The Tri-Author Tournament {Closed}

Entries: Bonus Task 2

*Sorry this took so long, there was some confusion

Rayner Joseph

"Come on, Ray. You can't be still mad at me." Violet rolls her eyes, running a hand through her short hair. As usual, we are at the back of the class, my eyelids almost falling shut as the voice of the Ancient Runes Professor drones on and on in my head, until it has become a lull; a soft hum. I am falling –

My eyes fly open. Were they closed before?

I have learnt to block out Violet's whining, just like how I block out the rumours of us, the rumours that I have begun to fear are true.

"Fuck it," Violet curses under her breath. My eyebrows raise slightly as the eyes below them slide towards her test paper: 30/60. I open my mouth to comfort her, only to remember I'm supposed to be mad at her.

I press my lips together tightly, angry at myself, angry at her, for making things so difficult. I sit a little straighter, my ears pricked, as the Professor begins to read out my essay, her words actually carrying meaning with them for once. Praise after praise trickles out from her lips, lifting the corners of my mouth like opposite poles of a magnet.

But it is gone when she nudges me. Like a vortex I am spun back into the world of friendship with only two residents, as there have been since Year One.

"Well done, you."

One second.

I meet her gaze, full of pride for me. The very same eyes I last saw before I closed the door on her. The very same eyes that pleaded for forgiveness. The eyes that hold a story she never shared with me before, a story I found out by myself when I became her. The eyes that I can never look at because of me, because of her –

The bell rings and I tear my gaze away from her, pride stolen from us by the same thief. I shove my books into my bag and shoot right up, darting out of the door. I near the Charms room and my heart skips a beat. I love Charms. It's fun, although most would beg to disagree. I arrive with a spring in my step, which soon turns rusty when I see blue uniforms. I try to slink away from them, unnoticed, but Genovieve calls out my name. I cringe internally at the sound of it. There's no escaping now.

"Oh, uh, hey." I offer her an awkward smile, trying to slowly edge away from her. But she won't have any of it. She gestures frantically at the seat beside her. I can feel all eyes on me, some people muttering in awe at how popular I am, some unhappy. Reluctantly, I drag myself forward and plop onto that seat.

Charms is a torture filled with Genovieve's incessant chatter. I go through Charms with a prickling feeling on my back, like something bad is about to happen. And suddenly, I meet the gaze of that 'something bad'. His eyes are on fire burning intensely into mine. I look away, not daring, afraid. He takes this as a sign of guilt and just like that, I've declared war on the most popular boy at Hogwarts.

I've never been so eager to escape the Charms room. The moment we are dismissed, I scoot my chair back and push past classmates, making a beeline for the exit. But he is already hot on my heels. I don't even need to turn back to see the feral look that has taken over his eyes. I can feel it drilling holes into my back.

A hand grabs my shoulder, my breath hitches, I am slammed into a wall. All it takes is just a murmur and a tap.

Subduco Visus.

The words escape and his wand flashes before my eyes. From where he taps the corner of my right eye, heat spreads across my face like a sleeping mask. I scrunch up my nose and squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them again, there seems to be a layer of film across it. I blink and the film thickens.