|| Star-Crossed ||

4

You Don't Know Anything

CAROLINE POTTER

"Would you quit staring at me like that?" Max exclaimed. "Staring like what?" I asked. "Like you're trying to figure out if I'm going to throw myself off the Astronomy Tower tonight," he said. "Well, are you?" I asked. He shrugged. "Undetermined. But when I decide, you'll be the first to know." he teased. "Oh, perfect. I want a front row seat to your stupidity." I shot back. He chuckled. Now, I know our jokes seem really fucked up. But dark humor is sorta our thing. Especially since Cedric died. We both have lost so much and so I guess it makes it easier to handle. Finally, the train stopped and we got our stuff and headed for the carriages. "There's Mary and Naomi. Let's go sit with them" I said. I took Max's hand and dragged him past people to the carriage with our friends. We hopped up and they immediately started talking and hugging us. "There's my favorite blondes," I said with a smirk. "We missed you guys so much!" Mary exclaimed. "Yeah! The summer was absolutely dreadful without you" Naomi added. "I missed you guys too." I said. "How are you doing, Max?" Mary asked. He just shrugged. They looked at me and I shook my head indicating for them not to pry. They nodded and we all continued to talk. The carriages began to pull us to Hogwarts and I smiled. Welcome home.

We got to the Great Hall and Max went to the Hufflepuff table and Mary and Naomi sat with Ravenclaw. I found Harry at Gryffindor table and sat down just before Dumbleore's speech. "How's Max doing?" he asked. I looked at Harry with a scowl. "If you care so much about Max, why don't you talk to him yourself." I said. "Seriously, C?" he snapped. "Talk to him." I said. He just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." he said. "Whatever" I said in a dull tone, to mock him. He just went back to zoning out again.

Dinner ended and I went back to the dorm I share with Ginny and Hermione. We unpacked and I fell asleep quickly. I can't wait for lessons to start back up tomorrow. I hope this is a good year.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Hermione yelled. She flicked her wand and the curtains flew open. Ginny and I groaned as she pulled our blankets away and hit us with pillows. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "Ok, I'm up" I groaned. I pulled myself from my bed and got ready. Then we all walked down to breakfast together. I saw Ron sitting with Seamus and Dean, but Harry wasn't there. We sat down and I kicked Ron under the table. "Ow!" he said. He looked at me with a scowl. "What the bloody hell was that for?" he exclaimed. "Where's Harry?" I asked. He looked down with a sheepish look on his face. "Ron..." I said sternly. "He had a rough night. He said he'll see me in class and left." he said. My face fell. "You mean nightmares?" I asked. He shrugged. "Amongst other things," he said. "He's just pissy because I called him out for being a liar." Seamus said as he turned to face me. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" I snapped. "It's all over the Daily Prophet. The Minister says-" he started. "The Minister is full of crap. Cedric died and you have the balls to say Harry is lying?!" I exclaimed. "How do you know he isn't it?" he asked. "He's my brother." I said. He just scoffed. "Not good enough." he mumbled. "Caroline, it's not worth it." Ginny said. I glared at Seamus but went back to eating. "Let's compare our timetables!" Hermione said as she clapped her hands, clearly trying to diffuse the tension.

I handed it to her and passed it around. "You're taking Astronomy?!" Ron said. "Yeah, so what?" I said with a shrug. "It's boring. You just stare at the sky in the middle of the night." he said. I scoffed. " You have no vision. And I like the stars. I think they're interesting." I said. "When are you supposed to sleep?" Hermione asked. "I have a free period after DADA. If I'm tired, I'll sleep then." I said. Ron shrugged. "Okay." he said. "I think it's cool. You'll have loads of fun." Ginny added. I smiled. "Thank you for your support, Ginny. Good to know someone is on the side of free will in my education." I said sarcastically. "Hey, what about me?" Hermione exclaimed. "Fine, you too, Mione." I said. She smiled. "I was kidding, C. If you want to do Astronomy, I'm all for it. I just didn't know you were into that sort of stuff." Ron said. "I know. I was teasing you." I said as I nudged him. "Come on guys, we can't be late to class on the first day." Hermione said. We all nodded and got up. Let the games begin.

Charms and Transfiguration went by quick and easy. Now for DADA with the new creepy teacher in pink. Harry told me she works for Fudge. She was at his hearing and voted against him, which isn't the most comforting thing. But maybe she made a mistake. I shouldn't judge her before I've even met her. She could be nice. I sat down next to Max and he smiled at me. "Hey," I said. "Ready for another year?" he asked. I shrugged. "It should be interesting." I said.

Umbridge walked in and started talking about OWL's and school. Her voice was as irritating as Snape's but in a whole different way. And she giggled a lot. "You will be learning about magic in a secure, risk free way." she said. "What use is that? If we are going to be attacked it won't be risk free?" Harry said. I immediately recognized that look in his eyes. "Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class" she spat. "This is not good." I mumbled. "Who do you imagine would want to attack children like yourself?" Umbridge asked. Please don't say it, please don't say it, Harry. "Oh, I don't know... Lord Voldemort." he said. And he said it. "Here we go." I muttered. Umbridge was seething. "You have been told that a certain dark wizard is out there, this is a lie." she said. "It's not! I saw him, I fought him!" Harry shouted. "Detention, Mr. Potter." Umbridge snapped. "Harry, quit it" I whispered. "So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry asked. The room went silent and everyone stared at Max. I looked at him and he stared at the desk. They continued arguing. A few seconds later, I saw a teardrop hit the wood.

"Fuck this" I said. I grabbed his hand and pulled him from the desk. "Miss Potter, Mr. Diggory, where do you think you are going?!" she shouted. "To have sex!" I said sarcastically. Then I slammed the door. We went outside to the courtyard and sat under the tree. He just buried his face in his palms and I rested my head on his shoulder. "I know." I whispered. "I know," I repeated. I squeezed his hand and we just sat there. "Miss Potter, Mr. Diggory" We both looked up and Professor McGonagall was standing in front of us. "Shouldn't you two be in Defense against the Dark Arts." she asked. " I let go of his hand and McGonagall and I stepped aside. "Is Mr. Diggory alright?" she asked. "No, he's not." I said. She just nodded. "We were in class until Umbridge decided to go on a rant about how Cedric's death was an accident and everything and everyone is safe and we are all going to live happily ever after." I said. She chuckled. "What? Tell me you don't believe it." I said. She shook her head. "No, you just- you have your fathers sense of humor." she said. I smiled. She conjured a parchment and pen and scribbled something down. "Here, this is a one time pass. But you can't skip DADA everytime she says something you two don't like." she said. I took the parchment and nodded. "Thank you," I said. Then I sat back down with Max and we just stayed there. Together. Trying to figure out how this all happened.