A week passed. Then another. I didn't speak to Aaron at all. In fact, I barely saw anything of him. Patrols were done in utter silence, and we always made a point of sitting on opposite ends of our classes together and of the common room,
Another person I wasn't seeing much of lately is Jacob. However, this fact does not make me so happy. It seems as though all I see of him lately is when he sneaks into the common room in the evenings for a snogging session. Speaking of those, he's been going further and further with me each time, and I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with it. Last time, two nights ago, he was trying to unbutton my shirt when I stopped him. He stormed out of the common room, angry, and apologized the next morning, saying he wouldn't try to push me that far again. I forgave him, somewhat reluctantly, but I haven't seen him since.
As Stacey, Penelope and I make our way to Hogsmeade in mid October for the first trip of the term, we're discussing - what else- boys. Stacey is on her fourth boyfriend already, Arnold Churkumba, a seventh year in Hufflepuff, and she's meeting him later today at the Three Broomsticks. Penelope, as usual, claims to be interested in no one. As we start talking about Jacob, both girls agree that they've barely seen him lately, and that he's been acting kind of odd.
"Are you meeting him today?" Penelope asked.
"No. He has a Herbology essay he needs to finish. He's spending all day in the library." I responded. A small voice in the back of my head tells me that there's something wrong, that spending all day in the library is not like Jacob. However, I choose to ignore that little voice, as I often do.
"What do you think is going on with him?" Stacey wonders aloud.
"I don't know," I say. I could hear a hint of sadness in my own voice.
"You should talk to him," Penelope, always the one with the wise advice.
"I will, tonight," I decide, resolved to figure out why he's acting so strangely.
Jacob is nowhere to be found in the library. He's not waiting for me in the Gryffindor common room, and he's not in the almost empty Great Hall.
"Check the Ravenclaw common room," suggests Stacey.
So I climb the winding stairs, they seem never ending. There's a sick feeling in my stomach, though I don't know why and the little voice in the back of my head seems to have increased its volume ten fold.
The portrait is of a proud-looking knight atop a wild black stallion. It was an odd portrait, and somewhat sad; the stallion did not look like it belonged there.
The knight begins speaking "I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?"
Bullocks. I forgot I had to answer a riddle to get into the common room. This is only the second time I've been here, and the first time I was with Jacob. Surprisingly, the answer to the riddle comes to me after only a few moments of painful thought.
"The letter 'e'" I respond. The portrait swings open without another word. I step inside and look around. The common room is full. In a secluded corner, Jacob sits on a couch. Hestia Jones, one of the sixth year Ravenclaw prefects, sits with him. Her legs are draped over his lap, and her hand is resting on the couch, right by is shoulder. One of his hands lies in her lap; the other is casually thrown around her shoulders. They're talking, quietly. Hestia giggles. I've never noticed how annoying and high pitched her laugh is.
Jacob's eyes lazily wander the common room. He freezes when he sees me, standing just in front of the portrait hole. Hestia sees his expression of horror, and also turns her gaze towards me. Jacob shoves her legs off him and stands up abruptly.
"Irene?" He exclaims.
I stand frozen, rooted to the spot. It's not like they'd been snogging or something. But somehow this is so much worse. They looked happy. I look over to Hestia. She's arranged her face into that of a guilty, ashamed expression, but it looks fake. She seems happy. She's won and she knows it.
I clear my throat, holding back angry tears. "How long have you been cheating on me?" I ask in a low voice. I really hope no one else has noticed what's transpiring between the three of us.
"Irene, I- This isn't- I didn't-," Jacob stammers. He looks desperate.
However, Hestia mercifully saves me from the excuse I'm positive Jacob was about to spew my way. "Since the start of term" She says. I can almost hear the triumph in her voice.
By now, most of the common room has stopped to watch and listen in.
"I'm so sorry" She says. I can hear the smile in her tone, even if it's not on her face.
'No you're not' I feel like saying. But I don't. I take one last glance at Jacob turn around and leave through the portrait hole. He doesn't call me back, or try to stop me. I walk briskly back to the common room. My heart is pounding, but my head is unusually clear. My eyes start to tear up.
"Shite" I mutter, as I wipe at my face with the back of my hand. I give the Fat Lady the password. Surprisingly, she asks no questions, which I'm grateful for, just gives me a sympathetic look. By now the tears are running reely down my face.
Penelope is sitting in the armchair closes to the door, reading a book. She looks up when I enter, and her face immediately registers alarm. But I don't meet her eyes. My target is set at the girls' dormitory, and I don't want to stop to talk to anyone. I continue my brisk pace.
"Irene!" Penelope calls. Everyone within earshot looks up at me, including Aaron. He stares at me as I walk by, but once again, I could not identify the emotion in his eyes or on his face.
I'm going to have to answer a lot of questions tomorrow, but for now, I just want to be alone.
"Irene!" Penelope calls again. I'm at the foot of the stairs by now. I reluctantly look back at her and giver a tiny shake of my head. She looks hurt, but she seems to understand that I want to be alone. I continue up the stairs, enter our dormitory, and go straight for my bed. I sit there for an hour or so, bawling like a child. This is my own fault, I think. How could I have let myself trust Jacob? It seems I've no luck whatsoever when it comes to boys. I sigh. How humiliating. I actually believed Jacob loved me, that we had something special. The tears continue to flow, until my eyes begin to burn and I can keep them open no longer. I finally get up to brush my teeth and change into my night wear. As I crawl into bed, the betrayal and loneliness washes over me in great waves. Finally after another half hour of crying, bliss arrives in the form of sleep, and I drift off to forget my stupid reality for a little while.
Author's Note
Hiya everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just to let you know, much of this story is already finished, so it's only a matter of typing it up and writing the conclusion. Updates should be relatively quick! Leave a review please! :)