"By Merlin's Beard! What on earth happened here?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, her eyes wide at the sudden influx of students invading her infirmary.
"It 'waz Wongbottem!" Draco sneered, clutching his nose with one hand. It was facing sideways, turning blue and purple underneath the massive outpour of blood dripping down his face.
Blaise had Draco's arm slung around his shoulder, pulling the boy along with him.
"Technically, you started it," Blaise pointed out, letting go of Draco completely as they reached the infirmary bed. Draco collapsed onto it with a loud 'oof.'
"Though I admit," Blaise said, eyeing his friend's bloody face with an almost impressed look. "I didn't think he had it in him."
"Professor McGonagall! What is going on here?" Madam Pomfrey demanded of the teacher, looking from the various beds which were quickly being filled by students with various injuries.
Professor McGonagall sighed irritatedly, levitating Neville with her wand. She lowered him onto a nearby bed, giving a stern glare towards Draco's bed and the bed next to him, where Runcorn lay, clutching his arm and wincing.
"A fight, Madam Pomfrey, broke out at the Quidditch Match. Minimal injuries, I assure you," Professor McGonagall sighed. "Except for Miss Potter and Mr. Longbottom."
"Oh dear," Madam Pomfrey shook her head, flicking her wand for a diagnostic spell on Neville's unconscious body. Her face fell at the results. She sighed, turning to the nearest injured student to tend to them.
"Ow," Mara whined as she walked into the infirmary, her entire body covered with green and black spiny thorns. She grimaced in pain as Lily guided her through the wing, every movement causing the thorns in her skin tearing into her skin further.
"Are you sure you're okay, Mara?" Lily asked concernedly.
Mara winced. Her entire body felt like it was on fire as tiny needles poked her skin.
"Miss Potter!" Madam Pomfrey's shout came just as Mara managed to sit on the infirmary bed, barely managing to avoid the thorns still stuck on her clothes.
Mara winced as Madam Pomfrey came to a halt in front of her.
"I have had it up to here with you, Miss Potter!" Madam Pomfrey raged at the red-head. "Seven incidents in the past two months alone! I've had to patch you up so many times, it's a wonder you're alive at all, Miss Potter!"
Mara shrunk back from the fury of the witch, twiddling her thumbs nervously.
"It really wasn't my fault this time, Madam Pomfrey," Mara protested weakly. "I just got pulled into the chaos."
"Likely story," Madam Pomfrey snorted, "It's always you, Miss Potter. I'm just relieved you're brother has more reasonable judgment."
"He's been here loads of times!" Mara protested.
"He's never required to regrow a bone."
Mara had to give her that one.
"She is telling the truth, Madam Pomfrey," Lily defended her. "Mara had nothing to do with it."
"Regardless of that," Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Even with only half of your mother's brains, you should be able to keep out of trouble longer than a week."
Mara shrugged. "I'm a half dad too though," She pointed out.
"I don't need reminding of that fact, Miss Potter, I see it every time you come in here, another new injury for me to patch up. You're more like your father than my poor health can take."
Mara ducked her head, her gaze falling to the floor in guilt and shame. She watched warily as Madam Pomfrey surveyed her, pulling out her thorn-covered arm to inspect.
"How did this come about?" Madam Pomfrey whirled to face Lily with narrowed eyes, not even flinching at the large twitching rabbit ears Lily now sported.
"She fell off the stands, Madam Pomfrey. She landed on one of those thorny plants beneath the bleachers" Lily replied. One of her ears twitched to the corner where a moaning student lay, his face covered in boils.
Madam Pomfrey hummed into consideration, surveying Mara's thorny covered arm. Mara jumped as Madam Pomfrey pulled one of the thorns right off her skin, tugging the skin insistently with it. She yelped, jerking back her arm from the sharp pain. Though the thorn was gone, it left a red welt behind on the skin.
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "It's as I feared. I'll have to manually pull all these out."
Mara looked up at her in horror.
Madam Pomfrey scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Spiky Prickly Plants. Good for breaking your fall, bad for your skin. I could use fire but that would burn you in the process."
"Can't you use the fire-numbing spell on me?" Mara whimpered pitifully as Madam Pomfrey pulled another one out of her shoulder.
"I could but that would numb the thorns as well. They're a magical plant, Mara, they take on the magical properties of whatever they latch onto, at this moment, that's you. No, the only way to take care of these…" Madam Pomfrey jerked another out of her skin, ignoring Mara's slight yelp. "Is to pull them out individually."
Mara grimaced as another one pulled out. Seeing as she was covered in dozens of tiny thorns, she would probably be here all night.
To Ignore the pain, she let her gaze wander to the corner bed of the room where her friend lay motionless.
"Is Neville okay?"She asked, glancing worriedly at her friends still form on the bed opposite her.
Shortly after she fell over the balcony, Professor McGonagall had shown up. It had taken a full-blown stunning spell on Neville before he finally fell unconscious. Mara had never seen someone take that many spells and keep going.
It was both terrifying and impressive.
The beds were filled with students caught by stray spells or wild fists and legs. Most came with just bruises or at worst, a random spell.
The worst of it was Draco, who lay on the bed, one eye turning purple and holding his nose to stop the long stream of blood flowing from it and Runcorn, who nursed his wrist while scowling at everything, a suspiciously large lump on the back of his head.
And Neville, who lay unresponsive on the bed across from her.
"Hm?" Madam Pomfrey looked over at Neville's bed, a flash of emotion coming across her face before the scowl Mara was so used to darkened across her face once more.
"Oh, yes, Of course, he will. Nothing too permanent," Madam Pomfrey dismissively. Mara winced as she pulled out a thorn from a particularly crowded place on her waist. "But I'm afraid he won't be waking up for a few days."
"What?" Mara turned to face Madam Pomfrey with wide, horrified eyes. Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue at her, pushing her shoulder to face forward, mindful of the thorns still sticking out of her shirt.
"He got caught by a temporary coma spell. Real nasty and a very dark spell," Here she shot a dark look towards Draco and Runcorn's bed.
Draco glared back, holding onto his nose, which had stopped bleeding but was turning black and blue.
Runcorn however just raised an eyebrow. "I would never use such a terrible spell against a fellow student."
"Your Head of House will deal with you two later," Madam Pomfrey huffed, turning back to Mara's thorn-covered back.
Madam Pomfrey sighed, casting a side-eye to Neville's bed.
"The only way to wake him up is with a Rejuvenation Potion. I'm afraid a simple Revive or a Restoration potion will only do more harm than good. It's a nasty spell, that one. I'll need Moondew root if I want to wake him," Madam Pomfrey shook her head.
"Don't you- OW!- have some?" Mara grimaced, rubbing the now red spots on her arm free of thorns.
