POV: SAYORI
"I still can't believe it's already over!" I exclaimed, the buzzing excitement from the surrounding crowd of students getting to me. Just like us, it appeared they were all heading straight for the Great Hall. "It doesn't even seem that long ago since term started!"
"I- I know exactly what you mean." Yuri's soft-spoken voice agreed from my side. "To think it's been ten whole months… It only feels like we've been here for sixat most."
Clearly intent on not getting lost in the crowd, the taller girl was sticking as close to our small group as she possibly could, even going so far as to locking a tight, vice-like hand to my shoulder.
It felt nice.
"Time really flies, huh?" Monika said absently, a slight frown appearing across her face as she glanced between us and the crowd around us. "Hey, I think I know another way to the Great Hall. It's a bit longer, but I'm pretty sure there'll be less people around."
"That does sound… preferable." Yuri agreed at once, and I could feel her tense grip slacken just a bit in relief. This of course cemented Monika's proposal as the best way to go about things.
"Okie-doki, let's do it!" I smiled, turning on the spot. "Lead the way, Moni!"
A few moments of pushing ourselves past an avalanche of students later, we eventually managed to turn a corner into a far more deserted hallway of the Castle.
"That's a bit more manageable, innit?" Monika sighed in satisfaction at the peace and quiet.
"Indeed." Yuri admitted, gratefully. "Thank you, President."
Monika's eyes immediately sought mine, and we both erupted into a fit of giggles.
"…did I say something amusing?" Yuri asked hesitantly, left out of our private joke.
Being the first of us to stop laughing long enough to properly speak, Monika gave a shrug.
"Kind of?" She said, still smiling. "It's just… I don't think you've ever addressed me directly by my name, Yuri. Even when I'm off duty, it's always just 'President.'"
"O- oh!" Yuri exclaimed, her face flushing up. "I'm s- so sorry, m- must be a force of habit! If- if it bothers you, I'll of course call you M- Monika-"
"Well hang on..." Monika winked playfully. "…I didn't tell you to stop."
"It's okay Yuri, Monika's just messing with ya." I reassured our purple-haired companion before she could stammer out more apologies. "You can call her anything you'd like. For example, I've been using 'Moni-Bunny' a lot lately!"
Seeing it coming, I expertly dodged the hand swinging toward me before it could ruffle up my hair more than it already was.
"Personally, I'd prefer 'Minister of Magic.'" Monika shot me a teasing glare which I returned in the form of a raspberry. "But I may be getting ahead of myself there."
"Ah, yes I- I see now." Yuri smiled weakly at our antics. "…thank you for being so patient with me."
"Pft, we should be thanking you for putting up with us!" I scoffed. "Oh, that reminds me! D'you guys wanna sit together again on the train home?"
"Oh yes, please!" Monika confirmed, far more emphatically than I'd expected. "I need to be with someone who isn't just going to talk about Harry bloody Potter all damn day!"
"It… sounds like there's a story there?" Yuri raised a curious eyebrow.
"It's Draco and Pansy Parkinson." Monika sighed deeply. "I swear, it's been 'Potter this' and 'Potter that' literally non-stop since day one! And it's only gotten worse with all the craziness these last few weeks, they're completely obsess-"
"GET OUT OF MY TOILET, YOU VILE CRETIN!"
Monika was interrupted as loud, shrill screams suddenly rung throughout the hallway, seemingly from a door which according to a rusted sign led to the girl's lavatories.
"Hang on a tick, isn't that… Moaning Myrtle?" Monika began hesitantly as the screams continued spouting off obscenities at an ever increasing volume.
"Myrtle, Myrtle…" I said, trying to remember some kinda warning Cedric had given me earlier in the year. "I've heard that name before, isn't that-"
"-a relatively young ghost who've taken up residence in a Hogwarts restroom." Yuri finished. "She's supposedly very territorial."
"Oh, right." I nodded. Ten months ago I might have found this piece of information utterly ludicrous, but at this point it just seemed rather trivial. "I usually never go up here, so I haven't had a chance to see her yet. Don't most students avoid her?"
"Apparently not everyone." Monika pointed out. "But who in the world would be crazy enough to actually use her restroom…?"
