Chapter Two

Once the four got into the Hyperion Bar, they were firstly blinded by clouds of smoke filling the room. Practically everyone had a cigarette in one hand, and an ominous-coloured glass in the other. Whatever it was they drank was carried around on trays by house elves. Both Stella and Sebastian eagerly accepted a glass when it was offered.

"You don't reckon anyone we know is here?" Teddy inquired once he and Zara had hesitantly accepted a glass as well. It smelled as curious as it looked, and the olive floating on top looked too much like an eyeball to eat.

"I don't know anyone that works for Witch Weekly", Zara assured him, although she kept glancing around nervously. Sneaking out of school was one thing, getting caught doing it was another.

"Oh come on," Stella said, noticing their hesitation. "We're all of age now, and everyone here is too drunk on whatever it is we're drinking to even notice we don't belong here. They probably don't even know who does and who doesn't belong here. Also: I look twenty-one".

"You don't look twenty-one," her brother was quick to assure her, grinning.

"Yes I do."

"Currently you act like you're no older than five, both of you," Zara interfered when she suspected this was going to be a typical argument. The twins never had a real fight, but their bickering could last eternally.

"I say we make use of this unexpected night of freedom," Sebastian raised his glass to them, before he took a daring sip of the questionable content. He pulled a thoughtful face. "Could be worse. I suspect a mixture of cooking sherry, pumpkin juice, and a number of unidentified objects. Just the courage I need to grab a chance with that pretty witch over there."

Before the rest of them could say anything, they watched Sebastian take off in the direction of a young, pretty lady on her own.

"That's one of them occupied," Teddy told Zara with a quiet laugh. Stella did not appear to hear their conversation; she had her eye set on a small group of gentlemen standing by the bar.

"Zara, back me up?"

Zara didn't have a lot of choice; her friend basically dragged her over to the bar.

"Hello there," Stella made her presence known without a hint of shyness. Zara, on the other hand, felt eager to run off before they had a chance of embarrassing themselves. "Did all of the plans for the July edition come through all right?"

The men, seeming rather fond of the unidentified cocktail, looked up curiously as the two young ladies joined them.

"I don't recall seeing the two of you before," one of them said. Zara felt them glance at her only briefly; they quickly settled on Stella. It was usually like that. Not that it bothered her. On the contrary: she wouldn't know what to do with a thirty-year old office clerk ogling at her.

"We're the new interns," said Stella, who looked like she knew exactly what to do with such men. "And you are...?"

"Incredibly bored," grinned one of the men, a handsome man with blond curls and teeth so white they almost lit up. "We wouldn't mind a bit of entertainment."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nate, she must have heard that one a thousand times," said the man Zara judged to be the least drunk and most likeable. "Haven't you, New Intern?" he grinned.

"I'm leaving," Zara hissed through gritted teeth when the men succumbed to a fresh laughing fit.

"I'm Stella," Stella extended a hand to him, ignoring her friend pointedly.

When Zara managed to pull herself free from Stella's clutch, she heard remainders of the flirty, drunk conversation she gladly left behind. She could only hope her friend wouldn't do anything truly stupid.

When she made her way through the crowd, she caught hints of conversation concerning photography, editors, and everything else to do with a magazine and its partying employees. She spotted neither of the boys anywhere, although she thought she caught a glimpse of Sebastian's black curls disappearing into a corridor with a blonde. She didn't need to guess what was going on there.

"Hey wallflower."

Zara turned around curiously, expressing a sigh of relief when Teddy stood before her. "Thank God you're here," she sighed. "How soon can we ditch this party? I don't know what Stella thinks we could find here."

"I just went to get rid of that drink. I hope the plants enjoy it," Teddy grinned. "I hear that guy she's talking to is a photographer. I hope she doesn't get her hopes up."

The pair of them found an empty table in the back. "You don't think she could pull it off? The modelling thing? I mean, it's not exactly the sort of career you would envision in this world, would you? I'm pretty sure my parents would say it's not a career at all," she shrugged. "Except maybe when you're a Veela."

"She could definitely pull it off," Teddy said. His eyes got that dreamy look he got whenever Stella was near in person or in thought. He had been like that since a year or so; it was a little annoying.

