Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited, and alerted.
But a huge special thanks for reviewing: Zulu, Super Trash, maudsfeather, gryff, Heyya, stphnyvillegas, anon, Mariah, mUfF MuNcHeR, lalalalee, Anonysaurus, and DobbyWeasley. I cannot express how much I appreciate your time and words.
I promise the next chapter will be up sooner (I only promise this because I've had half of it done before this one haha.)
Emily's perspective. As always, please let me know what you think!
I do not own Skins or Harry Potter, or anything else quite so magical.
Chapter VI:
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Emily sat in her favourite comfy chair by the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. It was Christmas Eve and the room was empty as most students had gone home for the holiday. Rob and Lily Fitch were off opening a new gym and James was staying with their grandparents. Emily and Katie had opted to stay at Hogwarts. They knew too well how crowded their grandparents house became at Christmas and as much as they loved their dad they didn't fancy handing out flyers saying the family mantra "Don't get fit, get Fitched" for their entire holiday.
"Finally." Emily muttered standing up as Katie came down the dormitory stairs and into view. She'd been waiting on her sister to finish getting ready for the past twenty minutes.
"You can't rush perfection." Katie explained as they walked out the portal into the hallway. "And does your hair really have to be that colour tonight?" Katie said exasperated. In line with the holiday Katie had turned her hair red.
"Katie…I'm not the one that changed it. If you don't want to match, change yours back." Emily rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, I'm not changing mine. We'll just be matching tonight, I guess." Katie stated as they made their way toward the Great Hall. "Since someone keeps hogging red."
"I'm not hogging it." Emily said annoyed. "I don't care what colour your hair is I don't understand why you're so invested in mine."
Emily had enjoyed the feast, eating and laughing with the other students that had stayed on for the holiday. Though she kept glancing over toward the other end of the table where a group of Slytherins had sat together. Katie had gone off to the dance floor with a fourth year Gryffindor who's name Emily didn't care to remember. Sitting at the lone great table she watched as the boy Naomi was always hanging around buggered off. And not long after the blonde leave the hall and its merriment behind.
Emily found herself following the girl out into quiet the courtyard. She watched Naomi sit to the side of the bench and faltered a step wondering if she was waiting for someone to join her. When no one else came she approached the blonde, her heart beating fast.
"Can I join you?" Emily asked.
..
Emily smiled as she thought back to that night, it was the most freely she'd ever heard Naomi speak. The usually cool and calculated blonde had rambled on about her mum's pub, and the stars, and it had been lovely. She was sure Naomi could talk forever and she'd never grow tired of it.
Those ice blue eyes met her own and a small frown formed on her face, mirroring the blonde's. She thought of the end of that night. She was always reminded of it. Every time Naomi looked at her like that. She felt her shoulders slump slightly, defeated. That night had been perfect, before Katie had shown up and she had royally mucked it up with her own deer in the headlights reaction.
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"Some stars are so far away that by the time it takes for its light to travel that distance, the light we see is actually from hundreds maybe even thousands of years ago. It's like looking back in time."
"Is it really?" Emily asked.
"And some of the stars you're looking at, might not even exist anymore. The amount of time it takes it's light to reach earth. By the time you see it, it could already be gone."
"That's almost tragic."
"I think it's beautiful."
Emily turned her head to look at Naomi again. Emily felt jealous of the sky with the way the blonde was now admiring the stars.
Not being able to help herself she reached out her hand again and gently placed her palm on Naomi's cheek, turning the girls head to face her own.
"Cold." Naomi said in a small voice. Emily felt as if her heart was trying to leap from her chest as Naomi inspected her face with a slightly fascinated inquisitive look.
"Warm." she said even softer leaning forward and placing her lips on Naomi's. It was more than words. Emily had felt compelled to do it. Stared at Naomi's lips and just always wondered what they'd feel like upon her own. They were soft and warm and lovely. Before Emily had felt as if her heart was trying to escape, now, she wasn't sure where it'd gone. Somewhere up in the atmosphere. Dancing amongst the stars.
"Oh." Naomi sighed as they broke apart slightly, her eyes still closed. Emily studied her face as if it were art. Cold blue eyes opened to find Emily's warm brown. Emily froze feeling the charged static between them, as if moving would cause it to dissipate. Naomi's brow was slightly creased as she looked between brown eyes and soft lips. Naomi moved a fraction forward and Emily needed no more encouragement. If stars were people, Emily would be a burst of light. That somewhere, light years away, someone looking at there sky would see her burn through the night. Emily wrapped her cold hands around the back of Naomi's neck as one of Naomi's warm hands found Emily's cool cheek.
"EW!" There was a shout. "WHAT IN MERLINS FUCKING BEARD ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?" And they were apart. Naomi all the way against her end of the bench, Emily suddenly standing.
"Fuckin' lezza! Attack my sister did you?" Katie said drawing her wand. Emily suddenly found herself standing between the her sister and the girl she had just kissed.
"Katie!" Emily yelled trying to quell her sister before she did any more damage.
"What? She did." Katie hissed back. "I saw her. Keep your filthy Slytherin hands off her yeah?"
She kept flitting her head between her sister and Naomi. Not sure of which made her more nervous, Katie currently running her mouth, or Naomi's silence.
