Antares

Chapter Nine ~ Aftertaste

"A garra da Aguia."

The portrait hole opened, unusually slower than normal. Aki peered in; everyone was already in their bedrooms. She stumbled into the Ravenclaw common room, wiping her red eyes dry. As the door closed behind her, Aki felt her legs flop. She collapsed on the navy carpet, bracing herself on her scuffed hands. She sat crookedly for a moment to regain her breath. Her lungs ached and burned from having to run the whole distance back to the tower. Even breathing had become a difficult task, as she felt like throwing up with every gulp of air she took. She coughed violently, trying to get some moisture into her severely dry throat.

Aki pushed off the ground to stand up. She needed to take clumsy steps back to regain her balance. She staggered over to the sofa and leaned on it. She was so incredibly tired that she could've just tumbled over anywhere and plummet into sleep. She eyed the dying fire through her watery eyes. The soft flicker was just a blur through all the tears. Aki took one step towards the winding staircase to the bedrooms but froze. She clutched her stomach; something was wiggling inside her body. Aki bolted to the bathroom in what little light was offered in the dormitory. She stubbed her toe into the doorframe of the washroom and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.

When she entered the small, pitch-black room, Aki flung her arm out and fumbled around for a light switch. When she did manage to get the light on, she threw both hands over the sink's edge, breathing heavily. The repose made her queasiness subside for the time being. She stared absently at the drain before spitting out a glob of saliva. It had the faintest dot of blood swimming in it. Aki turned on the faucets full blast to wash down the spew. She got a strange calming feeling when her pinkish wad of spit swirled down the hollow drain. The water, clear and a little bubbly, washed away all unwanted. It swept them away to places never to be seen, and that was the last you saw of it. She moved her eyes to the water blasting out of the tap, so noisily and free. Without hesitation, Aki covered the tap's spout with her mouth, water instantly filling it up entirely. She sucked down the metallic water, swallowing so massively that her throat felt like it was stretching with every gulp. She hadn't realized how much she needed a drink, a non-alcoholic one, until now. The tap water, though not entirely clean, tasted remarkably good. Simple water had never tasted so delicious.

Aki pulled away from the spout and spat out the grime that had smeared onto her tongue. She sighed deeply as fresh tears could be felt building up again, and pressed her fingers firmly on her eyes to stop them. Her emotions were so disoriented right now. She was still shaking from what had just transpired, but on the other hand she was burning with fury, at herself. She felt like ripping all of her hair out and smashing her head to a bloody pulp for her stupidity. If she had just said no to the Firewhiskey the first time, she would've been safe in her bed long ago.

"Fuck!" she whimpered feebly as tears seeped their way through and fell into the sink. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck..."

Aki reflected on the incident; Marcus did not, in any way, force the Ogden's onto her. He was very much prepared to leave for his dormitory before she had stopped him. She had practically brought this all on herself. It was interesting how a simple decision, a simple utterance, had changed her whole night.

"Pleeease," she begged to someone above, her voice breaking. "For th' love of Merlin... turn thin's back to two hours ago... please."

That 'someone above' was hopefully listening, even though no sign of their consideration was made. The gurgle of water from deep within the sink drain and the crackling fire in the next room were the only sounds in her ears.

"Please?"

The desperation in Aki's voice in that last appeal made things seem so much more hopeless. She felt like a great yawning abyss was consuming her from the inside out. She sighed despondently, pitiful blubbers escaping her as she did so, and removed her fingers from her eyes that were fecklessly holding back tears. The dirt that was once on them was now smudged onto her lids. She could even see the clumps of mud caught in her eyelashes. She ignored the irritants and gazed sadly at the watermarked porcelain of the sink.

"S'not supposed to be like this."

Aki hung her head, gripping the sides of the sink. As her hair dropped over her face, she could see how much debris was caught in it; lumps of soil, leaves, and pebbles were tangled in the knurled strands. Teardrops mixed with the dust on her lashes and fell into the basin, a cloudy beige colour.

She sniffed and went over to the toilet to rip off a long sheet of toilet paper from the roll. Aki pressed the sheet against her eyes, sopping up the tears and wiping away the dirt. The cottony paper felt so much more abrasive against her blazing skin. She took it away, red eyes feeling sandblasted, and glanced at the paper in her hand. Two big wet spots were in the middle of it, their moisture spreading outwards, along with smudges of tan. However, the thing that made Aki's stomach lurch was the crimson stain in the corner of the wadded sheet. It had her immersed, an intense chill shooting down her spine. With a quivering hand, she brushed her fingers across her forehead, and immediately felt something wet. She brought down her hand and observed the blood that was smeared on the pads of her fingers. The blood, so fresh and carmine, was trickling down a hand that had seen better days. The palms were grated down, the nails were torn too deep into the raw nail bed, and now earth and blood were mixed on the fingers. The sight of it looked gruesomely inhuman, and brought on a burning disturbance to charge up her esophagus. Not thinking twice about it, Aki plunged her head into the toilet bowl and promptly vomited.

~ ~ ~

Marcus Flint cursed as he attempted to squeeze shut the cut above his eyebrow. A small spurt of blood still oozed through, to which he quickly swiped away. He slammed his foot down with every step he took in the unlit basement corridors leading to his dormitory. He didn't care if anybody heard; he was so mad that he couldn't hold it in.

"That ferret-fucking cunt!" Marcus roared so loud that the sound reverberated down the forbidding corridor. "Shitting with me like that!"

Marcus came to the bare wall that hid the Slytherin dormitory. He grumbled the password, getting annoyed that the door wouldn't open quicker, and stormed in. He gave the empty common room an irate look. The fire was dead, but the room was still dimly illuminated by some of the chandeliers. It looked as though someone had gotten quite frustrated with their homework; a mess of homework sheets lay scattered on the floor around the table on the far north wall. A book bag and a crumpled roll of parchment were abandoned on the table.

Marcus went over to the table and tore off a fair strip of parchment from the roll. He dug through the book bag with the neatly embroidered "Millicent Bulstrode" on it for a quill and ink. He fished out the ink, slammed it down to the desk, and viciously stabbed the quill into the bottle. He paused as he held the quill in hand, a drop of ink threatening to stain the desk.

Would he really do this?

What about everything he had worked for?

Was he just going to throw it all away?

Yes

.

He had to.

He wasn't going to let that fuck-witted todger be his downfall.

He was not going to be brought down by the likes of him.

