Pragma // s.b.

27

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The next few weeks passed as normally as they could while at Hogwarts castle. The sheer amount of school work that was being shoveled out to us as we crept further into November was enough to keep my mind occupied. I had eventually gotten a chance to speak to Ro, and thankfully that conversation was much less disastrous than my past few attempts. I had caught him as he left the Greenhouses surrounded by his usual gaggle of 4th year boys. Unwillingly, he stayed behind to hear me apologize. Eventually though, his steely expression melted away and he pulled me into a hug, ruffling my hair.

The spring in my step was returning, and it felt good. Although the sun was still covered by clouds most days, I felt a forgotten warmness spread over me. When I walked the grounds by myself, I let myself remember all the good things that this school had brought me, not just the bad memories of the past month. I was feeling more like myself than I had in a long time, and I was pretty happy the old Briony Carter had finally decided to return.

After some serious teasing and pestering from the girls one late night, I had admitted that I had a baby crush on Calum Archer. Well, maybe it was a bit more than a baby crush. I couldn't seem to get him off my mind. In proper Amber style, she had done some deep investigating on him, gathering information from her various "sources".

He in his last year at Hogwarts, making him a 7th year and one year above us. He had been a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team since his 2nd year. On top of all of that, he helped tutor first years on the weekends. Calum Archer's reputation was almost as shiny as his hair. According to Amber, he had had a few girlfriends in his time, but none of them lasted long. I couldn't help but feel a little sense of satisfaction at this bit of information.

    When I lay in bed at night, I let my head be filled with images of Calum's blue eyes and perfect smile so it wouldn't be filled with thoughts of another guy, one with gold flecks in his eyes and a permanent smirk. A guy who still hadn't shown back up in Potions class since the last time we spoke. In fact, the last time I had set eyes upon him was that one afternoon in the hallway.

Remus was still desperately trying to speak to me, but I was still managing to escape without looking too much at him. I knew if I saw his crooked smile, I just might break. He was one of them. He tried to hurt someone too, I needed to keep that in mind. But, I couldn't help but remember our times in the library, sipping coffee and sharing notes, laughing at Sirius who insisted on coming with us, even though he never actually did any work. I couldn't allow myself to remember the good, because I just might let it outweigh the bad.

    So, I let myself think of Calum. Unfortunately, we hadn't said one word to each other since he saved me from yet another concussion. We smiled at each other when we passed in the corridor or saw each other across the Great Hall, but he always seemed to be pulled away before we could talk. Calum seemed too good to be true, and he probably was, but really didn't bother care.

I stared out the window at the overcast clouds that covered the sky one Friday afternoon, as Olivia and I made our way out of our last class of the day. The hall was bustling with students, and I found myself scanning the hall to see if I could catch a glimpse of Calum.

"The Ravenclaws have Quidditch practice Fridays", Liv smirked, getting my attention. "Oh, shut up", I mumbled. We turned a corner and began to descend a staircase towards the Hufflepuff common room. "They're playing Gryffindor tomorrow, you know", she said, pointedly raising her thick eyebrows at me. "Oh, really?", I said, keeping my tone as casual as I could. I had totally already known about the match. And not just because I immediately looked up the Quidditch game schedule when I realized Calum was on the team, but because both Ronan and Greg had gotten onto the Gryffindor team, much to their surprise, but not mine. I promised both of them that I would be there cheering them on. Greg, with a cheeky grin fixed on his face, asked me if I would go on a date with him if they won. I said no.

    "As if you didn't already know that", Olivia laughed as we threw our bags down and settled in front of the warm fire. "Fine. I knew", I said sheepishly, pulling out my DADA book and flipping it open to the newest chapter we were assigned. I gingerly ran my finger down the thin pages, willing myself to absorb and understand the material. "Maybe you can use this as an opportunity to actually, you know, talk to Archer", Olivia said, copying my actions. My hair was in an elaborate braid that Skye had insisted on doing this morning, the end falling over my shoulder as my eyes scanned the page on cloaking spells.

    "I will talk to him when the time is right", I let out, frustration creeping into my stomach as I tried to grasp the challenging concepts on the page in front of me. "When's that gonna be?", Liv snorted, "When you're 45". I opened my mouth to retort when a very disheveled Maggie burst into the room. "Thank God!", she cried. Her lilac hair was sticking to her forehead, beads of sweat dripping down her face. She looked panicked and disheveled, her chest rising up and down with heaving breathes.

I threw my book to the side, leaping up. "What's wrong?", Olivia cried at the same time I let out, "Are you okay?". Maggie ran her fingers through her hair, catching her breathe. All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room as we waited for her to speak. When she had calmed down enough to speak, she shakily let out, "I'm okay", and taking off towards the door, Maggie shoved open the door leading to the hallway, Liv and I following without hesitation, "But Lewis isn't".