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After reflecting on just how much of a complete idiot I'd been to my friends—especially the two girls standing in front of me—I let out a small self-deprecating sigh.
"...I'm sorry."
The moment they heard that, the two girls immediately stopped their little argument.
They turned to look at me, blinking in confusion and slight disbelief.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Before they could say anything else, I continued.
"Look... I really should've come to see you... I should've tried to talk to you... but I didn't."
"And it wasn't because I didn't want to. I just... ended up being way too busy." I rubbed the back of my neck.
"First with my family. Then trying to sort a few things out... And before I realized it, several days had already gone by."
"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that I was in the wrong..."
Lifting my head, I looked first at Lily, then at Astoria.
My expression was completely serious, trying to convey every bit of sincerity I felt.
"And because of that..."
"...I'm sorry."
I apologized once again, making no attempt to hide the guilt I was feeling.
After I finished speaking, the two of them simply stared at me in complete silence for a few seconds.
Then...
Astoria was the first to smile.
"Okay." She nodded happily. "I accept your apology."
Lily still tried to keep a serious expression.
Tried being the key word.
Her seriousness lasted about three seconds before it completely fell apart.
"Fine... I forgive you too," she muttered with a tiny pout.
But then she immediately narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at me.
"But I expect something like this never to happen again. Got it?"
"Got it, ma'am," I nodded quickly.
Seeing that, she looked satisfied.
"Good."
With that, a smile finally returned to her face.
Amused, I gently shook my head.
"So... are we good now?" I asked.
"Almost," Lily replied.
"Almost?"
She nodded.
"You still have to make it up to us."
"Make it up to you? How, exactly?" I tilted my head.
At that question, the smile on her face grew even wider.
For some reason, that immediately made me suspicious.
"Simple." She put her hands on her hips. "You're spending the entire day with us."
"..."
I blinked.
"Seriously? That's it?"
"Yep," Lily replied.
Then she paused.
"I mean... you're not allowed to wander off, you have to do everything we tell you to, and while you're with us, you'll also have to satisfy every single one of our wishes until we're completely happy."
With every sentence that came out of her mouth, I could feel my lips twitching a little more.
"...Are you two absolutely sure this isn't a kidnapping?"
"Oops. We lied." Lily smiled innocently. "It actually is a kidnapping."
Astoria nodded firmly.
"You're our prisoner now."
"And you have to accept it, or... or I won't talk to you anymore!" she said, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks in fake annoyance.
Seeing that, I smiled softly.
"Alright, I surrender." I raised both hands. "For the rest of today, I officially belong to two little snakes."
Seeing that their plan had worked, Lily and Astoria exchanged proud looks.
The little blonde girl then walked over and grabbed my right arm.
A moment later, Lily grabbed my left.
"..."
I looked down.
"...Are you really going to escort me around like this?"
"We are," Lily replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"Just to make sure you don't run away," Tori explained.
"I wasn't planning to."
"Maybe. But now you definitely won't be able to."
"..."
'Today is going to be a long day...' I sighed.
Even so, I couldn't stop the warm, amused smile that found its way onto my face.
________________
-A few minutes later-
"So..." I looked at the two Slytherins, who were still escorting me as if I were some extremely dangerous war criminal. "Since we're spending the whole day together, what exactly do you two have planned for us?"
"Well... we're still figuring that out," Lily admitted with an awkward little laugh.
"To be honest, our plan only went as far as cornering you," Tori added with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Wait... so you're telling me we're just going to wander around the castle until you decide what you want to do?"
"Hmm... maybe?"
...
...
"You two are definitely the worst kidnappers I've ever had," I sighed dramatically.
"Sorry. We'll plan it better next time," Tori said.
"Next time?"
In response, she simply stuck her tongue out at me adorably.
At their antics, I could only shake my head in amusement.
"Oh!" Lily suddenly stopped, snapping her fingers to get our attention. "I know what we can do!"
"Oh? And what's that?" I raised an eyebrow.
With a proud smile, she looked at the two of us.
"We're going to the Great Hall... to have a big breakfast!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The silence that followed her answer was rather awkward.
With a blank expression, I turned toward Astoria, who was wearing the exact same expression.
Then the two of us slowly looked back at Lily.
"Let me get this straight..." I began slowly. "Your brilliant idea is... to do exactly what we already do every single day?"
Hearing that, Lily hesitated for a moment, realizing that it really wasn't much different from our usual routine.
