me: Wow! We sure took our own sweet time to update didnt we? Wonder if we have any readers left? If we do, SORRY WE TOOK SO LONG!!
dark: Hee, so we did! Who's up for disclaiming today?? Drawing lots? Or...random pick?
me: Eenie meenie miney mo! Catch a tiger by the toe! If it screams let it go! I choose you! ((points at Harry))
dark: Ooo...harry! -grabs harry- talk! XD
Harry: ((is writing frantically)) I dont have time for disclaimers! I have to finish this potions essay!
dark: Essay!? What is it compared to my finals next week huh!? TALK!
Harry: ((still writing)) Must...finish...essay
me : Haha I'm on hols so I can relax ((grins))
-receives evil death glares of doom from dark and Harry-
dark: -cough- Anyway, Harry, just say the line, seriously, this is dragging too long cuz of you!
Harry: Ugh, fine! Everything except Sam, Alice and the original ideas used here belong to the oh-so-awesome, genius, fantastic author J.K. Rowling
me: Suck up much? Although I do agree ((laughs))
dark: LOL. Good boy. Now shoo to do ur essay and we can get on with the story!
Harry: Finally! ((continues writing frantically)) gaaah..I shouldnt have snuck out to Hogsmeade yesterday!!
me: Well serves you right then! Now on with the story!
Chapter 6: Christmas
Samantha pressed herself against the wall outside of the classroom, breathing softly. "Alice and Malfoy, together. Definitely not normal."She thought, as she peered in again.
"Honestly, after being a total git towards the Hippogriffs, I thought you would have grown a brain to actually think before you act!" Alice exclaimed, hitting his cast lightly.
"Ow! Watch it woman!" Malfoy hissed, clutching his hand. "What did you expect me to do then? Watch as that Weaselette become dog food?"
Alice sighed. "No, no. Of course not." She leaned against the table behind her then jolted back up.
"Wait a minute…since when do you care about Sam? As far as I know you, what was that you always said? Oh that's right! You 'hate her and would love nothing better than to see her get hurt.'" she said a sly grin forming on her face.
Malfoy glared at her. "Yeah I do! But still you don't expect me to just watch as someone dies right in front of me do you? I'm not that evil. I would even save Potter if he were about to die right in front of me!" He paused, tilting his head to the side. "At least…I think I would." He added as an afterthought.
Alice laughed and then said "But seriously though, you have to be more careful. I'd prefer not to see so many injuries on people I care about." She said softly, putting a hand on his cast one.
Malfoy smirked, but his eyes were understanding. "Oh, so you care about me do you? Seriously Alice, you're the only Gryffindor I know who'd be worried about a Slytherin. A Malfoy none the less." He teased.
Alice shot him a glare, tempted to hit his injured arm, but resisted. "Alright, point taken. I'd better head back to the Gryffindor Tower before the others start worrying. I'll see you around." She said, flashing a smile at him before turning around.
Samantha, who had been very still listening to their conversation, immediately bolted from her spot towards the Great Hall, afraid that Alice might catch her if she stayed. She pressed herself into a concealed corner and watched as Alice walk by. Seconds later Draco walked of in the opposite direction presumably to the Slytherin common room.
"What the hell was all that about?" wondered Sam as she made her way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Her mind raced with a thousand possibilities, each more feeble than the last. The only way she would truly know what was going on would be to ask Alice herself. Which didn't really seem to be a solution at all.
Samantha snorted while whispering to herself, "Like she'd tell me if I asked anyway."
"Who wouldn't tell you what, my fair lady?" came a voice.
Samantha glanced around before her eyes fell on Sir Cadogan's portrait. Without realizing it she had reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
"Oh its nothing. I was just talking to myself." replied Sam before giving the password and walking in. The common room was empty save for Hermione who seemed to be looking for something, Ron and Harry who were talking in front of the fireplace, and Fred and George who were discussing something.
"Hi." said Sam to the room in general.
There were general replies before everyone went back to what they were doing. Sam walked slowly up to Hermione not wanting to startle her.
