Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited, and alerted.
To those who reviewed: maudsfeather, StayWithMeForTheKids, faidey, vaskon, Heironymous Bosch, shewritesforher, mUfF MuNcHeR, and Super Tash thank you very, very much. I always love to know what you think and there is nothing quite like getting home from work to find a bunch of emails from fanfiction.
(maudsfeather, you caught me! haha. The last chapter was a bit of a filler…mainly a catalyst to get to this one, which I already had mapped out in my head.)
So I know I said I was going to post this sooner BUT I just became an aunt…Miss Olivia came a bit earlier than expected. Needless to say I've been quite distracted by the little lady :)
Naomi'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 VII:
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"Emily Fitch?" Naomi stated disdainfully. "Seriously, Tony?"
Tony held up his hands as if the matter where out of them. "I've already sent the list off to McGonagall. I don't know what you want me to do about it."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Anyone else would have done."
"You'd have rathered be put on rounds all year with a Hufflepuff?"
"Yes." Naomi answered instantly. Tony shot her a look. "…okay well no," she begrudged.
"Thought so." He smirked continuing the quick pace his long legs carried him down the hall. "And anyway what would you have had me done? The staff keeps droning on about school unity and house co-operation."
"Ugh." Naomi huffed.
"Agreed. But, I am afraid my hands are tied in the matter." Tony stated before adding offhandedly. "Besides, if you want to be mad at someone, it's not me you're after."
"You made the list." Naomi deadpanned.
"Well, not all of it, no. I passed on the list." Tony explained.
"You're already pawning off Head Boy responsibilities? Nice." Naomi was unimpressed.
"Sorry I don't know the inner workings of you fifth years." Tony rolled his eyes. "Bit too young for me. I figured I'd have someone with a bit more incite on you lot to come up with the pairings."
"Who?"
"Effy." Tony said simply before leaving her behind in the corridor.
"You've got to be joking." Naomi muttered.
Effy Stonem was Tony's younger sister. She was a fifth year Slytherin, same as Naomi, and to Naomi's recollection she had never heard the girl so much as utter one word.
"Great," Naomi spoke to no one but herself. "The mute paired us up. Now whom I to yell at?"
Effy never spoke and mainly kept to herself. Some would grumble about how could she possibly do all the spells they were tested on without them being able to hear her speak, but for the most part people left her to herself. Her magical ability itself had never been in question, but rather how she seemingly did it wordlessly. In first year a few students tried to antagonize her. One vanished only to turn up a week later disoriented and stammering on about being lost in the castle and followed by voices. There was no proof the disappearance was related to Effy. Ever since, one look from her usually shut anyone up. Her older brother was The Tony Stonem, yet she never used him once as defense, never felt the need to. She staved off others on her own. Whether it was just her piercing eyes or silent magic that did it, Naomi wasn't sure.
The only person Naomi had seen invade and set up camp within Effy's world was a rather loud and cheery Hufflepuff named Pandora. They seemed to have full conversations, Panda, as she preferred to be called, talking incessantly while Effy sat silent. It was an odd pairing and a perfect balance.
Guys would try and approach her, especially the further on they got in school, but to Naomi's knowledge no one had been able to tough it out yet. Naomi wasn't blind, Effy was hauntingly beautiful, and she was reminded of this every time she watched Cook's gaze follow her.
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Naomi entered the Slytherin common room to see the object of much of Cook's gazing and of her current mumbling. Effy sat by herself at a small table across the room away from most of the other Slytherins. Naomi let out a determined puff of air and took a step in the brunette's direction.
"You've been holdin' out on me." Cook stated crossing his arms as he stepped into her path. She hadn't even noticed him lounging on one of the couches as she walked in.
"Have not." Naomi stated attempting to step around Cook and away from the impending conversation.
"Have too." Cook replied. "'Parently all those lies weren't a bunch o' rubbish after all."
Naomi stood a little straighter. "Sodd off Cook."
"Have yerself a willy-waggle an' not tell the Cookie Monster 'bout it?" Cook teased waggling his eyebrows for effects. "Well…" he continued furrowing his brow a bit, "there was no willy in the waggle, I guess, so…waggle?" he thought aloud, "fanny waggle? No...Muff waggle?"
Naomi scowled at the boy.
"Muff munch." He decided a smile playing across his face. "Do a bit o' muff-munchin'?
"There was no waggling or munching you twat." She spat back, skirting past him and away from the general population in the common room.
