Chapter 3: Rows and Reconciliations
After releasing some fury by stomping up to the Gryffindor common room (after making sure Wood had not followed me inside), I released some more fury by stomping through the common room and up to my dormitory.
Joan was digging through her trunk. She looked up and smiled. "Hi."
"Hi," I responded flatly.
She frowned. "Something wrong?"
"Did you really think that one afternoon of trying to find bizarre plants in the Forbidden Forest would make a difference?" I asked angrily, dropping down onto my bed.
"You know I set you up?"
"It was pretty easy to figure it out."
"I'm sorry. I thought… maybe if you just yelled at each other for a while then you'd get it out of your systems."
"There's more to it than that." I picked up my pillow and threw it across the room at the closed door. "It's him that's the problem."
"Oh?"
"I practically begged him to forgive and forget." I closed my eyes. "God, what was I thinking? And, you know, it's not the forgive part that's his problem. Or mine. We can't forget. We can't forget every single little thing that we did to each other for five years."
"Maybe with some time—"
"It won't matter. I have one more memory to add to the list, now," I spat.
"I'm sorry, Laura."
"And it's never been about Wood and I. Percy and Wood are the ones who really need to yell at each other and… they'll never forgive each other."
"How do you know?"
"Because Percy still holds a grudge against me for accidentally hexing him in Charms during our third year. He never forgets anything. And he rarely forgives anyone."
"Oliver holds grudges, too," Joan said.
"Obviously," I muttered.
"Still… what harm would there be in making it so they had to talk about what happened during second year?" Joan asked, smiling slightly.
I sat up quickly. "You just don't learn, do you?" I asked.
"No," Joan said. "And if the three of you—"
"Joan, stop. I don't know why you care all of a sudden, but you're making everything worse."
She looked a little hurt, but I wasn't in a very sympathetic mood.
"The whole thing is so stupid, and you're miserable because of it," she said.
"I'm not miserable," I said, wondering if it was the truth.
She nodded and I could tell she thought I was lying. "Would you like to come downstairs with me?"
"No, I have some homework."
"There's nothing Oliver can do—"
"But that would be letting him win," I interrupted.
She laughed. "I can talk to him if you want."
"I'd rather you didn't," I said as seriously as I could.
She nodded. "Then I won't. But think about having Percy and Oliver talk to each other."
"I will," I lied quickly so that I could have the room to myself.
She left and I took my Transfiguration book out of my book bag, to try to find a way out of failing the project McGonagall had assigned. Wendy Lowe's letter to Adam fell into my lap. I picked it up, groaned, and placed it on my nightstand.
I looked up some plants from the Transfiguration book in my Herbology book and marked them, so I'd be able to get those plants the next day. I kept looking at the letter on the nightstand.
"Oh, hell," I said to myself after a couple of hours, picking the letter up and standing. "I just have to hand it to Adam and walk away. No talking. No yelling."
I walked downstairs and looked over to the Seventh Years' area of the common room. They were all gathered in their tight group. I walked over to the group and handed Adam the letter.
He took it, looking questionably at me.
"Wendy," I said, pretending to whisper but making sure all of them heard me.
He nodded and tucked it in his cloak while the rest of the Seventh Years laughed.
"Where's Oliver?" Mark asked.
I looked at him. "What do you mean?" I'd been expecting Wood to be there and didn't even notice that he wasn't.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Cedar asked, smiling.
I furrowed up my brow slightly. "He didn't come back in?"
"We haven't seen him. We assumed he was just pissed off at you and wasn't coming into the common room in case you were in here," Adam said.
"He's probably in the Quidditch stadium," I said, shrugging. "I haven't seen him since I came inside."
"You didn't come inside together?"
"No."
"We're not supposed to be outside after dark alone because of Black," Tara said, looking worried.
I looked out of the window and realized that I must have spent more time on Transfiguration than I'd though. "When's dinner?" I asked.
"About a quarter past an hour ago," Adam said. "She obviously cares deeply about where he is."
"Have any of you checked the Quidditch stadium?" I asked.
"No," they all said.
"Why don't you? You left him out there alone," Rose said.
"He wouldn’t have come inside with me if I'd threatened him with all three Unforgivable Curses," I snapped.
Joan stood up. "I'm going to find him."
