December 14th, 1994. Monday.
Selena tucked her scroll and quill into her messenger bag as she walked out of History of Magic class, Elizabeth, Renee, and Hazel talking beside her. They'd just finished taking about two feet of notes about the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards. All the students now had the task of writing an essay for homework.
"Aren't you excited?" Hazel asked.
"About what?" Renee replied, adjusting her black-and-scarlet robes. "The essay?"
"The Yule Ball!" Hazel replied with a shining smile. "It's so close!"
Selena sighed. Ever since the dance on Christmas night had been announced, it was all the older students would talk about. She was slightly disappointed that none of the younger students were allowed to go without an older date. "Why should we be?"
"Well, McGonagall did say that if we got asked by a Fourth Year or older, we could go!" Elizabeth said, clutching her A History of Magic textbook to her chest.
"And who would take us?" Selena asked. "Cedric Diggory? Harry? Neil?"
"Actually, I heard that Neil asked Luna Lovegood," Hazel said, ignoring or not catching her friend's sarcasm as they walked down the changing stairs.
"What about Ray?" Renee asked.
Hazel smirked. "Why? Does someone you know want to go with him?"
Renee shook her head calmly, spade earrings swinging. "Nope."
Selena smiled because she knew that her friend was telling the truth. Hazel turned her attention back to the long flight of steps, the staircase they were on moving to another platform.
"What about Danny?" Elizabeth questioned.
"I'm not sure," Selena replied, sighing doubtfully again. "With all the time he's been spending with Avery, they have to be going together, don't you think?."
The friends all entered the Great Hall to an aroma of ham sandwiches, Cornish pasties, mashed potatoes, chips, custard tarts, chocolate gateau, and pumpkin juice.
Selena waved goodbye to Hazel and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Tess. They began to select dishes, Selena grabbing two tarts to top it off - History of Magic had made her hungry.
"Hey, Tess, will you join S.P.E.W?" The kind voice of Hermione Granger was behind Selena. She turned to find the bushy-haired girl smiling at Tess, holding a box open with buttons inside all marked with 'S.P.E.W.'
"Er, what's that?" Tess asked.
"It's an organization I've created to help all the house elves here obtain freedom. Did you know that the food you're eating was made by house elves, who are working themselves weary in the kitchen? Getting no pay whatsoever?" Hermione replied.
"Hermione, they enjoy working here..." Tess replied evenly.
Hermione narrowed her brown eyes. "No they don't. Take a button..."
"Hermione-" Tess tried to continue, but Hermione interrupted her by shoving a button onto Tess's gray vest.
"Thanks for joining." And with that, Hermione left, her box of buttons jingling.
"She's gone mad," Alisson said. "I watched her corner some kid in the corridor and force them to take a button..."
Selena smiled, slightly amused, and ate some of the buttery mashed potatoes. Soon, Danny walked up to the table, grinning, Avery close by with a similar smile.
The first thing Selena noticed, though, was that one of Danny's eyes was surrounded by a purple bruise, his brown hair looked blacker and shorter, and he smelled like burnt wood.
Anne looked up, squinting her sapphire eyes. "What happened to your face?"
Selena didn't even blink at the girl's blunt honesty. To be fair, she was wondering the same thing.
Danny sighed. "Tomorrow, I'm going to have it fixed, Madame Pomfrey had a lot going on today... There was a slight Charms mishap..."
"Slight?" Anne replied, raising a red eyebrow.
Alisson burst out laughing, Renee grinning at the older boy. Selena covered her mouth, unable to fight off her own smile.
Danny beamed again, forgetting that his hair was burnt to a near crisp. "I come bearing good news." He glanced over at Avery, who nodded. Danny turned back to Selena and their friends. "Avery and I are dating! And she agreed to be my date to the Yule Ball."
Selena turned her head in time to see Wendy drop her spoon into a bowl of pudding, her eyes flaring with anger akin to having been slapped. She glared at Avery as the new couple sat down in front of her.
Sometime during Lunch, Wendy 'accidentally' pushed over Avery's pumpkin juice, causing it to spill all over Danny's girlfriend's new skirt.
Selena had to admit to herself that she was relieved when Lunch was over.
December 15th, 1994. Tuesday.
3:23 in the Morning
"Selena?"
Zzzzz...
"Selena, are you awake?"
Zzzzz...
"Wake up!"
Selena rolled over as she heard Renee trying to shake her from her slumber.
"I know you're up, please, Sel... I heard something outside the Common Room..."
Selena sighed in defeat and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She squinted across the room to where Tess' watch was laying on her bedside table. It was nearly half three. Frowning confusedly, she glanced at Renee who was knelt on the side of her mattress. "What?"
"I said I heard something," Renee repeated. "I couldn't sleep, so I was reading a book downstairs and I heard a noise. At first, I passed it off as Peeves, but then I remembered that he was out by the lake trying to tie the Giant Squid's tentacles in a knot. I didn't hear it for a while, but then it came again. I'm scared! We have to see what it was!"
Selena blinked, wanting to lay her head back on the soft pillow. "Why? Wouldn't a prefect have to go see it? Or a teacher? Or wouldn't the Fat Lady have heard it?"
Renee shook her head vigorously. "Sel, please. What if..." she glanced at her arms, rubbing her elbow. "I know it's silly, but... remember last year? When Sirius Black was running around the castle?" She looked up, honey eyes glowing dimly in the shafts of moonlight from the turret window. "I would feel safer if we went and checked..."
Selena stared at her friend, the twelve-year-old looking positively pleading. On one hand, Selena really wanted to go back to sleep. But on the other hand...
