Liam and Gillian's Second Date
Their decision to become a couple was unspoken. Considering that Gillian was telepathic, this was not surprising.
The Winter Ball was not the first time the two had danced – Liam had danced with Gillian at the previous year’s ball. When they were seen holding hands over the next few days, that too was not unusual. Gillian was quick to grab someone’s hand if she wanted to push a thought into their heads without anyone else “hearing” it. She did this with boys almost as often as she did to other girls.
Liam and Gillian had been friends since they were First Years. The Gryffindor boys remembered that Liam had picked Gillian to be on his Capture the Hat team. She had been greeting him with a hug ever since. When Liam sent out bags of cookies to friends as Christmas gifts, Gillian was always on his list. When he was in the Hospital Wing after his tangle with the rogue acromantula, she had gone with Sadie to visit him.
Over the years, Liam had treated Gillian as the Gryffindor boys did, as the kid sister, the girl in the gang. She was someone to pall around with, who could talk Quidditch and football with aplomb. Her wit and tongue were as sharp as any of them.
Was it the slow dance, the magic of that song from Hex Road that everyone secretly loved though they all professed to be tired of it? If so, the same spell hadn’t worked on Philip and Alma. They had danced, close and slow, to that ballad, as had a hundred other couples on the dance floor. Afterwards, Philip was cordial and polite to Alma, but he was that way with everyone. There was no spark between the two of them.
When Liam greeted Gillian, however, the morning after the dance, there was electricity in the air. His greeting was hearty; her smile was warm and her eyes flashed bright blue. Their hug was noticeably longer than friendly hugs typically were. When they broke the embrace, she stayed close to his side and even leaned her head into his shoulder.
Her thoughts transferred to his mind as easily as they ever had. I’m going to get hair on your sweater.
I’m fine with it. Long as they don’t hiss at me later.
Her laugh, which he always thought was lovely, was so much prettier that morning. I don’t have veela hair.
In the closed, close-knit community at Hogwarts, this development was observed with interest. The watchers watched and waited to catch them kissing, but the new couple had yet to take that particular step.
The second Hogsmeade weekend of the school year came up. The skies were slate grey, and a cold wind blew down from the north. The snow had lost its romantic charm. It was now a barrier, a burden. The piles were peppered with twigs and pine needles at the tops and grey with dirt and gravel on the bottoms.
The stone pathways to the greenhouses, the forest and the Hogsmeade gate were now beset with treacherous patches of ice. On either side of the pathways were tall piles of snow. As students walked by, a sudden collapse of the snowy wall would send a miniature avalanche onto their shoes and invariably, soaking their socks. The cold water would seep down into the soles of their feet.
Still, the students braved the cold wind and headed out along the road to the nearby town, eager to escape the castle and the grounds for a little while. The Fifth Years were particularly eager to get away from their studying.
Liam and Gillian walked hand in hand. Gillian wore a scarlet sweater with a matching wool cap and scarf, the colours of her house. Liam’s sweater and cap were black. They had started in a large group of their friends, but they had slowed their pace and were now by themselves. As they walked, they flicked thoughts to one another.
Gillian gazed up at Liam, her blue eyes bright, a smile on her freckled cheeks. What should we do today?
I dunno. I just want to get out and stretch my legs a bit. I don’t want to be in charge of anybody. There better not be any fighting, either. I need a break.
Where should we eat lunch?
I dunno. You don’t seem like the Madam Puddifoot’s type.
Gillian laughed. No, not really.
We could go to the Hogs Head.
That place is gross.
Three Broomsticks it is, then.
We’ll have the whole school watching us, you know. The gossip mill is already turning over us.
I don’t care about that.
Is this a date? You and me?
Liam gazed thoughtfully at her and nodded. Yes.
Her smile grew broader. Our first date!
Liam shook his head. No. It’s our second.
When was our first?
When you and I played Capture the Hat together.
