Isabella was taking refuge in Hagrid's cabin and in the Forbidden Forest. She didn't have the strength to stay anywhere near the castle.
Hagrid had filled her in about what happened at the match and Isabella only felt more terrible.
Regulus Black wasn't as bad as she thought he was. And all she did was misunderstand the boy.
"Hagrid," Isabella said slowly as she examined a rock cake. "What would you do if someone you disliked turns out to be. . .not as bad as you have expected them to be?"
"Talkin' about youn' Regulus, eh?" Hagrid said, not looking up from the boot he was stitching up.
"Yes," Isabella said.
"Feelin' strange now?" Hagrid said looking up with a mischievous look on his face. "Somethin' that wasn' there before?"
Isabella knew what he was talking about.
"No," she answered honestly.
She wasn't so gullible that she would fall for someone just because they saved her. Yes, she was grateful, but that was it.
It was something that should be considered humane, to save someone who could have fallen to their possible death, without thinking about the pros and cons. It was something every person should be able to do.
And Isabella had higher standards than something as basic as that.
"I've never been on good terms with Black," Isabella said, placing the rock cake back down. She liked having all her teeth in place.
"Since our very first year, all we've done is jump down each other's throats and take jibes at each other,"
"Dumbledore says love works in strange ways," Hagrid said airily, grinning.
Isabella rolled her eyes incredulously.
"Hagrid, I don't love Regulus Black," she said firmly. "I don't even remotely like him,"
She leaned back in her seat and stared at Hagrid who was examining his boot, checking it for any more holes.
"He is a jerk," Isabella said. ". . .But he might not be that bad of a jerk. . .I am not sure if I should thank him,"
"Fer savin' yeh?" Hagrid said. Isabella nodded.
"Yes," she said. "But he hasn't been the best person in the world. I could just forget all that he has done in the past years, instead of a thank you. . .He's called a mudblood countless times and all those times I've messed up my potion because of him,"
But Hagrid's head had snapped up and he was staring at her with wide eyes.
"He called yeh a what?" he snapped.
Isabella who was ranting about the times she had lost her grades because of Black, stopped.
". . .A mudblood," she said slowly.
Hagrid snorted angrily and returned to his boot, now in a terrible mood.
"Had the lot o' em," he said grumpily. "All the same. The Malfoys, Blacks, Rowles. Gits...nasty little. . ." he grumbled.
"Sirius' the only one who turned out fine,"
Isabella nodded in agreement. Sirius certainly was way pleasanter a company than his brother. . .on second thought, not that much. Isabella couldn't handle all the excitement and energy Sirius had.
Isabella shook her head and changed the subject.
"Hagrid, how is Hog's Head?" she asked. "Is it safe for me to go there? And the drinks are alright I suppose?"
"Yeh'd prefer Three Broomsticks," Hagrid said. "But Hog's Head is me choice. Always. Grumpy man, Ab, but he's nice. . .Get yer own glasses if yeh don' want ter get sick,"
"Oh," Isabella frowned.
"All sorts of folks come there," Hagrid continued.
Isabella was thinking of visiting Hog's Head during the Hogsmeade visit before Christmas. She was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, and maybe she would find something at Hogsmeade to give Black as a thank you gift. . .
On second thought she could always just send him a thank you note. . .It wouldn't seem sincere if it wasn't personally done. Not to mention, she might be seen as a coward. That was the last thing she wanted.
So she could always just say 'thank you' and be done with it. . .No, she needed something solid and materialistic to give him, so that he could never hold the incident against her. The transaction was to put the incident behind them and get over it in all ways. Him accepting the present would be considered that she had returned the favour.
The last thing she wanted was to let Black have the upperhand over her.
Isabella was there for the last Quidditch practice session before the school left for Christmas break.
She didn't speak a single word. Being on a broom and the air now seemed to give her a headache and she would feel nauseous too.
"Merry Christmas," Marlene said brightly as they walked off the pitch.
"I'm going home for the holidays," Sirius said gloomily. "Wish me luck, everyone,"
There were chimes of "Good Luck" everywhere.
"Izzy, what d'you think my future will be?" Sirius asked, his arm around James.
"You can always check the Daily Prophet," Marlene said. "Valerie is quite famous now, you know. Everyone says the same, they believe it,"
Isabella hid her small smirk.
