Chapter Thirty-Five—
Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw

Harry Potter had the Firebolt—how he got it, no one knew, but after being stripped down and searched, it was clear that it was safe, and he was free to use it. Gryffindor was definitely going to not only win their next match, but the Quidditch Cup as well.

And Meril couldn't be any more jealous.

She sat silently in the stands at the team's last practice, huddled up in the sweater Mrs. Weasley had made her for Christmas. She wasn't sure how it was already March. Time was passing so quickly, Meril could barely blink before another week had wizzed by. Hadn't she just been sneaking around in the library with Fred? Hadn't she finally gotten her ban from the library revoked when Professor McGonagall learned it was preventing her from her work? Hadn't George just found out? Hadn't it just been Valentine's Day?

Meril winced as Harry caught the Snitch once again. How many times had it been so far this practice? The first time he had caught it in under ten seconds; since then, Meril had stopped timing it, but she still noticed each time that flash of gold disappeared into Harry's hand.

That gold…even now, sitting in the stands, her eyes caught on it, even for a second. The Seeker was still in her, itching to get her chance to play, but she knew she wouldn't. Not with a Firebolt on the team. Not with Harry Potter on the team.

Meril had never seen any of them play so well before—they were almost faultless. Of course, goals got in, which meant that Wood had failed to save, and goals failed, which meant that one of the chasers failed, but that was expected. Meril was mesmerized as she watched the game, not even noticing the early March chill around her.

She twisted her rings around her fingers thoughtfully as she watched the twins. George's words from Valentine's Day were still ringing in her ears. She could see his face—the hurt, the anger—looming in front of her. Things had barely improved from that day. He didn't avoid her anymore, but he was still distant—so distant that it physically hurt her.

Fred still didn't seem to notice.

At long last, the seven players touched back down. Oliver was stunned into silence; Meril suspected that she saw a grin on his face, though it was hard to tell—he was so far away.

"That was wonderful! Beautiful—really!" Oliver boomed, the excitement evident in his voice. "I have no criticisms. I'm just…" It sounded as if he was about to tear up, now; he stopped talking.

"Well, that's a first," George pointed out, grinning pleasantly as he rested his club on his shoulder.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow! Not unless—Harry, you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, though it sounded as if his mind had suddenly drifted elsewhere.

"The dementors won't turn up, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic," Fred said confidently.

"Well, let's hope not. Anyway—good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower…turn in early—" Oliver said, glancing at the castle

Harry said something in reply, but Meril didn't pay any attention to it. She slowly climbed her way out of the stands and followed the team into the locker rooms, hugging her arms to her chest as she went. Now that she wasn't watching the game anymore, she had time to notice the biting cold. It probably wasn't as bad as she thought it was, since everyone else seemed fine, but she couldn't stop shivering.

"Did you see us out there?" Fred exclaimed, swooping down on her as soon as she entered the room. He had a huge grin on his face as he grabbed her shoulders. The excitement was contagious; a huge smile slid easily across Meril's face.

"You guys were brilliant up there!" she sincerely proclaimed, looking around the room at each present member of the team.

"I can't wait for tomorrow! We are going to whoop Ravenclaw!"

"Of course you will," Meril assured him, smiling as she pat his shoulder. "You always do, don't you?"

"Not always," he said darkly. "Ravenclaw has a good team."

"But not as good as Gryffindor's. Now hurry along and get changed so we can go eat, eh?"

"Has the lion awakened again?" he teased, poking Meril's stomach; it growled loudly. His grin widened.

"If you don't hurry up, I will go up there without you." She raised her eyebrows at him, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to have Fred take her seriously.

"We can't have that; all of the food will be gone by the time we get up there! Everyone, out of my way!" Fred scrambled away from Meril, disappearing around a corner where Meril could hear him crashing into things in an attempt to quickly change. Meril laughed, taking a seat on one of the benches as she waited patiently—or tried to—for him.

"Wood had nothing bad to say," George commented in amazement, sitting down beside Meril and startling her. She hadn't been expecting him to just come over and talk to her. It seemed that he so rarely did that anymore.

