June 7th, 1996. Sunday.
The Great Hall
"Who's the creator of the Cheering Charm?"
"Felix Summberbee."
"And the incantation for the Fire-Making Spell?"
"Incendio."
"What charm does the incantation Tarantallegra-"
"The Dancing Feet Spell!"
"Ulch," Alisson said through a mouthful of chicken, "for the love of all things magic, can you two please shut it?"
"I know you've never heard of it, but we have to revise," Wendy retorted.
"At least she said please," Selena muttered, making Renee chuckle.
Avery smiled patiently and set their multi-colored flashcards on the table. "We have our Charms O.W.L tomorrow. First the theoretical portion in the morning, then lunch, and then we have the practical portion. It's a lot to prepare for."
"At least you aren't taking your N.E.W.T.s this year," Sasha said from a couple seats down the table. She was turned away from them slightly, one arm around Lennick Prewett's neck, and the other reaching for her fork and some roasted potatoes.
Elizabeth arched an eyerbow. "Shouldn't you be revising right now, then?"
Sasha ate the forkful of potatoes, winking one emerald, long-lashed eye. "I only need to sit the Charms one, really. It's not like I need the other stuff to become a Quidditch player."
"Sasha," Elizabeth sighed, "I thought you were going to take your Care of Magical Creatures one? As a backup in case the Quidditch thing doesn't work out?"
Sasha shook her head, smiling, leaning on Lennick's shoulder. "I got some good advice, and I don't think I'll be needing a backup."
Elizabeth seemed to have the same idea as Selena. They both glanced over at Lennick. The Slytherin boy blinked his gray eyes innocently but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of his lips, like he was a little amused that they would suspect him. Selena glanced back at Sasha as she smiled wryly.
"I got a letter from Gregory Cotton, the Seeker for the Appleby Arrows. He heard about my Porksoff Ploy play and was impressed." She beamed. "He said there's a very good chance I'll make the team come next season. Which, as we all know, is practically a guarantee."
"I don't know about that," Elizabeth mumbled.
But Lennick smiled warmly at Sasha. "You'll be great. The best Chaser they've ever had."
"Thanks," Sasha said, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Watch it, I'm trying to eat here," Alisson said, shielding her eyes with a chicken leg.
There were rapid footsteps as Selena reached for her goblet of pumpkin juice. Anne stopped short at Wendy and Avery, strands of her red hair fluttering around her flushed face. "The examiners," she said. "I've just seen them. They're arriving."
Avery and Wendy exchanged panicked looks and dove for their flashcards as though an examiner was about to walk right in and start quizzing them on Cheering Charms.
"What was it, Annabeth?" Seamus Finnegan called from down the table. "Who's arrived?"
"The examiners," Anne snapped, "who did you think? The Queen of England herself?"
The Gryffindor table became a hotbed of conversation and whispers. Fifth Years began to eat quicker or lean back, trying to peek out into the Entrance Hall. Neville Longbottom looked like he might be sick.
Renee sighed and scooped some red jelly off her plate. "I'm not looking forward to Fifth Year."
June 15th, 1996. Monday.
Professor McGonagall swept past Selena's seat and set an apple on the desktop. Selena took a deep, calming breath.
The Transfiguration teacher went silently through the classroom, passing out apples, emerald robes swirling around her ankles. Once all the Third Year students had their apples, she stopped at the front of the class, adjusting her rectangular glasses primly. "You have precisely two minutes to perform the Hardening Charm on the apple, transforming it into stone. You must then perform a successful Draconifors Spell. Begin." She turned over a small, golden hourglass. Ruby-colored sand began to pour through it.
All throughout Classroom 1B, the students pointed out their wands, a cacophony of voices rising.
Selena ran her thumb along the small star and moon etchings on her wand for good luck. The first one wasn't much trouble at all, but the second one... well, the second one was her biggest struggle this term.
The Gryffindor pointed her wand at the apple. "Duro."
The apple swiftly turned a gray color, cracked at the stem. Selena frowned. Professor McGonagall might dock points for the lack of aesthetic.
She glanced up at the dark-haired woman expecting a disapproving look. Instead, the professor simply smiled the tiniest smile and made an approving note on her ledger.
