Chapter 100

If Hermione knew about Atlas meeting up with Daphne she didn’t let it on. In fact, Atlas found herself doubting whether she had seen the exchange properly, whether Hermione glancing in the direction of the Slytherins those days ago was merely an unfortunate coincidence, merely Hermione despising those giggling girls as she normally did. She had no clue. She didn’t want to bring it up either because that would implicate her more so she kept quiet and avoided Daphne when at Hermione’s side. It wasn’t hard, not at all, instead, it was all too easy, Slytherins and Gryffindors typically stayed away from each other outside of the usually bickering anyway.

So Atlas didn’t worry, or rather, she tried not to. If Daphne followed her somewhere again Atlas wasn’t so sure Hermione would remain clueless, the girl had, after all, taken to remaining by her side any chance she got. This led to the other predicament, the less detrimental one but predicament nonetheless, Atlas might have been able to stay away from Daphne but Astoria was a different question.

Why Astoria had suddenly started seeking her out, Atlas didn’t know. She explicitly remembered Astoria being against the two of them being seen by the school because it would arouse suspicion but now, it seemed she didn’t care. And now, Astoria was walking beside Atlas and Atlas was walking beside Hermione. The three of them in some tense silence. One Atlas felt she desperately needed to break.

“So…” she began and looked at Astoria, mouth pulled into a strained smile, “what did you want to say, Astoria?”

“Hmm, nothing in particular,” Astoria mused, arms crossed and face the picture of unperturbed, “just wanted to say hello.”

“Yes, well…hello,” Atlas nodded, glancing to Hermione who was staring upon the pages of her book, blank-faced and unbothered but Atlas had noticed how the page had not once been turned since the beginning of their walk. And Hermione read fast, incredibly so. This was bothering her and now Atlas knew Hermione was aware the owner of that cherry perfume was Daphne Greengrass. It was now an indisputable fact, Atlas just didn’t know why she hadn’t mentioned it. Did she really not care?

For some reason, that thought made her uneasy. 

“What?” Atlas had been caught staring. Hermione peered up at her, carefully placing a bookmark between her most recent pages and closing the tome slowly. 

“You…lipstick?” Atlas answered dumbly because yes, she had just noticed Hermione was wearing lipstick, “it’s smudged…”

“It’s chapstick,” Hermione said and glanced at the hand Atlas had raised to her face, “I…get dry lips and lipstick would only make –” a thumb brushed across the smudge of colour at the corner of her mouth, the pad of Atlas’s finger fleetingly connecting with her bottom lip, ” — them drier…”

“Right…” Atlas pulled her hand away, rubbing her thumb against the side of her forefinger, she coughed, clearing her throat and momentarily glimpsed at Astoria. The girl was grinning, staring up at her knowingly. Merlin, Atlas had forgotten she was there. “But you wore lipstick last year because your lips were chapped, that’s what Harry said anyway.”

“Well, Harry doesn’t know what he’s talking about…besides, he was just trying to make fun of me,” Hermione said and Atlas frowned.

“How?”

“Well, people seem to think kissing helps with chapped lips and Harry was insinuating I should find someone to kiss,” Hermione told and Atlas went a little wide-eyed.

“Does it?”

“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head, “it actually makes them worse.”

“Well, if you have really chapped lips, Hermione, does that mean you kiss a lot?” Both Gryffindors froze and turned to the girl beside them, looking at Astoria, red-faced for vastly different reasons but looking the same regardless. “What?”

“Astoria, you can’t just…” Atlas began, looking at the girl, speechless. Daphne had to have put her up to this.

“No, I haven’t kissed anyone on the lips since the Yule Ball,” Hermione answered, furrowing her brows. Was she annoyed? Offended? Atlas didn’t know. “It’s just winter. Anyway, I need to go…to class.”

“Wait, I didn’t know that was today! What about helping me with Herbology?” Atlas asked, snapped from her stupor.

“Another time, Atty!”

“But Hermione, I need you!” Atlas shouted as she watched Hermione walk away, the girl throwing a wave over her shoulder. She sighed, grumbling under her breath as she turned and fixed Astoria with a disapproving glare. “What are you doing?”

