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!
Wednesday night was exactly the same, with people coming up and offering help or asking if we were alright about every five minutes. I got through barely half an essay because I kept having to look up and politely decline another blanket about sixteen times. Keeli and I went to bed early again just to stave off all the conversation, and I had to rush during breakfast to get through my DADA essay as I knew there would be no time in Herbology. He didn't actually get to work on any vampiric plants, as the short class was mostly just taking notes on the dangers of being bitten and what to do if you were. DADA was working on vampires some more, studying a slideshow Professor Potter was showing us on vampires who tried to reassimilate to civilized life and the struggles they went through. Cad kept trying to pass notes with me but I ignored him, taking careful notes as I was sure it was to be on a test somewhere. We parted ways at lunch but all rejoined together again to walk down to our double Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
"So, how is it staying in the Hufflepuff common room?" Cad asked, his hands laced behind his head as he soaked in the sunshine.
"It's...nice." I said slowly, glancing back to make sure Molly and Matt weren't listening. "Everyone is very helpful."
"A little too much?"
I bit my lip. "I don't want to sound rude, but it's really hard to get anything done. Everyone keeps asking me if I need some hot chocolate or something."
He chuckled. "Why don't you come stay with the Gryffindors tonight?"
"With you?"
"Well, in the common room." he blushed, his hands falling back next to his sides. "Might be a nice break for you and Keeli."
"What do you think?" I asked her, and she thought for a second.
"Can't hurt right? I'm afraid I'm going to lose it if someone asks me if I need a hug again."
"It's decided then. Don't worry, I'm sure the Prefect will understand." Cad picked up his pace so we'd make it to the lesson on time.
Professor Shortwood clapped her hands together as we all gathered around. "Alright class, today we start a new unit. Everyone put your dragonskin gloves on, that's right, like that. Divide into partners and one of you come up here to get our new creature."
"Dibs!" Cad shouted, clapping the back of my shoulder before scurrying up to be the first one in line.
"You save one box of spiders and suddenly you think you're a hero." Louk shook his head as Damian followed the Gryffindor up to the crate.
"He's just excited about the lesson." I waved him off. "You know how he gets with this class. It's the one subject I don't have to force him to study."
Louk just shook his head like I didn't understand. Cad returned with one of the bizarre creatures, distracting me thoroughly. It looked a lot like a monkey with four arms and a tail that was wrapped around Cad's wrist to help it keep its balance, but it's skin was green scales and it's face was all wrong. It's head was identical to a frog's except it had tiny, sharp teeth all long it's jaws. A single pustule on its forehead was the only bit of color on the otherwise green creature, a vibrant red to contrast the scales around it. .
"It's a Clabbert." Cad grinned.
"I can see that." I pulled out a spare bit of parchment to start my sketch. "I presume you already know everything about it then?"
"Not really, they're more popular in America, and even then there are a lot of rules about them."
"Like what, keep away from the pointy bits?" I cast a wary glance at it's rows of teeth.
"More like keep them hidden. This pustule lights up when Muggles come around so a lot of people had them as an early warning sign."
"Seems useful." I shrugged, starting to sketch out it's tail.
"They're kinda cute." Cad grinned as he took one of the grasshoppers he'd been given by Professor Shortwood and handed it to the creature. It sniffed it before taking it in its hands, biting off the head with sickening ferocity. I shuddered as I tried to focus on my drawing.
"Do you want to hold it?" Cad gestured the creature to me as I shook my head.
"Pass, but thanks."
"Ah, it's in my hair!" Amber screamed, trying to wrestle the monkey creature away from her head but it was firmly rooted, having grasped thick locks in it's long fingers.
Cad walked over and held up a grasshopper to it, the Clabbert deciding to go for the treat instead of Amber's hair. It crawled onto Cad's shoulder and sat across from the other, both munching loudly on their snacks.
"I hate these things." Amber shuddered, pulling a brush out of her bag to fix the mess it'd made.
"Good for a laugh at least." Damian smiled, only to get thwacked in the arm with a hairbrush.
Luckily we all got our drawings done quickly, but Cad insisted on carrying the Clabberts around on his arms even after the final bell had rung. He was having so much fun we couldn't bring ourselves to ruin it, so we just sat down on the grass a little ways away and got started on the mountain of work we already had. I finally got through my History of Magic notes, starting on the last of my essay for Charms. At seven we finally convinced Cad to give the Clabberts back so we could head up to dinner. Keeli and I took our time eating the savory steak and potatoes that had been in front of us before following Amber and Cad all the way up the stairs to a large portrait of an opera singer holding a bunch of grapes.
