Treacherous - Theodore Nott

Chapter Eleven

Finally, Transfiguration is over. The last class of the day. I plan to go to the library to get a kickstart on my Ancient Runes paper that's due next week. I'll probably find Astoria first, and ask if she wants to join.

I head to the common room to find her, but as I walk, I can't shake this uneasy feeling.

I stop to look around and find nearly every Ravenclaw staring at me in passing. Not only this, but the majority of them are giving me dirty looks.

With a deep breath, I approach a boy giving me a particularly nasty glare. As I walk towards him, his glare quickly shifts to one of discomfort.

"Care to tell me why your entire house is staring at me like I killed their family's firstborn son?"

He looks a bit taken aback by my choice of words, but his surprise is quickly replaced by annoyance.

"Why don't you ask Jack? Oh, wait, you can't. He can't speak."

Now, it's my turn to be taken aback. Why would Jack not be able to speak?

I look at him, waiting for elaboration, as I am obviously confused.

The boy studies my expression, taking in my uncertainty. Once he realizes I have no clue what he's talking about, he continues. "He's in the hospital wing with a broken jaw, courtesy of your friends."

I stand there for a moment, frozen by shock.

The boy shifts uncomfortably.

"Could you go somewhere else? Don't want people to think we're friends or anything."

I laugh. "Of course, I'd never want to give anyone that impression."

With that, I pat his arm and laugh loudly. "You're too funny! I'll see you tomorrow, we're meeting at the fountain, right?"

Half of the faces in the hallway point to his, looks of veiled distaste all over them. His face turns bright red.

"Shove off," he whispers angrily.

I merely blow him a kiss, turn on my heel, and respond in a sing-song voice, "Miss you already!"

I practically skip the rest of the way to the common room.

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I stride angrily through the doors and make a beeline to Draco and Astoria, who are sitting on a loveseat working on homework.

My entrance draws Draco's attention and he elbows Astoria in the side, "Incoming."

She looks up and widens her eyes.

I arrive at the seat and fold my arms against my chest.

"Care to explain why I was just informed that Jack is in the hospital wing with a broken jaw?"

The two share a worried glance and look back at me.

"Well..." Draco starts.

A grin cracks through my hard stare. "Merlin you two, I'm only joking. The prick had it coming. I just hope you didn't get in trouble."

Draco laughs back apprehensively, still nervous.

"I'm gonna go return the flowers," I say, rolling my eyes. "Definitely not an excuse to see his face all messed up."

I'll probably give him another piece of my mind as well.

I leave my two nervous friends and jog up the stairs to my room, grab the flowers and my bag, and leave. Cutting back through the common room, I stop when I see Astoria sitting alone.

"Where's Draco?"

She shrugs, not looking up from the giant textbook in her lap. "Said he had some business with the guys."

I nod, "See you later. I'll meet you back here for homework?"

"Sure," she responds, still studying the book.

Hastily, I leave and head for the hospital wing, flowers in hand.

As I make my way, I contemplate the things I'll say to him. Will he even be awake? Will I be allowed to see him? If not it wouldn't be a big deal, I'm just doing this to be petty.

I'm so lost in thought, I almost don't notice the familiar group sneaking around the corner in front of me.

That's Mia and the boys.

Immediately, my curiosity gets the best of me and I pick up my pace.

I follow around the corner and whisper a charm to silence my footsteps. They look awfully suspicious, quietly rushing down the corridor. Theodore turns to check their surroundings and I quickly press myself against the wall behind a column. Slowly, I peek my head around to find them all facing a blank wall.

Mia is glancing around, looking worried, and Draco says something I can't quite make out.

Out of nowhere, a giant door appears on the wall.

What the hell?

The group briskly walks through the door, shutting it behind them. The second it closes, I run to it.

The door starts to disappear. I run faster. I reach for the handle, almost there. Then, I'm crashing into the wall, not a trace of the door that was there moments before.

I recall last year, Dumbledore's army. How furious Umbridge was about the students secretly practicing magic in a place she couldn't find.

The Room of Requirement, of course. But what are they using it for?

I look around and see a bench pressed to the wall.

I'll camp out here and wait for them to leave, so I can catch them. I toss the bouquet into a nearby bin. Suddenly, my petty intentions for Jack seem far less important.

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At least two hours have passed since I saw my friends disappear behind the secret door, and I'm starting to get annoyed. I've been working on my paper so as to not waste my time, but my back is really starting to hurt. Leaning against cold stone for two hours is not ideal.

It's starting to get dark. If I sit here much longer I won't be able to work on my Runes paper, and this will just be a giant waste of my time.

Just as I make the decision to stand up and leave, I hear two sets of footsteps approaching me.

Just as I've finished shoving my books and loose papers into my bag, two cloaked figures block my path.

I stand fully and look up. It's Mattheo and Lorenzo.

How are they standing in front of me? Was I so caught up in my work that I didn't see them leave?

"Alpheratz, what are you doing way over here?" Mattheo questions.

I glance at the wall and look back at them, "Oh, I've been trying out different study spots. This one's nice." I awkwardly gesture to the bench.

Lorenzo tracked my look at the wall and the bench. "Looks terribly uncomfortable. You should probably stick to the common room or the library."

"Probably," I mutter, picking at my cuticles uncomfortably.

"Well, Astoria's looking for you. Want us to escort you back to the common room? We're headed there anyway."

A lie, they're coming from the direction of the common room. Are they here for me?

"Sure," I answer, smiling up at them.

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Cuticle picking. She's just like me fr. Anyways THANKS SO MUCH FOR 200 READS ILY!!! <3