Hey, sorry I'm a little late. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11
Xinia and I make our way back to the Great Hall where we spot Anica, alone, slumped over her plate eating whatever was left at the table.
"Morning, sleeping beauty!" Xinia smiles.
Anica groans rubbing her eyes.
"It's 10 am on a Sunday," she complains. "I want to be sleeping."
I roll my eyes, taking a seat next to her.
"The boys said they were going to the Community Hall and I think they're planning on going to the pitch later too," Anica informs us, finishing the piece of toast on her plate.
She rubs her eyes again before pushing the plate aside. I look at her and see that she obviously did not happily get out of bed this morning. She's got a baggy shirt and some tracksuit pants on, which I'm pretty sure she slept in and still has sleep in her eyes.
"What the fuck happened to you this morning? Did a tiger drag you out of bed?" Xinia laughs.
I frown slightly. Xinia swearing? Maybe I need more sleep.
"Professor Patil came into our dorm this morning to have another search."
"Why?" Xinia asks.
"Probably cause they didn't think it was acceptable to have a male teacher search the girls' dorms again," Anica suggests, and Xinia and I sit down at the table.
"AGAIN?" Xinia yells.
Anica and I both whip our heads around to look at her.
"Let's not have the world listening to our conversation," Anica shushes her.
Xinia nods and apologises.
"Does it really matter, though?" I point out, carrying on the conversation in a whisper. "I mean, the guy in question is gay, so…"
"Gena!" Xinia admonishes.
I hold my hands up in surrender.
"Just sayin!" I laugh.
"Anyway," Anica rolls her eyes, albeit laughing slightly. "Malfoy came in last night and Gena was in the Common Room, probably acting suspicious-"
"Hey!"
"- so he came into our dormitory and checked around a bit. He couldn't find anything, obviously, so he let it go."
"That reminds me," Xinia interrupts. "Where did you stash the potions?"
"In our room," I tell her, not mentioning the secret compartment. "I figured cause no one knows it exists that they couldn't be found there."
She nods.
"Where were you two earlier?" Anica asks us suddenly.
Xinia and I exchange a glance.
"I, um…" I start, "I decided to give them back."
Anica's jaw drops.
"You what?" she demands. "Why on earth would you do that? Xinia, what did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything!" Xinia defends herself. "She made the decision on her own."
"What the fuck?"
Before I can say anything, however, the doors to the Great Hall fly open, and every head in the Hall turns to face the newcomer.
It's Malfoy, jaw clenched and eyes searching the Hall. I feel my heart sink as they land on me, and he narrows his eyes. He points at me and then the ground in front of him. A clear message to get over there.
"I thought you said you returned them?" Anica whispers to me, seeing the action.
"I did," I whisper back. "Maybe he found out I'm the one who ruined his cauldron last week?"
She gives me a skeptical look.
"I doubt he'd be this mad about it."
I sigh and get up, unable to put the inevitable doom off any longer. I feel every eye in the Hall on me as I walk down the space between the tables towards Malfoy. He gestures for me to follow him, so I do, and the doors slam shut behind us as we walk in silence towards, well, I don't even know where.
What's going on? Anica's voice comes through my head.
No clue, I answer. He hasn't said anything yet.
I realise that Malfoy is leading us into his lab, and I swallow thickly as I spot the potions still out on the bench. Their lids were off and there was some sort of equipment next to them, as if Malfoy had been using them or something.
Once we're inside, he shuts the door and then turns to face me, anger evident on his face.
"I expect you know why you're here," he says evenly, although his expression speaks for itself.
"No, Sir," I answer quietly, probably for the first time in my life being honest.
"Don't play games with me, Gena. I know that you were the one to return the potions."
I nod lamely, seeing no point in denying it. By now I decided that I didn't want the girls listening in, so I broke the connection before answering.
"But I still don't understand why you're angry at me, Sir," I say nervously. "I gave them back, I didn't even have a chance to open them or anything."