"Good luck with that," I said, turning to go back upstairs.
"Who's going to go with me? I can't go out there alone," she said.
No one said anything.
"What kind of friends are you?" I asked, turning back towards the people still sitting.
"Look who's talking," Mark muttered.
I ignored him. "Well?" I asked them.
They all just looked back up at me.
I sighed. "I'm sure he's fine." But looking over at Joan, I was pretty sure that wasn't going to do. "Mark, go check the Owlery. Tara, go with Adam to check places like bathroom, classrooms, the kitchens, etc. Cedar and Rose, stay here in case he comes back. I'll go with Joan to check the Great Hall and then the Quidditch stadium."
Tara stood up to head off, but the boys just looked at me.
"Why should we listen to you?" Adam asked.
"Because I'm worried about him, OK? Now, go," Joan said.
They all stood up and we walked out of the common room. We split up to check our assigned areas. When Joan and I were about halfway to the marble staircase, Percy came into sight. He was walking slowly back to the common room.
"Come with us," I said, once we were close enough to talk in normal voices.
"Why?" Percy asked, turning and following the two of us. "Something wrong?"
"Joan seems to think so," I said.
"Oliver's missing," she said.
"So?" Percy asked.
"So, we're seeing if he's in the Quidditch stadium," Joan said.
"Why are you going, Laura?" Percy asked.
"Because everyone else has other places to check," I said, simply.
We checked the Great Hall to find it empty, so we headed outside and towards the stadium.
"What happened this afternoon," Percy asked. "Put Wood in his place?"
"If his place was in the lake, maybe," I said blandly.
Percy laughed. "Did you even talk?"
"A little," I said. "I'd say there was more yelling than talking."
"Good for you."
"Thanks for your support," I muttered.
"I thought you'd enjoy a good opportunity to yell at him," Percy said.
"So did I."
"And you didn't?"
"No. Look, let's just make sure he's not dead, and then I can finish my homework."
"Fine. Not that I care if he's alive or not, but I don't want you two to get in trouble for leaving the building alone."
"You want the three of us to get into trouble?" Joan asked.
"I can get us out of a detention, if it comes down to that."
I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond. We walked silently through the dark, our hands positioned just above our wands. I was relieved to reach the Quidditch stadium. I am comfortable enough with who I am to admit that I am scared of the dark. Especially out in the open with a serial murderer on the loose, so just having walls around me made me feel better.
"I don't see him," Percy said.
"We're barely inside yet," Joan snapped, as we kept walking. When we reached the center of the field, she said, "I don't see him."
"Too bad," Percy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Maybe he's in the locker room," I said, walking towards the far wall.
Joan followed me and Percy, who was muttering about the cold, followed her. We walked through an archway that led to the locker rooms, and, as none of us had been back there, we stopped.
"Which one is Gryffindor's?" I asked.
"They aren't marked?" Percy said. He took his wand out. "Lumos!"
He shined his wand on the four doors in the area. There were no markings of any kind to say if they were even locker rooms.
"We can always just look in each one," Joan said.
"How are we to know one of those rooms doesn't contain every Bludger gone bad in Hogwarts' history?" Percy asked. "Plus, the other houses wouldn't take kindly to us snooping around their locker rooms."
"How else will we know if he's in one of the rooms?" Joan asked.
One of the doors opened, allowing some light to come out for a few moments, before it was closed again, and there were four people standing in the little passageway.
Percy cast his light on the figure immediately.
"I was looking forward to looking in the rooms, too," I said.
The fourth person lit up his wand and cast it on all of us. "I thought you were going to leave me alone," Wood said, eventually keeping his wand fixed on me.
"We didn't know where you were. We wanted to make sure you were all right," Joan said. She lit her wand as well, and there was enough light for all of us to see each other.
"They dragged me out here," Percy said emotionlessly.
"They shouldn't have," Wood said.
Joan was looking at me fixedly. I cocked my head a little, and she smiled slightly again. I shook my head as much as I could without it being noticeable, but she ignored me.
"Laura wanted you both to hear something," she said.
My jaw dropped a little. "I don't."
"You do," she said.
"No."
"Then I'll tell them—"
"Tell them what?" I interrupted.
"What are you two carrying on about?" Percy asked.
