"Sweet Merlin's beard, what have I done," Avery moaned internally as she hurriedly bounded up the stairs, heading no where in particular other than as far away from Cedric as her frantic feet would carry her. She had agreed, while impersonating Cho Chang, to go to Hogsmede with Cedric Diggory.
"I'm an idiot. I. Am. An. IDIOT. An absolute dolt," she thought.
She wasn't sure what she should do. She couldn't very well transform back into herself and get back to the Hufflepuff dormitories while Cedric would be lurking on the first few floors. She was certain she would get caught, and this time she didn't have a teachers note bearing her name, allowing to avoid a detention. It wasn't until she was on the fifth floor that the Room of Requirement occurred to her as a place of refuge.
Taking the steps two at a time, Avery climbed the next two floors and hurried down the corridor to the stretch of wall that had become all too familiar to her. She paced back and forth three times in front of it, silently pleading for a place to rest as well as a means to alert Cho of the night's goings-on. It was only a moment before a door appeared and Avery hastily wrenched in open, stepped in, and closed the door behind her.
Never failing to impress, the Room of Requirement had transformed into a large bedroom. A bed the size of her entire dormitory sat in one corner with a roaring fire opposite. On the bed was a pair of pajamas laid out for her, and to her surprise and delight there was a window on the far wall, on the ledge of which an owl sat, hooting happily. Avery noticed parchment, a quill, and ink was also waiting for her on her bedside table, so she scurried over to it to write Cho a note of explanation.
After she gave the letter to owl and it soared out the window towards Ravenclaw tower, Avery remembered she still wasn't herself. Before changing clothes, she took a moment to transfigure herself back to normal, all the while rationalizing to herself that the encounter with Cedric really wasn't so bad. If Cho liked Cedric, great. She was going to have a date with him thanks to Avery. If she didn't like him (which was highly unlikely, Avery thought bitterly,) she could pretend she thought he just meant as friends, or she could just stick it out for one date and tell him afterward she didn't want to continue dating him. Simple as that. However that was really only half the reason the whole thing made Avery's stomach turn.
The following morning, Avery awoke to a freshly laundered set of Hufflepuff robes in just her size. Appreciating this room more and more by the minute, she pulled them on and made her way down to the entrance hall, anxious to speak to Cho and see how she had received her news. When she arrived, she scanned the Ravenclaw table but saw no sign of Cho, so she walked to her house's table and helped herself to some coffee and toast, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"There you are! Where have you been all night?" Marilyn's voice came from behind her. Avery looked over her shoulder to see an incredulous look etched in Marilyn's sharp features, hands on her hips and all.
"What do you mean?" Avery stalled, turning back to her toast and taking a mouthful; she was especially grateful that these encounters with Marilyn kept taking place in the presence of food so she could busy herself while preparing an adequate lie.
"What do you mean what do I mean? You weren't in our dormitory all night!" Marilyn said, throwing herself into the chair beside Avery and fixing her with a stare. Avery swallowed.
"How do you know that?" Avery said, taking another humungous bite, a thought flitting through her had that she should carry bits of food with her at all times so she could easily buy lying time wherever she went.
"I was up until nearly one and you weren't there when I feel asleep. You weren't there when Susan snoring like the Hogwarts express woke me at four a.m., and you weren't there when I woke up at six either. I was worried!"
"I was in the hospital wing. Another nosebleed. Nothing serious. I didn't think you would notice so I didn't bother to owl you," Avery said, thinking that at least the last part was true.
"Another nosebleed? And she didn't just give you a tonic and send you back to your room like last time?" Marilyn inquired, her time accusatory. It was a follow up question she hadn't expected and that Avery hadn't taken a bite to create time to deflect. Her face fell as she tried to stammer out another excuse.
"Come off it! Tell me the truth. Your tutoring session with Longbottom run long? What exactly are you tutoring him in again?" She added, raising an eyebrow suggestively. Avery shushed her, worried one of their housemates might overhear and rumor would get around that she and Neville actually were an item. However, her avid shushing only seemed to confirm Marilyn's theory, whose hands were now covering her mouth, eyes wide.
"Merlin! It's true, isn't it? You and Longbottom!" She exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Avery hissed, although Marilyn was giggling hard and probably didn't here. Avery's eyes darted around to the others nearest them, and most of which were watching her and Marilyn, intrigued.
"Please shut up, you're embarrassing me," Avery said, focusing hard to keep her skin closer to ivory than magenta.
"I'm sorry," Marilyn breathed, "but you've got to tell me what happened. You two get holed up in a broom closet somewhere or what?"
"Avery," a soft voice came from behind them, and Avery, thankful for the distraction, turned around. Her gratitude was short lived, however. It was Cho, and Avery's stomach dropped.
