Glory |A. Potter|

Three

As they all expected, the next day all everyone could talk about was the conversation between Louis and Ramona and how she had rejected his advances. It was apparently an incredibly important event because no one had ever rejected Louis before—of course, hardly anyone would reject a boy like him—and in the dormitory, it was all Annabeth and Charlotte could talk about. Ramona and Jane on the other hand could evidently care less.

"I just don't get it, Ramona," Annabeth said for the fifth time that afternoon. "He's handsome, he's funny, he's an incredibly nice guy, what don't you like about him?"

"For the final time, Annabeth," Ramona groaned as she pushed herself up from the bed, "I know nothing about him!"

"What else would you need to know?"

"Well, it's obviously enough for you but it's not for me! That's the end of this discussion!"

Charlotte was quick to come to Annabeth's aid. "Beth just means that anyone else would kill to be in your position. He's all a dream guy can ever be. It's just unusual to reject him."

"So I've gathered."

Jane slowly looked up as Cleo jumped on the bed and made her way over to sit in her arms. "Ramona, do you want to play a game of chess with me?"

She shot up at once. "Yes!"

She rushed out of the room and Jane sent a brief smile at Annabeth and Charlotte before she gathered Cleo in her arms and got outside, following Ramona's lead. She found her in the Slytherin common room, setting up the chessboard. By the time Jane had sat down, the chessboard was set and she noticed Ramona had given her the white pieces, as she tended to do. Jane made her first move manually. Ramona mimicked her.

"I don't get why they're so set in making this a big deal!" Her hiss attracted some attention but not enough to have anyone listening in. "What does it matter what I do? They've no reason to be so invested in my life like that. And they don't even care! My success in general doesn't matter, they never ask about my day if they've nothing to gossip about. My life doesn't revolve around romance, that's just shallow."

Jane made her move before turning to look at her with a small smile. "They've nothing else to talk about. You don't have anything in common."

"Believe me, I've noticed," she scoffed as she made her own move. "Why are you talking to them, Jane? I know you share my opinion."

Jane didn't say a word, her eyes never leaving the chessboard as she moved her knight. She completely missed the way Ramona was looking at her, green eyes intense, plump lips pursed as she waited for her reply. In time, she delivered one.

"Just because we don't have things in common it doesn't mean I've got to cut all ties with them."

Ramona scoffed as she kept playing as if nothing was going on. "So it's better to have people characterise you based on them?"

She snapped her head up. "They don't judge me with them in mind. I'm my own person."

"Exactly," she hissed, "and you've accomplished more than any of them will accomplish their whole lives in just five years so you have to stop thinking they might help you in a time of need and cut all ties with them while you still can."

Jane leaned back in her seat, moving a pawn to the side as Cleo jumped off of her lap, running off. From past experience, she already knew how this conversation was going to go. "Ramona, this isn't the time or the place to have this conversation."

"Why not?" she demanded. "You said the same thing last year. If it comes down to it, be certain they won't move a finger to help you. You don't need their help to do anything, you've the power to do it on your own and in the slim chance you actually do need help, why would you ever wish to ask any help from them when they would surely ask for something in return and not from me when I wouldn't want a thing back? Not to mention I wouldn't wait for you to come asking for help because I would have given you all you needed beforehand!"