Willow kept floating in and out of sleep all night. Something kept bothering her. She knew it wasn't something she'd forgotten. It wasn't something she'd messed up, either. What was it? Had Griffin done something too much for his injury and reopened the scab? No, the scab was almost completely healed, it couldn't be that. Was someone in trouble? She didn't think so, but there was no way to know for sure. The inability to figure it out ate away at her throughout her fitful sleep.
Then, around half past six, Willow snapped awake, her powers going absolutely nuts. Her head was pounding. The last time it had felt like that was around the creepy, cold voice. She gasped when she realized what that meant. The creature had struck again! Where was it going? What had it done? Willow jumped awake and sprinted down the stairs, only to run straight into Professor McGonagall.
"Oh my goodness, Professor, so sorry!" she exclaimed.
"Will- Miss Guerrero, I was just looking for you," McGonagall said. Her eyes appeared bloodshot, and her forehead was creased. That only worried Willow further. "Wake Ginny Weasley, please, and follow me to the hospital wing. There's something you should see."
Willow's heart froze. "What?" she croaked. "Has someone...been attacked?"
McGonagall didn't answer, but the flash of her eyes when Willow said attacked said everything she needed to know. Fighting back tears, Willow sprinted up the stairs, dragged Ginny out of bed, and followed McGonagall through the portrait hole and into the corridors. Ginny yawned and rubbed her eyes, falling behind a bit. She appeared to have stayed up much too late the night before. The dark circles under her eyes were giving her away.
"Willow, why are we up so early? It's a Sunday morning," she asked.
"Something's happened. There was another attack," Willow informed her.
Ginny's eyes snapped awake. Her face drained of all colour. The usually rosy cheeks were ghostly. Willow caught her arm as she seemed to sway. Ginny panted lightly, her eyebrows furrowing together. She appeared stricken.
"Are you...okay?" Willow questioned slowly.
"...Fine," Ginny whispered.
Willow refused to let go of her until they arrived at the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was waiting outside the double doors. She appeared just as ghastly as Professor McGonagall. Both seemed to have suffered a lot over the past night. Willow's heart rate doubled. What was going on? Who had been attacked?
"This may come as a nasty shock," Madam Pomfrey gently told them. "It's okay to react however is necessary."
She pushed open the doors. The sight that greeted them was so frightening that Ginny actually fainted.
Colin Creevy was lying in a hospital bed as though dead. His camera was a melted mess of burnt plastic, lying on the bedside table. The expression on his face was of pure shock. Willow stumbled over to her frozen friend, mouth agape, and sank to her knees, gently touching his petrified face. She covered her mouth with her hand. Colin had just been alive and well at the party last night. He was making the most of every moment, drinking butterbeer, joining in the fun party games, laughing with Ginny and some other first years, and having so much fun. Now, his refreshing energy was gone. Willow dried her eyes with her robe sleeve while Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall placed Ginny in the bed next to Colin, where she slowly came to.
"He was found in the corridors last night," Professor McGonagall explained. "He's been petrified, just like Mrs. Norris."
"Will he...Is he able to be revived?" Ginny mumbled.
"Yes, he will be revived, but it will be a very long time until Professor Sprout is able to do so," Madam Pomfrey said sadly. "In the meantime, he will lie here. I will make sure no harm comes of him."
"Good." Willow took Colin's hand in her own, sniffling. "Why did it have to be you, Colin? How could anyone have something so against Muggleborns that they take the one with the liveliest, bubbliest personality?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll try to live life to the fullest for you, Colin. If I can't have you to cheer me up, I'll cheer myself up for you. I promise."
Professor McGonagall put her hand on Willow's shoulder. "We should leave Madam Pomfrey to him, then," she suggested. Willow nodded. She took Ginny by the arm and followed her out of the room, casting one last, long look at Colin. Willow wiped her face one last time and followed McGonagall to her office. She and Ginny sat across from the Professor, who gave both of them pieces of chocolate.
"Eat these. They'll make you feel a little better."
Willow numbly nibbled on the corner of the piece of chocolate. It was magically infused with some sort of spell or potion, because a fuzzy buzzing sensation, however faint, warmed her up from the inside and cleared some of the fog out of her brain. Willow glanced at Ginny and found the same effect was had on her.
"You are both excused from classes tomorrow and the day after if you need it to recover," McGonagall said. She empathetically gazed at both girls in turn. "I will let your professors know not to give you too much homework for the next week as well. You can send for me anytime you need me as well." Ginny's eyes flickered, but it was only noticeable for a second. Willow picked up some dark clouds in her mind. There was definitely something wrong with Ginny. She had no doubt now, but how could she confront her? The situation was getting too tricky. "Ginny, you may return to the common room if you would like. Miss Guerrero, please stay a moment."
Ginny happily stood up and clearly forced herself to exit calmly and slowly. Willow's stomach flipped as Professor McGonagall eyed her from behind her spectacles, analyzing every detail she could find. Would she figure out what she was hiding?
"You never came for our meeting as planned, Miss Guerrero." Upon seeing Willow's panicked expression, she added, "It is not worthy of detention, of course, simply an invitation. However- " she paused, looking her straight in the eyes- "it is still an invitation I will wait for you to accept. The offer is still there. If you happen to wish for a meeting, I will be here at eight o'clock every Friday evening. You are welcome to drop by anytime."
Willow's brain activity seemed to hit a wall. What? McGonagall wasn't going to force her to stay and spill out everything? She was just...going to wait for whenever she was ready?
"You may return to your common room, Miss Guerrero. I wish you well in these troubled times."
Willow muttered a quick "Thank you" and left the office in a blur. What had come over Professor McGonagall? First, she had been teaming up with Dumbledore to forcefully help her. Now, she was willing to sit back and wait for her. The sudden shift was almost freaking her out. Did someone talk her out of it? Was McGonagall...actually trying to understand? Was that possible for a professor?
She didn't have time to explore the idea. Hermione and Parvati happened to be walking by in that moment, and as soon as they saw the devastated expression on Willow's face, they rushed to her side.
"What happened? We heard there was another attack!"
"Who was it? What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Willow looked at them through puffy eyes. "I- I'm okay, though I don't know about Ginny. There was another attack. Last night, in the corridors. It was...Colin Creevy."
"Oh my God," Parvati breathed, her expression falling. "Not Colin..."
"Is he petrified too?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, just like Mrs. Norris," Willow said. "He's lying in the hospital wing. I don't really want to talk about it."
