━━ chapter sixteen.
journey to hogsmeade
FINALLY, from what felt like years in the waiting, the Hogsmeade first trip was finally here. Everyone was buzzing, including Lori and her friends despite it being so early in the morning. A nice weekend break away from classes and work—you had her at weekend.
Her parents had sent in both her and Baron's approval letter with their family owl the week prior which she was grateful for. In her third year, her parents refused to allow both of their children to go, simply because there were apparently more "mudbloods" at Hogsmeade ( which honestly made no sense because if they didn't want her dabbling with muggleborns, then they wouldn't have sent her to Durmstrang ).
But, on this early Saturday morning, Lori stood in between Emeli and Julian on the side of a corridor, her head of wild curls leaning sleepily on the taller asian boy's shoulder. As everyone knew, the Rose daughter was the furthest of a morning person. Her mahogany eyes trailed over momentarily to her blonde best friend.
There wasn't an ounce of fatigue nor sigh of illness on the witch's pale face like there was a a few weeks ago and for that, Lori was glad. She felt almost empty without Emeli by her side in those few days because despite spending a lot of time with her Gryffindor friends, none of them could compare to how much love Lori has for Emeli.
"What are we waiting for again?" Lori lifted her head from the boy's shoulder as she grumbled in slight annoyance that students were already leaving for Hogsmeade while she was just standing around in the corridor.
Julian stifled a laugh and gave her a small pat on the top of her head, "Corban and Kyle. They had to meet with Professor McGonagall to talk about credits for tutoring."
"Oh. Well they need to hurry the fuck up." Lori shamelessly swore, uncaring of anyone overhearing.
"There's something called patience." Julian teased playfully.
The freckled girl narrowed her eyes at the boy before remembering one of his weaknesses, "Don't make me tell Marlene."
Julian's smirk fell faster then anyone could blink, and instead was replace with a stonic look as he blankly stared at his friend. Damn, he regrets telling Lori how he feels for the blonde.
"Tell Marlene what?" Emeli questioned as she scrunched her nose in confusion.
Lori devilishly grinned, "He knows what."
It seemed to be obvious for everyone but Marlene that the notorious slytherin comedian that was able to make even the most boring and serious class of ravenclaws bust out in laughter fancied the blonde beaut a whole lot.
Julian scowled down at Lori as she covered her mouth, unable to stop the giggles from escaping. He couldn't prevent the next words that tumbled from his mouth.
"And what about you, huh?"
The freckled girl rolled her eyes with a lighthearted scoff before asking, "What about me?"
"Don't play dumb! You and Klay."
Emeli gasped.
The asian's words was all it took for the smile to drop. What? How the fuck does Julian know about me and Klay's snog, Lori thought in confusion. The only people she told was Emeli and her small group of Gryffindor girlfriends. She knew well that Marlene, Alice, and Lily wouldn't tell a soul just because they knew if Lori found out, she would completely destroy them.
So who spilled the fucking beans?
Lori narrowed her eyes at the boy dangerously as she stalked closer, "Who told you about that?"
Julian's throat went dry when the realization of what he said hit him. He was not suppose to mention it, let alone tell her he knew about it. Drama or gossip had never been his thing or his friend's either ( hence why he was friends with them in the very first place ). Despite all the chaos that happened around them at Hogwarts, the small group of slytherin friends managed to stay out of petty catfights.
Many thought of them as insanely arrogant and you know what . . . maybe they were, but none of them really cared what the other lowlifes at school thought.
Julian sputtered, "Um, well, I-I just—"
Lori hummed in a taunting way as her arms crossed in an intimidating manor. Her lips pulled into a cheshire smile sending cool shivers down both of her friend's backs.
