"I've found you!" he said, walking into the Cafe and stepping up to the counter to order a drink. He returned with a goblet of Pumpkin Juice and sat beside me, raking his eyes over the blanket on my shoulders and the tissues on the table, before finally settling them on my runny red nose. He looked concerned, but didn't say anything, choosing instead to take a drink of his juice. I sipped at my hot tea, grateful.
The boy had noticed us giggling at him, and rolled his eyes at us, looking a little exasperated. "Do you usually stare at strangers so diligently?" he stated suddenly, narrowing his eyes at us. "A bit rude, don't you think?"
I was feeling too tired to be confrontational, and I sneezed before I could say anything. "We're not staring, are we, Loki?" I joked for them both. The boy looked agitated enough, though, that I didn't say anything more to egg him on. "Sorry," I offered, trying to soothe down his ruffled feathers, "I've just never seen anyone stare so intently at a muffin. What were you looking for?"
Beside me, Loki was also apologizing, and while he did so, I took the opportunity to choke down more of my tea. I decided it needed more honey, so I grabbed a small container off the table and poured a generous amount of it into the teacup.
The kid's eyes were still narrowed. He seemed to be sizing us up. He folded his hands upon the table and smirked across the room at us.
"Well, have you heard what's been happening recently?" He asked us in a hushed tone. He leaned forward, as though this was something he didn't want to be overheard.
"Apparently several of the older Slytherin students have taken it upon themselves to spike the food here with...odd things. The House Elves are terrified of them and won't stop them from doing it. In fact.." He leaned forward even more, and smiled a twisted sort of smile that suggested to me he was rather enjoying himself. "I heard there was a 'Claw student the other day whose ears got so big they almost broke his neck. They put something in the food that powerful." He leaned back and attempted to look very serious. The corners of his mouth were twitching.
"And just this morning, a Gryffindor girl was drinking tea to calm her nerves, and she blew up like a helium balloon," he added, taking a glance at my teacup. I had been a little nervous up to this point, and was almost unsure about drinking the rest of my tea, if food was being spiked, but I suddenly realized he couldn't be telling the truth. Still, I wasn't sure..
"Wouldn't the teachers put a stop to that?" I asked him, skeptical. It was my belief that adults could do anything. I didn't think a teacher would just stand by and watch while students were poisoned by their food. "Surely they wouldn't think it was funny?"
I shot another glance down at my tea. I really didn't want the story to be true; I didn't feel like blowing up. I decided to take my chances and took another sip of my tea. Besides, I had already swallowed half of it--if I was going to fill with air, I may as well feel better first, before floating up to the ceiling. I took another sip.
"I'll take my chances." I told him, more confidently than I felt. I tried to redirect the conversation. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Jordan and this here is my friend Loki."
Loki let me introduce him, but when I looked over I noticed he was glaring across the room at the kid. I was surprised. Loki really had been rather dour lately, it seemed. He obviously disliked Joellen, and I didn't really blame him for that, but we'd only been talking to this kid for five minutes and he already hated him? I sat silent and Loki spoke up.
"You know, with that kind of scare tactic, you're no better than most of the Slytherins," he practically growled.
The boy smirked. "And I say with that kind of attitude, you can't really take a joke," he retorted. His eyes seemed a little cold, but he turned back to me, mischievous once again. "Hey Jordan, I'm Patrick, the Claw who cried wolf," he joked at me.
I have to admit, I wasn't sure what he was talking about, and I was confused, but at least it was now fairly obvious he was teasing. I could handle that. Still, there wasn't as yet positive proof the tea wouldn't blow me up, and I was wary of it. But I didn't want to look like a fool, either. I decided to call his bluff. With a swift movement, I gulped down the rest of the tea, which had cooled by this point, and set the cup down with a small clunk.
I stood. The blanket fell from my shoulders and landed on the chair. Turning, I flashed a grin at Loki, who was watching me closely, before I took a few steps towards Patrick and extended my arms out to the sides. I looked up at the ceiling.
"Hmmm.." I mused, looking back at Patrick with a raised eyebrow. "It doesn't seem to be getting any closer." I proceeded to make a small show of checking over my thin arms, to see if they were getting any fatter, and pulling on my clothing to see if it was all still fitting, and then smirked back at the Claw. "Guess I got a safe cup," I told him.
I leaned on the edge of our table and crossed my arms across my chest. Lord, but that little escapade had made me dizzy. I was still getting sick, and shouldn't be playing around. I was only here for the tea, after all. But I was having fun. And I needed to keep Loki from getting into a fight.
"So," I continued, watching the boy smile in return for me, "what exactly do the Slytherins do to muffins? And how would you be able to tell, just by staring at it? Surely the pranksters would hide it better?"
"Actually," he teased back, "Your head seems to be about two sizes larger than it was before you took your last sip," he said, his smile a little wider. He glanced at Loki for affirmation. "Loki, was it? Don't you agree? I guess the Slytherins got her after all."
Geez, my head certainly felt two sizes larger. I reached up to feel my head, intending to joke back, and sneezed. My head was hurting. "Maybe you're right," I conceded, turning to retake my place at the table. "But it needs to be large enough to handle all the mess this cold is making of it." Changing my mind, I headed up to the counter to grab a napkin and blew my nose. "What year are you?" I asked, almost directly. I was dying to know how long it took a person to really get used to this castle. I still had so much to learn. I retreated back to the table and bundled back up in my blanket, throwing a small smile at Loki. "Thanks for standing up for me," I whispered to him.
He however, stood up. His face was a little softer now, but he still looked agitated. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go look around the library. And let you two talk. " His voice faltered on that last bit, and I shot him a searching look. Realizing this, he pasted a hasty smile on his face. "It was nice to meet you, Patrick," he added, in what seemed to me to be a sort of..forced politeness. He nodded to me and took his leave.
I watched him leave, noticing now that the lights in the library were back on. There must be other people about, then. As I was thinking this, another student entered, one I'd never seen before. He was sort of cute, I thought, and he flashed me a small smile of his own, before walking up to the counter and ordering three butterbeers. He didn't stop to talk as he gathered the three mugs in his hands and quickly walked back out. Patrick was frowning at me.
"You know, you really should be in bed, resting, if you have a cold," he said, sounding concerned. I was touched and hoped his worry was genuine. "You should eat soup, and lots of it. The elves have this really good specialty soup to relieve head congestion, if that's what you're feeling." He paused, and seemed to think a moment, before realizing he hadn't answered my question before Loki left. "I'm a first year, by the way," he told me, "and by the looks of you, you are, too." I nodded assent.
"You know," he said suddenly, standing, "I'm pretty hungry, myself, and this muffin didn't do much for me. Are you in the mood for some specialty-guaranteed-to-make-you-feel-brand-new-soup?"
I almost giggled again. Whatever Loki thought, I liked Patrick. He made me feel like it was okay to tease and joke and laugh and mess around. Loki was special to me, but he was quiet and reserved. I wasn't sure where the boy wanted to lead me, though, and my head really was aching. As good as that soup sounded, tonight didn't seem to be the right time for it.
"Thanks Patrick, but could we go get it tomorrow? That bed sounds too good tonight, after all." I stood and bundled the blanket up around me again, adjusting it so I wouldn't trip on it on my way back to the dorms. He nodded and turned back to the table to clean up his mess, and I stepped back out into the Library. I just wanted to check for Loki, so I walked between most of the shelves. In the process, I spotted the unknown boy, huddled with Darla and someone else. The three were drinking their butterbeers, and I would have approached them, save that they seemed extremely serious and private. So I walked back toward the door and left the library, seeking my warm bed.
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