Hiding From The Rumors

Being a Prefect came with a lot of responsibility. But it came with a lot of perks, as well. The lounge, the private bathrooms, being able to wander the hallways after curfew, and getting an hour extra time in Cheval on the weekends were just a few of them.

And there was also a lesser known one: Prefects had unlimited access to the restricted section in the library. Every other student would have to have written permission to be in the Restricted Section of the library. In fact, it was a Prefect's job to patrol the area to make sure there weren't people sneaking around up there.

So Greg saw it as the perfect place to take Kayla. Literally no one knew they were up there, and if they did, no one could follow them in. And no one could see into the enclosed area except from the exterior widow of the castle. And it wasn't like they were going to cause any trouble.

"So how was your day?" the sixth year asked, smiling at his girlfriend. He was really grateful that neither of them had practice. He felt like he hadn't seen Kayla in ages.

Average bystanders wouldn't have noticed it, but Kayla was tired. Very tired. She had just finished two hours of homework and extra Quidditch practice to make up for her date with Greg. She didn't let it show on the outside, though. She didn't need everyone to think the prefect and Quidditch captain was buckling under the demands of her duties.

She was almost tempted to turn down Greg's invitation to the library and take a nap. However, in the end, Kayla decided her boyfriend trumped sleep.

Kayla managed a smile at Greg's question. "Long and very tiring. I knew it would be bad when I had to drag myself out of bed this morning, and my roommate blasted the heavy metal music I told her to play if I ever resisted waking up. My ears are still recovering." She laughed a little. "And then in Quidditch practice, well, I can't tell you all the confidentials," she winked, "but a guy dove crashing down into the ground! I had to deal with his whining and crying and the Healer decided to be pissed at me."

"How's yours?" Kayla asked, blinking to keep her eyes open.

"Sounds like a long day," Greg commented. "I got to work with my new Keeper today. All I'm saying is that the other teams should watch out. She's good. Like, scary good. I think it's gonna be a good season." Gregory probably bragged on Ursula more than he needed to (he loved her attitude and style), but he couldn't help it. He was excited. Maybe it was foolish to put all of his hope in an eleven-year-old girl, but he was confident.

"How are your newbies doing? Other than crashing into the ground and getting you mildly in trouble, of course."

"Also, Jonas told me that he has a crush on someone but can't tell me who. Do you know who that might be and/or if I should be concerned about it?" Greg questioned.

Kayla laughed as she reminded herself to remember that information. She would have to investigate in the Feu Keeper. "Good enough to keep Isobel out?" The Quidditch buzz was all about Isobel as a Chaser. She had the potential to be amazingly good.

"You'll see," replied Kayla with a small knowing smirk. In truth they were performing a little less than what she would have liked, but Kayla could drill them harder in practices and she was sure they could do well. She constantly reminded them of their excellent performance the year before. Kayla wanted a consecutive win to showcase her team's ability. "My new Chaser, Apollo, has lots of raw talent."

Kayla shook her head, confused. "No. He never told me about that. He acts a little distant from me lately." She had no idea who it could be. That Kat girl he hung out with maybe?

Greg laughed. "Definitely. Not that it matters. We don't play Montagnard this season. So you have to win against them if you want to play Feu."

He made a fake pouting face, "I have to wait and see? That's disappointing," he joked. "I met Apollo the other day. He seems a bit odd. But I'm always skeptical of the friendly ones."

Gregory didn't know why, but he felt a little bit jealous of Apollo. He didn't know what kind of stuff Apollo would pull on his girlfriend, but he didn't exactly have a reason to be defensive of her. Apollo seemed like an upstanding guy. Maybe that was why he didn't trust him. The honest ones seemed to always have something to hide.

"The same to me, too. He will offer me the bare minimum and run away before I can ask him questions," Greg explained. "Was I this moody at age thirteen?"