Chapter 16
Draco lay awake in bed the night all the students returned to Hogwarts.
Why does father want me to find out more about McArthur? What could she possibly have to do with Voldemort? And that necklace.why did father give it to her mother when he wants it back now? Draco thought.
The whole thing perplexed him.
I'm not going to find out about her for Voldemort, but I will find out about her for myself. I'm pretty sure that father knows more than he's telling me. But how? It would create a lot of suspicion if I just suddenly start asking people questions about her.and it's not exactly a secret that McArthur and I aren't fond of each other.I just have to go about this business covertly. And it would be nice if I had other people to help me, so I'm not the only one going around finding things out about her. I know! I can have the Quidditch team help me. I will just tell them that we should find the things out to see if we can tip the upcoming game in our favor with the information. Our team is so underhanded that I know they would jump at this opportunity. I'll tell Flint to call a meeting tomorrow so I can discuss it with them then. I've got to get the information as quick as possible or father will have my neck. Draco thought.
He lay awake considering the whole situation until finally he fell into a troubled sleep.
* * *
Hermione, Violet, Harry, Ron, and Ginny all were sitting in the Common Room on a Saturday a week after getting back from the Winter Holidays.
"Hey, our next Hogsmede visit is in 3 weeks!" Hermione said.
"Yeah, and I'd better tell that to Snuffles." Replied Harry in a low voice.
"I think that we should really try to find out all we can about the Scepter before we meet him. Maybe we can find some useful information about it that we can tell Snuffles." Said Hermione.
"Good idea.I really want to know what it does too." said Violet.
"And Hermione will happy to be home after being away from the library for so long." Said Ron, playfully.
"Shut up, Ron." Hermione replied, used to Ron's usual pokes of fun, "I'll start looking as soon as I can, but I'm already really behind on studying for our upcoming OWLs, so I wanted to start on that as well."
"Hermione, the OWLs aren't for another 3 months!" said Ron, incredulously.
"You could stand to do a little more studying, Ron, so you don't have to keep asking me for last year's notes!" said Ginny.
"Hey! I only asked you once!" said Ron, defensively.
"Okay, guys, let's not argue. I can make study schedules for everyone! That way everyone can study everything!" said Hermione with excitement.
"Thanks, Hermione." all the 5th years in the group mumbled with an equal amount of disinterest.
"Well, while you do that, the rest of us are going to enjoy the snow outside! See you!" Ron said, running outside of the Common Room.
Everyone followed immediately except for Harry.
"But wai -" Hermione said, trying to get them to stop.
Then she noticed that Harry was still there.
"Are you going to study with me, Harry?" asked Hermione in a slightly pathetic tone of voice.
"Well.no." Harry said as gently as possible.
Hermione's face fell.
"But, I did notice something else! There's actually going to be a Valentines Day ball this year." said Harry.
"Wow, two balls so close to each other.I think Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers want everyone to try to calm down now that You Know Who is on the loose.you know, give something for people to be festive about." Hermione said.
Harry's face seemed to lose a little color when he was reminded once again of the nightmares that haunted him every night since the day that Voldemort returned. Hermione saw that and was immediately sorry that she had mentioned anything.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." said Hermione, on the verge of tears.
Harry sat down next to Hermione, took her hands in his, and said, "Hermione, you don't always have to walk on eggshells around me, okay? There's just no way to avoid the subject sometimes, and I'll just deal with it. Well.what I was going to say about the ball was.it would be nice if, if you didn't have someone you'd already want to go with, if you'd come to the ball with, well, with me."
Harry said his last sentence in a rush. Hermione just looked at him in pleasant surprise.
"Of course I'd go with you Harry." said Hermione.
"Really?" said Harry.
"There's no one I'd rather go with." she added shyly.
Harry just blushed and smiled back at her in response.
"Well, I'm going to join the others outside now." Harry said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Oh, okay.I'll see you guys in a bit.and then we have to get to studying!" said Hermione.
Harry just laughed and left the Common Room.
* * *
Sylia Mathers was a Ravenclaw with dark black hair, light brown skin, and light green eyes. She was in her 5th year at Hogwarts and was friends with Sophia and Cho. She wasn't the smartest of people and tented to be superficial and materialistic. She wasn't as close to either Sophia or Cho as Sophia and Cho were to each other since she wasn't in the same year, but she did spend time with them both often. Now the three were sitting in their Common Room and were discussing the Valentines Ball two weeks before the Hogsmede visit.
"Okay Cho, you first! Who did you want to ask to the Valentines Ball?" Sylia asked excitedly.
"I guess I was thinking of asking Harry. You know.Harry Potter?" said Cho a little shyly.
"Harry Potter, huh?" Sophia said.
"Wow! He is so cute! And he's really popular, especially with all the business with You Know Who. Excellent choice Cho!" Sylia commented.
