Before she even noticed the holiday was over, the steps for the Animagus ritual burned in her mind and the hallways of Hogwarts filled with students.
It was clear that a lot of students weren't very pleased to be returning. Going from their safe and comfortable home to the castle where there was a chance of another attack did seem to bring down the usual spirit of coming back from holiday.
Looking through her telescopes in the first Astronomy lesson of the new term, the weather freezing and little clouds rising up at her every breath, she overheard a conversation between the Gryffindors of her year, more specifically between Towler and a few of his friends.
"Ken, stop complaining, we are not going to let you walk alone." A boy, who was wearing what seemed like three layers of robes, frowned at Towler. "We stand stronger in a group."
"Yes, but I'm the only one putting everyone in danger." Towler hissed, his eyes flickering to Professor Sinistra, who was making rounds and inspecting everyone's star chart. "Without me, you'll all be safe. No one else is a muggleborn."
"We don't care. We take care of…" The boy fell silent when Sinistra walked by, hurriedly bending over his parchment.
They waited until she moved far enough to be out of earshot.
"We take care of each other." He continued softly. "We said so at the beginning of the year and we will keep doing so. No one is chickening out."
They continued whispering, but a voice coming from her left had her distracted.
"When you are done, Miss Black, you can leave." Professor Sinistra was looking at her star chart. "You know I don't like keeping students out of their beds for longer than necessary."
Glancing down at her star chart it did seem that, while listening to the Gryffindors conversation, she had automatically sketched in the remaining constellations.
Nodding at the Professor, she started to pack her bag as slowly as possible, looking at Cassius and Liz who were still drawing. They were clearly busy, hissing to each other every few seconds, probably still going on with the discussion they had during dinner.
She quickly decided to take the longer route, opting to wait at the dungeon entrance for them. They had already decided to stay awake the rest of the night to write essays and catch up on their holiday, but sitting in the dark common room by herself, waiting, wasn't appealing.
Swinging the bag over her shoulder and, with her wand illuminating the hallway in front of her, she calmly made her way down the tower. This time, instead of turning right, she went left, towards the abandoned classrooms.
Walking past them as silently as possible, her wand pointed at the floor, she observed the castle in the dark and completely devoid of any other people. Around her paintings were mumbling in their sleep, some muttered to her about going back to her common room, and arriving at the other intersection, she turned right, the way back to the dorms.
The castle was never completely silent, but the lack of light and students made her surroundings feel like a secret. Soft footsteps on the stone floor, the snoring of some paintings, and if she really tried to listen carefully, she bet she could hear the castle creak in steady intervals, as if it was a living entity that slept when its inhabitants did.
Moving without haste, she theorised that she would most likely meet Cassius and Liz halfway towards the dungeons. So, listening carefully, she paid attention to anything that would sound like footsteps.
Rounding the corner, she noticed exactly that.
She caught up quickly, but they weren't those of Cassius or Liz, or any of her fellow Slytherin classmates for that matter. In front of her walked Towler, all alone, and the light from his wand shaking in the dark.
"Towler, mov…" She barely said anything, before the boy let out a shriek so loud most of the paintings in the hallway woke up.
"What is it, boy? The painting of some wizard riding a horse shot up to her right. "Is it the monster?"
Ignoring the question, she raised her wand to illuminate her face. "Get yourself together, Towler."
Having revealed herself, she made her way around him, the boy still breathing hurriedly and gripping the wall so tightly it seemed like the only thing holding him up. The light on his wand flickered, but didn't extinguish. A few steps ahead of him, she heard his voice.
"You... you're…" Catching his breath, Towler called out to her. "You. Slag."
That made her halt her step, whispers breaking out between portraits.
"Excuse me?" Turning around, she raised her eyebrows. She wasn't going to just let him insult her like that. "Dare to repeat that, mudblood?"
Towler seemed to have regained some of his composure, standing up straight again, having to look up slightly to meet her eyes. It didn't seem to stop him though.
"You are a cunt, Black. You and those privileged shits you call friends." He pointed his lit wand at her. "Bet you are enjoying this, aren't you? Muggleborns getting attacked left and right!"
Staring at him in silence, she wondered if he was truly stupid. There had been two students petrified. Two. Out of the whole Hogwarts population there could be more people in the Hospital Wing tomorrow because of either a class or a Quidditch match.
But Towler wasn't finished.
"Bet you know who is behind it and are covering for them!"
Calmly, she raised her own wand, not removing her eyes from him. "Even if I did, Towler, what is anyone going to do about it?"
"I'll hex you!" He clenched his jaw and leaned forward. "I'll go to Professor McGonagall. To Dumbledore!"
His volume rose and his words echoed through the silent hall. She stared at him for a second, almost waiting for more footsteps, but it stayed silent.
"With what evidence?" She wanted to laugh. This was getting ridiculous. First Weasley, now Towler. Gryffindor's really weren't hindered by any kind of intelligence. "Even the Headmaster hasn't done a single thing in almost six months, do you really think he is suddenly going to do something now? Because you said so?"
"Shut up!" Towler hissed, his face turning red in bright splotches. "Four have already been petrified! We have to do something!"
She scoffed. "Don't be dramatic. One cat, one ghost, and two children that could barely hold a wand. Not exactly the crème de la crème."
That seemed to make Towler even more mad. The intensity of his breathing increased, so much she was sure they could hear him breathe in the following corridor, and his wand trembled in his hand, reflected by the shaking shadows on the walls.
"You daft, disgusting, evil… witch!"
She rolled her eyes. "How Muggle of you to see that as an insult."
He was so on edge he was bound to do something impulsive. In such a situation it was key to stay calm. Then again, with only one duelling lesson under his belt, not even four years of subjects, and being at the bottom of the class, what chance did he have against her exactly?
With that thought in mind, she waved her wand before he could react.
A red light shot out of it, just like in the Dueling Class, but this one hit Towler in the hand and ripped his wand out from between his fingers. It flew in a nice curve through the air, the light already distinguished, and holding up her own wand she caught it when it came within her reach.
The lack of light had casted Towler partially in the dark and she held up her wand higher in return.
Turning it around in her hand, she observed the basic brown wood.
"Hazel?" She asked, her eyes flickering toward him. "Explains a lot."
"Give it back." He glared at her, fists balling at his side. "Are you going to petrify me now? Was it you all along? No Chamber? No monster?"
"Merlin, no. What a waste of my time." She threw the wand on the floor between both of them, too far for him to reach, but out of her hand. Towler may not understand, but one just didn't use, or even touch, another person's wand for a prolonged period of time. A wand was a part of themselves, the source of their power. You didn't just hand that part of you to anyone.
"I'll fight you." He brought up his fists, one in front of his face and the other in front of his chest. "I don't need my wand, I am still stronger than a girl. Put it down and let's see how tough you really are."
He took a quick, threatening step forward, one foot in front of the other. She supposed it was to startle her, but she didn't move, instead just raised her wand at his face.
"Stop embarrassing yourself." She wasn't impressed. "Remember, you're supposed to be a wizard."
"What do you want me to do?" He spit out the words like they disgusted him. "Beg?"
"I just want to get to my common room without your whining." She tilted her head, her mind going back to the conversation she had overheard. "Weren't you supposed to follow your friend around anyway?"
The hallway became silent for a few seconds, Towler observing her face with narrowed eyes. She saw his shoulder move back, his hands lowering and his feet coming back together slightly. He didn't unclench his fists though.
"I'm not going to let them be in danger because of me." He raised his head. "I won't let them get hurt."
"How gallant of you." She twirled her wand in her hand, the light forming a temporary circle.
"You might come and go around easily, Black, but that doesn't count for all of us." He glowered at her. "Some have to make sure our friends don't get hurt because of us."
