With the holidays almost behind them and the term coming up, the trio agreed to start practising charms again. They had made good progress on the Softening Charm and the Ice Jinx, however, in the absence of proper cleaning spells, it quickly became too tedious to mop up the melting ice after every session. Likewise, Amelie's desire to learn the Disarming Charm was not met with too much enthusiasm from the two would-be practice targets.
"I would rather we didn't spend New Years Eve with Madam Pomfrey trying to stick our teeth back in," Riyan remarked, leafing through his text-book.
The door opened and Polly came in, notably keeping her arms behind her back. She gave her a meaningful look and Amelie rose from her chair, before asking, "You have it?"
Polly nodded and walked up to Riyan, who seemed momentarily confused by their antics. "What's going on?"
Ignoring his question, Polly slowly stalked forward. She let her eyes sweep over him from top to bottom with a cold, calculating expression.
"Thought we wouldn't find out, huh? That you could just lay low and let it blow over? Well, you thought wrong." She was only a few steps away now and Riyan was swivelling around in utter confusion.
"What are you talking about? Polly, what... wait, you too?" he sputtered, looking increasingly helpless.
Amelie slid up next to Polly and matched her expression, before saying, "Really foolish, leaving that card around with such big, obvious lettering. Didn't think what would happen if someone happened to catch a glimpse, hmm?" Riyan's brow began to furrow, his gaze switching between his two overly dramatic friends.
Polly's cold glare broke into a full-blown grin and she pulled her hands from behind her back, holding up a shiny Gobstone set, wrapped with a ribbon.
"Happy birthday!" they shouted together and Amelie added sheepishly, "Sorry if it's nothing too original, but we only spotted the card from your mum a day ago."
Almost falling from his chair, Riyan got up and smiled, sputtering and thanking them in between mumbling about how they shouldn't have. "I didn't want to make a big deal about it. My parents usually just throw it in together with Christmas."
They let Riyan examine his shiny, new gobstones, before heading down to the Great Hall for lunch. A small commotion at the Gryffindor table caught their eye. Exchanging meaningful looks, they casually strolled over the table in red.
"Did anything happen?" Amelie asking, her eyes sliding along the table until she found Ginny, looking as miserable as usual.
A few of the second-years looked at them and a boy replied, "Hermione hasn't come back to the common room since the Christmas feast. Harry and Ron did come back, but they're not saying anything." Amelie noted that the Gryffindor trio was indeed absent.
Polly gave them a concerned look and asked, "So you think she was attacked?"
The boy pressed his lips together, but shook his head. "I don't think so. They would've definitely said something otherwise. McGonagall hasn't made any announcements either and I'd bet my wand they would've closed the school already."
Amelie felt her stomach clenching up. The threat of losing everything seemed so close. What would happen if things continued like this next year? As she was lost thinking the worst, one of the Gryffindor girls came running up to the table.
"She's in the Hospital Wing," she began, but before the shock could settle in, she quickly went on, "but it's not an attack. Madam Pomfrey threw us out, but it seems to be some bad potion reaction. Hermione should be back in a week or so."
The relief was palpable.
New Year's Day came and soon after the common room began filling with students once more. As the new term started, and with it the familiar routine of lessons, Amelie and her friends quickly found themselves buried under mountains of homework. January meant that the final stretch before the end-of-term exams had begun and people were starting to get nervous.
Polly seemed rather nonchalant about their school-work, until Riyan pointed out that her grades would affect her likelihood of being accepted for Quidditch. "They're not going to let you join if you flunk half your subjects," he warned.
The tension and fear of the attacks before Christmas seemed almost forgotten as the castle once again became a hive of activity. The winter snows melted and brought with them a slick, muddy mess. Learning cleaning spells seemed ever more appealing, but for the moment the first- and second-years needed to rely on the older students to free their boots and robes from dirt after Herbology or Flying lessons.
"I honestly think we should give the Scouring Charm a try," Amelie suggested one Wednesday at noon. Herbology had ended and she was hanging back with Riyan and Polly, who were still busy cleaning their dragonhide gloves.
Polly winced, scrubbing away at a particularly resilient piece of dirt. "I don't know. Cleaning and vanishing something are almost the same, and I really don't fancy making my clothes disappear."
