Challenged Love

Chapter 29

"Do you remember when he pronounced that one spell incorrectly and made his potion explode in his face?" Lara reminded me.

"I recall you telling me about it," I told her.

"I'm glad they did not put the 6th and 7th years together in Potions this year. It was too hectic, yet it was my favorite class because he was always my partner."

Lara and I remained in the library reminiscing over old and fond memories of Kasper. It was hard to believe he passed two months ago, though it still felt like yesterday. Lara tries to keep Kasper alive by discussing old stories about him and laughing about the times when they were together. Sometimes she giggles to herself when remembering these memories such as their time in Potions, while other times she cries remembering how they never got to finish the book they were writing together. Lara even mentioned how they used to write to each other back and forth constantly during summer, but I don't think she wants to share those letters with me any time soon. Lara and Kasper seemed to have such a strong friendship, though I always theorized they would be something more. Maybe they could have been, but it is not worth pondering upon now.

"Hey guys," Blaise said as he walked up behind Lara. "Mind if I join you?"

I motioned to the chair beside me. "Please."

I remembered how devastated Blaise had been to hear of Kasper's death. Lara had helped break the news to him, and he did not seem to fully process what we were telling him at first. It was as if he did not fully understand that he would never see his best friend again. Blaise had never been a hugger, yet in that moment as Lara opened her arms as a means of comfort, he received her sympathetic embrace.

Now, Blaise and Lara are my support group. Kasper's death has drawn us closer together, creating a bond that was otherwise unbreakable. We have been each other's rock in these challenging times, keeping one another from jumping off the deep end.

"We're just talking about Kasper," Lara mentioned to Blaise as he seated himself beside me.

"Kasper..." he repeated, letting the name fall off his tongue.

"It doesn't seem real," I confessed.

We all sat there in silence for a brief moment, processing the grief on a deeper level. He should be here sitting next to Lara- well, technically he graduated, but still. Conversation felt so empty without him. His absence was our greatest loss.

"How did you and Kasper meet?" Blaise asked Lara.

Lara looked up at Blaise, glaring at him with a thought.

"Just curious," he explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"We were assigned to be partners in Potions class at the beginning of last year," she answered. "How did you and Kasper become friends?"

Blaise deliberated upon the subject, digging through his memories to find the answer.

"It's really all a blur," he professed, "It seemed like we had been friends forever. The first time we really talked was because we got into an argument."

"An argument?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds ridiculous, but I accidentally ran into him and started bickering to him. I wasn't sure what had gotten me so irritable that day, but it ended up being the last straw, though it was my fault in the first place. Well, he tells me something along the lines of 'I don't have the time to entertain your petty ramblings as I am trying to find Holly Rosewood'."

I let out a small laugh. "Sounds like Kasper alright."

"I ended up telling him I knew you and lead him to you. We began talking too, and I ended up growing fond of him. I actually didn't know you two were cousins until much later."