Chapter Ten: Solidarity in Numbers
I: Aftermath
One of the traits that made Hufflepuff house unique was that no one really liked being alone, particularly during times of uncertainty.
Back when Leslie Stiles had been kidnapped, no one except the first years had gone to bed. They had all sat together, huddled in groups, in the common room, taking solace in company and the knowledge that no matter what was happening, they would go through it together. The comradeship of the house was one of the things that Teddy loved the most about it.
Tonight was somewhat different. Bella Watson, usually someone hard to miss in the common room, wasn't there.
In fact, nobody knew where she was. All they knew was that she'd run out Defence Against the Dark Arts after getting into a confrontation with Laura Shipkins about the rumour that had been going around. She hadn't reappeared.
"I've searched everywhere," Evelien Spironova was saying. It was unusual for a member of another house to be openly accepted within the common room - Ella always had to sort of hide when she came in - because Macey Longstone was certain that everyone who wasn't a Hufflepuff was a spy for a rival Quidditch team. But Evelien, who was probably closer to Bella then any of the Hufflepuff girls, with the possible exception of Macey, had been welcomed with open arms. After all, Teddy thought, if it was, say, Ella who was missing, he'd want to know the moment she was found.
"I just really hope she's okay," Evelien said, her voice thick with repressed tears. "I should have gone after her. Why didn't I go after her?"
"Relax, Evie," Macey said soothingly. "The teachers are looking. They'll find her."
"Ten galleons it's Macmillan who finds her," Daisy Shipkins said. Morna tittered, but the majority of the house turned and looked at her, their eyes sharp.
"Would you put a can on it?" Evelien snapped. "You're Laura Shipkins' sister aren't you? She's the reason for this whole mess in the first place. Bella Watson is not doing anything with Professor Macmillan, and you both know it. You all know it," she said, addressing the house.
Daisy looked around nervously, probably searching for her sister to protect her, but Laura was nowhere to be seen. She'd come into the common room about an hour ago, but had gone straight up to her dormitory without talking to anyone - unusual, Teddy thought, as he figured that she would have wanted to gloat about what could easily be perceived as a victory for her. But it seemed that opinion had turned against the Shipkins' sisters.
"This rumour has gone too far," Evelien continued. "Your sister, Shipkins, has hurt Bella, and a teacher. They're real people. I'm disgusted."
Daisy turned her face away, and Morna put an arm around her comfortingly.
"Do you think Bella's okay?" Alfie whispered anxiously to Teddy. "What if she's - you know?"
"What?"
"Been kidnapped." He said it with wide, innocent eyes and Teddy could see that his fear for Bella's safety was both genuine and deep-seated. His heart went out to him.
"No, I'm sure she hasn't," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. "She's probably fine."
"Then why hasn't she come back?"
"Alfie, people have said horrible things about her and Professor Macmillan, in front of Professor Macmillan. Imagine if that happened to you. You'd be embarrassed, right? You probably wouldn't want to face anyone - let alone Macmillan."
"Yeah, but she could just come back here. She's got her own room and everything."
"Yeah," Teddy said, "but she'd have to go and see Professor Macmillan at some point because he's our Head of House."
Alfie cringed, as if he was experiencing Bella's acute embarrassment. "That's not going to be fun."
"No," Teddy said grimly. He didn't know what was going to happen when Bella came back, but he knew that the relationship between Bella and Macmillan would never be the same again. How could it be, after rumours like these?
Alfie glanced back over at where Macey and Evelien were standing. Evelien was pacing up and down, her hands knotted behind her back. Every now and then she'd squeeze them together tightly, nearly cutting off the blood supply to her fingertips. Macey stood still, watching her, and fiddling with a snitch on her Quidditch charm bracelet. Teddy couldn't help but think that it was rather symbolic.
Suddenly, voices came from outside the common room, and everyone's eyes - including Daisy's - shifted towards the door.
"Yer sure yeh'll be okay, Miss Watson?" said a booming male voice. A couple of people glanced at each other questioningly, as if they didn't quite know who was speaking, but Teddy recognised it instantly. Hagrid. His heart immediately felt lighter.
"If she's with Hagrid, it'll be fine," he whispered to Alfie. "Hagrid's a good person." Back in first year, before Teddy had told Ella and Alfie about his father being a werewolf, he had spent numerous full moons in Hagrid's hut. The half-giant would stay up late with him, telling him stories about his parents and his godfather. Although Teddy didn't see him outside of Care of Magical Creatures much anymore, he still loved Hagrid, and tried to go and visit him whenever he got a spare moment. He realised with a sudden pang that he hadn't actually gone to have tea with Hagrid since September - far too much had been going on, and Hagrid didn't want him coming out too late in the evening. He'd have to go and see him soon.
Bella said something, but Teddy and Alfie were unable to hear her.
"If anyone says anything to yeh, yeh come straight back out to me, understand? Yeh and Professor Macmillan." Hagrid sounded disgusted, and Teddy could practically see him shaking his head disapprovingly. "The things some people come up with. Disgustin'."
"It's fine, Hagrid," Bella said, her voice barely audible.
"It's not ruddy fine, they deserve teh be-"
"Hagrid." Despite the low volume, Teddy could make out the fatigue in Bella's voice. "I just … not now. I don't want to talk about it."
"Of course yeh don't," Hagrid said, his voice softening. "Of course. But-"
"If anyone says anything, I will come straight to you."
"An' I'll deal with them. Good nigh', Bella."
"Night, Hagrid."
A moment later, Bella entered the common room. No one even pretended not to look at her, and Teddy could tell that she was wary of her housemates' unfaltering gaze. She looked exhausted, he thought, for her entire body seemed to sag, as if there was something heavy on her shoulders. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and he knew that she'd been crying. Though he had never had a crush on her like Alfie did, he still felt his heart go out to her. No matter what people might say about her and her promiscuity, Bella was still an essentially good person. And she did not deserve to be treated like this in any way.
"She's been crying," Alfie said quietly.
Teddy nodded. "Yeah. She has. Can you blame her?"
"No. If it was me, I'd still be crying."
Bella spotted Evelien and Macey and approached them directly, her eyes focusing on the spot on the wall between them. She was doing her best to maintain her calm and poise, and Teddy couldn't help but admire her for it. He watched as both girls hugged her, and then spoke with her in hushed whispers. What Bella was doing required such strength - he wasn't sure if he would have the courage to walk back into the common room after what had happened.