How was that a date? We were in a big group!
Yeah, but we were off by ourselves for a bit. You held my hand. I remember thinking that you were a pretty cool girl.
Aww. But then you waited five whole years to go out with me again!
Liam shrugged.It wasn’t time. Now is the time.
Aren’t I more fun than Ables?
Of course, you are! But see, I had to go through that whole thing with her first. Now, I appreciate you so much better.
You’re sweet. You’re full of it, but you’re sweet.
They reached the town and began walking down the main street. Students were pouring into the popular shops, Weasley’s, Spintwitches, and the clothing stores. What would you like? asked Liam.
I’m not really into shopping.
Didn’t think you were. So, where should we go?
She gazed at him, her eyes alight with mischief. You wanna go to the Shrieking Shack?
Liam shrugged. Sure.
They wound their way through the streets until they came to the abandoned building at the edge of town. It looked as dilapidated as ever. The porch sagged under the weight of snow. We had a duel here last year, said Liam.Berto nearly killed Roan.
I remember. I was there. Roan is such a jerk. He shouldn’t have taunted Calais like that.
Got to let the sleeping dog lie, sometimes.
He had been several times to the Shrieking Shack, but this was as far as Liam had ever gone. He expected Gillian to turn around and go back to downtown. Instead, she tugged on his hand. Come on.
Where are we going?
Let’s look around back.
There was a short gate that had long fallen off its hinges, and a stone pathway up to the door, covered in ankle high snow. Gillian tromped through the snow until she came to the steps leading up to the porch. Just as Liam expected her to turn around and go back, she turned right. They made a circuit of the house, avoiding the snow laden branches of a nearby tree. If there had been a backyard fence, it had long fallen down. Behind the house, there were more barren trees. The windows were boarded up. There were stone steps leading up to the back door, which was slightly ajar. Shards of wood lay on the ground.
Liam: The door is open. Do you think someone’s there?
Gillian:The door was all boarded up. There was no way in or out. A few years ago, my brothers broke in with a blasting spell. They wouldn’t take me with them, so I’m here on my own. Come on!
She went right up to the door and pulled it open. Inside, it was dark and damp. The pale light filtering through the grey clouds above illuminated little. Gillian uttered the word “Lumos!” The tip of her wand lit, but it was little help among all the shadows.
Let me have a go. Liam drew the Dragon Wand and shouted “Lumos!” The wand, eager for a task, burst out with wide beam of bright white light.
There you go. I knew there was a reason I brought you with me.
Why are we doing this, again?
Gillian’s blue eyes were bright and full of mischief. Come on! I wanna look around. She stepped across the threshold. Liam followed her.
In front of him loomed a post rising from the floor about a metre high. It was the last remaining leg of a table that had long been flipped over. To their left was a kitchen – rusty appliances and a sink, an empty space where a refrigerator may have once stood. The floor was lined with cheap linoleum that curled up at the corners of the room. The air was thick with dust.
Liam pointed his wand at the wall. “Why are all the windows boarded up?” he whispered.
Gillian continued to communicate telepathically. This place has been abandoned for years and years. They don’t want kids like us poking around inside.
“But we’re doing it anyway?”
Yes! Come on, it’s fun!
A stairway loomed, rising up into the darkness. Silvery cobwebs hung across the space between the wall and the bannister. A darkened hallway led to bedrooms with doors hanging precariously from their hinges. At the end of the hallway, the wandlight was reflected back bright white – a porcelain tub with claw feet. Gillian did not go down the hallway, but moved on, towards the front door.
In the entryway, some of the floor had rotted through, revealing a black pit. They skirted the edge, keeping close to the wall without touching it. Liam listened for the scurrying of rats, but he heard nothing.
The Dragon Wand had initially awoke with Liam’s anxiety over approaching the decaying house. Now, its aura was diminishing. It sensed no threat; there was no foe to give it challenge. As it calmed, Liam’s nerves began to calm as well. He trusted his wand to sense if danger was nearby.