I looked at him and frowned. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Joan asked.
"If anything, it should be those two that have something to say to each other," I said, trying to get out of that situation but making things worse.
"Forget it," Wood said. "There's nothing to say."
"What?" Percy asked.
"They want us to try to solve our problems. To shake hands and make up," Wood said angrily.
"Why would they want that?" Percy asked, looking at me.
I looked back at him. "Wood thought you stole his broom. That's why he told everyone what he did. It was all just a misunderstanding."
"You thought I stole your damn broom? That piece of shit wasn't worth stealing!" Percy said, turning on Wood.
"If you hadn't been jealous of me, I wouldn't—"
"Jealous of you? Why would I be jealous of you?" Percy asked.
"Because I was the one succeeding and—"
"And I was well on my way to become a Prefect."
"Would you let me finish one though, you big-headed, back-stabbing oaf?"
"If you had a halfway intelligent thought to finish, I wouldn't have to interrupt you, you bone-headed, back-stabbing-me-first, moronic dope!"
"You stole my—"
"Can we please get past that broom?" I interrupted.
"If he just would have told me he was taking it—"
"It was going to be a surprise!" Percy said.
"Why?" Wood asked. "Why would you want to surprise me?"
"Because I wanted you to make the team!"
"I didn't need a better broom—"
"I was trying to be nice."
"You didn't have to be nice!" Wood yelled.
"This argument is so stupid!" I yelled. Percy and Wood looked at me. "Would you two just forgive each other?"
"Why should I forgive him?" Percy snapped.
"Because she wants a friend," Wood said.
"What?" Percy asked me.
"She practically begged me to be her friend this afternoon," Wood said. "It you wouldn't have ditched her—"
"Shut up!" I interrupted. I shook my head at him. "Screw you, Wood."
"It's not the truth?" he asked.
"Laura?" Percy asked.
I looked at him. "Screw you, too, Percy. You know what? I don't care if you blame me for what happened, Wood. And I don't care if you never talk to me again, Percy. Go ahead and move into Ravenclaw with Penelope, for all I care. You think I failed you, Wood? No… you both failed me. You failed me and you failed each other. And who pays for it? Me. Me! Wood gets Quidditch, and Percy gets Head Boy and a girlfriend? What do I get? Left behind. This argument is your problem, now. I don't want it. And I don't want anything to do with either of you."
No one said anything for a few seconds. I shook my head and turned to leave.
"Laura—" Percy started.
"It's my turn to ditch you, now, Percy," I snapped, walking away from them.
Joan hurried to catch up. "Laura—"
"No."
"How do you know what I—"
"No."
"I just wanted to say I was sorry for—"
"You just couldn't let it go, could you? Why did you have to get involved? Yesterday, I at least had Percy as a friend in name, and I wasn't fighting with Wood. I never asked for you to butt into my business," I said, brushing tears off of my cheeks.
"I know. I thought I could help. I thought if you all knew the truth about what happened during your second year that…."
"That it would erase everything we've done to each other in the five years since then?" I asked.
"I never meant to make things worse," Joan said, wiping her own eyes.
"Why did you even care?" I asked.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I just do care. I can't help it," she finished angrily.
I sighed, too. "I know," I said, bitterly. "Luckily for you, I don't have enough anger left to be mad at you for trying to help." I wiped my eyes again.
"Really?" she asked.
"Don't make me question it," I said.
"OK," she said quickly.
I laughed a little, despite myself.
We walked out of the Quidditch stadium and started heading towards the castle. We could clearly hear Wood and Percy yelling at each other, but I was tired of listening to them, and their words brushed right over me.
"Maybe you gave up too quickly," she said.
I snorted. "They gave up, not me. Wood gave up five years ago. Percy gave up last year. And now it's my turn."
"You didn't give either one of them a second chance, though," Joan said.
"I'm giving myself a second chance! I want to have friends. I want to be happy for the first time in five years!"
"You seemed happy before…."
"It was always about Percy and Wood," I said, just ranting now. "Always. Even when Percy was off with Penelope, it was still about Percy and Wood."
Joan didn't answer. Maybe she was finally afraid to try to help anymore.
By the time we got back to the common room, I'd stopped crying. The rest of the Seventh Years were back and looked up at us nervously.
