"Bree?" Aubrey heard a voice call out while opening the door to the dormitory an hour later. She was still curled up in her bed, the heavy bed curtains shielded protectively around her. "Are you in here?" Elle's voice continued.
"Aw, honey, what's wrong?" Elle said as she pulled back the green curtains, seeing Aubrey's tear streaked face buried against the pillow.
"Nothing" Aubrey lied, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes.
"That's not what Tom said" Ana replied, sitting beside Aubrey.
"Tom sent you?" Aubrey stammered. Despite telling him otherwise, Aubrey was now thankful that her friends were by her side.
"He said you seemed upset" Ana continued, "what's wrong, Bree?"
Aubrey launched into her story about her encounter with Stretton.
"Merlin Bree!" Elle shrieked, "are you okay?" she asked, hugging her crying friend.
"Y-Yes" Aubrey stammered.
"Did he touch you?" Ana asked, rubbing Aubrey's back, "I mean, he didn't do anything..."
"No" Aubrey said clearly, "it didn't go any further than that."
"That creep" Ana continued, "he probably would have."
"Well thank God he didn't!" Elle said, now pulling the tear soaked strands of hair away from Aubrey's face, "do you think you need to go to the hospital wing, Bree?"
Aubrey shook her head no.
"Are you sure?" Elle pressed, "just to talk to someone, maybe-"
"No" Aubrey said. She had already made up her mind, she didn't want to tell anyone. Tom, Elle and Ana knowing was already too much.
"I feel horrible" Elle continued, "we shouldn't have left, if we were there he wouldn't have been able to do that."
"We were waiting outside for you" Ana chimed in, "but Professor Merrythought shooed us down to dinner when she saw us waiting outside Stretton's class."
"I'm sorry, Bree" Elle said, sympathetically.
"It's not your fault, guys" Aubrey said honestly. She didn't blame her friends at all.
"What a fucking asshole!" Elle said a few moments later, "I just can't believe he did that!"
"He's going to lose his job for this!" Anastasia chimed in, "that is completely unacceptable!"
"We should go tell the Headmaster!" Elle exclaimed.
"I'm not telling anyone" Aubrey said calmly, wrapping her arms around her knees.
"What!?" Anastasia said, with her mouth ajar, "Aubrey, you have to. You can't let him get away with this!"
Aubrey shook her head no, and tears began to stream down her face again and her breathing quickened.
"Bree" Elle said sympathetically, "Ana's right, you have to tell someone. The other teachers have to know, it's not right. What if tries to do this again? He could have really hurt you."
"No one will believe me" Aubrey said defiantly, wishing the subject matter would end. "Who would actually believe that a Professor tried to do that?"
"Dumbledore would" Elle said calmly, "he told you that if you needed anything, you could go to him. He'd want to know, Bree. He can make it better."
"No" Aubrey said, unfolding her legs and getting up from her bed. "I'm not telling anyone, especially Dumbledore-"
"But Aubrey" Ana pleaded.
"No" Aubrey continued firmly, "I'm not going to start causing trouble amongst the teachers and especially with my mum's old Professor Elle! I could get sent back to Laurier over this, and I'm not going to ruin my reputation as a student!"
"Honey, none of that will happen! This isn't your fault!" Elle protested, calling after Aubrey who stormed off to the dormitory bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She sunk down, still fully clothed, into the shower and summoned the hot water to turn on. Letting the warm stream of water cascade over her, she continued to cry. She couldn't believe what was happening. She felt humiliated, cheap and, although a part of her deep down knew otherwise, responsible for Stretton's behaviour.
Maybe I should have told another Professor when I first started failing Charms. If I had just done something different, maybe none of this would have happened.
She wrapped her legs up close to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Unsure of what she could have done to prevent Stretton's behaviour, she wondered why this had happened to her. Feeling as though she somehow deserved it, Aubrey felt lost.
I can't tell anyone. How would others react...what would they say?
Aubrey knew that if she spoke up rumours amongst students would start flying around the school. The other teachers, and especially Dumbledore, wouldn't believe her and would then start treating her differently, believing she was a liar. Stretton was right, she could lose her exchange placement if she spoke up. What would she tell her father if she was expelled from Hogwarts? What would her deceased mother think, had she still been alive?
Aubrey didn't sleep that night but instead she continued to sit in the bathroom wide awake, trying to keep the intrusive thoughts from dominating her mind. To her relief, Elle and Anastasia left her alone for the remainder of the evening, so it wasn't until she emerged from the bathroom the next morning that she saw them again.
"Morning" Elle said hesitantly once Aubrey re-entered the dormitory.
"Morning" Aubrey replied.