Just then, the doorknob turned, opened, and a petite, pink-haired girl stepped out into the hall. Judging from the shrewd smirk on her face, she appeared to be rather pleased about something before taking notice of us.
"Oh, hey guys!" Natsuki said, raising a washed hand in casual greeting and started approaching. "Just a fair warning, I wouldn't go in there if I were you!"
"Nat!" The cry escaped my mouth like a bullet from a gun and I soon found myself mid-run to wrap my friend up in a hug before she had a chance to protest.
"Natsuki?" I vaguely heard Monika's muttering from behind, sounding utterly confused. "Are you quite all right?"
"Yeah. Aside from being choked to death, I'm peachy." Natsuki confirmed, snaking a hand underneath my armpit and wiggled her fingers.
"Eep!" I quickly curled away at her touch. "Hey, that's not fair! We agreed on no tickling!"
"We absolutely did not." Natsuki scoffed. "I said 'if you hug me like that again, you'll regret it' to which you said, and I'm quoting, 'there's nothing you can do to stop me- except if you tickle me, that's my only weakness!' That's not an agreement to never use it, that's you giving me the manual for your own self-destruction!"
"…meanie." I settled on, fresh out of better retorts.
"If- if I may ask, what were you doing in there?" Yuri asked.
"Uh… what do think I was doing in the girl's toilet?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
The taller purplette blushed profusely.
"I think she was more referring to what you were doing in there with Myrtle." Monika cut in. "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone willingly going into her stall. Even if all the other girl's bathrooms were to be occupied or out of order at the same time, I think most of us would sooner go outside than deal with her. Or, Merlin forbid, use the boy's restrooms."
She shuddered a bit at the thought, a gesture replicated by me, Yuri and Natsuki at the same time.
"Well, most people here are spineless fucking cowards." Natsuki then snorted. "I'm not about to let some whiny ghost bitch keep me from using a public toilet. And besides, it's just hilarious to rile her up. Here, watch this-"
Before we could stop her, Nat had already reached the bathroom door again, and began knocking loudly.
"All right in there, sweetheart?!" She called out, voice raised.
"GO AWAY!" Came the echoing wail from inside.
"Okay, just making sure you hadn't fallen in! We wouldn't want you dying or anything, would we?!"
"I HAAATE YOUUU!"
The scream dragged on for almost half a minute before finally dying out, followed by a distinct flushing sound.
"Ah, classic Myrtle." Natsuki shook her head, chuckling to herself. "Never gets old. Literally!"
"Your… unique perspective on the art of provocations never quite ceases to amaze." Yuri commented dryly.
"Aw, thanks!" Natsuki smirked back. "That's so sweet of you to say!"
"Oh, Nat!" I hurriedly interjected before I forgot. "We're gonna sit together on the way home, you wanna join us?"
But strangely enough, Natsuki's self-satisfied expression quickly turned into a suspicious frown.
"I don't know…" She said, hesitantly. "Suppose I could, but only if she promises not to gloat!"
Her eyes narrowed as she looked around me to glare directly at Monika.
"Moi?" The aforementioned girl placed a hand on her chest in over-exaggerated surprise. "Why, whatever could you be suggesting, Natsuki? What incentive would I, Monika, possibly have to gloa-"
"Oh, shut the hell up!" Natsuki scoffed, crossing her arms impatiently. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, I can tell from that smug fucking smile on your face!"
"Hmm, I may have an inkling of an idea…" Monika said, her amusement only seeming to grow the more irritated Natsuki became. "But I'd prefer to hear you say it first, just to avoid any misconceptions."
"The fucking House Cup!" Natsuki barked. "Slytherin's gonna win for the seventh goddamn year in a row! There, happy now? Can we stop making a big deal about it already?"
"I mean, you were the one who brought it up." Monika shrugged. "And we don't really know for sure who won it yet, they still haven't counted all the points after all. Who knows, you guys might still have a shot!"
"Save the theater, Monika. You're terrible at it." Natsuki rolled her eyes. "As if you don't know exactly how much farther ahead Slytherin is of everyone else. I don't really care at all, but I still don't wanna sit and listen to your insufferable bragging for hours on end!"
"Well…" Monika smirked, looking like she was about to retort. Before she could do so however, I stepped forward to gently squeeze her hand and get her attention.
