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Chapter 12
By now the sun is just about to set - tryouts took almost all day. As we all walk back to the castle, we decide celebrations are in order.
"Where can we go?" George asks.
Before we can answer, Priya comes up to us.
"You guys wanna come along to celebrate your spots? Your friends can tag along if you want."
"Where?" Owen asks her sister.
"Follow me."
We do, and I try to keep track of where we go as we go up and downstairs and through corridors and take dozens of turns. Finally, we reach a door decorated with various miniature Quidditch items.
"Welcome to the Quidditch room," Priya announces, pushing the door open.
Inside is a massive room filled with about forty people. I spot many people who were at tryouts, all of the people who got on the teams and some others I don't recognise, but everyone seems to know each other. There are people from every year and every house, but no one seems to care.
"We got the newbies," Priya calls out. "They're still young remember guys, so don't go crazy."
A chorus of cheers erupts as Priya guides us around the room.
"This is pretty much like a Community Hall," she tells us. "Except it's just for Quidditch players and select people. And all houses are allowed in. It's not exactly a secret, but not everyone knows about it. Coach Wood and all the Heads of House know we often come here. They don't interfere too much, though, so it's all good."
By now we're in the centre of the room, and all the Quidditch Captains are gathered together.
"Everyone shut up!" Priya calls out.
The room goes silent as everyone looks at her.
"Congratulations to everyone new who made it onto the teams, and welcome back to everyone else."
"May this year bring us joy and friendship," Harry continues.
"But more importantly let us see which House will triumph," Tatum interrupts.
"To Quidditch!" William shouts, holding up a cup of Butterbeer.
"To Quidditch!"
Tatum comes up to us.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to, we just thought we would show you this. This is kind of an annual party sort of thing though, so I recommend sticking around."
"No, this looks awesome," I reply. "What else do you use this for?"
"Mostly after big games, we come here to celebrate, but more often than not at least one person will be in here, either studying or just getting away from people. Sometimes we call random parties or meetings if we need to discuss anything, but it's mostly just like an extra room that's always open."
"Sounds cool," Anica comments.
Tatum grins.
"Go socialise. We might be rivals on the field, but in the castle, we're all friends. Get to know everyone."
With that, she leaves. Not a second later, Xander, Xandler and Bailey come up to us. I tense at the sight of Bailey, but otherwise don't react.
"Congratulations, all of you guys," Xander says, hugging Xinia. "You guys were amazing. I'm looking forward to playing with you," he adds, nodding to George.
He grins, holding his hand out.
"So am I. We haven't really been introduced. I'm George Jones."
Xander shakes his hand.
"Xander Ren."
George falters a little. He looks at Xinia.
"Your brother?"
She nods. George looks a little shaken but doesn't comment. Xandler holds his hand out next.
"Xandler Muply, nice to meet you properly."
George takes it, smiling. Xandler then turns to Xinia. He holds his arms out, and she hugs him.
"Missed you kiddo," he says.
"Yeah, we need to talk more," Xinia says.
I smile at Xandler, not knowing him as well as Xinia, before turning back to the group, only to see them looking at us in confusion. Xinia notices then introduces everyone.
"Guys, this is my brother Xander. He's Gryffindor Chaser with Xandler, one of his friends. This is Owen, Nick, Dylan, Kimmy, Ciena and Hailey," she finishes, pointing to each in turn.
"Kimmy got Chaser with me, and the rest of them - bar Ciena and Hailey - got reserves. The other two don't play."
"Nice to meet you all," Xander smiles at them.
"Hi Bailey," Hailey greets her fellow Hufflepuff.
"Hey Hailey," he replies, looking a little awkward.
"Oh, you're Gena's brother, aren't you?" Kimmy asks.
Everyone glances at me in apprehension, knowing my recent 'problems'.
"Yeah, I am," Bailey says nevertheless.
I try not to glare at him.
"I'm a Seeker for Hufflepuff."
"Well it was nice seeing you guys," I say. "I want to go meet everyone else."