Of course, knowing her luck, her snog with her smart boy best friend would've come out eventually, but she didn't expect it to be so soon—maybe a few years later, but certainly not months. Besides, Klay seemed like the type who was capable of keeping his mouth shut, but apparently, Lori judged him wrong. He must've been filled to the brim with either anticipation or guilt and spilled his guts to his best friend. Not the practically sister of the one he snogged, nor the one who was completely in love with the one he snogged, so the comedic Julian Wardle seemed to be the only logical option, right?
Wrong.
Klay forgot one huge detail about his asian friend and it was that he sucks at keeping secrets. It wasn't that Julian enjoyed gossiping ( because as said before, surely, he didn't ), but simply that he had no control over what escaped his mouth, hence why he was the funniest boy in all of Hogwarts. Thoughts seeped from his tongues like rushing water flew down a waterfall, unstoppable and unfiltered. As it happens, this was part of the reason why he was Slytherin. The boy wasn't able to nor cared to think about his words before he spoke them.
Julian's record for making other students cry was almost as many as Lori!
"Spit it out, dear Julian." She jeered, leaning closer to him, only for him to back away uncomfortably.
Emeli pulled herself away from leaning on the corridor's wall before raising a quizzical blonde brow, "Klay told you, didn't he Julian?"
The asian boy looked like a terrified dear caught in headlights as the two girls circled around him as if he were their pray. On one hand, he didn't want to sell out his best mate when he promised he wouldn't, on the other hand, Lori was rather scary—anyways, in his defense, he did know her much longer then Klay and the rest of their friends.
"Um—I . . . yes." Julian's head dropped as a defeated sigh escaped his lips, "Klay told me."
In a blink of an eye, Lori's mocking smile dropped to a glare. The reason she made Klay promise not to tell anyone was because the news of their snog could ruin their whole friend group—well specifically ruin their relationship with Corban. He was unbelievably protective over her ever since they met and it would crush him to know that his best mate was sneaking around with Lori who was pretty much his everything.
Though in all honesty, she was being an overbearing hypocrite. She told her gryffindor friends the day after it happened and even James and Sirius in detention, but, in her defense, she knew that none of them dared to tell another soul simply because they ( along with many others at Hogwarts ) would rather not experience the wrath of Lori Rose.
With her fists clenching, she growled, "That two-faced fucking—"
"Shh, there they come." Emeli cut her off and nudged the freckled girl's side before motioning to the two approaching figures down the corridor.
In the distance, the trio saw Klay and Corban walked side by side. Even with textbooks and parchment pulled in each of their hands, they seemed content. Their pink lips pulled back into a wide smile as their howls of laughter echoed throughout the hall.
Although Lori's anger was directed towards Klay, her mahogany eyes were glued to Corban. His green eyes crinkled from his smile and slight dimples carved his pearly pale skin besides the corner of his lips. Good fashion sense had never been a problem for the wealthy pureblood. He wore a dark green and grey flannel sweater crewneck with the white collar from his shirt neatly poking out from under it. Black dress pants adorned his long lanky legs and matched the high top black converse which covered his feet.
She almost found herself nodding proudly at how attractive his style was, remembering all the times in previous years, the boy even helped her buy clothes ( yet he wasn't much help, calling her beautiful in everything she put on, even if she knew it didn't look good ).
Then, her mind replayed the conversation she had with Sirius earlier at Gryffindor's quidditch tryouts. His words had been ringing through her mind constantly throughout her days.
"I mean, c'mon Lori, it's plain as day. He's mad at you."
If she didn't believe what Sirius had said before, she certainly believed it when Corban's gaze fell on her figure and the happy smile his face once held faltered instantly. Both him and Klay stopped a few strides from the trio. The blond boy noticed the sudden blank look on Corban's face and looked ahead to see the rest of his friends awkwardly staring.
Lori cleared her throat, "Hey Corb."
The boy stood still for a short moment. Not sparing her another look, he then coldly brushing past her, his arm rudely knocking her shoulder. He began walking away, completely ignoring Lori's presence. Emeli gasped in shock while the other two boys openly gaped. Did he really just do that?
