Chapter 19: Saint-Germain
Dasha sighed as she sat reading, waiting for Theo to show signs of waking. Giving up on reading, she surveyed the sweets on the table beside the hospital bed with envy. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she snuck herself one of the Sherbet Lemons meant for Theo and began to unwrap it.
Theo woke up to find himself in the hospital wing. He opened his eyes just in time to see Dasha unwrap a sweet and put it in her mouth. "Where's everyone else?" he asked, trying to sit up and being pushed down. "Patrick still sleeping and Jai has gone with Madam Pomfrey. I've been waiting two hours for you two wake up; what took you so long?" she asked grinning. "You gave up reading?" he asked incredulously, seeing the book lying limp in her hands. Dasha nodded. "Can you believe it? I hope we haven't missed any exam preparation," she said, biting her fingernails with worry. Theo laughed. "Typical." Dasha rolled her eyes and was about to reply sarcastically when suddenly Professor McGonagall appeared. "Miss Bran, Mr Lincoln, how are you?" she asked kindly, transfiguring a chair for herself. "I'm fine and so is Theo," replied Dasha. He nodded. "Good. I wanted to thank you for preventing Professor Transfigurantes from stealing the Mirror of Erised, which he would've undoubtedly done after sacrificing you and Miss Gatward, Miss Bran," began McGonagall, addressing both of them. "As a thank you, I shall give you and your friends, a hundred points a piece. Give them my thanks, will you?" she requested, with a hint of a smile. Dasha and Theo traded looks of amazement, grinning wildly. As McGonagall got up to leave, Theo asked her a question. "Professor, what is the Chamber of the Eternal and who was he trying to sacrifice us to?" Professor McGonagall sighed. "The Chamber of the Eternal is a chamber between the world of dreams and reality. You and Mr Guinness could enter it through the Mirror of Erised because it was your most deepest desire, which the Mirror shows. In regards to your second questions, suffice it to say that it was to a vampire saint. That'll be all?" she asked and after no response, quickly left the hospital wing. Dasha shuddered. "And to think that I liked the Professor," she said, looking slightly disappointed. "Well now you know to not trust people-so much," said Theo, smiling. Dasha grinned. "Yeah, I suppose so." Theo yawned as he felt the second Sleeping Draught take action. "I'm tried…need to sleep now…" he explained, as his eyes closed and he instantaeneously, fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, Theo left the hospital wing and was immediately pressured by Dasha and his teachers, to revise for the exams five times before bed, which he did occasionally.
Then, the exams came, and the four friends were all sitting in a row, with Jai at the front, then Theo, Patrick and at the end, Dasha. The exams were on things he had already learnt so they weren't that scary, at least, not as scary as fighting a full-grown vampire.
"What did you get for question 5? I put down Mistletoe, but I suppose I should've putten down Mistletoe berries? What do you think?" fretted Dasha as the sat outside in the sun, reviewing their final exam papers. Jai laughed. "Calm down Dasha. I'm sure Mistletoe is fine,' she said patronizingly. Theo laughed too. "At least exams are over!" Dasha sighed sadly. "I know." Jai grinned. "You're sad?!" she asked incredulously. "Well, she was the best out of the whole for Defence Against the Dark Arts exam," admitted Theo as the watched the Giant Squid lazily waggle his tentacles. Patrick smiled happily and lay down in the grass, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
Soon, the worry of exams was over, and pressure to win the Quidditch Cup began. Dasha smirked as she surveyed the Hufflepuff team hovering in front of them. As soon as the game began, she shot to the hoops and turning around, immediately blocked a goal through the right hoop.
The game was quick and clean with Ravenclaw 180 and Hufflepuff 100. Dasha beamed as she left the roaring Pitch and walked to the changing room, feeling a massive improvement since the last time she played.
Dasha heard the roars from the Pitch grow louder and as she found her seats, Dasha saw Jai and Theo flying about the stadium. Settling down to watch the game in the Ravenclaw stands, cheering for both teams.
Jai, who played as Beater, didn't stop herself from hitting a Bludger in Theo's direction even if he was her friend.
Theo felt the hot air whip back his hair as he shot forward, trailing the Snitch as fast as he could, leaning forward and willing his broom to be faster. He was nearly touching the Snitch when suddenly, from nowhere, the Gryffindor Seeker flew in front of him and grabbed the Snitch. "Gryffindor Wins!" announced Patrick over the megaphone. Theo smiled, even though he was inwardly punishing himself for being so careless. "With a score of 150 to 130!" continued Patrick as Theo landed on the grass and waited to hear the rest. "Over the whole year, Gryffindor has gathered 280 points, Ravenclaw 290, Slytherin 180 and Hufflepuff 150!" Theo cheered as the Ravenclaw side of the Pitch exploded, and he could distinctly hear them chanting "Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw!" He watched as the Ravenclaw team zoomed onto the Pitch and circled around before landing all around him. He quickly mounted and hovered above them, high fiving Dasha on the way. Davies, with the entire team, walked forward to meet Madam Hooch who was walking towards them. She shook his hand and handed him a huge silver cup, with the words 'Hogwarts Quidditch Cup' written on it. "Congratulations Davies! You have a fine team!" she said, patting him on the back. Dasha beamed as she shook Madam Hooch's hand.
