Author's note: I really loved writing this chapter, it has many characters and great interactions. I hope you enjoy it.
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER
It was too early for breakfast, the sun had just showed up weakly, and the other four girls were still deep asleep. Lily had a disturbing night, her thoughts kept going back to the things Scorpius' had said. She hadn't understood the possible dangers of the mysterious potion until he listed all those terrible possibilities. Perhaps she secretly wanted to stay oblivious. The papers weren't reporting any new dubious attacks on muggles, and she made herself believe that those were isolated cases from a singular person, and not an organized group. The latter option was too terrifying. But she knew she was being naïve, a few weeks without deaths didn't mean anything.
After the talk with Scorpius, she'd have to face her fears and find out what happened that day, even if it would be painful. She was Harry Potter's daughter, for Merlin's sake and ought to be braver than that. People's lives could be at stake, even if she weren't sure her attack was connected to the ones happening to muggles. Lily wanted to make her family proud and do something to impact the world just like her father did and continued doing.
Lily got up and quietly and rushed to the bathroom to get changed. As sleeping wasn't working, she'd try to sort out her thoughts with a stroll around the castle. She still had the map and could use it to find new secrets within those walls. After she was ready, she descended to a nearly empty common room. Scorpius was there though, curled up on one of the sofas with a heavy book resting on his leg. They left things awkwardly the night before, and she didn't blame him exclusively. It was a thorny topic indeed.
"Up so early?" Lily decided to say instead of just leaving without acknowledging him. Scorpius raised his head in a quick and involuntary movement. He wasn't expecting to see anybody so soon, let alone Lily. He feared she'd be avoiding him again, and he'd completely understand if she did. As she was taking the first step to communicate, he assumed things weren't as damaged as he predicted.
"I couldn't sleep very well." He turned to face her unsurely. When she grinned lightly at him, he relaxed a little.
"Me neither." Lily sat on an armchair close to Scorpius as she once again played with the hem of her shirt unnecessarily.
"I think I just made things worse for you instead of helping."
"Yes, you did." His face fell a little and he accepted the fact he was a terrible friend. Friend? No, they weren't friends yet, and she probably had better people to befriend. They only talked out of necessity. She was friends with his cousins and therefor was forced to interact him. And then he had pushed her into talking about the incident. His only friend outside family was ignoring him, and Scorpius couldn't blame Anton for pushing away.
"But it was probably for the best. I couldn't ignore the gravity of what happened forever." Lily pushed his shoulder playfully as watching his tension was unsettling. He pouted but couldn't stop a grin from appearing.
"Do you think a memory potion will help?" She asked.
"It might, though it won't stop the pain. As it was an unknown potion, we don't know what else could happen. We're blind." He answered thoughtfully as he tried to remember something he read about the potion.
"I think the pain will be inevitable. We should at least try it. Do you know how to brew it?"
"I've already read about it, but never brewed it."
"According to Slughorn, we're very skilled at potions, that has to count for something. So, you can find the recipe and then we get the ingredients."
"How do you plan to get the ingredients?"
"I can keep the map for another day. I bet James is already going mad anyway, one day more won't kill him." She displayed a wicked smirk at the prospect of fretting her brother.
"Why are you suddenly so keen to remember?" His question matched Lily's. She had thought about that for long hours the night before. She knew he had been a little aggravating and insensible about the subject, but it at least made her realise it could be more serious than she imagined. Scorpius was a complicated person in her opinion, and she could never guess how he felt about things, especially when it involved social interaction. He had so many façades that changed according to the situation that she couldn't keep up nor discover which one was true.
"Well, I spent most of the night awake wondering. It's better if I know for sure what happened other than create a thousand crazy possibilities. And if there was an intruder here, we should know."
He nodded and they stayed silent for a while. "Do you wanna go for a walk outside? We still have some time before breakfast." Scorpius knew, even though she hadn't admitted, that she feared wandering outside on her own. And he thought that perhaps he could help her with that. It was also his way of redeeming himself after his latest faux pas.
"Not fearing the cold today?" She raised her eyebrow at him.
"I can survive it. At least there's a little of sun during the day. And it's nothing a charm can't fix." Lily laughed as she got up. Scorpius followed putting his book on his bag.