"Katie, leave it alone." Emily pleaded trying to push her sister away. She was no longer a burning star, just a mistaken late night jet in which muggles flew through the night.
"No, I won't." Katie said shaking off Emily's arm, wand raised. "You stay away from my sister. You and your lot. You hear me?"
Emily had the odd realization that if she was not standing in between the two girls that a magical brawl would be taking place. She had heard enough rumors about Naomi that she knew how to duel and witnessed Katie get into more than enough fights for the both of them. She purposely shifted herself into Naomi's wand's path.
This was all too much. She didn't know how to stop this, how to fix this. She pleaded Naomi with her eyes, wishing for the blonde to understand, to forgive, to let her explain. She knew she had to say something, but what? To correct Katie would mean admitting more than she'd properly admitted to herself. To not would be to surely lose what she had just gained, what that was she wasn't sure, all she knew was that she liked it.
Naomi made the decision for her, giving her a cold stare before turning on her heal and walking off into the night. Damning her silence. She would never forget that look Naomi gave her, right before turning away. It broke her heart.
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"Alright well, let's learn our seats shall we?" Professor Longbottom asked cheerily.
The class groaned.
"Shall we use the alphabet? First name? Birthday? Wand size?" Professor Longbottom chuckled to himself. He did this every year. "Should I just let you choose your own this year? Leave you to your own devices?"
Emily's breath caught in her throat at Professor Longbottom's last suggestion.
"Why are you being such a freak?" Katie whispered to Emily as they stood in greenhouse five.
Emily didn't respond. Katie elbowed her in the arm after following her twin's line of vision. "He gives us the same ones every year. It's not like either of us are about to luck out."
She sighed as her name was called to be next to Naomi. It was always the same, yet she was always nervous this would be the year of change. It was the only time Naomi would speak to her. Granted she would never say a word not directly related to herbology, but she at least had that. She caught Naomi's eye as she walked over to her and felt the black hole in her chest compound in on itself.
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It was a usual herbology class, Naomi only speaking to her when necessary. And as usual they were amongst the first to finish the class assignment. The two waited around for Cook and Katie, who were also partnered together.
"Need a hand?" Naomi asked as she approached Cook who sat further down the other side of the greenhouse. Emily followed as she was waiting on Katie. Her and Cook were just beginning to put away their instruments.
"You like giving hand don't you Naomi?" Katie jibed wickedly.
"Please Katie, don't." Emily pleaded from behind Naomi.
"See you." Naomi said dropping Cook's measuring unit and turning away.
"Fuck's sake." Emily said exasperated, "She didn't kiss me, okay?"
"Yes she did, she practically jumped you." Katie reproached.
"I kissed her." Emily proclaimed, her words halting Naomi. The blonde paused before turning around back toward the group as Emily rushed on. "I was drunk and someone gave me dragon powder and I felt like fucking kissing someone. Satisfied?"
"I'll say!" Cook grinned looking between the redhead and his best mate.
"Shut the fuck up Cook." Naomi said clipping him over the head her hand. He silenced at once, rubbing the back of his head as he gathered his stuff. The look those blue eyes gave her as their respective halves finished cleaning their station will forever be imbedded within Emily's memory. It was different. Different than all the looks since that Christmas Eve third year to now. And whatever that usual feeling in Emily's stomach supernovaed.
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"Alright so it's a two week rotation." Tony Stonem continued. The Head Girl, Jal a seventh year Ravenclaw, sat at the professor's desk. Tony casually leaned against the board as he spoke. "Everyone is paired up within there year for patrol. For the most part you're just going to have to send students back to their dormitories, ward off stupid troublemaking. Nothing very difficult or exciting. Beyond that, you find a professor to doll out punishments."
Emily was twenty minutes into the second prefects meeting of the school year. Tony, Head Boy, was going over their main duties and responsibilities. She looked around the room noting familiar faces. A few of her cousins were also prefects, the odds less impressive if you took into account the number of Fitchs/Potters/Weasleys there were at Hogwarts. There was her cousin Gracie a sixth year Ravenclaw, and Evie, and Trip (Fred Weasley III) both seventh year Gryffindors. Trip always laughed about getting prefect "If my namesake knew I'd made prefect he'd come haunt me for good measure."
Leland Tolliver was the other fifth year Gryffindor prefect. Emily assumed that's whom she was going to have to spend all her patrols with. He was a tall handsome boy with nearly blonde hair. Katie had had her eye on him since first year. Emily liked him because she could have a conversation with him without feeling like he was perving on her, something she couldn't say about all the boys in her year. She sometimes wondered if that's why Katie liked him so much, thought he was playing hard to get.
And then there was the pale blonde sitting by the door. Naomi hadn't even acknowledged her as she'd walked in the room before the start of the meeting. She let out a sigh as she watched her lean over and whispered something to the dark brown haired boy she sat next to. He smirked at her nodding his head. He was a fifth year Slytherin named Fallon Dezso. She thought he was a bit of a prick. And found herself liking him even less as he and Naomi whispered back and forth throughout the meeting.
"Right, so, Jal is posting the schedule." Tony said clapping his hands together. "Take note of when you're on and who you're working with. And you're free to go."
Everyone approached the paper to find out their schedule as the Head Boy and Girl slipped out of the room. Emily watched Naomi speed out the door before she even reached the schedule herself. She looked at the schedule and let out a small gasp in surprise.