Hey guys I'm rlly srry in advance for any spelling mistakes, grammar or general errors. I was in a huge rush 2 publish this so unfortunately didn't get time 2 proofread srry:( Anywy, here's the next chapter, hope u enjoy!
Chapter 3
Monday, 1st of September, 2031
Mum and Dad had spent half an hour lecturing me about my behaviour and actions yesterday, and the rest of the night unhappy with me, so I was somewhat happy to go back to school.
For the first time, all five of us kids were boarding the train, so it was understandably hectic this morning. Luckily for me, Mum and Dad seem to have temporarily let go of the argument from yesterday, so it's not all bad.
Everyone rushes around gathering books and quills and all sorts of things. Surprisingly, I'm ready first, so I grab my trunk and Studs' cage and lug everything downstairs.
"Now, I don't want you getting into any more trouble like last time," Mum warns me as soon as I sit down and I groan. "I'm serious, Genie. You're allowed to have fun, but if we get any more owls home telling us you've blown up the castle you'll be getting Howler's left, right and centre and you won't be allowed free time during the holidays."
"So I can do anything but blow up the castle?" I ask cheekily.
Dad snorts into his coffee to which Mum sends him a glare.
"No," she says sternly. "If we get anything from the school you will be grounded for the rest of your life. Do you understand me?"
I refrain from rolling my eyes and nod obediently, not at all concerned. She always exaggerates the punishments. It'll only be a few weeks I get grounded for, really.
"I also don't want you causing any more fights with Kimmy. Or Kylie or Scott for that matter," Mum continues.
"I don't cause fights!" I protest.
Both Mum and Dad raise their eyebrows at me.
"Oh come on. All I do is...express my opinions. In a way that aggravates certain people."
"Genie," Mum warns.
"All right, all right, I'll try not to get into massive trouble, and I won't actively start fights. That's the best you're getting out of me."
My parents sigh but take it as a win. Just then, Bailey and Wyrene come down the stairs bickering about something I can't be bothered listening to. For a fleeting moment, I think the lecture is over, but then Dad calls them over to sit down next to me, and I groan.
"What now?" I mutter.
"Hush," Mum chides. "Now, as you know, your brothers are starting this year."
"Yes, we know, Mum. It's not like that's all you two have been going on about the whole holidays or anything," Wyrene interrupts, rolling her eyes.
"I expect the three of you to be on your best behaviour. Especially you two," Dad narrows his eyes at Wyrene and me. "The twins need good role models, not bad influences."
"Pfft," I scoff. "If anything, they'll be the role models. Besides, that's what Bailey's for."
"You know it wouldn't kill the two of you to be responsible for once," Bailey comments dryly.
"Oh, shove off, Prefect," Wyrene complains. "Just because you and your girlfriend got Prefects -"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Bailey cries, and I wince as it sends shooting pains through my head.
"Oh really?" Wyrene counters. "Because owling each other every day and even going so far as to buy muggle phones to communicate with isn't classified as dating?"
"Nicole is not my girlfriend!" Bailey protests, although the blush staining his cheeks suggests otherwise.
"Children!" Mum interrupts exasperatedly. "Stop arguing."
"Please," I add, rubbing my temples. "I'm getting a headache."
"Are you alright, Genie?" Dad asks worriedly.
My voice must have given something away. I wave him off, subtly glancing at my wrist as I do. Yup, that explained it. The glow hadn't dimmed from yesterday. If anything, it had gotten brighter. I sigh as I prepare for yet another long day.
"I'm fine," I reassure him. "As long as these two gits," I jerk my thumb at my older siblings, "Stop arguing."
Bailey pokes his tongue out at me, and Wyrene rolls her eyes. Thankfully, however, Quinn and Jamie choose that moment to journey downstairs. Almost immediately, Mum and Dad forget about us as they start doting over the twins.
Bailey gets up to take over breakfast, and pretty quickly, a full cooked breakfast sits in front of me at the dining table. We eat quickly and before I know it we're driving off to Kings Cross.
When we arrive, we force our way through the thick crowds to the magical barrier. I race through it first with a grin and then run off to look for my friends. I hear Mum shouting after me as she comes through next and I slow down a little, still searching for Xinia or the twins.
