Sirens

Chapter 8

Brother Colin

Avalon sat on the floor by the common room, staring at the scrap of paper in her hand. If she hadn't had dark skin her face would probably have been ashen. It took a lot to scare her, but an anonymous threatening note counted as "a lot" in her book.

This was obviously noticed by quite a lot of people. Avalon did not sit alone with a creeped-out look on her face. She wasn't usually the noisy centre of attention - she was generally the one observing it and making dry comments - but she was by no means quiet. Colin Creevey noticed her sitting on her own. Colin liked Avalon. She was nice. She was pretty. He had been nursing a bit of a crush on her ever since she had arrived. Sadly he knew he had no real chance with her. She was nice to him, she put up with him and she evidently liked him around, but she was swimming in young men already. Someone like Avalon would never go for someone like Colin Creevey.

"Hey," he said, sitting down next to Avalon.

"Hullo," she said, attempting to stuff a scrap of paper out of sight. Colin had quick reactions. He seized it from her and read it through. His already large eyes widened.

"Who sent you this?" he asked.

"No idea," said Avalon. "Someone who I walked in on the other night. Sadly I don't know who that is."

"You didn't see?"

"It was outside in the broom shed. Some girl with long hair called Liss and a blonde boy. I'm guessing it was Liss who sent it. Do you know of a girl who likes to be called Liss?" she asked, turning to Colin.

"No," admitted Colin. "What about Felicity Bingham?"

"I don't think it was her," said Avalon. "I don't know who it is."

"You'll find out in the end," said Colin. "You do. You're smart. You always find these things out. You should be a Ravenclaw."

"Thanks, Colin," she said, smiling. "You're a great pal. You're the brother I never had."

"You've got a brother."

"Ok, you're the brother I actually like."

"Cheers."

"Plesh."

Avalon got up and stretched, and then sat down as if changing her mind.

"Coll," she said, sneaking him a sideways glance. "I can trust you not to tell anybody anything that I ever tell you ever in my whole life, can't I? That's to say, you won't blab any secrets I tell you around the whole school?"

"Of course," said Colin, eager to listen.

"Well, you know Taylor Jennings?"

"That idiot? He's a pain."

"I know. Well, I..."

"You don't fancy him, do you?"

Colin prayed for a negative answer. He got it.

"No, don't worry," she said, smiling. "You're right, he is an idiot. But when he asked me out on Thursday, it just reminded me of something. I haven't told anyone about this, you understand?"

"Completely," said Colin. He was pleased that Avalon was telling him something before anyone else, not even Ginny, Penny, Charlotte or Laura - and they were supposed to be her best friends.

"Well...there's a certain someone in my life who I've...well, developed a bit of a crush on," she said, with a slightly mischievous grin.

"Who?" asked Colin, hoping it was him.

"Well..."

She hesitated, looking around to check if someone was listening in. She was obviously satisfied, because she went on, "He's very funny, and he's really good-looking. He's got a girlfriend but I don't think that'll last long."

Colin's hopes dropped. Not him then.

"It's Ron Weasley."

Colin resisted the urge to go and punch Ron (who was nearby) and said, "Really? Him?"

"Yeah," said Avalon, a slightly dreamy look coming over her face. "He's just really...yummy."

Colin blanched. Avalon must have spotted it, because the dreamy look vanished. She suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He certainly felt awkward. The girl he fancied had just said Ron Weasley was "yummy".

"Coll," she said. "I think we need to talk about something."

Colin was confused.

"What?" he said.

"I really like you, you know that?" said Avalon, looking at him in earnest. There was something in the dark eyes that made Colin melt. He nodded, his heart beating faster than usual at Avalon's words. Maybe she didn't just like Ron Weasley? He'd heard from Ginny that Avalon was a bit on the fancying-five-guys-at-a-time side. Maybe she fancied him too?

"I...I know," said Colin. "I really like you too."

"There's the problem."

Avalon sighed and looked at the ceiling. Colin's happiness deflated somewhat. He'd been stupid to misinterpret the comment. She wasn't going to declare her undying love for him; she was going to let him down. She only liked bloody Ron Weasley.

"I really do like you," she said, sincerely, "but....you see... Well, Colin, I don't think it'll be any surprise to you to hear that I know the way that you like me, and I know it's not a just-friendly way."

Colin nodded.

"I'm not in love," he said, hastily. "Not love. No way. But I do...fancy you."

"I know that," said Avalon in a gentle voice he'd never heard her use before. "The thing is, I do like you, really I do, but not in the way that you like me."

"Is there...y'know...no chance at all?" asked Colin hopefully.

"None at all. I'm really, truly sorry," said Avalon, and she looked it. "But as I said, you're like a brother. It would feel...wrong. Like incest or something. I'm sorry, I really am."

Colin felt pretty dejected. This girl who he'd had quite a big crush on ever since she arrived - his smart, gutsy, outspoken, pretty girl-mate - had said he had no chance with her because it felt like incest. Great. Just great. First Romilda rejected him for Harry Potter, and now Avalon rejected him because they were too good friends!