"I know; it's amazing. Even when you all fly wonderfully, he has something."

"But not today." He grinned widely, his eyes crinkling at the corners as they were so apt to do.

"No, not today."

"It all came so naturally today. I mean, more so than usual, obviously," he laughed, flicking his head to the side, flipping his invisible hair over his shoulder. Meril giggled; George's smile expanded. She loved to see him smile and there had been a serious lack in it as of late. She was surprised by how overwhelming the urge to laugh and hug him was now that he was smiling like that again.

The best part was that Meril could see that he saw her again in that smile. His hazel eyes—more on the green side today, probably because of the red he wore—held her bright blue ones in a steady gaze.

A throat cleared, followed quickly by another.

Meril broke her gaze with George, her smile falling. She looked over her shoulder; Alicia and Angelina stood watching them, each wearing identical smirks and staring pointedly at Meril. Meril cocked an eyebrow, staring back at them.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," they said in unison. They stared for another moment before turning and walking away. "We'll see you up at dinner."

And then it was just Meril and George, with Fred still around the corner somewhere, taking an inordinate amount of time to get changed. Meril glanced back at George, but he wasn't looking at her anymore, just staring down at his hands. His smile had gone, and his face was blank once more. Meril put her hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react; didn't flinch away, didn't smile. He just continued to stare at his hands.

"I'm ready! Let's go tame that lion!" Fred exclaimed, bounding back into the room. He grabbed Meril's hand, lifting her to her feet. "Let's go—you, too, George!"

George got to his feet slowly and walked along after Fred and Meril. For reasons unbeknownst to her, Meril did her best not to hold Fred's hand as the three walked along, but Fred's fingers kept finding hers, no matter how many excuses she found to pull away.

Meril was already eating breakfast when they came down—four boys, Ron amongst them, had formed a protective circle around Harry and his Firebolt, as if at any moment someone might break loose from their table and attack him, destroying Gryffindor's chances of winning the match.

Meril rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Fred, but he, like most of the Great Hall, had turned his attention to the broom. Although he had already seen it before—even seen it in action—his eyes glazed over in admiration.

"Meril—can I?" he whimpered, his face taking on a lost-puppy look.

"Fred, you've seen it before. I don't see why—"

"Put it here, Harry," Oliver's voice boomed, cutting Meril off mid-sentence. The Keeper laid the broom gingerly in the middle of the table, taking an inordinate amount of care in making sure that its name was facing up.

Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were soon crowding the table just to get a look at the broom, while the Slytherins all remained in their seats. Even from across the hall, Meril could make out the peevish expressions on their faces.

As Meril was jostled by the elbows of all the students trying to get a better look, her patience began to wane. She would have continued to sit in silent endurance, though, if it hadn't been for the hand which splattered in her food.

In their rush to see the broom, some first year accidentally knocked one of their mates over. In an attempt to catch himself from falling, the boy's hand landed in the middle of Meril's breakfast.

Of course, he ended up falling over anyway when, in an attempt to salvage her scrambled eggs, Meril shoved his arm out of her plate and he tumbled out into the aisle.

"I wasn't done with that!" Meril whimpered, staring down at her plate. She pushed the food around with her fork, but there was no rescuing it; the damage was done. Who knew where that boy's hand had been; surely no where Meril would eat from.

Thrusting the plate away from her as she got to her feet, Meril had had enough. She shoved her way through the mob—the wagering on the outcome of the match, the admiring, the congratulating—and stormed out into the Entrance Hall, where she could breathe properly again.

She wasted no time in sitting around, waiting for the crowd to form again as the school moved out of the Great Hall. She didn't need to see them forcing through the doorway as one, not paying any attention to the fact that the doorway, however wide, could not fit them all at once. Instead, she headed straight outside to begin to long trek up to the pitch.

It was a cool, clear day. A light breeze ruffled Meril's loose hair. It was the perfect day for Quidditch. Combined with the new addition to the team, Gryffindor's chances of winning were higher than Meril had ever seen.

The pitch was empty—peaceful. Meril took her time as she climbed the stands, searching for the perfect place to sit to get a good view of the game. This match would almost ensure Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup, and there was no way she was going to miss it, even if it all came down to Harry and his Firebolt in the end.

