It felt like the months between Christmas and easter had all rolled into one, a big mess of exam stress and lessons that felt like they would never end. Thankfully, the blurring of this time meant that the easter break appeared to be upon us much faster than expected, and though Hogwarts didn't deem it necessary to send everyone all the way home for just one week, we did get a week off of classes and some time to relax.
Typically, my relaxation didn't quite go as planned, as on the first day of the break I was called up to Professor Dumbledore's office for reasons unknown, which had me in quite the panic. I was sure I hadn't done anything recently to warrant a trip to the headmaster. Perhaps a detention or two from Snape - though that was sort of a given at this point - but definitely not a reprimand from the headmaster himself. My panic had only increased when I'd bumped into Bellamy outside of the office, and by the look on his face he had shared this feeling. Once we got into the office I was sure we were done for, considering the fact that Mama and Papa were both standing at Professor Dumbledore's desk, chatting quietly only to fall silent when they saw us.
"Don't panic Mimi, nothing bad has happened." As if reading my mind, Mama shot me a bright smile as Papa took her hand with a quick squeeze.
"Actually it's quite the opposite..." this time it was my father who spoke, his smile matching my mother's almost exactly as Bellamy and I looked between them curiously, anxious to find out what the hell was actually going on.
"So... are you going to tell us what's going on or are you just going to stand there and grin at us like a couple of creeps all day...?" Bellamy folded his arms across his chest, fidgeting on his feet as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye before turning my attention back to our parents.
"We just couldn't wait until you came home for the summer, and this isn't really something you put in a letter..."
I had to admit, there were a lot of things going through my mind at that moment that I had expected my mother to say. What she actually said, was not one of those things.
"Nina!" She looked suitably startled as she peered up over her textbook to see me barreling towards her, a wide grin on my lips. I stumbled over my feet as I reached the common room sofa she was occupying, throwing myself over the back and accidentally kicking a less than impressed Draco in the process.
"Oops! Sorry!" I giggled my apology before whipping my head back round to face my friend, whose eyes had widened slightly in alarm at my actions. "Nina I have BRILLIANT news!"
"Please tell me before you have a heart attack from all the excitement. And don't forget to breathe." I sighed out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding in, sinking back into the cushions and ignoring the disdained grumble from Draco as he shuffled further into the far corner of the sofa, in an attempt to distance himself from this as much as physically possible.
"Well, I was just called to Professor Dumbledore's office, and of course I was freaking out because why would I need to go to the Headmaster's office, right? And then I freaked out even more when I bumped into Bell outside the office, like, why would he want to see both of us?!"
"I beg you to get to the point." I narrowed my eyes, swatting the boy behind me in response to his mumbled comment.
"Right... anyway so we get into the office and now both of us are freaking out because Mama and Papa are standing there. HERE, in HOGWARTS. Dad's loving it, of course, having never seen Hogwarts before and what with all the magical things going on around him, you should have seen his face he-" Nina interrupted my train of thought with a shake of my shoulders
"Amelia! Can you PLEASE just get to the point?!"
"Oh. Yes! Mama is pregnant! I'm going to be a big sister!"
I hadn't been able to wipe the grin off my face that evening, or the next morning, or the rest of the Easter break for that matter. If the thought of exams had me feeling down at all, all of those feelings had quickly departed and my spirits were at an all time high. Even when the Easter break had finished and we were back to the early morning starts and Exam prep, I still had a smile on my face as we made our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Nina and Pansy had been busily discussing the recent drama with Hagrid and his foolish attempt to keep a dragon as a pet. A dragon. What on earth was the man thinking.
"I like Hagrid and all, but everyone knows you can't tame dragons. They're classified as 'known wizard killer-slash-impossible to train or domesticate'." I added my muffled opinion to the mix through a mouthful of fried eggs, half of my attention still on the charms textbook which sat next to my plate which I was flicking through for probably the hundredth time over the last couple of days. There was no way in merlin's name that I would be getting anything less than an Outstanding on this charms exam, and if by some nightmare I did, I think I would probably just throw myself into the Black Lake out of pure despair.
Nina and Pansy appeared to acknowledge my comment yet didn't indulge me and my Fantastic Beasts knowledge, instead turning back to each other and continuing their conversation. I helped myself to two more sausages, another slice of bacon and another fried egg, merely scowling at the raised brow Blaise was offering me from across the table. I would never explain or apologise for my appetite. I even took a couple of slices of toast, wrapping them in a napkin and slipping them into my bag, which I thought no-one noticed until I turned back to Nina who was watching my petty theft with a smirk.
