Chapter 126

Warmth was all-encompassing, it’s the first thing you feel and the constant thing you crave as you grow, it soothed the aches of living and chased away the bitter cold of isolation. For someone like Atlas, who grew up with the cold, who had never felt the embrace of her mother, a victim to the icy chill of the Dementors during her childhood, she craved it, chased it, she laid by fires in her youth to combat the loneliness of it, she had come to love the burn upon her arm that never ceased – she was the cold but she longed for the warmth which she had finally found. Atlas coveted it, wrapped up in her girlfriend’s arms, their endearingly ugly cat between them and their two birds perched upon the headboard.

December crept up in a flash, the week after their game and the subsequent encounter between Hermione and Atlas blurring the days together, so quickly the Christmas season was readily upon them. Ice stretched across from the corners of their windows, adorning the glass in intricate patterns, it was cold outside, inches of snowfall falling from the sky each night and yet Atlas couldn’t feel it, her body perpetually warm. The body surrounding her shuffled and she huffed into the arm wrapped so snuggly around her face, blearily blinking her eyes open and gently pulling Hermione’s bicep from covering her mouth.

There came a low grumble of discontent, Hermione tightening her hold as she clenched her eyes closed and hugged Atlas’s head tighter to her chest. Warmth was all-encompassing and Atlas wouldn’t have it any other way, if it were up to her, she’d stay there in Hermione’s stifling hold forever, but, unfortunately, her lungs craved air and she couldn’t deny them much longer.

“Hermione…” Atlas mumbled and tapped the girl’s arm, she was offered a sleepy hum of acknowledgement, “I need to breathe.”

It took a moment, a startling long time as if Hermione was truly deciding whether or not she was going to release Atlas from her grip before she pulled her arm away and Atlas took in a breath, yawning after, her eyes watering slightly. She huffed, sitting up on her elbows and peered down at Hermione who rubbed her eye sleepily.

“Once again I’m teetering on the edge of this bed, Miss Granger,” Atlas pointed out as she looked at the large expanse of room on Hermione’s side, the bushy-haired girl blushed indignantly, sitting up as well.

“If you didn’t wriggle away so much, I wouldn’t have to chase you,” she snapped, rolling her eyes and Atlas quirked a brow.

“The suggestion of me running away from you is crazy,” Atlas grinned and leaned forward, their noses a hair’s width apart, “could I kiss you, please?”

“Why do you always ask?” Hermione grumbled as she hooked her arms around Atlas and tugged her close.

“I like it when you say yes,” Atlas hummed, waiting patiently.

“Yes,” Hermione tutted, moving to speak again but was shortly cut off by Atlas, the girl’s lips pressing to hers lazily, as if it were regular, as easy as breathing for them and it steadily was. 

Though not ones for feasting on each other’s faces like Ron and Lavender, they still walked close, their pinky fingers tangled as they walked to classes with Harry and Ron, shooting each other looks when ‘Won-Won’ was dragged away by Lavender and Harry went on another maniacal tirade about Malfoy. They’d also moved to one bed, although, Hermione made a habit of pushing herself as close to Atlas as possible, oftentimes leaving the girl hanging halfway off in the morning.

The kiss continued, Hermione crawling into Atlas’s lap and cradling the girl’s working jaw as their kiss deepened, Crookshanks made himself scarce, yowling as Kalo and Robin decided this was also their cue to leave and left through the window the former bird had learned to open. It seemed a correction was in order, they were not ones for feasting on each other’s faces in the corridors – their room was fair game.

“What time is it?” Atlas panted between kisses.

“Nine?” Hermione replied as she pulled Atlas back in.

“Nine?” Atlas forced herself away, looking at Hermione whose gaze was focused solely on Atlas’s lips, “Hermione, you have Ancient Runes in fifteen minutes.”

“So?”

“What?” Atlas flushed. Who knew being placed above classes in Hermione’s eyes would make her heart stutter so much?

“What?” Hermione breathed and then her eyes widened, pushing Atlas back into the pillows as she dismounted her waist and quickly searched for her uniform, “I have Ancient Runes in fifteen minutes!”