They left the room unworriedly. Lily jogging excitedly as usual and Scorpius following shyly, his hands in the robe's pocket, but keeping up with her pace. Hidden on the stairs to the girl's dormitory, Corliss had listened to their conversation attentively. She only caught the end after Lily mentioned an intruder, yet it was enough to incite her curiosity. Corliss loved a mystery and those two seemed to be unravelling a pretty interesting one. Apart from her excitement about investigations, it was intriguing to see Scorpius truly befriend someone from outside his usual circle. Corliss was proud to see her early mornings bring an advantage. She couldn't help but smile with how everything was going great. She just had to find a way to interlope in their little investigation.
Breakfast was bursting with laughter and talk. Lily was sat with Scorpius and Briony who had just joined them. They had walked around the school ground for about thirty minutes, contouring the lake. It was a pleasant walk as they discussed classes and families' bizarreness, but mostly quidditch. Scorpius was a faithful and wired Falcon's defender and Lily couldn't help but laugh of his strong feelings about the sport because it opposed too much to his usual controlled way. He got nervous talking about previous games and cursing the players who, in his opinion, were bringing the team to the mud. At that moment, he reminded her of her family and their heated arguments over quidditch.
"So how was the talk with Flitwick?" Lily asked her friend who looked way calmer and happier than the previous day.
"It was great. The only downside of the choir is Patel. But I'll have to come with grips with his terrible personality." She took a bite of her chocolate cake. "We'll probably sing at the Hallowe'en Feast, since the two students left out of the blue. They were almost failing classes. I just didn't expect to perform so soon, we haven't even practiced properly."
"I'm sure Flitwick and Hadleigh will only let you perform if they think you're ready. And if they chose you two, they must have sensed you were more readier than the others. Tomorrow you'll rock it." Lily winked at her friend and went back to devouring her bacon and eggs. She was on the verge of fainting as a result of her lack of food from the day before and the unexpected exercise from earlier.
"Will you be holding a toad?" Scorpius considered the singing toads rather comical though he always enjoyed the performances. He just wasn't a big fan of toads in general.
"Yes, Alvina will lend me hers. His name is Tarf. Don't ask me why."
"It means 'the eye' or 'the glance'. It's derived from the Arabic. Al Tarf is a star in the Cancer constellation." Scorpius explained while the two girls gave him odd glances.
"This weird obsession with naming the children with stars names is worse than I thought." Briony mocked with a smirk.
"The sky is simply a fascinating subject."
"That I can agree with you. Though I'm not an expert like you." Lily added just when a parliament of owls invaded the Great Hall with the mail. Lily watched her parents' owl leave two letters at the Gryffindor table, though only Albus was there. After, Plimp came in her direction and landed on her shoulder as it waited for a treat. Lily gave the owl some pumpkin pie and took the letter.
Dear, Lily
Your father and I hope you're doing well. We were so happy to hear you're already fully recovered. But please let us know if something happens or you feel anything out of the ordinary. I was told you and your brothers aren't getting along. You're family, dear, and must stay together. I ask you to make an effort for peace. I've said the same thing to them before you complain. Anyway, I'm sure you'll come together soon.
When we visited you in the infirmary, we realised most of your friends are unknown to us. I wanted to know them better, so I talked to Hermione and Molly and we thought it'd be great to have some of your friends over at the Burrow for a day. And before you also complain, it'll be an opportunity for the family to meet everyone's friends, so yours won't be the only ones coming. Talk to them but let us arrange everything with their families. I'll just need the names of everyone who's coming.
I love you, sweetheart!
Ps.: your father tells you to ignore your brothers and trust your instincts as, according to him, they've never failed you.
Lily stared at the letter for a minute after finishing reading it. Clearly her family didn't trust her friends entirely and had invented that ridiculous friends' day as an excuse to evaluate them. They've never done that before to any cousin, not even to the ones who were also sorted outside Gryffindor. She groaned in anger.
"What's disturbing the Potter family's paradise?" Corliss asked intrigued as she analysed Lily's expression while reading the letter. Only then the redhead noticed the presence of Corliss, Anton and Emery.
"You, apparently."
"Now I'm offended." Corliss said dramatically. "How could I ever survive knowing I've disrupted the great Potter family?"
"You're so over the top."
"I'm just flattered to be considered something to the Potters, even if it's in a negative way."
"Would you explain what's going on, Lily?" Emery asked.
"Apparently my mother with Aunt Hermione and Grandma invented a friend's day because they want to meet you. It's just something that has never been done before. And to make things better, all the other cousins will also bring their friends." Lily covered her face with her hands and sighed.
"That will not end well." Corliss said mischievously. Meeting the Weasley-Potter's haven would definitely be eventful and useful. "And you consider me a friend. How exciting. Lily Potter and Corliss Flint, unexpected rebels." She motioned her hand in an exaggerated way as if she were introducing the next hit by the Weird Sisters.