Meril didn't know how long she sat there for, but it didn't feel like very long before the rest of the school started to make its way to the pitch. She was about to seek out Heather to let her know where she was when Trey Carlton plopped down in the stands beside her.

"'Ello there!" he cheerfully greeted. He had a stack of toast wrapped in his sweater and a crust dangling out of his mouth. After stopping his glasses falling from down his nose, he held the stack out to Meril in offering.

"I just ate. But thank you."

"Of course," Trey replied, swallowing down the crust at last. "How have you been? Haven't seen much of you recently. Boyfriend been keeping you busy, eh?"

Meril shrugged. "I suppose so. But it might also have to do with the fact that we're in different houses…And that you're a sixth year, and I'm only a fifth."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever the reason, the point is, I haven't seen you much since I met you, and that's a darn shame. I like you."

The way he said it made it sound as if this fact had surprised him—as if the reality that she wasn't a hateful hag had come as a real shock to him. She wondered what he had heard about her, and from whom the information came.

"I like you, too," she said simply in reply. "Heather should have introduced us sooner."

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he bit into another piece of toast. "Does your boyfriend know how you feel?"

"No, I haven't broken the news to him yet. You won't tell him, will you?" Meril said beseechingly as she grabbed onto his hand.

Trey's eyes widened behind his glasses. He glanced down at his hand, where Meril's fingers had wrapped around his knuckles, and back up to Meril's pleading face.

"Are you—you're not—you're joking, right?" he stuttered, his face turning a patchwork of red and white. His widened eyes were wincing noticeably, and a nervous smile was plastered onto his face.

"Joking? Why would I be joking?" Meril frowned.

"Well we barely—and you and Fred—and we barely—"

The corner of Meril's mouth twitched, and despite her best efforts, a snort escaped her. The next moment, she was bursting into laughter. "Of course I'm joking!" she exclaimed, releasing his hand from her grip.

"Bollocks, Meril! You scared me! I don't like you like that! I was afraid I was going to have to turn you down."

"I don't like you that way, either. But thank you for being so appalled at the very idea. That is a wonderful boost for my self-esteem."

"I didn't—you know I—it's just that—"

"There's someone else," Meril finished, sparing him from further stuttering.

"Yeah," he confirmed, his face flaring red again.

"Anyone I know?" she asked, though she suspected she already knew she answer.

"…Yes," he said hesitantly. "Though I—I can't say anymore."

Before Meril could make any attempt at a reply, a tall boy with broad shoulders and curly auburn hair came and sat down on the other side of Trey. Meril had the odd suspicion that she had seen him before, but she couldn't say where.

"Jesse and Caleb will be here soon," he announced, thumping Trey on the back. "You were pretty tough to find; I thought you'd be on the other end…what made you sit here?"

"I wanted to sit with Meril here," he said with a smile, patting Meril's shoulder.

"Meril?" the stranger questioned. Drawing his eyebrows together, he leaned forward to see around Trey. "Dungbombs?"

"That would be me…"

"I'm surprised you made the connection," Trey commented, "because I had no idea that she was the same person. I'd heard of Meril, and of course there was her party…but I just never thought she was that same…"

"Brat?" Meril filled in, a bemused smile on her lips.

Trey smiled sheepishly. "You remember that?"

"How could I forget?"

"I might not have made the connection if it weren't for Oliver," Trey's friend said loudly, inserting himself back into the conversation.

"Oliver?" Meril questioned.

"Yeah, he's my best friend. I'm Ryan Jugg, by the way," the boy said, extending his hand. It was a polite gesture, so Meril responded by giving his hand a shake and a "nice to meet you," but it was rather stiff. Meril didn't get the impression that Ryan Jugg had any intention of befriending her.

After a moment of careful scrutiny, she realized why he seemed familiar. "Are you one of the Hogs?"

"Yup," he replied with a short nod.

"I've been wondering who the Gryffindor was for a while now! It's weird that I should meet the one in my own house last."

"Yes, well, now you know."

