Thanks to Greenda's prefect powers, Teresa was helpless to stop Mezrielda coming into the Hufflepuff common room and sitting in an armchair opposite Bagsy as the two took one of the rare evenings Mezrielda didn't have detention to discuss the corvid trials.
It wasn't long before they were interrupted. Neve rushed into the room and over to Teresa, who was working at one of the desks. Her eyes were red and tears were streaming down her face. She was a mess of sniffs and sobs.
'Neve!' Teresa exclaimed in surprise. 'What's wrong?'
'I-it's… it's g-gone!' Neve wailed, putting her face in her hands.
Bagsy stood up and walked over urgently. 'What's gone, Neve?' she asked, looking at Teresa worriedly.
'My d-dress!' Neve cried, pointing to the corner of the room. Bagsy saw the torso mannequin Neve had been working on a few weeks back and all the oxygen seemed to leave her lungs at the sight. The torso was bare, a few scraps of paper clinging onto the sides, most of them singed at the end, as if the whole dress had burnt into smoke.
'Oh, stars…' Bagsy breathed.
'Merlin's beard,' Teresa cursed.
Bagsy's eyes suddenly fixed on the small, black feather on top of the mannequin and she instantly marched back to Mezrielda. 'You need to leave,' she murmured in a low voice, glancing nervously towards Teresa. Mezrielda, seeing the feather on top of the mannequin, and fear sparking in her eyes at the sight, nodded and rushed towards the exit. They both knew who Teresa would assume the culprit.
'Hold it!' Teresa hissed, her wand pointed at Mezrielda, having noticed the feather as well, and instantly jumping to the conclusion that Mezrielda was responsible. 'Fix it!' she demanded, Neve a state at her side.
'I didn't touch her silly dress,' Mezrielda growled.
Teresa's eyes ignited. 'Alohomora!' she cast, pointing her wand back towards her room.
Bagsy heard a set of clicks and turns and her stomach dropped. 'Mezrielda, run!'
Mezrielda sneered. 'No spell she can cast can hurt me.'
Teresa let out a low whistle. The door to the second-year girls dorm was open, and through it came a bat, two hopping toads, three scuttling spiders of various sizes, two slithering snakes and a horde of racing ants.
'Ah.' Mezrielda winced, turning as quickly as she could towards the exit. Teresa pointed her wand at Mezrielda and her familiars chased after her.
The Hufflepuff dormitory broke into a chorus of panicked yelps and cries of disgust. Neve looked the most terrified, hiding behind Teresa. Students hopped onto armchairs and stools, trying to get away from the animals filling the room whilst Teresa stalked after her familiars in the direction Mezrielda had left.
Walking around the school with Mezrielda proved to be an intimidating affair after that. The story of Neve's destroyed dress, that she'd spent the better part of two years making, spread like the fire that had presumably destroyed it. It didn't help that rumours of Mezrielda trying to kill Emmeline, and ruining Teresa's worm farm, were resurfacing. Bagsy knew Mezrielda hadn't done any of what she was accused of, as Mezrielda told her so, but the rest of the school was unconvinced. Neve was small, timid and nerdy, and ludicrously wholesome, so the sympathy the rest of the school felt for her was shockingly strong, as was its anger towards the cruel Slytherin who would so needlessly pick on her.
Glares were shot at Bagsy and Mezrielda as they travelled from one class to the next, people scooted away from them when they sat down, or openly stood and left the table. No one paired up with them in classes, and Teresa was refusing to speak to Bagsy until she'd "left that hag of a girl behind". It made practical Herbology an awkward and difficult affair.
Primrose seemed to be revelling in Bagsy and Mezrielda's misery. 'How does it feel being a bully's lacky?' Primrose asked one evening as Bagsy was sliding into bed, broom and tools in her hands to be worked on. 'Who would have thought you'd be the side kick to such an evil witch.'
She didn't bother defending Mezrielda. There was no point. No one would believe her, and it would only cause Bagsy more trouble.