"Yeah, everyone's a fool now," Sirius said rolling his eyes. "Big deal,"
Marlene huffed and turned away, glaring at the ground.
"What's your sign?" Isabella said.
"I'm a Scorpio, apparently," Sirius said.
"It's a start of something new," Isabella said. "If you have the courage to set out, then everything will turn out fine. . .And if you give it a try, your love life might be a bit better,"
"Love life? Pfft!" Sirius laughed. "I don't have to try anything,"
James shook his head pitifully.
The laugh was very fake and everyone knew it.
Isabella had just added that last part because Marlene seemed very pissed about it. Sure enough, she was still glaring at the ground, only there was a pink flush on her face.
Well, Isabella supposed she too would feel rather indignant if someone kissed her and then walked away awkwardly.
"If you have the courage," she repeated and then left the pitch.
She wasn't going to involve herself any further.
She didn't even know how it would be taken if Marlene and Sirius found out that she had accidentally seen them kissing in an empty corridor. . .She wasn't going to judge or form any sort of opinions.
. . .Whose wand was she pulling? Obviously, she had already formed an opinion. . .She didn't think Marlene and Sirius were a good match, but it was not her place to say anything.
The last Hogsmeade visit before the holidays was the thing most of the students were looking forward to.
And apparently, Sirius took Isabella's or rather Valerie's advice and now was going out with Marlene and they seemed to be doing well.
Isabella set off into the snowy afternoon, to the village.
Her first stop, as always was Honeydukes. She had seen a sugar quill, a dulex one and she was going to get those. She loved those things.
She went down the village, stopping at all her usual spots. The change was that this time, she was going to Hog's Head.
The place itself gave out a foreboding feeling as Isabella stood in front of the entrance looking tentatively at the lopsided sign reading 'Hog's Head'.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, entering the pub.
Not a single Hogwarts student was in sight.
There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty grey bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth. Two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows talking in strong Yorkshire accents. There was a wizard who seemed to be carrying a huge overcoat on his arms and was levitating his mug to his lips as he fumbled with his coat.
Isabella's instincts told her to walk straight out and never return.
. . .But Hagrid had said it was a nice place.
Isabella exhaled sharply and went towards the bar. She was going to do it and be done with it.
"Good afternoon," she said, as she placed her shopping bags from Honeydukes on the bar. "One butterbeer please. Warm, thank you,"
The man at the bar looked at her sharply, his bright blue eyes boring into hers. And Isabella felt a sharp pain in her head.
A pained gasp left her mouth and she stumbled backwards, only to be caught by someone.
"Are you alright?"
Isabella gave a start and jumped back.
"Yes, sorry," she said hurriedly. "It was the cold. Thank you,"
Remus looked like he didn't believe, her but he dropped his hands, now slightly awkward.
Many Hogwarts students didn't come to the Hog's Head, so what on earth were James, Remus and Peter doing there. . .and where was Sirius gone?
"Hullo, Ab!" James said brightly to the bartender.
"We saw our little Izzy wander into the bar," James said leaning against the counter. "And Remus wanted to see what she was doing here. . .So, the usual then?"
"Shut up," Ab grunted, not at all amused by the boy's behaviour.
"We'll take three butterbeers, then," James said, ignoring Ab. "And a firewhiskey, if you know what I mean," he added in an undertone.
"James!" Remus snapped.
Ab shuffled away and came back with four bottles of butterbeer and slammed them on the bar before them.
"Finish and scram," he growled. "Litte buggers,"
"D'you think it was the firewhiskey that put him off?" James said. Remus closed his eyes wearily and heaved a sad sigh.
"Where is Sirius?" Isabella asked, just to divert the topic.
"Ah, he's on a date with Marlene," Peter said. "James wanted to tag along, but Remus said no,"
Isabella nodded and pulled the butterbeer bottle towards her, thinking.
The bartender's eyes, she had seen them before. . .The brilliant blue. . .Dumbledore? Well, Ab didn't have the depth Dumbledore's eyes had. But they did look very similar.
And when she met Ab's eyes a name had floated into her head.
'Arianna'
Who was she? Isabella had no clue. She had never heard the mention of Arianna, not even in those secret books. . .
Speaking of them, she should try to unlock the fourth book. That was a headache. She had no clue what the title was supposed to be, except that it had something to do with the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort possibly coming back.