I spot Xinia first, her flaming hair like a beacon amongst the crowd and I race over, greeting her parents and Xander. The only reminder of our fight yesterday is her slightly tense smile, but I ignore it for the time being.
"Hey Gena," she greets. "I got you something."
I frown as she digs around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a huge mix bag of Cadbury chocolate.
"Is that my favourite muggle candy I was asking for on Saturday?" I exclaim.
She nods with a grin and holds it out for me to take. I let out an undignified squeal and hug Xinia quickly before taking it.
"Thank you so much!" I cry. "Thank you thank you thank you. I'm sorry for everything wrong I've ever done to you. I'll be the perfect friend, I swear!"
Xinia laughs.
"That's what I thought. Now, are we good?"
"We're good," I nod, already munching on the snack.
Before long, we're joined by Anica and Ciena. I'm slightly surprised that Ruth and Warren hadn't dragged Finn along, but I don't comment. Nick and Dylan soon join us. George finds us a little later with a noticeably absent Kimmy. I see Ciena slump slightly upon noticing but a moment later she's grinning again.
Just then, a whistle from the train informs us it'll be leaving in five minutes. I glance around and spot Mum and Dad fussing over the twins and quietly excuse myself from the group. I walk over and drape my arms over Quinn and Jamie's shoulders.
"Finished harassing them yet?" I cock an eyebrow at my parents.
They huff but reach forward to wrap all three of us in a hug.
"Ugh, let me go," I struggle to pull out their grip.
They let me go with an affectionate ruffle of my hair to which I frown. A moment later Wyrene and Bailey join us in bidding goodbye to our parents. Then another whistle informs us we have two minutes.
"Alright, you five," Mum says. "Be good. Look after each other. Keep the boys out of your shenanigans girls," she gives Wyrene and I a stern glare.
We nod obediently before they finally release us.
"Love you kids," Dad calls out as we board the train.
"Love you, Dad," we chorus back.
"What about me?"
"Love you too, Mum."
She grins. The older two separate from us, leaving Quinn and Jamie in my wake.
"Can I trust you two to find friends?" I raise my eyebrows at them.
They nod nervously. I give them both quick hugs before ruffling their hair.
"You'll be fine. Don't worry."
With a final reassuring smile, I leave them be and find the group. I find them in one of the bigger compartments. All of our parents were standing in front of the window it had. They all wave and call goodbye as the train slowly starts to move.
"Be good, Amokinum!" is the final thing I hear from Ruth before we turn the corner.
We retreat into the compartment where the boys are looking at us in confusion.
"Amokinum?" George asks.
"Long story," I wave dismissively.
"It's really not," Ciena points out.
"Shush," I laugh. "I like keeping them in the dark."
She just rolls her eyes.
"Come on," Anica complains. "Don't I get any recognition for my awesome naming skills?"
"No, because technically it's because of me that you came up with it," I counter.
"Was not!"
"Was so! I pressured you into coming up with something."
"Yeah, but I still came up with it!"
"Girls!" comes Xinia's exasperated shout. "We get it. You both want recognition. Too bad. Cause it's not going to become a thing."
"Aww, but I kinda like it," I whine.
"Is anybody going to explain this to us?" Nick asks.
"Or are we supposed to just figure it out?" Dylan finishes.
"Figure it out," the four of us chorus.
"Rude," George comments lightly.
We ignore him and move the conversation along. We fill the time with conversation and laughter until night begins to fall. That's when Parkinson decides to be a prick.
I hear him and his gang approaching about four compartments before ours. I groan before peaking out of the door. Sure enough, he, Susie, Penny, Zabini and Pucey are terrorising the other second and first years around us. I sigh before falling back into my seat, remembering my parent's words.
"Don't cause fights, my arse," I mutter under my breath.
Everyone looks at me in confusion.
"Parkinson," I grunt for their benefit.
They all let out a collective groan. George gets up, ignoring Ciena's protests and opens the door.
"Oi, Parkinson," he calls out.
Well, technically I didn't start the fight, I think with a grin before getting up and standing next to him.
"What do you want, Jones?" Parkinson sneers. "Eager to see me, are you?"
"You wish," George snorts. "Stop terrorising the newbies. Pick on someone your own size."
"Oh like you? Sure," he grins.
"Your own size Parkinson," I smirk. "Last I checked you weren't 5'2"."