To say Lori was bewildered was a bloody understatement. She felt heat reach her neck as she let out a shaky breath, trembling in anger. If he wasn't one of her best friends, she would've been feeding him to the gryndillows in the black lake by now. Her inward bitch was screaming at the top of her lungs but after calmly shutting her eyes for a moment, she forced herself to relax.
Her dark eyes bored in the back of Corban's curly mess of hair as he hurriedly walked away, his long legs striding far with each step.
"Is there a problem?" Lori's confused voice called out to him and crisply bounced off the empty corridor walls. "What did I do to make you avoid me as if I reeked of Bulstrode's boots?"
This caused the boy to freeze still in his tracks. He could feel the eyes of all his friends, especially the doe ones of the very person who would light up his everyday. With his emerald eyes clenching shut and his face scrunching as he thought of what to do next, he appeared almost as if he was in deep agony.
In a way, he was.
"What did you do? What did you do!?" Corban loudly repeated her words incredulously, his tone making it seem as if the answer was obvious.
He quickly spun around to give the freckled girl the harshest of a glare, much to her surprise. In all the years that she knew him, the boy had never given her such roughness. If anything, he was soft and gentle with her, occasionally snappy when he got jealous, but nevertheless tender.
"Merlin! What didn't you do!?" He exclaimed in annoyance, the vein on the side of his neck slightly bulging, expressing his anger.
Lori's innocent and confused expression dropped to a hard scowl. He may be her childhood best friend, but no one talks to her that way. After years of being screamed at and belittled by her parents, she never allowed herself to be conversed with so harshly. Especially not by some sensitive boy who doesn't know how to properly hold a conversation where you actually answer the person's question.
She took a threatening step forward, "What the blood hell is that suppose to mean, Corban?"
He ruffled his hair frustratedly, an exasperated sigh leaving his thin lips as his eyes craned shut, "Oh Salizar. How daft can you be?"
With fists clenching, she growled, "What the fuck Corban!? What has got your wand in a knot!?"
"Just piss off Lori. Please."
"No. I won't until you tell me! Spit it out!"
Corban's emerald eyes locked with her mahogany ones and for once, they looked dead. Cold. He appeared beyond emotionally exhausted and she had no idea why. If she knew something was bothering him, she would've asked him immediately and checked to make sure he was alright. He seemed to be his normal confusing self that he always was.
"I don't have time for this," Suddenly a forced fake smile plastered itself on his face, "I have a date!"
A what?
Lori, along with the rest of their friends were completely stunned.
"A date?" Klay echoed, his blonde brows furrowing in pure confusion.
Emeli's crystal eyes were wide, "How—Why?"
"But mate!" Julian started his mouth gaping practically to the floor, "How is that even . . . possible? Everyone and their mums know you—"
"Are you all not curious about who it's with?" Corban grinned proudly, feeling accomplished with their reactions.
"Do tell." Lori flatly spoke.
"Olivia Avery."
Lori's hand flew to cover her mouth as uncontrollable laughter began to fall from her lips, making her body shake. The rest of her friends remained silent, partial shock, partial disgust in his choice in partner to Hogsmeade.
That's when Julian bursted into chuckles, "Ha! No. Way. You wouldn't go that low."
Lori made eye contact with her asian friend and their laughs grew louder and synchronized. The two have had the best laughs, even when they were the youngest of children. At the pureblood parties they were forced to attend, they would spend their time making fun of Lucius and his snob attitude.
"Low? What do you mean? Avery's incredible." Corban defended.
"Yeah," Lori snickered, "Incredibly mental."
Klay snorted at her words, his pale lips pulling into an amused smile as he leaned backwards onto the corridor wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets, watching the scene before him unfold.
"You know what! Go get avada'd, the whole lot of you." Corban sneered angrily to them all, his pearly skin flushing at his vast emotion change.
With that, he stormed off, the echoing noise of his converse stomping against the concrete floor, leaving his friends quiet.
