Ambrosia • TMR

C.19

     SCHOOL BEGAN TO pass by painstakingly slow. And, in short, Irene was becoming bored of it all. Very bored. After Yule, school had continued as normal. There was little to no rule breaking or trouble making and after having people try to kill you for seven years straight, she was a little restless. She found herself missing the adventure and the action or the mystery.

She missed looking for clues to elaborate scenarios underneath her invisibility cloak in the dead of night with her friends. Missed Hermione's comments or unintentional nitpicking. Found herself missing Ron's rush to get to the dining hall and his extreme fear of spiders. She missed Fred and George's looks of surprise when she would always seem to be able to tell them apart. Ginny's gossip and red hair that she would sometimes imagine as her mother's.

She missed her friends. She missed every single one of them horribly. Unfortunately, with her luck, the only person from before that was her age and she was able to see was Draco. It wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough, but she had to make it enough. She didn't want to see her friends in this time period. Irene wanted them all to live long lives and wanted to be able to hold them in her arms when they're finally born. Hopefully into a world made fair by her and Tom's hands.

Her longing was something that she refused to acknowledge in the almost 12 years she's been living this new life. While Tom was more than enough for her, he was different. She herself was different and sometimes, she wondered if she'd still fit in with Ron and Hermione. The thought hurt more than it should have because, well, she knew that she wouldn't. Ron would curse at her under his breath and Hermione would be indifferent to her presence so long as she didn't bother her. Because she was a Slytherin now. Through and through.

A pat to her head took her out of her thoughts. "Why are you thinking so hard." Tom asked, sliding into the seat next to her. They were once again in the common room, both of them sitting on a plush green loveseat. "Since you mentioned it during Yule break, I realized I do miss my friends. I've been feeling pretty homesick lately." She spoke her mind, not finding any reason to hide this from Tom.

Maybe she should've, she thought, after letting her feelings out as she watched his eyes darken for a minute. He was quiet, face passive. Then he looked at her, eyes still dark but expression resigned. "Then let's go make some new ones." He looked like saying the words physically pained him. She jolted in surprise. Tom wanted to make new friends? The same possessive Tom that used to literally hiss at any kid who looked interested in her friendship? That was really something she thought she'd never hear in her life.

"You're serious?" She asked and he nodded stiffly, "Yeah. And I hope you know that we're definitely not picking anyone that's too annoying." So, no Gryffindors. Because as much as she loved her previous house, she would be the first to admit how annoying they were to the other houses. Not to mention Fred and George's reign of terror. Or, god forbid, the Marauder's reign. Many people tried to block out those seven years of trauma from their memories.

"The school year is almost over though." She said, still moving to stand up as he stood. He didn't respond but he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He heard her. She realized that he didn't really care to be friends with anyone but if it made her stop being all mopey and reminiscent then he didn't mind. "What about that girl?" He suggested, clearly not bothering to remember her name. "Which one?" Irene asked as they walked through the common room exit.

"The redhead one that we met on the train," He elaborated, and she realized he was talking about Yavania Burke from their Transfiguration class. The red headed girl seemed pretty cool. Like a laid-back Hermione and Ginny mix. She wouldn't object to a friendship with her. But first, "Who do you want to be friends with Tom?" She asked, suddenly realizing how much he seemed to do so much for her and how little she's done in return. It disappointed her. This was a 50/50 friendship. Not a give-take friendship.