Parkinson's sneer falls into a look of hatred.
"Yeah well, neither are you."
"Not the point idiot," Dylan says, joining us.
"Besides, I could be, if I wanted," my grin grows as I begin to match George's height.
Parkinson scowls.
"At least I'm not a freak."
A while ago I would've been offended, but now I just rolled my eyes.
"Can't you find some new material for your comebacks? They're getting old."
Before Parkinson can even open his mouth, Bailey seems to materialise out of nowhere.
"What's going on here?" he asks, his Prefect badge blatantly obvious.
Parkinson obviously notices because he refrains from sneering at my brother.
"Nothing, Dinnick. Move along."
Bailey glances at me, and I roll my eyes again before nodding. As much as I appreciated having him there, it was going to get a little annoying if he was always going to step in.
"Watch yourself, Mr Parkinson," Bailey warns before striding off.
Parkinson gives him a dirty look which he doesn't see before huffing and striding away, his group in tow.
"Merlin, I'm already sick of him, and it's not even been a day," I sigh.
"All of you just need to ignore him," Ciena lectures. "The reason he continues to bully people is that it gets a reaction out of you."
"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Anica retorts. "Just let him bully people?"
"No, but you don't need to go picking fights."
"You sound like Mum," I groan, falling back onto the compartment seat. "We don't pick fights. Parkinson does. We just don't stand for his crap."
"Just let it go, guys," Xinia interrupts. "We need to get ready for the feast anyway. We'll be there soon."
The subject is dropped, and we change into our robes and gather the loose belongings we had scattered about the compartment.
"I'm so excited to have little Dinnicks in my house!" Xinia squeals as the train pulls to a stop.
"Dang, poor Gryffindors. They completely miss out," Anica laughs.
"Meh. They got my parents," I shrug.
The train doors open and everyone begins to pile out. Amongst the group of first years, I spot Quinn and Jamie talking to a blonde-haired boy and a boy and a girl with black hair. I give my brothers a quick thumbs-up before we leave to find the carriages that bring us up to the castle. The journey is short, and we pile out once we arrive and enter the doors to the castle.
I can't help a grin forming on my face as I take in the school. It seemed like forever ago when I saw it last. The magnificent turrets and towers stood proudly against the stone walls, and there was the unmistakable feel of magic all around us.
Walking into the Great Hall felt different, but probably because a year ago, the room was already full, and I had never been here before. It was nice to be back. It felt like my second home. Also, my parents wouldn't be annoying me about my behaviour all the time. Not that I didn't love them, of course.
We had to separate into our houses for the feast, so Anica and I walked along the Slytherin table where we found Tim and Kyle. I grinned when I spotted them, and we sat down across from them and pretty soon we were immersed in our own conversation.
The chatter of the Hall was a little overwhelming, especially to my sensitive ears, so I tried to block it out as much as possible.
At the Staff Table McGonagall sat at the head with an empty seat on one side of her that I knew belonged to Professor Longbottom. Next to where he would be sat Potter, Malfoy, Lupin and Weasley. On the other side was Karl (History of Magic), Numen (Astrology), Patil, Coach Wood, and the rest were all Professors I didn't recognise, who must teach the older subjects.
The Hall became silent when the doors opened, and Longbottom strode through with the first years trailing behind him. As they walked past us, I grinned widely at the twins and their new friends.
"Five galleons they're in Ravenclaw," I bet Anica.
She snorts.
"No way. Make the bet with Tim or Kyle. I'm not that stupid."
"Oi, Tim. Five galleons my brothers are in Ravenclaw."
"And lose? No thank you."
I groaned—curse my loudmouth for probably telling them last year what house the twins would be in. I was cut short however when the Hat burst into a song. I found myself humming along to the tune and sighed when I knew it would be in my head for the rest of the night.
Then the Sorting began.
One by one, the students were called out, and slowly the tables started to fill up with the new students. I recognise a few surnames as they're called, and clap when the Hat calls out their house. I can tell the twins are nervous, and I remember how I felt last year. Unfortunately, our names were towards the beginning of the list, so that made it all the more daunting.
Two students had already been sorted into Slytherin before "Dinnick, Jamie," was called.
