The Sight Of Eternity With You

Haunting Me

"It's a brand new day
But I can't even think straight
Got a taste of the bitter in me 
Now I keep it just to feel complete
Wish that I could just fall asleep
And not wake up with you haunting me"
-Haunting me, Loveless 

****

"How's Sybill?"

"Hmmmm oh you know....called a fraud in front of your students, and suddenly students are criticizing every single word from your mouth," Harper shrugged, putting her quill down with a sigh. School was in full swing now, the decree that gave Umbridge some type of power was in full effect and she was using it to the fullest extent, her presence in different classes was jarring at first but now all the professors seemed to just ignore her when she appeared. Sybill was the only professor shaken so far from her interrogation tactics. Between assignments, Head Girl duties, and checking on her aunt; Harper was left feeling slightly disgruntled and stressed-her sleeping habits were chaotic at best, the only thing that kept her sane was working on products for the joke shop.

"Which reminds me, I have to check on her after this..."

Angelina sat across from her with a sympathetic smile.

"How's Katie? How'd she get a nosebleed?!" Harper asked, taking Ginny's parchment beside her and slowly scanning it momentarily.

"She's fine, but no one knows what really happened...Fred said he had some sweets in his pocket, gave some to her and well...." Angelina ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the strands. "ugh, my team is cursed!"

Harper and Ginny shared a look as Angelina banged her head on the table, "stop or we'll be forced out!"

"Ron wasn't bad at tryouts but now...." Angelina sighed, her frustrations at her first weeks being a quidditch captain weighing her down.

"Look it's just nerves, he's great!" Harper offered, Ginny nodding beside her. "And it doesn't help the Slytherins have been interrupting your session's religiously!"

Angelina began to pull more fistfuls of hair as she moaned, Ginny and Harper returning to their work in their quiet corner of the library.

"Hello ladies! My Harper, you look so—"

"What's the alibi today?" Harper cut Fred off as he smiled, wrapping an arm around Angelina.

"Been with you and Angelina all day. We were down by the Black Lake, then we came here....been here forty minutes."

Harper pursed her lips and sighed, "fine. Is it catastrophic or manageable?"

"Mmmmmmm depends on who finds it first," Fred thought it over for a moment.

"I'm not trying to be judgmental but....should the Head Girl being giving out alibis?" Ginny spoke up, raising an eyebrow at the older Gryffindors.

"That's why she's the best Head Girl there's ever been," Fred said with a smirk.

"Is the alibi for both of you?" Harper clarified, beginning to pack her things away.

"I set up the prank alone...but I assume it's better to cover both of us, George was taking a nap or something."

Harper shook her head, nodding as she finished packing her things. "Was wondering where he went off to actually."

"See you lot for dinner...the kitchens?" Harper smiled as she nodded, preferring to sit in the kitchens away from the piercing eyes of Umbridge at the staff table. Something about the woman set off alarms in her mind each time their eyes met around the castle.

***

Harper sat in her favorite cushion as the incense slowly absorbed into her clothing, Sybill sat in her high arched chair by the fire slowly drinking from her cup that was filled with anything but earl grey at the moment. Harper began to pull out tarot cards, placing them on the table without a thought in the world, the more cards she pulled, the darker the omens seemed to get.