"What are you looking for Mione?" she asked.
"Crookshanks." replied Hermione while bending to check under an armchair.
"Hey, come to think of it, I haven't seen Crookshanks around lately." said Sam glancing around the common room as if expecting Crookshanks to appear.
"Yeah and good riddance!" said Ron.
"Ron!" said Sam whacking him on the arm.
"What? Without that orange menace around Scabbers can actually get some rest! Look, he looks much better already." said Ron holding out a sleeping Scabbers.
"Oh for heavens sake Ronald! Scabbers looks exactly the same as he normally does! Will you stop blaming Crookshanks?" snapped Hermione.
"Well how would you know if he's better or not?" retorted Ron getting to his feet.
Sam sighed and sat down in the armchair Ron had just vacated. She was too used to Ron and Hermione's bickering. She rolled her eyes at Harry who grinned lazily at her and lay back in his armchair enjoying the fire's warmth. Sam smiled sleepily and yawned deciding to go upstairs.
"I'm gonna go to bed. Night." she announced and headed up the stairs.
When she entered her dorm everyone was already asleep so Sam changed quietly ant got into bed pulling the covers around her. She snuggled down into her covers and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, thoughts of Alice and Malfoy, and thoughts of where Crookshanks was, far from her mind.
If anyone happened to glance out their window they would have been surprised to see that the usually dark and gloomy figure of the Shrieking Shack was bathed with light tonight. Anyone watching might then have seen a shadow repeatedly crossing the window of the shack. Anyone watching would have assumed it was a ghost as the shack was rumored to be haunted. How wrong they would be.
"Good Crookshanks." muttered Sirius Black as he paced beside a window of the Shrieking Shack.
He lifted Crookshanks more securely into his arms and paused by the window. He could see Hogwarts. He sighed as he absent mindedly scratched Crookshanks ears. How he missed that place. All those good times he had with his friends there and that's where he met the love of his life. He glanced around the Shrieking Shack remembering all the times the Marauders had been in here. They had come here even before they found out Remus was a werewolf. He could almost hear them.
"Did you see the look on Snivellus's face?" asked James.
Sirius snorted. "Hell yeah. That was a good one James!" He high-fived his best friend.
"Don't know if you noticed, but Lily didn't look too happy when she saw what you did James." Said Remus quietly looking up from his book.
"Who? Evans? Hah, one of these days she'll figure out she's crazy about me." said James spreading out across the floor with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
Sirius and Remus shared a mischievous look and crept over to James. On the count of three, each leaned towards one of James's ears and both screamed "IN YOUR DREAMS POTTER!!" while simultaneously smacking him on the head.
James bolted upright, cursing and glaring at his two best friends who were rolling on the floor laughing.
"You're going to pay for that." He growled getting to his feet.
Sirius and Remus sobered up and glanced at each other then at James.
"Uh-oh."
"Come here you!"
"AAHHH!! RUN REMUS!!" Sirius yelled as he got to his feet and bolted out the door, Remus behind him and James hot on their heels.
"Those were the good times." He said to himself.
And of course after they had found out about Remus, they had learned how to become Animagus's and crept out of Hogwarts during every full moon to keep Remus company when he transformed into a werewolf. James as a stag, himself as a dog, and Pettigrew as a rat. Anger raged in him as he thought of Pettigrew.
"Betrayer!" he spat, startling Crookshanks who jumped out of his arms and curled up on a chair instead.
The man whom they had all considered a friend had betrayed them. Pettigrew has caused Sirius so much pain. Because of him Sirius had lost everyone dear to him. His best friend, his wife, and his daughter.
"Well maybe not everyone." He said as he glanced back out at Hogwarts and this time a small smile graced his lips as he thought of his daughter.
He had actually seen her. She was alive and well, but most importantly, she was happy. He looked at the torn picture he had tacked up on the wall.
"Ava, do you know you have your mothers eyes?" he whispered, his eyes focused on the image of his daughter on the wall.
