Entanglement

6. Success?

My emotions argued amongst themselves over Andres' decision to skip the party we had just been invited to, as we silently walked through the dungeons and into the Slytherin common room.

"Stop pouting," Andres pulled me up the stairs and led me to my own dorm. "It was a bad idea and you know it." He knocked on my door and Pansy shouted to us from the other side.

"Entrance permitted!" I reluctantly followed him inside and walked over to my bed before face planting into my pillows. Andres closed the door behind us and Pansy snorted as she assessed the situation. "That bad huh?" She questioned as she continued writing in a book she was holding. Andres sat next to me and began rubbing my back.

"It was actually fantastic," He retorted. "She was so friendly and wasn't even the least bit upset that we went to see her," Pansy raised her eyebrows at Andres. "She even invited us to the Gryffindor post-quidditch party." He let out a sigh with his last comment, clearly disappointed that we weren't allowed to attend.

"And how was her hand?" Pansy prodded a bit to further assess what had happened. I gripped the pillow around my head and lifted it up just enough to let her see my disheartened face. "All fixed up, was she?" Pansy returned her attention to her book as she addressed me. "Well can't say I'm surprised. Madame Pomfrey is the best." I stuffed my face back into my pillow with a groan and tried not to think about her tattooed arms or the rings on every one of her fingers.

"But she told y/n that she would've been screwed if Ritchie Coote hadn't warned her about the bludger!" Andres' voice was pleading for a sign of approval from Pansy at our seemingly successful adventure. She put her quill down and closed her book before crossing her legs and staring him down.

"Mirren Leandra is fighting all the odds. She's a quidditch prodigy here, sure. But she's got six older brothers, all accomplished players who were signed into professional teams within a year after finishing school," I shifted my head so I could see her face. "Her older cousin is the most famous seeker in the world," Pansy held eye contact with me. "And on top of that, she's a woman," My eyebrows knit as I tried to decipher what she was playing at. Her exasperated sigh was a clue that I had missed something. "She doesn't have the privilege of losing her temper at an opposing player, even a student, in public," Pansy leaned against her headboard and crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes. "The backlash she would face, especially from The Daily Prophet, would be incredibly tarnishing to her career," I sat up at the realization of Pansy's theory. "So of course she was polite to you both. She can't risk you two running back to Blaise and telling him she chewed you out." My shoulders sunk as I tried to believe that Mirren really was impressed with me and that Pansy wasn't correct.

"Okay but she still invited us to the party..." Andres sheepishly spoke while he fiddled with the bracelet he was wearing.

"Because THAT'S not suspicious at all," Theo had entered the dorm without us noticing and he was leaning against the wall, also with his arms folded in front of him. "The star player of the Gryffindors invites you to their common room, right after the game in which you both tried to knock her off her broom, and you think it's a compliment?" He laughed as he made his way to Pansy's bed and sat on the edge leaning towards us.

"She said we were the only players who made her sweat during a game..." My fingers had found a loose strand of hair and began tugging it, hoping it would slow my heartbeat. Theo and Pansy shared a look I could not read. When he looked back at me, his face was serious and cold.

"Whether that's true or not, you both need to realize that she is a celebrity, she's not just a normal student here," Pansy moved over to my bed and wrapped one arm around my shoulders and placed the other hand on my knee. "She has to behave a certain way and she has to treat fans with a specific level of respect," Theo's eyes appeared almost paternal when he spoke to us. "And inviting you to her common room was not what I would call flattering," Suddenly his eyes became dark. "Do you have any idea what they could've done to you in there?" Andres instinctively reached for my hand and I squeezed his in response. "That's HER space. She practically runs that house. One word from her and they could've absolutely wrecked you both for breaking her hand at the game," He sighed and nodded his head. "It was a wise decision to decline her offer." I squeezed Andres hand again in a silent 'thank you' for not letting me be taken in by Mirren's charm earlier. Theo was normally cold but he was something of a big brother to me since I never had any to speak of. His actions were calculated but he always knew when it was the time to warm up and set aside his usual detached personality.