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Chapter 15
Sunday, November 10, 2030
I wake by myself for once. I grin as I get ready to wake Anica up, but then I realise the dormitory is empty. Looking out the window at the lake, I see that the sun is shining on its surface, which means I'd slept in a fair bit. I quickly got dressed then headed up to the Common Room where I found Anica talking to Kyle and Timothy on a couch in an empty corner.
"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens," Anica grins at me.
"Sleeping who?" Timothy asks in confusion.
"It's a made-up princess Xinia told me about," Anica explains.
I say good morning to everyone before Anica and I walk to the Great Hall for breakfast. We find Xinia sitting at the Ravenclaw table, her head in a book. Beside her, Kimmy and Ciena are chatting quietly.
"Good morning," Anica and I greet the three girls.
"Mhmm," Xinia answers, too engrossed in her book.
"I said, good morning," Anica repeats, snatching the book out of her hands.
"Hey! Give me my book back!" she complains.
I read the title over Anica's shoulder.
"Great Book of Charms and Spells."
"What are you reading that for?" Anica queries.
Xinia glares at her.
"For the thing we found," she lowers her voice so the other two don't hear her.
"Oh, right," Anica remembers.
"Are we going to do anything?" I ask quietly.
Xinia nods, closing the book. We quickly eat our breakfast before waving goodbye to the girls. We make our way to the Community Hall and sit at the booth in the furthest corner. Xinia pulls her wand out and casts a spell I don't know.
"What was that?" I ask.
"Muffliato," she answers. "It fills people's ears with a buzzing sound so they can't hear what we're talking about."
"Handy," Anica comments as she leans forward to look at the Map Xinia had spread out.
Xinia pulls her wand out and says the phrase to open the Map. The layout of the school appears, and we try to look for ourselves on the Map.
"There we are," I spot us. "Why does it say we're in the middle of nowhere?"
"Probably because the Community Hall wasn't a thing when the Marauders were in school," Xinia answers. "I was up last night researching spells and charms we could use, hence the book I was reading. I found one that should be useful."
"What is it?" I ask.
"Mutare, it's pretty straightforward. It's Latin for alter. It should work on the Map, allowing us to make changes to it."
"Should? What if it goes wrong?" Anica asks.
Xinia winces.
"I'm not sure."
"Wait, before we try anything, should we create a copy of the map then work on that so if something goes wrong we still have the original?"
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Anica asks.
"You underestimate me," Xinia rolls her eyes. "Geminio," she flicked her wand at the Map.
An exact replica of the Map appeared next to the original. Anica picks the copy up and examines it.
"How come you don't show us all these spells?" I ask.
"Charm, actually," Xinia corrects. "And you'll learn them at some point."
"Oh wow, thanks," Anica replies sarcastically.
"Let's just get started," I cut in.
Xinia takes the copy of the Map from Anica and lays it out on the table. I push the original out of the way to make room.
Xinia points her wand at the point where the three of us are on the Map.
"Mutare," she mutters.
A black line appears from the tip of her wand. When she moves it across the paper, it draws like ink on a quill. When she removes her wand, the 'ink' disappears.
"Where'd it go?" Anica asks.
Xinia frowns.
"I'm not sure."
She moves her wand to a room that we know doesn't exist anymore. She casts the charm again, and this time, the line moves to connect to a different line, making the room incomplete. When she pulls her wand away, it stays in place. She repeats this motion with the other three lines of the room so that it no longer exists on the Map.
"I think it only works on existing lines," Xinia explains her thinking. "We can move around rooms and passageways that already exist, but we can't create new ones. Not with this charm, at least."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Anica says. "For now, let's just change around the things that are already on the map."
Xinia nods, moving on to a different room. While she's doing that, I pack up the original Map so that we don't lose it, and store it in my robes.
"We'll just work on this one for the moment," I explain at their questioning looks.
They nod, and Xinia returns to her work.
We continue pointing out parts we don't recognise or have been replaced. We quickly find out we can also alter words, so we can change labels where necessary.
Just then, I spot a passageway that supposedly leads out of the castle and into Hogsmeade. I frown, pointing it out to the others. It's positioned on the fourth floor and looks pretty big.
"We haven't come across that have we?" I ask.
Anica and Xinia shake their heads.
"Should we check it out?" Anica asks.
"You guys go, I'll try and finish this map," Xinia suggests.