I see Jamie glance at Quinn, who gives him a reassuring smile and a 'good luck'. As Jamie walks up, it's evident to all that he is anxious. Looking at Quinn, he has an identical look on his face, and I see his fingers crossed behind his back. Jamie walks up the steps and sits down on the stool.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat calls as soon as Longbottom places it on his head.
A relieved smile breaks out on his face, and I clap and cheer wildly as he joins the Ravenclaw table. I see Xinia moving aside to make room for him, and I notice she subtly gestures for Ciena to move down even more, leaving more than enough room for another person. I grin and turn my head towards the Sorting as "Dinnick, Quinn," is called.
With a glance towards his twin, Quinn takes a deep breath before starting up the steps. He looks even more worried than Jamie did. He takes a seat on the stool and Longbottom places the hat on his head. This time, the Hat doesn't sort him straight away. My heart stops as I spot the terrified look on Jamie's face; the Hat too big for me to see Quinn's.
"You're a Ravenclaw, but, you have the potential for Slytherin. What do you want?" I suddenly hear the hat quietly say to Quinn.
To my shock, Quinn doesn't answer right away. He considers it, but it's clear that he definitely wouldn't fit here.
"Ravenclaw, please," he whispers, and I let out a sigh of relief.
I didn't care where he was put, but I knew it would kill Jamie if Quinn wasn't in the same house as him. That was obvious by the look on his face. He was clutching Xinia's arm tightly and I could see his chest rising and falling quickly.
"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat announces to the Hall.
The relief on Jamie's face is instantaneous, and I let out a breathy laugh as I cheer. Quinn hops off the stool and races over to the table next to Jamie, who hugs him tightly. As the next person is called, I see them whispering to each other before Jamie smiles, and they turn towards the Sorting.
As it continued, I saw the two black haired kids the twins were talking to getting more and more anxious until finally "Fairwood, Cameron," is called and the boy walks forward.
Only a little bit of time passes before the hat calls out, "SLYTHERIN!" and he joins our table.
I cheer for him as "Fairwood, Isabella," is called.
I can't help but laugh as I realise Jamie and Quinn had probably found the only other twins in their year and become friends with them.
Isabella, the black-haired girl, walks forward and the Hat stays silent for about a minute before calling out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
I see Cameron slump slightly, but he still cheers for his sister as she sits next to a fellow Hufflepuff.
The Sorting continues, and I don't pay attention. The blonde boy I had noticed before gets sorted into Ravenclaw, something both Quinn and Jamie look happy about, and Ursula's younger sister becomes a Gryffindor. A few more people join Slytherin and then finally, the sorting finishes. McGonagall stands to give her start of year speech.
"Good evening, students, and welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday and are ready to start a new school year. I have a few announcements to make, so please stay quiet.
First of all, my office and Ravenclaw tower were fixed up after the incident last year, so Ravenclaw's, please do not fret."
McGonagall's eyes rake over Anica and me, and we share a glance and bite back a smile while all the Ravenclaws give the rest of the Hall nasty looks. I don't look at Xinia, so I can't see her reaction.
"Next, Quidditch try-outs will be held in the third week of term," after that I stopped listening, having heard everything last year. That is, until McGonagall concludes. "Lastly, I would like to report that this will be my final year at Hogwarts for I will be retiring."
Everyone seems to be kind of shocked by this statement. I knew she was old, but I didn't think she was going to be retiring this soon.
"I am pleased to announce, however, that Professor Longbottom will be taking my place next year and I hope that he will hold this position as proudly as myself. Thank you, and you may begin the feast."
Still in shock from her announcement, it takes a good few minutes before everyone starts talking and eating. At the table, everyone seems to be wanting to speak to Tim.
"Is it going to be weird with your grandfather as Headmaster?"
"Do you reckon you'll be able to get out of detentions?"
"Can you put in a good word for Slytherin?"
At every question, Tim seems to grow more and more uncomfortable.
"Guys shove off," I call out, glaring at everyone. "Save the questions for next year, will you?"
They have the decency to stop questioning him, and he gives me a grateful smile.
"Thanks, Gena."
"No problem," I shrug. "Although I have to ask…" I trail off with a grin. "Reckon you could get him to -"
"No way," Tim cuts me off sternly. "I am not pulling any strings for you."
I mock pout, and he just smirks.
