Let's Blame Magic

Chapter Six

 Ariella questioned who “us” referred in Ron’s sentence but she decided the only way she was going to figure that out was to join him. It was out of Ariella’s comfort zone to spend her free period with others; for two years, she spent any free time she had on her hands, alone.

  As Ron and Ariella walked to the Grand Staircase Courtyard, Ariella could feel her anxiety running throughout her body; the silence between the both of them was unbearable for her ears.

   “So,” Ron’s voice broke the silence causing Ariella to form a thin layer of sweat near her hairline.

  She held her books with a tight grasp and horizontally ran her fingers through the binding of the book; she slowly turned her head to find Ron staring at her with an awkward smile.

  He made a hesitant sound, it showed that he was having a hard time finding his words “How come I’ve never seen you in First or Second Year?” He asked and shied away at the end of his sentence.

  Ariella grimaced at Ron’s words but soften once she contemplated her thoughts. She released a sigh and noticed in her peripheral vision, Ron turning his head towards her once again.

   “Well, I was always around,” Ariella could hear her voice cracking between the words. She cleared her throat and brought her head down as she paid attention to the gravel underneath her feet and every rock that she stepped on. “I just didn’t,” Her words began to trail off as did her thoughts. “Well, I don’t know. I was really quiet.”

  Ariella brought up her head and noticed a flicker at the corner of his mouth, he gave a sympathetic smile. However she was skeptical whether he truly did feel sympathy towards her.

   “You must have been lonely then. If I knew you back in First Year then I would, I mean…” Ron’s irises widen in the middle of his sentence.

  Ariella expressed a puzzled reaction and watched as Ron shied away and avoided eye contact for the rest of the walk. Curiosity lingered in her mind, she was curious what Ron was about to say but at the same time, she knew she wouldn’t like it; she decided not to press on for further detail.

  The atmosphere surrounding them became dense and awkward for either of them to bear. The rest of the walk was pure silence, however it did not last long. They arrived at the Grand Staircase Courtyard, it was the middle of autumn and the leaves were slowly transitioning from a gentle green to a vibrant orange. The gravel under their feet was a gradient of grey due to the rainfall but a thin layer of leaves blanked the areas that were dampened.

  Ariella looked around but saw no one that Ron knew as well as Hermione and Harry. She started to feel an anxiety attack spawning in her lungs. All around her were Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, it made her uncomfortable being near people for a change especially when a few students would say "Hi" as they passed by.

   "Where are they?" Ariella heard Ron mutter to himself.

  She could see that Ron was uncomfortable being alone with her now that his friends weren't there. She wasn't offended because she knew she gave off that type of vibe.

   "Well, I mean, they were right here..." Ron saying out loud realizing that Ariella was still beside him.

  She gave a sympathetic smile.

   "Ron! Over here, Ron!" A voice shot into the air.

  A sigh of relief escaped both of their mouths as Hermione waved her hands up in the air at the opposite end of the Courtyard, Ariella could see three-fourths of Harry's face as Hermione stood in front of him. Ariella and Ron approached them with relieving smiles.