"I wouldn't think anyone would like to talk about their good friend being petrified," Parvati said empathetically. She took Willow's hand in her own. "Come on, you need to eat something before you forget about food. You need to keep up your physical strength if your mental strength is to kick in at all."
Hermione and Parvati lead Willow to the Great Hall, where feverish whispering about Colin Creevy had broken out. She was forced to shut her powers down the majority of the way, including all six of her senses, to block it out. Hermione and Parvati tried their best to carry on normal conversation about Astronomy and History of Magic and other tough classes, but they kept shooting Willow worried looks. She barely ate anything. She wasn't hungry enough to eat more than an apple and half a muffin. A sort of depression clouded her mind until a weight was dropped on her back, physically dragging her down and making her hurt everywhere. Everything felt so pointless and desolate. The brightest, happiest person was gone. What was the point of being cheerful anymore?
"Hey, Willow, come here," a voice said.
Vaguely aware that someone was pulling her along, Willow allowed herself to be dragged through the corridors by a small group of people, climbing higher and higher until she reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. She refused to glance down because she knew she'd fall, being so shaky, and she didn't know if she had the energy to use her powers.
"Good, you're not trying to jump," Mandy sighed in relief. "You had me worried for a moment there, Willow."
"What?" Some of the clouds lifted. Mandy, Sam, and Sally were seated around her in the little space offered. They all appeared much more serious than normal. "What do you mean?"
"You were...kind of...sinking to a place where we've been before," Sam explained. "It's a place that's hard to come out of. It...makes you think some awful things. I think you know what we're talking about."
Willow's numbness subsided as she realized she, in fact, knew exactly what they were talking about. She suddenly pulled Sally, Sam, and Mandy closer to her, squeezing them in a tight hug. They returned the gesture. Willow tearfully glanced at each one of them in turn, allowing her powers to pick up the empathy and buried memories emanating from each one of them.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys so much," she said. Willow wiped her eyes and half-heartedly laughed. "I guess we're all a little broken, aren't we?"
"Unfortunately, some more than others," Mandy sighed. She pulled up her sleeve and whispered an incantation to reveal a tattoo Willow had never seen before. It was the most beautiful tattoo she'd ever laid eyes on. There was a heart in the background, and on top of it was a motorcycle, sporting a flame-design paint job, covered in strings of flowers. An image of Mandy and a bearded, jovial guy in his mid thirties rode on the bike. Just like magical pictures, the tattoo moved, even emitting a faint laughter sound from Mandy and the man. It zoomed from arm to arm until Mandy made it stay on her left forearm.
"Whoa, I didn't know you had a tattoo," Sally whispered. "Who's the guy?"
"That's my dad," Mandy said, a smile playing on her lips. Willow detected happy memories swimming to the surface by the shine in her eyes. "He was a wizard that basically had no use for magic, though he was Hufflepuff here at Hogwarts. I never saw him use magic except to fix a few items throughout the years.
"He and I did everything together, literally. From the time I was three years old, wherever he went, I went. He had the coolest motorcycle that we rode all over the countryside with. We stopped at every decent bar and met lots of cool people. He was the friendliest guy you'd ever meet." Mandy pointed at her tattoo. "My dad and I both got this exact same tattoo at a parlor his friend ran. He promised me that we'd never be apart as long as we had the tattoos." Mandy's eyes clouded and her expression fell. "It wasn't his fault, but he couldn't keep that promise. My mum sued for custody of me on a whim, framed my dad, and ended up throwing him in jail and taking me, along with all Dad's money. They had never gotten married. I met my mum for the very first time when the child services dropped me off on her front porch." A flicker of fiery rage appeared in Mandy's stormy gray eyes. "She never cared about me. Never. She's beaten me and cussed me out and treated me like dirt from the moment I stepped into her living room. I've tried to find my dad, but my mum always finds out when I visit him and has him moved to a new location. I can't wait until I'm powerful enough to use magic when I'm seventeen, because the moment I can, I'm hexing her all the way to Australia. I hope she dies there. For everything that she's put me through, that's less than she deserves."
Willow stared at Mandy in shock. She'd been going through this pain this long and hadn't told anyone? How had she been keeping it all bottled up? How had this not been eating away at her?
"I was diagnosed with severe depression and possibly anxiety when I was ten. My mum thought I was just being lazy and insubordinate, but my school counselor forced her to take me to the doctor. I thought I was in the clear. She wouldn't give me the medicine, though. I've been struggling to deal with it on my own ever since." Mandy looked up from her shoes. She'd curled into a tiny ball, pulling her knees up to her chest while she had talked. "I'm sorry I haven't told you guys. I just didn't want to burden you with it so early on, and I know you guys wouldn't do this, but most people judge me for it."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Sally reassured her. "Mental health is a real issue that needs to be taken more seriously by others. It's not your fault your brain hates you; don't blame yourself. Trust me, Sam and I would know."
"Yeah, Sarah Brown is taking us to the doctor this Christmas to test us for anxiety or severe PTSD, because she's looked up the symptoms, and we've got quite a few. You have to take care of yourself, Mandy. Just like you take medicine to get rid of the flu, you have to take medicine to help fix your brain. It's a nightmare to try and suffer through it without some outside help."
Mandy sheepishly grinned. "Aw, guys...I don't know what to say. Your support means the world to me."
"Don't say anything. Just let us help you," Willow said, encouragingly beaming at her. "I probably should have gone to the doctor when I was younger, too, when my mum- " She caught herself, forcing down her panicked reaction as she reworded- "when my mum went crazy. I was severely depressed there for a while, and...I probably shouldn't have taken a lot of the actions I did. My dad told me something, though, and without knowing it, he's helped me through a lot."
"What, like, a saying?" Sam asked.
"Sort of. He said, 'You simply can't dwell on the bad forever. At some point, however hard it is, you have to pick yourself up, open up your eyes and look around. It's never really as bad as you think. Count your blessings, every single good thing in your life, and you'll realize there's no reason to be sad when you can celebrate all the rest of the good things that remain in your life.' I've used that to cheer myself up out of a lot of low points. It doesn't seem like it at first, but once you try it, it really works."
"I might use that," Mandy said. "Thanks for the advice, guys."
"Anything for you, Mandy," Sam said. "Now, can we please stop being depressing and have some fun? I'm dying over here! It's a Sunday in the middle of the fall term! Let's do something!"
Sally laughed. "Sam's right. Come on, let's see what Fred and George are doing."
