Chapter 3 - Dear Agony
Dark
I was just getting up as I heard my uncle shouting today is the day. Today was the last day of the summer, which means boarding the train for Hogwarts. As I went to my bathroom to take a shower, I found myself thinking about Envy and Dray. I sighed and walked into my bathroom.
As I brushed my wet hair through with the blow dryer, I began to think of how Dray had acted when Shadow almost got hurt. Shadow was my favorite cat in the world. He was the only one who was there when I had nightmares. I sighed again as I finished drying my hair. I began to put it in a ponytail when I realized I didn't have much time for that.
I hurriedly brushed my hair as I looked at my cat. He was already eating a little something I baked for him. I smiled as I finished brushing my hair.
"Breakfast is ready," my uncle Eddy shouted from downstairs.
"Coming," I shouted, turning my bathroom light off, and walking / running down the stairs. I jumped the last few steps and landed in front of the stairs. I rushed to the kitchen as I smelled bacon, eggs, toast, and sausage. When I got into the dining room, my aunt had set up a plate, setting it where I sat.
"Well, eat dear. I am sorry for the way I have treated you lately. I allowed your Uncle to cook your favorite breakfast. Please eat," she said kindly as she made her own plate.
"Thank you, Aunt Bella. It's okay, I figured for a while that I just reminded you to much of my father," I said, tearing up as I sat down at the table in front of my plate.
"Don't cry dear. It is alright; please eat," my Aunt Bella kept telling me. I nodded and began to eat slowly.
I was in my room, finishing packing as my aunt walked into my room.
"Dear, this was your father's journal. It got passed to me. I think its time you had a chance to read this," she said to me as I began to pack it in a small silver bag. I made a silver bag/purse be able to hold the book, a small green/silver blanket, and some cat treats. As I shrunk my trunk and my other things, my aunt kissed my cheek.
I looked at her, confused, but she turned away before I can ask her why she did that. As I put my smaller things into a green backpack, my uncle came up.
"Alright, do you have everything? Cat food? Trunk? Cat bowls? Cat treats? Your dad's journal? Your mother's favorite blanket? Your guitar?" He asked, helping me make sure I had everything.
"I do Uncle. Don't worry. Wait, where is that furball of mine at?" I asked, referring to my cat.
"He is actually waiting for you in the car, we gotta pick up the speed girl," he said as I put on my green backpack and held the silver bag in hand.
"Ready," I said as my uncle had already began to walk down the stairs, I followed after him, beating him to the front door. I opened the door, grabbing my owl cage. My owl was perched on tree branch. "Come here, girl," I said to my beautiful brown owl.
I opened the cage and she flew into the cage and sat. She listened to me well. I walked to the car and got in. My cat was running in circles in one seat as I sat down. I shut my door and buckled up as my uncle locked the front door and got in the driver's seat.
My cat jumped into my lap as my uncle was buckling up. I set my owl's cage next to me. We drove to King's Cross where the train was waiting.
I was walking towards the train, when Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy walked up.
"Hey, girl," Crabbe and Goyle said to me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"Hey you two," I said to them. "Hey Pansy. How was your summer?"
"Why do you care? You already stole my boyfriend. I barely saw him. Thanks a lot. I thought we were friends, Emily!" She shouted at me, accusing me in front of everyone. Crabbe and Goyle let go.
"You've done it now, Pansy," They said as they watched me straighten up; they could tell I was pissed off.
"You dare fucking accuse me? When it was not my choice? I didn't even realize he was my best friend when we were younger! Let alone he was your boyfriend! You never told me these things!" I shouted in rage at her as the ground began to shake as my magic started to get out of control.
I watched as she started to back away and I saw the fear in her eyes. I sighed and calmed myself before disappearing into the crowd as Crabbe and Goyle chased me down. I lost them as I got onto the train. I walked along until I found an empty compartment and sat on the seat alone. I was left with my thoughts. My cat had already been sitting near the door when I had got here, now he was purring and laying, curled in my lap, asleep.