Evelien nodded at something that Macey said, and slid her arm through Bella's. The two girls walked through the common room, and straight out of the door. As they moved through, students quickly moved aside to make room for them.
"Where are they going?" Alfie whispered.
Macey heard him. "To the Gryffindor dormitories," she replied. "Bella needs some time away from here. And quite frankly, I don't blame her." She turned to face the rest of the house with an expression that read of anger and frustration. Teddy immediately felt his heart sink slightly; no one loved Hufflepuff house more than Macey did, and as Quidditch Captain she was constantly reminding them of how fabulous they were, both on and off the pitch. Now, she looked at them as if she didn't quite know where she was, or who they were.
"I have never been so ashamed to be a Hufflepuff," she said quietly. Teddy had never heard her speak so softly before - he'd thought that Macey would shout when she was angry, but her whisper instilled more fear in him than a yell ever could. "A Hufflepuff began this rumour, and Hufflepuffs helped spread it, even when they should have known that it was wrong. You know, I thought Hufflepuff house was supposed to pride itself in its loyalty, in its comradeship. I guess I was wrong."
"Macey," Faye Keys, a Chaser on the Quidditch team, spoke up, but Macey held up a hand.
"No, Faye. None of us - including myself - went up to Laura and told her to stop. We didn't do anything, and if we had, maybe we could have stopped Bella and Professor Macmillan from getting hurt in the way that they have. People insult us by saying that we're the house for rejects, the ones who aren't brave enough to be Gryffindors, smart enough to be Ravenclaws, or cunning enough to be Slytherins. I say - I used to say - that they were wrong, that we're the house for people who don't fit into the above molds, who are mixes of every other house." She paused briefly, sucking in her lips and running her tongue over the space between her nose and mouth nervously. "I guess I was wrong."
"Macey, you can't blame all of us for what Laura Shipkins did," a fourth-year said in a small voice.
"No, I suppose I can't," Macey admitted. "But regardless, we should have stood up to her. We should have done something instead of letting Laura just have her way. Laura was jealous - there was nothing else to it, and no matter how many of you believed the rumour on the surface, you all knew that the crux of it was that Laura wanted a way to bring down Bella. For years, we've been watching her try, and none of us have said anything. Well, congratulations, guys. We've just let her win."
"No!" Alfie exclaimed. Teddy turned to him in surprise, as did the rest of the house. Becoming rather conscious of the attention, he blushed and went very quiet until Teddy elbowed him slightly. "What I mean to say is," he choked out, "we haven't let her win. Not yet."
"Really, Hayes, because this seems like a Shipkins victory to me," Macey said, folding her arms in front of her.
"It's not," Alfie insisted. "Not until McGonagall expels Bella and fires Macmillan for breaking the rules. Not until Laura escapes from this unharmed. Until then, she hasn't won. Until then, we can do something."
"What do you propose?"
"I haven't thought this through entirely," Alfie admitted, "and I don't know whether it'll be much use. But there's no evidence that Bella and Macmillan were in a relationship."
"There's no evidence that they weren't either," Macey pointed out.
"I don't know how it works in the wizarding world, but in the muggle world, whenever someone's put on trial for breaking the rules, people can give evidence for or against the accused," Alfie explained. "Witnesses."
"Yeah, we have witnesses too," Macey said.
"So what if we all act as witnesses for Bella? What if we all sign a piece of paper that says that we believe with all of our hearts that she's innocent, what if we sign a piece of paper that we say that the rumour was entirely made up - I mean, how many of you were in the room when Laura exclaimed that Bella and Professor Macmillan were supposedly seeing each other because she thought he was being unfair to her, when actually she was the one who disregarded his rules?" A number of people put their hands up, including Teddy. "Exactly. We're Bella's witnesses."
"But we shouldn't throw Laura Shipkins under the bus," Faye said. "She's as much of a Hufflepuff as Bella is."
As far as Teddy was concerned, Laura Shipkins deserved whatever was coming to her, but Alfie had a different idea.
"That's true. So, when we're writing up this document, we'll exclude Laura's name. We'll just say - I don't know - a person, or something. That way, it's up to Bella whether or not she wants to name Laura as the person who started the rumour."
Macey was looking at Alfie with a mixture of admiration and surprise. "Hayes, that's … that's actually a bloody good idea."
Alfie blushed. "I just want to help a friend and teammate. That's all."
"We can start drawing up the document now," Macey said. "Who's got a piece of parchment and a quill - ah, thank you, Giovanna!"
As the members of Hufflepuff crowded around Macey, who was proposing sentences and then writing down the ones that everyone seemed to like, Teddy turned to Alfie, a smile on his face. Although he had always known that Alfie had a big heart, he felt incredibly, incredibly proud to have witnessed him tonight, not giving up on a friend. "You're quite something, you know that?" he said. "And that was quite some speech."
Alfie grinned at him. "You think so?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Within twenty minutes, Macey had written a very formal-sounding paragraph, stating that the below signatories attested to the innocence of Miss Bella Watson and Professor Ernest Macmillan, insofar as the reported breach of Article 45 of the Hogwarts Code was concerned. Giovanna Downing had actually run to the library to get the Code, and had searched through it to look for the rule that explicitly banned sexual relations between a professor and a student. The paragraph also read that many of the signatories witnessed another student, who they have decided to keep anonymous, begin the rumour based on nothing but mere speculation. The appropriate witnesses were to inscribe a 'w' next to their names and signatures, so McGonagall could call on them if required.
"Now all that's left is to sign it," Macey declared. "Hayes, it was your idea, I think you should go first."
Alfie protested, but Macey wouldn't take no for an answer. She handed him the quill and parchment, and he glanced at Teddy, who nodded once. Gripping the quill, he scribbled his signature and printed his name and a 'w' next to it. Macey went next, and, slowly, the parchment made it's way around the common room. When his turn came, Teddy signed it with a flourish and turned to pass it to the person sitting next to him.
It was only when he caught a flash of ginger hair that he realised just who the person sitting next to him was.
Daisy Shipkins, who he thought had gone to bed a long time ago, for she had been so quiet, looked at the quill and parchment with a mixture of shock, horror and fear. They made eye contact for a few brief seconds, and Teddy found himself suddenly realising exactly how Daisy felt. She was terrified of going against her sister, and yet she was terrified of rejection.
