Two weeks had gone by too fast for anyone. Hermione cried the most out of anyone. It took Harry, Ron, Draco, AND Blaise to get her out of the castle.
“Hermione, we’re not leaving forever. We’re going to see Rayne and everyone else in a few weeks. So please stop crying,” Draco snapped at her when she banged her fists against him to let her go.
“But I just got to meet her. I can’t just leave her,” Hermione cried.
“You’ll see Rayne in a few weeks, she swore she’ll write. So please get on this train,“ Draco said pushing her up the steps.
“Fine, but if something happens to her while I’m away, I will slap you so hard my hand is imprinted on your cheek and no spell on earth can remove it,” Hermione snapped getting on the train.
Draco turned back to Rayne who was trying to keep from laughing. “Please stay out of trouble. I really don’t want to get hurt.”
“I promise,” Rayne said as Draco got on the train.
Blaise came up to her once everyone else was on the train as well. “I guess this is good-bye,” he said solemnly.
“Not good-bye, just see you soon,” Rayne corrected, kissing him on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair, trying to remember her. “I’ll miss you,” he muttered.
“I’ll miss you too,” Rayne whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a few minutes, the trains five minutes warning whistle broke them apart. Blaise gave her one last kiss before getting on the train. When the train was out of sight, Evy came up behind Rayne and gave her a hug.
“Come on, let’s go inside before it gets too cold,” Evy muttered as they walked together to the castle.
Inside the castle was warm and toasty. Rayne steered her friend in the direction of the kitchens. She had been down there a few times before with Blaise for late night snacks. When they reached the painting of fruit, Rayne reached out her hand and tickled the pear. The picture opened and Evelyn and her walked in to find dozens of little house elves running around.
A house elf with twenty hats on his head, what appeared to be socks on his hands and feet and a cloth served as a shirt came in front of them. His big round eyes stared up at them and he had this smile that seemed to be too big for his face.
“Dobby’s the name, what can I get for you?” he asked in his squeaky voice.
“We’ll take two hot chocolates to go,” Rayne said.
Dobby scurried away and came back with two other house elves with him. Dobby held two cups of hot cocoa; the others had a plate of what looked like double chocolate cake and the other had plate of chocolate chip cookies that looked freshly baked.
“Thanks Dobby, but the cocoa is enough,” Rayne said.
“But it our pleasure miss,” Dobby smiled.
Rayne smiled as she took the two cups of cocoa and Evelyn took the cookies and cake. When they left, Evelyn burst out in laughter. “We are going to be so fat after we eat this,” Evelyn said as they made their way to the Ravenclaw commons.
“Not you, you could eat anything and still have your perfect figure,” Rayne smirked poking her friend in the stomach.
“And what about you, Rayne? I bet you could eat the entire Great Hall and still look like a model,” Evelyn said.
“Whatever.” They had reached the commons and were setting down their goods on the table when a knock came at the door.
“I got it,” Evelyn called out once she set down the cake and cookies. She answered the door and screamed.
“What is it Evy?” Rayne panicked. Then she saw it was only Armand. “You gave me a heart attack Evy.”
“Sorry.” Evelyn smiled as she hugged her boyfriend.
“Awesome food,” Armand headed straight for the cookies and cake.
“We should have known,” Rayne shook her head. She took a sip of her hot cocoa and settled into the couch when a snowy owl came to the window. Evelyn opened it and let the poor thing in.
“It’s addressed to you, Rayne,” Evelyn handed the letter to Rayne before conjuring up some owl treats for the creature.
Rayne opened the letter to find it from Blaise.
Rayne,
I borrowed Harry’s owl Hedwig. I hope you are having a good break so far. I’m entirely bored without you. I feel like a third wheel, all around me are couples. Hermione and Draco are snogging in the corner. Ginny and Harry are wrapped in each other’s arms and Lavender and Ron keep poking each other. So I left and found an empty apartment. I miss you terribly. I wish you were here.
I also have some bad news. Cho is staying at Hogwarts. Hermione and Draco were checking the compartments and they said that Cho and Marietta weren’t anywhere. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was leaving you with her. I hope you can get through this. I promise to write you.