They were just finished, when Professor Sprout approached them with an errand. "Hagrid has been asking for a few Chinese Chomping Cabbages to protect his chicken coops. Please be so good and bring them to him." She gave them a wink and pointed to three wooden boxes that seemed to be rocking and shaking by themselves.
The grounds hadn't yet recovered from the initial snow-melt, so Amelie, Riyan and Polly had to carefully stick to the path as they carried the aggressive vegetables towards the large hut, built at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid opened the door as they approached, waving them over.
"Mornin'! Just put 'em right o'er there, next to the fields." He pointed towards a large, rough acre. They dropped their cargo off as carefully as possible, always mindful to keep their fingers away from any holes in the boxes. Hagrid patted the angrily rumbling crates affectionately, before turning to the trio. "Thanks a lot, you three. Those'll do jus' fine."
He gave them a wink and asked, "Now, seein' as it's your lunch break, how 'bout you come in fer a cup o' tea, eh? Got some sandwiches too."
Riyan and Polly gladly accepted and, despite her reservations regarding food, Amelie agreed to come along. Hagrid's house turned out to be far more cosy than the rough exterior suggested. A large, hand-crafted table dominated the only room, with a fireplace, a small kitchen and even a larder arranged around them. An enormous bed was tucked away into a far corner.
No sooner had they stepped inside, than a large boar-hound came sprinting at them, barking happily. He sniffed Riyan's robes and tried to lick Polly's face, but when he reached Amelie the dog suddenly let out a yelp and nearly fell over. Fixating her, with his eyes wide open, the hound seemed to slowly inch backwards, until Hagrid stepped between them.
"Sit, Fang, sit! Back off now, will ye!" He turned to them and mumbled, "Sorry 'bout that. He's a bit mad when he's meetin' new people sometimes."
Amelie rubbed her arm awkwardly, hoping that the others hadn't noticed the dog's reaction too much. "It's alright," she replied sheepishly, "lots of animals get nervous around me."
Lunch in Hagrid's hut turned out to be a hefty layer of cheese, pickles, sausage and bits of onion, between thick slices of rich, dark bread. While Polly and Riyan happily dug in, Amelie was left awkwardly hiding her plate behind the long sleeves of her robe. She looked up and saw Hagrid giving her an apologetic look. Even though he must've known about her, not giving her a portion would've appeared even more suspicious. Amelie flashed him a smile.
"Well," Hagrid began, clearing his throat a bit awkwardly, "how's Hogwarts been fer ye so far? Well, ah, besides all the, ya know, landin' in the Hospital Wing and tha like..."
Amelie gave a little laugh and replied, "It's actually been great, all things considered. Learning magic is the best thing in the world." She smiled, remembering all the hours spent creating mayhem in the old classroom. Yet even with more than two months since the last incident, she couldn't help the tight feeling in her stomach when she considered how easily it could all fall apart again.
"Pffsh, figures," Polly teased, "we were here barely a week and these two already started with the extra homework. You've got to have fun, too!"
Hagrid laughed, his black eyes glinting mischievously. "Oh absolutely!" He poured himself a cup of tea, which seemed to contain half a kettle's worth. "So, what's yer most fun classes so far?"
"Herbology," they all replied in unison.
Polly gasped with faux shock at Amelie and said, "Oh really? Professor Flitwick will be devastated. His best student this year choosing Puffapods over charms." She sighed, shaking her head dramatically.
Hagrid laughed. "Shouldn' be surprised, I s'ppose. Pomona's always been the favourite for mos' students, not just fer Hufflepuffs," he mused, looking at them proudly. "Used to be my house too, ye know. Back 'n the day."
They gave him curious looks and Hagrid went on, "Ye could always rely on Hufflepuff. There's room fer ev'ryone, even someone like me." Shifting uncomfortably, he mumbled, "Well- never ye mind."
"Oh, you mean because y-" Riyan started, but caught himself. He cleared his throat and muttered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." But Hagrid waved him off, a gentle smile barely visible behind his beard.
