Rumor Has It

Sitting on one of the comfortable blue sofas in the Ravenclaw common room, Toby flipped another page of his Arithmancy text with a heavy sigh. Celes was having her session with Pomfrey currently, so he was forced to be good and work on schoolwork. In other words, to say he was bored was an understatement. He had already completed next week's reading with follow-along notes and had moved onto the week after that week's. However, he quickly found himself daydreaming while reading all about the magical number of three and all of its amazing properties.

"All right. All right," announced a laughing seventh-year as he entered the common room.

Toby's eyes wandered over to Kai who walked in with a mass of people following. His eyes narrowed on the parchment in Kai's hand before he quickly looked away. Kai had finished the roster for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Finally. After a week of waiting. Not that Toby really cared, of course.

At the sound of the excited chatter after Kai pinned the roster to the bulletin board, Toby sighed heavily again as his finger tapped silently against the frayed text in his hand. A part of him wanted to get up and look over the roster just to see who was on the team this year. However, another part forced him to remain firmly seated on the sofa. After all, the odds of him being selected for the team were slim to none. So honestly what did it matter who was on the team?

"It's funny how we wish it was us when we're on the outside looking in, isn't it?" Luna softly said behind him.

Toby glanced at her and raised a brow. "Is that right?"

"Quite," she replied, nodding with a faint smile. She then held out a magazine. "Quibbler?"

He snorted and shook his head, returning to his Arithmancy.

"Are you sure? It's the Hero of Hogwarts edition."

"That's all right. I've spoken to Harry enough to realize that there's more than what was likely written in there."

"But it's not about Harry."

He blinked and slowly glanced at the dishwater blonde. "Excuse me?"

"The article isn't about Harry. It's about the true hero of the story." She smiled. "The hero everyone should have heard about."

"You're joking." Good god, he hoped she was.

She smiled a little bigger. "Dad made sure it was even bigger issue than his past ones."

"Oh, Merlin," he groaned, pushing himself up off the sofa to stand. Detention was sounding real good right about now. Anywhere actually sounded better than there.

"Good idea. You never know when the Chirpers might find you," Luna said happily behind him.

He merely shook his head, though, and left the common room. Walking with his hands in his jeans pockets several moments later, he headed towards the Transfiguration courtyard. The corridors were bustling with students rushing to their next class or after a friend. He found himself sidestepping a lot to avoid any collisions with these otherwise preoccupied adolescents and bit his tongue to keep from snapping at them as a result. He was Toby now, not Professor Snape. Something he had to keep reminding himself, lest slip up and ruin it all.

Finding himself standing in front of the Transfiguration classroom door a moment later, he sighed inwardly and knocked gently. When the door opened soon after, he forced a polite smile to his face before he glanced back down at the ground as he stood awkwardly in front of Minerva.

"You're early today," she remarked quietly.

He shrugged, following her inside the empty classroom. "Didn't have anything better to do." He heard her subsequent snort almost at once.

"No. I don't suppose you do." Minerva then pointed towards a nearby desk. "Your assignment is already laid out for you."

He nodded slowly and walked over to the desk she had pointed to. His eyes briefly caught the opened chapter's title before he looked away. There were worst things she could've made him read. He then set off to reading all about dark matter and its effect on magic.

"Mister Brooks?" Minerva called out almost an hour later.

Since he was fairly used to hearing his pseudonym now, he merely glanced back at McGonagall, noticing that she had been grading essays while he had been reading silently. "Yeah?" He noted her brow raising quickly afterwards, but he ignored it.

"I must admit that your behavior as of late has vastly improved."

He snorted and shrugged, leaning back in the small desk chair and stretching. "Thanks, I guess."

She shook her head then. "I still find it unsettling how easy you've adapted to all this."

"It has nothing to do with being easy," he countered, running a hand through his raven hair. "It's just something I have to do." He shrugged a second later. "But I suppose I can see your point."

She laughed softly, adding another parchment to her ever-growing pile on her desk. "Tell me. How are things with you and Celes?"

