Chapter 10
For all his life, Jude was never one to say it was cold. His body was always warm even when the air was sharp and freezing. He never complained even when he felt the drops of rain soaking him when he tried to sleep. He was always warm. He honestly didn't even know what it felt like to be cold.
But for the first time in his life, he felt that he could say it.
Jude walked through Hogsmeade, many paces behind his excited classmates. James still wasn't talking to him or Emma, he hadn't seen Emma in a few days, and he was pretty sure his classmates were scared of him for what happened 2 weeks ago.
Hell, even Carlos was cautious around him now.
The blue eyed boy sighed sadly, letting his heated breath fog in front of him. Maybe he'd just get some butterbeer and go back to the dorms. He didn't feel like going into George's shop without his friends; it took away the fun of the whole trip.
He was about to make his way to Honeyduke's when he spotted a familiar head of red hair. Emma caught his eye and gave him a shy wave. He glanced behind him to make sure she was actually looking at him before he waved back hesitantly.
"Where's James?" Emma asked once she was a few feet away from him.
Jude frowned, kicking the snow on the ground, "He's in the dorms. He didn't feel like coming down today."
Emma patted his arm comfortingly as they began walking away from Honeyduke's, "I'm sure he'll come around. He can't be holed up in the dorms forever. He might start doing homework if he stays there too long."
A small smile came upon his lips at the joke. Jude shrugged, "I don't know. He hasn't really talked to me much. He doesn't even try anymore really. At dinner, he just eats in silence. I stopped trying to get him to talk after the 3rd night."
"I guess I haven't been a good friend either," Emma said downheartedly. Her eyes were grey, conveying the conflict that was going on in her mind. She leaned on his arm as they walked, "I'm sorry, Jude. We shouldn't have been ignoring you like that. Especially after what happened in DADA a couple of weeks ago."
Jude grimaced, "I'd rather not remember that." He glanced around at the students who were staring at them, "I didn't mean to scare Curry like that. I don't know what came over me."
Emma looped her arm with his, trying to soak up the warmth coming off her best friend, "You've been through a lot, Jude. No one can blame you for being paranoid in those situations."
"But I wasn't paranoid. I thought…." Jude huffed, shaking his head. "I thought I saw something. I thought I saw Lazarus."
The red head flinched, "He's dead, Jude. You made sure of that."
Jude exhaled deeply, "I'd like to think that, but something in me just doesn't believe it. After what I read on the newsletter on the first day of school, I can't help but think he's still out there, waiting for me."
"Maybe it's not him," Emma tried to reassure. She tugged on his arm, gesturing to the sweets shop next to them, "Come on. Let me get you some well deserved candy before we get butterbeer, alright? It's the least I can do for the way I've been treating you."
The messy haired boy put on a smile for her as they walked into the shop. As much as he wanted to believe that Lazarus was gone, he couldn't help but think that the dark wizard was setting up the chess board again, waiting for his first move.