Sophia and Cho each raised an eyebrow at Sylia and then Cho continued talking.
"Yeah.I just hope he hasn't already asked someone else."
"Who else would he want to go with? He did want to go with you last year, didn't he?" said Sophia.
"Yeah, it's just that I'd already said yes to - " Cho suddenly cut off as memories of Cedric came back.
Sophia and Sylia looked at each other, not knowing what to say to her.
".to Cedric." Cho whispered, finishing her sentence.
Cho quickly wiped the tears that began to flow down her cheeks and turned to Sophia.
Smiling through her tears she said, "How about you, Sophia? Who do you want to ask?"
"Yes! Tell us!" Sylia said, glad to be away from the uncomfortable subject of Cedric.
Sophia smiled and replied coyly, "Well.I do have someone in mind."
"A certain red headed someone?" Cho teased.
"You've been keeping secrets from me, Sophia! Okay, spill the goods. Who is this guy?" Sylia asked her excitedly.
"Fred Weasely." Cho answered for Sophia.
"Cho!" Sophia protested.
"Fred Weasely, huh? He's one of the beaters on Gryffindor's Quidditch team isn't he? He is a cute one." Sylia said with a sly smile.
"Yeah, he is." said Sophia.
"Now don't you get any ideas Sylia! He's Sophia's man!" Cho said playfully.
"Don't worry about me, I have my sights set on another guy anyway." Sylia said.
"Really? Who?" Sophia asked.
"Well." Sylia said, not ready to give the information away without some suspense.
"Come on! You have to tell us!" said Cho.
"We told you who we wanted to ask! Well, Cho did anyway." Sophia said, smiling.
"Okay, fine. The guy that I want to go with is Draco Malfoy." Sylia replied.
"WHAT?!?" Sophia and Cho said in unison.
"Are you completely insane!?!" Cho exclaimed, "Malfoy is total scum through and through! Why in the world would you want to go to the Ball with someone like him?!?"
Sophia scowled, bitter that she had to call him family.
"Look. Scum or not, I still think he's pretty hot." Sylia replied, "And who knows? Maybe he's not so bad a person after all."
Cho rolled her eyes.
Sophia made a noise in disgust and said, "You get nothing from trusting people like him."
Then she walked back up the stairs to the dorms and left Sylia and Cho staring after her in surprise.
"Why she get so worked up?" Sylia asked, turning to Cho.
"I really have no idea." Cho replied still looking after Sophia curiously.
* * *
Hermione, Harry, Violet, and Ron sat in the Common Room frantically trying to finish their Potions homework that was due the next day.
"Why do we have to write these papers on Nebulous Potions?! I really don't care why we use particular ingredients over others! It's just all about me taking the ingredients they want us to use and making the potions correctly with them, isn't it?" said Ron in frustration.
"I think this was a very useful paper to write! If you don't know why you are using what you are using, how would you know what to do if you are asked to make a substitution of one ingredient for another? Professor Nightshade had said something like that would be on the OWLs - " Hermione said.
"Not with the OWLs stuff again! You've lectured to us enough already!!" Ron said, cutting Hermione off.
"Well, we do have five months." Harry said calmly, trying to stop an argument from breaking out between the two.
"Look you guys. I'm guessing it's pretty late by now and I'm tired. Can we just call this a night?" said Violet.
"Yeah, I guess so." Hermione said reluctantly, "Well, it really doesn't matter to me since I finished this paper a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to make sure you guys had everything you needed in it."
"I think we're good. Thanks for helping us, Hermione." Said Harry.
"We'll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow." Said Violet.
Then both Violet and Hermione went to the girl's dorms while Harry and Ron went to the boy's dorms. As soon as Violet and Hermione got to their room, Violet got straight into bed.
"Good night, Hermione." Said Violet.
"Good night, Violet." Hermione replied.
Hermione was about to get into bed as well, but then she noticed a high stack of thick books by her bed.
Oh! I forgot all about looking up the Zyorious Scepter! Those books must have been there since before the Winter Holidays! Maybe I can get though a few of them before I turn in tonight.Hermione thought, picking up a book at the top of the stack, Hmmm. Wands, Scepters, and Other Magical Objects: A Wizard's Key to the Magical World.maybe this book might have what we're looking for.
Hermione flipped through the pages, keeping an eye out for the Zyorious Scepter. When she got half way through the book, she found an entry about it! She had almost missed it as it was at the bottom of the page.
"The Zyorious Scepter's origins are unknown. It is a very powerful magical object that has the ability to remove a witch or wizard's magic from their very being and transfer it to the individual that is holding the Scepter. Often, the trauma of losing the magic that had been part of the victim's soul causes them to lose their memory indefinitely."
