In Your Shadow ✓

Chapter 35

It was only a matter of minutes. A few minutes until the potion would wear off and Mia would become her true self again.

The two of them were sitting on his bed, embracing each other. Albus tightened his hold around her body as he closed his eyes, trying his best to enjoy the last moments he had with her.

"Why are you so sad, Sev?" The Ravenclaw asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm going to miss you," the boy replied quietly, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered back.

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure you'll be angry at me, so..."

"Why would I be angry?"

"Maybe because I gave you a love potion without you knowing? Just a guess, though," he mumbled sarcastically.

A few seconds later he could feel her hands being placed on his chest as she pushed him away.

The corners of his mouth turned downwards as he took her expression in. She stared at him with her mouth agape.

"How... How could you?" She asked quietly.

"Mia..." He tried reaching for her hands, but she stood up from the bed quickly and took a few steps away from him.

"How could you, Albus?!" She raised her voice, running her hands through her hair frustratedly.

When he heard her saying his name, he could feel his heart starting to sink.

"No, Mia," he stood up, giving her a desperate look. "I'm... I'm still your Sev, please –"

"You're nothing to me!" She shouted as she grabbed a pillow from one of the beds and threw it at him.

"Please don't say that, Mia..."

"Why did you do this?" She stared at him disappointedly. "Why?"

"I – I just wanted to know... I wanted to be with you," he said quietly.

"But why?" She asked again.

"Isn't it obvious?!" Albus snapped. "Because I like you, that why!"

Mia buried her face into her hands. "You should've just told me."

"Why, do you feel the same way?" He looked at her questioningly.

"No –"

"And I know you don't!" He nodded. "That's exactly why I did this!"

"But I don't understand, like... what was the thought process?" Mia asked. "What did you think would happen once the effects wore off?"

"I knew you would act like this," Albus looked down at the floor. "My plan was to never talk to you ever again, basically..."

"Isn't that nice," Mia said sarcastically.

"I know it sounds bad –"

"No, Albus, it sounds awful."

"Can you not call me that?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"Oh, I'm not calling you anything else ever again," she glared at him.

He frowned. "I know what I did was wrong, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done it, I regret it now, but it still happened, so... I'm sorry. But it's not like I actually did anything inappropriate!"

"You told me it was just tea!"

"Technically it was tea..."

Sighing, Mia sat down on the bed that she was standing next to.

Albus glanced up at her. "Can you forgive me?"

She shook her head. "I don't know... To think that I trusted you and you did this –"

"I know!" He ran his hands through his hair. "I know, I betrayed you, I did an evil thing, I'm a horrible person, but I'm sorry! I truly am!"

After a few minutes of silence, Mia stood up. Albus stared up at her with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I have to go," Mia said quietly.

"What?" His eyes widened.

"I have to go, Albus," she repeated herself.

"So – so what now?" He asked desperately. "Are we okay, or –"

"I don't know, I have to think this through."

"Mia –"

"Bye, Albus," she muttered before walking to the door.

She exited his dorm and left the Slytherin Common Room as quickly as she could.

Albus laid down on his bed and started staring at the ceiling of his four-poster, hating himself. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought about the possibility of Mia never talking to him again.

He could only hope that she'd forgive him. He didn't care about her returning his feelings anymore, he just hoped that she'd be willing to talk to him again, to be his friend.

***

The next morning the Slytherin woke up with red, puffy eyes. He cried himself to sleep the night before.

He wiped his cheek angrily as he threw the covers off of his body and got up. After getting ready, he took a look at himself. If his eyes weren't bad enough on their own, they were accompanied by dark circles and his hair was a mess as well. He could've tried making himself look somewhat better, but he decided not to. There wasn't anyone he could look good for anyway. Not anymore.

He left the Common Room and started heading towards the Great Hall for breakfast, even though he had no appetite at all. When he arrived, he noticed Mia sitting at the Ravenclaw table alone with a book in front of her. Frowning, he walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down, running a hand through his hair as he looked at the food on the table. He felt sick.

"Hey, Albus," a sixth-year Slytherin boy called Thomas Roberts sat down opposite of him suddenly. "What's wrong with your face?"

"Why, what's wrong with yours?" He asked back bitterly.

"Friendly as always," Thomas chuckled, putting some food on his plate. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Maybe I don't feel like eating."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged. "More for me."

Albus narrowed his eyes at him. "Why did you come up to me?"

"You're the only one at our table. The castle is so deserted, I need to talk to someone at least."

"But we're not friends."

"I know," he rolled his eyes. "But I guess you could keep me company until the others come back. I'm bored, you know."

"Then go and be bored alone, I'm not interested."

"Chill, I'm not interested in you either. I don't swing that way, if you know what I mean," Thomas glanced at him. "Aren't you bored without your little boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Albus asked back with wide eyes.

"Yeah. You and that Malfoy boy are a thing, aren't you?" He raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"I'm not gay!" He raised his voice.

"No, of course you're not," Thomas winked. "Take your time, Albus."

"Fuck off, Roberts," he scoffed, standing up from the table.

"So you're really not going to eat anything?"

Ignoring his housemate, he walked out of the Great Hall. Looking around, he had no idea where to go. He was cold and alone.

With a sigh, he decided to just go back to his dorm and try to study. He still had to write his O.W.L.s at the end of the year, after all.