"I got your owl," she whispered excitedly. "Obviously I'm very sad I wasn't present to tell him myself, but I'm so excited to go to Hogsmede with Cedric. I just wanted to thank you again and collect my robes."
It was impossible for Avery to keep from turning red as Marilyn's eyes narrowed at her. She pulled the Ravenclaw robes out of her bag and handed them to Cho, muttering a "don't mention it," meaning it a lot more literally than she was sure Cho took it. With a final few words of gratitude, Cho practically skipped back to her house table to sit with her friend Marrietta.
"Well that was enlightening," Marilyn scoffed, voice dripping with disdain as she reached across Avery for a muffin. "Personally I wish you actually were snogging Neville in a closet all night instead of what you were actually doing."
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Avery whispered. "I just knew you wouldn't approve and... Well obviously that doesn't make it right to lie... But I'm just tired of you being angry with me for something that I do that doesn't hurt anyone. Can't you just be happy that I am using my time on something productive?"
"What do you need the money for? You didn't make the team so it can't be for a broom any more. And there are more productive and more honest things you could be doing with your time," Marilyn countered, but it seemed she didn't care to wait for an answer to her question. She was pushing herself into a standing position and shouldering her bag.
"I really am sorry for lying, please don't run off-"
"My running off is actually unrelated to you. I have somewhere to be. If you want to traipse around being dishonest then that's your call. Just remember these things have a way of coming back to haunt you." And then she was off before Avery could get in another word. Before she could wonder too much about where her friend might be off to at six thirty in the morning, Fred and George bounded up to the table like a pair of happy golden retrievers.
"Good morning, love!" They chorused, taking up seats on either side of her and helping themselves to breakfast as if at their own table.
"How did your night go?"
"Earn plenty of gold?"
"Don't talk so loud. Out of context those questions make me look bad," Avery said, gulping her drink.
"Well judging by your cloudy disposition I'd say your evening wasn't too peachy," Fred said, surveying her, "what's the matter?" With a sigh, Avery quickly explained the run in with Cedric and having been caught in her lie by Marilyn.
"I wouldn't sweat it," George replied coolly. "That Marilyn doesn't seem like much of a friend anyway if you ask me-"
"There is definitely something a bit off about her, that's for sure," Fred finished, stirring his porridge.
"What are you talking about? She's been my best friend since first year. She's a good friend."
"If you say so, Avery," Fred replied, although he didn't seem to be paying attention to her argument. Both he and his twin were half facing their house table, grinning from ear to ear.
"What are you two so happy about?" Avery said, craning her neck to try to see what it was they looked so jovial about.
"We put a calming draught in Wood's pumpkin juice," George explained, not taking his eyes of their quidditch captain, who Avery was now noticing was uncharacteristically serene for it being only a few days before the first quidditch match of the season.
"Seems to be working quite well," Avery commented, sipping her coffee, which was quickly becoming cold.
"Yeah, let's just hope it lasts. I can't take him hounding me in the corridors—"
"In the common room-"
"In the lavatories, for Merlin's sake."
Unfortunately for the twins, the calming draught was either not potent enough, or just no match for Wood's sheer determination to have a winning season, because after her third class of the day, she saw Wood chasing the twins out of Transfiguration class, shouting about bludgers, and not long after, the twins warned her they would be having extra quidditch practice and wouldn't be able to meet that evening.
"Can't say I'm surprised. But it's quite alright, I could use a free night to catch up on coursework as it is," Avery told them, giving them sympathetic looks. They both looked more irritated than she had ever seen them, and she wondered fleetingly if Cedric was giving his team the same amount of guff, and then dismissing the thought, quite certain that although Cedric wanted to win, he wouldn't sacrifice his and his team's sanity to do so.
She retreated to the common room and chose a familiar table and armchair and began studying, occasionally asking the plants for advice on her Herbology paper, but otherwise staying quiet. About halfway through her paper on shrivelfigs, Marilyn crawled in through the common room entrance. Avery waved in greeting, and Marilyn, spotting her, came and took a set at her table, drawing her homework out of her bag also.
"I really am sorry, you know," Avery said while Marilyn avoided eye contact. Despite the fact that Avery hated lying, she did it quite often for the sake of her business, but she had always been very open with Marilyn, and she was tired of fighting.
"I know," she replied, her eyes darting up from her paper to meet Avery's gaze. They nodded at each other, seeming to come to a wordless agreement that it wasn't worth being upset over anymore, and Avery felt the weight of it fall off her shoulders. They each dipped their quill in their ink bottles and set to writing.
"So where were you hurrying off to this morning?" Marilyn paused to look up at Avery, who sat waiting for an answer to her question.
