Roman and I had continued to the library that evening. The air was tense , but we cleared it up. We always did.
Daisy didn't bother to wake me up today either and my alarm was still broken. I only woke up due to the noise my dorm mates made before leaving.
I was on time for breakfast today and could leave earlier to class. So yesterdays problem would not repeat itself. Today my hands had paint all over them. I'd stayed up late in the common room painting. I loved painting and it was one of the few things I was really passionate about. It made me happy so I tried do to it as often as possible, to make up for my lack of happiness in my day to day life. The paint hadn't all come of, although it was no surprise since this was a frequent occurrence.
Noticing the time I grabbed my backpack containing the books for my first three classes of the day and left the hall unnoticed.
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History of Magic and Divination had gone well. No one had talked to me as usual, but no one had ignored me either. They just hadn't come close to me so technically they didn't ignore me because I didn't say anything or do anything for them to ignore. I was having a good day. It was after Transfiguration, on my way to lunch that everything went down hill.
Class was just over and I had just exited the room when someone bumped into me, pushing me out of the throng of students leaving the classroom. My back hit the wall and I winced slightly at the impact while at the same time dropping my backpack. As I looked up to see who had bumped into me so harshly, I felt my eyes widen and my stomach drop. I stood frozen as I watched Theordor Nott advance towards me, a smirk on his face. I didn't react until he was right in front of me, and then it was too late. His hands made their way to my shoulders and pushed them back into the wall.
"Oh no you don't little Hufflepuff." He whispered as I tried to get away from him and his strange behavior. He was unsurprisingly very strong and even as I tried to get away from the wall, I couldn't budge.
"What are you doing!?" I asked, leaning my head as far away from him as I could. He moved his face to my neck and whispered, "Having some fun." Then he was kissing me. Hard. Fear siezed my chest as I immediately began to trash around, pushing at his chest and trying to get away from him.
"Get off me!" I tried to say, but his mouth was in the way. When he finally pulled away I was crying and was struggling to breath. "Please stop, Nott. I don't want to." I said to him as I tried to stop sobbing. He just smirked and began to kiss up my neck.
Students were coming out of Transfiguration, but didn't give us a second glance. Theodore was so large that no-one could see me properly. It just looked like two people having a good time.
"Let go off me!" I said as loud as possible, although my voice was trembling. Again I began to push him away, but Nott was tall and strong and he completely disregarded my attempts at stopping him.
"Stop moving." He hissed at me, momentarily stopping his assault.
"The-Theodore, please stop. Please, I don't want to." I said directly to his face, hoping he would get the message. Surely he must see I don't want to. I'm crying my eyes out for gods sake. He ignored me and kissed me once more. He pressed his body into me, letting go off one of my shoulders to roam his hand over my body. Suddenly a horrifying thought hit me. What if he took me somewhere, away from the halls, somewhere no one could see us. At the thought I really began to panic. I began trashing harshly and I called out. "Help! Please hel-" I was cut off my Nott slapping a hand across my mouth, a seething look on his face. "Shut up, bloodtraitor." He hissed as I screamed for help again.
He looked around and thinking better of it, began to move us down the hall, me still pressed against the wall and a hand still covering my mouth. I knew what he was doing now. He actually was going to take me somewhere.
"Hey, Nott! Get off her!" Theodore stopped moving and turned his head around to come face to face with the boy-who-lived.
Harry Potter took one glance at me and noticed the fearful tear streaked face hiding behind the tall boy who's hand was covering my mouth. Those famous green eyes of his widened.
"This is none of your business Potter!" Theodore spat at him before turning around to face me again. His hands were still pressed on my shoulders so I had no opportunity to escape. But before he could start taking me away with him again, he was ripped away from me. I looked up and could see Harry Potter pulling him off me. Seeing my chance I ran, completely forgetting my backpack but not before seeing the famous boy punching Theodore.
The tears were still running down my face and my breathing was becoming faster and faster. I knew what was happening and my subconscious knew what to do. I must have looked like a maniac running through the halls crying, but for once in my life I didn't care. I had to find him before the whole school saw me have a panic attack.
I knew approximately where he would be. It was lunch after all, but since he had just had potions in the dungeons it would take him longer to get to lunch. Suddenly there in front of me I saw Romans scary friends, but couldn't see Roman anywhere. Then and there, in my distraught state I had to make a decision. Should I go look for him myself, or ask his friends who scared me to death, who he had just shared a class with and would most likely know where he is.
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I hadn't bothered to dry my tears as they just kept on falling. Cautiously I made my way up to Vincent Crabbe who was shorter and the least intimidating of the three. Draco Malfoy was by far the scariest. I took a deep shaky breath before tapping his shoulder. He turned around so fast I had to take a few steps back if I didn't want to get knocked over. I had lowered my head a little the second he looked at me to hide my tear stained face and partly because of fear.