But Bagsy felt worse and worse as, with the passage of time, she found herself too scared to walk right next to Mezrielda. Even with Cora a few steps behind, Bagsy could feel the anger and disgust radiating off the people they passed.
'Klepto!' one Gryffindor yelled as they passed, their friends laughing in agreement.
'Klepto?' Bagsy murmured questioningly to Mezrielda.
Mezrielda scowled. 'It's short for kleptomaniac – someone who's compelled to steal things.' She shot a glare at someone brave enough to draw their wand when they thought she wasn't looking. They quickly stowed it again. 'Everyone's blaming me for all the things that have gone missing. Word must have spread about the cutlery incident last term.'
As they crossed the court yard numerous students turned to look and whisper. Bagsy started to wonder if it was worth walking next to Mezrielda, even if she'd feel guilty leaving her innocent friend to take the harsh looks alone.
Primrose darted towards Mezrielda suddenly, grabbing her bag and tearing it open.
'No!' Mezrielda cried angrily as the contents spilled out. Small, shiny items clattered onto the cobbled stones and scattered around her feet.
'There's my lucky stone!' Primrose exclaimed, reaching down and grabbing one of the glinting pebbles.
'That's mine!' Mezrielda bared her teeth. Bagsy took a few steps back, not wanting to get involved, so many eyes were on the scene now. Cora followed Bagsy, not engaging with the altercation, merely watching.
'No, it's mine,' Primrose lied. 'It went missing. You must have stolen it, like the rest of this junk,' she added with a kick to the little shiny objects that had fallen out of Mezrielda's bag. Judgemental murmurs passed through the crowd.
'Thief!' one brave student called out to Bagsy's right.
'Come say that to my face!' Mezrielda yelled, whipping around to find the voice's owner only to see Bagsy had backed to the side of the courtyard, far away from her. The surprise on Mezrielda's face felt like a knife in Bagsy's side. She looked as if she'd just been slapped.
The next moment, the expression was gone, shielded behind a curtain of indifference. 'Wingardium leviosa,' Mezrielda cast, her voice tight. The shiny objects rose into the air and back into her bag, which she mended with a quick spell before leaving in the opposite direction from Bagsy. Glares followed her as she disappeared around a corner.
Bagsy didn't see Mezrielda much after that. She didn't come and sit with her at meal times, or help her practise quidditch, or do her work with her during personal study. Bagsy, sensing Mezrielda wanted to be left alone, gave up on attending the Eagle Club, despite her excitement to use her spell-sponge gloves more.
By the time it was the Easter Holidays, and Bagsy was revising for the year's tests, she knew she had to do something to make things up to Mezrielda, but she didn't know what.
Teresa, seeing that Bagsy was no longer hanging around Mezrielda, brought Neve over to revise with Bagsy. Soon, Jon and Itsuki settled into the benches around the table, too. The nook in the corner of the library overlooking the lake had never felt so crammed before. Bagsy realised how much she missed having just Mezrielda with her.
Itsuki, Jon and Teresa talked more than they revised, and Neve was ignoring her revision in favour of folding more paper than ever before, at a much faster space. Bagsy, surrounded by strips of papers and the others' textbooks, found very little space for herself, and took to writing on her lap.
'I'm glad you're avoiding her, Bagsy,' Teresa said, snapping Bagsy out of her Charms revision. Bagsy had no clue how she was going to pass the practical examination, but if she could build gloves to absorb spells, why couldn't she build something to cast them for her, too? It was a long shot but Bagsy had no other hope of making it to her third year.
'What was that?' Bagsy asked, putting her work down.
'I just think it's good you've cut such a toxic person out of your life,' Teresa clarified. Bagsy looked down at her work and swallowed, not saying anything. 'She thinks so highly of herself,' Teresa mocked, pretending to swish her hair with her hand this way and that. It didn't really work, given she always had it in a high ponytail.
Jon laughed. 'Too right. She thinks she can do anything and get away with it. I mean, she tried to kill Emmeline at the start of the term, and she only got detention for it!'
