Sylvia noticed the bruises in the shower. In the perfect shape of Quentin's hand, five, long purple marks wrapped around her bicep, a deeper red where his nails had dug in. She brushed her fingers over her arm lightly, brushing the little droplets of warm water over the discolored flesh before quickly moving on to rinsing her hair.
She dressed quickly before anyone else could enter the bathrooms and see, being sure to wear a long-sleeved shirt to bed. When she walked over to her bed, passing by Angelina and Alicia sitting on Alicia's bed, she was sure to flash a smile as she rubbed a towel through her hair, flopping onto her own four-poster.
"Hey," Angelina swung her feet off the bed, twisting at one of her braids as she spoke to Sylvia through the empty bed between them.
Sylvie wrung out the ends of her hair, widening her eyes and raising her brows expectantly to the other two girls, "Hey."
"Um, since quidditch is canceled this year and all," Angelina continued, "Licia and me have had a lot of free time on our hands and--"
She flicked a thumb at Alicia, who gave a warm smile from beside her. Angelina rubbed her lips together and gave a self-aware chuckle.
"Well, we were wondering if you'd ever want to hang out with us."
Sylvia paused, her towel still scrunched around the ends of her hair. She couldn't hide the small smile that was growing on her lips. Angelina must have noticed because her own smile spread, showing a row of perfect teeth.
"We were gonna go to Hogsmeade this weekend, actually," she turned to Alicia, who nodded, "if you... wanted to come."
She almost seemed excited. And it was genuine. Sylvia could feel it. So she nodded, letting her smile spread across her face.
"Okay," her voice sounded strange, high pitched and girlish, which was how she felt, like a little girl. Like she was making friends for the first time.
"Badge?"
Sylvia looked down at the round, yellow and red pin that was being held out below her. On it, Cedric Diggory's face smiled for a moment before it spun into a whirlpool, turning a bright green and displaying the phrase "Potter Stinks!"
"Uh--"
She was shoved from behind as a student moved past her into the classroom, pushing her into the Hufflepuff boy who was trying to give her the pin. He pressed it into her hands before she regained her posture, moving onto another student behind her.
Turning the charmed badge over in her hands, she walked over to an empty desk, tossing her bag onto the tabletop as she sat. She couldn't tell if the badge was in bad taste or not. Either way, she wasn't exactly rooting for Diggory or Potter, so there was no use wearing it.
Just as she opened her book bag to throw the pin in, out of sight, a hand swooped in and snatched it from her.
"Ah, the conservative type, are you?" Fred teased as he took the seat next to her, dropping his own bag to the floor under the desk. He twisted the pin between his fingers absentmindedly, flicking his hair out of his face as he sat.
Sylvia's stomach churned and she straightened her shoulders, scanning the room quickly for any of Quentin's lackeys. He had made it fairly clear yesterday that he didn't want any of her actions reflecting back on him. She had the marks to remember.
Fred raised an eyebrow at her with a sly smile, "Didn't take you for the type to support Diggory."
She felt like she couldn't speak, a nervous twitch making her flash an awkward smile. She cleared her throat and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, rubbing at her temple.
YOU ARE READING
Bad Decisions | Fred Weasley
Fanfiction"We were together. I forget the rest." Fred didn't like her. In fact, he had decided, first year, that he despised her. Despised is a strong word and he meant every bit of it when he told her to her face. ••• An inspired playlist: https://youtube.co...
