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CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. FEELINGS

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Dumbledore was gone. Umbridge was now the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Those words alone were enough to make Evangeline want to jump off of the nearest building and plummet to her death. The school was quickly becoming more like a prison and Evangeline wanted nothing more than to go back to the place she refused to call her home. That's how miserable she was.

Everyone associated with Dumbledore's Army had to face punishment. A punishment that only someone like Dolores Umbridge would impose. The group of students were sat in the Great Hall. The long tables were gone and replaced with desks, one for each of them. They were writing lines with Umbridge's Quill of Misery, as Evangeline liked to call them.

She bit her lip in pain as the quill cut into her skin. The injury to her left hand had already healed significantly and now a new wound would form. Evangeline felt as though her hand would now be permanently scarred. Blood dripped down her hand, falling onto the desk. The pain was worse than the first time she had done this and intensified with every letter she wrote.

She clenched her hand into a fist, hoping it would alleviate the pain. It only made it worse, her skin splitting further. She hissed in pain, cursing herself quietly. Ron, who was sitting in front of her, discreetly turned to look at her, his eyes questioning. She nodded her head, answering his unasked question. He didn't look away though, wanting to make sure that she was really all right.

"I'm fine," she whispered, "Are you?" He nodded his head and she sent him a reassuring smile. He couldn't help but smile back before turning back around before Umbridge could catch him not writing lines. She looked to her right at Vivian, who was seated a few seats away from her in the row in front of her own. From where she was sitting, Evangeline could see Vivian glaring harshly at Professor Umbridge who was as smug as ever.

She was still writing her lines, but her eyes weren't on her parchment at the moment. Evangeline had never seen Vivian look so murderous before in her life.

Evangeline went back to writing her lines, her blood forming the words on the parchment in front of her. She went back to biting her lip, silencing any noise that might have escaped her mouth. She hated Umbridge with every fiber of her being. This woman was sick. Undeniably, inexplicably fucked up in the head. She was torturing children for crying out loud! This couldn't be allowed. If the Ministry was okay with this, then they were all fucked up too.

She released a shaky breath, the pain in her hand getting worse. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes but she blinked them away. She would not let herself cry. Not for this. No matter how much it hurt. Around her, the members of the D.A. were staying strong, not giving the sociopathic bitch any satisfaction.

Ron turned his head to the side, his eyes looking back at Evangeline. He quickly looked to where Umbridge was sitting to make sure that she wasn't looking before turning to face Evangeline when he knew that she wasn't. "You sure you're all right? This can't be good for your hand. I mean, you'd already gone through this before," he began in a whisper, turning back to Umbridge to check if she had noticed. He turned back to Evangeline. "I'm not even sure if your hand had healed completely from the first time," he continued.

Evangeline bit her lip slightly and looked up at him. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," she whispered back. He turned to face the front again when the woman in pink began scanning the room. When the woman had finished, he turned his head to the side again. "I'm always gonna worry about you. No matter what you say," he whispered. His cheeks started turning red and her own were beginning to tint pink. Her heart beat faster in her chest and she took a breath to try to get it to calm down.

She smiled at him and put her quill down. Her right hand went up to touch is shoulder and he tensed underneath her touch. However, he then relaxed, taking a deep breath and willing his pounding heart to go back to normal. "That's sweet," she whispered, looking up at Umbridge who still wasn't looking their way.

Evangeline was sure that the woman's eyes were closed, too content with what she was doing to even look at them. "And a little corny. But sweet, nonetheless. Thanks Ronald but I'm really ok. At least, I will be," Evangeline quietly said. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before dropping her hand back to her desk and picking up the quill. She turned it over in her hand a few times before bringing it down to the parchment. She let the tip of the quill hover over the paper before touching it to the paper and beginning to write again.

Another half hour went by before Umbridge decided that the students had had enough. "All right everyone, you may put your quills down," she said. Sighs of relief could be heard throughout the room. "Bring me you papers. I hope you've all learned your lesson," she said. The next noise that was heard were the scraping of chairs against the ground as people began getting up.