Marcus broke from his speculation and shook his head aggressively to get his mind on track. He scratched out a short note, pressing the quill so hard into the parchment that it almost ripped with every stroke. He finished and left the quill and inkbottle to dry over for "Millicent" to worry about it tomorrow morning. He snatched up his slip of paper, crushing it in his fist.

Marcus ascended the dark staircase, keeping one hand firmly on the banister. He walked slowly up the coiled stairs, hoping that he wouldn't trip over something and wake up the whole dormitory.

When he got to the top of the flight, he blindly felt around in the dark. When his hands brushed the cool roundness of a doorknob, Marcus gave it a silent turn. He gave a gentle push to the door, and it swung open smoothly. He took a step forward into the deathly still room with the five sleeping girls. The moonlight streamed in from the tall window, and made navigating the room much easier.

Marcus made his way to the first bed on the left and stuck his head through the bed curtains. The girl in this bed was sleeping face down; all he could see was her hair that was streaked all over her pillow. Marcus remembered hearing a bit about this redhead named Rowan from Derrick, who thought she had the best arse in all of Slytherin house. Marcus snorted, concluding that Derrick was an idiot, and left her to sleep.

He went over to the next bed and did the same. The second girl had dull, brown hair and was a bit tomboyish-looking. The thing that made him flinch was the object that was poking out of her breast pocket. A prefect's badge was nestled in there, very much ready to wield its power. The name just above that pocket made her identity clear to everyone: Karen B.

Marcus hurried away from her bed, taking extra care now to keep his footsteps silent. He got to the middle bed, after some tiptoeing, and moved back the curtains. He twitched as the green material slowly revealed what it was concealing. Marcus felt his lips tighten and his hands grip the bed curtains firmly. He couldn't help but scowl at the girl lying in the bed. She was face-up, clutching the blankets around her chest and her brow somewhat squashed together. She looked so unassuming yet wily as she lay there peacefully. Marcus turned his head away in contempt and quickly threw the curtains shut. He smoothed the note in his hand and shoved it onto her night table. He turned his heel and didn't dally, noiselessly closing the bedroom door when he left.

The girl in the middle bed stirred and rolled over onto her side; away from her bedside table and the note that awaited her there:

Ursula,

The deal is off

Marcus

*****

When Aki awoke the next morning, the fetid smell of rancid alcohol and her last meal was very far up her nostrils. The condition of her throat made it feel like she had swallowed gravel. She smacked her tongue around in her mouth and cringed at the awful taste lingering on it.

Aki rubbed the side of her head. The hammering in her brain was immense, like a hot spike was being forced into it. She pressed on her temple; the pounding still continued.

She cracked open a very sore eye and the first thing Aki saw was the gaping hole of the toilet bowl under her face. She was sitting on the bathroom floor; her cheek slumped against the cold seat. The same seat upon which thousands and thousands of untold backsides have planted their filthy selves. Aki yelped and sat up, brushing off her defiled cheek frantically. Something flaky had crusted over beside her mouth. She rubbed it off and examined her finger; it was dried vomit.

She groaned and leaned back into the wall directly behind her, shutting her eyes tightly. Sitting up, though much easier, was still a strain. Clearly, her body didn't like the new position it was forced into after a whole night sitting hunched over. She sighed deep, her chin tipped towards the cerulean ceiling.

"Last night did not happen."

Aki hoped that her firm declaration made it closer to the truth.

"It couldn't have."

There was a brief glimmer of optimism in that everything was just a dream. That she just ate some dodgy beef last night, which explains all the vomit. That the part with Marcus had been conveniently erased. That last night's plea had been carried out.

She tediously bent forward and aversely opened her eyes to slits.

The first thing she saw was her scratched up leg with crimson scabs all over it.

Last night did happen.

Marcus and all.

Aki winced and recoiled to the wall, weeping noiselessly. She remained there, hands covering her face and knees to her chest.

This was the reality; last night was now a part of her life forever.

It was done, and nothing could change that.

There was no turning back now.

Aki let her hands drag down her face and rest on her lap. A tear dropped from each eye and made their soft dribble down her face. She looked down to the simple pleats of her uniform skirt, and blinked hard. Another drop fell; splashing right on to the material and creating a telltale wet spot.

She wriggled and pushed off of the tiled floor to stand up. When she did, Aki felt the head pain throb particularly hard. She squished her eyes shut and reached one hand out for the sink faucets, keeping the other to the bridge of her nose. She grazed the cool metal under her fingertips and turned on the cold knob. As she bent over the sink, her hair fell over her face. Aki saw that there were now chunks of vomit dangling in the tresses.

She ran her hand under the faucet and raked it through the messed hair with spew in it. The way the disgusting clumps flew out and hit the basin made Aki want to throw up all over again. She rinsed them down the drain, turning her head away until they had completely flowed down.

Aki filled her cupped hands with the refreshing water and doused her face. She bit her tongue at the small stinging sensation on her nose. Aki looked up into the mirror with water dripping down her face. The tiny fragment of glass from the smashed Ogden's bottle had come loose from the flesh on her nose, and a dot of blood was starting to fill the hole that the glass once occupied. Aki cursed under her breath and wiped away the blood.

She picked up a towel from the floor and dabbed it against her face. The towel reeked of mildew, and Aki threw it aside when her face was dry enough. She glimpsed into the mirror again, edging closer to it to get a better look at her face.

She had guessed right about the broken Firewhiskey bottle; there were no more than four slits across her forehead. She rubbed her finger over the dried blood on her forehead, and bit her tongue when some of the scabs flaked off, revealing pinkish wounds underneath. Red scrapes were all over, especially on her chin and cheek.

Aki moved back, not wanting such a close up of her vile face. She barely recognized her own reflection, and stood there gaping into the dirty mirror with her mouth slightly open. She took a shaky step back, away from the stranger in the mirror.

Just then, the ajar washroom door was pushed open aggressively. Aki's foot got in its way and the door bounced back, hitting the person who was trying to open it on the head. There was a whiny "hey!" on the other side as Aki took a step forward to avoid getting hit again. After a while, the door opened a second time and a boy with rich, brown hair and prominent cheekbones strutted in, rubbing his forehead. Aki threw her hair over her face and lowered her head. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as the boy stared at her back, and Aki stared at the sink.

"What are you doing here?" the boy demanded bluntly. "It's six o'clock in the morning."

She lifted her head very slowly, masking her identity as much as possible with her snarled hair. As soon as she got a look at the boy's face in the mirror, Aki kept repeating the word "fuck" in her mind.