Isabella glanced at Peter discreetly.
. . .This was very awkward.
James was trying to happily talk to the barkeeper, who seemed to be on the verge of clobbering the boy for pestering him.
Ab seemed very glad to move away from James when the wizard with the large overcoat came to the bar asking for a refill of his drink.
The wizard took the seat next to Isabella and she could smell a vague scent of cherry. She wrinkled her nose and chugged her butterbeer. Once she finished it, she could leave.
She turned her focus away.
James had just opened his mouth to say something when he noticed Remus and his eyes went wide.
He nudged Peter and nodded pointedly at Remus. Peter tried to be discreet but failed miserably. His mouth fell open when he saw it too.
Now, this was amusing. Wait till Sirius find out about this.
Isabella finished the last of her butterbeer and placed three sickles on the bar and slid off from her seat.
"Thank you," she muttered and grabbed her bag from Honeydukes and made for the door.
Should she wait for the Marauders?. . .No. She wasn't the one who invited them. It was none of her business.
She should think about the other thing at hand. Regulus Black.
How was she supposed to go to him and say 'thank you'? It seemed like a fatal blow to her ego. . But putting that aside. Should she just give him something from her Honeydukes stash?
Yeah. That should be enough.
Isabella looked inside her bag. . .She liked all the things that were in there. She didn't want to give any of them away.
How about Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans. She didn't like it too much. She should give him that. Yes! Besides, it would also have the worst flavours too.
Isabella's face fell when she realised that she hadn't bought Bertie Botts. . .
. . .She could just give him a sugar quill. She had loads of those.
No. She loved those. She was never giving those to anyone.
. . .Then she could walk all the way back to Honeydukes and get some Bertie Botts.
Yes, that's what she was going to do.
And so Isabella set down the road again to Honeydukes once again. . .Maybe she could get two more sugar quills?
. . .She already had too many of those.
You can't have too many sugar quills. A couple more is only a couple more hours of happiness. Simple.
"Why are we following her?" Remus said exasperatedly.
"Because," Peter started but was shut up by James who had a wide grin on his face.
"Just follow me, alright," James said dragging the other two boys down the street, after Isabella who was heading to Honeydukes.
"You are being ridiculous," Remus scolded when he finally understood what those two were trying to do.
"I'm going back to the castle,"
"Remus!" James called, grabbing his arm and holding him in place. "I'll get you more chocolate,"
"How much?" Remus demanded.
"Three bars," James said desperately, keeping an eye on Isabella. "The large ones,"
". . .Fine," Remus said finally and James dragged him off to Honeydukes, with Peter tagging along.
Isabella was back at the counter, waiting for her turn to pay for her stuff. And she was wrestling with her urge to go back for a pack of Ice Mice. . .she really liked those too. But it was really cold. . .
Suddenly, bringing her out of her reverie, she heard a soft meow.
She looked around for the source. She didn't see anything.
Then she heard it again. It sounded like a kitten.
Isabella looked under her feet, and over the counter. She couldn't see anything.
With a small frown, she moved towards the counter and placed her things to get them billed.
"Would that be all, dear?" the lady behind the register said.
Isabella nodded, still trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
Then she spotted it.
Behind the counter on the ground, there was an upturned box, which seemed to be shaking and the sounds seemed to be coming from there.
"Ah," the lady said seeing where Isabella was looking at.
"He came downstairs and messed up all the stock," she said. "Just keeping him in there for a bit and then we'll let him out,"
Isabella bit the inside of her cheek, battling with herself.
There was no sign of the cat being mistreated. . .except that it was being held prisoner in a box!
. . .But, what about all the merchandize it destroyed.
They can't hold her against it.
. . .And what it if it belonged to someone?
"Is it a stray?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," the lady said, putting her stuff in a bag. "A dirty little stray. I have no clue how it got into the basement,"
"Why don't you let it go?" Isabella said as she handed the money to the lady.
"Can't do it right now," she said. "It'll tear this place down,"
Isabella took the bag and nodded thanks, then left the shop.
Whatever she was thinking of before had left her mind and all she could think of was the cat under the box.
She looked around. The snow was ankle deep and it was freezing cold. She didn't even know which state the cat was in. . .