He couldn't prevent the sigh from escaping his lips.

"That well, I take it?" she asked with a polite smile.

"It's not like that. It's just—well, she's not the same." He quickly cut her off when he saw her mouth open. "I know what you'll say. That of course she's different now. But that's not what I mean."

"Then, what do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to explain." He then drew in a slow breath. "I've tried talking to her, but she doesn't want to have anything to do with that. So I don't push her."

"Because you care about her."

"No," he replied, his eyes quickly meeting McGonagall's. "It's because I love her."

She smiled faintly. "Well, unfortunately, sometimes you have to push. Even if you love her. She'll likely lash out, of course, but sometimes it's the right thing to do."

He scoffed. "Yeah, and how'd that work out for you the other day, Minerva?" He knew all about her pushing session with Celes the other day, having heard all about it from Harry.

McGonagall sighed quietly. "Not as well as I had hoped, I admit, but it proved that she'd listen to you a hell of a lot more than she'd listen to me now. I'm just urging you to try. That's all."

"Fine. I'll try again," he answered as he flipped back a few stray locks of loose hair.

"That's all I ask for because I want her back just as much as you do." If only it was that easy.

~Rising~

After eating dinner in the Great Hall and noting with a pang that Celes wasn't there again, Toby wandered back to his common room. He briefly entertained the idea of heading over to the Hufflepuff dorms and demanding to see her, but knew that wouldn't help matters. She needed time.

"Hey, did you hear about—" someone asked in the corridor outside the Ravenclaw dorm.

"Do you think it's true?" someone else whispered as Toby walked past.

His eyes narrowed briefly, but he continued on his way.

"Of course it's true. Leanne saw it with her own eyes," another voice added to the mix.

Deciding to figure out just what they were all gossiping about, while having the sick feeling in his gut that he already knew, he approached the small group. He noted a few of them stiffen when he reached them a moment later.

"What are you all talking about?" Toby inquired, glancing among them.

"Uh, well, um, it's just—" stuttered a third-year.

"You wouldn't understand," a sixth-year Ravenclaw proclaimed loudly.

Toby frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Try me."

A young man in his year snorted. "All right. Don't say we didn't try to tell you."

"Just spit it out, Anthony," Toby grumbled, trying desperately not to sneer at him.

"Well, it seems McGonagall and Sinistra are quite close with each other."

Toby bit his cheek to keep the snort back. That was their breaking news? That Aurora and Minerva were close to one another? And his colleagues wondered why he thought the horrid brats were idiots. He shook his head, though.

"I don't follow."

A tall brunette smiled shyly before speaking then. "As in they're an item, Toby."

He blinked and stared at them dumbfounded. "What?"

"All right, so, Leanne said she was going to see Mr. Sinistra about some help with an essay or something earlier," a sixth-year girl said with a wide smile. "Well, she heard him sounding rather upset in his office, you know? So, naturally she went to investigate to find out what was going on."

"Naturally," Toby replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, she gets to the door and hears him calling McGonagall by her first name."

"Yeah, and it wasn't just Minerva. It was Minerva. Like with the sexy tone, you know?" Leanne finally said, cutting in. "Like they know each other really, really, really well."

Toby stared at them, unable to speak. This is what his students contemplated during their free time? No wonder the horrid brats failed half of their classes all the time.

"Are you honestly suggesting that they're having an affair?" He noticed most of them shrug with devious smiles. "You're mad. All of you."

"We are not!" argued the group.

"Yeah! I mean, how else do you explain the way that she had her arms around him, Toby?" Anthony interjected with a self-satisfied look on his face.

"They're friends. That's it."

"I don't know, man. They hug like you and Celes."

"Kiss like you two, too," Leanne piped up.

His mouth dropped. Orin and Minerva? He could see close friends, definitely, but lovers? No. Leanne must have misunderstood something. After all, she was a hormonal adolescent.

"It was why he was upset, I think. Because his wife is missing, and there he is snogging McGonagall in the Defense office."