"Please, they are just petrified, not dead." She said apathetically. "I have gotten worse injuries playing Quidditch. A simple potion and they'll wake up again, probably well rested at this point."
He gaped at her for a moment, arms hanging awkwardly at his side.
"Getting petrified isn't normal!" His voice rose a few octaves, disbelief clear on his face.
She shrugged. "For wizards it's nothing to blink at."
"Why are the teachers so on edge then?" Towler resorted quickly, glaring at her. "Why not let everyone get petrified and wake them up again?"
That actually made her laugh. "The Professors aren't on edge because of the petrifications. They are on edge because this has happened before."
That made him halt. "...What?"
"Fifty years ago the Chamber was opened and some people were attacked. They were healed, and no harm, no foul. No one had to know." She smirked. "The Professors aren't afraid someone is going to get petrified. They are afraid someone is going to die, again."
All of the blood in Towlers face drained away, going from blotted red to ghostly white. She wasn't sure what he had been expecting. He had been in this world for three years now, he must have noticed that wizards didn't react to danger the same way Muggles did.
"W-why doesn't everyone know this?" Towler stumbled over his words, all the tension gone from his body.
"It was covered up, obviously. They named it a freak accident and moved on. Just like now no one outside of Hogwarts knows of this, not even the newspapers. Courtesy of Dumbledore." She twirled her wand again. "Can't pretend the school is a safe and educational place for everyone and then have your charity cases die around you, can you now?"
"What if I tell this to everyone?" He was quick on the uptake, his eyes flickering around the dark hallway as if he was looking for another person to tell.
"And who is going to believe you?" She tilted her head. "The Ministry accepted it fifty years ago and now they have accepted whatever Dumbledore said to them. You can't change that."
"Then why did you tell me?!" He sounded hysterical, his wide eyes focused on her.
She thought about his question and shrugged.
"I just felt like it."
"God." He exhaled loudly, looking her up and down. "This is all just some kind of game for you, isn't it? Some kind of entertainment?"
"No, I just don't care." She corrected him, a small smirk on her face. "But I did put a few Sickles on you, so if you can help that along, I'll give you a cut."
"You…" He was gaping at her. "You… betted money…"
"Well, on you getting petrified." She looked him over. "So don't die. If you do, we won't win anything."
He just stared at her, opening and closing his mouth in a rendition of the fish she saw behind the windows in the common room.
"Will you look at that?" Her eye was drawn to one of the windows, behind which the sky was a bit lighter than before. "I have wasted enough time. Have fun walking through the castle alone. But I can escort you to your tower if you want to? A bit of Gryffindor chivalry for the unfortunate?"
He didn't hesitate this time. "Go jump off the Astronomy Tower."
"I'll take that as a no." Turning around, she kept her ears out for any sound of him grabbing his wand.
It stayed silent behind her and she was almost around the corner when Towler yelled out a word after her. A word his parents definitely wouldn't approve of.
"Language, Towler!" She called back, rounding the corner before he could reply.
Walking down the stairs, down into the dungeons, she didn't bother waiting at the entrance. Cassius and Liz were most likely already in the common room, with the amount of time she had spent talking.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw both of them sitting at a table in the common room, torches lit around them.
"Try calling unicorns 'fancy horses' one more time, Warrington. I will disembowel you and…"
"Ahem." Raising her eyebrow at their conversation, both heads jerked towards her.
"Maia!" Liz sat back down in her chair. "Where were you? We've already started."
"Ran into some trouble." She held up her hand at Cassius when he opened his mouth. "Not Filch. No worries, I handled it."
She pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down. "So, what are we doing?"
Before anyone could even think about it, the Spring holiday came around the corner and they were free for another week. It was nearly four months since the last attacks and the previous tension was slowly disappearing.
Even Towler, who had glared at her for days after their midnight conversation, seemed to have accepted that the attacks had stopped. She heard all kinds of explanations go by, from some people believing that Lockhart had succeeded, to theories that Dumbledore had taken on, and killed, the monster, but kept it quiet.
Either way, the regular ambience of Hogwarts was returning and even Weasley seemed to have given up on surveying the dungeons.
But her focus wasn't on the attacks as all she paid attention to nowadays were star maps and moon positions. One of these days she wanted to put the Mandrake leaf in her mouth. Summer holiday was coming closer and closer, and she couldn't go back home without attempting it at least once.
So far there were no opportunities in sight. The only slight chance to do it, without anyone noticing, was starting to look like in June, during the exams. But that meant that she would have to go through oral exams with nods and short mumbles only, which would put her grades in jeopardy.
The Animagus ingredients were just gathering dust at the bottom of her trunk.
On the other hand, most of her classes were going well and, with the better weather, she happily resumed her daily run around the lake, enjoying the fresh air in the morning. Practice for Quidditch was also a lot better when she didn't have to return to the dormitory soaking.
Draco's classes were going well too, from what she had to believe. The grades for his essays went up and she was positive that, if he did push through, he could take the number one spot. Granger had received better grades all year already, but with some pushing, discipline, and probably a few short cuts, Draco could get lucky.
But he didn't make it easy.
"My electives will not decide my whole future!" Draco was scowling at her, seated in the library.
"Shhh!" Madam Pince was audible even behind three sets of bookcases.
"Of course they don't." Talking softly, she hoped Madam Pince would let it slide. "But it shows you can handle more than those around you. What does your family think?"
"What makes you think…"
"I saw you receiving letters all month, Draco." She sighed. "Look, I don't have time for this. Tell me what they said and we can finally make a decision. When is the last day you can hand it in?"
"Tomorrow." Draco muttered, staring at the little piece of paper in front of him.
"And?" She said slowly, leaning forward. They could have finished this days ago, but he just made it harder for himself.
"Father said I have to take at least three extra subjects." He shoved the list her way, seven subjects already checked.
"Astronomy, Charms, DADA, Herbology." She grimaced a little at that one. "History, Potions, Transfiguration. These are the basics, do you really have no idea what you want for an elective?"
"I told you already. No, I don't." Draco kicked his feet out, sagging in his chair. "Father wants me to take the same subjects as you, but mother said three electives would be enough. Grandfather just said I had to take Ancient Runes, since it is helpful for Alchemy."
"Mmm." She hummed, looking over the subjects and back at Draco. "How about summer classes, how are those going?"
Draco looked away from her. "Fine."
Closing her eyes, she felt the sudden need to check for grey hairs. "How far are you with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes? Or History? Surely, you have already had some classes for next year?"
"Well," he sounded hesitant.
"What?" Her eyes shot open in surprise. What did he mean with 'well'? But he didn't answer her, grimacing at the wall. "Draco."
"I focus more on classes I don't receive during the year." He turned to her, defensively. "I'll have you know that Mrs. Avery is very strict on…"
"Mrs. Avery is your dancing teacher." Now she actually placed her face in her hands. "Please tell me you are not just receiving dancing lessons."
"No." Draco hissed at her, crossing his arms. "I finished all my fundamental classes and continued on with mannerisms. I'm going to receive my additional classes this summer, which is perfectly normal. No one I know has started yet either."
She already opened her mouth to contradict him, but he was quicker. "Nott isn't that much ahead and all he does is study. And he's horrible on a broom."
"I see." She let out a sigh, but forced herself to let it drop. Nothing she would say was going to change anything about the situation. "Three subjects is a lot if you haven't started with them yet, so I would recommend Care of Magical Creatures and Divination as two of them."
"Fine." Draco was still scowling, but grabbed the list from her hands and roughly checked the two boxes.
"And with Ancient Runes that makes three." She pointed at the box for the subject, quickly dodging the tip of the quill that came down with a vengeance.
Taking a deep breath, she managed to keep smiling, ignoring Draco's bad mood. All she needed from him was for him to improve his grades, his behaviour and his manners weren't her problem.
He surprised her by standing up right after he checked the last box and reaching for his bag from behind the chair.