"What's she doing?" Peter said as they watched Isabella wringing the bags in her hands, dithering on the spot.
She glanced back at Honeydukes with a frown, then shook her head and set down the road towards the caslte.
Then she stopped in her tracks and looked back again. She closed her eyes, biting her lip.
Then bolted down the road back up to Honeydukes.
"Maybe she forgot something?" James suggested. Then he brightened up.
"You know what? We're going to help her look for it," he said with a grin. "Let's go, Remus,"
"You're buying me chocolate for a month," Remus grumbled. James was a bit too excited to listen.
Isabella went back into the shop, breathing heavily and stood by the counter.
"Would it be alright," she said. "If I took the cat with me?"
The lady behind the counter blinked. Then she laughed.
"Sure," she said still chuckled. "If you can get it out, that is,"
Isabella stared back at her puzzled.
"It's a bit angry," the lady said with a stiff smile and beckoned Isabella behind the counter. Isabella ducked under the table and went behind the counter and she was pushed towards the box.
She glanced back at the lady, and then turned to the box. It was held down with a few weights.
She moved them away and tentatively grabbed the box.
There was a high chance that the cat might jump out at her and attack her face. She didn't want that to happen. . .So instead of lifting the box, she should knock it off, leaving her hands free to defend or grab.
She took a deep breath and counted to three.
One. . .Two. . Three!
Isabella knocked the box backwards, and just as she had expected, the cat flew out at her with a war cry.
Isabella squeezed her eyes shut and fell back onto the cold, hard floor as she caught the feisty animal in her hands.
It was a thin, brown cat, howling and screaming at her, scratching at her clothes with its claws which were a bit too sharp for its own good. She could feel its claws on her skin, even with all the layers of clothes she was wearing.
Isabella winced in pain. . .But it was nothing compared to what Val had done when she had first met Isabella.
. . .Now that she thought about it, she had a thing for rescuing animals and taking them in. It is a good habit but she should keep limits to it too.
Isabella got up from the floor.
"You sure you don't want to let it go?" the lady said, a hint of condescendence in her voice.
"No, it is fine," Isabella said straightening. "It is not my first time. Thank you,"
And she opened the door with magic before walking out with the cat in her arms.
"Please, stay still," she begged once she was out in the cold.
The cat only screamed louder.
Isabella winced when its claws dug deep into her skin, drawing blood.
She sighed and shifted the cat onto her arm, and securing it there. She couldn't help but let out a soft yelp of pain as the cat left a deep scratch on her face.
"If you would hold still," she said with a sigh as tears welled up in her eyes with pain, her skin stinging. She felt something damp and sticky on the side of her face. . .She must be bleeding.
Isabella unwrapped her scarf from around her neck, and shivered slightly from the cold. She placed the scarf around the cat, which went still, supposedly from the sudden warmth.
Relived that the animal had stopped moving so much, Isabella wrapped her scarf around it properly.
"Let's get you someplace warm," she muttered as she hurried down the road towards the castle. "And give you a bath possibly. You stink, and are very dirty,"
The cat was still protesting, but she could manage. Now that it was in a scarf, movement was slightly restricted for it and it would seem that the heat had made it relax slightly.
"Hagrid would know what to do with you," Isabella said, almost breaking into a sprint, in an attempt to get inside as soon as possible.
"Sirius!" James called loudly as Sirius and Marlene entered the common room. "Oi! Get here,"
Marlene kissed Sirius' cheek and bounded off to the dormitories as Sirius went to the corner where his friends were sitting.
"How was it?" Peter asked excitedly. Sirius opened his mouth, but he was shut down by James.
"Later," he said. "You won't believe it!"
"What?" Sirius said with a small frown.
"Remus is in love!" James whispered. Sirius' jaw slacked open.
"What?" he cried when he made sense of what James had said. "Who?"
Remus protest of, "I'm not in love!" was drowned out by James excitedly telling Sirius about what had happened that day.
"Good Godric," Sirius breathed once he had gotten a version of the story.
"I swear I'll give you all detention if you keep this up," Remus threatened as Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at him.
"I do not have any feelings towards Isabella, alright?" Remus said firmly. "I just think it was admirable and kind of her to take the cat to safety,"
"Remus fell head over heels," James spoke over Remus. "When she held it even though it was hurting her,"
"Ooh, that's what Moony likes, eh?" Sirius said laughing.