"Not enough. It only grows in the forest, you see. The roots are horribly toxic, that's why we have Hagrid go and get some. It doesn't affect him. But he's away on business until Monday, I'm afraid," Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"So Neville's stuck like this?" Mara asked, her eyes watering as Madam Pomfrey worked on a particularly crowded patch.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Madam Pomfrey agreed reluctantly.
Mara watched quietly, wincing at the tiny thorns being pulled but otherwise staying still. Draco and Runcorn shot one another venomous glances. Blaise sat dutifully by his friends' bed, never mind his occasional snicker at Draco's misfortune.
Lily stayed silent though Mara was reluctant to look at her. Every time she did, Mara's eyes would travel to the two fluffy bunny ears on top of her head, twitching nearly constantly.
Mara really wanted to pet her ears.
But Mara really didn't want to be weird about it.
"Alright, that's all for you!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she pulled the last thorn out of Mara's back.
Mara sighed in relief, moving her shoulders and testing for any pain. Her skin was still sore from the welts left behind but nothing was poking her every time she moved.
"Alright, Miss Moon, it seems like all you need is a simple counter charm," Madam Pomfrey waved her wand at the girl and Lily's two bunny ears disappeared with a poof.
"I was actually kinda growing attached to them," Lily said, smiling as she patted the top of her head. "I've always wondered what it'd be like to have such big ears. Not great turn out. I could hear everything."
Mara frowned, turning to her as Madam Pomfrey went Draco and Runcorn's beds.
Blaise smirked as Madam Pomfrey approached. The nurse eyed Draco's bloody face, waving away his hands to better survey his injuries.
"Look to your left, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey's lips thinned, holding her wand in one hand.
"Wha-? Wha for?" Draco winced, turning his head to face Blaise, who simply snickered at the pitiful boy's face.
"This is going to sting. Episkey!" Madam Pomfrey shouted, waving her wand towards his face. With a loud crunch, Draco's nose corrected itself, moving back towards the center of his face.
A high pitch scream rang out through the hospital wing, causing the various students to turn towards the offending noise.
Draco groaned, holding onto his nose with watery eyes.
"You could've warned me!" Draco shouted, glaring up at Madam Pomfrey.
The nurse sent him an unimpressed stare.
"If I had warned you, you would've had time to move or dodge it," Madam Pomfrey eyed the boy's eye and Draco had just enough time to cover it before Madam Pomfrey waved her wand again.
Draco flinched but there was no need. The mounds of blood covering his nose, mouth, and clothes vanished, leaving it pristine.
Draco's eye, however, was still ringed with a dark purple-blue. His nose was a similar purple-ish color.
"The bruises will have to heal by itself, I'm afraid. Not much I can do for them," Madam Pomfrey tutted, turning towards Runcorn's bed.
Blaise snickered.
"What is so hilarious, Blaise?" Draco huffed, raising his chin like the pureblood he was.
"You screamed like a girl," Blaise choked out before bursting into full out cackles.
Draco's eyes widened as he looked around the room, his cheeks turning pink.
The kids who weren't in incredible amounts of pain burst into choruses of laughter.
"I-uh-" Draco sputtered, his face turning red before he glowered at them. "My father will hear about this, I assure you!"
With that threat, he got off the bed and stormed out of the hospital wing.
Blaise lifted himself off the chair, wiping away a fake tear in the corner of his eye. Catching his eye, Mara didn't miss his brief wink before he left after his friend.
"We found them!" A loud, excited voice came from the hallway the two Slytherins just excited.
Parvarti and Lavender burst into the room, huffing and panting. Lavender pushed her hair back, fixing her butterfly hair clips.
"Here they are," Parvarti cried, throwing herself next to a bed with a familiar brown-haired Gryffindor girl.
Mara's jaw dropped, barely recognizing her without her glasses.
"Oh- hic -thank - hic - you," Sophie Roper squinted at her friends, one hand covering her mouth. Mara watched in fascination as between every word she hiccuped and a small slew of bubbles flew out of her mouth.
Sophie grabbed the glasses, giving another full-body hiccup. Bubbles poured from her mouth, drifting around the room.
"They're a bit broken but the spell you use all the time should fix em'" Lavender said, crossing her arms.
"Hic- occu-hic-lus- hic- reparo-" Sophie's hands shook every time she hiccuped, interrupting the spell as she tapped her glasses.
Nothing happened.
With a swish of her arm, Mara's wand went flying into her hand, the familiar warmth she was accustomed to making her shiver now. Mara hopped off her bed, steadying herself before heading towards her dormmates.
"Here, let me help," Mara smiled kindly at the girl, tapping the glasses with the end of her wand.
"Occulus Reparo."
With a flash of magic, the glasses fixed themselves, good as new.
"Than- hic- hic- you," Sophie smiled through the bubbles now floating around her head.
"I thought I said you were free to go, Miss Potter," Madam Pomfrey appeared, frowning at her firmly.
"Oh, sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Mara told her sheepishly, "I'll go now."
"You too, Miss Patil, Miss Brown, Miss Moon," Madam Pomfrey told them, looking at each of them with a firm gaze.
"We just came to give Sophie her glasses," Parvarti told her.
"They got lost in the scuffle," Lavender added, batting her eyelashes innocently. "We only wanted to help."
"You can help by going back to your common rooms. Now," Madam Pomfrey huffed, unimpressed.
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," The three Gryffindor girls and one Hufflepuff all said in unison.
"I'll see you back in the dorm, Sophie," Mara waved to the girl as she left the wing.
Sophie waved back, hiccuping one last time before the doors firmly shut behind the girls.
Lavender and Parvarti took off immediately, chatting to one another about the latest gossip.
Mara sighed heavily. She couldn't help but feel guilty leaving Sophie and Neville, the latter is still unconscious. Until Monday, apparently.
"Is something wrong, Mara?" Lily asked, concerned.
Mara frowned. Was something wrong?
Yes.
"No, I just wish there was something I could do for Neville," She sighed, sending Lily a strained smile.
Lily fell silent.
Mara continued to walk forward until she realized Lily wasn't walking behind her anymore. She turned around to face her friend with a worried look.
"Lily?"
Lily was frowning, staring at the glossy floor beneath them as she shuffled from one foot to the other. Mara noticed Lily's fingers were playing with the straps on her messenger bag, pulling at the fabric with nervous energy.
Mara had noticed by now that Lily often played with the strap when she was upset or nervous much like Mara would catch herself biting her fingernails. Mara just didn't understand why Lily would be so anxious.
"What if…" Lily paused, looking unsure as her eyes flittered across the floors. "What if I told you there was a way?"
"What do you mean?" Mara frowned in confusion. "You mean a way to help Neville? How?"
Mara's mind raced with questions as Lily bit her bottom lip sending her a look full of anxiety and guilt.
"That plant Madam Pomfrey was talking about," Lily swallowed, rubbing her hands up and down the strap. Lily's eyes met Mara's unsurely.
"I know where it grows."
Mara's eyes lit up with understanding and hope. A bright smile lifted across her face.