"What are you doing?" Confused, she watched him gather his books from the table. "We still have to finish your Charms essay."
"I have to give this to Professor Snape, don't I?" He waved the slip in the air, not bothering to close his bag when he finally got all his books inside.
"Then leave the essay with…"
"It's. Fine." He pulled the strap of his bag over his shoulder and quickly turned around. "I'm not stupid."
"I never said…" Her words fell to deaf ears. Draco had already sped out of the library, disappearing behind the bookcases.
Twirling her own quill in her hand, she contemplated writing Lucius and telling him Draco wasn't listening to her, removing her hands from the eventual outcome all together. But she dismissed it and focused on her own homework, trying to memorise the laws of human Transfiguration.
All she could do was help, but it was up to him to accept it.
Soon the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff arrived. Two weeks before, Slytherin had won against Ravenclaw, so they would play the team who won this match. It had caused the whole team to assemble and sit together on the stands that Saturday, hoping Diggory would pull a miracle out of his robes and catch the Snitch before Potter.
The weather was great for Quidditch, sunny with a slight breeze, and the teams walked out onto the field. Wood was the first to get on this broom, flying a few warm-up circles around the goalposts and Madam Hooch was busy releasing the balls from the chest.
"Going against Hufflepuff would be nice, but I wouldn't say no to a rematch." Cassius said next to her, his eyes on the Gryffindor team. "We train so hard and we are getting better with the speed. I definitely think we can win if we play Gryffindor now."
"Mm." She hummed in agreement.
Observing the canary yellow team huddled together, she was distracted by Cassius pushing his shoulder against hers, his eyes focused on someone in the middle of the field.
Following his gaze, she saw McGonagall running across the pitch, carrying an enormous, purple megaphone.
"Why is McGonagall here?" Asking the question, she was quick to receive an answer.
"This match has been cancelled!" Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone, addressing the stadium.
There were boos and shouts. Even from her position she could see Wood looking devastated.
Professor McGonagall ignored everything and continued to shout through her megaphone.
"Every student is to make their way back to their common rooms. Your Head of House will give you more information. As quickly as you can, please!"
"What do you think happened?" Cassius asked curiously, as they stood up and slowly made their way down the tribune.
"Must have been another attack, more serious this time if Snape has to talk to us." She theorised, watching McGonagall leave with Potter and Weasley in tow. "Where is Liz?"
"With Haywood."
Cassius was quick to look at her and without saying another word, they both sped up towards the castle.
Pushing people out of the way, sneering at some that talked back, she kept her eyes out for the familiar puff of dark hair and green headband. Haywood and her friends walked together in the distance and she met the Hufflepuffs eyes for a few seconds.
Glaring at the girl in question, she kept looking for the familiar face.
"She isn't with Haywood." She hissed to Cassius.
"Common room." He gestured his head at the dungeon's entrance.
Trying to stay calm, they walked towards the common room. Logically, Liz couldn't be hurt, her blood wouldn't allow her too, and both Cassius and she knew that. But Snape wasn't going to talk to them for no reason. And Liz was too accepting for her own good.
Cassius said the password and they both sped through the door, looking around the room.
"There."
He pointed to a couch on the side and looking at it she saw two feet with Liz's green, fabric shoes sticking out over the armrest. The girl was immensely against leather shoes and wore shoes made with some animal friendly fabric.
"Merlin." Letting out a breath, she pulled a hand through her hair. How embarrassing. "This never happened."
Cassius nodded quickly. "Agreed."
Relaxed, they made their way to the couch and were met with the sight of Liz laying on her back, Sir Ribbethe sleeping on her chest. Her glasses were off and she looked to be deep asleep.
"Hey, Tuttle." Cassius spoke loudly next to Liz's ear. "You know you can't sleep in the common room."
The frog jumped up first at the sound, Liz following closely after.
"Huh... what…" Liz blinked a few times rapidly, squinting Cassius's direction. "Sod off, Warrington!"
Watching Liz rub her eyes and pushing herself up, she sat down in the armchair next to the couch. The common room slowly filled up with more students, Draco's bright hair entering a few minutes after them, followed by Vincent and Gregory. The Quidditch team followed soon after too, Flint frowning in their direction, no doubt about their sudden take off.
They would need a good excuse for that one.
"I thought you were with Haywood?" Cassius took place on the couch also, in the spot where Liz's feet had been in before.
"We were together, but then Professor Flitwick told us to go to our respective common rooms immediately." Liz stretched her back. "Something about another attack."
"Yeah, we heard the same thing from McGonagall." Cassius replied. "They even cancelled the Quidditch match."
The conversation went on for a couple of minutes and during that time a few of their classmates joined them in sitting on the couches, most others in the room taken by sixth and seventh years. Cygnet, Colten, and Sterling were busy with Cassius and Liz, Raywood and Spindle with each other, and that left Burke and her, Burke taking a seat on the armrest of her chair.
"And he leaned closer and just as he was about to kiss me, Snape came out of nowhere." Burke leaned on her shoulder, complaining loudly. "Told us to go to our common rooms. I think he was just waiting for that moment. You know how long I had to pretend to like Astronomy just to get Davies to talk to me?"
"Roger Davies? The Ravenclaw Chaser?" Frowning, she looked up at Burke.
Burke waved it off. "Yes, that Davies. Your victory over him during the last game was a great help by the way. I consoled him graciously and that made him agree to go out with me, even if he had to miss the match today."
"I spent hours studying star charts, just so I could impress him, and now it's ruined." With a sigh, Burke crossed her legs, an impressive show of balance on the little space of the armrest, and placed her chin in her hand. "I had him wrapped around my finger too, such a waste."
Looking the girl over, a date did explain the summer dress and silk cardigan Burke dressed herself in that morning. Considering it was still a bit chilly outside, even in May, it wasn't attire one would wear for comfort.
Burke looked back at her, sizing her up. "You know he has a fri…"
About to put a definite halt to Burke's sentence, a familiar voice made its way out of the crowd standing nearby.
"Cousin!"
The same moment a very blond head pushed its way through two first years and she was met with Draco waving around a piece of paper, his friends following close behind.
"Father did it!" Smirking widely, Draco came to a halt next to the empty armrest, Burke looking over her shoulder. "Father is getting Dumbledore sacked!"
At once the conversations around her stopped, everyone turning to look at Draco in surprise and then to each other.
"Really?" Grabbing the paper out of Draco's hand, she let her eyes roam over the sentences. There weren't many, but she got the gist. "Damn."
Her confirmation made her yearmates burst out in whispers, Burke leaning over her to read the letter from Lucius too.
"Language, cousin." Draco smirked, looking very satisfied, as if he had kicked the Headmaster out personally.
She ignored him, reading the letter again. "Who is going to be Headmaster when Dumbledore is gone?"
Draco shrugged, still smirking.
"They're still looking, but without him they might actually put someone competent in the place." His eyes flickered through the room. "Oh, I gotta tell Nott and Zabini!"
Without another word to her or anyone else, Draco grabbed the letter out of her hand and sped off to the other side of the common room.
"Well." Leaning back in the chair, she looked at everyone, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Dumbledore had been inactive for a long period, it was logical that would come to bite him eventually, but he had always seemed so untouchable.
Burke finished the sentence for her. "That happened."
"If the Headmaster can't stop these attacks, who can?" Spindle looked around the circle with wide eyes.
Surprisingly, it was Raywood who answered, placing one hand on the small girl's shoulder. "Don't worry."
The conversation was interrupted by Snape stepping through the common room door. Immediately the crowd stopped talking and turned towards him, no one brave enough to talk while Snape was supposed to.
"There have been three more petrifications and as a result the Headmaster has implemented a new regiment." Snape unrolled the long parchment in his hand. "First, all students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock in the evening."