"Excluding the fact that I now know it was definitely you who stole them," Malfoy sighs, "I think you'd have to be pretty daft to not understand why I brought you here."
I shake my head, feeling increasingly dumber in his presence. I've never been so confused and innocent before, yet he was still getting mad at me.
"At first," Malfoy begins. "I was proud of you. I could see that they hadn't been touched, and I believed your intentions of returning them were good. But then," he chuckles humorlessly and moves closer to the bench. "I tested the potions. Just to make sure. And guess what?"
Instead of answering himself, he holds his hand out and gestures to the equipment next to the bottles, as if expecting me to understand what they were. A few awkward seconds pass before I clear my throat and answer.
"If you were expecting me to answer, you're going to be disappointed," I say impatiently. "I have no idea what all this stuff is."
Malfoy huffs irritably.
"The potions are fake!"
My mouth drops in genuine shock.
"What? That's not possible! I grabbed them from those stores over there-" I gestured to the shelves of potions. "Then hid them last night, and I know for a fact no one could've touched them. Then in the morning I grabbed them and brought them straight here."
Malfoy seems shocked for a minute at how forthcoming I was, but then shakes it off.
"Do you think me stupid, Gena?" he demands. "You've pulled this kind of stunt before. Where are the real potions?"
"I'm being serious, Sir!" I feel my eyes starting to tear up. "I returned them cause I didn't want to give Slytherin any more reason to be mad at me."
Malfoy seems taken aback. I suddenly realised what I was doing and immediately rubbed my eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. Malfoy looked on, seeming uncomfortable.
"I didn't fake any potions," I say. "You think I would be able to do that? I can't even make real potions!"
He opens his mouth but doesn't say anything.
"That's actually very true," he admits with a frown. "Very well. If it wasn't you, who would it have been?"
"I don't know," I say. "There's no way anyone could have found them where I hid them."
Malfoy raises his eyebrows but thankfully doesn't push it.
"What about on the way here?"
"I only came across Xinia, but she would never do that. She'd rather die than get in trouble."
Something suddenly occurs to me. The way Xin had been acting, the things she'd been saying... I mean it was a little weird, but it's Xin, she wouldn't dare. Right?
I shake my head at the thought.
"She wouldn't, would she?" I ask aloud, trying to think back.
"I don't know Miss Dinnick, but whatever has happened to my potions, someone is to blame."
"I just can't think of anyone else who it might have been," I sigh.
What's going on? Xinia suddenly breaks through the connection.
I hesitate a moment, deciding whether or not to confront her. Eventually, I decide that it's for the best.
Did you swap out the potions for fake ones and have me return the replicas? I ask bluntly.
Gena! How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Xinia's shocked voice rings through my head, and I wince.
Malfoy notices and gives me a questioning look.
"I think it was her," I admit quietly.
If it hadn't been, she would've skipped the accusation altogether and focused on the fact they were fakes.
Malfoy gives me a sympathetic nod.
Just come to Malfoy's Lab, please, I tell Xinia. We want to figure out what happened.
I feel a rush of annoyance from Xinia's end, but I ignore it.
"Shall we go find Miss Ren, then?" Malfoy asks, although it's not really a question rather a formality.
Nevertheless, I decline.
"Actually, can I talk to Xinia first, please?" I ask timidly. "I won't cover for her if she admits, but I just want to understand."
"Very well," he sighs. "Once you're done, I expect her to come by."
I nod.
"Thank you, Sir. And I'm sorry for stealing them in the first place. It was a dare from the Quidditch celebrations…"
Despite the situation, Malfoy smiles a little.
"I understand. Just don't make a habit of it. And, unfortunately, you'll still have to serve a detention tomorrow night."
I nod before taking my leave. Once I'm outside, I move a little bit away from the lab and wait for Xinia to show up. When she sees me, she stops and crosses her arms over her body.