"Perhaps we should just avoid discussing each others hobbies," she finally sighed, before turning back to her paper. More curious than ever, Avery started to protest, but just then the Hufflepuff quidditch team began filing in, soaked to the bone by the pouring rain, but all looking jovial regardless. Each of them headed to their respective dormitories, Anne waving a hello as she passed. Cedric, however, made his way over to their table, pushing his wet hair back out of his eyes, mud splashed up the legs of his pants and across his cheek.
"Hello, Avery, Marilyn," he said, nodding to each of them in turn, smiling brightly.
"Alright there, Ced? Good practice, I take it?" Marilyn asked, looking up at him.
"I thought the weather would be a challenge, but we flew better than ever tonight. In fact we finished a bit early; Wood from Gryffindor requested the field, so they're having an extra practice right now," Cedric explained, although Avery only half heard. She was a bit distracted by the way his wet jersey was clinging to his muscular arm.
"I wanted to thank you again for lending Anne your broom, Avery. She probably would've been blow away by now on her old one. When we win the match this Saturday, I'll have to buy you a butterbeer," Cedric said, Avery finally snapping back into it and looking back, forgetting not to let herself flush.
"Oh, right! Sure," she stammered before clearing her throat and nervously running her hand through her hair.
"Great. Well I'll see you both at the match, then? I really think we've got a great season ahead of us."
"We'll be there," Marilyn replied, and mercifully Cedric waved goodbye and headed to his room. Avery watched him go, remembering that he would be taking Cho to Hogsmede in only a few weeks, stomach sinking.
"I can't believe you got Cho a date with him when you are clearly smitten," Marilyn scoffed, turning back to her essay.
"Well it's not like I had much of a choice. He asked her, not me, and I'm not going to purposefully sabotage what could be a meaningful relationship just because I like his biceps," Avery grumbled.
"If you say so," Marilyn replied, jotting down the most popular uses of shrivelfig.
"Well what would you have done?" Avery asked, scowling.
"I would've gotten what I wanted; you have to remember to take care of yourself sometimes," Marilyn replied, fixing Avery with a stare, who went back to her paper and avoided responding, confident that she had done the right thing regardless of what Marilyn said.
Although Avery and the twins weren't able to work on Weasley Wizarding Wheezes together that week with all the additional practices Wood was calling for, they did spend a fair amount of their free time together. Although they felt any suspicion about Snape's missing potion ingredients had long since dissolved, they still avoided being seen together where possible, Avery often altering her appearance before meeting them in corridors or sitting with them in the Great Hall. They discussed their business, but they also got to know each other a bit more personally. Avery asked them questions about their family and reveled in hearing stories about their siblings, especially Charlie's studies in Romania and Bill being a cruse breaker. In turn, Avery told them about living in London with her parents, and a bit more about being a metamorphmagus.
"Metamorphmagi are born, not made," she explained when the twins asked what she had done to become one. "My mom always tells this story about how when I was born there was this terrible mix-up at St. Mungos. I was born with blonde hair but I guess I changed it to black when the nurses weren't looking and it caused a lot of confusion."
"When did you decide to start impersonating people for galleons?" Fred prodded curiously. They were in the library, partly because they all had homework to do, but mostly because even if Wood found them he wouldn't be able to stay; Madam Prince would quickly have him removed for shouting quidditch instructions and disturbing the peace and quiet.
"First year, round Easter holiday. Another first year was supposed to do a detention that he didn't really deserve with Snape, and the poor boy was terrified. I think Longbottom is the only person I've ever seen more intimidated by Snape than Andy. He's a Hufflepuff too. Anyway, he was due in the dungeons in fifteen minutes when I found him shaking in an armchair in the common room, and I just couldn't let him do it, so I told him to give me a pair of his robes and I went to detention for him. I did it here and there for a few others two, and then I realized I could charge people so I could have my own income. So I did."
"That's brilliant," George said, his potions essay unrolled in front of him.
"It's nothing compared to the things you've come up with. Your own joke shop is incredibly ambitious."
"Well it certainly sounds more appealing then killing ourselves for O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S so we can end up stuck in an office somewhere," Fred smiled, his potions essay also laying before him, untouched.
"Speaking of joke shops, though, how'd you like to come with us to Hogsmede? We'll be needing to go to Zonko's and pick up a few things. Lee'll be joining us," George asked, and Avery happily agreed. While she had always appreciated Marilyn, she was really enjoying getting to the know the twins better, and despite having only been around them a few weeks, she inexplicably felt more comfortable with them than she ever had with Marilyn.
That Saturday was the worst weather Avery had ever seen at Hogwarts. Having promised to meet Marilyn in the stands, Avery was walking down to the pitch with the twins, the winds absolutely howling, thunder rolling overhead. They had only been outside the castle for few minutes, and all three of them were already soaked. She couldn't imagine how she was even going to see the goings-on of the match in this weather when she could hardly see which direction the pitch was in.
"Well, some luck to you," Avery shouted over the wind, hair whipping her face under her umbrella.
