A Night We Won't Forget

[Asaiah Murphy]

set after the valentine's dance

It was strange knowing that this was going to be his last ever dance at the school. In the last couple of days, the Slytherin had changed his mind about dropping out of school after their sixth year for at least three times because he didn't think that he could last even a day without his best friend there with him, but eventually decided that going was probably the best thing for him to do as he wasn't motivated enough anymore to do anything other than Quidditch which was quite frankly the only reason why he hadn't left the school after the first semester ended - well that and his girlfriend, and the fact that he didn't know how to apparate yet. He knew that he was supposed to tell Marisol about this sooner rather than later, especially after the wonderful night he had with her at the dance. Besides, he didn't know how to bring it up to the girl without her going mental on him - his sister had gone mental when he told her about his plans of not returning for his seventh year and Marisol was considerably more emotional than his sister was, so definitely wasn't looking forward to her response. For now, however, he wanted to enjoy this nice summer evening before potentially ruining it. Asaiah turned around, still holding onto the girl's soft hands and smiled happily as he looked at her. He remembered the first time the two of them went to the lake together which was funnily enough also after the two friends attended a dance together. ''Did you know that I am the luckiest guy at this school?'' the seventeen-year-old told his girlfriend, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol had always enjoyed the dances with her friends, especially the last yule ball since all three of them had gone together, but there was also something nice about just going with Asaiah. As the dance was winding down, the two of them didn't want the night to end yet so they headed out somewhere that wasn't their common rooms. She allowed Asaiah to lead her, smiling when she realized he was taking them to the lake. She looked at him when he turned around to face her, trying to gauge whether he was remembering the same thing she was. It was moments like this that reminded her he was no longer just her best friend but her boyfriend and it somehow made it more thrilling. Then Asaiah spoke up and she blushed lightly, which then made her even more embarrassed for doing so, since she should be used to it by now. "Shut up," she said playfully, not very good at taking the compliment. "I'm the lucky one," she said, smiling at him. She didn't know what she would have done if she hadn't met Asaiah all those years ago. If they hadn't met in the library would they have met somewhere else and become friends anyway? Marisol looked out at the lake in thought and said, "We came here after the yule ball together in our first year, remember?" But she knew Asaiah would. "That feels like so long ago, can you believe we're graduating next year?" she said with a small shake of her head.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled back at the girl and kissed her on the cheek. They were both the lucky ones. Tonight had been absolutely wonderful, and he was going to cherish it forever. He wouldn't ever be able to thank her enough for sticking with him through thin and thick, and he didn't know what he would do without her as she had always been at his side. If it hadn't been for Marisol, he would not have known how to deal with a lot of his stuff throughout the years. He nodded when she asked if he remembered the first time they went to the lake. A grin appeared on his face as he thought back on those simpler days. ''I still have the wrapping from that chocolate bar we shared that evening.'' the Slytherin commented. Such idiots they were back then, thinking that they could do anything they wanted. How the hell they managed to do half of the stuff on their adventure list was still a mystery to him since almost everything on that list had gotten them into trouble at some point. The fact that they had succeeded in breaking into the Ravenclaw common room and then completely trashing it, even though the trashing it wasn't what they had planned to do at all back when they added it to their list. Or discovering the Room of Requirement after five years of looking all over the castle for it. So many things had happened between then and now and he couldn't believe that the two of them had managed to stay this close after all of it. Asaiah closed his eyes for a brief moment when she mentioned them graduating next year and smiled weakly at his girlfriend. It was still too soon to tell Marisol about his plans for the next couple of years. Perhaps if the topic would be brought up again later in the evening he'd casually let it slip to her.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol smiled when he kissed her on the cheek and then laughed when he mentioned the chocolate they'd eaten that night. "No way! Why would you even keep that?" she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. That night felt like so long ago but now it was all coming back to her. "You know, that night I wasn't feeling too good because the full moon was coming up, so that chocolate actually made me feel better," she said softly. "You were helping me through full moons before you even knew it," she chuckled with a bright smile. "I guess it was no surprise you figured it out on your own," she considered. Given all they had gone through, crossing nearly everything on their list off and spending every moment of it together, he was bound to have caught on to her behavior, especially since he was the one with the most wizarding knowledge of them all. "Do you think there's anything on our list we still haven't crossed off yet? We've got like one year left," she said, trying to think back to what else they had written.