Fuck.
"Now I kind of feel bad." Julian winced, scratching the back of his neck, "Maybe we shouldn't have—"
"What? Laughed in his face?" Emeli scolded like a mother calling out her children.
Lori only shrugged, "No one calls me daft and gets away with it."
———————————
"It's cold as Merlin's balls." Lori groaned as she wrapped her own fleece covered arms around her shivering figure.
The trek to Hogsmeade has never felt so long—well scratch that, those few times where it snowed Hogsmeade weekend had been like a journey to the torturous hell and back. Yet, despite the lack of heavy snow fall, Lori felt freezing. Perhaps it was the lack of scarf around her neck, because even though Emeli had insisted for her to bring it just in case, the freckled slytherin was a very stubborn and arrogant girl who thought she was invincible.
But, you know what? That hasn't been proven wrong yet, so she will continue to preach just how unbeatable the famous Lori Rose really was.
So, there she walked, between Emeli and Julian, Klay lingering beside Julian. He was quiet almost the whole way, only speaking a few times to make short comments or give one word responses when asked a question. His blue eyes looked tired, probably from excessive studying. None of their friends knew why he studied so much, or what exactly he studied for ( because despite the professor's love for their student's education, they surely didn't have that many tests ).
"Fuck," Lori swore angrily as she clumsily tripped over a fallen branch, her high top green converse getting caught on the sharp edge.
Not wanting to fall flat on her face, her hands flew out to protect herself. Luckily, just in time, Emeli yanked the back of her thick dark grey crewneck upwards, stopping her from tumbling oh-so-painfully. Giggles escaped the blonde's mouth as she heard the constant string of vile curse words fall effortlessly from Lori's mouth. Good thing no parents, adults, or specifically McGonagall was around or she would've had detention for the rest of her life.
"—Merlin! Lori!" Julian cut her off with loud laughter.
He grabbed her upper arm, softly helping her back into a standing position, and would almost seem genuinely concerned if it weren't for the silly grin playing on his thin lips.
"Do you kiss your mum with that mouth?" The asian boy joked.
Lori only scoffed at his lame jest, giving him a hard smack to the back of his head, making him dramatically whine. He knew very well she didn't come closer than five feet of her mother.
"I still can't believe it." Emeli shook her head numbly, making the three others look at her curiously. "I mean—Olivia Avery? What in Salazar's name is he thinking?"
Julian nodded in agreement, "He isn't thinking. He's never spoken of her with anything other then distaste. The poor blokes just heartbroken."
He shot Lori a short glance.
Klay then spoke up, "He never said anything about her in the whole hour we studied which means either he didn't find it of any importance or he's embarrassed with his decision."
"Who wouldn't be embarrassed?" Lori rolled her eyes, "She might as bloody well be holding a huge sign with bold lettering, 'I am a desperate twat with no means of any self control'"
Emeli winced, "Harsh—"
"—but true" Julian interjected, making them all nod in agreement.
It was silent for a short moment. Klay's eyes trailed to over to his best mate's and they both made knowing eye contact. Julian raised his eyebrows as if to say: "You snogged her, you tell her." The blonde boy almost knocked him over the head in annoyance. What kind of logic is that? If anything it should be him, seeing that he's been friends with her for so many more years.
"Though, you didn't expect him to wait forever, did you Lori?" Klay quietly spoke up in a careful tone, not wanting to set her off.
Her whole demeanor changed as soon as those words left in his mouth. Her expression dropped to an impassive one.
"I'm not talking about this. Especially with you."
"C'mon Lor, you can't brush this off anymore. It will—"
"I said I'm not talking about this."
The boys quieted.
She may have been oblivious to Corban's longing stares and constant need to be touching her ( whether it was an arm around her or just their shoulders brushing each other ), but she certainly wasn't oblivious when late third year he started to get jealous and angry all the time. A short conversation with anyone of the male species was enough for him to almost blow a fuse.