"Why would you think I would make you return fake potions?" she demands. "You were doing the right thing for once! I'm not about to jeopardise that!"
"Well then, who else could it have been?" I ask. "No one else even came close to those potions!"
"Maybe you stole fake ones!"
I scoff.
"Yeah, Malfoy has fake potions in his stores and makes a big deal when someone steals and returns them. You're supposed to be smart, Xinia!"
"Don't insult my intelligence," she warns. "Look, I don't know what happened. But I definitely didn't swap them."
"So if I go up to the room or your dormitory I won't find them?"
"No."
I search for all her tells; fiddling with her necklace, eyes darting away, tapping her leg with her finger. Nothing. Her heart rate is slightly higher than normal, but I can't determine whether that's because of the arguing or her lying.
"You think I'm lying!"
"For good reason! Xin, how else do you explain this?"
"How do I know you're not the one who switched them! To make us think you were doing something good but actually going behind our backs!"
"I can't even make potions, how am I supposed to fake them?"
"Who says you did it!" Xinia's voice raises slightly, "How do I not know that Anica helped you and that you both planned to get me into trouble. It wouldn't be the first time."
"That's enough!" Malfoy suddenly interrupts, having come out of his office. "Xinia, please come into the lab."
Xinia glares at me but does what he asks. Of course, I stick around to listen in.
Their conversation starts off as muffled talking, but slowly Xinia's tempter kicks in and everything she says is clear enough for anyone who passes to hear.
"SIR! You can't possibly believe that I, of all people, did this!"
"I see no reason why not, Miss Ren. Just because you haven't behaved badly in the past doesn't excuse you for present and/or future behaviours. From what Miss Dinnick and you have told me, there is no other explanation."
"So you're believing Gena over me? Gena, the one who always breaks the rules, and never does the right thing?"
"Yes, Miss Ren, I am."
Either Xinia is really telling the truth, or she's a really good actor. Her voice is shaking and it's obvious that she's tearing up. But Xinia would never lie to a teacher, would she?
"Sir, I promise I didn't do it."
"Well, I'm afraid your word isn't enough. Both of you will be under probation until we get to the bottom of this. Those potions are potentially dangerous if they get into the wrong hands. This is a serious issue, despite the lack of severity of the initial crime."
"Under probation?" Xinia cries. "No, this can't be happening! I can't be under probation!"
Deciding to cut in, I knock on the door and then push it open without waiting for a response. I go stand next to Xinia and address Malfoy.
"We understand. I apologise again for getting us into this situation."
He nods, giving us one last glance before dismissing us. I grab the sleeve of Xinia's shirt and tug her out of the room, trying to ignore her tears, which had started to fall once Malfoy announced our punishment.
"Calm down, Xin," I say. "Under probation doesn't mean anything if we behave. And knowing you, you will do everything you can to lift it, so you're fine. If anything, I should be worried."
Xinia abruptly stops and yanks herself out of my grip. I hadn't been holding her too hard, just enough to guide her, but she made it look like she was disgusted with my actions.
"It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place Gena!" she shouts. "Excuse me if I'm not worrying about you right now. I just got in trouble for doing nothing!"
"Hey! It was your idiot brother who gave me the dare. And all I'm trying to say is, you've got nothing to worry about."
"Don't insult my brother when you could just have easily not done the dare!"
"I'm over this!" I cry, retreating away from her. "We're fighting over nothing, as usual."
I turn away and walk out of the corridor, ignoring her shouts as I go. I know it probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I couldn't take it anymore. I was still angry that it was potentially Xinia who had faked the potions, and no matter what she said, I didn't believe her when she said it wasn't her. I just didn't want things to escalate like they had in the past.
I walk through the castle and then eventually outside. I don't really know where I'm going, but my naturally curious habits lead me to find a sheltered hill of grass just out of sight from the lake. Unless someone was looking out of a window in the castle, I'd be virtually hidden.
