I spent the remaining Hogsmeade trip with the S4 and Amirah Flowers. I thought it would have been an awkward rest of the day with Amirah and Wyatt refusing to acknowledge each other's presence, but after our little Shrieking Shack adventure, the two seemed to have completely forgotten that anything weird had ever happened between them two before.
The fifth-year students showed me a bunch of places around Hogsmeade, such as Honeydukes (the sweets shop), Zonko's Joke Shop, and Dervish and Banges (the wizarding equipment shop). Before I knew it, we were already headed back to Hogwarts, our pockets heavy with sweets and trinkets.
When it was time for the annual Halloween Feast, I sauntered into the Entrance Hall with the S4, where we ran into Amirah Flowers. Isaiah suggested that Amirah joined us at the Slytherin table, but I told him and the rest of the S4 about the last time she ate there.
"And we don't want Amirah to have to deal with assholes like Dickfoy calling her slurs during this unholy event," I finished.
"We'll defend her. We're what? Four, four and a half against, well...all of Slytherin House? We can do it," Wyatt said assuringly.
"Four and a half—?" I repeated, baffled. Wyatt shrugged, half-rolling his eyes.
"So you think young people aren't grown enough to count as full people?" Elijah interjected, pointing at my befuddled face.
"I think he meant the half as in you, Hadleigh," I counted, challenging him with my eyes. He noticed my dramatic gaze and chuckled.
"So, are we bringing Amirah to the Slytherin table, or not?" Isaiah asked.
"No," I said just as James and Elijah shrugged, and Wyatt said, "Why not?"
"I just told you why not, Nye." I rolled my eyes at him as I shook my head. He jokingly sneered.
"I am not entirely comfortable with eating there again if I am being completely honest," Amirah spoke for the first time despite this decision being made regarding her. "But it's okay, though. I can meet you guys later."
"We'll eat with her at the Ravenclaw table then. What's the worst they can do? Talk a lot? We've already got a blabber-mouth in our group. We're used to it," Wyatt chimed in casually. I laughed, having no clue who he was talking about.
"That was also directed at you, Blackwood," Elijah piped in. I hit his arm, and he winced. "James, control your girl. She's gone feral for no reason."
James simply raised an eyebrow at Elijah.
"I speak just the right amount, thank you very much," I asserted, trying to ignore what he said about me being James' "girl."
"Ravenclaw table it is, then," Isaiah said, gesturing for us to follow him into the Great Hall. We followed him inside, Amirah helping him choose a seat for us.
"Thanks for sitting with me here," Amirah said gleefully.
"Of course. I'm not putting a muggle-born amid a herd of prejudiced pricks," I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Me neither," Wyatt agreed as if he didn't try to convince us to bring her to the Slytherin table just a minute ago.
When we arrived at the Ravenclaw table, none of Amirah's housemates seemed bothered by our presence. I was thrilled to be stuffing my face with food at the feast. Surprisingly, I had enough space to eat as much as I wanted, despite having spent the day eating sweets from HoneyDukes.
I paid no mind to the Slytherin table, not wanting to bother myself with whether or not my friends or Malfoy cared where and with whom I ate. However, I did catch the Weasley twins' gaze coming from the Gryffindor table. They seemed slightly intrigued, but that was all.
"So what's your deal with those Gryffindor twins anyway?" Elijah said suddenly. I perked my head at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, you're awfully well acquainted with them — as well as with the rest of the Gryffindors, it seems," he elaborated. I raised my eyebrows at him for a second.
"I'm only really well acquainted with a few Gryffindors. And sure, Fred and George are a part of them, but I'm mainly just friends with Hermione — Granger, that is."
"Hermione Granger?" Amirah repeated. I nodded. "I know her. We've met at the library a few times before. She's quite nice. I like her."
"Isn't she the lass who's friends with Harry Potter and the Weasley boy?" Elijah questioned once more.
"Yeah?" I said, wondering why it would matter.
"So, you're perhaps well acquainted with them too?" he continued.
"Barely," I said. "Why should any of that matter anyway?"
Elijah shrugged and repositioned himself in his seat. "Just curious, is all."
"James," Isaiah said suddenly as if realizing something.
"Hmm?"
"I forgot to tell you," Isaiah shuffled through his robe pockets. He pulled out a bottle that looked like an Essence of Dittany bottle. "This fell from your bag earlier."
James snatched the bottle and quickly pocketed it.
"What's that for?" Wyatt asked. He was eyeing James' pocket with great interest.