I walk off, not waiting for the others. A couple of seconds later, Anica, Xinia and Ciena catch up with me.
"You alright?" Xinia asks.
"I'm fine. Things are just a little tense with us."
"I'm sure you'll sort it out," Ciena says.
"Maybe. Anyway, I wasn't lying. I want to get to know everyone."
We end up making it around to everyone bar the Slytherin team, and I learn their names, positions and a few things about them.
The three Chasers on the Hufflepuff team are all girls; Vivian and Sasha are in their seventh year and Yvonne in fifth. Wendy and Flynn are in their second year, and both of them are Beaters.
Julia, the third Chaser on the Gryffindor team, is a seventh year. The Beaters - Henry and Elijah - are sixth and seventh year, respectively.
The Ravenclaw Seeker, Tyrene, is a sixth year, and Peter and Cohen are the Beaters, and they're in their third year.
Finally, we meet the rest of the Slytherin team. Gerry is a sixth year, and I learn he is the Seeker. The new Chaser, Liam, is a second year, and the other one is Michael, a fifth-year like his twin Matthew.
We meet a few of everyone's friends until finally, we run into Wyrene. Things aren't as bad between us because she didn't know, but they're still a little weird. She introduces herself to the group as Slytherin Keeper.
Once we've met everyone, Wyrene pulls me aside.
"Look, I know you don't want to, but this needs to be sorted out," she says quietly. "I can't stand my brother and sister not getting along."
"I'm not your sister," I answer.
"Yes, you are, Gena," she hisses. "Maybe not biologically. But in everything but blood you are. That's why you need to fix this. We need to fix this."
I don't say anything. She tugs on my arm and makes me look at her.
"Please, Gena. I know we don't get along at the best of times. But you are my sister, and I can't stand you thinking you're not."
I sigh, knowing I can't win.
"Fine."
She smiles a little.
"Stay here," she tells me before walking off.
When she comes back, I spot Bailey in tow. I try to push down the bad feeling I get when I see him.
"Follow me," he says gently.
He leads us to a quiet place where no one else is. Then he turns around to face us. No one speaks for a minute. Finally, Bailey breaks the silence.
"This is getting ridiculous," he sighs. "Please, Gena, talk to us."
"I don't know what to talk about," I cry. "I found out that my parents aren't actually my parents and I have no idea who are. What more is there to it?"
"We can tell you're upset Gean," Wyrene says. "Please just talk to us."
"Fine," I whisper shout. "I'm angry as hell at them for not telling me. I'm upset because my whole life has been a lie. I'm confused because I don't know if I want to know who my birth parents are. I feel like crap because apparently, I wasn't good enough for them. I'm also annoyed because I don't hate them even though I'm angry."
Neither of them replies for a few seconds.
"That's not why they gave you up," Bailey says softly. "It's not because you weren't good enough."
"Then, why did they?"
"I - I can't tell you that."
"Of course you can't."
"You have no idea how much I fought Mum and Dad for what they did Gena," he cries. "You don't know how many times I wanted to tell you but physically couldn't. It kills me to see you like this. You're my baby sister, and it's my job to protect you. But all I've brought you is pain."
Guilt fills me at his words.
"Bailey, it's not your fault," I sigh. "They didn't let you tell me. Yes, I'm mad and upset and a hell of a lot of other emotions, but I don't blame you. You haven't brought me 'pain' big brother."
His eyes light up a little.
"So you admit I am your brother?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do. I hate fighting with you, and I'm sick of this. I'm still mad at Mum and Dad, but…"
"That's a problem for later," Wyrene says firmly.
I nod before pulling them into a hug. I let a few tears fall, happy that I'm finally at peace with them.
When I pull back, I wipe the tears away and smile up at my siblings.
"You did awesome today, by the way," Bailey smiles. "Congratulations."
"Yeah, I just can't wait to train with you every week," Wyrene jokes.
I punch her softly.
"Hey, I'm not thrilled about that aspect either."
She laughs, and the sombre mood is broken.