This is disastrous! If Voldemort gets a hold of this, we're doomed! Hermione thought frantically, I've got to find out more!
"The Scepter is not easily used, however. A complex incantation must be said of a person who has the blood of the original maker of the Scepter running in their veins. No other people may say the incantation as it is forgotten as soon as it is said or heard. Only people in the family of the original maker know it when they hold the Scepter in their hands. Another thing necessary for the Scepter to work is a key. Even if the person holding the Scepter has the ability to say the incantation, they must have this key to activate it. The key to the Zyorious Scepter is "
The page ended. Hermione quickly looked to the next page.
"The Abzadorous Orb. It is said to be found in the forests of Albania capable of great damage in close combat, causing death by petrification."
Huh? This doesn't make any sense.Hermione thought, confused.
She looked at the pages again. She noticed in the binding there was a jagged edge between the two pages. The next page with information about the Scepter had been ripped out!
"No!" Hermione said, shocked.
I've got to wake up everyone! This is really important! Even if we don't know what the key is, I still got a lot of good information. We've got to tell this all to Sirius! He might find some use for everything I found out. Hermione thought, getting up from her bed.
"Violet! Wake up! I found a book that talks about the Scepter!! We have to wake up Harry and Ron right now!" Hermione whispered, shaking Violet.
"Huh?" Violet muttered.
Violet shook off her sleep and got out of bed. Hermione told her everything she found out about the Scepter. Violet was just as shocked as Hermione. They both rushed over to the boys dormitories.
"Do you know which room is Harry's and Ron's?" Violet asked.
"Yeah, it's this one on the right." Hermione said, pointing to the door at the end of the hall.
They both rushed to the door, but walked in quietly so they wouldn't wake all the other boys. Violet woke Ron and Hermione woke Harry. Hermione refused to tell them anything until they got to the Common Room.
"You better not be bloody waking us up in the middle of the night to study more!" Ron muttered, bitter that his sleep had been interrupted.
"No, I found out more things about the Scepter!" Hermione said, launching into a huge description of what she read.
"Oh no!! If You Know Who gets this thing, we're all toast!" Ron said, almost panicking.
"Look. We're still safe. As long as Dumbledore keeps and eye on the Scepter, we'll be alright. We'll tell Sirius everything about this during our Hogsmede visit. At least that's not too far away.it's only two weeks." Said Harry.
"Well, maybe we should all try to get some sleep now." said Violet.
But no one there really wanted to sleep after finding something like this out. They got up, went to their dorms, and got into bed, but it was a very long time before any of them got back to sleep.
* * *
Violet, Ron, Harry, and Hermione trudged through another day of classes, just anxious for the weekend to come. Luckily it was not far off. After doing some work, they all decided to call it an early night since they had relatively little homework for that day. As they picked up their stuff and began to go upstairs, Violet looked to a window in the Common Room and noticed an owl outside. As she got closer to the window to investigate, she realized she knew that owl. It was Lydia's!
"Beaky! Long time now see! How are Lydia and Arian, huh?" Violet said, letting the owl sit on her arm.
"Wow, so this is the owl of one of your friends from the U.S.?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, it's my friend Lydia's." Violet replied.
"That is so wicked! I wish I had friends in the U.S.!" said Ron.
"It's good to have friends in different countries because then that helps with foreign wizard relations." Said Hermione.
"Just like good ole' Victor Krum, huh?" Ron teased.
Hermione reddened slightly and said, "Shut up, Ron."
"He's the Seeker for Bulgaria, isn't he?" Violet asked, curiously.
"Umm.yes." Said Hermione, at a loss for words.
"Well, let's give Violet a chance to read her letter." Said Harry, wanting to change the subject.
"Yeah, let's just go to bed." Hermione said as she quickly walked toward the stairs to the dorms, not wanting to give Ron a chance to tease her some more.
"Hey, Hermione! Wait for us!" Harry said, running after her.
Ron smiled at Violet and followed after the two. Violet watched the three ascend the stairs and then directed her attention to the owl on her arm.
"Thanks for coming all this way, Beaky. Before you fly all the way back to Notalans, you can take a break in the school owlery here." Violet said as she detached the letter that was on the owl's legs.
Beaky gave her a hoot, and being smart as it was, headed to the Hogwarts owlery before flying all the way back to Notalans.
As Beaky flew off, Violet thought sadly, If only you brought Lydia and Arian with you.
After watching Beaky fly away, Violet opened the letter.
