"Right… NO. Not right. It's absolutely not right!" Alister stammered, the words tripping over each other.
"It's just… you guys weren't here when I came in. And I was just sitting here alone, having my coffee."
When he thought of all the stuff that happened yesterday, although it's true that he doesn't have much free time but he knew that if he let the full truth slip now, he wouldn't make it out of the Great Hall in one piece.
As much as Alister wanted to sort out this matter, Artoria clearly had other plans. She wasn't about to sit still and let him wiggle out of it.
"What do you mean 'alone,' Alister? Are you really going to hide the fact that we've been sitting here together since your very first sip of the coffee?"
Hearing the bomb Artoria casually released, Alister knew that he fucked up.
"Alister! You're actually daring to lie to my face now?"
"I… I can explain!"
"Explain what, Alister?"
"Explain how 'sitting here alone' actually means drinking coffee with her."
'This is fine. Everything is completely fine,' Alister slowly tried to comfort himself.
'Goddammit… who am I kidding? It's not fine at all. I can't handle any more of my mornings being ruined like this.'
He grabbed his coffee which was not cold anymore and took a long, agonizingly slow sip, desperate to buy even three seconds of silence.
Then, mercifully, fate decided to throw him a rope or two ropes.
Across the Great Hall, the doors burst open with familiar dramatic entry. Fred and George Weasley tumbled in shoulder-to-shoulder, already in a mid-argument this early in the morning.
And Alister was on his feet before he had consciously decided to stand.
"Perfect timing!"
He suddenly reached out and grabbed both girls' hands simultaneously and pulled both of them up from their seats.
"Wha—?" Artoria gasped as she completely caught off guard.
"Alister." But Cho's voice was completely calm, it even held a faint warning to it.
"We're going to the Gryffindor table." Without giving them a chance to protest, Alister steered them toward Gryffindor table.
But unfortunately for Alister, the twins spotted the approaching trio immediately.
"Alister!" Fred called across the hall, loud enough to attract every attention that was possible.
"Our favorite Slytherin!" George not wanting to be the only one left behind, added equally loud.
'Sigh!! These Dickheads.'
Alister immediately regretted his decision the moment they reached the long wooden table, but there was no turning back now.
He pushed the girls into their seats before wedging himself between them, feeling like the meat in an extra-large sandwich. The twins landed opposite them like a pair of gossipy birds.
Fred's eyes darted from Cho to Artoria, finally to Alister. He didn't say a word at first, merely turning to George.
"So, Alister, I see you're having a lovely morning," George said, folding his arms on the table dramatically.
"No doubt," Fred agreed, nodding solemnly. "I can see all three of them are having the absolute time of their lives."
"Although, I knew you had it in you, Alister." George chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be this skillful already."
"Oh God, not this again," Alister groaned, then looked over as his sister lingered nearby. "And Astra, why are you trying to stick your ass in? Go sit with Hermione!"
"Tsk…" Astra rolled her eyes, retreating toward the Ravenclaw table with a look of pure disappointment on her face.
"George is right, though," Fred said, leaning in. "You really do have talent."
"What 'skills' are you talking about?" Cho asked, her curiosity momentarily overriding her irritation.
"You know," Fred said, gesturing vaguely between her and Artoria. "The… management skills, Keeping the plates spinning."
"I'm sitting right here," Artoria reminded him, her voice dripping frost cold.
"As are we all," Fred replied sagely, spreading his arms wide. "Together just like a big, happy family."
Alister's jaw tightened as he stared as his now lukewarm coffee, which he had used Wingardium leviosa to bring over with him.
It was not just the coffee, everything about him had been lukewarm, wrong and too loud since the moment he entered Hogwarts for his second year.
This morning Alister had barely managed to calm down his anger toward System, and now he was at the end of his wits again.
"Can we," Alister said, in a very low voice. " Be quiet for a moment."
"Quiet? Why?" Fred asked innocently.
"I just want to have one morning," Alister said, still in low voice, still staring at the cup. "One morning that doesn't..."
"Alister," Cho said.
Although Cho spoke in a gentle and low voice this time, but it carried a weight that pushed him just a step too far.
And it may be the wrong thing to do or right depending on how limits are viewed.
Alister's hands came down on the table.
It was not exactly the reckless slam of anger, but both of his palms came down flat against the wood in a sharp cracking voice that rang through the immediate vicinity of the Great Hall.
Both Fred and George instinctively looked down to find two palm imprints on the magically reinforced table that required a giant's strength to break it.
The Great Hall, bustling with life a second ago, was now so quiet you could hear the flickering of the wall torches.
Alister slowly stood up, as he pushed himself up from the bench.
Alister didn't look at anyone in the Great Hall, he picked up and drained the last of his cold coffee. Without a word, he turned and began to walk away.
"Alister!" Cho called out, her voice now laced with genuine hurt and surprise. She reached out, her fingers grazing the sleeve of his robes. "Where are you...."
"Alister, wait! We aren't done here yet!" Artoria demanded, her voice still bubbling in pride.
"Only come to look for me when the two of you have actually thought this matter through," Alister replied without looking back. "Once you've finished talking to each other, maybe then we can have a proper conversation, instead of you two just coming at me."
Alister stepped out into the corridor, the heavy doors swinging shut behind him with a dull, echoing thud.
"Well," George whispered meekly, the usual mischief completely gone from his tone. "I think we might have overplayed that one."
"You'd better not go near him right now," Astra's voice cut in. She had managed slipped back to the Gryffindor side. "I have never seen my brother that angry before."
Before she could say more, Hermione grabbed her by the shoulder and began leading her back to Ravenclaw table.
"Astra doesn't look like she's lying. We should leave him alone to cool down." Fred noted.
George looked at the deep handprints in the table, then at Cho and Artoria, who were now left in the wake of Alister's departure.
"So," George said after a long, awkward beat. "Do you want us to leave you two alone to… chat? Or…?"
Cho caught Artoria's gaze for a fleeting second before snapping her head away. "Me? Sitting with her? Impossible."
Artoria crossed her arms, looking toward the high windows. "It's not like I care to stay, anyway."
Fred and George shared a long, synchronized sigh. The "management skills" they had joked about earlier didn't seem so funny anymore.
END OF CHAPTER
Got any interest in dwelling more in the story?
If yes, then just check out my author profile and join me on Patreon to read the 10+ chapter in advance.
Link: patreon.com/xxSUPxx
special thanks to all the coven disciples and,
Elite member: Dutchviking