Magnolia's POV:
Classes were quickly filling most of my time now that my schedule made room for the two new electives. I enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures, as I began to learn more about them, I wondered how Laurie was doing. Mum promised to feed him now that she would, but he seemed to be getting old and she hadn't said much about him so I was worried. I could probably ask her in my next letter.
Divination was by far my favorite class, at least of my new ones. Professor Trelawney had such eccentric mannerisms most people avoided her because they thought she was crazy. She was sort of like , the old American woman who lived across from us when I was growing up, in the sense that I felt an odd amount of comfort being around them. Though I was still struggling to grasp what it was that I was actually looking for in her lessons. The word vomit that spilled from her mouth from time to time made it hard to gather what was a part of lessons or her blurry predictions. However, I usually managed to piece together the important bits. Juniper had liked her more than she expected, too.
However, since my accident, if you could even call it that, every time I stepped foot in DADA or Potions I got this icky feeling in my gut. Like my body was preparing itself for the worst.
I currently stood at my cauldron in Potions, occasionally stirring at the bubbling liquid inside. Professor Lockhart no longer believed I was a fan, but that didn't stop the other professors from giving me trouble. Professor Snape had begun making quips under his breath about the company I kept, or how disappointed my family must be for not being able to manage a simple potion. He walked around watching over the other students. Roxy was focusing on her potion, being strategic about her stirring. Juniper stood beside me, half leaned on the table as she peered off into her cauldron with eyes half-open. Her hand lazily stirring.
"Miss Haywood, do you mind remaining awake for my class?" Professor Snape rolled his eyes.
"Sorry Professor." She yawned as she straightened her back out to put more effort into her potion.
"Am I doing this right?" I leaned over glancing at Roxy's cauldron, which was a very different shade of green entirely from mine.
She peeked over, looking at mine, "I'm going to say yes to save your feelings," Glancing back at hers she stored again, "But I'm going to guess no because I know for a fact, it's not supposed to be the color."
Yet another potion I've messed up. I dropped my spoon off to the side, slowly raising my hand. Professor Snape let out a sigh walking over to the table again.
"Miss Lancaster, what can I help you with?" He sighed.
"I've seemed to have made a mistake somewhere along the way, is there any way I can get a chance to try again?" I asked nervously. I had a feeling he'd laugh in my face for even considering.
"I'm not surprised, to say the least, if your housemate here can manage to complete hers correctly," He nodded at Roxy, "Perhaps you should consider spending more time with her rather than those little pests you insist on befriending."
I couldn't believe that I was hearing a professor so blatantly insulting students with my own two ears. I shook my head and tried biting my tongue. I was always biting my tongue at the things I wanted to say to the greasy-haired man. The unsettling feeling I have around him made it even harder for me to keep my thoughts private.
"You could have just said no, tosser," I muttered under my breath.
"Care to repeat yourself?" Professor Snape challenged.
I was getting frustrated, I knew he heard me. I had to ask myself what I was willing to risk. I clench my fist together looking back at him, erase all the emotion from your face, I told myself.
"I said, you could have just said no." I repeated louder, "Tosser. " I enunciated the last part this time.
It felt sort of good watching his face twist in disgust until he opened his mouth, "You'll enjoy scrubbing cauldrons tonight, and your house can personally thank you for the loss of ten house points for your poor vocabulary." He glared holes through my skull, he turned around walking away with another word.
Juniper bit back her laughter, sitting up even straighter. I looked around at the eyes on me, everyone much like Juniper seemed to be biting back laughter. My cheeks were getting warmer as I felt my grin faded with the realization I was the reason for this detention all on my own. I'd actually said something I meant to Professor Snape without the care for how it affected me for a moment.
"Did you really just say that?" Roxy blurted finally as the hum of conversations picked back up.
"I guess I did." I muttered with a weak shrug, "Now I've got a detention to show for it." I added with a sigh.
"Damn, look at you go." Juniper let her grin slip past her lips, she patted my back casually.
"It's not funny, June. I've already been stuck scrubbing cauldrons every other weekend since we got back." I sighed.
I stared down at the dark green liquid, it was taunting me from the cauldrons. I had no idea what I was going to do.
"Maybe it won't be all that bad." Roxy attempted, patting my back. I gave her a weak nod before trying to save what I could of my potion. It did feel sort of relieving to call him a name that made him twist up in disgust unlike how he always made me feel.
