I sighed as I slipped onto the edge of the Hufflepuff table, smiling at Siren as I gave her a quick hug, "Hey."
"Hey,"
she responds, not minding that I'm at her table. I always am, "Why
weren't you in the carriages?"
"I had to get my trunk
from this poor little group of first years," I explained, "And
then change again before Professor Wiggins saw me."
"Did he catch you without your uniform on at the meeting," Penny questioned, smirking at me.
"Yes, if you must know," I said, "And I had to give Roberts ten points for knowing my name to make-up for it."
Siren laughed, but even her voice died as the First Years walked in a row in front of us, backs straight and smiling nervously.
"Well, that was... invigorating," Headmistress McGonagall said, clapping her hands together as she observed her students before launching into her before-school speech. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, everyone-"
"Hey," Penny kicked my foot under the table, "What's his name, up there, next to Hagrid?"
I followed her eyes to the staff table, where the handsome man who'd saved me from Professor Wiggins was sitting, "I don't know."
"You didn't get a memo telling you the name of your lover?"
I kicked her as McGonagall's voice took a different tone, signifying that she was done with the normal announcements, " I would like to welcome our new Flying Instructor, Professor Wood."
The man stood up at the end of the table, and Siren giggled, "Wood. How much must he be made fun of for that last name?"
"Shh, I think I know that name," I trailed off, deep in thought.
"Professor Wood will be replacing Madame Hooch, who we all know retired last year. This means he will be teaching flying lessons," Professor McGonagall continued, "As well as refereeing the Quidditch games. Some of you may also remember him as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain from a few years ago."
"That's it," I whispered, smacking the table.
"What's it?"
"I got into a fight with him once about how stupid Quidditch was," I informed my friends, reliving the day quite clearly.
"Like, a fist fight?" Siren questioned her eyes wide as she glanced up at the table to size up our new Professor.
"Yeah, that was my first detention, I was so angry at him," I whispered harshly. How could I have forgotten?
"And
what year were you?" Penny questioned.
"Second, I
think."
"And he was?" Siren bit her lip as food suddenly appeared in front of us.
"Seventh," I said quietly, squirming under the amazed stares of my friends.
"Who won," Siren finally asked, breaking the silence by reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.
"I was a second year and he was a Quidditch-playing macho-jerk seventh year idiot, who do you think won," I snapped.
"Well, you kind of have that stare where you can make people quiver and shake in fear, so maybe you," Penny said thoughtfully.
I smirked, "Yeah, but he was so dead set against hitting a girl I'm not sure it was fair."
Siren laughed and Penny smiled for a moment before launching into what we were going to do to make this year the best ever. But I found my eyes eerily attracted to the young new teacher, and blushed when I found him looking back at me once.
"Oh," Penny said, catching my blush, "Ally's definitely got a CRUSH!"
"Will you be quiet? He's a PROFESSOR, for goodness sake," I said, glancing around to see if anyone had heard.
"Yeah, but he's only, what, twenty-one? Twenty-two? That isn't too big a difference, especially since you're an adult now, according to the wizarding world," Siren reasoned.
"Exactly, and I'm sure they'd make an exception to that 'no teacher/student relationships' rule when they see how you lust after him," Penny teased.
"I do not lust," I cried as the food in front of me vanished away.
"I
beg to differ," I heard a deep voice say, and I scowled as I
recognized it.
"Tom, will you leave, please," I asked,
standing and turning to face him. It was awkward, though, to be
standing between the table and the bench while you're trying to glare
down someone who is an eighth giant.
"Temper, temper, just thought you'd want an escort to our new home."
"It isn't a house, Tom," I said, sighing, "And I've got other things to tend to anyway."
"Like what," he questioned, smiling.
"RAVENCLAWS! THIS WAY," I shouted, smiling as Tom jumped. "RAVENCLAWS, IF YOU'LL JUST FOLLOW ME!"
I groaned as I fell down onto my bed, which I had just spent the last half-hour decorating. I crawled desperately up to my pillow, snuggling into its warmth and glad that classes would not start for another two days. Sparrow purred as she curled up at the foot of my bed, and I smiled at her before closing my eyes, pulling the covers over me.
Suddenly, I was pulled out of my light dozing with a loud bang. I looked around, confused until I saw the open door. I rolled my eyes, feeling a slight breeze on my arm from my open window and passing it off that I hadn't closed my door tightly enough.
"Was it worth it," I heard a voice question suddenly, and I looked around my room fearfully. But, seeing no one, I curled back under my covers and continued to try to sleep. "You'll never do better," a voice whispered, and I jumped, feeling the breath of the voice on my ear.
I pushed myself into a sitting position, "Hello?"
