Chapter 8

"And so I told him it wasn't my fault he caught feelings," Viola droned on, waving her hands maniacally to emphasize her point. "And he had the nerve to say I led him on! How could I? I never once told him I had any interest in him. Not once. And you know what else? Everyone calls him the biggest player of our class. Yet when someone else rejected him, suddenly it was like he had feelings or something. All I'm saying is, if I hadn't ended it when I did, we all know he would've played me out and not thought twice about it."

"He's just angry you beat him to it," Bridget concurred. Viola nodded feverishly.

"Yes! See, I knew you'd understand."

"I'm sure Pandora does too, once she wakes up," Bridget said, snapping her fingers in front of Pandora's face. Pandora snapped out of her daydream and looked at her two friends with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry guys," she apologized quickly. "I didn't get much sleep last night,"

"Trust me, we know," Viola laughed. "You were tossing and turning all night."

"Sleep is for the weak," Bridget quoted, shrugging. Pandora rolled her eyes at her. She knew that Bridget had been drinking potions to stay awake for all hours nearly every night now. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had even seen Bridget in her bed.

"I'm just ready for some breakfast," Viola announced as the three rounded the corner. Pandora felt a tug of her heart as she spotted Harry, talking to his two friends outside the dining hall. She slowed her pace, allowing Bridget and Viola to breeze past her. She bent down and feigned tying her shoe, waving the two to continue on without her. Harry looked over and saw her, a smile breaking out on his face. He motioned to his friends to go in without him, then slowly walked towards her, biting his lip in anticipation.

"Hey," he whispered, coming close but not too close, just near enough to get a whiff of her vanilla scent, practically lifting him out of his shoes and into the sky.

"Hey," she greeted, her hands aching to reach out and trace his jawline.

"How are you?" He asked, his eyes following the curve of her lips.

"I'd be better if I could get you somewhere alone," she admitted, giving him a seductive smirk.

"Later tonight," he promised. The two began to walk to the dining hall, together but not really together, appearing as if they just happened to develop the same pace. As they approached the door and began to separate for their respective tables, he reached out and took her hand, only for a moment, so as if it appeared that he had just swung it back and hit hers accidentally. But she knew better, so she let his fingers clasp hers just for that one moment before she had to release.

"No, I can't help you get ready for your date. I have two tests and a Quidditch match!" Bridget shouted, exasperated. Viola rolled her eyes.

"It's always something," she sighed.

"What does that mean?" Bridget shot back, shutting her textbook with a slam.

"You're either studying, practicing or working. You never have time for fun," Viola whined.

"And what do you define as 'fun'?" Bridget questioned skeptically.

"Well first of all, when's the last time you had a date?" Viola wiggled her eyebrows.

"What in the world did I just walk into?" Pandora breezed over, sitting in between the two bickering girls.

"Bridget needs to learn how to have fun," Viola said.

"Viola needs to learn to shut up," Bridget snapped, reopening her textbook and losing herself in it. Viola flipped her hair and continued eating as though the conversation had never happened. Pandora reached over for a biscuit and began to eat. The three sat in silence for a total of five minutes when, finally, Bridget closed her textbook and turned to face her friends.

"I haven't been on a date since our second year, when Niles Hanley told me he was the heir of Slytherin and that if I didn't go to Hogsmeade with him, he would petrify me. And I would hardly call that a date," Bridget admitted.

"Let me set you up!" Viola squealed.

"I'm not really looking for anything…" Bridget began.

"Wait, we can do a triple date!" she reached out and grabbed Pandora's shoulder as well.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Pandora interrupted.

"Come on," Viola moaned. "You two haven't been on dates in forever. Neither one of you has anyone special. It's only right that I be a good friend and try to help. Trust me, okay?"

"I'll do it if you do," Bridget said to Pandora. She sighed.

"Well, alright,"

"Yay!" Viola practically bounced out of her chair. "Tomorrow night, okay?"

"Sure," Bridget sighed. As they cleared up their plates and began to leave, she had opened up her textbook again.

"Muggle Studies?" Viola read off the front cover, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"It's most likely the dumbest class I've ever taken," Bridget moaned. "And that includes Care of Magical Creatures." Viola snorted in response, as she took out her compact mirror and began to apply makeup. Pandora began skimming the crowd, searching for Harry. They strolled out towards the entrance of the dining room, each focused on their own task, when Bridget accidentally bumped into Hermionie Granger, knocking her papers out of her hands.