"Fine," she breathed, unable to resist Renee's puppy-dog look. This mysterious noise was probably just Peeves, maybe he'd come back from the tying up the Giant Squid early. Selena slipped from the warm covers of her bed and stepped out onto the cool wood floor.
The two girls grabbed their robes and wands, Selena checking to make sure Crescent was still soundly asleep on her bed. Pulling on her slippers, she waited for Renee to finished lacing up her black converse before they slipped from the Dorm room.
"Lumos," Selena whispered as the went down the spiraling staircase. The tip of her wand lit up brightly, casting shadows on her hand. "Now, you heard this outside the Common Room?"
Renee nodded, whispering the same charm to to light up her wand as well. "Yeah, we have to leave... Go out there..."
Selena held her wand out, and they walked over to the exit from the Common Room. It took a moment to crawl through the hole before she pushed open the portrait.
"Who's there?" The Fat Lady called sternly, apparently being snapped from her own dreams. For a portrait guarding Gryffindor Tower, she could be a heavy sleeper sometimes.
The two girls clambered out and the portrait looked at them scrutinizingly. "What are you both doing out of bed at this hour?"
"Er..." Selena looked at Renee who shrugged. She cleared her throat, preparing a lie. "We have to use the lavatory. Is that alright, our should we go inside?"
The Fat Lady wrinkled her nose. "Oh, please leave and go. But don't be gone too long."
Selena nodded. "We understand." And then the friends walked off, down the corridor. Their wands shone nearly too much, Selena watching as it lit up the inky darkness. Hogwarts was eerie at night, her and Renee sticking close together. Just as they approached a burning sconce, providing some warmth and more light -
CRASH!
Both of the girls jumped. Selena looked at Renee. "Was that the sound?"
Her friend nodded and the continued towards the noise until they saw three other lights. Ducking behind a podium with a bowl of fire, they watched.
Renee squinted. "What's Professor Moody doing?"
Selena looked at her. "No, what's Moody doing out with Erebus and Iceyeyes?"
Renee turned her head. "That's them? Those are the Terrible Twins?"
Selena smiled curiously. "Terrible Twins?"
Renee shrugged. "Wendy thought of it."
CRASH!
Both of the girls whipped their heads back to the three people.
"What do you reckon they're doing?" Selena asked. She frowned, focusing more. "Er, it looks like trying to break into a room? Wait... That's Professor Snape's office! Damon was right! Moody has been stealing from his office!"
Renee nodded. "Damon said that? Why in the world would Moody be stealing? Well, it does seem like it... And it looks like Snape put a charm on it this time, look... They can't get in..."
Sure enough, Erebus cursed as his spell backfired. "Nothing's working..." he complained, looking at Moody.
"We'll try tomorrow night," Iceyes responded, her voice close to a hiss.
Moody nodded. "Now get to bed. If someone's heard this..."
Erebus nodded. "Right, right... Night, Crouch..."
Moody snarled. "You can't call me that here!"
Erebus sighed. "Fine, Professor..." He and Iceyeyes began to walk towards Selena and Renee, the lights on their wands bobbing.
"What should we do?" Selena asked, glancing over to where Renee was.
Or, where she had been a few seconds ago. Selena frowned, her friend gone. She glanced over her shoulder to see a shadowy silhouette sprinting. Renee was already half-way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, running as fast as she could.
Selena looked once more at the Terrible Twins before she followed her friend.
In the Dormitory
"What should we do?" Renee asked, pacing the rug near the fire, embers long since died out.
Selena bit her lip. "I don't know... We need proof that the three are stealing before we report it..."
Renee snapped her fingers. "Tomorrow night! They said that they would try and steal again, we just have to go catch them... We can figure out a plan during the day."
Selena looked down. "Actually, I was thinking of having Fred or George sneak me out to Hogsmeade tomorrow during Lunch to find something for Damon's birthday..."
Renee stared for a moment, her neutral expression quickly melting into a smirk. "Oh... Damon, huh? You two are getting pretty close."
Selena blushed, embarrassed. It really was only friendly between them. "It's not like that, Ree, okay? We're just friends."
Renee merely smiled. "Oh, alright. Just friends, then..."
Nodding, Selena peeked out the window in the Common Room as the moon sloped closer to the treeline of the Forbidden Forest. "We'd better get to sleep."
"Right," Renee said. Then she tugged on her robe sleeve. "Um, thank you, Sel. Seriously. It means a lot that you didn't just tell me that I was being loony and to go back to sleep."
Selena smiled at her friend, feeling a little guilty at having just thought it was Peeves. Her friend had been right. "No worries. You would do the same for me."
Renee grinned. "Well, off to sleep then. I'm looking forward to Herbology tomorrow. I heard we're studying Leaping Toadstool."
Selena followed her friend back their Dorm, whispering "Nox."
Her wand light went out.
And Done! Whew, that was a lot of typing!
Did everyone like it? Was it curious enough? What're Erebus and Iceyeyes doing with Moody/Crouch in Snape's office? And will the girls find proof that it's them?
And what about Avery and Danny and Wendy? What do you guys think will happen? And if you were Wendy, what would you do?
And actually I do have a plan for Delena (Selena+Damon), but it might not be what you think...
And sorry it took so long. I'm hosting a German student (she's awesome!) and haven't had the chance.
Thanks for reading!
Make me SMILE and leave a REVIEW!
~Meghan
5/15/17: This is the first chapter that we have seen Selena use magic... It's the 30th chapter.