April 2nd, 1995. Friday.
"Don't think this will go unnoticed..."
"But, Professor, I-"
"No! Now Dumbledore is watching me like a hawk. If those goes further, it will be on both your heads!"
24 Hours Earlier
April 1st, 1995. Thursday.
"Now, what potion uses both Bicorn horn and Mandrake root?"
"Oh, that's the... Pepperup Potion."
"What's its purpose?"
"To make you feel, I don't know, peppier?"
Selena sighed as Alisson shrugged.
"Liss, Snape will not let that be the right answer," Selena said, flipping to the next flash-card.
She and Alisson were going over Potions notes for Snape's newest exam, sitting in the little alcove beside the turret window. Light poured into the Gryffindor Common Room, most students outside enjoying the warmer - if foggy - day. Alisson sighed, reaching over to fiddle with a white knight on the Wizard Chess board sat on the table between them. Many students were also at lunch, but the girls had decided to come back and attempt to look back at their notes before Potions class.
"I don't see why you both bother revising," Anne said from the couch. She was splayed out on the cushions, robes askew, tossing a hacky sack up in the air over and over. Her pet rat, Cinnamon, was sitting on the arm of the couch, bathing. "He's just going to give you a Troll anyway."
"Really?" Renee responded, in the armchair. "It'll be my fourth Troll in a row! Haven't we gone over this before?"
Selena smiled. "That's not true. You scored better than me on our History of Magic exam."
Renee nodded. "I did. But Potions are exactly my calling."
"Is anything?" Alisson teased with a smile.
"Either snooping or angering teachers. Both work," Renee responded thoughtfully, and glanced at Selena, eyes twinkling mischievously.
"I'll tell you who's good at angering teachers: that person who set off screaming banshees on the prefects! Ha! I wish I knew who did that!' Alisson hooted, plunking the chess piece back on the board loudly.
Okay, so maybe they hadn't told their friends everything about their midnight spy missions.
"You're looking at her," Renee replied.
Alisson frowned for a moment as if realizing what Renee was talking about and then her blue eyes widened. "No... That was you?"
Renee nodded. "When Selena and I snuck out a few nights ago to go inspect what Moody was hiding, I left some pranks for the prefects."
Selena nodded as well, Alisson swinging her head to look between them. "And like I was saying at the Triwizard Tournament, we didn't get in trouble."
"Fred and George have been wondering who did it," Alisson breathed, still looking as if she'd been hit with a Stunning Spell.
"Fred mentioned that last week at the Three Broomsticks," Anne said with a nod.
Renee grinned. "I'm famous!"
2 Hours Later
"Snape's exams are always difficult," Selena sighed as they walked out of the Potions classroom with the rest of the Second Years, the Dungeons just as dank and dingy as ever.
"He called me a 'dim girl who needs a better haircut,'" Tess said, imitating their grumpy Potions teacher, her brow puckered in discontent.
"And he's the last person who should be judging anyone else's hair," Selena replied with nod. As Alisson left to another class, Selena and Tess headed up the stairs from the dungeon, located in the Octagon Tower. The two chatted about their Easter holidays again, Tess discussing the chocolate sweets her family had sent. Selena herself had received a dancing Easter egg from her little sisters - which Crescent broke three hours later.
They crossed to a wooden door other students walking around had pushed open, stepping out onto the Stone Bridge. Selena braced herself against the wind blowing so high up around Hogwarts castle, hugging her burlap messenger bag to her side. When they made it inside the Viaduct Entrance, Tess waved, the high-ceilinged room filling up with students.
"Well, I'll see you later," she said, heading towards Transfiguration, down the Tapestry Corridor.
Just as Selena turned on the Hogwarts crest on the floor-
"Selena!"
She looked over her shoulder to find Damon hurrying down the stone staircase, weaving around a group of older Ravenclaws. He made it down to the end of the steps, walking towards her. Even from where she was, she could see the alarm in his eyes. Even his green-and-silver tie, visible under his grey vest, seemed a bit askew. "Hey, Damon."
