Leave Out All The Rest

Of Heartbroken Hormones

At that very low blow, I did turn. With a glare on my face, I imagined beams of magic shooting out of my brown eyes to zap him into oblivion, leaving behind only his Ravenclaw tie and heavy, pretentious schoolbag. 

He grimaced at my expression. "Yeah, okay, that was a little too far. Sorry, Lils," he grunted. "I would just like to say, though, that as a boy, I'd not think it adorable if I saw a girl everywhere I went."

"You're not really a boy, though," I told him bitterly, but then settled for a sad sigh. "But you're right. It's hopeless."

Ahead of me there was a hill with a towering willowy tree overlooking the Black Lake. It was often the choice of spot for students to seek comfort or to bathe in warm sunlight when it was gracing the sky. The group there now had smiles on their faces, enthralled by their isolated corner, but the only one I was interested in was Liam Greengrass. 

When the clouds moved and sunlight poked through them, his brown hair had strands of gold that matched the glimmer of his brown eyes when he was happy. He was always happy. He was always smiles and calm expressions. He was so handsome, warm, and kind, and it shone like a beacon as he laughed along with Rose, Malfoy, Zabini, Al, and her. That damn Nia Harper.

She was always there, right next to him. And she was always so beautiful, tall and golden like the sun had created her for the mere purpose of blinding the world with her intensity (it made me want to vomit at all the cliches she was). While they all mingled, while they all talked to one or another, her sapphire-blue eyes always drifted back to Liam. She was a unholy force, but when she looked at him there was so much love I wondered how her heart contained it. She rotated around him, like Earth does the sun. 

He was her gravity.

Roxy and Hugo both put a hand on either of my shoulders, squeezing tight.

 Ahead, Liam sprang toward Harper, embracing her from behind, lifting her high in the air like she was a feather. She laughed and the group around her was enthralled.

If you asked me when I fell for Liam, I would not be able to tell you. If you asked me when I realized I had fallen for him, I would tell you it was summertime. One blistering day we found ourselves beneath Mum's apple tree, talking one on one for the first time ever, and sparks flew. Gold and ruby lights wrapped around us, tying us together before we could even make sense of what happened.

But that moment was an accident. He was never supposed to find himself alone with me. Because of that, I knew only heartbreak awaited for me on the other side of this. 

It was why there was always a flame of fury burning inside of me, turning me into a typical raging, hormonal teenage girl. Merlin, I wish I could say it was just Harper's devotion to Liam that was the problem, but it was hardly scratching the surface. It was our age difference, he was fresh into fifteen and I was thirteen. It was me as Lily Potter, his friend's little sister (and there were so many rules about that). It was him and the things he kept unanswered (was he or was he not in love with Harper?).

It was all too much to bear. It made me a puddle of anger, jealousy, frustration, and heartbreak.

"Oi! Taylor!"

I turned away from Liam when I could hear my older brother James shouting, chasing after Emily Taylor. Her head was down, arms crossed over her chest, walking as quickly as she could past the group beneath the tree.

"Taylor!" James shouted again, breaking into a run now.

When she did not turn back to him, Roxy let out a hiss. "Oh, that's not going to be fun."

I saw what she meant: the group of Fifth Years got up from beneath the tree and followed after James and Emily. They were coming straight toward us.