"I believe the phrase is 'good luck'," George retorted, his cheeks pink from the cold, clashing terribly with his hair.
"But I don't want you to win," Avery explained. The twins looked like they wanted to make a retort, but rather than exhaust themselves by shouting it over the wind, they shook their heads and clapped her on each shoulder before retreating into the locker rooms to change.
Avery found her way up into the stands and, after lot of searching, found Marilyn hunkered down under a yellow umbrella, her scarf obscuring half her face.
"This is mad," she yelled through the yellow and black chunky scarf, "having the game in this weather. I'm miserably cold." Avery couldn't argue. It seemed a bit dangerous to be flying in the weather, but then she reminded herself Hogwarts was the school where there were giant three headed dogs hidden in corridors and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been making repeat appearances; clearly this educational institution wasn't going to be named the safest of it's kind any time soon.
After what seemed like an awfully long period of the wind howling in her ears, she could make out the two teams filing out onto the field, staggering sideways in the wind. She felt a pang of fear for Cedric; how was he going to see the snitch in this? After the team captains shook hands, both teams mounted their brooms, and they were off.
Cedric was right, the Hufflepuff team was flying very well for the weather they were in, but unfortunately not well enough. Anne was far too small and easily blown off course. She was doing well under the circumstances, but before long a time-out was called by the Gryffindor team, and they were fifty points up. Unless Cedric caught the snitch quickly, they were likely heading for a loss.
"This game is going to last all night," Marilyn moaned when the teams took back to the sky. Then, suddenly, her eyes seemed to flash with a dark humor. Avery followed her gaze, only to see that Marilyn was looking directly at Neville Longbottom, who was watching the match open-mouthed.
"HEY NEVILLE," she shouted over the wind, Avery elbowing her in the ribs, knowing exactly what Marilyn was going to do and trying to shut her up. Neville looked over his shoulder at them, looking puzzled.
"HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING TUTORING?" Marilyn sneered. At first Neville looked even more confused, and mouthed 'what,' but his face then quickly fell, the color draining from it. At first, Avery was mortified, but then she realized the whole crowd, which had been avidly cheering only a few moments ago had gone eerily silent. Even the wind was forgetting to roar in Avery's ears. Then, a wave of cold, colder than the rain swept over her, fogging her senses. She looked away from Neville to see hundreds of dementors crowding the pitch. Dumbledore had warned the students of their presence at school this year, but something told her that their sudden appearance at the match wasn't exactly sanctioned.
Every horrible memory she had ever had flitted through her mind, from the most simple of things to the most complex; her first crush rejecting her and crying into her pillow the following night, not being selected for the team both years, the night she held her cousin's hand in the hospital and whispered goodbye, when her parents where inches from each other, screaming and spitting at one another while she watched, too terrified to move.
Suddenly, she heard screaming, and for a minute, she thought she was the one doing it, feeling as though she had lost all of her senses. But she quickly realized it was the people around her, whose eyes were following Harry Potter's body plunging down toward the pitch, towards the creatures with hidden faces and lifeless, scabbing hands.
After the match, most of the Hufflepuff house stayed gathered together in the common room around the fire. Anne hadn't bothered to change out of her soggy quidditch robes and was sniffling audibly. Avery and Marilyn sat not too far from her near a clump of other students in their year, including Jeffery and Dennis. Every looked solemn, especially Cedric; Hufflepuff had finally won a game of quidditch, and they couldn't even enjoy it properly. The effect of the dementors still hung over them, almost none of them touching the chocolate Professor Sprout had brought them. She knew it would make her feel better, but Avery just couldn't bring herself to eat. She had tried to find the twins after the game to see if their friend Harry was okay, but they had goner with him into the Hospital wing, and Madam Promfrey insisted it was far too crowded for her to go inside, too.
Slowly and wordlessly, most of the house started making their way to bed early that night. Resolving that she had best say something before Cedric made his way to bed too, she crossed over to him and sat next to him, cross legged on the floor near the hearth.
"Are you alright?" she asked, surveying him. He was also in his muddy robes still, looking frustrated and upset.
"It just doesn't feel right," he explained. "I offered a rematch, but they said we won. It doesn't feel like it." He shook his head solemnly before giving Avery a sad smile.
"That was very kind of you," she said, not sure what else she could say. She understood exactly what he meant. It certainly didn't feel like a victory. Not to any of them.
"Well, I suppose I owe you a butterbeer," Cedric mused, attempting a smile. But it wasn't the same one Avery normally had a hard time not mirroring. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Oh no, don't worry about that, Cedric," Avery stammered, trying to make him feel better, but feeling that she was failing in some way she couldn't put her finger on. He nodded solemnly again, before sighing and leaving the common room, leaving Avery feeling foolish and inadequate on the common room floor.