Even when she came to the conclusion: "Oh shit, Corban might actually fancy me!", she acted like she didn't know and chose to ignore it.
Though as a young child she had awfully vivid and life-like nightmares. They were of many things. Blood, death, murder, torture. Yet, no dream would ever repeat itself exactly. Maybe it was similar or the same concept, but would end up with its own evil, scaring twist.
Young Lori would run to her parents room and despite their normal indifference towards their children, her father ( upon seeing his daughters red puffy eyes and swollen cheeks ) did his best to comfort her. He'd sit her down on her bed and softly wipe her tears with his hands, his dominant hand slightly more rough from wielding his wand. In those small, quiet, midnight moments, Elliott Rose seemed somewhat . . . compassionate.
He'd rub her back soothingly, and brush back her wild mane of ebony curls, identical to his, from her sweaty forehead. Elliott was not a very—as muggles would say—touchy feely kind of man, but a nerve struck in his heart when seeing the terrified look on his daughter's face because he too knew the heart aching fear that would halt the breath from your lungs and send your mind into a deep frenzy.
Somehow, these nightmares seemed to be hereditary in the house of Rose.
"Running from your problems may seem like the easy way out, Lorelei, but it will never solve anything. Despite your brother and sisters of pureblood, we Rose's are no cowards. There will be a time where you must stand your ground and fight."
Lori's dark eyes stared blankly down at the grassy path to Hogsmeade as her fathers voice, dark and velvety voice rang throughout her head. The very noise sent shivers to roll down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck to spike as it was reminiscing the very few—probably only sweet moment she shared with her father. He was a cold man yet in the moment all those years ago, he seemed to be sincere.
Klay, who seemed to be the most observant and somewhat familiar with human behavior watched her curiously. Her body language seemed normal and she had perfect composer—like always. No matter what situation she was in, she always seemed to be unfazed.
Back in fourth year, Reema Bluestown, a gryffindor ( no one other then a lion would have the nerve to do this ) in the year below her, muttered a quick "Avis" as she passed Lori—who had her back to her as she talked with her friends—in the corridor and conjured a flock of birds to practically attack her. Reema last expected the pureblood snake to erupt in loud laughter. At first, Lori had been confused why little birds began to surround and trap her, then realization dawned over her that this was someone's poor attempt to embarrass her. That truly was hilarious.
So to say that Lori rarely lost her cool was rare—it was rare.
Any person would've shrugged off the sight of her, thinking nothing was wrong, but Klay new better. All he needed was to see her jaw tick in emotion to know that she wasn't okay. By the way her eyebrows furrowed for a short moment, his best guess was that she was trapped in her own mind, hopelessly drowning in her own thoughts.
"Three Broomsticks first, yea?" Emeli interjected with a shakey smile, eager to save her friends for the most awkward silence.
"Yeah, sure." Lori shortly responded.
So, the four friends continued on the path down and not even three minutes later, they were standing in the middle of the brick road, surrounded by all the shops of Hogsmeade.
While the stone road was bland creams and greys, the stores looked bright and animated. Zonkos Joke Shop especially ( which was unsurprisingly Julian's favorite shop in all of the place ) , was a newly painted bright red orange color with bright signs and joke products visible from the outside. Loud laughter and chatter rumbled throughout the street as groups of students and some professors passed by. The air smelled sweet, almost of sugar quills.
Nostalgia hit Lori like a bus as she remembered all the trips she took with her friends in the previous years. She remembered having a butter beer chugging contest with other students in Three Broomsticks and winning, having downed so much of the sweet drink she had to puke it up later. She remembered her and Emeli searching far and wide to find Christmas presents for all their friends in practically every store. Each weekend adventure to Hogsmeade was filled with loud laughs and happy tears . . . sometimes mischief—but only directed at Lucius and his dumb friends.
