Chapter X
Flying lessons were to be held Wednesday, on the Quidditch pitch out behind the school.
Anna couldn't wait, but she hid her excitement, afraid that if she seemed too happy about the lesson, she would fail – fall off her broomstick, or something of that sort.
Mandy and Padma couldn't wait. They both loved Quidditch, and had known how to fly for years. "It's really quite simple," Mandy was telling Lisa. It was already Wednesday morning, and the girls were having breakfast down in the Great Hall. "You just hold on, kick off, and then lean your body to make the broom go where you want it to."
Lisa nodded, but still didn't seem very sure about the whole idea. She refused to eat the toast Anna poked onto her plate. Ophelia just sat there, eyes closed, long fingers pressed into her temples.
"Felia, eat something. Please?" wheedled Padma. Ophelia looked at her weakly, and shook her head. The hall was starting to clear out.
"Well, looks like it's time!" said Mandy cheerfully. She stood up, dusting crumbs off her robes. Anna followed her, then Lisa. Padma had to give Ophelia a hand getting up. She looked quite pale. Anna felt sorry for Ophelia, but she supposed no one could be perfect, and this must be Ophelia's flaw.
They arrived out on the grassy field several minutes early. Susan Bones was already there and Anna glanced over, waving hello. Susan looked a bit nervous, but she smiled brightly and waved back. Padma poked Anna's arm, and pointed to the woman heading down the field, arms full of broomsticks. "That's Madam Hooch."
"Good Morning, girls. Would you mind helping me with these broomsticks? Ah, there we go." Mandy came over, and took several, and the others followed suit. "Now lay them out on the ground, one row please. Yes, that's about the right spacing," she said, pointing to the brooms Anna had set down. The laid out the brooms, about twenty in all. By this time, the rest of the class had arrived, with a few stragglers still making their way down the hill. Once they were all there, in a small huddle around Madam Hooch, she began.
"Right then. How many of you here have flown before?"
A little over half the class raised their hands.
"Great. Well then, each of you go find yourself a broom." The class followed her instructions, standing in line, whispering and giggling. Anna found herself a space between Ophelia and Susan.
Madam Hooch went on to explain how to call up your broom, how to mount and grip it properly. "All right, stick your right hand over the broom, and UP!"
Anna's broom gave a small leap, but fell back to the ground. Next to her, Ophelia's broom didn't budge. She glanced over at Mandy and Padma. Each of them held their broom tightly in their hands, looking rather pleased with themselves.
After three tries, Anna's broom finally leapt into her hand. She gave a sigh of relief. To her left, Ophelia was still having trouble with hers. "UP! UP!"
"Dear, it won't come if you don't want it to," said Madam Hooch, passing by. This seemed to stiffen Ophelia's resolve.
"UP!" she commanded. This time it jumped up into her hand. Anna glanced about again. Everyone was now mounting the broomsticks. Anna followed Madam Hooch's instructions and hopped on. Madam Hooch came around, correcting the way the students gripped the broom.
"Like golf," Lisa giggled. She was on Susan's other side.
"Now, on my whistle," called Madam Hooch, "three, two, one…" There was a sharp tweet, and Anna kicked off lightly. From the ground, Madam Hooch called out, "All right now, hold them steady there. Good! Now slowly - Carefully MacMillan! - tip the broom back toward the ground, and lean forward slightly - Not that much, Perks!." The students made their way back toward the ground, most rather reluctantly.
It was an odd feeling, soaring that high in the air with no support, only a magical broomstick – but Anna enjoyed it. She had felt a slight shiver run down her spine as she had kicked off the ground – one of fear, and yet, of delight. She listened impatiently as Madam Hooch critiqued their form. Finally, they were allowed to try again, for a bit longer. With 15 minutes of class left, Madam Hooch let them all up in the air, for as long as they wished. Anna stayed up the whole time, practicing wide circles, and little dives. Padma and Mandy started tossing a small ball around that Mandy had brought expressly for this purpose.
"No horseplay there Brocklehurst, Patil! You can play Quidditch on your own time. You're not getting hurt under my watch!"
Anna glanced down and noticed Ophelia sitting on the bench at the edge of the field. Anna couldn't understand why she wouldn't like this – this was wonderful! Even Lisa seemed to agree. She was over to Anna's right, soaring along next to Susan Bones. The two girls were laughing about something. Normally, Anna would have joined them, but just now, she felt like being alone. She attempted a little loop-de-loop, as she had seen some of the boys perform. She laughed as she turned upside-down, quickly righting herself. "Careful there Moon!" called Madam Hooch from below. A few moments later, she whistled for them to come down. With a few groans, the children landed. Anna hit the earth fairly hard, digging her heels in. "Mind you don't destroy the field, Moon!" Anna blushed.