"What?" I closed up my bag and pulled the strap over my shoulder, pushing my plate away from me and making room for my elbows on the table. "You're practically forcing me to spend the whole day in the library with you. I need sustenance. All this revision is terribly exhausting."
I was happily munching on my toast in the back corner of the library, a spot Nina and I had found at the beginning of the year and sort of claimed as our own, when a thought occurred to me.
"Nina..." I quirked my head, brow furrowed as I paused my snacking. She looked up from her parchment expectantly, meeting my worried gaze.
"I've just realised something." She didn't respond in words, simply watching and silently waiting for me to continue.
"I'm not going to be the littlest Cavett anymore..." The groan my friend released in response told me all I needed to know about how she felt in regards to this statement, and she was quickly on her feet, patting me on the shoulder and telling me she was going to find a book and that she'd be right back. I was so caught up in my recent revelation that I barely noticed when two figures dropped into the chairs across the table from me.
"You look like you're thinking hard, little one" The voice pulled me back to reality, and upon realising who had joined me I rolled my eyes.
"You should probably think of a new annoying name for me, I won't be a little one for much longer." I frowned, dropping my half eaten slice of toast and folding my arms on the table in front of me.
"Whatever that means." George mumbled with a confused look.
"Anyway," Fred piped up, snatching my slice of toast and popping the entire thing into his mouth at once, leaving George to finish whatever he was about to say.
"We were wondering if you fancied helping us out with our latest scheme." I felt as though I was in a boardroom, being pitched something of immense importance, locked in the piercing gaze of both twins.
"I'm going to say no in advance, because it's probably a terrible idea and I'm getting a bit bored of detentions." The disappointment was clear in their eyes, but there was no way I was backing down on this one. I had exams to study for and if I got another detention with Snape I'm sure it would be some kind of world record on first year detentions. That wasn't exactly something I wanted to have on my record.
"Oh come on Mimi, where's your sense of adventure?" I ducked just in time as Fred launched a scrunched scrap of parchment at my head.
"Yeah, live a little!" George added, throwing an identical piece of paper that I was unable to dodge, scowling as it bounced off my forehead and rolled under the table.
"Look, I have exams to study for, and I have lived plenty enough for one year, don't you think?" I turned back to my textbook, scribbling a note on my parchment and attempting to ignore them.
"There's no such thing as living too much, Mia. What a silly notion." George waved a dismissive hand my way, as Fred cut in.
"Yeah, plus, first year exams don't really mean anything anyway. You can afford to fail a few."
I glanced between them, scrunching my nose up at the wide, matching grins they were sending my way.
"Forgive me if I don't take educational advice from a couple of T grade students. I think I'll stick to studying." I couldn't imagine my comment had actually caused any offense, though they both gawped in response to my words anyway.
"I'll have you know that neither of us have ever received a T... just a few D's." Not quite understanding how they both seemed to look somewhat smug about this, I opted not to question any further, simply shrugging and twisting my quill between my fingers.
"I rest my case. Now, will you two please stop bothering me and go get on with whatever nonsense you spend your days doing."
"Fine," George held up his hands in defeat, rising from his chair and making to leave. "Come on Freddie, little miss serious here has exams to study for. We better get out of her hair before she gets to the chapter in that charms book on how to turn people into toads."
I looked back over at them with wide eyes. "Wait is that actually a chapter?" Fred hopped up and joined his brother with a shrug, shooting me one last grin over his shoulder as he left.
"Is that a chapter?!" I called after them as I watched them leave, sighing when they were completely out of sight, before dropping my forehead onto my textbook with a sigh.
"Why do I have to be such a responsible person." I grumbled to myself, reclaiming my quill and a fresh sheet of parchment, and continuing with my incredibly in depth note taking.
As I dropped my quill back into its holder I breathed a sigh of relief. This was it, the final potions exam, finished. Yes, the brew that was currently bubbling away in my cauldron had a slightly sweet scent to it, which I'm sure it wasn't supposed to, but it looked somewhat like the book had described. Perhaps, for the first time, I'd managed to brew something correctly and I wouldn't completely fail this exam. Either way, I found myself caring very little as Professor Snape asked us to cover our cauldrons and place our parchments into the envelopes provided, before getting out of his classroom and therefore his disappointed sight.