When the feast ends, Leanne and Thomas - the fifth year prefects - stand up and usher the first years over to them while Naomi and John - sixth year - and Ruby and Riley - seventh year - lead the rest of the house to the dungeons.
"Password is Parseltongue," Riley tells us. "Keep an eye on the notices for when it changes."
The wall slides open, and we enter the Common Room. Some people go straight off to their dormitories, but our small group stays out, and we sit down in one of the corners with a few armchairs. A couple of minutes later, the first years traipse in, oohing and ahhing at everything in the room. All up, there's four girls and five boys. Among them, I recognised the black-haired boy the twins had been speaking to; Cameron, I think.
Leanne and Thomas give them a few directions and half of them immediately go down to their dorms, but the other four, including Cameron, stay in the Common Room. Two girls and two boys, the other boy pairs up with the black-haired girl, leaving Cameron and a blonde girl.
They glance around the Common Room, but no one seems to pay them any mind. Feeling a little sorry for them, I call out.
"Hey, Cameron!"
He swings around at his name, looking extremely confused. I wave him and the girl over. They glance at each other and then shrug, walking over slightly hesitantly.
"You know my name?" Cameron asks me nervously.
I nod.
"You were talking to my younger brothers, Quinn and Jamie?"
Recognition fills his expression.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, hi."
"Hey. I'm Gena. This is Anica, Tim and Kyle," I gesture towards the others. "We're second years."
"Nice to meet you all," the girl grins. "I'm Leah."
"Cool," Anica says. "So what do you think of Hogwarts so far?"
It takes a little for them to warm up to us, but eventually, they do, and the six of us talk until we start to get tired. Tim and Kyle leave first, and then so does Leah. Anica and I talk with Cameron for a little longer, before he too stands up yawning, and bids us goodnight.
"I'm so happy the boys got into the same house," I turn to Anica.
"What do you mean? They both obviously belong in Ravenclaw."
"I mean, the Sorting Hat said Quinn could be in Slytherin if he wanted."
Anica looks at me confused for a moment, so I show her my wrist. It's glowing pretty brightly, so my senses are on a high.
"Imagine if he wanted to be in Slytherin, it would have broken Jamie," Anica comments.
"I know, I was freaking out cause I could see how worried Jamie was."
"Oh well, doesn't matter anymore," Anica shrugs.
I nod.
"Are you tired?" I ask.
"Not really. Are you?"
I shake my head.
"I don't feel like sleeping right now. What should we do?"
"Not try to blow up Ravenclaw Common Room for one," she jokes.
"Really? I was so looking forward to that?" I grin sarcastically. "Ohh, do you reckon we could go for Gryffindor Tower this time?"
Anica just laughs and shakes her head. I glance around the room, noting that only a few people are still up. Damn.
"I was gonna suggest we use the passage, but those buggers are still up," I complain.
"We can just wait," Anica suggests.
"It's already almost midnight. I don't really feel like waiting much longer."
"Well that what do you suggest we do?"
Before I can answer, however, Naomi stands up and heads for us. I groan quietly, nudging Anica as I realise the only people left are the Prefects.
"I suggest you two go to bed," Naomi says, having overheard Anica.
"We're not tired," Anica protests.
"Well, we are," John says, joining his fellow Prefect.
"So?" I ask. "You don't have to babysit us."
"Actually, Professor Malfoy suggested to keep an eye on you two after what happened last year," Ruby says.
"Come on, that's not fair," I groan. "Plenty of people get in trouble all the time, but they don't get babysat."
"Because no one is stupid enough to blow up Ravenclaw Tower," Riley points out.
I glare at the six Prefects around us. None of them seems particularly happy about this either.
"Whatever. Come on, Gena," Anica sighs.
"No way! If we're getting babysitted, I'm not making it easy."
"You know, only you are making this a babysitting thing," Thomas says. "We call it being Prefects."
"Babysat," Anica suddenly corrects.
"Excuse me? Did you just correct me? What the hell?" I exclaim.
Anica's eyes widen in shock, having just realised what she did.
"Oh my God! Yuck! I've been around my sisters too long!"
"Ahem," Leanne interrupts. "That's all so sad. Now go to bed."
"Are you going to make us?" I challenge.
"We won't, but Malfoy can," Riley raises his eyebrows at me.