'Ridiculous.' Teresa shook her head in disbelief.
'She's got such an evil face, you can tell she's going to be a dark wizard just looking at her,' Jon went on. 'Such severe features. Resting scowl, too.'
'She only cares about herself,' Teresa added.
Bagsy stood up very suddenly, and without meaning too. The matured stampelia, sitting on the window sill, was changing its flowers from pink to an angry red as if it could feel her emotions. 'Mezrielda is a lovely person,' she spat. Teresa, Jon, Itsuki and Neve looked at her in shock. 'I don't know how many times I have to tell you – she's innocent!'
'Bagsy – she destroyed a dress your friend spent two years on!' Teresa insisted, 'She killed my worms! I can't believe you're defending her!'
'If you don't believe me you're not my friends,' Bagsy said. 'Friends trust each other.' She slammed one of her textbooks onto the table, leaving her things where they were, and stormed off.
'To be fair, Mezrielda didn't have a motive to destroy the dress…' Bagsy heard Itsuki mutter to the others as she marched angrily out of the library, tears growing in her eyes.
It wasn't until later that day that she returned to the library to grab her things. Her items collected, she turned to head to the dormitory, deciding she'd grab her mag-net bat and ball and practise her Quidditch outside. Cora, who'd been waiting outside of the library for Bagsy, followed behind her as they set off towards the Hufflepuff common room.
As they progressed, Bagsy saw Mezrielda ahead of her and stalled, not sure what to do. Then Bagsy saw Primrose, creeping up behind Mezrielda with Rebekah and Logan in tow. Without Mezrielda noticing, Primrose slipped an expensive looking bracelet into Mezrielda's bag.
'Hey!' Primrose said loudly, drawing the attention of a few students. Bagsy, without a second thought, was rushing over to Mezrielda. 'You stole my bracelet!' Primrose continued, Rebekah and Logan hiding smirks behind their hands.
Bagsy subtly dipped her hand into Mezrielda bag and pulled the bracelet out while no one was paying her attention, her action avoiding detection from all, except Mezrielda who must have felt it, as she glanced back at her.
'What bracelet?' Bagsy asked innocently.
Primrose reached forward and roughly opened Mezrielda's bag. She frowned, fumbling around in the bag before Mezrielda angrily pulled it out of her hands with a tsk.
Primrose's face paled. 'Where'd it go!? Give it back!'
Bagsy, with a clueless shrug, walked over to a nearby open window that over looked the grounds. She opened her palm, revealing the bracelet resting upon it. Primrose's mouth opened, and she held her hands out towards her pleadingly. Bagsy revelled in the horrified expression on Primrose's face. 'Your bracelet can't have been stolen if it was never here.' She tipped her hand, and let the bracelet fall out the window.
Primrose's fear turned to fury. She whirled around to face Cora. 'Mistress Foncée, punish these two thieves at once.'
Core blinked in surprise. 'What did they steal?'
'My bracelet!'
Core pursed her lips, casting her eyes about. 'What bracelet?' she asked, as if she hadn't been standing there, silently watching the entire incident.
Primrose glared at Bagsy. 'Your parents will receive a bill to replace that. It will be so large your poor little family will go bankrupt.'
Bagsy laughed, the high of her action making her too delirious to feel timid. 'Good luck getting my parents to answer mail.'
With a cry of frustration Primrose stalked off, Rebekah and Logan shooting Bagsy a glare before leaving.
Bagsy's heart was racing. She'd never talked to someone like that before, let alone thrown someone's belonging out a window. Looking at her friend, though, she knew she'd had to. Mezrielda didn't deserve how she was being treated – it was the least she could do to stand up for her.
'Want to revise together, tomorrow?' Mezrielda forced out the words, as if unsure she was ready to forgive her.
Bagsy beamed. 'Yeah.'
When the last day of the Easter holiday came, Bagsy and Mezrielda, who'd revised more than slept the past few weeks and saw instructions for brewing dizzying draughts and dates for wax clockwork rebellions when they closed their eyes, decided they'd earned a day of rest.