“Making your life harder,” Astoria shrugged and Atlas blanched, staring at the girl listlessly. “It’s fun, watching you fawn all over Hermione is both sickening and very sweet, I needed to spice it up. It’s just a shame she went away, I was going to ask about your chapped lips next.”

“Merlin have mercy…look, Tori, Hermione already sort of knows about the meetings I have with Daphne about you,” Atlas began, frowning as Astoria crossed her arms, “and she also knows I’m helping someone who smells like cherries with something very important, Daphne wears that suffocating cherry perfume, she will connect the dots. She’s smart. Very smart.”

“Yet oblivious to your feelings?”

“Be quiet,” Atlas snapped, flushing to the roots of her hair as Astoria grinned. “What I’m trying to say is I am keeping your secret and Hermione respects that I can’t tell her everything but she’ll figure it out on her own.”

“I know.”

“…what?”

“Hermione’s one of the best at potion theory, right?” Astoria asked and Atlas slowly nodded, confused. “Well, can she help?”

“…pardon?”

“Am I speaking French?”

“I can speak French.”

“Merlin’s beard,” Astoria sighed, shaking her head, “I want you to tell her about me.”

“But…you didn’t want anyone to know,” Atlas said and Astoria shrugged, looking out the window. She huffed after a moment, laughing lightly and moved over to it, sitting on one of the ledges.

“I don’t have time to be picky. It’s getting worse, I can feel it crawling up my spine, constantly,” Astoria told and Atlas frowned, looking upon the girl solemnly. Merlin, knowing she was so close to cracking the potion but so far at the same time was making this all so much worse, “like it’s breathing down my neck. I’m not going to die anytime soon but…I really don’t fancy living out the rest of my days in pain.”

“Right…ok, I’ll talk to Hermione,” Atlas nodded and Astoria looked up at her, smiling brightly.

“Thank you. Sorry, it’s troublesome isn’t it?”

Yes. “No, not at all.” It really was, Atlas wasn’t sleeping very well, not for a while, though it wasn’t all down to this potion. It had been this way since way before, peaking when Umbridge had slapped her. But there was no doubt she had lost sleep referring to her notes in the middle of the night to busy her mind and soothe her aching conscience. Waking Hermione from her dreams frequently and offering hushed apologies each time. “I think I’m close, just one final ingredient.” She didn’t think she was close at all. “Don’t worry.” Atlas was worried.

“…you’re a terrible liar.”

A length of silence.

“Yeah…maybe,” Atlas muttered, looking at Astoria, eyes sort of bleak.

“I suppose it was too much to ask, wasn’t it? No doubt that little house elf of yours urged you to help me, he’s very kind,” Astoria mumbled, smiling slightly. Why did she suddenly look so defeated? She had just been poking fun at Atlas for her crush on Hermione. “I also understand my sister is forceful, she loves me, I can tell but instead, I wish she would show it to me rather than shout at you.”

“Astoria…”

“It’s not your fault if you can’t help,” Astoria offered.

“That’s…” Atlas stared at her, lips parted, eyes downturned in some dazed shock. She shook her head, “of course it is…how can I hope to help anyone if I can’t even help one little girl? Maybe it’s not my fault deep down but…if I can’t help you, that just makes me a bit pathetic doesn’t it?”

“What? No, not at all!” Astoria rushed, shaking her head. Atlas smiled and pulled the girl into a tight hug.

“I can do it. I’ll find it, I promise, no matter what,” Atlas assured and pulled away, placing a kiss atop the girl’s head, she crouched after a moment and held the girl’s hands in hers. “After all, I’ve come to like you Tori and I’d do anything for my friends.”

“You’re terrible…giving me hope,” Astoria chuckled, tears in her eyes. Atlas smiled and wiped them away.

“Well…for as long as you have that hope, I won’t give up,” Atlas vowed and stood, pulling the girl off of the window sill and ruffling her hair. “I promise.”

“Stick to it.”

“Of course,” Atlas nodded and then glanced around, checking the time on her pocket watch, “I should go, I have studying to do. Herbology, gross,” she grimaced and then smiled again, “I’ll see you, Astoria.”

“Yeah, see you, Atlas.”