Fred and George were definitely up to no good. They were already jumping out and scaring Ginny to try and cheer her up when they passed by on their way to the common room. Poor Ginny ran in the other direction, straight to Percy, who shouted at the twins. They turned tail and fled at the threat of their mother and joined Mandy, Sally, Sam, and Willow.
"What are you doing to poor Ginny?" Willow demanded.
"We're only trying to scare a little life into her."
"She's not taking it quite like we expected. Maybe we should try it at night?"
"No, you will most definitely not try it at night! That's when you'll scare her the most!" Willow said. "Poor Ginny's grieving about Colin. Leave her alone for now."
"That's the poor bloke that got attacked? The one with the camera?"
"No wonder everyone thinks it's Harry, Colin's been bothering him since day one- "
"Hush up already before someone hears you! The last thing Harry needs right now is more rumors about him circling, especially because of you two," Willow hissed. They ducked into the common room. "And don't switch the topic!"
"There's no need to get cross with us, Willow, really- " George started.
"Yes there is, George Weasley!" she cut in. "Ginny is experiencing the loss of a friend right now! You can't possibly think the way you're cheering her up is going to work! She has to have time to recover before she can even begin to deal with your antics!"
"Well, I didn't think it would hurt her this badly, he can be revived anyway- "
"George, you're digging too far- " Fred tried to cut in.
"I can't believe you right now!" Willow fumed. Fred and George took a step back, but Fred, being the loving brother he was, placed George in front of him as a shield. "Just because you don't have a firm grasp on negative emotions doesn't mean you have to torment poor Ginny while she's experiencing them!"
"Ouch," Fred said.
George appeared hurt. "Willow, really, it was just a joke, you're taking it too seriously- "
"You're not taking it seriously enough!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," George apologized, putting his hands up in defeat. A weird combination of emotions swirled within him that Willow had never sensed before. What was going on with him? Was something wrong? They seemed to intensify as he guiltily looked at her. That wasn't helping her solve the puzzle at all. Why was she causing him extra emotion?
"Good. He's apologized. Are you still planning on attacking me?" Fred asked, cutting through the moment.
"Oh, no, you're fine," Willow said.
"What! Why is he fine, but I'm not?" George said.
"Don't push your luck." Willow caught sight of Lee on the far side of the room. "What on Earth is he doing?"
The twins, Sally, Sam, Mandy, and she all migrated to where Lee was rapidly giving prices for various amulets, talismans, and protective devices. Several students Willow recognized as Muggleborn or Half-blood were buying them one right after the other. The stench of fear was heavy within the small area. Willow crept behind the stand where Lee was advertising his next product.
"Step right up! I've got this cross necklace for two galleons! Two galleons, folks! It's a pretty good deal! Keeps away all sorts of unfriendly beasts and creatures! Two galleons!"
"Lee, why are you selling junk for overly high prices?" Willow hissed from behind him.
"It's not junk, it's protection against the monster within the Chamber," Lee explained. He sold the necklace and got out the next item. "I honestly have no idea if it works, but I'm making a killing. We're going to have the party of a lifetime after the next quidditch match!"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Whatever makes you happy, Lee. I personally don't think selling products you don't trust yourself doesn't make for good business- or good conscience- but whatever works."
"You can always try, but you're never going to get me with that spiel, Willow," Lee laughed.
"One of these days, you'll see. Good luck!"
Lee busied himself with his next customer. Willow returned to Fred and George. Mandy and the Smith twins had already run off to another part of the common room, where they were figuring out how to transfigure the couch into a lounge chair.
"He's really into the black market, isn't he?" Willow asked.
"Hey, it's not illegal until he gets caught," Fred said.
"How on Earth are you guys considered chivalrous? I'm calling B.S. on the Sorting Hat."
"Don't question him! He put us right where we're needed," George said. "In fact- " he pulled out a firework from his pocket- "there's something I need to show you. Follow me!"
George led the way out of the common room. Fred stayed behind. Willow furrowed her eyebrows, but she didn't question it. They weren't always together around her anyway.
George led her through the corridors, around the library, up too many flights of stairs, and to a dead end, where a single door appeared to be falling off its hinges, it was so rusty and old. He knocked on it in a fancy pattern, and it surprisingly swung open, fully functional. He took Willow inside and they climbed up a ladder through an apparently secret hatch in the ceiling. They landed on a platform that reminded her of the Astronomy Tower, the only difference being this platform was much smaller, almost like a lookout. George sat on the railing and tampered with the firework for a moment, then glanced excitedly at Willow.
"Ready for this?"
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
George lit the firework and threw it into the air. Willow prepared herself for a massive explosion, but it never happened. Instead, the firework exploded quietly, bursting into a long series of miniature, multicolored fireworks. She noticed that the majority of them were green- her favorite colour. George's eyes lit up just as brightly as the fireworks.
"You were the first witness to my favorite creation so far- the Bantam Bursts. How did you like them?"
"I have to say they're my favorite too. When can I purchase some Bantam Bursts?"
"As soon as you supply us with some more Filibuster Fireworks."
Willow laughed. "Hard pass. I have money, but my dad would murder me for buying you guys more fireworks. He's been notified by your mum not to give you anything that could be used as pranking material and everything."
"Of course she did," George said, shaking his head. "Mum's always running a tight ship."
"You still always manage to slip past her though, don't you? You and Fred are pretty clever like that."
"Yeah, well, how else are we supposed to spend our free time other than quidditch? And don't you dare say studying, we do plenty of that when it's necessary, thanks. The thought of doing more is horrifying."
"No, I wouldn't say studying. I myself can't stand it most of the time. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of hanging out up here. It's pretty awesome. What is it, anyway?"
"It's a secret hideout that Fred and I discovered in our first year. I probably forgot to show it to you. Anyway, it's the prime place to test out our pranks, because no teacher seems to know about it and the explosions seem like they've happening over the other tower over there," George said, pointing across the courtyard. "It's very peaceful up here. Count yourself lucky, because we only bring special people up here."
"Am I really that special to you, George?" Willow asked, feigning surprise.
"Sure, you could call it that, but if you ask me, you're special, alright."
"As in...?"
"Complete and utter disregard for rules. Ignorance of safety for yourself. Incredibly thick at times."
"Oh, come on, you're describing yourself," Willow joked.
"No, I was only kidding," George chuckled. "You are special though, Willow. Don't forget that."
"Why? Because I'm 'incredibly thick at times'?"
George half-smirked, half-sheepishly smiled. "You can take it that way."
"I'm just too dumb to understand, George!" Willow mocked, pretending to not understand. "You're going to have to spell it out for me!"
