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SERENA STORMED OUT OF the garden, tears blinding her vision. She didn't want to cry but was too upset to stop it. Timothée was still waiting for her in the frigid night, but she couldn't confront him. She knew he felt terrible for the kiss and probably thought Serena had left and wasn't planning on coming back. Except, she would have, but just couldn't face anyone at the moment.
Before she knew it, Serena found herself at the Black Lake. It was beautiful out; the sparkling stars and bright moon were reflected on the smooth surface of the water, calm and serene, contrasting the swirl of emotions rumbling inside Serena.
She stumbled down the hill toward the dock, the chill from the snow enveloping her in a permanent frost. It wasn't until she reached the dock when she saw a figure already sitting at the edge. Quickly wiping her tears away so she could see, Serena carefully walked forward, eyes trained on the silhouette that was focused on the shining moon above. "Who's there?"
The girl finally reached the edge to see none other than Magnolia Mulberry with her hands in her lap, feet kicking at the water below. "Hey, Serena," she said without turning away from the moon. Her voice was soft and... sad. "The moon's really pretty tonight, isn't it? I've always loved the moon. It's... peaceful to look at."
Serena took a seat beside her friend. Pushing her feelings aside, she didn't answer her question but instead looked at Magnolia. The moonlight highlighted her face, her blue eyes that seemed to have lost a little of its light. "Nolie... are you alright?"
Magnolia glanced to her side, noticing the Gryffindor's glistening tear-streaked face. She chuckled, running her thumb across her face to dry it. "Looks like we both had a bad night."
Serena nodded, leaning her head on the brunette's ice-cold shoulder. "I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours."
"Deal," she smiled before looking back up at the moon. "Remember when I went looking for Adalene? Well, I found her snogging some guy in the corridor. She said... she said she only wanted to try going out with a girl for fun and wasn't serious at all. I'm alright though, it's nothing much."
Serena snapped her head up. "Are you kidding me? You can't just play with someone's feelings like that!" The Gryffindor stood. "I'm going to have a nice chat with Adalene-"
"Yeah, no," Magnolia quickly pulled her friend back down, placing Serena's head back on her shoulder. "You don't need another detention, darling. Besides... I'm used to it. Every girl I've dated either wanted to use me for the 'experience' or lied about their feelings in fear of being judged... which isn't a problem until they blame me for their own advances. Either way, I'm not surprised."
"But your hurt. I can tell. And you don't deserve that."
She let out a quiet laugh. "To be honest, I don't think anyone would ever truly like someone like... me."
Serena rolled her eyes. "You say that like being bisexual is some sort of disease."
"'Course it's not, but it isn't exactly normal."
"And when have you, Magnolia Mulberry, ever strived to be normal?
"Never, I suppose," the Ravenclaw said quietly, staring up at the moon. "I've never once cared about society's outdated opinions. I guess there's no point in starting now."
Serena smiled in approval, wrapping her arm around Magnolia's. "I promise you Nolie, one day, someone will come into your life and completely throw you off balance. And they'll love you just as much as Mona and I love you."
"For someone so sure others will find someone, you don't think it's possible for yourself."
Serena shook her head. "If you're thinking about Fred, don't. We... had a row. It was pretty bad."
Magnolia sighed. "I thought he was exaggerating when he said he would only make things worse, but boy was I wrong. Looks like he did just that."
"So you did tell him Timothée and Fleur Delacour are cousins, didn't you?"
"It was when I was looking for Adalene," -Magnolia's tone went a little sour at the name- "I saw Fred and George. Angelina and Alicia were off dancing somewhere else, don't worry about them. Anyways, Fred seemed pretty upset. He asked about Timothée, so I just told him what I knew. I felt bad... he looked more miserable hearing about his 'competition.'"
"Competition? Against Timothée? For what?"
"For you, obviously. We all know Fred wanted to go to the ball with you, but you went with Timothée because Fred was being dumb. He's more upset about it than he lets on. So, George and I convinced him to tell you how he feels."
