Last year.

Everyone felt nostalgic from time to time, right? There would be a new addition the Quidditch Championships for Hufflepuff once this year ended, but he felt the utter need to come and see the one they'd won five years ago. Back when Miranda was with them. Back when Treyen had to play Jake's position and ended up winning somehow.

Five years ago. When he met Ellie.

Though, technically, it was over five years, but it was his second year at school anyway.

The Head Boy couldn't help but think of the first time he stepped inside the Trophy Room. Which happened to be five years ago, as well, because it was Hadley's first year at Hogwarts, Aaron was gone, and they were studying their family names. He remembered this because of 'Rose', and because he'd also seen the name 'Amelia Rose' back then. A name he was seeing now as he went through the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captains of many years ago.

He stopped at 'Kaika Lockhart', 'Miranda BelCanto' and 'Melanie Lockhart', at least for a longer time than the others.

BUT...THERE IT WAS! THE NAME HE KNEW! THE NAME HE'S HEARD AND THOUGHT WAS FAMILIAR!

Dominic Denton.

He chuckled. No wonder Vindictus got them confused.

Kurumi made her way through the castle feeling like she needed to just step back and reflect on things. So, for that reason only she found herself in the trophy room...which was a very good place to reflect now that she thought about it.

The Gryffindor stopped in front of all the plaques showing the former prefects of her house, and she ran her fingers over the glass. Cam...who had made her feel comfortable at Hogwarts and encouraged her love of cookies by charming the lion ones the then first year Kurumi had made at her first opening feast. Then there was Bryant, who had been the first of what came to be many big brother figures. She whimpered a bit when she saw Patroclus' name. She sure hoped that he was doing well...she missed him...

And then, for the first time, she saw her name and she gasped. She had forgotten that her name would be appearing here and it brought a faint smile to her lips.

She just stood there now, looking at all the plaques and just...thinking. She set her bag down, which was now sporting a new keychain she had received for her birthday from a certain Slytherin, and was tempted to just sit down on the floor right there to read each name over carefully.

His eyes were way too focused on the name, that he failed to notice someone else walked in. Mind you, they didn't even seem to notice he was in here, and the quietness was welcomed, because he was in no actual need to establish a conversation with anyone. No, thank you.

Those were his thoughts until his eyes met the girl inside the Trophy Room.

"Looks nice, doesn't it?" all those Prefects' names around. Especially Jack-Jack. Who was Captain instead of Prefect, but still had his name in this room. The Lola Jones plaque only made him miss her even more. Shockingly.

OH.

Hi, Kurumi, how are you?

He forgot to say those words. Or any greeting at all. But those words would've been nice, especially since there were oh-so-many things he wanted to ask her, he should've started with the...easiest one? It was a very complicated question though, to ask her how she was.

After two seconds of thinking it through, Treyen spoke up, eyes on the Gryffindor Prefect. "How have you been?" He didn't want to mention the little bits of information he gathered the last days, he'd much rather know how she was, after all, that was what had worried him at first. Right when Lewis confessed to him half of the whole problem. Kurumi held the other half. Perhaps. And it's not that he was curious, he was merely wondering if everything was fine with her. "It's been...a while since we last talked." And since his girlfriend was incredibly mean to her, too.

Kurumi nodded when she heard someone speak...that is...until it registered WHO it was that had spoken and then her head snapped around to confirm what she already knew. "Treyen!"

This was bad, wasn't it? She shouldn't be seen around him, not after what had happened in the Great Hall. Kurumi's eyes and head immediately searched the area for the presence of a certain Ravenclaw, nervously taking a few steps backwards from Treyen as she did so. Ellie couldn't say anything if they were far apart...and their conversation was sort of shouted across the corridor to one another, right? It made logical sense. Yep.

So...a few more steps back it was.

When Kurumi heard his next question, she became just a little shy. How had she been? "I'm...16 now," she mumbled. So that was something, although not exactly the answer to his question. The next bit would certainly be more of an indication. "And Jonathan finally wrote me...just for my birthday." Her cheeks were very obviously flushing now. "His father hasn't allowed him owl anyone, but he manage to sneak one out." Just for me. Her eyes glanced down at her bag. More specifically, on the key chain. Receiving that letter and gift from him in the Charms annex had been the happiest day of this term, since the break that is. The other, the one spent with Lewis in the Owlery, seemed like it had never happened...and not by choice.