"Facial beauty serum," I lied just as James said, "Nothing."
I quickly slapped my hand onto my mouth.
"Pretty sure the bottle said—" Isaiah didn't finish his sentence as he noticed James and I's panicked faces. "Uh, facial rejuvenation serum."
"What's James trying to age slowly for?" Elijah asked, jabbing his pork with his fork.
James pursed his lips with displeasure, but then, seemingly deciding that he was okay with this development, he said, "You can never be too young to start."
I avoided his gaze when it landed on me.
The feast went on as splendidly as I had hoped. Our palettes were soon blessed with savoury deserts, and then, before we knew it, the feast was over. It was a Hell of a pleasant evening.
As we shuffled out of the Great Hall, our bellies now larger and satisfied, we heard Malfoy shout through the crowd, "The dementors send their love, Potter!"
"Sometimes I wonder if Malfoy has a crush on Potter," Amirah said suddenly. I laughed.
"You know what? That would explain a lot... Poor Malfoy has a massive crush on his worst nemesis. Adorable," I added. I couldn't help but laugh at the idea, and yet a part of me was unsurprised by the notion of Malfoy being cruel to someone he was attracted to.
"I bet he draws little hearts around Potter's name in his notebook," Amirah added, and I nearly guffawed.
"Dear Potter," I began, imitating an enamoured Malfoy. The others held a look of pure amusement on their faces. "I yearn for your attention every day that I am not with you. And yet, as forbidden as it is, I yearn for your touch — your caress—"
"Okay, stop--" Isaiah cringed uncomfortably, holding his stomach from laughing so hard.
We all laughed and continued making fun of Malfoy for seemingly having a crush on Potter.
When we reached the Slytherin dorms, Amirah realized that she was still with us.
"Oh, blimey, what am I still doing here?" she said, about to make her way over to the exit.
"No, stay," Wyatt said, gesturing for her to return. I eyed Wyatt suspiciously — he'd been exceptionally friendly with her since the Hogsmeade trip.
"Yeah, stay with us," I added.
Amirah cautiously shuffled closer to us.
"Are you all sure?" she asked, hesitantly looking around the common room where Slytherins were walking in and through. "It's getting late, and my dormmates will notice if I am gone."
"Aren't they used to you wandering off to the library at night?" I asked.
"I only sneak out once they're all fully asleep," Amirah said.
"Well—"
"HALLOWEEN AFTER-FEAST PARTY IS BEGINNING NOW!"
Isaiah was cut short by an enthusiastic sixth-year student who was being cheered on by his group of equally enthusiastic friends. They started playing music from an enchanted muggle radio — who knew how they got it to work on Hogwarts grounds. I always thought muggle devices went haywire here.
"Party?" I repeated, unaware that such an event was happening.
Suddenly, more and more Slytherin students filed into the common room from the dorms. Some students emerged from the hallways, realized what was happening, and joined. A few students, previously relaxing on the couches, got up and left for their dorms, apparently uninterested in partying.
I hadn't attended any House Party before. I heard they sometimes got cut short by a sleep-disrupted Snape or that first, second, and sometimes third-year students often got safely escorted back to their dorms by concerned prefects.
"Well, that's another reason for me to tap out," Amirah sighed, looking around warily. Some seventh-year student had already opened some Firewhisky near the fireplace.
"Not a party person?" Elijah asked through this newfound cacophony.
"No," she said, shaking her head whilst Isaiah shouted, "She's really not." They had to speak loudly over the ear-splitting music, the chaotic cheering, and the students' general rowdiness, which all grew louder by the second.
The common room was instantaneously rambunctious, to say the least, and Amirah was visibly uncomfortable, so Isaiah and Wyatt walked her out of the common room (they insisted).
Elijah groaned about how the party would disturb his sleep before grudgingly marching off to the dorms. I stood amidst the frenzy with James at my side. He peered around, unbothered. I wasn't fond of the noise, but I was curious to find out what would happen if I stayed.
By the large Black Lake windows, Malfoy was drinking butterbeer with Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Zabini, and Greengrass. My brother, Aiden, was with his friends Adri Pucey and Miles Bletchley on the couches near the entrance, laughing and chatting together. Many students were dancing together in front of the fireplace now. Wyatt and Isaiah had yet to return from escorting Amirah out of the common room — perhaps I had misheard, and they were escorting her to her dorms directly instead?
James said something, but I could barely hear him through the clamour.
"What?" I nearly yelled.
"Are you much of a party person?" he asked emphatically.
