Here We Go Again
Chapter 16: Things Lost that Night
POV: Nia
"You're joking!" Mrs. Molly Weasley let out a high giggle as she continued to manually pour water to the glasses that needed refilling around the small, gathered group. "Are you really the new Minister's niece?"
"—It's true, you know." Lily Potter spoke up as she, among the others in a separate small group eavesdropped on the conversation going on a few yards from them. "We all know that Kingsley's retirement was a shocker for our community two months ago, but she actually is the niece of Emilio De la Cruz."
"How do you know that?" Liam asked his girlfriend, a tone of curiosity in his voice.
There was a pause for a moment. "I'm sort of friends with her brother Octavio."
"You're friends with—since when?"
"We met in the library," the Potter girl replied offhandedly to her boyfriend. "Anyway, he told me that's why they moved from Spain to Britain. The Minister's their legal guardian; something because their parents are unfit to take care of them. It's a bit sad, actually, but their uncle seems to really love and provide for them."
A little bit of silence again. "You just met the boy and he already told you something that personal?" This time it was Rose that broke it.
There was an exasperated, irate sigh but no one in the group of teenagers said anything when the conversation ahead got louder.
"Mother, please!" Percy Weasley looked a bit annoyed himself with whatever it was that Mrs. Weasley had said. "I'm sure Miss De la Cruz doesn't wish to divulge anything about her personal life—or the Minister's for that matter."
Mrs. Weasley looked carelessly at her son and his clear warning. "Nonsense, Perce! We're all good friends here. I've met the Minister, remember? Besides, you can't blame an elder citizen of our community to wonder if the man's married or not. I have a few friends that would be suitable if he isn't."
Sitting beside the dark-haired intruder, a grin on his face, Al rolled his eyes playfully. "Gran, all your friends are over eighty. The Minister's no older than thirty!"
Relaxed in her seat, acting like she belonged there, basking in all the attention, Ophelia De la Cruz laughed like it was such a grand day.
Raising a discreet brow at the unknown girl, Mrs. Potter cleared her throat as she glanced at her mother and her eager need to get to know more of the De la Cruz family. "Mum, Percy's right. We should not bother the girl with any questions, it's not polite. Can we just enjoy the cookies Victoire baked that we've yet to try?"
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love Mrs. Potter. She wasn't impressed with the girl sitting beside her son. No. Mrs. Potter could spot filth just as easily as I can.
Crack.
"—Whoa! Easy there, Harper!" Blinking my eyes, focusing on those around me, I was right on time to see Malfoy's hand block Rose's face as fragments of glass flew in different directions.
From her seat on his lap, the redheaded girl lowered her boyfriend's hands from her face to look at me. She wore a concerned expression; slightly worried and nervous too.
Looking down from them, my eyes locked at my extended hand. The base of what used to be a glass goblet was in my hold. Other pieces of that goblet were also there, but they were jammed into the skin of my palms and fingers. Blood oozed out quickly.
It was disgusting.
"Evanesco." Looking up from the disappearing shards of glass from my hold, I found that it was Malfoy who had his wand forward. His grey eyes watched me carefully as he did so, something in them that I didn't like. Something like guilt. "Episkey."
My teeth clenched down together as the sliced skin of my hand and fingers started closing up together with magic. It burned, making me let out a silent hiss, but as quickly as it'd come, it went with a cold sensation.
"You should learn how to control your temper, Harper."
"Agreed, you lunatic."
Ignoring the little Potter girl, I instead narrowed my eyes at the blonde Slytherin ahead of me. "Maybe you should mind your business, Malfoy."
The rest of his facial features frowned at me, but the glint in his eyes still looked apologetic. They looked to be fighting to hide something. "Ungrateful much?" He snapped. "Look, I'm not saying it to poke fun at you, Harper. I'm saying it because, at your rate, you're going to end up hurting yourself or—"
"And if I did would you care?" I hissed in interruption. "Piss off, Malfoy."
Malfoy opened his mouth, about to retort and defend himself, but Rose's hand squeezed his thigh; halting him. She cleared her throat slightly and I knew she was about to attempt to restore peace. "Well, would you look at the time?" She had no watch. "I think it's time we go find our parents, Scorpius. I'm sure our fathers have already drowned all of Uncle Harry's liquor collection and are making a fool of themselves. Merlin only knows what our mothers would do when they find them."
