(Corridors) Without trust there can be no love!

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

With only a few weeks till Christmas the cold weather was slowly moving in but yet on this fine Saturday morning the winter sun was shinning down upon Hogwarts and with his jacket swung over his shoulder Dan made his way towards the main entrance of the castle. The smells of breakfast floated towards him on the light breeze and it made his mouth water at the mere thought of a bacon sandwich. But as he strolled through the grand doors he looked around for any sign of Dia, when at last his eyes fell upon her beautiful features.

A wide grin filled his face as he thought about the night before. Dan could not remember much apart from laughing, kissing and ending up in a room above The Three Broomsticks. Although when he woke up this morning Dia was no where to be seen but Dan merely guessed that was because she had some work to see too and so did not think twice on the matter.

However he was forced to think twice when Girty walked over towards him with a frown on her face. The satisfied smile that had graced Dan’s face soon faded. He did not like it when Girty looked at him like this; it normally meant that he had done something wrong.

“You idiot!”
“Good morning to you too Girty, can I help you with anything?”
“Yeah, try telling me where you were lat night.”
“I was in with Dia…why did I double book you guys again?”
“Well unless Dia has a twin then one of us was seeing something. As I was sitting with Dia in The Three Broomsticks. We were waiting for you, you never turned up.”

Dan gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck as his eyes darted towards Dia who was still busy talking to a student at the top of the stairs. Swallowing hard Dan took a step closer to Girty and lowered his voice so the other passing students could not hear.

“Please tell me you are lying Girt, I was with Dia.”
His sister shook her head, a small smile filling her face in amusement that her brother had done just what she had fared. He had spent the night with another women, and this was slowly dawning on him.
“I was meant to met Dia…I arrived early so went for a quick drink in the Hogshead and got involved in a drinking game. I kissed…a man…and also a women dark hair. She was the one Girty.”

With the mere mention of another woman Girty walked away form Dan towards the Hufflepuff common room. All she could do was shake her head and mumbling to herself about how much a prat Dan truly was, and all the guilty man could do was stand staring at his sister longing for help.

“Girty! Girty is that all you are going to say? GIRTY!”

But she did not answer and Dan was left standing in the entrance hall getting some very strange looks, and the strangest of all coming from Dia Owen who was now standing only meters away form him.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

"And that should be enough," Dia concluded to the third year Ravenclaw girl who had been hounding her all morning. Dia had been up since dawn, worrying, thinking but had spent a better part of it talking with the talkative yet shy Ravenclaw. She had so many questions for so early in the morning but Dia didn't mind, she was kept busy and it was only when they had decided to go down for breakfast that she realised what she didn't want to think about.

Standing at the top of the stairs, Dia saw Dan stride in like a conquering hero. The Claw bid her good morning and scampered off to breakfast, where Dia knew she should be, but in stead she watched the exchange between the brother and sister as she descended the stairs. With each word she overheard, a tiny spike was stabbed into her breaking heart. Dia waited till Girty was gone from the Entrance Hall before taking a few steps forward. She didn't let herself cry, not in front of all these people and least of all in front of Dan.

In the chilled morning air, Dia was wearing her long caramel coat and had her hands deep in the pockets. She kept her eyes on Dan and saw the guilt and hurt in his eyes. Keeping her emotions in check, Dia stopped a few paces away from where Dan was standing. She could not think of anything to say. Her throat was dry, she was trying to keep her eyes from being wet and she could think of nothing to say. She stared at the floor just right of Dan's feet. Swallowing what she felt, Dia looked back to Dan and said with renewed confidence, "Good morning, Dan." She could think of nothing else to say.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Dan swallowed hard, the smells of breakfast from the great hall now did not smell appetising at all, he could feel his stomach turn over and twist into knots and no matter how much he wanted to gaze in Dia’s perfect eyes he could not, she would not even look at him.
Turning his head away Dan looked down towards the Hufflepuff common room, thinking how easy it would be to turn and run. To flee down the corridor and try and put of this dreaded moment happening, but the problem was he knew it could not be avoided and the truth would come out sooner then later.