The girl scoffed. "Fred made it very clear how he feels about me. Accused me of 'fraternising with the enemy' all because Timothée kissed me-"
Magnolia whipped around to face Serena. "He what?"
Serena figured she probably should have led up to that piece of information. "Erm..." she fiddled with her fingers as she looked for a way to explain. "Well, he sort of sprung up on me, but I don't blame him. He felt really bad afterwards, even apologised in French... well, I think that's what he said in French. At least someone was straight forward with me."
"I'm not excusing what Fred said to you, Serena, but if he saw when you and Timothée, he must have felt pretty mad at himself for missing his chance. People act differently when they're jealous."
The Gryffindor scoffed. "You say that as if he likes me."
"Because it's obvious he does. Boys are stupid, and don't know how to tell a girl they like them. Fred most definitely falls in that category. He was jealous and took his anger out on you," said Magnolia. "A prick move for sure, but I can promise you, he genuinely likes you, a lot. He just needs to get over his fragile pride."
"Well, I think you're wrong."
Magnolia rolled her eyes. "I swear, you and Ramona can't tell when someone likes you even if they permanently stamp it across their forehead."
Serena, ignoring the Ravenclaw's statement, smiled at the mention of their other friend. "She seemed so happy. Glad one of us had a good night."
Magnolia smiled as well. "Yeah, I think Cedric's really good for Ramona. That girl, she has a really big heart. She deserves someone to love."
"Look at us," laughed Serena, "being all mushy and sad."
Magnolia snorted. "Yeah, not a good look on us. But... it has been a while since we've sat out by the lake. It was nice. Even though it's freezing and we haven't got any cloaks," she laughed as she stood, brushing off her cobalt dress that shimmered in the moonlight.
Serena got to her feet as well, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "It would be even nicer if we weren't cold and crying."
"Excuse me, do you see any tears on my face?"
"You must've wiped them off when you heard my voice."
"Oh, shove off, Serena, don't pretend you weren't sobbing on my shoulder just now."
"Sobbing? I don't sob, thank you-" Serena was cut off by the sound of giggles. The sixth-years glanced at each other before going up the rest of the deck. On their right, two girls were walking side by side, laughing at something the other had said. Serena would have kept on walking if she hadn't heard her sister's voice.
"What happened to my date, you say? I ditched him. He was far more interested in some Beauxbatons girl but I didn't mind too much. He... wasn't my type anyway."
"No worries," a soft voice responded. "Draco had asked me, but I turned him down because Pansy would probably have torn me to shreds. Then Theodore asked me to dance, most likely Draco's attempt to get that boy to socialise a little more. But I could tell he just wanted to sleep, so that's when I found you."
Iyla frowned. "I don't get how you're friends with those pricks. You're so nice, but all Malfoy does is cause trouble. The number of times I almost hexed that boy...."
The girl, whose light blonde hair seemed to be illuminated by the moon, gave an airy chuckle. "Trust me, I've had plenty of arguments with him regarding his attitude. But behind the scenes... Draco isn't too bad. Just... misunderstood."
"If Malfoy's misunderstood, I wonder what he's like when he's clear," Serena suddenly snarled, much to Magnolia's surprise. "Perhaps he'll start blatantly calling people slurs. Oh, wait! He's done that already."
The fourth-years whipped around to see Serena,
her brown eyes narrowed on Daphne Greengrass. The Slytherin looked down, almost in shame, as Iyla turned to her sister. "Serena! What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be out here!"
"What am I- we're outside, Iyla. I'm pretty sure anyone can be out here," said Serena. "The question is what are you doing with her?"
Daphne frowned at the clear distaste in Serena's voice, but Iyla only scoffed. "That's none of your business."
With a sigh, Serena pulled her sister to the side. "I've been meaning to talk to about of that Greengrass girl. You are aware she's apart of Parkinson's lot? She was the one passing out those awful badges about Harry. Your best friend, in case you've forgotten."
Iyla looked as if she wanted to tell Serena something, but chose against it. "You don't understand. She apologised for it, anyway."
