Unmasked boy, Masked feelings PV Finished

It was one day after the Oktoberfest baking event. While it should have been an event of fun, it was pure torture for Bloom from the moment she stepped foot into the tent. Her partner, out of all the students at Hogwarts, was none other than her ex-boyfriend, Ben Eckenrode. True, she could have said no or be someone else's partner when they walked in, but she couldn't. She missed him and wanted to be near him. Perhaps that was what made it torturous. Her feelings for the masked boy was not finished. She still loved him. However, it seemed that the feeling wasn't mutual. She gave him hints that she was still interested and he backed away.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Bloom thought it was best to take a walk around the grounds. She always found clarity at the Great Lake. There was something about the calmness of the water with the occasional ripple from the creatures that live within. If no one was around, Bloom might even think about swimming in the shallow water for a bit, too.

Crunching through the dead fall leaves on the ground, Bloom walked over to the Great Lake. She noticed that her being alone was not an option as there was someone already there. Walking closer, the figure became clear: it was Serena Towers, a second-year Hufflepuff.

"Hey Serena!" Bloom said, excitedly. She really liked Serena. There was something about her that made Bloom smile. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it could be the fact that she was always so nice last year. Bloom hoped that since they did not spend a lot of time last year, that maybe this year could be different. Who knows.

When she walked up to the girl, she saw that her cheeks were wet. Is she okay? Bloom thought, her eyebrows look sympathetic. It seemed that she was having just as much of a bad day as she was. Bloom thought about whether she should mention her friend's state, but rather kept it to herself.

"Studying?" she asked, looking at her book. Bloom couldn't make out what book it was, but she could tell with the amount of text, it had to have been Hogwarts: A History. There was so much to learn in that class. Realistically, a bit too much to learn. Bloom always wondered that if they were back in time, what would history really be like. Would they even have a history class? It would probably be easy..., she thought, thinking how there wouldn't even be much history to cover.

Serena continued to rub her face a little, using her gloves as a towel. She opened her eyes and looked out into the water, watching how it rippled. It was peaceful, if nothing else. The whole area around her was rather peaceful. It was just her mind that was not at ease. Externally, everything looked fine - as it always did. Almost content. At least, it was peaceful until a voice broke the silence that she had been sitting in. Snapping out of her thoughts, Serena looked over to see a young Ravenclaw girl that she had met last year.

A smile immediately crossed her face as she recognised the face. "Hey, what's up?" The greeting naturally rolled off her tongue in a casual tone. Bloom was one of the first people that Serena met when she came to this school, making her one of her first friends. In fact, the Ravenclaw was also friends with some of Serena's friends, like Reid and Ben- Ah. Yes. Ben. Ben Eckenrode, recently discovered to be the infamous masked figure, was also Bloom's boyfriend. Well, at least, that was the last update she had received from either of them. 

She paused for a moment, knowing full well that Bloom must have known by now. Everyone in the school knew. The rumours had spread like wildfire. Serena had found out a little before the rumours came. Ben told her himself. She hoped that he did had extended the same courtesy to his girlfriend - or perhaps ex-girlfriend - as he did his former best friend.

Serena waved it off and smiled. Bloom referenced the book that she had been reading, making no mention of Ben or even knowing. The Hufflepuff was not going to break the news to her, if she had somehow missed the rumours. "Yeah, just catching up." She replied, though she honestly could not even tell you what textbook she was reading because she had not read a single word since sitting down, "Fallen a little behind, sooo yeaahh... How about you?" She asked, exaggerating her 'so yeah' a little.

"It's been a little while... How are you doing?" She hesitated for a moment before asking her the question that she knew needed to be asked. Finding out one of her closest friends was actually hurting people and it was not even out of his choice tore her a part a little. She was left confused. A part of her angry at him, another part sad for him. She was angry at the actions and the situation but not the person, though it was his fault that other bad things happened as a result. It was all so confusing for her. And if she felt this way, she could not imagine how his girlfriend at the time would have felt.

It was obvious that the Hufflepuff had been crying. Although her cheeks were dry from Serena wiping them off, her eyes were still a bit red. Bloom, being respectful of Serena's feelings, did not want to push her on the matter and hoped that as they talked, she would tell her about it. Especially since Bloom felt the need to tell her feelings about Ben since it was a mutual friendship that they both had.

