-Sometimes when you speak to someone, the look on their face just says – the lights are on, but no one's home.
"So?" Sirius Black wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulder and grinned.
"So?" Lupin sounded confused.
"Are you going to ask that Ravenclaw girl to go to Samhain with you? What was her name again?"
"Sarah Hayes," Peter said before Lupin could reply.
"You know it's against the rules to "arrange" a meeting during Samhain," Lupin replied tiredly.
"Moony, my friend, if you keep following all the rules as you do, you will never get laid."
His friends laughed in a union. "Have you made your arrangements Padfoot?" James interjected leaning back on the sofa. Sirius made theatrical flip of the hair.
"Sirius Black cannot be tied down to just one beauty," he exclaimed.
"Meaning?" Remus smiled.
"It's Samhain, I am planning to take full advantage of it."
"Just be careful not be pick up Lestrange in process," Peter smirked making Sirius gag.
"Don't jinx it, Wormtail. That would be the worse case scenario. Imagine that," Sirius dropped next to James, both laughed hysterically.
"Now that I think about it, we still didn't get her back for...for..." Potter was trying to find the right words for what happened, but he couldn't seem to push them out.
"For your make out session in Slughorn's class?" Peter lent a helping hand. Lupin laughed and both James and Sirius frowned.
"Do you have something in mind?" Black rubbed his hands together in anticipation. James gave him a thumbs up.
"I do, and it will all happen during the ball."
"What are you planning?" Peter sat straighter ready to catch every word spoken by Potter.
"I'll keep this a secret for now. I want it to be surprise, but I promise you, it will be good." the mischievous grin on Potter's face alarmed Lupin. James was plotting, and he was plotting big.
"Well, at least give us a hint, mate, don't leave us hanging."
"Besides, how would you know it's really her during the ball. Everyone wears charmed costumes and masks. It's the whole point of Samhain Ball." Pettigrew's confused voice made James smirk.
"Let's just say, I know what her costume is going to be and that's all I need."
Viv dropped on the bed and buried her face in the sheets. It was a heavenly feeling to roll in the softness of the sheets. She moaned into the pillow anticipating the much-needed sleep when an owl knocked on the window. She untied the letter from its paw and closed the window. The envelope was plain without a signature or a stamp. Viv shrugged and threw it on her desk.
Her body once again found itself on the bed. She yawned and fell asleep.
He waited all night. At crack of dawn Lupin left the astronomy tower.
"I'm so late!" Viv rushed around the room trying to keep it together. She witched everything into her bag and quickly got dressed. She looked at herself in the mirror and waved off her horrid reflection. She threw a final glance at the desk and spotted the letter. She tossed it in her bag and rushed to Herbology.
"Miss Lestrange, this is a third time this month," Professor Sprout shook her head. "I'm afraid I have to give you detention."
Viv groaned quietly praying that the detention will not be with Filch.
Her prayers were not answered. Filch was in a foul mood, well, fouler than usual. He grinned creepily when he saw her standing there waiting for him to assign a job to her. "Scraping the kitchen floors," he hissed. "No magic." Flinch dropped a bucket of dirty water in front of her making Viv flinch. He shoved a mop into her hands and walked away. She cried inside as she made her way to the kitchen. The kitchen elves greeter her with a smile and quickly dissociated into thin air. She was left completely alone. Viv took off her robe and got to work.
Vivienne
"Just how many times am I going to end up on my hands and knees in this school?" I mumbled under my breath as I scrubbed the room corners. "I thought Elves were supposed to be cleaner than this. Disgusting. My life has been a lie."
I threw the brush on the floor and sat down with my legs crossed. Feeling tired and feeling hungry did not help my mood. My stomach rumbled loudly. I did not think elves would mind if I nibbled on some of their delicacies. As I looked through the cupboard, I heard quiet voices coming from the corridor. One voice I recognized; it was Potter.
Frantically I looked around for a place to hide. One of the bottom cupboards looked fitting. Just as I closed the door, the group of Gryffindors walked in.
"Moony is already at the shrieking shack?" that weasel sound could only belong to Pettigrew. Potter hushed him.
"Not so loud Wormtail."
"But no one's here," he argued weakly,
"Let's just stock up and go." Black said. I heard rustling and drawers and cupboards being open. I held my breath praying that they would not open this cupboard. I was in luck.
"Mates, we need to go back to the dorm," Potter groaned.
"Why?"
"I forgot the cloak. If we get caught again, it will be detention with Filch until the end of the year."
"Wouldn't that be a waste of time? Go pick up the cloak and we'll meet you by the Whomping Willow. Or we can leave the passage door open for you and go straight in." Black suggested.
"No. if they catch you, they will instantly look for me too. We still have time. Let's get the cloak."
The three of them laughed. I heard their footsteps distance from the kitchen. I waited for a while longer and got up. So, the three of them were headed to the shrieking shack, how interesting.
There are times in life when one really needs listen to their voice of reason, especially when it's screaming inside the head. In my case this was not the time, because I found myself quickly making my way out the kitchen back door and to the Whomping Willow. Black said there was an entrance to a passage there. I had to know where it led.
I buried myself in the cloak, trying to keep warm. The clouds have swamped the sky, making it almost pitch black. I debated using my wand for light. If anyone saw me, it could be the end of this little expedition. So, I continued my way half blindly hoping that the clouds would clear, and the moon would lead the way. The Whomping Willow was surprisingly calm. Its large branches gently swayed in the wind. I took out my wand and slowly walked around the tree, but I couldn't see anything even distantly resembling an entrance.
"Alohomora." I whispered yet nothing happened. "Figures,"
I walked around the tree again. There was a shudder and one of the branches smashed into the ground next to me. I shrieked and flew over to the based of the tree. I panicked. The movements of the branches became more violent. I pushed myself up. My hands scraped against the tree trunk as I tried to gain support. My wand was somewhere on the ground, but I couldn't see a thing. This was bad. Another swing from the tree made me jump to a side. My hand slid down the trunk, followed by my body and then several things happened at the same time. The tree froze, an opening appeared in the trunk and of course I fell right into it.
I heard something tear and I knew it was my cloak. I pushed myself up and looked into the darkness of the tunnel. Suddenly the entrance closed, blocking me in. I took a step forward while holding onto the wall. That moment I regretted not studying the book on wandless magic I found in my father's study. I pointed my finger at the darkness and whispered the light spell. A couple of sparks flashed from my finger and quickly died down. I sighed and continued my way down the tunnel.
The time goes by differently in the darkness. I couldn't have walked a long time, but it felt ages. Suddenly I saw a glimpse of light. It was flickering and reminded me of a candlelight. My heart raced as I approached the light which flickered from behind a slightly opened door. I stopped in front of door trying to steady my breathing. I reached out and pulled it open.
His back was turned to me. He was topless, wearing only his school trousers. He was looking out the window. I could not take my eyes off his broad shoulders and lanky but strong arms. His back and arms were covered in scars. Some looked fresh.
"I thought you guys forgot about me," his dark chuckle made me shudder. I took a step closer. He slowly turned around to face me. The shock on his face could not be described with words.
"Vivienne." He exhaled.
I wanted to ask him what he was doing there, why was barely clothed, why was he waiting for the others, but all I said was, "So you are Moony."