After lunch, Anna realized she had left her Charms book up in the dorm. Breathlessly, she ran down the stairs to the third floor, praying she wouldn't be late. Professor Flitwick would understand, she was sure, but still… Just then, a voice stopped her.
"Hey, Anna!"
Anna turned, her eyes widening in surprise.
Standing on the stair, holding a stitch in his side, was a tall, sandy haired boy whose face looked awfully familiar.
"Aidan! How are you?"
He loped down the stairs, a half grin on his face. "I'm fine. It's great to see you again! I saw you at the sorting, but I haven't had time to catch up with you. Been busy with school and all that."
"What, not lurking down any corridors in the middle of the night?"
"Well, some of that too. But I've been more careful ever since…" his face went dark. "Well, how've you been?"
"Oh, since I've been here, fabulous. So I suppose all of the children at Ms. Morpheus's were like us? Magical I mean."
He nodded his head. "Yeah, wicked lady never bothered to tell anyone. Have you seen Abigail Murphy? She keeps asking about you."
"Abigail Murphy? You mean Abby? No, I haven't – what house is she in?"
"Hufflepuff. She has Herbology with me." Anna made a mental note to ask Susan about her.
"What house are you in?"
"Slytherin."
Aidan? In Slytherin? Anna's head spun. But weren't all Slytherins mean, horrible people? Like Professor Snape and Pansy?
Anna thoughts must have betrayed her features, for the expression on Aidan's face changed. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, I've got to go to Transfiguration now, or McGonagall will have my hide. It was nice to see you again though." Anna managed to nod as he swept past her, down the hall.
But it was hard to stay gloomy or pensive for long at Hogwarts. The entire school was excited over the upcoming Quidditch match – the first of the season. It would be held in less than a month – and already the tension was mounting. In fact, Anna was quite excited as well. She had had fun flying, and couldn't wait to do it again, or at least watch others fly. Ophelia would shudder whenever Quidditch was mentioned, smile slightly, and say that she preferred to keep her feet on the ground thank-you-very-much. She was up in the dormitory now; Anna could hear strains of a mournful melody played on the violin. She glanced up from her Charms homework at Mandy and Lisa.
"I'm going upstairs to check on Ophelia. She's been really quiet today."
"She's always quiet," commented Mandy, raising an eyebrow. Lisa merely gave a sympathetic smile and nodded.
Anna headed up the stairs to her room. She stopped outside the door, and rapped gently. The music stopped. "May I come in?" she asked.
There was a pause, then the door handle turned. Ophelia was standing there, violin in hand. "Sorry," she said simply, letting Anna through the door.
Anna stepped in. "Er… Ophelia, are you okay?"
She looked surprised at this question. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
Anna shrugged, falling back on her bed. Isis took this opportunity to leapt up and sit on her stomach. "I don't know. I guess you seemed kind of quiet."
Ophelia gave a soft laugh. "I never have much to say, Anna." She turned away, blinking back tears.
"Ophelia! What's wrong?"
It was Ophelia's turn to plop down on her bed. She faced Anna, miserable tears coursing down her face. "Oh Anna – I miss them!"
"Who, your parents?"
Ophelia nodded. "And my sister, Emilia. I'm so silly," she said, trying to brush the tears away. I told myself, it does no good to be homesick. And I love it here – I really do! Oh, I don't know what is wrong with me." She stared out the window, a miserable expression on her face. "My birthday was two weeks ago, and I didn't even tell anyone. I didn't care, really. I'm eleven. And I don't really care."
The girls sat in silence for quite some time. Anna stared down at Isis, petting her gently. The Siamese purred loudly, a comforting sound. Ophelia just stared out the window.
"What's your sister like?" asked Anna suddenly.
Ophelia looked back at her, a bit surprised. "Emilia?" Anna nodded. "Oh, she's my best friend. Julie is head girl, you know, she's always been the outstanding one. She and Bea were always close – the two popular, funny ones. Then there was me – and Emilia. She understands me more than any other person. I'm sure if she was my twin – like Padma and Parvati – that she would be here, in Ravenclaw. But she won't be here for another year. And I miss her already…"
Anna sat there, feeling sorry for Ophelia, and for herself. She wished she had sisters so badly. And Ophelia had four! But poor girl, she must miss her little sister terribly…
"Have you owled her yet?"