"It's oka-" he began to say, but before he could finish his sentence, she burst into tears, and ran out of the room.
Morna Clemmons looked rather like a fish as she gaped at Teddy, and then at Daisy's retreating back. "I should-" she began to say, before breaking off and running after Daisy.
"Well," Macey said, when they were both out of earshot. "I suppose we ought to have expected that. Lupin, if you'll just pass it to the next person please."
Teddy, still processing the occurrence, handed the parchment to Giovanna Downing without a word.
.oOo.
II: Politics, petitions, and perjury
"Bella Watson was in Gryffindor tower last night," Victoire told Teddy, Alfie, Ella and Riley over breakfast the next morning. "No one realised until this morning when she came downstairs with Evelien Spironova. Some idiot made a joke about not knowing that Spironova liked girls, but Evie gave him such a glare that he shut up instantly."
"Go, Evie!" Alfie said enthusiastically.
"Wait, wait, wait," Ella said, holding up her hands. "Evelien Spironova's over there." She pointed to a mass of brown hair at the Gryffindor table. "So where's Bella?"
"Oh, I can answer that," Riley piped up. She didn't look at the others, instead engrossed in carefully buttering the slice of toast on her plate.
Teddy and the others watched her, waiting for her to say something. When she remained silent, Victoire, who was sitting next to her, nudged her. "Oi."
"What?"
Victoire rolled her eyes. "Riles."
"Am I being difficult again?"
"Quite. Where's Bella Watson?"
Riley placed the butter knife on her side plate delicately; Teddy didn't even hear the sound of the metal hitting against the porcelain. "First," she said, sighing, "promise me that he won't go mental." She pointed to Alfie, who looked rather indignant.
"Oi, I'm perfectly sane!"
"Not where Bella Watson is concerned," Ella muttered, sipping her glass of water. When Alfie glared at her, she merely quirked an eyebrow. "What? It's true."
"Not helping," Alfie grumbled.
Teddy, who was rather curious about where Bella was, felt himself growing impatient. This, he thought, was one of the things that most irritated him about Riley - her inability to tell a story straight. She always had to pause for dramatic effect, to make herself out to be some sort of all knowing oracle. It was funny - Victoire couldn't keep anything a secret for more than two seconds, and shared everything she knew with her friends. Riley was the complete opposite. No matter what she said, Teddy always got the feeling that there was something she was withholding. And he didn't like it one bit.
"Alfie promises he won't go mental," he said.
"Alfie did not -" said Alfie.
"You're referring to yourself in the third person."
"So? I didn't promise anything."
"Fine." Teddy turned back to Riley. "I promise that Alfie won't go mental. Now, you were saying?"
"Oh, I saw Bella Watson this morning," Riley said casually, leaning forward so that her shoulder was resting on the edge of the table - not on the table, because that would be bad manners. "She was heading towards Micky-G's office."
"Who?"
"Micky-G." Riley rolled her eyes. "McGonagall."
Ella almost spat out her water. "Riley," she spluttered. "That's - that's disrespectful."
Riley shrugged. "Whatever. She was going to see the Headmistress. Probably about this whole situation." Her eyes suddenly widened, and Teddy noticed a tiny bright spark appear in her pupils. "Hey, what if she's getting expelled? Or stripped of her badge?"
"Riley," Victoire, Alfie, Ella and Teddy chorused in unison.
The Slytherin held up her hands in defeat. "Right, sorry, disrespectful, I know."
"More like disconcerting," Alfie said.
"Ooh, well done, Hayes, I didn't know you knew that word."
"Riley!" Teddy exclaimed. Victoire reached out and hit her on the arm.
"Sorry, sorry," she said, glaring at Victoire and rubbing the red spot that had formed just above her elbow.
"You really have to watch what you say!" Victoire told the brunette.
Alfie was twirling his fork around absentmindedly, staring at a spot on the table. His eyebrows were furrowed and he kept licking his upper lip, something Teddy had noticed he did when he was thinking hard about something. As Victoire and Riley bickered among themselves, Teddy nudged Alfie. "You okay?"
Alfie nodded, but he didn't look up for a few moments. When he did, he turned to Teddy, a great deal of resolve in his eyes. "We should go," he said, loudly enough to make Victoire and Riley stop talking and look at him curiously.
"What? Where?" Teddy felt his stomach sink slightly; he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly where Alfie wanted to go.
"All of us?" Ella enquired.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah. Well, the girls not as much -"
"Hey!" Victoire exclaimed. "Just because we're girls -"
"No, Vic, because you're not Hufflepuffs. Because you didn't sign the petition that we signed that declares Bella's innocence. We," he said, turning back to Teddy, "we need to go to McGonagall's office, and we need to tell her that Bella is innocent. You three," he said to the girls, "can come too, if you believe Bella's innocent."
Riley snorted. "Of course she is. Bella Watson's not about to break the rules, even for someone gorgeous like Macmillan. She's a Hufflepuff after all."
Teddy wasn't exactly sure what Riley was trying to get at, though he had a feeling it wasn't awfully complimentary. Nevertheless, he ignored her, choosing instead to focus on Alfie, who he regarded with a nervous ambivalence. "Alfie," he began, before hesitating, wondering exactly how to go about this, "I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Why not?" Alfie asked, his mouth set in a thin line. Though Alfie did not think he was stubborn, Teddy had come to realise that he was, particularly when he'd made up his mind, and particularly where his friends were concerned. "She needs us, Teddy."
"Does she?" Ella asked. "I mean, yes, I'm sure she'd like the support, but Bella Watson is strong and independent. Do you really think that she needs you?"
As she stressed the last word, Alfie's mouth quavered slightly. Teddy knew instantly that she'd struck a nerve; Alfie had always had a crush on Bella, and despite the fact that they were teammates, he had never truly been friends with Bella, not in the same way that she was friends with Evelien or Macey, and certainly not in the same way she had been friends with Alfred Cattermole, the Head Boy. And yet he had stood up for her when everyone else had just about given up. He had displayed an unwavering faith in her when everyone else had thought her guilty, despite the lack of evidence. And if he was willing to do that for someone that he knew, in his heart of hearts, he was hardly close to, then Teddy couldn't even begin to imagine how far he'd go for his best friends.
"Let's go," Teddy said quietly.
"What?" Ella exclaimed. "You're not seriously planning on storming into McGonagall's -"
"Micky-G," Riley interrupted.