Selena squelched down a grin and took a deep breath.
Next to her, Renee accidentally knocked her apple off the desk. It broke into pieces on the floor, making Renee sigh as if Transfiguration were the most tiring thing in the world. She fisted her hands on her hips, staring down at the apple like it should be sorry.
"Miss Pierce," Professor McGonagall said. "You'll have to repair that. You aren't getting another apple."
Renee blew her bangs out of her flushed face, pointing her wand at the apple. "Reparo."
Selena jolted her head back to her own apple. No more getting distracted. There's barely a minute left. She pointed her wand at the stone apple on her desktop. "Draconifors," she spoke as clearly as she could, slashing her wand arm through the air. There was a spark of orange, but nothing more.
Selena gritted her teeth. She tried again. "Draconifors."
The apple didn't budge. It stayed stubbornly a gray stone.
She felt a bead of sweat at her temple. A quick peek up at the hourglass told her that there was only thirty seconds left. It wasn't a matter of marks at this point - it was a matter of principle. She had to get this. It was the one Transfiguration spell this year she couldn't always get.
Selena pointed her wand at the stone apple. She blocked out the rest of the classroom: all the students were either still struggling with the stone apple or already had small dragons flapping around their heads. Selena took a deep breath, focusing on each individual beat of her heart. She tried to feel the blood flowing down her arm, into her fingertips, pulsing as she looked at the stone apple.
She slashed her wand through the air. "Draconifors."
A bright, flame-colored light shone and then the stone was transforming. Gray wings grew and a small tail extended, then a snout and tiny spines along its back. The little gray dragon slowly turned green at its ends, spitting out a miniature puff of fire.
"Hello, there," Selena murmured to the tiny dragon on her table.
It looked over at her, blinking black eyes.
Selena beamed. "It's very good to see you."
June 18th, 1996. Thursday.
Gryffindor Tower
12:34 am
SLAM!
Selena jumped awake, stirring in her bed. She turned her head on her pillow, watching as a shadow strode into the dorm room. She knew the near stomping steps immediately as Alisson. Selena spotted Crescent's bright eyes blinking beneath Tess's bed, spooked by Alisson slamming the tower door.
"Lumos."
Alisson's wand glowed brightly at the top, lighting her face up in eerie, silver-blue light and shadows.
"Stooooop," Tess groaned as Alisson shone her wand towards her, brandishing it like a torch. "Alisson, stop." Tess shielded her eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
Spice immediately began hooting wildly. Selena huffed, blowing some dark strands of hair out of her eyes. What in the world was going on? She and Tess had come to bed early, exhausted from their Potions exam that day. Both of them had gone up to the dorm a few hours ago, intending to just lie down for a few moments before going back down to revise one last time for their History of Magic and Herbology exams the coming day. Apparently they had both fallen asleep. But Selena wasn't complaining. Well, now she was.
Alisson swung her wand towards Selena. "Get up - both of you."
Selena swallowed, her mouth dry from sleep. "Why? We're tired, Liss, I just want to go back to sle-"
"Hagrid has been sacked."
Selena froze at the words. For a moment she could hardly comprehend what Alisson had just said. Was it still just from the sleep? Hagrid? Had she heard that right? Hagrid had been sacked? "What do you mean-?"
"What does it sound like?" Alisson snapped back. "C'mon, you're missing everything." With that, Alisson murmured "Knox" and her wand light went out. She strode towards the dorm door, floorboards creaking, and yanked the door open. For just a moment, Selena could hear loud chatter beyond it. A shaft of golden light fell into the dorm before vanishing as Alisson left.
Selena looked over at Tess. She could barely make out her friend in the moonless dark of the dorm. Then both were up in a flash. Selena's heart beat fast. She didn't even stop to get on some shoes or worry about her messy, sleep-knotted hair. They both hurried out of the dorm and down the staircase. Inside the Gryffindor Common Room, practically all of Gryffindor House was chattering away. Even the portraits were running to-and-fro, yelling to one another. A couple ghosts floated by the fireplace, shaking their heads and whispering.
Selena glanced around the room, quickly finding their friends by Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. "There!" she said, pulling Tess along.