"What were his exact words?" I ask. "Did he tell you to watch us until we go to bed? Or just, 'keep an eye on them?'"
"It doesn't matter what he said," Ruby interrupts a retort from Riley. "What matters is that you two are going to bed now, whether you like it or not."
"Spoilsport," I mutter. "Fine. We'll go," I hold my hands up in mock surrender.
Anica follows behind me as we head to our dorm. I slowly open the door in the hopes of not waking the others, and we sneak in.
"Bloody hell, I hate those Prefects," I whisper shout.
"I definitely don't want to or need to become one," Anica nods.
"Oh, don't say that," I wince. "Now all I can imagine is Xinia being one and taking points and giving us detentions for the smallest things."
"Can they even give us detentions?" Anica asks.
"I don't want to find out."
"Yes, yes, that's all fun and games, now go to sleep," I suddenly hear Nicole groan from her bed.
"Sorry," we whisper.
It doesn't take too long to fall asleep, but Anica is still sleeping before me.
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2031
It doesn't seem like long before I am being shaken awake by Wyrene.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" I yell, annoyed at having been woken up at this ungodly hour.
"Want to wake up the newbies?" she ignores me.
"What time is it?" I groan.
"I don't know," Anica answers. "But it's probably time to get up anyway."
I groan as I pull myself up out of bed. As Anica makes herself presentable, I suddenly remember something.
"Oh!" I cry. "Happy birthday! Sorry, I only just actually woke up."
She grins.
"That's fine. Thank you."
"I'll give you your present later," I tell her, grinning inwardly as I remember my plan.
"Cute, cute," Wyrene rolls her eyes. "Now let's get going."
I'm already in my uniform as Wyrene's group and my dorm walk through the first year's door.
"Wake up!" we scream, and Wyrene sets off a few sparks and bangs from her wand.
They all instantly sit up in shock, some looking angrier than others.
"Welcome small children," Wyrene greets, ignoring the glares she receives. "I'm Wyrene, I am a fourth-year, and we are here to learn more about you guys."
"We'll go around saying our names, our family here and an interesting fact about ourselves. I'll go first," Sally says, repeating something similar to last year. "Hi everyone, I'm Sally Grace, I have a younger sister in third year, also Slytherin, Petrie, and a younger brother who hasn't started Hogwarts, Micheal. An interesting thing about me is that I can't stand the smell of pumpkin cooking. Your turn, Anica!"
"Hey, my name is Anica Wore. I have an older brother who graduated last year. I'm a twin, but kind of a triplet, which leads me to my interesting fact, which is that I'm a spiritual triplet. Ciena Wore and Xinia Ren are my sisters, they're both in Ravenclaw, and it's our birthday today," she says.
She gets a few 'Happy Birthday's.'
We continue around until we get to me.
"Hi, I'm Gena Dinnick. Wyrene is my sister. I have an older brother in Hufflepuff, Bailey, and twin brothers in your year, Ravenclaw, Jamie and Quinn. Which means you better be nice to them. An interesting thing about me is that I'm a Metamorphmagus," I support that by changing my hair from red to blue through to green then back.
The first-year Leah then goes.
"Hello, my name is Leah Mattingham, um, I have a younger sister who is a squib and an interesting fact about me is that I'm the first Slytherin in my family for over seven or eight generations."
The other three introduce themselves as Josephine, Ashleigh and Victoria. Once the introductions are over, we give them a few instructions and some advice before heading out into the Common Room.
When we get there though, I see Parkinson's group laughing and smirking in the middle of a crowd. When they see us, they smirk even wider.
"Hey, Dinnick!" Parkinson calls out, causing everyone's attention to fall onto me. "Where's your boyfriend?"
I frown, looking at him in confusion.
"Boyfriend?" Anica snorts beside me, obviously uncaring of the eyes on us. "As if Gena has a boyfriend."
I shove her, rolling my eyes.
"What are you talking about Parkinson?"
Only then do I notice that Tim and Kyle are suspiciously absent. There'd been a few instances like this where Parkinson would harass Anica and me, and more often than not the boys would always stand with us and fire back. But looking around the room now, they were nowhere to be seen. Anica seemed to notice as well and gave me a worried look.
I look back at Parkinson and see him waving his hands around while talking, with Zabini and Pucey occasionally piping in. A feeling of dread settles in my stomach as I spot Cameron walking towards us with a tense expression.
