Draught of Living Death
Days went by, and Leigh found herself successfully avoiding Nova better than expected. She stayed out of the dorms as much as she could, mostly spending time in remote corners of the library or outside.
Her habit of sneaking down to Evan's photo at night continued, and she started to feel a gnawing feeling of guilt every time she considered stopping the nightly occurrence. She was yet to be caught by anyone patrolling the corridors, and her dorm-mate ever noticed her leaving, so she figured there was no harm. Right? As long as her coursework was up to standard she had nothing to worry about.
It was early in the week, and Leigh sat down in potions, Ron taking a seat beside her. She was patiently flipping through some of last class' notes to remind herself of what they had covered so far, before the class kicked off and Slughorn went through the steps to create the Draught of Living Death, mentioning again and again the dangers of the potion.
Leigh quickly darted off to retrieve the ingredients, soon returning to drop the various items on the desk in front of Ron and getting ready to prepare them as she started the steps.
It wasn't long before Ron, who had acted awkwardly for the last 10 minutes, nudged her shoulder. "So..," he started, picking up a sopophorous bean and twiddling it between his fingers. "How are you doing?" He almost seemed to wince at his own question, and she looked at him warily.
"Why do you ask?" She asked with a squint, eyeing him suspiciously. Leigh reckoned it was the first time Ron had ever asked her how she was doing. They were friends, but not exactly the closest of friends.
"No reason," he was quick to reply, and Leigh chuckled internally. He peeked at her from the side of his eye, and she patiently waited for him to continue. "It's just...you and Nova aren't on the best terms, especially after that scene in the great hall."
Leigh shrugged, yet clenched her jaw slightly at the mention. "She was an idiot," she mumbled quietly, although loud enough for Ron to hear.
He nervously scratched the back of his neck, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she was."
Leigh sighed, feeling bad to make this already awkward interaction even more awkward. It was probably Hermione who set him up to it. She lowered her guard and gave him a small smile to show she appreciated the support.
"So...that's why I thought I'd ask how you were." He glanced at her, lowering his voice slightly to make sure no one overheard their conversation. "I heard from Nova that she sometimes wakes up and you're not there. That you're gone full nights sometimes."
So Nova had noticed after all. Leigh rolled her eyes. "Ronald, I'm fine. Why do you ask anyway?" Quickly, she added: "And Nova should consider shutting her mouth for the first time in her life."
"Well," Ron mumbled, "as much as I agree with the Nova comment, I'm your friend–"
Leigh groaned, tired of the charade. "Ron, just spill," she huffed. She agreed, they were friends, but not that kind. She grabbed an ingredient from the pile in front of her and started to prepare it, cutting it into small pieces.
"Fine," Ron gave in finally. "But that doesn't mean I'm not your friend. My reason for asking is still valid."
She hummed. It was funny.
Ron sighed. "They asked - Fred and George. Said you still hadn't sent them a letter after their stunt in the castle."
Leigh stopped her cutting momentarily to register his words. It's true, she hadn't sent anything to them, nor taken any initiative to schedule any more meetings. What for? She already had the products list, and had written up some risks and considerations of the items which she had passed on to McGonagall. The headmistress didn't seem to take the project too seriously anyway. Leigh figured she was better off studying for the N.E.W.Ts.
A chuckle escaped her as her gaze met Ron's. "Wow, you're bad at keeping secrets. And you're supposed to represent magical law enforcement?" She said teasingly, referring to his recent auror work.
It was his turn to be embarrassed, and he looked away, even though a smile played at the corner of his lip. "I'm just confused. Don't you meet them more often than me? They could've sent you an owl."
"Mhm."
A moment of silence ensued.
"So, how are you?"
"I'm fine."
Another moment, as Ron seemed to consider whether to drop it or not.
"Are you really? You know, Hermione is worried too."
Leigh sighed, getting tired of the interrogation. "I sat with Hermione during History of Magic yesterday. Didn't seem worried to me."
Ron was just about to butt in yet another time, when Leigh beat him to it. "Ron, do you really want to question me now when I'm holding a knife and am currently chopping up some–," she quickly glanced in the book to read the name of the ingredient, "– sloth brain?"
Ron grimaced as he heard of the grotesque ingredient, grumbling lowly to himself. "I'll let them know you're fine."
"Thanks. Actually, you know what? Why do you even have to tell your brothers anything at all? It's not like I'm friends with them. The only thing we have in common is this stupid project." She huffed, slightly annoyed she couldn't just be left alone. Her knife slipped and the blade met the board with a thump.
The sound piqued Slughorn's interest from the other side of the room, and his eyes darted up to study the scene. "Careful, Miss Conway! Don't want any unnecessary trips to Madam Pomfrey, do we?"
She looked up at him, embarrassed that the attention was on her. "No, professor," she mumbled begrudgingly, yet going back to cutting just as violently as before.