"Where's Oliver?" Tara asked.
"The Quidditch stadium."
"You left him again?" Cedar asked.
"Yes," I said, simply.
There was a little pause. "Well, is he OK?" Tara asked.
I thought a second. "Hard to say, really. We left him with Percy, so… I don't think they'd kill each other. They may put each other in the Hospital Wing, but—"
"What's Percy doing there?" Rose asked.
"He came with us," Joan said.
Another small pause. "To make sure Wood was OK?" Mark asked, skeptically.
"Hard to say, really. Look, I'm going upstairs to finish the homework I should have done by now. Have a nice night," I said, leaving before anyone could ask any more questions. If Joan told them exactly what happened, I didn't care. I just didn't care anymore.
I woke up the next morning, and, realizing that I was still alive and that it was the start of another miserable day, I groaned and dragged myself out of bed and into the shower.
All of the Gryffindor girls shared a bathroom. I got used to it after a while. After I got dressed quickly in the shower stall, I stepped out and walked over to the sinks, where there were girls lined up, brushing their teeth and performing charms on the rest of their faces to try to improve their appearances. I wasn't much of a makeup person and barely made any attempt to make my hair look nice, either.
"Hey."
I looked in the mirror at the girl next to me and attempted to smile. "Hi, Ginny."
"You look nice today," she said.
I looked in the mirror. The truth was that I looked tired and… pathetic, really.
"Thanks," I said, anyway.
"How are you?" she asked, looking at me instead of my reflection.
I thought about this for a few seconds. "Not sure, to be honest. You?"
"Oh, I'm all right, I guess."
"Still in love with Potter?" I asked.
She looked down into the sink and spat.
I sighed. "I'm sorry. Just because I'm in a bad mood doesn't give me any right to—"
"It's OK," she interrupted.
I smiled at her reflection as I turned the faucet and put my toothbrush under the running water.
"I heard about what happened last night in the Quidditch stadium."
"I didn't expect any differently," I said.
"Percy's getting out of the Hospital Wing tomorrow. Wood's getting out not long after that," she said.
I turned and mumbled, "Wha'?" With a toothbrush in my mouth, it was hard to enunciate.
She smiled. "I'm kidding. But you cared! You cared about what happened to them."
I kept brushing my teeth and turned my attention back to the mirror.
Ginny looked down into the sink again. "I don't blame you for what you did."
"Huh?"
"Percy deserved to hear the truth."
I rinsed out my toothbrush and put it back in my little bag. "I still don't quite understand."
"That he was never a good friend," Ginny said. "You were there for him through it all, but he never really was there for you, especially during the past few months."
I played with the zipper on the bag for a minute before answering. "He was a good friend, Ginny. I know that you look at him as being boring and strict, but there's more to him than what meets the eye. His ambitions interfere with his judgment sometimes, but his ambitions also make him… a good influence."
Ginny laughed. "A good influence? Well, I can't argue with that. Still, a good influence? Boring."
I laughed. "You brother has lost a lot. He gave up on this part of his life and made his future… everything."
"You mean he lost Dan?" Ginny asked.
I nodded.
"We all lost Dan," she said softly.
I nodded again.
"But we didn't turn out like Percy."
"You're being pretty hard on him. He lost two best friends in a few years. Then there's the stress of being a Prefect and Head Boy."
Ginny laughed. "Stress? He loves it."
I laughed, too. "OK. How about the stress of having two brothers who are trying to bring Armageddon to Hogwarts a little early, a brother who's best friends with You-Know-Who's most-wanted and a little sister who's already had one too many encounters with the Dark Arts?"
She didn't answer.
"Add that to the stress of being in a big family?"
"I get your point," she said.
We walked out of the bathroom and down into the common room together.
"Laura, if you think so highly of him, then why don't you want to be his friend?" Ginny asked.
I looked at her. She was only twelve, but I never really saw her as being a lot younger than me. Maybe because I acted twelve most of the time. "Because everything you said is true to a point, too," I said, laughing a little.
She nodded, spotted some friends and walked away.
I sat down in a big chair near the fire. I usually got ready for school about an hour before I went down to breakfast, so there wouldn't be a crowd in the bathroom. It gave me time to finish homework and wake up before classes.
