Glory |A. Potter|

Forty

Jane didn't appear the next morning. Albus was worried when he didn't see her in breakfast, his expression betraying his concern as he sat with Scorpius in the Slytherin table, both of them having no news about her whereabouts. Ramona joined them a while later but all she could tell them about Jane was that she had attempted to wake her up when she realised she was still in bed only for her voice when she spoke to be scratchy. Albus had been quick to tell Ramona and Scorpius what had happened last night when the common room was empty and at once, his friends shared his worry. They could do nothing, though. Classes started soon and they had to go.

Jane didn't attend classes that day.

It was the first and only time she had missed a lecture and the Professors were rather curious and concerned. Jane's three friends settled for claiming she wasn't feeling well when the Professors asked them about her whereabouts. Albus told himself he would try and find a way to get her out of her dormitory when classes ended. Her well-being was all he cared about. But some people didn't share his intentions.

Rumours started spreading in the castle, words turning into stories, moving from person to person like a fire in dried grass, and by the end of the day, everyone knew a version of the reason Jane Gibbs, the seemingly unapproachable, icy Slytherin Prefect wasn't around. Some claimed she was feeling under the weather, that she had caught a cold. Others seemed to think that with exams only a few weeks away, Jane had realised she wasn't ready and she would fail so she had taken the time to study or she was panicking as she realised how far behind she was. There were others, too, but one in particular caught Albus's attention.

Jane was said to have been crushed after her fall, that she wasn't stable emotionally and without her ability to play Quidditch, she was lost and crying all the time in her dormitory.

The rumour had enraged Albus when he heard although he managed to not show it. He couldn't imagine how insecure a person could be to think of spreading such a rumour, how uncaring they could be. He was certain he knew who did it, though. And the moment the chance prevented itself to him, he would ensure the person's humiliation.

Scorpius left to patrol on his own right after dinner, knowing there was no chance Jane was going to join him when she hadn't shown her face all day. Albus watched him go from his seat at the Slytherin table with his lips set into a thin line. His food didn't seem all that appetising. Ramona sitting across from him noticed.

"You should try to eat something more," she urged him, her tone soft. Albus looked over at her, met her emerald gaze, and the moment she knew she had his attention, she offered him a small smile. "You haven't eaten much all day."

"I'm just thinking," he muttered as he grabbed his fork, his eyes falling on his plate. He stared at the vegetables he had thought to eat earlier with some distaste – for whatever reason he always seemed to overestimate his ability to eat food he didn't like. "It would be nice if you managed to get her to leave her dormitory."

"You know she's incredibly stubborn," she pointed out, "there's as much chance to get her out of bed as there's for you to like Quidditch."

"That was quite the metaphor," he commented, and she let out a small chuckle in response. Albus forced himself to eat some vegetables. Once he had swallowed, after a few beats of silence, he spoke up. "I fear the reason her voice was scratchy this morning is because she was crying."

"So do I," she agreed at once, "in all six years we've been living in the same dormitory, I've never seen her cry. I mean, I still haven't seen her cry. But all of us have our limits. After all that's happened to her, I think she might have reached her tipping point."

"I think so too," he sighed, "I really hope we are wrong, though."

Ramona nodded, her eyes shifting from left to right as she looked at those around them, and then she leaned forward, when she spoke, the tone of her voice a lot lower than it previously was. "Annabeth has spread all those rumours."