"Shut up, Riley," Ella said, a little more harshly than she had probably intended. "You're not planning on storming into McGonagall's office and rescuing Bella Watson, are you? For one, what are you going to do with her, hide her in the Forbidden Forest until this has all washed over?"
"We'll wait outside," Teddy said.
Ella opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it again. "Oh. Well. I suppose you could."
It didn't take long to win Ella over. Victoire was rather eager to come too, on account of her quite liking Bella Watson even though she'd never properly spoken to her before, and although Riley had rolled her eyes and said that she had much better things to do with her time, she had decided to tag along as well. Teddy had a feeling that though Riley Carrow often put up quite a moan about having to do things with people other than Victoire, she actually cared, deep down somewhere. If only she didn't keep it such a secret from herself and the people around her, she might actually be a nice person to be around.
If only.
He sympathised with her, but that didn't mean that he had to be overly fond of her.
"I hope she's okay," Alfie kept muttering at regular intervals. Each time he said it, Ella rolled her eyes, as if she couldn't believe that Alfie was showing so much worry over someone she thought was far out of his reach, but Teddy felt sorry for him. He knew how much Alfie cared - not just about Bella, but about anyone he considered his friend. Alfie Hayes was the kind of person who put his whole heart and soul into anything or anyone he believed in. He hoped for his sake that everything worked out alright.
The moment they turned into the corridor in which the gargoyle that led to McGonagall's office was located, Alfie let out a small yelp. Bella Watson was coming down the stairs, her long hair flowing behind her. Though Teddy doubted she had slept much last night, her face did not show any sign of exhaustion; her eyes were bright, her cheeks were shining and her lips were tinted slightly red (the latter, Teddy thought, was probably the result of make-up).
"Bella!" Alfie exclaimed. "Are you alright? We were coming to see if you were alright, because we heard that you had been called in to see Professor McGonagall, and we wanted to testify that you were innocent and -"
"Does he realise he's babbling?" Ella whispered to Teddy, who shrugged.
Bella laughed. "Oh, Alfie, that's so sweet of you! That's so sweet of all of you." She smiled at them, and despite themselves, they all smiled back, even Riley. "I'm touched that you would care so much about what happened to me."
"Well," Alfie said, "you are our Head Girl." He froze suddenly. "At least … well, you still are, aren't you?"
"Yes," Bella nodded, and Teddy let out a sigh of relief. "I'm still Head Girl, and Professor Macmillan is still the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and the Head of Hufflepuff. Laura Shipkins, on the other hand, has been stripped of her position on the second-string Quidditch team, and has to serve detention every night until the end of term."
"So McGonagall believed you?" Ella said.
"She did."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean in any way to suggest that she shouldn't believe you, but .. why?"
"That's no problem, Ella." The blonde paused for a second, as if rehashing the morning's events in her mind. "I don't really know how she did it, honestly. Had I been in her position, I don't know whether I wouldn't have believed me. But she spoke with me and Professor Macmillan, and then she called in Laura Shipkins. The next thing I know, Laura's coming out of the room, sobbing. Apparently she confessed."
"She did?" Teddy exclaimed, surprised. Laura Shipkins didn't seem like the kind of person who would give in so easily, especially not where Bella was concerned, but he suspected that Professor McGonagall could scare anything out of anyone when she wanted to.
"She said she made it all up. I don't know how Professor McGonagall got her to admit it, but I'm glad that she did." Bella paused for a few moments, before speaking up again, choosing each word with a great deal of care. "You know, I won't pretend that Laura and I are best friends. I don't think I can ever really be friends with her, not after what she's done. But I do feel sorry for her. I don't know what's happened to her in her life that she feels like she needs to act this way towards me. Maybe, if things had gone differently, if she'd been different, we'd have been friends, and I could have helped her. But it's too late for that now." She turned to Alfie, her blue eyes settling on his green ones. "Macey told me what you did, Alfie. Thank you for standing up for me and believing in me."
Alfie's cheeks turned pink and he smiled. "That's what friends do, Bella. They help each other."
"I owe you one."
"You don't owe me anything," Alfie said earnestly, and Teddy felt his heart warm. This was what he loved about Alfie - he did wonderful things for other people, and never expected anything in return. It was so rare in today's world of give-and-take to find someone who gave unconditionally.
The sides of Bella's mouth curved upwards; Teddy was glad to see that the light had returned to her eyes, and that she looked much like the old Bella Watson again, back before Laura Shipkins had started this whole mess. The Head Girl leaned forward, and kissed Alfie on the cheek. It was just a tiny peck, and lasted barely a second, but Alfie turned a bright shade of scarlet - brighter than Teddy had ever seen, which was saying something, considering that Alfie turned tomato red fairly frequently. He was vaguely aware of Ella's mouth dropping open, and of Victoire trying to stifle a giggle.
Bella drew herself up to her full height again, and glanced at the five. "Well," she said, "I should be going. Thank you for coming to check on me."
"No problem," Teddy said. Alfie seemed rather unable to speak.
Bella turned to go, but seemed to hesitate halfway through and turned back. A few awkward moments passed where they were staring at one another, both unsure of what to say next — Teddy because he truly did not know what Bella wanted, and Bella because she didn't know how to phrase her sentiments. At last, however, words came to her.
"It's not too late for her you know."
"Laura?" Ella asked, her dark eyebrows knotting together in an expression of puzzlement. "I thought you said it was."
"No, not Laura. Her sister. Daisy. I know that you don't like her very much — well, I don't know about you—" she gestured to Victoire and Riley " — but I know that you three don't get on very well with her, and if she's anything like her sister, which I know she is, I can't say I blame you. But I would hate to see her go down the same path as Laura. Just … I don't know what you can do, but if you ever feel like there's anything you can do for her … do it."
Teddy watched Bella walk away, his mind still processing what she had said. He'd never thought of Laura Shipkins as someone to feel sorry for — ever since he'd joined Hogwarts, he'd known her as a despicable bully, someone who was consistently green-eyed with envy and would do anything to elevate herself at the cost of others. Daisy had never been so bad — she'd been petty, yes, but in comparison to her sister, she'd seemed tame. And yet Teddy couldn't help but think about all the awful things she'd done to Matilda this term. Was that how Laura started out?
He didn't like Daisy Shipkins, but that didn't mean that he wanted her to degenerate into nothing more than a jealous, mean-spirited girl who spread malicious rumours.