Potions was awful, but I wasn't expecting a picnic. Charms went fine. I liked Charms. I was good at them. After class, I went up to my bedroom to get the containers for Transfiguration and headed for the grounds.
Wood headed me off at the entrance. "Let me help."
I frowned and walked around him, out of the common room.
"You can't do the project alone," he said, following me.
"No." I turned around. "Here," I said, handing him half of the bags.
"What do you want me to get?"
"If it's in the Forbidden Forest, then you can get it. We'll forget about the caves."
"Look, I went through this stuff last night, and I think we can get enough plants on the regular grounds without going into—"
"I know that." I held up my Herbology book. "I've got all of the plants we need marked in this."
He smiled a little.
I kept frowning.
"Let's just get the damn plants. Then you can go right back to pretending that I don't exist, OK?" Wood said, starting to walk down the hallway.
"Fine," I said, following.
We walked out of the castle and started making our way around it, to the back.
"Did you enjoy making your little spectacle last night?" Wood asked.
My face had to have clearly shown my disgust. "You know what? I did. It's about damn time you two realized that you weren't only affecting each other by hating each other."
"And you think you're completely blameless?"
"No, but I'm a hell of a lot less to blame than you two."
"Maybe that's true but do you think you can just declare yourself out of this whole thing? You think this is just a game, that you can stand up and quit?"
"I'm not quitting, Wood! Percy and you quit. I'm cleaning up the game and putting it back into the closet. I was the last one who tried to play the game."
"Life isn't a game!"
"It is! Anything where people play to win is a game. I lost one game, and I'm not setting myself up for another loss."
"You think you were the only one to lose that game?"
"You two turned out all right in the end. That's winning."
"No, it isn't!"
"Then what is it?"
"It's not a game! It's life! You're the one who said you have to face it."
"But you wanted it to go away. You wanted me to just go away, so I agreed to it. Last night, I was doing Joan a favor. That's it. After this project, I plan on leaving you alone."
"And Percy?"
"And Percy."
"And who will be your friends, then?"
"There are only a few more months left of school. After that, I can start over."
"Wizards make their friends for life in Hogwarts."
"Then I'll go back to the Muggle world."
"And just turn your back on—"
"Turn my back on the world that turned its back on me first?" I turned to face him. "What do you care? Why can't you leave me alone? Isn't that only fair?"
"You weren't there after you left last night."
"No kidding? There's a profound statement."
"You never told Percy how you felt. You expected him to read your mind, and—"
"He should have known that he ditched me! It doesn't take a rocket scientist."
"…and he was too preoccupied to try to read your mind," Wood continued. "Penelope was the first good thing to come around in years. When Percy ditched you, it came slowly. You had time to adapt. What you did to him last night was sudden and unexpected. How would you react—"
"Why do you care? Since when do you stand up for Percy?"
Wood ignored me. "How would you react if your best friend said she never wanted anything to do with you ever again, out of nowhere?"
I didn't respond. I bent over and pulled up a flower I recognized from the Herbology book and stuffed it into a bag.
"Do you end a friendship over one thing?"
"You did," I spat, looking up at him. "You ended two."
"Don't end three." He looked me in the eyes.
I looked away from him. "I've never been a good friend. I've tried. God knows I have tried, but I always end up—"
"You can't change what happened during our second year, but it's not too late to change what happened last night."
I looked up at him again. "Why are you trying to help me?"
He frowned a little more and shrugged. He pulled some of the last leaves left on a tree we were walking under and put them into one of the bags I'd given him.
"You don't just grow a conscience overnight."
"I've always had a conscience. I just decided to apply it to you today. Don't expect it to become a habit."
I smiled slightly. "Did Percy get to you?"
"No."
"Yeah, right. I wasn't there after I left. That's what you said. He didn't make you cry or anything, did—"
"No!"
"Because I would have stuck around if there was going to be a cry-fest."
"There wasn't any bloody crying."
"No? I'll have to try a little harder next time, then."
"Like you could make us cry," he said.
I shrugged and looked down. "I wouldn't be so sure, Oliver."
"Oliver? Whenever you say my name, it means you really mean it."
"I do mean it."
"Dan?" he asked, quietly.
"You may not be my favorite person, but I don't want to make you cry," I said, dodging the subject.
"Why not? I would think it would give you some pleasure."