When she arrived, Atlas found the common room sparse of people, a few first years studying by the shelves, a group of the older lot by the windows but none in the centre, right by the hearth. That spot had been long since claimed by Harry Potter and his friends, of course, so nobody inhabited the space, even despite the boy’s absence. Atlas was grateful for it, however, and plopped upon one of the sofas, taking her materials from within her bag to begin some self-study.

Before she began, she glanced over at the clock on the far wall, noting the time and how long it usually took for the DA to come to the end of each meeting. She had roughly an hour before they came back, tired but thrilled, exhilarated, Atlas wasn’t looking forward to the looks however, all of them were curious and disappointed, wondering why Atlas wasn’t a part of those meetings, wondering why she wasn’t teaching them. Which they shouldn’t do. From what Atlas had heard, Harry was doing an amazing job. That’s right, they didn’t need her.

She shook her head and sighed, taking off her jumper and tie to place beside her. Her homework was for want of a better word unattractive, completely unappealing but it needed to be done so Atlas pulled out her ink well, getting on with the load in silence, face the picture of contemplation. At some point, Atlas hadn’t known when, Crookshanks had joined her on the sofa, laying on her stomach, asleep, as she held her essay above her, rereading what she had done for the nth time.

It was bad, she would admit, Herbology was never one of her strongest suits but this was terrible, without Hermione to help her with it she was lost, inexplicably so considering she was so good at Potions. That was one thing Atlas never could grasp, why she was so terrible at Herbology and so great at Potions, potion-making was essentially the next step from growing ingredients in Herbology. She could memorise it all of course, but some materials were just a pain to grasp.

She frowned, dropping her paper to the table beside her and pulled out her journal instead, reading through her notes on Astoria’s Potion over and over. But there was nothing new, no matter how far between the lines she read, she was so frustratingly close yet she had never felt so far from the truth. Atlas absolutely needed to talk to Hermione. By now Atlas was getting restless waiting. And Crookshanks could apparently tell because he was now stood over her, beady eyes peering into her own. She huffed at his face and leant up, placing a kiss atop his head and stroking his face between both her hands.

“You are adorable Crook…” Atlas murmured, “mildly ugly but I can work with that,” she added with a small grin and Grookshanks yowled, placing one paw upon her nose and the other upon her cheek. “Sorry, sorry! Crook, ouch! I’m sorry!”

“Are you picking on Crookshanks, Atty?” Atlas looked past Crookshanks’s horribly adorable mug and up at Hermione, the girl smiling softly as she hung over the back of the sofa. Atlas opened her mouth to speak, eyes alight but Crookshanks jumped and Crookshanks dug his meaty paws into Atlas’s face, using her as a springboard. “Crookshanks what are you doing, you daft — ! Atty! Atlas! Are you all right!?”

“M’fine…” Atlas grumbled, sitting up. Hermione leant further over the sofa, brushing the tips of her fingers over the slight scratch Crookshanks had left in her cheek. “That cat wants me dead.”

“Don’t be silly, he whines when he can’t sleep with you,” Hermione chided, pulling away with an adoring smile.

“Sounds like someone else I know,” the girls turned to look over at Ginny, “right, Hermione?”

“Shut up, Ginny,” Hermione snapped, flushing.

“Hey Gin,” Atlas greeted, sitting up straighter. Hermione put herself to rights, glancing around the Common Room as Ginny dissolved into quiet laughter.

“Hi Atlas,” Ginny replied once her giggles had subsided, that grin still on her face, “guess who made the team as a stand-in Seeker?”

“No shit?” Atlas smiled, standing to congratulate the girl. “I’m happy for you, I know how much you wanted to play, which is why I was so surprised to find out you didn’t try out this year,” she offered, pulling her into a short hug and glancing over at Hermione when the girl left to join Ron by the fire. They were discussing something about Harry but Atlas didn’t want to eavesdrop so she turned back to Ginny. “Why was that by the way?”

“I didn’t want to ask mum to buy me a broom but Angelina told me there are some reserves belonging to the school, apparently I can use one,” Ginny shrugged as Atlas furrowed her brows, tilting her head to the side.

“Didn’t I tell you you could have my Nimbus 2001?”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I was going to give it to you ages ago but…stuff happened,” Atlas mused thoughtfully and then smiled, “but that’s perfect, you’ll be Seeker so you need to be fast. And the 2001 is second only to the Firebolt.”