Bagsy planned on practising her Quidditch for the approaching match against Gryffindor whilst Mezrielda acted as her target, though Bagsy hadn't told Mezrielda this yet. After, they'd spend some time preparing for the Corvid Trials, something they hadn't done since revision and homework had drowned their lives like a tsunami.
Bagsy was sitting at breakfast, having finished some jam on toast and pumpkin juice off hungrily, with her mag-net bat and ball, her Fleet Footed Fox broom, and her spell-sponge gloves all on her person in preparation for the day. She had managed to add an extra-large pocket into the insides of her robe, where the mag-net bat and ball now comfortable sat and had put the spell-sponge gloves in the other pockets the robe already had.
She had also brought both her hornbeam and her walnut wand – she had decided it was time to try casting a spell with the back-up wand, in the hopes she'd be spell-fluent in time for her Charms examination, given her attempts to build something that could cast spells for her had been a failure so far. She was certain if she didn't manage even a tiny spell Professor Starrett would have her out of Hogwarts before she could say "cheering-charm".
Her plans were thrown out the window when, with a dramatically loud thud, the doors to the great hall were thrust open.
Quinton Marsh, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, was standing holding a younger student by her robes. Some equally tall and terrifying Slytherins, as well as a girl Bagsy's age with large, triangular glasses stood around him.
Tod, looking frustrated, was a few paces behind.
Grasped by the back of her robes, her black hair a mess and obscuring her face, as if she'd been roughly hauled all the way from the Slytherin common room, was Mezrielda.
'We found a thief!' Quinton announced loudly, as one of his friends levitated a trunk, like the one Bagsy had at the end of her own bed, into the great hall. 'Maisy Jewel lost her glasses a week ago. She found them this morning and discovered the truth. People's stuff had been going missing left, right and centre. No house was safe, no prised possession sacred. All because this stupid girl couldn't keep her hands to herself.'
'Actually-' the girl with the triangular glasses, Maisy, began to say, but Quinton gave her a shove and a silencing look. Maisy glared at Quinton, but whatever she'd been about to say, she held her tongue.
Bagsy saw the trunk they'd levitated into the hall had M. Glint on the front. The girl levitating it let it drop with a thud before popping the lid open. The trunk was bursting with items.
Gasps sounded throughout the hall, which was crowded by previously-sleepy, now-very-much-awake, students.
Bagsy leaned around the craning necks of the Hufflepuffs around her. In the trunk she saw an assortment of things; a set of wand training wheels, two flight modulators, an assortment of textbooks and notepads, a glinting candle stick, shiny cutlery from the kitchens and…
Her stomach dropped as she first saw Neve's paper dress, crammed into a corner, then noticed a scattering of worm corpses around the stolen items and, finally, folded neatly on top of the lot, like a cherry on a cake, the very quilt that Bontie had gifted Bagsy at the start of the year that had gone missing.
'She's a magpie, this one!' Quinton exclaimed cruelly, giving Mezrielda a harsh shake. Mezrielda, looking as if she was trying her best not to, sneezed. A single, black feather shot out of her mouth and floated incriminatingly to the floor. Murmurs sounded around Bagsy.
Professor Starrett, who'd been sitting at the staff table, rose to her feet, seeming to grow in size and filling the space around her with angry shadows. 'Mr Marsh unhand your fellow student this instant.'
'Sure,' Quinton sneered and shoved Mezrielda roughly forwards. Mezrielda hit the ground hard, struggling to catch herself with her hands. She stayed there, not looking up, her sleek hair curtaining her face from view.
All eyes were fixed on Mezrielda and Bagsy felt her stomach turn at the idea of that being her. She thought she'd die of fear if the entirety of Hogwarts were leering at her, thinking her a thief and a liar. If that was Bagsy, she'd hate that feeling of being alone under the spotlight.
'Bagsy, sit down!' Teresa hissed.