"Did you think about me when he, well." The voice trailed off as I felt a hand start to rub my leg through my blankets.
But my mind was slowly piecing everything together, "Tom?"
"Could he really have been that much better than me?"
"Tom, look, you know I'm sorry, but it was time for it to end," I said sadly, glancing around the room nervously.
All of the sudden, Tom appeared on the corner of my bed, his Invisibility Cloak thrown carelessly to the ground, "Who are you to say that?"
"Tom, we were together for two years, and I'm sorry, but it just wasn't working," I said. "I really am sorry you had to find out the way you did, but I don't think-"
Suddenly, I felt familiar lips on my own and, being me, I panicked a little. I pulled away, only barely hearing Sparrow hissing at Tom before pushing him off of me fully and jumping out of the nearest thing - the window.
I could feel the squelching of my bones rearranging themselves as I spread my arms and concentrated, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach as Tom yelled to me, "I'LL GET YOU BACK, DARLING!"
But as I flapped my wings and flew towards the lake, I could barely hear the echo of my window slamming shut. My heart was racing as I dove for the ground, sticking my claws out in front of me and landing just in front of the lake.
The anklet I wore was beeping wildly, warning me that this was an illegal time to use my Animagus form, but I ignored it as I started to, uncomfortably, change back into my human form. This was my least favorite part of becoming a falcon, the changing part. Bird's bone structure is just so different from our own, and the whole growing air bubbles in the bone is not exactly pleasing.
I shook my head as I fell to my hands, clutching the grass and waiting for my eyes to come back into focus. When I could clearly make out the grass and the dirt and bugs crawling IN the grass and dirt, I sat back on my heels.
Where was I supposed to go now? Ten to one Tom is waiting in the little hallway that leads to our rooms, maybe in his Invisibility Cloak, maybe planning to do something much more sinister than give me a kiss.
Didn't he know I KNEW I had screwed up? I didn't WANT him to find me like that, but how was I supposed to know he was coming to visit? It had been over so long before that, he had to have known...
I sighed as I slipped through the party; bodies were meshing against mine and making me smile. I led a boy along behind me, who may or may not have been named Rick. I couldn't see straight, but I didn't care. Rick wasn't pretty, but he didn't have to be. He made me laugh and he seemed nice enough.
The next thing I could remember was us on the couch, wildly pressed against each other and attached at the lips. And then, somehow, Tom was there. His eyes watered as he watched me make-out with a boy I barely knew, but I didn't feel much pity. He hadn't been exactly faithful; I just had never proved it or called him on it. I thought part of loving him was accepting his flaws.
I found out later that he had come to surprise me for my birthday, that he had bought me a necklace and had worked hard to convince his parents to let him come and stay. And yeah, I did feel bad that he went through all that, and I definitely had wanted to tell him that I wasn't sure of my feelings for him in a different way, but what could I do now?
Sighing, I brought myself to full height, walking back towards the castle with surprising determination. My anklet was still beeping, but it had quieted down and it stopped as I stumbled into the Great Hall.
I
glared at the prefect who had been patrolling, "And how, pray
tell, did I get out?"
The poor fifth Hufflepuff stuttered his
answer, "B-Because I let you?"
"Yes. Five points from Hufflepuff." I staggered towards the stairs down to the Hufflepuff Common Rooms.
"Uh, you're not allowed in those Common Rooms," he called after me.
"Five points to Hufflepuff, then, for knowing the rules," I growled, and nearly fell through the portrait and onto the yellow couch I had spent the night on before.
But, knowing that the house would be quite confused to wake up and see me, a Ravenclaw and the Head Girl, on their couch on the first night, I dragged my sorry butt up the stairs and into the seventh year girls' dorm.
"Siren," I called sleepily; changing takes so much out of me.
"Here,"
she said, not questioning my presence in her dorm. As Head Girl, I
know all of the passwords into the Houses and I've spent the night
before. She made a sound of recognition as I slipped into her bed
with her, "Bad dream?"
"Bad roommate," I
corrected, turning so that our backs were facing each other.
"Sleep tight," she said, ignoring what I had said.
I sighed in content as I felt my entire body relax, but still couldn't find it in me to stop thinking and fall asleep. I tried desperately every trick I knew; concentrating on breathing, clearing my mind, I counted three thousand, nine hundred and twenty-six sheep, for heaven's sake! But I just got this bad feeling in my stomach when I heard Tom's words repeat in my mind; he'll get me back.
How would he do that? Attack me? Attack my brother? Each scenario I dreamed up became progressively worse as the night went on, and I finally fell into a fitful sleep sometime around dawn.
And as I yawned, pulling myself out of bed and stumbling through the halls towards my room, I couldn't help but think about how this would NOT help the Potions report I still have to write.