She shared a frown with Burke, the idea alone detestable. Most of her classes ended at five in the afternoon, that didn't even leave enough time to go sit in the library or walk around to stretch her legs. And how was it going to work with Quidditch training?
"No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher."
Whispers broke out at the last piece of information and several protesting sounds rose in the crowd.
Snape sent one glare in their direction and the silence returned.
"All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed."
At once Flint stood from his place, the only one, mouth already open to protest. All heads turned to look at him and then at Snape, who met Flint's eyes over the list. It looked like the words died a swift death in Flint's throat and he closed his mouth with a snap. Her eyes flickered to Cassius, who looked like he had seen someone die in front of him.
"And there will be no more evening activities." Rolling up the parchment, Snape was still looking at Flint. "Something you want to add to that, Mr. Flint?"
"I..." From her point she could see Flint balling his fists so tight every blood vessel on the top of his hand was visible.
Snape didn't move and, after a moment of silence, Flint relented first.
"No, sir." He sat down so hard that she was surprised the chair didn't break.
"Good, now I expect my house to fully comply with these rules." Snape moved his eyes from Flint and over the rest of the common room. "I will hereby have to inform you that it is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I have to urge anyone that thinks they might know anything to come forward."
The whole room stayed silent, taking glances at each other. Did anyone know, really?
"Why not just remove the muggleborns?" From the side, Pucey stepped forward. "Teach them someplace else and eighty percent of Hogwarts wouldn't have to leave."
An agreeable murmur went through the common room.
"Headmaster Dumbledore looked over all the possibilities and has come to the conclusion that Hogwarts needs to stand united during these… trying times." Snape looked like he hated every word that came out of his mouth. "If that is all, you have your instructions."
With a sweep of his cloak, Snape left the common room, the stone door slipping shut behind him.
Before the door had even fully closed, the room exploded in hurried voices.
Scowling, she stayed quiet, glaring at the wall. The last thing she needed was to be sent home. If Hogwarts closed she would have to go to Beauxbatons, which was even closer to the managing hand of her grandmother.
Becoming an Animagus would be the last thing she would ever do if that happened.
"Maybe the next Headmaster will overrule Dumbledore's decision." Burke said, drawing the attention of the people around her. "If Dumbledore really is going to go, he can't make decisions for the school anymore. Anyone in his place can send away the muggleborns and let everyone else stay."
"We can only hope." Throwing her head back against the backrest of the couch, she observed the dew hanging around the ceiling.
She really didn't want to go back home yet.
Summer crept around the corner and in the castle it had been quiet. The weather cleared up; the sky became bright blue and the flowers rose up out of the ground, but no one was very likely to enjoy the change.
There had been three people petrified, all at once. Clearwater, Granger, and Towler all had taken place in their own bed in the Hospital Wing.
The incredible increase had people returning back to the attitude before the holiday, probably even worse. Draco, on the other hand, was in a superb mood, calling off any study sessions they had planned together, certain that there was no way Granger was going to best him, even if the girl woke up before the exams.
She, on the other hand, won the bet, some sixth year handing her a little bag full of coins the day after the news had come out.
"I only put in a few Sickles." Bouncing the bag up and down, she raised her eyebrow at the girl. The Sickles had been in her bag for ages, she had just wanted to get rid of them so they would stop getting stuck between the pages of her books.
The girl waved her off. "You were the only one right and it has been going on for months. Just take it."
Shrugging to herself, she pushed it in her bag. She wasn't going to complain.
The biggest gossip going around was how the night of the last attacks, the Minister himself had taken Hagrid away to Azkaban.
It led to a whole cluster of confusing rumours that portray it as Hagrid being the Heir of Slytherin and opening the Chamber, to his teaching someone else how to do it, to theories that it didn't have anything to do with the Chamber anymore.
No one could follow it clearly and thinking about it caused headaches.
People chose to focus on the easier comprehensible change, the constant supervision. All day, every day, there were groups of students escorted by teachers in the hallways. Quidditch was over and they had to be back in the common room by six, every night.
Many students seemed to be fine with being escorted everywhere, but for some it was getting bothersome. No one could even go to the bathroom without an escort. With the weather cleared up all she had been looking forward to was regular exercise outside, which was now prohibited, and having to be back in the common room so early meant less time in the library looking for more information on Animagi.
It didn't get any better when a few weeks before the exams started, Sprout held her back after the Herbology lesson.
They had just handled the Bouncing Bulb and her plant had, as always, tried to attack her. Used to it, she had dodged, only for the person behind her to be hit full in the head. He had been knocked out and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing, accompanied by another Professor that Sprout had to call.
Madam Hooch hadn't been a happy camper.
"Miss Black," Sprout looked at her gently, but that never spelled much good. "I know how hard you have worked for the last few years to get an Outstanding in my class. You always manage to complete both the exams perfectly and I acknowledge that."
Clenching her jaw, she wanted to shake Sprout by the shoulder. But?
"But…" Sprout paused for a second. "But I have to remind you that the exam in fourth year will be all practical and I am uncertain that I will be able to give you an O with the way the plants behave around you."
She swallowed and clenched her hands. Fuck, she had forgotten about that. She had been so focused on becoming an Animagus that the Herbology exam had escaped her mind. The all practical test had been the first thing on her mind a year ago, but so much had happened in the meantime.
"I will make sure I study harder, Professor." Contemplating, she looked around the greenhouse. "Is it possible for me to come here after hours and practise? I'll make sure to leave things just how they were."
Sprout grimaced, looking apologetic. "I'm afraid not, Miss Black. With the new rules, all classrooms and even greenhouses are to be locked when there isn't a Professor available."
Her eyes flickered to the Professor's face. "Then could you…"
Sprouts had already started to shake her head before she could finish her sentence. "I'm supposed to walk children from class to class everyday. Afterwards I'm busy with the management of my own house, since two out of five petrified are under my care. And with Dumbledore gone…"
When Sprout said it, the dark circle under her eyes and the sombre air surrounding her suddenly stood out. It looked like she hadn't slept for a week straight and the look was disconcerting on the usually bright woman. Silent for a moment, she observed her teacher.
"How are the Mandragora's going, Professor?"
At once Sprout's mood elevated, smiling slightly. "Very well. I am certain we can start to chop them up in a few weeks."
Then Sprout let out a louder laugh, squaring her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about me, Miss Black. Every Professor is very overwhelmed at the moment, I'm sure once the Headmaster returns and the Mandrake's are done, we can go back to how it was last year."
Nodding at Sprouts declaration, she just hoped the school wasn't closing. Draco had said Lucius had a plan and she trusted her cousin's husband, but she did hope that the plan at least involved letting the school stay open.
"I understand, Professor."
"Now, off we go." Sprout walked with her to the greenhouse entrance. "I can walk you to your next classroom. If I remember correctly you have Defence Against the Dark Arts now, don't you?"
"Yes, I do." Sighing, she lifted her bag over her shoulder.
Lockhart had been put in the spot ever since the new attacks, his stories and declarations becoming more and more outlandish. One lesson he would only go on about his accomplishments and how he had suspected Hagrid all along, and the next he would try to convince everyone that he was making rounds around the castle every night, certain the monster would become scared again and stay away.
Even people that had been fans of him were starting to get their doubts.
On the way to the castle, Sprout talked some more, mostly about the Mandagora's and how they were going into their young adult years, finally showing a good amount of interest in each other.
"I'm sure that I'll catch them climbing in each other's pots soon. That is when they will be ready for the potion." Sprout talked with the use of her hands.
Glancing down at the Professor, she kept nodding, not sure what to say.
Just as they entered Hogwarts, the striking clock rang three times.
"Oh no." Sprout looked around her, waving her wand when she noticed there was no clock around. The numbers lit up in the air. "Oh dear, I almost have to get the first years from the dungeons."