“That’s what I said…” Atlas murmured as she sat up again and climbed out of bed to find her own school shirt, watching in the corner of her eye as Hermione brushed her teeth and flitted around the room.

“I’ll see you later,” Hermione rushed and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Atlas briefly, “love you!”

“See you later,” Atlas smiled as their dorm room door slammed shut and she slowly resumed dressing for her class at half ten – her shirt was halfway done when the door was slammed open again and Hermione reappeared, red in the face, hair awry and her satchel swaying haphazardly in the air.

“The mistletoe has increased,” she panted and Atlas tilted her head with a smile.

“Yeah?”

“Do not go down any main hallways without me,” Hermione snapped quickly and glared, “who knows what those giggling girls will do, if they even try –“

Atlas leaned down to kiss her, pulling back so that they were mere breaths apart, “You’re going to be late, I’ll take the passageways.”

“…ok,” Hermione flushed, apparently sobering up and realising the mortification of running back up to their room simply to warn Atlas of inconsequential mistletoe, she knew Atlas would rather be caught dead than kiss anyone but her. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Mi,” Atlas said and then frowned as she thought more on the implications of the mistletoe being placed so frequently around the school, “actually, now that I think about it if Cormac so much as –“

“I’m going to be so late, Atlas,” Hermione interjected, smiling softly as she kissed Atlas’s cheek goodbye and left for the second time, hopefully for the last, otherwise she would be receiving her first late slip of the year.

Atlas huffed and pulled up her trousers, buckling her belt up and sorting the rest of herself out before also leaving, she visited the bathroom first to brush her teeth instead of being so uncivilised as to do so in her room as Hermione had done. The image of some unseen force brushing Hermione’s teeth as the girl hopped around trying to put on socks would forever be ingrained in her mind, if it had been Ron or even Harry she wouldn’t have batted a lash, but this was Hermione, calm, collected and steady Hermione.

The common area was full of first years carrying their luggage into the centre in preparations for the Christmas Term, all eager to get back and regale stories of their first few months at Hogwarts, Atlas spotted the little girl who had become fond of her on their boat trip across the lake and waved exiting to take the passageways to her first class of the day, her bag hiked over her shoulder, tie hung loose around her neck.

What she hadn’t been expecting to find but should’ve expected, was Harry up ahead, his head ducked low as he exited the back of a portrait, Atlas followed and clapped her hand on his shoulder, startling a girlish scream from his mouth, “Jesus Christ!”

“Just Atlas actually,” Atlas replied with a smile as they took a slow walk to class, “Avoiding the mistletoe too?”

“Yeah, I think someone tripled the amount overnight,” Harry huffed and then grinned, nudging her side, “maybe you and Hermione will get caught under it?”

“Maybe,” Atlas shrugged as she adjusted her bag, Harry gave her a weird searching look before shaking his head, “Oh, hey, you should be careful, Hermione was telling me she –“

“Overheard some girls talking about slipping me a love potion?” Harry finished and Atlas froze a moment before nodding. “Yeah, she told me in the library the other day, said I should hurry up and pick someone to take to Slughorn’s party so they back off, but that’ll just make the girl a target too won’t it?”

“You could take a guy, maybe Ron?” Atlas suggested and Harry gave her a look, “Right, Lav won’t like that.”

Lavender had been imposing herself upon them any chance she got, butting into private conversations and squeezing herself between Harry and Ron at the table in the Great Hall despite there being another spot on the other side of Ron. It wasn’t that Atlas didn’t understand Lavender’s obsession with her boyfriend, after all, Atlas couldn’t talk. She couldn’t bear to be five inches apart from Hermione but she also understood they could spend time apart and with their friends.

Unfortunately, Lavender didn’t seem to get that sentiment if Parvati’s sullen expression recently was anything to go by. The poor girl. Atlas couldn’t imagine liking Hermione for years only for her to get with a random boy she hadn’t spoken more than five words to before falling head over heels.

“Maybe you could take Parvati?” Atlas suggested but then remembered the boy had asked her to be his date once before, which hadn’t exactly gone well, although they were still friends.

“I don’t think so…” Harry said, looking off to the side and Atlas nodded.