••••••
I weakly waved Roxy and Juniper goodbye as I trudged to Snape's classroom following dinner. There were cauldrons already stacked high from the ground and the tables scattered with more cauldrons. Aside from myself and the stacks of cauldrons, the classroom seemed to be empty.
I leaned against a table waiting for Snape. When I had other detentions, he usually already stood in his classroom waiting for whoever he had forced here with detention. I began to wander about the classroom, looking at bottles with worn labels that were hard to read. The longer I looked at the shelves I began to get the familiar feeling as if I were looking into a spice cabinet.
"Maybe Snape should just label one of these rags yours." I turned my head to see Fred walking towards the shelves I stood at, "Sort of looks like a spice rack, doesn't it?" He mumbled reading at the bottles himself.
Of course, Fred was in detention, too. I turned my back to the shelves facing him as he stepped closer.
"Yeah, sort of." I nodded, "Have you seen the man of the hour by chance?" I asked.
Fred shook his head sitting back on one of the tables, "Nope. What got you in here anyway?"
I finally moved to sit down beside Fred. It felt kind of odd, sitting beside Fred in the Potions classroom. We'd never shared a class because we're in different years, but it was kind of nice. Fred and George were much better in this class than I was and I couldn't understand what made it so hard for me to grasp.
"I called Snape a Tosser," I mumbled, hoping he heard me.
"I'm sorry you called him what?" He grinned, I know he heard me.
"You heard me," I said warning,
Fred perched up closer, resting his hand on his chin, "No I don't think I did." He was playing dumb.
"A tosser," I repeated, the memory of Snape's disgust filled my head, causing a faint grin to lift the corners of my mouth.
Fred laughed, "Oh Godric, that's amazing." He shook his head, "What made you mad enough to call him that?"
"I asked for a redo on my potion and he pretty much laughed in my face. So I told him he could have just said no…" I looked down at my hands, as my fingers began winding around each other. "And then I called him a tosser."
Although I felt a little better standing up to Professor Snape, I still had managed to ruin my potion. I failed it miserably and I was still without a way to make it up. As well as this lovely evening of detention again.
Fred's hand stopped mine from moving, "What went wrong with it?" He asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I could smell fireworks on his clothes, mixed with a sweetly spiced scent. Everything about him was warm, all the time. It was comforting to be around him. He was my first friend here, and it was clear in the feeling of comfort I felt. It didn't feel like I was as far from home when I was with Fred.
"I have no clue, I just don't understand what I'm always doing wrong." I groaned, glancing back at the pantry of ingredients, "I can turn any amount of spices and other ingredients into some of the best desserts you've ever tried. Yet every time I'm in this classroom my brain gets all muddled up with useless words and I can't gather anything together."
"Have you tried treating it like a recipe instead of another assignment?" Fred glanced back, "Think about it, you've already said it's exactly like a spice rack, you've just gotta turn your brain into believing it is." He suggested.
I'd never really put much thought into it like that. I'd managed to adapt to magic in a lot of ways the past three years, but after nearly failing two potions classes I was worried I'd never fully adapted to my new life. If I couldn't pass a basic core class, I might as well have just stayed home.
"How do I do that?" I questioned.
Fred only just moved his hand away from mine, as he clapped his hands together, "What potion was it?"
"I think it was just a Wiggenweld Potion, and mine turned a dark green instead of a lighter green like it was supposed to. I don't know what I did." I shrugged, "It was just certainly not made correctly."
Fred nodded along, he moved from the seat beside me and went back over to the ingredient bottles placed on the wall.
"Roxy's turned out fine, and I don't get why. I was paying attention the entire time. I did the exact same things as Roxy. Even Juniper managed to bring hers back around and she was sleeping all class. And then Sam Nott and that stupid Helena girl started laughing at me when Snape started giving me detention." I found myself rambling, as I heard Fred clang around in the bottles.
He returned unloading all the same bottles I had used earlier, he grabbed one of the last clean cauldrons from the other side of the room placing it in front of us.
"What are you doing?" I finally asked as he sat back down, flipping open a textbook.
"I'm going to help you re-do your potion, then we'll clean these cauldrons and go to bed." He explained, not removing his head from the book.