"Shall we go back in and celebrate?" Bailey asks.
"Definitely," I nod.
We enter the room to find everyone sitting in a circle around the room. They all look up when we come in. Upon spotting our smiling faces, Xinia speaks up.
"You ready to play a game or not?"
I grin as Anica and her move aside to make room for me. Bailey and Wyrene join the circle with their friends.
"What are we playing?" she asks.
"Haven't decided," Tatum answers. "It's a tie between Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle."
"Do both," Bailey suggests. "Whoever the bottle lands on has to either answer a Truth or do a Dare. Age-appropriate, of course."
"Good idea," Harry agrees. "Anyone have an empty bottle?"
"Yeah, here," Elijah yells in reply, throwing the bottle over to Harry.
"Okay, let's begin," Harry says as he places the bottle in the middle of the circle and spins it.
As the bottle spins, everyone is silent. I watch it pass Xander then Tatum until it finally stops on Flynn.
"I swear it's always me," he groans. "I chose Truth," he adds.
"Okay, I got this," Wendy starts. "Is the person you like in this room?"
Flynn goes a bright red before reluctantly nodding. I scan the faces in the room, noticing a range of emotions; from shock to disgust and interest in others.
Flynn quickly spins the bottle, obviously wanting to avoid more questions. It lands on Xandler.
"Yeah baby," he grins. "Dare."
Everyone laughs at his obvious choice. I expect Bailey or Xander to choose his dare, but to my surprise, Harry speaks up.
"Send a letter to Mum telling her Fred got onto the team. Deal with their reactions afterwards."
"You Hufflepuffs are terrible at dares," Xandler grins.
Harry shrugs.
"You won't be saying that when Fred's out to kill you and Mum sends a Howler."
"You overestimate our family, dear brother."
Xandler then spins the bottle and gets up to find his owl. The bottle turns for a few seconds before landing on Cohen. He picks Truth and the game continues, landing on Xander then Priya and Tatum until it lands on Wyrene.
"Truth."
"When are you planning on telling Mum and Dad about Jason?" Bailey asks, smirking.
Wyrene groans, shooting a glare at me. I shrug.
"I told you I would tell him."
"How do you know I haven't already told them?" she retorts.
I snort.
"The fact that there have been no Howlers in the Great Hall screaming about someone defiling their daughter."
Wyrene rolls her eyes.
"So Wy, you going to answer?" Bailey laughs.
"Sometime this year," she shrugs.
"That's not a proper answer!" Xander protests.
"I don't remember asking your opinion, Xandy," Wyrene says sarcastically.
"You must have memory problems then Reney," he pokes his tongue at her.
"Stay on your own side of the family," she complains. "Bailey's a big enough target, no need to torment me."
"Oh but there's so many of you I can torment," Xander smirks.
"Girls, girls, let's not fight," Xinia interrupts. "I believe it's your turn to spin the bottle Wyrene."
Xander glares at his sister for a moment before smiling once again.
Wyrene spins the bottle, and finally, it lands on one of our group. George, in particular.
"Dare," he says instantly.
"Always the Gryffindor," Kimmy mutters.
To everyone's surprise, Xander is the one to pick on him. He seems to be the only one that phases George, so no one protests.
"I dare you to run around one of the floors naked."
"I'll get in trouble if I get caught!"
Xander shrugs. Everyone bursts out laughing, and Xinia gives her brother a fist bump.
"Good one, big bro," she laughs.
"And I thought you were nice," George gives Xinia a dirty look.
"Who me?" she looks confused. "Never," she grins.
"If you back down I give you a worse one," Xander warns.
George groans, sighing in hesitation.
"Come on, are you too scared?" I taunt.
"Fine, I'll do it," George announces.
I grin. That was too easy.
"Who wants to make sure he does it?" I ask as George stands; starting to strip off his shirt.
"I don't think there's any want," Dylan jokes.
"Oh, I think there's plenty," George winks at him.
"Gross," Anica laughs. "Well, I nominate myself to not do it."
