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CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
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TAP. TAP. TAP.
Mei glanced over to look at Odette. Odette had stopped taking notes and was tapping the tip of her quill against the desk. She seemed unaware of her actions as she was buried in her daydream. Mei wasn't sure what happened, but Odette was certainly in a better mood. The small smile and the look in her eyes told Mei everything.
Nevertheless, Mei took the quill and placed it down on the table. Odette jumped and looked over at her. Mei didn't look over at her and immediately continued writing her notes. Odette stared for a moment before she slowly picked up her quill and began to write once again.
"What's got you so giddy?" asked Mei as they left the classroom afterwards.
"Huh?" said Odette, her skipping came to an end as she looked at Mei.
"You're so happy today. . .it's a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"It's not a bad thing! It's just. . .you seem like such a different person today."
"Oh! Well, good things happened."
"Care to share? We all need some happiness around here, most of us here are miserable at the moment."
"Good things don't last long anyway," said Odette, "How's Naomi doing?"
". . .Better," said Mei.
"And Chloe?"
"I don't know about her," said Mei, "Neither does Olivia Mae and if there is something Olivia Mae doesn't know, then it's unlikely anyone else does."
Odette remained silent as she adjusted her bag's strap on her shoulder.
"Do you ever. . .just want to run away?" said Odette, "Run away from everything and never look back?"
". . .I used to," said Mei, "But I learned running away isn't an option."
Odette looked down at the floor.
"I hope you're not planning on running away," said Mei, "It'll cause more harm than good, you know."
"I know," said Odette with a small smile, "Thanks for sticking around."
"Of course. I should be thanking you," said Mei, "It's nice to have new people around sometimes."
"I'll have to agree to disagree with you there," said Odette with a chuckle.
"Odette. . ." said Mei.
"What?" laughed Odette.
"How could you not like new people? If you hadn't met anyone new, you would have never met a certain someone. . ."
Odette felt warmth rush up her cheeks, leaving her at a loss for words, "M — Mei!"
"What? Am I wrong?"
"I would have been fine without any of this. I had a life before I became Odette."
"I don't know, Odette," said Mei, "I was raised with the belief of fate. With that in mind, I think you have to let go of what you had because it doesn't exist anymore. What does exist is the present. You lost everything, only to gain something else. Whether you believe in fate or not, I do and I believe it was fate that brought you and Black together. You seem awfully close."
"Isn't there a point to fate?" said Odette, "What would be the point of Regulus and I? There's no point, is there? We're just two close friends, I'm sure."
Mei laughed, "You two? Friends? Don't kid around, Odette. Friends don't look at each other like that."
"What do you mean? How do we look at each other?"
"You really don't know?" said Mei, Odette shook her head. Mei laughed even harder, "Oh, Odette. . ."
"What? Mei, tell me!"
"No, no, I'll wait," said Mei as she picked at her nailbeds, "Until then, I believe there is a reason for everything. If Regulus hadn't stolen your books, you would have never met him, would you? Now, look at you two. Something is bound to happen. Fate works in mysterious ways, you know."
"I don't know if I believe in fate," said Odette, "Fate is cruel."
"Growing up, fate was just a part of life. You accepted it and moved on. Life isn't nice. Have you read the Daily Prophet lately? Everyone is slowly going mad. Naomi's already halfway out the sanity door. Chloe disappeared. People keeps dying every day. We gloss over those things because it's not happening to us. There is no such thing as fair and unfair because unfairness is fair."
"I don't think anyone here has gotten through life unscathed," said Odette, "We're all battling something, internally and externally. No matter how different we are, we know how pain feels like. Will we ever be happy again, Mei?"
"Happiness. . .truly happiness, where we are at peace and the pain has been forgotten, no. However, happiness comes in a lot of forms, so yes. Let's be happy together, Odette."
"What would I do without you, Mei?"
"You'd get lost, that's what you'd do."
"Give me a bit of credit, I'm still standing, aren't I?"
"With support, you can," Mei mumbled. Odette frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly like it sounds like. Odette, you're strong, but not strong enough. We're great friends, but we're extremely different. I spent months pushing people away to bury my hurt. You had no choice but to depend on people. If you had no one, you wouldn't last a day. You need someone to help you up and that's not a bad thing. It only makes sense, really."
