"I don't know about this, Anastasia," Draco says after reading my plan. Raising an eyebrow, I quickly write down 'this is the only way' on paper, I hand it over to him. Sighing, he nods his head at my statement, but doesn't look pleased with my plan. Smiling, I give him a quick hug before standing up from the Slytherin table. Everyone is still eating their dinner, and don't notice me standing. With a hint of nervousness, I walk over to the Gryffindor table and walk up to the one other friend that I have. Unfortunately, Hermione is sitting next to my brother and his friend. Tapping on her shoulder, she turns around and smiles at me. Thank the lord, she seems to still wantss be my friend.
"Do you know what the spell is to unlock doors and such?" I write down in my notepad before showing my friend the question. I know that she is the smartest person in this school, and I'm amazed that she is Gryffindor when she seems like a Ravenclaw to me. Looking at me with a question in her eyes, she nods her head and writes down the spell on the same piece of paper. Thanking her with a hug, I turn away but I stop in front of my brother. He looks at me and I swear that for a split second there was a smile in his eyes. Unfortunately, before I can fully see the smile, his eyes turn sad and then blank before looking away from me. Harry starts to talk to Ron, and Ron looks at me with distrust before talking back to Harry. Sadness crashes down into my small form, and I slowly walk back to the Slytherin table.
Sitting down next to Draco again, he hugs me slightly, and I realize that he must have been watching the whole exchange. Smiling slightly, I give him a reassuring pat on the back before showing him the spell. Sighing, he nods his head and says that the plan with start tomorrow. Hugging him again, I quickly eat my dinner and head to bed early, so I am ready for the escape act.
Unfortunately, I couldn't do the escape plan until Friday night. This setback is going to really make this a very close call, because from a little bit of snooping I learned that Nightshade will be sent back Saturday morning. Considering this key information, if this plan doesn't work then I will not get a second chance at getting Nightshade.
Draco and I sit in the Slytherin commons 'studying', while the other Slytherins start heading towards their beds for a good night's rest. Having the other Slytherins see us 'studying' is part of our alibi, because if Professor Snape immediately comes to us if this plan works, which it will and he will, then we can say that we were studying and people would agree with us. Once the last person heads off to bed, we wait an hour before Draco quietly heads up to the boys' dormitory and get his two friends.
Closing our books, I grab my cloak that I have been sitting on this whole time. Right as I strap it onto my back, Draco comes down the steps with Crabbe and Goyle in toe. Smiling at them, I open the portrait doorway, and quietly head toward Professor Snape's office.
The corridor is cold because of it being in the dungeons and because it is night. Standing a few feet away from the Professor's office, we look down and notice light underneath the door. Already prepared for this scenario, I look at Draco and he gets the hint with a nod of his head. He pulls Crabbe and Goyle down the hall to tell them what to do while I continue to watch the door.
A few seconds later, I feel Draco tug on my arm slightly, and we creep down the other hallway and turn a corner. Peeking around the corner, Draco nods his head and his friends look at each other before starting an argument with each other. Within minutes the argument escalated to the point that they are yelling at each other, and I can guarantee that everyone from here to the Slytherin dorms can hear these two argue. Instantly, Snape's door slams open and he storms toward the two boys. Thankfully, Draco and I are too far away to hear the words that Snape is saying to them, because I can see the boys' face drain of all color before Snape grabs them by their ear and pulls them down the hallway to Slytherin house.
Draco and I rush forward to the door, and like I suspected the door is locked. Pulling out my wand, I silently pray that the spell works before shouting in my head 'Alohomora', while flicking my wand in a circular motion before flicking it in a downward movement. Thanking Salazar, the door opening follows the click of the door unlocking. Draco stays in the doorway to keep a look out for Professor Snape.