I looked out the window, thinking about her. Who would ever guess I would be sitting here thinking about a red haired female named Envy. I constantly found myself laying in bed thinking about her. I wasn't not sure why. I didn't fully understand why she has captured my mind the way she had.
"E-Emily?" I heard a female voice ask me. I must have been losing my mind, because now I was hearing her voice ringing in my head. I had to make sure I was not losing my mind. I looked over and saw her. I grinned.
"Envy! I was wondering when I would see you," I heard myself say to her, happiness leaking into every syllable. I saw her amazing smile as she sat down across from me. She also had a cat carrier with her and a beautiful silver cat poked its head out.
Shadow twitched his tail; I started to slightly pet him as I looked at her cat.
"So how has your summer been?" She asked softly.
"I-it was alright," I whispered lightly as I looked to the floor.
No matter what happens, I-I can't let her know. She would hate me. What am I supposed to do? He wants me to kill a Ravenclaw! I can't though! Oh God; what do I do?
"Is everything okay?" She asked softly, her green eyes shining with concern.
"Everything is fine," I told her as I looked at her. I was trying to show nothing was wrong as I asked her, "Anyway, how was your summer?"
Shit, I've got to calm down. I have to act like nothing is wrong. Calm, Dark. Calm. Think calmly. Think happy thoughts.
"It was rather nice," she said with a small, dazzling smile. "I read a lot; although I do that on a regular basis, anyhow."
I smiled wryly. I looked at her; I was trying to change the subject before she pressed on to ask me about what was really going on.
"I didn't know you were a perfect," I said, taking in the badge on her cute dark purple sweater.
"You never asked," she said with a wink, which made me laugh slightly. "And its true; I'm one of the goody two-shoes."
Come on; laugh for real, Dark. You did last time; make it less awkward.
"I'm not really surprised you know," I told myself as I smiled slightly.
"I'm sure you aren't. No one is, once they figure it out. It's kind of a given."
"I could never be a Prefect; I break the rules too much," I said, grinning at her.
Like seriously, I really do. I never seem to get in trouble though.
She laughed her amazing cute laugh she has, so I winked at her, making her laugh again. I felt my cat was in distress, I began to pet my cat to calm him, which it did. He began to purr loudly in his sleep.
"What a lovely cat," she said, eyeing my beautiful black with blue streaked fur, almost like a midnight color, furball in my lap.
He always attracts the females and certain animal loving males to my side. It's funny really.
"Thanks; his name is Shadow," I said, beaming with happiness and pride in this furball.
"He's adorable."
"Thanks. I like your cat, too," I told her as she patted her cat's head, which in turn made her cat purr in content.
"Thank you. This is Nyx."
I'm not sure how we managed to get to this subject, but I like the change. This will lighten the mood by a ton.
As we finished swapping stories about our cats, it had been an hour and we had began to sit in silence. I watched her cat, Nyx, be nosy, and explore the compartment. Then, she decided to join me on my side as she sniffed at Shadow.
Shadow, who is a very polite cat, stirred from his sleep and returned the sniff with gentleness. After they did what cats can only do for each other in greetings, she came over to sniff me before moving on to see what was under the seats.
The rest of the time had passed a bit too fast for my own liking, as we talked about simple things like our favorite subjects and professors to our least favorites; we spoke of our favorite quidditch teams; to things we like to do in our spare time. I rather enjoyed her company.
We both had soon realized we were nearing the school, so we had to get our robes on. I pulled my trunk out and made it large again on the floor. I began to take my robes out as she did the same. I saw her blush as I watched her, unable to look away.
I forced myself to look away as I began to change into my robes. I glanced towards her way as I sat back down, calmly. I finished changed before she had. I watched her change, pretty damn fast. I could tell she was all flustered. I was pretty sad when it came to the fact that we pulled into Hogsmeade station. She tugged at her collar, as I re-shrunk my trunk and put it away.
"Shadow, we are going to be in Hogwarts again," I whispered to my cat softly as I put my bags on my shoulder. I saw her scoop Nyx up and gently place her in her carrier, fighting to get the door shut.
