He Blew Up My Heart

Chapter Three

Seamus, Dean, and I found an empty carriage as soon as we were off the train. Dean got into it first and then helped me up before Seamus got in behind me, sitting next to me. It was just about to pull away and follow the others when a head of blonde hair bobbed along next to it and Lavender's face appeared. I was a little surprised that she had the guts to show up again, but I wasn't going to ignore her; she was a fellow Gryffindor, after all.

"Hi, Lavender. Looking for a carriage or something?" I asked as politely as I could manage. I was a bit surprised by her behavior afterwards, though.

"Hi Seamus. Do you have room in your carriage for me?" She completely ignored my presence, as it were.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied, probably as startled as I was.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Lavender climbed into the carriage and plopped down next to Seamus. Since he and I were already sitting on the same side, he was forced to move over toward me, nearly squishing me in the process.

"I think I'll just sit by Dean, then," I said, moving across the carriage to take the seat next to him instead. When she wasn't paying attention, I shot Seamus a look that said, "Really?" He shrugged, unsure of what to do either.

The whole way up to the castle, Lavender stared at Seamus, in a way that I didn't particularly care for. Her eyes held a particular emotion that I had seen before, in older students who were looking at another student that they really liked. And no, this particular emotion wasn't love; it was obsessive infatuation.

Being in the Great Hall for the welcoming feast didn't change anything; Lavender didn't leave Seamus's side. It was beginning to irritate me a bit, but Dean had already told me more than once to take all of this with a grain of salt. After all, poor Seamus hadn't ever had a proper girlfriend, and maybe Lavender liked him. My female ESP, or women's intuition, told otherwise, but I didn't argue with him. Instead, I just sat next to Dean at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Lavender across from us.

"So, Lavender, I can't believe we haven't actually talked before now," I said, trying to start a conversation. In my head, I was thinking, I'm really not surprised that I haven't wasted my energy speaking to you.

"Uh, yeah, right," she said, seeming to simply brush off my statement so that she didn't have to talk to me. "So, Seamus, how was your holiday, then?"

I glared at Seamus for a moment, thinking, if you answer her I'll rip your head off. Of course, he didn't even see my death glare directed toward him, though Dean did, and he presumed to gently kick me under the table.

"Ow, Dean, what?" I whispered, glancing at him sideways from where I sat, about to shoot him daggers as well.

"Just knock it off for now, alright? Give the the girl a chance," he replied, matching my whisper.

"Fine," I grumbled, crossing my arms on the table and laying my head on top of them. I avoided looking at either Seamus or Lavender as he told her about the Quidditch World Cup, though I did notice her expression change when he mentioned practicing Quidditch with me in our free time. Which happened to be a lot of time over the summer. She didn't seem too ecstatic about this.

"So the two of you live near each other, then?" Lavender asked, a steely tone creeping into her voice.

"Oh, yeah. Her grandparents own the land that my family's house is on. We've known each other since we were kids. Like a sister to me, really."

Involuntarily, I felt myself cringe at the word 'sister,' though I really wasn't sure why. Wasn't Seamus my best friend, nearly my brother in every way? But then, he'd always been nearly my brother. Only nearly. There had to have been a reason we weren't related.