"Your mother always said you looked like me. And I have to agree with her. However cocky that might sound. You do look like me. Have you noticed the resemblance yet? My picture has been in the papers a lot. Do you know the man they all talk about is your father?"
His eyes teared up slightly and his voice cracked as he said "Do you know I'm innocent?"
He reached out and brushed the picture with his fingertips while whispering "I love you Ava, I always have, and I always will. We will be together soon. I promise. And I will have my revenge on the man who tore us apart."
Sirius Black took one last look at Hogwarts before leaving the room scooping Crookshanks up along and extinguishing the candles he had lit as he went.
"Come on Crookshanks, we have work to do."
The only sign that someone had ever been in the Shrieking Shack was the picture on the wall. The picture of his daughter Ava and on the table below the picture was the rest of the photo it had been torn from. It was the picture of the Weasley's on their holiday in Egypt, and the photo on the wall was that of Samantha Weasley.
Samantha never got around to asking Alice what the girl had been doing with the Malfoy after that night, as they were all busy with Quidditch practice almost everyday. Alice went about her day as usual, Samantha noted, with no contact with Malfoy during the day. Even when they crossed paths with one other Alice and Malfoy wouldn't acknowledge each other. It made the event she saw that night so unreal. Sometimes she wondered if it had all been some sort of strange dream.
And somehow, before she knew it, it was already a week before Christmas, time when students went back to their families to celebrate the occasion.
"You're not going back?" Samantha asked her brother, who shrugged.
"Harry's not going, Mione's staying too, so why not?" Ron replied. "Fred and George and going home though. Something about needing access to their joke making supplies." He shrugged. "You going home?"
Samantha frowned, weighing her options. Christmas was usually spent at home at the Burrow, on the other hand, she had never stayed behind for Christmas before in Hogwarts.
"I'll stay."
"You sure?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Positive." Samantha replied, smirking. "I wanna see how Christmas is in Hogwarts."
"I'm staying too." Another voice joined in their conversation, and Samantha was delighted when she found Alice waltzing into the common room. "Mother doesn't seem thrilled about something, so I thought I'd better stay out of her way till she calms down." The sapphire eyed girl explained, taking a seat beside Harry, who was dozing off on one of the long couches.
"That's great!" Samantha exclaimed excitedly. "So what happens for Christmas?" She asked, her eyes full of joy as she turned to Ron.
"You'll see." Her brother replied, smiling at her childish excitement. "It'll be great."
Just a few days before Christmas, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armor and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful delicious smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that even Scabbers poked his nose out of the shelter of Ron's pocket to sniff hopefully at the air.
On Christmas morning, the golden trio was awakened by pillows thrown at their heads, courtesy of Alice and Samantha.
"Presents!" Samantha shouted, dumping her load of presents at the foot of Harry's bed. Alice did the same, and Hermione had somehow been dragged along into the boy's dormitories with her own load of presents.
Ron crawled to his presents, grabbing the first one on top as he read the card and ripped the paper wrappings.
"Another jumper from Mum…maroon again…what did you get?" He asked generally, since all of them were bound to receive one.
Harry held up the scarlet jumper with the Gryffindor lion knitted on the front, while Samantha gestured to herself indicating the dark blue jumper, with a 'S' inscribed that she was wearing. Alice muttered something about a dark green scarf and Hermione held up the purple hand-knitted gloves she had just unwrapped. Ron sighed and placed the jumper behind him and was about to open the rest of his presents, when two long thin parcels caught his eye. He craned his head to read the labels and saw that one was for Harry and the other for Sam.
"Hey Sam, Harry, what's that?" He pointed, and Samantha pushed her presents away to look.
"Oh? I didn't notice this…" She muttered, pulling it out from underneath the wrappings. "Harry, you've got a similar one."
Harry and Samantha ripped the parcels open and they both gasped simultaneously as the magnificent, gleaming broomsticks rolled out onto her lap, and Harry's bedspread. Ron dropped the socks that he just unwrapped and jumped off his bed for a closer look, while Alice and Hermione edged closer to Samantha.