Ron Weasley doesn't know how lucky he is, thought Colin, moodily. He couldn't stand being around both Ron and Avalon at the same time, knowing he had something he didn't. he got up.

"I'm going to the library," he said. "Homework."

"Ok," said Avalon. She got up and headed to talk to Laura and Charlotte. Colin went off to the library.

---

As soon as Colin got in the library he found Avalon sitting at a table reading a large book. He went up to her and tapped her shoulder.

"I didn't know you were coming, Avalon," he said. "You came fast."

"Sorry, wrong sister," said the girl, looking up at him and smiling. He went red. But this girl had to be Izzie. She looked almost exactly like Avalon, but her hair was curlier and longer and her eyes were a lighter shade of brown. She was also taller by the look of it. But then again Avalon was very short. "Do you want to find Avalon? Can't see why you would want to find the little mosquito, personally, but if you do I know where she's likely to be."

"No, I'm ok," said Colin, sadly. But before he could turn away the girl stopped him.

"You look a bit down," she said. "Pull up a chair."

Colin sat down gloomily.

"Are you Izzie?" he asked glumly.

"That's me," said Isabella. "Isabella Francesca Giordano at your service. Call me Izzie. So why are you looking for my darling sister, then?"

"I'm not," said Colin. "I just thought you were her."

"Easy mistake," shrugged Isabella. "Why so glum if you don't mind me asking?"

Colin began to explain about his feelings for Avalon and how she'd rejected him because it would be like incest, although he didn't mention Ron Weasley. He planned to keep Avalon's secret...well, secret, even though she'd rejected him. He was still her friend, after all.

"Hmmm," said Isabella. "Tricky. But I know my little sister, Colin, and I don't think she was being entirely truthful with you."

"You don't?"

"I don't." Isabella stretched and closed her book. Colin caught the title: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. Obviously Isabella shared Avalon's love of Muggle story books. "Tell me, did Avalon tell you about liking someone else? Harry Potter, for instance? Taylor Jenkins?"

"Taylor Jennings."

"She told you about him?"

"No, not him. She told me about...I...er...can't say."

Isabella smiled.

"You're a loyal guy," she said. "But she told you about liking someone else, right?" Colin nodded. "Well, if I know my sister, she'll have about seven guys on her list of fanciable males. And she doesn't generally admit them to anybody unless she likes them best of the lot."

"Really?"

Colin's heart swelled.

"Really. What were you talking about before she said it?"

"This threatening letter she was sent...oops."

"Ok, so she brought up the subject a bit random...did you just say she was sent a threatening letter?"

"...No."

"You did, didn't you?" said Isabella, her eyes wide. "Oh my God...who from?"

"Someone she followed on Thursday," said Colin. He really couldn't be bothered with keeping secrets any more. "She went down to the broom shed and caught a blonde boy and a girl who he called Liss in the broom shed. Then she got a note saying stuff like 'if you follow me again you'll be sorry'."

"Wow."

Isabella sat back.

"If it was anyone but Avalon I wouldn't believe you," she said. "This is so typical of her to get herself into this sort of thing. Tch. Did you say a blonde boy?"

"That's what she told me."

"Have you considered the possibility of Callista Diotrephes and Seamus Finnigan?"

Colin sat up.

"That's a possibility," he said. "They are going out, aren't they? Seamus reckons he's falling in love with her."

Isabella's face suddenly wore a slightly sad look. Colin didn't know why. But it vanished and she looked at him again.

"But it couldn't be," said Isabella, suddenly. "Seamus calls her Callie, not Liss. Did Avalon mention anything else?"

"Don't think so," said Colin. "Not that I heard."

Isabella's face suddenly seemed to darken.

"Blonde...how blonde, exactly?" she asked, a slightly suspicious tone in her voice. "Dirty blonde? Golden brown? Silver blonde? That could give us more of a clue to who Liss is if we find out the guy."

Colin wondered why she put so much emphasis on "silver blonde" until he remembered seeing Isabella with that platinum blonde Slytherin boy - Draco Malfoy or something like that. Well, he wasn't surprised. He wouldn't trust Draco not to cheat either.

"She didn't say," shrugged Colin. "I didn't really ask."

Isabella shook her head.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more use," she said. "I guess I'll see you around."

Colin left, looking miserable.

Poor kid, thought Isabella, standing up to browse the library. Obviously he's signed up to be Avalon's life long slave and she's rejected him. For Ron Weasley. Honestly. She was never blessed with taste.

She wondered into the section of books that contained Muggle books. Hardly anyone wanted to read Muggle stories, but the library still had a shelf dedicated to them. There were a few Agatha Christies, some Sherlock Holmeses, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, and about fifty books on English poets. Isabella noticed there were no Italian writers in there with annoyance, but picked out Wordsworth. Like the rest of the Englsih-speaking world she'd heard of his poem Daffodils and thought maybe a bit of poetry would help boost her mood.