Dear Violet,
Hey! How have you been! You haven't forgotten about us over here at Notalans, have you? Hah! What a silly thought! No one would ever forget about me! Well, Arian and I are both writing you in this letter, so don't be surprised if the person writing to you changes every few sentences. Wow, Hogwarts really does sound like an awesome school. Too bad about that apparating thing though.I don't know how Hogwarts can be so big, and not allow you to apparate! That's just crazy! Hey! I'm not done yet Arian! So how are the teachers there? Is there anyone worse than Langer? She seems to have swallowed a grapefruit lately, and has been taking it out on all of us on our tests. And how are the people in your house doing? Gryffindor, is it? And it's good to see that you've made some friends.I'm surprised anyone would want to make friends with you! You just got lucky with Lydia and I. And I can't believe that you're not only in the same house as Harry Potter, you're actually friends with him! That must be so exciting! The same guy in all the History books! Oh! And congrats on making the Quidditch team there! It's so cool that you're a Chaser! Didn't I always tell you that you would make a kick ass Quidditch player? But of course, it's not Quidditch that you've been thinking about much, is it? You and your guy problems! They follow you everywhere! What is it this time.You've got two guys who both like you, and you don't know who to pick. My advice is to pick the guy who is better at Quidditch! No one asked for your advice, Arian! Well, let's take a look at your choices. There's Ron, who you say is sweet and is one of your good friends, and who seems to be the obvious choice. Then there's Draco who everyone, except the people in his own house, hates, but both you and him have fallen in love due to the fact that he changed his outlook on life and the people around him because of you. Not only does he seem to be an unwise choice, but a bad one as well because your close friends there would never really believe that he changed, they would also hate you if you chose him over Ron. Besides.how can you be sure he's changed for real? Bravo, Violet! You seemed to have stumbled upon the unsolvable love equation. I knew you had it in you! I never thought this day would ever come, but I actually agree with Arian here. The seemingly obvious choice may not be the right one, but the seemingly bad choice shouldn't be taken simply to be contrary. At the risk of sounding very corny here, you just have to follow your heart. Pick Ron. He's a Chuddley Cannons fan! I'm just kidding. Like Lydia said. Just pick whoever feels right. Well, I think it's time to end this letter. Lydia and I have been arguing too much and wasting your time reading it. Heh.we'll talk to you later then.write us a bit more, will you? We miss you here too! Our group just isn't the same without you. I hope we can have you back here soon!
Friends Always,
Lydia and Arian
Violet re-read the letter. She was very happy to hear from her friends at Notalans, but the letter also made her miss them even more than she usually did.
At least they haven't totally forgotten about me there.Violet put down the letter on the table in the Common Room and thought, But they haven't helped me with my guy problems at all! I can't keep them both waiting like this! But every time I try to make a choice, based on what I like about each guy, I just run in circles. I don't want to think about this anymore. I'm going to bed.
Violet got up from one of the Common Room chairs and walked up the stairs to the dorms, forgetting her letter on the table. As Violet was walking up the stairs to her dorm, Ron was walking down the stairs to the Common Room. He figured that he'd given her enough time to read the letter and was hoping to catch a moment alone with her, but when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw that he was too late since no one was in the Common Room anymore. He was about to turn back up the stairs again, when his eyes strayed to the table. He realized Violet had left her letter there.
I should pick it up so that I can give it to her tomorrow. Ron thought, picking the letter up.
He almost went back up the stairs again with it, but the curiosity was killing him.
I don't think it would hurt if I read a little bit.what would Violet write to her friends about anyway? Ron thought as he opened up the letter.
As Ron opened up the letter, Violet realized that she had left the letter in the Common Room.
I'd better go back and get it.Violet thought as she dragged herself out of bed and walked slowly to the stairs.
Ron smiled at all the things that Violet's friends wrote in the letter to her.
Wow! They already teach their students to apparate at Notalans! Violet never told us about that! I'm so jealous! Ron thought as he continued to read.
Violet was half way down the stairs when Ron got almost to the bottom of the first page.
Wait! What does she mean by "guy problems"? Ron thought in surprise as he got to that point in the letter, "Well, let's take a look at your choices. There's Ron, who you say is sweet and is one of your good friends, and who seems to be the obvious choice."
As Ron read this part of the letter, Violet got to the bottom of the stairs and saw that Ron was reading her letter. This would have made her angry under other circumstances, but this time she was scared of what he would find in the letter.
"Then there's - "
"Ron!" Violet exclaimed, breaking Ron's concentration on the letter.
They just looked at each other for several seconds, unsure of what to say to one another. Then Ron finally broke the silence.
"Uhh.I was just.umm.you left your letter down here." Ron said awkwardly as he handed back the letter to her, "I just came down to see if I could catch you alone for a few minutes, but you'd already gone upstairs."
Again an uncomfortable silence settled in the room.
"I think we should get to sleep now." Ron said, eager for this awkwardness to end, "Good night, Violet."
Ron walked up to Violet, kissed her on the cheek, and then walked up the stairs to the boy's dorms.
Violet watched him climb the stairs and thought, Exactly how much did he read?
