Orion's belt
‘Barty, it’s your turn’
He rubbed his temples while his eyes scanned the game. He bit his bottom lip, and frowned in concentration. He reached out to move the queen, but hesitated and withdrew his arm. Barty winced his eyes, and did nothing but stare. Evan grinned, knowing very well that whatever Barty did, he would for sure win. He took a jelly baby from a plastic packet and threw it in the air before landing in his mouth. He swallowed it down and licked his lips.
‘C’mon, you can’t win, just move something, anything’
Evan taunted, while chewing with his mouth open.
‘Close your damn mouth’
Barty hissed, his eyes still not shifting from the game.
Evan laughed before chewing louder to annoy him. Thankfully it was at that moment that Regulus entered the room before Barty could strangle Evan.
‘Hey, guys, whatcha doing?’ he strolled through the room, and sat on his bed, looking at what they were playing.
‘Chess?’ he raised his eyebrow and shrugged,
‘don’t really like it to be honest’ he got back up and bit off a big chunk of his apple.
‘Yeah, well no one asked your opinion, Reggie’ replied Evan mocking him
‘Don’t fucking call me that, Rose!’
‘I will if you stop calling me Rose!’ Evan glared at his friend, and was about to add something else when Barty intervened.
‘Shut up!’ he yelled, ‘I’m trying to focus’
They both watched their friend concentrate, while they burst out laughing.
‘Are you ever going to admit you're going to lose?’ asked Regulus, he left his half eaten apple on the bed and reached for the jelly baby’s packet.
‘Leave me alone, there must be a way’
Evan rolled his eyes and laid down on the floor. He groaned in boredom.
‘Barty, move anything, please!’
Barty finally moved the queen, and when Evan sat back up, he made one move and punched his fist in the air.
‘Check mate’ he declared
‘If you guys haven’t distracted me I could've won!’
Regulus patted his back to comfort him.
‘Sure thing buddy’ he said sarcastically.
He stood and collected his half eaten apple, before heading towards the door again.
‘Where are you going?’ asked Evan, while Barty still continued calculating other possible ways he could’ve won.
‘To the see the others, Mulciber is still pissed off’
Regulus disappeared behind the door. Evan took some time to think, as a good friend he felt like it was his duty to go and check up with Mulciber, but on the other hand he already had a feeling what it was about. He gave Barty one look, and decided that he wanted to stay and enjoy his evening. He would sort out that problem tomorrow, he thought. For now he wanted to have some fun. He buried that thought for the time being, and tried to get Barty’s attention. Barty slowly looked up, and Evan grinned at him, showing his big crooked teeth.
‘It’s almost time’ He whispered
Barty stared at him with a perplexed look, so he nudged his chin towards the windows direction. His eyes illuminated and a bright smile appeared across his lips.
‘Yes!’ he exclaimed.
The lights were out, and the three boys were snuggled tight in bed. Two of them lay wide awake, while the other snored loudly. Barty counted the minutes in his head with excitement, while Evan lay still in bed, zoning out and letting his thoughts run wild.
When it was time, the two boys almost launched their covers off of them, and tip-toed out of bed.
Barty fished out the kit from underneath his bed, and handed it to Evan, while he searched for a bag. He held it between his arms with ease, used to the weight by now.
Barty made a muffled noise and presented it to Evan. The two boys stuffed the kit in the new found bag and slowly opened the door.
They sneaked past the common room, and every few minutes Evan hushed Barty’s squeals of happiness. The hallways were dark and silent, yet they both were wary about how much noise they were making. They held their breath until they finally managed to arrive at their favorite stop for stargazing.
They had discovered that particular spot a while back, but they never told anyone, one reason was because they knew nobody would be interested and the other eason was that they were afraid that they would use it to snog people.
Their spot was just on a small little hill, a place where you could see each star very clearly.
‘Wow’ Barty breathed, his eyes wide, observing the night sky.
Evan closed his eyes and smelled the fresh air, he felt at ease, peaceful. For Barty, stargazing was his strong passion, while for Evan it was a moment of tranquil, relaxation, and some sort of escape.
Barty broke the silence, and hurried Evan to open the bag. He obliged and passed it to him.
Like a small kid on christmas day, Barty zipped the bag open and pulled out each instrument carefully. He placed it on the ground, making sure it was in the right place and angle. He was very precise and would never allow Evan to help him. That didn’t bother him, he would lay down while Barty did his thing.