“Atlas, that’s too much, I couldn’t…” Ginny mouthed numbly. “They’re too expensive to give away like that and what about Ron? Shouldn’t you give it to him?”

“I already told him it basically belonged to you in the third year, I didn’t know he was interested in joining the team back then but I did know about you,” Atlas reasoned, “honestly, Ginny, you can have it. I never use it.”

“But –“

“No buts, plus, won’t it feel good to beat a few of those pompous rich kids at their own game?”

“You’re a pompous rich kid,” Ginny retorted playfully but smiled a moment later, sincere and honest, “seriously Atlas, holy shit, it means a lot. I still don’t even feel right accepting it.”

“I’m never buying you a Christmas present if it makes you feel better about making it off my hands,” Atlas smiled and Ginny rolled her eyes. Though she looked significantly lighter, maybe giving her something so valuable seemed like a burden. Atlas should have thought about it a little harder. “Treat her careful.”

“Absolutely…Merlin, Atlas I am so tempted to kiss you right now,” Ginny beamed and made some high pitched sound a moment later as if it all had finally settled in. She ran and lunged at Atlas, wrapping her legs around the girl’s waist and hugging her tightly. “I have fallen for you, I am head over heels in love! Like I am actually deeply in love with you! Mum always said to marry rich!”

“Aha, you sure you want to get married to me, Gin?” Atlas grinned, right eye winking closed when Ginny placed a kiss upon her brow over and over.

“Absolutely!”

“Mmm — think about that a moment.”

“What? Zash would totally understand if it was you!” Ginny yelled and Atlas laughed, shaking her head.

“Why do girls and their girlfriends always hit on me, first Katie and now you,” Atlas mused and Ginny paused.

“Wait, does that mean Zash has hit on you?”

“Leanne totally gets the appeal but I didn’t know she hit on you!” Katie shouted from somewhere across the room, Atlas readjusted Ginny in her grip and turned, winking over at Katie. “Hey, do not steal my girlfriend, Magianima!”

Magianima. Ah, the use of that stolen name struck her inexplicably deep. So many questions. But she would not ponder on them now. Atlas made a show of shrugging dramatically and grinned.

“I just might. Hey Bell, let me know if your girlfriend is free for valentines day, I’ll make it worth her while, I promise,” Atlas teased as Ginny laughed in her arms. “Don’t know why you’re laughing, Gin. Zash and I go way back.”

“What!?”

“Kidding,” Atlas smiled, setting the redhead down.

“By the way, Atlas, does that invite extend to a plus one?” Katie joked and Atlas moved over to her, hooking an over her shoulder.

“Why? Are you interested?”

“Oh absolutely,” Katie muttered, fiddling with Atlas’s collar. “So are you offering?”

“Hmm, maybe, I’ll have to check my schedule,” Atlas hummed and pulled away, the two of them falling into laughter. Atlas recovered much faster, settling to smile as she idly cleaned away her materials from studying, casting her journals a fleeting look before tucking it in her bag also. She sighed quietly and returned to the group of girls a moment later.

“Why was Ginny declaring her love?” Angelina asked through her own quiet chuckles.

“Atlas just gave me her Nimbus 2001,” Ginny said, sighing dreamily and falling into Atlas’s arms. The girl smiled amusedly and hauled Ginny to her feet, pushing her over to Katie and Alicia to watch how the two of them caught her in ready and open arms.

“Merlin’s beard, now I want to declare my love,” Angelina muttered, looking at Atlas blankly. “Atlas seriously, I totally have the hots for you right now.”

“Oh yeah?” Atlas grinned, crossing her arms.

“She’s probably not even kidding, everyone in this room has definitely had a crush on you at some point,” Katie said and Atlas rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

“No way, Ginny likes to talk shit but I bet she hasn’t,” Atlas said but Ginny shook her head.

“I absolutely had a crush on you, in my second year, when you first joined,” Ginny told and Atlas laughed disbelievingly, shaking her head.

“No fucking way, what about you three?” Atlas said, nodding to Katie, Angelina and Alicia.

“Oh, I definitely did,” Katie admitted, nodding seriously, “like it was brief because of course, my darling Leanne but I for sure liked you.”

