Chapter 5
Badoura went down to breakfast the next morning, eager to begin classes. She had dreamed of potions and charms all summer, and now she was finally going to be able to do it.
At the Gryffindor house table she found Lily and Nadine immersed in their breakfasts and schedules. She smiled brightly at them. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.
"Who said?" Jules said from behind them, "I didn't do an ounce of homework."
She laughed lightly. She looked gorgeous as usual. Her hair was flowing down her shoulders. Badoura only then realized how horrible she must look.
"Good morning," Sirius said sleepily.
"What's the matter with you?" Badoura said reading over her schedule and pumpkin juice.
"God, I forgot that Peter could snore that loud," he said rubbing his forehead. Badoura smiled secretly and Jules laughed loftily.
"Ugh, we have Potions and History of Magic today! What a horrible combination." Badoura said frowning at her schedule.
James appeared with Peter and Remus a few minutes later. Everyone appeared exhausted except for Peter. He looked completely rested.
"I'm going to get an early start Potions," Lily said pulling Badoura along with her.
"I thought this was a singular action," Badoura said with a burst of laughter at her own little joke. She was very cheerful this morning. Lily didn't say anything. She just gave Badoura a glare.
"What is with James," she said furiously more to herself than to Badoura.
"Um, I didn't think he was doing anything wrong this morning," Badoura replied cautiously. She could tell that Lily was having conflicting emotions about James. Lily threw Badoura another look, which silenced her.
"It's more like he breathes."
Potions was horrible. The dungeon had smelled of pickled frog and squid. Badoura left the room gagging. They had been making a rather complicated form of a truth potion. The potions master was threatening to test it on one of them, but the class ended just in time.
"Badoura," she heard James say behind her. She turned around to look at him. He was holding plays for the up coming Quidditch practice. "Practice tonight, tell Nadine."
"There is a minor problem," Badoura said shifting uneasily from foot to foot, "Nadine is not going to play this year."
James laughed probably thinking that she was joking. He looked at her face and realized how wrong he was. "What," he sputtered, "She was the second best chaser we had."
"Well, she said she has to concentrate on her classes," Badoura said. She was smiling slightly, knowing she was the best chaser they had.
James got slightly pale. He was the captain of the Quidditch team this year. "I'll talk some sense into her," he choked and turned to go off with Sirius and Remus. "Concentrate on classes, honestly," she heard him mumble to himself.
The next few weeks passed by with a blur of homework, Quidditch practices, and constant annoyances from William Nott. William was now walking Badoura to each of the classes they had together, Potions, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures. Badoura didn't talk to him on these daily walks, but he never seemed to get the point. Jules giggled each time she saw them together.
"Shut up Jules," Badoura hissed at lunch the day before the first Quidditch match of the season. Badoura was feeling particularly anxious about this one, considering it was against Slytherin and William was one of their beaters.
"I just think it is adorable that he is so keen on you," Jules said while taking a bite of a sandwich.
Badoura heard Lily kick Jules under the table. "You aren't being a very good friend, Jules," Nadine said, "Badoura has a big match tomorrow." Nadine was definitely trying to get on Badoura's good side ever since she quit the team. Badoura had rubbed it in her face when they found a fourth year who was just as good as Nadine.
Badoura felt sick. She put down the spoonful of soup she was about to eat. William was sitting at the Slytherin table looking handsome as usual. He had the build of a beater, strong shoulders and long arms. Badoura shook herself. Luckily the Marauders showed up just in time to distract her attention. They were discussing their favorite topic, Severus Snape.
Lily tried to make a quick exit, but James headed her off. "Going for a walk," he said, "Care if I join?"
"Yes," she said walking past him.
"Oh good," he said following her out the Great Hall.
"He's going to be furious later when he realizes he misses lunch," Remus said laughing as he sat down.
Sirius sat down in Lily's old seat. "Nervous," he asked eyeing Badoura's untouched soup and sandwiches. Sirius was a beater too. He didn't look nervous at all, as if he ever did. Badoura shrugged. "Don't worry about him," Sirius said casting his grey eyes on the Slytherin table, "I'll take care of that son of a bogart."
Badoura awoke the next morning with butterflies doing aerobics in her stomach. She went down to breakfast early that morning only to find the great hall in a commotion. People were whispering everywhere. The teachers looked nervous. Professor McGonagall came down from the head table to cut Badoura off. "I am very sorry Miss Lestrange, but the match today has been canceled," she said with her forehead burrowed in anxiety.
"What," Badoura said not believing her luck, "why?"
"I am afraid a student has gone missing," she said looking at Badoura with pity now, "your brother, Rodolphus, has disappeared."
Badoura stared at Professor McGonagall unable to speak. Rodolphus was missing. No one had ever disappeared from Hogwarts during her time there. People were disappearing everywhere except Hogwarts. The whole idea made Badoura sicker than she had felt earlier.
"Are you alright dear?" Professor McGonagall said looking at her strangely. She must have gone deathly pale at this point.
"I, uh," Badoura said faintly. She didn't really like Rodolphus, but she certainly did not want anything to hurt him.
"Your parents are on the way," Professor McGonagall said grabbing Badoura's upper arm, clearly afraid that she was going to faint, "we only just found out this morning that he was missing."
Professor McGonagall was leading her towards the entrance of the Great Hall, but stopped abruptly when she saw Rabastan. She left Badoura standing alone as she went to talk to him.
Badoura's mind was racing. Was Rodolphus involved in something that he shouldn't be? Was the face in her fire actually looking for him?
At that moment Lily arrived. "I just heard," she said looking concerned. She never liked Rodolphus because he had openly called her a mudblood, but she was looking at Badoura like she was a dying person. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she heard a distant voice say. Lily stared at her strangely. She looked a little frightened. She knew what disappearances meant these days.
Professor McGonagall returned with Rabastan, who did not look in anyway affected. Badoura thought that perhaps he would be able to tell her Rodolphus was okay and that all of this was a joke, but her hopes were thwarted when he said nothing.
"Come now," Professor McGonagall said returning to her place at Badoura's arm, "Your parents are waiting."