It was that annoying first year, Anthony Goldstein. He was a little prat, always filling up his free time by squealing on everyone. Aki remembered when he told on Fawcett because she pulled a smart-alecky gag on a Hufflepuff boy last year. Everybody knew the prank was all in good fun, even the Hufflepuff boy. Fawcett was a girl who had a lot of nerve, and a bit unruly in Aki's opinion. However, Anthony was not amused, and didn't dawdle in telling Flitwick.

"I had to go to the washroom, dammit," Aki retorted hotly.

"What's that on your face?"

The moment those words hit her, Aki stormed out of the washroom with her head still down and not looking back once. Anthony gave her a puzzled look and went to shut the washroom door. Before the door fully closed, however, Aki heard him shout out in a surprised yet disgusted tone

"Issat vomit in the toilet?!?"

Aki dashed around the corner before Anthony could poke out and interrogate her as to why there was vomit in the toilet. She hurried up the bedroom staircase, hoping that Anthony wouldn't follow. He didn't, probably figuring that his tired body wouldn't be able to catch up with her anyway. He figured wrong, as Aki was clutching the banister and heaving by the time she had gotten halfway up the coiling staircase. It wasn't a very steep climb, it was just that her body, being both dead weak and out of shape, had factored in to make it one excruciating ascension.

Pushing most her weight onto the banister, Aki took a step upwards before stopping completely. She stood there in wheezing silence, gazing up in despair at the looming staircase above her. She touched her forehead, feeling the crusty scabs scale off when her fingers made contact. It came to her that she couldn't go into her own bedroom; it was too risky. If Daphne woke up and saw her face, she'd alert the whole bedroom. However, Aki did need to put on a new black robe to replace the one she had lost last night as to avoid queries as to where her robe went.

She took a deep breath and pondered, head pressed against the wall. There was one other idea brewing that could ease this mess. Unfortunately, it did mean that someone would have to see her scabby face. She couldn't do this alone. She needed the help of someone. Someone she could trust. Aki decided to take her chances, and resumed her climb up the stairs. Given the other alternatives, it seemed like the best option right now. She prayed that what she had in mind would work.

She finished her flight of stairs and stopped in front of a door. Aki considered the wood, looking deep into the bumps and lines. Without blinking an eye, she opened it and entered the room.

The sun wasn't quite up yet, but there was enough light to maneuver around the room without falling over things. Outside the window, the sky had the colour of a soft black. The stars were gradually diminishing, but still had enough in them to cast a dreary grayish ray into the room.

She went over to the bed second from the left. The owner of the bed had not bothered to close the bed curtains last night. Aki stood over and prodded the sleeping girl on the arm. The girl shifted in her bed and tossed herself away from Aki.

"Cho," Aki said monotonously.

Cho only snorted and balled herself into a tighter fetal position. The bundle of blankets under her chin had many wrinkles in it, as she was gripping it tightly. Aki shifted on her feet, getting a bit huffy.

"Wake up, Cho," she repeated, peevishly.

Cho breathed out heavily and rolled over so that she was face up. She squashed her eyes shut to block out the dim, silver light and made a croaking noise. She arched her back so that she could give it a much needed stretch, then let her body flop back to the mattress. Very groggily, Cho cracked open an eye and then rubbed it with her hand.

"Weh... Aki?"

"Yes. Get your wand and follow me."

"Warh... What's going on?"

"Just do it."

Aki didn't wait for a reply and strode away from the bed. Cho groaned and threw the blankets off of her body. She sat up in her bed for a second to crack her neck. Cho took her wand that was laying on her night table and followed Aki, who was already waiting at the door for her. The girl in the bed next to Cho's began to stir, and Aki saw a head full of messy reddish curls poke out from the blankets.

"Cho?" she squeaked. "W-what's going on?"

"Nothing," Cho reassured calmly, looking over to her friend's bed. "Go back to sleep, Marietta."

The one named Marietta complied without a single second of hesitancy, and dropped her head back into her pillow. Cho exited her bedroom and jogged down the upstairs hall to keep up with Aki. Aki led her down the corridor and opened another door without bothering to knock first. She held the door open for Cho as she walked in, then promptly closed it.

Cho looked around the room they were in; it was one of the upstairs bathrooms. The small window near the sink wasn't enough to brighten the whole room, so they were bathed in a very artificial yellow light when Aki flicked on the switch. Cho curled her upper lip in repugnance at the unappealing sea-green colour the room had taken on because of it.

Cho then heard the click of the door lock. She turned to Aki with a confused expression, wondering why Aki had brought her here. Aki was facing the closed door with her fingers still poised over the lock.

"Aki..." Cho said, starting to sound a bit uneasy that Aki had dragged her out of bed to go to the bathroom. "What's going on? Why are we here?"

Aki did not answer, only lowered her head even further. Cho heard the soft bang of Aki's head hitting the door. Cho impatiently tapped the end of her wand in her palm.

Aki removed her forehead from the door and gently pushed off from it. She brushed some of the hair away from her face before turning slowly to face Cho. Cho's tired eyes shot open, as she was now fully awake.

"Merlin's beard!" Cho screamed.

"Shh!"

"What hap--"

"Shut up!"

Cho flinched when Aki ferociously snarled those last words. Cho didn't make another panicked utterance, but she did gape with these concerned eyes that gave Aki this over-turned feeling in the pit of her stomach. She took a step closer to Aki, reaching out a quivering hand to touch the split skin.

"Aki..." Cho said, her voice cracking. "Your face..."

Aki whirled her whole body around, away from Cho's touch. Cho's worry made Aki feel so wretchedly helpless.

"Cho," Aki said with her hands in loose fists, "you're the only person I know who can do a healing charm."

"I don't--"

"Don't lie to me!" Aki bellowed, spinning back around to face Cho. "I saw you do one for your little friend that last time. I know you can do them."

"But--but... what about your friend Daph--"

"I can't ask Daphne or Victoria... I just can't."

Cho didn't say anything for a very long while. Aki wasn't sure if she just didn't know what to say, or if she didn't want to help in fear that she would get in to trouble.

"Cho," she appealed, bending down to eye level with the girl and placing a hand on Cho's shoulder. "I need you."

The anguish in both Aki's face and voice seemed to spill over onto Cho, as her face elongated.

"Please Cho," Aki pressed. "I trust you, that's why I'm asking you."