"I don't believe it!" Samantha choked out as she examined the broom, eyes wide with surprise. Harry's eyes were wide and as round as saucer plates as he examined his.
It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see everyday in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating, and let it go. Samantha mimicked his actions; it hung in mid-air, unsupported, at exactly the same height for them to mount it. Samantha's eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.
"Good lord." Alice whispered. "Who sent it to you two?"
"Look and see if there's a card." Harry suggested as Ron ripped apart the Firebolt wrappings of his broom.
"Nothing! Blimey, how come I didn't get one?" He said, mournfully eyeing his sister's and Harry's new broom.
"Well…" Harry said, feeling stunned. "I bet it wasn't the Dursleys." He attempted to make a joke.
"And I'm pretty sure Mum can't afford this!" Samantha said, touching the handle of her broom.
"Maybe it was Dumbledore." Ron said, walking around to examine every glorious inch of both Firebolts that floated in the middle of all of them. "He sent Harry the Invisibility Cloak anonymously…"
"That was my dad's though." Harry said. "Dumbledore was just passing it on to me. He wouldn't spend hundreds of Galleons on me and Sam. He wouldn't go giving students stuff like this-"
"That's why he wouldn't say it's from him!" Ron said. "In case some git like Malfoy said it was favoritism. Imagine his face when he sees not one, but two Firebolts! He'll be sick as a pig! These are international-standard brooms, they are!"
As Ron continued to laugh with glee, Samantha couldn't help but feel Hermione disagreeing with everything he had said. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, as though she was thinking real hard about something.
"Say Harry, can I have a go on it? Can I?"
"I don't think anyone should ride those brooms just yet!" Hermione said shrilly. The four other occupants in the room looked at her weirdly.
"What d'you think they're going to do with it - sweep the floor?" Ron said.
Before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from under Seamus's bed, right at Ron's chest.
"GET - HIM - OUT- OF - HERE!" Ron bellowed, as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pyjamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Samantha seized Scabbers and backed away from the hissing cat, and Ron aimed a misjudged kick at it which hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop on the spot, howling in pain.
Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tinny whistling was filling the room. The Pocket Sneakscope had become dislodged from Uncle Vernon's old socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.
"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking up the Sneakscope. "I never wear those socks if I can help it…"
The Sneakscope whirled and whistled in his palm. Crookshanks was hissing and spitting at it.
"You better take Crookshanks out of here, Mione." Alice said, glancing at Ron's furious face; he was sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe.
Samantha said nothing as she passed back the now skinny rat to her brother, and Harry looked concerned for the poor creature. Listening to her brother's complains about Crookshanks was really getting annoying, after all, it was in a cat's nature to chase rats, wasn't it?
It seemed that Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut Crookshanks in the girl's dormitory, but was furious at Ron for trying to kick him; Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh attempt to eat Scabbers. Samantha and Harry had tried to play peacemaker, but had given up when they both stubbornly refused to talk. Instead, the two went back to examining their Firebolts, which they brought down, but somehow that seemed to annoy Hermione even more.
At lunchtime, Alice suggested they go down for lunch, since they had been up here all morning after all. Samantha, despite the morning drama, practically skipped the whole way to the Great Hall, finding that the house tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather mouldy-looking tail coat. There was only one other student, a pale platinum haired Slytherin, who made Samantha frown when she realized it was Malfoy.
"Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore greeted as they approached the table. "As there are so few of us…"
Samantha did not listen to the Headmaster, her eyes more fixated on Malfoy as he looked up at them. In that short moment, she swore she saw Malfoy's lips curve into a small smile, but it vanished as soon as she blinked, and he had already turned back to his meal.
"…Sit down, sit down!"
Samantha sat down beside Harry, and continued to observe the Slytherin, wondering if he would make any snide comments and she was not disappointed. Malfoy glanced up and ran his eyes over her sweater and snorted.