I hadn't ever seen Fred take control of academics, I tried to fight a look of shock and confusion as he muttered along with the titles of the pages as he looked for the Wiggenweld Potion. I began to notice the way his cheeks were dusted with a few more freckles than usual, some scattered close enough to make constellations. My cheeks felt warmer, and I could feel my heartbeat increasing as Fred looked in my direction, catching me staring.
I forced my eyes down to the book he held as I'd just been glancing up for a moment. He put the book down and went to work opening the bottles in front of us.
"Try to think of this as a batch of snickerdoodles, or those lemon squares Lee is always going on about," Fred suggested.
I nodded, "Well then what's first?" I placed my hands down awaiting Fred's direction.
He grinned over at me, before glancing back at the book in front of him. He read the directions aloud, explaining the best way to do each step. There was something so fascinating to hear Fred know so much about something. All this information had been collecting in his head, another moment proving that he was more than just what people thought of him and George. He was right too, once my brain had gotten itself wired to follow the directions like any other recipe it got easier and made more sense.
Professor Snape never came to his classroom that evening. Not that we noticed, he was in and out of most of our detentions anyway. Fred and I stayed after my successful second attempt at the Wiggenweld potion, cleaning the remaining cauldrons leaving the classroom spotless. It was like we'd never touched anything but the cauldrons we were here to clean.
My finished potion along with a note reading,
Thank you for the detention. This potion is a token of my appreciation, a corrected Wiggenweld Potion, and all of your cauldrons are clean.
Your favorite Hufflepuff
Though it earned me another detention, Snape still accepted my potion as credit.
••••••
The buddy system rapidly flourished throughout Hogwarts as the looming threat and rumors of The Heir to Slytherin kept being circulated. No one wanted to be caught alone. There were very few moments I wasn't accompanied by either the twins or Demi. Her older sister instincts kicked in, I was the first Muggle-born she'd gotten to know. She had no idea what was really going on but she was older and had heard some of the rumors over the years.
Demi told us the stories of Salazar Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets. A student years ago was dead set on opening it again to use the beast inside to take control of the school, and potentially worse. It was bone-chilling, so I didn't argue, especially after Justin Finch-Fletchley, a boy from our house just a year younger. He was a Muggleborn like I was, making him the second muggle-born in a row to end up in the infirmary petrified by the beast. It was becoming clear enough to all of us that Muggleborns were the target.
As we moved further into winter, the girls and I had broken out our mittens and scarves. Roxy packed herself a small bag with her savings for Hogsmeade, Juniper carried an empty bag, while Demi held all their money together. The older girl walked ahead of us leading the way around Hogsmeade.
"June and I are just going to run in really fast, Gran likes their stuff." Demi explained dragging Juniper into the shop, "We'll meet you down at Honeydukes and then we'll grab lunch, stay together please." It felt like when Molly had led the Weasley children around Diagon Alley during the summer.
Roxy and I continued walking around the town. Hogsmeade was so different in the daytime. There was a liveliness to the town as Hogwarts students milled around.
"How do you think that Boggarts lesson is going to go on Monday?" Roxy asked, adjusting the beanie on her head.
"A bloody disaster," I shook my head, "We can certainly add this one to the list of his failed ventures before he's even had the class. The man can't even keep Cornish Pixies in line, what makes anyone think he can actually prevent a boggart from terrorizing us?" I groaned.
Since Friday afternoon as DADA came to an end, Professor Lockhart slipped in the information that we'd be facing boggarts on Monday. He said we should make sure our wands are ready to face off with some of our biggest fears. My skin felt prickly and was crawling just thinking of what I might see. I tried not thinking about what it was that scared me, I was scared the list might be growing and the boggart would keep switching until it was done terrorizing me.
I'd read about what a boggart was last year before it was required of me, I found that it didn't matter what it was you were fearful of, the boggart always managed to take the form of something that would terrify you still.
"I'm sure there could be someone there for backup if something goes wrong," Roxy suggested positively. "They wouldn't let him attempt anything too crazy."
I nodded along, trying to ease my mind, I tugged my coat around me tighter, "You're probably right."
Juniper and Demi joined us in Honeydukes, with their Gran's gift tucked away in Demi's bag. I wandered around, not in much of a sweets mood, my mind was still pondering what I might have to see with this boggart. Juniper and Roxy ran off into the shop chattering about sugar quills.
"Surprised you're not stocking up on chocolate frogs." I turned to Fred's voice.
"Haven't got much of an appetite for sweets lately." I shrugged.