"A little too late for that, Sister." Appearing right behind Lily's chair, Hugo Weasley aimed a carefree grin as he caught his sister's excuse to flee me. "Astoria is locked in a room with Dad and Draco while Mum brews a quick Sobering Potion. There's talk about sleeping outside and taking them to a rehabilitation center in muggle London."
Rose groaned. "Honestly, you'd think they actually have an alcohol problem on how piss drunk they get."
"You're two are to blame, really" Hugo interjected with another giant grin. "The only reason those two drink when they're in the same location is because you and the Malfoy heir are busy sucking face or having a serious relationship for kids your age."
The Potter baby chortled from her chair. "Well, at least one of Ron and Hermione Weasley's children knows about relationship. Can you imagine how much more they'd drink if Rose and Malfoy just fooled around publicly?"
"I don't fool around publicly," Hugo snorted. "Besides, I can get serious whenever I want to. I just haven't found the right person to be all sickly sweet with like my dear sister here."
"She's not the only one." Potter girl reached to the silent boy next to her and grabbed his hand. Liam looked up, giving her a dim smile.
Hugo stuck his tongue out in disgust. Good boy. "Love is overrated. Don't you think, Harper?" He turned to me now, his blue eyes glittering mischievously.
I always liked Hugo, but now I think I'd be okay with cursing his manly-bits off. I didn't miss the quick nod he did to the side where Al was.
"Don't get all scary, Harper," he continued casually. "I'm just saying I'm here to comfort you if you need it. Just bring that lingerie Roxy said you bought and I'm all open to console." He snapped his fingers, grin to a smirk on his decent-looking face. "In fact, just don't bring any clothing at all. I fancy you all natural."
I stuck my middle finger at him while Liam glared at the boy and little Miss Potter looked disgusted herself now.
Rose frowned disapprovingly at her fifteen year-old brother. She had that look on her face, like she was about to lecture and get parental on him, but Malfoy patted her leg reassuringly. "I think I better go now," he said. "Liam, you coming?"
Malfoy's cousin, by a cruel joke of fate, shook his head. "I'm going to stay for a bit longer. Tell Aunt Astoria that I'll Floo in later."
The Slytherin nodded at Liam. In a quick farewell, Malfoy kissed Rose's lips tenderly and promised to owl her in the morning. He bid Hugo and Lily a good night, jokingly told Liam not to be late because he'll be up completely worried, and then his silver eyes found me. They were guilty again. I was satisfied when he turned on his heels and started heading for the backdoor of the Potter home.
Firmly, Rose told her younger brother to head inside and see how their mother's Sobering Potion was coming along. As Hugo departed, a salute to her and a wink at my direction, my friend approached me.
"You're still showing up in the evening, aren't you?" She engulfed me into a tight embrace. "It's his birthday, Nia. And, besides, you know we planned on having a group date to London to celebrate it. You love the theatre and..."
Whatever it was that she continued to whisper at me, it sounded out of my eardrums. Ahead, just a few measly yards from me, Al casually draped an arm around the uninvited witch's shoulder. He smiled lazily at her, in a way that he hadn't a long time at me. It was smooth, easy, and interested.
It sent a jolt of hurt inside my chest.
Oh, how I begged the bitch would do something that would give me an excuse to hex her. I didn't give a flying Patronus who she was related to—mess with Nia Harper's things and she would show you crazy.
My newly-healed hand tightened around the thin, metallic armrest of the chair I was on. Bitch De la Cruz had just placed a palm on Al's chest, her fingertips running gently and too friendly over the material of his button-up.
Rose released her arms from around me and I suddenly felt like I could breathe. "Please, Nia," she said softly. Her brown eyes were still looking concerned, but they also had a plea for peace.
I said nothing as I looked away from her.
There was exchanges of words and sighs amongst Rose, Liam, and the Potter child as I concentrated on all these feeling inside of me. What were they? Why did they hurt? And was it my fault that they were there?
How the hell was I supposed to know any of this?
Feeling a hand on my bare thigh, I was a little stunned when I found powerful hazel eyes glowing with worry. They were the eyes of the only person I knew how to love.
I swallowed the knot in my throat.
"Are you okay?" He grabbed my hand that had been previously sliced.