“Angie?”

“Well, no, I’ve never had a crush on you and neither has Alicia,” Angelina said and Alicia nodded in testament, “but you’re still unfairly attractive, you could literally get anyone you wanted.”

“That’s not true,” Atlas denied, shaking her head surely. She glanced over to the portrait and smiled when she saw Harry had returned, the boy sort of dazed but responsive enough to mirror Atlas’s wave. “Nobody has actually ever asked me out.”

“You’ve never asked somebody out,” Ginny scoffed. “You didn’t even ask Fleur to the ball last year, Zash told me she arranged that.”

“Hey, I was going to ask someone, I was just too late,” Atlas murmured, frowning as she chanced a quick glance over to Hermione, finding the girl engrossed in some homework, Harry and Ron were talking at her side, about something apparently mortifying by the look on Harry’s face.

“So you’re telling me nobody has asked you out? What about Lee? Didn’t he ask you out in the middle of a match?” Alicia said and Angelina nodded, to their side, Katie was practically about to burst with stories of her own.

“Yeah, and I know you rejected loads of people before the Yule Ball!” She added, raising her fingers to list off an entire tome of names, but Atlas stopped her, wincing as she raised her hand. She didn’t want to hear it, after all, a lot of the names on that list belonged to those that stood around them, namely Romilda Vane, who was just two tables away from their conversation.

“I didn’t think of those, I’ll admit…” she muttered, “though, now that I think about it, there was this Muggle girl who asked me out before the school year,” she said, suddenly remembering the girl at her own words. She hadn’t thought of her til now, but looking back, she supposed the girl was quite pretty.

“What did you say?” Katie asked, leaning closer as Atlas thought.

“She asked if I would be interested in grabbing a bite to eat, I told her I had a dinner to go to that night and she suggested some time in the week,” Atlas recalled, running her finger along the healing cut in her lip. “But it was right before coming back here so I told her I went to a boarding school and wouldn’t be able to.”

“Then?” Katie pressed.

“What?”

“And then what? What did you say?” Ginny pressed, she looked just as intrigued as Katie.

“Well, I left.”

“You just left?” Angelina huffed and Atlas nodded, “a girl asks you out, you tell her you go to boarding school and leave?”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“Were you interested in her?” Alicia asked this time, a look of total disbelief falling upon Angelina’s face as the girl settled in her chair.

“She was pretty, I suppose but I was preoccupied with — Hermione!” Atlas startled, looking upon the girl that had appeared beside her.

“Atlas…” Hermione greeted slowly, looking up at her roommate, confused by her reaction, “I was just wondering what you guys were talking about, I’ve never seen Angelina so shaken.”

“We’re talking about this girl that asked Atlas out before school started,” Katie offered and Hermione quirked a brow, looking back at Atlas questioningly.

“Did you have fun?”

“They didn’t go anywhere,” Alicia sighed before Atlas could stutter out some excuse, “Atlas left another disappointed woman in her wake.”

“Another?” Hermione said and Merlin’s beard Atlas desperately wanted to drag Hermione away so that they could talk about Astoria, anything but this.

“Oh yeah, we were also talking about how loads of people used to have crushes on Atlas, myself and Ginny included,” Katie continued and Ginny seemed to shuffle awkwardly, coughing and excusing herself to her dorm. After exchanging their goodbyes Katie turned back to Hermione, oblivious to the tension, “I said I bet everyone in this room has had a crush on Atlas.”

“You did?”

“Yup, how about you Hermione? Have you ever had a crush on Atlas?” Katie asked, grinning while Atlas subtly turned to hear the answer, her curiosity inevitably peaked. “Well?”

“A crush on Atlas?” Hermione murmured and glanced up at the girl, looking her over quietly, some coolness to her eye, as if she were silently annoyed, her anger a cold type. It made Atlas’s throat inexplicably dry. 

“Hermione! Are you bringing her over or what!?” Ron yelled, frustrated where he sat across from Harry, the boy still pale, still dazed just as Atlas suddenly was, colour flushing to her cheeks when Hermione slid her hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. 

“Give me a moment, Ronald!” Hermione shouted back and there returned her louder annoyance, the one that wasn’t so chilling. “Sorry Katie, I’ll be taking Atlas now.”