There is something that I have been meaning to tell you. Ever since our first kiss on the train, I have wanted to say this. So I guess I better. Wow! I mean I’m not good at this sort of thing, so I guess it’s better to write it on paper.
I love you. I do with all my heart. I know that probably sounds corny, but I do. I should have told you before I left, but later is better then never right? I love you, Rayne. I’ll see you in a few weeks.
Love with all my heart,
Blaise
At the bottom of the letter was a picture of him smiling and waving. She pulled it off the parchment and smiled at it.
“What does the letter say?” Evelyn asked at last.
Rayne handed her the letter instead of saying anything. Evelyn looked at Armand before taking the letter and began reading. Armand looked over her shoulder as she read the letter. After a few minutes, Evelyn sighed and put her hand to her heart.
“That is so sweet,” Evelyn smiled.
“That boy is definitely whipped,” Armand laughed.
Evelyn smacked him in the chest. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Heck no,” Armand smiled as he kissed her.
Evelyn handed Rayne back the letter. “He truly loves you.” Rayne sighed as she folded up the letter and held it against her chest. She laid back in the couch as she watched Armand and Evelyn feed each other pieces of chocolate cake. This truly was going to be an amazing Christmas.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
“I don’t know about this Cho?” Marietta sighed as she watched her friend stir the potion.
“What do you mean? This is perfect. All you have to do is take care of the girl,” Cho smiled.
“This isn’t right though,” Marietta whined.
“Quiet! You agreed to this, so you’re going to do it. Now, this has to simmer for one week and then it will be ready,’ Cho smirked as she got up from the floor. “In one week, Blaise will be mine.”
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Rayne woke up to someone jumping on the end of her bed. She groaned as she opened her eyes, only to find Evelyn smiling at her. Her eyes were an ember color and her hair was shoulder length brown hair with blonde streaks.
“Wake up, Rayne. It’s Christmas Eve,” Evelyn said as she shook Rayne awake.
“Let me sleep, Evy. It’s too early,” Rayne said pulling her pillow over her face.
“Then I’ll just tell Blaise to go home because you apparently don’t want him here,” Evelyn said as she got off the bed.
Rayne jumped out of bed. “What!?”
Evelyn started laughing. “Evy that was mean. You know better then to lie to me,” Rayne whined.
“You fell for it. It’s not my fault you are so head over heels in love with him,” Evelyn laughed harder clutching her side.
“What if Armand was the one gone and I said that to you,” Rayne snapped.
Evelyn stopped laughing and looked up at Rayne. “I would have killed you.”
“Point taken,” Rayne said rubbing the sleep from her eyes and walking to her trunk to get out some clothes. “So what are we doing today?”
“I don’t know. We could have a snowball fight with Armand? Make snow angels? Drink hot cocoa? Go ice-skating? You pick,” Evelyn said with a shrug.
Rayne smiled as she pulled out a pair of figure skates. “I hope you know how.”
Within ten minutes, Rayne was down by the frozen lake pulling on her skates. Evelyn stood next to her with a nervous look.
“I don’t about this Rayne. That ice doesn’t look thick enough,” Evelyn said.
“You’re not scared are you?”
“Me! No, I just don’t think this is safe that’s all,” Evelyn said matter a factly.
“You don’t know how to skate do you,” Rayne smiled.
“Of course I do.”
Rayne took a handful of snow in her glove-covered hands and threw it at Evelyn’s head. She screamed as the ice hit her right above her ear.
“Catch me if you can,” Rayne smirked as she skated out a few feet from the edge. She took out her wand and transfigured Evelyn’s shoes into ice skates.
“Come on.” Evelyn stepped onto the ice and tried to move, but ended up falling on her face. Rayne skated over to her and helped her up. “I’ll help you.”
The two of them skated around the lake a little bit, so Evelyn could get the hang of it.
“I don’t know about this Rayne,” Evelyn said when she fell for the eighth time.
“Can I help?” Armand asked as he walked toward them.
