Harry Potter and the Lost Half-Bloods. *1*

Leo

I pity myself and make a bet involving makeup

LEO: Today sucked. That was the summary. It sucked for a number of reasons.

Reason number one: fire.

I've always hated fire. Its been my biggest fear my entire life. Why? I don't know. It's just one of those things. Little Susie is afraid of heights. Little Amy is afraid of clowns. Little Leo? He's afraid of fire.

Since the handshake incident with Piper in the great hall, I haven't been able to think straight. I had burnt her! I had burnt her with my very hands! That's not normal. And I know I'm not some average teen, I'm a wizard. I can do magic. But burning someone with my bare skin? That wasn't exactly normal, even for wizard standards.

The weirdest part? I don't think this is the first time I've done something like this. Even weirder part? I didn't know how I knew.

Aside from all of that confusion, I still had more problems! Yay, lucky me!

Problem number two: Piper.

Piper and I have been best friends since first year. First through fourth year we were as close as could be. About halfway through last year something happened to her. She became friends with Malfoy.

Pipes and I were usually the two who sat on the sidelines making fun of their ignorance and obnoxiousness. We always made jokes, memories, and we probably would've made cool friendship bracelets if it wasn't for Malfoy!

We didn't grow close again until over this past summer. We constantly wrote back and forth to each other until my owl became absolutely sick of flying. I didn't think that she was probably sending those same owls to Malfoy.

It's not like I fancied her, and it's not like I thought she was my property. She was a beautiful, independent girl who can do so much with her strong voice! Instead, she wastes that voice on losers like Malfoy.

I guess wasting it on losers like me just isn't cool enough anymore.

Self-pity aside, I have even more problems. You ready? You guessed it.

Problem number three: Nico.

Just now.

Walking away.

Invisible.

I'm just going to leave that right there. Must I explain further?

***

All of the weirdness of today had been too much to me. This wasn't the usual Hogwarts talking-to-dead-people-portraits-on-the-wall type of weirdness. This was beyond that. This was making-my-mind-go-bonkers type weirdness.

I could've stood gawking at nothing in Nico's dorm for hours, it's not like I had anything better to do. Instead, after a few minutes, I decided it was best to just go to the common room.

"Piper, hey!" I had found Piper in one of the rare moments when Malfoy wasn't following her like a lost puppy. Puppy? More like stalking her like a creepy buzzard. Nobody likes buzzards.

"Oh, Leo! Hi."

I didn't like the, "oh" at the start of her statement. "Oh" meant that she was disappointed; it meant she was expecting somebody else.

"Drain pipe! How's it goin'?" I asked as I sat down beside her on the common room sofa.

"Drainpipe?" She questioned.

"Pipes is overused. Piper is too basic. I need some more creative nicknames for you, bagpipe."

She suppressed a smile. "Your nicknaming skills need some work. So does your hair, what is that greasy mess?"

She gestured towards the greasy mop of hair on my head. I'd woken up late this morning and didn't have time for a shower. I should've guessed it'd be pretty obvious by nightfall.

"Well excuse me, beauty queen McClean. Unlike you, I didn't have time to do my makeup this morning."

"Shut up, you know I don't do that whole makeup thing." She scoffed. I was glad that part of her hadn't changed. She'd never cared about the way she looked. I'd always admired her confidence.

"What would it take to get you to wear makeup? If your family was tied to a railroad track and the only way to free them was by applying mascara, would you do it?"

She pretended to be in deep thought for a moment, tapping her chin curiously.

"If I were ever put in that situation, I'd start by killing you. You're the only way I could possibly get into a situation so obscure."

I gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended.

"Piper! How rude, honestly. I thought I've taught you better."

She laughed, "Leo Valdez, teaching proper manners to somebody? We're all doomed."

We both laughed. Her laugh, that hadn't changed. I was glad her humor was the same as ever.

"The only way I'd wear makeup is if you let me do your makeup. There is some ball thing coming up. You'd totally rock some winged eyeliner."

I stuck out my hand.

"It's a deal." Piper glared at my hand, then back at me.

"My hand still has blisters on it from your last stupid trick. You think I'm that idiotic?"

My hand fell to my side. I'd momentarily forgotten about the incident earlier today. How could I? It was my number one problem, after all.

"Okay, so we won't shake on it. What can we do then?"

Piper tapped her chin again as she had before.

"Unbreakable vow? Come on Leo, don't be a chicken."

"Hah! Who said I was being chicken." I held out my wand and Piper shook her head.

"Joking. But seriously, we have a deal." I nodded in agreement. She was right, I could totally rock some winged eyeliner.

Piper kicked her feet out on the coffee table. She leaned further into the sofa and closed her eyes.

"I wonder who will ask me to the ball this year." She thought for a moment. "Maybe Malfoy will take a hint."

"Malfoy? Piper, no offense but I still wonder why you hang around him. He's a total schmuck."

She let out a noise of disgust that I didn't even think was humanly possible.

"Shut up, Leo. He's sweet, different from other guys."

"Oh. I didn't realize that I was one of those other guys. Piper, I'm your best friend! And you should really take my advice when I say there are better people out there for you."

She shook her head, annoyed. She often felt this emotion towards me, as did many others.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Piper shot, suddenly angry. She was very defensive of people she cared about.

"Oh, I dunno, he's rude to students and professors, arrogant, obnoxious--"

"Leo," Piper interrupted. "You're describing yourself."

I interrupted her this time.

"He's a racist, Piper! That's a trait I don't possess! He's a no good racist against muggleborns!"

"SHUT UP, LEO!" Piper commanded. Every part of me wanted to argue back. For some reason, I couldn't. I immediately obeyed. My mind told me that shutting up was the best possible idea. I didn't say anything at all.

Piper's face was red in fury. She stormed out of the room in an instant. I was left dumb-founded and with many questions, as always.