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah shrugged his shoulders and chuckled whilst doing so. ''I just never emptied my pockets so I found it when I was going through my clothes during Christmas and then decided to keep it for some weird reason.'' He figured it had something to do with sentimental value because that night the two friends had become best friends. The Slytherin smiled weakly when she told him that even then, even though unintentional, he had been helping her through full moons. It had been difficult for him not to question his best friend about it immediately once he connected all the dots and came to the conclusion that the only plausible reason for her being sick so often was because she was a werewolf, because he was not a hundred percent sure that she was actually one. He could not just accuse her of that without actual proof as he did not want to lose her as a friend - little did he know that she would later tell him all about it herself before he would even get the chance to do so himself. ''You know, I'm never going to forget that first night in the forbidden forest,'' Asaiah commented. Marisol's reaction had scared him so much that it had resulted in him not talking to his friend for weeks until a couple of days before the yule ball. ''You really scared the living crap out of me.'' he chuckled. So much stuff had happened between then and now that it was hard to remember all of it. He turned his head back towards the girl. ''We still haven't been in the restricted section,'' the teen answered. ''But I think it's best if we did everything on our list this year, if I might be so honest. We are both going to be busy next year so we won't have time for any of our fun activities.'' Asaiah was determined to cross off at least one or two more things from their adventure list before the year ended, they had done most of their plans already except for the restricted section and both meeting Vex the Poltergeist at the same time.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol chuckled fondly when Asaiah explained how he'd ended up holding on to that wrapper after all this time. But when he brought up the night in the forbidden forest she shuddered. "Ugh well I don't wanna remember it," she said, still never having forgiven Professor Summers for scaring them in that way. Back then she hadn't even known what Animagi's were so it had freaked her out even more. "It had only been a few months since I had been bitten, can you blame me?" she said with a small pout. But she was glad even after that scene, Asaiah had remained her friend. Marisol took his hand in hers and laced their fingers and then said, "Oh yeah!" when he pointed out what they still hadn't crossed off their list. She didn't really understand why he'd want to try and fit everything in the remainder of the year, but she trusted his judgment when it came to school because he grew up in the wizarding world and had older siblings, so he would know how demanding their final year could be. "Ugh last time I thought maybe I could get Professor Pendleton to give us the password to the Restricted Section, but now that he's Deputy Headmaster, I don't think he'll be easy to convince anymore," Marisol said, pursing her lips in thought. "But at least stupid Cliffeton isn't here anymore," she added, the thought making her feel better even if Monty's new position thwarted their plans.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled when she took his hand and laced their fingers. After she had told him that she was a werewolf the Slytherin had been trying to avoid the happening in the forbidden forest due to the way she had reacted and how it still made him feel uncomfortable every time he thought about it. ''I felt so stupid and guilty for practically forcing you to come with me to the forest.'' He told her. All had gone well till Professor Summers scared them. ''Which was why I decided to just avoid ever talking to you again. As you can see, I failed miserably at that.'' Asaiah grinned at Marisol. He stared out over the lake whilst thinking of a way to get into the restricted section of the library when it dawned on him that for the first time ever they could use Marisol's condition for some good. He slowly turned his head around to look at her, still thinking about the idea before actually telling his girlfriend about it. ''You're a werewolf,'' Asaiah told her as if it was something completely new to him. ''We can use that as a reason to enter the restricted section.'' How the seventeen-year-old had never thought about this earlier remained a mystery to him. ''Just tell him that we're doing some research or something like that, it's not as if he has never caught us doing that before.'' He remembered his first ever encounter with Professor Pendleton, and how he told them about the Scitorari when he found the two of them reading old newspapers to find out more about the group of lunatics.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol laughed when Asaiah revealed to her that he had tried avoiding her after behavior in the Forbidden Forest had scared him off because that clearly hadn't worked. "Imagine how boring your life would be without me," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. She couldn't even imagine what her life would be life if she had never befriended Asaiah, he was one of the few people she could stand, let alone trust. Marisol followed Asaiah's eyeline and was content to look out at the lake. Then as he said she was a werewolf, Marisol turned to look at him with a quizzical look on her face. "Uh, yeah I am," she said with a chuckle before hearing why he'd brought it up. Marisol laughed at him and shook her head at how crazy it seemed. As much as she hated talking about her condition she knew this could actually work to their advantage. "You know, that might actually work," she said, remembering how Professor Pendleton had helped them during their search on the Scitorari. "I could ask him right after a full moon when I look too sickly to say no to," she added with a mischievous grin, trying to milk it for all she could.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Out of the blue, all the plotting they were doing to get into the restricted section started to make him feel guilty for leaving her behind after this year. Asaiah looked stared out over the lake once again, a little uncomfortable because he knew that right now would probably be the best time telling Marisol about his plans. He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, thinking of how he could best bring it to her and whether or not he should take a few steps back so that he was out of reach in case she would try to hit him. ''I'm such a f*cking idiot,'' the teen murmured, knowing that something bad was going to happen and that it was going to ruin the mood completely. He sighed and reluctantly turned back to Marisol. ''Before we continue discussing this plan, there's something I need to tell you,'' the Slytherin began, looking in his girlfriend's brown eyes. ''I... uh... I have decided that I won't be returning for our last year.'' He knew Marisol, so instead of waiting for the endless amount of questions that were going to be asked, he continued on. ''I think it's better for me to be out there rather than being stuck here for another year - and before you say anything - the plan I've come up with is practically flawless, planned out to the minute. I've saved enough money to take care of myself.''