Meril turned away, any interest in him gone. She didn't think any of the Hogs could give her a worse impression that Caleb had, but Ryan Jugg had succeeded where the others had failed.

The silence between the three lasted for several more minutes. Meril scanned the incoming crowds as they made their way into the stadium in hopes of spotting Heather out of the crowd. Her head was turned to the side, but she could feel a set of eyes boring into her.

"Your ears stick out oddly."

"Excuse me?" Meril blustered. She felt her face burning as she turned to face the speaker, but she couldn't tell if the comment made her more angry or embarrassed.

"Your ears stick out oddly," Ryan repeated.

"What makes you think it's okay to say that?" Meril squeaked, her eyes bulging. She could feel her face getting redder and redder as her blood got nearer to boiling.

"He's just playing!" Trey intervened, leaning forward so his head blocked Meril's view of Ryan. "This is what he does when he meets new people!"

"Well it's rude! Do you just look for what's wrong with people? Is that what you like to see—the bad?"

"Everyone has flaws, and I just think they should be acknowledged outright," Ryan explained in a level tone. "As I find them, I point them out."

"What kind of terrible person are you?" Meril demanded.

"It's better to say something to a person's face than behind their back. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice; what makes me worse than the people who haven't said it to your face?"

"You could just think about it in your head rather than saying it out loud."

Ryan looked ready to reply, but before he could, Caleb Stinson and Jesse Fujimaki appeared in the stands.

"Huggy-Juggy!" Caleb called out, running forward to meet the Gryffindor, which was possibly one of the most bizarre things which Meril had ever seen. Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't interact. It was an unspoken rule at Hogwarts, and to see it so blatantly disregarded was somewhat…unnerving.

Of course, you talk to Caleb, too, Meril realized as she gave him a wave. He was possibly the oddest Slytherin Meril had ever met. Similarly, Ryan Jugg was likely the least Gryffindor-like Gryffindor ever.

"Meril, Ryan—are you ready to lose?" Jesse asked, grinning widely as he took the seat in front of her.

"You wish, Jesse! Gryffindor is going to kick Ravenclaw's ass!" Meril exclaimed.

"Eh, we'll see," Caleb said, falling into the seat beside Jesse. "But I'm hoping it is Ravenclaw."

"Nah, Gryffindor all the way!" Trey exclaimed. Meril looked over at him, beaming.

"You're rooting for Gryffindor?"

Trey nodded. "We're two-and-two here, which is pretty unusual. Usually three of us are teaming up against the fourth."

"Shush you two! The match is starting!" Jesse exclaimed, pointing towards the field. The five all turned their attention to the green, where fourteen players were walking towards the middle. The stadium erupted into applause which lasted until the players kicked off into the air; after that, all was silent until Lee Jordan began his commentary.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship—"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall interrupted reprovingly.

"Right you are, Professor—" Lee chipperly replied, then proceeding to continue his advertisement of the Firebolt. Meril unintentionally tuned him out as she became absorbed in the match.

Katie Bell scored the first goal of the match; Harry just barely avoided being knocked off his broom by a bludger, and George retaliated by slamming the bludger back to the offending Beater. Before Meril knew it, another seven goals had been scored by Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw still had nothing.

"Who's going to win now?" Ryan Jugg whispered in Jesse's ear rather snugly.

"The Snitch hasn't been caught yet."

Ravenclaw proceeded to score three goals, leaving Gryffindor only fifty points ahead, and Meril slightly nervous. Gryffindor couldn't afford to lose if they wanted to win the Cup. Which, Meril knew, was what they—particularly Oliver—wanted more than anything in the world.

Meril watched with interest as Harry and the Ravenclaw Seeker—the only female on the team—played cat and mouse. She was constantly tailing him and blocking him, and aside from misleading her once, he did very little to actually ward her off.

Harry pulled out of a very sharp dive and sped off towards the Ravenclaw end of the field, leaving the girl stuck in the dive he had tricked her into. Seeing what he was doing, she pulled out of the dive and accelerated after him. And then—

Three hooded figures glided onto the field. Meril looked at them, feeling dread at the sight of them, but no terrible chill took over her body. She looked at the figures again, then at Harry. He had whipped his wand out of his robes and pointed them at the figures. An enormous silvery-white figure erupted from the end of his wand and galloped towards the figures, knocking them out, but Harry had paid no mind. He continued onward, stretching his arm forward until his fingers closed over the Snitch.