After Justin was found petrified, it was getting tougher keeping my spirits up, I could be next. I was beyond excited to be going home. There was a continuous nagging on my shoulder that I needed to stay put, and never go out alone. The dark was feeling colder as nights went on and I don't think it was just winter.
He stuffed the royal purple package into my hand, "There's always later. You might need it, you never know." Fred smiled.
"Thanks, but I haven't brought enough money for one anyways." I handed it back to him.
"Then this one is on me." Handing back the box he closed my hand around it.
Fred guided me through Honeydukes, "Precious cargo coming through!" He called behind me waving his hand ahead of us, clearing a path.
My cool cheeks were warming up, "Fred this is not necessary," I blushed.
"I'm on a bit of a time crunch, and you clearly need chocolate." He replied.
He turned to the shop clerk, pulling a few galleons from his pocket, "She's got a chocolate frog, and that's gonna be everything for right now. Thank you."
She grumbled a total, before he handed forward his money, "Thank you." He waved the clerk goodbye, leading me from the register.
Fred turned his head at the sound of a whistle from across the store. I followed his gaze, spotting George across the shop waving his brother over. I shook my head, they were always plotting something now. I wondered how they made time for classwork with how often they seemed to be scheming.
"Where'd you get the money for this?" I asked, referring to the chocolate frog in my hand.
He shrugged it off, "Don't worry about it, just enjoy the gift."
"Whatever you say," I shook my head.
"Alright then, I'll try to catch up with you later, and I better see a card in your hand to show me who you got, too." He winked before slipping back through the store to where George had peeked out. They were quite the pair.
With my Chocolate Frog tucked in my coat pocket I searched for Roxy or either one of the Haywood sisters. I turned the corner of an aisle spotting Juniper and Lee tucked in the corner of the candy shop, giggling with one another as they passed back sweets. He held onto one of her hands, staring into her eyes as they whispered to one another.
"Sorry to interrupt, but could I grab her so we can grab lunch? I'm starved." I bit back my grin.
They separated so quickly like they zapped each other. Both fighting blushes, Juniper sulked beside me, pushing me away without another's word.
"What was that?" I asked teasingly.
"It was nothing and you saw nothing." She warned with a pointed finger.
"June, I'm not scared of you." I brush her off, "I saw you with Lee."
"So maybe I kind of fancy him." Juniper shrugged with a small smile, "And he might fancy me." Her blush had taken over on her deep complexion.
"I'm not going to say anything, my lips are sealed." I mimicked a lock on my lips.
She wrapped her arm around me in a tight side-hug, "Thank you." She said muffled in my neck.
"I really was hungry though so let's go find your sister and Roxy." I slunk out from under her grasp. Inching closer to the food calling me.
••••••
Sunday afternoon, I skipped around our room as I packed my bag to go home for Christmas at the end of the week. I was even more excited to see what winter at the Cottage looked like after I received a picture from Mum of it along with one of her last letters. It was taken towards the end of fall as most of the surrounding trees were bare of most of their leaves and the sky was a deep grey. There hadn't been any snow yet, but I could already imagine what it'd look like.
Roxy and Demi had gone off for Quidditch practice while Juniper and I remained in the comfort of our dorm. Juniper sat at the end of my bed, watching as I moved around the room picking up my things.
"What's different about this holiday that's got you so excited?" She asked, leaning back on her hands.
"I've got a room to myself, Mum might be engaged by now and this is my first real Christmas; the one I've always wanted." I shrugged, smiling. "The one with someone I could consider like my dad."
Juniper nodded in an attempt at understanding, she always had the perfect family holidays. It was her and Demi, and their happy parents who'd give anything to their two girls. They were the picture-perfect family. Juniper had no idea what it meant to know Elliot and Mum would both be downstairs waiting for me as I'd dreamed of.
"Why haven't you started packing, you're usually cutting me off to get done first?" I asked.
She looked back at me with tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Shaking her head, she sat up straighter tucking her legs under herself. It was a rare moment for her to be upset about anything.
"Mum and Dad are taking Demi back to the states for Christmas and New Year so I'll be staying here this year." Juniper admits, "I haven't said anything yet, with everything going on I didn't want you to worry."
"Everything going on? June, I've been with you almost all day every day, you know more than anyone else that I've got absolutely nothing going on." I laughed.