"A whole day with your cousins and brothers can only end tragically." Scorpius said.
"What's the beauty of life without a little tragedy, dear cousin? It'd be too plain. The possibility of losing everything looming over all the time, but also the chance of earning everything." Anton was practically narrating an epic theatre piece in Lily's opinion. She didn't know why everyone was being so dramatic and extravagant that day.
"So Shakespearean." Lily taunted him, but the others only looked at her with baffled frowns. Pure-bloods, she thought.
"William Shakespeare? Just one of the greatest writers of all time? Hamlet? Romeo and Juliet?" They only shook their heads without a clue of who she was talking about. "What a shame." She pursed her lips disapprovingly.
"I'm sure this guy is great. But going back to the point, I'm excited for this eventful day." Corliss displayed a wicked smile and Lily preferred not to wonder what she was scheming.
"It'll be nice to see your house." Bri squealed. "And not everyone from her family hates us; Hugo is nice." She turned to Corliss.
"I'm sure your mother will be ecstatic to hear about how nice this Hugo is. Poor Pucey will lose his suitor." Corliss taunted the young girl who just made a disgusted face at the prospects of dating and marriage. The twins chortled at their sister's reaction.
"You shouldn't laugh. If that's my fate, it'll be yours too." Briony grinned knowingly at her brothers and they fell silent instantly. Lily couldn't stop laughing at the weird conversation.
"How nice of you to laugh of our disgrace, Lily." Anton threw a grape at her. His good mood slightly gone.
"Weren't you just saying how life without tragedy is dull?" Lily just kept on laughing and everyone else aside from Anton joined her. "How ironic."
Anton had arrived at the Great Hall just as the owls flew around leaving letters and packages to all those happy faces. He saw his sister sit with his former friends and Lily. He didn't know what her appeal was and why everybody liked her. Though he knew deep down he was the one to blame for his exclusion, Anton couldn't help but feel bitter towards the redhead who was easily taking his place. He hadn't liked her from the beginning and his suppositions were being proved true. Why didn't she follow her brothers into Gryffindor?
He turned from their laughing faces and joined his new group. Tristan and Rhonwen were whispering to one another seriously. Anton considered them a cold couple, at least in public. They were serious and controlled, never demonstrating affection, though they were always together in a stoic manner, elegant arms intertwined respectfully and faces up staring at everybody with superiority. They were the perfect example of old-fashion pure-bloods.
Bowen Rowle and Chester Goyle were two imbeciles who depended on orders to do anything other than eat and bully. If they weren't strong physically, they'd be completely useless. Someone saw potential in them, even if a scarce one. And then there was Constantin Rosier, the worst of them, petulant, arrogant, mean and he could add many other negative adjectives, but they wouldn't be able to fully explain his sordidness. Anton sat next to Chester reluctantly and avoided facing the group that sat further down the table with their nonchalant laughs.
After a painful breakfast with the usual conversation involving girls, schemes, and offenses to people they considered inferior, Anton was free of his group because he was the youngest and had different classes. The only thing they had in common was disdain for Lily and her family. From Anton's first day in Hogwarts, the Potters attempted to make the Slytherins' lives hell. He couldn't understand how so many of them were now welcoming Lily as if she weren't one of them. He definitely didn't comprehend how Scorpius could like her when he was the main target of her family's offenses.
He was climbing the stairs to Charms' classroom as he mentally prepared himself for Flitwick's endless and boring class. Before he at least had Scorpius, who would sometimes chatter quietly with him.
And to speak of the devil.
"Anton, wait up." He heard Scorpius calling him from a few steps below. The last person he needed to encounter at the moment, but Anton still stopped and waited. "How have you been?" Scorpius asked once he reached his friend, or former friend.
"Things are fine. And you? From what I see, things have been great with you, even got the Potter girl to replace me."
Scorpius scoffed and took a deep breath before responding. "Lily's great, but she's not replacing anyone, Anton. And may I remind you that you were the one to ditch me for Constantin and his gang. Don't blame anyone else for that if you're not happy. And you can always hang out with us again."
"I'm fine actually. I'll leave you to befriend the enemy. Good luck." Anton turned away from Scorpius and continued up the steps.
"Still couldn't have a decent talk with him?" Anton heard Lily's voice next to Scorpius.
"Not yet, but it seems I should give up."
