The Renegades

Chapter 3 : Heart to heart

Penelope woke up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding in her chest. As the contours of her surroundings grew clearer, she realized she had simply been dreaming. Her face was still flushed and her braid had somehow gotten loose during the night. She had never had a dream quite like this. It was the kind she couldn't tell anyone about. Her grandmother would say only women of easy virtue would even dare think about such things, so for her to dream about them... She pulled the curtains of her bed back and got up.

"Had a nice night?" immediately asked Angelica as soon as she saw Penelope.

"What?"

"Oh, Sebastian..." Imelda moaned repeatedly as the others laughed.

Penelope immediately turned red and begged them to shush. She felt so humiliated that she wanted to disappear from the face of the earth entirely. Seeing how upset she was, Imelda stopped and said :

"Don't worry, it's normal. We're all girls here, there's no shame in having a... Special dream."

"You have them too?" Penelope asked, her cheeks still burning.

"Everyone has them. Even Professor Weasley, I'm sure," giggled Imelda, no doubt trying to picture what that would look like.

"Even boys?"

"Oh, especially boys."

Penelope didn't know whether she was more embarrassed of having had such a dream about Sebastian, or at the prospect that he had possibly had one about her.

"Don't tell anyone..." she begged them.

"Why would we? Although I'm sure Sebastian would love to know..."

"It's not funny!" she whined. "How could I ever face him after this?"

She continued to wonder that all throughout her first class of the day. Her current strategy was to avoid him as much as possible, which was going to prove to be a real challenge. She had already skipped breakfast, but she had no choice but to attend the classes they had together. Perhaps she could fake sick? She was sat next to Poppy, who hadn't noticed anything was off about her so far. 

As the lesson began, Professor Rowan encouraged them to come closer to the pen and explained the proper way to approach and interact with Hippogriffs. She stressed the importance of showing respect and humility, as Hippogriffs were known to be proud and easily offended.

"I don't think we have a lot left to learn..." Poppy giggled.

They had both had extended contact with many Hippogriffs last year, starting with Highwind and of course all the beasts that they had rescued from poachers. Still, throughout the lesson, Penelope and Poppy asked questions, observed the Hippogriffs' interactions with other students, and even fed them when given the chance.

"Thanks for sitting with me Poppy," Penelope said as she gathered her books.

"Of course! I had a great time too," Poppy replied with a smile.

After the Care of Magical Creatures class, they both made their way back to the castle. Penelope had a free period, and she figured she would hide in her room until she was forced to face him during lunch. She couldn't take the hunger anymore. As they reached the Central Hall stairway, they turned a corner and found themselves face-to-face with none other than Sebastian.

"Oh, hi Penelope, Poppy," Sebastian greeted them with a warm smile.

"Hi Sebastian," Poppy replied cheerfully.

Penelope, however, immediately looked down at her feet in order to avoid eye contact. The memory of her dream about Sebastian came flooding back, and she couldn't face him with that lingering in her mind. Overwhelmed, she immediately turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, Poppy in tow.