"You've just had more on your plate this term than you have in the past, with the fainting at the Duel Club, you're a Muggleborn so you've got that target on your back, and then there's also the weird thing you've got going on with Fr-" She began rambling on, jumbling the last bit, sitting up straighter, "Then you've had kind of a lot of detentions this term from Snape."
"I'm fine, your problems are just as important, June. We still have until Friday, I can write to Mum and maybe you can come to the Cottage for Christmas?" I suggest.
I always wanted to be able to host a sleepover, I wanted to be the friend who picked out all of the snacks and brought my friends home to see all the things I liked to do.
Juniper's face lit up, "You think she would let you have me over for two weeks?"
"She'd love you, and it wouldn't hurt to ask. Plus I can show you a bunch of cool Muggle stuff I like."
Juniper nodded excitedly, "Only ask if it's something you want to do. But if the invitation is there I accept." She agreed, she was slowly getting back to her old self.
I finished packing the last of my bag before I went to write a quick letter to my mum before it was too late in the day. Once we got back from owelry, I sat down to read more about Boggarts to attempt to save my spiraling thoughts. Roxy returned to our room before dinner with red cheeks and limp shoulders as she shuffled to her bed.
"How was practice, Rox?" Juniper asked as Roxy plopped herself on her bed.
"I'm exhausted, I wonder when Liam, Ernie, and Cedric decided they were in charge of the team, last I checked they weren't the captains of the team." She scoffed, staring up at the ceiling, "I'll be excited to not have to hear them whine about whatever rubbish all day long in just a matter of days."
"Sounds exhausting," I mumbled, keeping my eyes down on the book in front of me.
I hadn't said much about my concern for this lesson tomorrow to anyone, there wasn't much anyone could do aside from saying that I'd be fine. However, that didn't stop the unraveling string of thoughts from my head. It was nerve-wracking, there were more things I was scared of now than I'd ever been before. My fears could take any shape and tomorrow I'd have to face them.
"You've got your mind somewhere else, Squeaks?" I lifted my head from my book, Roxy now sitting up on her elbows.
"I'm fine." I lied glancing back down to the book, "I'm just studying." I shrugged.
No amount of reading was going to prepare me for this lesson. I couldn't help but wonder what I'd face tomorrow, I could be quick with my wand, I knew the spells I needed to. The last time I'd had to face anything like this was last Halloween in the girl's bathrooms with Hermione when we encountered the troll. I fumbled with my wand even though I should've been able to do something and then the last time I had a chance I fainted at the sight of a snake.
I was beginning to think I was falling into the useless Hufflepuff category. I just didn't know what to do about it.
"How many times are you going to read that same part of the book?" Roxy asked, looking over at my book.
I snapped it closed, laying it in my lap, "I'm just being prepared." I mumbled.
If I read enough about them, maybe I wouldn't freeze up. They were pests, I just had to know the perfect way to get rid of them, hold myself accountable and strong. It was just a tactic to scare whoever the Boggart was approached by, it was all fake anyway. I could just make it go away. I just had to remind myself.
"You've got to give yourself a break. You've been talking about it constantly since Friday." Roxy moved to sit at the foot of my bed, "Mags, there's nothing that is going to happen to you."
I nodded, "You're probably right, you know me I'm just a worrywart sometimes." I put the book on my nightstand, "Are you hungry?" I tried changing the subject so maybe food would get my mind off the subject.
Roxy nodded and quickly changed out of her practice jersey. Now that she was on the team, I began to notice her quidditch uniform got so much dirtier than Fred and George's due to the light yellow shade compared to Gryffindor's signature red. Even Slytherin and Ravenclaw had deeper colors that hid the dirt and sweat much better.
As we sat in the Great Hall among the other houses, Juniper informed Demi of our awaiting the okay from my mum about her joining us at Christmas this year. She nodded her head tiredly as she pushed around the mashed potatoes on her plate. I couldn't completely keep my mind off the inevitable. I had been keeping track of all the hours ticking down until DADA tomorrow.
"Do you think you could show me a movie at your house? I've always wanted to see one of those!" Juniper turned to me with a wide smile, "Oh! And I must meet James! He can't really be as handsome as you've described." She exclaimed, gripping my arm as I went to take a bite.
"Quiet…" I shushed her nudging her off, I looked over my shoulder and saw a few students turned in our direction, staring. I gave them a pointed look before shushing Juniper again and turning back to the table. "I don't need the twins catching wind of that and asking about him."
