𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖓 | 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 |

Chapter 46- As the World Falls Down

Things didn't really get any better with the start of the new school year. The Gryffindors were only doubled with the Slytherin for Potions and Transfiguration this term. A total of seeing each other for two hours a day every other day. While that fact made the rest of their houses want to cheer, it accelerated the rate at which Frankie and Tom's relationship deteriorated. By October, everything that happened in August had already become a faint and distant memory. They would still try and go on Sunday walks, but they were often left far too brief. They would be civil and talk to each other in class once in a while, when everyone was too focused on work to notice them. However, that was pretty much the extent of their interaction. He stayed beside Lyra, and she stayed beside Quin because that was what was expected of them. As much as Frankie wanted that to change, as much as she just wanted to tell him that she really was an idiot for lying to him, she didn't say anything. Her confession would ruin the balance that had been established and hurt so many people. So, Frankie followed in line, kept her mouth shut, and suffered.

"You're completely hopeless, you know that?"

It was a typical October morning in Potions class and just like the six years before, Slughorn had his best group presently working on an assignment. Although, he'd long since deemed them his star group, he couldn't be more wrong. The dysfunctional inner workings barely scraped under Slughorn's radar. The amount of drama contained within this single group of students could make the front page of a gossip rag, if the school had one.

Tom was once again teasing. However, he was not mocking who some people might be expecting him to. On any other morning, he'd be talking to his mortal enemy and wouldn't have said it with such a loving, not very serious, tone. However, this morning, he was talking to the girl sitting beside him. Frankie was spacing out and had noticed that she over-stirred the potion they were working on together. It had gone pitch black and was starting to fume purple nauseous smoke.

"It's not supposed to look like that, ya' know." Quin stated, for a matter of fact. They were making a Strengthening Potion, which surprisingly was supposed to look like a yellow piss and not a bubbling dark death. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, come on. It's not like you've never made a mistake before." Frankie retorted. Acting as everything was normal even though on the inside it felt like she was torn into thousands of little pieces, was surprisingly more difficult than she thought it'd be. Sometimes she spaced out thinking about all her problems, making her seem even more foolish and idiotic. Today was evidently one of those days. She sighed and waved her wand. The cauldron emptied gradually. They would have to start over because of her, and they didn't have much time left. She quickly started re-grabbing all the ingredients they would need.

"Yes—but I'm not the Head Girl." Quin reasoned.

"Just because I'm Head Girl doesn't mean I have to be perfect all the time."

She groaned while she frantically tried to crush the Lionfish Spines for the new potion. Noticing her stressed expression, Quin took the molcajete and grinder from her. Frankie wanted to protest, but he saw it coming, "Team effort. I've got it."

He was always trying to prove that he belonged in this group, despite the fact Potions was not one of his better subjects. It was a small mystery why Professor Slughorn kept him with his two best students after all this time, when Quin had barely managed to scrape a passable grade to advance to the N.E.W.T level classes. Tom's theory was that Slughorn probably thought it best to put some sort of handicap on him and Frankie, in order to truly test their brilliance over the years. Rather than argue more, Frankie started pouring in the Salamander Blood, Moondew, and the essence of Wormwood. Tom crushed four more Sopophorous beans, while Quin added the newly powdered spines, and she began stirring again. "—I'm just having an off day. That's all. I've got a lot on my mind."