"Grindylow." Cad said confidently, and the opera singer gave Keeli and I a sideways glance before swinging open to admit us all.
The Gryffindor common room was an assault of red. Everything from the drapes, to the rugs, to the couches were a deep maroon. Cad jerked his thumb at two second years on the couch and they vacated quickly so we could all sit down.
"See, isn't this nice?" Cad leaned back, putting an arm over the back of the couch behind my shoulders. "Reminds me of break."
"And I'd much rather have Tempy than you." I smirked, pulling out my Moste Potente Potions book to do a little reading before we turned in.
"What all did you two get up to during break?" Amber gave me a mischievous smile. "Cad has been annoyingly light on details."
I shrugged. "Homework mostly. I read a lot and he worked in his parent's shop."
"You are so boring." Amber rolled her eyes before standing to go join a group of girls by the window.
Cad just layed back and closed his eyes, seemingly content with relaxing next to me. I curled up on the seat and continued on my book, Keeli mirroring me with our Charms textbook across from me on a comfy chair.
While people left us alone for the most part, it was unreasonably loud in the tower. An Exploding Snap game started up in one corner while a few burly guys started an arm wrestling contest in the other corner that had lots of shouting. The group of girls Amber was with laughed loudly every few seconds and another group of students sitting on the floor by the stairs started racing their pencil cases across the floor to work on their Locomotion Charms. Someone's cat from somewhere took interest and it soon turned into a game of Cat and Pencilcase underneath the couch we were sitting at. After rereading the page I was on four times without taking a word in I gave up on the venture, leaning over to rest on Cad's shoulder and try to get to sleep early.
I napped a little, being woken up every few minutes by a particularly loud Snap or one of the Gryffindor boys being thrown across the room as they were wrestling. As it got closer to midnight some people started retiring upstairs which made it easier to doze off uninterrupted. Maybe an hour later I woke up as my head shifted, Cad's shoulder having slid out from underneath it.
"Just making you more comfortable, don't worry."
"Thanks." I pulled up the blanket he'd laid over me, glancing over to see he'd placed one on Keeli as well. I noticed two more Ravenclaws at the squishy chairs under the window, curled up like cats as they read in the dim firelight.
"You sure you don't want to come up and sleep in a proper bed?" he offered with a devilish smile.
"I'm fine, but thanks for the completely selfless offer." I smiled sleepily and he stroked my forehead to brush back my hair.
"Sleep good."
"You too." I closed my eyes as he walked up the stairs to his dorm.
The next morning was pure madness, as the girl's bathroom was completely overrun with everyone trying to shower or do their makeup all at the same time. After I managed to brush my teeth I resigned to brushing my hair and applying my makeup in a compact mirror in the common room while we waited for Cad and Amber to finish. Cad came down pretty quickly and talked to us about his game over the weekend, giving lots of waves as people called his name on their way out to breakfast. Amber likewise came down with a group of friends and we joined them in the long walk down the stairs.
"That's one benefit of the Hufflepuff dorms, not so much walking." I whispered to Keeli who giggled.
"How did you sleep last night?" she whispered back.
"Not so bad after everyone went to sleep. You?"
"Same." I nodded as we left the stairwell to head to the Great Hall.
Cad made it a point to grab my hand and squeeze it as we parted ways, and I felt Louk's eyes on my back as I walked over to the table. Barely a second after I'd sat down I felt a prod in my back.
"You stayed in the Gryffindor tower last night?" he whispered.
"Yeah, Keeli and I were going to scream if someone asked if we needed any help on homework in the Hufflepuff common room again."
"How was it?" he looked like he was fighting between being annoyed and genuinely curious.
"Not so bad. Imagine being in a room with about twenty Cad's, with all the noise and chaos that entails."
He shuddered. "Sounds like hell."
"It had it's good points and it's bad." I shrugged as I reached for my juice. "Better than Eleanor."
"Why don't you stay in my common room tonight?" he offered. "You've gone to everyone else's."