"Wow," Victoire said. "Just …"
"Wow," Riley finished quietly for her. "She's saddled you three with quite a task there. Turn Daisy Shipkins into a good person."
"I don't know how she expects us to do it," Ella said grumpily. She didn't seem at all thrilled with the idea. "As far as I'm concerned, there's no good in Daisy Shipkins at all. Right, Teddy?"
"Hm," Teddy said absentmindedly. It wasn't a topic he particularly wanted to discuss just yet, for he was still processing, still trying to form his thoughts, and he didn't want to express them prematurely. "Did anyone think Laura would be punished so harshly?" he said instead, trying to change the subject. "Detention every night until the end of term. That's what — a month and a half? And it's N.E.W.T. year too."
"She's not going to have much fun, that's for sure," Ella said grimly.
"When my dad and uncles and aunties were here, things were really different," Victoire commented. "They got away with all sorts of stuff — a boy in my dad's year once hung another boy by his feet from the chandelier in the Great Hall, and he only got fifty points taken from Gryffindor."
"I guess things have gotten a lot stricter," Ella mused.
Teddy couldn't help but steal a glance at Riley. The Slytherin seemed to have shrunk in size, and her lips were clamped together tightly, forming a thin line. There was an air of discomfort around her. Her green eyes met his, and for a moment, it was as if the careful guard that she maintained disappeared.
Victoire noticed the two of them, their eyes locked together. She smiled in a blatant attempt to lighten the mood, but there was a definite undertone of uneasiness that filtered through. Riley flicked her eyes away, and Teddy shifted from one foot to the other. Ella began to hum under her breath in an effort to distract herself. Only Alfie remained oblivious, standing in front of them as if he was in an entirely different dimension, separated from them by some sort of invisible, soundproof barrier.
They all knew why the rules had gotten stricter. And they all knew that it was because of something that happened to Riley Carrow four years ago.
.oOo.
III: The remaining Shipkins sister
Daisy Shipkins was the kind of girl who liked to be constantly surrounded by other people. She took her solace in knowing that she wasn't alone, that other people wanted to be with her, that they admired her and wanted to be just like her. She liked to think that she was the top of the food chain; she liked to believe that she could do whatever she wanted, and others would follow. And though she often felt threatened by someone or the other, though she often felt insecure, she had never, ever felt like this.
Completely and utterly worthless.
She didn't quite know where she was — only that she was somewhere near the dungeons, and somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. She was supposed to be in first period Charms, but how could she sit amongst her peers and act like everything was normal when her sister had just been given detention for the entire term?
Daisy's sister was everything to her, and now McGonagall had brought her down to a new low, and it was all thanks to Bella Watson. In hindsight, Laura should have known not to go up against Bella, she should have known that it would end like this. Laura always knew how things would end, and she always knew how to pick her battles perfectly. It was a shock for Daisy to realise that her sister, no matter how wonderful she was, was not perfect.
Detention every night.
Would anyone ever trust Laura again? Would anyone except Daisy ever look at her in the same way?
And most of all, would anyone trust Daisy?
She'd already been abandoned by Giovanna. She'd driven Matilda away. She still had Morna, but who knew how long she'd cling on? She knew deep down that all she needed to do was apologise to Matilda and Giovanna, but she was too proud to admit that she was in the wrong. She would rather become a social outcast than say she was sorry, because to say sorry was an indubitable sign of weakness.
And no matter what people told her, she was not weak.
"I am the strongest person I know," she whispered to herself, tracing patterns on the soft skin of her palm.
"Miss Shipkins?"
She started and looked up. Standing above her was Professor Smith, his dark eyebrows knotted together in puzzlement, confusion and worry. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in class? I don't believe fifth years have free periods."
Daisy shook her head, suddenly unable to speak. Of all the teachers who could have found her, it had to be the one she liked the most. "I'm fine, Professor," she said, finding her voice and forcing a smile. "I'm fine."
"No, Miss Shipkins, I don't believe you are." He hesitated for a few moments before dusting off his robes and sitting down next to her. "I heard about what happened to your sister."
Despite herself, Daisy snorted. "Hasn't everyone?"
"I'm truly sorry."
"Why?" Daisy said bitterly. "Don't you believe she deserved it?"
She could feel the professor's eyes on her, searching her face for something. He must have found it, for he said, "No. I would appreciate if you kept this between us, Miss Shipkins—"
"Of course."
"— but I believe that your sister was most unjustly treated. Children spread rumours all the time. Why, the things that used to go around when I was in school were much worse than the things that your sister said. Detention until the end of the term, that too with Mr Knobbles, who I understand is perhaps not the kindest of people —"
"No kidding."
" — is unfair, for it is nowhere listed in the school rules as an appropriate punishment for this sort of situation."
"Really?"
"Really," Smith said, sighing. "But I am afraid there is nothing we can do. It would be pointless to go up against Professor McGonagall.
"She's a dictator," Daisy grumbled.
"You must watch what you say about the Headmistress," Smith said, but there was a smile tugging on the corners of his lips. "I'm sorry about your sister, Daisy. If you need to talk, please know that my office is open. I know I'm not your Head of House, but something tells me it would be somewhat … inappropriate, shall we say, to speak with him on this matter."
Daisy smiled. "No kidding. Thanks, Professor."
"My pleasure," he said, and Daisy was once again taken in by just how magnetic his grin was. "And now, I believe you should be getting back to class. You will find this useful." He slid a hand into his robes and withdrew an infirmary pass from one of his many pockets. He handed it to Daisy, and winked at her. "And remember, I never saw you, and you never saw me."
.oOo.
IV. The slap
They say that every person in the world is separated from each other by a maximum of six degrees. If this is to be accepted as true, then it must also be hypothesised that every person at Hogwarts is separated by a maximum of two or three degrees. It is a small school, and as in all small places (towns, offices, countries), almost everyone knew each other, and they were all intimately familiar with the local affairs. Or rather, gossip.
The knowledge that Laura Shipkins was being severely punished for spreading rumours about Bella Watson percolated across the school within hours, and before the end of the day, every single student knew about it. It was a hot topic of conversation at the dinner table, and wherever Laura went, she was followed by whispers, stares and pointed fingers.
