Remember I update by the year but it has multiple parts, so be checking what chapter you're on so you don't lose your place. Please, please, please drop a comment on what you think. Thanks guys!
After dinner we met the others in the library to get started on our essay about untraceable poisons. It was a complicated twenty inch essay about symptoms of poisoning and a lot of rare flora from Asian and African countries, so it was late before we finally turned into the Ravenclaw dorm. Much like the night we'd returned from dinner to find our dorms trashed, there was an air of excitement permeating the whole tower the second we walked through the door. Professor Flitwick was standing on the table in the middle of the dorm room with Eleanor standing nearby, but it took me a second to place her. She was scowling something awful and her arms were crossed, her normally brunette hair being an angry shade of red. It wasn't just typical red head red, but the red of a fire engine. She looked livid as Professor Flitwick waved at us to join the cluster of students around him. It was a few minutes past curfew but there was barely a quarter of the house in the common room and I knew it was because they were all spread out still avoiding the tower.
"It pains me to have to say this, as I thought Ravenclaw tower was one of tolerance and welcoming, but we have a very strict no bullying policy here at Hogwarts. Ms. Heady is your Head Girl and I know some of her duties make her a little unpopular, but that is no excuse to take revenge. If you had items confiscated right after the break then it was only your fault for bringing them here. Now, if whoever enacted these petty revenges on Ms. Heady steps forward now, I promise the punishment will be moderate compared to if I have to investigate myself."
"What petty revenges?" one of the sixth year boys asked next to me.
"Does this look like my hair color?" Eleanor snapped, the red becoming even more vibrant.
"Someone spiked Ms. Heady's normal hair care products with some sort of joke ones." Professor Flitwick explained, and Eleanor's hair turned a light pink as everyone stared at her.
"Why do you think it was one of us?" another girl asked from the back of the group.
"Who else would have access to the Ravenclaw tower?" Eleanor spat.
"Hardly any of us are in Ravenclaw tower anymore." I crossed my arms.
"I know you all are still trying to adjust to the new leadership, but I assure you Ms. Heady is only trying to help you all be your best selves. I hope we can set these squabbles aside and focus on what really is important, pursuing our passions to make the world a better place. With that, I bid you all good night." Professor Flitwick hopped off, walking out the door as we all remained silent behind him.
As the door shut behind me we started filing for our dorms, but Eleanor held her hand up to stop Keeli and I's path. "You two were out past curfew."
"By two minutes, and Professor Flitwick didn't say anything." I pointed out.
"Doesn't matter. You each have a detention, tomorrow at two."
"You can't do that!" I protested but she held her hand up again.
"I can assure I can, and I'll be getting a lot stricter about it. If you all want to play petty schemes then I'll play too."
"We didn't ruin your stupid shampoo." Keeli scowled. "You can't take revenge on us if we didn't do it, then it's just unprecedented punishment."
"I'm not punishing you for the shampoo, yet, I'm punishing you for being out late. Keep arguing and it will be two detentions."
We both scowled at her as we headed upstairs, murmuring under our breath as we got into our pajamas. It took me nearly half an hour just to settle down enough to get some sleep, and even then it was fitful. Sunday was much calmer as we merely avoided Ravenclaw tower as much as possible and seemed to stay enough out of Eleanor's way to avoid any more retribution. Detention wasn't really all that bad, just sitting the Charms classroom with Professor Flitwick and doing homework until he said we could go. After detention we sat with our friends in the second floor corridor as it was still freezing outside and I was bending over Ancient Runes translations with Cad. The giant bell tower struck eight and I groaned.
"What's wrong?" Cad looked up from his work.
"I really don't want to go back to the tower. I just know Eleanor is waiting for me to mess up so she can give me more detention."
"More? You mean she gave you that detention today?" Louk looked up from his own work.
"Yeah, because we were two minutes late to the tower yesterday. Not even Flitwick said anything." I massaged the bridge of my nose.
"Two minutes? Really?" Cad and Louk exchanged glances.
"She's just mad because someone messed with her shampoo, and now her hair is all these crazy colors."
