Hearts are Blind (Severus Snape X OC)

The Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

Author's Note:

I edited this very quickly, so please forgive any strangely worded sentences. Cuz, you know... I'm not patient enough to perfect things to their fullest potential (nor talented enough).

Also, I'm sorry if I don't update as quickly as some of you would like. I truly am. I try to write often, but I get terrible bouts of writer's block (especially at this crucial point in the story) and I am also busy most of the time with my toddler, housework, and YouTube channel. BUT... I WILL FINISH THIS STORY.

That is all. On with with the chapter...

The Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

The walk back to Gryffindor Tower that night was long and quiet, and it seemed it was later than she'd expected. She met no one on her journey, but then again, she probably wouldn't have noticed anyone anyway; her mind was so shrouded in the events of the night. She pretended it didn't bother her, but quite frankly, she was bothered. She was bothered to the point that she felt that hopelessness creeping back into her mind; that perfunctory part of her that just didn't care about anything anymore. What was the point? What kind of hope was there for her future? Yes, she could get good marks in school and go on to pursue a career in many a different subjects, but—selfishly—none of that seemed to matter. She kept going back to trivial things such as friendships and loves and heartaches. She was such a sentimental child, getting overwhelmed and caught up in her feelings...

Lucinda turned down the final corridor before Gryffindor Tower and there she was pulled momentarily out of her mind. Two figures stood close together, whispering gently with one another. If she hadn't been so distracted by her own increasing sadness, she might have tried to hide, in case they were teachers or Prefects. As it was, they seemed to be just regular students. As she grew closer, they fell silent and turned to look at the approaching girl.

"Hello." Lucinda said tonelessly. Normally she wouldn't have greeted her. In fact, lately the girl hadn't been on Lucinda's mind at all, but something was peculiar about this particular moment and it prompted a greeting... And that peculiarity was due to the second person who was in that corridor. As Lucinda stepped closer to the two of them, she glanced quickly at the boy. She was still a couple feet away and their faces were cast in shadow, but she knew who they were. She knew by their silhouettes.

"Where did you come from?" Amphetia Samael whispered, half accusing and half surprised.

Lucinda didn't answer right away and instead glanced at the boy again, because he was staring so intently at her. His eyes seemed to shimmer with interest in the dark, when normally they would hardly ever look at her for too long. She'd disregarded him in the past. He never really crossed her mind at all, because there was never a reason for it... until now.

"I was... working on a potion." Lucinda finally said, realizing she'd yet to answer.

Amph crossed her arms and sniffed. "Oh..." she said with distaste. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"She wasn't with him." The boy said instantly, shaking his shaved head (Amphetia's face snapped in his direction again). "They broke up..." He continued slowly and then looked at Lucinda. "Didn't you?" It was a question, but he made it sound more like a statement. There was a slight smugness there that she'd never heard from him—but then again, she hadn't heard him speak more than a few times.

Lucinda stared at him, eyebrows drawing down just a fraction. She could have answered honestly, but she really didn't know where she and Tristin stood. She also didn't want to try and figure it out in that moment just to tell them. Even if she knew for sure, she still wouldn't tell them. Amph had been nothing but mean to her from the beginning and this boy... well, she didn't know him at all. She decided to dodge the question and continue on to her bed chamber. "I was just working on a potion. I'm going to bed—" But as she walked forward and made to step around them, the light from the torches on the walls shifted and she caught a good glimpse of the boy's face properly. She paused beside him. "What..." she trailed her eyes over the obvious bruises and cuts on his face. "What happened to you?"