"Here here," I agree.
"Yeah, I'm out," Xander announces.
"You're the idiot that gave him the dare," Xinia argues.
"I never said I would watch him do it!"
"I've got an idea," Owen suggests. "Let's spin the bottle and whoever it lands on has to watch."
"Oh, come on," George rolls his eyes. "It's not that bad."
He continues to take his pants off, leaving him in just boxers.
"Hey, hey, leave the rest until you're outside thank you very much," I cover my eyes.
Beside me, Anica laughs as Xander gets up to spin the bottle. He gives it a good turn, and it spins for a few seconds. It starts to slow down a little before our group.
"Oh crap," Xinia mutters, noticing as well.
The bottle stops. The neck is pointed to the middle of Anica and me. Instantly, we look at each, identical expressions of horror on our faces.
"You're doing it," I say quickly.
"Absolutely not, it landed on you!"
"No, it didn't! It's in the middle of us. But it's closer to you."
"How can it be closer to you if it's in the middle of us?"
"Fine. It's just left of the middle."
"That's not fair. It didn't even land on me."
"Well, it didn't land on me."
"Shut up!" Xinia suddenly yells, effectively cutting us off. "Just go together. I don't trust either of you to make sure he does it alone. Better if it's both of you."
"No way!" we chorus.
"If we go, you're coming too," I decide. "I won't go if you don't."
"Neither," Anica agrees.
"No way!" Xinia complains. "It landed in between you two. Not me."
"I won't do it if all three of you don't come," George suddenly says.
Xinia stares at him. Well, glares. George just shrugs.
"You encouraged Xander to give me the dare."
"Wrong. I praised him on his choice after he had given it to you."
"Those are my terms."
The room is silent. Then, Xinia huffs before standing up.
"Fine. But you two are going to pay," she glares at Anica and me.
I grin, standing up as Anica does the same. George spins the bottle before leading the way out of the room.
"So how am I doing this?" George asks.
"Pick a floor and run around for two minutes. Naked," Anica says.
George nods before making a turn, leading us to the fourth floor.
"You've done your own investigating of the castle," I notice.
George looks at me in surprise.
"How do you know that?"
"The only things on the fourth floor are Professor Karl's office, a couple of bathrooms, and lots of secret passages. Perfect place."
George smirks, giving a nonchalant shrug.
"I don't want to get in trouble. I won't back down from a dare, but I'd rather have some free time after classes."
"We could always alert Karl," Xinia says.
"You wouldn't. He hates you."
"Just because I don't like History of Magic doesn't mean he hates me."
"It does when all you do is talk and not take notes."
"Woah, Xinia not taking notes?" Anica gasps.
"I do," she snaps.
Just then, we reach the place George wanted to start. We look away as he takes his boxers off, and when we look back at him, I keep my eyes firmly on his face.
"We're going to hide behind this column," Xinia starts. "You've got to stay where we can see you so we can make sure you do it properly. We'll call you back when two minutes is up."
George nods, not looking nervous at all. I roll my eyes before setting my watch.
"Alright, three, two, one, go."
He runs off, racing down the corridor. I try to keep my eyes on the top half of his body, but it's sort of hard when he's constantly running.
Thirty seconds in, I turn to the girls.
"This is boring. No one's here, he's not even going to get caught."
"I agree," Anica nods. "We should do something to make it more interesting."
We start brainstorming, barely watching George anymore. Suddenly, I get an idea.
"You two stay here," I whisper.
I walk away from them to the entrance of the corridor, making sure George doesn't see me, before morphing.
I feel myself growing taller, and my hair getting shorter, turning brown. I keep morphing until I finally stop, having thoroughly copied the sixth year Ravenclaw prefect I had met in McGonagall's office; Natalie Prin.
I'd recently discovered that I could change my clothes as well as make jewellery and whatnot appear on my body. My robes grow in size, and a Prefect badge appears on them, and my Slytherin tie turns blue and bronze.