We nod, so Anica and I exit the Community Hall. We start walking along the corridors, making our way to the fourth floor. Once we reach it, we stop, unsure which way to go.
I check around us and listen for any approaching people, but hear nothing. I quickly pull the Map out, searching for the dots that represent Anica and me. When I find us, I beckon for Anica to follow me.
I follow the path to where the passageway should be, reaching the spot soon enough.
"It says it's right here," I say to Anica, showing her the Map.
She frowns, looking around. The only thing near us is a mirror, so she walks over to it.
"Why did we come without Xinia?" she mutters.
I roll my eyes.
"We're not completely useless," I defend us, joining her.
"Not completely, but we are. Don't tell her I said that!"
I ignore her, reaching up to lay my hand on the glass. I rap my knuckles against the surface, listening.
"It's hollow," I say. "There's something behind it."
I grin at Anica before moving my hands around the edges of the mirror. I try to feel for a button or hole or something that indicates an opening.
Finally, I feel a dip in the glass. I press my finger into it and pull. Miraculously, the mirror swings open.
"See? We don't need her."
Anica grins as she moves to look at whatever is behind the mirror.
"Yeah, cause we totally found the passage," Anica says, and I note the sarcasm in her voice.
"What do you mean?"
I move to see that a bunch of rocks and debris completely fills the passageway. I look down at the Map to make sure we're in the right spot. According to the Map, we are. I sigh as I put the Map away.
"It must have been a passage before it caved in. Who knows how long it's been inaccessible for?"
Anica nods, and we step away, closing the mirror. I start to head back to the Community Hall when Anica calls me back.
"Let's check out all the places we don't know about before heading back, so we can help Xinia."
"I doubt we'll be able to get to all the places in one day," I point out. "But we can make a start," I agree.
I pull the Map out once again, and Anica comes over to search for places we're unsure about.
We end up finding six or seven passageways that supposedly lead to Hogsmeade, but all of them are blocked or destroyed.
With the help of the Map, we also find several new shortcuts and passageways within the castle. However, many of the ones we knew about were not documented, and several that were on the Map no longer existed.
After about an hour of exploring the castle, we decide to return to Xinia. We had only managed to make it through about a third of the Map, but we had enough information to keep us occupied for a while.
When we returned to the Community Hall, I noticed quite a few more people had taken residence in the room. Luckily, no one was paying attention to Xinia, so we made our way over to her.
"We really need to find a place that just the three of us know about," I say, dropping down beside Xinia.
She startles a little.
"When did you get back?" she asks.
"Just then," I answer.
I take a look at the Map she's working on and see she's made a lot of progress.
"I agree," Anica answers my previous statement. "If anyone comes over they'll see what we're doing."
"Oh I cast a spell that makes them ignore me," Xinia says, moving her wand over a set of lines. "But I suppose you're right. What took you guys so long?"
"We decided to explore. We found a few new passageways and whatnot and found the places that no longer exist."
"Oh, cool. I've got a few more places that we know aren't around, so you can fill me in when I'm done. It'll only take a few minutes."
I nod, letting Xinia do her work. I lean back on the couch and pull the Map out. Anica scoots over next to me and studies the parchment over my shoulder.
"Oh my god! How could I forget?" Xinia exclaims suddenly.
"What?!" Anica asks in surprise.
"The spell to add things, it'll make the whole process quicker," Xinia says. "It's planto; it means to make in Latin."
Xinia twirls her wand and says the word. Instantly I notice all the rooms on the Map changing, some being removed and others being added.
"Impressive," Anica whistles.
"I really want to know where you find all these spells," I mutter.
"Later," Xinia brushes me off. "Let me fix this original."
"Hey, why don't we make another copy so each of us can have one," Anica suggests.
"One of your better ideas," Xinia remarks.
Anica pulls a face at her. She then pulls her wand out.
"What was that charm you used to make the copy?" she asks.
"Geminio," Xinia answers, watching in amusement as Anica attempts the charm.
"How advanced is that?" I ask as Anica continues to struggle.
"Around sixth-year level," Xinia answers.
I laugh as Anica grunts.
"How the hell can you do that?" she asks in amazement.
Xinia shrugs.
We watch for a bit longer as Anica keeps trying until Xinia gets sick of her and pushes her out of the way. She casts the spell, and another copy appears.
"Well, I could have done that!" Anica complains.
