CHAPTER FOUR

Amira leans against one of the many open archways the corridor provides, allowing the refreshing autumn breeze to wash over her and quell her flushed features. Before long, these archways will be spelled shut to prevent the cold air from entering the castle, so the young girl enjoys it as long as she's able to before her first class of the new school year begins.

The pit in her stomach doesn't go away as a stronger gust of wind sends chills through her body and Amira finds herself wishing she had accepted Madam Pomfrey's offer to lay about on a cot for the day. She had visited the hospital wing directly after breakfast and Madam Pomfrey was able to heal her bruises with a simple spell, but found no cure for her mysterious memory-lapsing ailment and promised to keep looking.

Amira had told the healer everything about how she obtained her injuries, but conveniently forgot to mention the scar across her chest that's even more prominent now that the bruising has went away. She can't help but to regret this decision and it's as though her body agrees with her; with each step she takes leading her further from the hospital wing, the nauseating somersaults in her stomach only get worse.

More students - mostly first years - begin to rush through the halls, signalling it's almost time for classes to begin. Amira sighs, taking one last glance at the outside view of the rolling hills and the multi-colored leaves of the Forbidden Forest before crossing the corridor to step inside the drab and windowless classroom used for History of Magic.

Adjusting her green and silver tie, she looks around the room for any signs of her friends. Eden, despite promising to save her a seat, is already sitting next to Damion. The joint desks in front of and behind the duo are occupied as well, forcing her to sit at an empty table in the adjacent row so that she can still be close, despite the foot-long gap between each row of desks.

Amira gains their attention by scraping her chair back loudly and sitting down with a huff, sticking her tongue out childishly in response to their warm greetings.

"You can't be mad, because I have a perfectly good reason for breaking my promise," Eden jumps into her explanation before she can utter a word. "Fred and George are in this class."

"So?" Damion prompts, waiting for more information though Amira knows exactly what she meant by the simple sentence. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"The last time I kept her from sitting next to one of them, they pranked me for a week," Eden says, shuddering at the memory.

"It was their birthday," Amira reasons, her angry facade fading. "Besides, that happened four years ago! You've got to let it go."

"I most certainly will not. I was traumatized!"

"They may have acted like possessive toddlers back then, but they don't do that anymore."

"I'm willing to bet ten galleons they still do."

She's so caught up in defending her friends of Slytherin's rival house that she doesn't notice someone claiming the seat next to her - at least, not until Ryland Feathers, a Hufflepuff, is shouting in her direction.

"Oi, Cedric! There's an open seat behind me."

"I'm well aware," Cedric acknowledges his friend, politely declining his unasked question as Amira whips her head around so fast her breakfast once again threatens to come up. "But I chose this seat and, as long as Amira is okay with it, I'm quite content to remain here."

He turns to face the girl in question, waiting hopefully for her answer. Eden and Damion share a look of their own, not so subtly scooting their own chairs closer to hear her response as well. Amira doesn't notice, for everything disappears until only Cedric remains.

Something shifts as they make eye contact and, for the first time in days, all feels right in Amira's confused world. Her inner conflict, confusion, and termoil temporarily ceases to exist - even her nausea goes away - and somehow she knows that the boy sitting next to her is the answer she's been searching for.

Cedric, however, mistakes her silence for annoyance and his smile slowly fades. Reaching for his bag, he stands up and starts to move towards the seat Ryland pointed out.

"No!" She shouts in her panic and ignoring the odd glances students throw their way, grabbing the sleeve of his robes to get him to stay. "You can sit here, if you'd like."

"Brilliant," he grins, not needing to be told twice. "I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you."

"About what?" Amira questions, failing to recall their last conversation as her mind continues to scramble around the fact that she now feels better than she has in days.

"The World Cup," Cedric says as though it's obvious, scooting his chair closer and dropping his voice to a whisper. The topic is still touchy amongst most that attended the event and he doesn't wish to upset anyone that could overhear. "I couldn't find you after we were separated, and you looked awfully distraught when I saw you on the train. I was worried something terrible had happened."

"I- well- what had happened was-" Amira's brain all but short-circuits as she struggles to form a sentence, unsure as to what to tell the concerned Hufflepuff. It takes Eden leaning across the aisle and poking her in the side with a quill before she can speak properly. "Honestly, everything after we got separated is kind of a blur, but I'm okay."