"Every day." Ophelia managed to smile a bit at this. "That's what's been making me homesick, I think. Poor Emilia is stuck at home all by herself, and I feel for her so. Getting stuck with Mum and Dad…oh, they're nice enough. It's just not the same as having someone your own age to talk to."
"Well," said Anna, "if you ever need to talk, please tell me. I really do like you Ophelia, and so does Lisa. Padma and Mandy do to, but you've known them for so long."
"Not really. I know Padma fairly well, our mothers were good friends at Hogwarts. When we were little, they would visit, and the six of us would play together. But Parvati and Padma usually ended up playing Quidditch with Julie and Bea, and I'm rubbish at sports. I just know Mandy from a few of the twin's birthday parties, and that sort of thing."
"But they do like
you," insisted Anna. "I can tell. They just don't show it – well, like Lisa
shows it, I suppose." The two girls grinned at this. Lisa loved everybody – and
never failed to show it with a hug or a kind word. "By the way, I finished the
Chronicles of Cessair. Thank you so much for lending it to me
– it was marvelous. I'd love to see Cessair meet Lydia, wouldn't you?"
The girls then fell into a deep
discussion of the possibility of a meeting between their two favorite literary
characters. It was only ended by Lisa slipping into the room to tell them that
they'd better get to supper. The three walked down to the Great Hall together.
They sat down at the table next to
Mandy and Padma. "Where have you been?" Anna asked Padma.
"She was in the library, looking up
the potions for next week. Crazy girl, I had to drag her away."
Padma shot Mandy a venomous look, but
refrained from saying anything. "Pass the dumplings please?" Anna finished with
the bowl, and passed it on. She was carefully adding carrots to the side when
Lisa spoke.
"Guess what tomorrow is?"
"October 15th?" said Padma sensibly.
"Well, that too," replied Lisa. "But it's also my birthday. Finally! It seems I'm one of the youngest in the class."
"You're still ten?" asked Mandy.
Lisa blushed a bit. "Yes."
Anna poked at her food thoughtfully. "Your birthday will be easy to remember. Mine's the 15th as well, but of July."
Padma and Mandy exchanged a look. Ophelia stopped chewing to look up at Anna, and raised her eyebrows. "That is odd."
"Odd? No, that's positively freakish!" added Padma.
"What's freakish?" Anna frowned, her fork half-way to her mouth.
Padma took a deep breath. "That means we're all quindecim babies."
"Quindecim?"
"Yes, it's Latin for fifteen," chimed in Ophelia.
"My parents always told Padma and I we were lucky to be born on the 15th. It's a lucky day. Then, when Mandy and I were little, we formed this silly club – called it the Quindecimdia club. Because she's born on the 15th too, but of June."
"A month before me," whispered Anna.
"And," added Mandy, "Ophelia joined us later." She wrinkled her brow as she thought of something. "Felia, your birthday just passed. I can't believe I forgot! Why didn't you say something?"
Ophelia shrugged, and gave a slight smile, but Anna could tell she was pleased that someone had finally remembered.
"So," said Padma, in a hushed tone, "I'm April 15th, you're June 15th," as she pointed at Mandy.
"I'm July 15th, whispered Anna, "Ophelia is September 15th, and Lisa is…"
"October 15th," she finished for her. Lisa's eyes looked bigger than ever. "Wow," she murmured. She shivered slightly. "Goosebumps!"
Anna's eyes were shining. "What did you say you called this club?"
"Quindecimdei. Muddled Latin for fifteenth day."
"What did you do?" asked Anna.
"Well," shrugged Padma, "nothing really. Just played games, and pretended to hold secret meetings… that sort of kid stuff."
Ophelia stared at her, mouth open. "Certainly you haven't forgotten all the books we read, and the things we imagined?"
Once again Padma shrugged. "Well, I do, that just seems like too long ago for it to make much of a difference now."
"But it was wonderful," murmured Mandy, "remember how we used to pretend to be Aurors? How we went after the Rat Pack?"
Lisa looked very confused. "The what?" she asked. "And what are 'Aurors'?"
"Aurors fight dark Wizards. There were a lot of them back when… well, when You-Know-Who was in power," explained Padma. "And the Rat Pack was just something we made up – kind of like evil Jarveys – except they were more rat-like, and their leader had a single red eye in the middle of his forehead."
