"I would appreciate it, if you didn't come to lessons so worn out Ms. Potter."
"I'm sorry Guru Besar, I haven't been sleeping well," I spoke barely above a whisper, feeling drained.
"You need to release this pain you carry. I can feel the weight of it whenever you step into my classroom."
I sighed heavily. There has been so much on my mind and in my heart. Not long after I came back from break, the Observer printed a story about Malfoy's betrayal and how heartbroken I was over it. I think the part that hurt the most is that this time it wasn't a lie.
"Lily, I am here for you. Your mother has asked me to help you but I cannot help you if you are not open to it." The old man mused in his crossed leg pose.
"Well it would be easier for me to share about my life, if I knew more about yours." I said trying to change the subject anyway I could.
He smiled, unshaken still, "Ahhh so a secret for a secret, well...would you like to know where the name Guru Besar comes from?"
I sat up straighter intrigued.
"I told you my name means Great teacher born moon wailing. I was given this name because I am a werewolf," he said calmly.
"A werewolf that transforms at the full moon?"
"That is correct."
"So you were bitten?"
"I was born this way, from two parents who carry the gene."
My mouth dropped open in shock. I was unprepared for that answer. I said the first thing that came to mind,
"Are you happy with your life?"
He nodded still looking serene. "I gave away too many days to sadness and pain. Once I accepted myself, which includes the pain I feel, I learned to have peace."
"Is that why my mum asked for you to help me with my magic?"
"Yes, she didn't tell me everything, but she mentioned that there was an incident that happened when you were young."
My lip trembled slightly, "I don't really want to talk about that now."
He smiled his toothless smile, "Whatever you wish to share, I will receive."
"Well...Its Scorpius."
"Ah I noticed some frostiness between the two of you during lessons."
"He started dating this girl, who is a complete nutter. I mean, a friend of my enemy is my enemy right?"
"A wise man once said 'The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend', I have found this to be true."
"I didn't chose her to be my enemy, she chose to hate me for no reason at all."
"But you chose Mr. Malfoy to be your friend, correct?"
"Well, sort of. Yes."
"Then I think, that is where you must focus your energy. I do not believe he wishes you to be his enemy. Nor do I believe he had intentions to hurt you, but you would know better than I would. Trust your heart. What does it tell you?"
" I don't know. I don't want to know. I don't want to feel anything in my heart for him anymore. He hurt me once. I won't allow him a second chance."
"There he is!"
"Who?"
"Your old friend fear is speaking for you once again."
"I'm not afraid!" I exclaimed vehemently.
"You are. My question is of what? Tell me. I will not judge you my friend."
"Sometimes I feel like everyone is waiting on me to fail. I'm terrified of failing; i'm afraid of embarrassing myself. If I let myself have feelings for Malfoy and he turns out to be what everyone said, the shame of it would consume me whole."
"I believe Ms. Potter, that you do not trust yourself enough. Give him a chance to explain."
"Ill consider it."
"One day, when you realize how perfect everything in life is, you will tilt your head back to the stars and laugh at the sky."
I gave him a soft smile, "Thank you for sharing your secret with me Guru. I will keep it close."
"Thank you for your time today Ms. Potter. Namaste."
LPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPL
"What do you even do with the old man every weekend?" Niko asked with a mouth full of nosh.
"I told you, he is helping me manage my stress during this difficult time." I said for the hundredth time.
He leaned back in his lunch chair, "Sounds like a waste of a perfectly good Saturday morning to me."
"Well good thing I wasn't asking you Nikolas," I said sticking my tongue out at him.
"Very cute red," he said throwing a bon-bon at my head.
"Excuse me you two, am I going to have to give you another citation for bickering during my coveted lunch time," Jaq said with his new lisp.
I pointed in Nik's direction, "He could use one, I on the other hand was minding my business."
"Were you? It seemed like you were watching them again," Jaq said sadly twirling a carrot in his hand.
I squinted my eyes feeling annoyed of his observation,"Okay, so you caught me. I just don't see what he sees in her. She is evil."
"She's not so bad," Nik said sneaking vegetables from my plate as though I didn't notice.
Jaq sighed, "She really is a sweet girl, she is just very guarded."
My eyebrows reached for my forehead in horror, "How can you say that after what she did to you?"
"She didn't do anything. Des did." He said matter of factly.
"Yeah, but she didn't try to help you either," I said feeling deflated.
He sighed, seeming annoyed at having to explain this to me again, "She has her reasons. I understand. I wouldn't worry about them so much if I were you. Its not love. Just a bit of fun."
"How do you know?" I asked allowing my vulnerability to show.
"Oh believe me, I know what it looks like. Its not there between them," he said regretfully.
"You sound as though your missing someone special," I inquired.
"Missing someone maybe. No one special though."
"I'm sorry for that."
"Me too. But luckily, You two are all the special I need," he said cheering up again.
"Yeah especially you Nik," I snickered.
"Always with the insults this one." Nik poked my side.
"Whatever do you mean?" I feigned innocence.
"Suurreee always the innocent ploy. Maybe I could get away with more if I had that body," I smacked him.
"Believe me, that has no bearing on my judgement whats so ever. Your much more my type," He winked at Nik.
"If I ever decide to bat for the other team, I promise your the first person I give a bell."
"Aww Im flattered!" he bat his eyelashes comically.
"How have you been feeling Jaq?" I asked seeing as he hadn't mentioned it.
"Better than they expected. I mean, i'm still in this blasted chair and ill be wearing these head wraps for quite some time but they feel as though with more physical therapy I can back to my old self within a couple of months."