I check my watch and discover George only has ten seconds left of his dare. I quickly set off down the corridor, putting my best glare on.
When I reach George, he doesn't notice me for a second. Then he turns and jumps a mile when he sees me.
"What are you doing?" I demand, glad my voice automatically changes when I morph into someone.
George doesn't speak; terror written all over his face. I fight to keep a grin away.
"It's past curfew, not to mention your lack of clothes. Are you insane? Twenty points from Gryffindor."
"How do you know I'm a Gryffindor?" George asks, snapping out of his panic.
"Only your lot would be stupid enough to do this," I quickly lie.
I know no points will actually be taken, but it's all for show. George eats it up.
"I've never been so disgusted with someone," I continue. "Put some clothes on and then we're going to find Professor Longbottom where he can punish you."
He nods, obviously too scared to fight. As I turn around, I can't hold back a smile as I spot Anica and Xinia peeking out from behind the stone column. Both of them are laughing their asses off, obviously enjoying the spectacle.
I won't actually bring him to Longbottom, I'm not that mean, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little bit of fun.
"Er - I don't have my clothes with me," George suddenly says.
"Well, where are they?"
"I - in my dormitory," he lies.
I turn back around to face him, a retort on my lips when I suddenly hear footsteps coming down the corridor. I'm about to morph back into myself and get the hell out of there, but the person comes too quickly.
I force a stern expression back on my face, masking my panic.
Natalie's a Prefect and has every right to be out patrolling the corridors and giving punishments to students out of bed.
I'm ready to explain the situation when I suddenly notice the person who came was none other than Professor Lupin. Crap. If anyone could tell I had morphed, it would be him.
Guess we're lying through our teeth. Great.
When he notices us, his eyebrows shoot up in confusion.
"Miss Prin, Mr Jones, what on earth are you doing?" he asks.
"Mr Jones here thought it would be funny to run around with no clothes on Professor," I say, putting on my best shit-eating voice.
"Care to explain yourself, Mr Jones?" Lupin asks.
He waves his wand, and suddenly clothes appear on George. I silently thank the Professor. It was getting hard to ignore.
George doesn't say anything, and Professor Lupin nods.
"No doubt this was just a ridiculous dare, so I won't take any points. But next time I catch you, I will."
I'm surprised at the lack of punishment, but my spirits fall when Lupin speaks next.
"Now, Gena, would you mind not using a Prefect in the future to scare one of your fellow students. Perhaps another student would do."
My mouth falls open in shock.
"Oh, and Miss Ren and Miss Wore, you can come out."
"How'd he know?" Anica complains as she walks out from the corner.
"Now I'd advise you to go back to your dormitories or the Quidditch Room before another teacher finds you out of bed. Oh, and please try to reduce the chaos that will surely come from this game."
With that, he walks away, leaving us to figure out what just happened. Before I can morph back, however, George turns to me.
"Did he call you Gena?"
I nod, morphing back to my usual look, grinning.
"The look on your face!" I gasp before bursting into laughter.
Anica and Xinia laugh with me until we all have tears in our eyes. George, however, doesn't look happy.
"You pranked me?" he asks incredulously.
"Duh. It was getting boring just watching you run around, so I decided to entertain myself."
"That wasn't funny! I almost shit my pants."
"What pants?" Anica asks before collapsing into laughter again, quickly followed by Xinia and me.
I clutch my stomach as a stitch begins to form, and I force myself to calm down.
"But seriously, Lupin's right. We should get back."
"How the hell did he know you were you?" Anica asks. "And how did he know me and Xin were hiding?"
"What I'm wondering is why we didn't get in trouble," Xinia says as we make our way back to the room.
"He probably heard you two laughing from a mile away," I say. "And he's a Hufflepuff. I don't think he can stand getting people in trouble."
"Didn't he give you your first detention?" George points out.
"I'm special," I smirk.
"How did he know it was you though?" Anica repeats.
I shrug, considering the question.
"Maybe I forgot some detail about Natalie that he noticed."