* * *
Draco lay awake in bed the night all the students returned to Hogwarts.
Why does father want me to find out more about McArthur? What could she possibly have to do with Voldemort? And that necklace.why did father give it to her mother when he wants it back now? Draco thought.
The whole thing perplexed him.
I'm not going to find out about her for Voldemort, but I will find out about her for myself. I'm pretty sure that father knows more than he's telling me. But how? It would create a lot of suspicion if I just suddenly start asking people questions about her.and it's not exactly a secret that McArthur and I aren't fond of each other.I just have to go about this business covertly. And it would be nice if I had other people to help me, so I'm not the only one going around finding things out about her. I know! I can have the Quidditch team help me. I will just tell them that we should find the things out to see if we can tip the upcoming game in our favor with the information. Our team is so underhanded that I know they would jump at this opportunity. I'll tell Flint to call a meeting tomorrow so I can discuss it with them then. I've got to get the information as quick as possible or father will have my neck. Draco thought.
He lay awake considering the whole situation until finally he fell into a troubled sleep.
* * *
Hermione, Violet, Harry, Ron, and Ginny all were sitting in the Common Room on a Saturday a week after getting back from the Winter Holidays.
"Hey, our next Hogsmede visit is in 3 weeks!" Hermione said.
"Yeah, and I'd better tell that to Snuffles." Replied Harry in a low voice.
"I think that we should really try to find out all we can about the Scepter before we meet him. Maybe we can find some useful information about it that we can tell Snuffles." Said Hermione.
"Good idea.I really want to know what it does too." said Violet.
"And Hermione will happy to be home after being away from the library for so long." Said Ron, playfully.
"Shut up, Ron." Hermione replied, used to Ron's usual pokes of fun, "I'll start looking as soon as I can, but I'm already really behind on studying for our upcoming OWLs, so I wanted to start on that as well."
"Hermione, the OWLs aren't for another 3 months!" said Ron, incredulously.
"You could stand to do a little more studying, Ron, so you don't have to keep asking me for last year's notes!" said Ginny.
"Hey! I only asked you once!" said Ron, defensively.
"Okay, guys, let's not argue. I can make study schedules for everyone! That way everyone can study everything!" said Hermione with excitement.
"Thanks, Hermione." all the 5th years in the group mumbled with an equal amount of disinterest.
"Well, while you do that, the rest of us are going to enjoy the snow outside! See you!" Ron said, running outside of the Common Room.
Everyone followed immediately except for Harry.
"But wai -" Hermione said, trying to get them to stop.
Then she noticed that Harry was still there.
"Are you going to study with me, Harry?" asked Hermione in a slightly pathetic tone of voice.
"Well.no." Harry said as gently as possible.
Hermione's face fell.
"But, I did notice something else! There's actually going to be a Valentines Day ball this year." said Harry.
"Wow, two balls so close to each other.I think Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers want everyone to try to calm down now that You Know Who is on the loose.you know, give something for people to be festive about." Hermione said.
Harry's face seemed to lose a little color when he was reminded once again of the nightmares that haunted him every night since the day that Voldemort returned. Hermione saw that and was immediately sorry that she had mentioned anything.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." said Hermione, on the verge of tears.
Harry sat down next to Hermione, took her hands in his, and said, "Hermione, you don't always have to walk on eggshells around me, okay? There's just no way to avoid the subject sometimes, and I'll just deal with it. Well.what I was going to say about the ball was.it would be nice if, if you didn't have someone you'd already want to go with, if you'd come to the ball with, well, with me."
Harry said his last sentence in a rush. Hermione just looked at him in pleasant surprise.
"Of course I'd go with you Harry." said Hermione.
"Really?" said Harry.
"There's no one I'd rather go with." she added shyly.
Harry just blushed and smiled back at her in response.
"Well, I'm going to join the others outside now." Harry said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Oh, okay.I'll see you guys in a bit.and then we have to get to studying!" said Hermione.
Harry just laughed and left the Common Room.
* * *
Sylia Mathers was a Ravenclaw with dark black hair, light brown skin, and light green eyes. She was in her 5th year at Hogwarts and was friends with Sophia and Cho. She wasn't the smartest of people and tented to be superficial and materialistic. She wasn't as close to either Sophia or Cho as Sophia and Cho were to each other since she wasn't in the same year, but she did spend time with them both often. Now the three were sitting in their Common Room and were discussing the Valentines Ball two weeks before the Hogsmede visit.
"Okay Cho, you first! Who did you want to ask to the Valentines Ball?" Sylia asked excitedly.
"I guess I was thinking of asking Harry. You know.Harry Potter?" said Cho a little shyly.
"Harry Potter, huh?" Sophia said.
"Wow! He is so cute! And he's really popular, especially with all the business with You Know Who. Excellent choice Cho!" Sylia commented.
