Blood I've Spilt

Thank you

Alli Estare Candor me necesites a tu lado

Para borrar cadda lagrima que haya llorado

If he ever leaves you blue

Just remember I love you

And I'll be there

Before the next teardrop falls

I'll be there, I'll be there

Before the next teardrop falls

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No words came to mind for a response to Cass' denial; not any that could help either of us at least. They appeared to be thinking hard about the unexpected news I shared. Their face had gone paler than normal and tears rolled down their cheeks. I had never been the best when it came to people who were crying, let alone my brother's significant other who was feeling the loss I had days prior. I still was feeling those emotions but I had stuffed them down to the point they were more internal now. The pain was still there and it will always be there; I knew that but I couldn't cry about it forever unfortunately. My mother will not allow it.

"Cass I-" I started to say before they had cut me off. It was unpurposeful because the paleness had gone sickly, their expression rather urgent.

"I have to go," they interrupted quickly. I gazed at them carefully whilst they nodded stiffly. My heart ached for them. Romantic love was different from sibling-love. It still hurt the same, but what Cass and Liam have was irreplaceable and anyone could see it; or had. "I feel sick," they explained in a hurry before walking away down the walk-way between the Gryffindor table and the next. Their speed walk quickly broke out into a slow run, the doors clashing closed behind them. The chatter that stopped began to bubble up once more, as if nothing had ever happened.

There were only a few students at this school who knew about Liam's death. My siblings, me, Cass, and Draco.

I gazed down at the clenched bracelets in my hand for a few moments before turning to leave. I felt vulnerable and exposed despite the fact that no one saw me walking away. No one cared. No one knew what had happened. I assumed Umbridge wanted to hush the whole thing up due to the fact she could lose her spot as the Headmistress. If the ministry found out about the dementors looking for Dumbledore and then a student getting killed in the process, she'd be booted before she could clear her stupid throat.

I had a burning hatred for that woman.

She's the one who forced us all to venture to the forest. And now my brother is gone because of it. Deep down, I knew I should stop playing the blame-game. I couldn't help myself, though.

***
The wind had hit my skin as I scrunched my nose. It was a gloomy, cold, and dry evening and I decided that I'd wait for Malfoy to finish Quidditch practice. It might be good for me to go outside; especially after a few days of moping. A clog, clawed at the back of my throat because I was wearing Liam's jacket. It was the burgundy one I had never given back after weeks of keeping it in my dorm. A lot of the things in my closet were Liam's and it gave me a sense of remembrance and a tinge of guilt at the same time.

I couldn't think about that. Not now. All I needed was a break from this whole thing. Quidditch was my hope at the moment. This sport had always been my getaway whether I got to play or not. Professor Mcgonnagal requested that I take a leave from the team for a bit. Flying on a broom many feet in the air whilst stressed could be very harmful to my mental health and I could get injured. At least, that's what she advised.

Slowly, I climbed the steps to the bleachers. It was cold, making my joints feel a bit brittle. There were only a few people scattered across all the towers. Only one other person was seated at the one I had just climbed and to my surprise: It was a familiar face.

"'Ello Quinn!" exclaimed the very tall boy. He uncrossed his legs and sprouted to a stand to meet me. I remembered him telling me he had giant genes way back in his ancestry at one point. It explained his insane height compared to mine. He was an Irish chap with big hands and a slim but muscular body. His hair was dyed a deep red, the roots were taking over, though; they were a greyish-black. He wore warm Hufflepuff robes to block the chilly, Autumn air.

"Hi Chalice," I quaintly smiled up at him. Chalice was the team captain and keeper of the Hufflepuff team. He reminded me of the older brother figure that is quite energetic but never around because he's most likely messing with friends or playing around with girls. He's in his 7th year.

"Oh c'mon! I haven't talked to you forever and all I get is a 'Hi Chalice'?" He teased, using his index and middle finger on both hands to do air quotations. I just chuckled, shoving my hands into the pockets of the jacket that I claimed to be mine at this point.

"Sorry- I've just been a bit out of it, I guess, heh," I admitted, scuffing the bottom of my converse shoe against the rough, wooden floor. I averted my gaze back up to his face. He had a smile spread on his face as always but once I admitted this, it softened.

"Oh bugger. That's always a pain, what happened, eh?" He asked blindly. I wondered if I should tell him. I hadn't really talked about what happened, unless you count Cass. But I never really got to explain how I felt or elaborate. Chalice was a good man, someone you could trust with information and he wouldn't say a word or use it against you. I found myself going quiet for a moment and just blankly staring at the boy.

"Oh sorry, did I o'erstep? I tend to do that," he apologised sheepishly. I shook my head quickly before he could think any further.

"No, no, no- I've just been going through stuff. Not sure how to describe it." I tried to chuckle it off and turned to sit on the bench. Chalice decided to do the same, sitting next to me. I took in a deep breath and just stared at the slytherin players out on the field.

"Oh. Wanna talk about it? I'm a hell of a listener," he jokingly bragged. It was true; Chalice wasn't easy to depict for me but the one thing I did know is that he can either be a talkative jock or a quiet listener. I think it depends on how he is feeling at that moment.