Aki's grip on Cho's shoulder tightened when Cho failed to respond. Cho bit her lip at the pain and met Aki's eyes. Both girls were pleading without saying a word, only the way they were looking at each other. Aki's plead was a feverish one to get Cho to do the charm; Cho's was a somber one to not have to.

"Please, Cho."

"But Aki--"

"Cho, just do it."

"But why can't you--"

"Cho, don't ask questions," Aki insisted, getting a bit impatient. "Just do it."

Cho seemed to falter, that cheerless face just staring right back at Aki. A certain sad glint sparkled in Cho's eye.

"Just do it," Aki urged, a hissing undertone in her voice. "I trust you."

Cho kept opening her mouth and closing it, as if she had something to say. With one hand, she rolled a piece of her dressing gown. The other hand, still hanging down by her side, held her wand. Aki eyed the polished stick of wood, waiting for it to move. When it didn't, Aki was grinding her teeth fiercely.

"Do it!!!"

Cho shrunk at Aki's screaming command. Aki saw Cho's face muscles twitch involuntarily. She swallowed deeply and shakily raised her wand, pointing the tip at Aki's face. Aki closed her eyes as hard as she could, balling her fists so hard that her whole forearm ached.

"Wocai Libuyao Weijing."

What ensued was the slightly agonizing feeling of lukewarm water washing over her face. It went on for ten tediously long seconds. Even when the sensation ended, Aki couldn't bring herself to open her eyes.

"It's done."

Cho's voice gave Aki the motivation to actually open her scrunched-shut eyes. When she did, the first thing Aki saw was little Cho Chang looking up at her, a bit nervous. Aki feared that the spell hadn't worked and turned her head quickly to the mirror on the right. A more familiar face was reflected back at her; the one that Aki knew and was used to seeing every morning. The scrapes on her face were mostly gone, or at the very least, reduced to paper-cut sized slashes. Cho was looking at the mirror too, wanting to gauge Aki's reaction.

"Okay?" she said with hopeful reassurance for a satisfactory job.

Aki scratched off the scabs on her forehead and they fell off, painlessly and with ease.

"Where'd you learn that little trick?" Aki grumbled.

"Mum. She taught me."

"Well... it's good enough."

She strode over to the door with Cho eyeing her back. Just as Aki was about to close her hand on the doorknob, Cho voiced up again.

"We should really tell Madame Pomfr--"

"No!"

Aki whipped around and rushed back over to where Cho stood. She pointed her finger at Cho, nostrils flaring.

"Don't you be telling anyone what you saw, hear me?"

"But we have to!" Cho cried. "Your--"

"I can take care of this myself!" Aki asserted, trying to sound as sure as possible.

Cho scrutinized Aki for a fair bit, almost knowing that she wouldn't be able to. She shook her head and sidestepped Aki.

"I'm getting changed and telling Professor Flit--"

"No!"

Aki blocked her path. Cho, quite chuffed, stepped to the other side but Aki blocked her there too.

"Let me through, Aki," Cho said, glaring up at her.

"Say it," Aki growled. "Say you won't tell anyone."

"Let. Me. Through!!!"

"Say it!"

Cho only scoffed snootily and shoved Aki aside with all her might. Aki was pushed into the sink counter, while Cho was fumbling with the door. She got it unlocked, and just as she opened the door an inch, Aki slammed it shut and grabbed onto Cho's arm.

"Say you won't tell anyone!" Aki roared.

"Lemme go!!!"

"Say it!!!"

Cho wriggled and clawed at Aki's scraped hands. She broke free at one point, and ran over to the door. Aki viciously seized her, and threw her over to the counter. The small of Cho's back crashed into the counter and she yelped. Aki lunged forwards and put a strong grip on Cho's shoulders. She shook her like a rag doll, both girls' hair flying all over the place.

"Say it!" Aki screamed. "Say it, damn you!!!"

Cho made this strange squealing noise, her hair now all over her face. She whimpered at the frightening Aki that was shaking her. Aki had never once been so rough with her; it was like she was a complete stranger.

Then, as if being played in slow motion, Cho's wand dropped to the bathroom floor. Aki watched as it fell to the smooth tiles, the first clatter as loud as thunder. She couldn't help but keep her eyes fixed on the fallen wand. A simple stick on the floor had never given her such chills.

She glimpsed up at Cho, whose usual pretty face was twisted horribly. Aki felt like someone had drove a fist into her stomach. Cho was scared; she was the one scaring her. It had never been like that before. They had never even raised their voices at each other.

Aki gasped softly when she realized what she was doing. She loosened her grip, and Cho fearfully backed up to the wall and threw her hands in front of her face. Aki stood there, eyes wide and breathing hard. Trembling, she looked down to the shiny wand on the floor and slowly bent down to pick it up. She slid her finger over the wood, admiring the smoothness. Aki exhaled deeply and shuffled over to Cho, who was whimpering. Aki looked into those terrified eyes solemnly. She presented Cho with her wand, and Cho accepted it cautiously.

"This is my business only," said Aki. "Do you understand, Cho?"

Cho sniffed, and Aki got this terrible pang in her heart. She looked to her feet, not being able look into Cho's eyes after she'd gotten so savage with her. Aki simply turned away to the bathroom door. She froze in the doorway, both hands clutching the frame.

"You don't tell a soul," Aki said softly, her back still turned. "You hear me?"

Cho was dead silent. The only noise coming from her was the sound of her nose whistling when she breathed. Aki dropped her head and swallowed deeply, feeling the bleak disappointment.

"Yes."

Aki felt a calm wash over her at Cho's agreement. Cho was reluctant, but she wasn't a snitch. If she said that she wasn't going to tell, Aki could be sure that she wouldn't.

Aki never said a word of acknowledgement; only walked out of the bathroom door, slamming it in her wake.

*****

Aki sat alone in the Great Hall, slapping her breakfast plate with a stiff strip of bacon. She felt extremely edgy being by herself. She was also a tad paranoid, thinking that everyone in the hall knew of what happened to her last night. Rumours spread around the school grounds like a virus, if Marcus had told just one other person...

"Bloody hell!" Aki whispered, thinking about it.

She covered her healed forehead with her palm, looking down to her clothes. She fingered the spare robe that she had thrown on that morning. The material, so clean, so black and free of dirt, made it feel like she was given a fresh start. Aki knew in the back of her mind that it simply wasn't ever going to be true.