There was a scoff in the background before I could even answer my best friend's question. "Oh, honestly, Liam, leave it alone. There's nothing to be upset about." Baby Potter narrowed her eyes at our direction, still glued to her chair but looking tensed.
"Lily," Liam called in warning. Good thing, too. I don't know if I can honestly handle a comment about my relationship or these damn feelings from a ten year-old, anyway.
But like it was to be expected, little Lily Luna did not catch on. "They're just friends, you two! Al's allowed to have friends, is he not? It's not like—" She had been pointing a finger towards the direction where her brother sat when she suddenly went silent and dropped it.
In said table up ahead, Bitch De la Cruz leaned too closely to Al, like they weren't on two separate chairs, and pressed her lips at the corner of his mouth. His eyes opened wide in surprised, she giggled, and Mrs. Potter frowned at the audacity the foreign witch had.
Fun time was over.
"Bloody hell...Kill her, Harper," the Potter girl muttered.
A scream wanted to leave my lips but I had to bite down on my tongue from letting it escape.
"Nia, no!" Pointing his wand at me in a swift, undetected movement, Liam held me against the chair when my brain had decided to let my body stand. I was going to head over and commit a murder the muggle way. (Merlin knows those anger management books Rose and Emily have so dearly invested on for me have gone straight to hell. No method in them was going to let me relax and reflect.)
For the first time in history, Baby Potter looked sympathetic and on my side. "Let her go!" She snapped at her boyfriend. "She has every right to bash some skulls!"
"Don't encourage her, Lily!"
The Body-Binding Curse had my bones locked, but I glared with all my might at my best friend. Fuck you, Liam.
"—Ophelia, why don't you accompany me inside?" Ahead, I managed to see Mrs. Potter stand from her seat, a frown still on her freckled face as she looked at the intruding witch. Whatever polite hospitality she'd been holding was long gone. "We'll send an owl to your uncle so he can meet us here. I'm sure Percy would like a good chat with him."
Not having had catch what Slag De la Cruz did, Mister Weasley nodded and humbly confirmed his wishes for a quick chat with the new Minister.
"I always thought Emily was Mum's favorite, but she must really hold high regards for you, Harper, because she just gave you a clear opening to cause damage." The Potter girl turned to me, giving me that odd, sympathetic stare.
My usual glare or disapproving stare that was reserved just for her was long gone. It wasn't quite friendly, but I'm sure my eyes twinkled with gratitude.
The right corner of her mouth pulled into a smile. Her wand came out from the pocket of her trousers and then, "Finite."
"—Lily!"
"—Thank you!" Standing from my chair in an instant bolt, I shoved Liam down to the ground as soon as his girlfriend ended his jinx on me.
Surprisingly, as I hurried away from them, Lily was defending me and Liam was the one arguing. I stopped listening to that bizarre argument when I was within touching distance of Al. My index finger reached out to him, tapping on his shoulder and halting the conversation he was having with his Aunt Audrey.
"I think we better take this conversation inside don't you think, Audrey?" My boyfriend's grandmother cleared her throat, eyeing me like she could see the storm going on inside me. "Also, Perce, Artie must've fallen asleep in one of the rooms already. He was going to watch a few films with your father."
Mister Weasley raised a brow at his mother, like he didn't understand why she suddenly wanted to leave the garden. Nonetheless, he helped his mother up before pulling out his wife's chair. "We'll see how Ginny's going with that owl, too."
As the adults started leaving, Audrey and Mrs. Weasley looking back at me with caution, Al looked questioningly at me. "Where have you been?"
Wrong thing to say from the get-go, Potter.
I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling the cold of this December night. "Where else would I be?"
He shrugged. "I thought you left."
One, two, breathe. One, two, breathe.
"No," my teeth were gritted and it wasn't because of the cold, "I was right where you left me two hours ago. You know, before you disregarded me like last night's trash as soon as that De la Cruz witch appeared. Which is amusing to me because you never mentioned you invited her here."
There had been a casual smile on his face prior to my comment. Obviously, it wasn't there anymore. "Overreacting a bit, aren't you?"
Am I?
"No, I'm sure I have more to display, Albus."
He stood from his chair, his emerald eyes frowning at me. Why did he look like I was the one to be mad at? He was the one that left me! He was the one that allowed that witch to crawl all over him like I wasn't in a close distance!
How is this my fault?