"That's great! We can go get it ourselves! We'll just have to be extra careful not to touch it!"
Lily's frown deepened, her eyes flittering to the walls and back, avoiding Mara's eyes.
"Where does it grow, Lily?" Mara asked, frowning at her friend's unusual behavior.
"That's the thing, you see," Lily laughed, a nervous edge to it, "it grows in the Forbidden Forest."
Standing outside the entrance to the common room was what Mara imagined waiting in the gallows felt like. She could already feel a rope being tied around her neck.
Maybe she was being dramatic like her parents always told her she was, but she was not looking forward to facing Harry.
Or Hermione.
Mara heaved a sigh.
The Fat Lady eyed her before giving a loud snort. "Are you going to stand out here all night?""
"Corona Borealis," Mara murmured.
The Fat Lady gave a huff, taking a long sip of the glass she held as the portrait opened up.
Mara looked down the entrance, nervously, resigning herself to whatever fate became of her. She entered the common room with her eyes held to the floor as she picked nervously at her fingernails.
As soon as the door shut with a click, the room burst into cheers. The common room was filled with what Mara was sure the entirety of their house, all crammed into the middle room.
Mara's head spun as students crowded around her, all searching for answers with large grins and twinkling eyes. Expectant.
Mara looked between their faces nervously. Behind the sea of children, she could only recognize a handful.
"Seriously, give her some room, guys!" Angelina's voice shouted out from the mass of kids. Angelina, with her tied in a tight ponytail, was now free of her quidditch robes as she pushed her way to the front.
Mara sent her a grateful look as the Gryffindors back away, grumbling as they did so. Angelina nodded back with a slight smile.
"That was bloody brilliant, that was!" Fred's grinning face came into her vision. He slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side.
"Amazing! We'll send Neville a bloody gift basket when we get the chance," George grinned.
"What?" Mara looked up, half confused and half alarmed.
"We managed to pull out a win due to you and Neville's little stunt," Angelina answered before the twins. She crossed her arms and sent the twins a glare.
"Alicia scored 4 goals before their keeper remembered they were in a match!" George grinned, sending Alicia Spinnet a grin.
Alicia's cheeks darkened. "It was nothing."
"Nothing? It was awesome!" Fred grinned. "Oliver's over the moon!"
"That's not fair though," Mara frowned, "You took advantage of the distraction. You didn't win fairly."
"Who cares?" Fred scoffed. "It's our first win of the season! You think we can get Neville to snap the next game too?"
Mara frowned, rubbing her wrists. She remembered Hufflepuff had a lead before the fight started. To think they lost because a bunch of first years started fighting in the stands.
Gryffindors weren't known for fair play, though.
Through the crowd, she spotted a black messy mop of hair and a pair of emerald eyes. She grinned, glad to see Hermione and Ron next to him. Ron had aa huge grin on his face but Hermione looked absolutely livid.
Harry simply narrowed his eyes and Mara gulped.
"Where is the man of the hour, anyway? George grinned, craning his neck to look behind her cowering form. As if she had been hiding the Gryffindor inside of her cloak.
Mara swallowed nervously.
"Uh," She looked at the twins identical, grinning faces than her brother, whose face was quickly morphing into alarm. "He's- uh- still in the- hospital wing."
Mara paled as she caught Harry's eyes, aglow in a now very familiar green tint.
"Uh, y' know Madam Pomfry- she, uh- wanted to keep him overnight." Mara stuttered, her brain craning to come up with excuses. She kept her eyes on Harry, as Hermione jumped into action beside him, hiding Harry from her view as she pushed him up the stairs with Ron close behind.
"Overnight? Is he okay?" Katie Bell piped up, her face creased in concern. She turned to see where Mara had been staring.
"Of course!" Mara hurriedly said, catching the girl's attention, "It's just they-uh-she-she wants to keep an eye on him. Y'know just in case."
As Mara stammered out, she could feel a bead of sweat falling slowly down the back of her neck, then down the heavy fabrics coating her.
She looked over briefly to the boy's staircase, almost breathing a sigh of relief as she spotted none of her friends.
"Um," Mara turned to the Gryffindors, "I'm really tired so I'm gonna go to bed. I'm really glad you guys won even if it was due to our distraction. I'll see you guys tomorrow - good night!"
Mara spouted this all as fast as she could, inching her way to the staircase before bolting up the stairs.
"Isn't that the boy's dorm?" She heard one of the older students ask as she climbed up the stairs.
Mara sighed in relief as she entered the dorm, shutting the door and leaning her back on it.
Three very familiar faces looked back at her.
"Really? A fight?" Hermione demanded, crossing her arms. She pursed her lips as she stared Mara down.
Mara winced in the face of Hermione's disapproving stare.
"I have a hard time believing Neville would start a fight unprovoked," Harry frowned, his eyes no longer glowing but still looking peeved.
Mara looked between the two strongly reminded of being reprimanded by her parents. Hermione had her mum's disappointment down pat.
"He didn't," Mara admitted, already picking at her fingernails.
"What do you mean? Everyone said he attacked first," Harry frowned.
"He did. But," Mara sighed heavily, "Just before the match I found him in the dungeons. He said Snape had given him extra homework."
"Typical of Snape," Ron muttered.
"Why he didn't say anything? We would've gone with him," Harry wondered a deep frown across his face.
Mara shrugged helplessly. The only one who could answer that is Neville himself, who currently lay in a magically induced coma in the hospital wing.
"I don't know what was going on or what but when I got there, there was a Slytherin boy just screaming down the hallway. Nasty insults about muggles and muggleborns, calling Neville a blood-traitor."
Mara shot Harry a meaningful look. He stood up, furiously beginning to pace the room.
"Name?" Harry demanded, eyeing her dangerously. His eyes were back to glowing.
"I don't remember the first name but Runcorn. Not the heir, he was our age." Mara admitted.
"Where was the teacher? Professor Snape?" Hermione looked affronted by this news.
Mara shook her head. "I don't know."
"Even if Snape had been there, he wouldn't have done anything," Harry stated bitterly.
"He would've taken one look at Mara and given detention to any Gryffindor in a five-meter radius," Ron snorted. "Neville being there would've just been the pumpkin in the juice."
Hermione shot him a bizarre look.
"Metaphor, Hermione," Harry shook his head. He turned to Ron, frowning. "But he's right. Snape hates Gryffindors, especially me and Mara."
"Mara and I," Hermione corrected, "But why? What does he have against you?"
Mara sighed. "It's because of our parents. They don't like to talk about it but Snape and my mum used to be friends. Something happened in their fifth year and it left everyone pretty bitter."
"All Dad would say about it was that Snape was justified to hate him," Harry frowned. "We've never gotten a clear answer from them about it."
"Our uncle Sirius was furious when he found out Snape was going to be our teacher," Mara added. "So there's certainly no love there either."