"Sense?"
"Of course. You woke up in a foreign country with no memories. Your amnesia case is extremely peculiar as well. If you were all alone, you'd find no way to get home."
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't call it amnesia."
"But it practically is amnesia. You haven't had any memories return, have you?"
"Of course not, just weird dreams."
"You sure those aren't memories?"
"Certain."
Mei hummed, "If you say so."
The two girls froze as they spotted a familiar face, This time, both of them knew who it was. They exchanged glances.
"We might have gone the wrong way," said Mei.
"Of course," said Odette, "Let's turn back."
"That's the only reasonable thing to do."
The two girls turned back around, but were not quick enough as McCleery spoke.
"Hello, ladies."
"Hello," respondes Mei as she turned back around, "Do I know you? Oh wait - unfortunately, I do."
"Don't be rude, Xun. I'm trying to be civil here."
"Funny, so am I."
"Mei, let's just go," said Odette, grabbing Mei's arm.
"Benoit!" he yelled. Mei and Odette tensed as they both turned to look at him. Upon seeing their reactions, he laughed, "What? You're running away now that Black isn't here to protect you."
Odette rolled her eyes, "More like we're walking away since we have better things to do than to speak to the likes of you."
"He's just using you, you know," said McCleery, "He said it himself. You're clearly so naive. Why would a Black ever want something with a Benoit?"
"Sorry, but could you repeat yourself? I stopped listening once you opened your mouth."
"Oh, ha ha," McCleery rolled his eyes, "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you the truth?"
"She'll pass," said Mei, "We don't associate ourselves with your kind. Run along now."
"Mei Xun," said McCleery, "Aren't you the girl who caused a scene in the great hall last year?"
Odette watched as Mei's face turned a light shade of pink.
"Half-blood, aren't I right?" he said, "Right. . .wasn't he a muggle?"
"No," said Mei.
"Oh, you don't have to lie. Nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Muggles. . .are quite weird creatures. So weak, yet they think they're superior. The way they do things. . ."
"I'll show you the way muggles do things," muttered Mei before she lunged at McCleery.
"Mei!" shrieked Odette as McCleery sent her body flying backwards. Odette went to take out her wand, but McCleery disarmed her. Odette gasped as she stared at her wand.
McCleery started to walk towards her, Odette took steps back.
"Such a shame," he said, "If only you weren't a Benoit."
"What's with everyone and their fascination with my family?!"
"Don't play dumb. You know exactly what you've done."
"I didn't do anything," sneered Odette as she was backed into a wall. McCleery smirked as he rose his wand.
"Maybe not you, but you're sure to know something, aren't you? We'll get you to talk."
Odette opened her mouth but she was interrupted by Mei screaming. McCleery whipped around just in time for Mei to tackle him to the floor. Odette's eyes widened as Mei wrestled McCleery on the ground.
"Odette! Don't just stand there, grab his bloody wand!"
"O - Oh!"
Odette rushed over to get his wand away from him, "But don't you think that maybe you shouldn't, I don't know, fight him?"
"Fight? You call this a fight? He's just flopping like a fish out of water, this is no fight."
Mei slammed him against the floor once again, Odette jumped.
"Um - am I supposed to go get someone?"
"No!" shouted Mei.
Odette took in the situation before her, before she turned around. However, she jumped back when she realized she was no longer alone. Standing behind her with an amused look on her face was the slytherin prefect that Odette recognized as Elea Zabini.
"Odette! Hi!" said Elea, rather happily actually.
"Hello," said Odette warily.
Elea glanced behind Odette, "I see you two caught a rather annoying fly," said Elea, "I've been trying to get rid of it all week."
Odette looked over at McCleery, "I think calling him a fly is a bit unfair to flies."
"Equally as annoying," shrugged Elea, "Not much of a difference."