They came to the front room. Where there had been a fireplace, there was now only collapsed bricks. The front pane window had long been boarded up. There was no furniture at all, not even an abandoned sofa.
At the center of the room, upon the dark, peeling wood of the floor, there was a darker stain, an asymmetric blot of reddish brown.
“That looks like blood!” said Liam. “Like somebody was murdered here!”
Gillian giggled. “Someone was murdered here. That’s where Lord Volemort killed Professor Snape. Didn’t you read The Battle of Hogwarts?”
Liam shook his head. “No. Patty has that book. I flipped through it one time, but not for very long. I didn’t read the whole thing.”
“I thought you were the history buff!”
Liam cracked a wry grin. “When the Battle of Hogwarts is on a test, I’ll be sure to study up.” He gazed down at the stain once more. “You came in here to see that?”
Gillian switched back to telephathy. Yes. I wanted to know if it was still there.
Liam swept his wand’s light across the shadows and over to the hole in the entryway. “It’s creepy in here.”
Yeah! Isn’t it cool, though? Don’t you like spooky movies?
“Sure. But I don’t want to live in a spooky movie. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
But we haven’t been upstairs yet! Gillian eased around the hole in the floor. A blast from her wand sent the cobweb floating to the floor. She stepped over it and began to climb the steps. Liam followed. The air above was even more stale and full of dust than the lower floor. The dust was everywhere. It floated up from their steps as they walked.
From the landing, they peered into a darkened bedroom. The floodlight from the Dragon Wand revealed an ornate bed with wooden posts. The bedspread was stained. Long tears stretched across it. One edge was completely shredded.
“Come on,” whispered Liam. “It’s hard to breathe up here.”
They retraced their steps and left out the back door. Out in the sunlight, Gillian let out a long laugh. You’re covered in dust!
“So are you!”
Help get it off me.
There was a house-cleaning spell they learned in Charms that gently pushed the dust out of their hair and off their sleeves and pantlegs. Liam had to switch his wand to his right hand to keep his wand from cleaning Gillian too vigorously. He smiled as his spell blew Gillian’s long red hair back, as if by a hairdryer.
They held hands on their way back to town. “Why’d you want to go in there?” asked Liam.
Because I hadn’t done it. You’re not really a Gryffindor until you’ve been in the Shrieking Shack or deep in the Forbidden Forest.
“Great,” said Liam. “Just don’t tell Patty that. I’ll end up rescuing him from another giant spider.”
She laughed. See! You’ve done loads more stuff than I have! I heard you even took Elena Morrow into the kitchens in the middle of the night.
“That’s classified,” said Liam.
The episode was a sign of things to come: his time with Gillian was marked with feats of courage, daring and risk-taking.
Liam thought the two of them would grab a small table at the Three Broomsticks and have a private meal together, but once they were inside the restaurant, they were pulled into a larger group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Gillian told the others the story of breaking into the Shrieking Shack.
Paul followed this up with a funny story of trying to avoid capture by the caretaker after a midnight run to the kitchens. The story was not dissimilar to what Liam had experienced with Elena Morrow as a Second Year. He did not share the incident, however. Elena was, in his mind, still classified.
Later, Paul said to Liam, “Hey Wren, how come every time we scout the Badgers, Remington and them are just sitting around talking. You got a secret practice session we don’t know about?”
“I can’t speak for them,” said Liam. “I’m not farting around on my broom during practice.”
“No. You and Bendrix are going at it as usual, or you’re working with the younger ones. In a few years, that Second Team will be really good. They’ll be giving us a run for our money.”
“I think they’re good now,” said Liam.
Paul clapped him hard on the shoulder. “Just remember, we may be friends, but when the ball goes in the air, the Lions are playing to win.”
“Yeah!” sad Gillian, with a laugh. “There’s love and friendship, and then there’s Quidditch!