"Anyway, what happened at the match?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we were watching the match and then Malfoy and Zabini came up to us," Mara said. She clenched her hands as she remembered the rude remarks Malfoy had said. "Malfoy started taunting him. Took one look at his face and said he'd buy whoever punched him a gift basket."
"Punched him?" Hermione spoke up, her eyes wide in alarm.
"Oh," Mara floundered. "That Runcorn kid punched him in the face. He got a black eye from it. I wanted to take him to the hospital wing but he insisted on going to the match."
"Fuck," Harry breathed out, running a hand through his hair.
"Language," Hermione chastised, before turning to Mara with a concerned look. "Why didn't you make him go?"
Mara snorted. "You try to get Neville to do anything when he puts his foot down. He may not look like it but he can be more stubborn than I and Harry combined."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, sending a look to Harry who only nodded in affirmation.
"You should've seen what he did to me over the break. Set Harry's bloody bird on me to wake me," Ron scoffed.
"So Neville attacked Malfoy?" Harry got back on topic turning to Mara.
Mara shook her head. "No. Runcorn showed up. I don't think he and Malfoy get along at all either. Anyway, he said something really bad and Neville just...snapped," Mara wrung her hands, remembering the fury on Neville's face, his eyes lit in that strange blue tone. For some reason, it almost reminded her of what Harry's eyes glowed.
"What did they say?" Harry lowered his voice. By the look on his face, she knew he had any idea what had been said.
"Runcorn insulted his parents," Mara said quietly.
Harry growled. Ron stiffened, turning to Mara with a deep frown.
"They deserved it then," Ron said firmly crossing his arms.
"Neville's parents?" Hermione bit her lip, looking up quietly. "He doesn't mention them. Something bad happened to them?"
Harry sighed, running a hand over his face.
Mara sent Hermione a sympathetic look. She sighed, moving to sit on the closest bed.
"Hermione, Neville's parents were Aurors. They fought in the war. Our parents were super close in Mum's stories," Mara began, "But that Halloween, we weren't the only ones attacked."
"We lost our godmother and Neville lost his parents," She continued, looking up at Hermione. Hermione's face crumbled at the story. "Except, they didn't die."
Mara looked at Harry, his face set in stone. He sighed, taking over.
"Bellatrix Lestrange and brothers Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange broke into the Longbottom Manor and tortured Neville's parents. Too much exposure to the cruciatus curse can lead to insanity, Hermione." Harry finished grimly.
Hermione gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.
"It's not talked about much," Mara admitted. "It was kinda lost amid the end of the war and Voldemort's defeat."
"Don't say the name!" Ron hissed suddenly.
"Sorry," Mara grimaced. "Force of habit."
"Where are Neville's parents now?" Hermione asked, biting her lower lip.
"St. Mungos," Harry answered with a sigh, "They'll be there for the rest of their lives."
"And this Runcorn said something rude about them?" Hermione looked over at Mara, disgust on her face.
"He called them blood-traitors," Mara admitted.
The room fell into silence.
"What," Hermione said, angrily, "A vile, detestable, vicious fiend!"
She stood up, pacing the floor in a fury.
"How dare he say something so cruel and malicious!" Hermione raged.
Mara and Harry shared a smile.
Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione as she continued to throw out adjectives to describe the Slytherin.
"So why is Neville still in the hospital wing, really?" He said to Mara.
Mara gulped. Hermione and Harry's attention turned to the red-haired girl.
"Well, about that…."
As night fell, the four friends gathered in the common room.
"I should be the one to go," Harry frowned, gripping the cloak in his hands tightly. Aura chirped lightly in agreement from the armchair she was resting on.
'Neither of you should be going,' Breena huffed, licking a paw and brushing her chest fur.
Mara shot her a warning look.
Hermione frowned at him, shaking her head. "You're still under watch, Harry. Professor Dumbledore was able to find you over break, even with the cloak. It's safer for Mara to go."
"She's right. Besides, I know Lily and you've only met her once. It makes sense for me to go," Mara smiled, attempting to placate her brother.
Harry grumbled under his breath but he held out the cloak anyway.
"You're sure you can do this?" Hermione asked, biting her lower lip nervously.
"Of course. I'll be back before you can say Lumos," Mara grinned.
"Fred and George said there are loads of creatures in the forest. Werewolves and…" Ron shivered. "Acromantulas, they said."
"That can't be true. They wouldn't let an infestation of Acromantulas this close to the school," Hermione scowled, crossing her arms.
"Well, you didn't think they'd put a three-headed dog inside the school. Yet here we are," Ron quipped back.
Before Hermione could retort and start an argument, Harry shot the two of them glares.
"Alright, I'll be back," Mara said quickly, taking Harry's hint. She pulled the cloak over her head and grinned as Hermione's eyes went wide.
"Fascinating. I've only ever heard about Invisibility cloaks, I haven't seen it in action yet. How does it work?" She turned to Harry, her eyes glowing a soft amber in the light of the fireplace.
Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm going to bed. I've got remedial lessons tomorrow."
Mara rolled her eyes.
'You mean we will be back,' Breena said, jumping off the armrest. She padded towards Mara, who only frowned back at her.
"No, you stay here, Breena," Mara whispered. "It'll make it too obvious that I'm sneaking around if they see you. Everyone knows you're my familiar by now."
'I will not be staying here,' Breena sniffed. 'It is my job to protect you since you are not capable of staying out of trouble.'
"I'll be fine, Breena. Just stay here. I don't want to get caught," Mara frowned at the amount of annoyance flowing through their bond. "Please listen to me, Breena."
'Fine. I will not get you caught,' Breena sniffed angrily. She turned, stalking up the girl's staircase.
Mara only sighed.
Mara crept out of the room as Harry began to softly explain the invisibility spells used on most cloaks and Ron left towards the staircase.
Mara crept silently, placing her weight on her heels to prevent any sudden sounds. The cloaked moved softly with her, brushing its silky fabric across her arms and legs.
A puff of cold air hit her through the cloak as she pushed open the portrait.
The Fat Lady let out a snore as she slid out of the common room, shivering from the cold air on her bare legs; only shorts and a tank top for pajamas.
She probably should've worn a coat but it was too late to go back now.
Once the portrait door shut with a quiet click, the faint light from the common disappeared leaving the empty hallways in total darkness.
The hallways were much different at night. Last time she snuck out, she had Harry's comforting presence by her side. Able to feel his body heat under the cloak and the breaths he took.
Now, she was alone and it was silent.
Mara clutched the cloak tighter to her, keeping the edges firmly over her skin as she crept through the hallways.
The Fat Friar was sleeping, loudly snoring outside entrance hall, passed out against the wall. She bypassed him quietly, ignoring the thousand-year-old bottles of mead around him. He was probably smelling it, as close as ghosts could get to tasting.
She briefly wondered how often he did this.
She took the first staircase down at the end of the hall, the normally lit torches on the walls snuffed out without a presence to need it.