They believe me, but I consider it for a moment. I can't have forgotten anything. I've never failed to morph into someone properly before. Lupin must have recognised my mannerisms or something. Maybe my expressions.
Either way, I don't bother worrying about it as we find the Quidditch Room. When we walk in, everyone is laughing as Dean stands in the middle of the circle singing his heart out, which is to say, singing terribly.
He stops when he notices us, though, and everyone immediately questions us about the dare.
"Did you do it?"
"Did you get caught?"
"Were you looking at him the whole time?"
I glare at Liam for the last question.
"Yes I did it, no I didn't get caught - not really - and yes, they were totally staring at me," Geroge answers.
"We were not," we yell.
Everyone laughs except for Ciena.
"What do you mean you didn't really get caught?"
George glares at me.
"Well someone thought it would be funny to morph into a Prefect and pretend to get me in trouble."
"It was hilarious," Xinia says.
As we sit back down, Dean spins the bottle. It lands on Ciena, who picks Truth and answers Hailey's question, then Peter, followed by Henry who chooses dare, classic Gryffindor move. As the bottle spins again, it almost stops on me but turns a little further to land on Anica.
"Dare," she quickly announces.
I glance at Xinia, who gives a quick nod. I quickly try to think of one.
"Okay, Anica," I begin. "I dare you to hit on Professor Potter in the Great Hall."
"No!" Anica yells.
"Oh my god!" Ciena laughs.
"Wait, that's kinda intense," Xander states. "You're only twelve."
"Yeah, I have to agree," Harry says.
"You made George run around naked," Xinia protests.
"Touche," Xander relents.
"I did nothing with that. She's too young," Harry presses.
"Come off it bro," Xandler interrupts. "As Xander said, she's twelve. I have a feeling she's already done worse than this anyway," he adds with a smirk in our direction.
I give him an innocent look while Anica continues to look outraged.
"No, I agree with Harry," she protests.
"You're just saying that because you don't want to do it," Xinia points out. "Gena will just make it worse if you don't agree to it."
I can see Anica going through all the pros and cons before finally agreeing to do it tomorrow at breakfast.
Xinia and I cheer as Anica spins the bottle. It lands on Owen, and the game progresses.
A couple of spins later, the bottle lands on me.
"Dare," I pick after a few seconds.
"Wow, a Slytherin picking dare?" Cohen says sarcastically from across the circle.
"Did he just zone out when it landed on me?" Anica mutters to me.
I roll my eyes.
"So what's it going to be?" I challenge.
I look around the circle, checking to see if anyone wants to say something. My gaze lands on Bailey, then Wyrene, but they both hold their hands up - 'no'. I continue around the circle, getting no's from Kimmy, George and the rest of the group.
"Guess it's one of us then," Xinia jokes to Anica.
"You go," Anica says. "That leaves me to do you later."
I roll my eyes, knowing Xinia always does something embarrassing or stupid.
"Okay, dare, you say?"
She stays quiet for a bit, trying to pick the perfect dare. Xinia's face suddenly lights up, signally that she's got an excellent idea.
I raise my eyebrows.
"You ready?" she smirks.
"Yeah, whatever. It can't be that bad," I respond.
"Whatever," Xinia rolls her eyes. "Let me and Anica give you a makeover tomorrow, and you have to keep whatever we do for at least half the day."
"No way! I'm going to end up looking like that doll you used to have, Barbie," I groan.
Those of us who understand muggle references laugh while everyone else looks at her in confusion.
"Barbie is like this really popular girls doll, very pink and very overdone," Xinia explains.
"Well, you might not look like Barbie…" Anica trails off.
Anica laughs as I glare at both of them.
"Fine," I relent, knowing anything else they give me will be worse.
"Anyway, spin the bottle," Kimmy continues.
The game goes around a few more times before the bottle lands on Xinia.
"Truth, easy," she replies instantly.
"Wow, what a surprise," Anica mocks.
As I look around the circle, no one seems to know what to ask. For a moment, I think George is going to ask something, but he seems to change his mind when he spots me looking around.