I obliged, a spring in my step as I followed Nina out of the room and towards the courtyard. Today was absolutely not the day to be spending in a cold, dark dungeon brewing potions, not when the sun was shining with the ferocity that it was today. Students were sprawled out on the benches and floor of the courtyard, soaking up whatever rays of sunshine they could catch a glimpse of. We'd just joined the students in their sunbathing, scrunching our socks down to our ankles in an attempt to add a little colour to our skin. My eyes were closed tight, protected from the harsh rays that were warming my face and - I hoped - adding a splash of colour to my cheeks and nose. As soon as there was even a hint of sunshine I was there, making sure to get the warmth on my face. The sun brought out my freckles you see, and I'd always loved my freckles.
"Who is blocking my sun?" Nina grumbled and I opened one eye a fraction, using my arm to block the sun so that I could see. Nina was frowning beside me, her eyes still closed despite the fact she was now covered by a dark shadow.
"Don't be silly, you know you start to burn after exactly seven minutes in the sun." I grinned as I met the eye of Nina's brother, Alec, who was standing above her with a smirk on his face. "Hey Mia."
I offered a quick wave, pushing myself up to sit and leaning back on my hands, crossing one leg over the other.
"Hey Alec." While I may have been talking to him, my attention had drifted to a group of Ravenclaw first years who gathered at the opposite end of the courtyard.
Zach was sitting with a group of three other boys and two girls, all of whom looked as though they were also enjoying the sunshine. The boys had discarded their ties, and Zach had opted to hang his loosely around his shoulders. I was well aware that I was staring, but for some reason I couldn't stop myself. There was something about those onyx curls and that olive skin that had me curious. Yes, curious, that's the word I would go with. It was definitely just curiosity, nothing else. Although, he had given me that beautiful snow globe for Christmas, so maybe there was more than just curiosity between us.
I tried to catch myself, mentally reprimanding my brain for even going there. I was eleven years old for goodness sake, boys were horrible, smelly things that I wanted nothing to do with. But he did have a lovely smile...
My heart stuttered in panic as I noticed that very smile, directed over at me. I cleared my throat, straightening out my shirt and fiddling with my hair, anything to look like I wasn't just sat there drooling over the boy. But I couldn't pretend I didn't see the little wave he sent in my direction, and I found myself returning the gesture without even meaning to.
"See you later, Panda." I just caught the end of Alec's sentence before he turned on his heel and left us, my brain coming back to the present.
"Why does he call you Panda?" I queried, desperate to get my mind off of Zach and onto literally anything else. I flopped back onto the ground, slinging my arm over my face, in part to block out the sun, and also to hide the blush I'm sure was on my cheeks.
"Ugh, I hate it. Apparently when I was little, I got into my Mum's makeup bag and tried to imitate her eyeliner. Basically, they say I ended up looking like a Panda. More specifically, one that had been caught in the rain. The panda part stuck."
"Well that's actually rather adorable," I giggled, my laughter slightly muffled by my arm, "and there are certainly worse nicknames to have."
Our conversation was cut short as footsteps approached us, stopping just short of my feet and forcing me to peek out from beneath my arm to see who was bothering us now. Please, in Merlin's name, do not be Zachary.
"Tonight." Apparently we only got one word from Potter before he turned tail and marched away from us, Hermione and Ron closely in tow. They were an odd trio there was no denying it.
"I can't believe you've agreed to be a part of their little adventure." I had to admit I was a little put out, considering how many pranking plans Nina had managed to wiggle her way out of this year, only to agree to go night time adventuring with a bunch of Gryffindors. Bloody rude, if I did say so myself.
"You're coming too." Yes, admittedly when Nina had told me all the details of what her and Potter had discussed in the Library, I had insisted upon joining them, whether they liked it or not. No, I didn't particularly care about the reasons for the adventure, but I was never one to turn down a chance to do something fun and against the rules. Who knew, perhaps it would be worth the undoubted expulsion we were sure to face in the aftermath.
"Yes. Because just think of how jealous it's going to make Fred and George if we successfully sneak out in the night, get past a three-headed dog, retrieve the philosophers stone and prevent the totally unwanted return of You-Know-Who." It did sound quite fantastical when I worded it like that, and despite the danger each of those things posed, I honestly couldn't wait.
"You sound like a glory seeker." I frowned in response to Nina's knowing grin and quirked brow, shaking my head fervently.
"No, I absolutely do not. I just want to rub it in their stupid faces." Nina snorted out a laugh and I smirked in response before shifting back up to sit and meeting her eye with the most serious look I could muster, jabbing a finger in her direction.
"Whatever you do. Do not let me fall asleep."