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Isabella snorted. This was the great Wordsworth? He was pretty pathetic. She couldn't understand a word he was saying. She tried to decipher it.

I walked around
On my own
For a bit
And then I saw a lot of daffodils by the lake
Blowing about a bit in the wind
A bit like stars
And they were all in a line along the lake
There were about ten thousand of them blowing around
There were waves in the lake but the daffodils were prettier than the waves
All the poets were happy coz the daffodils are excellent company
I looked at the daffodils for a bit but I didn't think about much
And when I sit on the sofa thinking
I sometimes remember looking at daffodils
And then I feel a bit happy.

Isabella laughed quietly to herself. She could make a lot more sense than these so-called geniuses, and English wasn't even her native language.

She still thought about Colin, though. Obviously he'd fallen for Avalon so he wasn't likely to be the most intelligent guy in the world. But there was something very odd about him. Maybe it was the large eyes but he had a definite...creepy quality. Isabella thought for a few seconds until she saw Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas enter the library. She cursed under her breath and made sure he couldn't see her.

To her horror they both sat down at a table very near her shelf. There was no way she was getting out without being spotted now. She sat down near their table with Wordsworth, sulkily preparing to decipher more of his work, when she heard Seamus's voice.

"Why are you making me help you with your Potions homework when I could be doing much better things?" he asked, sullenly.

"What, making out with your girlfriend?" said Dean sarcastically. Isabella smirked. She'd always thought Dean was quite funny. A bit of a sex-maniac, but still quite funny.

"No," said Seamus, in a sheepish tone that suggested, "Yes."

Isabella shut the book. Wordsworth could bugger off as far as she was concerned. She was eavesdropping! No time to work out what some dead bloke was saying about flowers.

"How is it with you two?" asked Dean.

"Ok," said Seamus. "Avalon's been warning me about something -" here Isabella winced. Trust Avalon to stick her foot into everything. "- but I can't say I'm too worried."

"I heard she got a bit jealous the other day," said Dean. "Heard you'd gone off with Isabelle. She wasn't too pleased."

Isabella stopped herself from laughing bitterly. If Callista had known the full details of her encounter with Seamus by the lake, she wouldn't have been jealous at all. She probably would have laughed.

"What? You mean Giordano?" Seamus laughed. "Yeah, right. She's a bitch. I'd never go off with her."

Isabella scowled. How dare he call her a bitch?

"Oh my God I do not know what this is!" said Dean, aggravated. "What do you add an infusion of Wormwood to make the Draft of Living Death?"

"No idea," said Seamus. "I can't believe Callie got jealous of Isabella Giordano. Of that cow! I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot flagpole, I really wouldn't. She's such a..."

"A what?"

Having had enough of being insulted and taking it lying down - or rather, crouching behind a bookshelf - Isabella had stepped out from the Muggle section and was facing Seamus and Dean with her hands on her hips and her best scowl on her face. She glared at them. "Go on," she challenged. "Say it. What am I such a?"

Seamus didn't say anything, he just looked at her. That was a look of hatred. It crushed Isabella and fuelled her strength at the same time.

"You think you're so good," she said. "But I'm not so keen on you either in case you hadn't noticed. So you can take your crappy insults and you can stick them up your arse. And by the way, the answer's powdered root of Asphodel," she added to Dean as she left.

---

Like a brother, thought Colin crossly as he stomped along the corridor. Like a bloody brother. She's lying. She thinks I'm ugly, that's what it is.

He wasn't looking where he was going until he smacked head first into Luna Lovegood. He backed off, rubbing his head, whilst she appeared quite unruffled, although he noticed her eyes were slightly out of focus. But this was probably not because of the bump.

"Sorry, Luna," he said, and was going to walk on when Luna's voice stopped him.

"Avalon turned you down didn't she?"

Colin turned around. He stared.

"How on Earth did you know?" he asked in amazement.

"Avalon's not the only Seer in the year," she said, her eyes twinkling mysteriously. "Is that why you weren't concentrating just now? Because she won't go out with you?"

"If you must know, yes it is," said Colin, blushing.

Luna didn't say anything for a few moments, until she suddenly said, "You could do much better than Avalon Giordano, you know. She can be very spiteful at times. Don't let a girl's pretty face fool you to what she's really like, because make-up isn't enough to hide nastiness."

Colin raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, Luna," he said. "Look, I have to g..."

"AND IF YOU ask me," said Luna, raising her voice so she drowned him out. "I'd be concentrating on helping out Isabella. Because then Avalon's problem will be solved."

Colin frowned. He did not understand. But did anyone ever understand Luna Lovegood? It was debatable.

"Ok..." he said, and walked off as fast as possible. He was so busy thinking about how weird Luna was that he took a wrong turn accidentally, and ended up stumbling into an empty classroom.

He looked around, and realised with horror that it wasn't empty. A happily snogging couple were sitting on one of the desks, and Colin recognised one of them instantly. Light blonde hair and a thin frame. He couldn't see the girl he was kissing, apart from the fact that it was not Isabella Giordano.