The Challenge

Chapter 53

Sapphire's pov
I finish brewing the potion and all we have to do now is let it sit for four hours. Fred and I clean up our mess and I put the potion off to the side. I told Myrtle to leave the potion alone and make sure no one finds it.
Fred and I go to the Gryffindor common room. I walk over to Roxanne, who is talking to Kaitlin. "Now we wait," I tell them.
Kaitlin looks at me, "do you really think it'll work?"
I nod, "I really hope so."
Fred runs his hand through his hair. "I need to do something to keep my mind off this. I'm going to go mad if I keep thinking about this."
"Want to play quidditch?" Kaitlin asks.
Fred shakes his head, "no. I might zone out and fall off my broom or something."
"How about prank someone?" I suggest.
Fred shakes his head again, "I don't feel like pranking."
"I never thought I'd ever hear you say that," Roxanne says in shock.
I sigh heavily. "What do you want to do, Fred?"
"I don't know." He groans in frustration. "I want to beat the life out of Tom."
"So do I." I agree. Out of the corner of my eye, I see James walk down from the dormitories. I bite my lip debating whether or not I should talk to him. I know that all James did was care about me and I just yelled at him.
Roxanne notices me pondering my thoughts and looks around. She spots James and looks back at me. "You should talk to him."
"Why?" I question her.
"Because he bloody loves you Sapphire," Roxanne hisses. "Please just talk to him. If you don't do it now, I will lock the both of you in a cupboard and will not let you out until you talk."
I sigh dramatically, "fine." I stand up and walk over to James who was talking to Justin. "Can I um... Talk to you?" I ask James.
James looks at me, "why? Are you going to yell at me again?"
I sigh, "look. I'm really sorry I yelled at you. I'm just really stressed out right now."
"I know I told you that no matter how many times you try to push me away, it won't change how I feel about you." James says, "that is true. Nothing you do will change my feelings for you, but that doesn't mean what you say or do doesn't hurt. I care about you so much, why is it so hard for you to realize that?"
I bite the inside of my cheek. "I'm sorry for what I said to you. I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"Sapphire," James stands up. "I forgive you. I don't care if you yell at me. I know you're going through a lot, but please don't push away people who care about you. I don't think you realize that so many people care about you. You wake up everyday thinking that it's just you against the world, but that's not true. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere. If you don't want me standing next to you, then I'll stand back."
I have no idea what to say to him. No has ever said these things to me before. I don't know why James cares so much about me. I don't understand why he's going through all this trouble for me.
"Say something," James almost demands.
I take a deep breath. "I honestly don't know what to say, James. I know I'm hotheaded and annoying. I have no clue what to do. I'm so confused and stressed. To be honest, with you, I feel things I've never felt before and those feelings scare the shit out of me. The scariest part about letting someone in is that they can take one look inside of you and never come back."
"That's the thing, I have seen parts of you that you try to hide from other people." James says, "I've seen the soft side of Sapphire Malfoy and guess what? I fell in love. I fell in love with the parts you try so hard to hide. Of course I love the parts you put out there for everyone too, but when I saw who you really were, I knew I wanted you in my life forever." I stare at him in shock. I don't know what to do or what to say. I don't know what I was feeling. I want to scream, smile, cry, hug him, punch him, kiss him. James smiles a little, "you know how I feel. Now you have to figure out how you feel." He cups my face with one of his hands. His touch sent chills down my spine. He leans down and kisses my lips gently. He pulls away, "just don't take too long figuring it out." He drops his hand and goes back to Justin.
I look over to Fred, Roxanne and Kaitlin. They were watching everything. I walk out of the common room. I need some fresh air to clear my mind. I walk aimlessly through the hallways. James's words echoes in my head. How can he be so open about his feelings?
I walk towards the Black Lake and walk to a tree. When I get closer, I see Tom with his friend Sam. I turn to leave, but Tom stops me. "Well, well, well. Look who it is."
I glare at him, "piss off. I'm not in the mood."
Tom smirks at me, "you know... Valerie thinks you hate her. She thinks she did something to make you hate her so much."
"Stay away from her," I growl.
Tom laughs, "don't you get it? I'm not going anywhere, Sapphire. I'm here to stay and make your life a living hell."
"What the hell did I do to you?" I question.
"You got pregnant," Tom hisses. "You fucking got pregnant and didn't get rid of it!"