Kurumi didn't want to loose that time, yet it had been...but not because of any conscious decision she had made. Not even a subconscious one.

Looking up at Treyen now, she couldn't help but feel like...he had something else that he was really wanting to ask her. If it was about Ellie and if they had talked or anything, Kurumi preferred that he left that question unasked.

Hey, wait a minute, what?

Why was she looking around like she suddenly needed to hide? Like she was running away from Aurors somehow? Then his mind made the connection. "No, don't do that. She won't...she won't bother you anymore, Kurumi." Because Treyen highly doubted that his girlfriend would ever treat the Gryffindor Prefect like she had that day. It'll all be over if she behaved that exact same way, and she wouldn't place herself in that position again, right? Because she'd said she wanted to be with him.

But Kurumi's reaction brought something else to mind, "I'm still very sorry about that day, by the way," mainly because it turned out to be quite a disastrous day. Except, maybe, the ending, but...yeah, that was besides the point.

Back to...huh? She was sixteen now? What does that have to do with anything? He'd asked how she'd been, not how old she was. Plus, she failed to answer his question.

And, frankly, he could care less about the fact that Jonathan sent an owl her way. Nice gesture, Jonathan, but that's not what Treyen asked Kurumi about. So, yeah, the Head Boy was confused and frowning a little bit before he spoke again. "Nice." Yeah, that was it. Just nice.

On other notes...Kurumi was sixteen? How come he'd always thought that Kurumi was waaaay younger than him, eh?

"You seem to be doing fine." He made it sound like that was super strange. "And I thought...," mmhmmm, yes, Lockhart? What had you thought?

Her body tensed for a moment when Treyen responded to her obvious flight instincts, and her shoulders loosened just enough to have her hair fall over her shoulders. It was both comforting and frightening that Treyen knew what had the Gryffindor spooked as if she had seen a ghost, but she nodded her head nonetheless. "I-I-I can't help it," she stammered. It was the truth. She really was afraid to get close to him. She didn't want to be lashed at again, and she didn't want to see Treyen getting himself hurt.

Kurumi shook her head. "You...don't have anything to apologize for." And technically Ellie didn't either, but Kurumi hadn't full accepted that yet. The Gryffindor still didn't move any closer, however.

Okay...so her two answers had clearly not been exactly what the Head Boy was looking for. But, typically, when one asked how the other was and the answer was just something along the lines of fine, the follow up question was usually 'What have you been up to?' or 'Is there anything new?' Kurumi had just been skipping a few steps. Was that not allowed?

Cocking her head to the side now, it was her term to be confused. "Yes?" she question. She was fine, all things considering. "Why...why wouldn't I be?" She was getting much better about the situation with her mother, sort of accepting it as it were.

Treyen nodded, repeatedly. Sure, she couldn't help it, there was no way he could argue with that, but also...she was probably right about him not having to apologize. Yet he still felt the need to do so. He never asked Ellie if she apologized or not, but what truly mattered was that Kurumi's eyes were back to their beautiful violet shade. Not black. That had seriously scared him.

Kurumi was fine! And all this time he'd been worried about how she probably felt awful about what happened or something. Not that he didn't think she was strong enough to go through everything she's been, because, actually, she was stronger than him. But he knew from experience that this whole incident with Lewis was...complicated. And complicated usually equaled a distress Kurumi.

Treyen was wrong. Apparently.

He went on, though, "I'm not making any excuses for her, but I'm sure she thought she'd lost me again...and...that is partially my fault for kissing someone else while I dated her...so, really, she's not the one to blame, I am. That's why I apologize." What he said was so appropriate for what he'd intended to talk to her about.

It opened some sort of window into the topic.

His eyes were on Slytherin's Quidditch Trophy from last year. And a smirk was on his face, "You know, I'm going to miss playing Chaser. I had a great time with Lewis this year, we made a good team." He was telling the truth, he'll miss him, but he took the opportunity to mention him, of course.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her.

Good, because there really was no excuse for what she did. At least Treyen knew that, so that conversation could end now and they could move on, right? Kurumi really didn't hate the Ravenclaw or anything, she just had very little respect for her. The girl still needed to do something to earn that from the Gryffindor but if she never did, well, Kurumi would move on.

Still, she was nervous being around Treyen. She always seemed to hurt him...whenever they talked about things and she didn't like that.

