One More Night {A Harry Potter/Artemis Fowl Crossover}

Chapter 36

    The first day back to classes went about as spectacularly as Vanessa imagined it would. She spent most of it awkwardly between Artemis and Draco, both refusing to properly communicate. Vanessa understood why- Draco was right to be suspicious and pissed, and Artemis was just trying to maintain the lies she had orchestrated- but that didn't mean it didn't suck any less. She hated it, but for now, it was what she was going to have to live with, at least until she figured out what the hell she was doing.

    The halls were quiet that night as she and Artemis did their prefect rounds. Vanessa could hear their footsteps against the stone floor, and it only made the night seem even more unusual. She couldn't remember a time when the castle was so silent. Their round together had been relatively light on conversation as well, with only a brief conversation about Artemis signing up for Apparition classes. Vanessa still hadn't decided if she wanted to take the additional class or not; it was a twelve week course, and she felt she had enough to worry about right now. She still had a bit of time to decide. That aside, Vanessa didn't like the silence between them. She assumed it was because he knew as soon as they finished their rounds, she was going to sneak off with Draco again. He was likely waiting for her at the entrance to the Ravenclaw dorms, so anything she wanted to say to Artemis she'd have to get out before they got there.

    "Weird how quiet it is tonight," she started. She hated making small talk with her best friend of all people, but what else could she say?

    "Don't jinx it," Artemis replied. His voice sounded a bit tense, and Vanessa hated it. They hadn't talked about anything that happened over break since being back at school, and she was sure that was at least partially to blame for his cold demeanor this evening. That, and dealing with Draco.

    "Alright, I'll take it back," Vanessa said with a laugh. Artemis merely huffed as a response, causing her to frown for a moment before she stepped ahead of him, making him stop in his tracks. "I'm not sure what's going on in that big brain of yours, but it's going to be okay."

    Artemis was silent for a moment, looking anywhere but at her. After a few seconds, his deep blue eyes met hers and he sighed. "This is just... difficult," he said quietly. He hesitated, and Vanessa knew he wanted to say more but couldn't out of fear that someone would overhear him. "Especially with him being the way he has been."

    She knew what he meant. It was hard to act as if nothing was wrong with Draco continuously insinuating there certainly was. Admittedly she didn't know how much longer she could keep up the lies, and she was sure Artemis was feeling similarly. Eventually the truth was going to come out, and it was going to change everything. Vanessa only hoped she could delay that a bit longer, until she could figure out if Draco was even capable of changing his ways. Her brain already knew that answer, but her heart was playing stubborn.

    "I know," she replied. "We just have to keep this up for a bit longer."

    Artemis wasn't reassured. "He's going to figure it out, Nessa. He already knows. Our denial isn't convincing him at all."

    "I know," Vanessa repeated in a whisper. "I know. Between his constant insinuations and knowing that Alex knows and could accidentally let it slip to him or anyone else, I'm sure it's going to come crashing down around us sooner rather than later. But for now, everything is fine, and we should try to keep up that appearance."

    Artemis took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright. I'll do my best."

    Vanessa smiled weakly, and then glanced around the hallway. They were completely alone, something that didn't shock her judging by how quiet this evening's rounds had been. She hesitated for just a moment before she stood on her tiptoes, leaned forward and quickly planted a kiss to his lips. It was brief, and Vanessa had to resist the temptation to make it something more lasting; oh how she had missed kissing him. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, knowing very well she had to stop in order to avoid possibly being caught.