SEVEN | CRUSH CULTURE MAKES ME WANNA

DENIKA AND HARRY SAT ON A ROCK BY THE GREAT LAKE. In the background, the water splashed against the shore—serving as a calming soundtrack to them. Denikas long hair blew in the wind, mixing with her robes. She could practically see the stress and confusion written in bold comic sans across Harry's face. Her heart ached for him.

The early-morning sun shone bright above them, illuminating the (for once) clear water in front. Every so often there would be a ripple on the surface. Denika wished it wasn't so cold—she was craving a swim.

In this lull in conversation, she allowed her mind to wander momentarily to a summer years before Hogwarts. A summer in which her sister didn't go out to friends every night possible to avoid the family. A summer in which the Winchesters took a trip across the continent: nothing but beaches for two weeks straight. Sand, sweat and mango smoothies—all day, everyday.

A younger version of her sister drifted into her mind; dark hair saturated, stuck to her forehead. But, that's not what stuck out in Denikas memory. Nor was it the line of sunburn that'd been in the early stages of forming across her nose. No, it was the happy and careless grin she wore as a wave smacked her across the face. You rarely saw Seline with anything but a scowl on her face nowadays.

Denika suppressed a sigh, she knew she'd never get those days back. Trying to ignore the sadness that thought brought, she turned her attention to the view her and Harry faced.

Hogwarts truly was beautiful. The scenery and features of the grounds held were breathtaking. Like, the forbidden forest looked so fucking pretty from a distance. The bright green trees swayed in the distance, making it look like the forest itself was alive. The green hills that rolled in the distance, behind the school, were stunning. Squinting, she noticed some sort of creature frolicking along in one of those distant hills. Living here made Denika sure that she wanted to live somewhere with a pretty view. Like, she'll be forever depressed if she ends up living in some boring suburb where the only view is a congested highway in the distance.

Denika and Harry's thighs were pressed up against each other as they sat on the rock. And Denika had to admit, this made her nervous and excited all at once. Her hand laid on her thigh as his lied on his. . . if she moved her hand even slightly, they'd touch.

Say something and stop being fucking weird! She screamed at herself internally.

"For what it's worth," she said to Harry eventually. His head shot up and he stared down at her as she spoke, "I don't think you put your name in the goblet."

Harry smiled at her appreciatively, one of his messy curls blew back and fourth it the wind—Denika stared at this rather than looking into his eyes. She wouldn't be able to turn away if she stared into those eyes. . .

"Pass that onto Ron, why don't you?" He says glumly, kicking a small stone at the water. "He's adamant that I put my own name inside the goblet—as if I'd want to do that myself."

Denika stares up at him: his green eyes were filled with a whirlwind of obvious emotions. His shoulders were slumped and his hair was grow more unruly by the second—she wanted to comb her fingers through and fix it. (But, like, obviously that would be super weird).

Denika had always found helping other people talk through their problems, helped her forget about her own.

"You haven't spoken to Winchester yet, have you?" Harry asked, practically reading her mind. He tilted his head to the side so he could look at her properly.

Denika stared down at her lap. Maybe this was the why she'd always liked him. He just always seemed to get her. Yeah, Ginny was her best friend and all but sometimes she felt that Harry understood her better. Ginny's family was full of love.

Denika shook her head, some of her dark locks falling free from her ponytail. "No, she's made it clear that she hates me."

"I think your sister hates everyone," Harry says, watching a small smile spread across her lips.

"You're not wrong," she laughs, meeting his eyes. Denika had always loved Harry's eyes—they were the most mesmerising shade of green.

Harry moved—not knowing what overtook him to be so bold—to tuck some hair behind her ear, nodding absently as he did so. Denika couldn't help but be hyper-aware of how close they were. If she were to move even the slightest, she'd end up kissing him by accident.

She could've sworn he was thinking about it too because, for a moment, it looked like he was going to lean in and kiss her. But, his hand fell to his side suddenly and he looked away from her.