Bagsy didn't know when she'd stood up, but she hurried over to Mezrielda, her shoes tapping loudly in the silence, eyes following her as she moved.
Mezrielda looked up from the floor with the confusion of someone meeting a friend by coincidence while on holiday, unable to comprehend the chances. 'Bagsy?' her mouth moved, but there was no noise backing it up.
'I stole the items,' Bagsy said loudly, trying her best to ignore all the eyes on her, looking only at Quinton. 'I was hiding them in Mezrielda's trunk, so I wouldn't be found out. Mezrielda had no idea.'
Mezrielda startled backwards she was so stunned, as if Bagsy had made to strike her.
Quinton laughed. 'That's a terrible cover. I've don't think I've ever heard a less likely story.'
Starrett had made her way over to them. With a snap of her wand the trunk shut and levitated into the air at her side. 'Miss Glint, Miss Beetlehorn, with me. Mr Marsh, fetch Professor Fitzsimmons and Professor Blythurst.'
Bagsy helped Mezrielda to her feet, who couldn't take her shocked eyes off of her, before following after Starrett as she walked from the hall.
As they passed Tod, Bagsy cast him a questioning look.
Tod shook his head regretfully. 'I tried,' he murmured in a low voice. 'It's not back yet.' Bagsy thought it was just their luck that Tod's memory altering abilities hadn't returned yet; it would have solved the entire incident.
Starrett led them down to the Hogwarts dungeons, the trunk hovering along besides them. Bagsy and Mezrielda were silent. What could they say? Their fates seemed out of their control. Eventually, Starrett led them into an aged room. An extravagant desk managed to fill only a sixth of the space available. The room was mostly empty, and perfectly neat, with a few porcelain snakes charmed to slither from shelf to shelf, and drapes of gold and yellow hanging around the room. Bagsy wondered why Professor Starrett, as head of Slytherin, seemed to like red and gold so much.
Starrett let the trunk crash onto the ground and whipped her hand at two uncomfortable chairs in front of the desk for them to sit in, before sweeping around to the other side of the desk and placing her fingers on the wooden surface. 'Bagsy, did you steal these items and hide them in Mezrielda's trunk?' Starrett asked, her harsh brown eyes fixed on her. Bagsy found it difficult to talk, so she nodded her head instead. Starrett turned to Mezrielda. 'Is this true?'
'No,' Mezrielda said firmly. Bagsy looked at her, wondering why she wasn't going along with her cover story.
Starrett pursed her lips. 'Did you steal them?'
'No.'
'I find that unlikely,' Starrett said, straightening up and adjusting her robes. 'You've been nothing but trouble since you've arrived, Miss Glint. As head of your house it falls to me to decide your fate and I am leaning towards expulsion. You're certainly losing your scholarship, that's for sure. Honesty is your friend, Miss Glint, use it.'
'I didn't steal those items,' Mezrielda affirmed.
Starrett sneered as if she could taste something foul in her mouth. 'So be it.' A knock sounded on the door. 'Come in,' Starrett drawled dangerously. Professor Fitzsimmons entered the room, large brown eyes taking the scene in. Starrett indicated the trunk. 'We've found our thief, courtesy of Mr Marsh and Miss Jewel.'
'I see,' Fitzsimmons murmured, walking over to the trunk.
'Blythurst hasn't arrived yet,' Starrett said. 'I'm waiting for him to stop being so lazy and get here.'
'He is still on duty, Emese,' Fitzsimmons said. 'I assigned him so, did I not? You understand as well as I how important it is someone be alert at all times.' They cast a meaningful look towards Bagsy.
'Of course, Dantes. I know Theophos is capable, I insult him in jest.' Oddly, Starrett sounded like she was being sincere.
Fitzsimmons thumbed the trunk, pushing it open. They were very still as they looked inside. 'It is empty,' they said plainly.
They were right. The trunk had nothing in it at all.
Starrett's eyes became slits. 'I saw it was full myself earlier. I carried it here.' She turned fierce eyes on Mezrielda. 'She's taken them somewhere.'