The two Fifth Year boys were talking loudly, a small crowd enthralled.
"-and then Professor McGonagall ran out of the castle and she was yelling-" Seamus was saying. His Irish accent was even stronger than normal, eyes lighting up with excitement.
"- then BAM! They shot four Stunning Spells straight for her! Hit her square in the chest, poor woman," Dean said, nodding.
Selena gaped. Professor McGonagall had been attacked?
"Professor Umbridge has gone too far this time," Elizabeth said grimly. She shook her head. "I cannot believe the Ministry sanctioned this."
"I just feel bad for Hagrid," Seamus said. "It took a lot of spells to bring him down."
"But why attack Hagrid now?" Angelina Johnson asked. She shook her head, black ponytail whipping. "It's not like Trelawney, he's been teaching much better than usual this year!"
"Umbridge hates part-humans." This was Hermione Granger. She dropped into one of the squashy armchairs. "She was always going to try and get Hagrid out."
"And she thought Hagrid was putting nifflers in her office," a girl Selena couldn't see said.
Selena exchanged a look with her friends as the older students continued talking. This was mad. How could so much happen in one night? Professor McGonagall was part of what kept Umbridge at bay. And now she'd been attacked. Four Stunning spells to the chest. Selena frowned. Would they have taken her to St. Mungo's?
As if reading her mind, Colin Creevey piped up: "They carried her back to the castle, we watched through the dormitory window. She didn't look very well..."
Alicia Spinnet crossed her arms. "Madam Pomfrey will sort her out. She's never failed yet."
"But what'll happen once she's out?" Renee muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Selena to hear.
The students went on chattering, dispersing into their own little groups to discuss the happenings. Selena quickly found Anne's red hair, her cousin engaged in a furious conversation with Wendy and Avery. Selena turned, leaving her small circle of friends to go to Anne.
Renee cast a glance back at Selena as Seamus began to retell his tale. Selena gave her a nod before walking away.
"I want to rip that woman's head off," Anne was saying, face blotchy and red.
Avery bobbed her head. "I can't even see this going well for the Ministry in the papers. My mum certainly won't want to paint a glowing image of the Ministry with Professor McGonagall getting hurt."
Wendy scoffed. She rolled her brown eyes. "You know what they'll say - 'Hogwarts Professor interferes with justice' or some other rubbish." She noticed the Third Year approaching and waved limply.
Anne whipped around, calming for a second when she saw Selena. But that didn't stop the fire behind her blue eyes. "So you've heard?"
"Alisson woke us up," Selena answered simply.
Anne shook her head. "It's absolute madness, isn't it? You're lucky you weren't there. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. I wanted to leap off the Astronomy Tower and throttle that pink toad myself."
"Well now, throwing yourself from a tower hardly seems sane," Wendy murmured. "Maybe rappelling?"
"Not. Funny." Anne rolled her eyes. She glanced at Selena. "I can't even believe they're still making us take another O.W.L. after all that. Everyone is in an uproar. I wouldn't be surprised if the other Houses know about it by breakfast."
"What's going to happen now?" Selena finally asked. "With Professor McGonagall practically gone?"
Anne, Wendy and Avery all shared a dark look that made Selena's stomach do a nervous flip.
"We'll find out, I guess," Avery finally managed.
Anne turned towards the window. Outside, the moon barely shone behind thick clouds that had gathered. "Whatever happens, I just want Umbridge to be on the receiving end of the worst curse imaginable."
"She can't go on with this forever," Avery said. But even she sounded unsure.
Selena watched as Anne glared out the window.
"Don't worry," she said. She lifted her chin. "She won't."
17 Hours Later
Hogwarts Turris Magnus, 3rd floor
5:14 pm
"Honestly, it doesn't hurt that bad," Renee said. She examined her bandaged hand. "Hurts less than the first time."
Selena gave her friend a sympathetic look. Things had taken somewhat of a bad turn during the Herbology exam when Renee ran into trouble. Their final task was defanging vampiric vegetation, and Renee had taken two fangs right to the thumb. She'd had to go to Madam Pomfrey after that.
"At least you didn't get covered in Stinksap," Tess trilled. "Those poor Hufflepuffs."
