Accidents Happen ∙ Garreth Weasley

17 - Lost opportunity

The next morning was a chilly one, and Lina bundled up in her warmest coat to brave the biting wind and sleet on her way to breakfast with Poppy. As they sat down to eat, Lina felt something soft and weighty land in her lap as an owl swooped overhead - it was a cream-coloured envelope, and she quickly tore it open to find a letter from Professor Weasley, concerning her detention. 

She had been dreading this letter since the moment she received a detention from the arithmancy Professor yesterday, but her face lit up when she realised what she was set to do. The contents of the letter were unexpected: instead of something awful like scrubbing the first years' cauldrons, Lina would be working with some of the magical creatures that they studied in Beasts class. Despite this, it was still a detention, and wouldn't be something like playing with the puffskeins. The letter instructed her to meet Professor Howin outside her classroom at the end of the day.

"You're so lucky," Poppy exclaimed, reading over her shoulder. "I'd love to spend the afternoon looking after the beasts - I've got to write that blasted astronomy essay for tonight. Can we switch?"

Lina laughed at her eagerness but shook her head. "I wish you could, but I don't think Professor Weasley would be too pleased if you showed up instead of me. Also I do not want to do more astronomy than I need to. "

Poppy made a pouting face. "Are you sure you can't put in a good word for me with Professor Weasley?"

"I could try, but it is supposed to be a punishment. Although, Garreth has detention too, so I think we might be doing it together."

"Ooh," Poppy said. "I bet that will be fun."

"Oh, shush!" Lina replied, smirking, her cheeks turning a flushed shade. Suddenly, she heard a miaow and turned to see the same cat from yesterday sitting next to her, staring at her with its gem-like blue eyes. "Hello again," she said, scratching behind its ears.

Poppy squealed at the sight of the cat. "Do you have a pet cat, Lina?" she asked, staring intently at it.

"No, it keeps popping up around school and I don't know whose it is," Lina replied. "It is rather cute though."

"It is adorable. If no-one comes looking for it, keep it!" Poppy told her. 

"Hmmm, I guess I could. But I'll wait for a while because I don't want to steal someone's pet."

"Fair enough. Well, I'd better be off. Herbology is first, and I need to go back to my dorm and grab some things. I'll see you later!"

~~~

A day of classes weighed heavily on Lina's back as she anticipated the detention set out for her and Garreth that afternoon, leaving her distracted. It was going to be the first time they would be properly alone since the kiss, and she was a little nervous, subconsciously fixing her appearance whenever she thought that she could bump into him in the hallways or untucking her hair from behind her ears, and other little things like that. Natty kept eyeing her, noticing her changes in mood whenever Garreth was mentioned in conversation, or the unusual detours she would take around the castle and all she did was sit back and watch, not hindering Lina's mild delusions yet not fuelling them either. She let Lina leave for her detention at the end of classes, smirking when she recognised the sweater she was wearing under her coat - the deep navy one Garreth leant to Lina over two months ago that she was yet to return. 

Sun poured in over the mountaintops and into the valley like a shower of gold flower petals as Lina walked up to the beasts classroom, jacket zipped up around her neck the protect her from the jagged cold wind. She held the letter in her pocket, fiddling with the softened corners of the envelope to distract her from the daunting hour or so ahead and upon reaching the classroom, she saw Garreth loitering just out of sight of the desks, clearly waiting for her.

"I didn't want to be stuck with Professor Howin by myself while we waited for you," he told her as she walked towards him. "Fifth-year beasts was not my best class..."

"Shall we?" Lina asked, nodding her head towards the outdoor classroom. 

"We shall."

When the pair walked in, the professor stood up from her desk. "Ah, Mr Weasley and Miss Clarke. I was expecting you two... about three minutes ago. Try and be a bit more prompt," Professor Howin told them, "I want you two to clean out the animal pens. You can use these," she said sternly, passing over 2 spades. "I will be back in an hour to inspect your work, and remember this is a detention, so no messing around."

Nodding, the professor turned and left and they got to work quickly, after a while Lina suggested that they take a break. "I doubt Howin will mind too much." Sitting down in one of the pens, small fuzzy puffskeins began rolling towards them, and Lina smiled - she felt nervous around Garreth. It was a strange feeling, as she had always felt comfortable around him before. Not that she was uncomfortable, but just... more aware. And jittery. Very jittery.

"I used to have a pet puffskein," Garreth blurted out, trying to fill the quiet.

"Did you?" Lina asked, surprised he had never mentioned it.

"Yeah, I, uh, found it in our garden when I was younger, and I hid it in my room until my mum found it. Then I had to put it back where I got it," he gushed, turning pink. His knee was bouncing up and down, and his eyes darted away whenever Lina made eye contact with him. He was more nervous than her. 

"Oh." 

Garreth cringed at himself and his word-vomit. Only he could mess something like this up, he thought to himself after Lina's awkwardly short response to his awkward story. Its Lina for Merlin's sake. You've known her for ages, what's new? But he knew what was new. 

 "Hey, Garreth!" Lina shout-whispered, snapping him back to reality.

"What?"

"Professor Howin is coming!"

The professor rounded the corner just as they stood up off the ground, dusting off their clothes as subtly as possible. She glanced over the majority of the beat pens, squinting. "Hmm, you two have done alright. You are dismissed." She disappeared again, and Lina let out a sigh.

"I should get going," she told Garreth, turning and wandering out of the pen they were stood in. "Poppy'll be waiting for me."

"Ask her out!"

Natty's words from yesterday floated around in his head, and he cracked his knuckles in apprehension and anxiety.

"Um, Lina, before you go could I ask you something?" Garreth asked, his heart in his mouth.

"Sorry, I'm running really late and I need to go for astronomy now - I don't want another detention! Tell me tomorrow?"

"Oh. Yeah, ok." He looked a little downhearted, but waved Lina off as she ran towards the nearest floo station, vanishing in a huff of green flames. Garreth groaned once she was gone, rubbing his hand over his face in stress. Of course she had to go just as he plucked up the courage to ask her to the Three Broomsticks. The beasts classroom wasn't the most romantic place to ask her, sure, but he wasn't sure when he would next get an opportunity when it was just the two of them. Raking his hand through his auburn curls, Garreth left the beasts area, also swallowed up in a lick of green fire, popping out in Gryffindor tower where he crashed on the sofa next to Leander.

EDIT - Author's note:

I have two things to say: 

a) 1k READS!!!! THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH <3

b) sorry for being slow updating again - I finished writing and editing this whilst fighting sleeping pills on a 9hr plane flight back from Vancouver, but now I'm back home and not going anywhere updates should become more frequent again! 

Thank you for all the support! I hope you are enjoying it so far ❤️❤️❤️