“Fair enough, maybe I’ll ask Parvati to be my plus one, she looks like she could use a pick me up,” Atlas said and once again Harry shot her a weird sideways expression as if he was going to say something before stopping himself.

The Transfiguration classroom came into view, a line of students were waiting outside to be let in, most notably Ron and Lavender, locked in an embrace and practically eating each other’s faces beneath a coincidentally placed mistletoe. Atlas grimaced, Harry, making a similar expression tinged with a smile that Atlas couldn’t understand, she was happy the boy had finally found a girlfriend, she just wasn’t so happy it came at the expense of her eyesight.

Not to mention poor Parvati was trying to shrink in on herself behind them.

“Hey Pav,” Atlas greeted and stood beside her.

“Hey,” Parvati responded a little croakily, her eyes were rimmed with red, seemed the girl hadn’t been getting any sleep.

“I have some leftover sleeping draughts if you need them,” Atlas offered as she sent a flick of fire to the mistletoe above Ron and Lavender, leaving them with no excuse to keep eating each other’s faces if Minerva were to walk out and see them. Lavender sent her a dirty look but Ron seemed glad for it, the boy’s face purple, deprived of oxygen.

“Don’t you need them? Hermione always seemed so concerned with the amount of sleep you would get,” Parvati said but Atlas waved her off with a grin.

“I’ve been sleeping much better,” she assured and proceeded to promise to send the rest of her crate to Parvati’s room later that day. 

Hermione eventually arrived, carrying a stack of Ancient Runes homework that Atlas instantly took from her arms to give her a chance to sort herself out before handing it back, she earned herself a brief kiss on the cheek that had Parvati smiling, offering her a thumbs up. Atlas awkwardly returned it, not quite sure why she was shot the action before turning back to her girlfriend.

“You weren’t late were you?” 

“No, I arrived on time,” Hermione breathed, running a hand through her hair, “you didn’t get caught under any of that godforsaken plant did you?”

“Harry and I took the secret passage,” Atlas said with a grin which offered her a nod of approval, she then seemed to remember something and leaned down to whisper into Hermione’s ear, “I was thinking of inviting Parvati to the Christmas Party as my plus one, just to take her mind off of Lavender, would that be ok?”

“As long as I’m your date and she’s just a plus one I don’t see a problem,” Hermione said, almost teasing as she poked Atlas’s rib.

“Of course,” Atlas retorted with a little grin just as Minerva exited the class to usher them all inside. 

They were tasked with learning Human Transfiguration, a disastrously complicated magic that Metamorphagi like Tonks came naturally too, Atlas’s overall mastery of it came from her abilities to wear wolfish features, however, she wasn’t a complete novice in other things. Like turning her eyebrows blue. She waggled them over at Hermione who was sporting a singular red brow that quickly faded as she lost concentration and chuckled at Atlas’s expression, she pushed away her face as Minerva scolded them lightly for not taking the class seriously.

And Hermione, who would usually cower at a Professor’s ire, offered a quick apology before glancing over at Atlas’s whose blue brows were raised in surprise and fell into a quiet fit of giggles again.

“You’re a terrible influence on her, Atlas,” Minerva tutted, though as she turned Atlas saw the crinkle of her eyes as she withheld an amused smile.

“I try my best,” Atlas hummed, fixing her eyebrows and shuffling over to help Hermione with her spell.

The bell rang and everyone poured out of the class. Minerva once again reiterated the need to take the class seriously to Atlas and Hermione, who seemed to absorb the scolding genuinely, her apology true this time as she pinched Atlas’s arm on the way out. They made their way down to dinner, pinkies locked as Hermione rattled on about the complexities of Human Transfiguration and how hard she had found it, something she scarcely admitted, whilst Atlas listened, nodding along in agreement as she carried both of their bags on her shoulder.

“Once again, the fact that you were able to complete the Animagus ritual so young shows you’re a prodigy, Atlas,” Hermione praised and Atlas rolled her eyes, pinching Hermione’s hip as they walked.

“You’ve said this hundreds of times,” Atlas reminded.

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

There was a loud commotion ahead, gasps wracking the student body as Atlas peered through the crowd and spotted Peeve’s stupid hat floating above them all, words ringing out of the depths to echo through the halls. 