One time, they found the platinum blonde forcing a young hufflepuff's face in the snow moistened dirt on the side of one of the shops. So, in response, Lori lit his ridiculous fur hat on fire, barely missing his bleached hair by an inch. He wanted to dish out the jinxes and hexes, but the moment someone ( AKA Lori! ) did something back, he would start screaming like a kid throwing a tantrum.
Pathetic.
She would say that he wasn't always like this, not when they dated or before as young kids when they used to hang out during their parents parties, and that his parents and their stupid blood prejudice views corrupted the boy. Only, she doesn't remember a time where he wasn't like this. Lucius was always a git.
Emeli linked arms with Lori as they all walked towards the direction of Three Broomsticks. Julian was practicing cheesy pickup lines and playing them off as jokes, though his friends made knowing eye contact. If he hadn't already, he would use them on Marlene to charm his way into her heart. The four ( feeling slightly awkward to be down a man ) had their heads held high with bright, happy smiles playing of each of their lips. Each of them—even Klay—were oblivious to all of the curious eyes on them.
They appeared unreal. Many thought so.
Fabian and Gideon Prewett were seated on a small wooden bench just outside of Zonkos, each of their pale freckled faces flushing crimson red with impatience. If it weren't for their drastically different clothes and Fabian's decision to grow out his orange hair to dangle on each side of his face, many would mistake themselves for seeing double.
Today was the day that the most epic and famous french jokester, Charlie "Chuckles" Dupont, came out with a new product and of course Zonkos would have it. No one knows exactly what it was, but there were rumors that it was some sort of food. Chuckles Dupont liked keeping it a mystery.
Gideon, the older twin by exactly one minute and thirteen seconds, anxiously bounced his knee as he rubbed his hands together for warmth. Despite the jacket over his Gryffindor sweatshirt, his body shook from the cold. It was shocking that the redhead who gets sunburned by even a ray of sun enjoyed the warmer seasons. His head whipped around, eager to spot the familiar figure of their best friend, but to no avail. Baron Rose was nowhere in sight.
Gideon growled in annoyance, "Godric! If this dimwit doesn't hurry up, I swear on Merlin's name I will shove a dungbomb so far up his arse, he'll be shitting—"
Pushing back his longer hair, still not used to it, Fabian cut him off, "Relax Gid. I'm sure they're stocked up. It's Chuckles Dupont remember? He gives the shops more than enough to last till past New Years."
The anxious twin stubbornly pouted, "Still. I didn't feel like waiting in a line that comes out the door."
"Well . . . your going to need to get over it. You know how hard this seasons is on him." Fabian pursed his lips, his navy eyes staring blankly ahead of them.
Gideon looked down at his hands and began to fiddle with his fingers. His brother was right. Baron seemed to dimmer every winter season, right in time for the holidays. Since first year, they would try to cheer him up, but his sadness went beyond just a temporary emotion. He was sad with his life—his family. That was something they couldn't fix, but they would never stop trying.
The longer haired twin's eyes zeroed on an approaching figure a few strides away. Freckled face. Curly brown hair. It was Lori Rose. If her features weren't so feminine and unbelievably striking he would've mistaken her as Baron. The two looked so alike, yet so different. Their personalities however were unarguably opposite.
Baron was a light character who got along with almost everyone. He was kind and took his studies pretty seriously. The boy was enjoyed being liked and would often bend over back to help people. Lori was strong and bold character. She lived her own way, with no care of anyone else's views or opinions on her. When taking almost nothing seriously, she lived her life freely and to the fullest. Oddly unlike the basic pureblood slytherin stereotype.
The Prewett twins would never admit to their best friend, but they respected his twin sister.
"Oh there goes Lori's friend who you snogged." Fabian snickered as he nodded towards the lanky blonde.
"Emeli." Gideon corrected with an eye roll, "She has a name."
"Yeah yeah."
"You think Lori knows where he is?" Gideon questioned.
"Why would she? They never talk."