"'s alright," he said. "Yer a good lad." Hagrid turned to Amelie and Polly, before explaining. "My mother was a giant, ye see? Suppose it's not that hard ta miss." He leaned back, nodding slowly. The fact that Hagrid was almost twice as tall as other adults had not gone unnoticed by Amelie, but she hadn't thought too much of it. She had seen far stranger things since the day she boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Polly gave him a wide-eyed look. "Wow, that's incredible! You must be really strong, too," she gushed, looking him over with undisguised fascination. A society of giants surely sounded more exciting than whatever Binns had chosen to ramble on about during History of Magic.
Hagrid gave her a smile. "'s nice o' ye to say. Lots o' people just make assumptions when yer diff'rent." He gave a small sigh, absent-mindedly turning to Amelie. "Ye know how it is."
Amelie's expression froze, her eyes widening a bit. Coughing, Hagrid quickly added, "Well, what with the ye bein' muggleborn. An' Polly too, of course." Quietly releasing her breath, Amelie visibly relaxed. Hagrid gave her a brief, apologetic look.
"Yeah," Polly mumbled, finishing up the last bite of the enormous sandwich that had somehow disappeared into the black hole of her stomach. "Though not the best thing to be right now. The others all think the 'heir of Slytherin' is going around attacking us."
Nodding thoughtfully, Hagrid said, "Hmpf, that's what they was sayin' the last time, too."
There was a brief moment as the three Hufflepuffs stopped and turned to look at each other. Riyan nearly dropped the last bit of his sandwich.
"This has happened before?" Amelie blurted loudly. She felt herself tense up. Why hadn't they heard about this?
Shuffling around on his seat, Hagrid seemed to curse himself for his slip-up. His eyes briefly lingered on an old umbrella, leaning against the fireplace, but before Amelie could wonder about it, he replied, "Look. T'was half a century ago. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will soon have it all in hand."
Riyan opened his mouth to speak, but they heard the bells ringing from the castle across the grounds. Hagrid stood up and quickly, but politely, ushered them out. "Wouldn't want ta make ye late for class."
They thanked him for everything and made their way back to the West Tower.
Amelie was barely paying attention to where she was going. Her mind was swirling around the idea that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before. Had the monster been seen? Had the school been closed? Putting on a determined face, she turned to the others.
"We need to find out what happened fifty years ago."
Combing through the Hogwarts library had seemed like a great idea at the time, but half a shelf and almost a dozen books later they began to realize that just because the information they wanted might conceivably exist, it didn't mean it would be easy to find. On top of that, the history section had been all but plundered. Every tome on Hogwarts or Salazar Slytherin had been checked out.
"At this point we'd probably be faster if we just started questioning people one by one," groaned Polly. Opening a text-book to learn how to blast things with magic had been motivation enough for her, but spending her afternoon sitting around a large, dusty room, sifting through page after page, was visibly wearing down her patience.
Riyan slapped 'Important Modern Magical Discoveries' shut and collapsed back into his chair. "Maybe we should just slip Hagrid some Fire Whiskey and see if he reveals anything else. I'm honestly at the end of my rope."
From across the table, Amelie mumbled with absent-minded agreement, her face buried in 'Dark Creatures and Beings'. Her brow was furrowed and her lips pressed thin, as she scanned through the gloomy tome. She had been curious about looking through the library for more information than what Dumbledore had briefly given her back in the Leaky Cauldron. Yet with every new book, the idea seemed less and less appealing. What few scraps she had found were either vague, blatantly absurd or insulting. '...should take the utmost care, when facing such a devious and cunning creature as the vampire, so as not to...'
"Amelie? Did you hear me?" Riyan asked and she nearly slammed the book shut. Looking up, she casually flipped through a few more chapters, before muttering, "Uh- what?"
Riyan gestured at the nearly empty shelves. "I don't think we're going to find anything here. All the books that might tell us something have been taken." With a sigh, he picked up his latest read and stuffed it back between 'Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century' and 'Modern Magical History'.
Polly, who had abandoned all pretence of searching and was unabashedly flipping through 'Beating the Bludgers, A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch', asked, "Why don't we just ask a teacher?"
"I don't think that would work," Amelie said. "Even if some of them were around then, I doubt they can tell use anything. Otherwise they probably would've solved this already." Come to think of it, how old was Professor McGonagall anyway? Did witches and wizards live longer?