“Potty asked Loony to go to the party. Potty lurves Loony! Potty luuuuuurves Looooony!” It declared like a siren. Everybody murmured amongst themselves, Atlas looking around before settling her eyes on Hermione.

“Well…that’s – that’s sweet?” Atlas shrugged, she hadn’t known the boy had any sort of interest in Luna.

“They’re clearly going as friends,” Hermione said and walked ahead, pushing through the crowd who seemed enamoured by the news, “besides, even if they weren’t, what’s the problem? I thought you liked Luna.”

“Of course I do, there’s no problem, I would just be shocked,” Atlas rushed to amend her initial reaction and chased after Hermione, reaching out to grip her hand so that they didn’t get separated. This hall was swarming with Mistletoe and eager faces.

The Great Hall was in a similar state to the corridors, buzzing with the news of Harry Potter’s date to Slughorn’s Party, Luna was swarmed by fellow Ravenclaws, all either green with envy or alight with chance, vying to get close to the date of Harry Potter. Atlas reached over and pulled her from the crowd, hooking an arm over her shoulder as she dragged the girl over to Gryffindors’ table.

“Hi Luna,” Hermione waved and Luna tucked some hair out of her face, smiling serenely.

“Hello Hermione,” she waved back sitting down on the left side of Atlas whilst Hermione took the right. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about, Harry is my friend.”

“Just ignore them, Luna, have some pudding,” Atlas smiled, passing the pudding over to her and glancing up as Ron and Harry arrived. Ron seemed to go quiet when he saw Luna, his face reddening as if caught. No wonder too, Atlas had caught a snippet of the conversation in which he referred to Luna as Loony.

Before anyone could say a word, Lavender arrived, with her, that cloud of love and affection that rained down on Ron, unrelenting and quickly rising, flooding around their ankles, Atlas had half a mind to leave with Hermione before they were smothered too. Parvati shuffled along, sitting down beside Harry as Lavender had once again inserted herself between Ron and Harry, her expression downcast, looking both embarrassed and sick.

Atlas took the moment Lavender and Ron locked lips as her chance to distract the girl, reaching over to tap Parvati’s hand to get her attention.

“Oh, hey Atlas,” Parvati smiled faintly, “what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to be my plus one tonight?” The table fell silent, Parvati’s eyes widening as she glanced over at Hermione who was reading a Transfiguration book, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Harry had choked on his trifle, Lavender shockingly pulling away from Ron’s mouth to look at Parvati whilst the boy slapped the table, gasping for breath.

“Uh…what?” Parvati looked like a fish out of water.

“Just as my plus one,” Atlas clarified and spooned some crumble into her mouth, waiting patiently for an answer.

“You shouldn’t,” Lavender said and now everyone looked at her, even Hermione glanced up from her book. Parvati’s brows furrowed in confusion as to what was happening, so caught up in this turn of events she looked spun around, “you know…because of…” she trailed off and inclined her head towards Hermione.

Now Atlas was a little confused.

This time Hermione spoke, “Atlas and I decided to just go together a while back but we both have plus-one spots available, that’s all it is. I was going to take Ginny as my plus one.”

“You were?” Ginny spoke up from her spot beside Dean and Neville, Hermione shot her a look and Ginny nodded, “hell yeah, I’ll come.”

“So…?” Atlas looked expectantly at Parvati who chewed on her bottom lip, looking between Hermione and Atlas, then glancing at Lavender who seemed to forget completely about her boyfriend for the first time in a month in favour of Parvati, before nodding.

“Yeah, I’d like that, thanks Atlas,” Parvati smiled.

“Sweet, meet Hermione and I outside the Entrance Hall at 8, yeah? Same to you Ginny,” Atlas said before standing to follow Hermione who murmured about homework she had to finish before the party. She gave them a parting wave before disappearing out of the hall leaving a stunned bunch of Gryffindors and more talk to fuel the corridors.

