»𝕰𝖈𝖍𝖔« [ᴮᵉˡˡᵃᵗʳⁱˣ ᴮˡᵃᶜᵏ]

§ Chapter Five

The sun was at its highest peak of the day, the light streaming into the hall through the large arching window.

Bellatrix was making her way through a stack of cheese sandwiches as she read over her potions essay. Which, while uncommon, wasn't a rare occurrence. The unfortunate thing about lunch was the unaligned timetables that meant she was left on her own. Although, she couldn't say it bothered her much. 

It had been a difficult morning. The ancient runes classroom was the prime environment for the girl to daydream. Unfortunately, the professor seemed to have it out for her, so she was forced to stay an extra half hour and finish the work. This had initially made her furious, but by the time she had sat down and taken her first bite, she no longer had the energy to hold resentment.

She was so focused on her essay, however, that she failed to notice the figure moving towards her.

Rodolphus sat down opposite her and let out an exaggerated sigh, "I was expecting an extravagant welcome gift, but I guess this'll have to do."

Her head snapped up and she smiled widely. "Hey!" She did a quick final read of her work before rolling up her parchment, tucking it into her bag, and turning to give the boy her full attention.

"So..." Rodolphus began, "how are you?"

Bellatrix smiled at him, "I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm okay." There was an awkward pause and Rodolphus started fidgeting with his hands, "Sorry, my social interactions don't usually stretch this far." 

Bellatrix's smile curled with amusement. "Don't tell me you're a loner, you must have some friends!" Silence started to creep back in and his lack of a response made the smile fall from her face.

"Well, uh... not exactly," Rodolphus responded after a few moments.

Her eyebrows furrowed in thought and something clicked in her mind. "That blonde I bumped into outside the astronomy tower yesterday-"

"-Gabriel," Rodolphus interjected.

"Whatever," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "he must be your friend."

A light pink dusted itself over the boy's cheeks, "Yeah, I guess you could call him that."

"Seems like you're not so lonely after all." 

Rodolphus seemed to relax more into the conversation and by the end of the lunch hour, the two were joking and laughing like they'd known each other for years. 

§

Sitting at her usual table in the corner of the library, the youngest Wolpert was going over her potion notes while she tried to sneak gummy bears into her mouth without Madame Pince catching her. While Kimberly had never been caught, she had seen the punishments experienced by those who had. Just thinking about them made her shiver. 

She was just folding the empty packet and shoving it in her pocket when a certain redhead made her way to the table.

Lily collapsed on the table and looked up at Kimberly, who simply raised an eyebrow.

"I need your help," Lily whispered.

"For what?" Kimberly asked, already searching her mind for the notes she'd have to fish out for her best friend.

Lily looked just about desperate. "Mcgonagall just set a 12-inch essay on Animagi, and it's supposed to be all personal research!"

That confused Kimberly. "So what's the problem? You're great at research!"

"I have searched this library top to bottom and have found nothing useful," she brought her hands above the table and made a begging motion.

"I thought you were the resourceful one," Kimberly nudged the girl, a teasing smile on her lips.