"You're all mad," Toby whispered, staring at them dumbfounded. His head was swimming now, and it was definitely not in a good way. While a part of him was semi-glad that his father-in-law was making an attempt to move on from that bitch of a wife of his to someone who truly was, in all connotations of the word, a mother to Aurora, another part of Toby was rather annoyed by this. After all, it wasn't like he didn't already have his hands full with Celes as it was. No. Of course not. Orin and Minerva now wanted to add a new stepmother to the mix, it seemed.

"Utter madness," he grumbled under his breath as he stormed away from the tower.

As he walked through the corridors once more, he found himself heading in the general direction of the hospital wing this time. He paused for just a moment at this realization before he shook his head. Minerva was right. He likely could push Celes a bit more than the others could in order to get her to talk. It was something they frequently had done with one another when they were just friends, in fact.

He kicked the ground a moment later. It was different now, though. They weren't just friends anymore. He had let her in deeper than anyone else had been before, and he guessed the same was true the opposite way as well. They knew each other's deepest, darkest secrets. The ones they could voice at least. She knew how guilt had nearly consumed him whole after Lily's death, while he knew the true reason she had joined the Order—the darkness that had blanketed her soul for so long.

At the sound of someone approaching rapidly from the far end of the corridor, Toby glanced up from the floor and watched Harry run towards him. He walked faster, feeling his heart constrict as terrible thoughts ran through his head.

"What's wrong?" Toby asked, looking the young man over. Harry seemed to be physically all right. No visible injuries. The young man's eyes were a bit brighter than usual, too.

"I can't believe it!" Harry exclaimed, staring at him in utter disbelief.

"Believe what?" When the Gryffindor did a perfect fish out of water impression, Toby frowned. Could it be that they were all wrong and the Dark Lord had once again slithered his way out of death? "Spit it out, Potter."

"You made the Quidditch team!"

Toby blinked before he snorted. The tension quickly left his body. That was what had the young man all worked up? That he had made the Quidditch team?

"Next time, spare me the dramatics and just say it, Harry," he quietly remarked, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that he had even entertained the idea of the Dark Lord returning for even a second. That was positively ridiculous.

The young man smiled faintly, glancing down at the ground. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"As if I'm ever scared," Toby drawled, the silkiness of his voice floating around them.

"Yeah, yeah, I forgot." Harry laughed. "So, how are you and Celes going to celebrate?"

"Celebrate?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, to celebrate you making the team."

Toby shrugged, shaking his head. He glanced towards one of the broken windows, watching a tree sway in the breeze. "I don't think we will. She's got enough on her mind, you know?"

"I don't know. It might be a good distraction for a bit. At least that's what I've found." Harry then laughed shortly. "I didn't really think this summer that I'd be up to playing Quidditch this year and, you know, act like everything's all right. But I started thinking after our talk the other day, and I realized that I'd be letting him win if I just let my life move past me."

"Wise words," Toby commented quietly.

"Yeah, well, I'm no Ravenclaw." Harry smiled faintly. "Plus, when we were talking about it that day on the bench, it seemed like it was something she enjoyed."

Toby couldn't hold back his loud laughter. "Oh, Potter. Trust me. She hates Quidditch with a passion. She finds it utterly barbaric."

"That may be, but she was sure cheering you on the other day during your tryouts."

"Really?" That was news to him. "Odd."

"Oh, come on, Toby," Harry said with a laugh, clapping him on the back. "Don't tell me with all your years of experience that you haven't figured out that Quidditch players are like lust potions."

He snorted, rolling his eyes. Harry unfortunately was right. Deep down, Toby did know that there was something rather attractive about Quidditch players. More often than not, a member of the Quidditch team was involved in a romantic relationship statistically speaking.

"What are you saying exactly, Potter?"

"Go find Celes and celebrate. Hell, we both know that you two need more good in your lives." Harry shrugged. "So go and enjoy it, Toby." His green eyes then darted about the empty corridor. "I mean, if anyone deserves to be a cocky son of a bitch raising a little hell around here, it's you."