"You want to make me cry?"
"No."
"See?" I asked.
"You're rather ugly when you cry."
I faked a smile and nodded. "You're funny."
He laughed. "I'm kidding."
"And that makes it nicer?"
"I'm sorry."
"I doubt that."
"Are you going to patch things up with Percy or not?"
"Of course," I said after a few seconds. "Thanks, Oliver. I mean, Wood."
"Let's get some plants."
I nodded.
We worked on the project for about an hour before it started getting dark. We decided that by the time we walked back to the castle, we wouldn't be able to identify an oak from a pine tree and that we had enough plants to pass the project, at least.
"Thank you for pointing out to me that Gryffindor can still win the Cup," Wood said out of no where, about halfway back to the castle.
"What brought that up?"
"Me."
I smiled. "I want Gryffindor to win as just as much as the next person… who's in Gryffindor. Even if I do think that Quidditch and all other sports are pointless."
"It's not pointless."
"No? Give me one reason Hogwarts should have such a dangerous pastime. Things are dangerous enough in this world. Azkaban can't even keep us safe."
"Hogwarts has Quidditch to give people like me something to be. It lets people like me succeed."
"You're a good enough wizard."
"But that doesn't make you well-known. Quidditch makes me… someone."
"Well… I never hated you for Quidditch, so that must not be who you are."
"Thanks a lot."
"You're welcome."
"Anyway, thank you for supporting Gryffindor, then."
"You're welcome," I said more sincerely. After a minute, I added, "That's why you told me to make up with Percy, isn't it? To be even?"
"Yeah."
I looked down, partially because it was getting pretty dark out and I couldn't see very much of the ground in front of me. "Lumos!"
Wood lit his wand, and we walked the rest of the way back to the castle in silence. After we got inside, I went straight to the Great Hall. Percy was sitting at the end of the table, alone.
I walked over and sat down next to him. "Hi."
Percy didn't acknowledge my presence.
"Percy, I'm sorry for saying that I didn't want anything to do with you. I didn't mean it. I was only angry."
"Jealous of Penelope?" Percy asked coolly.
"I'm trying to apologize."
He looked at me.
"I guess, in some ways, I was jealous of Penelope. My best friend suddenly ditches me for some girl. Percy, you're angry, and I understand that, but you hurt me. You ditched me."
He didn't say anything and looked down at his plate.
"I want to be your friend, but you have to be a friend. Girlfriends will come and go, and, as your best friend, I'll probably hate all of them because they take some of our time away from me, but for them to take all of our time away from me is not fair."
"I didn't even notice that you were hurt."
"I didn't want you to notice. I didn't want to say anything, but last night, I was so tired of everything."
"You should have said something sooner," Percy said.
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
I smiled. "I know you are. Will that matter?"
"I still want to spend time with Penelope."
"And I still want you to spend time with her. I just want a friend again, Percy."
He nodded and I smiled a little more.
"So… do you love her, or what?" I asked.
He laughed. "That's… possible."
I smiled. "Does she love you?"
"I think so."
"Good. But, Percy?"
"Yes?"
"Just don't forget that I love you, too… just differently."
He looked at me and smiled, blushing a little. "Same here."
"What? Afraid to say it?"
"Yes."
I laughed. "I'm glad we talked."
"Me too."
"How are Bill and Charlie?"
"Alive. I don't really know, other than that," he said.
"And your parents?"
"Happy. They like it when we go off to school."
"And you?"
"I'm good. You?" he asked.
"I'm good, too, now."
Author's Note: Once again, no cliffhanger. The truth is that I hate cliffhangers. They just are not natural places for a chapter break. Think of this story as being on the sitcom schedule. Each chapter is a small piece of the plot, with its own small problem, but the problem comes to some sense of closure at the end. So, I guess the final author's note in each chapter is like the previews for the next episode…. Next week, on Do Be My Enemy for Friendship's Sake (That would make a kick-ass soap opera title.), while Laura's relationship with Percy remains the same, her relationship with the rest of the Seventh Years starts changing.
Do Be My Enemy for Friendship's Sake by ByMerlinsBeard
Chapter Notes: Percy and Oliver push Laura past her breaking point. Oliver's guilt makes him take steps to undo a small amount of the damage.