"You're joking!" Aly exclaimed loudly, so some heads turned in her direction. She flushed. "Are you serious?" she whispered.
"Oh, yes. He's transferring."
"From where?" Hayden asked, leaning across the table.
"I dunno!" Char snapped. "Bella never said anything about having a brother!"
"Get a talk out of that one," Aly added, staring at Bella's brother. "Best hope he gets in your dormitory."
Hayden nodded and leaned back and watched with relief as the tables filled with food.
"Ah, thank you God," Char said, reaching for a turkey leg. "I didn't listen to one word of that whole sorting."
"Who's the lady in the pink?" Hayden muttered, jerking his head towards the professors. Aly scanned the table hastily and stopped when she noticed a woman in a pink cardigan, pink robes, pink nails, and dare I say it-pink nails.
Aly gaped in disgust. "How did I miss that? She sticks out like a sore thumb!"
"It's Umbridge," Damien said quietly, speaking for the first time in a while.
"Excuse me?" Hayden asked, stifling a laugh. "That fat old hog from the Ministry? Why the heck is she here?"
"Didn't you listen to a word Mr. Boyle said?" Aly asked, staring at Hayden sternly. "The ministry is trying to control Hogwarts!"
"I say we lead the first student initiated rebellion," Char said simply. Aly rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure your mother will have a say about that," she said, brandishing a chicken leg. Char tried to look scared.
Their conversation continued for a few minutes, with Amanda or Damien adding a word in every now and then, while Aly and Hayden tried to keep the conversation going. Aly managed to get a laugh out of Damien during dessert. Amanda merely snorted and turned her head.
What's her problem?
Suddenly the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up to say a few words, but was soon interrupted by Umbridge as she stood up and walked over to the podium. She smiled innocently and opened her mouth...
Aly smacked Char's shoulder for the fifth time in an attempt to stop the snoring.
"Wake up!" Damien hissed, shaking Char's shoulder. He looked around. "You great oaf, people are staring!"
Indeed, a good number of students had turned around to see what the commotion was over by the Gryffindor table.
Aly tried shaking his head once more and then groaned with frustration and covered her ears. Suddenly, she had an idea. She slowly put her arm under the table and pulled her wand out of her robes.
"Silencio," she muttered, pointing at Char.
Suddenly, Char's snoring stopped. He continued to sleep, but no sound came out of his mouth. Aly sighed with relief and looked around carefully to make sure no teachers saw. She looked up at the Heads' table and saw Professor McGonagall giving her a stern stare. Aly grinned sheepishly, and ducked her head. "Whoops."
Ever since Professor Umbridge started speaking, students have been catching up on those missed hours of sleep. Even the teachers looked bored.
Aly looked over at the next table and felt a lump in her throat when she realized Cedric wasn't there.
How she missed him.
Aly even went as far to carry a picture with him in her trunk of them right after the Yule Ball last year. He was waving and smiling in the picture, poking Aly and she was glaring at him playfully.
"Stupid Voldemort," Aly muttered, looking down at the wooden tables. Hayden's head turned quickly to look at her. Aly looked up, aware that he had heard her, and blinked while Hayden's blue eyes probed her, searching.
They didn't know. And they never will.
Suddenly, the Hall broke into minimal applause, and the students who were sleeping began to rise, with Char being one. He rubbed his eyes and turned to Hayden and opened his mouth. No sound came out, and he looked horrified, while Hayden snickered.
"Oh! Sorry," Aly whispered and took out her wand again. "Finite Incantatem!"
"What the bloody-Mmmf!" Aly clamped her hand over Char's mouth and he glared at her. Suddenly Aly felt a lick on her palm and pulled away, her face disgusted.
"You're disgusting!"
"You deserved it! What was that for!" Char hissed angrily as Umbridge sat down.
"Your snoring, mate!" Hayden replied casually. "You almost had the whole Hall looking at you."
"Oh, snap."
Aly smirked and turned her attention to Dumbledore.
"Thank you, professor, well-said," Dumbledore said politely. He nodded to Umbridge, who had clasped her hands and looked like an innocent school girl.
Of course, this one wasn't going to be innocent.
Aly watched as Amanda stood quickly after they were dismissed from the Great Hall.
"Let's go," Amanda said. "I want to get a peek at Bella's brother."
Aly got up slowly and they all started filing out of the Great Hall. Once they finally made it to the door, the crowd separated, heading to their respective common rooms.
Amanda grabbed Aly by the arm and started looking around for Adam. As Amanda dragged her along, Aly bumped into someone.
"Oh! Sorry!" Aly exclaimed, pulling her arm out of Amanda's grasp and turning around. She smiled at the boy in front of her. "Hello, Adam." Aly looked behind her and looked at Amanda, who was still walking. Amanda looked behind her shoulder and stared at Aly, and then at Adam.
Aly could already see the wheels in motion.
"Hi," Adam said, perplexed. "Do I know you?"
Aly turned around and smiled. "No," Aly asked, "But I knew your sister." Adam looked just like his sister, with blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a gold stud in his ear.
"Oh! Are you...Aly?" Adam asked slowly. She nodded. Aly looked around for Amanda, but she was nowhere in sight. "Nice to meet you. What happened to your friend?"
"Oh, she left," Aly asked, perplexed. "I don't know why, though. She wanted to meet you."
"Why?"
They started walking up the stairs; Adam followed Aly.
Aly sighed. "Well...your sister dated my friend, Damien for a while last year..."
"I know," Adam said quickly. "She talked about him a lot."
"What a surprise," Aly muttered. She looked up and climbed up the moving staircases. "Anyway, Amanda didn't like it, you see. She and Damien have fancied each other for a while." She looked over at Adam, who was listening patiently. "Why am I telling you all this?"
"Because I like to listen," he answered plainly. Aly smiled.
"Well, you know that the Triwizard Tournament happened...and my old friend Michael, who had transferred there, came to visit. He and Amanda liked each other, too. So, Michael and Amanda were 'together' and so were Damien and Bella. They secretly wanted to be together," Aly added. They got off the stairs and started heading for the portrait of the fat lady.
"So, when Bella left, Amanda and Damien were all happy...but then when you came here, she has a plan."
"A plan?" Adam repeated.
"Yes, and I know it involves you," Aly mused. "I bet you more than anything that she's going to try and make Damien jealous."
"Why would she do that, when she was all happy when Bells left?" Adam asked, confused. "Bella didn't do anything."
"Exactly. I thought Amanda was over it, but I guess not. She's already mad at me because I didn't sit with her on the train over here. Apparently, she thought You-Know-Who got me," Aly said sarcastically.
"Right, then."
"Anyway," Aly said, as they approached the portrait, "Just watch out. Pixie dust."
The fat lady swung open. They walked into the common room. It was empty, save for a few students.
"That was an interesting introduction," Adam said, smiling. "Sounds like you've been balancing a lot on that plate of yours."
"You have no idea," Aly said, shaking her head.