Peppermint

violet

"Malfoy."

"Atkinson. It sure is better to see you in a more relaxed setting, isn't it?"

"I don't know," I answered. "The dark does wonders for your face."

"Don't lie to yourself," he taunted with a smirk. "We all know you've got it bad for me."

I felt my face heat up. "I do not—"

"Good day," Trelawney greeted, interrupting my refusal. I turned away from Malfoy to face Trelawney, and tried to ignore the fact that I could feel his gaze on me.

"It is time for us to consider the stars," she continued, pointing at a large tapestry decorated with stars and planets. "Today, we will begin with the basics of astrology—zodiac signs."

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil let out excited squeals as I felt my stomach churn. Mum had really liked astrology, and she always talked about how she was such a Sagittarius, whatever the bloody hell that meant.

"Today's going to be a good day," Mum murmured, flipping through the pages of her magazine.

"Says who?" I asked, laying on the couch, rereading a comic book.

"Says my horoscope," she replied, taking a drag out of her cigarette. "Apparently, today I'll experience an adventure."

I chuckled. I never really believed in astrology. Neither did Dad. Whenever Mum talked about it, I didn't always pay attention. "What kind of adventure?"

"We'll just have to wait and see. Oh, yours says that you'll suffer today..."

"What? What does it say?"

"It says that your beautiful mother is going to make you mow the lawn."

I scowled. "Liar."

"Refer to the charts in your books," Trelawney instructed, and I snapped out of my daze. "Find your sign, write down the traits, and discuss with your partners. Only your zodiac sign. No sun, moon, or rising signs yet."

Malfoy slammed his book onto the desk. "Shall we?"

I nodded and pulled my own book out of my bag, trying to remember what page the stupid chart was on. I couldn't focus—not with the lingering thought of Mum in my mind. Over time, the dreams had gotten less and less frequent, and the pain was becoming manageable, but this sudden realization, the sudden reminder of her hurt me in a way that I had started to forget.

"Hello? Atkinson?" Malfoy waved a hand in front of my face. "Did you hear me?"

I blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"I was talking to you for like three minutes. Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "What were you saying?"

"I said that I found my sign. I'm a Gemini." He pointed to the symbol in the book. "Geminis are typically outgoing, adaptable, and intelligent," he read aloud.

"It also says here that they're typically nosy, unreliable, and indecisive," I pointed out. "Not so great if you ask me."

He scoffed. "Which one are you?"

"I don't know," I mumbled as I scanned through the dates. "I—" I froze once I saw Sagittarius printed neatly on the page.

Sagittarians are optimistic, hilarious, spontaneous people. They're honest and fair-minded, and love to talk. They can also be unreliable and naive, and most Sagittarians are easily bored.

I felt tears stinging the corner of my eyes as I remembered my mother. The one year anniversary of her death passed during the Quidditch World Cup, but after the whole Death Eater incident, I had been too busy to think about it. I felt awful—how could I forget about my mother? The woman who raised me and loved me and died for me. And even though it has been a year, I missed her so much. There were times where I wanted to talk to her or write to her, and for a moment, I forgot that I couldn't. I forgot that she was gone. It made think of all the time I had spent with her, and how I had taken it for granted. And sure, maybe I wasn't dreaming of her anymore, but I hadn't truly felt the weight of her absence in a long time. And now that I did, I felt like screaming. I felt like screaming and crying and punching a wall. I wanted to talk about it, I wanted to—