Thankfully, she seemed to understand.
"…I can only promise to try." She said, which was probably the closest thing to peace I was gonna get among the two. Natsuki said nothing, merely shaking her head in quiet exasperation.
"S- speaking of…" Yuri said, nervously looking from Natsuki to Monika, clearly having seen the warning signs as well. "We, uh, we had better get a move on if we want to partake in the feast."
"Yeah, you're right." Natsuki sighed, and began walking forward somberly. "Let's just get this over with already."
"Remember that we're all gonna meet up at the train afterwards!" I reminded them as we went.
"Oh man, you should have seen the look on your FACE, Monika!"
Natsuki widened her eyes and opened her mouth, doing an uncannily good impression of me whenever I was asked a question in class before the mask broke and she started howling with laughter once more.
Monika herself said nothing, merely looking out the window at the trailing landscape rapidly passing us by as the Hogwarts Express brought us further and further away from the Hogwarts Castle.
She hadn't really said much of anything since the Feast. Even on our boat ride across the Black Lake, she'd remained mostly silent with the exact same look of stoic neutrality on her face as she had now, as if wholly indifferent to everything going on in the world around her.
However, her shaking hands curled into tight, white-knuckled fists, told a much different story.
"When Professor Dumbledore awarded those last points…!" Natsuki wheezed, recounting the events of the Feast for what felt like the seventeenth time now. "I mean, he didn't have to do that at all! He'd already dumped enough on Granger, Weasley and Potter to make us tie with Slytherin, but those extra, ten points… Such a beautifully perfect last 'fuck you' to send the Snakes home with! I- I can't b- breathe…!"
She curled over backwards, clutching her stomach as she struggled controlling her choked laughter. By her side, Yuri began half-heartedly clapping her on the back.
"…Moni?" I asked softly, noticing her eyelid twitching. "Are you quite all righ-"
"Yeah, M- Monika!" Natsuki exclaimed with some effort. Her face was still split into the largest, ear-to-ear grin I'd ever seen on her. "T- tell us, how exactly does it feel to have the rug pulled out from under you by Neville fucking Longbottom?!"
"Thought you said you hadn't a care for those 'stupid' points?" Monika finally spoke in a voice of icy, forced calm.
"Yeah, and I still stand by that." Natsuki said with a smirk. "Points don't matter at all. Unless you actually win, that is!"
Whether this remark was especially nasty or merely just the final straw for her, I wasn't completely sure. It didn't really matter, as the end result was pretty much the same.
"It's fucking BULLSHIT!" Monika howled and actually hit the armrest of her seat, causing Yuri to yelp out on the opposite side and Natsuki to somehow guffaw even harder.
"Moni-Bun…?" I tried, but she was already in full swing with her outburst.
"We won!" She continued. "Slytherin got the points fair and square, we should have gotten the House Cup, but nooo, apparently hard word and dedication means absolutely nothing in the face of 'bravery and nerve!' FUCK!"
I'd never seen Monika this uncomposed before. It was actually a bit frightening to witness.
"Moni, it's okay!" I assured her, trying to disarm the bad vibes. "You did your best, that's all that matte-"
"Fair?!" Natsuki burst out, rather unhelpfully. "Wait, wait, wait, so you have Snape showering Malfoy in points for breathing in his classes while taking away Potter's for the exact same thing and you have the audacity to tell me you earned them fairly? You bloody hypocrite!"
If Monika's following glare could conjure up actual daggers, I was sure Nat would have been impaled twenty times over right then and there.
"…it's still bullshit!" Monika settled on instead. "Slytherin actually earned our victory! Even with Draco being an idiot and costing us twenty points, we managed to pull it back! Meanwhile, Potter sneaks out at night yet a-fucking-gain, and gets bloody AWARDED for it!"
"Oh Merlin, I- I can't!" Natsuki gasped out for breath, actual tears rolling down her face. "T- the salt, it's reaching critical! Who'd have guessed Miss Picture Perfect President would be this sore a loser?!"
"I- If I may-" Yuri interjected in a mediating tone. "Presid- I mean, Monika, you… you can't deny how extraordinary it is for Harry Potter to repel You-Know-Who during his very first year at Hogwarts. I mean, s- surely you must agree such a feat deserves rewarding?"