After a few moments silence her voice rang out around them, and all Dan could do was give her a weak smile in response. He did not trust his tongue, believing that it would betray him faster then anything. The one problem was nothing could betray him more then the look of pure guilt that was filling his face. With ever glance he got of Dia’s once sparkling eyes he could see the threat of tears, he felt it in his own.
He knew he had to say something, anything that might end this silence and almost give himself some comfort that he had a voice to try to defend himself with.

“Morning Dia. Are you…how are today?”

Not only was he repeating just what Dia had said but he then stuttered and asked what must have been one of the most stupidest questions on the earth. Anyone, even a flobberworm would have the intelligence enough to realise that Dia was not well, and the reason was standing in front of her. Clenching his jaw together Dan had to reframe himself from saying anything else. He was clinging onto the hope that she was just angry that he had not turned up and he could charm his way out of it and brush his night with Quinn under the rug. She would not admit to it, so he did not have to fear anything being exposed….well that is what he hoped.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia had hoped for something a little more substantial then what Dan gave her. She could not blame him though. He clearly knew what he had done and that she knew some of it, or at least suspected. Dan wasn't stupid and she hope she didn't think she was either. There was supposedly more respect in this relationship then that. She hoped there was or had been before the previous night.

How was she? she asked herself, studying Dan's appearance. She would be more certain about how she felt when she heard the truth about what had happened the previous night. She had been worried that something would happen, that Dan would drift from her and even as they stood he was drifting away from her and he wasn't fighting the current, that was the worst for her. She swallowed again and coughed.

"I ..." she began but then couldn't put any more words in that to form a complete thought. She drew her hands from her pockets and crossed the across her chest. Studying the floor again, Dia said softly, "why didn't you come last night?" She wanted to get this over quickly, she didn't want to dance around this issue for longer then her nerves could handle and already she was beginning to wear thin. She had been worrying all the night, thinking where he could be, every idea worse then the next. "Why didn't you come to me?"

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

This was it; there was no turning back now. The question had been asked Dia was standing before him longing for the answer. Dan could not turn her down, not now, not when she looked like this. It was just finding the courage to say the terrible truth that Dan found hard to achieve.
Had he been a Gryffindor he would have had the courage to tell Dia to her face, a Ravenclaw would have thought of something smart to say while a Slytherin would not have got caught in the first place. But yet here stood Daniel Hubbles head of Hufflepuff house, who’s supposed qualities were being loyal and true. Two things he clearly lacked last night.

Reaching out Dan took hold of Dias left hand, squeezing it tightly almost to reassure himself that he would be ok, that they would work things out, they had to. As Dan stood he looked at her hand and slowly the words came to him, the only way that seemed right. The honest truth.

‘Dia can you remember the night in the kitchens, we were dancing on the tables and then me, being me said something so stereotypical, so stupid and we ended up having our first fight. It was then you said to me “Let me guess, your relationships last as long as you can hide who you are.”’
Dan paused and looked at Dia for a moment, soaking in her beauty knowing that when he finished what he had to say she would never look upon him again in the same way.
‘You were right that night.’ He continued ‘So very right and seven month down the line I fail you, I ruin everything and I can no longer hide.’

His throat tightened up, his mouth went bone dry as the pain in his heart doubled. It felt like someone was pulling it, trying to rip it out of his chest, but he had to continue. If Dia found out about this from anyone else the pain would be too much for both of them, the struggle would be ten times as hard.

‘I spent the night with another woman. I went to Hogsmeade early and went for a quick drink in the Hogshead. When I was there I got involved in a drinking game and I ended up kissing a few people, men included, and then I ended up in bed with…’

Dan stuttered, water was brimming in his eyes, he tried to close his eyes to stop the tears but as he slowly opened them he could feel a single tear roll down his left check. This was the hardest thing he had ever done, standing in front of the woman he loved, his world that he had destroyed. This was his own making it was his fault and for once in his life Dan Hubbles was going to take full responsibility.