"Excuse me-" I say my voice trembling. I can't help but swallow harshly. "but...have you seen Roman?"
Crabbe laughs loudly and Goyle sniggers. Draco Malfoy just stares. "Atrio? What the hell do you want with him."Crabbe sniggers in my face.
"I'm sorry, bu-but its very important." I mutter still looking down. "He doesn't speak with mudbloods, so piss off." Goyle says. I stand there in shock at what he just called me. I take a step back in horror. I start to fiddle with my bracelets and it must catch their attention because Goyle suddenly exclaims "Have you got paint on your hands? That's almost as disgusting as your filthy blood." He spits.
I don't know what to do with myself. I take another few steps back when he calls out again.
"What does a little Hufflepuff third year like you want with Atrio anyway?" If my face wasn't red before it becomes beet red at his words. I know I look young for my age, but honestly, a third year?
"What's going on guys? Hufflepuff third yea-?" A voice speaks up and Roman emerges from behind the tall gang of boys with confusion all over his face. He stops abruptly when he sees me. His honey brown eyes so similar to mine widen. Crabbe opens his mouth to insult me again, but Roman beats him to it. "Tara, what are you doing?" I look up and the first thing that catches my eye is another pair of passive curious silver eyes. The eye contact is broken as quick as it come when Roman pushes past his friends.
"Oh my goodness what happened! Why are you crying?" He rushes towards me and envelops me in a big hug. "Theodore....he-he...was...he did something." Is all I manage to say before I break down in his arms knowing I am in safe hands. Roman puts an arm around my sholders and leads meto the library, away from the confused and prying eyes of Crabbe and Goyle and the amused eyes of Draco Malfoy staring us in the back.
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I've stopped crying now after Roman was able to calm me down, and my breathing has returned to normal. "Tara what happened? You said Theodore, are you talking about Theo Nott?" Knowing that there is no point avoiding the evident conversation I tell him what happened.
I've never seen him so livid before. His face is red as a tomato and he is almost growling. I try to calm him down. "Roman it's okay. I- I guess I was being quite a baby about it. It - it was just a kiss..." I'm not able to continue as silent tears fall down my cheek. I really am a baby. I cry just thinking about it.
Roman being the perceptive person he is notices my silent tears and sits down beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders and grabbing my paint covered hand in his other hand. "Sorry for getting so angry Tara. It's just that I though Nott was an okay person. He isn't good, but I though he was okay. And now he has done something horrible to the person I love most in the world. I'm sorry for coming so late and leaving you to deal with my stupid friends as well. Snape needed to see me about Potions. They didn't say anything mean to you did they?"
"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault at all. It's mine mainly, I should have tried harder to stop him." I wipe the tears of my face and look up at Roman who is looking worried and confused.
"It wasn't your fault, Tars." He whispers, pulling me into his arms. "Don't even for one second think it was anything to do with you, okay?" He looks down at me and I nod, sniffling into his blazer.
"But you didn't answer the question. Did anyone say anything mean to you and who was it?" I can see he is getting angry now. He drops my hand and turns his whole body so he isn't sitting beside me but facing me. I suck in my lips and nervously look up at him. I don't want to tell him what his friends said, but I don't dare not do it. "They didn't say much" I say glancing at him. He lifts his eyebrow insinuating I continue. "Crabbe and Goyle were just being idiots".
"Just tell me what they said. I know them and they don't lay off on the mean comments for anyone. They don't even know who you are, so just please tell me what they said to you." Roman said exasperated. I look at him long and hard. I'm really not in the mood for this now. I'm still scared and I'm tired. It's silent for a while before I sigh.
"They called me a mudblood. Happy now?" I fall back against the sofa in the library, awaiting Romans rage. "What?" He seethes. He gets up and begins to pace. "How could they. I've told them to stop calling people that, but they don't listen. And now they've....they've called you one?!" He paces back and forth, muttering to himself about imminent deaths and murder.
"It wasn't Malfoy?" He asks after a while. I shake my head. Draco Malfoy terrifies me, if he had called me something like that, I think I might have fainted on the spot.
Roman goes on the say that Malfoy usually is the one who insults people, which takes me by surprise because he didn't say one word to me. Maybe he agreed with the rest of the school. I wasn't worth acknowledging.
"I'm as much of a mudblood as you are, by the way, so don't take it to heart. I love you very much for who you are, okay? And I'm really sorry about Nott. I promise I'll keep you safe." He then goes on the apologize for his friends behavior and tells me he won't be with them anymore. I suddenly feel bad for loosing Roman his friends, but he reassures me they never really were his true friends. They just hung out with him and Draco Malfoy.
Horrible chapter I'm sorry. The last part was incredible difficult to write and I'll most likely be improving it later