"That's good to hear," he says, not entirely believing her, but relieved nonetheless. "I suppose what's important is that we both made it out safely."

Amira nods in agreement, guilt gnawing at the back of her mind for not telling him what truly occurred.

While it's obvious he would not think any less of her for the odd situation she wound up in and would most likely offer to help find solutions, Amira finds herself not wanting to burden the kind boy with the truth.

"Turn to page 287 in your textbooks," Professor Binns states, startling the duo and causing the room to fall silent as he begins teaching the moment he floats through the chalkboard behind his desk.

The ghoulish teacher wastes no time with greetings or introductions, instead waiting only a moment for students to ready their quills before he launches into a monotone monologue of an ancient troll war. Yawns are already being stifled and notes are hardly being taken this early in the day.

Though their conversation has ended, Cedric doesn't move his chair back to its original position, leaving them unusually close to one another. Amira finds that she doesn't mind in the slightest, not even when his elbow brushes against her arm as he jots something down.

In the front row, a Ravenclaw's head slips out of her hand and nearly hits the table. She is prepared to fall back asleep to finish out her nap until a disturbance involving two familiar voices erupts outside of the small room.

"I'm sitting next to her!" George shouts, his voice carrying down the hallway and disrupting the class as he races his brother.

"Not if I get there first," Fred counters.

Everyone turns to watch the open door and Professor Binns stops talking, waiting for the victor as their pounding footsteps get closer. Bets are quietly whispered amongst friends and loud cheers echo throughout the previously quiet air when George barely wins by a step.

He revels in his win but comes to an immediate halt once he reaches Amira's desk, causing Fred to crash directly into him and send both of them sprawling to the floor.

"What's all this?" Fred demands as they scramble back to their feet, not hurt in the slightest.

"You let pretty boy Diggory take our place?" George pouts.

Cedric waves awkwardly, which only deepens their unisioned scowls, and he desperately glances to Amira for help or some sort of explanation as to what he's done wrong.

"Mr. and Mr. Weasley," Professor Binns simply sighs, pointing to the desk directly behind Amira and Cedric they can sit at. "Now, as I was saying, the beasts of Ilvermorny did not get involved until-"

Amira turns around in her seat, eyeing the twins suspiciously as they sit down without protest. Much to her surprise, they barely glance at her and, for the first time since she's known them, pull out their own pieces of parchment to take notes - or, at least, that's what she thought the parchment was for.

Insted of writing anything down, Fred and George methodically crumple the sheets and throw them at the back of Cedric's head. They have no intentions of harming the boy, only annoying him until he moves. Amira lets out an exasperated sigh before picking up the papers and throwing them right back at the boys, though harder to get her point across.

"You just lost me ten galleons," she hisses. Not another word is spoken for several moments as she only glares until they fix their ties, sit up straighter, and mumble apologies. Despite their years of friendship, they often forget how easily irritable Amira can be in the mornings. "Thank you."

"That's the first time I've ever seen them listen to someone," Cedric comments admiringly as she turns back around. "You are terrifyingly impressive."

"Thanks, I think?"

The remainder of the class passes without incident and Amira uses the rare peace to write down pieces of Professor Binns's lecture. Cedric attempts to take his own notes but finds himself distracted as he continuously sneaks glances at the girl next to him, who's too busy concentrating to notice.

There's something about her that makes him never want to look away, and each accidental brush of their hands in their close proximity brightens his smile a little more.

"What's your next class?" He asks as the old-fashioned clock in the corner of the room ticks closer to the end of the hour, finding himself hoping their simplistic time together doesn't have to end so soon.

"Charms with Flitwick," she whispers in response, not noticing the way his smile falters.

"Oh," Cedric says, barely masking his disappointment. "I've got Divination with Trelawney."

"That's not too bad," Amira reasons, mistaking his dampened mood for a dislike for his next class. "All you have to do is stare into dirty cups and lie."

Cedric chuckles and returns to his mostly empty parchment, feigning interest in the troll wars of 1473. While forcing himself not to sneak anymore sideways glances, he misses the way Amira keeps looking over at him.

When class is dismissed, Fred and George are on either side of Amira before she can even finish packing up her quill and parchment. Each taking hold of one of her arms, they promptly lift her out of her seat and stick their tongues out at Cedric before carrying her out of the room.

"I'll see you at lunch?" Cedric calls out to her retreating figure, still gathering his own supplies.

"Not likely!" the twins shout back.