What If? Year 1

Chapter 14

"Goldie?" someone says, "Goldie are you.. can you hear me?" Harry was standing over me with a concerned look on his face. I nods, slowly. 
"Are you alright?" he asks, "Hermione just said you fainted and went to the hospital wing." 
"Sorry," I whisper, looking at my chest, "I d-didn't m-mean t-to w-worry y-you." 
"It's not your fault, Goldie," he says, "you didn't do it. I'm just happy you're okay now." He hugs me and I smile.  Madam Pomfrey walks over to the side of my bed. 
"Are you alright, Goldie?" 
"Yeah," I mumble, "Am I able to go back to the common room?"  She nods, and Harry helps me sit up. I get out of the bed and hold on to Harry's arm. 
"Don't make this a regular occurrence, Miss Potter," Madam Pomfrey says, smiling at me as Harry and I get to the doors. 
"I'll do my best, ma'am," I tell her, smiling back. 

"Goldie!" Hermione says, running over to Harry and me as we get into the common room, "Are you alright?" I nod, 
"Yeah," I say, "I'm fine." Hermione smiles, and Ara, Ginny, and Heather walk over to me. 
"You sure you're good?" Ara asks. I nod. Neville smiles at me and waves me over. 
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks, as my eyes trace his soft jaw line. 
"Yeah," I tell him, "why do people keep asking me that?" My eyes shoot up to his dazzling brown ones. 
"We're worried about you," he says, putting his hand on my shoulder. 
"Oh," I mumble, "well you don't have to.. I'm more comfortable when people don't worry about me." Neville nods and I turn away to hide my blush.  I walk back over to Ara, Ginny, and Heather. 
"Exactly how long was I out?" I ask them. 
"About an hour, maybe more?" Ara says, "why.. did you see something?" 
"I'm not sure," I lie, "I heard voices.. like Harry's, I guess." Ginny and Heather nod. 
"You should probably get to bed, Goldie," Harry says. 
"I've been sleeping for an hour, Harry," I reply, "I don't think I need more sleep." Harry shrugs. 
"Whatever," he mumbles, returning to Ron and Hermione.  I go to our dorm and grab my Transfiguration book. I sit down on my bed and start to read. 

I look up from my book to find myself next to Regulus again. 
"Just couldn't stay away, could you?" he chuckles.  I smile, smacking him with my book. He takes it swiftly and sets it down. 
"I have something I want to show you," Regulus tells me, and takes my hand to lead me who knows where. 
"Can you tell me where we're going, please?" I ask him.  He shakes his head and makes his long black hair shake around his head.  My heart feels like it is going to burst out of chest as we round the corner and get into the Potion's classroom. 
"What are we doing here?" I snap at Regulus, as he grabs a quill from Snape's desk, "and why are you taking things from his desk?" I smack his hand and he drops the quill. 
"It's just a harmless prank, Goldie," Regulus mumbles, "I'm just moving it." I roll my eyes and put the quill back where it was. 
"You've gotta be more layed back, Golds," he grumbles, pushing the quill onto the floor, "he won't even know it was us! Remember, can't see us." I look around the classroom and find a piece of paper that I had written on. My loopy handwriting was scribbled all over it. 
"You're hand writing reminds me of Lily's," Regulus smirks, "She had that loopy handwriting. That used to drive James mad when ever he saw it." I giggle, thinking about the school boy crush my dad had had on my mother. They were just so perfect for each other. 
"How well did you know my parents?" I ask Regulus, as he sit himself down onto Snape's desk, "I know you knew Uncle Sirius pretty well.. but my dad never really talks about you." Regulus' face turns a little pink. 
"Well," he mumbles, "I was a big fan of your father's... work. You know, the pranks he would pull with his friends. I knew that since I was a Slytherin, I would never be able to really talk to him, with out the slight discomfort that was always in between us.  And when Sirius left, that ruined any change of me speaking to him really." I nod, soaking all the new information in. 
"I'm glad you're more like your mother, Golds," he continues, "We didn't know each other wonderfully, but she was nice to me. Let me use her extra quills and parchment sometimes."
"Mom taught me that everyone deserves an equal chance," I tell him, sitting on a desk, "No matter their blood 'purity', house, or anything." Regulus smiles. 
"I'm glad," he says, "You're father was alright and all, but he was kind of a bully." 
"I know," I mumble, "he's softened up some now. I guess have a socially awkward child puts all that in prospective."  Regulus chuckles. 
"You don't seem that awkward to me," he chuckles. I grimace. 
"That's because this is all in my head," I mumble, "I'm different in my head. I'm the girl my father's always wanted me to be. I'm brave, strong, out-going." 
"So like him?" Regulus asks. 
"Yeah, Reg," I whisper, tears filling up my eyes, "I try so hard to be the way he wants me to be. Evie and Harry have it down, but I just can't stand when I have so much attention on me! We can't even go into a restaurant without being seen by a wizard.  They go absolutely crazy. Then I get to overwhelmed.. and mom has to take me home." I was looking down at my lap. Regulus puts a hand on my shoulder. 
"I remember a little boy who was just like that," he says, scooting over to sit my me, "he just wanted to make his family proud. And you know what that got him?" 
"What, Reg?" 
"That got him dead."