I knew Fred had asked about James but he hadn't mentioned him since this summer. Perhaps he's forgotten about him completely. As the days ticked down, I began to think about James more. He seemed interested in me and I got little flutters thinking about him. His soft hands and knowledge of art. But the Twins did not need to know about any of that.
"I'm just excited, I'm sorry, " Juniper turns back to her plate, picking her fork back up.
"That's only if Mum says yes, I'm not sure if she's got any plans for the Holiday since it's our first one at the Cottage." I remind Juniper.
She nodded, "I know, you're right I'm getting ahead of myself. How do you think the Boggart lesson will go tomorrow?"
My stomach sank, tanking my appetite along with it. I set my fork down, there was a moment of silence as I looked down at my plate before I heard Juniper wince beside me. I looked up to see Roxy giving her a disapproving look, shaking her head. My eyes shifted back to the clock again.
"Ok, you didn't need to kick me," Juniper whined, rubbing at her shin.
"Must have because you clearly didn't pay attention to the discussion we had before supper," Roxy argued.
Juniper turned to me, "Sorry, Maggie."
I shrugged, "It's fine, I've been watching the clock on and off for the last forty minutes. We've got roughly 14 hours until the class." I mumbled looking over at the clock again.
"Why don't you see what Fred and George are doing tonight?" Roxy suggested.
I shook my head, "Not worth it, they still don't know what got Justin, and I just don't think it's the best idea for them to be going out of their way just to comfort me."
"Well, maybe there's something you could read besides a textbook to get your mind off of it."Juniper attempted.
"I'll be fine, I'm just going to head off to bed." I stood up from my seat, "I'll see you in the morning."
I slipped from the great hall unnoticed. The halls were empty as everyone was still finishing their supper. If I wanted to make it back down to my dorm without being caught skipping dinner I'd have to move quickly, and think of all the shortcuts I could. Filch was usually the only one patrolling the halls during meals, making it possible but not easy.
I made it almost to the last set of stairs before I heard other footsteps. I tried sneaking around a corner hiding out of sight, but I felt a tug on my sweater pulling me out. I turned to face Demi wearing a disapproving look with crossed arms.
"Why'd you leave by yourself?" She asked,
"I was tired so I decided I should probably go to bed." I replied, "I didn't think it'd be a problem," I shrugged.
"You've got to be mad," Demi shook her head, "Come on, I'll take you there."
She hooked her arm around my shoulder, she was taller than me but I could tell I was getting a little taller, closing the distance. I glanced over at her taking a mental picture of her face. Demi's features had matured so much in the three years I'd known her. Her cheekbones were strikingly high, with soft freckles dotting across them and over her nose. Her curls had grown out longer, and lightened up over the summer. Demi by definition was perfect.
"It's going to be weird being so far from home this time next year," Demi muttered.
"What do you mean?" I asked as we rounded the corner at the end of the staircase.
"I'll be in the states, almost completely alone. This holiday will sort of set it all in stone, you know?" She slipped her arm away with a shrug. "Juniper will be here with Mum and Dad, and she'll have you and Roxy. But I just worry about her. She's lucky to have you guys, I didn't have such an easy time."
I'd noticed Demi talked to a lot of different people but other than her relationship with Malone and the Quidditch team, I couldn't think of many times she was with someone other than Juniper for longer than an hour or two at once.
"Mum told me when June was born that I was to protect her from the world." She smiled at the memory, "She's always been my first thought, although she can be annoying I love her so much."
I nodded, unsure of what to say, "She knows you care about her." I mumbled.
"I don't expect you to, but could you just keep an eye on her for me? June deserves friends like you." Demi knocked along the barrels, "I just can't have anything happen to her."
I nodded, "I'll do it."
"Don't feel like you have to, I know June can be a handful but she's everything to me." She smiled to herself, before giving me a pointed look, "Don't tell her I said that though, I don't want to have to deal with all of that." She chuckled.
"Of course," I agreed, "I invited her to stay with my family over the holidays if my mum is okay with it."
"I heard, and heard her talking about meeting that James boy." Demi smirked, "I want details when we get back on how that goes."
I pushed open the door to my dorm, I sat on the foot of my bed, resting my hands on my knees, "Are you staying here tonight or with the old ladies?" I asked, Demi still stood by the door.