Getting ready for the party itself proved to be a hassle, Atlas, in the fitted suit she had bought at the beginning of the year proved to be quite the sight, black fabric that revealed an intricate design in just the right light tugged across her body, she adjusted her cuffs and loosened her top buttons, attempting to appeal to the more casual formal she preferred. Hermione was sitting at her desk applying some lipstick she had been gifted by Lavender before she became Ron-crazed, her eyes focussing in on herself only to drift up to Atlas who approached and placed her warm hands on her shoulders.

“That’s a nice shade,” Atlas hummed and looked down at Hermione with a soft smile, “Hermione?” Her eyes widened as Hermione twisted the lipstick down and stood, pulling Atlas into a kiss by the collar of her shirt.

Atlas accepted it, letting out a startled sound as she was then pushed back, their lips wrenched apart, she melted a little in Hermione’s hold, like putty, eyes dropping to take in the sight of her girlfriend in her pretty pink dress whose neck dipped into a precariously low v. Hermione grinned, apparently pleased at the sight and pulled Atlas back into a scalding kiss, Atlas’s hands curling around her waist as her control teetered on the edge, fingers digging into soft flesh that elicited a quiet gasp.

“Sorry,” Atlas said in a way that seemed wholly ingenuine, tugging Hermione closer even whilst the clock on their nightstand neared eight.

“We’re going to be late,” Hermione hummed as she pulled back and Atlas very nearly whined.

“You started it.”

“And now I’ve finished it, come on,” Hermione said and pulled on her heels, tossing Atlas her jacket, “and clean your face.”

“What?” Atlas looked herself in Hermione’s vanity and rolled her eyes at the lipstick smudged across her mouth, she caught how Hermione reapplied her lipstick and shook her head in disbelief.

“Thought you said it was a nice shade?” Hermione said and Atlas lunged to wrap her in her arms.

They arrived five minutes late, Parvati and Ginny were waiting with Harry and Luna outside the Entrance Hall, conversing with each other as they waited. Ginny gave the two of them a vague searching look as Atlas greeted Parvati and Hermione approached her, the redhead offering Hermione a questioning glance.

“Is something the matter?” Hermione seemed to self-consciously brush down her dress.

“No, nothing…” Ginny murmured.

There was an unusually high number of dawdling boys and girls, shooting resentful looks over at Luna and Parvati, the former of which was completely oblivious whilst the latter habitually brushed down her traditional garm. Atlas smiled at Parvati, offering her a brief hello as she held out her arm for Parvati to hold, for some reason, Parvati declined but did give Atlas a swift hug before shooting Hermione a smile and walking over to her. It confused her, her features pulling up in perplexion as she glanced over at Hermione with a questioning look to which Hermione shrugged and continued fixing Ginny’s hair with a pretty hairclip she had bought.

Together now they walked to Slughorn’s office, leaving behind the whispering crowd in favour of the marble stairs that lead upwards.

“Our first party and it just so happens to be one of the last,” Atlas murmured over to Harry who grinned.

The office was decorated in ornate lamps and jewels, much larger than any other office in the castle, it was probably bewitched with the same magic used on the tents that were sold across the Wizarding World. Atlas took it in her stride, slipping through the crowd of people, ducking under flying ornaments and side-stepping house elves, she made it back to Hermione’s side, she was deep in conversation with Ginny and Parvati whilst Harry was dragging away Luna.

“He’s not very chivalrous,” Atlas quipped as she hooked her arm around Hermione’s waist and grabbed a drink off of a passing tray, she looked back at Ginny and Parvati, the two girls eyeing them quietly, curiously. “What?”

“Nothing,” Ginny said slowly.

“Hold on, I’m going to go and grab myself a drink,” Hermione said, patting Atlas’s chest as she slipped out of her grasp, Atlas looked dismayed.

“I could’ve grabbed you one,” she said and Hermione chuckled, brushing off her shoulder before following Neville who was working as one of the waiters that night, Atlas watched as the two descended into easy conversation and fought the urge to linger by Hermione’s side. 

“You look like you’re going combust without her,” Ginny teased and Atlas rolled her eyes, sighing as she tossed back the rest of her drink and set the empty glass on the windowsill the three stood by. “Dog.”

“That’s rude,” Atlas huffed and Ginny grinned, Parvati laughing in amusement. 

“You don’t deny it,” Parvati pointed out through giggles and Atlas shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

“I wouldn’t give Ginny the satisfaction.”

