Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-10-

As it turned out, Dorcas had nothing to worry about, and was met with loving hugs when she apologised to her friends in Transfiguration, ending up with the whole class, including McGonagall, staring at them with confused looks, unable to figure out why the three best friends would suddenly embrace each other in the middle of transfiguring their noses into different shapes. The three, however, were so engrossed in their display of affection, that none of them noticed the disturbance they were causing, and when they pulled away, Silver burst into peals of laughter as she noticed the large blob that was now Dorcas's nose, taking up half of her face – courtesy of Maeve.

Dorcas kicked Silver under the table when she noticed the Professor staring sternly at them, lips pressed into a thin line. Silver stopped immediately, though short bursts of laughter continued to erupt through her pink lips. McGonagall stared at the three for a few more moments before saying in her usually strict voice, "Five points from Gryffindor will be taken for misconduct in the middle of the classroom. However, ten points will be given to Miss Burton for transfiguring Miss Meadowes' nose perfectly, although you were instructed to perform the transfiguration on your own nose, not your friend's."

Maeve smiled with her head lowered, trying to control her laughter, but managed to mutter, "Thank you, Professor," to her hands that were folded on her lap.

After class was over, they still had about an hour left till dinner, and Silver suggested going to the Astronomy tower to watch the sky. Maeve agreed readily, but Dorcas hesitated, shuffling a foot on the ground.

"Uh – I have choir practice now," she said apologetically, feeling terrible for having to abandon her friends once again. She almost expected Maeve to give her another round of scolding, and she was preparing her answer in her mind when Maeve replied, her response taking her quite by surprise.

"Alright, we'll go after dinner then?"

Silver agreed readily, but Dorcas, once again, hesitated. "But won't we have curfew?"

"We'll have one hour till curfew," Maeve answered. "That'd be enough. Plus, I'm a prefect, I can easily get you out of trouble."

The girls shared in a laughter before parting ways, Dorcas heading toward the Great Hall where the practice was supposed to take place, and the other two heading in the opposite direction. She hummed softly as she made her way to the designated place, hands in her pockets and a light spring in her steps. Regardless of what Maeve had told her, she believed what she felt for Juliet wasn't a mere infatuation. Maybe it wasn't love, she would admit that – after all, love couldn't simply blossom into existence out of thin air – but she wouldn't believe that her feelings for Juliet would be so fragile as to disappear without a moment's hesitation. It was something beautiful, yet something that had to be concealed, and it was an emotion that was entirely new to her, that gave her joy and made fluttering sensations erupt inside her stomach. She wouldn't let go of it that easily.

At the end of the Great Hall, just by the teacher's table, was a door that led to a small room which Professor Dumbledore had given permission to use for their practices. She walked across the gigantic hall, allowing her eyes to skim over the enchanted ceiling for a while, and pushed open the door to enter. A few people looked in her direction as the door shut noisily behind her, but none paid much attention. She roamed her eyes and found Leigh in one corner, waving at her. With a smile, she went over and joined him.

"Good evening," she greeted with a good natured smile, and the boy returned it with a smile of his own. She sat down on the bench beside him, and involuntarily began to search the room for Juliet. She wasn't there.

"Looking for Juliet?" Leigh whispered beside her, immediately bringing a blush to creep up her cheeks. She wrenched her eyes away from the groups that were scattered around the room still waiting for more members to arrive, and glared playfully at him.

"I had a nice day," she stated. "Thank you for asking. How was yours?"

Leigh rolled his eyes. "We spoke just a few hours back, Dorcas."

She shrugged.

Professor Flitwick arrived some time later, and everyone gathered together to form three lines. Dorcas stood in the middle line – a new location for her, for she had always sat at the front, with the others that played instruments. She missed playing her flute, but she loved this position as well.

After the instructions and some words of encouragement were given (the latter especially to fifth and seventh year students, who had found time amidst their tremendous workload to come here), the group began their performance. Dorcas frowned for a moment, wondering where Juliet could have gone, before she joined in the singing too.

The performance went splendidly, and the Professor insisted them to clap for themselves. He ended the practice with another round of speech, urging them to work hard, and not to neglect their studies for the choir, before he dismissed them gracefully. Dorcas stood in her spot for a few moments, a clear frown etched on her face. Where was Juliet? She wasn't someone who would miss a choir practice – she absolutely adored it. Hesitating for a moment, Dorcas went over and caught one of Juliet's friends.

"Hi," she greeted quietly. "May I ask why Juliet didn't come today?"

The brunette sighed and said, "You know the drill. When exams arrive, people start falling sick, passing out in their classes, going into an outburst. She's in the Hospital Wing."

Thanking her, Dorcas left the room, Leigh walking beside her. It was nearly dinner time and many were already filing into the Great Hall in small groups, chattering among themselves. They stopped when the reached the Gryffindor table.

"Well, bye," Leigh said with a smile. "See you tomorrow?"

Dorcas didn't answer right away, and instead chewed on her lower lip for a moment, deep in thought. Then she looked up at Leigh and asked, dropping her voice to a whisper," Leigh, am I – uh – am I too obvious about Juliet?"

Leigh gave a short laugh. "Don't worry, Dorcas. I don't think anyone has noticed anything. You are awfully subtle in your staring."

"Then how come you noticed it?"

"Because I'm your friend," he answered in a tone that suggested he thought the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "I pay attention."

She broke into a relived smile – loving and fond – and squeezed his arm affectionately. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He nodded and left to the Hufflepuff table, while she sat down at the Gryffindor one, drumming her fingers on the wooden table as she waited for her friends to arrive. While it may seem on the outside that she was just sitting bored, her mind was actually whirling with thoughts.

She wanted to go to the Hospital Wing to visit Juliet, and she knew she had to do it right after dinner, a few minutes before curfew, when the corridors would be empty and there, hopefully, would be no one at the Hospital Wing. This felt like her only chance to actually have an actual conversation with her. Tomorrow, Juliet might be released by Madam Pomfrey, and she wouldn't have an excuse to talk to her.

Dorcas was determined to prove to Maeve that she wasn't merely infatuated with Juliet's beauty, and she wouldn't let go of this opportunity so easily, when it had so perfectly presented itself. She only hoped that her friends would be kind enough to forgive her for postponing the astronomy tower visit for the second time.