Unexpectedly, George didn't actually spell it out for he. Instead, he looked out at the cloudy sky. "It's going to be an awful day today. Hopefully it clears up for quidditch tomorrow."
"Hey, you're ignoring me."
George grinned broadly. "I thought you said I was describing myself? If I'm fairly dumb, how could I possibly spell anything? Jeez, Willow, I think you have short-term memory loss."
"Okay, that's crossed the line!"
"I don't see a line."
"Oh, quit being a smartarse!"
Willow and George pretty much fake-bickered all the way back to the common room. While they were walking, though, she couldn't help but wonder why George had that weird moment where he wouldn't answer her. Had that just been acting? Or was there something really bothering him? She didn't like all this weird stuff happening to him. George was always super peppy and happy. When he wasn't, it was so odd that it was almost wrong. It was another mystery she would have to solve.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Hermione had said they would need a diversion to steal a couple ingredients she forgot. A certain small explosion would be all they'd need.
"Hey, George, I have a favor to ask..."
"Are you absolutely certain this won't injure anyone?" Hermione asked hurriedly.
"One hundred percent sure," Willow replied, handing her the firework. "It's a small explosion, anyway. If anything, it won't cause serious damage. Fred and George promised me."
"You said you were positive!"
"Too late now! Here comes Harry! Go, go, go! Give it to him before Snape sees it!"
Hermione rushed off. Willow headed inside the Potions classroom, where Cypress was already hard at work in his little section of the classroom. He was poking and prodding a lump of dark, hardening slime. When Willow sauntered up next to him, he groaned and threw the remaining potion onto his shelf. It shifted into place with a small clink!
"Test number sixty-five of the strength potion- failure. I've gone backwards in the past week. I'll never get strong arms at this rate! How else am I supposed to impress all the Slytherins?"
"Oh, shut it, you're going to get it one of these times," Willow reassured him. She smirked. "Got anybody special in mind, Cypress? Any certain someone I should give a hint to?"
Cypress smiled. "No, nobody in particular- yet. Don't worry, Willow, you'll get the chance at some point in time."
"As long as you're sure…" she trailed off. Willow dropped her voice to a whisper. "If I were you, I'd steer clear of your normal seat. When you see Hermione nod, get up and act like you're going to get more supplies. Trust me on this one."
Cypress winked. "You got it. Wouldn't want to have any mishaps ruining this perfect face."
"God, Cypress, you're such a narcissist," Willow giggled. "It's a good change, though. None of us have any self-confidence."
"None of you are nearly as fabulous. Well, you're pretty great, but not even close to my level. You have to be born this perfect, not made, silly."
"I'm going to my seat before I start feel good about myself," Willow said, feigning horror. "Remember what I said!"
Cypress gave her a thumbs-up went back to experimenting with old potions. Willow made her way to her seat, where Draco was absent-mindedly flipping through the Potions textbook. He glanced up as she sat down.
"Man, I was hoping you'd be late. I've heard Snape's been really strict about his detentions lately."
"Nice to see you too, Blonde," Willow said.
"How many magical creatures have you smuggled into the castle this week? Three? Five? Seventeen?"
"None, thank you very much," Willow groaned. "And for your information, I did not smuggle them, that implies that I forced them to come with me for profit. I simply brought them with me for medical treatment. As soon Griffin is showing signs of healthy growth again, I'm releasing all of them back into the Forbidden Forest."
"You still call them by names? Merlin's beard, Willow, you're going to keep them forever."
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, you heartless oaf. Empathy and sympathy seem to be out of your range of capabilities."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Wisp. At least I'm not breaking fifty school rules a day."
"Since when do you care about rules?"
"When they benefit me," Draco said, smirking. "They might do me a favor and get you expelled."
"Oh, believe me, you'd miss me, no matter how hard it is for you to admit it. Who else would you be able to torment on a daily basis and have sass thrown back in your face?"
At that moment, Snape entered the classroom, putting out all the flickering candles and dousing the room in darkness. Their fragrant smoke gave the room a rare pleasant smell. Snape began the lesson promptly. Willow hardly paid attention, though. It wouldn't be necessary for much longer. For once, she made Draco get the ingredients, as she actually didn't have a clue what they were doing. He kept flicking Ron and Harry with puffer-fish eyes in annoyance, then received a sharp slap from Willow and promptly started flicking them at her instead. She didn't care. She'd be able to wash that off later.
At last, Hermione gave the signal. Cypress unobtrusively floated to the other side of the classroom. Willow watched as Harry pulled out a firework, lit it, and threw it into Goyle's cauldron. She quickly dove under the table just as it exploded, throwing a sort of swelling solution everywhere. The second years screamed as parts of their body swelled out of control. Willow snorted with laughter when she emerged from under the table. Draco's, Crabbe's, and Goyle's faces were expanding to ludicrous proportions. Willow had tears running out of her eyes she was laughing so hard.
"Don't laugh at me! Do something!" Draco said, his voice skewed by the size of his nose.
"I don't think I want to. This is too good!" Willow wheezed. She pulled out her camera, avoided Draco's attempts to dislodge it from her, and snapped a few photos. He fumed silently in his chair after that, waiting for Snape to come around with an antidote. Willow had a feeling she would somehow get blamed for the whole thing. At least Hermione had succeeded in getting the last potion ingredients, judging by her bulging coat as she slipped back into her desk.
She was very right about getting in trouble. Professor Snape cornered her after class and questioned her about the incident. She denied it all, but Snape still gave her a strong warning that next time he would catch her and it would be a week of detention. Of course.
Later that day, Willow was trying to study up on their new Transfiguration lesson, which had been particularly difficult, when she all but gave up and threw the textbook against the wall in frustration. Dean, Seamus, and Neville looked up from their own homework, then ignored the interruption. It wasn't the first time she'd done that. Willow's cheeks reddened. She had borderline anger issues when it came to getting stuck on homework. She'd have to ask Oliver and Sue for advice sooner or later.
In the meantime, Willow slipped into the side room, where Griffin bowled her over in excitement. He had gotten a lot stronger in the last week. Of course, that meant retrieving an ever-growing supply of fresh meat, but she'd gotten good at evading the house elves' traps. Griffin's wound was patched up beyond the possibility of re-injury, which meant...it was almost time to release the creature. The baby griffin must have sensed her sadness, because he affectionately nudged her cheek and calmly allowed her to stroke his beak, an oddity for him. Griffin was always overzealous. Felicity, V, and even Patch wandered over, cuddling her in comforting embraces. V was even quiet for once.
"Draco's right; I'm going to struggle saying goodbye to you guys."