“By all means,” Katie grinned and Hermione nodded, smiling as she dragged Atlas over to the boys, the girl still confused, almost concussed. She was sat by the fire, next to Harry while Hermione sat beside Ron on the sofa, immediately busying herself with whatever homework interested her.

“Guess what, Atlas!” Ron yelled cheeks flush with excitement. Atlas blinked from her reverie, glancing at Hermione once before turning her attention upon the boy, smiling some parts curiously but most parts politely, just so she would not put a dampener on the boy’s spirits.

“What, Ron?”

“Cho kissed Harry,” he laughed and Harry looked off to the side, conflicted it seemed, gaze avoidant. Atlas understood, at least she thought she did, she thought Harry was acting like this because of Cedric. Because he had been dating Cho before he had died. But Atlas simply smiled again and knuckled his shoulder.

“Congrats, Harry,” she said, “how was it?”

“Yeah, Harry, how was it?” Ron pressed, genuinely intrigued. It seemed they hadn’t gotten deep into the conversation without her.

“Wet…” Harry said, looking dazed.

“…pardon?” Atlas muttered and then looked thoughtful a moment, “well…not that I have much experience but…aren’t kisses supposed to be wet to a certain extent? Unless it was a peck then that would be weird.”

“She was crying,” Harry added solemnly and Atlas stopped, turning her gaze upon him. She was crying? 

“You’re that bad at kissing are you?” Ron laughed, beaming as Harry flushed, looking suddenly panicked.

“Dunno, maybe I am…” he breathed, looking genuinely horrified at the prospect of being so horrid at kissing he made his partner cry. Atlas would have laughed if she hadn’t suddenly found herself so distracted. Thinking of Cho and their talk on the train, the brief glances they exchanged through the halls, all of the conversations that didn’t happen. 

“Of course, you’re not,” Hermione sighed, dotting something upon a piece of parchment. She looked up, tilting her head to the side. “Cho…she, well, Cho spends half of her time crying these days.”

“What?” Atlas muttered, looking up at her.

“You’d think a bit of kissing would cheer her up,” Ron quipped, grinning but Hermione shook her head, frowning as Atlas stewed in some sudden guilt. Cho had told Atlas not to be a stranger that day on the train but that was all she had been. Had Cho said that not only because of Atlas’s state but her own as well? Of course, she had, how could she have been so stupid? Beliving what Cho had said about moving on over Summer.

“Ron,” Hermione began, her voice dignified as she slipped from the sofa, moving to sit beside Atlas. She took the girl’s hand before continuing and Atlas dropped her gaze to their fingers, watching as Hermione brushed her thumb softly across the top of her knuckles, reassuring, comforting, pulling Atlas from her lonesome thoughts. “You are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ron huffed indignantly, going red, growing cross as if he hadn’t just said something so callous. “What sort of person cries while someone’s kissing them?”

“I think I’d cry if the person I liked kissed me,” Atlas mused absentmindedly, quiet and meant for herself, but the Common Room was void, people had migrated to their dorms and only the four of them remained, so in their silence, Atlas’s words were heard. “I mean…” she flushed and laughed, having Hermione’s hand in hers, caressing her knuckles so gently had her spouting nonsense. That and the fatigue of multiple sleepless nights weighing her down, “you know, from happiness.”

“You are such a sap,” Ron said, scrunching his face up in vague disgust.

“It’s romantic!” Hermione snapped, throwing a book at the boy before coughing, clearing her throat and running a hand through her hair, “but that’s beside the point. Jesus Christ, you boys — don’t you understand how Cho’s feeling at the moment?”

“No,” Harry and Ron said together but Atlas remained still, quiet, looking into her lap.

“She feels guilty,” Hermione supplied quietly, peering over at Atlas hesitantly before persisting. “She’s conflicted because she likes you, Harry but she still likes…Cedric. She probably thinks she’s insulting Cedric’s memory by kissing you, plus I suppose it’s all very painful and confusing for her, after all…you were there when he died too,” she continued and startled slightly when Atlas pulled her hand into her lap, idly fiddling with her fingers. “There’s — er — there’s also the survivor’s guilt…I think she feels like being happy so soon after his death is doing him a disservice. She told me once after a meeting that she had moved on but I could tell she was lying, it’s not something easily done over a few weeks, it takes time, but it only takes longer when you start beating yourself up about trying to be happy.”

