NOTES: Except to see a lot of the puzzle. And if this confuses you, it won't by the time you read this chapter. Thanks, Redberry Greenleaf, for replying. Is that a LOTR name? Whatever… don't forget to reply if you are reading and not! Because it's just kinda nice and all…
Chapter Two
Hogwarts never ceased to amaze Ivy no matter how much time she spent wandering the corridors or checking out a secret passage. It took her and Holly ten minutes more than the rest of the seventh years to reach Gryffindor Tower because of Ivy's insane curiosity. She had stick her head into any door way that she swore she had not seen the year before. After about the twenty fifth door she started to slow down especially when Holly pointed at a door and said:
"Oh look, it's the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room! We haven't been there yet even though we took the class for... oh I don't know, six years?"
Ivy went pink and slowed down on the door search. But she did check behind every tapestry certain that there would be at least one secret passage. Finally ("Oh no, we're right on time, Ivy! We're here at the exact time we need to be. It's only that everybody is asleep!" said Holly sarcastically) they reached Gryffindor tower and trudged up to the girls dormitory. But only after Ivy had sat in the comfiest arm chair and whispered "Mine!"
"Yeah, yeah! Come on!" said Holly grabbing her by the arm and dragging her up to the dormitory.
All ready waiting was Lily Evans who was sitting on her bed, of course, reading. Why was it that all of the girls read when there was nothing else to do? Ivy always wondered about this and thought maybe books spoke to certain people. Holly had squished this once by saying:
"Do books have mouths? No! I don't think so!"
"Oh, hey guys!" said Lily, closing her book and smiling.
"How was your summer?" asked Holly going through her trunk finding her PJs.
"It was all right. Petunia spent this summer in her room talking on the phone a whole lot!" said Lily a bit too cheerfully.
"Petunia doesn't like you," said Ivy matter-of-factly sitting on her bed and then laying back. When she wasn't able to see them Holly and Lily exchanged glances and looked away so they wouldn't laugh.
"I realize that. I just want to know who she's talking to," said Lily.
"Oh, I know! I know!" said Holly straighten up and grinning. "She's seeing..." she waited dramatically while Ivy propped herself up on her elbow, "She's seeing a guy!"
"Probably some fat guy," said Ivy nodding her head in agreement.
"Knowing my sister, he's also abusive!" said Lily raising her eyebrows.
"Ruin the fun, why don't you!" said Holly going back to her trunk.
"Oh, I got this puzzle for my birthday. Want to help me with it?" asked Lily leaning over her bed to grab the box under her bed.
Holly looked up grinning. Ivy raised an eyebrow and frowned. But Lily and Holly didn't notice as they scrambled onto the ground and opened the puzzle box. They had started to sort out the pieces into two piles (edges and not edges) when Holly looked up to Ivy who was staring wide eyed at the strange and unusual card board things.
"Hey, Ive, you going to come help?" said Lily still sorting pieces.
"Help?" said Ivy. "Me?"
"Yes you!" said Holly exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. "Maybe it would help, Lily, if you didn't give her a nickname. I don't think her brain can cope with that along with the N.E.W.T.s coming up."
"True," said Lily thoughtfully.
"How could I help?" asked Ivy sounding like a kid of five who doesn't understand what a broom is.
"Well you take two pieces that go together and you put them together!" said Holly grinning way too widely and talking way too cheerfully.
"Oh?" said Ivy still unsure of what to do.
"Look, Ivy, they make a picture. You need to put the pieces in the right places to make a picture... Like this!" said Lily holding up two pieces and clicking together.
"It is... strange..." said Ivy not able to think of a metaphor for what the pieces were doing. The closest she could come up with was locking a door and that made no sense even to her.
Holly rolled her eyes and continued to try repeatedly to put five different pieces together with no luck. Ivy cautiously crawled out of her bed and onto the floor and picked up a piece. She held it real close her eyes trying to see what was on it. She turned it over and over noticing that one side was blank. Ivy mentioned this.
"Yes, Ivy. That's the side you don't have to see," said Lily calmly.
"Where do we put the puzzle when it is done?" asked Ivy as she handed the piece to Holly and miraculously fit together with the piece she was holding.
"I doubt we'll finish it tonight," laughed Lily.
"You leave a project unfinished?" said Ivy horrified.
"We'll finish it but we kind of have..." Holly picked up the lid to look at it, "500 small pieces we need to fit together. Plus we have classes tomorrow so I really doubt we'll get far on it today. But we will finish it!"
"But if it is not finished where will you know where you left off or where you were going?" asked Ivy.
"With a puzzle, it really doesn't matter. Where you're going is right here on the lid!" said Holly.
"And where you left off is anywhere you want to... or everywhere," added Lily.
"I want nothing to do with this project that will never be finished!" said Ivy, crossing her arms.
"How about a bet!" said Holly mischievously.
"Oh god..." said Lily, rolling her eyes.
"A bet? What sort of a bet?" asked Ivy raising an eyebrow.
"Ok, if this puzzle gets finished before Christmas I'll get you one and you have to finish it all by yourself. If it doesn't then you have to get me one and I have to finish it all by myself," said Holly.
"This is a bet?" said Ivy. She thought about it for a minute. "The loser gets no other Christmas present than the puzzle."
"Deal!" said Holly.
"Deal," said Ivy a bit uncertainly.
"Well, I'm off to bed!" said Lily loudly.
"Sleep is always a good thing before your mind needs to be in use for classes," said Ivy matter-of-factly crawling into bed.
"How long do you sleep Ivy?" joked Holly. But at that moment Lily had turned off the lights and still to the amazement of both girls, Ivy dropped off to sleep almost instantly.