"Anyone?" Xinia pushes, becoming impatient.
"What were you gonna ask George?" I ask in curiosity.
His cheeks go bright red.
"I wasn't going to ask anything," he mumbles.
I raise my eyebrows but let it go.
"Okay, I've got a good one," Anica says.
"Good, cause no one else has apparently," I laugh.
"Xinia," Anica begins. "What was your most embarrassing moment in public, and you have to re-enact it somewhere in the castle where it's crowded."
"Why do I have to re-enact it? I chose Truth, not Dare," Xinia protests.
"It's part of the Truth," Anica shrugs.
"Your despicable," Xinia sighs. "Fine, I'll re-enact it."
"Yeah, but what is it?" I ask.
"Can't you just figure it out for yourselves when I re-enact it?"
"So you'll do the dare but not the truth?" I roll my eyes.
Xinia glares at me then sighs.
"Fine. It was when I was nine. Keep in mind I'm a Muggleborn. We were just going about the day normally; it was a regular day in the muggle world. Mum and I and my best friend Wendy were out shopping in a shopping centre. It's basically just a big building with hundreds of stores. Anyway, while Mum was using the bathroom, Wendy and I were allowed to look in my favourite shop.
Muggles have this system where doors open automatically with a machine that senses someone's there. We thought the door was one of them. It turns out it wasn't, and we spent a good five minutes walking back and forth past the sensor, trying to get the door to open.
Eventually, Mum came back and saw us then went over to the door and pushed it open. Everyone in the store was laughing at us when we came in."
"How come I never heard about that!?" Xander cries.
Xinia shrugs.
"Wow, muggle technology is confusing, even for muggles," Kimmy jokes.
"Only for the not so smart ones," Xandler laughs. "Most people figure out after two or three tries whether a door is automatic or not. Xinia's just a bit special."
"You're muggleborn?" George asks him in surprise.
"Half-blood," Harry answers. "Our Mum is a wizard, but our dad is a muggle. Dad introduced us to a lot of muggle things."
"Yet somehow I'm a Ravenclaw, and you're not," Xinia wonders sarcastically to Xandler.
He hits her lightly on the shoulder. She laughs, as does the rest of the group.
"Should we wrap this up then?" William asks. "It's getting pretty late."
"Yeah, we should probably get back to our dormitories," Harry agrees.
Everyone agrees, and we clear out of the room. Tatum tells us the house elves will clean up any mess left by us, so we don't bother tidying up. I check my watch and see that it's quarter past eleven, so I know we have to be quick walking back.
"Now, I expect lots of interesting events to occur tomorrow," Xander says before we leave.
I poke my tongue out and flip him the finger.
We decide to go in year levels, starting with the first years. Our group are the only first years, so there's ten of us leaving. Just before we do, we bid goodbye to the various people we know before dashing off.
Owen, Nick, Dylan and George are the first to break off from the group, shortly followed by Kimmy, Ciena and Xinia. That leaves Anica, Hailey and me. We move as quickly as we can through the castle, finally making it to the dungeons. Hailey leaves just before we descend our steps, and she goes to find the ones that lead to the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories.
Anica and I slip down the steps and whisper the password to get in. When we do, we spot several people in older years still awake, but they don't acknowledge us. Everyone knows that curfew is just a guideline, and almost no one actually follows it.
We spot Kyle and Timothy still up, so we make our way over to them.
"Where have you guys been?" Kyle asks.
"Celebrating," I admit. "With everyone else who made it in."
Just as I say that Liam slips through the entrance, going off to talk to another second year. Wyrene shortly joins us, then Michael and finally Tatum and Gerry.
Anica and I continue to talk to the two boys before we decide to call it a night. We head down to our dormitories where we bid each other goodnight before heading to bed. That night I dream of Bludgers and Quaffles and of the day to come.
So I really hope you guys are still enjoying this story! I know with quarantine and everything I should probably be writing more, but I think I'm still going to update on a schedule. Sorry :(