"I wondered what that was all about." Cad's smile was just a little too restrained, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"You didn't."
The look on his face told me he was going to try to lie, but my glare made him think better of it. "Look, she took your potions book, what else was I to do?"
"I asked you not to retaliate!" I snapped my book shut.
"You know it's not like me to let these kinds of things slide." he at least had the grace to look guilty.
"And now things are so much worse!"
"You got one detention, I would hardly call it the end of days." Louk rolled his eyes, which honed my anger in on him.
"You knew."
"Of course I did, you think Cad could sneak in there all by himself?" Louk gave me a condescending look.
I shoved my book in my bag, standing up and walking down the hall. Cad jumped up to follow after me but Louk put his hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down, returning him to the stone floor. I turned the corner to head to the stairs before Louk caught up to me. He tried to grab my arm but I ripped it out of his grasp.
"You lied to me." I accused.
"How?"
"You promised me you wouldn't take revenge."
"I promised you I wouldn't be doing a thing against Eleanor, and I didn't. I was in Hogsmeade with you all day yesterday."
A few pieces clicked into place. "You took me to Hogsmeade so I had an alibi."
"You won't get blamed because nearly a hundred people sawyou in the Broomsticks when she was bothered with."
I closed my eyes and calmed the rushing in my head, turning to storm off again but he was too quick.
"Amelia."
"No, Louk, you lied to me."
"No I didn't!"
"It was as good as!" I scowled. "I had a great time yesterday and here I found out it was just so you could enact your revenge scheme I specifically asked you not to concoct. I don't care you weren't the one physically acting it out, you knew about it and made sure it happened."
"Well you sure weren't going to do anything about it." he shot back, before taking a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry I played with the truth a little bit. It wasn't just for the Eleanor thing, I really did have fun with you yesterday."
"Just leave me alone." I shrugged off his arm and stomped for the stairs, finally being uninterrupted. I went downstairs to the potions room and finished my Erumpent Solution, starting on a batch of Veritaserum to keep my mind occupied. The time was well past nine and I was dreading going back up to the tower, so eventually I just laid my head on the table and resolved to spend the night in the lab.
It was one of the most uncomfortable nights I ever spent and I got very little actual sleep, but it wasn't so bad as I sat to breakfast. Keeli was worried at first but as I explained she understood, and the topic turned to Charms. As the other Ravenclaws arrived I noticed the mood around the table seemed to be a bit better, with a few smiles even peeking out from behind the books. I turned to Eunice and Dorothy who had just sat down next to us.
"Why is everyone in such a good mood?"
Eunice looked around to see who was near them, lowering her voice even though she must have deemed it safe. "The stuff we had taken? We got it all back."
"You what?" Keeli likewise lowered her voice.
"When we went up to our dorms last night everything was sitting on our beds like it'd never left. Eleanor was too busy sitting by the entrance trying to catch people coming in late to notice."
"But won't she just take it again?" I whispered back.
"I'm not stupid enough to keep my mice here anymore. I sent them home." Eunice placed a napkin in her lap, pouring cereal into her bowl. "I'd rather they be safe and not have them than them be in the dorm to get stolen again."
"Everyone got their things back?" I asked her, my eyes flicking over to the Gryffindor table.
"That I know of. Noah even got his entire spider collection back." Dorothy chimed in as Eunice's mouth was full.
"Really?" Keeli sounded a little less enthusiastic at this news.
"Yup. Books, banned items, creatures; you name it. While Eleanor was distracted everyone went around hiding or illusioning them. I think Noah found a room in the basement to continue his spider venom research."
"Eleanor must have been too busy focused on her new hair to notice." Keeli exchanged a look with me and I nodded slightly.
In Charms after breakfast I sat next to Louk, fiddling with my quill as I debated on what to say. "I hear some kids might have gotten some of their things returned that they lost."
"Maybe." he shrugged.
"I'm still mad you ignored what I said."
"To be fair, the warm and fuzzy part wasn't my idea. I helped Cad get where he needed to go but I would still have done it if it was just messing with Heady."