I looked over to Keeli who I knew had been eavesdropping, but she just let out a heavy sigh. "You can if you want, I'm staying with the Hufflepuffs again. Even if everyone is too nice, I'd rather be around Matt than the dungeons or that loud game with the Gryffindors."
"Sure." I shrugged.
"See you tonight then." he nodded as we seperated to eat our breakfasts.
Classes dragged on, only saved by the double Potions lesson in which I brewed Erumpent Potion in under ten minutes, earning a hearty round of applause from Professor Slughorn. Molly who was sitting next to me didn't do too much worse with my help, and I got a sincere thanks from her in making sure she didn't fail. After Astronomy at the end of the day I was grateful to slip onto my Potion's Club bench and read through my book, making notes here and there. News had spread Eleanor had picked up on half the tower visiting while she was eating dinner, so we'd ducked up during lunch to get a change of clothes and a few textbooks. It seemed to do the trick, as we didn't see her at all during dinner when she was presumably sitting in front of the portrait hole to bombard someone.
Rumor had it nearly half the Ravenclaw tower didn't even return to their dorms anymore, and her detentions were getting more severe as she grew more frustrated. Every minor infraction was being met with a mandatory four hour Saturday detention, and her mishaps were worsening as a result. No one was sure exactly how it was managed, but anytime she walked past a bookshelf all the books madly threw themselves off into a heap on the floor, which resulted in her having a temporary ban from the library until it was sorted out. Her quill debacle continued and seventh years said she had to keep Silencing her quill during classes so she could take notes. Her hair still turned all colors of the rainbow depending on her mood, and it at least made it easy to see her from about half a mile away. Her trunk got victimized by Dungbombs Friday afternoon sometime which made it even easier to know she was nearby, as the smell preceded her a corridor and a half.
Friday night after dinner Louk said 'Silverlight' to an expanse of brick wall in the dungeons to let me in the Slytherin common room, which was the closest to the Ravenclaw room of all the other houses. Everyone was sitting by themselves or quietly talking in small groups. One entire side of the common room was a glass window that peered out into the lake, fish swimming by every few seconds. The second I set foot in the room a few eyes flicked up to me but no one said anything as we moved to sit on an unoccupied couch. There were also a large number of Ravenclaws, almost ten, all sitting reading or helping others with homework. I sat next to Louk and Damian sat across from us, the two of them starting a game of chess as I was finally able to read in peace. For a few blissful hours I felt my stress draining away as I read about poisons that turned someone into a puddle of goo or a solid stone statue. At close to eleven a taller Slytherin boy walked in, making stops at the Slytherins who were next to Ravenclaws and they each handed him something. He came around to Louk who reached into his pocket and handed the boy a small leather pouch without looking up for the game. Once the Prefect was safely in his dormitories I leaned over to whisper to Louk.
"What was that?"
"Alistair is our Head Boy."
"So?"
"Well, you didn't think just anyone got to waltz in and spend the night in the Slytherin common room did you?" he gave me a look. "You Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart."
"You bribed him?"
"No, I gave him money so you could stay here."
"Why didn't you tell me? I should have paid it."
"You're my guest, it's my job to pay for it." he shook his head and he moved another piece with his wand. "It's fine, trust me. It's just how it works down here."
"Well, alright." I settled back into the emerald couch, readjusting the blanket to cover my legs.
At midnight Damian retired, nodding his head to me as he went down the stairs to their dorm. Lots of other Slytherins excused themselves as well, but there were still plenty bent over papers or cauldrons. It was a relaxing bit of home as there was always someone engrossed in research, and I sighed as I thought about how much I missed my tower.
"What was that for?" Louk leaned over, taking some of the blanket to cover himself.
"I just wish things didn't have to be like this. Not that I've not enjoyed spending time with you guys, but I miss my own common room."
"I'm sure it will all blow over soon." he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to lay on his chest a little as he reclined against the arm. "I'm sure this has to be hard on you."
"After the break I was just hoping everything could go back to normal. I guess not." I settled into his chest, sighing again as I closed my eyes to get some sleep.
I got to sleep in a little Saturday morning as people didn't get up so early and even those that did kept their noise level low. Damian shook Louk and I awake at eight sharp so we'd have plenty of time to get ready and eat breakfast before the game. It was a little intimidating going into the Slytherin girl's restroom where I didn't know anyone, and I made myself small against one of the mirrors while I rushed through my morning routine.