"True friends don't give up easily, Malfoy." Anton felt a small remorse when she spoke those words. He knew it would be better if Scorpius did give up, but he secretly wished he wouldn't. "Anyway, I need to talk to Easton and Emery privately. Can you tell them to meet me after Charms at the courtyard?" That was the last he heard before entering the corridor leading to his class.
Easton was curious to know what Lily wanted to talk about confidentially. He spent the majority of the class thinking about it and almost froze Professor Flitwick when he attempted to cast Glacius without paying attention. He was a prying person by nature just like most of his family. Growing up surrounded by the Greengrass-Zabini-Malfoy clan provided some great meddling skills when the whole family wanted to know everything about everyone. The dinners were fulfilled with gossip, accusations, arguments, and criticism. Always entertaining.
Scorpius also looked curious though he'd never admit it. Emery on the other hand didn't appear intrigued at all, and Charms was his favourite class, thus he kept his attention at a maximum. When the class was over, the twins hurried to the courtyard under the incessant complaints from Anton. Once at their destination, they saw Lily sat at one of the archways, her legs swaying back and forth.
"Dear, Lily, please enlighten us about this mysterious subject you want to talk about. You've really stirred my curiosity." Anton said as they approached her.
"Well, as you said the prank you had planned for yesterday didn't work out, I was thinking we could arrange it today. I'll have to enter Slughorn's private storage and having a distraction wouldn't hurt."
"Why are you trespassing his storage?" Emery asked surprised.
"Scorpius' making a potion and we need some ingredients, and the sooner the better. So I need your help."
"You and Scorpius working together?" Emery got even more appalled and Lily just nodded with a smile. "Scorpius actually working with someone willingly?" Lily nodded again. "He must be terribly sick. We should take him to Madam Bones."
"It's just something beneficial for both of us, and I'm kind of an essential element, so he can't do this alone even if he wants to." Lily explained. She knew he also gained something from discovering the truth, he wouldn't simply help her out of compassion. And he seemed too interested about the incident. There was something she couldn't quite work out yet that made it important to him.
"I'm just getting more and more confused. Let's just hear your ideas for this prank." Emery finished as Lily giggled at their puzzled and incredulous faces.
"Well, I hear you planned to use my uncle's Feasty Fast Carol. Well, as you obviously can't drop them at everybody's cup in the middle of the Great Hall, I'd advise you to use the kitchen."
"And do you know how we get to the kitchen?" Anton was intrigued by her vast knowledge of Hogwarts' secrets.
"Yes. Near Hufflepuff's common room. It's a broad and bright corridor and you'll see a huge painting with fruits. Tickle the pear."
"Tickle the pear?"
"Yes, Emery. Trust me. But don't share this information, we don't need everyone at Hogwarts venturing there. Just be careful not to be spotted by a Hufflepuff or someone from my family as they also know about it."
"I suppose you know many more mysteries about this castle." An excited Easton asked.
"You suppose right, but I can't reveal all my tricks at once. It wouldn't be fun at all." She said with a bright smile just as she spotted Hugo from afar coming her way. "And if you have the opportunity, pour one or two drops of this in Bhavin Patel's drink." She handed them a small pink flask.
"Lily, James is going mad." Hugo was extremely nervous and took a second to acknowledge the two blokes next to his cousin. "Hello, you two."
"Hugo, these are Easton and Emery, Briony's brothers. And this is my cousin Hugo who's having a meltdown." The three boys smiled at each other in greeting. The twins analysing curiously the boy who their sister considered nice.
"Of course I'm having a meltdown. James is driving everyone in Gryffindor mad and he's interrogated everyone because he was stolen. Even Rose is looking calm and restrained next to him, and that's saying a lot. I feel like he'll look at me and extract the truth from just my guilt face. You know I'm a terrible liar."
"An emergency appeared, and I'll need the map tonight. But don't worry, I plan to give it to him at dinner or tomorrow at breakfast tops."
"How will you explain how you got the map?"
"Don't worry about it. You won't be mentioned."
"What's all the fuss about a map?" Easton asked. "Isn't there a thousand maps at the library that nobody cares to use?"
"But this is a very especial map that Lily made me stole from James' room."
"No need to be so dramatic. The map is safe and James will soon have it. It'll be good for him to fret a little, may it be his lesson for being a git to me."
"Just remind me to never get you mad. You can be mean behind this innocent façade." Hugo shook his head mistrustfully.
"She's a Slytherin for a reason." Anton said. "And now I'm curious about this map." But Lily and Hugo only shared a look before laughing.