"I know how it is catching up," she said, "I haven't done any the homework yet. Sometimes I wonder how I could have been in Ravenclaw!" she joked, though deep down, she always had wondered. Bloom liked to learn, but when it came to bulk readings or homework, she would run from them in a heartbeat. Bloom took a seat next to Serena, a smile on her face.

"If you ever want to study together, send me an owl though. If we're both behind, then maybe we can help each other get ahead... Or just have fun being behind together!" she added with a soft laugh.

The question had come up. How am I doing... Bloom wanted the question to be asked so she could let everything out, but now, she was afraid to. She knew of the rumors of Ben that went flying throughout Hogwarts. She knew of the groups that wanted to harass and beat up Ben. She knew of the rumors of the school tearing into two for those who wanted to kill him and those who wanted to save them. She just had no clue as to what Serena had thought about it all. She also had no clue on how to start expressing herself about this whole scenario.

Bloom cleared her throat and folded her hands on her lap. She squeezed her fingers tight. Where was she going to start? "Well, first things first, I'm single! Um, I think that's what people say when they aren't with someone anymore...," she said, not understanding the dating and non-dating lingo. "I broke up with Ben because of the thing that's happening to him...," she started, not wanting to mention anymore than she had to. If Serena knew, then she would know exactly what she was talking about.

"But I... Um... I... Regret it," she said, expressing the fact that she wanted to be back with Ben. She wondered what Serena would think of her saying something like that. For those who despise Ben because of his masked ways would first think Bloom was wise and later a fool. Would Serena think the same way?

Serena looked at the Ravenclaw, with a frown on her face. She was trying incredibly hard to actually be pleasant and cheery, from the looks of it. The former Ravenclaw Prefect made an attempt at talking about things that neither of them were here to talk about. Lets be fair, they had more pressing issues on their mind than their education at this point in time. It was stupid, really. A bunch of twelve year olds should be more concerned about making friends and studying than anything else. Yet in Hogwarts, this was all different. These kids were worried about being and staying alive. Actually not getting killed or injured, or controlled by some masks and evil people. They were concerned abut things that they should not be concerned about.

Serena nodded, putting a smile on her face as she listened to Bloom. She knew that Bloom as either trying very hard to be happy and cheery - or she did not know, which the Hufflepuff would have been baffled about, to be quite honest. The female nodded, "Yeah, definitely." She agreed with a firm nod and a smile on her face. They could definitely study together, it would help having a friend with her to encourage her to actually focus on the education. She was so behind in so many subjects. She was pretty sure that Thurston and Nagal would have her head soon, if she did not start submitting some homework. Had she even one anything for Astronomy or Potions recently? Probably not. She was most definitely behind. It was not going to go down well with the professors. They were both rather stern looking ones as well, she did not really want to have to deal with their antics, their drama, their detentions or worse.

Serena sighed as the conversation took a turn for the worse. Or perhaps the better, who knew at this time. At least they were talking about the thing that they were here to talk about, even though neither of them seemed very keen and confident to bring it up. She frowned at her friend, waiting for her to finish talking. It appeared that their relationship was over... In light of what happened with the mask. Did Bloom know what was happening when it was happening? Serena had no idea but she listened silently. The girl regretted it. "... You... want to uh stay with him?" She asked, wondering what the right terminology was for this. She wasn't sure - 'boyfriending' did not seem like a word. "Why did you um break up if you don't want to?" She asked, trying to understand the situation. 


The Hufflepuff paused for a few moments before asking the dreaded question that played in her heart and mind over and over, "... Did you urm know? About the mask and stuff...?" Serena asked Bloom, wondering if she knew what Ben had been going through this whole time and chosen to keep it quiet. She was not sure how she felt about this or if she wanted to know but the question was in her mind, it had to be asked.

It was so easy to just blame the mask of why she broke up with him when there was more to it. Whether or not he was taken over by the mask, there could have been some sort of note... Right? Something that would let her know that everything that was happening was not her fault. Bloom was filled with so much confusion about the whole situation. When she was asked why did she let go of him even though she did not want to, she did not really have an answer right away. The only answer she could come up with was that she was scared.