“Yes please,” the two girls said at the same time.
Armand took Evelyn’s other hand once he transfigured his shoes into skates. The three of them began to skate around, going from slow to fast and helping Evelyn brake. When Rayne was confident that Evelyn could stand with just Armand, she let her hand go.
“Evelyn, I’m going to skate a bit, all right?” she said.
Evelyn nodded. Rayne skated off to the middle of the lake, picking up speed. When she gained enough she went into the middle to practice her spins. When she went through a few, she gained enough speed to go from a spin to a layback spin. It was pretty easy, but she usually tried this with her coach. After a few seconds she stopped and skated around a bit before picking up speed again and jumping into a spread eagle. She landed to hear clapping behind her.
She turned to see Evelyn and Armand clapping. Rayne laughed as she bowed. The three of them finally stopped skating when Evelyn fell on her butt for the twentieth time.
They walked over to the edge, pulled off their skates and rested for a bit. Rayne laid down and let the snow seep into her hair and clothes. A slight snowfall began; tiny snowflakes fell to the ground. After a few minutes, she got up from the ground, wiping the snow from her back.
“Rayne, let’s go inside, it’s too cold,” Evelyn said snuggling closer to Armand.
“So, I guess having a snowball fight is out of the question,” Rayne sighed.
“We’ll have one tomorrow,” Evelyn answered as she got up from the snow and brushed off her butt.
Rayne got up as well and they made their way back to Ravenclaw commons. Once they reached the room, the two girls excused themselves from Armand and went upstairs. They both changed into jeans, fuzzy slippers, comfy sweaters, and put their wet clothes in the bathroom. They walked downstairs to find Armand in just his jeans and an undershirt on the couch, while his jacket and long sleeved shirt were hanging by the fire.
“So what shall we do now?” Evelyn asked when she was settled next to Armand on the couch, while Rayne took the other.
“Have you noticed that neither Cho nor Marietta have been seen since two weeks before break?” Rayne asked.
“Yes, hasn’t it been wonderful,” Evelyn laughed.
Rayne glared at her. “Evy, this is serious. What if something happened to them?”
“Why do you care? They tried to hurt you remember,” Evelyn snapped.
“I know, it’s just I get worried about everyone,” Rayne sighed.
“I’m sure their fine.”
That night, Rayne dreamt of Christmas morning. The gentle snowfall falling toward the ground as she walked through the slush in her black boots. The forest coming closer as she took each step. The sky a bluish-gray. The cold wind whipping her hair around her face. It was all peaceful.
Rayne woke up to find Evelyn already halfway through unwrapping her presents. “I can see you didn’t wait,” Rayne yawned getting out of bed.
“I don’t have to wait. It’s Christmas,” Evelyn said moving onto another present.
“So are we still going to have our snowball fight with Armand later,” Rayne said.
“Definitely.”
Just then there was a tap at the window. Rayne opened the it to find a coal black owl. It was her father’s, he had bought her the owl to stay in touch with her, but because Charlie, the owl, was so attached to her father, she left him at home. Rayne took the letter and read what was inside.
“Oh! Apparently my father has gotten re-married to Melinda. She’s this woman that he’s been seeing for the past few years.”
“So you like her?” Evelyn asked.
“Of course, Melinda is like my own mother. I have even started calling Melinda ’mom’ even before the wedding. I had better send this to Hermione,” Rayne resealed the letter and told Charlie to take it to Hermione.
When she turned back towards the room, Rayne found a pile of presents at the foot of her bed. She got a heart necklace from her sister with a picture of them both on it. She got a book of magical spells and their origins from Lavender and Ginny. She received a broom and broom cleaning kit from Harry, Draco, and Ron. She also got a photo album from Evelyn. Inside were pictures of her and Evy, her in class, her with Blaise, her with Hermione, and her with everybody.
When she removed all the paper and stacked the gifts in a pile, she realized that she hadn’t gotten a gift from Blaise.
Evelyn looked up from her pile of gifts and looked at Rayne. “What’s wrong? Did you not get what you wanted?”