"After your millionth try?" Xinia smirks.
"Yes!"
"I thought charms was your like second best subject," I laugh.
"And what does that tell you, Gena?" Xinia grins.
"That she should be good at Charms?" I answer.
"I'm right here, you know," Anica rolls her eyes.
Xinia laughs then moves on to making changes to the original Map. Anica picks up the new copy of the Map and stashes it in her robes.
"You guys can decide who gets the proper one," she announces. "I'll just lose it."
Xinia and I look at each other, eyebrows raised. Anica realises her mistake too late.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no," she groans. "Don't start this again!" she warns.
"I found it and like Anica said, finders keepers," I start.
"Yeah, but it would still be outdated if it wasn't for me!"
"So what?" I fight back. "You wouldn't have even found it if it wasn't for me!"
"Not true. Anica was right there; she would've found it!"
"She would've tossed it aside and thought nothing of it!"
"Hey!"
"What do you think, Anica?" Xinia asks.
We look at her, and she sits in silence.
"Well, I don't want to pick sides, that always ends badly. I don't know, you both give a good point. Xinia did fix it up - " Xinia cuts her off.
"So Anica agrees, I should have the original."
"I never - " Anica protests but this time I cut her off.
"Anica! How can you side with Xinia?"
"But I didn't finish - Ugh. SHUT UP!" Anica yells in frustration.
I suddenly remember everyone else in the room. We sit still, waiting for someone to question why we're yelling. No one moves.
"Good job with those ignoring and muffling spells," Anica praises Xinia.
"Thank you, Anica!" Xinia exclaims while death staring me.
"Fine take the stupid original," I growl.
Xinia takes it and closes it up, putting it in her pocket, while I take the other copy. She then removes the charms, and we leave for lunch. As we walk into the Great Hall, we spot Dylan, Nick and George sitting at the Gryffindor table and we decide to join them.
"Hey guys," I greet them, ignoring Xinia as she sits down opposite me. "What have you been doing?"
"Hanging with the older Gryffindors," George answers, eyeing Xinia and me. "You?"
"This is and that," I shrug.
I reach around him to grab some chicken from the platter in front of him.
"Can you pass me some please?" Xinia asks.
"Oh so now you want my help?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Wow. George, could you pass me that?" Xinia rectifies.
He hesitantly passes her the platter.
"You guys good, or…?" he trails off.
"Oh, they're fine," Anica waves him off. "Just being petty."
"Am not," I retort.
"Oh stop complaining just cause I'm better at Charms!" Xinia rolls her eyes.
"You are not!" I exclaim. "Just 'cause you're a nerd and learn Charms we won't need to know for years doesn't mean you're better. I just haven't actually learnt everything you know!"
"At least I'm capable of learning them!"
"I'm sorry. Am I incapable? It wasn't me that failed at that charm for ten minutes!"
"Hey! Don't bring me into this!" Anica complains.
"Yeah, you only bring her in because you can't fight your own fights."
"Um, what's going on Anica?" Nick chimes in.
"Shut up! You're useless, Gena!" Xinia interrupts.
With that, she gets up and storms out of the Hall. I roll my eyes, returning to my lunch. The others watch me with astonished expressions, but I ignore them. As I reach for another piece of chicken, Anica decides to speak up.
"Um, are you going to go after her?" Anica asks.
I shake my head.
"It'll only cause more problems. I'll calm down then go talk to her. The only way I'm going to do that is by finishing my lunch."
Anica rolls her eyes but doesn't push any further. She turns to Nick and starts up a conversation, which George and Dylan end up joining in on. I stay silent, thinking about what I'm going to say to Xinia. Most of our fights aren't too serious, just petty or insignificant, so I'm not too worried about this one.
Finally, I decide I'm full and stand up.
"I'll meet up with you later," I tell them before exiting the Hall.
I stand outside the doors for a bit, wondering where Xinia will be. I pull out my copy of the Marauder's Map and search for the dot that represents Xinia. I hope she's not someplace undocumented. Otherwise, I'll have to search for a bit.
Finally, I spot her in some part of the library.
"Should've guessed that," I mutter under my breath as I put the Map away.
I decide to take the shortcut through the Golden Trio portrait. Just before I start looking for the password, however, I pull the Map out to see if this passage is on the Map.
Unsurprisingly, it's not. I'll have to mention that to Xinia later. Just as I go to put the Map away, however, Harry in the portrait speaks up.