Serena looked at her sister incredulously. "If Magnolia passed out badges that insulted Ramona, I wouldn't just take a measly apology! I'd be pissed off!"
Iyla took in a breath to keep her cool. "Listen, I don't need you telling me who I can and can't be friends with. She apologised, and that's the end of it. You don't even know Daphne's situation, you always jump to conclusions!"
Serena knew she was going to far, but she was too unreasonably angry to stop. "If you haven't realised, Iyla, you didn't explain the situation! So how in the world am I supposed to know what going on with her?" She scoffed. "Is there really a need for an explanation, anyway? Because it seems pretty cut and dry to me. She insulted Harry, and you're just letting it slide. Where was that energy when you hexed Parkinson?"
Iyla opened her mouth to argue but instead groaned. Turning around, she grabbed the frozen Slytherin and pulled her along. "Come on, Daphne, let's go somewhere else." Daphne looked back at Serena almost apologetically before following Iyla.
Serena stared in shock as the two girls disappeared. "Did you see that, Magnolia? How she just walked away? As if I'm in the wrong!"
Magnolia absentmindedly patted Serena's shoulder, who was still muttering in annoyance. Yet, her gaze lingered on where the two fourth-years had vanished in curiosity.
~~~
It had been a week since the Yule Ball, and Serena had spoken to neither Fred nor Timothée. The first because, well, their last conversation didn't end on good terms, and even though Fred tried to talk to her, frequently, she shut him down each time. The second because Serena could never seem to get a chance to talk to him. She saw Timothée at breakfast, in the library, at lunch, in the courtyard, and dinner. But every time she approached the French boy, his green eyes would widen as a blush covered his cheeks, and he'd speed away. "So much for trying to apologise," sighed Serena as she sat with Ramona and Magnolia at dinner, watching as Timothée walked out of the Great Hall with a couple of his Beauxbatons friends.
"The kid's embarrassed, so you just have to be upfront," said Magnolia. "Be the persistent, confrontational Gryffindor you always are."
"Or," Ramona emphasized, "you could give him time to approach you."
"I did. A week's worth of time but nothing's happened," Serena pouted, playing with her treacle tart.
"Don't worry, Rena, Timothée just needs a little more time. Cedric eventually came up to me."
"That's different. Pretty Boy's your boyfriend." Rather than deny as she normally would have before, Ramona blushed profusely.
"Took you two long enough. It was getting annoying, you lot flirting all the time and literally nothing else," said Magnolia, rolling her eyes. "Just glad Cedric had enough sense to seal the deal at the ball."
Ramona was positively red now, failing miserably to keep her smile at bay. "Oh, shush up."
Just because Serena found it funny how easily embarrassed Ramona got, she continued. "What did you say happened, again? Oh, wait, I remember! You two were one of the last dancing and confessed your feelings for each other"-Serena and Magnolia cringed- "and then Cedric leaned in and ki-"
Ramona clapped a hand around Serena's mouth so suddenly the Gryffindor nearly fell back off her seat. She understood why, the moment Cedric Diggory took a seat beside Ramona. He looked elated as he placed a small peck on her reddened cheek. "Hi, love."
The burgundy-haired girl giggled, looking away. "Hi, Cedric."
Magnolia glanced at Serena. "Is this going to be an everyday thing?"
"Hope not," said Serena, though she was smiling. She turned to Cedric. "Hey, Pretty Boy. What brings you to the Ravenclaw table?"
"Well..." he started, playing with Ramona's hand. "I was sort of hoping you all could help me with something."
"And what's that?" Ramona asked her boyfriend softly.
"You see... erm, it's pretty hard. I've been working on it for more than a month and I still haven't gotten any clue from it. I've run out of ideas. And if you don't have time, I completely understand, it may take a while-"
"Oh, just say it already," Magnolia said impatiently.
Cedric nervously chuckled. "Okay.... well, I was hoping you can help me with the golden egg I got during the first task."
Serena shot out of her seat. "Sure!"