Overall, the last few days of Hogwarts were cheerful and fun filled. The four friends had almost forgotten the fear and fatigue they had felt inside the Room of Requirement.
Theo shuddered as he sat in the Great Hall, remembering Transfigurantes' angry, shocked face as he burned. Crossing his fingers, he hope that their next year at Hogwarts would be calm and quiet.
Focusing his attention on the staff table, he watched as McGonagall stood. "Over the past years, Hufflepuff has accumulated 150 points, Gryffindor-180, Slytherin-200, and the winner, with 220 points…Ravenclaw!" announced McGonagall. Immediately after she had finished speaking, sapphire blue banners embroidered with bronze and showing a flying raven, appeared, hanging from the ceiling.
He clapped, pleased that Slytherin had been second, with the one hundred points he had earned. "Also, before we begin to eat, I would like to mention to you how four students, from different houses, rid Hogwarts of a vampire and saved the Mirror of Erised. Particularly two of them, saved their friends from being sacrificed. Everyone clap please for Mr Lincoln, Miss Bran, Mr Guinness and Miss Gatward!" requested McGonagall, clapping loudly and beaming like no one had ever seen her beam before. Theo bowed his head as he felt people at the Slytherin table pat him on the back, and catching Dasha's eye, saw her blush a beautiful pale pink colour, her freckles appearing to be darker. He grinned and tucked into his meal as food appeared before him.
The next day, Theo, after he had woken to find his trunk already packed. He quickly packed and, with his falcon on his shoulder, he left the dormitory after sadly surveying it, knowing he wouldn't be able to see it until September. Outside in the hallway, Dasha and Jai were already waiting for him when he arrived. "Where's Patrick?" he asked as he joined them. Jai shrugged. Dasha sighed sadly. "I'm gonna miss this place," she said, absentmindedly watching her butterflies flit around them. "Well, at least we're returning here in September!" said Jai optimistically. Panting heavily, Patrick ran up to them, pulling his trunk behind him, his hair spikier than usual. "Where were you?" asked Jai as they walked outside to get a carriage. "Overslept," he answered simply, pulling himself into a carriage, followed by Jai, Dasha and Theo. Surprisingly, there was plenty of space in the carriage, even though it appeared on the outside, to be small and for two people and one trunk only. As usual, the carriage moved forward immediately, driving them towards the train station, all by itself.
As the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross, Dasha grinned. Promise that we'll write to each other," she said happily. The three of them nodded. Theo took out some parchment and wrote down his post address on it. "Send letters to me here," he said, handing it to Dasha. She handed it to Patrick and he duly wrote down his post address underneath. Dasha nodded and slipped it into her pocket. "We'll write to you," she said as they stood to leave the train. As soon as she left the train, Dasha saw her parents, standing and waiting for her. She rushed to them, beaming, and hugged them tightly. Jai ran to her parents, who were standing right behind them, and Patrick to his dad, who walked forward and shouted in an strong Irish accent, "Welcome back son!" glancing back, Dasha saw Theo patiently waiting for his parents. "Mum, Dad, come with me," she said, leading them to Theo. "Mum, Dad, this is Theo. He and Patrick saved me and Jai," she introduced, smiling widely. Mrs Bran beamed. "Thank you so much!" she said, embracing Theo. As she released him, Mr Bran offered his hand. "Thank you," he said, smiling. Theo shook his hand and grinned. "Any time," he said, pretending to be casual. Dasha hugged him as her parents laughed. "Hello, Theo! How are you?" asked a woman's voice. The group turned and faced her. "Mother! Father!" cried Theo, hugging them tightly. They beamed. The woman was tall and tanned, her hair black and her eyes dark brown. The man was pale, tall, gaunt and blonde. "Mother, Father, this is Dasha and her parents, Mr and Mrs Bran," explained Theo. Mrs Lincoln smiled. "Hello. I'm Ursula and this is my husband, Marcus. Pleased to meet you," she said, both her and her husband shaking hands with Dasha's parents. Mrs Bran grinned. "I'm Marina, and my husband is Artem," she introduced. Ursula smiled as she turned to Dasha. "You should come visit over the holidays, Dasha. Have you got our address?" she asked kindly. Dasha nodded. "I do. I'm sure we'll visit," she said glancing towards her parents, who nodded. "We will," they said. "Well, we've got to go. See you over the holidays!" said Marcus as they walked away. After Dasha and Jai wished Patrick farewell, they left King's Cross and managed to fit all their trunks into the baggage. Dasha sighed happily as she gently stroked Greywing, who was perched on her shoulder, and leaned deeper into the comfy seats.
The End