Hope Starts Broken Hearts

The second Aspen and I were back at Hogwarts, I immediately skimmed through the castle looking for either Clyde or Heidi. I had to apologize; it was only right. I’ve been avoiding the thought for a while now as I have always been straight rubbish at apologizing. They were my friends though, and Malfoy was nothing to me compared to them.

Wasn't quite sure how long that feeling would last, however.

“He’s not going to talk to you,” Aspen muttered from behind me. “You know how stubborn he is.”

I twirled around on my heel and shot him a look, placing my hands on my hips. “I don’t like your optimism,” I told him bluntly.

Aspen burst into a fit of chuckles as he walked up to me, placing his hand on my head. “Pessimism, dear. Optimism means you think everything is going to turn out well.” He smirked down at my shorter figure when I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout.

“I still wonder why the Sorting Hat didn’t put you in Ravenclaw.”

He laughed, returning his hand back to his side. “And I see why the Sorting Hat called you stupid.”

“Hey!” I scolded, but quickly let it go. I turned around again and peered around the nearly empty Entrance Hall. “Where d'you suppose he is?”

Aspen shrugged lazily and slipped his hands into the side pockets of his robe. “It’s not dinner yet, so he’d probably be in the Gryffindor Common Room.”

“Right!” I replied happily, trailing off towards the staircase. “Let’s go pay him a visit. He can’t be that mad at me, right? We’re friends.”

“Belle,” he breathed, causing me to stop. “How d'you suppose we go in there? Not only are we oblivious to the password, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of Slytherin.”

I sighed deeply, crossing my arms as I looked over at him. “There you go again, being all pessimistic and stuff.”

A slight smirk bloomed across his face. “At least you got the right word this time.”

I shot him a cheeky grin, and then suddenly heard my name being called—rather, screamed from the direction of the Great Hall.

“Miraaaaaaaaaaaa~!” a rather high-pitched voice slurred, bouncing off every wall in the area. Before I could even turn to see who it was, two hands wrapped around my neck as a body smaller than mine pounced at me directly.

“Maggie,” I chocked, and then smiled at her when she pulled away.

“You went to Tricks and Treats without me!” she pouted childishly.

“Sorry,” I laughed. “Couldn’t find you.”

“Oh, whatever.” She smiled again, even brighter this time. After all, Maggie Brenin was never seen without a smile on her face for more than a second. “Did you know they’re opening a Tricks and Treats in Hogsmeade?!” she cheered rather excitedly.

“How would you know? You don’t even have guardian permission to go to Hogsmeade.” Maggie was barely old enough, too. She was a year younger than me, in the middle of her third year right now.

“Oh, you know me,” she replied. “I’m as crafty as a serpent! How else did I pull off getting into Slytherin?”

“I suppose,” I laughed, and she followed suit. “But anyways, that’s fantastic!” I beamed ecstatically. “We don’t have to travel all the way to Diagon Alley anymore.”

“Thank Merlin,” she said happily. “I never liked that place. Almost made me glad you didn’t bring me with you."

“Ahem,” a throat was cleared from the side of us.

Maggie’s eyes brightened when she finally noticed Aspen, who—rather impatiently—waited for our conversation to end.

“Aspen!” she cooed and flung her skinny arms around him. “You left me, too!”

“Oh, hello there Magenta. Didn’t notice you.” He rolled his eyes, only to receive a small hit on his arm from the outgoing girl.

Maggie then let him go and turned her attention back to me. “I heard Clyde and Heidi were angry with you!” she exclaimed rather loudly, practically announcing the news to everyone that happened to pass by us.

“Yeah,” I mumbled, slightly ashamed. “Speaking of that, have you seen them?”

“Kind of. They’re not with each other, though. I greeted them when they came back, and they told one another they’d see each other at dinner.”

“Clyde’s probably in the common room then,” I concluded, nodding my head. “How about using those crafty skills of yours to go get him for me, Maggie?”

“Bloody twat,” she whacked me on the arm, and I cringed at the insult. Maggie always ran around calling people that, but she never meant to cause any offense by it. “You know what happened last time I tried to sneak into the Gryffindor Common Room! I could use the password, but even if I knew it, that bloody fat lady in the portrait wouldn’t let me in even if I threatened her!”

“I get, Maggie. Calm down.”

She took in a long breath of air before exhaling it out evenly. “Yeah, sorry. My brain just kind of overloaded.”

“What brain?” I joked, and then turned to two familiar people who were casually chatting as they walked out of the Great Hall.

“Potter!” I yelled after him as he and his friend walked by us.

The two stopped in their tracks and turned around, looking surprised when they saw that it was me calling him. Harry Potter and I don’t talk much, even though we have a few classes together. It may just be because of the little Gryffindor vs. Slytherin feud they’ve got going on there, but I just didn’t have anything ever to say to him. I didn’t care much about his fame, either. I still treat him like everyone else.

“D’you need something, Mirabelle?” he asked me, being as polite as ever, even considering the green robe I wore and the red one did."

“Yes, actually. Can you go get Clyde Hayner for me?”

Harry looked at the boy next to him, who returned his look and shrugged his shoulders.

“Mira!” Maggie whispered, tugging on my arm. “You can’t talk to Harry Potter like that!”

“Oh shush,” I told her, pushing her away, and then turning back to Harry.

“Yeah, sure thing.” He smiled at me. “Where is he?”

“He’s in the Gryffindor Common Room.”

“Alright,” he said as he and the boy beside him walked towards the stairs.

“Thanks, Harry! And umm…” I trailed off, thinking of the other boy’s name.

He instantly turned around, flashing me a nervous grin. “Ron,” he said. “Ron Weasley.”