Gabrielle and Celinda must have already left for breakfast, as Elle, Ana and Aubrey were the only ones in the room.
"How are you?" Ana asked, a concerned look on her face.
"Okay" Aubrey nodded unconvincingly, "I'm sorry I ran off last night."
"Oh hun, it's okay" Elle said, approaching her friend and hugging her, "we're just worried about you is all, Bree."
"We want you to be okay" Ana added.
Aubrey smiled a genuine smile. She felt fortune to have made such good, caring friends in the short amount of time she'd been at Hogwarts.
"Thanks" Aubrey smiled, "I appreciate it."
"Are you going to go to class?" Elle asked.
"Mhm" Aubrey said, "I'm not going to let Stretton ruin the rest of my grades" Aubrey continued. She had decided last night that assuming the role of victim, acting sad and moping around would not improve the situation, so she decided that she would continue attending classes the following morning. Aubrey wasn't going to give Stretton the satisfaction of upsetting her, and ruining her time at Hogwarts.
The girls made their way up to the great hall for breakfast, and Aubrey noticed that neither Tom nor Professor Stretton were present for breakfast. Classes passed by normally, though Aubrey was quieter than normal. Time seemed to pass a little slower and she had an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach about seeing Tom Riddle in Transfiguration that afternoon. She was ashamed about what happened, and didn't want Tom to view her differently since the night prior.
"Hello" Tom said politely as he took a seat next to Aubrey later that afternoon in class.
Aubrey nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"How are you?" he asked in a barely audible whisper.
"I'm fine" Aubrey said sternly, looking forward and avoiding making eye contact with Tom.
"You're not very convincing, Aubrey" Tom said gently, "I think it's in your best interest to tell the Head-"
"I'm not telling anyone, Tom" Aubrey said sternly, now looking at Tom right in the eye. "No one else needs to know."
"Very well, Miss Knight" Tom whispered, "if that's what you want, then I will respect that."
Aubrey was surprised, albeit pleased that Tom wasn't pushing the issue any further. Although it did seem unlike Riddle to oblige by her wishes so quickly, and respect her decision, Aubrey was grateful that they're conversation surrounding last night's events ended rather abruptly. For the remainder of Transfiguration the two worked silently, each taking turns practicing Professor Dumbledore's new spell. To Aubrey's relief she was able, though temporarily, to push thoughts of Stretton from her mind and work alongside Tom in Transfiguration without distraction.
"See you Thursday" Tom said brightly once the hour was up and Dumbledore had dismissed the class.
"See you" Aubrey responded, taken aback by his pleasant farewell, which replaced his usual silent exit.
The following day passed by without incident, though Aubrey's feeling of anxiety, that lay deep within the pit of her stomach, increased tenfold when it was time for Charms class. The three girls were in the Slytherin common room, mulling over Defence Against the Dark Arts homework when Anastasia noticed the time.
"It's ten to" she said, looking at her watch, "we should probably head to class."
"I think I'm going to stay here" Aubrey said, "maybe you can bring me back any homework we have?"
"Of course" Elle said sympathetically.
"See you in a bit, Bree" Ana called over her shoulder, as Elle and she exited the green and silver room to head to Charms.
"How was it?" Aubrey asked an hour later, once Elle and Ana had returned from class. She hadn't left the common room, and was still working, though rather distractedly, on the Defence Against the Dark Arts homework.
"Nothing out of the usual" Ana said, taking a seat beside Aubrey.
"He behaved normally" Elle added, "just like we expected."
"He wasn't especially difficult with you or anything?" Aubrey asked, wondering if Stretton had punished Elle and Ana through association.
"Nope" Ana replied, "hardly paid any attention to us."
"Did he ask where I was?" Aubrey asked.
Elle shook her head. "He did give me your exam though, Bree."
"Oh" sighed Aubrey who, after the incident on Monday, had never actually received her grade for the midterm, "so, how badly did I fail?"
"Aubrey, you got nearly perfect" Elle responded, digging through her bag to find Aubrey's test.
"Pardon?" Aubrey asked, unable to comprehend what Elle just said.
"You didn't fail" Elle said, handing the papers to Aubrey, "he graded you fairly."
"He did?" Aubrey asked, thumbing through the papers and examining Stretton's marks.
"Look" said Ana, shoving her exam beside Aubrey's, "we all have virtually the same answers, but this time we got similar marks."
Aubrey smiled broadly and set the paper down. She felt ecstatic. Finally, she had earned a good grade in Charms and Stretton seemed to be grading her properly.
"Wait" Aubrey said a few moments later, her feelings of euphoria beginning to fade away, "why would he do that? Why would he start grading me fairly now?"
