Taste of Youth

“I’m worried about you.”

Chase looked worried and sounded it too. He was leaning against the banister next to the opening of the seventh floor stairs, apparently the seventh floor was all he could get on the location of the Gryffindor tower. I hadn’t said anything when I walked up the stairs to see him pacing back and forth only motioned Lily to leave before me. She did giving Chase one of her looks that made him lean away from him as best as he could..

“You have that bandage on your arm. You’re training to be an Auror. It’s a dangerous job, Luce. You could die.”

“I knew what I was in for when I agreed to the training.”

“Yeah, well.” He pushed his hands through his hair and looked at me his eyebrows furrowed.

We stared at each other for a long moment not saying anything. I wanted to ask him about the fight, about what he was saying that got Sirius so rilled. I didn’t though, that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about at this moment. Not what I wanted to deal with right now. I leaned harder against the banister tilting my head back to stare at the far away ceiling, frowning.

“I don’t need someone to worry about me.”

“Yeah, that bandaging obviously confirms that.”

“Yeah it does. Since it proves that I can get out of an impossible fight alive.” I pushed up from the banister that I had been leaned against, “Is my future job going to be a problem?”

“I think that -”

“Answer the question.” I snarled out fists clenching and unclenching.

Chase looked at me for a long moment, “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“I am not going to stop working for the job I want because my boyfriend wants me to. That’s not how this works.”

“Well maybe I shouldn’t be with you then.”

“I guess so.” I deadpanned and shouldered past him pausing just behind him, “I’m a sixth year, Chase. There was still plenty of time before I started working.”

“No one has plenty of time in this day and age, Luce. You know that.”

And with that he walked away. I didn’t ask what he had been talking about with his friends that day that Sirius hit him, it didn’t matter not anymore. It wasn’t until his footsteps had faded away that I realized I was still standing there and it wasn’t until I felt the tear tracks cool on my face that I realized I was crying. I wiped at it quickly and headed over to the common room. Lily looked up when I came in and without a word got up with Alice and followed me up the stairs to our dorm.

“You broke up.”

It wasn’t a question the way Lily said it, only a calm fact with no emotion in it. I froze, tilting my head forward and letting my hair fall around my face. I leaned down and unclipped my trunk but didn’t open it.

“Has McGonagall come with any information about what happened to Mary?”

“No, but I got some info from one of her friends in Hufflepuff. Said she’d been under one of the Unforgivables and that it was cast by Mulciber. Dumbledore’s taking care of it.” Alice spoke up and I could hear the frown in her voice, “Are you okay, Luce?”

“I’m fine. Do you know what he’s going to do about it?”

“Knowing Dumbledore, nothing.”

“Mmm.” Was the only response I offered up and rummaged through my trunk.

“Luce.”

“What?” I snapped at them and dropped my extra pair of glasses.

“Luce!” Lily sounded upset and I closed my eyes.

“Sorry, I’m just-” I sighed and pushed my hands through my hair turning around to give them an apologetic look, “I just am not in the mood to talk about anything that requires emotions right now. The boys wanted to talk to us?”

Lily looked surprised, “Yeah, how did you know?”