Evangeline pushed her chair back, slowly standing up and snatching the parchment from the table. She stalked to the front of the room where Umbridge was waiting with her hand out. Evangeline slapped the paper into the woman's hand and Unbridge's smug smile fell, replaced with a glare. "Miss Caspian, unless you want to find yourself in another detention, I suggest you mind your manners," Professor Umbridge said.

Evangeline rolled her eyes, turning away from the woman and walking toward the door of the hall. Vivian wrapped her right arm around Evangeline's shoulder, pulling the younger girl into her side. "I'm gonna kill that bitch," Vivian said coldly. "I'll help you," Evangeline muttered back. "I'll hide her body," Cleo said as she walked past them, turning back to send the sisters a wink.

The youngest Caspian looked down at her hand, the blood on it beginning to dry. Her anger began to rise as she read the new words that were now etched in her skin. As they reached the outside of the hall, Evangeline's anger went through the roof when she saw who was standing there waiting for them. Cho Chang had the audacity to show her face to the group after ratting them out to Umbridge. Evangeline sent her the cruelest glare that she could muster. And if looks could kill, Cho would be six feet under.

"Hey," Ron said as he walked up next to her. Evangeline relaxed slightly when she heard his voice before her heart beat picked up again. She almost rolled her eyes when it did. She was struggling to understand what this all meant.

She sent him a weak smile before Vivian was pulling her into the opposite direction from where he was walking to. She shrugged her shoulders at him before turning back to see where she was going. Vivian shook her head in disappointment as she walked past Cho's form.

Vivian walked Evangeline down the hallway, the younger girl not knowing where they were going and not really caring. She just wanted to get as far away from Umbridge as possible.

••••

Evangeline was laid on her bed on her stomach, watching Cleo pace back and forth as she spewed out plans on how to get back at Umbridge. The Caspian girl's eyes followed Cleo's form, her lips pursed. "We could put toads in her office or ants in her clothes," Cleo proposed. "Mhm," Evangeline replied in a bored tone.

"All right, what's up with you?" Cleo asked. "What do you mean?" Evangeline asked back. "You're obviously not even listening to me. Your mind is elsewhere. Where is it?" Cleo said. Evangeline shrugged her shoulders. Cleo sent her a look and Evangeline sighed. "Ok, I've been having these... feelings. I don't know what they mean exactly and I'm confused as to why I'm feeling them," she said. Cleo sat in a chair across from her, nodding enthusiastically. "Go on. What feelings are you feeling?" She said.

"Well, whenever I'm around a certain person, sometimes my heart will race. Especially when they say something nice or smile. And I'd also blush. I mean, I never blush nor do I get nervous and I'd get nervous around this person," Evangeline said. Cleo was grinning now, "Sounds like you have a crush! Who is this lucky lad?" Before Evangeline could disagree with her friend's words, a knock on the girl's door caused them to turn and look at it.

It was late, most people should've been in bed by now. Cleo sighed and went to the door, pulling it open. "If you're gonna stay late at the library, remember your— What are you doing here?" She said to the person at the door. Evangeline sat up in her bed, trying to peer around Cleo's body. "Uh, is Evangeline here?" The person asked and Evangeline immediately recognized the voice.

"I don't know, Ron. What do you think? I mean it is her room," Cleo retorted. Ron sighed in annoyance and Evangeline stood from her bed, walking over to the door. She pushed Cleo out of the way and smiled up at him. "Hi, Ronald," she said. "Hey," he replied. Evangeline grabbed onto the door handle and exited the room, closing the door behind her. The two awkwardly stood out in the hallway.

"So, did you want to talk about something?" She asked him. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Do you think that I'm a likeable person?" He asked. She was confused by his question. "Um, what do you mean?" She asked. He cleared his throat again, his cheeks already beginning to heat up. "I mean, am I someone who you think other people would like?" He tried to clarify.

She squinted up at him, still confused. "Uh, I guess? I don't really know what you're asking," she replied. He sighed as though he were frustrated with himself. "What's wrong?" She asked him, sensing his frustration. He sighed again and looked at the door that she stood in front of. "I-I like this girl," he began. Evangeline could feel her heart drop in her chest. The mere thought of him liking someone upsetting her. Someone that wasn't her. She now was starting to understand these strange feelings that she had been having for the past few weeks. Cleo was right. She liked him. And a lot more than she'd like to admit.

