Lockers Full of Thorns

Chapter Six: Blood on the Strings

**Author's note: this takes place on the same day as Blood on the Pitch.

Harry and Ginny were alone in the band room, with nothing but instruments around them.

It should have been romantic. 

Finally, Harry spoke. "You win your lacrosse thing?"

"Yep," said Ginny.

"Good for you," Harry replied.

They stared at the greying wall, unable to muster even fake feelings. Their minds were both in other places, in other band rooms, with other people: specifically, a preachy eboy twit and a beautiful, slightly quirky lacrosse star.

Their silence was finally interrupted when Dean came through the door. "Sorry I'm late, lovebirds: Seamus was doing some new drug. I thought the dude had passed out, but I guess he was just having a vision of some kind."

"You mean he's on that Erised stuff?" Ginny questioned. "I swear, I've been hearing so much about it lately. It's more common than vaping nowadays."

Dean looked surprised. "Yeah, that's the stuff."

"I tried it," said Ginny, "but I'm already happy right here on Earth."

"Me too," said Harry.

You could cut the insincerity with a knife.

Dean plugged in his bass. The amp squealed like a frightened horse. "When d'you think Colin will be here? No offense to the kid, but I didn't think he had a life outside of Partial Tongue."

"Take a wild guess." Harry shoved a copy of the Goswarth Times towards Dean. The others noted immediately that it was odd he'd kept the paper: Harry hated the Times, and regarded Luna's "peak journalism" as little more than a gossip rag.

Across the front page was a giant picture of Draco, along with an equally large picture of Colin. The two were sewn together with a Photoshopped line of red hearts.

EXCLUSIVE: Draco MalFois's new BOO???? DETAILS INSIDE!!!!

Dean looked shocked. "Him? With Creevey? We're going to have to kick him out of the band!"

Harry shook his head. "We can't. He's the only guy in this school who can play trumpet, and we need a trumpet solo for Wave Your White (Freak) Flag." Harry was evidently made to be a band leader, because when he said the song titles, you could tell where the parentheses were.

On cue, Colin entered into the room, his hair touseled - for real this time, not anything like his usual fake-mussed updo. Harry's heart darkened. He saw a vision of Draco's spider-like porcelain fingers, running through Colin's poorly-dyed black hair. Harry knew what made one's hair messy.

"Hey, Harry," said Colin breezily. Since when had Colin been breezy? His newfound bravado shone through the room like a floodlight. He pulled out his electric guitar and trumpet.

Harry was adrift in his thoughts. He was angry over Draco and Colin because he hated Draco, right? Hated his winsome face, his soft skin... He bit his lip, pushing the inner thoughts deep within him, pulling himself back to the normal world. Where he was dating Ginny. He looked over at the glass-eyed girl, willing a spark that wasn't there to reignite.

"Anyway," he said, brushing apart the tension in the room for a single moment, "should we continue with that new song we were writing? I was thinking of titling it (No) Ball and Chain."

"Actually," Colin said, "I was thinking we could try something new. I got this wonderful idea for a song about love, and status."

"I like it," said Ginny, almost venomously. Harry flinched. Had she noticed his discomfort? Was she trying to make Harry more jealous of Colin? He was angry at himself for using the word jealous. He was angry at God for making his rival an unctuous eboy, and then making him inexplicably focused on that rival. He was angry at Colin for betraying him - and maybe for something more.