Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⊶⋆⊶
The days passed quickly and soon the winter holidays came. It was the night before everyone was supposed to travel home to spend the holidays with their families. Some rejoiced so much that they could not sleep, and some were afraid and stayed awake, thinking how to avoid leaving.
Ascella did not belong to any of these groups, she simply stayed awake in the library, reading.
Lately something seemed to have turned inside her - as if Ascella was no longer the old cruel girl who wanted to cause chaos of pain and suffering in people. At least that's how she felt, she still treated people the same way; she ignored them as best as she could.
"Don't you think it's a little late for reading?" She heard a familiar voice. His tone was playful and endearing, just like it always was when he spoke to her.
She decided to spare him a look just because she was feeling good tonight. This surprised him, bringing a wide smile to his handsome face.
He was looking at her. He watched as her gaze was nothing like it had always been. She looked neutral and not full of hatred towards him, she looked at him with a curious neutrality but still there was something pleasant in her eyes.
"Always a good time to read, if you ask me." She replied as she returned her gaze to the large book.
He sat down on a chair, the one at the head of the large table while she sat on his left. "You are aware that you are in a restricted area?" He asked with extraordinary curiosity, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Don't tell me." She replied in mock shock, covering her mouth with her hand.
He chuckled quietly at her playfulness. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so happy tonight?" He asked as he leaned forward, as if he could hardly wait for her answer.
"You see, love…" Barty could only stare in shock at her nickname for him, as if at any moment he might pass out from the desolate joy that swirled within him. "I like to know things, and right now I'm getting a lot of information from this book here. And it lifts my spirits." She was partially lying, of course.
And she was getting a lot of information from the big book in her hands, but the real reason for her quiet joy was something else, something more.
He gave her a wide smile, "So if I provide you with a few more books like that, you'll continue to be friendly towards me?" He asked jokingly but his words were true.
She looked like she was thinking for a moment, "Maybe." She said before going back to her book.
"What is it?"
"History of Magic, Hidden Edition. Here is all the truth about the Wizarding World from the beginning of time to the present day. Simply everything that happens, writes itself here. There is no author, the book simply created itself with the first magical event. Even if you have additional questions, it gives you the exact information about it or where there is another book that can tell you that." He listened to her carefully, she had never talked to him for so long and she had never seemed interested in anything like she did now. "Isn't it brilliant?"
"And what do you need that book for?" He asked.
"Nothing to concern you."
He nodded, just wanting to keep the conversation going. At least for another 5 minutes.
They sat in silence until Ascella snapped the book shut, startling Barty.
"Do you want to go to the kitchens?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes, waiting for his answer.
"Yes of course." He replied, looking suspicious. Still, he followed her blindly through the empty and dark corridors.
The short journey to the Hogwarts kitchens was enveloped in a comfortable silence, the kind that Barty never wanted to break. It was Ascella though who broke it, saying;
"Do you prefer apple pie or strawberry pie?" She asked in an almost neutral tone, with a hint of curiosity and politeness.
"Apple, I'm allergic to strawberries." He replied with a shrug, his gaze flicking to her for a brief second before continuing to look ahead. He was afraid that if he was the old Barty with her, she would act like the old Ascella again.
"Me too." She said in a slightly surprised tone.
His lips twitched into a small smile, his head down so she wouldn't notice. He liked this side of her, though he didn't know what caused it, he admired it. Although it seemed as if something was missing, as if he was missing all the humiliations and trampling on hope. And maybe he just fell in love with the feeling of misery and helplessness, maybe he's not even in love with her.
But still, he found himself enjoying this change as well. Maybe he just needed to get used to all her sides and then he can say that he is completely and totally helplessly in love.
Barty was deep in his thoughts when suddenly a girl stopped in her tracks next to him and he was jolted back to reality.
His eyes followed her as she approached one of the portraits, the one with a basket of fruit to be exact, and tickled a golden pear. Soon the portrait opened to reveal a passage made of stone walls and floor.
He followed her inside and soon found himself in a huge room that he assumed was the Hogwarts kitchens.
"Where are the elves?" He asked, walking behind her as she approached the large kitchen counter.
"It's late, and the elves deserve some rest, you know." She replied, motioning him to sit at one of the chairs by the counter.
"Can I help with the pie?" Another question slipped from his lips as childlike hope reflected in his bright eyes.
She looked at him, her gray irises sending tingles through his body, and the way she looked at him made Barty feel dizzy.
"Sure. You can chop up a few apples while I make the mixture." She said and Barty immediately jumped to his feet, doing as she told him.
He was surprisingly very handy in the kitchen which Ascella obviously liked and Barty couldn't be more proud of himself. And soon the pie was ready to be baked and Barty decided to snoop around the kitchen while it was being baked.
"Did you know they keep alcohol in the kitchens?" He asked, holding the glass bottle high in his hand.
Ascella approached him, taking the bottle from his hand. She opened it and took a sip, grimacing at the bitter taste. "I didn't know that. But I like the idea of elves disobeying Dumbledore."
He took the bottle from her hands, taking a sip. "It's never too late to quit Hogwarts and become professional alcoholics." A wide smile seems to be stuck on his face now and he refuses to take it off.
"You didn't wipe the top of the bottle. You practically kissed me."