"Something funny Malfoy?" she asked cocking an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah there is actually. Let me ask you something Weaselette, did you decide to change houses and join Slytherin?" he asked with his trademark smirk fully in place. "Not that we'd ever actually accept a half-blood into Slytherin."
"Did you drink too much Firewhiskey or something? Even if I was going to change houses I seriously doubt I would choose Slytherin of all houses!"
Sam failed to notice Professor Snape glaring determinedly at her.
"Funny then that you're wearing Slytherin's symbol isn't it?" he drawled letting his eyes run over her sweater again.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh puh-lease Malfoy! Slytherins don't own the letter 'S' you know. Did it ever occur to you that the 'S' stands for my name?"
"Oh really?" Malfoy feigned shock. "I wasn't aware that you had changed your name to Stupid!"
"Now, now, you two....that's quite enough!" snapped Professor McGonagall. "It's Christmas and it would be nice to see some inter-house cooperation." She punctuated this statement with a hard glare at the both of them.
"Yes Professor." They both replied then turned back to their food.
Samantha glowered at the Slytherin sitting in front of her and smirked as an idea came to her mind. She made sure the professor's were preoccupied before flicking a forkful of her mashed potatoes at him. He looked up just as the potatoes were sailing towards his face and they landed right in the middle of his forehead. The gravy trickled down his face.
Sam and the rest laughed at the sight and even the teachers looked like they were holding back laughter.
"Whoops, butterfingers." Sam said holding up her fingers and wiggling them.
"I'll get you for that Weaselette. I promise." Malfoy whispered wiping the mashed potatoes off his face then promptly turned back to his food. Sam stared at him for a while just to make sure he wasn't going to retaliate. After a whole minute though, Malfoy looked as though he would continue ignoring her, she turned away.
Alice had sat herself beside him, since the table was for twelve, it seemed as though they didn't have a choice.
"Carrots." She heard Alice mutter, and she barely caught her friend's actions of throwing one on Malfoy's plate, which he scowled at.
"Eat your own darn meal!" Malfoy hissed, poking the offending vegetable, cutting a small portion before putting it in his mouth, albeit reluctantly.
Samantha opened her mouth to say something, but the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding towards them as though on wheels. She had put on a green sequined dress in honor of the occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly, which Samantha had to duck her head in effort not to laugh.
Thanks to that distraction, Samantha forgot about Alice and Malfoy for the time being, as Professor Trelawney ranted on about how she couldn't join them, as it would make thirteen and the first to rise will be the first to die. Hermione scoffed at the comment, and Alice pretended to have dropped something under the table just to laugh at the ridiculous superstition, as she would call it.
Apart from that, the two hour lunch went by smoothly, and by the end of it, Harry and Ron deciding they were full, got up first from the table. Professor Trelawney's shriek made them halt in their tracks, and all eyes turned to the Professor.
"My dears! Which of you left his seat first? Which?"
"Dunno." Ron said, looking uneasily at Harry, who shrugged.
Alice had her head down again, trying not to laugh at Professor Trelawney's outburst, while Hermione raised an eyebrow and Samantha snorted.
"I doubt it will make much difference." Professor McGonagall interrupted coldly. "Unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the Entrance Hall."
Alice burst out laughing, unconsciously leaning onto Malfoy, who seemed ignorant about it. He did however, have a hint of smirk on his face. Samantha didn't notice these things, as she was busy laughing too.
Shaking his head, Harry looked at Hermione. "Coming?"
"No, I need a quick word with Professor McGonagall." She said quietly.
Samantha stood after her bout of laughter, and Alice followed suit. Malfoy stayed seated, gazing at his plate, looking bored.
"Geez…if he was going to be bored anyway, why bother staying back for Christmas?" Samantha thought to herself as they walked out of the hall.
"Where to?" Samantha asked Alice, who shrugged.
"I was thinking of taking a long walk."
"Oh, I'll head back to the dorms then."
Alice nodded, and walked off, no doubt to outdoors, where the weather was cold and the frost bit into your skin when you walked. Smiling at the wonderful day she was having, Sam sped up the staircases to their common room, eager to look at her Firebolt again. This was the finest broom she had ever had.