She inhaled sharply and slackened in her seat. Aki timidly peeked to the Slytherin table. There was no Marcus Flint, just a smattering of young Slytherin boys, and one girl sitting in solitude near the end of the table. She was a sickly kind of skinny with long, dishevelled black hair ending at her ribs. The girl looked very perturbed as she stared at Aki, her head slightly tilted. Aki gave her a reproachful look, and the Slytherin girl cracked a smile. It wasn't a wry smile; it was more a tame, cordial one. Aki thought the girl must've been a little loony or something. She looked away, but could still feel the girl's prying eyes on her. Aki pretended not to notice.

There was a sudden fast-paced tapping on Aki's shoulder. Her nerves almost exploded at the contact. She slapped away the hand that was tapping her while twisting around sharply in her seat. Instead of seeing Marcus like she expected, her three friends were standing there, Daphne at the front of the pack, beaming.

"Guess what?!?" Daphne blurted. "Terrence and I kissed last night!"

Daphne got excited at her own words and bounced a bit, clapping her hands giddily. Aki thought she looked simply moronic. Daphne took a seat next to Aki and looked at her, waiting for some sort of indication to continue. Aki forced a smile, and could almost feel how fake it was.

"It was so lovely!" Daphne continued raving. "He came over to me and we talked the whole night!"

"No doubt about who had nicer hair?"

Daphne was still babbling on, oblivious to what Victoria had just said. There was that damned happy look on Victoria's face again.

"Then when everyone was leaving... I don't know what happened, he just leaned in and... kissed me!" Daphne divulged joyously. "It was... oh my... it was the best night I've ever had!"

"It was a good night, Aki," Rachel reaffirmed. "It would've been nice to have you there."

"Absolutely beastly," Victoria said, which didn't surprise anyone. "It was so loud and... lecherous."

Rachel just gave a big sigh and shrugged. She began to take a seat across from Aki before something caught her sight. She smiled brightly and stuck her hand up in a wave.

"Morning, Moira!" Rachel called to the girl who was looking at Aki earlier.

The deathly thin girl named Moira was still staring in Aki's direction. She waved feebly, then poked at her eggs with a fork.

"Who's that girl?" Aki asked.

"Just Moira."

"She looks like she's had the life sucked out of her."

Rachel's eyes flew open. Aki expected her to blow up for insulting one of her friends. Aki quirked her brow, almost daring her to let her wrath come. She was in no mood to be yelled at by Rachel without uttering a single word in defense. Rachel, instead, just snickered with good humour.

"Yes, she looks like death warmed up, doesn't she?" Rachel said, looking to Moira and nodding. "Moira's a nice girl, though."

"I must say," Daphne began happily, "cheers to Rachel for inviting us to that brilliant party!"

"It was good, wasn't it?" Rachel boasted, smiling as she accepted Daphne's praise. "Riotous fun and lots of drinks! Good for me any day!"

Daphne bounced in her seat excitedly and beamed. She looked away, drifting into daydreams. Victoria was not as thrilled, as she simply smirked.

"That place had far too many fresh pints without you, Aki!" Rachel commented.

"Hmm," Aki hummed, her fake smile emerging. "I'll bet."

"Far too many!" Rachel repeated. "Even I couldn't drink your share, and Victoria didn't help with clearing out some of the pints."

"A lady does not drink," Victoria said stiffly.

"I can't believe you didn't even have one drink, Victoria," said Rachel.

"One of us had to be responsible and lead you back to the castle safely, did they not?"

"Sounds like you had a good night," Aki said bitterly.

"We did!" said Rachel. "A night that everyone, especially Terrence, would be proud of!"

"You're here a bit early then if you had such a good night."

"I couldn't stay in the Slytherin dormitory this morning," Rachel explained, a chuckle rising from her throat. "Ursula and Flint were screeeeaming at each other over something, it was a little too loud for my fancy!"

Flint.

Marcus Flint.

The very name made Aki's breathing quicken and sweat poke through her pores. She could only imagine what he would do if he saw her in the Great Hall this morning, or what she would do. Time seemed to slow down at this point as she turned to look at the entrance doors, then the Slytherin table. Marcus was neither there, but that Moira girl was still sneaking peeks in her direction and looking away when Aki caught her eye. Aki looked over to Rachel, who was cackling with so much vivaciousness, and frowned with utter unhappiness.

Rachel would understand if she told her about what happened with Marcus. Surely, she'd understand. She'd have to understand.

The topic of Marcus rarely came up in their conversations. Now seemed like as good of a time as any to speak up. Aki kept taking deep breaths and opening her mouth in preparation to speak, but could never think of a good way to introduce the subject. She frantically racked her brain; her window of opportunity closing quickly. Rachel had stopped laughing, and was now reaching over for some marmalade. Aki ruled that she'd better say something, anything, and let the rest come naturally. She clasped her clammy hands under the table and tucked them between her thighs to keep them warm. Aki uttered the first syllable of Rachel's name, but was cut off before a real word came out.

"That reminds me!" Daphne exclaimed suddenly. "Did... ah... Terrence say anything about me this morning, Rachel?"

The moment was gone.

"Haven't seen him yet this morning," said Rachel, smearing marmalade onto her toast. "Poor boy's still sleeping like a baby from last night!"

"He's such an amazing boy," Daphne purred. "It was so nice last night when he..."

Aki had no more interest in where this conversation was about to go. The mere thought of it intensified her headache. She looked over at each of her three friends with disregard. Daphne was ranting perkily, Rachel had her head thrown back to laugh boisterously and Victoria was picking up a slice of toast with a napkin. None of them noticed the way Aki was huddled in her seat, or the way her lips were turned down in a frown. None of them even bothered to ask how her detention was last night, or even a query as to how she felt this morning. Absolutely nothing, they were wrapped up in their own little distractions. Aki resentfully shook her head and looked to the table. With her hair covering her face, she gave a glare to them. As she watched each of their familiar faces, Aki found a realization that she thought would never cross her mind.

They were great friends. They really were.

But sometimes, just sometimes, she despised everything about them.

*****

Strolling aimlessly through the school hallways that Sunday afternoon was just an embarrassing chore for Aki. The three still hadn't gotten off how great last night was, so all Aki could do was listen in humbly, imagining that she was a part of it. She wasn't doing that though, she was nervously wondering how the hell she was going to get her wand back for Charms class tomorrow. She assumed that it would still be in the same general place that Marcus had thrown it, so perhaps she could sneak off and search for it. The idea gave her shudders to return to that place. Furthermore, she'd have to go alone as to not raise suspicion as to why her wand was laying in the grassy field in the first place. Aki really did not have the desire to be anywhere alone at this point, even if her only company wasn't paying any attention to her.