"I guess I'll see you around," she said to me, before I could say anything to her as she opened the compartment door. She walked into the current of people as she was taken away. I frowned as my cat licked my hand. I sighed and picked him up as he climbed my arm and rested on my shoulder, purring. As I waited for the crowd of people to calm slightly as I joined the crowd towards Hogwarts.
As I walked into the Great Hall, I knew that I would lose my spot where I sat. I glanced around, the first years weren't here yet as usual. I walked towards the Slytherin table as I saw him. The dirty blonde almost brown haired devil with the gorgeous green eyes. He was a Gryffindor, though.
Father, Mother. Would you be mad if I said I think I might be in love with a Gryffindor. I heard his voice in potions one year.
'I was walking to potions as usual. I walked into the classroom and took my spot in front of Crabbe and Goyle. I always sat here like any other day. I didn't mind what was around me.
I swear I heard an angelic laughter coming from behind me, coming from the halls. I heard the Golden boy's laugh too, as I heard Weasley sneeze, and bookworm yelling things at Weasley. I heard the laugh again, I searched for where it came from. I glanced towards the door.
The trio walked in followed by a dirty blonde almost brown haired boy with green eyes and glasses, and Neville Longbottom. I never noticed him before, but of course. I was a Slytherin. I am supposed to be rivals with the Gryffindors.. I mean Gryffindorks. I shouldn't be thinking about them.
Was I under a spell? Did Golden Boy curse me to fall for his friend? What am I thinking? Golden Boy was, he was; he was a goody two-shoes. Those types of people will never be my friends. I'm the bad girl here. I will not fall for a Gryffindork even if I was under a spell.
As the class dragged on, Professor Snape assigned us partners, Draco with Golden Boy, Hermione with Ron. Here's a surprise, I ended up with a Gryffindork. I glanced up from where I was seated to see the boy with the gorgeous green eyes. As Snape told us our potion lesson and supplies needed, the boy had told me his name. It was Chris.
His name was so pretty. I never heard someone be named that. It was a lovely change. We began to talk as we divided our jobs equally. We talked about quidditch; we talked about our favorite professors to our least favorite; we talked about our favorite subjects to our least favorite subjects; we talked about what we do in our spare time. As class was beginning to end, we were finishing up our potion. Snape had walked over just as it finished.
Snape looked at the potion and took the sample we made for him.
"Chris, you are lucky I paired you with one of my two best students. Potter and you, need their help if you both want to pass," Snape told Chris as he looked away, uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Snape, I'll make sure he passes. He did very well. I helped when I had too. I pointed out his flaws, to help him get better," I told Snape as Chris looked at me, surprised at me taking his defense.
"Alright, I'll make sure to check this for sure," Snape began. "Thank you, Emily. You really are an 'A' student."
I smiled at his praise as he walked behind us to the next desk. Chris tapped my shoulder.
"Why did you suddenly defend me?" He asked as I looked at him.
"I don't know. I just felt the need too," I told him softly. I was not sure why I defended him at all. The bell rang signaling that class was over. Golden Boy called his friends over and Chris waved good-bye. I watched him leave, stunned. I was confused. I looked away from him as Crabbe walked to me.
"What was that about? You know we aren't supposed to get along with anyone outside our house," he explained to me as I gathered my belongings up and walked out the door, again hearing his angelic laughter. I calmly, almost ran, to lunch.'
That is how I began the trial of knowing I was falling for a Gryffindor. I couldn't let others know.
I was watching him as he ran his hand threw another girl's hair, I instantly felt like someone just cursed me to began crying. I forced myself to calm down as I tried putting my heart back in my chest. He kissed the girl and thats when my heart fell to the ground. I walked to the Slytherin table, wanting nothing, but crawling under my blankets and crying all my troubles away or possibly telling Envy or Draco about it.
I idly listened to the announcements as I heard that this professor named Slughorn was going to be our Potions professor. I frowned. Professor Snape should have kept that position, but I sighed as I heard he was going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Many students were shocked at this and there was hushed whispers and gossiping happening all around me. I was by myself as Crabbe and Goyle took their spots by Dray. Dray hadn't said anything to me since summer. I sighed as my heart fell to pieces more. The first day back is just not going good. I was happy about seeing Envy, but when we got close to Hogwarts she started acting weird.