One of the girls who had pitch black hair set her makeup bag at the sink next to me, giving me a smile. "Hey little Ravenclaw."
"Goodmorning." I said carefully, trying not to stab my eye out with my mascara wand.
"It must be hard hot potato-ing around the other common rooms like this." she gave me a sympathetic look. "Why are you guys avoiding your tower?"
I looked at her in the mirror as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush, vaguely recognizing her. I couldn't place where I knew her, but something in my gut told me not to trust her.
"Just working through some things as a house. Sorry, it's kind of personal."
"I don't mean to pry." she gave me a smile. "Just want to know if there's anything I can do to help."
"I appreciate the offer, really, but I'm fine."
"You and Apertice seem to be pretty close. It isn't often he spends the night on those uncomfortable couches."
"We're friends." I said simply.
"I see." she said simply, finally resigning herself to brushing her teeth and ending the conversation.
She rushed through her routine and we finished at the same time, her holding the door open for me. I nodded in thanks as I stepped into the corridor, Louk standing directly in front of me with crossed arms.
"Loveday." he said brusquely.
"You know you can call me Kelly, Louk. We're friends, right?"
He spared her a glare before turning his eyes on me. "Are you ready to head to breakfast?"
I nodded and I sensed the tension, and the girl gave a chuckle. I remembered her now, the Slytherin girl in Professor Slughorn's dinners Damian didn't like to talk to. "You're so protective, Louk, any reason for that?"
"Some people are too nice to notice a snake when they see one." his face was impassive.
"Hopefully she's not that dense, she's in a den full of them after all." she gave me another smile as she turned back to the girl's dorms.
Louk just jerked his head in the direction of the common room, following me as I retrieved my bag and slipped my toiletries case into it. Damian was waiting for us and greeted us with a nod, leading the way out of the common room. Once I was sure we were alone I spoke in a whisper.
"What was that?"
"Loveday being Loveday." Louk shook his head. "If you don't have a friend in Ravenclaw you're not really sure what's going on, and she's dying to know. The Headmistress' speech just piqued her interest, and she's wanting the details. She was just trying to work you for the latest gossip."
"There's a reason no one around here says anything to her." Damian chimed in. "There's kind of an unspoken rule around here, and it's that you stick with your Slytherin mates. Things you might see or hear are kept secret, because we need to look out for each other."
"Ravenclaw has those too." I smiled as I remembered the quiet night in the common room scribbling potion ideas down. "You never interrupt anyone who's working because you never know when they might be focused."
"I think all the houses have a kind of unspoken agreement between them to some extent." Damian said slowly. "That's probably why we only truly feel at home around our housemates."
"I feel pretty comfortable with some people." I flicked my gaze over to Louk who smiled and took my hand.
"Like everything, there are exceptions I'm sure."
We split ways at breakfast and I sat next to Keeli who was happily digging into some pancakes. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"Good morning to you too. You're in a good mood." I grinned as I stabbed a few sausages with my fork. "Have a good night?"
"Oh yeah, the Hufflepuffs held a hide and seek tournament and it was a lot of fun. Although they are really good at it. How was it with the Slytherins?"
"Relaxing." I said blissfully. "I finally got to be left alone for longer than ten seconds."
"Are you ready for the game today?" she took another bite. "I hear Hufflepuff is supposed to be the favorite."
I shrugged. "Who knows? I'm only going because Cad made me promise."
"Well to be fair, I think we both owe him a few times over on behalf of the house." she looked over to the other students bent over journals or moving wands in complicated patterns. "I'll be happy once we get back to normal."
"Me too." I agreed.
"Good morning, ladies!" Cad came up behind us, hugging us both. "Are you ready for the most amazing match of Quidditch you've seen in your life?"
"I didn't think the World Cup was for a few more years." I teased as he sat next to me, legs sticking out into the aisle.
"Please, Brazil wishes they could fly like me. I have a great feeling about today. I'm not going to miss a single swing I bet."
"Don't let Damian hear you say that, he'll want to put gold on it." Keeli chuckled.
"I'm sure you'll do great, even if you don't have a perfect hit record." I smiled. "First step to a good game is a good breakfast. You better split before Eleanor gets here."
"Aye aye Captain." he pecked my cheek before skipping over to his table right as the fire engine red hair walked into the room, sitting in a group of Ravenclaws who quickly dispersed in a six foot area around her.