"I heard shouts coming from their dorm when I came down," he tells us. "I think your friends, Tim and Kyle, got on the wrong side of their lot this morning."
"Oh no," Anica mutters as I thank him before heading towards the boy's dormitories.
"Tim! Kyle!" I call out, not sure which one is theirs.
"Gena? In here!" I hear Kyle call back.
I follow their shouts into their room and freeze in my tracks when I see them. And the room.
It looked like a bomb had gone off in the room, except it had only targeted two of the beds, which I presumed were the boys.
Clothes and textbooks were strewn across the beds, and the beds themselves had been practically torn apart. Green curtains were lying in pieces around the mattresses, and the silken sheets had scratches and scorch marks all over them.
"Where are you?" Anica asks, looking around the room.
"Up here," Tim cries.
My eyebrows pull together as I look up at the ceiling, blinking several times to comprehend what I'm seeing.
Both boys seemed to be stuck to the ceiling with some sort of spell. But that wasn't what surprised me. What surprised me was the pink, goop like substance that covered them from head to toe.
To make it worse, both of them were shirtless and wearing only sleep shorts, and the pink stuff seemed to be painful.
"Are you okay?" Anica asks.
"Just peachy. Happy Birthday by the way," Kyle answers half sarcastically.
"Please do something," Tim interrupts, sounding desperate.
I glance at Anica, unsure of what to do.
"Go get Malfoy," she tells me. "I'll stay here to make sure Parkinson doesn't do anything else."
"Okay. Try not to make it worse," I say. "I'll be back as soon as possible."
I race out of the dormitory and past the cackling boys out of the Common Room. Deciding Malfoy's office, which led into his private quarters, was the best bet, I headed there.
Only once I had banged on the door several times did I realise it was still relatively early in the morning, and Malfoy most likely wouldn't appreciate the disturbance. I shoved that aside, though, as I thought of the boys.
"Professor!" I called out as he still hadn't answered. "I need your help!"
Just as I'm about to knock again, the door opens, and I find myself staring up at Professor Potter. Wait. What?
"Professor?" I ask in confusion.
"Gena? What are you doing awake?" he asks blearily.
I notice his hair is messy, and he has crust in his eyes. I had probably woken him up. Oh well. Just then I realise that duh, of course, Potter would be here because he's married to Malfoy.
"Um, I was looking for Professor Malfoy," I say, feeling a little awkward. "There's a problem in the boy's dormitories."
He looks at me a little confused.
"What sort of problem?"
"Well, Tim and Kyle are kinda stuck to the roof," I say.
His eyes widen before he gestures for me to wait a minute. He closes the door, but that doesn't stop me from overhearing their conversation.
"Scorp, you need to get out of bed."
"I don't want to," Malfoy groans and I can't help but chuckle.
"Gena's at the door," Potter tells him.
"I swear if she's here to tell me they've blown up Gryffindor Tower next, I'm going to kill someone. Probably her. Collateral damage, you know."
"She's not. Well, I don't think she is. Also, not only would that land you in Azkaban, you wouldn't. Now get your lazy arse out of bed. The snakes are being stupid."
I hear a bit of scuffling again as Malfoy groans.
"I swear we weren't that stupid when we were younger. Tell me we weren't."
"Just hurry up!"
Malfoy finally stops complaining, and I hear a bit of scuffling and something that sounds suspiciously like a kiss, which I decide to ignore, before the door opens.
"Miss Dinnick, what's wrong?" Malfoy asks as he steps out.
"Tim and Kyle are stuck to the roof with some pink stuff," I answer, pretending as if I hadn't just heard him jokingly threaten to kill me. "Parkinson and his group did it. The boys are in pain, so I'm guessing the pink stuff is hurting them."
His eyes widen as he hastily calls goodbye to Potter before beginning the walk to the Common Room.
"I left Anica with them. Hopefully, she hasn't made it worse," I say.
He speeds up, and I have to lengthen my strides to match his. As we enter the Common Room, I can hear yelling from outside the boy's dorm.
"GENA LILY DINNICK HURRY UP!" Anica screams.
I glance at Malfoy with wide eyes before running in to find Anica not standing there waiting where I left her.