"Look who's there," Zara chuckled when Sebastian headed their way some time later; his hair looked dishevelled, his glass empty. All the evidence needed to say he was enjoying himself. "Hello mister Witch Weekly."

"Ha! Make that mister Witch Daily," Sebastian grinned. "I could snog that one on a daily basis, definitely."

"Thank you for that inspiring bit of information," Zara laughed, stretching her neck to see if Stella was anywhere near finished. She seemed to have disappeared from the crowd. Zara did spot someone else, though.

"Bloody Merlin," she cursed, dragging both Sebastian and Teddy with her under the table.

"What are we hiding from?" the boys questioned.

"It's my aunt Ginny," Zara replied, peeking nervously from under the table at the redheaded lady engaged in conversation a few tables away.

"I thought she worked for The Quibbler," Sebastian whispered impatiently.

"She does! They must be networking or whatever they call it," Zara said. She was very fond of her aunt, but showing herself when she was supposed to be in a school was probably not a brilliant idea. Time to leave, that much was obvious.

"I'll get Stella, you guys go out already," Sebastian decided. He was too close to being expelled after many repeat performances of skiving. As daring as they were, the twins had their limits as well.

Zara put up her hood and nudged Teddy to go first. The advantage of the party being so crowded was that they didn't stand out in the crowd. While she kept nervously glancing towards her aunt –who thankfully still had her back turned to them- they managed to make their way outside.

"That was pretty close," Teddy said once they had safely closed the door behind them. The rain was pouring, they were soaked through within mere seconds. "Do you think your aunt would have told on us?"

"I don't really think so, but I'd rather not take the risk," Zara shivered. She hoped the twins would hurry getting there.

Just when she and Teddy were ready to go ahead to the secret passageway's entrance, Sebastian and Stella appeared- Stella looking particularly triumphant.

"I got his address! He made me promise to drop him an owl soon," she beamed.

"Not Mr Blond-Toothpaste-Smile?" Zara inquired, leading the way to the passageway towards the back of the village. It was perfectly deserted; an open space in the ground covered by bushes. One by one they jumped down into it, the underground passage leading straight back into the castle.

"No, the sane one. His name is Troy," Stella replied, full of enthusiasm.

"You don't even need an address to send an owl. And why doesn't he drop you an owl?" Teddy said.
The passageway was too dark to make out facial expressions, but it was obvious Teddy was not amused. And one would think he'd have gotten used to it by now: there were few boys in their year Stella had not dated at least briefly.

"Because, I'm not about to tell him I'm in Hogwarts, duh. I'm twenty-one, remember?"

Sebastian could not refrain from laughing; it sounded strangely hollow below the ground. "He bought that? No frigging way."

"You're just jealous you can't get past the schoolgirl stage," Stella grimaced, quickening her pace so she was first to climb the ladder back up to the ground floor.

"Hey! Didn't you see me snogging?" Sebastian hurried up after her.

"Guys, can we keep it down?" Zara whispered urgently. The old caretaker Filch could pop up any moment to catch them out beyond curfew, and no doubt he would want to know why they were soaked through with rain at this hour.

It was a miracle they made it to the Gryffindor tower without getting caught. The four of them quickly said their goodbyes before parting to head to their dormitories. As they lay in their four poster beds, Zara listened to Stella chatting about her new love interest, though her mind was drifting off to her mother's letter. She didn't want to disappoint her. But if she went through with the cotillion she might disappoint her father. She could only hope her parents wouldn't argue about this. She seldom heard them argue about anything. The few times they did it was usually about her grandparents wanting them to come over for Christmas, or her dad being on voluntary Auror duty on such an occasion.

She laid awake for long after Stella had fallen asleep, listening to the regular breathing –and sometimes snores- of the other girls in the room. Her head was full of everything, and when she finally did fall asleep she dreamt of poofy ball gowns and olives with eyeballs chasing her.