Hesitant, Sprout glanced between her and the giant stairs leading up to the DADA classroom and the stairs going down to the dungeons. It didn't look like Sprout was going to make this decision on her own.
"I'll be fine, Professor." She took a step forward. "It is just a few stairs up, I'm sure I can do that alone."
"Yes, yes." Sprout still looked hesitant, but had already taken a few steps towards the downwards stairs. "Do you have your wand, Miss Black?"
Releasing it from her holster, she showed it to the Professor. "I do and I'm adequate at duelling, ma'am. I'm sure the first years need you more."
Not to mention that she had the least chances of being attacked, but she was sure the Professor didn't mention it out of decency.
"Go straight to the classroom, no different routes or pauses." Sprout called out to her, hurrying to the dungeons as if the first years would get hysterical would she not be there in the first five minutes.
Well, they might.
Feeling free for the first time in ages, she started to make her way up the stairs. DADA was a double hour anyway and Lockhart wouldn't mind if she was late, not if she said she had to talk to Professor Sprout.
Discarding Sprout's advice, she took the longer route, past the empty classrooms on the third floor. She remembered when they couldn't enter the floor due to Dumbledore's warning last year and looked around trying to notice anything out of place.
The portraits that hung on the floor hadn't yet been replaced yet, all of them stagnant and unmoving. But it was clean and the light shone in from the windows, reminding her that the weather was only looking up, while she was stuck inside.
Was it too soon to go stir crazy?
Thinking about the possibility of convincing any Professor to stay with her in the greenhouse, she was interrupted by a pair of hurried footsteps.
"Black!" A scream came from the other side of the hallway.
Turning around slowly, she was met with the sight of Weasley number three. His hair was in disarray, his robes were wrinkled, and the prefect badge looked worse for wear. Had he run out of polish?
He stormed down the hall, not bothering to look dignified or calm.
"Weasley." She smirked at him. "What did I do this…"
It seemed like Weasley wasn't playing around. Instead of stopping in front of her and reacting to her words, he went further.
Grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, she was surprised by his strength when he pushed her to the wall with all his might. Not expecting it, she had no time to react and her body fell back quickly.
The slam against the stones made a shock go through the back of her head and down her neck, her shoulders throbbing, and she released her wand from her holster, holding it up between Weasley and her.
Weasley kept his distance at the sight of the wand, but his breathing had become even more erratic and now she saw his eyes behind the glasses. The same hazel eyes that every Weasley possessed were swollen and red, as if he had been crying.
What in Merlin's name did he want with her?
"It's you, isn't it?" He hissed at her.
"What?" Confused, she glared at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Penny!"
"Haywood?" Frowning, she knew she was missing a big piece of the puzzle here. Had something happened to Haywood?
"No!" Weasley wasn't thinking clearly and removed his wand from his pocket, seemingly not bothered, or not caring, that she had hers out before him.
She was too stunned at the display to disarm him.
"Penelope!" Weasley raised his wand threateningly, at her face. "Penelope Clearwater. You know, the girl you petrified!"
Blinking, she still felt like she was missing something, but Weasley wasn't bothered.
"Kenneth talked to me after Christmas!" Weasley's wand was shaking. "He said you…"
He took a deep breath, grinding his teeth together.
"He said you threatened him." He took another deep breath. "That you bet money on him!"
"Towler?" Slowly the situation started to make sense. "I didn't threaten him, if anything he threatened me."
"As if!" Weasley waved his wand around and her eyes flickered to it. Weasley was a sixth year student, nonverbal spells weren't out of the question. "It can't all be a coincidence! We are going to go to McGonagall and you are going to confess!"
That did it. How dare he?
Angry enough to not care either, Weasley and she send off spells at the same time.
Both a bright red, she was quick to step to the side, letting it hit the wall behind her. Weasley tried to dodge too, but he wasn't fast enough. The spell hit him right in the arm, his wand jumping up in a wild motion and clattering to the ground a short distance away from them.
Without hesitation she waved her wand again. The spell hit him in the arm again and a lengthy rope wrapped around both of his forearms, binding them together instantly.
Now she walked forward and he backed up, right until his back hit the other wall and he was boxed in.
"Listen here, Weasley." She spoke clearly, keeping her eyes on him. "I did not petrify anyone."
He didn't say anything, but he did glare, his arms jerking within the ropes that bound them. It would be a miracle if he managed to get them off without his wand, so she ignored it.
"You don't have a single bit of proof and I don't appreciate being treated like some common criminal."
That was when he gathered up the courage and interrupted her, leaning forward until she could distinguish the green and brown in his eyes behind the glasses, his whisper reaching her ears easily.
"Why not? It's in your blood."
A flick of her wand had a small ball of fire bouncing right off the wall next to his head, enough to make him jerk his head back violently and slamming it in the stone behind him.
He groaned at the impact, closing his eyes for a second.
"You don't have the right to talk about my family." She hissed, clenching her hand around her wand. "Your family squandered two pureblood names, all because your parents are too self-righteous to give you a better life. Seven children in dirty robes and with second hand books, and for what? Just so they can pretend to be better than everyone else?"
She was breathing heavily too, under the wide eyes of Weasley, who had stopped struggling to get out of the ropes, and was now leaning his entire body away from her, pressing himself against the wall.
"You take twelve classes, you are prefect, but everyone knows you will never become more." Calming herself, she leaned even closer, until she could feel the air move with every breath he took. "At least my family isn't holding me back."
With that she turned around and marched to the end of the hallway, only the sound of her footsteps breaking the silence in the hallway.
If she had stayed any longer she would have cursed him way worse and she had already done more than enough to a prefect to get in trouble. She couldn't have 'attacked a prefect' sitting next to her one detention for 'not wearing a tie correctly'. The first would be taken a lot more seriously than the latter.
Rounding the corner and storming her way to the fourth floor, the location of the DADA classroom, she came to a halt at the beginning of the corridor. Taking a deep breath, she centred herself, thinking logically. She wasn't going to get expelled just because Weasley said so. That was ridiculous.
Knocking on the door of the DADA classroom, she opened it enough to slip through.
"Miss Black?" Lockhart looked surprised, one of Weasley's brothers being held up at the point of his wand. She wanted to turn around at the sight, not another reenactment.
"Sorry Professor, I was conversing with Professor Sprout and we lost track of time." Placing her bag on the desk next to Cassius, she sat down. "She accompanied me here, you can ask her."
"Nothing to worry about, Miss Black, I understand." Lockhart waved it off, looking back at one of the twins. "Now, where was I?"
"Ah, yes! And then I shot off a Disarming Charm, hitting him right in the chest…"
Cassius glanced at her with raised eyebrows, clearly noticing something was off, but she shook her head and placed her chin on her hand, gazing out of the window.
An emotional prefect wasn't her biggest issue right now. If she didn't find some way to get private hours in the greenhouse to study, her perfect streak of Outstandings was going to be ruined.
How was she going to do that and put that stupid leaf in her mouth?
Groaning softly, she felt a headache coming up. If she came home with anything less than an O for Herbology her grandmother would hire more tutors. A tutor for Herbology. She would rather fight a hundred Mandrakes.
She never did get a chance to practise in the greenhouse and slowly the weeks creeped by, her Herbology book read so many times the cover looked like it was falling apart. It wouldn't help though, she had to practise how to deal with the plants reaction towards her, not how to handle them theoretically.
Not to mention that the full moon of June was coming closer and it looked like there was nothing she could do about that either. The fourth of June looked like another missed chance and it would be the last one before she would have to go back home.
Her mood had tanked and, with the current ambience in the castle, it wasn't close to getting better.
It was a few days before the start of exams, on the twenty-ninth of May, that Professor McGonagall made an announcement at breakfast.
"I have good news," McGonagall said and immediately people started shouting.