The watch was over.

Gryffindor had won.

The cheers of the stadium overpowered the disappointment made by the Ravenclaws and their supporters. Meril clapped and cheered as loud as anyone, though her eyes were flickering towards the hooded figures.

Why hadn't she felt any cold?

Her answer came a moment later as the long black robes came off.

They weren't dementors at all. It was just four stupid Slytherins attempting to sabotage Gryffindor's chances at winning the Cup. Meril rolled her eyes; if they actually had a decent team, they wouldn't have to create pathetic schemes to up their chances.

"It's been lovely watching with you all," Meril said as she Trey, Jesse, Caleb, and Ryan reached the bottom of the stands, "but I have someone who I need to go congratulate."

Meril pushed through all of the bodies crowding around the Gryffindor team until she at last reached the center. As expected, both Fred and George were standing there, conducting the cheers and accepting any congratulations which came their way.

"Ahem," Meril cleared her throat as she stepped up behind them. As one, they turned around to face her, and grins broke across their faces. Fred stepped forward, sweeping Meril off the ground and planting a big kiss on her lips.

"We won!" he exclaimed as he set her back down.

"I know! Congratulations! George!" She turned to face the other twin, her grin widening. "You were incredible out there!"

"Thanks," he said with a sloppy grin. Then, flexing a muscle he added, "I was pretty good out there today. I think we owe the entire victory to me."

"Obviously," Meril agreed with a sardonic smile. "There should just be a party in honor of you!"

"I completely a—"

"Did I hear you say party?" Fred interrupted. Then, turning to face the rest of the crowd, he announced, "Party in the Gryffindor common room!" and trampled off, presumably, to the locker room.

Meril moved to follow after him, but stopped when she noticed George fighting his way over to Harry, and decided to stick with him.

"Come on, Harry!" George shouted as he finally made his way through the bodies to Harry. "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

"Right," said Harry. He followed George and Meril as they rejoined the rest of the team and, still in their scarlet robes, led the way back up to the castle.

You would think that Gryffindor had already won the Quidditch Cup the way they carried on that night. Fred and George disappeared for several hours and returned with their arms overflowing with butterbeers, pumpkin fizz, and Honeydukes sweets.

The common room had become a circus ring. There was music, dancing, and younger students running around, trying not to get underfoot. At one table, Fred and George were juggling bottles of butterbeer. Probably five separate games of Exploding Snap were going on at once, and two ambitious first-years were practicing their levitation spells, consequently lifting things which shouldn't have been lifted.

After she had more than her share of butterbeers in her, Meril found herself up on the coffee table with Alicia and Angelina. All three of them were singing bad karaoke, but none of them were singing the same song.

Lee somehow ended up with a lamp-shade over his head and flirted with every girl—and boy—he happened across, under the impression that every single one of them was Angelina.

When Fred and George lost interest in their juggling, they came and joined Meril, Alicia, and Angelina up on the coffee table and started to dance. An over-enthusiastic George accidentally hip-checked Alicia, knocking her off of the table. Angelina hopped off a moment later and collapsed on the sofa, frightening a few first and second years away.

As Fred pretended that he was swimming, George did a move which he said was called "The Monkey," though Meril didn't understand why it would have such a name. All he did was alternate his arms up and down.

"Let me show you what a real monkey looks like!" Meril demanded, latching onto George's wrist. "Stop it—stop it! Now, feel free to copy my afterwards, but I doubt you can make it as authentic as I can. After all," she said, her face so close to his her eyes were crossed, "you have normal ears. Don't you?" She took a look at them both and tugged at his lobes. "Yes, they are quite ears. My ears stick out funny though. That's what…that's what someone told me."

"Who told you that?" George asked with a frown. He had not consumed nearly enough butterbeers for them to have any effect on him, and was so still quite in the right state of mind.