“Err, right. Off you go then.” I smiled at them, and they headed on their way again. “We’ll be in the Great Hall.”

I linked my right arm into Aspen’s, my left arm into Maggie’s, and dragged the both of them into the Great Hall with me. When we entered the dimly lit room, we noticed a lot of students inhabiting it, either chatting or studying as they waited for the meals which were to be served at evening.

I unhooked my arms from theirs as the three of us walked over to our designated table of the four that encompassed the entire Great Hall. As we were about to sit down at the end closest to the entrance door, I noticed Malfoy a few feet away, immediately taking me by surprise. He was on the other side of the table, talking casually to Crabbe and Goyle beside him.

“Malfoy!” I yelled as I walked up to him, causing him to jump slightly in reaction.

“Bloody hell, Crowe,” he turned to me with a slight scowl, obviously taken back by my sudden outburst. “What d’you want?”

“When did you get here?"

We were in the Entrance Hall for a while, and I took a quick peek at everyone walking in or out. I wasn’t even aware of his arrival, or even any of his friends who happened to be back from Diagon Alley, too.

“A few minutes ago,” he informed. “You were too busy flirting with Potter to notice; didn’t want to ruin your little moment.” An assertive smirk played across his lips.

“Oh yes,” I rolled my eyes, taking the empty seat across from him. “Because I’m totally into Potter.”

“So you admit it,” he snorted. “I thought you had better taste than that, Crowe.”

"I thought you did too, but apparently not," I rested my head on my hand and eyed the Malfoy with a smirk. "Had no idea you were dating that dog of a Parkinson girl. Couldn't even tell."

"Because we weren't--not really, at least." Draco looked slightly annoyed. "Just gave her the title because she wouldn't stop bloody nagging me."

“Right, right, anyway,” I sang, attempting to change the subject. “Have you seen Heidi?”

Draco's brows furrowed as he looked at me. “Who?”

“Heidi Ellison?”

Draco looked like I had no idea what I was talking about as he propped a green apple into his mouth and bit into it, chewing lazily and repeating, “Who?”

“Bloody moron, your ex-girlfriend!” Yes, my temper was short, but so was Draco’s. It’s only fair.

“Ohhh, her. She still goes to this school?” His famous smirk drew his lips back yet again. “Seems as though I haven't seen her in years.”

My mouth hung in complete shock. So much for an angel; this kid was absolutely horrible. “Well, that was certainly mean of you,” I mumbled, still a bit dazed. He couldn’t have meant what he just said, right? No one is that heartless.

“I’m mean?” he raised a brow, still looking as cocky as ever and placing his half eaten apple down on the table. “Don’t forget, I was there at the little incident earlier. Almost had Pansy in tears, you know.”

"Me? You're the one that probably left her balling her eyes out."

"Only because she was talking to you like that."

"Oh? You were defending me?" I smiled innocently. "What are we, best friends now?"

"The best." Draco smirked. He looked best in one, I shamefully admitted to myself.

I then forced the thought out of my head and reminded myself to stay on track. "Heidi. Where is she?"

“Dunno," he said, and I sighed, getting up to leave. But then Draco continued, "heard you're looking for that Hayner kid, however. I know where he is."

"Where?" I asked, turning around to face him again.

"Why should I tell you?" he pressed his elbows onto the table, resting his head on his hand. The daunting smile never left his face.

"Malfoy," I said slowly. "Tell me."

"Or?"

"Or else I'm going to tell Pansy over there you're calling her," I pointed at the opposite end of the table, where she was with her large group of female friends.

Draco, along with the friends surrounding him, all grimaced at the same time, probably with the same thought in mind. Draco turned to me, looking like he'd rather not take up my offer.

“He's at the Gryffindor table,” he said, frowning. I immediately jerked my head that direction; my eyes scanning the many Gryffindors that aligned the table at the end of the room. Almost instantly, I noticed Clyde, who happened to be talking to a few other boys in our year, and pulled myself out of my seat to go over to him. Draco watched me as I started to leave and feigned a broken heart. "What, no 'thanks'?"

I picked up the apple in front of him and he watched as I took a bite.

"Thanks for the custard," I winked, tossing the apple back, and he caught it without even taking his eyes off of mine.

I swear I saw that smug smirk of his barely reappear before I twirled on my heel away from them. I hastily rushed over to the end of the table, smacking Maggie on the back of her head when I reached her.

“Ow!” she complained, rubbing the spot I hit. She turned around to me with a glare. “The bloody hell is your problem?!”

“You were in here before Aspen and I arrived; how did you not notice that?!” I pointed over to the boy in the red robe. She followed the direction of my finger, and a second later, her face brightened when she realized where I was getting at.

“Oh look, I found Clyde!” she exclaimed happily, standing up from her seat.

“I swear, you’re stupider than me,” I sighed to myself, feeling unbelievably hopeless for my idiotic friend.

“Excuse me, Mirabelle Crowe, but I think Potter’s the stupid one. He was in here too, and he didn’t notice Clyde over there. Clyde is even in his house; they’re at the same table!”

“So I’m not allowed to kindly ask Potter a favor, but you’re allowed to call him stupid?”

Maggie quickly nodded her head. “If not to his face, then yes,” she grinned proudly.

“Are you sure about that?” his voice beamed from the side of us, striking us completely frozen. Our heads simultaneously averted to the direction Harry Potter stood with his arms crossed, while Ron Weasley was giggling from behind him. “I guess that explains why Hayner’s not in the common room.”

“That reminds me, I need to go talk to him!” I avoided the scene, quickly making my way over to the table at the other end of the room. The eyes of Maggie, Aspen, Harry and Ron watched me from behind.