The Legacy (Camren)

Chapter Ten

The following day, Lauren woke peacefully and well-rested. Though Ashton's death was still weighing heavily on the castle, it was a new day at Hogwarts. Classes would resume as normal and Lauren would be reunited with her friends as they walked between lessons, and she couldn't have been happier. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she only prayed that nothing else would go wrong before everyone could recover from the day before, but of course, it seemed that Lauren's luck had run out.

She sat up and stretched, closing her eyes and letting out a long yawn, and when she opened them again, Camila was just inches from her face, wearing a wide and slightly aggravating grin.

"Good morning, Lauren!" she said cheerfully.

The rest of the girls began to stir and groan, as Camila's amplified voice had obviously awoken them.

"Uh, hi," Lauren said, voice hoarse from sleep, wearing the friendliest smile she could.

Camila was always cheerful and smiling, but not like this. There was something off about her attitude. Lauren had half expected her to be in a better mood than most everyone else in the castle, but Camila seemed almost too happy to be realistic after the prior day's events, especially since there were rumors floating around that she was a murderer.

Lauren raised an eyebrow in confusion and pushed her covers down so she could swing her legs over the side of the bed. The second her feet touched the cold stone floor, Camila hurried around to her side of the bed and stood so close that Lauren could feel their heartbeats in rhythm.

"What are we doing today?" Camila asked excitedly.

"We have class, Camila," Lauren reminded her, speaking slowly like she were addressing a child.

"Oh, right," Camila sighed. "I thought maybe we could go back to The Three Broomsticks, or even Honeydukes. We could get some more of those chocolate frogs! Chris has been begging me to trade cards with him for the past few days, but I'll trade with you instead. Anything for you."

"Right," Lauren said with a single nod. "Can you excuse me for a second?"

Lauren took a step towards Dinah's bed- who was still sleeping soundly- but found that Camila mirrored her movements almost exactly. For every step that Lauren took, Camila took two more to stay right by her side.

Lauren watched her friend curiously and gave up on the idea of speaking to Dinah alone. Camila would just have to hear that she was behaving strangely whether she liked it or not. Lauren shook Dinah to wake her, and after three agonizing minutes of Camila standing uncomfortably close and Dinah swatting Lauren's hand away, she finally stirred.

"We have a problem," Lauren said urgently.

"What?" Dinah groaned. "My alarm doesn't go off for another fifteen minutes."

"Your alarm will have to get over it," Lauren urged. "Camila- she's..."

Lauren trailed off as Camila wrapped her delicate arms around Lauren's waist from behind and nuzzled into her shirt. For Lauren, the feeling didn't bother her, but then she heard Camila audibly inhale the scent of her clothes. All Lauren had to do was give Dinah a look, and Dinah gave the same knowing look back.

"What's wrong with her?" Dinah asked.

"She's been following me around all morning. I mean, granted, I just woke up, but I imagine if I told her I was going to the showers, she'd follow me right inside," Lauren explained.

Camila moved around to Lauren's front and picked up a strand of her messy hair, twirling it around between her fingertips and smiling up at Lauren.