Chapter Five: In Which James Breaks The Law

I didn't feel like I could back to my dorm. With all the worries weighing on my mind I probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Instead I decided to do something rather unlike myself, and sneak around the castle in hopes of finding some sort of peace and quiet. Besides, going back to my dormitory would mean having to see Felicia, Eurydice and Ellen laying there with smug smiles on their faces while dreaming about how much they hated me.

It felt weird not to be friends with Felicia anymore. We had been joined at the hip for over four years, and to suddenly be without her – well, it was odd. Then again, a lot of things had been changing lately.

I had aimlessly wandered down several flights of stairs to the dark dungeons. I had never been in the Slytherin Common Room, but I knew that it had to be close by. I was just passing by an unused Potions classroom, when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone whispering a spell. What would anyone be doing in a Potions classroom in the middle of the night?

I decided to take a look, so I crept towards the door and put my ear against it. Inside, someone – a boy, by the sound of it – was muttering to himself. My heart had leaped into my throat – was this someone I knew? The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but it was too low to tell. Perhaps this was a dark wizard?

I was leaning with my entire body weight against the door, hoping to be able to reveal this person's identity, when the door flew open, sending me crashing through it and ending in a heap on the floor. Apparently, the door had not been locked.

"Rose?" someone cried incredulously.

I raised my aching head off the ground only to see my eldest cousin staring at me with wide eyes.

"James?" I said, slowly getting to my feet. "What are you doing here?"

James quickly darted a step to the left, effectively covering the cauldron behind him. "Nothing," he said, a little too fast.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Something was going on, and I had a feeling that it most certainly wasn't right.

"Why are you brewing a potion at…." I checked my watch, "one O' clock in the morning?"

James shifted his feet. "Extra credit for Potions?" he offered meekly.

"But you don't have N.E.W.T level Potions," I said. "You haven't even had a Potions lesson since Fifth Year!"

James seemed to be at loss as to what to say to this. "Let me see what's in the cauldron," I demanded, trying to step around James.

"No," James quickly countered, and he threw out an arm to keep me back.

"Yes!" I yelled at him, trying to go around him from his right side instead.

"No," he said, quickly grabbing me around my middle and pushing me back.

"Why won't you show me?" I asked him.

"I don't want to," James replied, rather childishly.

"Oh, get out of my way," I said, and shoved my elbow into his ribcage, effectively pushing him aside. I peered into the cauldron. The potion was bright green and seemed to have a rather thick substance. It smelled a bit like a mixture between lemon and something very sugary.

"James, what is this?" I asked him. "I've never seen this potion before."

James cleared his throat loudly and looked at the ground, staring at his shoes.

"Oh, tell me already!" I snapped. "I'm thrilled you're doing something slightly academic with your free time, really. If Slughorn had known how much you like Potions, he might not have given you a P. Tell me!"

"It's a mind – enhancing potion," James told his feet. "It's called the Brainpower Potion. You might not know it, but-"

Oh, yes, I did know it.

"The Brainpower Potion?" I screeched at him. "James, that is illegal! You're not allowed to brew it or take it! You could get expelled from school! Fifteen students were disqualified from the N.E.W.T.'s last year, because they took it before a test! I know that school isn't your strongest point, but-"

"I'm not taking it, Rosie, I swear!" James yelled, his eyes already bulging a bit, his face growing purple. "I'm selling it!"

"That's a great idea, James!" I shouted. "I'm so proud that my cousin is now a drug – dealer!"

"At least I'm not a traitor to my family!" he roared, pointing his finger in my face. "At least I'm not dating the enemy!"

"Really, James?" I cried. "Really? You want to compare my dating a Slytherin with brewing illegal drugs in the middle of the night? Really?"

"Not just any Slytherin!" James yelled. "THE ENEMY!"

"What enemy?" I cried. "Whose enemy is he exactly?"

"OUR enemy," James said, jabbing a finger at me and then himself. "He is not only Captain of our rival Quidditch team, he is also a Malfoy, and the Malfoy family is our family's arch nemesis, and, in case you've forgotten, he's the son of a DEATH EATER!" He roared the last bit in my face.

"Who cares," I snapped. "He's not a Death Eater himself, and he never will be. I'm not ashamed of Scorpius, I'm ashamed of you!"

"Are you sure about that, Rosie?" James asked, suddenly quieter. "You've been keeping him a secret for an awfully long time. Maybe it's about time someone told your dad."

Ice cold fear sliced through my stomach.

"Listen, James," I said. "We're going home for the holidays the day after tomorrow and when we do, I'll keep this drug brewing thing a secret, if you keep my relationship a secret from my parents."

James opened his mouth to answer when we suddenly both turned around to face the open door. Someone was coming through the corridor, and with all the shouting that we had been doing, that person was bound to find us any second.

"This way," James whispered to me, and grabbing my hand, he shoved me through a side door. We appeared in a different corridor in the dungeons. James slipped back into the classroom, probably to salvage his precious Brainpower Potion.

I, in the meantime, had no idea where I was. I knew the castle by heart, but this corridor was pitch black. No lights were turned on at all, and I didn't dare use my wand for light, in case I was spotted. The footsteps were gone, so I counted on being safe. I began to tiptoe along the corridor, hoping to find a staircase to get me out of the dungeons. I had to grope along the walls to find my way.

Suddenly, though, my hand met something very warm and human. I was touching someone's face. My heart seemed to stop for a moment.

"Who is it?" whispered the human.