However, Meril paid no heed to his question. "I want to show you a monkey!" she exclaimed as she forced him onto his knees. Then, clambering onto his back, she ordered, "Stand up, and make sure you hold onto my legs! I don't wanna fall like—like—like Alicia did!"

"Meril, I don't think this is—"

"Georgie!"

"Fine, fine," he grumbled. Holding her underneath the knee, he carefully rose to his feet.

Paying no heed to whether she was properly balanced or not, Meril removed both arms from their placement around George's neck and began to scratch her head and armpit simultaneously, howling as she assumed a monkey would. George cast a worried glance towards Fred, but the latter just seemed to find the whole endeavor hilarious, as did the rest of the Gryffindor house.

Feeling he might as well get some enjoyment out of this as well, George tightened his grip on Meril's legs and began to dance around in circles, chanting nonsense that no one understood, yet Meril got a riot out of anyway.

This was the moment Meril decided that it was time to stop acting like a monkey and to lay down to take a break. Only, instead of actually asking George to allow her to do so, she merely dropped her arms and allowed her body to fall backwards. George staggered under the unexpected fall, desperately trying to keep her from falling on her head. Meril, on the other hand, had no concept of the struggle, and so just continued to dangle, laughing merrily as she swayed about.

"Fred—some help?"

"What? Oh—right!"

Fred grabbed onto Meril's wrists and lifted her upwards so she lay horizontally in the air. She smiled up at Fred, her bright blue eyes twinkling with delight.

"Kiss me," she demanded.

"Mer, I don't know if that's the best idea," Fred protested.

"Please?"

Meril thrust out her lower-lip and stared beseechingly up at him. Fred looked around the room, sighed, and gave in.

"Alright," he consented. "I guess there's worse things I could be doing." So, being careful not to let his grip on her slip, he carefully lowered his face towards hers and gently pressed their lips together.

Meril beamed up at him before lifting her head to look at George. "Your turn, Georgie."

"My turn what?"

"Kiss!"

"Kiss…who?" he asked, his voice wary.

"Me, of course!"

"Meril, I don't think you're thinking clearly at all. Let's just put you down…Fred?"

Together, the two found her a comfortable place to rest in the corner. After it was clear that she would not be getting back up, they walked away, leaving her there.

Her eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. Meril yawned and willed her eyes to close the rest of the way. All her energy expended, she felt very peaceful as she lay there. Even when she heard the condescending tone of Ryan Jugg as he told her, "You have no control," it didn't matter, because by that time, she was already asleep.

Meril awoke with a start when a frightened shout pierced Gryffindor Tower. The Common Room was empty and dark, save for the dying embers in the fireplace. All was eerily still.

Meril felt around for her wand as she slowly sat up. Her heart was racing in her chest so fast she heard it echoing in her ears. Everything was so much scarier when you were alone on the dark.

She heard light footsteps padding across the floor and her breath caught in her throat. Desperately, she continued her search for her wand. Where had it gotten to? And how had she ended up sleeping in the Common Room anyway?

Oh, how she wished she was sleeping safe and sound in her bed. She was sure no harm would befall her up there. But what if someone had broken in? They had to get back out, and surely they'd need to come back through the Common Room.

Blue eyes leered at her through the darkness. Before Meril could react, the eyes, and whatever was attached to them, were flying towards her. The body landed hard on her chest, but it wasn't until Meril saw a faint white glow and felt the soft white fur that she realized it was just Pistachio.

"Thank Merlin!" Meril muttered. "But if it's just you right now—"

The sound of feet pattering down the stairs suddenly filled the tower. Doors were opening all over the tower, and the muted sounds of conversation found their way to Meril.

The door to the Common Room flung open, and five boys entered. Even with the dim lighting and eyes and mind still affected by the exorbitant amount of alcohol Meril had consumed, she could make out the vibrant red hair of a Weasley.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?"

"I'm telling you, I saw him!"

"What's all the noise?"

"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!"

Suddenly, boys and girls alike were reappearing in the Common Room, all yawning and looking both confused and irritated by the noise.

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" the voice of Fred Weasley said cheerfully.