"—well, I mean, sure?"

Denika's head snapped up and she saw Seline (speak of the fucking devil, Denika thinks) walking towards the lake. Draco Malfoy walked with her, a small smile on his lips as he stared at her sister in. . . awe? What the fuck?

Denika noticed Harry frown at the pair, "I thought they hated each other. . . ?" Harry asked, sounding betrayed.

"I thought they did. Seline's always shit-talked him over the summer. . ." She trailed off as she saw Seline laugh at something Draco said to her.

"—in your dreams, Winchester," Malfoy said, grinning. "It was pure luck last time."

Seline shook her head, tugging on her bag strap awkwardly. "Yeah, as if," Seline responded, shoving him playfully. Denika smiled at the Clueless reference—it was their favourite movie after all. They both appreciated the fashion and the icon that is Alicia Silverstone. Denika strived to be as perfect as her.

She watched as the pair continued joking around, Denika liked seeing her sister happy (because she was always so unhappy and angry all the time.) (Denika blamed herself for her sister's unhappiness sometimes, even though she knew deep down that there were other contributing factors.)

Her sister and Draco, weirdly, looked like a scene ripped right out of a rom-com. It was jarring.

But then Draco's friends, Crabbe and Goyle, showed up. "Malfoy, why are you with her?" One of them says, glaring at Seline.

Seline looks away, her eyes meet Denika's and she glares at her before looking down at her feet. "With who? S—Winchester?" Draco splutters, his face heating up. "I'm not—"

"I was just asking him if he's done his charms homework," Seline said quietly, her eyes glassy. "Apparently not, he's too stupid to get it, you see." Seline pauses, her voice breaks when she speaks next. "Like I'd willingly talk to someone who's blood is too pure for me to even comprehend."

Denika saw Seline turn on her heel and stride back to the castle. She watched as Draco stared after her, an odd look on his face.

"You don't think——?" Harry starts.

"No way," Denika responds.

Harry looks at her, "but what if——?"

Denika frowns. "Then I might just change my last name and move to Australia. I'm sure man-eating kangaroos are better than being related to Malfoy."

Harry laughs at this, offering her a hand up from the rock (and she accepts, of course! Like, she's not going to turn down the chance to hold Harry's hand—even if it's super platonic and he'll never see her that way.)

Denika smiles back at him, feeling proud that she's fully managed to take his mind off everything. She feels for him, truly. The poor guy just can't seem to catch a break, can he?

It's one thing after the other, every single year. She hopes next year'll treat him better than this years going to.

"Ro—Hermione, just Hermione, will probably be looking for me," Harry says as they trudge up to the castle. She notices his shoulders sag a bit.

Denika smiles at him, wishing her distraction had lasted a little longer. "Yeah, Ginny'll be wanting to copy my Transfigurations notes by now." She says jokingly and Harry snorts.

Denika, even with everything going on with her sister and shit, feels happy. She got to spend the morning with the boys she's smitten with (again, she's never admitting that aloud.) She made him laugh and smile even though he's probably so miserable.

Sighing, she gives him one last longing look before they go their separate ways.

IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THEY'D ENDED UP IN THIS POSITION, THE FIRE BURNED AS BRIGHT AS ALWAYS. It was a drug neither ever had any intention of quitting—no twelve step program would cut it. This was the person she wanted to spend forever with.

Yeah, they're only fourteen and shit but it didn't matter. She'd spent everyday of those fourteen years loving the same person and she'd happily spend another fourteen and beyond. Like, there was no doubt in her mind that this is who she wanted to hold her for the rest of eternity.

The scene was quite scandalous for anyone their age. Locked in a bathroom cubicle with the door charmed so that no one could enter, were two individuals engaging in premarital activities.

One sat on the closed toilet while the other had her legs wrapped fighting around their hips. Hands travelled from neck to ass to hips to breasts at lightning speeds. Hair was sticking up in all directions as they were joined at the mouth.

