4 years ago

Shelby had never been one to choose to miss school. Even back she went to elementary school, back when she had no clue she was witch, she wouldn't miss school unless a family emergency came up, or she was super sick. It had never been her choice, more so something her parents instilled in her, but it stuck with her even now at Hogwarts, where her parents couldn't make sure she was attending lessons.

But when she put herself between Alfred and Vladimir, that sort of put that whole attitude down the drain.

Now, she hadn't gone down without a bit of a fight. At first, Shelby had asked Madam Pomfrey if there was any possibly way that she could fix the wounds with magic. But the nurse explained that fixing it by magic was a painful process, which involved removing the burnt layers of skin and then growing back each individual layer. Because of this, Madam Pomfrey, after a lot of coaxing and convincing, got Shelby to concede to doing it the old fashion way. It would yield the same results (no scarring, although the new skin may end up looking a few shades paler than the rest of her). It would only last a couple more weeks.

It looked so gross... The skin on her chest was not only flaming red, pulsing and sore, and blistering, but it was such an awkward spot. She couldn't have clothes touching the area without writhing in pain, which was unfortunate, because sterile bandages covered the wound to keep infection away.

The curtains were kept up around her at all times, but that didn't keep her friends from coming to see her. These friends mostly consisted of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and Feliks. Madam Pomfrey, along with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, had forbade Alfred and Vladimir from visiting her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, or even the situation in general. Vladimir had been her friend since she had gotten on the Hogwarts Express her first year, and she had become really close to Alfred as of late. She didn't understand why the two of them had been fighting in the first place, but it struck her far deeper than the fire had managed to scald her skin.

Well, she didn't understand... until Feliks explained the whole Hogsmeade ordeal.

Yeah, they were gonna get an earful.

Three weeks had passed and while the skin was still new and sensitive, Madam Pomfrey had finally agreed to let her out. They waited until it was later in the day, when most students would be in their common room rather than roaming outside or through the halls after class. It felt good to get up and walk around again, but Shelby wasted no time in traveling up the spiral stair case to the Ravenclaw common room.

When she arrived at the entrance, she saw a girl standing outside the door. She was a first year Shelby remembered seeing now and again, with brown hair and greenish-blue eyes. Shelby remembered she was the one with the Australian accent, but she couldn't quite recall her name.

The first year, however, seemed to recognize her. "Shelby?"

"That would be me." She replied simply with a small smile. "What are you doing, sitting out here?"

The first year looked at her feet. "I... Can't figure out the riddle." She admitted in a small voice.

"Oh, yeah, they can be hard sometimes." Shelby stepped forward.

The bronze eagle that was stationed on the door began to speak, "What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?"

Shelby only had to purse her lips for a couple seconds, "A stamp."

"Well done." The door opened slightly, and Shelby pushed it open the rest of the way for the first year.

"How did you even do that? I've literally been sitting here forever." Stated the young girl, crossing her arms as she walked into the common room.

"You'll get it eventu-"

"Shelby!" A male voice shouted, and suddenly she was engulfed in the arms of the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. "Oh thank God! I thought we were gonna need to sub you again for the Slytherin game!"

"No touchy." Shelby muttered, attempting to wriggle out of the Kiwi's grip, but the rest of the stragglers in the common room were already coming over to greet her, and more hugs and personal contact ensued. "Who subbed me? You guys never told me how the Gryffindor game went."

"We beat them by the skin of our nose. 10 points." Cooper explained. "It took Vash quite a bit to find and catch the Snitch."

"Wait, we played down a Beater?" Shelby asked in confusion.

"No no, we had a first year play Beater. She was actually quite impressive- oh, there she is." Cooper gestured to the girl Shelby had let in, who waved awkwardly. "Dreamz Reader. She's actually really good!"

"Sweet." Shelby smiled at her. "How are the standings?"

"Well, we beat Hufflepuff 250 to 30. Gryffindor and Slytherin both beat them as well, but Arthur's a talented Seeker, and Slytherin took Gryffindor out of the running with a 230 to 50 win. If we can beat Slytherin, we'll have the Quidditch Cup." Cooper explained.

"Wow, what a game to come back to." Shelby muttered.

"Yeah, especially with a Chaser like Vladimir being-" When the name left his mouth, Cooper received a hard whack in the head by Vash.

Shelby's face completely lost all sign of emotion at the sound of that name, and she pushed her way out of the small crowd and made her way up to her dorm without another word.

Shelby walked into the dining hall, and instantly, the two people she wanted to not talk to ran up to her.

"Shelby!" They shouted simultaneously, and she looked to the ground at the sight of those blue and red eyes, both teeming with concern.

"Please, don't." She whispered, taking her seat at the Ravenclaw table. A couple of the older students eyed the boys warily as they stayed. Shelby didn't actually know them, but she figured they probably heard of the fact that her last encounter with them had been pretty aggressive.

"Shelby, please, it's been weeks." Alfred whined. "I literally haven't heard your voice in weeks and it's been killing me dude. I've been-"

"Can't you see you're bothering her?" Vladimir snapped.

"Bro you can stick that nose you're putting in our business and shove it up-"

"Stop. Please." Shelby nearly growled, and the two instantly shut their mouths. "I... Don't want to talk to you two."

Both their faces fell. "Shelby... Please." Vlad whispered. "I did notmean it. I thought you of all people would be understanding..."

"No, you didn't mean to hit me, Vlad. But you were aiming to hit Alfred, who is one of my best friends." Shelby had to choke out the words. The noise in the cafeteria began to settle as the other students realized what was happening. "I heard why you two were dueling. Fighting over who I was going to Hogsmeade with. Are you kidding me? I am not something you fight over, like you choose who my friends are." Tears began to brim in her eyes, and she stood up abruptly from the, causing the dishes and silverware and jump and clash together in her immediately area. She kept her back turned to them. "I'm not asking you two to be friends with each other. I don't even need you two to like each other remotely. But if you're my friends, than it shouldn't matter." Her last word broke off as she covered her mouth.

Both boys stood in shock behind her. You could hear a pin drop, the cafeteria was so quiet. Without another word, Shelby began towards the door, and disappeared into the hallway. A flash of black and green flicked across their field of vision as Feliks ran out after her, and then everything was still once more.

"Wow," Loung, another Ravenclaw, mused, breaking the silence. "That was harsh."

Alfred and Vladimir stared off at door, their faces more desolate than they've been in the weeks without her.