Atlas noted the subtle jab, a lighthearted one, made with no malice but she noticed it and glanced at Hermione who returned her gaze, a soft smile upon her lips. The words had been about Cho but the two of them knew it could have been applied to Atlas as well.

“And,” Hermione began again, turning away and back to the boys while Atlas remained to stare at the side of her face, “she’s also afraid she’s going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she’s been flying so badly.”

Stunned silence met the end of the speech, the boys sharing quick glances before turning back to Hermione, then Ron said, “one person can’t feel all that at once, they’d explode.”

“Just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon,” Hermione snapped and it was so bizarre, such a strange thing to say Atlas laughed, even though the tension was still so thick, even though some weight had returned to her shoulders throughout the conversation. “What!?”

“Nothing, that was just so…bizarre,” Atlas smiled genuinely and turned to look at the boys, shaking her head, “I’ll find Cho before the term really ends…I think we’re due a chat. I just — I just hope you were kind to her Harry.”

“I sort of — patted her on the back a bit?” Harry muttered and Atlas blanched.

“Harry…” she murmured and shook her head.

“Well, I suppose it could have been worse,” Hermione offered and Atlas looked at her, lips parted in some horrid disbelief, “what? At least he didn’t call her annoying,” another jab, this one, however, made Atlas winced, a grimace upon her face as she looked at Hermione sheepishly, “exactly. Anyway, Harry, you’re going to see her again aren’t you?”

“I’ll have to, won’t I?” Harry said, “we’ve got DA meetings, haven’t we?”

“She means outside of that,” Atlas sighed, “like…ask her out on a date or something?”

“‘Or something?'” Hermione said, quirking a brow. Atlas shrugged, again looking sheepish. “Christ…just — you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask her, Harry. I heard there was a Hogsmeade trip on valentines.”

“What if he doesn’t want to ask her?” Ron asked, with a shrewd expression on his face,  just as Harry muttered out a weak ‘valentines?’. 

“Don’t be silly,” Hermione offered vaguely, looking over Atlas’s hands after taking the girl’s gloves from her. She looked thoughtful, weighing them in her palm, sizing them and brushing her fingers over old scars. Atlas watched them all briefly, gaze flitting between each scene and face; Ron and his discarded essay, Harry and his ashen complexion and Hermione with her sudden fascination. “Harry’s liked her for ages, haven’t you Harry? Just because your first kiss was a bit messy shouldn’t mean you suddenly stop liking her, unless — well, have you stopped liking her, Harry?”

“Well…no but –“

“Maybe she’s a bit different from what Harry thought,” Atlas said in an attempt to join the conversation. “Harry’s always admired her from afar, he’s never really gotten to know her.”

“Yeah,” Ron nodded in consensus as Harry gestured vaguely, it was neither in agreement nor disagreement.

“That’s not his fault or her fault, maybe you should just say…you want to get to know her instead of jumping into a blind relationship,” Atlas suggested, smiling and glancing upon Hermione when the girl suddenly stopped holding her hand. “What?”

“Since when were you good at giving relationship advice?”

“I gave Zash advice regarding Ginny last year,” Atlas said but Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t ask when you started couples counselling, I ask why you’re good,” Hermione huffed and Atlas made face, nodding slowly before coming up with her answer.

“…I like reading romance books and…books about relationships? How to be in one and such,” Atlas told and it took a moment, the four of them sat in silence before Ron burst out laughing, Harry chuckling himself as Hermione stared up at Atlas who was obviously perplexed. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just — Hermione did the same thing!”

“No, I didn’t!” Hermione startled, looking at Ron, mortified, “what? You wart Ronald Weasley, why would you say that!?”

“Really?” Atlas huffed, quirking a brow as she looked upon Hermione. “Why?”

“I — absolutely not!” Hermione huffed, stood and grabbed up her papers. “Besides, shouldn’t we be asking you that question?” she retorted, shoving the essays in her bag and turning to stare down on Atlas, the boys doing the same. “Well?”