Elea strolled past Odette. There was something about Slytherins that made all of them similar. She's met quite a few throughout the past year and they all were very different, but they all had something in common. Their aura just emitted a sense of pride, a demand for respect. They knew how to carry themselves. They knew exactly what they wanted and what they deserved. However, some of them lost that feeling. When she passed by Regulus in the corridors, he was proud, but sometimes, when he was alone, his shoulders would slouch ever so slightly and his head would be bowed. His eyes, usually narrowed to create a natural glare, softened, showing the sadness that he pushed away.
It was easy to forget that they were humans, not programmed robots. While some of them seemed far from landing in the ground with the rest, some struggled to stay afloat. They were raised with strict rules and traditions that they were expected to follow, but when they grow up, they start to see something else. They mature and start to question things. They're no longer easily impressionable children, however they don't want to let go of what's familiar to them, but they don't want to feel imprisoned in their own lives. They were never prepared to be faced with such a dilemma. The spoiled child who once knew exactly what they wanted was gone and left behind was the shell.
When the Xun sisters spoke so badly of the Slytherins, they were wrong. Sure, there perhaps were Slytherins exactly like the ones they described, however they weren't the ones Odette saw. Regulus was one of those Slytherins they spoke about and while Odette couldn't say he was the complete opposite, he wasn't the villain they made him out to be. He was hurting, just like the rest of them. He had his own problems that weighed him down, just like the rest of them. He was human, just like the rest of them. Were any of them really different? Could people be blamed for doing what they were taught to do all their life? Not everyone had the strength to crawl out of hell and ignore the burn marks on their skin to heal the wounds of others. How did that make them bad? Bullies are bad people, sure, but what if they mature? Are they still bad?
Odette heard footsteps behind her and turned around. The air became clogged in her throat as she stared at Regulus. She had no doubt that perhaps as a child he was as bad as described. Perhaps, he was spoiled, bratty, a bully, but that wasn't him now. Bystanders were just as bad as bullies, but what if it is fear that glues their feet to ground? What if they want to scream, run in between the bully and the victim, but their feet feel heavy and their throat is dry? Their eyes are wide and they want to help, but they're frozen. If it was her, would she step in or will the fear paralyze her?
"Odette!" Regulus suddenly said loudly as he picked up his pace and pulled her roughly to the side. Odette yelped in surprise as she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Something crashed in the other side of the wall where the others were.
"What the hell were you doing just standing there? Did you even notice what was happening behind you?"
Odette shook her head. Regulus scoffed, "Honestly, if Elea hadn't informed me beforehand, do you know what might have happened?"
"I would have been more aware, that's what!"
"Are you saying this is my fault?"
"Yes! You distracted me," said Odette.
"I distracted you? How is that my fault?"
Odette didn't respond. Regulus rolled his eyes and helped her up to her feet. He gave her no time to thank him as he left her side to go check up on the fight that seemed to be occurring on the other side. Odette followed. Mei greeted her immediately.
"Odette! Are you okay? You seemed really zoned out there."
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Odette, her knee ached a bit, but it seemed fine with the exception of it being a bit red.
"He managed to take my wand and shot at you," said Mei, "Which is weird because you weren't doing anything. I would have thought he would have aimed at us since we were the ones holding him down."
"Some people just don't make sense," said Odette as she rubbed her arm.
"Excuse me," said Regulus as he came up behind Mei. Aside from those two words, he practically ignored her as he looked at Odette, "I think it's about time we talk."
"I think we were supposed to talk a long time ago."
"Well, I want to talk now."
"This isn't really a question, is it?"
"If we don't talk now, I don't know when's the next time we can talk," said Regulus, "I'm busy."
"You're always busy," mumbled Odette.
"What?"
Odette looked up and forced a smile, "Sure, let's talk."
Elea passed by, whistling, McCleery nowhere in sight.
"Where did he go?" asked Mei.
"Oh, don't worry about it," said Elea, "I'll make sure he gets the proper repercussions for his actions."
She made eye contact with Regulus and smiled. Regulus scowled and looked away.
Mei looked at Odette and mouthed, "I like her."
Odette shook her head, "Well, that's a first."
Mei smiled, "I'll leave you two alone now."
As soon as Mei left, Regulus turned around and strolled off. Odette stayed in place and stared after him.
"If you want to hear what I'm going to say, you better move those feet," he called out.m
Odette shook her head and hurried to catch up with him.