reputation - (h.p.)

1.4 . not that bad

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

GAIA COULDN'T HELP BUT FEEL ashamed as she left the classroom with Harry still gripping her arm, as if he were afraid she might fall. She managed to keep the tears to a minimum, however the damage she was sure she would face from her classmates later that day had already been done.

       Harry didn't try to force the words out of her, he just let her lean her back against the corridor wall and sink to the floor, knees pulled up to her chest and body quivering every few seconds. He slid down the wall and joined her on the cold tile, keeping to himself and acting as nothing more or less than a supportive presence.

       Most students were shocked to see him approach the panicking girl moments prior. Even with his fame, he was fairly well known for being what many would call awkward. He himself was a bit surprised when it happened. But even so, he didn't feel even a hint of anxiety or unsureness as to what to do - what he was needed for. If he had been in this situation with most people, he could guarantee that it would not have been voluntary, and he would not be nearly this level-headed. But Gaia had made him feel calm over the last few days, and a certain bliss seemed to draw over his worries when he was with her, eliminating any thoughts of doubt from his mind as he sat there on the castle floor with the girl. 

       Eventually, the shaking stopped and Gaia lifted her puffy eyes to meet Harry's. "I'm sorry," she mumbled softly, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

       "What for?" Harry questioned.

       "You know, bringing you out of class, causing a scene." Her voice was low and cracked as she spoke, being the way it always was after she cried.

       Harry chuckled and looked down towards his lap. "If anyone knows about making a scene, it's me."

       Gaia couldn't help but let out a low laugh as she recalled all the times the boy in front of her was the topic of conversation around the school. She nodded and looked down as well. "Yeah, I guess you've got a point there."

       The pair sat in silence for several minutes. Gaia found comfort in the lack of noise, though Harry's own sureness was beginning to dissipate. He anxiously shuffled through his mind for a decent conversation starter. He wasn't usually fond of silence, being that he got so much it throughout most of his childhood. There was always a lack of noise in the small cupboard at the Dursleys', excluding when Dudley would purposefully bound down the stairs as loudly as possible.

       "Maybe we should head back to the Common Room," Harry suggested, finding an excuse to speak once more. "We've got next period free and everyone will come out of class any minute now."

       Gaia glanced at her watch to find he was correct, and pushed herself up from the floor to stand alongside him.

       "Oh no," she groaned, "I haven't got my bag from the room."

       The dread of having to face her classmates again was quickly erased from her mind however, as Harry extended his arm and held out her sleek grey messenger bag. "I got it on the way out," he declared.

       Gaia smiled and took the bag from his hand, slinging it over her shoulder and saying a kind, "Thank you," as the pair set off towards Gryffindor tower.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Later that afternoon, sitting on her bed and sifting through a transfiguration text book, Gaia heard the door to her dormitory creak open. She kept her eyes on the words in front of her until a voice quietly called her name and she realized the summoning was for her. Glancing up, she saw Hermione standing at the foot of her bed, slinging her bag off of her shoulder and setting it on the floor in front of her.