"Okay," she said, waiting for him to continue. "And I was telling, y-you know, Harry and the guys, asking for some advice," he paused. Evangeline bit her lip, looking up at him expectantly. "Seamus said that there was no way that she would like me back. That she was too good for me and—" Evangeline cut him off.

"Let me stop you right there. First of all, Seamus is a stupid git who shouldn't be talking. Second of all, don't you ever let someone tell you that you're not good enough for anyone or anything. And lastly, you're great, okay? Amazing even. Of course you're likeable. And whoever this girl is would be stupid not to like you back. You're a catch," she said. Ron was grinning from ear to ear. "Really? You mean that?" He asked.

"Yeah. I mean, sure you can be aggravating at times. You're always eating and you act as though you're incapable of understanding feelings, which you probably are. But you're still a catch," she said. He rolled his eyes, "So you compliment me just to insult me all in the same. Sounds like a very Evangeline thing to do." She shrugged her shoulders, "What can I say, I'm unique." Ron stared fondly at her, "That you are."

Evangeline wasn't sure what had come over her in that moment. If it were her hormones going crazy or the way that he was looking at her. But, she took a step closer to him, reaching her arms up and wrapping them around his shoulders and pulling him down to her level. She pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. When he didn't reciprocate the action, she quickly pulled away.

Ron was looking at her, eyes wide and mouth agape, clearly in shock. She stepped away from him, shaking her head. Her cheeks began heating up in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I-I don't know why I did that. I just—" But Ron cut her off by reattaching their lips. He kissed her fervently, pulling her close and holding her tightly by the waist, as if thinking that if he let go, she would disappear.

Evangeline kissed him back with the same intensity, moving her lips against his and tangling her fingers in his hair. His lips parted, their breaths mixing together. Ron's grip tightened on her waist before one of his hands quickly traveled up her back. He attempted to pull the girl closer. Both of their heads moved to tilt in the opposite direction of its initial tilt as the kiss continued.

Her hand began to burn but she ignored it, softly pulling on the tendrils of his hair. The pain in her hand intensified. She hissed slightly and pulled away from the kiss, her hand stinging. Ron's eyes immediately filled with concern, "A-are you okay?" She was nodding her head quickly. "Yeah, it's just my hand. I'm fine," she answered, untangling herself from him. She looked down at her hand and observed the redness of it.

She hadn't wrapped it up this time, too lazy to bother. Ron took her hand in his and examined it but she pulled it away. "I'm fine," she repeated. He nodded his head and she sent him a smile. Thinking back to what had happened only moments ago. "Bloody hell," Ron said, obviously thinking about the kiss as well. "Bloody hell indeed," a voice said from behind them. The two jumped and turned around to face the person.

Cleo was leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her face. Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Wow. I didn't think this would happen so soon," the Valentine girl commented. Ron's cheeks heated up and Evangeline looked at her feet. She then turned back to Ron. "Um, we'll, uh talk about this later, yeah? Uh, good night," she said before quickly walking to her room, pushing Cleo out of the way so that she could enter. She closed the door behind her and released a breath.

Cleo was staring at her, the smirk still evident. A thought crossed Evangeline's mind and had her opening the door again. Ron was still standing there, trying to understand what had just happened. "Just to clarify, I am the girl you like, right?" Evangeline asked him. He nodded his head slowly. "Bloody hell, was it not obvious?" He questioned. "I was just making sure. Good night!" She slammed the door shut and pressed her back against it.

"So, when's the wedding?" Cleo questioned. Evangeline groaned, "Shut up, Cleo." But the Valentine girl was only getting started. " I can't wait to tell Hermione," she was saying. Evangeline walked back over to her bed and flopped down onto it. She stared up at the ceiling as Cleo continued talking. A smile made its way onto her face and she did a little happy dance before flipping over onto her stomach and listening to Cleo squeal.

••••

Would you look at that! They kissed! The ship has officially sailed! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please vote and and tell me what you thought of the chapter.