It was miracle the potion turned out alright at the end of the class. Her and Ron had moved on to lighter topics, and were both surprised to see the contents of the cauldron slowly turn into a pale lilac colour before turning clear. Slughorn seemed equally impressed.
After the compliments from Slughorn, Ron and Leigh turned to each other, both thinking the exact same thing: This would never have happened in Snape's class.
-
Another class later, Leigh decided to skip lunch to instead sit outside. She wasn't interested in facing Nova, or to overhear whispers about herself. It was sunny, and she decided to enjoy the silence and soak up the last rays of sun before autumn arrived.
She made her journey across the grass and sat down once she found a sufficiently dry and even spot, letting out a sigh of relief before opening one of her books, planning to do some light reading in Herbology. The last few classes had been going well, and the essay Neville had helped her write received excellent scores. She was now desperate to keep up the good work.
Her eyes skimmed over the page as she enjoyed the warm feeling of the sun against her skin. To her horror, both the sun and the quiet stillness was soon ripped out of her grasp. She found herself sitting in someone's shadow and opened her eyes to see a tall redhead looking down at her. At first she thought it was Ron, only registering the red hair and male build, and was about to grumpily tell him to piss off. However, as her gaze lingered she recognised that this person was taller, with a slimmer yet more muscular build. A wide, loopy grin clad his face.
"Oh, it's you." Leigh spoke after gazing up at Fred for a few moments. His body had completely blocked the sun, the rays attempting to fight their way forward around his form and through his softly flowing red hair. Despite the dull tone of her voice she could feel a clump of nervousness gather in her stomach. She felt embarrassed after their last encounter.
"It's me," Fred said cheerily, still grinning.
Leigh furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you doing here? Thought you didn't want to be seen on school grounds. Are you even allowed?"
He shrugged, taking a quick look around them before returning his gaze to her. "Just out for a walk, and looks like no one else is here anyway," he started. "Besides, Minnie loves me."
Leigh rolled her eyes at his dumb, proud smile. "Right."
She shuffled where she was sitting on the ground. She felt awkward sitting down as he stood in front of her - he already towered over her while standing, and the height difference between them now seemed a tad excessive.
She couldn't decide if she wanted him to sit down or leave her alone. She wasn't sure she had patience to humour his stupid jokes, but on the other hand it would be nice to talk to someone who didn't know about the whole Nova thing - and who looked her in the eye instead of simply glancing at her and whispering to their friends. Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice.
"I was excitedly waiting for another letter from you but never got one." He pushed his bottom lip out in a pout.
"Yeah, well, maybe I learned my lesson from last time," she huffed, looking away from him momentarily. "Don't want a second letter hanging on your wall, do I?"
His grin grew. "I was hoping you wouldn't. Got a new frame ready and everything."
"Sorry for the disappointment, Weasley," she replied, closing the book in her lap reluctantly. She had a feeling he wouldn't go away anytime soon. A sigh escaped her lips. "Really, why are you here? Couldn't wait until you got Ron's letter?" She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
He seemed unphased - like he was already aware that she knew they had asked about her.
"Got it about an hour ago. Said you threatened him with a knife." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, impressed. "Not what we were expecting but good for you, doing what I've always wanted to do."
She couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his words, and she saw him smile at the sound in the corner of her eye.
Another moment of silence passed. Not an uncomfortable one, but silence nonetheless. Fred's expression had turned softer, and less excited. His eyes stayed on her, studying her.
"You look tired."
She met his gaze and quickly looked away, her mouth suddenly dry.
"Gee, thanks. Everyone talking about the Weasley charm and I finally get to witness it in person," she joked, hoping to get a laugh, but not even receiving a smile in return. He continued to examine her face with a soft expression.
"A lot of studying?" He asked instead, and she forced herself to meet his eyes even if she desperately felt the need to avert her gaze.
Her nervousness made itself known in the pit of her stomach. "Yeah..," she trailed off, gulping. "I didn't expect the, uh, workload."
He nodded slowly as he looked at her, as if considering her words in his mind, before looking up at the sky for a second while softly biting his bottom lip. She could practically see the thoughts flash behind his eyes before his gaze snapped back to hers. For a second she was afraid he would ask further.
"Everyone truly talking about the Weasley charm, huh?" He teased, smirk growing on his lips, and Leigh felt herself let out a sigh of relief.
"Shut up," she muttered with a slight smile.
He grinned down at her, appreciating her reaction. Suddenly one of his hands were extended towards her, and he nodded his head slightly to the side. "Come on."
She looked questionably up at him. "Huh? Where?"
He shrugged. "You said you studied a lot. You need to relax. Unwind." The way he said the words made it sound like it was all so simple.
"I do not need to relax."
He rolled his eyes, the hint of a smile still playing at his lips. "Come on. Don't be stubborn. What could go wrong?"
"A lot," she mumbled quietly, but finally decided to let out a breath of annoyance before reaching out to grasp his hand is hers. His smile widened, and he pulled her up.