"The old ladies," She laughed, "I've got someone to meet up with tonight, so I'll be late. And I wouldn't want to disturb the infant ward's beauty rest."
It became a running joke with Juniper and Demi, we had become the infant ward, as our dorms were still closest to the prefect's dorm and the common room like we had babysitters on hand, while Demi's assigned dorm was down the hall, giving her more freedom.
"Have fun," I waved her goodbye, scooting back up the headboard of my bed.
"I'm planning on having loads of fun, have a good night's rest." Demi waved back, slipping out into the hall again.
"And please don't go anywhere else, at least not alone," Demi begged as she pulled the door shut, I agreed with a nod just as she clicked the door shut.
I laid my head down on my pillow, not bothering to change yet. I was hoping the cushion of my bed would be enough distraction to keep my mind off of class tomorrow. I shoved my hands under my pillow scrunching it up under my head to provide better support, my fingers brushed along the parchment under my pillow.
I unfolded it, the original message from Fred and George had completely disappeared, we hadn't used it much aside from that night. I had kept it folded under my pillow in fear it might be considered contraband. I pulled the quill from Roxy's nightstand, and I wrote out my message.
If I jump from the astronomy tower is it required to attend DADA tomorrow?
I waited for a reply but quickly remembered they were still up at dinner enjoying their meals like I should've been instead of stressing about a lesson that may go perfectly well.
Disregard my last message, I'm being dramatic… I'll just see you both in the morning.
I quickly scribbled out before I set the quill down, forcing myself away. I went over to my trunk pulling the pajamas I hadn't packed for the Holiday, consisting of an old T-shirt I found in the bottom of my trunk when I'd gotten to the Burrow at the end of the summer, it smelled of the cologne Elliot wore and the fabric softener Mum liked to use. The material held such a strong smell of home. I had only worn it once before in fear of losing its welcoming scent.
I pulled on a pair of plaid pajamas that were too long on my legs. They felt sort of oddly fit but I had gotten a lot of clothes that were ill-fitting over the years of Mum receiving hand-me-downs from coworkers grown kids. Twisting around to check the waist. I noticed a sewn "W" along the side, a hand me down no doubt, just not one of mine. I rolled down the waist trying to tighten the fit a little better before shuffling back to my bed. None of the Weasley kids would even notice a pair of pajama pants missing.
My message had faded and it now read in a mix of both twin's handwriting, taking turns with each sentence.
I wouldn't recommend it but how'd you like your funeral arrangements?
George's reply read, besides it Fred's scribbled script,
George is kidding, we can always cause a distraction so the class can't go on.
As tempting as it was, I knew better than enlist that kind of help from them. I picked up the quill,
I'm just going to try and go to bed, maybe sleep will help.
I'd shared with everyone within a 2-kilometer radius that I wasn't looking forward to this class tomorrow. It couldn't be normal for someone to feel this much anxiety about a class, the issue wasn't Boggarts, it was the absolute fear of the rest of my classmates witnessing the one thing that scares me the most.
Goodnight Mags!
Read George's writing, before it blurred into Fred's,
Everything will go just fine, I promise you. Goodnight Maggie.
Next to it was a lumpy drawn heart, sort of like the ones I'd finish out my own notes with. It was a little endearing to see him attempt at something I always did. Mum always finished her notes to me out with a heart beside her name. I picked up the habit soon after I began passing notes with the Twins first year. His attempt wasn't exactly the easiest to translate but it felt thoughtful to me.
Goodnight boys. Thank you, for everything.
Finishing mine with my own doodled heart. I folded the parchment again, stuffing it back under my pillow before abandoning my quill on the table and laying in bed again. If I told myself everything was going to be okay, everything would have to be okay. I have to start making myself believe that I am capable of more than I think.
I blew out the candle by my bed and forced myself to bed. It was better that I try to sleep now before Roxy and Juniper get back from supper and completely bombard the room.
I closed my eyes as I focused my thoughts on the feeling of the sheets on my bare feet, rather than class tomorrow. I paid more attention to the mixing of the warm smell of home on my t-shirt, along with the scent of cinnamon from the pajama pants I wore, my strawberry shampoo swirled in as my hair tickled my nose. I was going to be okay. There's nothing that I needed to be really worried about, it was a lesson, not a death sentence. I just needed to sleep and I'd be fine.
A/N: Hiya! That was a biggie boy, but keep your eyes peeled for a double update :D