Pragma // s.b.

26

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A few days passed, painfully slow at first but becoming more bare-able as time passed. I began to adjust to my new way of maneuvering around the castle, which included dodging anyone in Gryffindor robes and avidly avoiding eye contact with Peter, James, or Remus, who I hated to admit I felt a sense of guilt towards. He had tried to grab me after class multiple times, a pleading look in his soft eyes. I always found a way to slip away before he could talk to me, aided by Olivia of course who had practically been glued to my side since the incident in the hospital wing with Sirius, who had not shown up to one class since our...conversation.

October had melted into November, the wind growing more bitter and the leaves more brown. Students pulled out their hats and wrapped their scarfs tighter around them. I yearned for the warm sun to return, and the feeling of freedom that came along with summer. I yearned for how I felt before I had become friends with the four Marauders. I wished I could return to my state of ignorant bliss that I had when I only I went anywhere near any Gryffindor was to check on Ronan.

Ronan. We still hadn't talked since our massive falling out, guilt chewing away at me when I thought of the look on his face as he slammed the door of the random classroom that had been the stage for our argument. I hated that he was right all along and that I had ripped a tare in my relationship with my brother just to be wrong. So, as I sat drumming my wand against the desk in History of Magic, I decided it was time to make up with him. It was time to move on from all of this mess. Time to get back to being my old self.

Professor Timmins finally finished his extremely boring lecture on the timeline of the four main giant families genealogies and I pushed my textbook into my bag, standing. My legs were stiff and I moved twisted around to pop my back. Olivia blinked her eyes a few times then turned to Maggie, whose face was pressed into the desk, light snores coming from her upturned button nose. "I'm awake!", she gasped, jerking up as Liv shook her. I laughed lightly, my ponytail swinging slightly back and forth. "I wonder if you'll ever be able to get through one class without falling asleep", I teased as we made our way between the rows of tables and out the door.

"I was not sleeping, just resting my eyes", she responded, a large yawn bursting out of her lips, cutting her off. Olivia smirked and playfully shoved Maggie's arm, "Tell that to your snores". A pink tint spread across her face but she just shrugged and giggled. The corridors were filled with a mass of students on their way to their next class, most chatting and laughing, a few with their heads buried in books.

"Hey, Bri", Amber said from behind me, "Skye and I had a question about the Potions homework". I turned my head over my shoulder to face them, "Sure!", I let out cheerily. Skye opened her mouth to ask, but I spotted something behind them that caught my attention, effectively distracting me. 

"Ro!", I called out in the direction of the mop of blonde hair bobbing above the throng of students. "I'll be right back", I said in the general direction of the twins, then began pushing against the flow of students towards Ronan. I moved through a group of Slytherins who gave me a collective dirty look. "Ro!", I said again, a little louder but to no avail. I was almost to him, elbowing my way through a storm of students, all at least a head taller than me.

A large group of Ravenclaws were the only thing standing in between me and my brother, who I desperately needed to apologize to. "Ronan Carter!", I said exasperatedly. If only he would hear me and walk four feet to me, it would make my life a lot easier. I threw my head back in frustration and rolled my eyes back. Why was everything ten times harder than it needed to be? Ronan and his friends began to move away toward a classroom. "Wait!", I called, taking a bounding step forward, right into a hard chest.

I stumbled backwards, disorientated. The bottom of my long robes caught on my foot and I knew I was going to hit the floor at any second. But, I didn't. Strong hands grabbed my waist and pulled me up and towards the stone wall, out of the way of the stampede of students. My heart was beating fast from almost getting run over by a hundred teenagers, and when I saw who had caught me, my heart beat even fast.

"We really need to stop meeting like this, I'm not always gonna be there to save you", Calum Archer smirked. His eyes were just as crystal blue as I remembered them. His hair looked incredibly soft, I wanted to run my hands through it right then and there. Also, teeth should not be allowed to be that white. I let out a weak giggle and straightened my robes as he released his hands from my waist. I suddenly regretted wearing my hair in a messy ponytail and not bothering with makeup today.

"Hey", I smiled, pulling my bag further up on my shoulder, "I'll take responsibility for this time, but the first one was all on you". He examined my face and cracked a dazzling smile. "Fair", he moved so he was standing closer to me, "Where's your next class?". We were inches apart. Was it because he wanted to be near me or simply because the hallway was crowded? And why did he smell so clean? I tucked a stray hair that had fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear, attempting to clear my thoughts. I really need to stop overthinking everything.

I raised one eyebrow, "Herbology in Greenhouse 4". "Damn, I'm in the astronomy tower", Calum sighed, looking genuinely disappointed. Interesting. I looked over his shoulder towards the group of Ravenclaws staring in our direction. My eyes traveled back to Calum. His tie was perfectly tied, his robes pressed to perfection. In fact, everything about him was perfect, even the small curl that managed to escape his styled hair and fall over his forehead seemed to work in his favor.

I let out a small cough. "I think they're waiting for you", I gestured over to the group and he looked. They were still staring at us, now mumbling to themselves. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and smiled, "Yeah, I think so". We stood there for a split second, just looking at each other, sizing each other up, waiting for the other to say something.

He shook his head and smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'll see you later Briony Carter", and with that he turned on his heel and joined the other Ravenclaws, disappearing into the crowd. I stared after him, unsure what had just happened. He was planning on seeing me later? Why did he want to? And why did the thought of him wanting to make me so giddy?

Amber suddenly appeared out of nowhere, saying, "There you are! We're going to be late let's go!", and grabbing my arm, beginning to pull me towards the Greenhouses. I turned around to get one last glance of Calum, but something else caught my attention. A whiff of peppermint and smoke filled my nose. Sirius brushed past me, his eyes stubbornly trained on the ground. He reached a nearby classroom, slamming the door behind him, not looking at me once.