The second we pulled into the station, as the crowd rushed off the train, she got swallowed into the crowd, leaving me alone. I am constantly being left alone. This is about to drive me nuts. This was not fair.
"Hey bitch, you are lucky Dray told me what happened," I faintly heard Pansy say to me as we were walking to our common rooms.
"Shut the fuck up. I don't care anymore," I said as I walked into the common room. I walked straight to my room as Shadow walked with me. No one bothered to mess with Shadow. They just passed by him and kept going.
Thats when Pansy took the chance to start her fucking shit with me. She grabbed my cat who began to hiss at her. I stopped and sharply turned around. I walked over to her and slapped her across the face. The impact was so loud that everyone stopped what they were doing.
I am sure people outside could hear it. Pansy let go of my cat as he jumped into my outstretched arms. I held onto my cat.
"Stay away from my cat and I, or I will curse until you have more bad luck that you will come crawling to me saying how I am more better than you ever will be. Get that in your head. No one likes you. You are controlling little prat. I was never your friend. You just used me, like you use Dray. He doesn't deserve you. No one deserves someone like you," I told her as my angry began to get out of control.
I calmed myself down as I simply walked to my room. I had my own room. I liked it, because I can put a silence spell around my room, I can be in peace. I put the spell up and also a spell to protect my room from anyone who tried to get in, after setting Shadow on my bed. I walked to my bed, took my trunk out and began to unpack some things. I pulled out my mother's blanket and hid it under my normal blankets. I got dressed in my pyjamas and laid down. Shadow got comfy next to me as we both fell fast asleep.
Lydia
Finally, finally, finally; the day had arrived. It was time to board the train and go to Hogwarts; it was time to go home.
"Come on, you lazy bum; get up and get moving!" I shouted at Jason as I burst through the door to his room, startling him. I went over to the window and threw open the drapes, letting the crisp, dazzling September sunlight stream through the window.
"Damnit, Lydia; what's your problem?" Jason groaned, shielding his eyes as he sat up.
"Language, Jason!" I said with a wink. "Come on, then; breakfast is almost ready, and we can't be late."
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled as I walked out the door.
Two hours later, we were standing on Platform 9 ¾, surrounded by a swarm of people moving in every which way, bustling two and fro with children and trunks. There was the sound of laughter, and shouts, and the occasional sniffle or two here and there from clinging mothers and the occasional anxious child. It was the usual chaos.
"Now, make sure you behave yourself, Jason Anthony," mum said sternly to Jason, who looked annoyed at the use of his middle name. "i don't want any letters this year about dung bombs and rigged cauldrons; do you understand? You need to stay focused on your studies for your examinations. Now be good, alright?"
He nodded before heading off to the train.
"Lydia, please keep an eye out for him," she said softly to me.
I nodded, and indicated my shining Prefect badge pinned to my sweater. "Always. It's my job, after all."
She smiled. "Be good; I don't have to tell you, but as a mother, I feel compelled. So, be good. Make sure your brother doesn't do anything too daft; and, as always, have a good time. Enjoy yourself."
I smiled and hugged her. I heard the whistle blow, and with a wave and a promise to write, I ran off and boarded the train, heading to the Prefects' Carriage. I sat myself down, and everyone else began to trickle in as the train shrilly reminded us that it was almost time to go.
"Hello, Lydia," Hermione Granger said as she came in, followed closely by Ron Weasely.
"Hello, Hermione; hello Ron," I said with a smile.
"How was your summer?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to me.
"It was rather nice, although not too much different from the usual. A lot of books and some annoyance from my brother, but everything was well. And yours?"
She smiled. "I had a rather tame summer myself. What have you been reading?"
And with this, we launched into a huge, long discussion about the books that we had read over the summer. We discussed authors and prose and all manner of things while we waited for the meeting to begin.