At least this means the cloak works.
She took careful steps without a light to guide her.
The platform basement was decorated in dozens of paintings, all of the various foods. Her favorite was the ice cream sundae which sometimes burst into song on Sundays.
She edged closer to the paintings quickly spotting the bowl of fruit. Pulling her hand out of the cloak, she brushed her hand across the painting, struggling to differentiate the fruits in the painting.
As she brushed across the painting, one of the fruits let out a soft giggle. She smirked, focusing on that spot as she began to tickle it softly.
The pear let out giggles and she could feel the transformation underneath her fingers as it formed a wooden handle.
Mara gripped the handle with one hand, pulling as hard as she can. The door slid open with a groan, bright lights from the kitchen casting into the hallway.
Mara cautiously slipped inside, shutting the door behind her.
"Oh, Lissy, how wonderful," A soft voice Mara had come to know very well spoke. Mara turned to look, seeing her red-headed friend sitting at a four-person table.
House Elves surrounded the area, each having some task to do.
In front of Lily was a slice of a pie on a plate and a mug of what looked like whipped cream with flakes of chocolate over it.
Lily sent a smile at a house-elf, her large floppy ears drooping past her head and nearly to her shoulders.
Mara breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the cloak off.
Lily smiled, grabbing the mug and raising it to her lips.
"Mara," She called with a smile. "You're here. I'm assuming this is the infamous invisibility cloak."
Lily eyed it with slight awe and wonder. Mara grinned, placing it down on the kitchen chair next to her.
"Yep! Who's this?" Mara asked, turning to the house-elf sated at the table.
The House Elf turned scarlet, her wrinkled skin sagging over her eyes like huge eyebrows.
"I is sorry, miss. I is getting back to work now. Yes, I is." The high pitched voice of the elf was soft, as if afraid.
Mara smiled.
"Nonsense, Lissy. You must stay here. It's only Mara," Lily said, turning to smile at the elf. "She's okay, I promise."
"I have a house-elf back home. Her name's Tilly. She's like part of our family. I really wouldn't mind you sitting down with us," Mara smiled kindly at the elf.
"If you is sure, Miss," The elf replied hesitantly.
Mara only nodded, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Now what is this cause it smells heavenly," Mara turned to Lissy with a smile.
"None of that," Lily scolded the other red-head, standing up from her chair. "We have to get going if we don't want to get caught."
Mara pouted, reaching for the piece of pie still sitting out temptingly on the plate but stopped just short as a hand clamped down on the back of her robes, pulling her away from the table.
"But lily," Mara whined, not even bothering to struggle as the red-head dragged from her chair, pulling and grabbed the cloak.
Lily plucked up the cloak with one hand, watching astonished as her hands disappeared right before her eyes.
"Amazing," Lily breathed. "How long have you had this? Most invisibility cloaks lose the charm after a couple weeks."
Mara jolted suddenly, turning away from the delicious looking slice of hot pie to look at her friend confused.
"What do you mean? It's a family heirloom. I'm not sure when they got it but it's probably in the Family Grimoire." Mara sent the invisible cloak a bright smile.
"They probably had to do a lot of complicated magic. My dad said even when using it all seven years when he was a student, it never once failed. The magic never faded."
"That's…" Lily trailed off staring at the cloak with an odd look.
"Amazing? Wonderful? Yes, I know. Anyway, where do we got to go?" Mara grinned.
Lily opened her mouth to say something but closed it at the last second, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she frowned.
Mara tilted her head confused.
Lily sighed, eyeing the cloak one last time before throwing it over the two of them. Mara felt the familiar silky feeling of the fabric close in on her.
"There's a secret passage that will take us right outside the forbidden forest," Lily whispered.
"Cool!" Mara jumped in excitement.
"But we have to be quiet," Lily shot her a stern look and Mara slapped a hand over her mouth. She grinned sheepishly before lifting her hand and twisting it in front of her mouth and miming throwing something behind it.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Lissy?" she called out, much more kindly.
Lissy, still seated at the table, jumped.
Mara knew how disconcerting it was to hear a voice when you can't see them so she empathized with the small elf.
"Yes, Miss?" Lissy squeaked.
"We'll be back in an hour or two. Could you finish my pie for me?" Lily sent Mara a wink. The two watched as Lissy's cheeks turned bright red, her eyes falling to the piece of pie she had been eyeing all night. "I'd rather it not go to waste and I know you wouldn't either."
Lissy fidgeted in her seat, rubbing her hands together nervously but she nodded solemnly, eyeing the piece of the pie.
Lily smiled. "Thank you, Lissy."
"Nice to meet you, Lissy!" Mara grinned under the cloak, watching the small elf as she jumped once more, looking around the room for the two.
"Let's go," Lily said softly to her, taking timid footsteps to the door. Mara blinked in surprise, listening for Lily's footsteps but there was no noise.
Mara put her focus on quieting her steps and not tripping like the clutz she is. She tried to replicate Lily's steps, putting her weight on the back of her heels and lowering them softly. The invisible fabric shifted between them, stretching with each step between them.
Lily guided them down the halls as if she had done this a thousand times before. Which as far as Mara knew, she did. A sick feeling overtook the Gryffindor as she realized she didn't know her friend all that well.
Mara could count on one hand the number of things she knew about Lily Moon and the majority of it was from outside sources, not Lily herself.
Lily crept down the hallways like a master, her breath even and her steps silent while Mara fumbled after her, attempting to be as quiet as she could.
Hadn't Killian once said that he couldn't find much on Lily?
For someone like Killian, who dealt in information (the family business, he'd usually say), not to find much of anything about the red-head was weird.
Dark thoughts crept into Mara's head as Lily led her down the dark and empty hallways, in search of a secret passage to take them to the forbidden forest where they'll be alone, secluded and invisible?
But that was ridiculous, right? Surely her friend with a patch of a bunny rabbit sewed onto her bright purple messenger bag and rainbow-colored knee-high socks - hadn't taken her out here to kill her?
Right?
"Alright, it's just through this painting," Lily whispered, coming to a halt. Mara jerked to a stop, barely managing to stop herself from running into her friend/maybe a serial killer.
By the time Mara came down from her wild thoughts - she had no idea where they were. She brushed a few beads of sweat from her forehead, looking around for something - anything she'd recognize.
But there was nothing but a portrait on the wall. Though, it was certainly the largest portrait Mara had ever seen.
Floor to ceiling, a false gold frame painted around the edges but what captured Mara's attention was inside.
The scene was obviously at night but it was a forest, a clearing by the looks of it with a ring of red toadstools in a circle. The trees loomed over the clearing, darkening it even further. The moon shone high above, casting its glow on the only creature that existed in it.
It was a horse. Or at least, what she thought was a horse.
It was black, thin and bony like it was nothing more than skin peeled back onto a skeleton. It had two large wings closed on it's back - just as bony as the rest of it.