"Say goodbye?" a voice asked.
Griffin squeaked and ran over to the newcomer. Oliver held up his hands in front of him.
"Easy, Griffin! Can you sit? You know how to sit, come on now, sit!"
Griffin crouched his lower half until it barely grazed the ground, waiting for Oliver to release him, his lion tail swishing back and forth. Oliver crossed his arms. Griffin finally got the message and unwillingly sat all the way down.
"Good boy, Griffin! Free!" Oliver said.
Griffin excitedly reared up on his hind legs and gave Oliver a hug. Willow walked over to him, her creatures trailing behind her.
"He's gotten good, hasn't he?" she asked. "I think he can even lay down and roll over now." She shook her head. "Remember when we first brought him here? He was beating us up constantly. Now look at him. He's come so far."
"Yeah, he has." Oliver frowned. "You have to release them back into the wild, don't you?"
"Unfortunately, yeah, I've got to," Willow said. "I have no choice. They don't belong in here, all cooped up with no way to get out on their own. Griffin, especially, needs a big place to roam, and at some point he's got to learn how to hunt for himself. There's only small creatures supplied in here, I've found. They're not nearly enough for this big guy. And who's going to take care of them when we're gone over the summer? I just can't risk abandoning them. Though...it feels like releasing them is the same thing."
"It does, doesn't it?" Oliver said. He stroked Griffin's beak. "I still can't believe he lets us pet him like this. Most Griffins like to defend themselves from a young age. Maybe it's his lack of parenting?"
"I think he believes I'm his mum," Willow said. At the word "mum," Griffin perked up and walked over to her. She sighed, petting his back. "He thinks I'm the one that's supposed to take care of him at this point. Do you think he'll really leave when I release him? I mean, he follows me like a lost puppy."
"To be honest? I think he's going to follow you everywhere, no matter where you decide to leave him."
Willow groaned. "I had a feeling this would happen. Yet I let it happen."
"I think you wanted him to be yours, to be perfectly honest, Willow." Oliver's face went red. "Not that I'm trying to insult you, that's not what I meant to do at all- "
"No, I get it, and you're spot on. I loved Griffin from the very start, and now he's going to pay for my attachment issues with magical creatures. How could I be so stupid? I'm stripping him of his independence every day I raise him here."
Oliver's eyes lit up. "You know, there is another way...This castle is enormous, and there's lots of balconies. You can teach him to fly from one of those. The Forbidden Forest is everything but forbidden for you, too, so you could take him in there anytime to teach him hunting. You've got all the powers necessary; it's whether or not you can sacrifice the sleep."
"I can sleep when I'm dead. But...you make a good point." Willow's chest fluttered. "I could teach him. Griffin could learn all the skills necessary to survive in the wild from the comfort of Hogwarts, and in close proximity to me. Eventually, I'll be able to free him in the Forbidden Forest, though it wouldn't truly be freeing, because he'd always come back to me. Oliver, you're a genius! I wish I could think like a Hufflepuff."
"Thanks." Oliver turned to Griffin. "You hear that, big guy? You get to stay with us forever and ever and ever!"
Griffin happily flapped his wings and covered Oliver in a few enormous eaglet feathers. He sneezed, and it seemed to excite all the creatures, even Fidget, who crawled out of her pocket to watch. Felicity happily circled overhead, then perched on Willow's shoulder. V climbed up her leg and hung off her hip. Griffin chased his tail, which sent more feathers flying, and Patch even sat on her shoe. Oliver laughed at the sight of her.
"You're covered in creatures and feathers," he chuckled. "I'd mistake you for a nature spirit if I was walking through the Forbidden Forest."
"Then you'd hear my smart mouth and turn right around," Willow said. She blew a feather off her robe. "Geez, Griffin must be molting already. Is that normal for a griffin? A baby griffin, for that matter? Or even an eaglet? You know what, nevermind, this is getting too confusing. I can't think that hard and remain mentally stable afterwards."
"You're mentally stable?" Oliver teased.
"Okay, someone's been spending too much time with Cypress," Willow said. "Griffin, attack!"
Griffin liked that command. He playfully jumped on Oliver, who easily braced himself for the fall. They play fought for a few minutes. Oliver, of course, lost, and Griffin victoriously pranced around them in a circle.
"Alright, it's getting late, guys, time for bed," Willow announced. "You too, Griffin. Let's go, get into your nest, get settled."
Oliver watched on as she settled her creatures in for the night. Willow put Felicity in his special nest that she'd made for him in his favourite tree, set V down in his half-burrow, half-crater under the bush, made a comfier place in the wild daisies for Patch, and pulled the cotton and fur tighter around Griffin. The baby griffin yawned and set his head down. Fidget crawled onto Willow's arm and kissed Griffin goodnight, then retreated to the comfier recesses of her robe pocket. She returned to Oliver and they waited for the creatures to fall asleep one by one.
"It's a good thing Griffin's staying around, because Fidget really seems to have bonded with him," Oliver said.
"I didn't even think about that. Good thing."
Patch was finally satisfied that Griffin was deeply sleeping and drifted off as well. Willow and Oliver quietly exited the room and took seats in the common room. The same people were still hanging out, doing homework, and chatting quietly.
"How did you even manage to get in here, Oliver?" Willow whispered.
"I remembered the common room password from last time," he said honestly. "And the door accepted my hand as well."
"Huh. I thought it only allowed mine. Good. Now Griffin and the others won't be trapped if something happens to me."
"That's good. I hadn't seen you in a while, so I decided to stop by. The other Hufflepuff boys were talking about girls, and...I don't really like to do that. Not that it was bad, it was just...not my thing. It got awkward."
"Understandable. I only stay when my Sisters talk about their crushes because I'm usually involved in a plan to set them up and if I don't pay attention, I'm pretty much screwed. They count on me."
"Your common room is still cold," Oliver said, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "There's always a fire, though. Why is that?"
"It's actually pretty warm in here today. You're probably just used to the warmth of your common room, with it being underground and all. It traps heat better that way." Willow paused. "Hey, what's that you're putting on?"
"Oh, Cypress gave it to me. He knows I'm always freezing."
Oliver placed an expensive-looking robe with a fuzzy inside liner over his Hufflepuff robes. He proudly adjusted the Slytherin symbol so that everyone could see the way it was enchanted to move. Willow smiled. When Oliver saw her staring at the robes, he put the hood up and tightened it around him, pretending to be all mysterious. Willow let out a small laugh.