The train began to roll forward after a bit, and we were off, King's Cross Station gliding away into the distance within moments. The Head Boy and Girl walked in, and the meeting began. It was the same as always; talk of our patrolling duties; reminders of the newly updated Banned items list; times and schedules for patrols in certain areas; the same as the year before.
Once the meeting was over, I said goodbye to Hermione and Ron, and made my way through the train, doing a quick patrol before I went to find a place to settle in. Everything seemed to be in the clear for the moment, but you never knew; especially on a train full of teenage witches and wizards. So, I walked through the corridors of the train, peeking in compartments every now and then and just doing a general sweep of the place to make sure everything was okay, when I stumbled upon her.
Thinking I had found myself an empty compartment (a blessing from the gods), I slid the door open to reveal that someone occupied it; and that someone was Emily.
She sat by the window, her head leaning against the glass. She had a large black and blue cat curled in a ball on her lap, sleeping soundly, and she appeared not to notice anything that was happening around her. She wore simple jeans and a black sweater, her hair down and around her face.
"E-Emily?" I asked softly.
She turned her head, and her large blue eyes lit up. A broad grin crossed her face, making me flush.
"Envy! I was wondering if I would see you."
I gave a sheepish smile, my internal agreement with myself flashing off warnings in my head. And yes, it seemed like a bad idea, but she looked pretty upset and lonely, sitting there by herself, so I decided to let myself slip this one time and have a seat.
I sat across from her, setting my own cat carrier next to me. Nyx poked out her head and mewed softly at me. With a smile, I let her out, and she padded across my legs and settled into my lap, purring softly as I began to stroke her soft silvery fur. She blinked her large blue eyes at me, seeming pleased. I gave a little chuckle and patted her head. She settled in and fell asleep almost instantly. Typical cat.
"So, how has your summer been?" I asked.
She looked at the floor, a look of panic crossing her face. "I-It was alright," she whispered faintly.
"Is everything okay?"
She looked up and gave a weak smile. "Everything is fine," she whispered. "Anyway; how was your summer?"
"It was rather nice," I said, giving her a small smile. "I read a lot; although I do that on a regular basis, anyhow."
She gave a small, tight smile. I could tell something was seriously wrong here, but I wasn't sure if I should press her. It was probably personal, anyway, and I barely knew her. It wasn't my place to push her. Before I could change the subject, however, she said something and broke the temporary silence that had erupted between us.
"I didn't know you were a Perfect," she said, eyeing my badge.
I gave a proud smile. "You never asked," I said with a wink. She laughed slightly at that. "And it's true; I'm one of the goody two-shoes."
She smiled slightly. "I'm not really surprised, you know."
I chuckled. "I'm sure you aren't. No one is, once they figure it out. It's kind of a given."
"I could never be a Prefect; I break the rules too much," she said with a grin.
I laughed slightly, and she winked at me, making me laugh again. She stroked her cat, who purred in its sleep.
"What a lovely cat," I said, eyeing the black and blue ball of fur on her lap.
She beamed. "Thanks; his name is Shadow."
"He's adorable."
"Thanks. I like your cat, too."
I smiled and gently patted her head. She purred in content. "Thank you. This is Nyx."
Somehow, we ended up in a discussion about or cats. It lasted for much longer than I had thought it would; about an hour later, we were out of cat stories to swap, so we sat in silence once more. Nyx was out and about, poking her head around the compartment. She jumped onto Emily's seat, and sniffed at Shadow, who stirred from his slumber to sniff at her in return. They regarded one another in the way that cats do before she sniffed Emily and moved on to see what was under the seats.
The rest of the ride passed without much incident; there was more conversation regarding simple things like our favorite subjects and professors to our least favorites; we spoke of our favorite quidditch teams; to things we liked to do in our spare time. The conversation was simple and easy, and I found myself enjoying her company. The tension slowly dissolved until it wasn't there any longer, and I felt more relaxed.
Soon however, we found ourselves nearing the school.I made to change into my robes, when I saw her looking at me as she got her own robes from her trunk. I blushed fiercely and looked away, changing faster than I have ever changed in my entire life.
