Gifted

16

I gave Neville a soft smile.

Was I happy? Yes. Neville was my friend. He was a really good friend. He was kind and sweet and I trusted him.

"Would you-um-like to go to Hogsmeade with me next week?" he asked. He was talking so quietly I had to strain to hear him, and what I heard was definitely not what I was expecting. I kept walking but I felt my cheeks heating and I'm not sure why. I suddenly wished I had my hair down so I could cover my burning cheeks.

I looked down at my feet as we continued to walk.

"I would love to, Neville," I said finally, "but I told Bella we could have a girls day. I could probably meet you somewhere and we could hang out later in the day. Maybe around two?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," he replied. I looked up at him and I saw a smile on his face. I smiled, too.

"We could meet at Honeydukes at two, is that good?" I asked.

"That sounds good," he replied.

"Are you ready to walk back to the castle?" I asked.

"Yeah."

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Neville and I walked in silence back to the Great Hall and I found people looking and whispering behind their hands as we passed. I even got a jealous look from a few guys.

Did they seriously think I was dating Neville? He was like a brother to me, nothing more. We were just friends.

The boy's jealous glares could never match what Draco gave us. As soon as we walked in the Great Hall, I saw from the corner of my eyes, Draco giving Neville and I a glare full of jealousy, longing, and maybe even a little hatred. I decided to ignore him and Neville and I walked and sat down at the table with the rest of our friends that were all still at the table and talking. I noticed my other two roommates, Val and Calli, sitting off to the side.

"I'll be there in a minute," I murmured to Neville and I walked over to them. They were sitting next to each other which allowed me to sit across from them. Calli's blond hair was tatty and messy and Val's eyes had bags under them. They looked terrible.

"Hey," I said softly. "You guys okay?"

"Well, you may not have known this, but Val and I are sisters," Calli said. "We actually are the same age, but we have different fathers, meaning that we live apart most of the time."

"We have the same mother, of course," Val said. "Or we used to. She was found on the kitchen floor of her house. No blood or anything, it was done by a wand. She was killed."

"She lives here in England, not in America, so it's likely that You-Know-Who might have gotten her," Calli explained. "We aren't sure of what use she would have been. She was weak and she had cancer."

"It's hard, with her death," Val said softly. "I miss her." I felt a tear in my eye.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be!" Val snapped. I was taken aback by her outbreak.

"Val," Callie said, touching her sister's arm. "Don't mind her, Aly, she's just sensitive right now. It got her worse then me. They were always rather close. I don't really remember much with my mom. I was usually hiding or crying, feeling sorry for myself. I guess I didn't really know what I had until now."

I looked over at Val who was looking off into the distance as if she was in a daze, miles and miles away from reality.

"We've taken her to the Hospital Wing, but Madame Pomfrey says there really isn't much we can do," Callie said, looking at her sister. "She's gone most of the time, off in her own world. Depression I guess, I'm not sure though. Mother's death seems to have made her go a little crazy. She forgets stuff often and she doesn't sleep well. Nightmares. Silent ones, she doesn't scream or shout or anything and we usually leave the room rather early and come back late, or we stay in the Hospital. That's why you don't see us much, even in classes."