ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ - 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞

𝐂𝐇𝐏 𝟐𝟎 - Midnight

THIRD PERSON's POV

A week had passed since the news, not only reports of the Weasley house burning down but rumours of someone trying to hurt the Head Master floated around the student body like smoke, practically everyone knew about it. The Quittich game also adding to the excitement of the Gryffindor students due to their win against Slytherin, much to many green students dismay. After Katie Bell getting cursed last semester, Ronald Weasley getting poisoned and then breaking up with the obsessive Lavender Brown, the school had gossip to fuel their almost uneventful school year; almost.

Y/n had been keeping to herself during the weeks after the Christmas break, only participating in conversations started by others, and merged into the background when attending class. A few of her friends noticing her absence and lack of interest in most aspects of her social life, became worried about her. Mattheo also taking notice to her passiveness, all of his attempts to gain her attention failing in their respective ways. He had to resort to silently staring at her, which only made Y/n avoid his eye contact more; he became frustrated, deflated.

Pansy connected her pattern of behaviour over a few years, every week leading up to or after the break was when Y/n would shut herself off from the people around her. She started to form narratives over the years to fill in the blanks and gathered that she most probably didn't have the best home life, although she didn't ever ask Y/n about it.

Y/n was a very private person when it came to her family, her family was her business only and never opened up to anyone about them. Pansy was the only person that knew about her sister, Rose; her and Mattheo. When the topic of family or anything relating to it was brought up, Y/n would avoid it like the plague, making up every excuse in the book or straight up removing herself from the conversation would be the result; so no one ever asked.

Although Y/n had told Pansy who Atticus was and that she wasn't very fond of him, she never explained further, leaving all of her family affairs to Pansy's imagination. And Pansy didn't like what she imagined. It was only until the two girls were alone in their dorm room did Pansy want to ask about her behaviour, how it shifts and her desire to know why it happens. She wanted so desperately to make Y/n less distant, less cold; but she knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"Y/n?" Pansy called from her bed, her eyebrows curled into an expression of concern, worry.

"Hm?"

"Why are you so distant after each break?" Y/n stopped stroking Toby who sat on her lap, she looked over to Pansy and saw her concern written so blatantly on her features. Y/n looked back down to her cat and thought about her answer.

"What do you mean?" Y/n asked back, making an effort to avoid the on coming conversation as she usually did.

"You know what I mean!" Her best friend stood up from her bed, walking over to Y/n with saddened irises, her arms standing stiffly at her sides. Y/n stared at Pansy before hesitantly admitting a minor cause of her behaviour.

"Atticus."

"What did he do?" Pansy pressed.

"You know Panny maybe we should-"

"No! I see that you're cold Y/n and it's because of him!" Pansy suddenly began to shout at Y/n, her words coming out in a rush but was filled with intense emotion spilling out of every word. "And if you don't tell me why, I can only assume the worst and I simply cannot live with myself if it's true!"

Y/n straightened up in shock, Pansy was a loud person but she had never yelled at Y/n this before. Her mouth tightened into a line, but her chest swarmed with emotion, surprise, sadness, and love. But this love wasn't romantic in the slightest, but rather storge. Pansy was so deeply worried about Y/n that it was bringing her to the brink of tears, something Y/n hadn't experienced often, if at all.