The common room was bursting with people catching up or relaxing before dinner. Everyone was excited for the Hallowe'en party the following day and talks about clothing, songs and dates were dominating the place. Scorpius was interested in seeing his mates making a fool of themselves, and their karaoke nights were always fun, though he tended to stay in an isolated corner just watching the party. Anton and the twins were the soul of the gathering and performed some unforgettable hits. But that year things would be different; Anton wouldn't be singing with the twins and neither would he be trying to pull Scorpius out of the couch and into the spotlight's reach.
Anton was too different, and he denied talking about it. He had pushed his friends away without any explanation. Scorpius tried to understand, but he couldn't find any sense to it. If Anton at least looked happy, he'd say his new friends were good to him. Yet Anton seemed miserable. Every time Scorpius tried to speak to him, he'd snap and blame anyone else for his choices. It wasn't Scorpius' nor Lily's actions that exiled Anton, and he couldn't go around bad mouthing anyone.
"Scorpius, do you have the ingredients' list?" He startled when Lily's voice took him out of his introspection. She had a habit of sitting too close to people and Scorpius considered it rather unpleasant, but she didn't have a sense of private space in general. It unnerved him a bit, as Scorpius enjoyed keeping some distance from people. Lily didn't believe in personal space, she believed in human contact and interaction. It was a characteristic he adored and hated at the same time, though it'd make him more antsy than anything else.
"I do. Here's what we need." He passed her a small parchment. "How will you get it?"
"I already have everything planned. Don't drink the pumpkin juice tonight, please warn Bri as well." He looked at her inquisitively but decided not to question further. "I just need you to create a diversion and make some Slytherins arrive late to dinner."
"What?" He wasn't one to draw attention to himself and he had no idea to what he could do of interesting to make people want to be late for dinner. He wasn't an interesting person and who would want to pay attention to him?
"I'll leave that to your creativity, mine has already worked a lot today. It's just I can't be the only one arriving late or I'll be the main culprit of the prank happening at dinner. So you have to hold people here for a while."
"I'm not sure I'm the best person to do this."
"It's either you or Briony. You're both shy and secluded, but you gain something out of this, so you're more likely to do it."
"I guess I don't have a choice."
"You don't, but I do think you can do it. You have more fame than you know, I'm sure people will be intrigued." She got up as sudden as she had appeared. "I have to go. Good luck."
Scorpius just stared at her consternated as she left the room. There were only fifteen minutes till dinner, and he had to come up with something to distract people. Briony was talking to Alvina and Atticus at one of the couches close to the fireplace. He'd at least have a friendly face in case everything went wrong. He started fidgeting with the book in his hands and tapping his foot too much.
Okay, I can do this. Just ignore everything you've always done to avoid attention, he thought. When he saw people standing and heading to the door, Scorpius knew he had to act immediately, or Lily would be in trouble.
"Hello, everybody. I know it's very unusual for me to speak in public so openly, but I have an announcement to make." Scorpius stood up and walked to the centre of the room. His discomfort evident to everyone. "Tomorrow we'll have karaoke night and I have, unfortunately, lost a bet with my cousins, therefor I'll be performing tomorrow. I'd really appreciate if you could help me choose a song." He room went silent for a minute as everybody stared at him puzzled until Briony started laughing uncontrollably and Corliss joined her in a more contained way.
"We could do a duet, Scorpius." Scarlet Travers said with a fake innocent smile and he shivered.
"We can see you're persistent, Scarlet. But not giving up when the war is lost may be seen as stupidity." Corliss intervened in her evident dislike for the younger witch.
"Good thing there's no war happening then, Corliss. Thus there's no one losing anything." Corliss scoffed at her, and Scorpius was grateful for their little show as it was calling all the attention which was previously on him.
"Well." Briony cut Corliss before she could respond. Bri was sensing a strong tension and she knew better than to let Corliss and Scarlet quarrel freely as it often ended in a duel. "I suggest you sing Celestina Warbeck, it'll suit your voice." Bri being sarcastic in front of many people surprised Scorpius but still he shot her an angry glance for the terrible suggestion.
"Indeed 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love' will be perfect for you. I can already picture it." Corliss added with an amused smirk and turning away from Scarlet. Scorpius never knew why they hated each other ever since his and Scarlet's first year, he didn't think anybody truly knew. It just happened. One day they just couldn't stay in the same room without death stares.
"It's perfect for a duet. What do you say?" Scorpius turned to Scarlet. Many people were laughing at the comic and unusual scene developing in front of them.