Sophia and Cho each raised an eyebrow at Sylia and then Cho continued talking.
"Yeah.I just hope he hasn't already asked someone else."
"Who else would he want to go with? He did want to go with you last year, didn't he?" said Sophia.
"Yeah, it's just that I'd already said yes to - " Cho suddenly cut off as memories of Cedric came back.
Sophia and Sylia looked at each other, not knowing what to say to her.
".to Cedric." Cho whispered, finishing her sentence.
Cho quickly wiped the tears that began to flow down her cheeks and turned to Sophia.
Smiling through her tears she said, "How about you, Sophia? Who do you want to ask?"
"Yes! Tell us!" Sylia said, glad to be away from the uncomfortable subject of Cedric.
Sophia smiled and replied coyly, "Well.I do have someone in mind."
"A certain red headed someone?" Cho teased.
"You've been keeping secrets from me, Sophia! Okay, spill the goods. Who is this guy?" Sylia asked her excitedly.
"Fred Weasely." Cho answered for Sophia.
"Cho!" Sophia protested.
"Fred Weasely, huh? He's one of the beaters on Gryffindor's Quidditch team isn't he? He is a cute one." Sylia said with a sly smile.
"Yeah, he is." said Sophia.
"Now don't you get any ideas Sylia! He's Sophia's man!" Cho said playfully.
"Don't worry about me, I have my sights set on another guy anyway." Sylia said.
"Really? Who?" Sophia asked.
"Well." Sylia said, not ready to give the information away without some suspense.
"Come on! You have to tell us!" said Cho.
"We told you who we wanted to ask! Well, Cho did anyway." Sophia said, smiling.
"Okay, fine. The guy that I want to go with is Draco Malfoy." Sylia replied.
"WHAT?!?" Sophia and Cho said in unison.
"Are you completely insane!?!" Cho exclaimed, "Malfoy is total scum through and through! Why in the world would you want to go to the Ball with someone like him?!?"
Sophia scowled, bitter that she had to call him family.
"Look. Scum or not, I still think he's pretty hot." Sylia replied, "And who knows? Maybe he's not so bad a person after all."
Cho rolled her eyes.
Sophia made a noise in disgust and said, "You get nothing from trusting people like him."
Then she walked back up the stairs to the dorms and left Sylia and Cho staring after her in surprise.
"Why she get so worked up?" Sylia asked, turning to Cho.
"I really have no idea." Cho replied still looking after Sophia curiously.
* * *
Hermione, Harry, Violet, and Ron sat in the Common Room frantically trying to finish their Potions homework that was due the next day.
"Why do we have to write these papers on Nebulous Potions?! I really don't care why we use particular ingredients over others! It's just all about me taking the ingredients they want us to use and making the potions correctly with them, isn't it?" said Ron in frustration.
"I think this was a very useful paper to write! If you don't know why you are using what you are using, how would you know what to do if you are asked to make a substitution of one ingredient for another? Professor Nightshade had said something like that would be on the OWLs - " Hermione said.
"Not with the OWLs stuff again! You've lectured to us enough already!!" Ron said, cutting Hermione off.
"Well, we do have five months." Harry said calmly, trying to stop an argument from breaking out between the two.
"Look you guys. I'm guessing it's pretty late by now and I'm tired. Can we just call this a night?" said Violet.
"Yeah, I guess so." Hermione said reluctantly, "Well, it really doesn't matter to me since I finished this paper a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to make sure you guys had everything you needed in it."
"I think we're good. Thanks for helping us, Hermione." Said Harry.
"We'll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow." Said Violet.
Then both Violet and Hermione went to the girl's dorms while Harry and Ron went to the boy's dorms. As soon as Violet and Hermione got to their room, Violet got straight into bed.
"Good night, Hermione." Said Violet.
"Good night, Violet." Hermione replied.
Hermione was about to get into bed as well, but then she noticed a high stack of thick books by her bed.
Oh! I forgot all about looking up the Zyorious Scepter! Those books must have been there since before the Winter Holidays! Maybe I can get though a few of them before I turn in tonight.Hermione thought, picking up a book at the top of the stack, Hmmm. Wands, Scepters, and Other Magical Objects: A Wizard's Key to the Magical World.maybe this book might have what we're looking for.
Hermione flipped through the pages, keeping an eye out for the Zyorious Scepter. When she got half way through the book, she found an entry about it! She had almost missed it as it was at the bottom of the page.
"The Zyorious Scepter's origins are unknown. It is a very powerful magical object that has the ability to remove a witch or wizard's magic from their very being and transfer it to the individual that is holding the Scepter. Often, the trauma of losing the magic that had been part of the victim's soul causes them to lose their memory indefinitely."
