Veiled Hearts

Chapter Seven

"Rosie, how on Earth are you even here right now?!"

Her slight French accent hangs on her tongue, proof of the years she's spent at Beauxbatons but never fully overcoming her English accent. It's music to my ears after all these years spent apart.

We pull apart, and I crane my head slightly to look up at her.

I feel a similar smile make its way to my face, and her crinkled eyes look at me with unshed tears of happiness.

"Believe it or not, I'm just as new to the school as you are right now," I say with a laugh, "I just got sorted for Merlin's sake"

She laughs. Merlin, I've missed her. Her laugh could make anyone feel better.

"Uh... mind filling us in at all?"

Blaise's comment moves both Valerie's and my attention back to the group, turning to find everyone's shocked gazes, staring at us like we are speaking another language.

"Translation, please? Not everyone can speak French, you know?" Blaise announces, the bitterness in his tone prominent.

Apparently, we were speaking another language, the French engraved into my mind sparking at the sight of Valerie.

"Oh my gosh! You must be Blaise, Rosie talked about you all the time back at Beauxbatons" Valerie says, shining her smile at him.

"Oui," he answers with a straight face, the most serious I've seen him since we were scolded as children.

I lean over, hitting him across the back of his head for that comment.

Enzo covers his face, failing to stifle his laugh, his amusement with the situation apparent.

"Dude, you have got to practice your French. That was woeful" Daphne exclaims with the look of mock horror across her face.

Valerie laughs next to me and moves to slide into the seat that was open to my left. I follow her movements and sit back down next to Blaise, who is still looking at me with an expression I can't quite place.

"Sorry, old habits die hard I guess," I shrug my shoulders as I explain the sudden language switch.

I catch Malfoy's gaze from across the table, a hidden understanding playing in his eyes.

"Pass the baguette,"

Blaise's comment cuts the tension present at the table. I turn to the white bread loaf sitting in the centre of the meals. Yeah, definitely not a baguette. I look up at him, no humor present on my face. No one makes any moves to answer his demand.

"...please"

From the one plea, chaos erupted at the table.

"That's not a fucking baguette, you muppet!"

"Are you serious right now?!"

"Really Blaise? A baguette?"

"You are so stupid!"

Daphne finishes the onslaught by also whacking him across the back of his head. Again. For the second time in five minutes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm not a fucking baker, do you expect me to know the difference between different types of bread! Merlin, double standards, man"

It's a surprise how he even got past First Year with his lying abilities. We all know that he's lying, but for the sake of his ego, we let it pass for now.

"Valerie!"

Olympe Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons calls Valerie back over to where the rest of them are sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

"Okay then, I will find you later, Rosie. Make sure to send Dusk with your letters, I'll be staying in the carriages parked outside the castle"

A bittersweet smile mirrors on our faces but the premature goodbye.

"Don't worry Sunny, I've never forgotten, and I won't start now"

"Be Safe-"

"Be Brave"

I finish off our saying, the one that has kept us together since we first met. That allowed us as two First Years to find solace in a new country and a new school. The words that we continue to utter and write in our endless letters whenever we need comfort.

The nicknames we created stay close to our hearts even after years of separation. Rosie and Sunny. Vastly different from our true names, but ones that have a deeper meaning between us.

"Au revoir"

Blaise bids farewell to Valerie with a mocking wave. I pick up my bread roll from my plate and shove it into his face as Valerie's laugh fades from her walking to the rest of her school.

After that, the rest of the dinner went smoothly. The Great Hall fills with the sounds of students and professors alike catching up after the holidays, when finally the time came to go and settle down into our dorms.

As we get up from our seats, I stick close to the group, unsure of where we are heading just yet.

Malfoy walks up beside me, slightly brushing my shoulder as he walks past.

"See you in class"

He leaves, after uttering the words in French, as if the language was created just for him to speak.