Selena nodded. Unfortunately, a whole group of Hufflepuffs - including Rolf and Hazel - had been in the direct line of fire during the Stinksap portion of the exam. They had quickly hurried off back to the castle and were probably still trying to scrub off the green sap.
They melted into the rush of students travelling along the corridors, trying to get back to the Common Rooms and the library after the exams.
"You can't come down here!" a familiar voice crowed.
Selena frowned as the crowd began to clot around the entrance to one of the corridors.
"No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swiveling staircase, someone's let off Garroting Gas just along here-"
"I can't see no gas," came a voice above the grumbling crowd.
"That's because it's colorless," the girl replied like it was obvious. "But if you want to walk through it, carry on, then we'll have your body as proof for the next idiot who didn't believe us..."
Renee groaned. "I just want to go take a nap before dinner. What git set off a prank right now?"
Selena stood on her tip-toes, managing to just make out Ginny Weasley's flame-red hair at the front of the crowd.
"I've never heard of Garroting Gas," Elizabeth complained.
"Well it doesn't sound like anything I want to be near," Tess said simply. She turned. "Let's go."
Selena started to move to follow the crowd until her eyes snagged on someone shoving their way on the other side, going against the flow of the crowd. She immediately recognized the red curls and the sharp voice that belonged to the person. And the look on Anne's face immediately worried her. "I'll catch up," Selena called to her friends. She barely caught Tess glancing back at her before she threw herself into the fray of the crowd.
She managed to almost catch up to Anne as her cousin reached Ginny Weasley.
"Ginny, where's Harry?" Anne asked.
Ginny looked uncertainly at Anne.
"Hermione's already told me, I need to see him," Anne continued. Her voice was tight and breathless like she'd just run down nine flights of stairs to get here.
Ginny bit her lip, glancing at the stone floor for a moment. "Anne, you don't have to-"
"It's my father, Ginny," Anne replied. "It's not up for discussion."
Selena finally reached them. Ginny looked up, shooting Anne a look. "Did you bring her as well?"
"Who-?" Anne turned, her red eyebrows going up as Selena found her. "How long have you been there?"
Selena frowned, glancing between the two. "I... Well I..." She gave Anne a look. One that said: you just mentioned your father. She could see the recognition in Anne's blue eyes. Of course. What else could make Selena hesitate?
Anne looked between her and Ginny.
Selena wanted to just blurt out that she should be able to know too. After all, this was her uncle they were talking about. She may have only met Sirius Black once, but that was enough to know he was a good man. If he'd been spotted or maybe the Ministry had found him, she wanted to know. She needed to know. Hopefully it wasn't anything like the worst case scenarios running through her brain.
She could tell by the way Anne looked at her that her cousin understood. "Harry's had a vision. My father is being held captive by Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic."
Selena's jaw dropped.
Ginny's did too.
"She knows?" Ginny hissed.
"Of course she does," Anne replied. "She helped us save my father's life two years ago."
Ginny looked at Selena seemingly in a new light, brown eyes wide with surprise.
"It's a long story," Anne added.
Selena glanced between the two of them. "He's being held captive? By You-Know-Who? At the Ministry?"
"Yes, that is what I just said, try to keep up," Anne snapped. "We don't have much time, we have to hurry."
Selena could hardly speak now. We?
Anne looked at Selena. "And we're going to save him."
Hello!
It's been a while guys, sorry it's taken me this long to update. I've been studying abroad and am finally back in the US (I miss Ireland!) and have had a huge case of writer's block. I'm working on it, though.
But I did want to update this for you all.
Sorry it didn't really have many other characters than the main ones from this year, but that's just how it goes right now. I'll bring in more characters in the coming year, I just need to wrap this one up. I am excited to get this one finished and to go through the whole Battle of the Ministry. But I'm excited for the coming year because I'll be bringing in a lot of other elements.
SO! I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope I can update more regularly and at least finish OTP soon.
Hope you all are enjoying summer!
Thanks to our reviewers:
CharmedMilliE- Karry Master
SakuraDragomir
Thank you so much! You both make me so happy to see your reviews.
Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!
See you!
~ Loveableheart