Hearts are Blind (Severus Snape X OC)

The Conversation

"Have fun serving your detention?"

Lucinda looked up from her porridge. A pair of brown eyes looked back at her from under dark, bushy eyebrows.

"Why would I?" The girl asked and regarded him with just a slight hint of suspicion. "Are detentions supposed to be fun?"

The boy rubbed a hand up and over the back of his shaved head and his blank gaze didn't change. "Do you always answer questions with more questions?" He asked back, but then promptly continued eating his breakfast without waiting for her answer.

Lucinda stared at his bald head and felt a little put off.

"Ignore him." Came the voice of her boyfriend next to her. "He's not a friend."

Lucinda looked at Tristin, expecting to see him with a glare in his eyes, but his black hues were staring off across the Great Hall at nothing in particular. If anything, he looked rather pleasantly bored... almost conversational. Lucinda stole another glance at the Slytherin they were discussing, but the boy continued to eat, unfazed. "Not a friend?" Lucinda whispered from the corner of her mouth at her boyfriend.

Tristin sipped his pumpkin juice and shifted his full attention on her. "So, how was the detention?" He asked with a sympathetic smile, ignoring her own question, and Lucinda frowned slightly. "I swear I'm not taking the Mickey, love—" (he laughed lightly and winked) "—I genuinely want to know how it was."

The girl took a moment to look up at the staff table and saw her potions professor in conversation with the Headmaster. He was the same as always. His face was calm and he spoke with only the subtlest of movements from his lips. Back straight and expression cool, the man seemed ridiculously without troubles. You wouldn't know such a gut-wrenching conversation had taken place between her and this man just the night before...

"It was fine, I guess," she finally answered with a lift of her eyebrows. "It could have gone better. Professor Snape was..." Lucinda twirled her spoon in her porridge, "...sort of unpleasant."

Tristin simpered at her slightly, but she didn't see it. He put a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Brush it off, Morgan. Snape is tough on you, because you're so brilliant."

Lucinda's eyes snapped to Tristin's face. She didn't even try to conceal her disbelief at his words. "What's with you?" She whispered and the boy across the table from her listened just a little harder. "You're acting weird."

Tristin dropped his hand from her shoulder, but his eyes didn't leave hers. He looked regretful as he chewed the inside of his cheek. "Have I been so terrible of a boyfriend that you now find it suspicious when I'm concerned for you?"

Lucinda didn't answer. She tried to see the deception in his eyes, but she couldn't. He was acting genuine... but that was just it, wasn't it? He was acting genuine... but was he being genuine? Either way, she took too long to respond, because the Slytherin prefect gave a sigh and looked down at the table.

"Never mind," he mumbled and picked up his spoon. "Forget I asked."

Lucinda stared at him a little dumbfounded. Was he pouting? Did she actually make him feel bad? Everyone in her life had completely lost their minds. They were all acting crazy. How was she supposed to respond to the things he was saying, when just last week he'd been so violent with her..?

The two sat in silence for the rest of breakfast and then left together when it was nearly over. Upon passing into the entrance hall, they stopped because there were two people just on the other side of the door talking. It was Clover and Gabe. The boys seemed to be in a heated discussion, though they were speaking fairly quietly. Regardless, Lucinda was able to make out some of the conversation before Gabriel saw them and closed his mouth mid-sentence.