“’…with Quinn Locksley”

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia blinked her tears away, not wanting to cry in front of this man she had thought she knew so well. She could not believe her ears and had to look away. Why? Why did he had to tell her this? It had taken them a while to admit their feelings for one another and now they were standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall talking about this ... thing as though it were trivial! Dia felt a little light headed and took a few steps back looking anywhere but at Dan.

She was silent for a moment, trying to place all the information she had just been given in her head. She couldn't find words to express how she felt, she could find the will to make eye contact with him. "Why?" she whispered to the ground. "Why ... are you telling me this?" Finding a grievance, she too found the strength to lock eyes with Dan. "I would have been perfectly happy without the knowledge. You didn't have to tell me. You really didn't have to go and blunder up two of my relationships. She's my best friend, Dan, my best friend. Why did you have to tell me?"

This was more then likely not the route of conversation she would have taken had she not figured out for herself that Dan had spent the night with someone else. Going into this relationship she had known his reputation but still she had thought that he had changed. Her mother was right, the more things change the more they stay the same and bite you. Dia had known this was coming from a long way off but she had not wanted to know the details. The devil is in the detail and Dan had thrown so many devils in her face in one go she was surprised she could still stand.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Dan ran his hand through his hair looking at Dia with what could only be counted as a look of surprise. She was angry at him for telling the truth. He knew he had stuffed things up, he knew that in the process of sleeping with Quinn he has endangered more relationships then just his with Dia, but then he had always thought that telling the truth would have been the correct thing to do. Dan would never have been able to hide such a thing from Dia, he had cheated, he had ruined their trust and yet her was the woman he professed to love telling him he should have lied.

Dan’s mouth hung slightly open as he looked on at Dia, all the feelings of guilt that had just been spreading through him were slowly fading away, all aspects of self pity of heat ache was slowly vanishing and being replaced with confusion and anger.

“What!” His voice went high pitched as he found the words to confront what Dia. “You want me to lie to you? That would have made things so much better don’t you think?” Sarcasm was creeping into his words and it was now Dan’s turn to take a step back. “I mean me sleeping with someone behind your back and then pretending it never happened really is not betraying your trust at all.”

Dan covered his face in his hands and breathed in deeply trying to compose himself. The tears had stopped, his throat was free and his breathing suddenly seemed at lot easier. Although his mind was still sipping as he could not work out what was actually happening in front of him, this was not the Dia he knew.
Lowering his hands, Dan looked at Dia once more, he noticed how Dia too seemed to have stopped the tears from following and by looking into her blue eyes Dan slowly and lot calmer then his last words he said the one thing that he had convinced himself to believe.

“I thought you would have wanted me to tell the truth?”

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia watched Dan closely and she could see in his face and hear it in his voice he was less grief stricken and more focused. He was now angry and this was the best way for him to be in this circumstance for her to keep her own head. It was easier for her to be angry at Dan when he was angry and she knew that now she had to be angry at him. He had betrayed her and still she felt sorry for his torment. She had to let go of that to come out of this in more or less one piece.

Her cheeks became hot when she listened to him. She could not believe that he thought that was what she wanted. "You really don't know me at all," Dia said snidely, her arms hanging loosely by her side. "Of course that's not what I want and don't turn this on me. You're the one who slept with one of my closest friends. Dan, how could you?" She wanted to shout and scream and she just couldn't find words to describe how she felt. She could feel her chest heaving harder and faster as she watched Dan.

"No!" she scowled, "no. I don't want to know. I ... I can't do this right now." She turned on her heal, blond hair flying with her, and walked away. Dia had lost her appetite so she stormed towards the marble staircase. She needed to be alone. She needed to forget about this morning, getting out of bed had seemed so promising but as she had stood at the top of the stairs and seen Dan, she had known her day was ruined.