Multiple screamed about Dumbledore coming back and she rolled her eyes. After doing nothing a whole year, what was Dumbledore going to do now?
Focusing on McGonagall, she twirled the knife in her hand. What could possibly be good news at this point? The only thing that could even remotely change her state of mind was the removal of all the restrictions. If she could spend nights in the greenhouse, uninterrupted, she might still pass the exam with an O.
When the noise had subsided, Professor McGonagall continued.
"I was recently informed that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting. Tonight, we will be able to revive those petrified, and I will remind you all that they may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them." McGonagall looked over her glasses at every separate table. "This year will end with us catching the culprit."
Several people stood up, cheering for a couple of minutes, and dinner quickly continued, a certain weight seemingly lifted from the student body.
"What do you think they are going to say?" Liz leaned forward, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth.
"I don't care." Stabbing a fork in one of her own little tomatoes, she didn't bring it up to her mouth. Frustration had killed her appetite and the red fruit didn't look appetising at all.
"Come on, you'll be fine." Cassius didn't seem to be bothered the least. "You'll be able to wave your wand around a little and fool Sprout like always."
She glared at him. "She is going to test us in groups of three and question us individually. Please, do tell, how am I going to fool her with clear eyes on my person?"
Cassius winced, lowering his cup. "Right, forget about that."
Then he shrugged, taking another sip. "You're right, you're fucked."
Sighing, she shoved her plate forward. She wasn't going to get any of the food past her lips like this. "If I could just practise, then nothing of this would have happened."
"If they catch the culprit tomorrow, you have a big chance that you still could." Liz gave her a friendly shoulder bump.
For Liz's efforts she got a tired grin in return, but Maia knew she was just trying to cheer her up. There was little chance of passing with an O now. An E was still very much possible, over her dead body that she was going to fail, but it would forever be a smudge on her transcript. The break of a streak. A crack in perfect porcelain.
Just a shame, really.
Letting her eyes go over the hall, she met the eyes of a redhead at the Gryffindor table. Ever since he came at her storming, Weasley hadn't left her alone. He hadn't tried to talk to her again, but she suspected, or basically knew, he memorised her schedule. He abused his prefect power more than often to hide in the corner of the exact hallway she was coming down off. Even while she was in the company of her classmates and guided by a Professor.
He sat at the table behind her in the library. He even followed her down in the dungeon each time she returned to the common room, just before six. Every time she saw him he looked more tired, bags under his eyes big enough to name.
She had bigger problems than an obsessive stalker, but she was going to enjoy the 'I told you so' tomorrow afternoon immensely. The decision still had to be made if she was going to do it either by eyes alone, or actually walk up to him and say it.
As always Weasley just glared at her from the Gryffindor table. Instead of glaring back, she just looked around further. He was going to grovel, but he was going to grovel tomorrow.
"A bit of tetrodotoxin won't kill us." She said, observing Cassius cutting their puffer fish. "But the way you are cutting it, it won't be a bit. You do realise Skele-Gro is supposed to heal someone?"
"Yes, I'm not an idiot." Grinding his teeth, Cassius narrowed his eyes and changed the course of his knife. "I broke my collarbone during training last month, remember?"
"And I broke two of my ribs. Just focus." Frowning at the cut up puffer fish, she wasn't sure if she wanted the thing in their potion. "Maybe we should get a new one."
"No matter what we do, it tastes horrible anyway." Sighing, Cassius placed down his knife. "Just put it in and see what happens. This won't be in the exam."
"You don't know that."
Still, she picked up the pieces and dropped them into the cauldron. The liquid turned milky white immediately and Cassius quickly turned down the heat.
"See, it's fine."
She narrowed her eyes at the potion. "A bit too cloudy, but it will do."
"Finally, let's hand it in and then we can…"
He was interrupted by a message ringing through the classroom. From behind his desk Snape looked up sharply at the echo of McGonagall's voice.
"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately. All teachers move to the staffroom. At once, please."
Snape didn't wait a single second. With a wave of his wand every cauldron was cleaned and all the fires put out. Cassius made a startled noise when looking at their now empty cauldron.
"Grab your bags." Snape walked to the front of the room, leaving students to trip over their feet trying to fill their bags with papers and their Potion book. "Everyone is to return to their common room immediately."
His cloak flared out as he turned around and looked at them. "If I find that one of you didn't, I will see to it that your expulsion is swift."
In a hurry they shuffled out of the classroom and the Slytherins went further down the dungeon, their common room the closest.
Going down into the dungeon her eyes were drawn to the high, colourful windows that occupied the higher levels of the dungeon, the sunlight streaming through. There was little doubt in her mind that this would be the drop that made the cauldron explode. There had been another attack and they were going to send everyone home. And it seemed like she wasn't the only one that thought that way.
The walk right up until they were in the common room was made in silence.
In the common room, a few went to sit around the tables, whispering to each other, but she dropped in her regular armchair, staring at the fire.
"Don't you want to go over the Skele-Gro potion?" Cassius titled his head at her, but sat down on the couch.
"I don't think it matters." Placing her head in her hand, she turned to him and Liz, who sat down next to him. "There has been another attack and the castle is going to close."
"Surely, the Heir of Slytherin also doesn't want the school to close?" Liz pushed her glasses up her nose, a telling nervous tick. "Without the school there is no Chamber of Secrets elsewhere."
"No, it's a good plan." And that was what bothered her most. "The person has divided the attacks in such a way that we have made it all the way to the exams, instead of forcing Dumbledore to close the school earlier. With that goes that no one takes the petrifications seriously. If they had killed someone everything would have been shut down even sooner."
"But the school is still closing now. If they had waited.."
"But it is before the summer. During the holiday the school governors can come together to decide that keeping the school open holds priority and that goes paired with transferring the muggleborns to a new one, one that they have all summer to set up. With no Dumbledore to protest the decision." She explained, moving a hand through her hair. "It was all some long game to get Dumbledore out and now they sealed the deal with someone dead. It explains the hurried announcement and the teachers gathering."
She bawled up her fists and opened them again quickly. "Boom, mass hysteria."
Her eyes flickered to Liz and Cassius on the couch, who were both silent. Then they blinked almost simultaneously and stared at the coffee table for a while.
"That is a lot of planning." Cassius was the first to respond, although weakly.
"A creature that can kill and petrify." Liz was frowning intensely at the table, drumming her fingers on her knee. "Weird…"
Liz was interrupted by the common room door opening. In the meantime the room had again filled with students, most looking sombre enough to realise what was happening, but this time it wasn't a student walking through. It was Professor Snape.
Silence went over the room like someone blowing out a candle.
"Hogwarts will close." Snape never bothered going around the problem. "Everyone can pack their belongings and the train will take you back to the station tomorrow morning. I suggest you write to your guardians."
A few students moved to the dorms, but most of the common room seemed frozen.
"Who is it?" The female prefect took a step forward, Pucey quickly stepping next to her.
Snape's eyes flickered to the girl. "Excuse me, Miss Robins?"
"Professor McGonagall said they could start curing people tomorrow, sir." Robins didn't back down, standing up straight. "If we have to leave just a few days before the exams it has to be a serious attack, not petrification."
Whispers broke out in the room, quickly halted when Snape responded.
"That is correct." He stopped for a second. "A student has been taken and is presumed to be dead."
It stayed completely silent, not even a whisper audible, and the eyes never strayed from their Head of House.
"Professor McGonagall has concluded that because of Miss Weasley's passing we cannot keep the…"
Snape was interrupted by a wave of voices, all trying to shout over the other, confusing rippling through most the students. Even her heart skipped a beat, trying to fit this piece into her theory. How was a Weasley taken? Wasn't she supposed to be safe? It didn't fit.