Once I was there, I laid on my back in the grass, just staring up at the sky. At first I was thinking about Xinia and the fight and the potions, but eventually I got distracted and just started thinking about random things. I didn't realise that I'd calmed down and relaxed until a distant shout from the castle snapped me out. I realised it was just a group of students laughing and mucking around, so I ignored it.
I went to shift myself, growing uncomfortable in my current position, when, suddenly, I felt something soft under my hand. I frowned and looked down, and almost screamed. I swiftly sat up and crawled away, not processing what the creature was. Once I deemed myself a far enough distance away, I calmed down a little, and studied the thing.
It's fur was black all over, and it was no bigger than my shoe. When it turned around to face me, I suddenly realised what it was. It had a long snout, and clasped in it's small hands was one of my bracelets, which I realised was no longer on my wrist.
It was a Niffler!
A small grin spread across my face as I observed its small chatters and squeaks and cute inspection of the bracelet. I didn't want to provoke it, so I just crouched down and gently held my hand out, softly whistling.
"Can I have my bracelet back?" I asked rhetorically. "You're not going to like it anyway."
Sure enough, after biting the bracelet, it abruptly threw it away, realising it wasn't proper silver. I caught the piece of jewellery and latched it back around my wrist. The Niffler eyed me for a few seconds as I slowly sat down and crossed my legs. I took off a few of my gold rings and held them in my palm, waiting to see if it would come closer.
It sniffed the air a few times and then slowly edged closer. It hesitantly reached it's hand out, and then, in the blink of an eye, snatched the rings from my hand. It's claws scraped my skin lightly, but it barely stung.
I watched it with a small smile as if chittered happily at the rings and then stuck them in its pouch. It came closer again and I laughed.
"You can't have all my jewellery, greedy guts!" I chuckled.
It almost seemed to frown, and then nudged into my hand insistently.
"Sorry little guy," I say, cautiously rubbing under its chin.
I continue gently playing with it, occasionally surrendering an item or two when I can't resist. I learn that it's a male, and that he's quite friendly and affectionate. He had a decent sized scar just above his tail on his back and a small patch of white on his chest that stood out from the darkness of the rest of his fur.
Ever since I had first seen a Niffler, I had decided that I would eventually get one. I begged my parents, but they refused because it was too risky to have one in the house. Of course, I didn't care, but they didn't let me. I knew I couldn't take this one, but it was nice to play with him for a little bit.
"What was it this time?" Anica asks later on when I finally return to the castle.
I raise my eyebrows.
"You guys haven't been together for the past three hours, something is obviously up," she informs me.
I sigh.
"The potions I returned were apparently fakes," I tell her. "Seeing as no one but Xinia even came into contact with them, well…"
"You think Xinia faked the potions?" Anica cries. "Our Xinia? Miss Perfect Goody Two Shoes?"
I shrug helplessly.
"She's insisting she didn't, but there's no one else it could be."
"Why would she, though?" Anica asks.
"I don't know."
"Where is she anyway?"
We both look around the Community Hall, but there is no sign of Xinia or anyone else in our group.
"Where is anyone?" I frown.
Anica shrugs.
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Our heads instantly turn to the doorway.
"Guess we know now," I laugh.
"What is it now?" Anica huffs.
Xinia bursts into the room followed by George, Nick, Dylan and Fred. Xinia's face is bright red, and the boys are snickering and smirking, except Fred, who is just awkwardly tagging along behind.
"Stop your ridiculous nonsense! I'm so done with you all!" Xinia yells, drawing everyone's attention.
Anica and I watch in entertainment as Nick lets out a laugh, quickly followed by a slap to the face from Xinia.
"BITCH!" Nick cries moving his hand to his now red cheek.
"ME? Piss off! All of you!"
I look at Anica who seems to be just as confused as I am.
"Oi! Fred," I call, signalling Fred over to us.