“No, that’s not its just I don’t seem to have gotten a gift from Blaise,” Rayne sighed.
“Oh!” Evelyn muttered, pushing the locket Armand had sent her behind her. “I’m sure he wants to give it to you in person or something.”
“Maybe.” Just then a tap was heard from the window. Rayne walked over to find Hedwig at the windowsill. She opened the window and let the owl in. She took the letter from Hedwig’s leg and before she could say a word, Hedwig flew off.
Rayne opened the letter and found only four little words.
Look under your pillow.
Rayne moved over to her bed and picked up her pillow. She found another little note.
Look in your trunk.
Inside the trunk was another note.
Look under Evelyn’s bed.
Under Evelyn’s bed was another note. Evelyn laughed as Rayne sighed loudly. After six more notes, Rayne was ready to just give up. She checked behind the plant in the Ravenclaw commons to find another note.
I promise that this is the last one. Check under the right cushion of the couch by the fireplace.
Rayne looked under the cushion to find a small box. She ripped away the paper and opened the box to find a silver locket. Inside the locket was a picture of them together and on the back was inscribed: I Love You. She put the locket on and went up to her room to find Evelyn.
“Evy?”
No response. “Evy?” Rayne looked throughout the entire commons and dorm, but there was no sign of her. On Evelyn’s pillow was a note.
Went to meet Armand.
Rayne shrugged as she placed the letter back and got changed into jeans and a black turtleneck. She pulled on a blue vest that matched her eyes over her top and pulled on some tennis shoes. She walked out of the commons and headed for the Great Hall for breakfast.
She found Armand in the Great Hall looking around. Rayne walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled. “Have you seen Evelyn?”
“She told me that she was meeting you.”
“I haven’t seen her yet.”
“I’ll go find her,” Rayne said walking out of the Great Hall. She walked around the entire castle. When she reached the seventh floor, she found Evelyn skipping toward her.
“Evy! What are you doing up here?” Rayne asked, but Evelyn kept skipping as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Evy!” Rayne snapped standing in front of her friend.
“Oh! That‘s me. Sorry, I’m a little out of it,” Evelyn said.
“I’ll say, come on, Armand is waiting for us.” Rayne took her friend’s arm.
“I don’t want to see him. Let’s spend the day together. Just us,” Evelyn said with a smile.
“What do you mean? Did he do something wrong?” Rayne asked.
“Oh no. It’s just; I don’t want to see him. I’m a bit nervous. He said he had something big to tell me and I can’t see him right now,” Evelyn said as she started walking away leaving Rayne really puzzled.
“Wait up,” Rayne said running after her. They reached the Ravenclaw commons and walked inside to find Cho sitting on the couch. “And I thought this was going to be a good day.”
Evelyn looked like she wanted to kill Cho. Rayne leaned over and whispered for Evelyn to go upstairs. “Are you sure?” She whispered back. “This is my fight.” Evelyn went upstairs, leaving Cho and Rayne alone.
“That hurt Rayne and I only want to be nice,” Cho whined.
“Yea and I’m the Queen of Scotland,” Rayne rolled her eyes.
“Hey, Rayne how is Blaise?” Just then Rayne’s vision was obscured. A blindfold had been placed over her eyes and one had been wrapped around her mouth. She tried to scream and then all of a sudden, everything was blank.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Evelyn came downstairs after a few minutes and found Rayne sitting on the couch. She had a magazine in her lap and seemed to be bored.
“Hey where did the Ravenclaw Queen go?” Evelyn asked as she descended the stairs.
“Cho went out to meet Marietta,” Rayne sighed as she flipped the page.
“My god, I can’t believe her. She is such a witch with a ‘b‘.” Evelyn seethed.
“She’s not that bad,” Rayne said flipping the page again.
“Excuse me!” Evelyn screamed jumping up from the couch.
“I’m just saying that she isn’t as bad as some people make out. I mean she can be pretty cool sometimes.”
“You have got to be joking,” Evelyn gasped.
“She isn’t that bad. I don’t know why you hate her so much.”