I sighed in relief as we pulled into Hogsmeade Station, trying to recover. My neck and face still felt hot; I tugged at the collar of my robes, trying not to look conspicuous about it. And when we finally did pull into the station, I scooped up Nyx and gently placed her into her carrier, fighting to get to the door.
"I guess I'll see you around," I said as I opened the compartment door.
Before she could say much else, however, I let myself be swept into the current of people, letting them swallow me whole and take me somewhere safer.
The Great Hall was the usual writhing mass of students clad in their black robes as I made my way through the grand space, heading for the Ravenclaw table. I went to sit down, and smiled widely when I spotted my close friends, Terry Boot and Anna McDaniels.
"Terry! Anna!" I said, beaming, as I approached the table. They waved to me as I sat down.
"How have you been?" Anna asked me as I took my seat across from her on the bench.
"I've been very well; and you?"
"Just lovely," she said with a smile. She nudged Terry, who was reading something.
"Sorry." He smiled. "I had a pretty good summer. I've been better, though."
We continued in smooth, easy conversation about our holidays as everyone filed into the Great Hall and got settled in. We all eyed our plates hopefully, waiting for the announcements to be over with so we could have dinner.
We were in a for quite a shock, however, when we learned that we had a new Potions professor. He was a large, bulbous man named Professor Slughorn; apparently, he had been a professor long ago, and had only just come out of retirement. Our question of who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be was answered with another shocking answer; Professor Snape, the man we all loathed and hoped never to see in such a position, was to take up the mantle as our new DADA professor.
Shock and surprise was registered on ever face you saw in the Great Hall; immediately, everyone broke out into frenzied whispers, the gossip buzzing through the hall like flies. We were silenced, but the shockwave of the news still lingered in the air; and as soon as we were released to eat, platters heavy with food filling the long tables, the entire hall was instantly abuzz with chatter.
"Snape, teaching Defense?" Terry asked incredulously as we began to fill our plates.
Anna shook her head, placing a chicken leg on her plate. "Absolutely unthinkable," she said. "Why would Dumbledore put him in as the new professor? he could've given the old snake any other job."
I nodded, placing a lamb chop on my plate. "It doesn't make any sense." I sighed, pouring myself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Well, if Dumbledore thinks that he's good enough for the job, I guess we'll have to trust it for now. Although I so have a nagging suspicion that we'll be having quite an interesting term with him as the new professor."
Terry nodded. "This definitely ought to be interesting."
I glanced over at the Gryffindor table and spotted Jason, shooting him a confused look. He returned the look of bewilderment, and I turned my attention back to my food and my friends, wondering what was in store for us this year.
As I climbed into bed an hour and a half later, my head was still spinning. From my encounter with Emily on the train, to the news of Snape's new position, it was just one of those days when everything seemed to be out of sorts.
I settled in under my blankets and drawing the curtains around my bed, sighing softly. What was happening here? Before I could think too much, however, I felt a tremor in the mattress as Nyx jumped onto my bed. She settled in and curled up next to my side. I stroked her silky fur, and she began to purr softly.
Even Nyx's usually soothing purring wasn't enough to shut my brain off, however. I lay there still, just thinking about everything and trying to make sense of it all. Bugger Snape and Defense; the one thing I couldn't get off of my mind was Emily.
She had seemed to desolate on the train; and when I asked her about her summer... The look on her face was more than enough to tell me that something was definitely not right there. i wanted to know what was troubling her, but it really wasn't any of my business. Was it? She did say we were friends, after all.
But then I remembered the promise that I had made to myself over the summer; no matter how bad she was feeling, she was still associated with Draco Malfoy, and until I knew details, she was still under some suspicion. But still; she had looked so upset... Damn my compassion. It weakened my resolve; I found myself deciding that I would ask her if she wanted to talk about it. if she didn't, then I would leave well enough alone; if she did... Well, I would burn that bridge when I got to it.
Eventually, the food, my warm, comfortable four-poster, and Nyx's purring and assuring warmth against my side lulled me into a daze, and before I knew it, I was closing my eyes, drifting into sleep's colorful and enchanting embrace.