Honestly, his office is exactly what I expected it to look like. There are potions, and cauldrons around the room. Of course, the entire room is dark and I think fits his personality. Pushing those thoughts aside, I look around the room before laying my eyes on a familiar cage that makes my body swell with happiness. Hurrying over to the cage, I gently lift it up, and I come face to face with Nightshade. Cooing, I put a finger through the bars of the cage and Nightshade caws before leaning into my touch. I shush him, before walking out of the office and locking the door behind me.
Showing Draco my bird, he smiles while congratulating me. Before we can start walking off, loud footsteps are heading towards this corridor, and we look at each other before running down the hallway and head up the stairs that lead out of the dungeons.
Once Draco and I reach the outskirts of the forbidden forest, we finally stop to catch our breaths. Nightshade caws in irritation at the sudden movement, but that is soon drown out by Draco's laugh. Looking over at him, he is laughing so hard that he must hold his stomach and tears are cascading down his cheeks. He must have seen my confusion, because he tries to explain why he is laughing but is failing majorly.
"I'm s-s-sorry. I-It's just that," he stops to laugh a little bit more before finally calming down, "this is really fun. I guess the idea of almost getting caught made me laugh."
Nodding my head, I set down the cage and kneel next to it. Opening the door, I reach into the cage and Nightshade walks up my arm to make releasing him easier. Kissing his head, I move my arm up, and the raven takes off for the forest. Smiling, but also feeling sad, I wave in his general direction before chucking the cage into the forest. Draco holds my hand, and smiles at me before lightly tugging my arm in the direction of the castle.
Next morning at breakfast, Draco and I are trying to keep our eyes open, because of how late we stayed up last night to rescue Nightshade. Unfortunately, Snape stops us while we are eating and asks us why we are so tired this morning.
"We were up studying last night," Draco tells him, while all I can think about is to act natural and keep eating my breakfast. I notice that Professor Snape looks at me right after I think that, and a sinking feeling enters my stomach when a thought pops into my head. Maybe, just maybe, Professor Snape can read or at least hear people's thoughts. Professor Snape answers my thought when he looks at me again with the slightest of nods and leaves us alone when he realizes that we are not going to openly admit that we rescued Nightshade.
"Well, it seems like we are in the clear," Draco says and goes back to his food. Looking at the teacher table at Snape, I figure out if I should tell Draco about the reading of minds or if I should keep it to myself. Thinking about Professor's personality that I have witnessed so far, I would assume that he would want me to keep this information to myself. Sighing, I turn back to my breakfast when cawing stops me from bringing the fork to my mouth. Looking up, I see a ton of owls of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, entering the dining hall. Each owl is holding a gift or mail in their talons or beaks.
A eagle owl swoops over to the Slytherin table and drops some mail with a rolled-up newspaper in front of Draco. He instantly starts opening letters, and I tug on his sleeve. Writing down a question, I show him my notebook and he nods his head while going back to his letters. Smiling, I take his newspaper and read the first page.
The main article of the newspaper is a story of someone breaking into Gringotts, which is unheard of because Gringotts is supposed to be a very secure place. Peaking my interest, I continue to read the story to find out that the vault that was broken into is the same vault that Hagrid took the mysterious object from, the day that Harry and I went supply shopping.
Looking up towards my brother, I realize that he is showing Ron the newspaper. He is most likely telling him exactly what I was just thinking. Harry suddenly looks up at me, and sees the newspaper in my hands. He nods his head before turning back to his friends, and I sigh at the idea that he still isn't talking to me. I show Draco the newspaper article, and write down what happened a few days earlier before the break in.
"That is strange, Ana," he says after reading my notebook. Raising an eyebrow, I write down what he called me with a question mark, "Well, your name is so long, so I decided to give you a nickname. Do you mind if I call you Ana?" I shake my head no, and give him a giant hug.
After we hug, I turn back to the newspaper, and all I can think of is that this is going to be one hell of a mystery. Hopefully, no one will get hurt at the end of this mystery, and maybe big brother will start talking to me again.