"I'm glad to see you're getting along with Cypress so well. You were worrying me a little there, being all lonely before. Now I can't find you without him half the time."
"He's pretty- good at everything. And he always listens. He's one of those rare cool Slytherins that isn't teasing me for being a Muggleborn all the time. I like him."
"I like him too."
Oliver yawned. "I think I'm going off to bed before it gets too late. Goodnight, Willow."
"Goodnight, Oliver."
Willow went back to the armchair where she had been doing homework before and picked up her textbook from where is lay crumpled next to the wall. It was annoyingly dog-eared on half of the pages. She tried to flatten them out as she worked. People began to head off to bed as time passed until she was the only one left in the room. Willow put another log on the fire. It was well after half past eleven, maybe even midnight at that time. She started drifting off when the fire began to dim. Her pencil drooped out of her hand and she nodded off in the chair.
Later, she was vaguely aware of her body being lifted up and carried upstairs. Willow realized it was Paige. She quietly laid her in bed and placed the covers over her. Instead of leaving right away, though, Paige stood in the doorway for a long time, seemingly unaware that Willow was still awake. She sensed troubled emotions within her. Then, as she left, Paige muttered something under her breath, barely audible.
"How am I ever going to tell her?"
A week later, there was a notice on the bulletin board in the entrance hall. There was a dueling club starting that night. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had already let her know they were going, and after convincing her friends to do it with her, they all gathered in a big group outside of the Great Hall at quarter to eight. Willow had never gathered both her Gryffindor Sisters and out-of-house friends in a single place before, and boy was it a mess. There were so many people meeting each other and introducing themselves at once that Willow couldn't hear herself think. Only the call of Lockhart and Snape for everyone to file in moved them.
Willow watched the demonstration between Lockhart and Snape, secretly hoping Snape would "accidentally" blast Lockhart off the face of the Earth, but no such thing happened. Maybe next time she would get lucky. Lavender happened to be standing right where Lockhart's wand came flying and caught it, swooning with the reality of holding the celebrity's wand. Hermione, Mia, and Fay all pushed and shoved to get a better view of it until Lockhart disappointed them all by retrieving it. The mere sight of him in close range, though, appeared to cause Parvati and Sally heart palpitations.
Professors Lockhart and Snape eventually came around and paired everyone up. At first, it appeared they were assigning friends together- Lavender and Mia, Sally and Sam, Padma and Parvati, Lisa and Sue, Oliver and Cypress, etc- but when Snape got to Mandy and Willow, he nastily grinned and gave them each a Slytherin girl. Mandy was faced with Tracey Davis, and Willow stared down Daphne Greengrass. Hermione and Harry seemed to be stuck in similar situations.
"You again? Ugh, does Snape hate me or something? I shouldn't be paired up with blood traitors," Daphne whined.
"It's okay, Daphne, honestly, it's not like I'm going to infect you with my 'inferior blood' by touching you. You're going to be across the room before you can count to three."
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "We'll see about that, traitor."
Lockhart counted them down, and the duels began. Daphne immediately attacked, firing the full body-bind curse, then the jelly-legs jinx. Willow repelled them with the disarming charm Snape had just demonstrated. Then, Daphne shot a controlled jet of water straight at her face. Willow barely repelled it with the fire incantation. She shouted, "Avis!" and sent a small flock of birds at Daphne. The Slytherin girl panicked and began running around the room, screaming that they were messing up her hair. Willow heard Lockhart yell for them to stop and retracted the flock to her wand.
The aftermath was devastating. Padma was tending to several people with singed hair or robes. Mandy was unburying herself from a pile of God knows what. Oliver and Cypress were untangling themselves from some vines that sprouted from the floor. Sally and Sam were somehow hanging from their ankles in the rafters. It took several older students working together to get them down. At least her Sisters seemed okay for the most part. Everyone gathered closer to the stage, where Lockhart and Snape were debriefing two students for a demonstration on blocking unfriendly spells. Willow groaned when she realized it was Draco and Harry.
They're going to kill each other, she thought.
Well, don't let that happen. Isn't Harry the one that defeated Voldemort?
Willow nearly jumped out of her skin. Cebba hadn't spoken to her in ages. She'd grown so used to having a quiet head that it felt like she was speaking to her for the first time all over again. Ye- Yeah, twice, actually. Harry was speaking with Lockhart, appearing very disgruntled. Why haven't you spoken to me in forever? I know, I shouldn't have yelled at you for all of that stuff Halloween night, but you didn't answer me when I tried to apologize.
I couldn't speak to you. I was too busy healing you.
Willow furrowed her brow as Draco raised his wand at Harry. What do you mean, healing me?
Healing you mentally, of course! How do you think you made it through that night without unhinging? I can only do so many things at once, Willow, and it stretched my abilities as it was. You were really close to the end there.
Oh. Her heart skipped a few beats. So...am I okay now?
Yes, you seem to be of perfect health as of this moment in time. I can't guarantee anything for the future. If you lapse too far, you'll force me to possess you, and believe me, it never goes well.
Okay, so...can you at least tell me when I'm getting too close? Willow asked. I'm not exactly self-aware when I hit rock bottom like that. I could use a fair warning.
I can do that for you. Just be careful, you crazy Gryffindor. You're going to mess up your bloody life if you don't work on this mental thing.
I know, I know, I'm getting to it. A snake exploded from the end of Draco's wand. Willow sensed a shift within Harry, and her powers reached out. Hold on, I'll have to talk to you later. Something's happening.
I'll be waiting. Good luck.
Willow saw Harry move towards the snake in a sort of trance. The snake reared up, about to strike Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was cowering in front of it, frozen with fear. She was aware of Harry shouting at it to leave the Hufflepuff alone. But that is not what truly came out of his mouth. A sort of made-up-sounding language hissed and snarled alongside the English, making for a jumbled up mess in her head. Willow recognized it as snake language when the snake suddenly became docile, flattening against the stage and turning to look at Harry.
Justin, petrified, stared at Harry as though he had made an attempt on his life. He stormed from the hall, confusing the smiling Gryffindor, who obviously had no clue what he had just done. Ron and Hermione quickly took care of the situation by removing Harry and themselves from it and running down the corridor. The entire Great Hall had suddenly shifted in mood so much that Willow's head hurt with all the electrical signals. She buried her powers deep and promised herself she'd work on them the next chance she got.
"Well...that was certainly unexpected..." Lockhart trailed off. He resumed his usual self-assured stature and dazzling smile. "How about we take a break and try disarming each other? Five minutes, then back here, please!"