She couldn't imagine being in Ellie's position, having the person that you liked kiss someone else. For some reason, this thought resonated very strongly and she had a flash of something, more like a feeling, and in the moment her right hand moved from her robe's pocket to her lips for a few moments before the moment passed and she had no idea why she had brought her hand to her lips in the first place.

Her confusion was shaken when Treyen spoke again, about Quidditch. Ug...could they not talk about the sport, please? But then he mentioned about him missing playing as a Chaser and it brought the reality that he was graduating down on her. She frowned and shuffled her feet awkwardly as she made her way over to where he was standing - just to look at the trophy, you know. "He'll miss you too, Lewis," she nodded, a faint smile and blush appearing on her face. "He respects you a lot." She took a deep breath, ignoring the Quidditch conversation. "I'll miss you more though..." Which may or may not be true, she didn't know what Lewis felt on the matter.

Okay, that was rather unexpected. Her reaction. Wasn't he clear enough when spoke? Because, yes, he'd chosen his words carefully in the hopes he'd get a different reaction for her. However, he found himself with a very quiet Kurumi, who by the way had a hand on her lips now.

Perhaps she'd remembered something? Huh? Something he definitely needed her to remember.

Regardless of how honest he was being about the whole Quidditch thing, he'd meant for her to bring up Lewis in another way. Kurumi wasn't going to say anything, was she? And this couldn't be a case of another polyjuice potion. So, Lewis did kiss Kurumi. For real. The Hufflepuff wouldn't make up something like that. Not when Treyen had seen is face and knew he was saying nothing but the truth.

He stopped eyeing her. What she was mentioning actually started to make him rather sad. Not to mention he was blushing when she said he respects him. That's...really nice, Lewis. He had't been expecting that. Treyen hadn't been expecting many things today, Kurumi included. Then, he crossed his arms and looked down. He didn't want to get into that talk yet. The one involving him, leaving. "I'm going to miss you, Kurumi. A lot." More than Lewis, of course. "Guess we'll be seeing each other over summers now." And an occasional holiday, if she didn't have to spend it with Jonathan...or...

...Hey, hold on a minute. He was getting sidetracked. And it was her fault.

He turned to face her, and his frown dissipated only to show a look of concern, "That's not what I want to talk about, actually," it wasn't his original intention, no, "Lewis kissed you." He said, bringing up the topic once and for all.

Kurumi's index finger continued to trace over her bottom lip as her mind searched for something to connect to the feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach. Kurumi sort of just stared at the ground, searching her memory for something that she felt was there, but finding nothing but dark patches and nothing. If it really was nothing...then why were her lips throbbing?

The Gryffindor glanced up at Treyen for a brief moment before looking back at all the plaques. He knew something...but he wasn't saying anything and the way he was studying her made her feel sort of uncomfortable.

Noticing Treyen crossing his arms out of the corner of her eye, she turned to the side and stood very straight all of a sudden. She smiled faintly, but her eyes began to shimmer in the sunlight seeping through the window. She would have been composed, for the most part, had he not added the 'a lot' at the end of what he said, but because he had Kurumi felt the need to bit down on her bottom lip. "Yeah...summers," she nodded. She just wouldn't be around anywhere but home for this coming one...for obvious reasons that she really didn't want to discuss right now. It would only make her cry.

Kurumi opened her mouth to ask if he had been accepted to that acting school he had mentioned he wanted to attend, when the wind was literally knocked out of her with his next words. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A statement that caused the Gryffindor to swallow hard and her eyes to widen. "W-W-W-What do you mean?" Her question was genuine. What DID he mean? Why was her heart racing so fast? Why were her cheeks flushing? Why was her hair starting to change colors? And...most importantly...why didn't she...have any memory connected to the sudden changes her body felt?

Or not? For a moment there he forgot that her mother was in terrible conditions, so Kurumi would want to spend as much time with her as possible, no? If her mother allowed her, that is. The point was that he shouldn't count with "summers" in plural, perhaps just one single summer. It depended on many things.

Yet he still nodded. Summers. A selfish thought came to mind when he realized that he was lucky he didn't have to be away from Ellie for too long. Considering they'd stay together, of course.