The other three glanced up at her as Magnolia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You sure are enthusiastic. A little too enthusiastic if I'm being honest."
Serena had just spotted Fred Weasley enter the Great Hall, an uncharacteristic frown on his features. "I think I'm just the right amount of enthusiastic, actually. Triwizard stuff, really fascinating," she hurriedly rushed them out of their seats. "Come on now, if we're gonna help, we're gonna help now!"
The group of four headed over to the library, checking out every book on magical objects they could find. They spent that few remaining hours of sunlight flipping through page after page, books stacked in tall piles on the table.
"My brain hurts," Serena groaned after closing her seventh book, rubbing her forehead.
"You have a brain? I thought it was all air up there."
Serena glared at Magnolia. "Can't I ever complain in peace?"
"No."
"You weren't kidding when you said they bicker a lot," Cedric whispered to Ramona.
She shook her head, watching the two argue. "They act like children, those two."
Magnolia, ignoring Serena, turned to Cedric. "Okay, looking in the library was utterly useless."
"I know," the grey-eyed boy frowned. "I honestly can't think of anything else to do."
Magnolia leaned back in her chair. "You said anywhere you open it, all it does is scream, right?"
Cedric nodded. "The common room, the dormitory, the bathroom, an empty classroom, even the courtyard. And all that came out was that horrible screeching."
Magnolia twirled her wand in her hand in concentration. "And what do all of those places have in common?"
"Erm... they are enclosed spaces?" Ramona suggested.
"No, the courtyard is open air," said Serena.
As if a light bulb went off in her head, Magnolia's blue eyes widened. She suddenly slammed her chair back onto all fours, hand coming down on the table. The moment the loud sound reverberated through the nearly empty library, Madam Pince barreling over. "What is all this noise?" She brandished her feather duster at the group, eyes narrowed and scowling. "It's almost curfew and you are in my library disputing the peace and quiet!" She ushered them out of their seats, pointing her duster toward the doors. "What are you still standing there for? Go on— out!
The four hurriedly packed up their bags and rushed out of the library. "I love books, but even that level of protectiveness is just a bit absurd," Ramona mumbled.
Magnolia didn't seem fazed at all, a grin playing on her lips. "Serena, you said air, right?"
"Erm... I did? When'd I say that?"
The Ravenclaw flicked the girl's forehead. "Just now, dummy. You said the courtyard is open air."
"Okay... so?" Cedric asked, looking as confused as Serena and Ramona.
"So," she said, facing the other three, "all of the other places you opened the egg have on thing in common. Air."
Ramona caught on with a grin. "So... to get the clue, you have the open the egg where there isn't any air."
"And where is that?" asked Serena. "Air is everywhere."
Magnolia looked quite proud of herself. "Not everywhere..."
Serena bit her lip. It was silent as the group watched her think until she lifted her head, her smile matching her friends. "Water."
"Water..." said Cedric, grey eyes lit up. "I need to put the egg in water!"
"I was gonna say drop it into a fire, but water works, too," Magnolia laughed.
Cedric was so happy he gave both Magnolia and Serena a hug before wrapping his arms around Ramona. The hazel-eyed girl blushed once more. "Thank you, so much! You don't know how happy I am!"
"Oh, we can tell," Serena chuckled. "Just make sure to tell us the clue when you figure it out!"
"Will do!" Cedric then grinned down at Ramona. "We should probably get ready for our rounds, yeah?"
Ramona nodded, happily taking his hand before waving goodbye to her friends. "See you two tomorrow!" The couple walked away, simply smiling at each other with their hands swinging back and forth.
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Author's Note:
Has it really been five days since I've last updated? Well, so sorry for the wait! I've had so much work and haven't been sleeping the best, but I'm back now! Honestly, I didn't know how to end this chapter, but hopefully, I'll come up with something better later on. :)
And I know I said I would start editing after the last chapter, but I haven't had the time to really focus on it. But I've got a small break from school starting tomorrow so hopefully, I can start then!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day! With much love,
~Lena