"…shall keep you informed."
Samantha almost bumped into Professor McGonagall as she exited the portrait hole, which closed behind her. The Head of Gryffindor house nodded at the Weasley, before continuing her journey down. Samantha stared after her, noticing that the Professor held the two Firebolts in her arms.
"Professor! I'm sorry but isn't that my new Firebolt you're holding? And Harry's as well I believe."
"Yes it is Miss Weasley. Both the brooms will be stripped down and checked for spells, hexes, jinxes or anything else of the sort."
"W-what? Stripped down? Checked for jinxes? Why?"
"I believe Miss Granger will explain everything to you. Now, if you'll excuse me I should get started."
With that, Professor McGonagall turned and left leaving Sam staring dumbstruck after her.
Whipping around in haste, she gave the password and the portrait swung open, and the angry voices floated to her ears.
"What did you go running to McGonagall for?!" Ron shouted at Hermione, who threw her book aside, her face pink. However, she stood up and faced Ron defiantly as Samantha watched the argument go on. Harry was frowning too, and she was pretty certain he was angry at the browned haired Gryffindor.
"Because I thought - and Professor McGonagall agrees with me - that that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!"
"Then what about mine?" Samantha asked, interrupting their spat. Hermione's eyes landed on her, and she shook her head.
"Sirius Black couldn't have sent it to me!"
"Professor McGonagall said it was better to be safe than sorry." Hermione muttered.
Without another word, Hermione fled the common room, leaving the three stunned teenagers in her wake.
Samantha and Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop them from being angry with her. As much as Samantha loved the older girl, somehow her Quidditch craze won over it, and having not one, but two new Firebolts on their team would definitely boost their chance of winning the Cup this year, but now, Samantha wasn't even sure they would see their brooms again. Stripping it down indeed.
Hermione avoided the common room as much as she could after that, and Samantha couldn't blame her. Harry and Ron seemed to be taking it harder than herself, and she sometimes wondered if they were being too childish. Alice had heard about the whole incident, and tried reasoning with Samantha, and the black haired girl had agreed in the end, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Wood sought them both out after Christmas, on the last day of the holidays right before the term started.
Coincidentally, Harry and Samantha were sitting in the common room alone, discussing Quidditch.
"Had a good Christmas?" Wood asked, and sat down before he got an answer.
"I've been doing some thinking over the holidays, and well…after our last match…if the Dementors show up again…I mean…we can't afford to…"
Wood broke off, looking awkward.
"Don't worry about it." Harry said quickly, trying to reassure Wood. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward them off, so I'm working on it."
"Ah." Wood's expression cleared. "That's good. Have you two ordered brooms yet, by the way?"
Both shook their heads, and Wood frowned. "What? You don't expect to ride a Shooting Star against Ravenclaw do you?"
"They got Firebolts for Christmas." Ron muttered, joining in their conversation and Wood looked up, eyes wide.
"What? Seriously? A real F-Firebolt?"
"Firebolts." Ron corrected. " Cool huh? Not one, but two! Imagine how they'd whip Slytherin's butt in that match…"
"Don't get too excited Ollie, we haven't got it with us now." Samantha said, waving a hand. "Professor McGonagall took them away to check for jinxes."
"Jinxed? How can it be jinxed?"
"Sirius Black." Harry and Samantha chimed together.
Waving the information aside, Wood seemed more concerned about the broom than the fact that a serial murderer was after his Seeker and possibly his Chaser as well. "Black couldn't have bought it! He's on the run! He couldn't have waltzed into a Quidditch supply shop and bought brooms, much less send them!"
"I tried telling McGonagall, she wouldn't listen." Harry grumbled.
"I'll talk to her…make her see sense." Wood promised them. "Firebolts, on our team! She wants us to win as much as I do…Firebolts!"
After that talk with Wood, the days passed by like usual for Samantha. Classes had started, and she was currently seated in Professor Snape's class. Double Potions, joy.