Remus pulled his wand out and glared at his friends, who didn't care in the least but continued making fun of him.
...............................................................................................
"Where d'you find these?" Hagrid said as he and Isabella struggled to get the cat into a bucket of water for a bath.
They were inside Hagrid's cabin and the fire which was roaring a few minutes ago was put out when the cat gave a huge splash and the water got spilt all over.
Isabella fell back in exhaustion.
She closed her eyes and waved her hand. The water flew back into the bucket and the flames jumped back up in the fireplace.
"Let's try again," she said and the struggle was back on.
It took a long one hour and finally, the cat was all clean out dry and out of the bath. Hagrid and Isabella were on the floor, trying to catch their breaths.
Isabella had thought the cat was a brown British shorthair. . .but it turned out to be pure white and it was just too dirty and looked a murky brown.
"Are yeh goin' ter name 'im?" Hagrid asked.
"No clue," Isabella sighed. She was too tired to think of a name for it at this point.
"I should place an order for some catfood," she said, closing her eyes wearily. ". . .And I've heard cat fur's going to an outright trouble,"
Hagrid heaved himself off the floor with a grunt and took the bucket with him to throw the dirty water away.
The cat was sitting in front of the fire peacefully. But any time Isabella reached out, it would hiss and raise its claws.
It would take a while for it to warm up to her too. Just like with Val. . .The cat must have seen a lot of things too. It would take a lot of effort to get its guards down.
Isabella sat with Hagrid in his cabin as he made them tea and they stared at the cat in front of the fire.
The white cat was curled up in a ball, staring at the fire with its huge amber eyes.
The cat reminded Isabella of an oddly shaped snowball. It was so cute she wanted to squeal.
"Snow Wiffle," Isabella said finally.
Hagrid looked at her questioningly.
"His name," Isabella explained. "He would blend right away with the white snow, so 'Snow' and instead of 'Ball', 'Wiffle,"
"Snow Wiffle?" Hagrid said and Isabella nodded.
"We'll 'ave ter get Snow ter know yeh, firs'," Hagrid sighed.
Both of them were too tired to go to the cat at the moment. They would take care of it later.
Once the sun started setting, Isabella slowly pointed her wand at the cat, and before it could realise, levitated it into a carrier Hagrid had gotten ready for her to carry the cat up to the castle.
It happened in a flash, when Snow Wiffle realised that something was wrong and that he was in the air.
There was a loud yowl, followed by Isabella's screams and then there was a loud thud as Hagrid was knocked into his table.
"Yeh should name 'im Blizzard," Hagrid said weakly fifteen minutes later, went the cat was inside its carrier.
"I want to try to instil some calmness into him," Isabella said picking the carrier up. "So that he gets a bit more comfortable around people. We don't want a Blizzard now, do we?. . .Besides, he is too cute. I want a cute name for him,"
Hagrid shrugged.
"Those claws're sharp," he warned. "Be careful,"
"Bye Hagrid," Isabella said. "I'll keep that in mind,"
It took a long while for Snow Wiffle to get to stop scratching her when she tried taking him out of his carrier.
Now he knew her hands meant getting out of the cage, so would stay still and comply.
Isabella had other things to worry about too.
She was trying to put off talking to Regulus Black as much as possible. But she had to force herself to do it on the last day before the school went on holidays.
Isabella had planned to wait for Black outside the Great Hall.
It would have worked too, if a whole crowd hadn't gotten out along with him.
So, feeling very embarrassed, Isabella had to follow Black and his friend Warrington from a distance, until they were on the empty floor, heading to the library.
"There's no point, really," Warrington was saying.
Isabella inhaled sharply and cleared her throat.
"Black," she called hurrying up to him.
Black turned around, and frowned when he looked at her.
"What about the truce?" he said, showing all the signs of wanting to leave. Isabella wanted to leave too.
"This is a thank you," she said and extended the wrapped package towards him.
Black stared at the package in her hands suspiciously, then poked it with a finger.
Isabella could feel the annoyance filling up inside her.
"It's just from Honeydukes," she said, forcing herself to be calm. "I heard from Hagrid recently what had happened at the match. And I wanted to thank you personally,"
Regulus was still slightly suspicious but took it anyway.