"Look, Selena, I just got out of Defense Against the Dark Arts... Moody's looking for you and your friend. I'm not sure why, but he sounded angry..."
Selena swallowed. Panic bubbled up in her throat. Trying to not having a breakdown in the middle of the vestibule, she nodded. "Okay... thanks..." Defense Against the Dark Arts was her next class.
Damon looked at her, his blue eyes scanning her expression, and then sighed. "What did you do this time?"
Selena gave a sheepish smile. Her voice was just audible over the din of chatter around them. "Oh, you know your run of the mill poison a teacher with sleeping snake venom then snoop through his things after throwing screaming banshees at two prefects with Renee after curfew."
"You did what?" Damon asked incredulously.
"Well, we saw him talking to the Terrible Twins and-" Selena began.
"Wait," Damon interrupted. "What are Terrible Twins?"
"Well, you know those two Hufflepuffs... They're kind of bullies... Erebus and his sister. Well, I call her Iceyeyes, but I don't know her real name," Selena answered.
"So you two went through Moody's things as well?" Damon asked.
Selena nodded. "We kind of charmed his door while he was asleep, stole some of his notes, and left."
Both of them were silent for a moment, Damon staring at her.
Then, "he's going to break your head off," Damon said matter-of-factly.
Selena snapped her fingers. "What if I'm not there?"
Damon shook his head. "Really? You're going to skip class? Won't Moody just ask McGonagoll to check the Gryffindor dorms later? They'll know you were ditching class."
Selena grinned. "What if I'm sick?"
Damon looked at her. "But you're not."
Selena nodded and then riffled inside her bag, pulling out a red hard candy. "This sweet," she said. "This is one of Fred and George's Fever Flavors. I got it a couple weeks ago when they were testing a batch of sweets. It'll give you a fever for twenty-four hours!"
Damon nodded. "And you're going to eat that? You're actually going to give yourself a fever?"
Selena nodded. "It's better than facing Moody." She took off the shimmery wrapper and popped the sweet into her mouth. "It tastes like cherries at least, but I don't feel like I have a fever."
Damon nodded. "Well, if it was a test batch of sweets, maybe the Weasley's didn't have the right formula yet."
Selena waited until the Fever Flavor was small enough and then swallowed the sweet, coughing into her black robe sleeve. She started to feel overly warm, and a tickle in her throat forced her to cough again. "Yeah, okay, now it's working."
Damon grinned. "Now to get you to the Hospital Wing."
10 Minutes Later
"Madam Promfrey, my friend is feeling poorly," Damon said, helping Selena into the castle's infirmary.
Selena coughed into her sleeve again - as she had been during the whole walk to the Hospital Wing. The long, light-filled room was fairly empty today, only two students taking up cots (one of whom seemed to be sneezing bubbles.)
"She doesn't look well," Madam Pomfrey said, taking Selena by the arm from Damon. The matron peered at Selena, her eyes scrutinizing. Selena froze, hoping that she appeared as sick as she felt. However, a wave of relief hit her as Madam Pomfrey nodded, satisfied that the student was ill. "Thank you, Mr. Griffin, you may head to class."
Damon nodded, waved to Selena with a secretive smile Madam Pomfrey didn't catch, and walked out. Selena had to smother her own smile. However, the tickle in her throat caused her to wince instead the next moment.
"What seems to be the problem?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"A fever, I'd say," Selena said with a cough.
Madam Pomfrey nodded, the guess matching up with her own assessment. "I'll get some medicine. Take a seat on the bed."
Selena smiled to herself as Madam Pomfrey walked away. She sat on the nearest cot, tugging on her book-bag strap. Thanks Fred and George!
Oooh!
Who was talking in the beginning and what does Moody want with Selena?
And now Damon knows and Alisson and Anne too!
What is going to HAPPEN? I'm so scared!
Anyway, please, please, review and thanks for reading!
~Meghan
P.S- My fish is feeling better now. Some medicine works like a charm. ;)
Also check my profile for some pictures of props from this story! =)