"Weasley?" "How?" "Isn't she pureblood?" "..blood-traitors…"
"Silence." Snape didn't have to shout, but the voices did taper off, if slowly. "We are not sure as to how or why, but that doesn't change it. Tomorrow morning you will be send home."
Snape turned around and made his way out of the common room, ignoring the questions called out after him, or the explosion of noise, the stone sliding back in place behind him.
"That is impossible, right?" Liz turned to them hesitantly. "Weasley might not be the most respected, but that doesn't change their blood. Why did she get attacked?"
"Maybe the monster can differentiate blood traitors too?" Cassius didn't look like he believed his own words.
"I don't think so." She said, moving a hand through her hair. "The legend does say muggleborn, not traitors."
"Why then?" Cassius' leg started to move up and down nervously.
Hesitating, she said her only other theory out loud. "It could be that she opened it to begin with?"
It sounded even dumber spoken out loud and apparently she wasn't the only one that thought that.
"Ha!" Cassius's leg stopped moving. "No way. Not Potter first and Weasley second, it's impossible."
"Then you tell us what happened." Irritated, she leaned back in her chair. "What is your theory?"
"Uhm…" He bit his lip, frowning at nothing. "Uhm…."
"It doesn't matter why or how it happened." Liz burst out, throwing her hands up in the air. "All that matters is that it happened and now we have to go home."
Liz pressed her hands against the sofa and pushed herself up. "You two can keep talking about how or why, but I'm going to write to my parents and pack my trunk."
Watching her friend walk to the stairs and down to the dorms, she exchanged silent looks with Cassius. He was the first to stand up.
"At least the exams are cancelled?" He shrugged halfheartedly, moving to his dorm too.
She watched him disappear down the stairs, but stayed seated for a little while, observing Bletchley and some of his roommates smiling and laughing a few couches over. The fifth years wouldn't have to take their OWLs now, she realised. Her eyes tried to find some of the seventh years, trying to see if they were celebrating too, but she could only find the female prefect, who was consoling two first years.
A few minutes later she was the only person still left in the common room, having ignored the questioning glance from the female prefect when she made her way down to the dorms.
It was clear to her that she was procrastinating. But how in Merlin's name was she going to write home about this? How was her grandmother going to react to her keeping this a secret all year? Was she going to leave behind the ingredients? Throwing them away would be better than the chance of her grandmother finding them. But going home a month earlier would only result in an extra month of classes.
Groaning, she heaved herself up. She had to just get it over with, waiting wasn't going to solve anything.
"Hey, Maia."
Holding up her hand, she slowly finished the last sentence of her letter. She had rewritten it four times already and she had to get the wording just right. But who was she kidding, her grandmother would still be irritated that she hadn't mentioned the attacks sooner. Maybe she could ask Narcissa for backup when her grandmother would bring up Beauxbatons.
"Yes, Liz?" Letting the letter dry, she turned her body a quarter to look at the girl on the bed next to hers, only to be startled by how close she was actually standing.
Liz was crouching next to her bed, her hair in an even higher puff on top of her head, sticking out above her face and kept secure by a satin wrap she had gifted during Yule, little hippogriffs embroidered on it.
"What do you think the monster is?" Liz was staring at her chin, but the words were clear.
From the corner of her eyes she could see Burke glance up from her magazine, Spindle and Raywood lost in their own world, whispering to each other on Spindle's bed.
"I don't know."
She hadn't finished the sentence before Liz jumped on her bed, making the mattress bounce.
"Neither do I." Liz frowned at her. "It's bothering me. No creature I know petrifies like this."
Shrugging, she sealed the envelope with a wave of her wand. She would send it early in the morning, it was already too late to get to the Owlery. "Maybe it's just a person."
"Mmm.." Liz kept silent, placing her chin in her hand. "It still feels like I'm missing something."
"Why bother?" Burke interjected herself into the conversation, turning to lay on her stomach to look at them. "We have an extra month of summer holiday and no exams, I couldn't be happier. Any plans for the summer?"
Liz perked up. "Both my parents have to work, but I think I can convince them to let me raise a crup puppy. With the extra time I'm certain I can complete its training before summer ends."
Surprisingly enough, Burke didn't seem to mind the topic. "Oh, a cousin of mine has one, this special breed, what was it called again?"
Muttering to herself, Burke waved it away eventually. "Anyway, it's really cute and snow white, with these big black eyes."
Burke and Liz actually continued talking about the dogs and the breeds, Maia observing silently. Most of her thoughts were still with the ingredients on the bottom of her trunk. What was she going to do with them?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Spindle and Raywood were still talking to each other and Liz and Burke, so she stood up to answer it.
Opening the door, in front of her stood the female prefect, dressed in her housecoat and slippers.
"There is going to be a feast in the Great Hall, everyone is coming." The prefect looked past her into the room. "You all in?"
"Why is there a feast all of a sudden?" She blinked at the older girl. "What happened?"
The prefect shrugged, taking a few steps towards the stairs. "Snape said the monster is defeated and apparently Weasley is still alive. Don't bother dressing in uniform by the way, everyone is going like this."
Staring after the girl, more people started gathering in the hallway and moving towards the stairs, all dressed in housecoats and pyjamas. A few hours ago they had been on the brink of being sent home, what did she mean with 'the monster is defeated'? What monster? Who did it? What happened?
Annoyed at the lack of information, she pushed the door shut, walking back into the room to her trunk.
"Well, you heard her." She said, grabbing her silk peignoir. Made with hand stitched runes in the seem, it was even better than a regular coat at keeping the cold out.
"If the monster is defeated, they won't close the school, right?" Spindle was already at the door, Raywood pulling her own housecoat out of her trunk.
"Probably not." Burke groaned, walking towards Spindle. "I was so looking forward to the extra month. Surely they won't make us take the exams now, right?"
Tying the string around her middle, she moved a hand through her hair. It wasn't completely neat, but it was going to have to do.
Waiting for Liz to finish tying her shoes, they left the empty dormitory, walking up the stairs to the common room. A gathering of people was already present in the common room, including Cassius, who joined them.
"Maybe they will tell us what the monster was." Liz grabbed her by the arm and quickened her step. "I bet a Sickle that it was a student, not a creature."
"Sure, deal." She let Liz set the speed, not bothering to remove her hand out of Liz's grasp, and looked at Cassius.
"Good night so far?"
He gestured so-so. "We played some Exploding Tag, but I'm glad there is still a feast tonight."
"One night without dinner won't hurt." Liz piped up, walking into the Entrance Hall.
"I spent the whole night packing." Cassius sighed dramatically. "My body is wasting away, getting weaker and weaker, until…"
At once Cassius halted right in front of the doors to the Great Hall, staring at the wall. "What the?"
"What?" Turning around, both Liz and she looked up.
Rubies filled one hourglass to the brim, the glass almost bursting, and there was a group of Ravenclaws whispering in front of it.
"That has to be around seven hundred points, at least." Cassius was still gaping up at the hourglass. "How is that possible?"
No one knew the answer and eventually Liz pulled both of them by the hand into the Great Hall. It was already filled with people, the tables covered in plates with food, and walking to their usual seat she saw everyone wearing their night clothes and laughing joyfully.
"Ah, who cares?" Liz grinned, waving at someone at the Hufflepuff table. "The school isn't closing and we can eat now. Let's celebrate."
Mumbling to themselves, she was convinced by Liz's attitude. Yes, they had lost to another miracle Gryffindors seemed to pull out of nowhere, but the possibility that she didn't have to go back home a month earlier did rank higher on her list.
"Is that Dumbledore?" Liz whispered suddenly, throwing looks at the High Table.
"What?" She jerked her head to the table, not bothering with being subtle. At the High Table, next to McGonagall, Dumbledore was laughing at something Professor Sprout said. "What is he doing here?"
"You don't think he's back, do you?" Cassius leaned forward. "Maybe he's visiting?"