But small as it may be, news moved quickly at Hogwarts. No one lingered on the same thing for very long, and within a few days, the craze began to die down and life resumed as normal. The weather had begun to cool down quite significantly; a cold wind from the north was passing over Scotland, causing the leaves on the trees to quiver and drop off, and the grass to be covered with a thin layer of dew. It became impossible to leave one's common room without first layering up in warm undergarments, thick cloaks and scarves.
Victoire Weasley, in particular, hated the cold. For one, it always made her ears feel like they were going to fall off, and her nose ended up looking a bit like a strawberry ripe for picking. She hated being cooped up indoors all day, for it made her feel claustrophobic and, quite frankly, a bit sick.
Therefore, when by some miracle of nature the sun was bright and shining the next Saturday, she jumped at the opportunity to spend time outside. She was supposed to meet Riley Carrow in the library for a few solid hours of studying, but instead practically dragged her out to the lawn by the Great Lake, arguing that the fresh air would do a lot of good for their studies.
That was where they were now. Victoire had her robes loosely buttoned, allowing them to flow around her. Every now and then, a gentle breeze wafted through the air, and lifted up her golden curls, tickling her nose ever so slightly. The sun felt warm against her pale skin, and though she knew that she'd probably end up with more freckles by the end of the day (she always forgot to wear the sunscreen that her mother had bought for her), she didn't quite care.
Riley lay on her stomach near her, her nose stuck in a book. She was wearing a pair of large black-rimmed glasses, and kept pushing them up her nose. Riley didn't normally wear glasses — it was only when she had a lot of reading to do that she liked to put them on to prevent her eyes from being strained. Every now and then, she glanced at the piece of parchment by her side and picked up her quill to scribble down something. When she put her quill down again after copying out a particularly long sentence, Victoire noticed a long, elegant birch wand lying on the grass next to her,
"That's new," she commented. "I haven't seen that before, have I?"
Riley glanced down at the wand and shook her head. "Nope. Just got this morning in the mail."
"Why? What happened to your old one?"
"Didn't I tell you?" the Slytherin looked up at her blankly. "It went missing."
"You lost your wand?"
Riley shrugged as if it didn't bother her in the least — something Victoire found fairly unusual. If she had lost her wand, she would have been quaking in her ballet flats, mainly in anticipation of the Howler that her mother would surely send. Fleur Delacour-Weasley was always complaining about what a disappointment her eldest daughter was. "Ees she even a girl?" she often shrieked when Victoire had lost something. "Never pays any attention to detail, zat one."
"Riles?" Victoire prodded.
"I think I lost it," she said. "I left it in the Slytherin common room two nights ago when I went to get a book from my dormitory, and then I got distracted talking to Iris Fawley. By the time I got back, the House Elves had finished sweeping, and it was gone. They must have accidentally swept it up."
"Didn't you ask them if they had it?"
Riley shrugged. "If they had, they'd probably have gotten rid of it lest someone think they stole it."
Victoire hesitated, and then said, "You don't suppose someone else stole it?"
At this, Riley looked rather puzzled. She considered Victoire for a moment, her head tilted to the side, before she said, "Why would anyone steal my wand?"
"You know… for the same reasons that they would attack you in the corridor."
"Oh," Riley said. She tried to play it off and sound as casual as possible, but Victoire knew her too well for that. Riley had been badly affected by the incident that had occurred after the Hallowe'en feast — she had been shaken up the morning after when she'd approached Victoire before breakfast and asked if they could go somewhere private to talk. As she'd told her about the events that had passed, Victoire had felt something growing inside her stomach, an unusual feeling, that she had realised was anger. She was glad that Riley had trusted her enough to tell her, because it meant that they had overcome the issues that they had been having in earlier months, but she was also furious at the boys who thought that hanging a fourteen-year-old upside down in a corridor was acceptable. Thank goodness both boys had been suspended for a week; they had both stayed at Hogwarts and been made to work with Knobbles instead of attending their regular classes. If it had been up to her, though, Victoire would have assigned a much, much worse punishment. As far as she was concerned, Cyrus Teller and his Ravenclaw friend were the real scum.
Speak of the devil.
Teller had appeared nearby with one of his friends — a tall, gangly Gryffindor. They were talking and laughing like any two people might on a warm day like this. Victoire's eyes narrowed unconsciously, and she felt that same shot of anger run through her. Bile burned the back of her throat, and she felt her nails dig into the soft skin of her palms.
Teller caught sight of her, and visibly paled. Taking his friend's arm, they moved away until they were out of Victoire's sight. The blonde's piercing blue eyes followed them as they disappeared behind a set of trees. Good riddance.
"What was that about?" Riley's voice rang out, breaking Victoire's concentration. She turned her head so that she was facing Riley; her mouth dropped open ever so slightly as she tried to come up with a quick excuse.
Nothing. She wished Teddy was here — whenever they got in trouble back home, he was always the one who managed to weasel them both out of it.
"Victoire?" said Riley, her tone combining worry and frustration. "What did you do?" She sounded like she was talking to a particularly naughty dog.
"I … er … nothing!" Victoire exclaimed hurriedly, forcing out a laugh that sounded rather like a horse neighing. "I did nothing! I don't have any idea what you're talking about, no, siree!"
Riley quirked an eyebrow, and Victoire could feel herself flushing rather red. No, siree? What was wrong with her — she sounded like that orphan boy who'd gotten mixed up with a gang in London in that muggle book her Aunt Hermione had given her to read. Why was she such a bad liar? She resolved to get Teddy to give her lessons in the art of deception; he was so good at it.
"What did you do?" the other girl repeated, each word carefully enunciated, giving her an overall menacing tone. "Why does Cyrus Teller looks like he's seen a banshee when he looks at you?"
"Nothing," Victoire squeaked. "I — okay, I may have … um … confronted Teller after you told me about what happened. And I … I may have slapped him."
"You what?" Riley exclaimed loudly, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping open. "Oh my goodness, Victoire, you didn't."
"Of course I did!" Victoire said rather obstinately. "He hurt you, didn't he? And I wanted to let him know that that's not acceptable. I'd have slapped his buddy too, but I haven't seen him."
"You slapped him," Riley said incredulously. "You slapped him."
"I slapped him."
Riley didn't look angry at all — Victoire hadn't told her, because she'd been worried that Riley wouldn't have liked what she had done, and wouldn't tell her things anymore. But there was something in the way that Riley looked at her with a mixture of gratitude and admiration that told her that she'd been completely wrong.
"Tell me it was a good slap."
