ELIXIR: A Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Twenty Five. Another First Day.

The morning after Marlowe's return, Caiti awoke feeling more cheerful than she had in weeks. She spent a few extra minutes primping in front of the mirror before she made her way down to the great hall for breakfast. Marlowe was already there, sitting across from Sean and Evelyn and her stomach flipped around with a pleasant sort of nervousness. It was all so wonderfully familiar, the sight of the back of his dark-haired head, and next to him an open place, always left for her. She sat herself down as usual, placing one hand on his shoulder for balance as she stepped over the bench. For the first time, she was able to feel his scar right through his clothes; it unnerved her, but she shook it off and kissed him on the cheek. "Good morning," she said.

He looked at her and his expression was not exactly happy and not exactly unhappy. He looked away again. His plate was empty.

Caiti glanced up at Sean and he checked that Marlowe was not looking before he mouthed 'nervous.'  She translated her understanding only through a slight pinching of the outer corners of her eyes and a tightening of her lips.

No one knew what to say. Evelyn and Sean kept shooting each other looks like they were daring one another to try and make conversation first. Caiti, who had been sitting with her hands folded in her lap, lifted her hands suddenly, half-glanced at Marlowe, and then began to spoon some eggs onto her plate. Her cheerful attitude was evaporating quickly. It was proving much more difficult than she had anticipated to bounce back to their usual routine.

"D'you... d'you want some eggs?" she asked.

He muttered "Sure," in a resigned kind of way. His mouth barely opened. She thought he looked a bit green. She hesitated before she spooned him a healthy serving. Marlowe picked up his fork and considered his plate a while.

Then Amelia exhibited her worst timing yet. In the weeks since the attack, she had decided that Marlowe's condition had made him far more interesting than a silly school champion and had lost all interest in Sean at once. She slid onto the bench next to Marlowe, slamming into his side, as if no time had passed since the beginning of the school year, as if the debacle with Sean had never occurred, let alone everything Marlowe had been dealing with for the last month.

"Hey!" she said loudly. Perhaps the worst thing about Amelia, Caiti thought, having lived with her for nearly six years now, was that her voice carried and made it impossible to ignore her.

Caiti saw Marlowe stiffen as Amelia continued. "I'm soooooooooo glad you're back," she said. "It's like... so weird without you here you know? Like, where's Marlowe? But anyway, everyone was so sweet to me, because they all knew how close we were. Hey, did you hear how the last quidditch match went? Bit of a mess wasn't it? Good thing you're back. But at least we won. Right? Right?" Her lipstick was a brighter red than ever and not applied particularly well.

She waited a moment for a response from Marlowe, but when he remained stiff as a board next to her, jaw clenched, and fork gripped too tightly in his fist, she continued to talk.

"Hey, what's it like being a werewolf?" she asked. Caiti's head snapped to her left, eyes wide and round and saucers. She willed Amelia not to go on - this was a huge mistake. But Amelia, as proven by her persistence with the wedding invitations, was oblivious to social cues. "Did you bite anyone?" she asked.

The entire room went silent. Caiti's hand flew to her mouth. Marlowe stood at once, banging into the table, and he stalked out of the room. The glasses shook, Sean's sloshing over the side and soaking the tablecloth.

Caiti picked up both her bag and Marlowe's, which he had left behind, and climbed back over the bench. She rounded on Amelia. "Really nice, Amelia." she said. Her voice was low and it shook. "Really sensitive." And then she ran out of the room, all too aware of everyone's eyes on her as she shoved through the double doors and out into the corridor.