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol's grin slipped into a concerned frown as she heard Asaiah call himself an idiot. His plan seemed pretty solid so she wasn't sure what he was referring to, but she was glad she didn't have to coax anything out of him as he began explaining something. She furrowed her brows in concern, trying to figure out what could be troubling him but what he said was definitely not what she was expecting. "What? Why?" she said at first, dumbfounded by his announcement. Though of course he knew she'd probably have a million questions so he began launching into an explanation. Marisol let go of his hand, slightly hurt by the news, and crossed her arms across her chest, trying not to overreact since he was probably expecting that, and instead tried to hear him out. "What is your great plan then, genius?" she asked, sarcastic and a little meaner than she probably should've. Now she understood his sudden rush to finish everything on their adventure list to this year. It should've made her angrier, but instead her demeanor fell into concern as she then asked, "Do you really think you'll be okay without graduating?" She wasn't sure how the wizarding world worked so Asaiah probably had it all figured out but she knew in the muggle world it was a lot harder to get a decent job without the equivalent of a high school diploma.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

He almost chuckled when she crossed her arms across her chest. It was such a typical Marisol move that he and their other best friend usually imitated her whenever she would do it, but with the current topic, figured that making fun of her wouldn't be the best thing to do right now. He knew that she would not like this news but he'd rather tell her now than tell her right before he would leave, as he did not feel like his best friend being angry at him still once he would return to New Zealand. Perhaps by telling Marisol about it now, she would accept his decision by the time the winter holidays would be nearly over. ''Remember that I once promised you I would go look for a cure? Well, I still intend to do that. There's no way there wouldn't be a cure for lycanthropy around, right? I mean, we can literally fix everything, so surely...'' Asaiah said, remembering that day in the dungeon when Marisol officially told him about her condition despite him already knowing about it for over a month. ''Also, how hard could it be to be a curse-breaker? I wouldn't be a real curse-breaker, though, but I probably won't even use any of the seventh year spells or potions,'' It was his way of telling his best friend that he did not care about not graduating from the school. ''And if that doesn't work out, I'll probably join a Quidditch team and play professionally.'' Of course the Slytherin was a little worried about his future but in his mind, he had everything planned out perfectly so nothing could go wrong.