An enormous crowd of girls swarmed towards Lockhart, begging him to tell about his latest story. The git happily complied and began the probably fake story of his defeat of a creature he'd most likely never met in person before. Willow shook her head. She was tired of Lockhart already, and it wasn't even halfway through term. How was she going to survive him all spring?
"I didn't mean to hit you, Dean, I'm sorry," Seamus said nearby. Willow glanced over at the panicked note in his tone. "Did it burn you badly? Oh, crap, I'm such an idiot, why do I always set things on fire?"
"It's fine, Seamus," Dean said. "Madam Pomfrey will fix it as soon as we're done."
"Are you sure we shouldn't go now? It looks like it burns. Well, of course it burns, I meant hurt- that it hurt you- not burnt- I mean- nevermind, you know what I'm trying to ask."
"I'm all right, Seamus, honestly," Dean chuckled. "You only singed the hair off my arm. It's an improvement, considering you didn't blow up anything this time. It was a fairly small fire. Beside, I don't need dotting on."
Seamus's face went red. "Sorry, I didn't mean to- I know you- Merlin's beard, I can't speak English anymore."
"You could say I cast a Silencing Charm on you."
"Okay, you've been spending too much time with Harry."
"You spend the same amount of time with him as you do me, Seamus!"
"The only difference is you actually pick up on the sass and use it!"
Lockhart announced that it was time to get going again. Willow returned to where Daphne was magically untangling her hair, glaring daggers at her. The brunette appeared to have no intentions of only disarming her. Willow considered the possibility of spending the night in the hospital wing.
"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart called. Daphne whipped out her wand. Willow gulped and slowly leveled hers at Daphne. "Disarm only on three! One...two...three!"
"Bombarda!"
Willow yelped and jumped out of the way as the floor exploded where her feet were seconds earlier. Daphne cast several more of these explosive spells in rapid succession, then frustratedly shouted, "Carpe Retractum!" A strong rope wrapped itself around Willow's ribs and pulled her closer, inch by inch, to where Daphne was furiously waiting to severely injure her. Her heart hammered against her chest. She thought of something, anything, that could save her. Other students watched in horror. Willow had no choice but to attack.
"Cantis!"
Daphne uncontrollably burst into a rendition of an Irish jig. Willow would have burst out laughing if Daphne hadn't still remained in control of her wand and shot flames at her. She hurriedly doused the flames with a bit of water and ran to a safe distance from her. Daphne stopped singing. Suddenly, she shouted, "Defodio!" and a huge jet of green light slammed into Willow's side.
She had never felt more pain at once in her life. Even the Crutiatus Curse couldn't compare. Willow screamed in agony and collapsed as blood pooled on the floor. It felt like someone had ripped out her internal organs with their bare hands. Other students stared in horror at the large chunk of flesh missing at her side. One threw up at the sight of Willow's ribs. Daphne took a few staggering steps backward. Willow, her head fuzzy with pain and rage, decided to help her. She weakly whispered, "Everte Statum," and Daphne flew head over heels and skidded into the opposite wall. Willow's friends appeared at her side, some having to turn away at the sight of her.
"Oh my God, what happened?"
"Someone call Madam Pomfrey immediately!"
"Willow, who did this to you? Who was it?"
She tried to point to the opposite wall, but her arm drooped to the floor. Willow faded in and out of consciousness. Daphne always reappeared in a different part of the crowd that had gathered around her. She bit her nails, played with her hair, twirled her wand around, and paced constantly. Madam Pomfrey arrived at her side, and she was vaguely aware that her healing powers had kicked in by that point. Her sensing powers were all over the place, bubbling up to feel the shock and worry of nearby students, then simmering down until she couldn't even hear anything. Eventually, Willow's eyes snapped open to find herself with no hole in her side and a crowd of curious students surrounding her. Madam Pomfrey helped her stand up.
"How are you feeling, Willow?" she asked. "That could have been serious if you waited a few more minutes."
Willow touched her side. It felt completely normal and pain-free. "Great, actually. Thanks."
"I want you to come to me if you feel anything is wrong, got it?"
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey."
"Good. Now, run along, children! I don't want to see any more dueling incidents tonight."
Lockhart and Snape escorted the majority of the students out of the room. The only ones that stayed were Willow's friends and a certain nervous face among the crowd. When she made eye contact with her, though, she turned and fled. Willow gave chase, quickly telling her friends to stay behind.
"Hey! Daphne, wait!" she called.
"No! Stay away from me, you filthy blood traitor!"
"Daphne, please, I need to talk to you!" Willow insisted. "I'm not going to attack you."
Daphne stopped running and turned to face her, tears running down her face. "What is there to talk about? You don't understand. You never will! You'll never understand what it's like to be a real pureblood, you traitor! Just get away from me!"
Willow stood, rooted to the spot, while Daphne sprinted away, hiccuping and wiping her face. Her friends ran up behind her just as Daphne disappeared around the corner.
"What happened?"
"What did she say to you?"
"Was that Daphne Greengrass?"
Willow was silent a moment. Then, her heart sank as she said, "There's something really complicated going on here, and I think it's explaining why a lot of people are hurting."
"What does that mean, Willow?" Cypress asked.
"It means that elitist parents are breaking their children, and I'll be damned if there's nothing I can do about it," she said. "And I think I'm going to need your help."
Willow dragged Cypress down to the dungeons early the next day. He was super groggy and, quite frankly, annoyed at being up before noon. Cypress begrudgingly allowed Willow to do whatever she needed, though, and opened up his potion workshop. Snape was nowhere to be seen, and his classroom was especially dark in the early morning. Willow shuddered in a bone-chilling cold.
"Remind me why we're here again?" Cypress said.
"I need your help making a potion, remember?" Willow reminded him. "You're the only second year I know that would be able to lend a hand in this. I need something that affects the brain..."
"As in exploding, imploding, internal damage...? You've got to be specific here."
"No, you idiot, something affects its functions!" Willow quickly explained her plan to Cypress. He followed along sleepily, then perked up when it started getting scandalous. "You see, I need it to help her!"
"But...you said during the November house exchange, Daphne didn't so much as look at you. And they've postponed the house exchange until the first week term resumes because of the Holidays. We have a long time to finish this, and, I mean, not to sound too self-absorbed, but I'm outstanding at potions. Exactly how long is this plan of yours going to take?"
"Cypress, we all know you're a narcissist, don't try and cover it up," Willow teased. "This could take a day, it could take a few months. We just have to get lucky once."
Cypress sighed. "Alright, but I'm not involved in any way, shape, or form, though if people ask, I get full credit for the potion."