"God," one of them moaned, "I wish we could sneak away more." Her breathing caught as her partner began sucking on her neck—right in the spot that made her eyes roll back.

The other grunted in response, a little too preoccupied to speak. Fingers now tangled in curly hair.

They knew that they were kissing on borrowed time. They couldn't stay like this forever and it would be ages until they could sneak away again. It's not like they could do it in the common room or the dorms—they already know they just can't.

Because imagine if someone relayed their "unholiness" back to their parents. Nicolette knows her parents'll pull her out of school in an instant. And she doesn't want that to happen. It can't.

So, she continues to kiss Astoria like there's no tomorrow.

     SELINE VERONICA WINCHESTER WAS A LOT OF THINGS. Grumpy? Often. Rude? If they deserved it. Insecure? Duh. Beautiful? That one was undeniable. People could call her every name under the sun but they couldn't deny her pretty face.

Over the summer, all the muggle boys fawned over her—it gave her such a rush of power and was a brutal shock to her ego when none of the boys at Hogwarts matched that energy. She'd gone from having a Pepsi and cupcake waiting for her every-time she went to a group hangout to Blaise throwing a tantrum that they breathed the same air.

Like, it's not that she even likes anyone at school or wants them to chase her. . . she just misses being desired.

All the boys in her year were not worth her time. (She's not saying she's better than them, she's just saying that dating someone from school would probably be a waste of time. She's not saying she won't because she knows she will eventually. But still. . .)

Like, all the Gryffindor boys were idiots. Dean Thomas: cute but talked about Seamus Finnigan a little too much for her liking. Seamus Finnigan: way too loud and obnoxious for her liking. (She's started to suspect there might be something going on with those two but she didn't care about Gryffindor romances to investigate it.) Neville Longbottom: he's too much of a pushover for any girl to show interest in him. Oh and then there's Weasley, does Seline even have to go into detail about why he repulses her?

(Does she need to explain again why she thinks gingers unnatural beasts?)

And then, finally, there's Harry Potter. The most Gryffindor, Gryffindor to ever Gryffindor. Like, okay. She'll agree with her sister here, that he is pretty good looking. But he, as a person, just makes her want to scream and tear all her hair out.

The Ravenclaw boys were also too much for Seline to handle. The way the held themselves like they were some superior species, was enough to make Seline want to swear off boys.

Seline thinks she'd rather die then go round with a boy from Ravenclaw. All the ones she'd interacted with were even more stuck-up then Malfoy. The Hufflepuff boys were the same basically. They wouldn't give a Slytherin girl the time the day—none of the other houses would. They were evil bitches, weren't they?

Finally, there were the boys in her own house. Some of them weren't terrible looking and with some updated views, they'd make perfect boyfriends.

For example, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott were both pretty good looking. It's just a shame they think she's a dirty mudblood. (Though, the have been a lot nicer to her after the whole Astoria incident. So. . . progress?)

But on the other hand, there's also Crabbe and Goyle—ugly trolls, Seline thinks they are. She's only heard them utter really short and simple sentences before—it makes her wonder if they are even fully human. Like, maybe their mothers grew tired of their annoying husbands and had one night stands with trolls? Seline's sure that's what happened.

Oh, and there was Wayne Hopkins. Up until a few days ago she'd never given him much thought—he'd just always been in the background of his obnoxious friends. (Could also be due to the fact that he was shorter and skinnier then her last school year.) However, since the friendly Quidditch match they've been talking a fair bit at meals and she thinks he's nice. He's the only Slytherin boys that's never called her a mudblood and doesn't look pained when they interact.

At that thought, her mind moves onto Draco fucking Malfoy. He's alright looking, she supposes—good boyfriend height, too. He's been taking her by surprise a lot lately and treating her like an actual human being. (She's only slightly convinced it's some secret scheme to mess with her head.)

He'd always made it very clear what his opinions on her and 'her kind' were. So, why did he want to hangout with her that morning?