And now...now he begun with the frowning again. He started to become more and more confused by the second. He'd decided to ignore the glistening of her eyes moments ago, mainly because he really didn't want to face the unavoidable. Him leaving. But now he had to face something that was entirely avoidable. And it was his fault Kurumi was reacting all too weirdly to his statement. Actually, weird was not the word, she was reacting as if she had no idea what was Treyen talking about...but the blushing? Why was she still blushing? She'd done so the moment he mentioned Lewis.

Treyen was lost.

"You guys kissed, didn't you? Because he couldn't have possibly kissed someone else that looked like you." No polyjuice assignments were given out this year. There were no excuses, and no mistakes.

Kurumi needed to lean against something, and the closest thing was the glass cabinet behind her with all the Quidditch captain plaque and Quidditch trophies. She slammed against it a little harder than she had intended, but it was also a reflection of how she was feeling right now. Her hand was back on her lips again, for whatever reason, and her cheeks were most definitely a rosy color. That is, if Treyen hadn't notice the shade before, then he certainly would now. Her thumb and index finger tugged on her bottom lip nervously.

Why did it feel like Treyen was telling the truth...but she had no memory of it? There was no way she could forget something like that happening...and the thought of kissing Lewis had crossed her mind down at the lake when his lips had been so close to hers...

She looked up at Treyen now, confusion clearly written on her face."W-W-Why would I d-do that?" she asked, still in shock from the statement. Yet, the pounding in her chest told her otherwise and Kurumi's breathing became very uneven. She didn't remember the walls of this room being so close to one another. Kurumi's hand was still hovering over her lips but her throat was suddenly too dry to speak any more.

So, eyes back on the Head Boy it was. He always knew what to say. Right?

Okay, he was slowly freaking out.

Lewis wouldn't lie about it, an he knew he wasn't lying, there was no way the Hufflepuff Chaser could be that good an actor. And if he was, then Treyen was in trouble. Definitely. But that's not what mattered right now. Right now, it was all about Kurumi.

She was also telling the truth.

And was probably freaking out even more than he was. Treyen placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, Kurumi, try your best to relax...and...breathe slowly. One breath at a time, yes?" he said, trying to keep calm himself. But if Kurumi had no idea what Treyen was talking about...then he needed to talk to Lewis. Everyone knew who Kurumi was, he couldn't have made such a mistake.

"It's probably a misunderstanding." Not that he believed it was, but his main focus was on calming her down. At least a little bit. "What do you remember of my favorite Hufflepuff Chaser?" The last thing they did...or the way she felt around him would also help.

Kurumi barely registered Treyen's hand on her shoulder and took several moments of her eyes coming in and out of focus before she realized that it was there. Her eyes drifted towards his hand for a moment, almost as if to make sure that that touch was real, before looking back at the Head Boy.

Her breathing was still uneven, with deep breaths from time to time followed by short gasps, but she eventually found some even footing and was able to breathe at least somewhat normally.

And her cheeks? Yeah, they were still the color of ripe peaches and her hair was also showing hints of the shade as well.

But now all eyes were back on Treyen when he was asking about Lewis. She sort of wished the he would say his name and not 'favorite Chaser.' It just reminded her of Quidditch and how worried she had been when Lewis had gotten hurt so that he couldn't play in the finals. She hadn't stayed in the stands for the entire match because of that, instead choosing to go and visit him to make sure he was okay. "The last thing?" she asked, tugging on her black hair. "I remember him tutoring me for Potions after lunch..." Which she didn't really need, her confidence had just been shattered from her meeting with Professor Lafay. Both hands were on either side of her head now as she tried to recall more. Why was it so hard? She had just seen him not more than 24 hours ago, no? And they had been... "T-The Owlery..." she whispered. She could only really remember the place, and seeing him there...everything else was sort of patchy. "I met him in the Owlery yesterday evening." Or had it been the afternoon? Morning? Either way, she HAD met him there. That much she was sure of.

Eyes were on her from the moment he'd spoken to the moment she had. And all the changes her expression and her hair had were noticeable to the Head Boy, probably for the first time because he used to notice the change in her hair but not pay as much attention as he was doing right now. The reason was pretty obvious, the last time they saw each other...the change had been too fast and extreme.

And now...hold on.

Lewis was tutoring Kurumi on the same subject Jonathan was in charge of? Treyen's couldn't help but smile. First, that was cute. Second, he didn't know Lewis was any good in Potions. Good for Lewis on both ends.