Riyan piped up and suggested, "What about asking Binns?" His face fell before he had even finished speaking. Polly's and Amelie's expressions told more than enough what they thought of the idea. He mumbled, "Sorry, that sounded better in my head a second ago..."
With no other leads, they decided to call the search off and go back to the den. Before they left, Amelie discretely checked out Dark Creatures.
As January drew to a close, Professor Sprout showed them the Mandrakes, which had been growing for months under her care. They had grown big enough, and therefore dangerous enough, to earn their own place in greenhouse four, under lock and key. Healing Colin Creevy and Mrs. Norris seemed like an encouraging prospect, but after Amelie had awoken with no memory of her attack, few people seemed to expect any big revelations.
"It would be so much easier if he could tell us who attacked him," one of the other Gryffindor boys said after Flying lessons. Walking behind them, Amelie quickly looked over and saw Ginny flinch. She had tried looking for mind-reading magic, to see if the Weasley girl knew anything, but the index in the library had made it very clear that any books on the subject would be deep within the restricted section. On top of that, it sounded like a subject that was beyond what even seventh-year students would learn.
Trying to follow Ginny again was also out of the question. If she was caught, Amelie might as well just pack her things and board the train back to London. A flimsy hope at finding something out was not worth losing her new life at Hogwarts. Amelie pondered if she might be able to hypnotize people, but testing that theory was not worth potentially embarrassing herself.
Polly seemed to be following her gaze and gave her a nod, before asking nonchalantly, "You think it might be one of the students? Other than Potter, that is. Or who knows, really."
Turning around, Ginny shakily said, "Harry wouldn't do something like that." Her eyes were avoiding them.
Amelie felt her patience growing thin. She wanted to grab the Gryffindor girl and make her tell them what was going on. The school might end up getting shut down and with it all hope of learning magic and becoming a proper witch, and yet the miserable-looking redhead kept everything she knew to herself.
"Hmm? Why? Do you know who did?" Polly twisted the knife. Ginny's eyes widened, but she shook her head and stormed off. Even Polly seemed to feel bad and called after her, "Sorry, I didn't-", but Ginny was already gone.
A small, black book lying on the ground caught Amelie's eye. It must have slipped out of Ginny's bag. Picking it up, she 'accidentally' let the book flip open, but all the pages appeared to be blank.
"I think it's hers," Amelie explained to the rest of the first-years, before turning down the corridor Ginny had taken, and shouting over her shoulder, "I'll see if she's still there."
Running along the hallway, she heard Ginny's footsteps ahead and to the right, where they seemed to come to a stop. Rounding the corner, Amelie found her leaning against a pillar. It wasn't hard to tell that she'd been crying.
"Uhm," Amelie began and Ginny turned around, watching her nervously. "You dropped your book back there." Stepping closer, Amelie held the small, black shape out to her, and the Gryffindor girl went pale. For a moment, she considered questioning Ginny first, but seeing her reddened eyes and messy hair, she couldn't bring herself to add to the young Weasley's pain. Besides, the book was empty anyway. Ginny snatched it out of her hand, staring at the dark, leather-bound cover intensely.
Amelie mustered the other girl, before asking carefully, "Ginny, is.. everything alright? You haven't been looking well for a while now."
Breathing slowly, Ginny stared at the book for a moment more, before her expression seemed to relax. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with her sleeve and turned to Amelie. "Thanks, but it's-", she paused, glaring at the book, "it's going to be alright."
Turning on her heel, Ginny set off down the corridor.
Whatever had come out of their confrontation seemed to have a positive effect at least. Ginny seemed less moody and withdrawn during Herbology the next Monday and by the time they walked onto the lawn to Madam Hooch, she almost looked happy.
The threat of Slytherin's monster seemed to be forgotten in the face of exams and mountains of homework coming their way. It was on a Friday, in early February, when the trio was sitting in their usual spot in the common room, that Hannah and Justin came back through the tunnel with grave news.
"Just a warning," Hannah began, looking appropriately serious, "Lockhart's planning something. We overheard him talking to McGonagall."
Justin flopped onto an armchair and snatched up an apple, before explaining, words dripping with sarcasm, "He, very proudly, announced that the heir of Slytherin must've been driven off by his presence. So now he wants to organize some kind of morale-booster."