"Oh, yes," Victoire nodded grimly, though there was a definite hint of a smile in her eyes. "It resounded throughout the Gryffindor common room. Everyone shut up, and he was just there holding his cheek — I left quite a nasty mark."
At this, Riley laughed. It was a wonderful sound, Victoire thought, light and musical and genuine. "You're a firecracker, you know that?"
"I like to think of myself as one of those blazing bonfire-type things where my friends are concerned," Victoire said, grinning. "One wrong step, and you'll get burned. Badly. It'll leave a scar."
"Oh my goodness, do you think Teller has a scar?" Riley grabbed Victoire's arm. "Do you think you knocked his teeth out?'
"I wish I'd knocked his teeth out!"
"Can you imagine Teller without teeth?"
"There's probably a way to grow them back though."
"We could hex them so that they never grow back!"
"Great idea! You hold him down, I'll perform the spell."
"Can you put a Bat-Bogey Hex on him while you're at it? Or what about that story you told me about your Uncle Ron vomiting slugs — do you think you could make him vomit slugs?"
The two girls collapsed in laughter, clutching each other's arms. Victoire's stomach began to ache, but it was nothing like how she felt when she was sick or angry. It was like the butterflies in her stomach were being set free; she felt light and warm and happy.
"Honestly, though," Riley said, once they were both able to breathe again. "Thank you."
Victoire smiled at her. "What are best friends for?"
.oOo.
V. Chocolate orange
Everyone else might have gotten over the debacle between Bella Watson and Laura Shipkins but Alfie Hayes most certainly had not. Two weeks later, he was still stalking about it - Teddy thought that the moment at which Bella had leaned down to kiss him on his cheek had been engraved in his memory forever, quite like a potent childhood event. He didn't think Alfie was ever going to get over it.
That evening, he and Alfie were sitting with Ella underneath the biggest oak tree by the Great Lake. Alfie had just finished Quidditch practice, and was going on and on about a wonderful new maneuver that Macey had shown them. "It was so difficult," he said. "Only Bella was able to do it."
Ella groaned, as if she knew exactly what was coming next.
"I still can't believe she kissed me."
"For Merlin's sake, Alfie," Ella sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's been two weeks. Two. Weeks. She hasn't kissed you since then, has she?"
Alfie went rather pink. "No."
"So why must you keep going on about -"
"Guys," Teddy said, softly but firmly in an attempt to relieve the tension amongst them, "calm down, would you?"
Alfie gave Ella a stern look, though there was mirth in his eyes. "Yeah, Ella, calm down."
Ella missed the joke. "For God's sake-"
"Ella," Teddy said placatingly.
"Sorry," she grumbled, leaning back against the tree's trunk and folding her arms crossly in front of her. "I'm sorry. I'm just impatient."
"Impatient?"
"Dinner date with Leo," she said, tapping her watch expectantly, "in exactly ten minutes. So if you want to talk about this - "
"We do."
"- then we need to get going."
"Right." Teddy rifled in his bag and extracted the rough notebook that he always carried around with him. He found it quite useful to have parchment available whenever he forgot one of his other books, or needed to scribble something down; he was completely useless with loose sheets, for he was always misplacing them. "Let's talk then. Alfie and I brainstormed last night, and this is what we came up with." He flipped to a page that was covered in his handwriting, and handed it to Ella who scanned it quickly.
Ever since Ella had figured out that everything that had happened - the kidnappings, the marks in London, the warnings in Hogsmeade - was linked to Hogwarts, the trio had been doing their best to try and find some sort of solid evidence behind her theory. Ella didn't want to go to the Aurors unless she was entirely sure that there was something meaningful that either proved her theory or that led to something else, and Teddy was determined to help her find it. He believed that no matter how little proof they had, the Aurors should know what they had figured out. For all he knew, they already had some kind of evidence that when paired with Ella's theory would shed significant light on the case, but Ella wasn't willing to see his point, and he wasn't willing to go behind her back.
Ella had decided that the first thing that they needed to do was figure out how the person (or people) behind the attacks in London had known which houses to target. She had theorised that day in the library that it might have been linked to the Hogwarts record books, but she hadn't been entirely sure, so the trio had spent the last couple of weeks researching forms of wizarding registration. It had taken them a long time - firstly because there wasn't much information on the topic in the library, and secondly because they had been so overloaded with homework (and Alfie with Quidditch practice) that they had barely had any time to themselves.
Alfie and Teddy had, at last, managed to go to the library last night, and had spent time going over a number of books in detail, trying to come up with ideas as to how 'The Perpetrator', as Ella had dubbed the mysterious figures behind the events, had gotten hold of the information that he or she had needed.
"This is good," Ella said at last.
"You think?"
"Yeah," she said, nodding, "I was actually thinking along the same lines. The Ministry has an Administrative Registration Department that lists wizarding households and number of wizards in each one. It wouldn't be -"
"- hard for the Perpetrator to figure out which houses had muggleborns," Teddy finished for her. "There'd only be one wizard at the address, and that wizard would be listed as being under seventeen."
"That does eliminate the Hogwarts connection though," Ella pointed out.
"How?" Alfie asked. "The wizards are all at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, but it means that the Perpetrator didn't break into Hogwarts to check the book that we know registers all wizards with magical blood - that one that's mentioned in Hogwarts: A History - what's it called? The Book of Admittance, that's it."
"They could have," Teddy pointed out. "They might have cross-checked the Hogwarts book with the Ministry, just to make sure that they were hitting the right people."
Ella's brow furrowed slightly. "That feels redundant though."
Teddy had to admit, it seemed redundant to him too. There was no real need to double check that the person was magical - they wouldn't be listed in the Ministry's directory unless they were. "True," he said. "What do you think, Alfie?"
Silence. Teddy craned his neck around to look at his friend. He was staring off into the distance, his green eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He appeared to be squinting at something in particular but when Teddy followed his gaze, he was unable to see anything out of the ordinary.
"Alfie?"
"Please don't tell me he's dreaming about Bella Watson again," Ella muttered under his breath.
"I'm not," Alfie said quietly. "I'm ... " he trailed off uncertainly.
Ella sighed and glanced at her watch. "Would you hurry up? I'm going to be late."
"It's just… well, what if they didn't cross-check the Ministry records with the Book of - what did you say it was called?"
"Admittance."
"Right."
Teddy's eyebrows furrowed together. "What are you trying to say?"