Nothing happened to him, so he supposed it was nothing but sweets from Honeydukes.
"Right," he said with a smirk "I didn't need a thank you. I caught the snitch anyway,"
"The score would still be two is to one," Jefferson said coldly and Regulus felt a muscle jump in his jaw.
The nerve of her to talk back at the moment!
"The next game will decide the winner, then," Regulus said sharply.
"Certainly," Jefferson said shortly and made to leave, when Marcus spoke from behind Regulus. He was watching this interaction quietly from the back.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," he said with a small laugh.
"What?" Regulus said turning around to see Marcus gazing over their heads.
Isabella followed Warrington's gaze and her shoulders drooped as the ridiculousness of the entire situation sank in.
"No," both Regulus and Jefferson said at once as they saw the mistletoe over their heads.
Marcus was sniggering behind his hand, enjoying Regulus' misery.
"Let's just not do it," Jefferson said turning her gaze away from the mistletoe and looking straight at Regulus.
"It is obvious that neither of us wants to do it, so it would be best that we leave,"
"Yes," Regulus agreed. He wanted nothing much than leaving the place that very second.
"Yeah, no," Marcus said. "It doesn't work that way. You can step away. But if you'll have to face a lot of bad luck,"
"Luck is just a word," Regulus said firmly. And this time he was glad that Jefferson seemed to agree with him.
"Do you really think it will be just bad luck?" Marcus said incredulously. And then he launched into a story.
"It is going to be terrible, terrible luck. You know, Davies was caught under the mistletoe with his friend and he didn't want to kiss a boy so he walked away," he said seriously.
"Do you know what happened to him?"
Both Regulus and Jefferson stared at him in confusion.
"He fell off a whole flight of stairs, broke three teeth, his nose and his leg. Not to mention he had a concussion and flunked his O.W.L.s,"
"That is entirely coincidental," Jefferson said.
"Yeah, it doesn't have to be the same," Marcus shrugged. "But you could lose your next Quidditch match,"
This had the desired effect. Both Regulus and Jefferson flinched at that.
"Black, let's get this over with," Jefferson said stiffly.
"How about I just kiss your hand?" Regulus suggested. Jefferson nodded. Both wanted it to be done with.
"It won't work," Marcus sang, annoyed. "It has to be a proper kiss. No less than eight seconds. Otherwise, you know,"
"Why eight seconds?" Regulus said frowning deeply.
Marcus shrugged. He had just thrown a random number in. He was simply having his fun. Those two were the idiots, worrying about nothing in particular.
Isabella stared at the mistletoe over her head. Were they really enchanted in the wizarding world? . . .She wasn't going to take a chance. She didn't think she could handle it if she lost another game.
"Fine," she said finally, a pained expression on her face.
"Eighth seconds you say?" she said. "So we should be done with it soon,"
Black's face said what he was thinking. He didn't want to do it any less than she wanted to.
"Think of the match, Regulus," Marcus said. "We can't have Slytherin lose,"
Regulus sighed and took a step closer.
"Eight seconds," he repeated.
Isabella nodded curtly. And to her annoyance, Black closed his eyes first.
Asshole. . .She didn't want to be the one to initiate it.
"A proper kiss, mind you," Warrington said, a smirk on his face.
"Shut up!" Black snapped.
Isabella inhaled sharply. She'd just get it done with. Obviously, Black was an asshole, giving her the responsibility.
"Can I just set the mistletoe on fire?" Isabella suggested.
Black's eyes snapped open.
"Yes! We can do that," he said relieved.
"We are going to lose, aren't we?" Warrington said sadly. "Do you have any idea how much bad luck you'll be calling on yourselves by doing that?"
Regulus had no clue, and by the looks of it, nor did Jefferson.
Then Jefferson buried her face in her hands with a soft groan.
"Fine," she huffed, her voice cold with annoyance.
She moved her hands from her face and grabbed Regulus' arms, alarming him.
"It's just a kiss," she said nonchalantly. "But if you have any reservations about it, then you can just say,"
"Excuse me?" Regulus snapped.
Jefferson rolled her eyes.
"If you have a belief that you want your first kiss to be something special," she shrugged.
Regulus felt his face flush.
"Who said I haven't had my first kiss yet?" he snapped.
