𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 ━━ harry potter

chapter fourty-one

Hermione really seemed to be very mad at Ben, because she refused to acknowledge his presence even when the four of them were together, having breakfast the next morning. The girl had gotten back to eating, though, since she seemed to have realised not doing it was absolutely no use.

"Hermione, please, how many times do I have to try to tell you that-"

"Oh, drop it, Ben," Ron advised him, raising his eyebrows from the other side of the table.

Ben continued looking at the girl, who was doing her best to ignore him by pretending to be incredibly interested in her cereals. He took a deep breath, and stabbed his toast with a fork he didn't even know why he had picked up.

"What has that piece of bread done to you?" asked Harry from beside him.

Judging by how frustrated Ben was feeling, one would've expected him to say something rude. But it had been Harry who had spoken. And Harry was his friend; his best friend, actually, and he was physically incapable of being mean to him.

Even though Hermione didn't look or say a word to Ben even once, the morning classes flowed without a hitch. In the afternoon, they had two hours of Muggle Studies in a row, and the boy wondered if his friend would sit next to him even though she was angry with him. But then he remembered that she had stopped using the time turner, and that she no longer went with him to class.

So, he sat beside Marina. The girl had changed quite a lot over summer. Her hair was still brown, but it seemed slightly lighter, and she had grown it out. He also noticed her eyes had... some kind of black line surrounding them, and her lashes looked thicker.

"Oh," he exclaimed, eyes wide open, looking at her. "That's mascara, isn't it?

"Um... Yes, why?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. Ben was very glad he had remembered its name. "How'd you know?"

"My sister Audrey was obsessed with that thingy," he replied, pulling out his things from his bag. "You know, when we were younger, we would play with makeup... I would watch her as she experimented with it, and she once asked me if I wanted her to try it on me. I refused, and tried to run out of her room, but she caught me and forced me to stay still as she did my makeup."

Marina let out a soft, sweet-sounding laugh. "And how did it go?"

Ben smiled at her, and leaned towards her so he wouldn't have to speak too loudly for her to hear him. "Don't tell anyone, but I liked it."

The girl laughed again, brushing some caramel-coloured locks out of her face. "Does she know about it?"

"Well, I never told her, but I'm pretty sure she secretly knew. I think that's why she always insisted on doing it everytime my parents were away, and it kind of became a habit."

"That's so sweet."

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted, shrugging. "I kinda miss it sometimes, you know?"

Marina was silent for a second. She looked deep in thought, until she finally spoke, her cheeks tinted in red. "I know it won't be the same, obviously, but... I've got some makeup my parents got me this summer. So, if you want, we could- Er... You know..."

Ben waited patiently for her to continue speaking, but the girl's rosey lips were shut. So he realised she wasn't going to finish her sentence, and it was his turn to speak.

"Oh, yes, yes," he said, hoping he had understood what she was trying to say. "I'd love to."

Marina's eyes lit up, as her eyebrows lifted up in surprise. "Really? You would?"

"Of course," he nodded. "When are you free?"

"Well, since Quidditch has been cancelled, I'm always free."