Saturday went by uneventfully, leaving Amelie, Riyan and Polly walking into the Great Hall on Sunday morning with their guard down.
A sickeningly sweet haze of perfume enveloped them as they stepped through the doors, making Amelie hack and cough, her nose clogging up in protest. The walls of the hall were covered in large, garishly pink roses, while the pillars and banister were draped in even more decorations. Together with Riyan and Polly, she made her way to the Hufflepuff table, shielding themselves from the magical, heart-shaped confetti that was raining from the enchanted ceiling.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Patricia announced in a surly tone. She nudged her head towards the teachers' table, where Gilderoy Lockhart was standing, wearing ugly, pink robes and looking very pleased with himself. The rest of the faculty did not seem to share his enthusiasm. Professor Sprout was concentrating on seeing nothing beyond the rim of her tea cup, while Snape looked murderous. Even McGonagall kept a blank expression, all the while her hands were slowly twisting the imaginary neck of her napkin.
Lockhart motioned them to be silent and announced, "Happy Valentine's Day! And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all. And it doesn't end here!" He promptly made good on his threat and clapped his hands.
The doors of the hall opened and a procession of miserable-looking, small creatures walked in. They appeared like dwarves, wearing outfits with golden wings and carrying small harps.
"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart boasted. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"
The look on Snape's face made it very clear what would happen to anyone who tried. A few seats next to him, Professor Flitwick sat with his face buried in his hands.
"You know, getting jumped by the monster doesn't sound so bad any-more," Polly groaned, watching the dreadful swarm of would-be cupids disperse across the hall to ambush unsuspecting victims.
Further along the Hufflepuff table, Amelie spotted Cedric Diggory discretely sliding out of his seat and making a break for the door, just as some of the dwarves spotted him and gave chase.
Spontaneous outbursts of bad poetry continued throughout the day, as Lockhart's little messengers would sneak up on unsuspecting boys and girls. When one of the dwarves trudged past the trio and gave them a look, sifting through his list of names to look for a match, Polly took the initiative and threatened to turn him into a petrified lawn ornament if he didn't take a hike.
Others didn't fare so well, and it didn't take long before word got to the common room that at least one of them had managed to grab a hold of Harry Potter. Renditions of 'eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad' would pop up here and there, mostly instigated by the Weasley twins.
Amelie's after-school charms exercises were slowly being consumed by homework and revising the rest of their subjects. Potions was what she and Riyan were most concerned about. While they had managed to scrape by so far, Snape was making life increasingly miserable for them. What little breathing-room Amelie had won by answering questions correctly, had been lost after her refusal to incriminate Harry and his friends after the Hallowe'en feast.
Unconcerned by his malice towards the students, Polly had done little to avoid Snape's ire and had consequently become a lightning-rod for unfair questions and criticisms. Like a tree in a thunderstorm, being near here would be dangerous, but Amelie refused to leave Polly's side. After all, what would Professor Sprout say if Hufflepuffs didn't stick together.
As the mud cleared and the last of the snow ran down-river towards the Scottish cost, spring slowly emerged at Hogwarts, like the plants and flowers lining the base of the castle walls. A month after the disastrous invasion of the cupids, they woke up to clear skies and sunshine.
Amelie rose early, taking advantage of the quiet dorms to sneak another bottle of sanguinaris potion and wash her face without blowing her cover. Getting dressed quietly, she grabbed the rattling box from behind her trunk and sneaked down to wait in the common room. Riyan joined her shortly after, carrying something rectangular. "I almost forgot," he whispered.
It wasn't long before the last member of their trio emerged, shirt untucked, neck-tie hanging loosely around her collar and rubbing sleep from her eyes. Polly yawned, but a grin spread across her face when she spotted Amelie and Riyan waiting for her on their sofa.
"Happy birthday, Polly," they said together, revealing their presents. Polly ran up and pulled them both into a hug. Riyan's gift turned out to be a copy of 'Quidditch through the Ages', showing players on a variety of brooms flying into the sunset.
When she passed the wrapped box to Polly, Amelie sheepishly admitted, "Justin helped me a bit with getting these to Hogwarts."
Bursting with curiosity, Polly ripped the paper off to unveil a large carton of mixed sweets and snacks. Skittles, Fun Dip and Jelly Beans, piled up next to Pop Rocks, Nerd Rope and Stardust. The collection was enough to make a dentist weep.