"I'm so happy to hear that. I cant believe this silly tournament would go so far. I wish I had never played that prank on my brothers. I didn't even want to be here you know."
"Yes! We know!" they said in unison. I scowled at them as Amelie walked up hand in hand with Scorpius.
"Oh hello dear, Here to take me for my daily sponge bath? So exciting!" Jaq said to her.
"Why, yes I'm here to rescue you from your lonely band of misfits." She said sneering in my direction.
"How you offend me so," Nik said dryly.
"I wasn't talking about you Nik. Its perfectly fine for a man to be alone; leaves more room for conquests. A lonely woman on the other hand is a very sad thing."
I huffed trying to ignore the not so subtle jab.
"Anyway, Ill see you later my love." she kissed Scorpius on the cheek and I looked away quickly.
"Yeah see you." He said looking in my direction.
"Lets go wheels." She grabbed Jaq's wheel chair.
"HaHA very funny. Lily, Niko I will grace you with my presence another time. I bid you farewell," he said dramatically throwing his scarf over his shoulder and placing his wrist to his forehead.
"Ill wait with baited breathe my darling," Nik said breathily getting on one knee and stretching his hand out to him as though reaching.
"You two are ridiculous," Scorpius said laughing and rolling his eyes.
Niko stood and smirked, "Don't be jealous Scorp, I still love you too."
Feeling awkward I tried to quickly shuffle away, "Okay, well ill see you later Nik. I'm going to go work on my clue some more."
"Okay Red I-
"Lily wait!" Scorpius cut in.
"Can't talk, I have to go," I sped up and out of the cafe.
"Lily please wait, Can I just talk to you for a moment please!" He shouted in the corridor causing everyone around to stop and look at us.
Feeling embarrassed and harassed I conceded, "Fine Malfoy, but can we make it a private conversation. I'm sick of seeing my name in the headlines."
"Sure." He said looking exhausted.
We shuffled back to my room where I promptly sat on the floor and began polishing my many shoes.
"Why are you doing that right now?" he asked pulling his long blonde hair behind his ear and sitting in my desk chair.
"This is what I planned to do before you decided to interrupt my weekend. Now what do you want?" I huffed.
He pushed his fringe out of his face and fixed me with his steely grey eyes that were so full of emotion, "Lily, I just want to say I'm so sorry."
"So sorry for what Malfoy?" I bit out.
"Back to Malfoy I see. Look there is no use pretending you weren't surprised and brassed off about me dating Amy,"
"Ohhhh its Amy now, very intimate. Well you seem very happy and im sooo happy for you," I tried to hold back my tears of betrayal.
"I'm not happy! I mean I am. I mean its not like that. Its just a bit of fun. It's not serious", he reached out to me.
I polished my heel roughly avoiding his penetrating stare, "That doesn't make it better. You ruined our friendship over something you don't even care about. How sad."
He pulled at his hair looking like a man possessed, "I didn't ruin anything. You stopped talking to me, not the other way around."
"You knew how I felt about her and you dated her anyway. You knew it would hurt me and you still did it. How can we be friends," I shouted throwing down my shoe.
"I just...needed a distraction!"
"A distraction from what?
"From you!" he shouted looking mortified as though he hadn't meant to reveal as much.
I paused..."You needed a distraction from me, wow."
"This isn't coming out right," he wheezed.
"Sounds about right to me."
"We were getting so close and everyone was giving me hell when I got back. I thought, it might make things easier," he sounded so tired. But I couldn't let it go.
"Easier for who? For you? For me?"
"For everyone. I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to stop being friends. I...I"
"You what," I challenged.
His voice became soft. I could feel the sincerity in it, "I care for you. I don't want us to go back to the way we were before."
"I don't either, but I don't know how to be in your life if she is in it too," I said honestly.
"It will be easier. She really isn't bad. She just has a lot of issues in her life."
"That's easy for you to say. Your snogging her," I mock vomited.
He rolled his eyes, "Listen I promise to tell her to ease off of you, if you promise to be open minded."
"I can try. But this is your last chance Malfoy. I have had more fights with you this year than all my fights combined."
"Its because we have something special. I can promise life with me around will never be boring," He gave me that handsome smirk I missed so terribly.
"Well if we have something really special you can tell me that you figured out this clue," I said changing the subject to something lighter.
"Alas, you have me there. I haven't figured it out. Nor has anyone else to my knowledge. Besides your the one with two family members judging the competition. They haven't spilled all the secrets yet?"
"Secrets? Secrets! I think that's it," I jumped up grabbed the clue and laid the parchment out on my desk.
"Whats it? What are you talking about?"
"Guru Besar said it to me earlier. Maybe he was trying to help me. He said to get a secret you have to give a secret-"
"So we have to tell it a secret? of ours?"
"I don't know. But its worth trying."
I hovered over the parchment in excitement and spoke in a crisp and clear voice "The first person I ever fancied was Draco Malfoy."
"My dad? That's sick. I can't believe you-
"Shhh look."
Dark green cursive appeared word by word
Hello Lily Potter you have opened the first part of your clue
"I don't see anything,"
"You didn't give it a secret.'
"I like to bite my toenails and then chew them,"
"Ewww that is vile Scorpius,"
"Not as vile as you fancying my father,"
"Chewing your toenails is much worse. It doesn't even compare."
"Back for five minutes and your already giving me hell. Just lets look at the clue already."
Hello Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. You have opened the first part of the clue. Since you shared with us, we will share with you...
My first is in silver but not in virile
My second is in hawser but not in rehearse
My third is in therapeutic but not in parachute
My fourth is in temperate but not in perpetrate
I reread it again hoping there was more, "So we solved one riddle, just to get another one. Wonderful."