5 Times Henri Felt Something Different...
The affections are like lightning: you cannot tell where they will strike till they have fallen.
1. Cor – Second Year
Henrietta had always been fascinated by Corvius’s innate ability to catch on to something without really…participating in it. She only had Charms class with him, along with other Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, but she knew a genius when she saw one. She didn’t have any time to approach him though, him or that other Ravenclaw girl who he napped with during class. Henri was either practicing her potions in the dungeons or exploring the castle with Luke.
So it was perhaps fate that made the contents of their cauldrons explode, causing them to serve detention together. Henri didn’t mind, even if they had to scrub every inch of the dungeon they covered in goop without magic. It just meant she had the opportunity to make a new friend! Even if he was busy trying to furiously scrub off a particularly gooey spot.
She laughed heartily, which got her a ‘what’s so funny’ look from Corvius. Henri simply shook her head, smiled and took his hands away from the cauldron. Brown eyes looked at her apprehensively – ’Why?’. They’d have plenty of time to work on these later, she tells him kindly. Henri reaches into the pockets of her robes and pulls out a fresh packet of sweets. Chocoballs. Her favorites.
Henri watched as his eyes followed her fingers, ripping open the wrapper and offering him some with a guiltless smile on her face. His face changes from curious to gleeful, a smile rising on his features.
She didn’t know what to call the fluttering in her tummy when she sees his bright smile, but she chalks it up to the start of a wonderful friendship.
2. Quinn – Fourth Year (Pre)
Quinn, Henri noticed, tended to babble nonsense in times of dire situations. Not that Quinn was quiet when the situation wasn't bad. Quinn was just talkative by nature. Even when he was nervous. Like right now. After Henri crashed body first into a goal post while flying during the late evening Quinn wouldn’t stop telling her about Hippogriffs. What they ate, how to approach them…it was all fine and dandy, but Henri wished Quinn would stop spazzing and focus more on getting her to Madam Pomfrey. Her leg really did hurt, and the sooner she fixed her leg up, the sooner she could go back to the common room and finish the homework she had shirked off.
Now that they were in the Hospital Wing, Henri told him she didn’t need him to stick around if he didn’t want to. Mending bones was one thing, but to actually hear them squish and creak and pop was something probably no one wanted to stick around to hear. She was surprised when, despite paling at the description, Quinn told her no, he wasn’t leaving her ‘cause he’s been playing Quidditch since their second year so this kind of stuff wouldn’t faze him.
Minutes later, both of them were squeezing the life out of each other’s hand as the potion worked its magic on her leg. It creaked and popped and squished a lot. None of it looked or sounded very pretty. At a particularly squishy pop, Henri dug her nails into his hand and buried her head into his shoulder. She grit her teeth and berated herself (while trying to ignore the nice boyish smell coming from Quinn). It was out of pure reflex, really! She would’ve done the same with Cor or Ellie, had either of been with her instead of Quinn.
Quinn would have to do, especially since he didn’t push her away, but patted her hand gently and muttered more facts about Hippogriffs in her ear. Afterward, when the sun had long set, Quinn escorted Henri back to Gryffindor Tower, arm supporting her small frame as best as he could as Henri limped along. They never did mention the incident after that day, but Henri remembered how many funny looks she got from both Gryffindors and Ravenclaws for weeks.
(She never did say 'thank you', even when he stayed by her at the Hospital Wing, but it seemed like it would be a weird thing to say, since they were friends after all.)
3. Leidy – Fifth Year (Post)
Hands, female and strong, steadied Henri’s hips as the Gryffindor tried not to wiggle around so much on the broom she was trying to hover on. Henri smiled sheepishly, and gave Leidy an apologetic smile. She was trying, really she was, but she hated sitting still for so long. Ellie threw out some encouraging words from where she was sitting under the tree, while Cor, who hated anything related to flying, lounged lazily next to her.
Henri thought she saw Ellie wink at Leidy, but it was probably just the sunlight.
She turned her attention back to the Beater, who still had a firm grip on her waist to keep her body from moving too much. Henri really did want to get better at flying. Not because she’d found an interest of Quidditch or anything, but because she just wanted to do something other than make potions…something that, as Cor told her countless times, ‘would kill her if she dropped from the air’. Technically, she tells him, she didn’t die when she crashed last year ‘cause Quinn took care of her that time. (Henri never knew Cor’s cheeks could turn that red unless Nathan was involved...)
Speaking of being taken care of…Henri could help but let out an ‘Oh!’ when Leidy tried a different approach to fixing her grip. Arms wound their way around Henri’s body, molding hands over her smaller ones. Henri didn’t have any objections, since a hand-on approach was probably necessary, but the thought of being this close to someone still made her blush a little. Especially when she felt Leidy’s arms tighten around her (almost in a comfortable way…) and readjust her arms and fingers around the broom’s length.