"I see how it is." Cook pushed, following in her wake. "Don' wana tell me nofin', that's fine. One o' the pretty Potter Princesses an' you had'a snoggin'. S'fine. Just figur'd you'd of told yer best mate is all."
She knew he knew how to push her buttons.
"There's nothing to tell." She said crossly, folding her arms in front of her as turned back to face the lad.
"That's bollocks and you know it." He shot back now mirroring Naomi, folding his arms across his chest.
"Will you just drop it?" she urged. "It was nothing."
"If it was nofin' then why wont'cha just tell me?"
Naomi sighed dropping her arms to her sides.
Cook waited expectantly.
"We didn't snog." Naomi breathed.
"When?"
"When what?"
"When didn't you snog?"
"It was a long time ago." Naomi shifted uncomfortably. "Let it go."
"Obviously the two a you haven' let it go. So I'm not 'bout to eiva'."
Naomi changed tactics. "Cook I'm really not in the mood to talk about this just so you can get your jollies bout two girls kissing."
"Hah!" Cook barked triumphantly, "Knew you'd snogged."
Naomi shut her eyes at her admittance.
"Ya almost had me goin' there. You dirty cleva' minx you." Cooked chuckled. "Though' you said Katie'd always made tha' shit up."
"She did."
"You snogged."
"We kissed."
"So its true."
Naomi sighed knowing he wouldn't let it go. "Remember when I stayed for Christmas holiday third year?"
Cook nodded.
"Yeah well, after you buggered off I popped outside. Ended up talking with Emily, and she kissed me. Not the other fucking way around. She kissed me." Naomi stressed. "Then Katie came by and starting spouting off about things she didn't fucking see."
Cook regarded her statement for a moment before a slow smile crept across his face. "That's hot babe."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Don't call me babe."
"Still don't see why ya didn't tell me, babe." He shrugged still grinning. "Ow!"
Naomi punched him in the arm. "I told you not to call me that."
Cook rubbed his arm. "How come ya neva' told me you were a muff muncha'?"
"What?" Naomi whipped her head back to him. "I'm not gay."
Cook opened his mouth to say something else before closing it. Cook's general line was past everyone else's. He pushed people half the time to see their reaction and the other half of the time because he just didn't give a fuck. That's what happened when you splashed about, people got wet. The current look on Naomi's face, even he didn't push it.
"I'll see you later." Naomi said turning toward the dormitories.
"Where ya goin'? You just got here."
"I've got shit to do Cook." Naomi said dismissively as she brushed past him.
During their words the two friends had shifted away from most of the people in the common room. They were now by the one person Naomi had originally been seeking out. Effy was sat at the same small table, mapping an astronomy chart.
Effy lifted her gaze, azure on ice. It was an unnerving feeling, being read with one look, but that is precisely what happened. Naomi did not like it.
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"Right," Naomi started, "so I guess we better be off." She began to walk down the corridor.
Emily caught up a few paces later. The two prefects walked in silence. Naomi had skipped dinner, avoiding Cook and his questions. She wasn't mad at him per say, she just didn't want to deal with the topic of conversation. She had blown past him in the common room on her way to rounds.
"I didn't see you at dinner." Emily said looking slightly sheepish. "Thought maybe you were going to bail on me."
"I'm not going to flake on my responsibilities." Naomi stated.
"That's not what I meant…" Emily said scrunching her face a bit, "just didn't know if you'd try and get someone to switch with you or something. And when I didn't see you at dinner…" the redhead shrugged.
"So you're keeping tabs on me now?" Naomi asked, eyebrow raised. She let herself be annoyed by the other girl, despite the fact she had gone to Tony earlier inquiring about a switch.
Emily sighed. "No, I'm not stalking you or anything." Emily rolled her eyes. "I was just going to see if you wanted to meet somewhere more half way between the towers and the dungeons, save you a bit of a walk."
"Oh." Naomi said, surprised.
"Was going to ask at dinner, which was why I was looking for you," Emily explained. "And was why I noticed you weren't there."
Naomi wasn't sure if she was more relieved or disappointed that that was the reason Emily had noticed she wasn't at the meal.
"Oh…well, thanks…" Naomi muttered unsure of what to say. "Don't mind the walk though, really."
The two prefects continued along their patrol in a slightly unsettling silence. It drew out from an unsettling moment into minutes as they roamed the expansive castle.