They both went quiet for a moment. The Rose children were twins too, just like them, yet the coldness and monotone words which were exchanged between them seemed the furthest from familial. Sure, every sibling wants to strangle the other at some point in time—but that's just how siblings are. If Mrs. Prewett ever heard her twin boys speak to each other the way Lori and Reggie conversed, she would smack them both in the back of their heads.
"That's sad." Fabian frowned, his blue eyes trailing back to the freckled girl.
Gideon cleared his dry throat, "Yeah, yeah it is."
"What if we were like that?"
"We wouldn't be."
"No, but I mean . . . what if we were? Which sibling would I be? The cold hearted or the serious studies one?"
"Would you shut up Fab? . . . You would obviously not be the serious about studies one—not enough up there," Gideon joked, giving a hard flick to his twin's lightly freckled forehead.
Fabian swatted his hand away and grumbled, "Shut up you dimwit. You're so hideous ."
"We look the same, you prat!" The shorter haired twin cried back, smacking the back of his head.
"We do not!"
Just like they had ever since very little and got in fights over toys and who would get the bigger piece of food, the two began rapidly hit each other, growls in annoyance and yelps in protest escaped ( not that anyone was able to locate who made what sound ). Only difference from now and then was that they didn't have their mother to grab them by their ears and yank them apart.
Fabian, who was just a smidge taller and stronger, shoved Gideon onto the rocky floor with a grunt and climbed the top of him. He punched at his arms repeatedly and even gave a hard smack to his head, purposely ruffling his brothers gelled hair. Gideon let out a loud girlish scream at that which reminded them of the time they cut a chunk of their older sister Molly's long red hair a few years back—and you know . . . she did never forgive them and still found herself weary when they twins picked up anything that could cut. Poor Molly was traumatized. The shorter haired twin held up his arms in defense as his brother mercilessly attacked him, his blows beginning to ache a bit.
"For Godric's sake! You lot are rabid!"
Baron's voice made the twins freeze and look up at him, their pretty eyes squinting out his figure as they caught the bright sun rays. He stood above them, arms crossed seriously, but an amused smile on his thin pink lips. Honestly, he expected nothing less from the Prewett twins. They've always been a loud and boisterous bunch.
Gideon shoved Fabian off him, sending him colliding on the ground, and he gasped, "Finally Bear! What in Godric's name have you been doing?"
The freckled boy gave a short shrug, "I was in the Owlery. Wrote a letter to my parents."
The twins made eye contact, both their eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Baron wasn't one to write letters—let alone to his monster parents. It was no secret he didn't have the best relationship with them. One time in third year, he opened up to them for a brief moment when they were getting ready for bed in their dormitory. He'd confessed all he ever wanted to do was make his parents proud.
Good grades, high aspirations, polite manors. He did them all and for a short while, his parents gave slight appreciation. Then of course—"Gryffindor" emitting from the talking hat on his head was sure to ruin that all. That angered him. It was like he could control what house he got in. He couldn't help who he was because believe him, as a child, he would've cut a limb if it meant he would be Slytherin.
But just because he was a disgrace to the Rose family, didn't mean his twin would be too. Surprise, surprise, she was everything they could dream of in a daughter. Incredibly beautiful, smart ( when she wanted to be! ) , and obviously, a slytherin down to her core.
"You?" Fabian questioned incredulously.
"Writing to your parents?" Gideon finished
Baron cleared his throat and awkwardly nodded, "Um yeah. I mean, despite everything, they are my parents . . . and I had to discuss important matters."
"About what?"
On cue, a series of loud giggles were heard in the distance, only a few strides away. All three boys turned towards the noise, their eyes landing on Lori's figure once more. She was pointing and laughing at Julian as he did a weird dance move, clearly mocking someone. The twins watched her and her group of friends like they did only moments ago.
"Her."
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authors note:
I'M BACK BITCHES!!
ik y'all missed me:)