Egotistic // Marauders Era

Crystal

"Why?" she asked, looking at the letter.

Lucius shrugged. "We have no use for it anymore," he admitted, shaking out his glossy hair once more. "And besides, we've all read it."

Crystal tensed and glared at the Slytherins. "You didn't," she hissed, shaking her head.

"Of course we didn't," Regulus chuckled in a bored, sarcastic tone. "Tell your friend that she has no chance with him, will you? He's in love with somebody else."

"That repulsive Gryffindor girl? The one with glasses and a whole library stuffed up her sleeve?" Bellatrix asked, leaning back and batting her eyes at Regulus. "She's a disgrace."

"Right, because none of you blood obsessed prats are, either," Crystal scoffed, gripping the letter tight and holding it against her chest. "And you don't know anything. Tia is beautiful and she has a chance with any guy she chooses. So shut your waxed traps, alright?"

With those final words, she turned around and swiftly walked back to Tia, who took the letter and glanced over at the table where Reemus was sitting, gazing longingly over the heads of students who were unaware of the girl's feelings.

* * * * *

Olly was in the library, of course. Where else would she go? No matter what she needed, the answer was in this room of dusty covers and wrinkled pages. Everything she ever needed to know was stuffed between the shelves, and what could possibly be better than that? She couldn't think of an answer.

She didn't know one existed.

She trudged over to the nearest shelf and snatched the closest book to her off out of it's own tucked away little space. She positioned it under her arm and walked over to a bench, plopping down and slamming the book onto the surface of the table. She heard a distant "Shhh!" from the librarian but she just ignored it and opened the book to it's first page.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, it read. Not paying any attention to her surroundings, Olly was sucked into a portal to another world, one where there were magic fountains and hopping pots, where the ability to raise the dead was no problem and where people could keep their heart locked away in a cellar to keep from loving. Olly wished that she could do that.

She didn't feel the light tap on her shoulder until her book was slammed shut and another shush came from the direction of the librarian's desk. Turning around, Olly saw Crystal Diggory, Tia Abbott, Cielo Thomas and Bridget Finnigan plus, of course, Rachel. They were all standing behind her, in a tiny little group with their faces full of concern.

"You'll have to talk to him eventually," Rachel reminded her friend, thought they both knew Olly was already aware of that.

"She knows that," Cielo said, looking back and forth between Olly and Rachel. "The question you should be asking is when will she be talking to him?"

Olly sighed and opened her book again. She stared at the pages but didn't read, she wasn't taking the words in like before. She just was too uncomfortable with the situation to act like she was too interested. But she, too, needed clarification and the subject of Sirius Black and the only people she could trust and confide in were people she didn't like to look vulnerable in front of. Shrugging off her unsure feeling, she shrugged nonchalantly. "How about... three weeks after never?" She asked sarcastically, ignoring the loud, heavy thumping in her chest, right where her heart should be. The sound was pounding and echoing in her ears and she prayed she was the only one who could hear it.

"How about no?" Rachel scoffed, glaring pointedly at Olly. "I'm serious, Olly. Just one conversation, that's all we're asking."

Olly shook her head. "No way."

"Why not?" Bridget asked curiously. Olly sighed and rested her forehead against her palm.

"Because," Olly blurted, her voice thickening dramatically, "if I talk to him, he'll think everything's fine, but it won't be, and then he'll keep talking to me, and I won't be able to take it, and I'll probably freak out and then he won't even like me! I mean, not like he does right now, anyway."

Rachel was surprised, to say the least. She turned around and nodded her head towards the door. "I think you guys should leave," she whispered. The other four nodded in understanding and slowly left. When they were gone, Olly let her head flop down and she rested it on her arms, which were folded on the table. Her face was hidden from her best friend, who sat down on the bench next to her and placed a hand on Olly's back. "I thought you fancied James," she told her friend softly.

"I did," Olly mumbled into the table.

"You don't anymore?"

"I think I fancy someone else," Olly admitted to Rachel, sighing. Her shoulders slumped as she peeked out from her arms. "I just-" Olly sat up completely, running her hands over her face before leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table, staring straight ahead and not at Rachel.

"Talk to me," Rachel urged, pleading with her friend. "I'm here, and I can help with whatever crap you're dealing with."

Olly gave a shuddering sigh and she looked down at the surface of the table, looking at the designs in the wood. Finally, she opened her mouth and let out a sentence that Rachel almost had to do a double take on. It was squeaky and almost not audible at all, but somehow, she understood it. "Falling in love with someone sucks," she breathed out shakily, "then falling in love with their best friend is worse."

Rachel sucked in a giant breath and stared at Olly. Then, slowly and carefully, she asked the question. "You think you're in love with Sirius?" she asked, amazed. Olly nodded, avoiding eye contact. "Then why don't you talk to him if you feel that way?"

"Because he doesn't fancy me, he certainly doesn't love me, and I'm not even sure if he wants to be my friend," Olly sniffled and looked up at Rachel, staring right at her bright blue eyes. "Rach, every time I look at him it feels like I'm drowning. How do you expect me to talk to him?"

"Easy," Rachel said, pulling her friend into a hug. It was only for a few seconds, but when she pulled away, Rachel grinned encouragingly at her friend and squeezed her shoulders in an act of comfort. "Say Geronimo, and give in to the waves."

A/N: Okay, yes. I was listening to Say Geronimo by Sheppard when I was writing the end of this chapter. The radio station I was listening to played it and then I just got the best idea ever on how to end this chapter. It's sort of a cliffhanger, and hopefully you guys don't hang me from a cliff for it. (Haha, see what I did there?) So anyway, I think this chapter is really cute. CRYSTAL IS SO AWESOME I LOVE HER CHARACTER SHE BURNED THOSE SLYTHERINS OMG THEY NEED LIKE 20 BOTTLES OF ALOE VERA TO COVER THAT BURN UP JESUS. Uh, sorry. But anyway, I hope you loved/liked the chapter, and if you did then maybe vote/comment... dare I ask for a follow?

I'll update as soon as possible, but I am working on 3 books at the same time and I have an order in which I update. Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Harry Potter. So I have to update my other two before this one, but hopefully it won't take too long. Maybe two weeks at the most? Anywhoo, bye guys!