"Ophi?" I asked.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Rose," he said. "Thank God. For a moment I thought you might be a teacher."

"Me too," I said. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Couldn't sleep," he answered. "What are you doing down here?"

"Long story," I said. "Listen, do you know the nearest way up to Gryffindor Tower from here?"

"Sure," Ophi said in the dark. "You're going the wrong way, turn around, and I'll take you to a staircase."

"Thanks," I said, and we proceeded to creep along the wall in the other direction.

"So," said Ophi in a hushed tone, after having walked for a while in silence. "How did it go for you on the Defense Against the Dark Arts test?"

I sighed. "I don't know," I said. "I have a really bad feeling about it at any rate."

"I should hope you did well for yours and Scorpius' sakes," said Ophi. "Here, step up, there's a staircase here. Do you think it's safe to light our wands now? I haven't seen anyone all night. Lumos."

He turned around and cast the light on my face, and frowned at my expression. "What?" he asked nervously.

"What do you mean, for mine and Scorpius' sakes?" I asked, as we began to walk up the stairs.

"Because he wrote the same answers as you," said Ophia, as though it was a matter of fact.

"What did you say?" I hissed.

Ophi's jaw dropped. "Oh. Never mind." He began running up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

"Wait, Ophi," I cried. I took out my wand quickly. "Lumos," I muttered, and I raced after him. "Ophi! Don't run away from me!"

"I'm not running, I'm speed – walking!" Ophi answered, as he raced around a corner and up another flight of stairs.

"Ophiuchus Nott!" I bellowed, throwing caution to the wind, apparently not giving a damn whether or not I, a Gryffindor Prefect, would be caught out of bed. "You get back here! How do you know whether or not Scorpius and I wrote the same answers?"

"No idea!" Ophi called over his shoulder. "Don't read anything into it. I wasn't making sense!"

"Well, I can't help but read anything into it, when you're running away from me! And I'm in much better shape than you, so you might as well drop it!"

Ophi stopped up suddenly, apparently seeing sense. He seemed to be gasping for breath. He leant forward and rested his hands on his knees.

"Well?" I said, once I finally caught up to him. "What did you mean by that comment?"

Ophi seemed to fixate on a point next to my head. "Scorpius copied your answers on the test." I gasped loudly. "I'm sorry," said Ophi, sounding miserable. "I thought you knew. I thought the two of you maybe had some kind of deal."

"No, we didn't," I said. "I would never have allowed that! But why? Scorpius is so smart."

Ophi shrugged. "I just think he hadn't had the time to study. His Quidditch duties are taking up a lot of his time, you know?"

"I can't believe that he would betray my trust that way," I said, still feeling confused.

"I'm sorry," Ophi offered up lamely.

"And what, did he just brag about it to you?" I said, feeling angry with Ophi for no reason at all. "Did you sit laughing at my expense? Did he share his triumph with all of Slytherin?"

"No," said Ophi, looking horrified. "No, it was just something he mentioned to me. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," I snapped. "I know where I am now. I can find the rest of the way by myself. Goodnight."

I left a dazed Ophi behind as I marched the rest of the way up to Gryffindor Tower. Why would Scorpius cheat off of me on a test? How could he just betray me like that? He could have asked for my help instead.Or, even better, he could just have studied for the stupid test and then he wouldn't have had to cheat!

I stormed into my dorm and flipped down on my bed. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I definitely knew that I wasn't going to get any sleep that night. My mind couldn't stop racing, thinking about Scorpius' cheating and James' drugs. Why were all the guys in my life ganging up on me to make my days as miserable as possible?

"Wow, could you be any louder?" someone said to my right. I turned my head. Felicia was laying there, her head propped up on her hand. "You could have woken all of Gryffindor."

"Sorry," I huffed.

"It's a good thing none of the teachers know that a Prefect is wandering around at night," she said.

I rolled my eyes. My day – not to mention my night – had been tough enough already. I was not in the mood for this.

"Felicia, when did you stop being a decent person and just get downright tiresome to be around?" I asked. "What is your problem?"

Felicia quickly sat up in bed. "Um, you," she said, her tone particularly nasty.

"Me?" I asked, baffled.

"Yeah, you," said Felicia. "Because all of a sudden, just because you have this new, handsome boyfriend, you think that you're better than the rest of us."

"That's not true," I countered, but Felicia didn't seem to be listening to me.

"All of a sudden, you can't be bothered to hang out with your own House, or even talk to any of your old friends. You can only hang out with those from Slytherin. You know what? Why don't you go ask the Sorting Hat if you can switch Houses? I know you want to, and I sure as hell wouldn't mind not seeing you every day."

I stared at her for a moment, stunned. "But Felicia," I said, trying to string a coherent sentence together without bursting into tears. It was important that I say something smart, and not just become a blubbering mess. "You stopped talking to me as well. It kind of seems like you have some new friends that you prefer." I gestured towards the sleeping forms of Eurydice and Ellen. "It's not like you've been trying to talk to me all that much."

"No," said Felicia. "You cut me out of your life a long time before I stopped talking to you."

"But you always seemed to want to be alone with Al," I said, feeling helpless.

Felicia rolled her eyes. "Bad excuses, Rose. You just think that you're too good for us, all of a sudden. Don't pretend you don't know it."

With those words, Felicia fell back into her bed and closed the bed hangings so that I couldn't see her, leaving me feeling shocked, hurt, and so, so confused.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to leave a review! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like and fun suggestions for future chapters. Your reviews keep me writing. Thanks!