it all ends with us: ruins

024

Chapter Twenty-Four:

"I want to hear your voice one last time."

It was now Saturday and the teens had packed their bags and were waiting to board the train. Hagrid had put away all of the suitcases and had now stood in front of the crowds trying to rally up the first years onto the train. Atlas stood near Ren and Pansy and the three girls were waiting for the rest of the group to meet up. Eli had lost his pet toad and now had Lorenzo, Theo, Kiera and Apollo on the lookout. The morning had already been eventful and the half term had only just started.

"Here you are." Atlas turns to her right to see Theo who had appeared next to her.

"Did you find the toad?" She asks him.

"Yeah Eli found him hiding under the desk in the common room." Theo explains to her.

"That's good."

"Wow." Theo mutters, his eyes focused on the trains.

"What?" Atlas furrows her eyebrows, confused on what he was looking at.

"Can you not see them?" He asks bewildered.

"See what?" She questions.

"Them." He says pointing at the train.

"Thestrals." A voice from behind calls out.

The two turn to see Luna Lovegood look at the thestrals with love. She approaches them and strokes the invisible animal before turning back to Atlas and Theo.

"You can see them? That means you must've lost someone you loved. Or witnessed a death." She says softly looking at the sky.

"It was your mother, wasn't it?" She starts. "I can tell."

Theo's jaw clenches in anger at the young Ravenclaw for bringing up his mother. Atlas quickly realises and reaches for his hand. She encloses the larger one between both of hers. Theo looks down at the girl who was now holding his hand in a soothing manner. The anger he felt previously disappears and all he could think about was the Hufflepuff in front of him.

"I'm going for a smoke." He mutters.

He takes his hand away from Atlas and shoves them into his robe pockets before storming away from the two girls.

"I seem to have upset him." Luna says with a frown.

"I'm sorry Luna. I'll catch up with you later." Atlas rushes out before walking in the direction that Theo had gone in.

She finds Theo leaning against the wall. The cigarette hangs out of his mouth. He reaches to grab it and releases a puff of smoke. He takes two deep drags before looking around and spots Atlas standing near him. She walks closer before placing herself in front of him and the smoke surrounds her. And from his point of his view she looked entirely celestial. She reaches forward and takes the cigarette from his hand, chucking it onto the floor and puts it out.

"Bad habit." She repeats, something she said when she first found him smoking.

"I know." He repeats with a small smile.

"You're not going to stop are you?" The memory of their day in Hogsmeade fresh in her head.

"Not any time soon." She softly scoffs at his answer but she can't keep the grin off her face.

"I'm sorry for storming off." He says solemnly.

"You don't need to apologise for that," She tells him. "Let's go before the train leaves without us."