Monika stared at Yuri with a look of utter despair in her emerald eyes.
"Not you too, Yuri…?"
"I… agree that Professor Dumbledore could have handled it a bit more tactfully." Yuri shrugged apologetically. "B- but rationally speaking… If even half the stories are true, then Potter has displayed skills and wit far beyond that of any wizard our age. I know for a fact I wouldn't have had the nerve to get past a three-headed dog."
"Sure, he did a decent job getting through those Challenges I guess!" Monika begrudgingly agreed. "I'm not sure I actually believe those 'Dark Lord' rumors floating around, it honestly seems less likely than the smuggled dragon, but I still fail to see how it's relevant to actual school performance! Give them a chocolate frog or something, but keep the points for those actually capable of competing and don't award one hundred and sixty of them after the fucking fact!"
Her voice was getting dangerously shrill, bordering on hysterical. I decided to take action then and there, grabbing her hand in mine.
"Monika, breathe." I soothed, squeezing her slender fingers. If she wound up crying over this then I would cry and then nothing would be getting done. "Remember, it's just some fancy-pants Cup. It doesn't matter, okay?"
"I never stepped so much as a toe out of line this whole year." Monika shook her head miserably. "I really gave it everything I had, and- and I accomplished nothing."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Natsuki opening her mouth again. I sent a pointed look her way.
"…all right, all right." Natsuki raised her hands, still smiling but looking much less combative now.
I nodded once, before returning my attention to Monika.
"You did accomplish so much! You started a Club, and got three new best friends! I'd daresay that's pretty good for a first-year!"
"You did all the work for the Club." Monika sniffled, not looking at me. "I didn't even come up with the idea…"
"Whaaat?! That's not true!" I frowned. "I just wanted a place where four people from different Houses could hang out together! You were the one who sought permission, got us the classroom, worked out the scheduling and maintained it for all these months! I'd never have been able to handle all that responsibility without you!"
Her only response was an uncommitted, skeptical grunt.
"If it hadn't been for our tutoring sessions, I wouldn't have passed the final Exam." I decided to push harder. "Because of you, and only you, I'm moving on to second year! So don't sit there and tell me how you didn't accomplish anything!"
"Wait, she did what?!" Natsuki exclaimed, both her and Yuri staring at us with visible confusion on their faces.
I didn't acknowledge them. This was between Monika and I, not them.
"I- all I did was give a few nudges with your homework." Monika mumbled, face flushing scarlet. "It wasn't that big a deal, you could easily have done it without me…"
"Spending hours of your free time helping me understand Transfiguration is not what I'd call 'a few nudges.'"
She didn't seem to have a reply for that, choosing instead to blankly stare at Desdemona soundly sleeping in her cage by the luggage. Annoyingly, it seemed she was determined not to accept any positive feedback from me if she could help it.
All right, fine. I glanced over at Yuri and Natsuki. Suppose I'll have to bring in the back-up, then.
"What do you guys think?" I asked the room. "Is Monika just some lazy slacker who depends on other people?"
"Goodness, no." Yuri replied at once, without missing a beat. "Monika, you're a bright and brilliant witch whom I am proud to call my friend. I honestly couldn't imagine a better President candidate, and it is in large part due to your amazing leadership that I am definitely going to attend the Literature Club again next year."
"…okay, look. I know I give you a lot of shit, Monika. MostlybecauseyourHousesucks-" Natsuki quickly added in one breath. "But the truth is… fuck, how do I say this…? You kinda subverted a lot of my expectations. Heck, you somehow managed to run a Club with me attending for the better half of a year. That alone deserves kudos. You keep that up, and… I'll have no problem calling you my friend."
"See? You're awesome, Monika!" I added, tilting my head into her field of view, giving her no other option than to look me in the eye. "Who cares about some stupid House Cup when you have three friends who love you?!"
"To be fair, having the House Cup feels fucking awesome…" I caught Nat mumbling under her breath, and sent her a warning look.
But thankfully, it seemed Monika was too overwhelmed with emotion to even hear the taunt. A hesitant smile had spread on her face which at this point was redder than Natsuki's hairclip.