The Owlery? "Yeah, the extent of what I know is that you two kissed. I don't know why or where, but that sounds like something YOU should know." True. Though, Lewis probably knew as well. "I also know that I have a very confused and distressed Hufflepuff thanks to you." And Treyen was being mighty serious about this. Not to mention his concern over his Gryffindor Prefect.

Kurumi's hands found a new resting place on her cheeks and her two index fingers subconsciously went to her ears to try and mute Treyen's talking just a little so she could refocus. Nothing was making any sense, besides her accelerated heart rate that is, and she could feel her eyes filling with tears. About a million and one emotions read across the Gryffindor's face, and none of them were especially happy ones.

The next words that came from Treyen cut her to the core. Was he...raising his voice at her?

Her hands dropped to her side and her head snapped up to meet his gaze. Merlin...he was mad. Why was he mad? Treyen had never been mad at her before. Not like this at least. And he had a confused Hufflepuff? Well, now he had a confused Gryffindor as well and she felt her insides tying into knots.

Her and Lewis...had kissed? Kurumi's cheeks were on fire again, but her thoughts flew to Jonathan and thus the spiral of confusion ensued. All those things Treyen didn't know, yeah, Kurumi was right there with him too. She remembered going up to the Owlery, seeing Lewis writing a letter to someone, them talking for a bit...but everything after that was...missing. It was just missing.

Thanks to you...

THAT stung the most and Kurumi's hands were back on the side of her head, eyes shut tight, and her entire body sort of just melted to the floor until she was crouching there. This made no sense, yet a feeling inside her said that it made perfect sense.

Thanks to you...

The rest of what Treyen had just said to her finally sunk in, but the first words out of her mouth didn't really make any sense in relation to it all, but she felt as though she needed to defend herself. "I would never do something to hurt Lewis," she half sobbed, shaking her head back and forth while her hands were still on her cheeks. So could Treyen please stop accusing her of hurting Lewis? That was one of the last things she ever wanted to do. "I care too much about him to do that." So don't tell me that I am hurting him... She bit down hard on her bottom lip now, eyes still on Treyen. "If it is something I should know...then why don't I? Why would I forget something this important?"

Kurumi's mouth snapped shut and she suddenly felt very exposed, as if a deep dark secret had just been brought to light for all the world to see. And those tears that had been forming in her eyes? They were now streaming down her cheeks in frustration and confusion.

That wasn't nice, Kurumi. Pretending that she didn't hear what he just said wasn't going to solve anything, though there was nothing that needed to be solved at the moment.

According to what Kurumi said didn't happen.

YES, Kurumi! We're upset because Lewis is...a bit of a mess, when he shouldn't be. When he, sorry Jonathan, should be with her. Because Treyen had taken Lewis' side on a problem that, both, didn't involve him nor had sides to be taken. Also, guess what? Tears weren't going to help her this time, so, she better not cry.

Granted, Treyen's heart might still break if he saw her crying. At his expense. Again. Actually, he broke her again, because she was now on the floor, and his eyes widened a little bit before joining her, "I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean to." But this pretty much sucked for everyone. Especially the ones involved. And it was thanks to Kurumi.

Oh? "He's a very good friend of yours, then?" Because she cared about him a lot, apparently. "But you're already hurting him. He knows you have a boyfriend." Who was left out of the picture, apparently.

He sighed. "Sometimes the people we care the most are the ones we end up hurting the most too." Like Ellie. Treyen was certain no one has hurt her like he had, and she means everything to him. So, what he said was based on experience.

And then...he had no idea. "The only possible explanation...actually, two...are that you blocked that moment from your mind or...memory charms." But it seemed she'd realized something, "I'm more inclined to believe the first."

Treyen really needed to just stop. Each word he said was breaking her further and further down into pieces. She stayed there, crouched on the floor, very very still as she tried to get some sort of control over the situation...but she was grasping for something that was never their for her to begin with. There was no way that the Gryffindor would have any control over this situation. No way.

"Of course he is!" Kurumi exclaimed in a tone that implied that she was insulted Treyen would even question her on the concept of being Lewis' friend. Her mind swam some more as feelings of déjà vu crept into the corners of her mind and attempted to fill in the gaps. Her feelings were telling her that she had said this before, perhaps to Lewis himself, but nothing came. Nothing.