"They are living beings!" I exclaim, "I am not going to kill something that's living inside me."
"For fuck's sake Sapphire!" Tom yells, "just get rid of the damn things! I am not going to be its father."
"Good!" I glare at him, "because you're not their father. All you did was shoot sperms inside me. You will never have anything with my kids."
Tom laughs, "you honestly think you can raise two babies on your own? How daft are you?"
"I have friends that will help." I cross my arms over my chest.
"Really? What will you do when those little monsters start asking where daddy is?" Tom questions.
"They won't ask because James will be there and unlike you, he actually cares about me!" I yell at him. I freeze when I realize what I said.
Tom looks at me, then starts laughing. "James? He's going to be the father of your little brats? You hated Potter."
"People change," I frown at him.
"Did you grow to love your enemy?" Tom asks with a teasing smirk. "Little miss Sapphire Malfoy fell in love with the famous James Potter. You're such a cliché. You're so needy, Sapphire. All you want is attention and affection."
"You don't know what I want," I cross my arms over my chest.
"You crave attention, you crave 'love' because your parents never gave it to you." Tom says, "you have this empty pit inside of you that you so desperately try to fill. You're so pathetic Sapphire." He laughs. "When will you realize that you will never feel love? When will you realize that you're far too broken to be fixed?"
"I know what love feels like. It's when your best friend stays by your side no matter what you throw at them. It's when you care for someone more than you care for yourself." My voice did not rise, I keep a strong firm voice. "It's when someone knocks your walls down and shows you a new way to look at the world. I may be broken, but maybe it's not about fixing what's broken, it's about starting something new. I feel bad for you Tom. You're so cold and heartless. Once upon a time I thought you were one of the most amazing guy I have ever met, but I now know who you really are. You're life is so miserable to where you try to bring others down and guess what? I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore. I'm not going to let you hurt my friends. I'm not going to let you hurt my family." My hand moved to my stomach. "When will you understand that bringing other people down won't bring you up?"
I knew Tom didn't know what to say. I can see it in his eyes. I didn't wait for him to figure out what to say, I walk away from him and to the castle.
I decide to go to the Slytherin Common room in hopes of running into Valerie. I miss her. I miss being with her. I miss her constant whining and teasing. I walk through the portrait and search the common room. Valerie isn't there. I go up to my dorm and see Val on her bed reading her Transfiguration book. She looks up and sees me. "Hi."
"Hey." I walk over and sit down on her bed.
She sits up and closes her book. "What's up?"
I shrug, "I think I admitted I love James to Tom."
Valerie's eyes widen, "you told Tom you love James?"
"I was arguing with him and it just came out," I explain. "I don't know why I said that. I told Tom that James will be there for me and that he cares about me. Tom laughed and said that I fell for my enemy. I didn't deny it."
"Well, you and James were kind of enemies and you two did fall for each other." Val smiles a little.
"I know, but I'm scared." I admit.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Sapphire." She smiles warmly. "James genuinely loves you and I feel like you should go for it. Who knows what might happen."
I look at her, "do you love Fred?"
She nods as her smile grows. "I love him so much. I don't know what I'll do next year when I have to come back and he doesn't."
"Fred loves you too. I've never seen him love someone so much."
Val studied my face, "are you upset by me?"
"No! Why would I be?" I question.
"Well, I feel like you've been ignoring me." She says quietly.
"I'm sorry if it feels like I've been ignoring you. I've just got a lot on my mind." I look down at my lap, "I'm not upset by you."
"Okay," she smiles. "I was just worried that you hated me or something. Are Roxanne and Kaitlin mad at me?"
I look at her, "no. They love you. You're their best friend. I can talk to them if you're really worried, but they're not mad at you."
"Does Andrew like Fred?" She asks, "lately Andrew's been really mean to Fred." He's not being mean to Fred, he's being mean to Tom.
"Andrew likes Fred. He's glad that you've found someone who really cares about you."
"Then why does he yell at Fred every time he sees him?" She questions.
"I don't know," I reply. "He'll explain when he wants to. Just don't worry too much about it okay?"
"How can I not worry about it?" She asks, "my brother hates my boyfriend!"
"He doesn't hate Fred, Val." I say sternly. "Talk to him tomorrow and he'll explain everything."
Valerie huffs in annoyance. "Fine."
I place my hand on her knee. "There's nothing to worry about okay? Everything's okay." At least I hope it will be.

//what do you guys think? :D//