Aki worried over the notion that Marcus had her wand, that he had snatched it up sometime last night. She got even more scared when she thought that she'd have to actually go to him and beg for it back. Maybe he had some cruel exchange in mind; her wand for what he was trying to get last night. Aki cursed in her head and seriously considered asking her parents to send her a new one.

Aki felt something on her shoulder. She at first tried to ignore it, thinking that it was just her bitterness playing games with her. It was kind of hard to neglect though, since it was an extremely irritating feeling on her shoulder. It was that damned tapping again.

"What the f--"

She turned around testily, her vexation clearly plastered on her face. Her eyes narrowed with more abhorrence when she saw it was that boy, Oliver Wood. He thankfully stopped his dratted tapping and shoved both hands into his robe pockets. He looked briefly into her scowling eyes before shooting his glance to his feet.

"Err... hi..." he started dubiously. "Err...how are you doing today?"

Oliver was still looking at the ground. He could swear that he heard some sort of growling noise coming from her. It was a long while before he got a response from her. In fact, he didn't get any response at all, as she whipped back around and took long strides to catch up with her friends.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he said, jogging to keep up. "Just wait."

She heaved in exasperation and faced him, that angry face staring back at him once more. This time, she folded her arms across her chest to make it more obvious that she was about to get snappy with him very soon if he didn't make his presence relevant.

"I...err... I have your wand," he stammered. "I have your robe too, if you want it, but... I left it back at the dormitory--"

"Why do you have my wand?!?"

Oliver shifted on his feet, and scratched the back of his neck nervously. He was debating if he wanted to mention what he was about to bring up next.

"I-I just thought you'd like them back after... ah... after last night, that's all. I didn't want to just leave them there..."

Her eyes grew freakishly large. She tried to talk, but no intelligible sound was coming out. The only thing that kept repeating in her mind was revelation that had hit her clear in the face: the mysterious individual last night was Oliver. This Oliver, the boy who always sat in the back of her classes and to whom she spoke to on maybe a bi-monthly basis.

"Wrrrgghnn..."

Oliver didn't know how to act in response to that utterance she had just made. He bit his lip and dug his hand into his robes.

"I have your wand right here with me if you--"

"Shh!"

She slapped his arm until he dropped it away from his robes. Oliver, greatly taken aback, held up his hands to show that they were empty.

"Don't give it to me here!" she hissed.

Aki hunched over and frantically glanced around. She only made them look more suspicious.

"Not in front of... not in..."

"Well...err... we could go back to the Gryffindor tower," he suggested. "I'll give back both your wand and robe there."

Aki could feel a cringe wrinkling her face. She moved back an inch, looking away from the Gryffindor boy.

"Err... I'm sorry," Oliver mumbled. "That was a bad idea..."

He shuffled as he drilled the toe of his shoe into the stone floor under him.

"Stupid idea," he repeated. "I-I'm sorry."

Aki softened her cringe and glimpsed up at Oliver. He was hanging his head, looking to his feet. There was a peculiar humility about him right now that made her take pity. He was such a brawny boy, but still didn't hesitate to look so humble. He wasn't at all like Marcus. She breathed out heavily and shook her head.

"No," Aki said. "I-It's fine."

Oliver's raised his head and he looked her in the face. He quickly averted his glance; he couldn't look her in the eye for more than a couple of seconds. He wasn't sure if she was aware of it, but he had seen her with her knickers down. He never knew how to behave in front of girls, especially not with ones where he'd already seen too much.

"Well... where is it?" she asked irritably.

"Oh... err... right down this way..."

He took a step back and pointed down the hall. He waited for her to follow his directions, but she just stood there glaring at him. It didn't seem like she was willing to move, so Oliver made off slowly towards the Gryffindor tower, looking behind him to see if she was going to follow. She did, with a cautious pace and watching him mistrustfully.

"Aki?" Victoria called, unsure of where Aki had disappeared. "What are you--"

Victoria was the first to turn around; Rachel and Daphne did the same moments later. As soon as Victoria caught the sight, her face fell. Rachel's cordial expression turned into a disgusted sneer, her eyes burning straight into the Gryffindor boy. Daphne was the only one simpering; not because of Oliver and Aki together, but because she was still ecstatic over her ramblings about Terrence.

"I'll catch you at supper," Aki droned over her shoulder to her friends.

Victoria looked horrified, her mouth slightly open. She managed to sputter out words, but she was positively tripping over them.

"Wh... b-but... why... you... him..."

"I'll catch you at supper!" Aki barked, and walked off with Oliver without looking back.

*****

Oliver stepped through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. He paused after taking a couple of steps in and whirled around. Aki was still on the other side of the open portrait hole, peering in warily. She caught sight of a young boy sitting in one of the red armchairs, studying a book. The young Gryffindor gave her a sense of security; being in the foreign common room all alone with this Oliver boy would've made her monumentally uneasy.

Aki prudently entered the Gryffindor dormitory. She stood in the middle of the room and gazed around. It sure was nice; scarlet curtains, chairs, and carpet with hints of gold adorned the room. The undying fire to her right and the afternoon sun streaming in through the many windows made the room aglow with a shimmering yellow light. It was more majestic than the Ravenclaw common room and sure as hell more friendly than the Slytherin one.

"I'll just go get... err... I'll just... uh..."

Oliver only squirmed uncomfortably and turned away suddenly. He ascended up the bedroom staircase, letting his words hang. Aki shrugged and walked over to the nearby desk. There was a book bag thrown on top of it with the flap open. She absentmindedly dug into the bag and pulled out the first book she got a hold of. She opened it up and was met with drawings. They looked a bit childish, but they were still quite good. She flipped through the smudgy pages; here on one page was a drawing of a centaur, or at least, what the artist thought was a centaur. On another page was a sketch of a tree. All of the pages had the same scribble somewhere on it: Dean Thomas.

"Err... do you mind?" carped the boy sitting in the armchair. "That belongs to my friend, Dean."

Aki whipped around to the voice. The sandy-haired boy in the armchair was giving her a dirty look, not liking the fact that she was looking through all of their stuff. Aki wasn't sure, but this one might've been that Finnegan boy that Daphne sometimes talked about.

