A/N: This chapter has been rewritten.


Chapter Nine - Chocolate Frogs

Fly

Open up the part of you that wants to hide away

You can shine

Forget about the reasons why you can't in life

And start to try

'Cause it's your time

Time to fly*


Help me…

Find me…

Athena…

"Jacob!" my brother's name jumps out of my lips as I wake up, sitting on the bed, breathless after spending my whole nightmare running. His voice is still fresh in my memory: a scared, desperate call.

I look around. Thankfully, none of my roommates heard me and their heavy breaths prove me that they're sound asleep; hopefully, they're having good dreams. I sigh escapes my lips as the desperation that I felt in my nightmare continues to run inside of me. I get up, put on my jacket and loafers and leave the dorm.

Everything is silent. My steps on the spiral staircase is the only sound that can be heard. I enter the common room – majestic Rowena Ravenclaw greets me with wise eyes – and I find a nice place to sit on front of the fireplace. In the dark, I can hear the crickets singing in the distance.

I rub my hands together, trying to warm them. The coldness inside of me can't seem to fade away and the darkness within the fireplace is no help. I hug my bent legs, resting my cheek on one knee, staring at the void. My mind, so loud, won't let me sleep again.

I hear one of the dorm's door open and soft footsteps march upstairs. A gleam accompanies the person who's climbing the stairs and my heart feels slightly less restless when I see the face of my best friend.

"Athie?" Rowan says, walking to me. "Are you okay?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"Would it upset you if I said you did?" she asks, sitting next to me. "You've been doing it since Snape mentioned expelling you. You know… screaming your brother's name."

I look at her – at her kind eyes that glisten under the soft light of her wand – and feel my heart withering. "Sorry."

"I know you love Hogwarts," she says, resting a reassuring hand upon my arm. "But you don't have to be afraid. You won't be expelled."

"I know," I say, letting out a sigh. Rowan is truly an amazing friend. She's loyal and sweet and funny and endlessly trustworthy.

Then why the hell have I been omitting things from her?

After I returned to my common room after hearing Professor Snape and Mr. Filch talking about my brother, the Cursed Vaults and something that they're suppose to guard, my mind was a swirl of so many unhinged thoughts that I ended up keeping them all to myself. I was afraid that, if I spoke about them out loud, Rowan would end up thinking that I'm a freak and wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. However, keeping it all to myself has been more damaging than helpful.

"I'm terribly sorry, Row," I say, my voice barely a whisper.

"You don't need to apologize, Athie," she says. "It's not your fault that you've been having nightmares."

"It's not just that. I've been a bad friend… I've been… keeping things from you."

She frowns. "What do you mean?"

"The night Professor Snape mentioned his deep desire of see me expelled, something else happened," I say. "Regarding… Merula."

"What did that awful worm do to you?" she says, altered. "I swear to Merlin. I'm going to kick that disgusting brat right in the-"

"She didn't do anything," I say. "Shocking. I know. I just ended up following her that night. She went snooping on Professor Snape and Mr. Filch. They were talking about the Cursed Vaults."

"The Cursed Vaults?" she gasps.

I nod.

"This can't be good," she says.

"I know. Some say they're a myth… but my brother believed in them. People thought he was crazy, but now they seem to be real… I don't know what do think."

Telling her everything about it takes away a big weight off my shoulders. Though it wasn't on my plans to drag her into me freakiness, I needed her friendly presence and reassuring smile to help me through it. I guess, despite it all, this is what friends are for. In weakness and in health… In craziness and in sanity…

"So, Merula is, pardon my language, full of shit," she says. "Wandering around… calling your brother mad… calling you mad… When all this time she's been interested in the Vaults too."

"I just don't know what's wrong with her," I say. "Sometimes I feel sorry for her… and sometimes I just wanna strangle her."

"And who doesn't?"


Since the night I followed Merula, I've been trying hard to avoid any trouble, specially around Professor Snape's watch. He's been staring at me during every Potions lesson, and the intensity of his stare makes me feel like he's looking right into my soul. Adding to that, I have Ben, who's having a lot of trouble in Flying and, with the imminence of our exams, I'm doing my best to support him.

"Here," I say, handing him a couple of books about flying. "I know theory is nothing like reality, but I think it might help."

"Do you think I'll ever be brave enough to fly?" he asks me.

"I believe in you, Ben," I say. "You're braver than you think. I know you don't come from a magical family and that everything can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. But there's nothing to be afraid of. Magic is cool."

"I know," he says, sadly. "But I'm also afraid of the dark. And loud noises. And getting surrounded. And mushrooms. And all this Halloween decoration is also freaking me out. I just don't think I belong in here, Athena."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ben," I say. "I know there's a brave Gryffindor somewhere inside of you."

"You have more faith in me than I have in myself."

His words linger inside my head through the course of the week. On Thursday, after a particularly awful Flying class – for him, at least – I decide to talk to Madam Hooch, Rowan by my side.

"Professor," I say while she's storing all the brooms inside the Broom Closet.

"Yes, girls?" she says, eyeing us with her bright yellow eyes.

"Our friend Ben is still really afraid of flying," I say. "We don't want him to fail the tests next week. So, we were wondering if we could help him outside of class. With your supervision, of course."

She lifts her thin brows, looking very surprised. "Well, that's very generous of you, girls. Yes, Mr. Copper is really having a lot of issues with flying. I think a little extra practice, away from curious eyes, would indeed be good for him. Meet me in the pitch in half an hour."

Rowan and I exchange a smile. If there's something that Ben needs, after all the torment he's been through, is some people believing in him.

Half an hour later, after a lot of pushing and pulling, we manage to take Ben to the Quidditch pitch. Madam Hooch is already waiting for us, holding a broom. Ben's eyes seem to get wider with every step.