Fitzsimmons calmly turned to look at Mezrielda. Since the word expulsion had been spoken a sickly tinge had taken home on her face. 'Mezrielda Glint,' Fitzsimmons said softly, but with an edge to their voice. 'I imagine Professor Starrett is threatening you with expulsion, effective immediately.'
'But-'
'If,' Fitzsimmons continued, 'you return the items I shall overrule Professor Starrett's punishment-'
'What?' Starrett hissed.
'-and you shall remain at Hogwarts.'
Mezrielda let out a sharp breath as if she'd been hit in the gut.
Fitzsimmons took their glasses off. Bagsy felt terribly disconcerted looking at the non-magnified, bulging brown eyes. 'Mezrielda, I hope you realise what is on the line.'
Mezrielda looked at Fitzsimmons. She looked as if she was made of wax she was sitting so still, barely breathing, a glass-eyed horror on her face. Bagsy knew she must be missing something but had no clue what. Expulsion was bad, but Mezrielda looked like she was facing her own death.
Bagsy heard a thud then a scrape, then a thud then a scrape, until Blythurst, partially limping, came into view through the open door.
Fitzsimmons replaced their glasses and examined him. 'Blythurst? You're supposed to be-'
'It's moved,' Blythurst rushed out, his voice wickedly rasped, as if his vocals were made of sandpaper. 'I can't find it.'
'It's gone?' Starrett hissed in disbelief. Both Fitzsimmons and Starrett pulled out their wands. Bagsy's heart leapt – what had moved? Fitzsimmons and Starrett walked to the exit of the room swiftly, Starrett leaving first, following a huffing, puffing and rushing Blythurst.
Fitzsimmons paused at the doorway. 'If the items have reappeared by the time we've returned, you won't be expelled, no questions asked.' Fitzsimmons fixed their brown eyes on Mezrielda, who looked utterly hopeless, before disappearing after Starrett and Blythurst, looking ready for a war.
Bagsy looked at Mezrielda, hazel eyes wide in confusion and worry. 'How are we going to find those items?'
Mezrielda rushed over to the trunk, falling to her knees, and dug her hands inside, testing the sides and hinges. 'There has to be something!' she cried. 'A clue! A lead! Something!'
Bagsy, hurrying over, looked over Mezrielda's shoulder into the trunk. It was entirely empty.
'Bagsy…' Mezrielda's voice was choked. 'I… I can't be expelled…'
'You won't be, I'm sure Fitzsimmons-'
'You don't understand!' Mezrielda wailed, sitting down and bringing her knees to her chest, looking desperately up at Bagsy. 'My parents are vampires, Bagsy!'
Bagsy blinked. She'd had her suspicions but had never fully believed the idea. It was surprising to hear, but not what she had been expecting. 'How does that relate to this?' she asked, her brow furrowing.
Mezrielda shook her head. She seemed to be holding back sobs. 'Vampires aren't allowed to turn other people into vampires and they aren't allowed to have their own children,' Mezrielda explained. 'It's illegal for vampires to adopt but, twelve years ago, someone argued for a rethinking of the law. People didn't trust vampires, so someone suggested a trial run with a specially selected vampire couple…'
'Oh, Mezrielda,' Bagsy gasped, catching on.
'If that child, raised by vampires, would grow up to be an outstanding member of society, then they said they'd change the law. They said they'd make it legal for vampires to adopt. If not, then…' Mezrielda looked as if she should be crying, even though her eyes were tearless. 'They'd take any and all children away from vampires. Including me.'
'If you get expelled…'
'I'll never see my mum and dad again.'
They looked at each other in silence, their minds scrambling for a solution. As if offering itself up to them, a small clink sounded in the corridor outside the room. They looked in unison to find, sitting on the floor outside, visible through the open doorway, was the set of wand training wheels rolling gently along the stone, the very same pair that had gone missing at the start of the year.
Mezrielda shot to her feet and ran for it.