He stares at me blankly for a moment before slowly walking towards us.
"What happened? Why is she-?" I wave my arms, vaguely gesturing towards Xinia. "What are they arguing about? Who started it? All that," I finish, utterly confused.
"We didn't do anything!" Dylan argues.
"So why are you laughing?" Xinia demands.
"Cause you're freaking crazy!" Nick yells.
"And it's funny," Dylan says as a side note. "Whoever did it is a freaking genius."
Xinia's eyes narrow and her face darkens even redder than before.
"I swear to god, Freign! Shut the hell up! You too, Gougley!" Xinia points to them.
"Ooh, she pulled out the last names," Anica snickered. "Shiz is gettin' real!"
"And YOU!" Xinia spins to face George.
He takes a small step back but doesn't seem to be bothered.
"I know! I know you did it! You backstabbing, maniacal, lying piece of absolute waste that was thrown into Gryffindor because you don't belong anywhere else because all you are is a jerk who can't control himself!"
"Can someone please explain what the actual hell is going on?" I say aloud, glancing in Fred's direction.
"Oh, right!" He laughs a little. "Xinia's broom is...well, let's say broken."
"BROKEN?!" Xinia turns to us, overhearing the blonde.
"Well shit," Anica mutters.
"My broom is destroyed! Beyond repair! Burnt. Snapped. AND, stuck in the Whomping Willow!"
Xinia pulls at her hair and I can see her eyes begin to water.
"Drama Queen," Nick whispers to Dylan and George, Xinia thankfully not hearing.
"Wait, actually?" I interrupt. "Did you guys actually do that?"
"We didn't," Dylan and Nick say in unison.
I turn to look at George, who has a guilty look on his face.
"Fred helped me!" he blurts and Fred lets out an unimpressed noise.
"No I didn't'!" his voice goes up several octaves and it's obvious he's lying.
Xinia scowls at him.
"And I thought you might have been innocent!"
Fred holds his hands up in surrender.
"All I did was steal your broom out of the Common Room! George did everything else!"
"They keep their brooms in their Common Room?" Anica mutters to me and I snicker but slap her.
"Now is not the time," I hiss.
"Is that true?" Xinia turns her death stare back on George.
He purses his lips and then nods. Xinia's expression darkens and then she storms over to George and starts hitting his chest, unable to reach his head properly. It's actually quite funny to watch, but it still obviously hurts the taller boy.
"Ow! Xin! That hurts!" he catches her wrists and shoves her away. "Look, I'm sorry for ruining your broom! I'll get you a new one!"
"Ugh! The worst part is I know you're telling the truth!" she groans. "I can't let you buy me a whole new broom!"
"Why not?" George furrows his eyebrows. "I ruined it; it's only fair!"
Xinia rolls her eyes while the rest of us watch in amusement.
"You suck," she grumbles, hitting George's chest one last time before slumping down on the couch next to me.
A beat of silence passes before Fred speaks up.
"So...you're not mad?"
Xinia glares at him.
"Oh, I'm pissed. I'm just choosing to come up with an elaborate, foolproof plan to get you back instead of doing something rash."
"And there's the Xinia we all know and love!" I declare with a chuckle.
The others laugh with me, but then I remember that Xinia and I are in the middle of an argument, and I fall silent. She seems to realise as well, and an uncomfortable silence settles around us.
"Right, so now that they hate each other again," George points out the obvious. "What shall we do?"
Both of us turn to glare at him, and then we realise what we did and awkwardly look away. Xinia shrugs, picking up her necklace and chewing on the chain. I roll my eyes at her nervous habit as she fiddles with the charm methodically.
"How bout we-" Anica begins.
"Actually, you know what?" I interrupt, standing up. "I think I'm just going to go to my Common Room. You guys can do whatever you like."
I hadn't meant for it to sound rude, but it came out that way. I contemplated following up with something to indicate this, but I couldn't be bothered. I slipped past the boys and out of the room.
