|| Star-Crossed ||

5

Anyone Else

CAROLINE POTTER

Later that day, after all our lessons, I headed to the Great Hall for dinner. I sat down with my friends and Harry still wasn't there. "So..." Ginny said with a smirk as I sat down. "What?" I asked. "How was the sex?" she teased. "Oh piss off." I said with a laugh. Hermione and Ron laughed too. "You should have seen the old toads face when you said that. She just about lost it with you." Ron said. "Not to mention Harry's argument." Hermione added. "Yeah well the Potter twins aren't afraid of some pinked out punk. She can kiss my ass." I said. Hermione sighed. "Just be careful, alright. You don't need to go around being reckless for no reason." she said. "I know Mione. I was just looking out for Max." I said. She nodded. "I'm going to go find Harry. I'll see you guys later." I said. They said goodbye and I left. I walked to Gryffindor and knocked on his door. No answer. I jiggle the handle and it opens. Boys, so dumb. They always forget to lock their door. I just went inside and grabbed the Marauders map. He was coming into the common room now. I sat down on his bed and waited for him to come in. A few seconds later, the door opened. "Caroline? I told you to stop breaking into my dorm." he said as he sat down next to me. "It's not breaking in if the door is unlocked," I said. He rolled his eyes. "Why'd you skip dinner?" I asked. "Detention with Umbridge," he said. I just nodded. "Are you ok?" I asked. He shrugged. "Why are you pulling away from us?" I asked. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes. "Ron told me what Seamus said. But I know there's more going on in your head. You have to let me in, Harry." I said. I held his hand. "I'm your sister, I don't know what you are so afraid of." he said. "I'm just scared," he said quietly. "Of what?" I asked. "I don't want to lose anyone else. And it seems like everyone that gets close to me, they just- well... I lost them." he said. "That's why you've been isolating yourself?" I asked. He nodded. "I don't want to put everyone in danger just for caring about me." he said. "Harry, you can't just put everyone else ahead of you and think that counts as love." I said. He looked at me with confusion. "I understand how you feel, trust me. But you want to know the only thing that keeps me going?" I said. "What is it?" he asked. "Our mum and dad died to protect us. And we survived that killing curse. That was no accident or coincidence. Everything happens for a reason." I said. He just nodded. "I have to get to Astronomy but I'll see you tomorrow, all right?" I said. "Ok" he replied.

I stopped by my dorm and got changed. I put on some jeans and a sweater. Then I grabbed my bag and headed for the Astronomy Tower. I climbed the stairs and realized how late I was halfway up. I ran as fast as I could and got there only 5 minutes late. "Ah, Miss Potter, how kind of you to grace us with your presence" Professor Sinistra said. I sighed heavily as the class snickered. "I apologize, Professor. I was handling something and I underestimated the amount of stairs there were." I said. "Are you sure you weren't out fucking Max again? Wouldn't be surprised by a slag like you." Pansy spat. "Jealous much?." I snapped. "Fuck you!" she yelled. "Don't make me hex your hair pink again, Parkinson" I snapped. She just rolled her eyes. "That's enough from both of you. 10 points from Slytherin and 10 points from Gryffindor." she said. Shit. Oops.

"Just take a seat, please. I would like to start today's lesson without any more foul language please." she said. "Yes, Ma'am," I said. I quickly found Luna and sat down next to her. "Hi Luna," I whispered. "Hello Caroline, I haven't seen you in quite some time." she said. "I know. I missed you a lot." I said. She smiled. "That's nice. I missed you too." she said. I nodded. "How's your dad and The Quibbler?" I asked. "Just wonderful. We just published a new article about wrackspurts and how to identify them." she said. What the bloody hell is a wrackspurt? "That's interesting. I'd love to read it if you have a copy." I said. She nodded and pulled it out of her bag. I took it and put it in mine. "I'll return it as soon as I can," I said. She gave me that kind smile again. "No need. I have lots of copies. You can keep it." she said. "Thanks Luna, you're the best." I said. "I don't think so, but thank you." she said. I chuckled. "Of course." I said with a smile. Luna is one of my favorite people because no matter how stressed or upset you are, she can always make you feel better. She's a real friend.

"Ok students, that's enough for tonight. Now I want to assign you your first project." she said. I sat up and listened closely. I was so excited to begin. "I will be assigning you a partner and with said partner, you will pick a constellation and learn about it. Then do a report on it, following the carefully structured rubric and turn it in by the end of the month." she said. This should be fun. "I will be pulling names from a hat and that will be your partner." she continued. "How very muggle of her" Pansy scoffed. "You know what Miss Parkinson, since you are so against my method of selecting partners, you can do the project yourself." Professor Sinistra said. "What?! The whole thing?" she shrieked. "Yes." she stated. She handed her a scroll and shooed her away. Pansy glared at her and just stomped off. Karma. I couldn't help but laugh. Then Professor Sinistra continued to pull names out of the hat. I was a little disappointed when Luna was paired with Blaise. But even more disappointed when I heard...

"Draco Malfoy and... Caroline Potter" Professor Sinistra said. Everyone went quiet and their jaws hit the floor. We both immediately jumped up and started to talk over each other. "Not her, I am not going to be partners with Potter. Absolutely not." Malfoy started. "As if I want to bask in the warm sunlight that is Draco Malfoy's company. I'll take anyone else. Please." I said. "You should be so lucky. A half-blood like you would fail this assignment without me." he spat. "Oh please, you know damn straight that I get outstandings on my OWL's. And besides I doubt you could get your head out of your arse long enough to even pick up a quill, you arrogant, self-centered, prick!" I shouted. His face dropped and then it curled into a smirk. "You have no idea who you are messing with, Line." he said. "I'm not afraid of you." I said slowly. "Enough!" Professor Sinistra yelled. We both turned to face her. "I've had enough of this petty house rivalry. You are not only going to be partners on this project, but you are going to be partners for every project I assign this year." she said. My fists clenched and I was seething. "Understood?" she asked. We both just nodded. "Good. You are dismissed." she said sharply. I turned around and walked out. I started walking down the stairs when I heard Malfoy call me. "Hey Potter!" he shouted. I kept walking. "Potter, stop!" he continued. I got to the bottom of the stairs and right as I opened the door he pulled it closed. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed. "We're partners now," he said. "Yeah, so what?" I said. "So I won't have my marks being fucked up because of you," he said. "And what makes you think I would fuck up your marks?" I asked. He smirked. "Intuition," he said sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes. "Get to the point, Malfoy." I said. "Fine. Neither of us want this, that's clear," he started. "Obviously." I said. "But neither of us wants to fail our marks either," he added. I nodded hesitantly. "Good. We'll meet in the library, after dinner, tomorrow." he said. Then he turned on his heel and walked off. This is going to suck on so many levels.