"Then I'll make sure to thank Cad." I said softly as Professor Flitwick had stepped up to the front of class to call us to attention.
After Charms was Ancient Runes and I rushed so Cad and I would have a few minutes to talk. He was sitting in our usual desk, setting his homework on the corner of his desk as I slid in next to him. I asked him the same thing I'd asked Louk and a devilish grin lit his face.
"Well good for them, I'm sure they're happy to have their things back."
"You wouldn't know anything about that, right?"
"Of course not. I'm just glad to see those kids happy. You Ravenclaws need all the help you can get nowadays."
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm still mad you ignored what I said."
"If it's any consolation, the revenge was just a distraction." his smile grew wider and he leaned in closer. "Since you're in such a good mood, would it be too much to ask you come to my game this weekend? I'll need my good luck charm."
"Scarf included." I nodded as the bell rang.
At lunch Keeli and I were talking about our upcoming Care of Magical Creatures lesson when Eunice and Dorothy sat next to us with grim expressions.
"You'll never guess what a Hufflepuff seventh year just told me." Dorothy whispered as she spooned food onto her plate.
"More Eleanor things?" I braced myself for the nod I knew was coming.
"All her quills seem to have been replaced with ones that swear loudly anytime she tries to write, and she's got Cursed."
"Cursed?" Keeli said in horror.
"Anytime she tries to say the word 'detention' she loses the ability to speak for several minutes."
Keeli and I exchanged horrified glances.
"And someone spiked her morning pumpkin juice with Hiccoughing Solution, so she's been on a rampage all day." Eunice added to our misery.
"We're dead." Keeli thumped her forehead against the table.
"I might be spending the night in the potions room again." I resolved, trying to plan out my afternoon so I could grab clothes while Eleanor might be at dinner or in class.
"I might be joining you." Keeli pushed peas around her plate.
We peeked in the Great Hall during dinner to see her yelling at a first year for walking too close to her, and instead of 'detention' she had to say 'special punishment studying session in Professor Flitwick's office'. We snuck up to the tower while she seemed preoccupied to shower and grab a change of clothes before finally getting to shovel in some dinner before it disappeared. After dinner we sat with the others in the second floor corridor working on homework until eight thirty when they dispersed to their common rooms. We headed straight up to the Astronomy Tower, however, and just sat at the empty desks reading until midnight rolled around. The Hufflepuff's were some of the first to trickle in and Molly and Matt sat next to us with curious glances.
"You guys usually aren't up here this early."
"We're avoiding the tower." Keeli yawned, putting her bookmark in her book. "Probably going to end up spending the night here as well."
"You can return to sleep, surely." Matt gave her a concerned glance.
"Our luck Eleanor will be waiting to give us more 'special punishment studying sessions' for being out past curfew." I looked up at the stars.
"But you had class." Molly scowled.
Keeli just shook her head. "She probably won't care, she's on the warpath."
"Well, why don't you come down to our common room?" Matt offered. "You can stay on the couches instead of having to sleep up here on the stone."
"That's got to be against the rules, right?" Keeli looked over to me.
I shrugged. "I've never heard of it happening. The rule is we have to be in our common rooms by nine o'clock."
"I don't mind losing some points to make sure you guys get a good night's rest." Molly crossed her arms. "You come with us after class and we'll take care of you."
It was decided and after the never ending Astronomy lesson we walked all the way down to the kitchens with them. They stopped us in front of a group of barrels, Molly leaning forward and knocking on one of them in an odd pattern. It seemed to work for the barrels, however, because they just swung open to admit us all. Matt made a big deal about rounding up a whole bunch of blankets and piling them on us before both he and his sister finally retired to their rooms. It seemed we weren't the only ones with Hufflepuff friends, as I saw a few more Ravenclaws scattered on the many couches in the common room.
We slept like the dead, only being woken up when students started trickling in to head to breakfast. We followed Molly to the girls bathroom to change and refresh ourselves, seeing Matt talking with a Prefect as we walked back into the common room.
He was pretty tall with soft brunette hair and a smile for us as we caught his eye. "Hey you guys, hear you're having some problems."