The last weeks of term passed in a blur. Days were lost revising for exams, and their hands ached from writing essays that seemed never-ending. Even the twins got caught up in the exams, so the entertainment they usually provided in terms of misbehaviour was reduced to a bare minimum. After the last exam, an exhausting written History of Magic test, there was the sudden shock of freedom. Zara's mind had been so set on studying it was a strange phenomenon to suddenly have so much time on her hands. Everyone was looking forward to the summer holidays. In a way, she was too. Since a year or two –and her father's latest promotion at the Auror office- her parents possessed a summer cottage in the south of France. They usually spent August there, joined by a varying selection of family and friends. While Zara looked forward to that, there was her grandparents' ball first. Luckily the end of term Quidditch match had proved a welcome distraction. They made quite a team and finished off the year with a well-deserved victory. Hugo Weasley, the second-year keeper had made many impressive saves, and Sebastian as one of the chasers did fine work as always. It was a close call against Ravenclaw, though, but Zara managed to catch the Snitch before things got out of hand. The festivities went on for hours and hours, until Professor Longbottom –head of Gryffindor House and obviously delighted in the victory as well- put an end to all the noise. Even days later while they packed their trunks and got ready to board the Hogwarts Express, the victory was fresh on everyone's minds. The Ravenclaws could not stop glaring, and the Gryffindors could not stop grinning.

"So," Sebastian said, closing the door to their compartment. "Last few hours of freedom before The Parents turn up."

"Yes," Zara nodded absent-mindedly. She always wondered how she would find her mother after a school term. Lucia Potter was in blooming health most of the time now, but her depression was still fresh on Zara's mind. Five years ago her mother gave birth to a stillborn baby. In a few weeks time she had watched her mother go from the confident lady she was to a mere shadow of who she had once been. Zara had been twelve at the time, and very glad when she was able to return to Hogwarts after her little brother's funeral. James, her parents had named him. She had been sad, of course. But in a distant way. As a first year student her days were full of the exciting new chapter in life that was Hogwarts. Her mother's pregnancy had only played a role in the back of her mind.

"Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?" said Teddy.

"Sure," Zara nodded. The past was the past, and she knew she should trust her mother to be all right. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the passing landscape out the window as the Hogwarts Express gathered speed. Teddy set up the game with Sebastian, Stella scribbled a letter. All was as it should be. For a few hours worries were comfortably absent.

When the train arrived on Peron 9 and ¾ after several hours, Zara felt more relaxed than she had been the past few weeks. There were no exams bothering them. No nagging teachers going on about homework assignments. Weeks full of freedom ahead of them. She smiled cheerfully when the four of them left the compartment and collected their trunks. The train was crowded with students hurrying their way out to greet their families.

"Look, there's mum!" Stella waved out of the window to her mother, and pulled her brother along to the train's exit. "We'll probably see you both later this week, we'll drop an owl!" she called over her shoulder to Teddy and Zara, who were struggling to pull their trunks out from under a pile. When they finally got it, Zara was almost knocked over by her little sister Felicia, who seemed in a rush to get off.

"Hey, watch it!" Zara protested, just managing to keep her balance with the heavy trunk. It had to be the History of Magic books that weighed the heaviest.

"Hurry up!" Felicia mainly said impatiently. "Mummy's outside, with grandmother!"

"Grandmother?" Zara exchanged a confused look with Teddy before she left her trunk and hurried over to the nearest window to see whether this unlikely thing was really going on. And there they were. Her mother, carrying Anna, the youngest Potter child, and then her grandmother. She looked as impeccable as always; not a hair out of place, wearing an expensive-looking dark green cloak. Zara had no idea how old she was –she wasn't the type to approve of such a question- but she always wore high heels. So did her mother, who looked rather uncomfortable. No wonder. Zara could hardly remember seeing her grandmother aside the Christmas dinners.

"Merlin's beard," said Teddy, who had followed her to see for himself.

"Maybe we can stay here," Zara suggested with a groan, feeling her holiday spirit decrease. "Buy off all things from the trolley and see how long we can last?"

Teddy grinned. "Let's go, it can't be that bad."

"We can make a bet on it. Two galleons if you're right," Zara suggested once she slowly stood up and went back to pick up her trunk. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe her grandmother was just in the neighbourhood. The question was: why was she suddenly so interested in her granddaughter, when she'd been delightfully absent for the past seventeen years?

"Not sure about that," Teddy admitted, following her out of the train. "We can bet for ice cream, though. That way we both get something out of it."

"Deal," Zara agreed. "I get a feeling we'll need something to look forward to."