"See," laughed Mandy, nudging her, "you do remember." Padma blushed slightly, not a mean feat due to her dark complexion.
"Anyway, why did you want to know?"
"Because – I think we should start it up again."
"Oh!" cried Lisa. "That's a wonderful idea!"
"But what would we do?" asked Padma. "We're too old for make-believe now."
"You're never too old for make-believe," admonished Anna, "and besides, there are plenty of adventures to be had at Hogwarts!"
Mandy nodded. "True, true…"
Lisa smiled. "I've never been in a secret society before, but I imagine it would be quite fun. Besides, I feel we should do something. I mean, there has to be a reason we're all grouped together in Ravenclaw, sharing the same birthday. It must be destiny… or something!"
The others nodded, leaning in with a conspiratorial manner.
"I say we hold our first meeting tomorrow at Midnight," said Mandy. "In honor of Lisa's birthday."
"Yes, and hold meetings on the 15th of each month we're here. That way we can celebrate too, with presents, and food, and such."
The Ravenclaw girls waited until the common room had cleared out to go to bed. They were much quieter than usual, noted Penelope Clearwater. Usually those five were huddled in a group around the fireplace, laughing at jokes, or checking their homework together. But tonight, Padma and Ophelia were playing a silent game of chess, Mandy was doing her charms homework, and Anna and Lisa were each curled up with a book.
"Goodnight girls. Get some sleep soon," she called as she headed up the staircase to her dorm. A chorus of good-nights followed her. Penelope shook her head. They were quite lucky to have all become such good friends.
Mandy glanced up from her homework, and Anna from her book as Penelope went upstairs. Padma and Ophelia quickly returned their chess pieces to their boxes. The girls had decided that it just wouldn't be right to hold the first meeting of the new Quindecimdia club in their own room. Mandy brought several candles from her bag, and tapped each wick. "Incendio!" The candles sputtered to life. Mandy set them in a circle.
Ophelia brought out a notebook. "I'm taking the minutes," she whispered in a hushed tone.
"No you're not!" hissed Padma. "This is a secret club, and we want it to stay that way."
"That's okay," said Mandy. "I just read about a good locking charm. No one will be able to break in without the password."
"Excellent," murmured Ophelia, producing a quill from her bag. "So – shall we begin? Lisa, it's your birthday – you do the honor."
Lisa grinned at her across the flickering circle, but quickly straightened her face. "I hereby call the first meeting of the new Quindecimdei Club into order. First item on the agenda – my birthday!" Anna quickly smothered a giggle.
"Right," added Padma. "I move that it is time for food. I'm starved."
"You just ate!" said Lisa, amazed.
Padma brought a cake from out of her bag. Lisa's eyes grew wide. "Where on earth did you get that?"
Padma just grinned. "Felia has connections, whether she admits it or not. We got Juliette to show us where the kitchen is located."
The girls all helped themselves to a slice of cake. "Proceeding onward…" said Mandy, mouth full of cake, "… presents!" She brought out a small wrapped parcel from behind her back.
"Oh, thank you!" gasped Lisa. "I really wasn't expecting anything.."
"Open it before you thank me," added Mandy, raising an eyebrow. Lisa regarded the present suspiciously. "And… one for Ophelia also, since we didn't celebrate her birthday."
Ophelia was clearly surprised. "For me?"
"No, silly, for the other Ophelia sitting here." Ophelia smiled a bit as she took the gift, unwrapping it neatly. Mandy had bought both girls lovely quills, and two bottles of color change ink apiece. Ophelia's were shades of blue and silver, and Lisa's were violet and pink.
Next, Padma gave out her gifts. Each girl received an assortment of candy – chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum… all in a velvet pouch. Anna was next. Both girls oohed and aahed in delight as they unwrapped the little boxes Anna had made for them, covered in little moving pictures cut from a wizarding magazine Anna had bought at Flourish and Blotts. Little fairies and unicorns pranced across the surface. "Wow Anna – thanks!" Lisa reached over to hug her. Ophelia was engrossed watching a princess waltz across the top of her box. She managed to pull herself away, and handed Lisa her present. It was a beautifully bound copy of Lydia Trendille. Lisa thanked her profusely. Anna knew she'd been wanting a copy ever since she had borrowed hers.