The horse or what remained of it snorted through the painting turning to look at her. It's milky white eyes stared at her or rather stared through her. As it moved, she realized with dawning horror that it was almost translucent in the moonlight.
It was as if she was staring at Death himself's own steed.
A shiver runs up Mara's spine as she stared at the creature, too entranced to look away though she desperately wanted to.
"We have to need to access your passage," Lily said to the creature quietly and respectfully. "It is of utmost importance."
Mara was about to turn to Lily to remind her she was speaking to a thin, bony and scaled horse, in fact only a painting of a thin, bony and scaled horse when the horse let out a soft almost trill like a shriek, tilting its massive dragon-like head at them.
Mara swallowed nervously. Logically, she knew it was only a painting but she felt like it was about to swallow her down or sent her to darkest pits of hell.
Finally, the dragon-skeleton-horse looked away, bowing its head to the two of them. And to Mara's shock, the floor in front of the painting began to fall away, revealing a long, dark staircase.
"Thank you," Lily bowed her head slightly at the creature and grabbed Mara's hand to pull her along. With one last look at the creature who followed their movement with its pupilless eyes, she could only flounder as she remembered they were still under the invisibility cloak.
Mara shivered as the passage closed behind them, whatever moonlight was coming from behind them shutting and leaving them in complete darkness.
"Was that…" Mara trailed off still in shock as she heard Lily quietly mumble Lumos. The light from Lily's wand allowed Mara to see the understanding and wary look on Lily's face.
"Yes," Lily admitted. "That was a thestral. Or at least that was a painting of one."
Mara nodded slowly, still comprehending what she had seen.
"Come on, it's not far from here," Lily pulled her along, lighting the front of the tunnel they had stepped into. Mara followed silently, her mind racing.
Forget her friend potentially being a serial killer, Mara was now much more frightened of the scaly beast she had seen in the portrait.
Something she now remembered Harry telling her, she wasn't supposed to have seen.
But it was a portrait, not a real thing.
Mara only hoped she never came across the real creature in her lifetime.
Lily tugged on her hand to remind her to keep moving and Mara did so, her thoughts consumed with the skeletal creature she hoped she would never be able to see.
Lily had been right. The passage wasn't far at all.
All too soon, they came across a wooden door above them, a small staircase leading up to it.
Lily came to a sudden halt, Mara stopping herself from crashing into the slightly taller red-head for the second time.
Moonlight poured in from the cracks of the old wood as Lily's wand went out.
Lily pulled off the cloak, climbing up the staircase. The old wood creaked as Lily lifted up on it. She peeked out, giving an "It's all clear," down to where Mara stood still before climbing out, keeping a careful hand on the door.
"Here, the cloak," Lily gestured to throw it up and Mara did just that- throwing it off herself, bundling it up and throwing it up to Lily's awaiting hands.
Lily caught it with an -oof- though neither of them could see it even with the light from the moon overhead.
Mara climbed onto the first rickety step, wincing as it let out a harsh groan into the silence of the night. She climbed up the stairs with careful ease, pulling herself up to where Lily kneeled, still clutching the cloak in one hand and the door with the other.
Lily threw her the invisible bundle and Mara managed to catch it before they both slowly lowered the door to the secret passage until it shut with a soft groan.
Mara breathed a sigh of relief, looking around to check for anyone who had heard them. A paranoid feeling was climbing into her making her think she was being watched though she knew she wasn't.
"They're just through this grove," Lily whispered, tugging on her hand to get her moving.
Mara followed silently, looking up in awe at the forest looming overhead. It was kinda peaceful here, the moonlight glittering through the trees.
Mara raised her hand, watching the light pass over it in various forms. The stars above were the clearest she had ever seen, shining almost as brightly as the moon.
"Here," Lily whispered quietly.
Mara looked up, spotting a large tree, almost dark purple in the moonlight. Underneath tree roots sprouted, crawling across the forest floor like motionless snakes. While the tree itself was dark in color, the roots, however, were not.
Each one was a bright white, almost translucent in the moonlight.
"Wow," Mara breathed in awe.
"We've got to be careful," Lily warned. "They're toxic on skin."
"Did you bring anything to carry it in?" Mara asked worriedly.
Lily nodded, reaching into her bag. "Accio stasis container."
A square container, about the size of a small dinner plate, zoomed out of Lily's bag and into her hand. Lily handed it to Mara, who looked it over curiously.
It was made of some kind of plastic but sturdy.
"What is it?" Mara asked.
"Tupperware," Lily sent her an amused glance.
"Is that a spell of some sort?" Mara frowned.
Lily just laughed, shaking her head.
Mara eyed the container, warily.
Lily raised her wand.
"How much do you think we'll need?" Mara asked, eyeing the root as Lily sent out a cutting hex, a part of the white root falling to the ground.
"Not much," Lily focused dutifully, levitating the root. Mara opened up the Tupperware, making sure all her fingers were away from the root as Lily lowered it in.
The bushes rustled behind them.
Mara and Lily froze in place, staring in horror at the bushes as they continued to rustle.
An acromantula come to devour her?
Filch come to hang her by her toes in the dungeon?
Mara didn't know which was worse.
A black and white cat crawled out of the bushes lazily.
"Breena!" Mara chastized, recognizing her own familiar.
"Whatever are you doing here, girl?" Lily smiled, leaning on her knees as she cooed the cat forward.
The bond rang with amusement and affection as Breena rubbed against Lily's hands, enjoying the attention.
Mara rolled her eyes.
'I simply went out for a hunt,' Breena remarked, eyeing Mara. Despite the smugness radiating through the bond, Mara knew she couldn't call her out.
Mara just hoped her disapproval was being felt through the bond.
"...I d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"
Mara stiffened as she recognized the voice as their defense against the dark arts teacher. Lily grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her down into the bushes.
Mara slammed a hand over her mouth to prevent any sounds as two pairs of footsteps moved through the forest, right near them.
"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private,"
Mara and Lily turned to one another with wide eyes.
Snape.
"Students aren't supposed to know about the stone, after all," Snape said.
Quirrel was mumbling something now that Mara couldn't make out. As her heartbeat rapidly in her chest, Mara leaned forward slightly to hear the conversation better.
"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"
Mara's jaw dropped.
"B-b-but Severus, I-"
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape. There was a crunch of leaves as if Snape had taken a step.
"I don't know what you-"
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
A loud hoot came from somewhere causing Mara to jump slightly. The bushes she was pressed against rustled.
Lily and Mara stiffened, exchanging a look of fear as Snape and Quirrell fell silent.
'You own me for this,' Breena remarked, annoyed. Mara couldn't respond as Breena jumped through the bushes.
"It's that blasted cat," Snape growled.
Mara heard Breena hiss before take off.
"We'll have another little chat very soon, Quirrell. When you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
With a rustle of fabric that had Mara imagining the dramatic way Snape would throw his cloak, Snape left the clearing, stomping out of sight.