‘Ready’
Evan stood and walked towards Barty. He looked through the telescope and grinned.
‘There’s orion’s belt’
‘Where?’ Barty gave Evan a little push and stole the telescope back. He didn’t mind his friend’s sometimes rude actions, because he knew that the only reason was, he just really liked stars.
‘Oh, yes, beautiful,’ he looked through the small telescope with a permanent grin on his face, his mouth hanging wide.
‘Did you know that Orien’s belt consists of three stars: Alnitak,Alnilam, and Mintaka.Each one of them are brighter and bigger than the sun’
‘Wow’ Evan breathed.
He laid back down on the soft grass, and enjoyed the view.
The next morning, Evan yawned wildly with his mouth opened. Regulus noticed and punched his arm.
‘The fuck was that for?’ he rubbed his shoulder and gave his best friend an annoyed look
‘To wake you up of course, we’ve got transfiguration now, you don’t want to fall asleep like last time’
Evan groaned, remembering that their first hour was with Mcgonagall. Not one of his favorite professors.
‘God, I hate transfiguration, why can’t I just sleep without her bugging me all the time?’
Regulus shrugged in response.
The two arrived to class, they sat beside one another and got out their books from their bag.
Mcgonagall was droning on about some particular subject that Evan couldn't care less about, and he didn’t notice that he was slowly dozing off. Not until Mcgonagall caught him. She sighed and cleared her throat.
‘Rosier’
Evan didn’t move, not until Regulos nudged him with his elbow. He woke up startled, his eyes still adjusting before he could finally see his professor's face staring right at him.
‘Oh’ he swallowed hard, waiting for the question she was going to ask before giving him detention.
‘Were you sleeping in my class?’
She got closer, her eyes giving him the disapproving stare. He often got that look from her.
Evan struggled with words, but ultimately was capable of shaking his head. Mcgonagall tilted her head, and thought of a question to ask him.
‘Allright, if you were paying attention, tell me about the Inanimatus Conjurus spell’
She crossed her arms and pouted her lips. Waiting for an answer. Which was definitely not coming soon. Evan gave a pleading look at Regulus, but he refused to help his friend. He sighed in defeat and shook his head again.
‘I don’t know, miss’ he said flatly, not looking up from his wooden desk.
‘As I thought so. Detention’
She turned around and faced the other students. Evan groaned and rubbed his eyes. Another detention from Mcgonagal. He knew he wasn’t going to pass the transfiguration O.W.L.’s exam.
After class Evan dragged his feet towards his friends. He was completely out of energy. Avery spotted him and edged him to come over. He did as he was told.
‘Hey guys’ he said flatly. Taking a seat on the brick wall, and sighing heavily from the effort.
‘You ok?’ Asked Avery, concerned.
‘Yeah, i’m fine’
Severus stepped out of the shadows and stated the obvious.
‘He got another detention from Mcgonagall’
‘Again?’ Avery asked, a bit surprised and high pitched.
Evan nodded, and ran his fingers through his hair.
‘I’m great at every other subject but fucking transfiguration, if it wasn’t for Mcgonagall I would’ve never had any detentions’
‘Yeah, if you continued to not get caught’ added Mulciber with a smug grin
Evan rolled his eyes, he doubted that anyone would ever manage to catch him. He was good at hiding his traces, like Avery was too.
‘We both know that it’s very hard for me to get caught, right Avery?’
She tugged her hair behind her ear, and gave him a mischievous smile. The light atmosphere between the friends changed, once they saw Lily Evans pass them. She didn’t look at them, completely avoiding their gaze. Evan saw Avery’s cheeks turn bright red and Mulciber wrapped his big arm around her trying to comfort her. Severus on the other hand shuffled his feet, and stole some glances at her direction. After Lily Evans had gone, the atmosphere didn’t completely change. The air felt heavy and somehow darker. It was like everyone ,apart from Evan, were lost in thought. So it was up to him to break the silence. Evan drew a breath and was about to talk, but he was interrupted.
‘Hey guys’ Wilkins appeared skipping towards them.
But he soon stopped once he realized that everyone had their gloom faces on. His grin faltered and gave Evan a confused look.
‘C’mon guys, we can’t let fucking Mary Mcdoanld and Lilly Evans ruin our fun. They’re bitches and stupid’ Evan stated, hoping that they would shake off their thoughts about them for now.