Still not coming up with an answer, she was glad that the Hufflepuff had more questions to ask. Bloom shook her head firmly and looked at Serena with honesty. "I had no idea what was happening to him. He disappeared last year and the only time I saw him was a couple days ago in the library. I screamed at him because I was so angry that he would just do something like that. He then told me," she said, curling her fingers into a fist, remembering her strain of emotions from that night.

"Instead of being there for him when he told me, I left," Bloom took a deep breath in. Saying that out loud just made her realize how much of a terrible person she was. Ben had just told her what was happening and instead of being there for her, she left in a panic. She was unable to handle or deal with the situation. "I'm only twelve, almost thirteen, Serena. I should be focusing on my studies or getting detention for being careless and free..., Bloom's words trailed off. Shrugging her shoulders she took a deep breath and let it all out. "But I still love him," she added.

Bloom looked up at her friend, "Did you know about him and the mask?" she asked, wondering how much Serena did know.

Serena listened quietly. She was not actually sure what she ought to say in this situation... Did anyone really know? This was not exactly your usual incident of 'oh hey, someone called me a meaniepoop and it made me sad', which she was much more equipped to deal with. Mostly because she thought a lot of people were meaniepoops these days. "So you guys didn't like... hang out or see each other for a while?" She asked, confused a little. Was that how this boyfriend-girlfriend thing worked? She was not sure but it sounded kind of weird. The Hufflepuff wanted to spend all of her time with her friends... Wouldn't it be the same if you supposedly 'loved' someone? Then again... maybe not. She was told that she loved her parents and family but she was quite happy to not spend time with them.

The Hufflepuff silently pondered what love really was. Perhaps it was the absence of each other's presence. "Do you know... why he didn't tell you?" Serena asked, trying to make sense of this whole thing. Of all of the people, he did not even tell or try to keep in touch with Bloom... It confused her.

She sighed softly as the Ravenclaw explained what a regular twelve - thirteen year old should be doing. "I mean... You say this but detention isn't what we should be worrying about... There's worse things that happen as a result of being careless..." Serena replied gloomily, knowing far too well how it almost cost her her life. She almost did not make it to being twelve simply because she was too careless.

Bloom said she loved Ben. Serena frowned a little, wondering if she could even muster up forgiveness in order to even be his friend. He hurt her. A lot more than she realised. She hated Siege for his actions but it was made worse by the fact that her so called bestfriend forced her into this situation. "No." Serena replied, shaking her head, "Well.. he told me recently...I-" She had no idea how to say it... No, the truth was, she did not want to say it. Saying it almost meant acknowledging that it happened. But this was Bloom... she could share it with her... "He uh... So uh... When I was in hospital, someone was uh visiting me I guess... And uh... Ben sorta uh... forced him to uh kiss me..." Serena mumbled, almost whispering the last part. She never really admitted it to anyone until now. It was confusing and it made her head hurt and she hated every single thing about it.

She was not sure she could forgive him for this...

"So you guys didn't like... hang out or see each other for a while?"

It was odd. Having such a question asked made the situation much more silly than it should have been. Throughout the rest of the year, there was no push to find Ben. It was as if dating never happened and they fell out of touch. Was that normal? Most likely not. Then again, the two had started a relationship at a young age, both not understanding what a relationship really was. Perhaps they were just best friends who liked each other. Or perhaps they were confidants that felt right with each other. Maybe dating was never the right word between the two.

Piercing her lips together, Bloom stayed silent. There was no way to justify herself about how her and Ben were. Just as much as he disappeared, she did too. Not once did she go searching for him. She kept to herself and just lived the rest of the school year normally, as though Ben never existed. Was that even normal?

Relaxing her lips, she finally had an answer for Serena. There was a reason as to why he disappeared. A reason that she believed to be legitimate. "He didn't want to hurt me," she answered. "He mentioned that he hurt a lot of other people... students to be exact... and he did not want me to be one of them," she added. Again, he disappeared. He was out there... Somewhere. Staying away from her and perhaps hurting others. In a way, Bloom allowed this. Was she just as bad as the masked student?

Serena seemed to be searching for words on how to explain how much she knew about Ben. She was about to begin, but instead, changed the topic entirely about her experience. Bloom wondered whether or not to let it go. Was it her place to force Serena back to topic? Maybe not. But just like there was a lot on Bloom's mind, maybe there was a lot on Serena's mind, too.

