Love's Labours Lost

Ch. 2

Sky looked around the table at breakfast with a feeling of unease. "Has anyone seen Minerva?" she asked Anne.

Anne, too, looked uncomfortable. "No," she said. "Try looking harder. Maybe you'll see her."

Doubtfully, Sky peered around the hall. There was Lucifer Malfoy, sitting with his arm around Alaine Rodowski like he did every morning, over at the Slytherin table. At the Hufflepuff table was Kelly, checking her schedule eagerly. Sky knew she was hoping that Herbology was that morning. Over at the Ravenclaw table, she saw Haley peering around the room. Kelly and Haley were both friends of Sky, Anne, and Minerva. At the Gryffindor table, she saw Abscissa, another friend of theirs who was unusually good at Arithmancy. She was deep in conversation with Bilius, a rather nice boy whom Abscissa had recently been dating, though she had sworn never to marry after her mother was abandoned. But nowhere were there any signs of Minerva.

Sky had an idea where she might find her friend, however. When she'd finished her breakfast, she walked up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower alone. As she entered the corridor that led to girls' dormitories, she heard a familiar sound-someone's deep, heart-wrenching sobs.

It was Minerva, sitting in their dormitory, back to her bed, a photo album open on her lap. Her dark brown hair hung around her face, her head was drawn up to her knees, and her thin shoulders shook with each sob as tears fell unchecked down her pale white face. Sky put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Minerva, what's wrong?" she asked.

When Minerva didn't answer, she asked more quietly, "Does it have to do with class? Should I talk to a teacher about it?"

Minerva finally shook her head. "I don't have any problems with schoolwork, I'm acing all my classes. It's-" She broke off in a sob. After a second she said, "It's Tom."

"Tom Riddle? What about him?"

"Didn't you hear Lucifer Malfoy talking this morning? That's who Lord-Lord-oh, I can't say the name." Already, the name instilled fear. Minerva sighed as she realised that Sky didn't have the faintest idea who she was talking about and said, "All right-Voldemort. Anyway, he killed someone, Sky-someone who teaches here, at Hogwarts. I can't bear the thought of Tom being so-so-evil."

"Why not?" asked Sky gently.

"We-" Minerva looked into Sky's pale blue eyes. "We were dating."

Sky stared at her friend. "Were? That gives one the impression that you aren't anymore."

"We're not," sighed Minerva. "Remember when he found out that Hagrid was killing off the students-that he'd killed Myrtle?"

When Sky nodded, Minerva continued. "Well, the year after that, when he graduated, he asked me to marry him. I told him that I loved him, but you know Mother-she says that no daughter of hers will be married until she's twenty-one-so I had to say no. He went into a frightful rage, and I haven't heard from him since. No one has."

Minerva leaned her head miserably against Sky's shoulder, and Sky patted her head soothingly. She knew that her friend would never be the same again.