Because I Love You (D.M)

Chapter 19: Falling Has A Different Meaning

It was Madam Pince who found me slumped ungracefully over the same table that I had been tutoring Malfoy at last night. She wore a very disgruntled expression about her sharp face and her beady black eyes pierced my groggy stupor which woke me up right away. Apparently after the events of last night, I must've decided that sleeping in the library was a grand decision.

"Miss Nine, what is the meaning of this? Why weren't you in your dormitory last night? Were you in here all night?" Madam Pince screeched at me.

I rubbed my eyes in order to attempt to remove sleep from sight. I felt very disoriented and slightly dizzy. My back was sore from sleeping in such a slumped position and I didn't even want to chance seeing my hair.

"Well, Madam Pince, what it is–"

"I won't hear it. You will come with me and we will find Professor Sprout and she will deal with this issue," the librarian snapped, spun abruptly on her heel, and stormed from the Restricted Section. I followed reluctantly with my head hung low. For however old Madam Pince may be, she had a brisk stride that even my long legs struggled to match.

The two of us wove our way through the halls and floors to the Great Hall where breakfast was just about to end. Madam Pince waltzed right up to the chair in which Professor Sprout was sitting in and cleared her throat rather loudly. Professor Sprout gazed up from her breakfast and caught sight of me standing meekly behind the impatient librarian. I must've been quite the sight to behold: messy hair, crooked glasses, wrinkled uniform, and stifling yet another yawn.

"Good Heavens, child, it looks like you had a rough night. Go clean yourself up before you're late for Potions!" Professor Sprout ordered briskly before glaring up at Madam Pince.

"Thank you, Professor," I said and rushed off before Madam Pince could protest.

I scurried away from the teachers and onlooking students to the sanctuary of the Common Room. A few straggler seventh years who didn't have first period classes or were just outright skipping lounged and laughed about the arm chairs. They paid no mind to me as I slipped past them and up to my shared bedroom. There, I was able to find a fresh uniform and contain that wreckage that was my hair. Grabbing my bag, I tore out of the Common Room and headed straight for Potions. Luckily, I was able to make it to my seat just in the nick of time as the final bell rang. And not to my surprise, Malfoy was, for the millionth time, missing from his seat. I was ever so thankful that today was a review day for our upcoming N. E. W. T.'s. I couldn't have survived having another class brewing something on my own.

As Slughorn drawled on about our final exams, my eyes wandered to the front of the classroom where a shock of yellow hair was fast asleep and softly snoring. Despite what I kept telling myself, I missed Zach. I missed his arguments with Ernie over who got which dessert, I missed him poking fun at my grades, I missed him giving me a hard time, and I missed hanging out with him on the weekends when the two of us would drag Ernie and Hannah somewhere. The guy sat next to me in Charms and right across from me in Defense Against The Dark Arts and he barely noticed me anymore. He ate all his meals with Wayne Hopkins and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Along with missing Zach, I missed Hannah dearly. She was my confidant, always there for me and I for her. So much had happened this year which had torn her from me and pushed Zach beyond reach. Yet through everything, I counted my self lucky for still having Ernie here. I studied that hair from afar and watched the bemused Gryffindor girl next to him. One of my best friends, gone.

Once Potions was over, a sleepy Zach staggered from the classroom and followed the crowd of students to Charms. I didn't want to go to Charms to again suffer his silence, but I had no choice. Sitting down in that hardwood chair next to a now sullen looking Zach was not my idea of an enjoyable class. Flitwick had us practicing essays and memorizing review material from the beginning of the year and my hand was cramping from clutching the quill so tightly. Zach hadn't even written his name at the top of the page. That made me think of our shared detention at the start of the first semester and I almost said something about it to him. One look at his stone countenance warned me off. I bit my tongue and finished my essay. As I was readying myself to leave, Professor Flitwick approached me and asked me to stay after class to discuss an important matter. I slung my bag over my shoulder and made me way up to his desk as the rest of the class departed.