Once she had recovered from her birthday euphoria, Lisa spoke. "Well," she said, glancing about the circle, "I wanted to make everyone something for the inaugural meeting of Quindecimdei." She raised a hand to the chorus of 'Oh, Lisa, you shouldn't have.' "I wanted to," she said firmly, "and if you don't like them, I'll take them back." She took a deep breath, seeming quite satisfied with herself. "Now – hold out your hands and close your eyes."
"This had better not be a joke," said Mandy as she shut hers.
"No, that would be you dear," Padma commented. They all giggled. Anna felt something small and cold drop into her hand, something on a string. A moment later, Lisa said, "You can open your eyes now." Anna looked down at her palm curiously.
Sitting there was a tiny pendant, on a green cord. It seemed to be made of glass, and was in the shape of a diamond, elongated on the end with the string. There was something scratched into the surface, a shape Anna couldn't quite make out in the candle light.
"Wow," murmured Mandy. "How did you make these?"
"I looked up a glass-cutting charm," said Lisa.
"It's lovely," said Ophelia, slipping hers on over her head. Hers was the same as Anna's, but with a blue cord. She noted that Lisa was wearing one herself, but with a purple cord.
"Go ahead," she prompted the others. "Put yours on." They complied.
"Now…Padma, you're the eldest. Hold yours out. Yes, like so. Alright, now Mandy, lean in, and put yours next to Padma's. Now you Anna."
Anna wondered where this was going. Ophelia was told to add hers, and finally, Lisa filled in the last gap. "See?"
Anna let out a tiny gasp. The five pendants placed together had formed a perfect crystal star. And in the center, Anna could finally make out the shape. XV
"Oh, Lisa," Ophelia whispered in awe, "it's perfect!"
Lisa smiled. "Thanks. I wanted something we could all share." She took her pendant out of the circle. "Now, we should do this properly. In order to really be a secret society, we should be sisters. Blood sisters."
"You mean?"
Lisa nodded, holding out her finger. She took the end of her pendant, and used it to prick her finger. She cradled it in her other hand, squeezing the tip gently. Anna took hers, and gently poked it with the sharp end. A drop of blood appeared, shining in the candle light. She looked up. Mandy looked as if she was going to be sick.
"I don't think I've ever told you this, but the sight of blood makes me feel ill."
"Oh, give me your finger," said Padma impatiently. She grabbed Mandy's necklace with her other hand, and jabbed Mandy's finger before she even knew what was happening.
"Eee!" Mandy squeaked.
"Quiet!" shushed Ophelia. "You'll wake everybody up."
Anna and Lisa pressed their fingers together. Solemnly, they each repeated the rite with the others in the circle. "This way, no matter where we go, or what we do, we take a little bit of the others with us. Even if we perish, we shall live on in one other," Lisa whispered.
Anna shivered. Perhaps it was the flickering quality of the candlelight, or the solemnity with which Lisa had spoken, but her last statement had been so deliciously morbid. Anna found herself wondering if her own mother had had friends such as these at Hogwarts – friends in whom she lived on, both in blood and spirit. Sisters… Anna now had her own group of sisters, girls she was bound to by a blood promise.
Her glorious thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs of the girls dormitories. Mandy hurriedly extinguished the candles. The girls sat there in the dark for a moment, listening intently.
Penelope poked her head out of the doorway, and rubbed her bleary eyes. She held up her lit wand to illuminate the source of the noise. "What are you still doing up?" she asked peevishly. "I told you to go to bed an hour ago."
The girls grabbed their bags, and obediently followed her up the stairs. As soon as they were in their own room, with the door firmly closed, Mandy grumbled, "we've got to find some place to have these meetings where Penelope won't find us."
Anna sighed. "She's nice enough, she just doesn't understand. She's never been in a secret society before, I'm sure." She pulled the sheets up, disturbing Greymalkin from his slumber.
"Except of course the Percy Weasley Fan Club," yawned Mandy. The other giggled. "Well, goodnight. It was fun while it lasted."
"Here, here," Padma said, her voice muffled through her drawn curtains.
"Sweet dreams everyone," Lisa murmured.
It was not until they had all fallen off into the beginnings of dreams that Anna rolled over and whispered, "Happy birthday Lisa."
"Even if we perish, we shall live on in one other"? Yes, dear Lisa is a bit melodramatic. But I still love her! Wow – thanks for all the reviews last time. I love it when people seem to enjoy my story, because I've enjoyed it for so long without telling anyone, and sharing it is great! I really hope this won't be my last segment before I leave for the summer – though with finals coming up, I suspect it will. In any case – please don't forget about me!