Glancing around, she noticed everyone had started adding ingredients into their cauldron, so she glanced up at the board, and instead of the green board, she saw a platinum head blocking it.
She narrowed her eyes. "Whats Malfoy doing in here?" she thought to herself.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said, handing him something. "Yes, if you would."
Malfoy nodded, turning to walk out when his eyes landed on Samantha. He sneered at her, and she glared.
"Watch what you're adding, you might blow up the dungeon." Malfoy said smugly as he passed her.
"Only if you're in it." Samantha hissed, dropping a lizard tail into her mixture.
Looks like they were back to square one. Hate and war.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!"
Samantha groaned and burrowed deeper under her covers refusing to be roused.
"Go away." She mumbled.
In response, all her covers flew off her and landed in a heap by the corner of her bed. She groaned again and felt around for her covers before finally sitting up and glaring at the people standing in front of her. Namely, Alice, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Oliver.
"Hey! Give me my covers back!"
"Oh come on Sam! It's your birthday! Shouldn't you be more excited?" asked Ron grinning at her.
"Not when im being woken up too darn early in the morning on a weekend none the less!"
she retorted glaring at her brother. "It's my birthday! Shouldn't I get to sleep till whatever time I want?"
"Not when you have presents to open!" declared the twins as they dumped the one they were holding onto her bed, hitting her on the head in the process.
"OW!" Sam muttered rubbing her head. "Who let you guys in here anyway? Boys aren't allowed in the girls dormitories you know."
"No, but they can get in if they happen to know a secret passageway that comes out right at the top of the girls dormitory stairs." said Oliver smirking slightly and sitting on Sam's bed.
Sam glared at the twins knowing that it was them who had found the secret passage. They grinned back at her.
"Oh quit being so cranky! Its your birthday! Now, hurry up and open your presents so we can go down to the kitchens and eat the cake we had specially prepared for you." said Alice placing her present on the bed as well. Everyone else placed their presents on the bed as well smiling at Sam.
"Thanks you guys!" said Sam finally smiling at them and began unwrapping her presents which consisted of a collection of their fireworks and some Zonko's products from Fred and George, a charm bracelet from Alice, an assortment of books from Hermione, and a large package of the different Honeydukes's products from Harry, Ron and Oliver.
"Oh before I forget, Mum said your present from her and Dad should arrive later today along with Bill and Charlie's. Percy asked us to wish you for him, said he'd see you later or something, he's busy with his Head Boy duties." said Ron.
"Alright." replied Sam. "Thanks again for all the presents you guys!" she added hugging everyone there. "Why don't you guys head down to the kitchens first and I'll meet you down there after I've showered and dressed?"
Everyone agreed and left Sam to shower and dress in peace. Sam gathered all the wrappings and stood to throw them in the wastepaper basket, when something fell from the bundle in her hands and fell to the floor. She looked down and saw an unopened present. She placed the wrappings on the floor and picked up the present, sitting back down on her bed,
"Wonder who this one is from…" she muttered to herself seeing no tag on the present. She unwrapped it revealing a brilliant gold, heart-shaped locket.
"Wow! Who would send me this?" she wondered as she turned the locket around in her hands admiring it. Noticing an inscription on the front she brought it closer to face to read it, only to gasp and let locket slip from her fingers falling on the floor with a thunk.
The inscription read "For Ava".
me: Oooh..cliffhanger!! ((cue suspenseful music))
Draco: ((scoffs)) Geez..finally some plot advancement! I thought we'd never get past the fillers
me: ((glares)) Shaddup you or I'll sic padfoot on you
Draco: ((scoffs)) I aint afraid of no dog
me: Oh really? Get him padfoot!
Padfoot: ((growls and chases after draco))
Draco: ((while running away)) AAAAAHH!! GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!!
me: Hehe..make sure to read the next chap to see if Draco suvives! Oh and review please! =D
Draco: NO!! DOWN!! BAD DOGGIE!! OWW!! LET GO OF MY FOOOT!! SOMEBODY HELP MEEE!!