"Oh thank Merlin! Please get us out of this Professor!"
I close my eyes and pray to all the wizards and gods above that it wasn't Anica from above me. But of course, as I open my eyes and look up, it is.
"Of freaking course," I sigh.
"Miss Wore, what are you doing up there?"
"Well, umm, I was trying to help the boys by like umm, pulling the stuff off, but it like, stuck to my arm and then next thing I know, I'm up on the roof."
"Uncle Scorp, please do something this is really starting to hurt!" Tim cries.
The Uncle comment takes me by surprise for a moment. I knew they were close, but Tim had never been personal around any of the Professors before. He had told me his grandfather, Professor Longbottom, was Professor Potter's godfather and their families were pretty close, so it didn't seem too weird when he told me. Admittedly, I didn't really understand, but, oh well.
I was snapped back into reality by Malfoy as he started waving his wand. Less than a minute later, all three of them were safely on the ground, and the goo had stopped burning. Unfortunately, it was still on them. Some parts had fallen off, which left them covered in pink splotches across their body. The bare patches of skin I could see were slightly red and irritated, which Malfoy fixed with another flick of his wand.
"Are you alright now?" he asks, concern lacing his voice.
They nodded, albeit with hesitation.
"I don't suppose you could get this goo off Professor?" Anica asks, holding up her fluorescent hand.
He shakes his head with a frown.
"Nothing seems to be getting rid of it. Why don't you try and have a shower while I have a chat with Mr Parkinson?" he suggests, his tone hardening.
With that, he turns on his heel and strides out of the room. I turn back to the other three.
"What happened?" I ask.
"We're not really sure," Kyle says. "One minute we were sleeping, the next there was a bang, and things were flying everywhere."
"Then we were suddenly stuck to the roof with this stuff on us," Tim continues, gesturing to the goo. "It didn't hurt at first, but then it got itchy and started to burn."
"Thank Merlin you got Malfoy in time," Kyle says, smiling a little at me.
"Yeah, well, I just hope he gives Parkinson hell," I answer.
A beat of silence follows before I speak again.
"Well, you should try and get it off in the shower as Malfoy suggested. I'll come with you Anica, so nobody gives you a hard time."
"You know this isn't exactly how I planned my birthday morning," she jokes as we leave. "I thought maybe I'd sleep in and not have to go to classes."
I snort.
"Yeah, right."
Luckily everyone seems to be down in the Common Room, so we don't encounter anyone on the way back to our dorm. Anica gets in the shower, and I gather my things for the day before calling out to her.
"I'm going up to the Common Room to see what's going on," I shout over the spray of water. "Is the goo coming off?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'll see you later," comes her reply.
I take my time walking to the Common room, having been able to hear everything the whole time anyway.
"Professor! That is a ridiculous accusation! I would never do that to them. Dinnick has to be lying," I hear Parkison lie as I walk in.
"I then supposed Mr Varker, Longbottom and Miss Wore must be lying as well?"
"Clearly! They just want me to get into trouble."
"Suppose that's true, Mr Parkinson, how do you suggest the boys got up there in the first place? And what, pray tell, happened to their belongings?"
"How am I supposed to know, Sir? I was sleeping, and then I heard yelling. I didn't see what happened?"
"Well, did you try to help them? Did you ask a Prefect or someone older? Did you send anyone to get me?"
Parkinson hesitates, and that's enough for Malfoy.
"Ten points from Slytherin for lying to me, and five from each of you for pulling this ridiculous stunt," he declares.
As I emerge into the Common Room, I see Zabini and Pucey looking enraged as Malfoy takes points from them. I smirk. Malfoy then turns to the whole room.
"Now I suggest all of you smarten up your act. The school year hasn't even begun, and we've already lost 85 points."
"85 points?" everyone shouts.
"What happened?"
"Who the hell did that?"
A bunch of other shouts sound, just as I spot Anica entering the Common Room, a slight pink tinge engulfing her. Her eyes widen as she hears the screams. Malfoy turns to us and raises his eyebrow before exiting. I turn to Anica.
"Let's go, shall we?"
She nods, having heard some of the shouts. We slip out of the Common Room, unnoticed by almost everyone.
Also quick note, ik the sorting hat thing is more like the movie than the books but this is fanfiction so i can do whatever i want:)