That, Seline, remembers bitterly.

"Oi, Winchester!" He'd called after her as she'd been walking down to the lake.

"Oi," he'd called out after her as she'd been making her way towards the lake, "Winchester!"

She'd decided to revise down there because what else was she supposed to do when her friends had ditched her. Yet again. (Like, it was starting to piss her off a little. Where the fuck did they go and why was she never invited?)

Her head snapped around and she shot him a halfway smile. "Malfoy?" She'd questioned, waiting for him to properly catch up with her.

"Hey," he'd grinned at her. She'd noticed that his hair was a bit messy from running after her—it made her smile reach her eyes.

"Hi?"

He fiddled with his hands as he asked, "how are you?"

Selines eyebrows shot upwards. She couldn't think of a single instance where he'd ever asked her how she was. ". . . I'm alright," she replied after a moment.

Draco cleared his throat. "That's good to hear."

"Sure is. . ."

For a moment, they just stood facing each other while Draco seemed to be waging a mental battle. She stared at him expectantly, the textbook growing heavier by the second.

"Did you need som—"

"—Are you going to study?" They'd both said at the same time.

"Erm, yeah," she replied, holding up the battered Transfiguration textbook.

"That's cool. . ."

"Do. . . do you want to join or something?" She asked stiffly, growing a little bit impatient.

"I mean, if you insist," he replied, his arrogance finding its way back to him as he gestured for her to lead the way. Seline subtly pinched her wrist to make sure she wasn't in a coma or something.

A few moments of awkward silence proceeded until finally, Draco blurted out a sentence Seline never thought she'd hear him utter: "You look really pretty today." (She's still not sure if she imagined it or not. . . she does have a very active imagination, after all.)

Seline stopped walking, frozen in place. What the fuck? Had gone through her mind on a loop. "W—what?"

Draco's face was bright red by this point, "I uh said. . . the weathers shitty today. . ." He'd said meekly, looking anywhere but her.

"Oh. . . that makes sense."

(Looking back, he couldn't have possibly said the other thing. Like, why would Draco Malfoy call her pretty? He doesn't think she's pretty—he was incapable! (and supposedly dating Pansy) . . . he just found the weather crappy.)

(One problem with that: there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Either Malfoy was a vampire or. . . )

They kept walking, Draco made a joke about the squid and Seline laughed at it. Their hands were by their sides, sometimes touching by accident. Though when they did, both teenagers faces would turn pink and they'd mutter awkward apologies under their breaths.

"I had fun yesterday." He'd told her and a full-fledged grin had spread across her round face.

"Oh yeah?" She raised her eyebrows, "even though you lost?"

Draco had rolled his eyes at her. "We should do it again sometime. . . maybe I could help you get better on a broom. . . ?"

Seline's eyes had grown wide at his suggestion, "L—like a private lesson or. . . ?" Draco nods, both their cheeks redden a bit, "well, I mean, sure?"

Draco was full of surprises today, that's for sure. A small part of her yearned for him to be like this always.

Selines eyes met his for a second and the way he looked at her in that moment. . her brain felt like it was going to explain. It was like he was a pirate and she was 'x marks the spot'. She couldn't hear anything over her heartbeat.

She looked away, blushing yet again as she did. "I reckon that I'll beat you again," she says and he grinned.

"Ha!" He scoffs, "In your dreams Winchester—" as if Seline would dream about him, "—it was pure luck last time."

"Yeah, as if," she says, flipping her hair in true Alicia Silverstone fashion. (Like, come on. Where's her Oscar?)

Draco laughed at this, "sorry but it's just what's gonna happen."

"Not true." She says, hitting his shoulder playfully.

"It is!" He argues, grabbing her wrists so she couldn't hit her again

"Not!"

"Is!"

"Not!"

They both were laughing by now, getting closer to the lake. But they were walking so slow it would be a wonder if they ever got there.