"S- stop it, you guys…" She said in a trembling voice. "…y- you're gonna make me cry."
"Nope, we'll have none of that, thank you very much!" I said matter-of-factly before pulling her into a hug. "No tears on my watch!"
Monika tensed up momentarily, but then sagged defeatedly in my arms once realizing she wasn't getting out of it.
"I can tickle her if you want, Monika!" Natsuki suggested. "Just say the word."
"Yuri, could you be a lamb and restrain Natsuki until I'm done here?" I asked without sparing the pinkette a look.
"It'd be my pleasure." Yuri said calmly, followed by some rather chaotic sounds of struggling protests all of which I wholly ignored, keeping all my focus on Monika.
"You good?" I breathed into her ear.
In response, she let out a deep exhale before whispering back in a tiny voice.
"…I think so, yes. Thanks, Sayori."
Then, and only when I felt like she'd gotten enough good vibes, I finally allowed her to untangle from me.
After straightening herself up and adjusting her bow, she took a deep breath.
"…thank you." She announced, looking from me, to Natsuki and Yuri, the former of which managing to pull herself out of the taller girl's grip only to fall out of her seat and onto the train cart floor. "You're right of course, it- it doesn't matter who won the House Cup. That was very… unprofessional, of me."
"Eh, it's a'ight." Natsuki groaned, rising from the floor while tenderly rubbing her back. "Honestly, it was kinda refreshing to see you actually having feelings like a normal girl for once. I was starting to think you might be a- Yuri, what was the name of that Muggle-Monster? The killer machine thingie that didn't have emotions?"
"That would be a robot." Yuri smiled back.
"Ah, yes!" Natsuki snapped her fingers. "I thought you might be a robot!"
"I'm flattered." Monika said sardonically. "But anyway, you better not think I'm gonna take this loss lying down! Next year I'll be the Quidditch Seeker for Slytherin, which means I'll get the chance to earn even more points than this year! You better appreciate having that House Cup Natsuki, because I guarantee, your days with it are numbered!"
"Bring it on, bitch!" Natsuki smirked back, meeting Monika's confident glare head on.
"Uh-" I hesitated nervously. "But remember, it'll be okay if neither of you win, right?"
"Of course." Monika nodded, without breaking eye contact. "It's just a fun little game between friends, right Natsuki?"
"Right you are, Monika." Natsuki agreed, similarly unblinkingly. "No pressure at all on either part."
I looked at the both of them, taking note of the fire dancing in their eyes despite the cordiality.
Oh boy. This is gonna be something to watch out for.
Then, to my great surprise, Yuri was the one to bring everything back on track by clearing her throat.
"So, uhm-" She began. "W- would I be correct in assuming the Literature Club will continue next year? I must admit growing quite fond of it."
"Oh, for sure." Monika said, shaken out of her and Nat's impromptu staring contest. "Now that we've worked out the starting kinks, we should begin making plans to expand and get a lot more new members!"
At that, Yuri and Natsuki both exchanged glances, neither of them looking pleased.
"Riiight, we could do that…" Nat said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "…or, we could leave a good thing like it is and not add more idiots to ruin everything we've got?"
"Huh?" Monika frowned. "Surely the point of having a Club would be getting as many members as possible?"
"Surely the Club President should respect and prioritize the wishes of the original members?!"
Uh-oh, not again!
"D- don't worry so much, guys!" I forced out a chuckle. "Remember, we have the whole summer to think about it, I'm sure we'll work something out that'll make everyone happy!"
They didn't reply, keeping up their confrontational attitudes as they stared each other down. If this went on, it was quite possible there'd be another Club split-up before we even arrived at King's Cross unless someone did something.
I needed to distract them somehow.
"S- so, crazy year, huh Yuri?" I stated, hoping I hadn't made my voice unnaturally loud. "Especially near the end. I'm not even sure about what exactly happened!"
The girl looked back at me with utter bewilderment in her purple eyes. Silently, I flickered my eyes back and forth between Monika, Natsuki, and her.
"O- oh!" She exclaimed, finally seeming to understand. "Y- yes, it can be quite hard to discern the truth amid all the gossip, and the fact that all we have to go by is word of mouth certainly isn't helping either!"
