Chapter Forty-Six
Lucy heard her three friends rise from their slumbers at midnight. She opened her curtains as she saw them putting on their slippers and dressing gowns. It was the astronomy exam tonight for the third-years. Ruth didn't look impressed but she knew it had to be done.
"Astronomy. Destroying sleep since 1937" Ruth muttered under her breath.
"Good luck" Lucy said with a small smile.
The girls giving her a sarcastic wave before making their way out. They heard the sound of Lucy pulling back her curtain and laying back down. Making them sigh as they followed a few third-year boys up the steps and outside. Eileen fast asleep by the time Druella and Lucretia got up in the Slytherin common room. The entrance to the stairs leading up to the astronomy tower was soon filled with third-years. Olive Hornby with her gaggle of friends as always which included Euphemia. Ruth stood behind Druella.
"This is dreadful" Ruth moaned with a yawn; getting some agreement from the others.
"I quite like it" Orford nervously exclaimed.
"You would, wouldn't you?" Druella spat from a few meters down.
Making him roll his eyes as he ignored her. Ruth giving Druella the smallest shove forward as she purposefully moved up and stood on the girl's bare feet. Making the girl turn around towards her to give her a glare. Poppy and Victoria giving her a sarcastic wave. Druella thus stepped back herself as she thumped her foot onto Ruth's slipper. Only to get it back even harder, those in the que feeling a slight shuffle every few moments as a result.
"Orford. Tell your cousin to stop being such a prat" Druella spoke up.
"Ruth. Stop being a prat!" Orford shouted over.
Getting giggles from the rest of the teenagers. The tower soon opened as Professor Gutter called everybody up. The students all making their way up the steps to the tall tower. Feeling the wind as they got further up, thank goodness it was summer they thought. Moon charts and telescopes lined up as each student took their place, sitting down. The exam thus began as quiet took over the students, some of them having to force themselves to keep awake.
"What's that?" Olive Hornby was heard asking as she pointed her telescope towards something in the sky.
It only took the other students a few moments to see what she was on about. A lantern and two dark figures on a broomstick was seen flying in the distance. Nobody quite knew who it was. Professor Gutter looking through his own telescope as the broomstick flew up and down. He excused himself as he got on his own broomstick and flew out there. Making this astronomy exam suddenly more interesting as students were focused on this sight.
"Somebody's in trouble" Poppy spoke up with a raised eyebrow.
The figures in question didn't notice the professor in question. Until the lantern shone in his direction. It was the Filch brothers. Archibald panicked when he saw his 'Head of House' as he tried to fly back down but Professor Gutter was now hot on his tail as he made him stop mid-flight. Argus looked down as if he wasn't part of this whole thing.
"Archibald Bard Filch! I've had enough! Argus, you should know better!" Professor Gutter began shouting.
"You're out too, Professor" Archibald answered.
"I'm teaching as you well know. What are you doing? Having a midnight broomstick flight? On the night of your final exams? I'm writing to your father and then I'm telling Headmaster Dippet. Do you understand?"
"Please don't!" Argus pleaded; still holding onto the lantern.
"I'm sorry Argus but enough's enough. Now you fly back down, get back into your dormitory. And you Argus, get back to work. You're on night shift, remember?" Gutter lectured.
Argus giving a nod back to say he understood. Archibald too giving a nod and a weak response of "Yes". The professor took twenty house points from Ravenclaw despite it being his own house before demanding he get down now. The eldest brother thus did just that as he flew back down onto the ground. The Filch brothers making a guilty walk towards the castle.
"I'm going to lose my job and become a beggar!" Argus lamented.
"On the muggle streets" Archibald told him without much thought.
"No! I'm going to become a beggar on the muggle streets!"
"We both will if you don't keep your mouth shut. Sorry Argus, I'm going to get a warning and detention. I don't know what will happen to you but you chose to come with me" Archibald reminded him.
The squib looked panicked at this. Mrs Norris was patiently waiting for him as he returned to the castle. The kitten following behind him as Argus walked with his brother until he got to the outside of the Ravenclaw common room. Just as Archibald was about to answer the riddle, Argus pulled onto his arm as he asked him...
"You won't tell them I asked to come, will you?" Argus asked with begging eyes.
"Look. We stick together, okay? I promise" Archibald reassured him.
Giving him a pat on his shoulder before making his way inside. Leaving behind a very nervous Argus.
...
"I'm done for, Lucy. I'm going to be sacked" Argus insisted the following morning.
As the students ate breakfast and prepared for the final day of exams. A batch of owls soon came in. Argus looking up and much to his horror, a red letter landed on Archibald's table. Making the Ravenclaw table all look towards him. Argus staying firmly behind Lucy as he watched his brother pick it up and open it. The loud booming voice of their father was soon heard...