“Your expression is enough.”

“Piss off, Ginevra Weasley.”

When Hermione returned the four went back to enjoying the festivities, indulging in Christmas-themed desserts and conversing with some rather strange individuals, Parvati was especially intrigued by the Vampire invited to the party, the man looked particularly pained whenever a slither of someone’s neck entered his peripheral – Hermione felt bad for the man whilst Ginny placed a bet of two knuts someone would be attacked by the end of the night. Two very different approaches.

Unfortunately, attached to the Vampire was another blood-sucker in his own right, Eldred Worple, a man who seized the opportunity to attain the rights to an Atlas Magianima Biography, so Parvati’s morbid fascination was set aside and they very quickly moved on over to the drinks table. It was a nice reprieve, a break from the chaos of Atlas’s life, in recent weeks she’d almost forgotten the events beyond the walls of the castle, almost forgotten the doom that loomed over her shoulders.

The death and decay.

“Here, try this!” Hermione held a small cake to Atlas’s mouth, bite-sized and small, breaking the taller girl from her reverie, she chuckled and opened her mouth, the sweet strawberry cake coating her tongue. “Good?”

“Mhmm,” Atlas nodded, covering her mouth as she chewed the sweet treat.

“You could put a Dugbog’s eye in her mouth and she’d say it was good to appease you,” Ginny commented with a smirk and Atlas wagged her finger, a clump of cake smashing into Ginny’s face. 

“Sorry, I’m surprised I missed your massive gob,” Atlas smiled as Parvati laughed. Ginny turned to Parvati, her eyes widened with betrayal before grasping a mound of cake in her palm and smooshing it against her face.

“Hey! Atlas messed your face up, not me!”

“Yeah well I know I can’t win against Atlas and you laughed so,” Ginny shrugged and ducked as Parvati moved to retaliate.

It grew messy, drawing the eyes of a majority of the crowd, most amused and some disapproving, Snape amongst them, ready to maybe kick the girls out but from the looks of Slughorn and his jovial cheering no one would be kicking anyone out any time soon. Hermione took this as her chance and gripped Atlas’s wrist, tugging her away and to the edge of the room behind some thin curtains, perplexed but not one to fight off Hermione’s grip, Atlas followed, looking down quizzically upon the girl who guided her hands to her waist and then hooked her own arms around her neck.

“Dance with me?”

“Behind these curtains?” Atlas chuckled but obliged, swaying them from side to side.

“Prying eyes,” Hermione shrugged, toying with the baby hairs at the base of Atlas’s neck. “Though mainly because I wanted to kiss you in peace.”

“No show?”

“You know I hate that,” Hermione rolled her eyes, pulling Atlas down to place a peck on her lips, “you get enough attention for the both of us without kissing in public.”

“Don’t remind me,” Atlas murmured before kissing her again, slow and languid as they continued to sway to the music, “though,” she pulled back a second, speaking between kisses, “I think Parvati and –” a kiss, “– Ginny are diverting enough –” another kiss, “– attention for us to kiss in peace out there.”

“Maybe I just enjoy the sanctity of being alone with you?” Hermione said, smiling against Atlas’s lips. 

“Not gonna argue with that,” Atlas said and shrugged off her jacket, moving in to deliver another deeper kiss only for a commotion to arise beyond their curtain, Hermione let out a quiet groan as Atlas peaked out at the crowd of people gathering around Filch and a platinum blonde head of hair.

“Professor Slughorn,” Filch wheezed, his jowls quivering with delight, “I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?”

Hermione stepped out from behind the curtain too, holding Atlas’s hand as they manoeuvred through the crowd to find Harry with Luna, the boy looked serious, his jaw clenched as he stared at Malfoy. 

“All right, I wasn’t invited!” he said angrily. “I was trying to gatecrash, happy?”

“No, I’m not!” Filch said, juxtaposing with the radiant frankly disturbing smile upon his face. “You’re in trouble, you are! Didn’t the Headmaster say that night-time prowling is out, unless you’ve got permission, didn’t he, eh?”