"I don't know," I admitted, looking around uneasily. "Maybe with much fewer people, I would be."
"Yeah," he said, nodding in agreement.
"Maeve!" Daphne Greengrass appeared in front of us, seemingly out of nowhere. I blinked. "Come dance with me!"
She grabbed my hands and was about to pull me to the dance floor, but thankfully, the music halted suddenly. A very sullen and irritated Severus Snape drew everyone's silence.
"House parties are strictly forbidden," he said emphatically and acrimoniously. "Your great wits have granted you all a new curfew until the end of the school year."
A few people groaned. Snape swiftly marched towards the center of the common room. Everyone remained now utterly silent.
"From now on, you are to be in your dormitories by 8 P.M.," he said. Some people gasped audibly. But Snape eyed them all before they could whisper to each other. "I want no loitering in the common room past this time. Is this clear?"
Students muttered a dejected "Yes."
"Now," he resumed, "I have come here to announce that Sirius Black, the infamous murderer sought by The Ministry, has found his way into the castle."
Some people shrieked, and others whispered to each other. Once the disquietude had died down a little, Snape continued.
"Indeed," he said monotonously. "Dumbledore has decided it is in everyone's best interest that we gather all students in the Great Hall for the night to ensure everyone's safety. Prefects, gather every student of every year, and in an orderly fashion, lead them all to the Great Hall."
He spun around to face other students, his dark robes gliding along with his body movement.
"Move along now," he said. "Quickly and quietly."
James and the other prefects gathered every student into the common room before leading everyone into the hallway, separated by their year. Many students were agitated and wary as we were led to the Great Hall. The Gryffindors were already gathered there, and we arrived nearly at the same time as the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws — Isaiah and Wyatt appeared with Amirah among the Ravenclaws.
"What the bloody Hell happened?" Wyatt said as he, Isaiah, and Amirah reached Elijah, James, and me. Before we could answer, the school's headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, arrived. Everyone quieted down as he emerged into the Great Hall.
"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," he told us as the Head of House Professors left the Great Hall, closing all doors behind them. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall, and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to George and Fred's older brother, Percy Weasley.
Percy straightened his back slightly more, looking very proud to be of use tonight.
"Send word with one of the ghosts." Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the Great Hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing . . ."
With one casual wave of his wand, the long tables flew to the ends of the hall, where they laid themselves against the walls. With another wave, hundreds of squashy and purple sleeping bags apparated on the floor.
"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the entrance door behind him.
The Great Hall was instantly buzzing with excitement; the Gryffindors had quickly turned to students from other houses to tell them about what had happened.
"Sirius Black attacked the Fat Lady's portrait. He left large gashes on the portrait," I heard a Gryffindor tell a Ravenclaw. "Black tried to get into the Gryffindor common room, but she wouldn't let him."
"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy Weasley. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"
"Well, looks like I have guard duty," James told us. He looked slightly miffed about his prefect responsibilities for tonight.
"Not up for being prefect anymore?" I teased, nudging him with my elbow. He huffed a laugh.
"No, it's not that," he began. "It's just—"
"James," a fifth-year girl suddenly popped out of nowhere. I had seen her around before, but we had never spoken. Her hair was strawberry blonde and wavy, while her eyes were bright and golden. She wore her prefect badge proudly on her chest. "Let's guard the entrance over there together."
I was slightly off-put by her sudden appearance, and I wasn't sure why. Maybe I was tired; maybe she was just annoying, and my fifth sense was warning me about her. I had to resist the urge to grimace as James left with her.
"Come on," Isaiah said. "Let's get some sleeping bags."
Amirah, me, and the rest of the S4 settled by some sleeping bags next to a group of seventh-year Ravenclaws.
"How do you think he got into the castle?" Isaiah asked us as we began to slip into our sleeping bags. As we spoke, we lay on our fronts and propped ourselves on our elbows.
"Maybe he flew in here on a broom, wearing some sort of disguise," Wyatt offered, shrugging.
"Don't think so. The dementors would have seen him fly in, even if he were disguised," Elijah interjected. "It's hard to get into Hogwarts grounds. You can't apparate, there are enchantments stopping intruders from entering practically everywhere, and I do not doubt that Filch has all the entrances under surveillance."
"How'd you know all of that?" Isaiah asked, surprised. "I mean, I know all of that, but how do you know all of that?"
"You think you're the only person who reads here?" Elijah responded sarcastically. Isaiah gently laughed through his nose and shook his head.
"So, how else could he have gotten in?" Amirah asked, listening intently.