This is disastrous! If Voldemort gets a hold of this, we're doomed! Hermione thought frantically, I've got to find out more!
"The Scepter is not easily used, however. A complex incantation must be said of a person who has the blood of the original maker of the Scepter running in their veins. No other people may say the incantation as it is forgotten as soon as it is said or heard. Only people in the family of the original maker know it when they hold the Scepter in their hands. Another thing necessary for the Scepter to work is a key. Even if the person holding the Scepter has the ability to say the incantation, they must have this key to activate it. The key to the Zyorious Scepter is "
The page ended. Hermione quickly looked to the next page.
"The Abzadorous Orb. It is said to be found in the forests of Albania capable of great damage in close combat, causing death by petrification."
Huh? This doesn't make any sense.Hermione thought, confused.
She looked at the pages again. She noticed in the binding there was a jagged edge between the two pages. The next page with information about the Scepter had been ripped out!
"No!" Hermione said, shocked.
I've got to wake up everyone! This is really important! Even if we don't know what the key is, I still got a lot of good information. We've got to tell this all to Sirius! He might find some use for everything I found out. Hermione thought, getting up from her bed.
"Violet! Wake up! I found a book that talks about the Scepter!! We have to wake up Harry and Ron right now!" Hermione whispered, shaking Violet.
"Huh?" Violet muttered.
Violet shook off her sleep and got out of bed. Hermione told her everything she found out about the Scepter. Violet was just as shocked as Hermione. They both rushed over to the boys dormitories.
"Do you know which room is Harry's and Ron's?" Violet asked.
"Yeah, it's this one on the right." Hermione said, pointing to the door at the end of the hall.
They both rushed to the door, but walked in quietly so they wouldn't wake all the other boys. Violet woke Ron and Hermione woke Harry. Hermione refused to tell them anything until they got to the Common Room.
"You better not be bloody waking us up in the middle of the night to study more!" Ron muttered, bitter that his sleep had been interrupted.
"No, I found out more things about the Scepter!" Hermione said, launching into a huge description of what she read.
"Oh no!! If You Know Who gets this thing, we're all toast!" Ron said, almost panicking.
"Look. We're still safe. As long as Dumbledore keeps and eye on the Scepter, we'll be alright. We'll tell Sirius everything about this during our Hogsmede visit. At least that's not too far away.it's only two weeks." Said Harry.
"Well, maybe we should all try to get some sleep now." said Violet.
But no one there really wanted to sleep after finding something like this out. They got up, went to their dorms, and got into bed, but it was a very long time before any of them got back to sleep.
* * *
Violet, Ron, Harry, and Hermione trudged through another day of classes, just anxious for the weekend to come. Luckily it was not far off. After doing some work, they all decided to call it an early night since they had relatively little homework for that day. As they picked up their stuff and began to go upstairs, Violet looked to a window in the Common Room and noticed an owl outside. As she got closer to the window to investigate, she realized she knew that owl. It was Lydia's!
"Beaky! Long time now see! How are Lydia and Arian, huh?" Violet said, letting the owl sit on her arm.
"Wow, so this is the owl of one of your friends from the U.S.?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, it's my friend Lydia's." Violet replied.
"That is so wicked! I wish I had friends in the U.S.!" said Ron.
"It's good to have friends in different countries because then that helps with foreign wizard relations." Said Hermione.
"Just like good ole' Victor Krum, huh?" Ron teased.
Hermione reddened slightly and said, "Shut up, Ron."
"He's the Seeker for Bulgaria, isn't he?" Violet asked, curiously.
"Umm.yes." Said Hermione, at a loss for words.
"Well, let's give Violet a chance to read her letter." Said Harry, wanting to change the subject.
"Yeah, let's just go to bed." Hermione said as she quickly walked toward the stairs to the dorms, not wanting to give Ron a chance to tease her some more.
"Hey, Hermione! Wait for us!" Harry said, running after her.
Ron smiled at Violet and followed after the two. Violet watched the three ascend the stairs and then directed her attention to the owl on her arm.
"Thanks for coming all this way, Beaky. Before you fly all the way back to Notalans, you can take a break in the school owlery here." Violet said as she detached the letter that was on the owl's legs.
Beaky gave her a hoot, and being smart as it was, headed to the Hogwarts owlery before flying all the way back to Notalans.
As Beaky flew off, Violet thought sadly, If only you brought Lydia and Arian with you.
After watching Beaky fly away, Violet opened the letter.