"Thank you so much," Polly swooned, "I haven't had any of those in ages! Mum's been on the warpath against sugar for years." Opening one of the bags, she popped a Sour Patch Kid into her mouth and scrunched up her face, before offering some to Riyan and Amelie.
Mustering the sugary treat, Riyan mused, "So these are muggle sweets? Funny, they're almost like normal ones."
Amelie felt her thoughts drifting away. What even was 'normal' now? Half a year ago normal had meant elementary school boredom, worn-out library books and riding the bus back to Bow Creek alone. Sun-bleached afternoons under the conifers, trying to ignore the world around her as children were sent off to foster families and rarely any new ones came to replace them.
If it hadn't been for Hogwarts, would they have sent her off too? It seemed like a different life entirely, one that didn't involve spells and potions and secrets. Hesitating briefly, Amelie looked at the small, green sweet in her hand, before eating it. She grimaced. It tasted nothing like how she remembered.
March passed into April, while the hustle and bustle in the Hufflepuff den increased in volume. Finishing her scroll on basic animal transfigurations, Amelie looked over to where Hannah, Justin and Ernie Macmillan were hunched over a pile of pamphlets.
"I honestly don't know. I'll just pick something at random," Ernie moaned, throwing his hands up. He noticed Amelie's curiosity and pointed at the pile of scrolls on their table. "Third-year electives. Be glad you don't have to deal with this yet."
Picking their own subjects seemed like an exciting idea. She mentioned her thoughts to Polly and Riyan, who were still putting the last touches on their own homework.
"Does that mean we can get rid of potions?" Polly asked hopefully.
Riyan shook his head. "As much as I'd love to, it's a core subject. We'll have it until fifth year at least," he explained, watching Polly sink back into her seat dejectedly.
Before long, Hufflepuff's next Quidditch match was drawing closer. Polly had repeatedly made sure to inform them by exactly how many points they would need to win to secure a neck-to-neck race for the Inter-House Cup. The weather seemed perfect for flying as they made their way down to the pitch. Clear, blue skies and barely any wind.
"I just hope there's not too much glare. You know, there was actually a match in 1755 that was played entirely during an eclipse. And in 1890 they had-" Polly rattled off, until Riyan buried his face in his hands and groaned.
Amelie sighed. "Polly, please. One game at a time" She gave her friend an apologetic smile.
Soon enough, the stands were swarming with students wearing their house-colours. Unlike the match against Slytherin, the stands were far less unified in their cheers. Amelie felt a bit worried when she noticed that the red scarves clearly outnumbered the yellow ones. It wasn't hard to see which team was more popular, especially with Harry as their Seeker.
Yet Polly remained undeterred. From the way she was cheering and rambling, a Hufflepuff victory seemed to be only a matter of time. Nodding along, Amelie hoped Polly wouldn't take the more likely outcome too harshly.
Down on the field, the players walked out onto the grass, shielding their eyes against the sun while organizing last-minute strategies in hushed voices. The Gryffindor captain mounted his broom for a warm-up lap around the goal rings. The Hufflepuff team in canary-yellow broke up their huddle, giving a brief shout and got ready to begin, as Madam Hooch released the enchanted balls.
Out of the corner of her eye, Amelie saw a figure walking briskly onto the patch. Next to her she heard Polly blurt, "What in the world? Is that McGonagall?"
The appearance of the deputy-headmistress made the stadium suddenly grow quiet, as hundreds of eyes followed her across the lawn. She seemed to be carry a large, purple megaphone. A deep, clenching feeling started gripping Amelie's stomach.
Turning towards the assembled students, McGonagall raised the megaphone to her mouth and announced, "This match has been cancelled!" A cacophony of gasps, boos and confused questions broke over the crowd. The Gryffindor captain ran up to Professor McGonagall, arguing and waving his arms, but she ignored him and continued, "All students are to make their way back to the house common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"
A distant, high-pitched sound started in Amelie's ear, spreading through her head and overwhelming her thoughts. She felt herself flushing cold, numbness spreading through her limbs while Riyan pulled her and Polly along towards the exits, fighting through the crowd along the patch leading back to the castle.
There had been another attack.