Frowning, Aki closed up the book and left it on the table. She trudged over to the stairs that Oliver had ascended, the boy still giving her the awkward-eye. Aki relaxed against the wall, waiting for Oliver to come back down.

Oliver returned shortly after with a black pile in his hand. It was her robe that he had attempted to fold neatly. He did a poor job of it, since it attained more of a round shape rather than the crisp square shape of properly folded clothes.

"I... your... err..."

Oliver just finished off his sentence by tapping a ripple in her folded robe. Aki touched it and felt something long and hard under the material; it was her wand.

She grabbed her belongings from him, snatched out the wand, and tucked it into the robe she was wearing. Aki mumbled something that could've been a "Thanks," but Oliver wasn't sure. She turned away to make her way out of the Gryffindor common room.

"Wait!" Oliver said. "Could we... talk a bit?"

Aki exhaled deeply again, appearing to be a little miffed, and faced him.

"About what?"

"Well... err... I don't know, but..."

He fidgeted awkwardly and shot several glances to the sandy haired boy. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead closed it and waved his hand. He moved across the room and went through the bay on the right. He poked his tilted head from the wall and waved her over once more.

Aki remained grounded, sneering with uncertainty. She worriedly peered over from the boy in the armchair to Oliver. The Seamus boy was eagerly reading his book; it didn't look like he was going anywhere for a while.

She hesitantly went over to where Oliver was, dragging her feet. She stood so that she was not concealed behind the wall like Oliver was, but in full view of the sandy haired boy. Still presenting her most apprehensive front, Aki turned to look at him.

"Don't want to disturb his studying," Oliver said, meaning Seamus. "Looks like he's trying to get an early start on studying for his exams."

Aki face muscles didn't even flinch one bit. For a second, Oliver wondered if time was standing still, until she finally blinked.

"I suppose I should start soon as well," he commented. "We have OWL's coming up, don't we?"

She didn't answer his general question. It was apparent that this small talk was getting him nowhere.

"I... uh... found your robe just a little outside of the Quidditch stadium," he informed. "It was a bit dirty, but I cleaned it off as well as I could."

Aki looked down to the ball of robes under her arm and swept off a streak of dirt that caught her eye.

"Your wand was hidden in some tall grass... little bugger was tough to find," he said lightheartedly.

Oliver felt that same hot feeling at the back of his neck when she did not laugh along with him. He fought for any words to make this less awkward.

"Anyway, here they are," he said. "I hope I didn't muck them up too much."

She was unmoved, and Oliver figured that he should cut with the small talk already.

"Look," he began, rubbing his foot on the carpet, "I don't know what was going on last night, but I--"

"It was nothing," she cut in bluntly.

Oliver, surprised that she at last decided to speak, glanced up from his shoes straightaway.

"It wasn't nothing," he interjected. "It looked like--"

"I dunno what to tell you," she said coolly, lips in a tight line as soon as she had finished speaking.

"Why were you out there in the first place?"

She said nothing, and crossed her arms tighter across her chest.

"I saw you, inside, cleaning those gargoyles last night," he added.

Aki only shrugged stubbornly and looked away.

"Second, why were you with Marcus?"

Still not looking at him, she tutted her tongue.

"Are you going to talk?"

"Piss off," she muttered finally, turning her back to him.

Oliver stood in silence. He couldn't believe the coldness he was receiving, despite his considerate manner. Frankly, he was getting a little tired of her moodiness and didn't want anymore of it. If she didn't want to talk, then that was fine with him.

"Fine," he said just as apathetically. "I'll just leave you alone then."

Oliver pushed himself off of the wall and started to leave. When he came beside her, he threw sidelong daggers her way.

"You're welcome for your robe and wand," he said a touch sarcastically.

Oliver brushed past her, his arm grazing hers. He was very much aware of the ice-like breeze he made when he stomped off. He didn't look back to see her reaction, nor did he expect there to be one. The only thing that caught his attention was when she made a repentant sigh.

"We were drinking."

Oliver froze in his place, bracing himself in between the walls of the bay. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw that she was humbly looking to the floor.

"Well, I was drinking," she went on. "He was... err... not so much."

"Yes?" he said soothingly, moving closer. "Then what happened?"

She took a step back to keep a more comfortable distance between them, and hugged her robe to her chest.

"Well, I don't know... we were just sitting around, talking like normal and... oh... I don't know what came over Marcus..."

"And?"

"Hell...I don't know how things got to where they were."

"You were on the ground with him on top of you," he said matter-of-factly.

One of her hands settled on her hips and she met his eyes, grimacing.

"I know that!"

"Well what happened there?" he asked, sounding a little too persistent than he would've liked.

"Everything's hazy..." she groaned, rubbing her temple. "Could I've led him on? Did I lead him on?"

"Only you can answer that."

Aki continued to massage her head, brow crumpled in deep thought.

"I can't remember..."

"Let's forget about that for now, then," he said hurriedly. "Yes, so you and Flint were talking, and then...?"

"You know the rest, dammit!"

Oliver put up his hands in defense and took a step back at her crabbiness.

"Pardon my asking!"

The both of them scoffed, one after another, then silence. Neither said anything for about a minute, letting their frustration surface as grumpy expressions. Aki was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed; Oliver was on the adjacent wall with his hands in his robe pockets.

"Let me throw a question your way, then!" she shrieked suddenly, a finger jumping out at him, "Why were you out there???"

Oliver glanced over, noisily exhaling and looking like he had something sour in his mouth.

"Flying practice," he answered, absolutely shooting the words. "Remember I told you?"

"Oh..." Aki said with humility. "That's right."

The way she was countered so logically put a damper on her domineering aggression. She reclined into the wall behind her, fiddling nervously with her fingers. Clearly, she felt foolish, so Oliver eased up a bit.

"Look," he sighed, "that's all I'll ask, but now I really think we should tell Dumbledore or som--"

"No!"

She lunged forward, squeezed his arm and shook it. Oliver darted his eyes to the hand that was clutching his flesh.

"Why not?"

"I can't... I won't... it'll be so... humiliating."

"So?" Oliver said, not knowing that he sounded inconsiderate.

"What do you mean, 'so?!?'" she seethed. "I won't be able to walk down a single hall! Do you know what people will be whispering?"

Oliver shrugged innocently, not really knowing much about these sorts of matters.

"It'll be 'Oh look! There's Marcus' tart!' Merlin knows if they'll be yelling out 'Slag!' down the corridors to me!"

"Yes... that's terrible, but I still think it'd be good to tell."

