In need of comforting

Bri's journey from the Dueling Arena to the Hospital Wing hadn't quite finished when the tears that were blurring her vision started to spill over. She tried to continue, but once they had started, they wouldn't stop. Not wanting to be seen by every single student she passed, she ducked through the first doorway she could find and closed the door behind her. Her silent tears quickly dissolved into full on sobs.

She leaned against a wall and slid down it as she cried. Everything that Thomas had said to her confirmed every doubt that she had about herself. She could hardly believe that someone could be so mean, especially when she had tried so hard to be nice to him. She resolved to sit there and cry until it went away and she could go check on Andy once more.

Andy walked down the corridor, from the Hospital Wing, but then stopped suddenly. He swore he could hear someone crying in a classroom. Andy, ever curious, took a step towards the large wooden door and pressed his ear to it. Yep, he mused. Definitely someone crying. He wondered if it was a First Year who was lost. That was probably the case. He could remember how frustrating being a first year was, but he got through it. Perhaps this person didn't have any friends. That would blow.

Andy pushed the door open and peered inside. It was dark, which just added to the level of depression, in his mind. Then again, most people didn't seek out bright shiny places to have a cry in.

He searched for the poor firstie but his eyes widened when he realised that the person who was sobbing was definitely not a first year. Andy stood at the doorway, too shocked to actually move. His brain finally decided to start working properly and he took a step forward and then took a couple more, until he was standing before the crying girl; his crying girl.

He kneeled down in front of her. "Bri?"

When she heard Andy's voice, Bri wiped away her tears as though she hadn't been crying at all, though it hardly helped at all. "Andy, what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could.

It wasn't until she tried to stand that she realized her hands were shaking. How could she let the things that awful boy had said to her affect her so much? Maybe he'd been right all along. Her self-esteem was crushed even more by the realization that she'd done almost nothing but cry for at least a week straight.

"You should still be in the Hospital Wing, you're not supposed to leave for another few days. Come on, let's get you back there," she said.

Andy shook his head. He wasn't going back to the Hospital Wing before he found Bri like this, and nothing would get him back there now. Not until he knew why she was crying like this. He slid down against the wall beside her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not going back until you tell me what's wrong." He wasn't going to go back even if she did tell him, but she didn't need to know that. He couldn't help but wonder if something else had happened to her though, and this crying was not because of him being hurt at all. If James said something again, Andy though. I'll throttle him.

Bri leaned her head against his shoulder as her tears silently continued on, unwilling to be deterred no matter how many times she tried to wipe them away. She wasn't sure how to approach the subject.

"Didn't you say that Thomas Celare was a nice Slytherin?" she settled for asking. Perhaps she had misheard him when he'd told her, which would have a slight effect on how she viewed what had happened. After all, if it was someone she should have expected rudeness from, then it was a little bit her fault for letting the situation get so far out of hand.

Andy looked down at her. "Erm..." he thought about it. "I heard that he was alright. Why? Did something happen?" Andy felt himself getting angry at the sheer thought that someone, probably Thomas seeing as she brought him up, caused Bri's tears.

Andy didn't even wait for Bri's response. He said a choice few words that would have warranted a mouth full of soap from his mother. "I swear, I will kill him when I see him next." Andy's fists balled up from anger. "What did he say to you?" He knew he was jumping to conclusions, but she wouldn't have mentioned Celare if he wasn't at fault.

Bri's head snapped up as Andy decided to show off his extensive and creative vocabulary. "Andy!"she said in shock. It was such a shock that she nearly forgot why she was in this room in the first place, until Andy made his threat and asked what had been said.

"I tried to be nice to him, honestly, I did. Essentially he called me an idiot and started insulting me and all Ravenclaws. He just made us all out to be idiots who can't take their noses out of their books, and there was something about severing my hand mixed in there somewhere," she said. The conversation was getting jumbled in her head.

"Please don't do anything; it will only start more trouble," she requested. She didn't want Andy to get in trouble for trying to defend her.

The more he heard, the more his ire grew. He knew that before the year was done, his fist would meet his Slytherin's face; hard. He'd learn that Ravenclaw's weren't to be messed with, especially... Andy blinked.

Would Andy have been this upset his Celare had insulted any other Ravenclaw other than Bri? Andy hadn't thought much about it before, but it suddenly dawned on him. It wasn't the fact that Celare had insulted the entire Ravenclaw house that made Andy so mad, it was the fact that he insulted Bri.

Andy took a few deep breaths, starting to feel slightly light-headed. He shook it off though, not wanting an excuse to go back to the blasted Hospital Wing.

"I can't just sit by and not do anything about this, Bri. Something's gotta be done." Andy didn't even recognise his own voice saying those words. How very Gryffindor of him.

