Green Light ━━ Dean Thomas

𝟬𝟳. the key to patience

❛ so young and full of running ! ❜
act one . . . chapter seven

      𝐎ut of all the students in Hogwarts━it had to be Dean Thomas who saw her snuck out of the castle at night. First of all; she was dressed in hideous pink pants and a gray and white sweater with triangular shapes on them in different colors. Her socks were mismatched and her shoes were the same color as her pants. All she wanted to do was disappear and poof! She's gone, bye-bye, no one saw her at all.

     But unfortunately, someone did. 

     "Where're you going?" Dean rubbed his eyes with his fists, blinking at her in confusion. He was still in his uniform with the colors of his House although his ties were untied and his robe hung loosely on his shoulders.

     She figured he must've been on his way back to his common room. Azumi rubbed the back of her neck in an awkward manner as she avoided his gaze. She was finding it hard to lie to him for some odd reason, and that innocent look on his face didn't help either. She didn't want to drag him with her troubles, but sometimes, the world has its own plans. 

    "I... I'm going to visit Hagrid, to tend the Blast-Ended Skrewts."

     That was the worst excuse she could come up with.

     The fourth-year Gryffindor furrowed his perfectly shaped eyebrows, his eyes falling to her bandaged hands with faint tints of blood sifting through them. "You alright?"

     She glanced at her hands and nonchalantly waved them around to prove a point. "Yeah. It's from the Skrewts. Nasty little creatures, they are, hm?"

     "Little?" Dean chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement. "Those beasts were massive! I'm surprised Hagrid still had his limbs intact."

     Azumi momentarily forgot about the reason she was out tonight, and lightly chuckled at his words. "I doubt he would mind if he did."

     "True, true." Dean nodded, his grin made her heart race. The dimples on his cheeks were adorable. "Well, do you need an extra set of hands?"

     She grew a little worried and bit the insides of her cheeks, having a fight with her inner thoughts. I guess she could make an exception, and besides, she couldn't keep lying to him anymore. She was running out of lies and her mind was too tired to think. Plus, what could go wrong? All she had to do now was improvise. Hopefully, Hagrid will be able to read her expressions.

     "Sure. We could use another hand."

     "Hands," Dean smirked, bumping his shoulder against hers as the two teenagers started walking toward the field to Hagrid's hut, despite knowing Argus Filch would be around to sack them if he saw them out in the night.

     "If you'll still have a pair of hands at the end of the night," Azumi deadpanned, which made the boy shake his head at her. Even though she could sense he was a little terrified of losing his hands, Dean Thomas still walked beside her with a smile on his face.

     Azumi narrowed her eyes at the boy beside her. "Cassius, did you hit your head or something?"

    She just found out from someone else that he put his name in the Goblet of Fire, and it made her feel incredulous. What was he fighting for? He was already rich enough, and some people already saw him as some kind of famous prat. Besides, she doubts the goblet would even spit out his name. Cassius was too shabby for a tournament as dangerous as this one.

     "Or something." Cassius grinned. "I am totally going to be the champion."

     "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate." Adrian scoffed as he clasped his shoulder, sliding on the space next to him. "All right, Zu?"

     "Fine." She sent him a tight-lipped smile before resuming stabbing her poor bowl of coleslaw.

     Cassius threw his arms up in disbelief, the utensils on the table clanking as he dropped his arms back down. "Trust me, I'm sure of it."

     "Just stick to Quidditch, Warrington." She muttered, but then she noticed the proud look on his face. She took back her words in an instant. "Actually, don't, uh, don't stick? Just, stick somewhere or something..."

     He suddenly looked smug, leaning over closer to her as he looked at her. "Are you saying you want me around, sunshine?"

     Azumi scoffed under her breath, rolling her eyes in disbelief. Then she proceeded to ignore him.

     "Cassius, no. She's off limits." Adrian threw a piece of bread at him as he shook his head in a cheeky manner, which made her roll her eyes once more.

     "What are you? Her dad?" Cassius huffed, returning back to his seat as he smoothed out his uniform.

     Adrian furrowed his brows at him. "No." 

     "Who the hell would even want you as their dad?" Cassius made a disgusted face at his friend. "I'd be a better dad." 

     Azumi became red as a beetroot as she glared at the two males. "Can you stop talking about 'dads'? And Cassius, I wouldn't even want you as my father in the first place."

     "You just talked about it," Adrian pointed out, which made her practically shake in her seat from disbelief.

     Cassius sniggered from beside him. "I would be the perfect daddy, sunshine. No doubt."

    "I'm gonna stab myself in the eye with this fork, for Merlin's sake, stop talking━" She exclaimed, gripping her fork in her hand for emphasis, and the two watched her with horrified looks on their faces.

     "Please don't stab yourself in the eye with that fork."

     Azumi felt her breath catch at the sound of his voice. When she turned to her left side, she found Dean━Dean Thomas. What the heck was he doing here? She subtly glanced around the Great Hall, as if she was cautious, and found the long tables mixed with students from different Houses, conversing with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. She may have failed to mention; that Durmstrang sat with them whilst the Beauxbatons students sat with the Ravenclaws.

     "I'm sitting with my friends." Dean chuckled, and her eyes widened slightly. "And yes, you spoke out loud."

     "Sorry," She muttered, fidgeting on her seat as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

     "What are you doing here, Thomas?" Cassius spat, his face darkening as he glared at the Gryffindor.

     "As you can see, Warrington, I am sitting here with my friends," Dean responded, strangely calm and collected, unlike the seething Slytherin across him. He was so used to it. It wasn't his fault that he actually had friends in other Houses. "Or do I have to spell it out for you?"

     Adrian choked on his cauldron cake at his smart response, causing Azumi to let a subtle smile appear on her face. Is it just her or does Dean seem more sarcastic than usual? Nevertheless, she found herself stifling her amusement. Cassius' ears turned red and he glared at the two before turning his attention back to his food, accepting his defeat for the first time. Besides, Azumi sent him a glare, he couldn't fight her with that one.

     Azumi slightly leaned to his side and said in a whisper. "I never saw you as the sarcastic type, Thomas."

     A low chuckle emitted from his lips, which made her gulp slightly. "What can I say, darling? I'm full of surprises."

    Unknowingly, her heart started doing backflips, and she tried to fight off the growing smile on her face. Just the way he called her those things made her feel so strange. Feelings are strange. Azumi didn't know whether she wanted to feel it or would rather make it disappear. But one thing is for sure, it was something that made people feel human and Azumi had come to realize she liked that feeling.