CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1021 Words
Chapter 15
"C-Cindria Rowan?" She asked out loud, her voice nasal.
I nodded my head before inching towards her.
"What's your name?" I asked quietly.
"Myrtle Warren," She answered hastily wiping at her eyes. "I bet you're here to make fun of me too, eh?"
"What? Of course not! I heard someone crying so I came to see what's wrong. Why're you crying?"
"Olive Hornby made fun of my glasses again," she whimpered out loud. "She hates me! And I have no idea why!"
"Maybe she's jealous," I added gently, leaning against the stall with my arms crossed. "It's possible that you have some attributes she can only dream of having."
Myrtle looked up at me with shining eyes and smiled crookedly.
"You really think so?"
"Positive!"
We talked for another hour and by that time, Myrtle's tears had dried and she was smiling.
"Thanks! I feel so much better now. Thanks for talking to me, Cindria, let's meet up again!" she said, standing up and dusting herself before skipping out of the stall.
I waved at her and could feel a smile tug on my lips.
That made me feel a bit better.
----------------
Tom came looking for me that day and found me by the astronomy tower. He apologized and tried making up for it by taking us down on a walk by the lake.
I forgave him, though I knew I should have fought harder in order to make him stop.
Both Myrtle and me have become great of friends and we usually rendezvous at the girl's lavatory. She always had something to complain about and I had no problem listening to her rant about it.
It made me feel like a normal person, without ever going through abuse or having to deal with a possessive boyfriend who wants to purge the school of muggle-borns with his big giant snake of a pet.
Occasionally, we would sit by each other in the Great Hall, much to Tom's irritation. He absolutely despised Myrtle when he figured out she was a muggle-born. He hated that I met up with her and held conversations with her.
I refused to let Tom take her away from me.
So when Tom asked me to stop talking to her, I blatantly refused and wouldn't bring up the matter again much to Tom's annoyance.
Currently, I was sitting in the library, besides Tom, reading a book about potions. Tom, who was also reading, kept on fidgeting slightly and I wondered what was wrong with him.
Finally, he stood up, grabbed the journal I had given him, and closed his book.
"Bathroom," He muttered before leaving me.
I sat and read for another half hour before I turned and looked around the library to see if Tom had returned. I shut my book and grabbed my bag, it was time for my meet up with Myrtle in the bathroom.
I skipped down the hallways and could feel a smile growing on my lips. I wondered briefly what stories Myrtle would have brought on today. I reached the girl's lavatory and once I reached out to open it, a voice called out my name.
I turned around to see Olive Hornby standing in front of me. She was a tall girl with brown stringy hair that fell at her shoulders, hazel eyes that seemed to hold indifference towards everything, and her Ravenclaw attire was neat and straight.
"Did you see Myrtle? Headmaster Dippet asked me to go look for her," She said, running her hand through her bangs to get it out of her eyes.
"I was just coming to see her, we usually meet up here," I answered, slightly narrowing my eyes at her.
"I only made fun of her glasses, that's it, I didn't mean to make her cry," She said, rolling her eyes at my stare.
"You could apologize?" I said while opening the door of the bathroom. She pushed past me and entered, I followed after her, letting the door close silently behind me.
"I could but I-" Olive was saying before her voice died down. I looked at where she was looking and I couldn't believe my eyes.
Myrtle was on the ground, her eyes were glassy and wide open, and her body motionless. I could feel my heart speeding up and my breath coming out in short breaths.
"Myrtle? Myrtle are you alright?!" I shrieked out, running towards her and falling on my knees beside her body; my fingers trembled when I pressed it to her cold neck to check her pulse.
It was possible that she could have still been alive, right?
Maybe even paralyzed?
I let out a gut-wrenching sob when I couldn't find a pulse; I quickly pressed my head to her chest where her heart resided and listened.
Nothing.
"Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead!!" I sobbed, grabbing at her shoulders and shaking her. I heard footsteps running and the sound of the door opening and shutting.
But I didn't care.
"Myrtle! Myrtle! If this is some joke then please you've had your laugh! Please get up, Myrtle!" I whispered, my hands roughly grabbing at her clothing.
I didn't hear when the door opened.
Or cared when somebody put his or her hand on my shoulder.
All I knew is that I struggled to comprehend the fact that my friend was dead.
And she was never coming back.
I felt someone try to wrench my hand away from Myrtle's clothing, but I refused to let go.
"Miss Rowan, there's nothing you can do for Miss Warren now, please let go," I heard Professor Dumbledore whisper gently.
I turned to look at him, tears still streaming down my face. From the corner of my eye, I saw someone move closer and looked up to meet Tom's gaze.
Dumbledore helped me stand up and I launched myself into Tom's arms, who wrapped his arms around me tightly, allowing me to sob on his chest, while he whispered into my ear about how it was going to be all right.
Thank you for reading!
- Writer