Alfie took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that they might not have needed to use the Book of Admittance. Or the Ministry records at all. You wanted a connection to Hogwarts, Ella - what if the Perpetrator figured out who was muggleborn and who wasn't from their existing knowledge of Hogwarts students?"
Silence. The force of what Alfie had said crept up on Teddy slowly, washing over him like a wave hitting the shore. Surely he must be wrong, Teddy thought, for if he was right that would mean that -
"Are you saying that someone at Hogwarts is responsible?" Ella said. Her voice was quiet, but there was an evident undertone of shock and trepidation, as if she didn't quite want to believe what Alfie was saying. "That someone who knows all the students well - like a Professor - is responsible for all this?"
"Not responsible," Alfie said quickly. "Just… caught up in it."
"No," Teddy said, shaking his head vehemently and trying his best to ignore the horrible, sinking feeling in his stomach. His shoulders were stiff, and he could feel the muscles in his upper back begin to ache; he didn't want to think about it, he wouldn't think about it. "Every professor here… they all love the students. Can you imagine anyone doing anything like this? Even Knobbles … he's horrible, but he's not that horrible."
All three friends remained silent. The wind had died down, and it was so still that Teddy felt almost claustrophobic. He didn't like what Alfie had said. He didn't like the implication that someone at Hogwarts could be involved in all of this horridness. Hogwarts was his second home; he trusted each and every person here. How could anyone - professor or student - even think of doing something like this?
Suddenly an image of an eleven-year-old in torn Slytherin robes being carried out of the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid flashed into his mind. The girl was unconscious, her brown hair was matted and her forehead was bloody. There were raw scratches on her exposed skin.
He remembered Victoire's nails digging into the flesh on his arm, he remembered her scream, he remembered wanting to cover her eyes and protect her, for no one should ever have to see a friend in that sort of state.
He remembered the expulsion that followed.
Ella glanced at him and swallowed. She seemed to be thinking of the same thing. "People have done similar things before," she said quietly. "We all remember what happened to Riley."
"How could we forget?" Teddy said quietly.
.oOo.
VI. Linchpin
It was a cold night. Temperatures had dropped to well below freezing, and most Hogsmeade residents were curled up indoors under blankets and by their fireplace. Auror Tilly Castrade was one of the lone individuals outside, roaming the streets, her hand gripping her wand tightly as she moved, watching carefully for anything out of the norm.
Not that there was anything out of the norm. Tilly was one of the few in the department who believed that Tabitha James had gone somewhat mad; patrols in Hogsmeade felt unnecessary and a waste of resources, what with everything else going on. She was merely trying to compensate for the fact that she didn't have a lead.
Tilly felt bad for her. She quite liked Tabitha — admired her, even — but not making any progress on a case of this magnitude had to be awfully frustrating. Tilly was glad that she hadn't been put on it — she didn't think that she could've handled the emotional baggage that came with a case like this.
"Poor kids," she mumbled under her breath. Her words formed tiny puffs of vapour and floated through the air, slowly dispersing until at last, they dissipated.
"Hey you," someone exclaimed, making Tilly start. She turned around to see a middle-aged wizard standing behind her, his arms folded. "Whatchu doin' out on a night like this? You not doin' any trouble, are ya?"
"No, sir," Tilly replied, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her badge. She held it up for him to see — even in the dim light, the silver A was clearly visible. "I'm an Auror, sir. Just doing my job."
His eyes narrowed. "On your way then."
Tilly nodded once and turned around again, trying to shake the unsettled feeling in her stomach. She checked her wristwatch, an old, scratched leather thing that had been given to her on her seventeenth birthday. It cut into her skin ever-so-slightly, but she had never taken it off and never would. It meant too much to her.
The time read eight-thirty. She had finished her shift.
Sighing, Tilly walked towards the Three Broomsticks, shuffling her feet against the gravel. She pushed the heavy wooden door open and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as she entered. The Three Broomsticks was, to her, a place of comfort, a home base for her this far north. It was a sign that she was done for the day, that she could Apparate back down south to her home, to her husband.
Auror Clare Newman was waiting inside the pub, leaning against the bar. She smiled when she saw Tilly and walked over to her. "All quiet on the Western front?"
Tilly's brow furrowed. "Sorry?"
Clare's smile dropped slightly, and she waved her hand. "Muggle expression. Sorry."
"Right." Clare was a muggleborn, and though she had been immersed in the wizarding world since she was eleven, there was something about her mannerisms that remained intrinsically muggle. Tilly supposed it was a result of living with her muggle parents — she couldn't help but wonder what that was like, living with the two people who were supposed to be close to you, and yet were so far away. She thanked her stars that both her parents were wizards.
"What I meant to ask was if anything unusual happened," Clare prompted.
Tilly shrugged. "Nah. It's Hogsmeade on a November night. What do you expect to happen?"
"December," Clare corrected quietly. "It's the first of December."
"Whatever," Tilly said, a wave of irritation washing over her. Clare was awfully aggravating. She seemed to think that she knew everything and always took it upon herself to correct everyone else.
"Well, I suppose I should—"
Clare was interrupted when the door opened, letting in a whoosh of cold air. It slammed closed and standing in front of it, was the man that had spoken to Tilly five minutes ago in the street. His face had changed somewhat — instead of suspicion in his eyes, there was fear. "You the Auror?" he said frantically.
"Yes, sir," Tilly said, ignoring the confused look Clare was giving her.
"She an Auror too?" He jerked his hair towards Clare, who nodded and moved her cloak aside so that her badge, attached to her trouser belt, was visible.
"Yes, sir."
"You need to see this." Without any further explanation, he ran outside.
"Should we —" Clare began, but Tilly had already taken off. The two Aurors exited the pub, and rounded the corner. The man was standing in the middle of the street, staring up at the sky, an expression of gobsmacked horror on his face. Clare followed his gaze and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream. Tilly bit down on her lip so hard that she drew blood and glanced upwards.
The sky was dark; black, like ink. No moon, barely any stars. Only a single source of light illuminated the village, giving it a greenish glow.
A skull and a snake, drawn in the sky out of putrid green smoke.
The dark mark, cast in the air for the first time since the fall of Voldemort.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter - it was one of my favourites to write! The next update will be in three weeks rather than two, because I'm heading back to university and therefore the next few weeks promise to be crazy (and these chapters are massive). So I'll see you all on the 12th of October!