"He uh... So uh... When I was in hospital, someone was uh visiting me I guess... And uh... Ben sorta uh... forced him to uh kiss me..."

A shiver was sent down her spine and her jaw dropped listening to Serena's experience that came from Ben. HER Ben. The Ben that was so delicate and gentleman-like. With this mask, he was a whole new person. One that would force another to do something to another. "Serena... I'm sorry...," she whispered, replaying the entire story in her mind. If she was ever in Serena's position, she would have been dramatized, too. To be disrespected like that and be kissed by someone out of your own free will was horrific.

By just looking at her Hufflepuff friend, she could tell that she was a little tense. Granted, it could just be Bloom making it up because again, if she were in Serena's place, she would have been just as tense to share such a story with someone. To tell a story was almost like reliving it. "We can talk about something else if you'd like...," she said, her voice slightly cracking. But what else could they talk about? They were so out of the loop with each other. They were past the moments of "catching up" with one another.

Serena's fist clenched around a handful of grass that lay beneath it as Bloom spoke. Her former best friend did hurt people, a lot of people. And sadly, she was one of them. It annoyed Serena, to be quite honest. Ben apparently wanted to protect Bloom, which is why he stayed away from her. But he clearly had no trouble hurting Serena. But more than that... He still ended up hurting Bloom by just pushing her away. Everything would have been simpler if he just explained himself. But perhaps she was being unfair. It sounded like he did not have a choice... Serena's head started to hurt as she thought about it.

From what she understood, he had little choice and was forced to behave in this way. But... he still had control, surely? Otherwise he would not have been able to stay away from certain people or change his actions. He told her that he chose not to use an attack spell on her and Siege so he had some choice... It confused her. Her emotions confused her even more than the situation did. A part of her was angry but another part felt guilty. Perhaps she should have known he was suffering and tried to help them. Serena had been so preoccupied by her own situation that she never realised.

Bloom apologised. Serena shook her head, "It's not your fault." She replied, dismissing it. There was no need for the girl to apologise for the actions of her former boyfriend or the situation. None of it was her fault. "No, I'm sorry," Serena sparked up suddenly, "But I don't think I could forgive him right now..." She explained honestly. The Hufflepuff could not explain why or how she felt but a part of her was not sure she could let him go so easily. It hurt. Everything about it hurt her. "I lost two of my closest friends cos of this stupid thing... Hell, so much happened because of this." The Hufflepuff was aware of the rumours that had been spread around the school. Her whole reputation was shattered in front of her eyes for something she had absolutely no control over.

It would have hurt if anyone did it to her. But it hurt more that it was the two people she trusted the most. Two of her closest friends. For the Hufflepuff, loyalty existed above all else and they both proved themselves to not be loyal. And that hurt. More than anything, that hurt.

Serena roughly rubbed the back of her head across her brows. Her head was hurting. Her heart was hurting. Everything seemed to be hurting. At this point, she had lost track of what was physical pain and what was emotional. All she knew was that it hurt and she did not like it. "I won't forgive him." She suddenly declared, as though she had just made that decision. There was no way to backtrack now. It was too late. The guilt would eat away at her but she was not able to see past it at this point.

She sighed softly as she looked at Bloom, "I'm sorry... I have a headache. I'm just going to rest..." She explained, in a calmer and nicer voice than before. She did not mean to take out her frustrations in front of the ravenclaw but her head really hurt. There was no point in thinking about this anymore. There was nothing they could do right...? "I don't think there's anything we can do... Is there?" She asked her quietly, wondering what the heck they could do. The Hufflepuff spoke mostly to herself, muttering it out aloud. A part of her seemed to be clinging onto the idea of hope as she packed away her textbook and items. She ought to stay and make sure Bloom was okay but... she really did not know what else they could talk about right now. Serena was not even sure if she was capable of talking or thinking about anything else right now. Admittedly the incident happened for the first time to someone made her hands shake. It was like she finally admitted the truth that she had been denying for so long.

Serena stood up once she had gathered her belongings, "Sorry, I should just go rest... Cya later..." She repeated before she left, making her way back to the castle. Her footsteps were determined, she knew where she was going. Straight to the Hufflepuff Common Room so she could crawl back into bed and just sleep, because all of this thinking was exhausting.

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