Chapter 8-The Mind Revealed

"Happy Christmas," said Rachel.

"And Happy New Year's," Michael added.

"We'll owl you with presents."

"And you better too!"

Rachel hit Michael over the head while Liz grinned. "I will, don't worry. Have a great time with your families!"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "If the twins don't drive me mad. We've really got to go now. Bye!"

Liz waved goodbye as they rushed off with all the other students that were leaving. In reality, not many were leaving. The majority of students were up in the castle, reading (much to Liz's dismay) Secrets of the Mind.

"Haven't you read it enough times already?" she grumbled to no one in particularly after entering the Great Hall, full to the brim with students reading.

"Did you say something?"

Liz turned to see Nora Lovegood, frowning decidedly behind her. "Er—no." Not to her, anyway, she thought. "Why are you staying? Didn't your brother leave?"

"Oh, yes, Carl left. I stayed because of the book." Her frown became more pronounced. "Matthew has it and he won't let me read it. He's just a big Slytherin meanie."

Liz assumed this was true, but she might not have thought to use that exact wording. She wondered vaguely if there were any possible routes of escape from this pointless conversation.

"Well, I need to go. I'll see you around, Nora." And with that, she headed toward Gryffindor Tower, where Nora couldn't find her.

Christmas morning dawned bright and cold. The sun gave much light but little warmth, as Liz noticed when she was woken by the same snowy owl nipping angrily at her little snowy owl, Luna, whose hooting increased in volume every few seconds.

Liz shivered and climbed out of bed to find a pile of presents near the foot of it. But before she touched any of them, she loosed the letter from the larger owl's leg and read:

Dear Elizabeth,
Happy Christmas! I wish I were at Hogwarts with you right now. Enjoy your present. I love you.
Luna

A lump formed in Liz's throat. She wished her mother was at Hogwarts with her, too. She willed herself not to cry with the stabbing reminder that her tears would most likely freeze in their tracks. Still, it took all the strength of mind she possessed to open the accompanying package without shedding a single drop. It was a tiny ball that jingled when rattled. A cat ball. Smiling, Liz placed it in Sunny's basket near her kitten's sleeping form. She had to admit, her baby kitten wasn't such a baby anymore. It had been a year since that same owl had brought Sunny to Liz. Liz smiled gently at her kitten, who was curled in a little orange ball.

"Happy birthday," she whispered.

The other present were yet to be opened. Rachel had sent along candy (of course). Michael had given her a notebook that never ran out of paper. Chris had sent another bag of candy. The Smiths...Liz shook her head. They could never be mistaken for magic folk. Their present was a book called How to Keep an Aquarium Once You Have It. At least they knew she liked books, but what had possessed them to believe she had an aquarium, much less wanted to keep one?

Sunny's cat ball came rolling into view. Strange. She stood to put it back in the basket, but it evaded her grasp, rolling in the other direction. Sunny came bounding after it. It escaped her too, swerving every which way until Sunny cornered it against a wall. Cute. It ran on its own. Liz beamed and climbed out of her dormitory.

Only a handful of students in the Great Hall weren't reading. Liz grimaced and sat at her usual spot. Then the large snowy owl appeared again, not through the high windows as if with normal morning post, but through the doors. It nearly landed on Liz's mug of hot chocolate. It was carrying the opened package that Sunny's cat ball had been in, and the lid flopped open despairingly. The owl hooted.

"What, did I miss something?" Liz asked the owl, which hooted again. Liz peered inside the box. Sure enough, there was a thin book nestled at the bottom of the box. On its cover were shiny gold letters: THE MIND REVEALED, BY PADFOOT MYNODUESP.

"Tell my mum thanks, I heard it's really good," Liz told the owl jokingly but in a low voice. Nobody heard her, however, they were all too absorbed in Professor Nilworg's book. The owl cocked its head questioningly and took off, spilling Liz's mug of hot chocolate all over her place. Muttering irritably, Liz wiped up the mess, sat back down, and cracked open the front cover.

It took maybe half an hour to read, which was long in Liz's standards for such a small book. It was a short story, a very interesting one in fact. But Liz felt a subliminal message somewhere in there: Don't read Secrets of the Mind. It had nothing to do with the story at all. It just popped into her head the moment she took in the last word. "Strange," Liz muttered to herself. "Strange."

"It was horrible," Rachel muttered, burying her face in her hands. "They—they—"

"Go on, tell her," Michael said. He had already heard the tale on the train ride back to Hogwarts.

"They—they covered my bed in syrup!"

Liz snickered. Rachel raised her head. "Liz, it's really not funny. Carla and Theresa are ten-year-old little monsters."

"They'll be eleven, right? They're coming here next year, aren't they?" Liz asked.

"I completely forgot about that," Rachel moaned. "They are. Can't I make a restraining order or something?"

"Michael, Rachel, Elizabeth," Professor Nilworg's voice said coldly.

They looked up. Their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was glaring icily at them. "I was under the impression that class time is my time, not yours to talk. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Now, where was I? Ah, yes, your homework. A roll and a half of parchment on methods of hypnosis and mesmerization. Extra credit on indirect methods. Class is dismissed."

"Twenty points and a roll and a half of parchment," said Rachel. "Could this day get any worse?"

"Rachel?" said a boy in the hall. Liz had never seen him before. Judging from the expression on her face, Rachel hadn't either.

"Yes?" she replied meekly.

"My name is Russell Cunningham. I'm a third-year Ravenclaw."

Rachel nodded, bewildered.

"I know it's kind of early to be thinking about this, but will you go with me to the Valentine's Day Dance?"

Rachel's eyes widened. "I—I—I don't—I mean—I don't even know you," she stammered.

"But I know you," Russell said. "You're always with Elizabeth Potter, and I was looking at her, and I saw you, and...will you?"

"I...um...sure, I guess," Rachel said with a half-closed expression. Russell smiled, waved goodbye, and took off down the hall.

"That was bizarre!" Rachel exclaimed as soon as he was out of earshot. Then her face lit up. "I've got a date with a third-year! Who I barely know, but...did I do the right thing, do you think, Liz?"

"Absolutely! He fancies you, Rachel, go for it."

Michael's face was closed. He blinked and said, "That was bizarre."

It seemed Russell wasn't the only one thinking a month ahead. Near the end of January, the epidemic known only as the love bug had spread.

"I can't wait!" Rachel giggled at least twice at every meal.

On February third, Professor McGonagall stood for an announcement. "Attention, students. This year's Valentine's Day Dance has been cancelled, due to certain problems we faced last year." She seemed to be focusing determinedly on a point just above Liz's head. "That is all."

"What?" Rachel screeched. Most of the Great Hall's occupants echoed her. Everyone was staring at Liz, even the confused first-years. Bettie Hess glanced up from her evening mail and sneered, "Thanks, Liz."

Liz's stomach plummeted. Of course everyone would believe it to be her fault. John Peterson took up the glare where Bettie had left off.

"Liz!" Rachel cried. "How—I—"

"This isn't my fault! Don't you remember what happened last year?"

"Yes, but—oh, never mind." She stood up and went to talk to Russell.

Not a minute later, she came back on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?" Michael asked.

"He—he said—well, I said hi—and he said hi—and then he said we could go to Hogsmeade—and then he said wait no, that I was a second-year—then he said bye. We're over," she choked.

Michael patted her on the back while eyeing Liz testily. "What?" Liz cried out. He twisted up his mouth and sighed in frustration.

Liz groaned. Why was this coming back to haunt her again? More than ever, she wished that her mother were there with her.