‘Yeah, they’re stupid bitches’ agreed Wilkins
Severus crossed his arms, and got closer to the group.
‘Lilly has nothing to do with this. She doesn’t know what Mary is really like and what she does.It's not her fault. She’s not like her.’
Evan slowly nodded, Severus could be right but he was still wary about Lilly. He tilted his head towards Avery and Mulciber, saw them snuggling together and whispering between themselves. They both laughed and held each other tighter. They closed their eyes and stayed in that position, Avery laid her small head on his chest, her eyes closed while Mulciber whispered softly in her ear. Evan gave them a small grin, but he knew that it was time for him to go to detention. He waved goodbye at his friends, and slowly begrudgingly walked towards Mcgonagalls’s office. He bowed his head, and yawned. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew that because of that fact the transfiguration professor would make him work twice as hard. On his way there he bumped into someone, he was half asleep and his vision was blurry. He quickly mumbled his apologies, and wanted to continue walking but a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. Making a shiver go down his spine and blood boil in his veins.
‘Watch where your going, you faggot’
Mary fucking Mcdonald.
Evan turned his back slowly, his eyes focused on the biggest bitch of hogwarts. He couldn’t wait for the quidditch match, so he could beat her ass and taunt her until the next one.
‘Fuck you Mcdonald! Fucking mudblood’ he called back, waiting for her reaction.
As expected she ceased walking, and threw her head back in laughter. She got closer to Evan, but he didn’t budge from where he stood. He didn’t give away any signs that he might have regretted what he said, none. She gave him a smile, but her eyes remained filled with hatred.
‘You don’t want to fuck with me, Evan rosier’
‘I’ve never dreamed of such a thing’ he replied calmly, making sure his emotions didn’t get a hold of him.
‘Or you and your little group of freaks will soon regret it’
She gave him one last look, before stepping back and continuing her walk. Evan sighed and scratched the back of his head.
‘God I’m tired’ he mumbled.
‘Hello Rosier, still looking tired are we? Don’t worry, I know how to wake you up.’ Mcgongall sat behind her desk, she adjusted her glasses and eyed him from the lenses.
Evan sighed and nodded, his shoulder slumped and his once fluffy hair laid flat on his forehead.
He must have dreamt it but a look of concern passed Mcgonagals’s face. She drew in a breath before speaking.
‘Evan,’ she called, sighing his name like she was tired of saying it.
‘You are doing great in all other classes, but transfiguration. You’re a smart boy, it would be a shame you failed your exam just because you fall asleep during lesson’
Evan nodded but didn’t reply. Mcgonagall studied his face, hoping for some kind of apology or promise he would do better. After realizing he wouldn’t speak, she sighed again and told him what he had to do.
Sweat trickled down his nose, as Evan scrubbed the candelabra, trying to finish it as quickly as possible. He was alone, he sat on his knees, he breathed through his chest and watched it lower once he had calmed down a bit. He wiped the sweat, and continued polishing. Mcgongal trusted him enough to be left alone, but she would visit him once he had finished.
Evan grinned at his work. The candelabras all sat well polished, the sun illuminated the surface. He stood, his hands and knees shaking from the effort. He strolled through the hallways to find Mcgonigal, to tell her that he had finished and was free to go. On his way to her office he spotted Mary and her friends. Not wanting to face them, Evan hid behind a column and watched them pass him. He saw them chuckle between themselves, and Evan tried to stop himself from wanting to wipe that smug smile off of her face. He slowly came out of his hiding place and resumed walking towards Mcgonagall’s office. Another obstacle presented itself, the sound of crying. Evan stood still and listened to the soft sobs, and heard a voice trying to soothe whoever had tears rolling down their faces. His brain clicked and he knew who the voice belonged to. He did a small sprint towards the sobs, and finally found the source. It was Avery and Mulciber, both were crouched down, their back against the wall.
‘What’s wrong?’ Evan knelt down, to be at their same height.
Wilkins stood beside them and whispered what happened. Evan listened, and anger slowly started to surface. He clenched his fists, and looked at the poor couple.
‘What a fucking bitch’ he stated, wilkins tried to calm him down and lower his voice but he ignored him.
He was sick of Mary's bullshit.