Mara and Lily refused to say anything, still breathing quietly for several what felt like hours before they heard Quirrell too leaving the forest.
Mara let out a ragged breath when she couldn't hear Quirrell's footsteps any longer.
"You were right," Lily said after several moments. "We have reason to be worried."
The fire burned softly in the fireplace, casting a mild orange glow onto the parchment he read from. The warmth contrasted with the coldness of the Slytherin common room.
While the Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's had their tall towers and the Hufflepuff's had their cozy burrow, the Slytherin's were placed underneath the Black Lake.
The solid glass windows that separated the murky lake water from the common room allowed for view on both sides. It wasn't uncommon for the students to see fish of all sorts swimming by. Sometimes they even spotted the occasional merperson or grindylow. A handful even claimed they saw the great squid. None could prove it though.
Despite the cold feeling from the water outside their common room, the soft glow of the lake was relaxing and peaceful. Charms prevented the glass from feeling cold despite the chilly atmosphere.
Until idiots such as Blaise Zabini came along.
Draco glared at his best friend, who only grinned back at him, the letter Draco had been reading wrapped firmly in the other boy's hand.
"Are you writing another letter, Drakey?" Blaise mocked him with a babying voice. The twinkle of mirth in his eyes told Draco he was enjoying this a little too much.
Draco reached up to grab ahold of his letter but his face burned when he realized he couldn't reach the taller boy's arm length.
"Stop stealing my letters, Blaise," Draco commanded, humiliated by his lack of height. He knew he couldn't exactly force himself to be taller but he was just lucky they were the only two in the common room at the moment.
Blaise laughed, moving out of Draco's reach before turning his eyes onto the letter with a grin. He cleared his throat mockingly and before Draco could stop him, he began reading the letter.
"My dearest dragon," He read, putting on his fakest pompous voice. Draco lunged across the couch to grab the letter but Blaise danced out of his way with a harsh grin.
"Your father and I are so proud of you. You will be delighted to know that carina's lessons are going very well-" Blaise grinned at the flushed look on his best friend's face before the letter was torn away from him.
Blaise looked at his open hand, where the letter rested and then turned to the icy cold girl who had ripped it from his hands.
Daphne gave him a silent glare, the letter clutched firmly in her hand. Blaise pouted.
"You're such a spoiled sport, Daph," Blaise complained.
Daphne rolled her eyes. She moved towards the table, laying the letter in front of Draco with a meaningful look.
"I suggest you don't bring your mail around this buffoon unless you want a repeat of this incident."
Draco huffed but sent her a grateful look as he took his letter back.
He watched the icy girl as she curled up in one of the side chairs, her legs tucked underneath her body. She pulled out a book and it wasn't long before her black cat jumped up next to her, perching on the back of the chair.
Footsteps pounded on the floor as Theodore suddenly appeared around the corner from the dorms. He was out of breath, pieces of parchment clutched tightly in his hands and quills stuck in his messy, dark brown tufts of hair.
Relief smoothed over Theodore's face as he spotted the group. Theo huffed out, sprinting towards the couch before vaulting over the back, landing with a soft "oof" next to Blaise.
"Who finished their transfiguration homework?" Theodore breathed out in-between gasps. He turned to them with a desperate look.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Did you forget to do it again?"
"No," Theodore growled, "I've spent all week working on this! I'm not even half-way done and it's due tomorrow! Who finished theirs?"
Blaise shrugged nonchalantly. "I do mine in class."
"Your ability to procrastinate is unmatched, Blaise," Draco drawled.
Blaise smirked. "It's a talent."
"Draco?" Theodore turned to him, his eyes pleading desperately.
Draco sighed. "I finished it yesterday. Crabbe and Goyle have it though."
At the mention of his two goons, Theodore looked around confused. "And where are they?"
"Last I saw, they were trying to wrestle your letter from that hellion of a bird your father sent," Draco shrugged.
Theo winced, unconsciously rubbing his scarred fingers.
"Daph?" Theo turned to her, his eyes open wide and pleading.
Daphne didn't respond, simply flicking her wand and a stack of parchment floated from the nearby desk towards Theo.
Theodore snatched the papers mid-air, his eyes reading them thoroughly.
"Destroy it and I'll destroy you," Daphne said, flicking the page on her book.
Draco rolled his eyes as Blaise snorted in amusement.
Theodore didn't seem to care, grabbing one of the various quills stuck in his hair and furiously scribbling on the parchment.
Draco sighed in exasperation as he rubbed the purple and blue bump that was his nose. Madam Pomfrey had left it as a "reminder not to get into fights."
Teaching, Madam Pomfrey said.
He called it neglect.
"What did happen to your nose anyway, Draco?" Daphne drawled, not bothering to look at him as she flipped a page to her book.
Draco stiffened, sending Blaise a warning look as the Italian boy snickered under his breath.
"There was an altercation at the quidditch match," Draco stated cautiously.
Daphne looked up from her book. She raised an eyebrow, staring Draco down. The two stared one another down.
"Blaise?" Daphne finally asked, not looking away from Draco's gaze.
"He got punched out," Blaise snickered into his palm.
"Traitor," Draco turned his glare to his best friend, who shrugged.
Daphne smirked slightly, going back to her book as she flipped a page casually.
"It wasn't my fault," Draco ground out, eyeing Theo's shaking shoulders as he wrote furiously on his parchment.
"Blaise?" Daphne called out.
"It was his fault," Blaise grinned.
Draco glowered at him.
"What did you expect? You provoked him. He was bound to lash out sometime," Blaise shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just impressed he managed to cause so much damage. Didn't know he had it in him."
"He?" Daphne frowned, looking up. "Potter?"
"Nope," Blaise popped the last syllable. "It was Longbottom."
Daphne went still. Her face normally encased in ice thawed slightly as emotions played across her eyes.
"Longbottom attacked you?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly.
Blaise and Draco exchanged a look. This was the most emotion they had seen from her since the beginning of school.
"Hm," Daphne hummed, her face sliding back to its emotionless frame. She was gone, any hint of emotions freezing underneath her mask. She turned back to her book.
"Interesting."
"I know, right?" Blaise eyed Daphne out of the corner of his eye but grinned as he retold the story.
"Runcorn showed up and was his usual nasty self then next thing I know, Longbottom's got Runcorn's arm behind his back and then he's decking Draco in the face," Blaise laughed. "The best thing I've seen all year."
"Glad you found so much entertainment in it. You just laughed your arse off while I got attacked by that fracking traitor!" Draco shouted, glaring down at Blaise.
"Oh, you're fine," Blaise waved his hand dismissively. "Besides I didn't want to come in-between family feuds."
"Family?" Draco looked at Blaise like he had lost his own head.
"Yeah, I'm sure you and Longbottom are cousins somewhere. All you English purebloods are," Blaise grinned, sending Draco a wink.
