The Fireplace

Scorpius blinks in shock. "I'm sorry, that is shit," he mumbles. He remembers that Penny had had an interest in Cormac, and wonders how he fits into the equation. He hesitates then decides to ask her quietly, "Is...er, McLaggen involved in this?"

she took in a sharp breath. thinking about Cormac still hurt like hell. she looked up at him with sad eyes "Yea...he's pushing me away. he thinks I should be with Marcus..."

"Flint?" he asks surprised. "I didn't realize you two were that...wow." Honestly, Scorpius has no idea what to say. He never expected Flint, of all people, to be responsible for knocking up the second Slytherin.

she shook her head as she realized just how much of her personal life she was sharing with someone she had hated "Yea...well it was one night. and...apparently this happened" she pointed to her rather large stomach. "And now Cormac...he just..." she gasped in mental pain and broke off

"I'm sorry Penny," Scorpius finds himself saying to the girl who hates him. "You don't deserve any of this shit. If you want, I can hunt down Cormac. I'll kick his ass, or at the very least talk to him."

she shook her head and looked at him "No! don't!" she stopped. what should she care, he called her pathetic. he obviously didn't want her. but... "Scorpius...as much as i appreciate the thought, just...please don't?" she pleaded him with her eyes

He nods his head in reply then says, "Sure, if that's what you want. I don't have to talk to him about it. Just so you know though, I still am going to be kicking his ass for what he did in our dorm last week."

"I just...don't want others to have to deal with my shit you know? Wait, you're kicking his ass for-oh...that..." she looked down awkwardly

"Yeah," he mumbles. "Though not like it fucking matters now. I was going to try and have my dorm changed, but it doesn't seem worth it now."

she looked at him sadly "Oh Scorpius..."

"It's...okay," he says hesitantly. "I'm just going to deal with it, day by day."

[PAUSED FOR NOW]

[i am here for like 10 minutes. but i'll reply]

"no it's really not okay. Faye...I don't know what Faye was thinking. I'm gonna talk to her"

"I don't either," he mumbles. "I don't understand how things can jump from great to worse in a day. Thanks Penny," he says. "I understand that this isn't easy for you in the slightest."

she gave him a small smile "No problem. i'm not just doing this for you though. she's my best friend. i have to figure out whats wrong with her..." just add it to the growing pile of shit i'm trying to deal with...

"No, I know," he says instantly. "We both know that I'm the last fucking person you would help," he adds giving her a small, sad smile. "Can't really blame you though. Just...can you make sure she's alright and let me know? I haven't seen her around at all."

she felt oddly bad for the boy, her glaring hatred for him slowly ebbing away. crazy i know. "Yea for sure. I'll let you know if i see her, let you know what's going on"

"Thanks," he says. "I just...don't want to see her hurt. She deserves happiness, and maybe I never was the one to provide it. Maybe it was always him, whether she was consciously aware of that or not." He sits for a moment then stands up. "I'm going to go, probably head to Hogsmeade for a drink. I hope that everything works out alright," he says glancing at her stomach. "I'll see you around. With that, he left the common room to go drink his sorrows away with Flint.

"She loves you Scorpius. I know that." she watches him stand up and glance at her protruding stomach "Oh thanks...see you around I guess..." she gets up and heads to her dorm

[*Dies over the fact that we just had our first civil conversation*]

Faye walked into the common room looking emaciated and tired. She was wearing yet another hoodie and there were bags under her eyes. She sat down on the couch and stared into the fire.

Penny wandered down to the fireplace, hoping to get some relaxation. her back was killing her. she intook a sharp breath when she saw faye "Hey..."

Faye looked up from the fire and stared at Penny. She sighed, frustrated after wanting to be alone, "HI..." she replied coolly. Her hands slipped her sleeves down over her hands and hid her scars. She had been cutting twice, sometimes thrice, a day.

Penny barely noticed Faye pull down her sleeves. "I uhhh....talked to Scorpius today..." she looked down

Faye froze at the mention of Scorpius. She narrowed her eyes, but the hurt was still visible, "Surprising. What about?" she replied nonchalantly.

"I know it's surprising. we talked about a lot of stuff. including you..." she wasn't sure how to approach this situation