“Because I like someone, obviously,” Atlas muttered, flushing lightly as she ran a hand through her hair. The topic needed to shift so Atlas stood, cleared her throat and grabbed her notes book from her bag, “anyway, Hermione I need to talk to you.”

“Trying to change the topic, Atlas?” Harry mused, smirking as she shot him a glare. “Fine, fine, come on Ron. I need to sleep.”

“But it was just getting good,” Ron protested, confused as he stood to follow his best friend.

“I know, I know. By the way, I’ll try and take your advice Atlas,” Harry said, stopping at the stairs and stepping aside as Ron climbed ahead of him. Atlas looked over at him, brow cocked curiously as Hermione skimmed through the notebook she had just given her. “About Cho.”

“Oh, right, yeah,” Atlas nodded and the boy left with a quiet laugh, casting a wave over his shoulder.

This left Hermione and Atlas alone, the two of them settling into silence as Atlas slowly turned her gaze upon Hermione once more, waiting, quiet, gaze anxious, as the pages of her notebook turned through the hush. It looked as if Hermione was taking in every word meticulously, stopping on certain pages longer than the rest and eventually sitting upon the sofa again, bag discarded to her side as Atlas continued to stand and stare. She flipped the pages back and forth a few times, comparing information, the knowledge in the palm of her hand. All of it pertained to Astoria’s blood curse.

Atlas was grateful Hermione adapted so readily, was quick to focus so easily. They had just been laughing, after all, and Hermione had been about ready to explode but now she was calm and collected, serene and composed. Regardless, Atlas felt the need to apologise. “Sorry for springing this on you after all of that.”

“It’s not an issue,” Hermione refuted vaguely and patted the spot beside her, inviting Atlas to sit by her side. The girl obliged. “So…this is what you’ve been working on in the dead of night.”

“Yeah.”

Hermione closed the book softly and sighed, turning to look at Atlas, lips pulled to a thin line, “I knew you were helping someone, you told me as much but…Astoria Greengrass? No wonder you’ve been sneaking off with Daphne — is that why she kissed you?”

“Well…essentially,” Atlas offered with an almost unnoticeable nod. “So, what do you think?”

“What do I think?”

“Yeah, Astoria asked me to tell you so that you could help. She said you’re one of the best at Potion theory so it’d be beneficial to ask,” Atlas told, slowly taking the book back as Hermione held it to her.

“I don’t know,” Hermione said earnestly, shaking her head, “honestly, Atlas, I don’t and I’m sorry. I could do research but I’d just get to the same spot as you. I’m not the…best at practical and if you haven’t found the answer, I doubt I’d be much help,” she murmured and Atlas frowned, biting at the inside of her cheek, “but I will — help, I mean. I’ll try to, anyway.”

“You will?”

“Of course and when you find the answer, you can use the Room of Requirement to make the potion. It’ll have everything you need,” Hermione smiled and Atlas looked at her, significantly lighter than she had been. The girl rocked forward and fell, her head against Hermione’s shoulder. 

“Thank you.”

“If I’d have known you were trying to cure a blood curse — Jesus, Atlas…” Hermione laughed lightly but it had notes of sadness to it, “you really need to lighten your workload. When your mum named you Atlas, I don’t think she intended for you to carry every burden on your back.”

“Trust me…the irony isn’t lost. Minerva says that all the time,” Atlas breathed, closing her eyes. “Sorry for this, though.”

“What?”

“Making you carry some of it with me,” Atlas muttered, “I don’t want to carry burdens only to become one.”

“You’re not a burden,” Hermione chuckled quietly, finally circling her arms around her back, returning the hug. “Being a burden would imply I don’t like having you around, which is quite the opposite of what I feel. I’m more than happy to carry you around, Atty.”

“How nice…let me indulge myself then,” Atlas whispered, eyes heavy as she slowly collapsed, the two of them falling upon the sofa, together, one trapped under the other. Hermione went a little wide-eyed, peering upon Atlas and gently tapping her back.

“Atlas? Atty? Did you fall asleep?” Hermione waited a moment, listening for an answer but none came. “Great…” she sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind Atlas’s ear, brushing her finger idly across the cut in the girl’s lip. 

The fire popped beside her and Hermione pulled away, shaking her head.

“I can’t believe Daphne got to kiss you before I did…”