"Wingardium Leviosa…" a small stone flew through the air and Gwen grabbed out of the air just before it hit her in face and then turning skipped it across the surface. Then she turned and faced the pile of rocks narrowing her eyes in concentration. Today had been a very bad day… "Wingardium Leviosa…"
First she had overslept because she couldn't sleep for worry the night before. In fact it had been well after midnight when she finally drifted off out of sheer exhaustion. Then she missed breakfast and nearly ran over a poor boy whose last name was Longbottom. She had lost five points for Gryffindor as she barely slid into her first class Herbology and got a lecture from Professor Sprout. Then her luck began to truly become worse.
In Charms she had flunked her "Wingardium Leviosa" exam. Her feather had nearly skewered Professor Flitwick when someone had walked into the classroom breaking her concentration. It turned out it was Remus coming back in from his duties as Prefect.
Then in transfiguration, she had frozen in the middle of casting her charm that would have transformed a rock into a rabbit when a sound of flapping wings came from the windows behind her. It had started to change then stopped. So in the end she had a hopping rock with a fuzzy tail and ears, all because a bird had landed outside of the window.
And finally, as if that had not been enough to go wrong, in her Potions class she had botched a perfectly easy remedial potion. The pot boiled over and the potion exploded caking half the classroom and her unwilling lab partner, Severus Snape, in sticky purple goop. Which had earned him an unwanted visit to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had yet to release him.
So here she was sitting by the great lake enjoying the sunshine and skipping rocks along the surface trying to calm her anger at herself. Raven and Lily had long since joined her and were seated in the soft grass beside her. Raven was fiddling with the grass her gaze on the far shore of the lake as if deep in thought. And Lily had begun to nimbly weave a long and complex daisy chain.
Finally Raven broke the silence as she fidgeted from her place on the bank. "It's not really so bad, Gwen. I mean, at least with that potion you got Severus."
"Raven!" Lily admonished pausing long enough to give her a stern look.
"Well, you've got to admit it was funny watching Severus Snape's face break out into giant purple pimples. Wasn't it? I think he was going to faint from embarrassment. And I heard Madam Pomfrey saying she couldn't vanish them. They had to go away naturally…"
Lily giggled with her and then she tried to be serious. "Raven… that's not right. Now he's going to have pimples all over his face. Big purple ones. Not that he didn't already have some but…" she started giggling again.
"Lily! Raven!" Gwen shouted trying to be reprimanding but then she starting giggling as well. "Okay, so maybe, it was funny watching Snivellus be carted off to the hospital wing holding his purple-pimpled face…"
She drifted off as she grabbed the rock from the air and then after a quick glance at Lily and Raven found her friends fighting laughter as well. The three of them burst into laughter again and then Gwen turned back to the lake. "But anyway, if I keep this up, Professor Dumbledore is sure to expel me."
She tossed the rock across the lake and then turned and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Another stone flew across the air towards Gwen but this time Raven snitched it from the air before Gwen could grab it.
Raven tossed it from hand to hand almost thoughtfully as she walked towards the lake. "I think that's a bit extreme, Gwen. You tried really hard on everything and you've learned as much as I learned in three months in a just a few weeks. That's a major accomplishment. I'm sure that Professor Flitwick will let you retest and you can make up the potions project easy."
She turned and tossed the rock but instead of skipping it landed with a great Plop! and sunk into the water. She frowned and then turned back to Gwen who was levitating another rock towards herself. A frown marred her face and Raven sighed. She reached for the rock but this time Gwen grabbed it up herself, shaking her head.
Shrugging, Raven went to the pile and picked up her own rock again tossing it from hand to hand before trying to skip it across the lake. Plop! As before it sunk into the dark waters without making a single skip. Raven frowned then sighed and looked back to her friend. "You'll do fine. There are a lot of screw ups here at Hogwarts. I mean look at James and Sirius. They've made it this far haven't they? And you know how those guys can be."
"How what guys can be?" Sirius asked as he walked in closely followed by Remus, James and Peter.
"Well, speak of the devils." Raven said and she smiled as she walked over to Remus and gave him and hug and kiss on the cheek hello. Sirius walked to Gwen's side and she smiled up at him as he hugged her tightly.
Then both couples realized that Lily and James hadn't said anything. He stood beside her as she looked up at him. James looked… well nervous. He cleared his throat and grinned then as he ran a hand through his already messy brown hair. "Hey Evans…"
"Potter." She said and then she stood slowly.
