NOIR - [Fred Weasley]

15. Dancing In The Rain

✻ When she eats a really nice cinnamon swirl.

Inside, she was fuming.

Outside, she was quiet.

It was quite unnerving, that quality of hers. Then again, most Slytherin's had learned how to hide their true feelings from a young age. Keeping up appearances was important to most pureblood families, and the newest editions never seemed to stray away from their parents' example. For some, the reasoning was probably fear; fear to shake traditions, or challenge a life that had given them so many luxuries. For others however, it was more complicated. Furious ambition drove most Slytherins; and if having to abide by a certain rule of bylaws was necessary to achieve their own personal goals, then so be it.

And so they learned to manipulate and lie... mostly to themselves. And Lizl was no exception.

She was sat quietly in a compartment on the train, its engine raving as it was preparing to leave Hogwarts. Her back was resting comfortably on a seat by the window, her manicured nails tracing the small flakes of ice forming on the outside of the window. An odd sense of uneasiness accompanied her silence.

The compartment door slid open, the deafening silence being replaced by the chatter of the Hogwarts students talking loudly and running up and down the train.

Caitlin lead the group of three, her large round eyes lighting up in interest as she resumed her conversation with Jonathan.

"Are my eyes deceiving me, or is Michael Chambers and Lilian McKenzie way too close for comfort?" she questioned, motioning towards the compartment on their right.

"Is there anything that gets past you?" Jonathan chuckled, entering the compartment quickly with a rather somber-looking Liam following behind them.

"No. Not much." Caitlin chuckled before stumbling over her feet and landing face first on the seat opposite Lizl. "Ouch."

Jonathan huffed and reached out to help the blonde girl. "Well, I assume gossip and coordination don't exactly come as a packaged deal."

Liam only shook his head at his sister's clumsiness. Silently, he dropped his backpack on the floor and took a sit next the the Black girl, a noticeable gap between the two students.

"I'll have you know I'm particularly coordinated. Crowded spaces are just not really my thing."

"Then how on earth do you go to class?" Jonathan wondered.

"Easy." shrugged her brother. "She's always ridiculously early and sits by the windows. It's rather unnerving really."

"What about potions?"

"I dropped them after my OWLs. Astronomy is much more fun." Caitlin explained simply.

"Okay..." murmured the young Hufflepuff, his eyes finally focusing on his best friend. "Hey Liz."

The girl only smiled for a second, nodding, before casting her eyes to her bag, pulling out the latest copy of "The Daily Prophet" and proceeding to read the top articles.

"So... are you two talking...?" Jonathan asked, motioning to her and Liam, who was sitting rigid, his arms crossed in front of his body.

"Nope." chorused Lizl and Liam.

"You just did." Caitlin pointed with a smirk.

"She's just pouty because I put her safety first for once."

"And he's acting all high and mighty for making a choice that wasn't his to make."

"Given her track record, she would've ignored all the signs and put her life in more danger."