She would have to find Darrow and tell him she couldn't do her job today. He would understand. He always understood.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Dan looked on at Dia, he could tell his words had angered her and he was almost satisfied to see some other kind of emotion flick across her face. He was stubborn and over the years Dan had had many of these confrontations and he wanted them all to be the same, so he knew the pattern and finally Dia was getting angry at him….but wait, that is not a good thing.
Confused for a moment Dan had missed what Dia was saying as before he could realise she was walking away. His mouth hung open and before she could even reach the top of the marble staircase Dan was running after her. He was going two steps at a time to get in front of her.

“Do not turn your back on me Dia!” he reached out and took hold of her arm, squeezing it tightly, he did not care if it hurt her. “You listen here. For once in my life I am taking responsibility, I am acting like an adult. Do you think this is a proud moment for me?”

He saw the look in Dia’s eyes and thought he best continue before she could come back with a short remark. Letting go of her arm Dan raised his arms into the air in furry, trying to let his anger subside. Running a hand through his hair Dan looked at Dia, deeply and full of all the love he had for this stupid woman.

“I love you and would never purposely do anything to hurt you, but clearly this shows with alcohol in the system I can not be trusted. I will give it up, I will stay locked up in my room marking all night long. I would do anything to prove to you…”

He broke off and lowered his head and pushed himself away from Dia. He could feel the eyes of everyone on him, a lot of students had clearly heard the shouting and had left their breakfast to stare at the two arguing professors. The rage began to build up inside of Dan his anger management collapsing with every second that ticked by. The last time he snapped he almost through a student down the stairs although this time he knew it would be nothing a major as that, he just needed to vent his anger. So turning to the groups of students, his eyes aflame Dan started to shout at them until he was blue in the face.

“What are you are staring at?! I am sure you all have busy lives, food to eat, people to see. Why not go and eat or bloody well do back to you bloody common rooms!” It was then he started to single out the people that were watching on shouting at them about lacking homework, late night trips to the kitchens which he had happened to overlook when he was in a calmer mood. Slowly the amount of students decreased and Dan was left to think about what he had done, what he had said and how he had ruined everything with Dia.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia was trying to run. This is what she did. When she feared she could not control her emotions or her hurt she ran. It was the easiest thing to do and it gave her time to think, to be alone and think. That was what she needed now, to be alone and think. So she ran. But Dan would not let her be alone. He followed her up the stairs and Dia ran up then, catching her skirt in her hands as she ran up them. She didn’t want to look on his face, she couldn’t take looking at him and seeing Quinn!

The top of the stairs. She had reached a place where she thought she could run faster but as she turned to run down the corridor Dan’s hand was on her arm. Dia’s muscles tightened as she whirled around and glared at Dan. Dia did not try to pull her arm from his grip as she was too concentrated on staring Dan down. He was the one who had betrayed everything that they had and he was taking the moral high ground with her?

“I’ll turn my back whichever way I may, Daniel,” she sneered and slowly took her arm back as his grip loosened. She had eyes only for him then but his concentration moved to the gathering at the foot of the stairs, watching the arguing teachers. Everyone knew by this stage that Dia and Dan were an item and soon everyone would know that the two had fought on the staircase in front of everyone. Dia still didn’t look, she didn’t look. Dan shouted at the students and saw her chance to get away from the students. She didn’t want them to be thinking on her and Dan before their day had even begun.

Once again, Dia turned and walked away from Dan. She knew he would follow her, be angry that she had walked away again, but as he was he could not understand that her mind was clear. The noise from the Great Hall died down and Dia suddenly stopped, turning at the same time and glared at Dan. “You dare to say you love me? You dare!” she whispered with a hurt scoff. “Do not presume that there will ever be any way that you could ‘prove yourself’. You can never take back what you have done, you can never erase the picture of Quinn …” Dia stopped herself from saying any more but she had to complete her thought.

She took a step towards Dan so that she was so close she could taste his breath. “The image of you and Quinn sharing the bed that was once our is forever emblazoned on my mind and that cannot be erased, no matter how hard you try.” She stood back and looked down the empty corridor. She was glad that no one else was where they were. When she spoke again, she spoke softly, “You speak of responsibility. I need to start taking some now.”