For a moment they stood face-to-face and just looked at each other until they noticed that they're friends were staring at them as well. Then Lily quickly backed away from James and he grinned at his friends. Raven and Gwen shared a quick look and then Remus quickly stepped in to cover the awkward moment.
"So what guys were you talking about?"
"You guys. Gwen's stressing about the mistakes she made in class." Raven said then a mischievous glint came into her eyes and Gwen waited to hear what she was thinking. "She's thinking of not going to go to Hogsmeade this weekend."
Gwen opened her mouth to argue but Sirius cut her off. "Why aren't you going? You loved Hogsmeade."
She looked up at Raven with a "see what you've done now?" look but Raven just grinned and walked over to Remus. "Well yes, but what if Mama shows up? She's could appear right in the middle of Hogsmeade and then she'll make a big scene. She's very good at those."
"Give your mother some credit. What would telling everyone what and who you are help?"
She turned back to the pile of rocks and she restlessly lifted a rock with the charm again. She made it raise it up and then went back to the floor."It'd get me kicked out of school. You know how the ministry can be about half-breeds and misfits. I mean, take Remus for example. He's a wizard but what would happen if you told someone who he was. They always immediately assumed the worst. Because the worst is always easier to believe than the good."
"But Gwen, you're not even close to what Remus is. No offense meant, Remus. You're a fairy not a werewolf."
"What does it matter? There are enough stories about fairies stealing away children and casting spells and making you dance forever to make me seem like a bad person. The parents will immediately think the worst and then Dumbledore won't have a choice. He'll have to send me away simply because of them."
Sirius opened his mouth to argue again.
"You know he will. He doesn't have a choice. And… and it looks like neither do I. Go to Hogsmeade. Have fun and enjoy yourselves. Its time I stopped running and faced the inevitable. She's coming."
Sirius seemed to want to argue it. His face was scrunched in concern and Gwen felt as if she could make the look disappear. She opened her mouth to say something and then footsteps crunched along the gravel path and Gwen swung to face the person.
As she did her wand jerked in her hand and the stone she had been levitating sprung off bouncing off the path. It skidded across the gravel path and then slid right under the foot of the person who was coming up the path. And he/she fell onto her back.
"Ow…" Gwen heard and she recognized Danae Allen. "Oh that was real smooth, Allen."
"Are you alright?" Gwen said as she rushed over to help her up.
"Huh?" Danae looked up her then stood up by herself. "Oh, yeah… I'm fine. Do it all the time. I have to be more careful. Do I know you? You look really familiar…"
"Umm… no, we haven't met… exactly. I'm Gwen Farr."
"Farr…? That sounds like that witch who lives outside of my village in that… cabin like thing…um…Mrs. Carina Farr?"
"That's my mother."
"Oh… she's…" Danae seemed to stop as if searching for a bit of nice to say about her mother. "Something else."
"Yeah, that she is. Um, I've got to go. Bye Danae."
"Yeah, bye. Hey, wait a minute, I didn't tell you my name."
"Bye." Gwen turned and she started running down the hill.
Behind her she heard her friends calling but she didn't stop until Sirius grabbed her shoulder forcing her to stop. "Gwen…"
"Look I'm not going. Go with out me. Have fun." She turned and forced a smile.
"Gwen, are you…?"
"I'm fine. Really. I just… need to think…" she smiled again and then she turned to walk away. Again Sirius reached out to stop her but Raven grabbed his shoulder and shook her head.
"Let her go. She needs some space. We'll give it to her… for now…"
"But…"
"Relax, Sirius. I got a plan." James said in his usual cocky and headstrong.
"When don't you have a plan, Potter?" Lily said, seething, turning her fury full force on James.
"Well, do you see anyone else coming up with anything?"
"Well, maybe if you gave others a chance…"
"Fine, I won't share my idea."
"James! Lily! Would you two can it for just a little while? Gwen needs our help." Raven said and the two of them shut their mouths but for a little while neither would look at one another. "Now what's this plan?"
"I'm not saying anything until she apologizes." James said stubbornly.
Lily sighed then and she turned to look at him then at Raven who gave her a look, which made her sigh again. "Oh… fine. I'm… sorry…"
"For?"
"For… telling the truth." She said with a small smiled working at her lips.
He made a hand movement and Sirius made an impatient sound. "Look you two, have your lovers' quarrel another time. I'm having enough trouble with my own love life, thanks. Spit it out James. What's this plan?"
Lily looked incensed but James looked at his friend before he turned and grinned. "Okay, what we're going to do is…"