"Where did you get that?" he cries.
I jump in surprise at his exclamation, before a guilty feeling fills me. Chances of him finding the Map during his Hogwarts years are pretty high, so he undoubtedly recognises it.
"Er, it was in Mortan's office," I answer honestly.
"I thought James had that?" Ron asks Harry.
"So did I," Harry answers. "It must've been confiscated from him."
I frown in confusion before remembering James was also Harry's son. As the Trio keep conversing, I look for the out of place object in the portrait.
"Gryffindor," I say, suddenly spotting the Gryffindor scarf around Harry's neck I hadn't noticed before.
The Trio looks at me in surprise for a moment, as if they had forgotten I was there, before their portrait swings open.
I quickly make my way down the passage, finding the button on the wall to open the door. I step out of the passageway and close the door. Luckily, most people are at lunch, so the library is mostly empty.
I find an empty booth and pull the Map out, not wanting to search all the shelves for Xinia. I frown when I see her near the Restricted Section, but I head over anyway. When I reach it, however, Xinia is nowhere to be found.
"Xinia?" I call out.
No response. I recheck the Map, and it says Xinia is only a few feet away from me. I frown, turning around and searching everywhere near me. But it's like she's not there.
"Xinia, I know you're here!" I call out. "The Map says you are."
Still no answer.
"Fine, be that way," I mutter.
I decide to leave.
The Map must have glitched I think to myself.
Just as I'm about to pull out the book that will open the passageway, I hear someone call out my name. I turn around, coming face to face with Kimmy and Ciena.
"What are you doing here?" Kimmy asks, an incredulous look on her face. "I thought you wouldn't be caught dead in the library!"
"I'll admit it's not my favourite place, but a visit every once in a while can't hurt, can it?"
Ciena looks at me suspiciously, eyeing the book I was about to pull out. Recognition fills her eyes, but thankfully, she doesn't say anything.
"Actually, I was wondering, have you seen Xinia by any chance?" I ask.
Kimmy laughs.
"So that's why you're here."
I grin, not bothering to tell her the truth.
"Caught me," I shrug.
"No, I thought she was with you," Ciena answers me.
I shake my head.
"She left lunch before I did and I thought she would be here, but I can't find her."
"Oh, maybe she's in the common room, we'll go check," Ciena suggests.
"You don't have to," I say quickly.
"It's fine," Kimmy waves me off.
"Okay, well, thanks. I'll go check the Quidditch pitch," I announce.
I watch them leave before I grab the book and open the passage. I quickly exit through the portrait. Before I go, however, I turn to the Trio.
"Does the map ever make mistakes?" I ask them, but mainly Harry.
He shakes his head.
"I thought it did a few times, but it always turned out to be right."
"Oh, okay."
"Why do you ask?" Hermione asks.
"My friend, Xinia, the Map says she's in the library. But when I checked, I couldn't find her anywhere."
"Is that the Ravenclaw one? Red hair?" Hermione asks.
"You're going to have to specify," l laugh. "All of us have red hair, and there are two Ravenclaws."
"Short?" Hermione offers.
"Oh, yeah, that works."
"She came through a little before you," Hermione tells me.
I scrunch my eyebrows.
"That's weird. She definitely wasn't there." I sigh. "Oh well, thanks for you your help anyway."
"No problem," Hermione smiles.
I walk off, not sure where to go next. I had told the girls I would check the pitch, but I doubted she would be there. Plus, I was still convinced she was in the library. The Map couldn't be wrong. Xinia had made it pretty clear that the Marauders were extremely skilled, and from what I knew about them, I didn't doubt it.
I end up pulling out the Map and finding Anica with the boys in the Community Hall, so I head there.
"Where's Xinia?" Anica questions as I walk over and join them.
"I couldn't find her."
She looks like she's about to ask something, but holds back. I catch her eye, and she mouths Map? I shake my head.
"We'll find her later," Anica sighs.
We sit in silence for a bit.
"I'm bored," Nick breaks the silence.
"Same, let's do something," I agree.
"Like what?" George asks.
I sit thinking for a moment before I get an idea.
"Does anyone fancy a swim?"
Anica grins as she hops up.
"That's an awesome idea, Gena," she says. "Come on," she gestures for the boys to stand up.
"Where are we going?" George asks as Anica and I lead the three of them out of the castle.