"Watch where you're going," Bridget snapped, kicking a couple papers out of her way. Viola snickered. Pandora felt sick to her stomach as she saw anger flash across Hermionie's face and her two sidekicks, Ron and Harry, appeared almost instantaneously.

"Aw, you're studying?" Hermionie motioned over at Bridget, still bent over her textbook. "That's cute. You'll need it."

"Ah, yes, I forgot you mudbloods have an advantage. What do you do to study? Go through the family photo albums?" Bridget shot back, her eyes daring Hermionie to come closer.

"Back off," Ron took a step forward, ready to defend.

"Aw, is this your boyfriend?" Viola stepped forward, her face inches from his. "He's not too bad. You better keep an eye on him…" she winked flirtatiously, and his face turned beet red. The two girls cackled, strutting off. Pandora forced herself to smile and continue walking with them, trying to catch Harry's eye to mouth an apology.

"What a joke!" Bridget snickered, linking her arm with Viola's.

"It's ridiculous that they're even allowed in this school," Viola remarked.

"Mudbloods shouldn't even be allowed to be considered wizards, let alone go to school with Purebloods," Bridget preached.

"And that Weasley boy…"

"He's an embarrassment to Purebloods everywhere. I don't know how he can live with himself." Bridget sang.

"I heard the whole family's like that. A bunch of rag a muffins lollygagging around, procreating with filthy Mudbloods…"

"And Harry Potter…the golden boy himself…" Pandora stiffened when she heard his name uttered from Bridget's lips.

"Oh, he's an abomination!" Viola gasped.

"He struts around acting like he's the savior of the wizarding world. Like we should all be just falling to our knees at the sight of him!"

"Some people do," Pandora interjected. "He did stop He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."

"Did he really, though?" Bridgett began.

"Oh, here we go," Viola teased.

"I think it's all a conspiracy. See, think about it. He wears those humongous glasses-they're practically the size of the Great Lake-meaning he must be practically blind. Not only that, but he also was an infant when he 'defeated' the Dark Lord. So we're supposed to believe a half-blind infant was able to defeat the most powerful dark wizard of our time? I don't believe it. I think someone else did the dirty work and he just took all the credit." Bridget rambled.

"Then how do you explain his scar?" Pandora piped up.

"He probably bumped his head falling down the stairs and decided to turn it into a cool story." Bridget waved her hand in dismissal.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Viola laughed. "He is kind of cute, though."

"Don't even think about it!" Bridget screeched. "First, everyone thinks he's doing the Mudblood. And even if he isn't, I overheard that he tried getting Cho Chang to go to the Yule Ball with him. And she said no. So if he's really the 'chosen one', don't you think he would be able to get a girlfriend by now?" The two were hysterically laughing. Pandora joined in, feeling embarrassment sweep across her face.

"So tomorrow night," Viola changed the subject, her eyes sparkling mischieviously. "You two better look hot. I'm going to find us the best boys around."

"Yeah, yeah," Pandora rolled her eyes. "Just don't find us weirdos, okay?"

"I make no promises!" Viola joked.

"I'm going to class," Bridget waved as she strolled off. Viola turned to Pandora, a grin growing on her face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to ask…Draco?" she leaned close, her breath smelling like toast and pumpkin juice.

"Ugh, please don't," Pandora scrunched up her face in disgust.

"If you say so!" Viola sang, breezing off the other way. Once she was sure Viola was nowhere in sight, Pandora sat down on a nearby bench and breathed heavily. Her friends' words lingered on her mind as she organized the papers in her folders. She found herself picking apart their words, analyzing them and almost believing them. She spotted Cho Chang then, walking down the hallway, intertwined with Cedric Diggory. She found herself disliking Cho Chang then, despite the fact that she had never done anything to Pandora that she could recall. Nevertheless, she scowled at her as she passed.

That night, Pandora sat in her room and watched the minutes tick by. She knew that Bridget was at her Quidditch game and Viola was watching the game in an effort to appear "athletic" for her newest boy toy. And Pandora was sitting. She wondered if Harry was where they said they'd meet. She wondered if he was still waiting for her, or if he had figured out she was not coming.