A lonely Beech(Hermia)

[Orion R. Malfoy]

Orion sat with his head bowed over a parchment which rested atop a cloth-bound tome. He was shaded from the June sun by the leaves of a tremendous beech tree. A particular difficult Arithmancy question compelled Orion to look up from his work and gaze round him for a quick break from the monotonous work. He first looked toward the lake. He had always wanted to go swimming in the lake but had never found the time. He head turned slowly toward the castle. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed the three girls walking toward him. Orion bent his head low over his parchment once more and shifted himself around the tree so that he was less visible.

Orion stole a quick glane around the tree at his ex-girlfriend and her two friends. He had been fortunate enough to not have classes with Cwen three days since their break-up. He made a panicked frown as he realized they were now turning his way. Orion noticed that the Hufflepuff Hannah and Cwen had stopped however. They were chatting with eachother still under the shadow of the castle. The third, Hermia, kept advancing toward him. Panic rose further in his heart, he was sure that they had noticed him and saw him edge around the tree.

Orion knew he'd not get any work done properly as nervous as he was now. He magically packed his bag, his parchment, quill, ink and books folding neatly within. He picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He resolved to face whatever the girl's had planned for him. He walked slowly toward the closest girl, Hermia. When he approached within speaking distance, he grinned as best he could and without meaning to shout, "Hello," but found his voice hard to control. Then he whispered, "Good afternoon." He glanced nervously toward the other two girls who were far away yet and hadn't seemed to notice them.

[Hermia Lucretia Crouch]

Gentle beams of the June sun tickling her face and warm breeze playing with her hair, Hermia was walking down the lawn, accompanied by her two best friends - the trio that had not been separated since their first meeting, some five years earlier. Enjoying the sun, Hermia let her mind wonder away, not having realised that her friends had stopped. She closed her eyes and kept walking, widening the distance between herself and Cwen and Hannah. Hermia was steadily approaching the lake and when she finally opened her eyes, she found herself beneath a large beech tree; its large leaves sheltering her from the sun. There was a boy beneath the tree. Hermia squinted to take a better look at him and her light eyes widened after she had recognised him.

Orion Malfoy. Slytherin. Cwen's boyfriend - no, ex-boyfriend. Hermia's eyes were following his nervous movements, but then he surprised her by moving towards her. Hermia turned to look over her shoulder - Hannah and Cwen were still away, standing near the castle and talking. She turned and faced his wide grin. "Hello." she finally greeted him, before asking quite a stupid and inappropriate question: "What are you doing here?"

[Orion R. Malfoy]

Orion scratched his palmed across his forehead, wiping away a recent build-up of sweat. He hadn't been so wet with perspiration all day. He tried to force his smile wider. He didn't believe Cwen to be the vindictive sort, but was not sure how upsetting their breakup might have been to her. It seemed as though Orion hadn't heard Hermia's question. But he was glad she wasn't hysterical or violent with him.
"I didn't want to do it, you know. My brother. . . Pureblood. . . Family. . . And that. . ." Orion found himself staring across the grounds at Cwen. He hated being away from her. The past few nights he wished he had murdered his brother. But the fact that he had drawn blood against him satisfied his vengeance but nothing he could conjure in his mind would soothe his pain. "Does she talk about me? Since what happened?" He could not remove his eyes from Cwen. Not even as he spoke to Hermia.

[Hermia Lucretia Crouch]

The wide, although somewhat fake smile remained on Hermia's face, her large light eyes never leaving Orion's face. She did not miss the sweat on his face, nor the sudden nervousness which seemed to have overcome him. However, it seemed that her words were completely ignored by the boy or he simply did not hear her.

"What are you...?" Hermia began, but her voice faded away. Her eyes widened and she remained motionless and silent, just looking at Orion. She was wondering what he was talking about, but she knew that she had to let him finish, in order to discover what his intentions were. His words seemed completely irrelevant, utter nonsense, but Hermia decided to give it a try and see if his words would eventually start making sense to her. Hermia knew that Orion was staring at Cwen while he was talking to her, but his question still managed to take her by surprise. "She..." Hermia began, not quite certain what to tell him. "She rarely mentions her." she finished, wanting badly to protect her friend, even if it meant lying to her ex-boyfriend.

(I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to reply)

[Orion R. Malfoy]

Orion began to take in Hermia's words now that he had asked her something. Initially, he was glad at Hermia's answer. Though he'd known even before he'd asked that he'd fell terrible for asking and sad if the answer was negative. "I see." Orion looked at the floor. He felt like screaming Liar at innocent Hermia and sick with himself for even suspecting her of dishonesty. He stared at the ground for a long moment. "I'm sorry to have bothered you. I have no right asking these things."

Orion scratched his chin, his mind surprisingly empty. The only thought in his head now was an intrusive Ravenclaw Prefect who went by the name Owen. He nearly jumped when he remembered the girls were present with one next to him and the others on the way. "Uh. You don't mind if I. . . Ahem. Sorry. Should I go?" Orion didn't know why he was asking permission to leave of Hermia but at the same time a strong glimmer of hope at restoring his relation with Cwen roused in him at the same time. Though he knew he'd have to put that light out.

[Hermia Lucretia Crouch]

Hermia was standing next to Orion, watching him patiently. She had never actually paid attention to him, to be completely honest. Yes, he was Cwen's boyfriend, but that was simply one more reason for her not to go near him. Their friendship was far too precious for Hermia to allow anything or anyone come between them and ruin everything. Hermia crossed her arms, still looking at Orion. "It's true, you don't." she answered, perhaps somewhat too coldly. Then she suddenly felt something strange, as if she felt sorry for poor Orion. He must have found it very hard to be without Cwen and yet Hermia and Hannah spent every moment with her. Did he find it cruel? Perhaps.

"Look, Orion, I..." she began slowly, but suddenly stopped, not quite certain what she wanted to say. She tried again "I'm sorry that you..." Hermia was utterly confused, for some reason. "What? I... of course I... well, go if you have to go..." she muttered, and then quickly added "No! Wait, don't go!"