"My guess is inside help," Elijah said with certainty.
"But who? Who in Hogwarts would want to help a murderer?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Maybe a staff member. I mean, what do we know about Black? He worked for Voldemort—"
"Don't say his name!" Wyatt interrupted Elijah's train of thought.
"You are worried about saying you-know-who's name?" I said to him, surprised. "I wouldn't have thought you were superstitious, Wyatt. You've always seemed like the reckless type to me."
"Wyatt is all bark, no bite," Isaiah piped in. Wyatt frowned at that comment, but Elijah continued speaking before the troublemaker could protest.
"Anywho, as I was saying," Elijah began. "Black worked for Vol— sorry, You-Know-Who. And who destroyed You-Know-Who?" he prompted. We all stared at him as if asking him to connect the dots for us. "Don't you all realize? Black is after The Boy Who Lived. Why else would he insist on going to the Gryffindor common room? He's seeking revenge for his last master. Hell, maybe he needs Potter to bring Him back. Dark magic and whatnot."
"You think Sirius Black seeks to use Harry Potter to have You-Know-Who return?" Isaiah asked, his brow furrowed.
"I mean, it's possible. Wasn't Black You-Know-Who's most devoted follower?" I added.
"Yeah, I heard that too," Wyatt said.
"I know nothing about all this," Amirah said, looking a bit lost.
"It's okay, we don't really either," I admitted.
"Well, I have my theories," Elijah said as if he did, in fact, know everything about this.
"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"
All the candles went out at the same time. The only lights that shone on us were that of the silvery ghosts drifting around the Great Hall, talking to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling that imitated the dark outside night sky scattered with stars. Students were faintly whispering, getting ready to sleep, but still being giddy about what was happening in the castle.
I lay in my sleeping bag next to Amirah. She was still awake, looking up at the simulated night sky.
"The stars are quite pretty looking at them like this," she said very quietly so that the prefects wouldn't hear us.
"They are, aren't they?" Wyatt said softly, gazing at Amirah.
"They're pretty, but you're prettier," Isaiah said, in what I imagine he hoped would be smooth but sounded unbelievably cringeworthy to me.
Not wanting to meddle in some Amirah-Isaiah private conversation, I turned to my right, where I could see James and the other prefect girl from afar. James had his arms crossed as he guarded the teachers' lounge entrance with her while she bore a thumping smile. She was continuously walking around James, a circle where he was at the center, as if trying to be funny, and he occasionally smiled blithely or grabbed at her arms to get her to stop.
My chest felt like it was pressing against me, like my lungs were crushing me or like I was drowning somehow. I did not like that this girl was acting so gaily around James. It just felt unfair. It wasn't like James wanted to be on guard duty. He was forced to because he was prefect. Really, it was unfair to him, and maybe if that irksome lass hadn't come and find him, he would have gotten away with it and managed to sleep here with us instead of staying awake with her—
Someone had placed their sleeping bag right in front of me, blocking James and the other prefect from my view. Slightly miffed, I tried to see who it was, but I could not see their face, only their bright hair—
"Malfoy?" I said lowly, unsure.
"Huh?" It was far from Malfoy. Actually, it was Ivy Law. She had the same coloured platinum blonde hair as him, which she had tied into a side ponytail, hence the confusion. "Oh, it's you."
"Oh, yeah," I whispered back. "Why aren't you with your Gryffindor friends?" I asked her. She lowered her body into her sleeping bag until I could see who was behind her. It was the Romeo boy from the last time I saw her.
"Hey," he waved sheepishly, not wanting to be caught talking by the prefects.
"Romeo, right?" I asked, not too loudly.
"Yeah, Romeo Linares," he confirmed.
I wondered if he remembered me from when I accidentally eavesdropped on his conversation with the mysterious Lakeman.
"I can't believe they did not even give us time to change into pyjamas," Ivy whispered, irked as she fumbled with her clothes under her sleeping bag.
"Right?" I said. "I'm just glad I wore pants today because sleeping in a skirt sounds horrendous."
"Well, lucky me..." Ivy groaned lowly, pulling out her skirt from the sleeping bag and setting it aside. "What? It's not like anyone will look at me inside my sleeping bag."
"I guess not," I tried to hold back a giggle, not wishing to make too much noise.
"Well, good night to you, Maeve," she said, exhaling happily. "I'm tired."
"Night," I said at the same time as Romeo.
I turned around to see what the others were doing. They all appeared to have fallen asleep, or at least to be trying to. I opted to do the same.