Chapter 2
"Penny, you haven't heard him talk", I sighed. We were sitting at a small table in the Three Broomsticks, clutching large mugs of butterbeer. I looked into her eyes and could not help feeling a little lighter, remembering how the soft blue colour threw me into a state of confusion the first time I looked into her eyes. But the appraising look on her face quickly brought me back to reality. "I mean… His reasoning is flawed. He knows it, he nearly even admits it when I question his defence, but then he always starts about loyalty, knowing who your friends are, having the courage to stand up to those who oppress us… He completely avoids any deeper argumentation." The moment I finished speaking, I knew she was not convinced. She was looking at me sharply, the way she always did when she was about to argue, and most often, win. I usually loved that, because she always challenged me to think a bit longer and deeper, and broadened my view on whatever issues we discussed. But this time, my heart sank. This was somehow more important, and I could only hope that she would understand. I dreaded her response, but when it came, it was mild enough in tone. "So you gave up on talking to your father because you two disagree about what a good argument should contain?"
I felt my face flush with an unexpected kind of embarrassment. "It's… It's not like that," I stammered. I looked down at my hands, clutching the half-full mug, and rubbed my thumb over the logo of the pub printed on it. She completely misunderstood, exactly as I feared she would. "He keeps avoiding a real discussion, and he has been doing that for years now. I frustrates me to no end, and I am quite done with it." I did not look her in the eyes this time, but kept staring at the rings on the wooden table. The butterflies in my belly told me my words did not adequately explain the situation. Not by far actually.
Unwelcome tears stung in my eyes, threatening to fall. I turned my face, hoping she would not see that I was ready to cry. I felt childish, ashamed, and somehow, a bit angry with her. She was never supposed to see me like this. Why could she not let me keep my dignity? I was supposed to look after her, be strong and confident, not a pitiful mess. But before I knew it, she had slid off her chair and sat down next to me, wrapping her arms around me and chasing away the unshed tears with the soft smell of flowers in her hair. Merlin, she smelled good…
"Why don't you show me your new place after supper," she whispered. "I'd love to see it." I nodded into her soft curls and hugged her tightly. "Sounds like a plan," I responded quietly. She withdrew from the hug and looked me in the eyes. "You know, maybe things will seem better after a while. Sometimes it just seems so important that the people close to you agree with you, but if you just take a little distance, your differences become easier to discuss." She must have seen the feeling of dread creeping into my face, because she looked taken aback for a moment and then gave me a reassuring smile. "You and your dad will be fine. Just give it some time."
Slowly, the knot in my stomach became looser. For a moment, I thought she had intended to end our relationship. The beautiful, smart, funny Penelope, who was so out of my league. Yes, it was very important that the people close to me agreed with me. But I could not imagine feeling closer to anyone than I felt to her. Not my brothers, not my parents, not even sweet little Ginny, who was always so honest and pure. "So are you ready to order?" she asked. I sighed and nodded. Yes, I most definitely was.
"Well, this is my room. It's not very big, but there's a wardrobe, a bed, a desk, and I have my own bathroom right over there," I pointed out. Penny walked around the room, taking in her surroundings. She smiled when she saw the bedspread, and ran her hand over the surface. She gave it to me for Christmas last year, and I loved it straight away. It combined the Gryffindor red and the Ravenclaw blue in a very elegant way, which is why she chose it and why I loved her so much. She pointed out differences between people as fun facts, instead of obstacles.
"So who else is living here?" she asked lightly. She looked out of the window onto the street, where it was still crowded despite the fact that it was nearly Midnight. I sat down beside her. "There is Mr and Mrs Bobbin. They own the apothecary and live on the first floor, just above the shop." I started. "Then on the second floor, there is Andreas, he just moved here from Austria. He works for Gringotts, but usually sleeps during daytime and only goes to work after closing hours. I am not sure what to think of that yet, because it doesn't seem like he is doing a job that requires him to work at such odd hours. He always comes home early in the morning, and I've seen him carrying piles of paperwork. But I don't really want to ask."
By the twinkle in her eyes, I saw that Penny had already come up with at least two different theories about the strangle sleeping habits of my housemate. She didn't say though, but just looked up at me and asked: "Who else?"
"Er… We have Adonia. She works at St Mungo's, some administrative job I think. She's at least fifty, and I actually don't know much about her. And then there is Diana. She lives just across the hall, and we share a kitchen. I don't see her around as much as you'd think though, because apparently, she is training to be an Auror and many of her lessons take place at night. She usually gets up just when I leave and gets home after I have gone to bed."
"So… We kind of have the entire floor for just the two of us right now?" Penny asked with a mischievous smile. She moved closer to me and started playing with my tie. My insides did a little backflip, as they had done so often just for her. "I guess that's true," I murmured in return. "Would you like to stay over for the night? I have an extra mattress under the bed, and it would be just perfect if we decided not to use that."