Ardent Adversaries

Chapter 22: The DA

It's been a week since we returned to Hogwarts. Classes have resumed, as have my lessons with Snape, and the cherry on top, I'm back on the quidditch pitch. I sent an owl to Fred a few days prior asking him when he wants to meet again to plan another prank but I have yet to receive a response, which is to be expected. I assumed things would be awkward between us since the party when I told him that we couldn't be anything more than friends.

I sit at breakfast on Sunday morning in my usual spot across from Hugh and next to Tara when I see Athena soaring through the Great Hall. I perk up a little in my seat and Hugh follows my eyeline to see where I'm looking. Athena lands next to me and drops a small piece of parchment on my plate. I open the letter gingerly while patting Athena's head.

Olivia,

Meet me at the Room of Requirement at 6 pm

The letter is unsigned but the loopy handwriting looks familiar to me for some reason. Hugh snatches the letter out of my hands and I glare at him.

"Hey what the fuck!" I say angrily.

"Oh c'mon Dawson," Hugh replies. "It's just a note." He reads it and his expression darkens, "Who the fuck is this from?"

"None of your bloody business," I spit. "Fuck off and give it back."

"No, I think I deserve to know who this is from," He retorts.

"Why Hugh?" Tara asks and he opens and closes his mouth like a fish. "Exactly. So piss the fuck off and let Dawson be." Hugh glares at the both of us and then storms away angrily.

"Fucking prat," I say, spearing a melon forcefully.

"Dawson, he loves you and you don't feel the same," Tara says softly. "He's gonna be a fucking prat about this for a while."

"Yeah, I know," I reply. "It's just private, you know?"

"I do, don't worry," She smiles at me and I smile back. We finish our breakfast in silence. I can tell Tara has something else on her mind because breakfast isn't usually this quiet. Everytime I glance up at her she's looking at me with an intense look on her face.

"Okay," I finally say. "Out with it."

"It's just," She looks away for a second. "This whole Hugh thing has put a real damper on our group vibe. We all wish you would've handled it differently so that everything would be okay with us."

"Hm," I say, trying to squash the anger. "Okay, well that's that. I'm gonna leave." I stand up jerkily and head out of the Great Hall before she can say anything else. I don't even realize I've started crying until I feel a tear slip down my cheek. Did she really expect me to tell him I loved him back after I had just been assaulted? And lie on top of it too? I storm the empty common room before heading into my room and I sit down on my bed. I take a few calming deep breaths before grabbing my book bag and leaving.

I head to the library to try and calm myself down with some homework. I just want to pass the time until I can meet with Fred later. I head through the library to my favorite table tucked away in the back corner. I spot Hermione at her usual spot and give her a small smile and nod as I walk past. She returns my smile brightly before burying her nose back into her work. I laugh lightly as I continue on through the library. I toss my stuff down onto my table before plopping down into a seat. I start to pull out my books and get to work.

I start to jot down my assignments and rework my revision schedule before starting on my work. I groan softly at the amount of work I'm going to have for the rest of the year. I pull out my Runes work and begin the arduous task of translating my assignment. I work on that for about half an hour before I move on to my next assignment. I grab my potions work and begin outlining my ideas for my essay on the uses of powdered moonstone.