𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • (𝐝.𝐦.)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

♔

As I walked to the Great Hall, I found myself getting mad again about what Pansy had said; how she taunted me on today of all days. I felt myself getting hot as my fury grew, so I took a deep breath, calming myself down. 

She didn't know of course, but she was still so awful. How could one person go around being that bitter for no fucking reason?

I wandered into where students were already scattered around in their weekend clothes eating breakfast.

I noticed there was a drastic difference in how people dressed here, but it was fine, at least I wasn't one of the girls from my old school who dressed in godawful low-waisted pants and shrunken crop tops. 

I still saw no sign of Blaise, so I made my way over to the Gryffindor table where Ron and Hermione were sitting.

Hermione had a book open and Ron was eating more food than I had ever seen.

"Hungry?" I asked, and Ron looked up at me with food practically falling out of his mouth.

"Extremely," He said quickly, shoveling more food into his mouth. The boy ate like his life depended on it.

"Listen, there's nothing in this book that says we can't use-" Hermione said out loud, but when she noticed I was at the table, she looked up and smiled. 

"Hello, Maggie!" She chimed, and I greeted her back warmly. It was nice, it was a change of pace for me, and I hadn't seen Hermione or Ron in a few days. 

I decided today would be the perfect day for me to finally talk to Harry about what the Sorting Hat had said to me, but that meant I would have to find him first. 

Before I managed to ask where he was, though, I saw Blaise come in from the corner of my eye. I turned around and made eye contact with him, seeing that he was walking in by himself. 

He looked back at me, his eyes lighting up a bit and ushering me over. "Sorry, guys, I have to talk to Blaise for a minute," I said, and they nodded. 

"Are you and Blaise, like... a thing?" Ron managed to ask quietly before I left, and I looked back at him with confusion. "No. We're just family friends, and he's been a big help," I explained. 

Ron seemed to look at ease with my answer, but I shoved away the pang of annoyance I got from the question. 

I had only been here for a week, did Ron really think I was already sleeping around? I wasn't blind, it seemed as if Ron was a tiny bit interested in me, but I didn't want him being jealous over something that didn't even exist. 

I had a friend like that in my earlier years at Ilvermorny. Our friendship was ruined after he decided that if I wasn't going to be with him, I could be with nobody. 

"But for the record... if we were, it would be none of your business, Weasley," I said, feeling a little bit of anger that I knew I should shove away. 

At that, I walked away towards the Slytherin table. I walked up to Blaise, greeting him while trying to still calm myself down. 

"Are you alright?" He asked me, but I ignore what I was feeling. I always pushed away feelings that didn't involve someone I was talking to for the sake of our conversation. I didn't think it was fair for Blaise to have to deal with my annoyance towards Ron when he didn't need to. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hungry, what's up?" I asked, trying to spark up a conversation. "Not much, but I heard about you and Pansy's fight," He said, giving me a sympathetic look. 

I darted my eyes away quickly, though, not wanting to remind myself of the upsetting details. "I wish I didn't hit her. Not the best start to my school year," I said, and he chuckled.

"Don't worry about it too much. I'm not promoting violence, but, if there's anyone that deserves a bitch slap, it's Pansy Parkinson," Blaise said, and I let myself laugh a bit. 

"I know, but violence doesn't carry well with reputation. Maybe I am meant to be in Slytherin after all," I said, and Blaise gave me a pointed look. 

"You fit right in here," He said. 

"Don't insult me, Blaise," I scolded, and he chuckled. 

"I'm in Slytherin too, if you don't remember," He said and I nodded, putting my hands up defensively. 

"Just- I don't understand why. You're so nice," I said, and he laughed. "It's not all about that, it's about being cunning too, that's what the Sorting Hat told me. I'm clever too, apparently," He bragged, and I smiled. 

"And humble?" 

"Oh, very humble," He confirmed. 

I picked up some food and put it on my plate, beginning to eat. "Why did you hit her?" Blaise asked, and I looked at him. 

I knew this question was coming, I really did, but I didn't expect it for some reason. 

"She got me mad," I said, trying to avoid answering fully. The thing was, I felt like out of everyone, I could tell Blaise. He seemed like the most trustworthy person I'd met so far, but regardless, I was tonguetied. 

He looked a little uncomfortable at that statement.

"Why?" 

"She mentioned my mom."

"What did she say?"

"She was teasing me, nothing major. I was talking in my sleep, I guess, and I mentioned my mom. Something about missing her. Anyway, Pansy made a comment about me being a baby for missing her, and I got mad."

I paused briefly, taking in a breath. 

"I can tell you're not telling me everything. Don't worry, you can trust me," Blaise said, catching on to the fact that I was alluding to there being more information I wasn't expressing.

I sighed, I had to tell someone. Bottling things up like this wasn't healthy, and Blaise was the closest thing to a best friend I had here. 

"Today is the anniversary of my mom's death," I said, waiting for his reaction. 

When I looked up at him though,  he seemed to understand. "She deserved it then," He stated, and I nodded. 

"She totally deserved it."

♔

i have to upload a little bit more consistently if i want to get reads on this book lol... lets hope ppl start reading!