"Oh, easy for you to say!" she exploded. "You won't have to see the look on everybody's face when you walk down the hall, into class, into the common room!"

"Keep your voice down!" he ordered, checking around suspiciously.

She scanned the surroundings herself, then took a step closer to him. Aki pointed her finger in his face; her voice had lowered to a forceful hush.

"You won't have to live with the wonderful reputation of a bint you can fuck once you've gotten a few pints in her!"

Oliver stood dumbfounded, not sure of how to react to that. His mouth hung open, all the while thinking for any words to convey understanding, or sympathy. His next sentence had barely come to mind before she had spoken up.

"We tell the headmaster, and before you know it, it's all over school! It's all... oh hell... it's back home... my parents..." she whimpered, hands wringing each other. "What would they think? What would they do?"

"I'm sure they wou--"

"I can't, I won't, live through that," she declared, shuddering.

All the protests that were brewing in Oliver's head had to be abandoned. They just weren't right at this moment, now that she seemed quite resolute on her decision.

"If we tell, Marcus is going to say all these things..." she said, panic-stricken eyes to the carpet. "Who are they going to believe? The sober one, or the one who got pissed out of her mind? Sloshed ones are usually in the mood to--"

"How are they going to know that you were drinking?" he interrupted. "I'm sure they wouldn't believe anything Flint says right away."

Oliver saw her face droop even more, and she shook her head.

"There's this kid, Anthony, in my house," she explained. "I'm not sure, but he probably has his suspicions about me. If he catches wind that I was drinking, he'll surely back it up."

"Why?"

"Because he's a no-good snitch, that's why!"

Oliver pressed on his temple; he really didn't expect so many complications.

"Marcus will probably make sure to mention that I hit him over the head, and make up something like how he's not fit to play Quidditch," she continued angrily. "Merlin... do you know how furious Snape would be with me then?!? He's already mad at me for blaming Flint last--"

"Hang on," Oliver said. "You hit Flint over the head?"

"Yes."

"With what?"

"I just hit him over the head with the Firewhiskey bottle," she replied, waving her hand around to speed things along.

The thought of glass smashing over Flint's head pranced in Oliver's brain. He had to admit, it was funny, and he let a snort of amusement slip. She snapped her head up, and Oliver immediately let his delighted smirk disappear.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said, shaking her head. "I was just surprised."

"It's quite funny," he remarked, sniggering in his throat.

Aki only grunted lazily in the affirmative.

"Maybe you knocked his brain into working place?"

Aki let an unanticipated snicker escape her, which even startled her. It was a very odd feeling to laugh. She hadn't laughed once all day.

"You may be right, there," she agreed

Aki made a little hum after she had her chuckle, then was quiet. She sure was much better now that she wasn't riled up, Oliver noted. He cleared his throat soon after, keeping the silence short.

"So you want to keep this quiet?"

"It's just safer if we keep it quiet," Aki said. "It'd be for the best. I'd be in more trouble if we told. Marcus didn't really get to do anything, after all."

"You're sure?"

Aki fell back into the wall and studied the ground. She thought hard and deep for what seemed like a long time. Oliver, patiently waiting, just watched her. At last, she lifted her head slowly to look into his face.

"Yes."

Oliver appeared to be disappointed, his brow wrinkled and mouth tugged on one side.

"This is your decision. I'm not going to push you into telling a professor."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" she implored desperately. "Not even your chums?"

"If you ask me to, I won't."

"Don't. It's too... much right now."

"Whatever's your wish."

Aki looked down, but even Oliver noticed that her face didn't seem so long anymore. She started to rub her foot over the carpet beneath her.

"I just hope Marcus doesn't tell his Quidditch chums."

"He won't," Oliver avowed, glaring of to nowhere. "If he does tell, he knows what's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?" she asked confusedly, glimpsing up.

"Just some things."

"What things?"

"Things."

Aki considered pressing on, but the firm tone in his voice made it clear that he wasn't going to elaborate. Oliver blinked hard, getting out of whatever reveries he was having, and focused his attention back to her.

"It's going to be alright now," he assured.

"Really?"

"Sure it will."

"That's good of you."

"It's no problem."

They smiled at each other for a brief second and then looked away. Both were aware of how odd the noiselessness was, and the fact that they were looking in opposite directions, avoiding each other.

"Err... by the way," she voiced up unexpectedly, "my name's Aki... if you didn't already know."

She was nervously rolling her returned robe. Oliver nodded gently and solemnly.

"I knew."

She nodded herself, then looked back to the floor. A silence came over them, and this one was the most awkward. They were both shuffling in their place, conscious that the other one was thinking of something to say. The turning page of Seamus' book in the next room was the only sound present.

"Well," Aki said, fishing around for words. "I suppose I'd better get going."

"Oh... ah... of course."

Oliver motioned his hand and they went back into the common room, where Seamus eyed them suspiciously when they emerged from the bay. Oliver knew better than to look in his direction, but Aki snuck a gander, and was instantly discomforted when she saw Seamus' suspecting gaze. They reached the portrait hole, and Oliver stuck out his arm to open it, but stopped.

"Hey," he started, twisting his body towards her. "If Flint tries anything... you know you can... you know that... you can tell me, right?"

Aki closed her eyes and nodded before looking at him with sincerity.

"I know."

Oliver smirked and opened the door for her. He moved out and leaned against the door to keep it propped open. He stared at his feet, waiting for her to go.

"Hey."

Oliver perked up at the sound of her voice. She hadn't left just yet; she was right in front of him with a very different expression now. She was smiling. It was a small smile, but it looked genuine.

"Thanks."

Oliver didn't say anything, only smiled back and looked down to the floor. She made this half-laugh noise that sounded like, "hmmph!" before exiting. She walked down the hall; her returned robe draped over her arm, which she was picking at.

"Who was that?" Seamus asked, sidling up.

"She's just a classmate."

Seamus scoffed and shook his head. He eyed her retreating figure with some amount of distaste.

"She was looking through Dean's sketchbook," Seamus complained harshly. "Did you know?"

"Oh, was she really?" Oliver said, grinning.

"Yes. That's personal property, you know!"

Seamus turned away and went up the bedroom stairs, his book under his arm. Oliver stood by the portrait hole, watching Aki get smaller down the hall. With Seamus' words echoing in his brain, Oliver snickered out of amusement.

She really wasn't that bad.

She may have had a nosiness that could pester you to the brink of insanity.

But underneath it all, she really wasn't that bad at all.