"Thanks for keeping schtum." Emily said out of nowhere. Naomi had been doing her best to not look at the petite redhead. And she didn't, until Emily gently grabbed her arm halting their movement. "Seriously." She added with the nervous bite of her lip.
"Yeah." Naomi shrugged, ending the contact and looking away sure Emily had felt how fast she had caused her pulse to race. She continued walking, her long legs dictating the pace.
Emily let out a small huff a bit later. She did it again as they rounded a bend in the hall. They didn't have a set route to take, just a number of locations to check throughout their patrol.
"Yes?" Naomi eventually asked, after Emily had huffed for maybe the fifth time.
"You could slow down a bit, you know." Emily said stopping. "Not everyone was granted the gift of exponentially long legs."
"We do have a job to do." Naomi defended ignoring the new information that Emily noticed her legs. She was tall, she told herself, of course Emily knows you have long legs, that's a natural deduction. Besides most people had long legs compared to the redhead…not that hers were unnaturally short by any means. They were perfectly proportional to her petite frame. Not that Naomi was familiar with the redhead's legs or frame or anything. She needed to stop looking at Emily.
Naomi changed her line of vision to find Emily staring at her expectantly. Shit. Obviously she had just said something.
"What?" Naomi said looking anywhere but the girl in front of her.
"I said, you don't have to walk so fast, it's not as if this is a race…you're stuck with me for an allotted amount of time."
Naomi felt bad. But also had freaked herself out a bit by having created the potential of getting caught staring.
"I'm aware." She scrunched her eyes shut, wincing as the words left her lips. That sounded a lot worse than she meant it to and she knew it. Naomi chanced a glimpse, Emily looked upset. Be a prick to Emily the day she finally tells the truth? Check.
"You could speed it up a bit." Naomi tried. Throwing the redhead a smirk.
"You could slow down." Emily retorted. They were quiet for a moment. Eventually the two started up again, consciously or not, Naomi's pace slowed a bit.
"Thanks for telling the truth." Naomi conceded breaking the silence between them. Emily halted surprised by Naomi's words. Naomi continued on and eventually Emily caught up a small smile playing across her face.
The silence continued between the two girls though it had lost its unsettling effect on Naomi's nerves. Emily looked around unsure of their surroundings. The two girls had taken numerous turns and climbed countless stairs throughout the night.
"Where are we?" Emily thought aloud.
"Fifth floor, south wing, spiral staircase should be coming up in a bit around the bend." Naomi said instantly.
Emily looked at her in awe. "Wow, you know the castle really well."
Naomi shrugged. All those nights running around the castle with Cook, being precisely the students she was currently on the look out for, had its positive side effects. Namely knowing more of the castle like the back of her hand that most students did their own home. You never got caught if you knew where to go.
"No seriously," Emily continued, "I'm impressed. I mean I thought I knew the castle well, but it's like you've got the marauders map for a brain."
"The what?" Naomi asked, brow furrowed, she'd never heard of that before.
"Nothing," Emily said quickly, "You just know the castle really well is all, put me to shame a bit."
Naomi assumed she knew the castle better than Emily, then again she assumed that with almost everyone. She didn't take Emily as the sneaking out at night type. Maybe Katie, but Katie was also definitely the type to get caught.
Naomi stopped suddenly, sticking her arm out to halt Emily in the process.
Emily looked down at the offending arm that was now against her midriff. "Wha—"
Naomi brought her finger to her lip, silencing the girl. Emily gave her a quizzical look but remained quiet. Naomi gestured to her ear then nodded her head to the left. Shuffling noises were coming from the slightly ajar classroom door up ahead.
Naomi crept toward the door, wand at the ready. Emily followed suit.
The blonde raised her wand to cast a light on the cause of the noise only to stop her movements. She turned from the doorway and started pulling Emily back and down the hall with her.
Emily gave the blonde a confused look. "Letting one of your friends off the hook?" she tutted not having seen who was in the room. "Thought we had a job to do?" she questioned. Naomi not missing her words being thrown back at her.
"Not a friend." Naomi said simply. Trying to pull Emily further away but the redhead was proving to be stubborn.
"We have every right to be here." Emily stated. "We're not some students roaming the halls at night."
"I am well aware. Can you just come over here a moment though? Jesus." Naomi urged.
"Ladies." A voice called from behind them freezing both of their movements. Naomi cringed. "Fuck's sake." She thought to herself as she turned around.