Dear Violet,
Hey! How have you been! You haven't forgotten about us over here at Notalans, have you? Hah! What a silly thought! No one would ever forget about me! Well, Arian and I are both writing you in this letter, so don't be surprised if the person writing to you changes every few sentences. Wow, Hogwarts really does sound like an awesome school. Too bad about that apparating thing though.I don't know how Hogwarts can be so big, and not allow you to apparate! That's just crazy! Hey! I'm not done yet Arian! So how are the teachers there? Is there anyone worse than Langer? She seems to have swallowed a grapefruit lately, and has been taking it out on all of us on our tests. And how are the people in your house doing? Gryffindor, is it? And it's good to see that you've made some friends.I'm surprised anyone would want to make friends with you! You just got lucky with Lydia and I. And I can't believe that you're not only in the same house as Harry Potter, you're actually friends with him! That must be so exciting! The same guy in all the History books! Oh! And congrats on making the Quidditch team there! It's so cool that you're a Chaser! Didn't I always tell you that you would make a kick ass Quidditch player? But of course, it's not Quidditch that you've been thinking about much, is it? You and your guy problems! They follow you everywhere! What is it this time.You've got two guys who both like you, and you don't know who to pick. My advice is to pick the guy who is better at Quidditch! No one asked for your advice, Arian! Well, let's take a look at your choices. There's Ron, who you say is sweet and is one of your good friends, and who seems to be the obvious choice. Then there's Draco who everyone, except the people in his own house, hates, but both you and him have fallen in love due to the fact that he changed his outlook on life and the people around him because of you. Not only does he seem to be an unwise choice, but a bad one as well because your close friends there would never really believe that he changed, they would also hate you if you chose him over Ron. Besides.how can you be sure he's changed for real? Bravo, Violet! You seemed to have stumbled upon the unsolvable love equation. I knew you had it in you! I never thought this day would ever come, but I actually agree with Arian here. The seemingly obvious choice may not be the right one, but the seemingly bad choice shouldn't be taken simply to be contrary. At the risk of sounding very corny here, you just have to follow your heart. Pick Ron. He's a Chuddley Cannons fan! I'm just kidding. Like Lydia said. Just pick whoever feels right. Well, I think it's time to end this letter. Lydia and I have been arguing too much and wasting your time reading it. Heh.we'll talk to you later then.write us a bit more, will you? We miss you here too! Our group just isn't the same without you. I hope we can have you back here soon!
Friends Always,
Lydia and Arian
Violet re-read the letter. She was very happy to hear from her friends at Notalans, but the letter also made her miss them even more than she usually did.
At least they haven't totally forgotten about me there.Violet put down the letter on the table in the Common Room and thought, But they haven't helped me with my guy problems at all! I can't keep them both waiting like this! But every time I try to make a choice, based on what I like about each guy, I just run in circles. I don't want to think about this anymore. I'm going to bed.
Violet got up from one of the Common Room chairs and walked up the stairs to the dorms, forgetting her letter on the table. As Violet was walking up the stairs to her dorm, Ron was walking down the stairs to the Common Room. He figured that he'd given her enough time to read the letter and was hoping to catch a moment alone with her, but when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw that he was too late since no one was in the Common Room anymore. He was about to turn back up the stairs again, when his eyes strayed to the table. He realized Violet had left her letter there.
I should pick it up so that I can give it to her tomorrow. Ron thought, picking the letter up.
He almost went back up the stairs again with it, but the curiosity was killing him.
I don't think it would hurt if I read a little bit.what would Violet write to her friends about anyway? Ron thought as he opened up the letter.
As Ron opened up the letter, Violet realized that she had left the letter in the Common Room.
I'd better go back and get it.Violet thought as she dragged herself out of bed and walked slowly to the stairs.
Ron smiled at all the things that Violet's friends wrote in the letter to her.
Wow! They already teach their students to apparate at Notalans! Violet never told us about that! I'm so jealous! Ron thought as he continued to read.
Violet was half way down the stairs when Ron got almost to the bottom of the first page.
Wait! What does she mean by "guy problems"? Ron thought in surprise as he got to that point in the letter, "Well, let's take a look at your choices. There's Ron, who you say is sweet and is one of your good friends, and who seems to be the obvious choice."
As Ron read this part of the letter, Violet got to the bottom of the stairs and saw that Ron was reading her letter. This would have made her angry under other circumstances, but this time she was scared of what he would find in the letter.
"Then there's - "
"Ron!" Violet exclaimed, breaking Ron's concentration on the letter.
They just looked at each other for several seconds, unsure of what to say to one another. Then Ron finally broke the silence.
"Uhh.I was just.umm.you left your letter down here." Ron said awkwardly as he handed back the letter to her, "I just came down to see if I could catch you alone for a few minutes, but you'd already gone upstairs."
Again an uncomfortable silence settled in the room.
"I think we should get to sleep now." Ron said, eager for this awkwardness to end, "Good night, Violet."
Ron walked up to Violet, kissed her on the cheek, and then walked up the stairs to the boy's dorms.
Violet watched him climb the stairs and thought, Exactly how much did he read?
* * *