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy Weasley ordered as he pinned his Head Boy badge to the front of his robes. As if that would make the students would respect him anymore.

Cradling Pistachio to her chest, Meril got to her feet and slowly joined the rest of the students. Her legs were wobbling, and her vision was hazy; she nearly fell over several times in the short distance it took to reach them. Percy gave her a particularly reproving look, confusing Meril. What had she done that had been so upsetting? She didn't recall doing anything outrageous or offensive…

"Perce—Sirius Black! I our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!" Ron announced earnestly, his voice barely above a whisper.

The Common Room went very still; Meril nearly toppled over, but Fred caught her by the arm, just before she could fall.

"Nonsense!" said Percy after a moment. "You had too much to eat, Ron—had a nightmare—"

"I'm telling you—"

"Now, really, that's enough!"

Professor McGonagall's sharp voice cut through the tension like a knife, forcing everyone back to the present. The professor slammed the portrait behind her and looked about the room crossly.

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" Percy said indignantly, his eyes flickering briefly in Meril's direction, then towards Ron, before returning to the professor. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare—"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron bellowed. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?" Professor McGonagall replied almost dismissively.

"Ask him! Ask him if he saw—" Ron retorted shakily, pointing an accusatory finger in the direction of Sir Cadogan's portrait.

Professor McGonagall stared suspiciously at Ron for a moment before returning out into the corridor. The Common Room took a collective breath and waited, silent, for the outcome.

"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?

"Certainly, good lady!" Sir Cadogan cried, sounding almost astounded by the very question.

The silence continued. Meril gripped Fred's elbow tightly, staring nervously up at him. He returned the look, too stunned to speak.

"You—you did? But—but the password!" the professor stuttered, too stunned to even reprimand. Meril had never heard her like this; it made her even more anxious.

"He had 'em! Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

Professor McGonagall returned to the Common Room a moment later, her face white as a sheet of paper. She faced them, the silence extending for several minutes. Finally, in a shaking voice, she said, "Which person—which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

A terrified squeak broke the silence which followed the question. Meril watched as a trembling hand was slowly risen into the air, extending over the crowd.

No one slept that night. Meril curled up beside Lee on the sofa and stared into the fire with glazed eyes. She had never felt—nor had she ever seen Fred, George, or Lee—so subdued. Angelina and Alicia could barely even speak.

Meril had learned that the boy who had written the list was a Neville Longbottom, a third year with large ears and a round face. Before leaving to conduct the search for the convict, Professor McGonagall enforced that no one, under any circumstances, was to tell him the passwords.

At dawn, McGonagall returned, informing the students that Black had escaped once again. But after that, every precaution was taken to make sure he didn't break into the school again. Professor Flitwick was teaching the doors to recognize a photo of Black; Filch was patrolling the corridors like never before, sealing anything which resembled a possible entry. Sir Cadogan had been replaced by the Fat Lady, who only returned on the promise of security trolls.

After the second attack, the threat of Sirius Black seemed all to real to most of the Hogwarts population. Meril could barely remember the majority of that night—though she had earned the new nickname "Monkey," somehow—but she could still remember the fear she felt, and the chalky white complexion of Professor McGonagall's face as she reentered the Common Room.

Meril had been hoping for adventure when she returned to Hogwarts, and by the looks of it, she had more or less gotten her wish. It just didn't feel as good as she had thought it would.

a/n So, here it is at last: Chapter Thirty-Five. It's been a few months since I have updated, and I am sure that this was not nearly as exciting as you may have been hoping. However, this is just a boring chapter, really. I was stuck on it for a while BECAUSE of just how boring it was. Nothing happens, honestly. But, since I am jumping around more, I still want to make the jumps smaller, so things like this end up happening. The end of this story is in sight, however! I have a few things marked off in PoA to include, and some of those can probably be combined into chapters...but still, it's only a few left, and I am going to try to make them come as quickly as possible, because I am just really excited to start the next one. :)

In any case, I hope you enjoyed, and reviews are always accepted and appreciated :)

Oh, and one last thing: As it so happens every now and then, there are lines which come directly from PoA, and I claim NO RIGHTS TO THEM AT ALL.

Thank you :)