"Archibald Bard Filch. You have crossed line one too many times lately. Professor Gutter wrote me a rather angry letter this morning. If you get back home in the summer with more than one failed exam result. You will be banned from playing quidditch by me and your mother until your schooling ends! And that's a promise! You have disgraced the Ravenclaw house this year. Buckle down or your quidditch playing days are over!"
Silence filled the hall for a few moments as Archibald stared at the now silent letter. Argus waiting as he expected something else to happen. Why wasn't he mentioned? Archibald just carried on eating his breakfast and thus his peers began talking again. Lucy felt Argus shift again as he let go of her chair. She watched as he walked over to his brother...
"What do you think?" Argus asked him.
"I think father shouldn't make idle threats. Listen Argus, you are in the clear. Forget about it. Headmaster Dippet would had called you over by now if that letter meant anything. Be happy" Archibald answered.
"Oakleigh Burton might-"
"Oakleigh Burton isn't going to do anything. If he does, come to me. Right? Nobody scares my brother"
"Right. Thank you" Argus responded.
He walked away but was still clearly nervous. He just hoped to put his head down and go unnoticed for the rest of the day.
...
For the next couple of hours, students were in their exams. Currently it was 'History of Magic' as Lucy was scribbling away. She was good at this subject. She briefly looked around at the others to find them all scribbling away too. Tom however was only half-concentrating on his work. As he began to read some people's thoughts, testing his power of legilimency. He tried to use it on Eileen while she was off-guard and oh boy, was she ever. As he caught glimpses of what she truly thought. She was thinking about some black-haired boy back at home, a muggle boy to be exact. Tobias Snape. Tom could see that she was imagining them far away in a muggle street. Eileen was wearing what muggle women wore as she wore a long coat with a pleated skirt and black heeled shoes. She was wistful as he noticed her with her chin resting on her hand as he came back into the present and away from her thoughts. This did confirm what he already suspected, Eileen was wishing to get away from the magical world. Tom began scribbling away again, giving Eileen a slight glare as he did so. He finished the exam quicker than anyone did and thus he delved into another person's mind. As he looked towards Geoffrey Nott, the lad was merely thinking about quidditch and fast broomstick riding. He wasn't the brightest of Tom Riddle's gang. Tom pulled himself away from that quickly as he shook his head, wishing Nott would think about something else for a change.
...
"Exams over for another year! Finally!" a third-year Hufflepuff boy shouted in the hallway.
Getting hushed by Ogg on the way past. Making him quickly shut up as he noticed the great hall still filled with sixth and seventh-year students writing away. Lucy was jumped slightly by her three friends. The outside looked inviting and so it was as the younger students all rushed out. Ogg, Oakleigh Burton and Argus Filch came out to check nobody was up to any mischief as always. Ruth waving to her little sister as she was stood with the other Slytherin first-years. She gave a discreet wave back before turning back towards them...
"I wish she wasn't in Hufflepuff" Betty told her friends with a sigh.
"Right. Don't worry though...Tom doesn't hold a grudge against family members. As long as you support the cause" Goyle replied.
"Hmm. Well I'm not sure about that cause. The Riddle gang can be very scary sometimes" Betty spoke up nervously.
"Well just don't get involved in the messy parts. Keep your head down and he won't go after you" Crabbe chimed in having learned that the hard way.
The Riddle gang in question walked past. Making the Slytherin first-years quickly look away. Nott was going on and on about how fun the rest of the summer will be now he doesn't have to study. This just irked Tom as he turned towards him and gave him one glare but it was enough as Nott shut up instantly. Thus they carried on in silence. Making themselves comfortable under one of the trees, soon joined by Walburga and Druella. Eileen standing on her own as always as nobody dares speak to her for different reasons.
"I can barely believe another year's over. We should write to one another this time round, Lucy. It feels like we're always so distant from you over the holidays" Poppy said.
"Oh yes, definitely. Maybe even visit one of us. Now you can use floo powder" Ruth chimed in.
"I would love that but my friends at home feel neglected enough. I don't want to lose them" Lucy admitted with a shrug.
Polly and Jane feel left out a lot as she's away at Hogwarts for months on end. They have no idea where she is and think she's being funny with them as she won't write. She tried to make out it's because there's no post boxes anywhere near the boarding school and they have only half-accepted that answer. Her mother had also tried her best as she tried to make them see it was stupid for them to think Lucy is being snobby. It's not in her nature to be anything like that she tells them.
"Your muggle friends?" Ruth questioned.
"Yes. Polly and Jane think I'm being a snob as I won't write to them. I told them I can't because there's no post boxes but I don't know if they believe me" Lucy answered.
"I know the feeling. I had a muggle friend back home but she stopped talking to me by the time I got home two summers ago. Now she ignores me" Poppy explained.
"They are dear friends of mine. I wish I could tell them the truth" Lucy lamented.
Her friends giving her a small pat as they told her she will always have them. Which made her feel a bit better.
...
TBC