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Well, you're welcome to stay here any time you want. We'd rather you crash here than on a staircase somewhere."
"Thank you." Keeli nodded her head.
"Could you take some points from us?" I asked.
"Why would I do that?" he looked genuinely confused.
"Points can't be taken by two Prefects for the same thing, right?" he nodded and I continued. "If you take points from us now, Eleanor can't later."
"Ah, I see." he got a twinkle in his eyes. "You little Ravenclaws are pretty crafty, aren't you?"
"When we need to be." I shrugged.
"A single point from each Ravenclaw who stayed here for not being in your dorm at curfew then, and a single point will be awarded to each of you for cleaning up after yourselves." he gestured to the blankets folded on the couches and the book bags neatly lined up against the wall. "See you tonight." he nodded as he walked out of the door to breakfast, Matt and Molly turning on me as he left.
"You couldn't just wait to see if Eleanor left you alone?" Molly asked.
"I guarantee you she won't." I shook my head as I moved to follow the older student.
I made breakfast quick trying to avoid my Head Girl, grabbing some toast and chugging a glass of pumpkin juice before heading upstairs for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Keeli and I were alone for a while but the Gryffindors started showing up before too long, Cad sliding into the seat next to me with a muffin.
"I come bearing peace offerings."
"What are you making peace with?" I eyed the muffin warily.
"Didn't know if you were still made at me about the Eleanor thing."
"Annoyed more than angry." I took the muffin, splitting it in half to share it with him. "You made a lot of people happy, and I can't be mad at that."
"Great! My Captain said I'm all set to take the lead in the next game. It might be my last, as he'll want the starters up for the later games where we're in contention for the Cup."
"Have your practices been going well?"
"More or less, I still have a lot of muscles to build but my aim is pretty good."
"Well I look forward to seeing you this weekend." I smiled genuinely. "Been a while since I was subjected to a Quidditch game."
"My thoughts exactly. Can't having you get too comfortable now." he poked my ribs as Professor Potter started the lesson.
After DADA Cad and I just passed notes through the double History of Magic lesson to pass the time, while after lunch we kept up a pleasant conversation with Matt and Molly in our double Herbology lesson as we learned how to harvest and dry nettles for potions. It was a boring lesson but Professor Sprout promised we'd be starting on defanging vampiric vegetation soon which was a unit I'd been waiting for.
After class we met with the others as usual, except after dinner we followed the two Hufflepuffs back down to their common room instead of hiding out in the library. I levitated my history textbook between Keeli and I so we could take notes on what had been covered in class today and we got to work. Matt was sitting on the other side of Keeli and they were talking softly to each other. For all the madness that was going on at the moment, it was at least nice to see her so happy.
"Hey, Marcus told me we'd be having some more Ravenclaws in here." a girl with auburn hair walked up to us with a smile. "Just wanted to say hi. I'm Tabitha, another Hufflepuff Prefect."
"Nice to meet you, Tabitha." I nodded in greeting, trying not to let her interruption bother me.
"Is there anything you guys need?"
"No thank you, we're just trying to get some work done." Keeli likewise gave her a smile.
"Oh, of course. If you need anything, feel free to ask." she gave us a parting wave and we returned to our notes.
Not two pages later another Hufflepuff boy came up and asked us if we needed anything, and half a page after him we had two fourth year girls say the same thing. After the fifth interruption the book crashed to the floor and I shoved my notes in my bag.
"I think that's all I'm going to get done tonight." I sighed.
"Everyone here is so helpful." Keeli whispered as we went to the bathroom to change.
We slept on the comfy couches again, getting a single point deducted and immediately replaced the next morning before heading up to breakfast again. I used the potions class before lunch to work on the Ancient Runes work I hadn't had a chance to before, using my free hand to absentmindedly brew the Erumpent Potion we were working on in class. Potions Club was nice and relaxing, and I made some of the finishing touches to my Veritaserum before it had to mature for a full lunar cycle. During dinner we made sure Eleanor was working on her food before rushing up to the tower to get more clothes and a few things we'd need for class or studying.