"Are you ready to conquer your fear of flying, Mr. Copper?" she asks with a sweet smile.

"Almost certainly not," he says, trembling.

"I will be watching from the bleachers," she says. "Don't you worry, Mr. Copper. Soon you'll realize that flying is one of the best things in the entire world."

She leaves us, and Rowan grabs the broom and hands it to Ben, whose hands are shaking so much that he almost lets it fall. He looks at me, almost in panic.

"C'mon, Ben," Rowan says. "You can do it!"

"I-I'm not sure."

"Ben," I say, holding his shoulders. "Do not fear the fall. We'll be here to catch you."

A smile slowly appears on his lips. "T-thanks."

"Now give it a try," I say. "You read the books I gave you, didn't you?"

"Y-yes," he says. "But I'm not sure if what I read will help me."

"Don't underestimate the power of books," Rowan says.

Ben lets out a long sigh as he climbs on the broom, looking at us with scared eyes and trembling lips. I flash him a reassuring smile and he seems to relax a little bit.

"Just a gentle leap," I say.

I'm genuinely impressed on how he's showing considerately less nervousness now that it's just the three of us. I watch him take a gentle leap; at first, I think nothing will happen, but his feet don't touch the ground after he leaps. He's floating – just a few inches above the ground – with his eyes firmly closed and his jaw clenched.

"Ben," I say, calmly not to distress him. "Open your eyes."

He opens them slowly, and his jaw instantly drops. "I-I'm flying!"

"You're flying!" Rowan says, clapping her hands. "You did it!"

"Oh my God!" he gasps. "I'm flying!"

"We knew you do could it, Ben!" I say, happy.

From the bleachers, Madam Hooch starts to applaud.


That evening, as we talk together to the Great Hall for dinner, I'm feeling better than I've been in many weeks. For the first time, the scat left by my brother's disappearance doesn't bother me as much, and I feel genuinely happy for having such good friends. Ben seems to be thrilled as well, flashing smiles at Rowan and I, and talking nonstop about how good it felt to fly.

There's yelling coming from the Great Hall when we get there. From where we stand, we can't see what's happening. In the crowd, I see Penny, standing next to the pink-haired girl whose name I learned to be Tonks.

"Hey," I poke her, and she looks at me with her baby blue eyes. "What's going on?"

"Kettleburn is flipping out," she tells me. "Apparently, some first year Slytherins played a prank on him. Too soon to tell, but I bet Merula is involved."

"Impossible," I say. "She'd had to have some friends to be part of a prank group."

She giggles. Her freckles seem more pronounced when she smiles, covering her cheeks and small nose. Her hair, of a sunflower blonde, is perfectly styled in two flawless braids, while the rest falls lusciously straight until her elbows. In a certain way, she resembles Marilyn Monroe. An eleven-year-old Marilyn, but still. No wonder she's so popular; she's smart, sweet, funny and very, very pretty.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE, ALBUS!" I hear Professor Kettleburn yell. "I AM THROUGH WITH TEACHING CHILDREN!"

"Please, Silvanus, let's talk in my office," Professor Dumbledore says, concerned.

"NO!" he replies. "I AM SICK! I AM SO SICK OF THIS CRAP!"

Rowan looks at me with wide eyes. I think it's the first time we have ever heard a professor curse. There's a big crashing sound when he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

By the time everyone sits down to eat, there's not a single conversation that isn't about what just happened. I've never imagined that Hogwarts would be like a shrine for gossip, but I guess that they say it's true: news travel fast around here.

The dinner – all designed to fit the Halloween spirit – is better than I had anticipated: there are pumpkin pies, bat shaped cookies, a delicious red juice that looks like blood, and truffles that change your tongue's colour. Rowan is already stuffing her mouth with food, her face bearing an expression of pure delight.

"My goodness!" she says, trying the chocolate pudding and then the blackberry pie. "This is so much better than that Indian grub my mum makes at home."

I giggle. Later, when we're already changing into our pyjamas to sleep, she's still talking about the delights of dinner. Halloween could happen more often, don't you think? She kept talking about the sugar cookies – she even smuggled some, wrapped in a napkin – and how the red velvet cake tasted divine.

As I take my robes and place them on the chair next to my bed, something falls from one of the pockets. It's a small, pentagonal blue box. I grab it, staring at the shiny packaging of a Chocolate Frog. I frown, turning the box in my hands. Written on the verse, is a small message: Forever thankful. B.C.

Rowan comes and reads it from over my shoulder. She instantly rushes to her robes too, searching her pockets, anxiously. "That bloody lion better have one of me too, or I shall…" she fishes something from her pocket. "Ace! Thank you, Ben!" and she proceeds to open the box and eat the frog's head.

"Row, aren't you full?"

"There's always room for chocolate, Athie," she says with a satisfied smile.

I brush my teeth and tuck myself in the softness of my bed. After such wonderful day, I'm expecting only sweet, sweet dreams. As soon as I fall asleep, I find myself following a bunch of chocolate frogs. They leap happily, all over the castle, and lead me to that same cold corridor where Professor Snape and Mr. Filch were discussing the Vaults. This time, there's no coldness. No darkness. There's just the sweet scent of chocolate invading my lungs.

The frogs leap straight to a door that opens before I can even touch it. Inside, there's a big staircase, shrouded in a cold, dense mist. Before I even consider climbing it, the dream changes. I find myself face to face with a frozen suit of armour, which seems to be ready to attack me. I try to run away, but the dream changes again. I'm standing in the middle of the Great Hall, but I can't see the flags, the tables, not even the floor.

Instead, all I see is ice.


* Fly, by Hilary Duff.