𝐢. 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 ; harry j. potter ( UNEDITED )

088. "it leaves me aching to see those eyes"

Turning back around, Lucia was startled to see the spot in which Astoria had occupied previously was, well, gone.

"Wha — Astoria?" She looked around in the vicinity for the girl, but she was nowhere to be found. As if she was gone like the simple breeze that hit the library. "She didn't even say goodbye..."

Lucia scratched her head, puzzled. What's going on with her...

Hermione came sooner than Lucia had expected, and they both quickly ventured to the hospital wing to find the two boys that were admitted to the hospital wing, happy to see they were waiting for them at the doorway, restored to full health thanks to Madam Pomfrey and possibly looked more joyful than before. What was better was the fact that Hermione and Ron were friends again. Lucia had been so happy to see them talking again that it had brought her to the point where she was doing cartwheels in the corridor. Literally.

Of course, not everything was good news, for at the same time, Dean and Ginny were in the middle of an argument. That news had brought to Lucia's attention the moment Ginny barged into hers and Hermione's dormitory, immediately making a beeline to Lucia's arms, in which she had spent the rest of the night consoling the young girl and sneaking out pass curfew, where they were met by Luna, who were gazing at the stars in plain sight at that time. Quite honestly, Luna's presence made Ginny's night better.

"What did they row about?" Harry asked, a burning sensation to protect had rushed through his veins. He blamed Ron for that; It was now imbedded to his mind that Ginny was like a little sister that he never had.

Lucia was about to answer when they turned onto a seventh-floor corridor that was deserted but for a very small girl who had been examining a tapestry of trolls in tutus. She looked terrified at the sight of the approaching sixth years and dropped the heavy brass scales she was carrying.

"It's all right!" said Hermione kindly, hurrying forward to help her. "Here..."

She tapped the broken scales with her wand and said, "Reparo." The girl did not say thank you, but remained rooted to the spot as they passed and watched them out of sight; Ron glanced back at her.

"I swear they're getting smaller," he said.

Looking back at the girl over her shoulder, Lucia couldn't help but thought how strange that girl was being... though maybe that was just her pure and wild imagination...

"What did Ginny and Dean row about?'

"Oh, Dean was laughing about McLaggen hitting that Bludger at you," said Hermione, and Lucia instantly the latter frown, but she was going to give Dean the benefit of the doubt, seeing as Dean had been their friend for years now and perhaps didn't know that it could've resulted Harry to fall from several feet up the air...

"It must've looked funny," said Ron reasonably.

"It didn't look funny at all!" said Hermione hotly. "It looked terrible and if Coote and Peakes hadn't caught Harry he could have been very badly hurt!"

"Or worse —"

"Expelled?" Ron furrowed his brows.

"Wha — no! I meant, dead!" said Lucia. "Who in their right mind would think getting expelled is much worse than being dead?"

Harry and Ron glanced at Hermione briefly, remembering their first year in Hogwarts during their first encounter with Fluffy, Hagrid's three-headed dog. Hermione glared at them, pinching them behind Lucia's back, earning a coherent "OW!" from both.

"Yeah, well, there was no need for Ginny and Dean to have a row," said Harry.

"They're still together you know. But they don't look as happy as they did at the start of the year..." Lucia heaved out a tired sigh.