As I close the door I hear a short argument between Anica and Xinia debating going after me.
Eventually their voices fall silent as I move out of ear range. I didn't really know where I was going, but it wasn't the dungeons. I didn't want them potentially following me there, because I just wanted to be alone. I'd thought I'd calmed down from before, but turns out I hadn't.
I find myself standing out the front of our secret room, and shrug before deciding to go in. I walk around angrily for a few minutes before I suddenly get an idea. I walk over to the two passageways that led straight to our dormitories. One was for Anica and I, and the other for Xinia. Looking at it now, I realised that this was the perfect opportunity. I quickly looked at my map, saw that no one was in her dorm, and then set off down the unfamiliar passageway. Not long after, I found myself standing at the entrance to the room. I looked around in surprise, noting how different their dorm was to ours. The layout was mostly the same, with the same beds and bathroom and whatnot, but everything else was different.
The bed sheets and curtains were blue, for starters. Instead of dark stone, the walls were made of bricks, and the window looked out onto the castle grounds, shedding natural light into the room. It was unfamiliar, because there was no natural light at all in the dungeons.
The room itself was also impeccably neat. A complete contrast to Anica and I's; all the beds were made, clothes were tucked away in trunks and cupboards, books were stacked neatly on the nightstands and there were no random textbooks or quills or joke objects lying around on the floor.
A bookcase stood against one wall where a mirror laid in ours, and I noted the difference with a small laugh. On the shelves were five individual compartments filled to the brim with books and other objects, and then another two 'communal' shelves, which contained even more books and some photos and decorative objects.
After taking in the room for a moment, I remembered my task and got to work. I quickly found Xinia's bunk, identifiable by the large X somehow woven into the covers. I rummaged through her trunk, trying not to displace too many things, then her nightstand and even under her bed, but I found nothing. Then I moved to the cupboards and looked through the bathroom, but still came up empty.
Falling back to my last resort, I took out my wand and fumbled my way through a charm I had recently learned; Revelio. It was quite advanced, and so it took me a few tries, but I eventually got it. I grinned, silently thanking the book I had snatched from Xinia one time which had these sorts of spells. It was useful when trying to find hidden things; a habit I found myself slipping into.
The spell revealed something weird on the floor next to Xinia's bed, and I let out a quiet cheer. Now I just had to figure out how to get into whatever it was. I tried a simple unlocking charm, Alohomora, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to work. Then I tried to see if it was just locked by muggle means, but it didn't seem to be. I also tried a few passphrases in case it was voice activated, but if it was, I didn't say the right thing.
I sighed, knowing I was running out of time. Someone was bound to come in here soon. I tried to remember different ways of unlocking things, but nothing came to me.
Come on, what would Xinia do?
I study the floorboards, then realise something. There was dust all over the floor, except in one specific spot. It was about the size of my hand, and it looked like someone had wiped the spot off. Then something occurred to me.
Sparing just a moment to feel bad, I quickly morphed my hand into Xinia's. I knew that my abilities allowed me to mimic everything about someone, if I knew them well enough to do so, even down to their DNA. I prayed I did it right as I laid my hand over the spotless part of the floor. I felt something move beneath me, but then it stopped, as if the code I'd given it was wrong.
"Damnit," I curse, removing my hand and looking around in desperation.
I picked up my wand, which I'd put aside when I morphed, and then stopped.
"Of course," I realise. "She's right-handed."
I'd put my left hand down naturally, but Xinia would have used her right if I was correct about her system. I quickly morphed my other hand, put it down on the floor…and voila.
"Yes!" I cry as the floorboard lifts a little, and I'm able to pull it aside.
My heart falls as I see the contents of the secret compartment. It was nothing but a few books, a diary and some potions, but not the ones I was looking for. I recognised the names on the labels enough to figure out they were healing or explosive potions, but nothing like Amortentia or Veritaserum like I stole.