At the time, she was too focused on listening to Leidy’s flying instructions to see Ellie’s knowing grin or Cor’s red face. Later, she'd tell them that learning with Leidy was very fun and would they like to be at their next 'learning session' next week? Cor's immediate answer was a 'yes', followed by a mumbled 'just so you won't get yourself killed'. Ellie simply laughed, saying she definitely wouldn't miss it either.
4. Ellie – Sixth Year
The realization that Henri may feel something stronger than ‘just like’ for one of her best friends hits her harder than she expected. It’s not like she didn’t think there was something more behind the fluttering in her stomach, but she simply blamed it on good feelings from the situation itself. It’s so confusing, and Henri would sooner admit to being the Dark Lord than say she wants something more than ‘just friends’. Henri couldn’t call it ‘that other emotion’ because it would be redundant. She loves both of her best friends, and (she thought…) both of them were always on her mind, equally.
Naturally, Henri tells Ellie first because of the most obvious reason: Cor. It’s one of the only times where Henri’s so confused, she doesn’t know what to do. She tells Ellie, who patiently listens to her, that she doesn’t want to pull the same crap she did back in their fourth year; Cor would know immediately something was wrong with Henri and she was a horrible liar. She wouldn’t know what to say to him if he even asked. Especially since he’s got that crush on Gerard, of all people.
By now, Henri’s crying and Ellie’s still listening. It’s a very good thing Ellie kicked her dorm mates out of the room, ‘cause Henri didn’t want anybody else to witness this. She just can’t tell Cor. What would he say? What if she was ruining something good for Gerard? Ellie quietly counters that by mentioning how emotionally stiff Gerard can be towards other people, but Henri’s on a role. Gerard could find something meaningful if he reciprocates Cor’s feelings for him. Who was Henri to deny both her best male mate’s and her close brotherly friend’s happiness?
The room is quiet, except for Henri’s muffled sobbing into Ellie’s pillow and the obscure conversations going on out in the Ravenclaw common room. She hears Ellie standing up from her place at her desk, pad over to where Henri’s head is buried and places a firm hand between her shoulder blades, rubbing gentle circles until Henri’s sobbing trickles down to sniffles.
When she goes to Ellie for advice, Henri always knows that Ellie won’t sugarcoat her opinions. Ellie certainly doesn't disappoint; she tells Henri she’s being a silly Gryffindor for worrying over Cor and Gerard’s happiness. The only person whose happiness she can be accountable for is her own. If Cor makes her happy, then Henri should pursue him. All's fair in love and war, and if Gerard loses to her...well, then that's his loss. If Cor is important to Henri like she says he is, then she should at least try to drop some sort of hint that Henri's interested in him. It wouldn't hurt to try. Henri lifts her head from the pillow with a small smile on her face and Ellie fake-pouts at her for ruining a perfectly good pillow with her tears, while fighting down a smile of her own.
(It’s really times like these that Henri knows she can trust Ellie. She’s more than a friend; she’s a sister.)
5. Gerard – Sixth Year
Even to Henri, who normally tried to ignore a lot of things around her that would normally be distracting, Gerard was a real piece of work. If she had a piece of chocolate for every girl who had a crush on her friend, she’d have enough to send Cor to the Hospital Wing for weeks. On and on they go, about how beautiful his eyes are and how much of a gentleman he is towards everyone and it got more and more ridiculous as the years went by.
So Henri’s absolutely livid when some of the older girls accuse her of having feelings for Gerard. Of course she likes Gerard. She adores him, with his entire ‘tall, dark and silent’ mannerisms. He’s a really great guy to talk with if you just want to…well, talk. He didn’t speak much, but his actions spoke more loudly. He’s straightforward too, which was something Henri always appreciated. Henri always felt that their personalities, although very different, never really clashed badly. He’d tell her otherwise that she was being annoyingly loud or ignorant. She’d work with Ashley to make him more extroverted and open. They complimented each other nicely.
Plus, she got a nice kick out of being one of the only people not to get yelled at by him whenever she tackle-hugged him.
However, no matter how much she told people they were like brother and sister, a microscopic part of her always told her that they weren’t in terms of blood. Gerard’s perfect in so many ways. He’s a leader, and knows when to take charge of a situation getting out of control. Gerard’s tall, but he has a very healthy figure that Henri admires, and doesn’t hesitate to tell him so. He’s very handsome, with bright green-blue eyes that enhance his serious, yet calming personality. If Henri didn’t know Gerard like any of his mindless admirers did, she’d go after him too.
She doesn’t though. She knows Gerard rather well, despite being loud and exuberant, and while she adores him and everything that he stands for…she'll always be content with being his ‘little sister’.
(It’s worth mentioning that the one and only time Henri every told Gerard he was handsome, he blushed and stammered what sounded like a ‘thank you’. Such a silly boy!)
- TBC -
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