But wait. Now Kurumi was confused. Treyen was mad at her for being with Jonathan and Lewis knew this and still kissed her? Kurumi felt sick to her stomach and her hands moved from the side of her head to her abdomen as if she were in physical pain. She was such a hypocrite, assuming that this kiss had really happened - which the throbbing of her lips told her had.

As Kurumi continued to battle with herself internally, she almost missed the rest of what Treyen was saying to her and really only caught the last bit of it. The part where he accused her of willingly forgetting. What if she hadn't forgotten anything? Hmm? What about that Treyen? What if she was the one that was right here? Kurumi immediately regretting thinking such things. Lewis wouldn't make up such a story. She knew that he cared too much about her to do that.

Wait...why did she seem to be so confident in that?

She finally moved now, shaking her head at Treyen. At all this. At herself. After everything that the Gryffindor had been through in her life, there had never been a single memory that she had been able to block out - although there were many that she wished she could. So there was no way that something a part of her was longing for right now, feeling his lips against hers, was something that Kurumi would just give up. Somehow, she hoped that that message was delivered to Treyen through the look she gave him now.

For perhaps the first time in Kurumi's eyes, Treyen was wrong. He HAD to be.

Er, what?!

Treyen blinked as Kurumi pretty much yelled at him the obvious answer. So, that had been rather stupid of him to ask, but still. She may need a reminder later on. Better to have her listen to herself saying so. Lewis was her friend.

A very good one at that.

No. Kurumi. No. He noticed the look, and how she shook her head. But, Treyen was right, there was no way Lewis would make up something like that. So maybe the Head Boy could be wrong about the whole 'blocking out memories' thing, but that was all he was wrong about.

"I shouldn't be getting involved." That was forever right. He shouldn't. "But, perhaps you ought to figure this out before someone gets really hurt." Or more hurt, considering Lewis was already along those lines. Or perhaps not hurt, but certainly confused by this whole thing. "I should know." Because all three of them (Ellie, Treyen and Kurumi) had gone through something sliiightly similar.

And the one who caused it...was okay.

Still on the ground, Kurumi decided to just give in and sit down. As she did, she hugged her knees to her chest and sat there as Treyen's words washed over her. ...perhaps you ought to figure this out before someone gets really hurt... Those words made Kurumi whimper softly into her knees and she tried to sort a few thoughts out before speaking. How was she supposed to figure this out when half of the information was missing? If Treyen was telling her right NOW to make a decision, then the choice was clear to her and that person was not Lewis.

"Treyen..." she squeaked, looking over her knees. "I...feel things...something...I don't know how to put it exactly." Yes, this was confession time. At least, as much of a confession as the Gryffindor could make with a dodgy memory of the past. "When...when you kissed who you thought was me." Awkward...really really awkward talking about this. "You knew that it was wrong, right? That it didn't feel...right?"

This moment really was a testamate to how much Kurumi had grown over the years, talking openly about this with the boy who had been her first crush at Hogwarts. Even if it was really awkward still.

"What if...that feeling wasn't there?" She bit her lip again and looked at the Head Boy. "What if it felt...right?"

Because THAT was the most confusing bit about all this. The way her heart was racing whenever she thought about Lewis' lips against hers...

The minute she decided to take a seat, he looked away, to the trophies. Until she called his name. And...ugh, why did Kurumi had to let Lewis kiss her and make things a bit complicated than they ought to be?

Wait.

She feels things? What? About Lewis? That...was the confusing part Lewis talked about. It'll be a lot easier if she only liked one boy, or if Lewis didn't like Kurumi...or if Jonathan was around. He said nothing, because his own mind started to wander about. What if...what if some new boy came around and happened to be the one Ellie should be with...and he wouldn't be around next year. That thought...well, that thought made him dislike Lewis a little bit.

Oh. Kurumi was still talking.

Amber eyes were on her. The answer to that question was easy. "I did. I also realized it had been a terrible mistake." The worst he's ever made. And he's made a lot of mistakes. Perhaps the worst that came with the incident was knowing that he was the one who messed things up. The one who hurt the person he cared about the most back then. The same person he now loves. That was the worst part of it all.

Hence why Kurumi should take care of this as soon as possible.

Truth be told, Treyen was beginning to dislike 'What ifs' very much. "Then...I'd say you probably like Lewis too." If it felt right...

Ouch.

That still stung a little, the feeling of rejection. Not being good enough.