"What is the point of finding a secret compartment if what you want to find isn't even in there?" I complain to myself as I quickly put everything back and put the floorboard back in place.
I look at my map again and notice one of the Ravenclaw girls heading this way. Crap. I quickly packed everything up, righted a few of the pillows I'd disturbed and opened the passage just as I heard Lynn start to open the door. I darted inside, quickly shutting the passage and held my breath as the girl came in. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice anything, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I walked the passage back to our room.
Once in there, I sat down on my couch, still trying to figure out where Xinia could be hiding the potions. I knew it had to be her. There was no one else it could have been. But where the hell would she have hidden them?
Before I can figure anything out, I hear someone walking outside, and a moment later Anica appears. She doesn't speak as she sits down next to me, obviously waiting for me to either say something, or just sit in silence. I'm inclined to stay quiet, but I figured I should probably talk.
"Do you believe me?" I ask quietly.
Anica glances over, a dejected expression on her face.
"I don't know, Genes. I spoke to her just now, and she told me you guys are on probation?" she says it like a question, and I nod my affirmation. "Jeez."
There's a beat of silence before she speaks up again.
"I mean, obviously, I don't want to believe it. I wasn't there, I don't know what happened. But from the way she reacted…I don't know. I really don't know. I feel like you're being honest. I can generally tell when you're lying, same with Xin. But neither of you really feel like you normally do."
I frown, not understanding what she was saying.
"I just-" she sighs. "I can't seem to read either of you. It's like you're both hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything!" I cry. "How many times do I have to tell you? Xinia is the one who stole them and got me in trouble!"
"Woah, calm down," Anica held her hands up in surrender. "I didn't say I didn't believe you. I'm just saying I don't know what's going on."
I sigh, willing my anger away. She was right.
"I went to her dormitory," I admit, trying to get her to understand why I was so convinced she'd stolen them. "I found-"
"Wait, hold on, back up. You went to her dormitory?"
"Yeah," I shrug. "I just went through her passageway," I wave my hand toward said passageway, indicating what I meant.
"Oh."
"Anyway, I went there, and guess what I found? A secret compartment thing. It needs her handprint or something to open, but luckily," I hold my hand up and morph it into Xinia's like I'd done just before.
"Handy," Anica comments and I nod. "What did you find?" she asks excitedly.
"That's the thing!" I sigh. "Nothing," Anica's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Just a few books and potions."
"Isn't that what you were looking for?" her confusion seems to grow.
"No," I say. "Well, yes, but no. These were different potions. Not the ones I'd stolen. Probably just what she makes in class and a few other things she probably does in her free time like a nerd."
"So you didn't find the potions?"
"No, but-"
"Gena, I hate to say it, but I'm pretty sure that means she didn't steal them."
I open my mouth to protest, but for once, she cuts me off.
"No, Gena, I'm sorry. Where else could she have hidden them? I'm guessing you've looked everywhere you can think of?" I nod half-heartedly. "All the evidence points towards Xinia's innocence."
I sigh in frustration. Why couldn't she just understand?
"Whatever," I huff, deciding just to let it go. For now. "I'm gonna go."
"Where?"
"I dunno. Dinner."
Anica sighs, but lets me go. We weren't exactly fighting, but we weren't really getting along either. I was already mad enough at Xinia, though, so I didn't want to screw it up further with Anica. I just needed to cool off.
It wasn't quite dinner time yet, so I wandered around the castle aimlessly for a bit, trying to delay having to face everyone again. After about an hour, I figured it was time to head to the Great Hall.
I was not prepared for the night ahead of me.
1. Just letting you know, this will be my last update on this story. Next week when I update it will just be on Amok Year 2. The week after that I will remove these 11 chapters from this story so it's just Amok Year 1 on here.
2. So, these updates might start slowing down a little again. Don't worry, I'm still writing, just not as quickly, and I don't want a massive wait between updates while I try and catch up.