We finished eating quickly and were ready to head outside with the others thirty minutes before the game was due to start. I slid my Gryffindor scarf out of my bag and put it around my shoulders to keep the cold off, Cad giving a beaming smile as he saw it. We wished the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs a good game as we split ways at the stands, climbing the stairs to get a good seat before the crowds started showing up.
"You're really going to wear that ghastly thing?" Louk looked at the scarf like it'd personally insulted him.
"Well yeah, it makes Cad feel better." I shrugged. "Plus it's bloody cold out here."
"You can say that again." Matt complained, wrapping his own scarf tighter around his neck. "The things I do for her."
"And she appreciates it." Keeli smiled, scooting closer so they could hunker together.
We made small talk about classes and such until the two teams walked onto the field, vibrant red and yellow making them much easier to keep track of then the green and blue of the other houses who each disappeared in the grass and sky respectively. They shook hands and Madame Hooch tossed the Quaffle in the air to start the game, each team exploding a flurry of movement.
I tried to keep my eye on Cad but the two teams seemed to have taken an extra dose of Pepper Up Potion and were moving too quickly for my eyes to tell who was who. I heard the crack of a bat on a Bludger and Damian nodded.
"Good shot, Cad. Amber's seen the Snitch I think. Her flying pattern changed."
He was right, and the game was over barely fifteen minutes after it'd started. Gryffindor were the victors, but they had only won by one hundred points which didn't put them far enough in the lead to be where their Captain wanted them to be if I translated what Damian said clearly enough. Regardless the Gryffindor's were ecstatic and jumping around at the bottom of the pitch as they congratulated their teammates. We stood to the side until they had worn themselves out, slowly meandering toward the castle to give us a chance to congratulate our friends. Amber's smile was a mile wide as she tackled Damian in a hug, and Cad likewise picked me up and spun me around.
"I told you that scarf would bring us good luck."
"Nonsense." I shook my head as he set me down. "You did great. You had, uh, some good hits."
"I know." he beamed. "Thanks for trying to care."
"I care." I said defensively, crossing my arms and making him explode in laughter.
"I know, Aims, I'm just teasing you." he ruffled my hair and threw his arm over my shoulders as we walked back to the castle.
We spent the entire afternoon on the second floor corridor eating candy and working on homework, after lunch venturing outside as it was just slightly warm enough to warrant a walk around the lake. I peered into the lake to try and see the window of the Slytherin's common room but the lake was so dark and deep I couldn't see much past a few inches. After dinner we all split our separate ways to go to the arrangement of common rooms that suited us for the moment. Damian said he wanted to work in the library alone so it was just Louk and I in the common room leaning on each other as we read.
It was about an hour after his Head Boy had come around to collect the tributes when Louk looked over to my book, being interested in one of the depictions.
"What's that?"
"Polyjuice Potion gone wrong." I explained, flipping the page so he could see more. "Despite how versatile it is, it can go wrong pretty easily."
"Why is that guy inside out?" he asked, more interested than horrified.
"That's what happens when the lacewing flies aren't stewed properly before hand, or otherwise tainted. It's a tricky potion."
"Are you going to try it?"
"Probably not, I have no reason for it. I'm still trying to play catch-up after all those potions got taken from me after break."
"No idea what your next big potion is going to be?" his voice was slightly teasing.
"This book has plenty of poisons you know." I glared at him. "Poisons no one would find any trace of by the time you died a slow and painful death."
"You're too cute to poison anyone." he smirked, turning back to his book and I huffed before doing the same.
We stayed up late Saturday night just reading and talking softly, and he didn't retire to his dorm room until almost two. I curled up in the huge grey blanket he'd loaned me and sighed as I breathed in the slightly damp air of the common room. Maybe couch surfing wasn't so bad.
The next morning was the same as the last, and we met the rest of the group after breakfast outside by the lake as the weather seemed to be cooperating. We tried to focus on homework but it quickly turned into us just lounging around talking for a few hours as we soaked up some much needed vitamin D. I was feeling on top of the world as dinner rolled around, Keeli and I chatting excitedly about our Charms lesson the next day. It wasn't really all that exciting, the only highlight was we got to keep breaking bowls to repair, but things just seemed a little more fun after a day relaxing.
