Much to Horace Slughorn's dismay, Artemis Potter and Tom Riddle seem to have drifted apart a little despite having spent the summer holidays with each other. So, of course, it is upto him to bring them closer once more. If only his superb match-maki...
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-----------------------> "WHERE'S ARTEMIS?" Gen asked as Reginald sat adjacent to her at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, even as she cast a lingering glance to the archway of the entrance as if expecting to summon Artemis by uttering her name.
When she didn't saunter in, Gen frowned, looking at Reginald and demanding an answer, since he was the last person who had left the Common Room. "Did you see her on your way?"
"I thought she already left," Reginald said, eyes sweeping across the numerous varieties of food spread out on the table—piles of sausages, loaves of bread, cups of pudding, jars of jam, sticks of butter, stacks of pancakes and containers filled with tea, maple syrup and pumpkin juice.
Gen's frown deepened as she shook her head. "I don't know. She usually sleeps in my room since her's is basically a messy storage area—"
"She prefers the term 'art gallery'," Roman interjected from where he sat opposite Gen.
"—but she was gone before I woke up today, so I thought she was back in her room drawing something, or that she was hungry and left for breakfast so I didn't check," Gen continued, pursing her lips. "It was only when I arrived here did I notice she wasn't here. Breakfast is going to end in a while as well. Are you sure you didn't see her in the Common Room?"
"I didn't check her room either," Reginald admitted. "If she's not here, she must be there."
"You know," Melanie, one of Reginald's friends and ever the eavesdropper, slowly interrupted, "I think I saw her on our way here..."
Wrinkles appeared on Reginald's forehead. "You did?"
"Yes," Melanie nodded. "She was on the second floor. Heading towards the girl's bathroom, I think."
"Why would Artemis go there?" Gen investigated, perturbed, to which Melanie shrugged, claiming she didn't know.
The second-floor girl's bathroom held nothing but plaguing memories ever since the events of the last academic year. Myrtle Warren, a young girl from Ravenclaw, had lost her life there and Artemis had been found petrified. From what Gen had observed during the holidays, this tragedy had also birthed a slight fear of bathrooms and an aversion to the colour yellow in Artemis. Gen couldn't think of any reason why Artemis would willingly go there, so she reasoned that Melanie must have mistaken someone else for Artemis and discarded the girl's words from her mind.
Gen sighed, looking around the Great Hall, trying to see if Artemis had arrived yet. "The first years are rather cute," she commented offhandedly, stealing a longing glance at the nerve-ridden, adorable faces of the newest students.
"Are you going to—" Roman abruptly cut himself off, unable to finish his question and teasingly ask if she'd adopt any of them.
Instead, Roman ran his tongue over his teeth wondering if it would brush the words off. They still clung to him, the taste heavy and burning to get out. Yet, he swallowed them and cast his gaze down. It would be cruel to ask Gen that considering what happened with Rubeus Hagrid, whose very name caused Roman to suppress a shiver that slithered down his spine like electricity.