Bri looked at Andy with concern. She had never seen him like this before and it worried her. Truth be told, it scared her a little as well. "Andy, please don't. Stooping to his level won't fix anything. It's not worth the trouble. I'm not worth the trouble," she said quietly. She took his free hand in hers and stroked it lightly with her thumb. She just hoped she was getting through to him.

Andy could hear the trepidation in her voice. He didn't want to worry her and he certainly didn't want to do anything that would scare her or make her think any less of him. Nevertheless, Andy still would be having choice words with this Slytherin. He couldn't let Celare get away with treating someone that way, especially a girl, especially Bri. Andy was brought up to treat women with respect and couldn't handle hearing that someone had treated Bri untowardly. It angered him profusely. Bri's hand within his soothed him but his veins were still seething with silent anger.

"Don't worry. I'll just have a talk with him," Andy said, stressing the word, talk. "And what's this nonsense, about you not being worth the trouble? Don't be ridiculous."

"Just a talk? And you're not going to do anything stupid?" Bri asked, doubtful. She wanted to believe him but after what he'd been saying, it was difficult to.

She shrugged at what he said next. "I don't know, I'm just not," she said. Some of the things Thomas had said were sinking in and she was starting to believe them, and she still blamed herself for his being in the Hospital Wing. "I'm not anything special and I'm definitely not worth getting into trouble over, especially not after what happened to you."

Andy blatantly ignored her question. He honestly didn't know what would happen. He would go into this confrontation only wanting to talk, but depending on how far Celare would push him, he didn't know what the outcome would be.

Andy turned his body so that he was facing Bri. He cupped her face in his hands, somewhat forcing her to look at him. He saw a tear trail down her face and he wiped it away with his thumb.

"Hey. Please stop saying stuff like that. I think you're incredibly special and one hundred percent worth any repercussions from this little... chat." He smiled lightly. "And stop blaming yourself for what almost happened, cuz it didn't." Andy hadn't really let the thought that he had almost died pass through his mind. He didn't want to think about it.

"Okay? Do we have a deal? You'll stop blaming yourself and I'll try and keep a hold on my Gryffindor want to knock this guy into next week?"

Bri watched Andy as he spoke and blushed a little. She wasn't used to actually hearing compliments like that, especially not from someone as cute nice as Andy, and it made her feel like everything Thomas had said really was crap. She didn't miss the nuances of his deal but she nodded anyway. She already felt loads better. "Come on, you need to get back to the Hospital Wing," she said, standing up and holding out a hand to help him up as well. "And since I read chapter one, you can do chapter two," she smiled.

Andy smiled as she accepted his deal. He felt as though she was feeling better about the whole situation, and after Andy had words with Thomas Celare, he'd feel loads better as well. He took her hand and stood up, his knees feeling slightly unstable, but he was up, nevertheless.

"I'm really feeling fine, I promise. That sleep did me a world of good. Honest." He didn't want to go back to the Hospital Wing. It was stupid, he knew, but just being there made him feel weak and useless.

"Can't we go some other place instead?" he asked her, desperate for her to agree with him and not drag him back to his bed.

Bri sighed. She still didn't believe him but it wasn't like she could physically force him to go back there. "Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?" she asked. If he wasn't going to go back to the Hospital Wing, the least she could do was stay with him to keep an eye on him, then take him back when he realized that it was where he needed to be.

Andy grinned. He really hadn't expected Bri to cave in like that, but he was exceedingly happy that she did.

"Hmm..." he contemplated. "How about the commonroom?" Andy truly like the idea of being by the fire, but then he thought about it. "Er, perhaps not. If Professor Cooper came in and saw me she'd send me back to the ward. Hmm..."

Andy paced slightly, thinking where they could go, that no Professors would find them. He had a brilliant idea. He wasn't sure it would work, but he remembered Tahlia, his older sister, saying something about a room, a special room that would appear when wanted. He had an idea of where this room was too.

"How about the Room of Requirement? We'll have to be super quiet to get passed Professor Cooper's office, but I reckon it's worth a try. Whatcha think?"

Bri looked at Andy, confused. Despite her three years at the school and her many extensive walks around the castle, she'd never heard of this room before. Although she knew Professor Cooper's office was up by the common room, which meant they'd have a lot of climbing to do. "Are you sure you'll be able to do the stairs alright?" she asked, skeptical.

Andy poked his tongue out at her. "Yes, mum. I can handle the stairs perfectly fine."

He walked to the door and swung it open, peering out to look left and then right. Seeing the coast was clear, he turned his head to Bri, who was still standing there, looking somewhat uncertain.

He grabbed her hand. "Come'on. Let's go!" Andy pulled Bri by the hand out of the depressing dank room and up the first stair case that lead to the Room of Requirement.