"Got it. Now, let's please get to work."
Cypress began by retrieving some similar potions he'd made in the past, none of which had worked. Together, they retested all of their properties and found some ingredients they could work with. Willow started preparing ingredients one right after the other. Cypress used them just as quickly as she could supply them. Once, he decided to try a completely new combination, and, laughing like a mad scientist, threw the ingredients in, nearly imploding the entire room. Willow was inches away from getting crushed by a section of the ceiling for the second time that year. They didn't try any new combinations after that. All told, they made twenty potions, none of which worked in the expected fashion. The morning produced lots of explosions, ear-shattering booms!, a purple, frothing rash, and acid burning through the floor, but no life-altering potion. Willow frustratedly threw herself into Cypress's spinning chair.
"This is no good! We've used half the ingredients known to man and gotten no closer to our goal," she said.
"Ah, don't give up on me now, Willow! Do you have any idea how many potions I failed before I got the concoction just right for the Anti-Anti-Cheating Spell Potion? One hundred and twenty-one potions! Did I give up? Absolutely not! I spent an equal amount of time brewing that potion that others did studying, so don't worry, it was close to morally right. I made sure I messed a few questions up to make it look like I did it without cheating."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that part," Willow said. "But you do have a point there. We can't give up yet. It's only day one. Like you said, we've got plenty of time left. Maybe we can try again tomorrow?"
"Good plan. I'm starving. I think I'm growing again. Do I look taller to you?"
Willow sized him up as they walked down the halls. "You've always been taller than me, so no, but maybe you are growing again. Not fair. I'm probably going to be stuck at five foot four forever."
"Cheer up. Soccer players don't need to be tall, I hear."
"I guess that's true."
"And I'm very beautiful, so I deserve to keep growing. I have to keep the tall, dark and brooding aesthetic going."
"I knew you were going to say that..."
"Exactly, because you know it's true."
"Just shut up and keep walking before I stunt your growth," Willow laughed.
The Great Hall was full of hushed whispers and anxious glances in the direction of the Gryffindor Table. It was odd compared to the usual lively buzz. Poor Harry was sitting with Hermione and the Weasleys, far away from all the other Gryffindors. Willow said a quick goodbye to Cypress before taking a seat next to Harry, threateningly glaring at anyone who dared to whisper about Harry. Her ears were working perfectly that morning. No one was getting away with gossiping about her best friend.
When the bell rang to signal the next class, Willow found Oliver standing alone next to a suit of armor, apparently looking for someone. His eyes lit up when he saw her and made his way to her against the current of students.
"Herbology's been cancelled today. There's so much snow, I've heard you can't even open the greenhouse doors. Professor Sprout apparently wants to personally fit the Mandrakes with winter clothing, too, so we've got a free period."
"Awesome! I wasn't looking forward for our lesson today, anyway. It sounded rather boring. Where do you want to go?"
"I was hoping you'd come to the Hufflepuff common room with me? Yours is getting much too cold."
Willow smiled. "Lead the way, then."
The Hufflepuff common room was as warm and cozy as ever. There were two blazing fires, a birdsong ambiance was playing from somewhere, some students were baking a fragrant cherry pie, and some soft, lively music was playing on a record player. Second-year Hufflepuffs were roaming around, doing homework, catching up with friends, and simply chatting. A few older years were casting wary glances in her direction, but otherwise, Willow got plenty of friendly waves. She inhaled a deep breath, the aroma of the cherry pie tantalizing her taste buds. Cherry pie was her favorite. Next to Italian food and tacos, of course. Oliver found a couch near the kitchens and laid down on it, the sun from one of the high windows lighting up his face and turning his hair red.
"Hey, your hair does the same thing mine does," Willow commented. She put some of her hair in the light. "See? We both must be partially Italian."
"That explains my love of carbs," Oliver said.
"You may love them, but I'm straight up addicted to them," Willow joked.
"There are worse things to be addicted to."
"You're right about that." Willow closed her eyes and let the sun warm her up. "Your common room feels like it's eternally in summer. It even smells like summer. I love it."
"Your common room constantly feels like winter," Oliver said, grinning. "That means you get to wear sweaters all the time, though, so I guess it makes up for the freezing temperatures."
"You would wear sweaters in the summer if I let you," Willow teased.
"Aw, but they're so comfy!" Oliver whined, flipping upside down and half-hanging off the couch. "And Cypress's winter robes are so fluffy! I love them more than my own robes."
"Well, you wouldn't like mine, then. They're the cheap kind that are paper-thin, but I love that, especially in the summer when I'm dying of heat exhaustion. Plus, Cypress's robes look perfect on you."
Oliver smiled. "He spoils me with all of his fancy clothes. His parents must be rich Muggles."
"Honestly, he spoils himself more than he spoils you," Willow giggled. "Has he told you how expensive the shampoo he uses is? It costs more than all my school supplies, and the bottle is tiny!"
"Maybe he literally washes it in liquid gold?" Oliver said.
"He is pretty blonde, but I wouldn't go that far. I'm still trying to get Fred and George to teach me the hair-altering spells they've learned. Cypress will be a dirty blonde and he's going to like it!"
Oliver laughed. "He might let you. I think you're the only one that can make him do anything."
"Have you seen the way he lets you control him? I'm pretty sure you're the only one keeping him from exploding the dungeons."
"That is how we met him, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Willow said, remembering how angry she had first been. "Look how far we've come since then. Cypress appears tame compared to the mad scientist he was before, doesn't he?" Willow shook her head. "What is it with us and having crazy friends?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's that polar opposite thing?"
"It's something, all right."
Suddenly, a girl burst through the door, yelling about something. She ran around the room in a panic, screaming incoherently. An older girl jumped up and calmed her down, wrapping her in a bear hug, then let the girl go. Her eyes were wild as she glanced around the room. Willow only caught a few words from what she was whispering. "Attack...just now...Harry Potter..."
"Hannah, what's wrong? What happened?" another girl asked.
"It's Justin! Justin Finch-Fletchley! And Nearly-Headless Nick! They've been attacked!" She took a few shallow breaths. "And- and- It was Harry Potter! He was standing right in the hallway where Justin and Nick were found!"
Oliver and Willow exchanged a glance. Harry couldn't possibly have attacked them. It must have been a coincidence, right?
"What are they doing with them?" a boy asked.
"Justin's being taken to the hospital wing. And Harry Potter's being taken to Dumbledore's office right now!"
Willow and Oliver were already out the door before she finished her sentence.