"No way." Drawling out her words, she turned away from the Professors.
"And Potter and Weasley are missing again." Cassius glanced at the red and gold table. "Maybe they killed Lockhart?"
"We can only hope." Liz smiled. "Pass me the fruit."
The rest of the evening went smoothly. Eventually Potter and Weasley arrived too, some time after all the unpetrified people, including Towler, and when the food had long disappeared and was replaced by music and snacks, Hagrid came in, causing Liz to jump up and applaud alongside the rest of the students.
The only thing that made her night even better was around sunrise, when McGonagall rose up and made an announcement.
"Exams will be cancelled this year." The whole hall burst out in cheers and even she felt relieve wash over her when she realised she wouldn't have to take the Herbology exam. "But, unfortunately, I have to announce that Professor Lockhart is unable to return the following year."
It didn't stop the cheering, if at all it became louder. Liz massaged her cheeks with a grin, still laughing even though it seemed to hurt.
McGonagall smiled widely. "I would also like to welcome back Headmaster Dumbledore, who has been reinstated in his position as Headmaster."
Standing up from next to McGonagall, Dumbledore bowed his head at the cheers and applause. Her eyes flickered to Draco, who was scowling at the sight of the Headmaster and slapped Goyle on the arm when he clapped along. What had happened? How was Dumbledore back? Was he the one to solve it?
Questions were multiplying themselves, but it seemed like no one cared about the specifics.
"Lessons will keep going for another month and the summer holiday will start at the end of the semester, as usual." McGonagall continued, the cheers finally dying down. "I do have to mention that in the fifth and seventh years, OWLs and NEWTs are reinstated."
Groans and laughter filled the air, but the good mood stayed and the conversations quickly continued.
"I'm going to sit with Penny for a little while." Liz said next to her, but all she could do was nod distractedly.
Not looking at Liz move away, she stared at her hands, ideas racing through her mind. A whole month with only classes, without exams, and still at Hogwarts. This was her chance. These were literally the perfect conditions. The next full moon was in less than a week.
Counting quickly, she concluded that the one after was on the third of July, a Saturday. One day after she returned home. There was still a slight chance her grandmother would catch her then, when she arrived on Kings Cross with the leaf in her mouth, but it was the only chance she was going to get at the moment.
Heart beating quickly, she felt her nerves quiver in a weird combination of excitement, nervousness, and determination. She was going to do it.
The following day, Sunday and the first day everything went back to normal, she was intercepted by Weasley in the Entrance Hall after her first morning run in ages.
Removing her wand from her holster at the first sight of the red hair, the sweat still making its way down her face, she kept it pointed at him, even when he raised his arms in the air.
"Weasley." She looked him up and down. The bags under his eyes were less, though not completely gone, but he seemed to have found his polish again, because the badge was shining brightly. "Back for a second round?"
"Black." He gave her a polite nod, his hands still raised. "No, I'm here to…"
The words seemed stuck in his mouth and he pursed his lips, looking disgruntled. She lowered her wand a little, not fully trusting him, but it was clear he wasn't there to hex her.
"I want to apologise."
Sheer surprise made her lower her wand before she even realised she had done it.
"What?" Looking him up and down, she couldn't help but be sceptical. "Is this a joke?"
"What?" Weasley looked put out. "No!"
"Right." She said, still suspicious.
"It isn't." He bit out, annoyed. "I want to apologise."
Wand still in her hand, she gestured at him to continue. "Go on then."
This was the first time a Weasley had ever apologised, she wasn't going to stop him.
"Ugh, you…" Weasley took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Okay. I was wrong, you didn't petrify those people, and I overreacted."
He even threw a formal bow in there, honestly not a bad one for someone she knew didn't receive any kind of lessons. What kind of motivation did Weasley have to study these things on his own?
"I accept your apology." She nodded at him, feeling satisfied.
The sun shining over her shoulder and illuminating the castle behind Weasley. Whenever it was the weather, her current situation, or simply the endorphins still making their way through her body, the day seemed better already.
Weasley didn't move, staring at her like he was expecting something in return. What? Did he want to be tipped or something?
"What?" Frowning at him, she started to make her way around him to the Entrance Hall.
"Don't you have something to say in return?" He raised his eyebrows at her, expectantly.
"No, I don't?"
Making it halfway into the hall, she didn't stop walking when he called after her.
"What about Kenneth? Or your behaviour? You… you…" The sound of the angry Weasley was familiar in her ears. "You snake!"
Smirking, she made her way down to the common room, almost humming to herself. The only thing she would have to do for the next few days was prepare herself for the first step and lay low for another few weeks. The puzzle pieces were starting to come together and the picture was so great.
In the dormitory she washed and dressed quickly, grabbing her bag with her notebook in it. Rereading it a few days before the first step would calm most of the nerves, she imagined. She would focus on the first step specifically, that way she knew she had done everything she could.
Excited, she heaved the bag over her shoulder, only for something to slip out of it and land on the ground with a thud.
Grabbing the bag of coins from the floor, she tilted her head at the sound of the coins moving together. She had said something about this a while ago, hadn't she?
A few minutes later she found herself outside, the sun shining brightly, and most of the students gathered in groups around the lake. The red and golden tones of socks and ties were brightly visible and she quickly spotted the head she was looking for. Towler was gathered with the boys from his dorm, the twin Weasleys, Jordan, and the boy she didn't know the name of.
"Towler!" Calling out, she smirked at the jump he and the others made, rushing to stand up and the Weasleys even grabbing their wand.
"What do you want, Black?" Towler glared at her, but his hands were empty.
She didn't answer him, throwing the bag of coins at his feet, some spilling out on the grass and reflecting the sunlight. "It's your cut."
Gaping down at the coins, one of the Weasleys actually bent down first, picking one up and weighing it in his hand, pointing his wand at it for a second. Then he looked up at his brother.
"It's real." He turned to look up at her. "What is this?"
She shrugged, smirking. "It's something between Towler and me, ask him."
Heads swerved around immediately to look at Towler, but he was still gaping at the coins, his head jerking up at the sound of his name.
"I don't… I never…"
"Enjoy the spoils." She interrupted him, turning around and waving behind her. "You worked hard for it after all."
Behind her voices burst out at her departure, but she couldn't stop smirking, even when she reached her own classmates, who were all also enjoying the weather.
"What are you smiling about?" Liz poked her with her foot.
"I can't be in a good mood?" Pushing the limb away, she took off her own shoes, opening her notebook and holding it up to her face to block out the light.
Liz shrugged and closed her eyes again, everyone else busy with each other.
'Be careful not to swallow the Mandrake leaf, in doing so the process will be ruined and you will have to wait until the next full moon to start over and try again. This will most likely be an issue at night, while sleeping, instead you can…'
Ignoring the snores around her, she waved her wand to close the curtains around her bed.
Hidden by the emerald fabric, thick enough to keep the light in and out at the same time, she placed the lamp in front of her.
Shaking slightly, she waved her wand again, checking again.
A few minutes before midnight, the night with the moon full in the sky.
Her heart beat soundly in her chest, so much so that she could feel it with every move. No matter what she did, breathing, meditation, closing her eyes, it didn't stop. She had accepted it was just the way it was.
In front of her, on her blanket, she had placed all the leaves she had bought almost six months ago. They were still in great condition and she had picked what looked like the brightest and thickest, placing it in front of the others.
Again she waved her wand for the time. Just a minute had passed.
She was going to do this and she was going to succeed. This would be the biggest step to restoring her family's legacy, her biggest contribution, and the one that would go down in history. Hundreds of years were going to pass after her and her family would remember her for this forever.
Unable to keep her leg from shaking, she kept her eyes on the plant.
Another wave of her wand. Mere seconds before midnight.
Quickly she grabbed it.
Three. Two. One.
In one smooth movement, the leaf took its place in her mouth.