Dirty Little Game ♠ Professor Lupin

Twenty seven: Make Sense of Things

At the beginning of June, it became clear why Brook behaved the way she did six months ago. She couldn't hide her pregnancy belly anymore. She was certainly trying to cover it with spells, for she had had her standard body shape for a long time and one morning she just entered the Great Hall looking like a balloon.

The rumours spread quicker than she could react. Some thought it was the child of one of the teachers, that's why they hid it for so long. Others believed a boy did it and when he found out about the baby, he left her. Everyone agreed on one thing - Hogwarts was no place for a mother. Brook's education was just about to finish.

I noticed the girl was having a hard time dealing with the talk going on around her and she appeared to be full of pity and humiliation. She wasn't used to it. It was she who always judged others, not the other way around.

I noticed the looks she was throwing at me. Apparently she missed her best friend, but she herself rejected me. She was the one who, without even stopping to think about it, acted childishly and put an end to our friendship in a matter of seconds. So being the cold Slytherin I was, I turned down her silent pleas for help.

Jaylee came back to us. She couldn't stand the pressure of being close to Brook, who was the hottest topic of conversation in the entire castle. I had a feeling it had much to do with her reputation. The girl was insecure, and she couldn't face the prospect of Brook's tarnished image dragging her down with her.

My feelings for her hadn't changed, Jaylee wasn't my friend again but she knew all there was to know about Brook.

"So what really happened?" I asked at breakfast, hungry for spicy gossip.

"You remember that boyfriend of hers, don't you?" I nodded my head and she continued, "He had no idea about her family history. You were right and that's why she got so pissed off back then."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with her pumped belly?" Wilton interrupted. He was never too patient.

"I'm getting to this." She snapped at him. "So she decided to tell him about it. I don't know what exactly happened, but he didn't take it very well."

"It's hard to believe since they're engaged." I muttered as I stuffed a piece of bacon on my fork.

"This is the best part." Jaylee didn't even hide the excitement in her voice. "She got pregnant on purpose so that he wouldn't leave her."

Next to her, Wilton choked on his juice. He started to wheeze so much that he caught the attention of our entire table, the one next to us and a few teachers. Jaylee slapped him a couple of times in the back and the boy finally took a deep breath.

I wanted to laugh. Brook used the baby as an anchor that prevented her boyfriend from escaping the toxic relationship. What was this sick strategy? What was she thinking? That somehow it'll work out with time, that with the birth of a child their relationship will somehow improve on its own?

"This girl fell really low." I concluded, still unable to wrap my head around this.

"They already have a wedding planned, they want to make it before the baby's born. They'll do it immediately after the end of the school year." Added Jaylee, looking pleased that we finally had the same opinion about something.

"That's why I'm not into girls." Wilton spoke up. "You're all crazy."

My situation was no better. Grifford pushed on meeting again during the next trip to Hogsmeade. And I just couldn't look at this guy anymore. He began speaking to me as if we were already wedded, as if getting married was only a formality. He told me about the various properties he saw, told me which one I would like and which I wouldn't and why. He wasn't going to choose our future house together with me, no. When I pointed it out to him, he waved his hand at it and said something about female indecision.