He smiled and laughed. "If you say so." He then ran a hand through his raven hair. "Maybe I will go tell her. It can't hurt, can't it?"

"Nope." Harry then returned a faint smile. "I'll see you later."

Toby nodded and turned away, heading for the nearest stairs. His head swam with various thoughts as he headed towards the Hufflepuff common room. Would today be a good day for her? Those days were rare for her now, he knew. Every now and then he would see the woman he had fallen for all those years ago. She was just underneath the surface, clawing her way out of the darkness. If only he could take her heartbreak, her pain. That had been his mantra for months now. But he knew he couldn't. All he could do was be there and support her. It was his turn now.

He frowned a moment later when he noticed the tall curly-haired boy blocking the entrance to the Hufflepuff dorm. Finch-Fletchley. Oh, how he wished he could just punch that boy some days.

"She's not here," the Hufflepuff coldly stated.

Toby raised a brow before he shook his head. "Thanks, I guess. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you. Not after what you did to her."

He clenched his jaw to keep the vitriol from exploding out of him. Just what the hell was Finch-Fletchley's problem this time? Had the boy forgotten his dear plants again?

"Excuse me?" Toby growled through his grit teeth.

"Don't play coy, Brooks. We all know. How you're allowed to remain here after—"

"I would be very careful in my wording if I were you," Toby snarled, ready to hex him to hell and back for the level of disrespect Justin was giving him.

"That's enough, you two!" a loud voice yelled behind Toby a moment later.

He whirled around and caught Granger and Malfoy rushing towards them with their wands drawn. Clearly the two missed the fact that even a Head Girl couldn't use magic to discipline students. He quickly stood down, though.

"Go back to your dorm, Justin," Granger softly said a second later.

"He shouldn't even be allowed to go here anymore. He's bad news," Justin snapped.

"That's not for you to decide," retorted Draco. "So, just do as she asked and go back in there."

"Or what? You'll hex me?" Justin scoffed. "You think you're so amazing now, don't you? Well, I've got news for you, Malfoy. Just because you're shagging Granger now, that doesn't mean that we haven't forgotten who you really are. You may have her and the staff fooled, but we know what a despicable git you are."

Having heard quite enough from the mouthy Hufflepuff, Toby couldn't hold back his instinctive urge to hurl insults. "At least he has a girlfriend, Finch-Fletchley. All you have is your pathetic little fantasies about a professor." He noted gleefully the color rapidly leaving the Hufflepuff's face. "Tell me. Is it true what they say?" His malicious smile deepened. "That your—let's say—'wand' rose in her presence? My, my. Hot for teacher, are we?" He chuckled darkly. "Too bad she's married to that greasy bat, hmm?"

With no warning, a swift punch hit Toby square in the mouth. He reeled back slightly and growled in annoyance, but quickly forced the smile back to his face. He could taste the coppery blood on his lips as it flowed, but he stood there perfectly still and enjoyed his moment of victory as Finch-Fletchley turned and ran back into his common room. Served the little bastard right.

After a moment, Toby then wiped the blood from his face and sighed. He'd pay for that dearly when the truth came out later. But for now, he'd bask in the glory of the moment. His eyes darted towards Granger and Draco, waiting for either of them to comment on his actions.

"Uh, wow, okay." Malfoy then shook his head. "If I would've known that, I'd probably have said that to him, too. Fifty points to Ravenclaw."

"Draco!" Hermione cried, frowning in clear disapproval at him.

"If you two are quite finished," Toby sighed, "I'm looking for Celes Martins, my . . . girlfriend." He saw Granger's face fall instantly, feeling his gut contract once more. "What is it?"

"She's in the hospital wing."

"What? Why?" Toby asked, glancing between them.

"I don't know. I saw her there earlier when I went to talk to Madam Pomfrey."

Wasting no more time, Toby took off, rushing down the corridor towards the hospital wing.