Draco's face turned pink then red.
"Malfoy!"
Draco jumped at the harsh shout of his name before scowling. Blaise snickered quietly as Crabbe and Goyle came rushing into the room.
"Heres- pant- the- pant -letter- pant- Malfoy," Goyle coughed out in between his ragged breaths, holding onto the back of the couch.
Crabbe didn't say anything, just grunted before crashing backwards onto the nearest sofa.
Draco eyed the letter, covered in rips and tears and a mysterious dark brown substance then Goyle, who panted heavily, every part of him red with multiple bleeding scratches and wounds all over his body. His face took the worst of it it seemed and even a patch of hair looked like it had been torn out.
"Took you long enough," Draco rolled his eyes. He snapped his fingers to Theo who jumped in surprise.
Theodore's face dropped as he spotted the letter.
"Wonder who possibly sent you a letter," Blaise sent Theo a cheeky grin. Theo sent him a glare before picking up the letter.
"Thanks, Goyle," Theo nodded to the giant of an eleven-year-old.
Goyle stiffened.
Draco shook his head at Theo's innocent action. He waved his hand at Goyle, who eyed Theo with wide eyes still but moved up to the boys' staircase. As he passed where Crabbe had collapsed onto the nearby chair, he tapped him on the head. The two vanished up the stairs.
"Oh, poor sweet, innocent Theo," Blaise cried out dramatically. "You're too good for the house made of slinking serpents."
"Sod off," Theo flipped him a rude gesture.
"Nevermind," Blaise snorted. "He's been corrupted."
Theodore ripped open the letter and quickly scanned it. Every word, Theo slumped lower into the chair. Finally, he groaned, leaning back and throwing the letter to the floor. He covered his eyes with his arm, giving a loud groan.
"How bad?" Blaise asked, leaning over to snatch up the discarded letter. As he read it, his eyes went wider and wider. His mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"Yeah," Blaise drew out the word. He carefully folded up the letter.
"What's in it?" Draco asked curiously.
"Nothing good," Theo mumbled.
"Ah, I wouldn't say that," Blaise smiled. The letter now compressed into it's the smallest form, he threw it into the fire. "It makes good kindling."
Draco snorted.
"I definitely approve," A smooth voice said from behind them.
Draco, Blaise, and Theo turned.
Gabriel Hayes grinned down at them as he sauntered forward and leaned down on the arm next to Theo. He threw his arm around the back of the couch, giving Theo a wink.
Theodore turned bright pink and grumbled, lowering his gaze as he focused back on his homework.
"Now if only you could do that to the real man," Hayes snickered.
Blaise grinned. "Give me ten million pounds and I'm game."
"Can you two stop plotting the murder of a head of house?" Daphne said, not looking up from her book.
"Ah, Greengrass, always here to suck the joy out of everyone," Hayes snorted.
"It's a gift," Daphne retorted. "Just like stupidity is yours."
"So cold," Hayes grinned, "You certainly deserve your title, ice queen."
"And you certainly are undeserving of yours."
"Ouch," Hayes winced.
"You asked for it," Theodore grumbled as he finished up his essay.
"You wound me, my dearest Theo," Hayes sent him a teasing grin.
Despite not having looked up, Theo's cheeks turned pink.
"Shut up," He mumbled, sinking lower into his seat.
Blaise snickered.
"Oh but I would surely die of such a fate," Hayes cried dramatically. "To never tell of your beauty is a crime against society itself!"
Theo squeaked, hiding his blushing face behind the homework pages.
"Smooth," Blaise commented.
"I try," Hayes grinned.
"DONE!" Theodore grinned, triumphantly as he lifted his essay to the sky in victory. The rest of the Slytherins turned to face him except for Daphne, who simply flicked a page, brushing her hand against her cat's head.
The black cat purred quietly, pushing against the hand needily.
"Maybe you can do me next?" Hayes suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.
Theodore turned bright scarlet.
"Stop teasing me!" Theo snapped, though the edge was taken away by how high-pitched his voice turned.
"But you're so much fun to tease," Hayes smirked as he leaned across the back of the chair. Theo stiffened, feeling the heat from Hayes on his back.
Hayes grinned before blowing a soft puff of air on the back of Theo's neck.
Theo screeched, his whole face turning even redder as he dropped his homework, his hand flying to his neck defensively.
His homework forgotten, they watched with wide eyes and bated breath as it caught just the right amount of wing and flew right into the open fireplace, crumbling and burning in the heat.
For a moment, there was complete and utter silence.
Then, the room burst into laughter.
Theodore stared shocked and pitiful into the fireplace.
"Oops, sorry," Hayes laughed, not sorry at all.
Theo glared venomously up at him.
Hayes raised his hands in defense, still chuckling.
"I'll be going now," He snickered, jumping off the chair to head to the staircase.
"By the way, Hayes," Draco called out to the older boy. Hayes paused, turning to Draco. "Your connection? Grey? He's been absolutely useless."
Hayes smirked. "From what I've heard, it's not him that's been useless."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco snapped.
"Killian can get the information you want but it's up to you what you do with that information, little Malfoy," Hayes raised an eyebrow, giving Draco a cunning smirk before heading towards the staircase again.
"It's not my fault they're so difficult to get along with!" Draco shouted back.
"Maybe things would go a lot smoother if you stopped pissing them off whenever you opened your mouth," Hayes grinned, raising a hand in farewell as he climbed the staircase to the dorms.
Draco growled, crossing his arms.
"How am I supposed to know what'll offend them?" Draco sniffed haughtily.
"Easy," Daphne spoke up, "If it's something your father would say, don't say it."
Blaise broke into snickered. Draco sent him a deadly glare from the depths of hell itself.
Blaise just smirked. Theodore let out a whimper, still staring at the fireplace where he had lost his work.
Draco rolled his eyes, turning to glare at Daphne harshly. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and raised a single slender eyebrow challengingly.
"Fair enough," Draco relented with a huff, leaning back into the couch.
The door to the common room slammed open with a loud bang.
Severus Snape flew into the room in a flurry, his cloak billowing behind him.
"Professor Snape?" Blaise questioned.
Snape turned to them, his face darkened with fury.
"What are you all doing up still?" Snape snapped, "You should all be in bed!"
"We were finishing up homework," Draco commented, raising an eyebrow at his head of house's unusual behavior.
"Get to bed! Now!" Snape growled. "All of you!"
"But-" Blaise protested, his forehead creasing in his confusion.
"NOW!" Snape yelled.
The group of four hurriedly grabbed their items. Daphne slammed her book shut, coldly stalking towards the girls' dorm.
Theodore, his face now pale hurriedly grabbed his parchments, quills, and ink into his arm just in time for Draco to grab his upper arm and drag him to the staircase.
Snape growled as the three disappeared up the staircase.
"Quirrell is going to get someone killed," Snape ground out to himself.
In the staircase, three Slytherins heard.