He's been the one growing more and more attached to this bitch. Which, I suppose I can't choose his friends for him, but he hadn't the decency to introduce us to one another. If he was going to be chummy with some Slytherin bitch, didn't I at least deserved the respect to meet her?
This is how relationships work, right?
"Refrain yourself from being that jealous, overbearing girlfriend, Nia." For some reason he appeared taller and I dismal. "Because if that's the way you want to play it, I got things to throw back at you. I don't get that way when Lorcan Scamander and you are off together, do I?"
"Lorcan and I are just friends," I hissed at him. "Lorcan has never crossed a line with me to disrespect you or our relationship, Potter!"
"That's rich! Like I'm not perfectly aware that the git is still head over heels for you!"
"Lorcan doesn't like me anymore! Lorcan likes—" I stopped. I didn't have to give him explanations over Scamander's life. He and I were just friends, nothing more. "I would never do to you what you're doing to me, Albus."
"And what exactly am I doing to you?"
Through his frowning eyes it was like he couldn't see me. Were the tears starting to well in my eyes not visible? Could he not hear the strain in my voice, the quiver and the shake? Could he not see my chest heaving for air, my hands shaking, my shoulders slumming? Couldn't he feel the way my heart was breaking?
"You're being ridiculous, Nia." Obviously he couldn't.
I swallowed the knot in my throat. I tried to keep myself together. "Don't be a git, Al." It came out slow, silent, helpless.
"I think we had enough," was his response.
"Don't walk away, Albus!" He had been turning on his heels, giving me his back, and I shrieked the first thing I could. I was never the one to sound so pathetic, to sound like I was begging, but nothing was right anymore. It felt like I was losing control again. "Don't walk...Listen to me."
He turned back, but he was still frowning. "I don't want to hear you," he said with a cutting honesty.
In the background, I heard Baby Potter take a loud inhale. No doubt she was watching entertainingly with Liam.
"Are you daft?" I whispered at Al, my insides shaking. "You can't walk away. When a couple's having a fight they fix it. They don't make it worse by storming off." It was true, wasn't it?
He was still tensed, still firm and rigid like he couldn't see my logic. "And how do you expect me to fix this? There's nothing to fix. You're out of line, not me."
"Send her home." That's what I needed. "She shouldn't be here, Al."
My boyfriend scoffed at me with no amusement at all. "You can't be serious. You don't even know Ophelia—and clearly you don't know me. You might scare Liam into doing things your way when you put that frown on your face, but you don't frighten me."
Low blow.
"I'm not trying to scare you into anything!" You fucking idiot, Potter. "And, of course I don't bloody well know her! Nor do I want to! She's the bitch that practically snogged you—"
"Just shut up, Nia!" Al snarled at me.
It was a slap. It was a hard slap to the face, unstabling me and making me stumble back a few steps. My eyes went wide, feeling the sting, and I gaped with bewilderment and confusion.
Not once had he ever raised his voice at me. Not once had he ever dared to say something absolutely rude to me. He knew better, I would've cursed him.
Foolish Nia, where is your wand now?
My bottom lip trembled but I bit down into it. I didn't want him to see the mess I was becoming. Who the hell was I? And most importantly, who the hell was he? That boy narrowing his green eyes at me, frowning with a gleam of disgust, was not my Potter. I didn't even know who he was now.
"Last time I checked, you were my girlfriend, not my mother. Don't ever tell me who I can be friends with or who I can invite into my home. That way this," his index finger gestured to me and back at him, "will work out smoothly."
My lips parted but nothing came out. I was frozen.
"Goodnight, Nia." A pair of cool lips touched mine, barely. And before I could react, they were gone. He was gone.
I had asked him to send De la Cruz home and instead...instead he was sending me home.
One, two, breathe.
One, two, breathe.
One, two—
Arms wrapped around me and my face was pressed against a chest. It blocked my vision, but that was just fine. Tears had blurred my surroundings, anyway.
"Is she okay?"
There was a shake of the head, I could feel it. And then, Liam's voice vibrated from his chest onto my forehead and the tip of my nose. "Nia, I'll take you home, now, okay? I've got you."
That was perfectly fine, too. After all, I started sobbing like I'd lost something I didn't know was absolutely valuable and necessary for me. I started sobbing because I lost myself in this relationship—and because I was aware now that Al broke my heart tonight.
And that I lost my first battle against Ophelia De la Cruz.