"Probably because he realized what a jerk he was!" Elle said calmly, resting back against the couch.
"Hopefully" Aubrey agreed, each of three girls unaware that Stretton's change in marking wasn't because of a sudden self realization, but rather due to Tom Riddle's threats.
"Do you think you'll come back to Charms, now?" Ana asked, delicately.
"Yeah, maybe he's smartened up" Aubrey replied, though she was still unable to prevent the butterflies from forming in her stomach with the thought of seeing Professor Stretton once again.
The following afternoon Aubrey was sitting in Transfiguration class when Tom Riddle sat down beside her.
"Good afternoon" he said brightly.
"Afternoon" Aubrey said quietly, again taken aback by his cheerful demeanour and still embarrassed for the events he witnessed two nights ago.
Professor Dumbledore demonstrated the new spell, one where they were required to conjure an intricate, glass vase, and left the students to practice it for the remainder of the hour.
"Ladies, first" Tom said politely, motioning for Aubrey to try the new incantation first.
Aubrey took a deep breath to try and settle her anxiety, as this spell reminded her of the last lesson in Charms before Stretton attacked her. Each student had had a glass vase, similar in shape to the one Dumbledore had conjured moments before, on their and were required to fill it with water. Aubrey's mind drifted to the thought of Stretton and his body pressed firmly against hers up against the stone wall of the Charms classroom. She could feel his warm breath on her neck and his rough hands pulling at her robe, running his fingers up her leg. Suddenly, there was the loud sound of glass breaking. Hundreds of pieces of glass flung from the tip of Aubrey's wand, slid across the wooden desk, and finally shattered onto the floor, creating a sea of glass before her feet.
"Miss Knight!" Dumbledore said worriedly as he made his way over to her desk, "are you alright?"
"Yes Professor" Aubrey said, turning a bright pink, "sorry about that, I must have lost concentration."
"Not a problem, my dear girl" Professor Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his wand the broken, glass shards vanished into thin air, "happens all the time."
Dumbledore continued to circle around the class and Tom, who had been silent throughout the entire ordeal, took his turn and produced a shiny, though lopsided, glass vase on the desk before them.
"No comment, Tom?" Aubrey asked the handsome wizard, once he had finished performing the incantation.
"Hmm?" Tom said, examining the product of his first attempt.
"You're not going to comment on how terrible that was? What a mess I made?" Aubrey pressed on.
"It's no bother, Aubrey" Tom said pleasantly, now turning to face her. "We all mistakes and I'm sure you tried your best. You'll just have to try again."
Aubrey directed a look a sheer confusion to Tom before focusing her attention back on her task and wondering what was wrong with Tom Riddle. It was completely unlike him to let a catastrophic mistake pass without some sort of sarcastic and demeaning remark. Why was he being so friendly? Why wasn't he acting like himself? Aubrey sighed, coming to a realization.
He's treating me differently because of what happened. He thinks I can handle him, that I'm too fragile.
Aubrey felt disappointed as she didn't want to be treated differently, especially by Tom. Though she never thought she would admit it, Aubrey wanted Tom to comment on the mistake she made, and laugh at her horrible attempt with the spell. She had enjoyed their banter back and forth and longed for it to return. She wanted things to go back to normal, and resume the sarcastic, playful and interesting relationship she had formed with Tom Riddle.
That night, in the common room, Aubrey told Elle and Ana about Tom's strange and uncharacteristic behaviour.
"Well he's obviously worried about you" Elle said, once Aubrey had finished.
"I don't know" Aubrey said, still unconvinced but hoping that Tom's change in attitude wasn't a permanent one.
"He is" Ana said brightly, "he told us today that he's concerned about you."
"He did?" Aubrey asked.
"Mhm" Elle added "we saw him just as he was heading to Transfiguration. He wanted to know how you were doing and if you had told anyone yet. He said he was concerned."
"He didn't tell anyone, did he?" Aubrey asked, feeling anxious once again.
"No, I don't think so" Ana said, "he said he wouldn't say anything without you knowing."
"I still disagree" Elle said, and Aubrey sighed, knowing what was coming next. "I still think you should tell someone Aubrey" Elle continued.
The three girls had had this same argument more than a handful of times since the attack, but Aubrey had already made her decision. For once in her life, she was grateful for the stubbornness she had inherited for her mother, and she decided that no one else would know about that attack. That was final.
"People are already treating me differently because of it" Aubrey protested, "look at Tom."
"He's just concerned is all!" Elle argued, "we're just worried that Stretton might try something again if you don't speak up-"
"Tom said Stretton wouldn't hurt Aubrey again, though" Anastasia interrupted, shooting a puzzled look at Elle.