"Meh, it's not that hard to figure out." Natsuki scoffed, mercifully abandoning her ongoing clash with Monika. "Our school was secretly guarding a precious, life-giving rock, some git went to steal it and Potter stopped him. Pretty damn simple, you ask me."
"Well yes, that's the gist of it." Yuri concurred. "But the more nuanced elements to the story may only be known to the people directly involved."
"It's… kinda odd." I frowned, finally addressing the part that bothered me the most. "I mean, from what I've heard, Professor Quirrel died, and yet nobody really seems that upset by it."
"That's because he ain't worth our tears." Natsuki stated bluntly. "Seriously, even if he wasn't actually You-Know-Who like everyone's whispering about, he was still a lying twat who betrayed us all! Wouldn't be surprised if he even faked that damn stutter of his, I say good riddance!"
"Oh, and when you say 'You-Know-Who,' you actually mean Volde-"
"Don't!"
Monika interrupted me mid-sentence, actually slapping a hand over my mouth. When I looked back at her, I noticed her as well as Yuri and Nat staring back at me with a mixture of fear and anger on their pale faces.
Oh, right. I realized my mistake, mentally kicking myself. Naughty word.
Cedric had warned me to never say it out loud when he'd written it down for me, but it was just so easy to forget the impact it had on everyone.
"Geez, you're almost as bad as Potter." Natsuki shook her head, shivering ever so slightly. Monika slowly removed her hand from my face with the care of someone dismantling a bomb. "Dude constantly says his name as well, in open company no less!"
"Sorry guys…" I blushed. "My bad."
"It's okay, just try and remember next time." Monika clapped my shoulder. "We're not all as tough as you."
"I'm not 'tough,' I just never grew up hearing about him or what he di-"
"Can we please just talk about something else?" Natsuki interjected, looking uncomfortable. "I feel… queasy."
"Sure thing!" I happily obliged. "How about those Challenges, yeah? Don't you think we could have beaten them?"
All three girls exchanged puzzled looks.
"…pardon?" Yuri spoke, softly.
"The safeguards the teachers put in to protect the Sorcerer's Stone!" I reminded them.
"Philosopher's Stone." Yuri corrected.
"Right, that! We know those are true, 'cuz Dumbledore awarded Harry Potter and his friends for getting through them. But don't you think we could have gotten through them too? Yuri, you said you couldn't have gotten past Fluffy, but didn't they say you only had to play him a bit of music to make him fall asleep?"
"B- but-" Yuri hesitated. "…I don't play any instruments?"
"Trust me, neither does Potter." Natsuki scoffed.
"Uh-" Monika began, looking unsure. "I'm not really good at it, like, at all. But… I kinda play the piano."
"Amazing!" I cheered. "See, we already got the first challenge done!"
"Yeah, we just need to carry a whole freakin' piano with us." Natsuki rolled her eyes. "No biggie."
"In fairness, we wouldn't really need it with us the whole way." Yuri pointed out. "If we just levitated the instrument to the third floor and played it there, we could theoretically slip past the canine."
"I guess." Monika said, looking unsure. "But what about the next Challenge? If I heard correctly, that's… the plant one, right?"
"Yup." Natsuki nodded. "Devil's Flair."
"Actually, it's Devil's Snare." Yuri corrected again.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying! Devil's Hair!"
"Snare! S-N-A-R-E, snare!"
"Devil's… Bear?"
"Well, now you're just doing it on purpose." Yuri huffed, looking away as Natsuki giggled.
"It's another easy one, though." She finally said, and I was pleased to see her actually engaged in the topic. "Just shine a light and the plants'll retreat, any one of us could do that!"
"With the benefit of hindsight, sure." Monika said. "But would we really be able to think about it while we're in the thick of a thousand strangling vines?"
"That's why we've got Yuri!" Natsuki argued. "With a nerd like that, we can get through this, the Potion Riddle and the Chess match without any trouble!"
"I- I think you're giving me too much credit." Yuri said, face flushing scarlet. "I'm not sure I'd be calm enough in such a situation."
"Nah." Natsuki dismissed her. "There's no way getting choked to death by plant tentacles would be able to stop your need to show off how 'smart' you are. You'll berate us all to cast a light spell the second we landed in the pile."