"Err... yes?" she answered anyway, fidgeting awkwardly.
"Seriously, Lily?" little Greengrass sighed in disappointment.
Standing beside her, I lightly shook my head.
Seeing our reactions, Lily hurriedly waved both hands.
"Wait! There's a reason I suggested it!"
"Hm?"
Seeing our questioning looks, she quickly began explaining.
"Look, Astoria and I waited outside Ravenclaw Tower for so long that we never even got a chance to eat breakfast."
"Besides, I also know you haven't eaten anything yet, so I figured that before we do anything actually fun, we should grab something to eat."
"And breakfast isn't over yet..."
She didn't bother finishing the sentence.
She didn't have to.
"Hm... when you put it that way, it actually makes sense." I rubbed my chin.
And I couldn't deny it.
I was getting a little hungry.
"Really?" she looked at me excitedly. "So does that mean you agree?"
"Yeah." I smiled faintly. "Besides, I was already planning to head there before you two showed up anyway."
Seeing that I'd agreed with her idea, Lily smiled again.
She then turned toward her friend and partner in crime with an expectant look.
"Well..." Tori began.
But before she could finish her sentence, her stomach decided to answer for her.
*Grrr...*
...
...
...
"I-I think we can take a break to eat," she mumbled, lowering her head in embarrassment.
"Perfect!" Lily cheered. "Then let's get going before breakfast is over!"
With that, she grabbed my arm again, ready to start walking.
However, just as she took a step forward, she suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back toward me.
"Oh, and Ethan," she said, "you're sitting with us at the Slytherin table today, okay?"
"Works for me." I shrugged.
"I just want to stop by the Ravenclaw table first. I want to talk to Terry and the others about—"
"No!" Lily suddenly interrupted, rapidly shaking her head.
"No?" I blinked in confusion. "No what?"
"You're not talking to them... Actually, you're not allowed to talk to anyone except the two of us today," she declared in a tone that left no room for argument.
"..."
"Okay..." I said slowly, looking at her a little more cautiously. "But what if they're the ones who come over to talk to me?"
"They won't... at least not your Housemates," Lily said confidently.
"And how can you be so sure about that?" I asked.
"Because while we were waiting for you outside Ravenclaw Tower, we ran into your Housemates when they were coming out."
"And since we didn't have anything better to do, we ended up chatting with them for a bit, and by the end of it, we'd made a little deal with them."
"Yep." Tori nodded. "At least for today, they're going to let us have you all to ourselves without anyone bothering us."
"And everyone agreed?"
"Most of them did. The ones we couldn't convince...we bribed." she answered proudly.
Hearing that, my lips twitched.
'The perks of being the young heiress of a wealthy family.'
"Well," Lily continued, pulling me out of my thoughts, "there were a few Ravenclaws we couldn't convince with either words or bribes."
"Like that boy in our year... Corner, I think."
"Michael Corner?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, him." She nodded. "Unfortunately, he refused to make any kind of deal with us. Honestly, he wouldn't even stop long enough to talk."
"Well, that doesn't surprise me." I smiled wryly. "Michael isn't the kind of person who likes listening to other people. He'd much rather be the one doing all the talking."
"In short, he's got a stick up his ass," I said with a teasing grin.
"Yeah... he really did seem to have... a stick up his ass," Tori said, her lips twitching with amusement.
I was absolutely certain that if Daphne ever heard her little sister saying something that rude, she'd lose her mind.
Or, more likely, she'd try to hex me, blaming my "bad influence" on poor, innocent Astoria.
'Come to think of it... she might actually have a point.'
"Anyway," Lily interrupted our joking around, "you don't have to worry about him. We managed to make sure he won't bother us today."
"Oh? And how exactly did you do that?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"..."
"..."
The two Slytherins, who had been so talkative just moments ago, suddenly fell completely silent.
...
...
...
"No, seriously... how did you do it?" I repeated, eyeing them suspiciously.
Feeling my gaze on them, the two little girls simply looked away, refusing to answer.
That reaction alone told me something had gone very, very wrong.
Before I knew it, I started imagining several different scenarios... and not a single one ended well for Michael.
Thinking about the possible fate of my grumpy, arrogant friend, unbelievable as it was, I actually felt a tiny bit sorry for him.
Just a tiny bit.
'I finally understand why these two girls, who look so sweet and innocent, ended up in Slytherin...' I thought, breaking into a nervous sweat.
End.
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