"Black Lake," I answer.
"Are we even allowed?" Dylan asks.
I shrug.
"I don't see why not."
Before long, we arrive at the lake.
"It looks freezing," Dylan notices.
"You chicken?" I grin.
I pull my sweater off, revealing a black tank top, and kick my joggers off. I morph my hair into a tight bun so that all my hair is off my face, and without warning, I splash into the lake.
I decided to go as quick as possible and dunk my head under so that the cold wouldn't affect me as much. That didn't make it much better.
"Merlin, that's cold!" I exclaim, wiping water from my eyes.
Still on the bank, the others laugh. I grin before splashing as much water as I can onto them. George manages to jump out of the way of most of it, and Anica wasn't my main target, so the boys end up with the majority of the water.
"Come on," Dylan complains. "Now my shoes are going to be wet for the rest of the day!"
I shrug.
"Sucks to be you."
I could just morph my clothes when I got out, so I didn't worry about it. Anica grins before taking her jumper and shoes off before joining me. She swears at the cold, and I laugh.
"You guys coming in?" she asks the boys.
George rolls his eyes before stipping off to just his boxers before jumping in. We eventually convince Dylan and Nick to join, and the five of us splash around in the shallow bit before George decides to go for a proper swim.
"Make sure the Giant Squid doesn't get you!" I call out as he dives under.
A second later, he emerges, looking at me with wide eyes.
"The what?" he asks.
"The Giant Squid," I laugh. "We've seen him about a couple of times, haven't we Anica?"
She nods, a grin plastered on her face.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he's harmless," Anica says. "But first one to spot him wins," she adds before swimming off.
George looks at her in shock for a minute.
"She is not winning," I hear him mutter before diving back under the water.
I roll my eyes at his competitiveness.
"Is there actually a Giant Squid?" Nick asks.
I nod.
"Yeah, we actually have seen it a few times. But only from our dormitory, which is way too deep to swim. Unless it chooses to emerge, they have no chance of spotting it."
The boys laugh. We talk for a bit before Dylan suddenly splashes a huge amount of water onto Nick, and consequently, me.
"Hey!" I complain as water drips down my face.
Nick replies by splashing Dylan back. He then moves a little away from me before splashing me.
I glare at him.
"You are so going down," I announce before drenching both the boys.
Very quickly, a water fight begins. Every man for himself, we all end up completely soaked and freezing. At one point, Nick manages to sneak up behind me and pushes me down under the water for a few seconds before I push him off, kicking his legs out from under him. He falls with a splash into the water, and I stand up grinning.
I had forgotten about Dylan though, who had scooped up a handful of mud from the bottom of the lake.
"No, don't you dare," I warn, holding my hand up in front of my face.
He grins before throwing it at me, hitting me square in the face. Luckily my hand had stopped the worst of it, but I feel some slide down my cheek. I attempt to wipe it off, but it just makes it worse.
"Ugh, you suck," I groan before scooping up my own handful of mud.
I hurl it at him, and he manages to turn so that it hits his back instead of his face. Meanwhile, Nick had re-emerged from the water and started to join in.
That was how Anica and George found us a couple of minutes later; drenched and covered in mud. However, they didn't try to stop us. Instead, George scooped up a massive ball of dirt and threw it at Anica. It hit her hard on the back, as she had been turned away from him.
"That was for leading me on with the Squid," he calls gleefully.
Anica returned the gesture, and the fighting started back up again. Somehow we ended up Anica and I against the boys, throwing mud and splashing water at each other.
Eventually, Nick manages to grab Anica by the waist and twist her before throwing her into the water. I avenge her by shoving a ton of mud right on top of his head, his blonde hair quickly becoming brown. While he's distracted, I push him into the water beside Anica, who laughs at his muddy hair.
I hold my hand out to help Anica up, but instead, she pulls me down into the water.
"Anica!" I cry in surprise.
She bursts out laughing again, and I can't help but join in. Beside us, Nick was desperately trying to wash the mud out of his hair.
George and Dylan come up to us; smirking.
"I think we definitely won that," George announces.
"Oh, so that was a competition?" Anica raises her eyebrow.
"Of course. Everything's a competition," Dylan grins.
I give a small laugh, shaking my head. As I do, I realise my hair had long since fallen out of its bun and was hanging in messy wet curls around my face. I also noticed that it had bits of mud all through it. I groaned as I attempted to comb a few knots out with my fingers.