Not that Kurumi was still wishing that Treyen had picked her, that wasn't the case anymore. Just the way he had said it right now. Her being the mistake. It stung. Not to mention what had happened after that, what was still happening. Kurumi had the smallest selfish thought about next year being easier with Treyen leaving. She wouldn't have to feel like the Ravenclaw's eyes were constantly following her. Judging her.

Kurumi blinked away several more tears, looking at Treyen when he stated what was, well, sort of the obvious answer to her question. It was something that she had suspected herself, but she couldn't figure out WHY. Instead of saying anything, Kurumi just hugged her legs tighter to her chest and rested her cheek on it.

How could she figure this out now? Jonathan wasn't even back yet. She didn't have any recollection of what had happened. It was sort of...interesting...how Treyen instantly believed Lewis over her at first.

So...was that it? Did she like Lewis too? Her heart pounded inside her chest and she swallowed hard. She really couldn't deal with all this. Not right now. Not with what was waiting for her back home. There were just too many emotions swimming around inside her head right now and there was nothing for her to hold on to to keep her from drowning in them. Which is sort of what was happening right now...in the form of tears.

That's not what he meant.

Or actually, it was what he meant, but not the right way of saying it. Yes, him kissing Sierra as Kurumi was a terrible mistake, but the girl wasn't, the action was.

He still realized that what he'd said wasn't the nicest thing in the world, but...regardless of preferring his girlfriend above all girls, he'd still stood up against her, like that time in the Great Hall, if she ever hurt Kurumi in some way. Same goes to Arya, but Ellie had no issues with her. So, nothing to worry about there.

"I cannot help but wonder if I'm the one person that's always there to make you cry." A hint of sadness in his voice. He hated to see her cry, but at least he didn't panic anymore, that ought to be good.

His hand flew to her face as he tried to unsuccessfully wipe away a few tears, but it was impossible, tears kept on coming. "I'm sorry." For ever running into her that day at the train. Her life would've been a lot happier without him, that's for sure. A lot less tears.

Kurumi gasped when Treyen's hands found her face and held it as he attempted to stop the tears from flowing. Truth was, Kurumi really had no idea what specific thing she was crying about any more. There was just SO MUCH going on within the Gryffindor that it was a wonder she hadn't exploded already. It really was too much for one 16-year-old to handle.

Nervously, Kurumi chewed on her bottom lip, unable to look Treyen in the eye as he spoke. He was...wrong about that. At least the reason for the tears was all wrong. Kurumi didn't like showing people her emotions, that was part of the reason why she was always trying to hide her hair when it changed colors. Treyen was the first person that she felt comfortable showing that to. He was the catalyst that helped her open up about it, one baby step at a time.

Slowly, she shook her head back and forth, still not looking at him. "Y-Y-You're one of the only people I....t-t-trust my tears with." She finally lifted her eyes now to meet his gaze and she mustered up a smile. Yes, she did cry in front of Treyen a lot. But it was her choice. She could have decided a long time ago to avoid Treyen and severe their ties - which is what Treyen's 'I'm sorry' seemed to be implying would be for the best - but that wasn't what the Gryffindor wanted.

And she hoped it was the same for him...

"S-S-So...don't say s-s-sorry..."

For all he knew, the gasping sound could be from tears. So he kept on trying to make the impossible happen...

...only his hand wasn't so necessary when the tears began to slow down.

And then she started to shake her head. No? Oh, wait. He was...speechless, actually. But did she know how much it hurt him? And did she also know that if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be crying right now? She didn't, otherwise she'd said something about it. Yet he didn't bring it up either, why? Because she was going through a lot, and all those tears weren't exactly thanks to him. He knew that much.

He still kept quiet, watching her violet eyes. And her smile.

A smile that didn't fool him but was enough to make him smile as well. "That explains it." She felt most comfortable, he got that.
However, Treyen didn't comment on the 'sorry' part, because he was still sorry. And there was nothing she could say to make him stop believing so. Plus, he was sorry she had to go through all this. It wasn't fair. Her family issues, at least.

Then he decided to sit next to her and placed one of his hands on top of one of hers. "I'll always be here for you." Whatever she needed, whenever she needed it. Same goes to all his friends, okay Eliana Stone?

Basically, it all translated to: never mind how much it hurts to see her cry, he'll be there when she needed someone to trust her tears to.