‘We have to do something about it, right Avery? You can’t let her treat you this way’
Avery slowly lifted her face, it was clear that she was hurt, but fire burned through her. Her eyes were scary, they were filled with anger and the thirst for revenge. A lot of people avoided her for that very distinct feature. Her eyes could be so expressive, or completely indifferent. Most of the first years were afraid of her, when she ever spoke a word to them they would whimper and divert their gaze. Of course, everyone knew not to pass paths with Avery and Mulciber. Their wicked humor and tales of revenge, circulated the school. People would whisper behind her back, but nobody dared ever say a word to her face, and she had to keep it that way.
She stood up, and clenched her fists.
‘You’re right Evan. I’ve never took anyone’s shit before, and I won’t stop now’
She glanced back at Mulciber, her face turned softer and held out her hand. He took it and she pulled him up and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.
‘It’s time to have some fun’ she declared softly, a small grin appeared and whatever she and Mulciber had planned, Evan almost felt sorry for Mary.
Almost.
During dinner, Evan, Regulus and Barty all sat together. They stuffed their faces while they talked about professors and school gossip.
Regulus stoved a fork filled with mash potatoes in his mouth and started talking about Severus.
‘I saw him earlier with Lilly’ he began, after swallowing his big portion off of the fork
‘Oh yeah?’ Evan asked, more interested in sausages than what Regulus had to say.
Barty sat beside him, eating quietly, and barely ever talking.
‘Yeah, they were like fighting or something, probably about James or you know, us’
This wasn’t exciting news to Evan, Severus really liked the girl but it didn’t seem like she felt the same. He left sorry for his friend, but he knew that one day he would get over it and find another girl that actually loves him back.
‘Yeah, he should probably move on. It’s obvious that Lilly doesn’t approve of us, probably thinks we’ll end up death eaters’
Regulus and Evan laughed at the thought. They made fun of the red haired girl before moving on to the next subject of conversation. Which happened to be quidditch.
Evan’s match was the next day and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He hoped slytherin would win, but any talk about the matter made his stomach turn and he felt nauseous. He didn’t deal well with anxiety. His father always pressured him to be the best, and he was scared of losing. He tried to think about the positive, and even if he didn’t win it wasn’t the end of the world. Deep down, he knew he didn’t believe a word he told himself.
Once they all finished eating, they headed to their common room and chilled a bit there. Regulus suggested a card game before going to bed, but Evan refused, he said he was tired. He really was, but he couldn’t sleep at the thought of losing the match.
He woke up startled, sweat dripping from his face, and his heart jumped to his throat. He couldn’t breath, he felt like he was drowning. He tried to calm down, but thoughts ran too fast and he felt like he was being consumed by fear. His breathing was ragged, and he was gasping like a fish out of the water.
‘Calm down’ he told himself, but that did nothing.
He covered his face, and rubbed his hair. Images of possible situations leaked through his mind, taking over his rational thoughts.
His father was sitting down on a chair, it was when Evan entered the room that he finally sat up. His face was covered by shadows and his image was blurry, but one thing was visible. He wrapped the belt between his fists, and called out his name.
‘Evan’ he spat his name with venom. Disgusted by his own child.
‘Did you win the match?’ The question hung in the air, but no answer followed it.
Evan stared in horror, and he couldn’t talk or breath. All he could do was watch in silence. His father got closer, his steps echoing the empty house. Evan wanted to run but he was paralysed, his feet stuck to the floor. He tried swallowing down the fear, and being brave but he couldn’t. He was trapped. Alone.
Evan muffled his quiet sobs, but one person heard him.
‘Evan?’ Barty whispered his name
Evan wanted to answer that he was okay, but not one word escaped his mouth.
‘Are… are you worried about the match?’
Evan slowly nodded, but continued to hide his face from his friend.
‘Oh, it’s, it’s OK to be nervous. I believe that you can win it, and even if you don’t… you’ll be allright, perhaps you’ll win the next one’ Barty struggled to come up with words to make his friend feel better.
Evan didn’t move. Barty sighed and was slightly beginning to panic. He digged deep into his memories, how did people comfort their friends?
‘It’s a beautiful night’ Barty observed, ‘I can see lots of stars and I can sort of make out the orion's belt again. But I reckon we would see much more with a telescope’
Evan’s shoulders shook, but a small grin appeared. Before he knew it he managed to uncover his face and moved towards Barty.
He hugged him tightly, sobbing on his shoulder. Barty stood still, confused, but he slowly started to hug Evan as well.
They both stood like that for some time.
Infact, the next morning Barty woke up beside Evan.