Dia turned to Dan and fixed her blue eyes on his dark ones. “I can’t do this any more,” she said slowly, “you and I are through.”

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

“I can’t do this any more,” she said slowly, “you and I are through.”

Dan looked at Dia and started to laugh, he did not believe what she had just said, he would not believe it. With a small toothy grin he looked at Dia expecting her to start to laugh, to tell him it was all a test, a joke but as her startling blue eyes fell upon him he knew this was no test, he had already failed.

Suddenly Dan felt the urge to be sick, his heart stopped and the smile had faded from his face and he had to use every ounce of pride he could muster to stop himself dropping to his knees and begging Dia to take him back, to say it was not so that they would still be together when the sun set that day.
But as he stood looking at her trying to keep what little self respect he had left in tacked his old defence mechanism kicked in and the love struck Dan began to ebb into the background and the traditional, original Dan Hubbles took over. This was the Dan who did not know the meaning of the work ‘love’, who would say anything to a lady, charm, smile, smirk even listen to their moaning if it meant he could get into their knickers.

His heart stopped aching and before he knew it is was beating once more.

“Fine then.” He spoke in a cool and calm voice, it did not waver and was not overpowered by emotions of anger or love. It was like the past six months had never happened, how he talked to Dia at their very first meting. Dan shrugged his shoulders and gave Dia a small, shy smile. “It was fun.”

Turning on his heel his old swagger finding its way back into his steps, however he felt the need to look upon Dia one last time. He needed to satisfy his weaker side, the part of him that was in love. He had to say something to her but what? He had the act going now, he could waver and try to make her believe that he did love her, that it had been one huge mistake so instead he shot her a playful wink.

“I will be seeing you around Professor.”

With a small laugh Dan turned his back on Dia and jogged down the marble steps back towards the Hufflepuff Common room. His eyes were glistening with tears, something that not even all his arrogance could hide, he need to be alone with his thoughts to try and push all of this out of his mind. However at the same time Dan Hubbles was looking on the Brightside. He was back on the market and it was time for a bit more fun, time for a rebound relationship.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dan began to laugh. He actually had the cheek to laugh at her. Dia stared at him, her face hard with more hurt then before (if that was at all possible). Her hurt turned to anger. How dare he laugh at her! Her chest was heaving and her cheeks were becoming flushed with colour. This was the most earnest and important conversation they had ever had and he was laughing? Was this even the Daniel Hubbles she knew and most of the time loved?

No. It was a subtle change in his face. The softening of his furrowed brow, the relaxing of his angular mouth gave away the change. Dia assumed that there was a switch in Dan’s head that flicked off whenever he wanted it to. He could switch off his emotions, his anger, his pain. At times Dia had wished that she too could switch off what she felt but she would never have chosen to. Emotions are what ground a person and switching them off was a path she would not have wished on any.

“It was fun.”

Dia was taken aback and shook her head, her eyelids flicked with confusion. Her creased brow sat heavy on her forehead as she stared at Dan, not hurt, not angry but confused. What was he going on about? He quickly turned, not giving Dia a chance to say anything. Dia couldn’t believe what had just happened and how it had happened. Before he reached the stairs, Dia called out, “who are you? You’re not the man I loved. Clearly this is for the best.” But before she had done he was down the stairs and out of view. Dia didn’t know what to do but stand and stare at the spot where he had disappeared from view. “Who was that?” she whispered to herself, running her hands up and down her arms to try and comfort herself.

She sat where she was, too numb to cry, to numb to moan or make any sound, the layers of her dress flurrying around her as her hair fell over her face. Her hands lay open on her lap and as the fingers moved, curling towards her palms then relaxing, she didn’t feel it. She was too numb. Her eyes never wetted, she breath never faltered. After what seemed like hours she pushed herself up and stumbled towards Darrow’s office. She wasn’t fit to work today, she knew that and would not allow her classes to go untaught. Darrow could find someone, he had to.