Hide & Seek

Chapter 20 - Abience

Chapter 20
ABIENCE

abience
(n.) the strong urge to avoid someone or something

AVOIDING people is a lot harder than one may think.

First off, you have to make sure that you know where they are at all times, so that you can place yourself in precisely the opposite location.

Second, they can't know where you are, otherwise they come searching. A clean getaway is a lot trickier than it looks, as Gemma was now discovering.

After the numerous incidents that had led to her crying on the floor of the Astronomy Tower post-Yule Ball, the most logical thing for Gemma to do would've been to run and find Harry, Hermione, and Ron and tell them everything.

From the weird dream that she'd already recounted to Hermione, to the photograph, Pip, and the scarf that was shoved between textbooks in her backpack.

If Gemma was feeling daring, she may even throw in the vision she'd seen in Professor Trelawney's crystal ball, although so far she hadn't been able to discern any connection between it and whatever complicated mess her mother had decided to keep her out of.

But, alas, logic had seemed to have failed her, and Gemma was practically panting as she hid behind a tall suit of armor in the corridor outside of Snape's classroom.

She'd seen a flash of flaming red hair, and not wanting to take any chances, had ducked behind the tinny mannequin as quickly as possible to avoid any run-ins with a stray Weasley.

She let herself sag against the cool metal, blowing out a puff of air through her lips.

"Hey! Watch where you're leaning!"

Gemma jumped at the echo of a voice behind her, launching herself upright as she scrambled away from it.

"Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed, nearly knocking into a gaggle of first years as they proceeded down the hall.

They threw her aggravated glances over their shoulders as they darted out of her way.

"Why so jumpy?" the armor rattled as it spoke, its metallic mouth still shut.

But Gemma was too preoccupied with the sight of a familiar bushy head of hair at the end of the hallway. A bushy head of hair that was headed straight for her.

Without answering the armors inquiry, Gemma turned on her heel and booked it the opposite way of Hermione's weaving figure. The fact that everyone in the hallway was heading the other direction didn't help in her escape, and she found the gap between her and her friend shrinking with every passing second.

Then came the thing she had been dreading all week.

"Gemma! Hey, Gemma! Wait up!"

Frantically, Gemma's head whipped around, scanning the halls for any sort of cover.

A door off to the left caught her eye, its shiny gold plaque like a halo on its wood surface.

Without even stopping to think about where it may lead her, Gemma's hand was wrapped around the heavy brass handle and she was pushing inside.

The muffling of the crowded corridor as she pressed the door shut was like a silent symphony to her ears. Her heart was still beating rapidly from the momentary panic, and only when it returned to a semi-normal pace did she realize where she was.

The interior of the Prefects' bathroom was blinding. Every single inch of it sparkled in the mid-afternoon sunlight. The golden pipes erupted from the stone floor in arches over the sunken tub, reflecting beams of light onto the walls.