Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-41-

After a day's gap, the seventh years were to sit for their Potions exam. Dorcas woke up early as she had done during the first exam, dressed up and went out, letting her friends sleep a little while longer. She wanted to talk to Juliet, and she hoped she would find her in this large castle.

She headed to the Great Hall first. There were only a few students there, early birds like her, but Juliet wasn't among them. Hovering hesitantly for a while, she stepped inside and sat in one corner of the Gryffindor table. The students around her were studying, but Dorcas couldn't retain information in her memory if she studied a few hours before the exam. She liked giving her brain a rest, which allowed her to keep a clear head during exams.

Today was the Potions theory exam. The practical exams would be held after all the theory exams are over, which meant she didn't have to worry about the amounts of ingredients and the number of stirrings. She merely needed to remember various information about potions, like their appearances and applications.

She was trying to remember the colour of the Draught of Living Death when someone came and sat beside her. "Hi," said Leigh cheerfully. "Why are you on your own?"

She looked at him with a smile. "They haven't woken up yet. I considered waking them, but I thought it'd feel nice to be on my own for a while." She paused before adding. "And I wanted to talk to Juliet. But I guess she's sleeping too."

"Actually I saw her while coming here," said Leigh. "She's in the West wing. With her boyfriend."

Dorcas thought for a moment. She needed to check up on her and ask her about her preparation for Potions. She had missed out on a lot of lessons after she had decided to stay inside the confinements of her dorms, and she felt bad about not giving her time. Of course, she could wait until Juliet came into the Great Hall eventually, but she felt hesitant about talking to her with the entire castle around them.

She stood up. "I'm gonna go ahead and meet her," she told Leigh, who stood up too. "Good luck with your OWLs."

It didn't take long to find Juliet and Tristan. She had been scared that she would be bothering them by barging in on their private time, but when she saw them at the balcony, they weren't doing anything; at least not anything intimate. They were both laughing over something, and she saw Juliet lean over him as bubbles of laughter erupted from her mouth. Dorcas considered turning back, but before she could do that, Tristan spotted her.

"Hey Dorcas!" he called, waving a hand. With pursed lips, she made her way over to them. "Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Hi," she greeted quietly, then looked at Juliet. "I just wanted to ask you about your preparation for the exam. I'm sorry I haven't been able to help you these few weeks."

Juliet shook her head. "Don't apologise, Dorcas. I'm quite confident about today's exam, and it's all thanks to you."

"I haven't done anything," she shrugged, which earned a long aww from Tristan.

"So modest," he said. "I'm telling you, Juliet absolutely loathes Potions. I was sure she wouldn't have studied a single thing out of sheer and stubborn hatred for the subject. It's only because of you that she at least knows the difference between cutting and crushing an ingredient."

Juliet sent him a withering look, but Dorcas could see the adoration in her eyes. She looked away quickly.

"Thank you for being a supportive boyfriend, Tris," she said facetiously.

"You're welcome."

Dorcas forced a little chuckle, though it sounded dry. Juliet turned towards her and offered her a smile. "Anyway, thank you for helping me. I really would have failed if you hadn't."

Dorcas nodded her head. "Well, good luck," was all she could say before she all but ran from the spot.

She hated being jealous of Tristan. She had thought that she had come to terms with her feelings, but apparently not. She didn't have a right to be jealous. Juliet was straight, she was certain of that. And it was the hard fact. It was as much of a fact as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west; it was as true as Juliet's hatred for Potions.

Dorcas wished she could move on. She didn't like being held back by a love that would never be reciprocated. She wanted to drink a potion that would help her forget that she ever loved Juliet. She wanted to Obliviate herself.

As she walked aimlessly through the corridors, she had the sudden urge to bring out her wand, point it at her head and slowly and carefully remove all memories she had of Juliet. Her hand went into her pocket and she gripped the wand between her fingers, though she knew she didn't really need it to perform the charm. She took deep, heavy breaths as she fought the overwhelming urge bubbling inside her.

She found a hiding place somewhere on the East wing, a small opening cut into the wall at the end of a cul-de-sac. It looked like there used to be a statue, or perhaps a suit of armour standing here, but which has been removed later on. She sank into the ground and stayed there until her tears dried up and the hollowness in her chest somewhat stopped sucking up air and making her breathless.

Dorcas wished she could just heal and move on.

As she would come to realise in retrospect, her wish was fulfilled. Just not in the way she had expected.

When she finally found the strength to return to the Great Hall, it was filled to its brim. She hunted down Maeve amongst the crowd and quietly went over to her, keeping her head low so as to avoid attention. Maeve heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing her, before giving her a light scold. "Where have you been? Leigh told me you went to see Juliet, but she returned ages ago and you were nowhere to be seen."

"I just took a little detour," she answered simply, taking a toast and applying a thin layer of butter over it. She ignored Maeve's suspicious look and bit into the toast nonchalantly. "Is Silver up?"

Maeve didn't answer for a moment. Dorcas knew she was debating on whether to let the matter go or not, and in the end, she did. "Yes," she said with a sigh. "She's somewhere at the Hufflepuff table. With Benjy."

Under different circumstances, Dorcas would have come up with a witty remark to point out how ridiculously jealous Maeve was being, but she decided to let it go, just like Maeve had let go of the matter of her coming in late.

About an hour later, the fifth and seventh years were once again seated at the Great Hall on their respective seats. Now that the novelty of exams has worn off, the Hall wasn't as silent as it had been during the first day. Students turned around, craned their necks, tried to talk to their friends. As they were seated in alphabetical order, most of them didn't have their friends anywhere near them, and had to speak in signs. It was an amusing sight.

The exams began. Dorcas forced herself to push Juliet to the back of her mind and concentrate on the paper in front of her. Her lips moved as she read each question, then she dipped her quill into the ink and tapped the quill lightly with her index finger to shed off the excess ink, before she proceeded to answer the questions. Letters were carved into the crisp parchment as she went on from one question to the next.

Professor Slughorn walked between the rows of students, glancing at their papers and giving an appreciative or a disappointed humph every now and then. Dorcas filtered away all distractions.

When about half an hour had passed, Dorcas heard the creak of the oak doors opening. She frowned, though she didn't look up from her paper. No one was allowed into the Great Hall during exam times, other than the subject teacher and one other teacher to act as an invigilator. The sound of footsteps was heard, and it grew louder before Professor McGonagall came and stood in front of Dorcas's table. She looked up in surprise.

"Ms. Meadowes," she instructed. "Please come to my office."

She blinked. "Now?"

"Yes."

McGonagall didn't provide any explanation, but Dorcas assumed that if she had to interrupt her in the middle of her exam, it must be an emergency. Professor Slughorn assumed the same perhaps, for he didn't question the Head of Gryffindor house as she led her away out of the Great Hall.