Cast yourself (you are the spell)

Chapter 24

"I would rather kiss a dementor!" Hope yells over the sound of Josette gagging.

"Oh, God," the muggleborn pants, a hand over her stomach as if she was sick. Jade pats her kindly on the back, and even holds up her hair as she bends over a nearby trash can. Hope tries not to feel the hurt rising up her own throat. "I think I just threw up in my mouth."

"Spare me the dramatics." Hope turns towards her, a sneer across her face, crossing her arms. "You would be lucky to get a date with someone of my stature."

" I would be lucky?" Josette laughs with intense skepticism. "You would be lucky to have my wand between your eyes!"

She pulls out her wand from her sleeve and Hope does the same, completely ready to start another duel in the middle of class. Their progress from yesterday was now completely forgotten in the anger of a single statement.

However, Professor Snape has other plans, and sends them both flying to separate ends of a wall with a flick of his own wand.

"ENOUGH!"

Hope shakes her head, wishing she could not remember what had happened only a couple of hours ago. It seemed as though it had occurred only a second before-the memory was so close to the forefront of her mind.

After Snape had made his suggestion, the class had quickly gone crazy. Hope herself had stood with a slack jaw for almost a full minute.

Then things had continued to go downhill. It had all first started with some of the Slytherins laughing at the insanity of Snape's statement, and it had ended with the entirety of the Gryffindor sixth-year class cursing the professor to his grave for considering such an atrocity.

The reaction to a muggleborn and pureblood dating had shown Hope exactly why she couldn't allow herself to think of the other girl like that.

Yet, Hope finds herself surprised. Although she had never really considered Snape's suggestion before, she had only reacted so poorly because it was expected of her. For the muggleborn to actually get nauseous from disgust was something Hope could not entirely comprehend.

It was not like the pureblood was the ugliest person in the world, certainly not at Hogwarts. She had even dated her fair share of students-if what she had done with some of them even counted as dating. There was no reason for Josette to respond in that way, unless she was trying to hurt Hope as much as she could. If so, the pureblood had to congratulate her on a job well done...

Behind Hope, Sebastian Pyre nervously wrings his hands together as he recites his plan in his head. Bracing himself for what he was about to do, he nods and begins to walk towards the infamous Mikaelson heir.

He approaches her while she's in the common room, staring at the fire. It was so late that the flames had begun to die out, and what was left was the soft glow of embers and smoke.

"Hey, Mikaelson." She nods in acknowledgment, almost distracted, and doesn't look at him as he sits down. Sebastian smiles at her, and for once, it wasn't a playful or seductive one.

"I was in Snape's class today. I apologize, for Maya, I mean," he tells her.

"Don't," she says. Fire kindles in her eyes; she was so close to the embers that the boy could see that they had began to reflect across her irises. So close that Hope herself feels warm in the freezing-cold room. She notes inside her head that the Slytherin common room was always cold. "We're only friends."

"Right," he agrees. "And you and I are, as well, aren't we?"

She nods slowly, not completely understanding what he was getting at.