I quickly dunked my head, running my fingers through my hair to clean it, before emerging.
For the next few minutes, we try to get rid of all the mud that covered us. I scrubbed at my arms and my face and continued trying to untangle my hair. Eventually, I give up and just morph it dry and clean into a ponytail.
We trudge out of the water where everyone starts wringing out their clothes, and Anica re-does her hair.
I simply morph into dry clothes and put my sweater and joggers back on. The others glare at me as they slip jeans and tops on over their wet clothes. I grin before pointing out a piece of mud still stuck in Nick's hair.
Finally, we begin our climb back up to the castle.
"What time is it?" Anica asks me.
I glance at my watch.
"Four," I say.
"Still a few more hours before dinner then."
I nod.
As we enter the castle, the boys head off to their dorms to get changed, while Anica and I head to ours.
When we arrive, Anica peels off her drenched clothes and quickly got changed into new ones. She brushed her hair out and re-did it. Just before we headed out, she went back to her wet jeans and pulled her wand out.
"Wait, where's your map?" I ask as I remember she had put it in her pocket this morning.
Her eyes widen in shock. She reaches into the other pocket of her jeans and pulls out a wet piece of parchment on the verge of falling apart.
"Oh no," she winces as a piece rips off and falls to the ground.
I roll my eyes before pulling my own wand out.
"Reparo," I say.
The map pieces back together, although it's still wet.
"How do you know that?" Anica asks.
"It was one of the first spells I learnt. The number of times Mum or Dad had to repair something I broke I figured it was necessary."
"Oh, okay. You don't happen to know a drying charm, do you?"
"I'm sure Xinia will. Let's go find her."
I pull out my dry copy and begin to search the castle. I spot Xinia walking to what looks like the Community Hall, although it's not on the Map. I also see that no one else is in the Hall.
Anica and I exit the dormitory and find that no one is the Common Room.
"Can we use the passageway?" I ask. "No one's here or in the Community Hall."
"Sure," Anica shrugs, petting the snake on the mantlepiece.
The stairs appear, and we quickly ascend them, walking past the turnoff to the Founder's statue. Anica puts the passcode in when we reach the trapdoor, and we pull ourselves up into the Community Hall.
"Oh hey," I hear as I close the hatch.
I turn around, unsurprised to see Xinia. She looks over us curiously.
"Why are you wearing different clothes?" she asks.
"We may have gone...swimming with the boys," Anica says.
"Why do you say swimming like that's not actually what you did?"
"There was a bit of, uh, mud fighting."
Xinia rolls her eyes.
"Anyway, that's what prompted us to come here," Anica trails off.
I sigh.
"Anica forgot the Map was in her jeans when she jumped in. It's a little wet."
Anica pulls out the parchment which drips water onto the floor.
"This is why you did not get the original map," Xinia sighs. "Here, give it to me."
Anica hands it over, and Xinia points her wand at it. A moment later the parchment dries, and Xinia hands it back to Anica.
"Thank you!" Anica beams.
"Is that all?" Xinia asks.
I stay quiet for a few moments before Anica nudges me.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," I apologise.
"I'm sorry too," Xinia reluctantly admits albeit with a smile.
I grin before slumping down on the nearest couch.
"Hey, where were you before?" I ask, suddenly remembering. "I looked for you on the Map, and it said you were in the library - Hermione in the portrait even said you had used the shortcut, but I couldn't find you. Even when I was supposedly right next to you."
"Oh, um, I was kind of hiding from you," she doesn't meet my gaze. "I didn't want to talk," she mumbles.
"Wouldn't I have still heard you?" I ask.
"I compensated for that," she explains.
"Oh, okay."
"Well, we should probably go find the rest of the group," Anica says.
We agree, and we wander around for a bit before coming across the boys. We make our way to our spot so the girls can find us if they want to.
We chat for a bit before it's finally time for dinner. We go to the Great Hall, and spot Ciena and Kimmy at the Ravenclaw table. We join them and eat our meals together.
Afterwards, we stay in the Hall for a little before deciding to call it a night. We break off, heading to our Common Rooms. Anica and I talk with a bunch of people from the older grades before retiring to our dormitory. I quickly shower, then crawl under my sheets, bidding goodnight to Anica.
As always, I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please leave a review, and don't forget to check out my Instagram! Till next time...