“That’s all right, Argus, that’s all right,” Slughorn waved off and approached Malfoy, patting his shoulder. “It’s Christmas, and it’s not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we’ll forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco.”

“He looks ill…” Hermione whispered up into Atlas’s ear and Atlas bent to hear her, nodding as she took in Malfoy’s sunken appearance, a sickly tint to his skin and dark shadows under his eyes, a few months ago Atlas would’ve sworn she was looking into a mirror. Her observations were interrupted however when Snape dragged Malfoy out of the room. “Atlas…where did Harry go?”

“Bathroom,” Luna said, pulling away briefly from her conversation with Professor Trelawney who looked severely thrashed, her wide eyes bugging out of her skull as she cradled a bottle of sherry. Atlas and Hermione exchanged a look, the latter nodding in understanding as Atlas kissed her cheek and left the party, exiting out into the main corridor and looking around, her ears attuned to every sound. 

Unfortunately, the music from Slughorn’s office drowned out almost all other sound but she did manage to hear the shuffling of feet over by a classroom at the end of the hall, she reached out, her hand contacting something soft and wrenched the invisibility cloak off of Harry, the boy looking stunned as Atlas gripped his wrist and made to pull him back to the party. She’d thought the boy out of his mind, she knew he suspected Malfoy but if Snape were to catch him here it’d be over for him and his weekends.

She didn’t expect Harry to fight back, dropping her jacket to the floor as he tossed the invisibility cloak over them both as Malfoy stormed out of the classroom they had just been outside of, Snape not far behind, emerging slowly. His expression unfathomable, he returned to the party.

When a suitable amount of time had passed, Harry tugged the cloak off of them both and glared. “What are you playing at?”

“What am I playing at? What are you playing at!?” Atlas snapped, motioning around them, “I hate Malfoy just as much as you but he is not able to do whatever you think he has been ‘ordered’ to do. He is just a boy, he isn’t capable of murder.”

“You are just a girl and look at all you have done,” Harry blurted, regret colouring his features as well as the lingering disdain, Atlas’s brows twitched inward, hurt turning her features as she let the boy’s shoulder go and put some space between them, “Malfoy shouted about glory, about serving his master! He says he has a plan and — and Snape made a promise, a — an Unbreakable Vow or something –!”

“Atlas! You found Harry, good, I was coming to –” Hermione’s words were forced to a halt as Atlas began to walk away, leaving Harry who stared at the back of her head listlessly. Ginny and Parvati were not far behind, both cleaned of cake and frosting. “Atlas?”

“Do you reckon your parents would let us stay at theirs for Christmas?” Atlas asked and Hermione seemed blindsided, blinking rapidly as she looked between Atlas and Harry.

“I thought you were coming back with us?” Ginny frowned, “Back to the Burrow, Mum has a room set up for you and Hermione.”

“Yeah well, I don’t think I can handle one more night of Harry making a good day turn bad,” Atlas said coldly, bending down to pick her jacket up off of the floor. “It’s always something with you Harry, let — let’s say you’re right,” she burst, the girls looking confused at Atlas’s turn in mood, “let’s say Malfoy really is what you say he is, don’t you think Dumbledore knows? I hate that man with a boiling passion but he is smart and has a plan, for a plan, for a plan.”

“Then why isn’t he doing anything?”

“Because he is a great, great wizard but he is not good! He is waiting for his chance, it doesn’t matter who gets hurt during his inaction, to him,” Atlas spat, almost shaking, “He may be the saviour in your life, the one who freed you from your Aunt and Uncle, but in mine, he is my tormentor. I know him. You only know him how he wants you to know him.”

Harry moved to speak.

“Defend him and I will never speak to you again, Harry.”

“I wasn’t going to…” Harry trailed off and chewed on the inside of his cheek, his temper simmering behind his eyes, frustration at it all broiling in his gut. “I’m sorry.”

“…see you next term,” Atlas said and walked away, Hermione following after her, the two disappearing around the corridor.

“Are you ok? What happened before I arrived?” Hermione asked as they walked the final stretch to the Lady’s painting.

“Nothing…he just said something he didn’t mean…” Atlas murmured, running a hand through her hair, “So would your parents take us in?”

“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”

“Can’t wait.”