"Yeah, but what does Tom know?" Elle challenged.
"Everything" Ana replied, as though it was obvious.
"Wait, what?" Aubrey asked, confused as to what Elle and Ana were bickering about.
"Elle told Tom that she was worried Stretton might attack you again if you didn't say anything" Ana explained, "but Tom said that he wouldn't. You were safe."
"He was more concerned for your well being" Elle admitted.
"Well I'm fine" Aubrey said defiantly, "everything is fine."
"Aubrey, don't try to minimize this!" Elle said bluntly.
"Nothing happened!" Aubrey retorted.
"It would have if Tom hadn't-"
"But it didn't!" Aubrey interrupted Elle, not wanting to think about what could have happened if Tom Riddle hadn't come to her rescue.
"Fine!" Elle said, annoyed, leaving the common room and storming up to the dormitory.
"She just wants you to be alright" Ana said, once Elle was out of earshot.
"I know" Aubrey said, suddenly feeling horrible, "I will be. I just need to do it my way, is all."
"I know" Ana said, sympathetically.
The next afternoon the three girls made their way to Stretton's Charms class and the feeling of anxiety that Aubrey had become so familiar with this past week was stronger than ever. She and Elle had been speaking to each other since their row the night before but the conversation, Aubrey noted, seemed awkward and forced. They entered the classroom and Professor Stretton began his lecture.
"That was..."Aubrey began, once the class was over and the girls were walking towards the great hall, "good" she finished, surprise laced in her voice.
"I know!" Ana exclaimed, "he didn't criticize you once, Aubrey!"
Aubrey nodded, remembering how Professor Stretton ignored Aubrey throughout the entire lecture. Not once did he hover over Aubrey's desk, criticize he work or made a remark about her failing. The only acknowledgement the three girls received from him was a vague "nice work, ladies" near the end of the class.
"It's excellent" Elle said, "that's how it should be. Hopefully he'll stay like that."
That evening, the girls were walking deeper into the dungeons to visit their usual spot by the window. Aubrey was feeling much better, in exception of her now strained relationship with Elle, now that she had a better idea of how Stretton would behave towards in future classes.
"Shoot" Ana said just as they reached the spot in the corridor, "I forgot something, I'll be right back."
"I'm sorry I snapped, Elle" Aubrey said, once Ana was out of earshot, "I know how serious this is, and I know that it could have been a lot worse. I realize that, and I'm sorry for not listening to you."
"I'm sorry too," Elle said, a smile forming across her face, "I just want you to be okay Aubrey, I don't want Stretton to bring you down."
"He won't" Aubrey said, reassuringly.
"I know you don't agree with me" Elle continued, "but I just thought that telling another Professor would make it better...somehow."
"It might have" Aubrey agreed, "but I was just too worried about the repercussions-"
"Understandably" Elle agreed, and Aubrey smiled, feeling like Elle finally understood her quandary.
"I appreciate everything you've done" Aubrey continued, "thank you."
"What are friends for?" Elle said, hugging Aubrey before sitting down on the cold floor.
"You guys okay, now?" Ana asked a few moments later, joining the two girls on the floor.
"Of course!" Elle said enthusiastically.
"Does anyone else know?" Aubrey asked.
"Nope" Elle said, "just us and Riddle."
"And Stretton" Ana added.
"That's good" Aubrey said, "I just wish Tom would stop acting so strangely."
"I'm sure he'll come around, and it's sweet that he's worried about you" Elle said, and Aubrey nodded.
"How do you think he knew to go to Stretton's room?" Ana asked, "when he was attacking you, Bree?"
"I don't know" Aubrey answered honestly, having wondered the same question herself all week. "I feel so badly, I haven't even thanked him."
"Well you can thank him by accepting his invitation to the dance!" Elle replied brightly.
"Oh yeah!" Aubrey said, suddenly remembering she had forgotten to inform Elle and Ana, "I already accepted, that Monday night. We're going together."
"What?!" Elle shrieked, "why didn't you tell us?"
"I guess I forgot" Aubrey responded, "there was a bit going on."
Elle laughed.
"I'm surprised that news hasn't reached the rest of the students yet," Ana said, "I guess Tom's been too busy to tell everyone, too."
"Well that's great Bree!" Elle added, "now when we go to Hogsmede tomorrow, you can look at dresses knowing for sure that you'll be going with Tom."
"Right" Aubrey replied, smiling. She had completely forgotten about the trip to Hogsmede this weekend, but a feeling of excitement quickly rushed over her as she anticipated visiting the tiny town that lay just outside of the Hogwarts boundaries.
