Somebody You Loved

Chapter Eleven ~ Wise Words

The next few weeks were the worst Vega could've imagined at Hogwarts for her. She didn't look too great; bags had formed under eyes from loss of sleep, and she had grown even more skinny due to skipping every meal at the Great Hall. Clinky, the house elf, was the only reason Vega was getting any sort of food, and the elf had to practically force it down Vega's throat to get her to eat. She wasn't feeling any better than she looked, either. McGonagall had become as strict as ever towards Vega; every mistake she made lost her points and every resentful glare got her a detention. But could she blame the teacher after what she had done to her? Snape's class wasn't much better, and with the way he treated her, it began to reflect on her house which made the harassment from her fellow Slytherins much worse.

And then there were the twins. Ever since the boggart incident, Vega had been receiving mysterious gifts and letters by owl. For the longest time she didn't know why she was getting the wonderful treats or from whom, but the fear of it being poisoned or cursed stopped her from ever touching the presents. It wasn't until she started receiving the letters that she realized it was all from the twins. The letters always started with 'Dear Lupin' and the only two that ever called her that were Fred and George. Unless someone was sending some weird, sentimental gifts to her father, however, Vega doubted that. It was a kind gesture, but Vega never replied back.

Remus's offer to talk never escaped Vega's mind, either. At her worst, she would make her way down to his office but almost always stopped halfway there and turned back. Once, she made it all the way to the DADA door and put her hand up to knock, but she heard the voice of Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, and darted away before she could be seen by them. Merlin's beard, did she want to talk to him, though! But every time a voice in her head told her she was just going to be let down again.

Today was the match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and Vega had all plans to stay in the castle. It was a terrible day for quidditch, anyway, pouring down rain and freezing temperatures, partly due to the dementors. As all the students made their way outside, Vega slipped into the library in search of a new book to read.

But, of course, Marcus Flint had to be waiting patiently at a table, tapping his finger on the wood. With every tap Vega's heart stopped. All she could think was, what's he going to do to me today?

"What do you want, Flint?" Vega whispered to him. She kept as far away as possible.

"Oh, I was just stopping by to return a few books," he explained leisurely.

"Yeah, right. Like you could understand a word on those pages," Vega retorted, knowing too late that she should not have said that.

"What did you just say to me, traitor?" There was anger in Flint's voice as he got up and walked to face Vega.

Only a few inches from her face now, he carefully pulled out his wand so that only Vega could see it. Vega tried to step back but Flint caught her arm and she was forced to stay put.

"Not so fast, Kali." He grinned, "The party's just getting started."

"Shouldn't you be watching the game, Flint?" A timid voice came from behind a row of books.

Ever-so-curious Flint jerked his head to see who was speaking up to him. Vega saw it as an opportunity and grabbed his wand while his grip had loosened and ran just a little ways away. Flint turned back to her with a shocked look on his face, but before he could say anything, Vega shot out a spell with his wand.

"Stupefy!" She yelled.

Flint hit the ground with a thud and for the first time in a while, Vega began to laugh. However, the small voice that had saved her from more bullying made a noise similar to the squeak of a rat, causing her to look up.

"Y-you just-t attacked a-a student," Neville Longbottom said with fear in his eyes.

"No worries, he had it coming," Vega smiled. She walked over to Neville.

Vega had met Neville once before because Snape wanted her to give him some extra lessons on potions. He was a wonderful person with a lot of potential. But, after the lessons were over, Vega seemed to have forgotten about him, which she kicked herself for.

She laid a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, Neville. You just saved me a whole other world of trouble."

With some regained confidence, Neville said, "Of course! Anything for a friend." At the mention of 'friend', he looked down at his shoes.

Vega was a bit taken back by this mention, too. She hadn't known Neville thought of her as a friend. And the way he looked at his shoes confused her even more. She began thinking of the lonely nights she had spent in her dorm and the loss of love in her life. Vega remembered the reason for all those things, but the voice in her head had changed. This time, it was telling her to take this moment and run with it. So, she did just that.

"Hey, Neville?"

"Yeah?" Neville looked back up at Vega.

"The Hogsmeade trip is coming up soon. I was planning on staying here, but maybe you would want to grab a-" Just before Vega could finish, there was a loud noise of staff and students in the corridor just outside. Vega could hear Dumbledore and Minerva, along with a few recognizable Gryffindors.

Vega looked back at Neville who had put back on his worried face. She should have known she wasn't meant for that kind of happiness.

"I'm gonna see what that's about. Want to come?"

"'I should probably head back to the commons. I need to give myself some time to try and remember the password," Neville said sheepishly before leaving the library.

Vega couldn't help but smile at the innocence of Neville Longbottom.

Leaving the soon-to-wake body of Flint, Vega headed towards the sound of concerned people. She rounded a few corners before finally ending up at the hospital wing.

Inside, she saw the Gryffindor quidditch team, along with Ron, Hermione, Professor McGonagall, and Headmaster Dumbledore all crowded around an unconscious Harry Potter. Vega put her back against the wall just outside the hospital and turned her head to try and hear what had happened, while keeping completely out of sight.

After a few minutes, Vega had gathered that the crowding of people, and their happiness, had enticed the dementors. They had apparently come too close and caused Harry to pass out while flying high to catch the Golden Snitch. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore, Harry would have fallen to his death. It also turns out that Harry's broom went flying away when he fell and hit the Whomping Willow, causing it to shatter into pieces. Wait until he hears about that, Vega couldn't help but think.

Vega was just about to leave when she heard McGonagall and Dumbledore leaving the infirmary. She stayed put in the hopes of not getting caught, but her hopes weren't high. And with the way Dumbledore was acting, furious at the dementor attack, she knew she wouldn't get off light if she were caught.

"Why do you think he's passing out like that, Albus?" McGonagall asked with concern in her warm, Scottish accent.

"That is a question for Remus, I'm afraid. However, I do have my ideas." Dumbledore answered in his wistful tone.

Minerva was facing away from Vega, but if Dumbledore were to look a little to the left, Vega could be seen. Her heart was pounding against her chest and sweat was forming on her forehead.

Dumbledore continued, "But, there is one thing I'm sure about."

"And what is that, Albus?" Minerva asked with uncertainty, as if she were tired of hearing Dumbledore say this so often. Vega loved their sibling dynamic.

"One student is going to finally find their place and help guide Harry and his friends on their adventure. It's only a matter of time before one truly finds oneself." And with that, Dumbledore gave a quick glance at Vega, before walking away with Minerva by his side and leaving Vega in utter shock and bewilderment.