He didn't. This would be his first kiss. . .And he didn't want it to be that way at all. Not with Jefferson in the least!
"Oh," Jefferson said taken aback. ". . .I didn't think anyone would want to kiss you. Sorry, I assumed wrong,"
There was nothing sorry about it. She was making fun of him and at the moment, Regulus was too flustered to think of a comeback.
He could hear Marcus sniggering in the background. He wanted to yell at his friend, but words refused to come to his mouth.
"I'm not that childish," Regulus said finally.
A weak retort and Jefferson's fleeting smirk proved just that.
Regulus turned a brighter pink.
"Don't worry," he said in an attempt to regain his fallen pride. "Since you are inexperienced. It doesn't hurt,"
Jefferson raised her eyebrow, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried not to laugh.
Marcus was banging on the stone wall, as he shook with silent laughter.
"Certainly," Jefferson said and Regulus had a feeling that she was thoroughly enjoying his pitiable state.
"Since I trust our truce," she said. "We won't hold this in any account,"
"Obviously not," Regulus scoffed. "If I could I'd obliviate myself,"
"I agree," Jefferson nodded. "I would never have imagined that my first kiss would be so. . ." she trailed off and shrugged disdainfully.
"It's your first kiss?" the words were out of Regulus' mouth before he could stop it.
Jefferson nodded calmly.
"However," she said. "I don't have any fantasies or reservations. I just don't want any bad luck. So, let's get this done with,"
"Eight seconds, as you said," she nodded at Marcus and moved her hands to Regulus' shoulders.
Regulus froze. He had no clue what he was supposed to do now.
He squeezed his eyes close, when he saw Jefferson raise herself on tiptoes and move closer to his face.
A second later, he felt something soft on his lips.
Regulus knew he was supposed to keep a count down for eight seconds, but his mind had drawn a blank and all he could think was that her lips were colder than his.
Isabella pulled away.
"Eight seconds," she said simply. "You'll know I'm right since you'd have counted it too,"
She turned to Warrington.
"I can step away from the mistletoe now?" she asked.
Warrington nodded stiffly.
"Well, that's that," she said and turned around to go back the way she came from.
Isabella couldn't help but feel ridiculous. All she was there to do was thank Black for saving her at the Quidditch match. All this wasn't supposed to happen. Now she had an unresolved grudge towards mistletoes. Why did Hogwarts have to decorate the entire castle with those things?
She had never bothered with them, but now she was going to do her best to stay away from under them.
Isabella didn't care for kisses. To her, it was just a kiss. Nothing less, nothing more.
And it was a very awkward kiss. She didn't have much experience with kisses, but with awkwardness, her experience was immense.
It wasn't even a kiss. It was more like a rather long peck. Even Black was extremely uncomfortable. It was a sad day for both parties. . .They should just remove all the mistletoes from the castle.
Regulus groaned and buried his face in his hands. He knew his face was flushed red with embarrassment.
"Why me?" he whined. "Why her?!"
Marcus didn't answer, so Regulus supposed he was still laughing at him.
"For Merlin's sake!" Regulus yelled. "That was my first kiss! Those things are supposed to be special. Not like this,"
He straightened and took a deep breath. Regulus didn't know how Jefferson managed to be so nonchalant. Did anything not matter to her? Was apathy all she knew?
She kissed him, goddamnit! She should show some reaction in the least.
Regulus swore under his breath, and stormed away towards the dungeons, forgetting that he was there to check if Valerie had gotten his message yet.
His gaze fell onto the small brown package in his hands and a shiver ran up his spine.
"Salazar, no," he snapped and shoved the package into Marcus' hands and quickened his pace.
Dinner was terrible for Regulus. He was to leave Hogwarts the next morning, and was supposed to have packed by that afternoon already.
But he couldn't concentrate, and Marcus wasn't helping him with his packing or anything in general.
"Stop, goddamnit," Regulus scolded himself as he wrenched his gaze away from the Gryffindor table.
Marcus sniffed indignantly.
'It's just a kiss.'
Jefferson's voice rang through Regulus' head and he slammed his head on the table, his face a bright red.
He was sure he was seeing things wrong. Because. . .Jefferson couldn't possibly be smiling while she said that, could she?
Jefferson never smiled in the first place. So that was impossible.
"Shut up," Marcus snapped and Regulus swore profusely.