Yuri opened her mouth, looking as though she wanted to strongly object, but Monika was faster.
"We'll put those three down as 'most likely.' What was the next Challenge Potter went through?"
"Something about flying… keys, wasn't it?" I screwed up my face in concentration.
"Welp, me and Yuri are both out!" Natsuki winked knowingly. "Anyone here's a good flier?"
"Sayori is!" Monika exclaimed.
"Monika is!" I bellowed at the exact same time.
We both turned our heads to look at the other in stunned surprise. Then, we burst out laughing.
"All right, break it up you broom-heads." Natsuki grumbled after a while. "We have to move on to the next Challenge. What was it again?"
"If the rumors were true, it sounds like… The Mirror of Erised." Yuri said, in a hushed tone of awe.
"Oh yeah. Have to say, didn't really get that one." Nat frowned. "Something about needing to 'wish for the Stone, but not to use it?' I haven't a clue."
"To me, it sounds like we'd need someone noble, selfless and pure of heart." Monika pondered thoughtfully.
"Hmm…" I wondered aloud. "Who would that be…?"
It was only after a few seconds of dead silence that I looked up to see both Monika, Yuri and Natsuki staring directly at me, each one of them with teasing smiles on their faces. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
"…guuuuys!" I protested, only to get drowned out by their roaring laughter.
"Wait, we're missing one." Monika said after they'd all calmed down enough to stop praising me again. She lifted up her hand, counting her fingers. "Let's see… Hagrid's was the dog, Professor Sprout put in the Devil's Snare, Professor Flitwick the keys, Professor McGonagall the chess pieces, Professor Snape the riddle and Professor Dumbledore the mirror. Who's the last… oh!"
She snapped her fingers in realization.
"Professor Quirrel was also part of it! The giant troll!"
"Potter didn't have to face that, it'd already been knocked out." Yuri objected. "Therefore, we have no idea whether or not we'd be able to-"
"I could take it." Natsuki stated confidently, crossing her arms.
There was a moment's silence before Yuri snorted with laughter.
"You most certainly c- could not!" Yuri denied through rasping breaths of air.
"Could too!" Natsuki sniffed. "If freaking Rat-Boy could take one down, then you can be damn sure I can as well!"
"The troll at the Hallowe'en feast was allegedly much smaller than the one in the Challenge, and they only 'defeated' it through trickery and mitigating circumstances. There is no way that you'd be able to bring down a beast of such magnitude on your own!"
"I'll bring down your face on my own, watch me!"
Their bickering went on like that for a while, but I wasn't really too bothered by it. I could tell it was the good kind of bicker, the kind where both parties were having a good time and nobody would actually be upset at the end.
I allowed myself a brief sigh of relief as the discussion started to veer into how we as a group could have totally gotten through the Challenges much faster and effectively than Potter could ever hope for and defeat Professor Quirrel and an army of trolls at the same time.
It was… kind of exhausting, always having to be on my guard and distract them like this. But if that's what it took to maintain our friendships, then so be it.
Sure hope I'll be able to do the same next year…
Author's Note: Well, there it is! First Year of this crazy project I've foolishly decided to take on! And now that I've gotten so many of you enticed for the follow-up… I'm going to take a break.
Yeah, it's a bit anti-climactic, sorry. But looking back on this entire story as a whole and my experience writing it, I believe it's for the best. Unfortunately, I just didn't have as fun a time as I thought I would, and at certain times it just really felt like a chore. The reasons behind this could be many- Not having the greatest love for the first book. Being bored of writing those pesky necessary character introductions. Or perhaps just the feeling of restraint I had to put on myself because I've got all these cool scenes planned out in my head but they all take place in the later Years.
Maybe the second Year will be a bit more enjoyable to write, maybe not. I've got a bunch of awesome moments prepared that if done correctly, I think will be some of the best work I've ever done. But unfortunately, I think the Wizarding World will have to wait until I find myself in the mood again. I hope you understand, and thank you so much for reading and enjoying this silly little story, it truly means the world to me.
But you mustn't think that I'm just gonna stop writing entirely during this down period. There's this other, unfinished story I've been itching to get back to finishing. The progress have been stuck for a while, put on hold, halted. One might even say it's been paralyzed.
See you soon ;)