“She is rude, obnoxious, self-centered, snobby, stuck up, pretentious, shallow, and completely has no feeling for anyone but herself,” Evelyn snapped.
“That’s not true. She loves many people. Marietta is her truest friend and she loves her dearly. When she was dating Blaise, she loved him too,” Rayne snapped.
“Cho loves Marietta because she does her dirty work. She loves Blaise because he’s easy for her to manipulate,” Evelyn snapped.
“If that‘s how you are going to be, then I am through. That is entirely rude. Cho is not that way and if you are going to be like that, then we can no longer be friends,” Rayne snapped getting up from the couch.
“Fine.” Evelyn snapped walking up the stairs to her dorm, while Rayne walked out of the commons.
When Rayne got out of the commons and was out in the corridor, she laughed. “One down, two to go.”
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
The entire break went by in a flash. The castle was once again full of students. The halls were crowded and everyone seemed to be thrilled to see each other again. The first person that ran up to Rayne was Blaise. He gave her a huge hug and a longing kiss. Rayne was thrilled to see him again. Before dinner, she pulled him aside into an empty classroom to talk.
“My god, I have missed you so much,” Blaise said kissing her again.
“And I have missed you as well.” Blaise smiled as he reached for her, but she stopped him. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” He asked, immediately regretting it.
“I think it‘s time we went our separate ways. It‘s just I realized that I no longer feel the same way about you anymore. I used to be so much in love with you and then it was over. I guess I was just disguising an infatuation for love.”
“I don‘t understand,” Blaise gasped.
“It‘s over Blaise. We‘re through,” Rayne said.
“Why?” Blaise gasped.
“I don‘t love you anymore,” Rayne said starting to walking off.
“Wait! If we’re through, I want my locket back,” Blaise snapped.
“What locket?” Rayne asked confused.
“The one I gave you for Christmas,” Blaise answered.
“What!? You never gave me…Oh! Right, I’ll give that to you later,” Rayne said running off before anything else could be said.
Rayne got to the library where she found Hermione sitting with a pile of books in front of her. She walked over to her and sat right in front of her. Hermione looked up and smiled.
“Hey Rayne,” Hermione said.
“Hi. I just wanted to tell you before someone else, that I broke up with Blaise,” Rayne said without pause.
“You WHAT!?” Hermione gasped.
“I broke up with him. And before you say anything, it was my decision. I realized I don‘t love him anymore and I finished it before he got the wrong idea.”
“Why? Rayne, I have seen the way you two look at each other, this can‘t be it.”
“Listen! This is my life, not yours. I can choose what I do with it. I don‘t need your opinion,” Rayne snapped.
“I was only looking out for your best interest,” Hermione sighed.
“Well butt out, I don‘t need a know-it-all sister on my back telling me what to do,” Rayne snapped.
“Now listen here young lady-”
“Just stay out of my life Hermione. I may not have a mother, but I don‘t need some pesky two years older me sister acting like it.” Rayne stormed out of the library leaving a fuming Hermione behind.
“And then there were none.”
Rayne walked back to the Ravenclaw commons, where she found Marietta sitting on one of the couches. She walked up to her and sat beside her.
"How did it go?" Marietta asked after a moment.
"Rayne is going to have the most miserable time when she is released," Rayne laughed.
"When do you think we should let her out of the Room of Requirement?"
"I would say tonight at midnight. That way no one will suspect. And we can always obliviate her memory, so she doesn't understand what is going on," Rayne smirked.
"I think that is perfect," Marietta smiled.
"Tonight at midnight, meet me down here," Rayne said as she walked up to her room.
A/n: If you are wondering, everything from where Evelyn comes down from the stairs and finds Rayne sitting on the couch reading a magazine and down is actually Cho impersonating Rayne.
I just spent the last three hours correcting this and trying to keep my eyes open, as well as going through a box of tissue. I’m sick and to please all my readers, I stayed up half the night making this chapter for you. I love you all and I want to see you happy. So, I hope you like it, please review.
You must be logged in to post a review on this story.
Printer Friendly Version