"Hogsmeade visit's coming up," Draco stated, his demeanour shifting into something Seline couldn't quite place. Still, she took his comment in stride and shrugged, not understanding why he'd brought it up more than anything.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Seline thought he was being really weird. Like, why'd he talk to her about Hogsmeade? Why'd he talk to her at all?

He hates her. . . or maybe he doesn't. . . ?

But then, as Draco's about to say something else to her, the two ugly trolls show up.

"Draco," Crabbe says, frowning at their leader—their fucking messiah more like it, "what are you doing with her?"

Draco's face contorts into a frown as his gaze flickers over at Seline. "Who? S—Winchester?" He splutters, Seline doesn't even notice how red his face has become. "I'm not—"

Whatever spell that must've been cast on them was broken. The moment, ruined. The giddy butterflies in her stomach burned to death via her molten-hot anger and embarrassment.

Her smile fades and her face becomes stoic. "I was just asking him if he's done his charms homework," she says quietly, her eyes glassy. Her and Malfoy being friends? Come on, it's too good—bad?—to be true.

"Apparently not, he's too stupid to get it, you see." Seline pauses, her voice breaks when she speaks next. "Like I'd willingly talk to someone who's blood is too pure for me to even comprehend."

Seline notices her sister and Harry Fucking Potter staring at them across the grounds and she glared at them. Could they not-so-kindly fuck off please?

She already knows Denika'll write to their mother about this, somehow. As if Cordelia could do anything except lecture Seline about being put into the evil house. Cordelia's one to talk though, she knows absolutely nothing about the wizarding world!

Denika told their parents a couple of things about Slytherin and now Seline was an evil almost-death-eater. As fucking if! Why the fuck would she join a group that's hell-bent on killing people like her?

Shaking her head, Seline glared at her three classmates before fleeing to the castle. She just wanted to find her friends and cry on their shoulders.

But she didn't find her friends, did she? She's sitting here on her four-poster bed crying her eyes out. All alone.

She doesn't even understand why she's crying. She thinks it's just an emotional build-up—that she's been bottling everything up for too long and is finally letting it.

Her gaze flickers over to the mirror hanging on the wall. She hates what she sees. She sees a mean girl. A girl who treats her little sister like garbage. A girl who shuts people out rather than solving her own problems. A girl who's below everyone else because of her blood-status. The happy girl who used to get A's in math and 10/10 on her spelling tests is long gone. That little girl died on Seline's first night at Hogwarts when she cried herself to sleep.

She'd wanted some friends but nobody would talk to her. Every time she sat next to someone in her house they'd move away from her and leave her sitting there, confused and upset. That was until two angels sent from above let her sit with them.

Yeah, but where are your angels now, huh? Her subconscious shouted at her, gone. It said, got sick of you, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Seline wanted to turn her brain off right now. She just wanted to be numb and not feel anything ever again. She loathes feeling this—it's the absolute worst.

". . . A—are you alright, W—Seline. . . ?" Someone says, she hadn't even heard them come in.

She lifts her head up to meet Pansy's gaze and shakes her head. "No. . . I'm not. . ."

Pansy, not equipped for this, stays quiet for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asks eventually and Seline shakes her head. "Okay. . . that's fine. . . Do you want to play exploding snap?"

Seline raises her eyebrows, her crying stops momentarily. "What—why?"

Pansy's cheeks heat up and she looks away, "well, I just thought you might want something to take your mind off. . . whatever."

Seline frowned momentarily before sending Pansy a small smile, "okay. . . thanks."

"Don't mention it," Pansy mutters, grabbing her deck off her bedside table and dealing Seline half. By the way, Pansys said it, Seline knows that she genuinely can't mention it to anyone. God forbid anyone knows Pansy Parkinson has a heart.

🌸 KARLA RAMBLES 🌸

very ship heavy cheaper woohoo!! i like this format of a certain chunk of time from different characters povs

it's kinda hard to find the motivation to keep writing this when no one really reads my works anymore :/

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