Chamber of Love

Chapter 41

"Was it something that I said?" She asked to herself. No one gave her an answer except for her cat who was softly purring by her feet, oblivious to the gloomy air around the castle.

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The walk towards the Great Hall was quiet and lonely. Everyone was there already. The sun was down, lights that created dark shadows around the corridors were up. And Juliette was lonesome, isolated. She wasn't even sure if she was headed to the right direction, considering her aimless stroll around the school for... how long? She wasn't sure about that either.

Juliette looked up, noticing the empty walls without any moving or talking portraits. She could see the courtyard on the other side, through the high arches. Leaves were calmly swaying back and forth. Juliette could feel the harmless breeze caressing her skin so gently. The fountain water was falling with no one audience, no birds to drink from it.

It was peaceful there. She suddenly wanted to skip dinner and stay right there by herself. She didn't want to spend her last day at school under the concerned or curious gazes of others. Who was she going to sit with at the table anyway? Cedric was gone. So was any barely existent relationship she had with his friends.

Juliette walked towards the fountain and sat by the edge. She remembered the day she sat there with Cedric while waiting for Draco to arrive. Cedric was so reluctant to spend his time with a notorious Slytherin, and even if he didn't show it, Juliette was sure that he was happy inside when Draco didn't show up.

She placed her hand on the empty spot beside her, feeling the coldness of the stone.

When she looked around the empty grounds, she felt like a small ant trying to find its way around the huge castle and hoping not to be smashed by others along the way.

A defeated sigh left her lips. Maybe Trelawney was right. Maybe she truly didn't have any way of helping Cedric. Maybe if she tried, she could unintentionally hurt someone else. Maybe she did need some time to grieve. Maybe she needed to spend time with her family and everything would be okay...ish afterwards. She did miss her mother after all.

"Juliette?" A voice sounded from a distance.

Juliette looked around the darkness to see the owner of the sound. She noticed a silhouette that was hesitantly stepping away from the arch and walking towards her.

She squinted her eyes, finally recognising the person as shadows dropped from his face.

"Hi Neville." She greeted with a small smile.

Neville was holding something in his arms, but he didn't neglect waving at Juliette even though he was ten steps away from her.

"Hi." He replied with a smile bigger than Juliette's. "What are you doing here?"

Juliette shrugged, trying to see what he was holding against his chest. A soft light was reflecting against his school robes.

"What's that?" She asked, ignoring his question.

Neville stopped in front of Juliette and revealed the small ceramic pot with a glowing plant.

"Is that..." Juliette took a close look at the plant. "Is that thing on fire?"

Neville laughed at Juliette's concerned expression.

"Yeah." He sat down next to Juliette, enthusiastic to talk about the subject. "It's a Fire Seed Bush. It burns for as long as it lives."

Juliette raised her eyebrows, examining the burning plant. It almost didn't make any noise but she could feel the warmth radiating from it.

"People use these to hatch dragon eggs. And to make potions, of course."