Harper looked around the empty common room. Well, empty except for his best mate, who had just fallen asleep in the middle of a sentence. Harper smiled a little. He appreciated his friend sitting up with him. Harper didn't much feel like being alone tonight, and he knew better than to think he'd be sleeping any time soon. He'd had a wretched day, and it kept replaying in his mind as he thought of all the things he should have said or done.
He had a month's worth of Saturday detentions to serve. A month! And all because he got into a fight during lunch, which was really the worst place to get into a fight, what with all the professors being right there and all. But what was Harper supposed to do when that Slytherin boy started having a go at his dead mother? He didn't even stop to think about the professors being right there, or how his brother and sister were probably watching the whole thing. He just sprang into action, punching every inch of the Slytherin he could. He felt pretty good about it.
Until he got blamed, because he was always blamed, and because he'd thrown the first punch. Apparently it having been deserved never entered into the equation, though Harper really thought it ought to have done. You'd think the professors would be happy that he shut that obnoxious kid's mouth for a change. He wasn't talking when Harper got through with him; he was too busy yelling his head off. As far as Harper was concerned, he should have got points for style. He certainly shouldn't have been given four Saturday detentions. Harper wondered what would happen if he just didn't go. He'd try it, he decided. Call it an experiment.
Right now, Harper didn't want to think about detention, or about the highly unpleasant lecture he'd received about how this was his sixth fight this term, and how everyone expected better of him, and how anyone as smart as he was ought to be able to solve his problems without resorting to muggle-style brawling, and blah, blah, blah. And then Harper suggested that if the problem was that the brawling was muggle-style, he'd be happy to sling hexes next time, and that he knew some awfully good ones, which just made the whole thing worse, really. He couldn't win.
Harper stood and covered his friend with a blanket. He didn't want to poor chap to get cold. Then he tiptoed to the door. Harper didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be with someone who wouldn't judge him. He wanted to be with someone who loved him. He wanted to be with someone who could make him feel better. He wanted Hallie. He turned toward the Gryffindor common room.
Harper was so deep in thought, he hardly noticed when he arrived at the portrait of the fat lady. He gave her the password. Harper knew all the common room passwords. He had friends in all four houses, and they hung out in all four common rooms from time to time. He went in and paused at the bottom of the stairs. In Ravenclaw, boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory. He wondered if it was the same in Gryffindor. Best not to chance it. He looked around and found some parchment and a quill to scribble a note.
Hallie,
I'm downstairs.
-Harper
He folded the note into a paper airplane and pulled out his wand. It was a complicated charm. N.E.W.T. level, really, but Harper could do it. The paper airplane would fly right to her, and even wake her if she was sleeping. For a moment, it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't wake her if she were sleeping, but then he decided she wouldn't mind... and that he really wanted to see her. Hallie could always make him feel better. Sometimes when he was little he would crawl into bed with her when he was scared. Harper let the airplane go. It soared up the stairs and out of sight. So Harper sat down in front of the fireplace to wait.
Wed May 11, 2011 11:01 pm