, and had to detour to the hospital wing," the lie fell off Michaelson's tongue smoothly.
Hermione didn't buy it. She turned her cool gaze to Maleah. "And you?"
"I wasn't feeling well, so I took a kip," Maleah cursed herself when she stumbled over her words.
"Sure, take your seats," Hermione told them.
Maleah sat next to Ananda and dumped her head on her hands. "I'm so embarassed," she whispered.
Ananda snickered. "You're the one who wanted to play Rapunzel."
Maleah lifted her head. "That makes no sense."
"Neither does Voldemort being ugly when he was fine as hell as a teen, girl, look at this picture," Ananda said, shoving the book toward Maleah.
Maleah shook her head. Only Ananda.
Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciated them. My vacation was cool. My promise about having this story done before I go back to school...so not happening. However, there will probably only be a few more chapters left, so it won't be too bad. Someone asked for another interlude, so I was wondering what you guys thought. Lemme know, and I'll finish writing it if you guys want to see more of Katia!