"I'm already singing with Lily. She also lost the bet. And one song is definitely enough for me." If he was going to embarrass himself, he might as well bring her down with him, it was better than singing with Scarlet and her persisting flirts. He knew being a distraction wouldn't end well and the only excuse he found was singing.
"I can always convince you to sing one more song." She didn't look the least affected by his rejection. Corliss rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and Briony only laughed at her cousin, never had she imagined him in that situation.
"I can't stop people from trying anything." He answered as he took one step away from the brunette girl.
"Imagine having Scarlet in your family, Bri." Corliss whispered to the little girl while most Slytherins gave suggestions for Scorpius' performance.
"Don't even say that. I already must handle Tristan. I also don't think Scorpius would give her attention, and you know how Astoria dislikes Pansy. Family dinners would be even more deadly."
"If Pansy Travers was anything like her daughter, I understand Astoria's opinion. She's insufferable." Briony looked at the tall brunette with inquisitive eyes, but she was already looking ahead and laughing. "Scorpius first ever performance at karaoke night will be unforgettable. Don't forget to bring your dance moves as well." Corliss turned to Scorpius and raised her voice slightly.
Considering it was enough time of delay and he was already embarrassed for a whole year or more, he decided to stop the show and thanked everyone for the advices. As everyone started leaving, Bri and Corliss stayed behind still laughing at him.
"What was all that about?" Corliss asked in between chuckles.
"That was me helping someone. I can't believe I'll have to sing tomorrow, what was I thinking?"
"That we needed some fun. Because hearing you sing in public will be hilarious."
"I should be mean to you just like you were to me. But I'm actually a very good person, so I'll just tell you not to drink the pumpkin juice."
"Why?" Bri asked confused as they walked out of the dungeons.
"I don't really know, Lily just told me not to drink. I bet your brothers are involved as well."
"There you are. I'm glad you managed to distract them." They heard Lily's voice coming from behind them as she reached the Entrance Hall.
"I came up with a terrible excuse, but it bought the time you needed."
"Then it's great." She smiled at her friends and they continued the short walk to dinner.
"You might want to rethink that once I tell you we'll be singing a duet tomorrow." She stops abruptly after his statement, Lily suddenly felt nervous which was rare as she wasn't shy nor succumbed easily to embarrassment. And she couldn't figure out why she was feeling so antsy.
"How did that happen?" Corliss and Briony started giggling again at her disconcerted face.
"It's a rather long story I can explain later, but you'll probably hear the gossip before." With Scorpius' vague answer they entered the Great Hall to encounter a pandemonium. People from all Houses were imitating different animals as all sounds mixed together into one out of tune and bizarre music. Most Slytherins were still standing after the delay provide by Malfoy's announcement, thence unaffected by the prank.
"This day just gets better." Corliss stared incredulously at the scene. She considered Constantin, Travis, Bowen, and Chester's interpretations the most remarkable one. They were sounding and acting as pigs, jumping from one side to another, and grunting at one another. She took a small camera from her bag and registered that unforgettable moment. The boys who considered themselves so superior in such a shameful state.
"This is amazing." Briony also laughed and even Scorpius joined them. Lily was looking for Bhavin in the mess wondering if the twins managed to achieve their highest attraction. And suddenly she saw a pink figure emerge from the crowd. Patel had become a pink chicken, his feathers spreading throughout the place as he tried to pass through the confusion.
The four Slytherins lost all control as they laughed hysterically. Soon after Easton and Emery joined them. "Lily, you've truly helped us exceed ourselves. We've never seen anything like it." Anton said astonishedly.
"Whoever's responsible for this pandemonium will face harsh and inexorable consequences." Headmistress McGonagall said with an amplifying charm as all the other professor attempted to handle the students acting like animals. "Everyone who isn't affected must retire to your common rooms immediately."
As they arrived at the common room, the six Slytherins who knew what had happened sat around the fireplace with amused smiles on their faces. Easton and Emery were laid back immensely proud of themselves. Corliss was staring at the photos she had taken with a mischievous grin. Briony was smiling at herself thinking of the weird day, and how Bhavin's transformation was priceless. Lily and Scorpius were both dreading the following night and their eminent performance.
Lily had been excited for karaoke night for over a week and unexpectedly she became apprehensive about it. Scorpius had never feared a social event as much as the upcoming karaoke night. He shrunk just from thinking of singing to more than two people. He had no idea why he came up with that horrible pretext, and dragging Lily, nonetheless. He could almost hear people's comments on the unexpected duo. But he'd try to leave his worries for the actual day of his mortification.