Tessa walked down to the common Room; it was cold. With a wave of her hand the fire blazed to life in the mantel and bought a heated light to the once dim room. She sat in front of the fire, crossed her legs on the cold carpet, and closed her eyes letting the heat envelope her. After a moment She turned around to see that the Common Room was untouched from the night before.
Tessa walked back upstairs leaving the fire roaring behind her. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia left for the holidays and Tessa was fortunately relieved she was able to waltz into her empty room trading a thin shirt and pajama pants to baggy jeans and a sweater with a large "T" on the front. She inhaled the silence of the room before grabbing her wand, a crumbled sheet of paper stuffed back into her pants pocket, and shutting the door behind her. She raced down the stairs as she heard small groups of early risers waddling around the Common Room below her. Reaching the bottom step she waved to a very tired Dean Thomas whom lazily waved back and rested his head back onto the arm chair. She skipped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. The Staircase was brightly lit with sting lights wrapped around the railings also ornate with tinsel.
She raced up the steps to the fifth floor, down the long narrow hall, and stopped at the statue whose gloves are on the wrong hands. She looked at the statue and the empty painting beside it. She pulled out the crumbled sheet of paper in her pocket and unfolded it revealing Hermione's smudged handwriting with stained droppings of unknown foods and liquids.
"Ron," Grumbled Tessa. Squinted her eyes and turned the paper upside down.
"Squeaky Clean?"
The painting swung open to reveal a small hallway with stairs towards the end. She trudged forward and slowly walked up the steps opening up the hall to a gaudy room of white and gold with a stained glass window above the pool of a tub. Tessa smiled and chucked her shoes off, stuffing the paper underneath one of the laces, and thew her clothes on top. She walked over to the massive bath and pulled one of the faucets that blubbered to life spewing a goo wafting floral aromas around the room. She turned another faucet with a blue jewel and water sputtered out of the faucet filling the bath so quick that Tessa quickly grabbed a faucet with a green jewel and a musky scented foam flew out of the faucet creating a small mountain on one end of tub. A moment later Tessa shut off all of the faucets and stepped into the deep tub. The water was near her waist as she sunk deeper into the aromatic foam and swam across to peer through the massive windows revealing the snowy Quidditch pitch.
She stayed in the bath until her hands resembled two prunes and struggled out slipping down the steps to the towels. On the last step, she covered herself quickly with a fluffy towel peering down the hallway across from her. After drying, herself she grabbed a robe and wrapped it around herself as she walked over to her clothes putting them on and throwing the the damp robe in the hamper and walk down the hall and pushing the painting open. The freezing air of the castle hit her hard as she speed walked down the staircase.
She lumbered through the great hall doors and slowed to stop when there were none sight except for a student in the far corner of the room buried in a book. Tessa glared at the tattered curly bun peeking out of the pages and casually waltzed to the end of the table.
Hermione's orange juice was full and her food barely touched as Tessa sat across from her. In seconds, bacon eggs, toast and jam popped in between them. A cup of tea immediately grasped in Tessa's last hand as she reached for the cream and sugar with her right. Tessa continued to stare at the back of Hermione's book relentlessly glaring back. Tessa sighed and spooned some eggs onto her plate, grabbed some toast, and bacon. She ate half of the food on her plate before Hermione put down her book.
"Morning," mumbled Tessa spewing some crumbs on the table.
"Morning," huffed Hermione. She slammed her book shut, laid it on the table, and stirred her lukewarm porridge.
"What?" laughed Tessa. "The book didn't satisfy you?"
"No," sighed Hermione.
After a moment of silence Hermione looked up at Tessa whom was visibly confused.
"You know don't you?"
"No," responded Tessa.
"Harry along with the Weasleys have left the castle," whispered Hermione.
"What? Why?" Asked Tessa.
"That I don't know," said Hermione.
—
"Fred."
"FRED!"
Fred fluttered his eyes open and sat up abruptly rubbing his temple. He looked over at Ginny shaking George until he rolled over and sat up lightly as well.
"We're going into town," said Ginny annoyed as she closed the door behind her.
"Bloody hell," sighed George as he placed his feet on the dusty carpet and stood up raising his arms over his head.
"An eventful couple of hours got you tired eh," joked George as he walked over to his trunk pulling out jeans and a sweater.
"Bloody Hell," mumbled Fred laying back into bed.
"Oh come on," laughed George pulling up jeans he pulled out of the trunk at the front of his bed.
Fred sat up and placed his feet on the cool wooden floor. He stood up and stretched high into the air before walking over to his trunk and opening it. He pulled out the outfit similar to George's and rummaged in his trunk a little longer to find Tessa's red and yellow striped scarf she left in the broom closet the night before. He threw it around his neck and shut the door behind him as he walked down stairs to the chatter of his family in the Black family kitchen.
—
"What do you know so far?"
Tessa was at the far end of the study room reading a book on charms while twirling her wand between her fingers. Lee began cleaning a table top from gunk and mud left over by the cauldron in his hands. The room was dismally quiet; minus the scrubbing of wood.
"I told you, Tess," sighed Lee. "We were all woken up by Professor McGonagall, and, next thing you know, Fred and George are being dragged out of the room. When I woke up this morning, both of their trunks were gone. No note."
Tessa sighed and tapped the tip of her wand in her temple rhythmically. A spark emanated from the wand and nearly caught the book in Tessa's hands on fire.
"Shit," mumbled Tessa. She dropped the book onto the table and leaped out of her chair. She patted the down down as the smoke dissipated.
"What are you trying to do anyways," laughed Lee as he placed Fred's cauldron towards the window so it could dry.
"You'll see when I'm finished," replied Tessa annoyed.
Lee raised his hands in surrender and went back to putting bottles of ingredients in the boxes Tessa labelled at the beginning of the year.
Tessa slumped back into her chair staring at the book mocking her on the table. She grabbed her wand and walked over to her bag by the door. Staring at it intensely she waved her wand a few times over the bag and tapped her foot lightly to each swish rhythmically.
"Capacious extremis," said Tessa.
Lee stared at Tessa awkwardly as she ran over to the window and picked up Fred's damp cauldron and waddled back to the bag stuffing it into the backpack without hesitation.
"Bloody hell," stated Lee as he walked over to Tessa peering into the bag. "How'd you do that?"
"Magic," sighed Tessa happily. She patted Lee on the back and walked over to the labeled boxes picking each of them up and stuffing them into the backpack as well.
—
"Come on," laughed Ginny as she dragged Tessa by her cardigan into the dusty doorway lacking tinsel and holly.
Fred stared at Tessa entering the room. He watched her for quit sometime until George elbowed him in the ribs. His hands were full of string lights as he unraveled another foot for George to place above the windows in the kitchen.
"Stop it," mumbled George. "Do you want mum to ask questions?"
Fred glanced over at his Mother whom began baking hours prior and was finishing the last touches on a seasoned pheasant.
"She's hardly looking," spat Fred jokingly.
"To you," laughed George as he climbed off the ladder and held it for Fred to do the same.
Fred and Tessa barely talked to him while she helped with the placement of the table. She mostly talked to Sirius and Mrs. Weasley while in the kitchen. Fred glanced over occasionally hearing enough of the conversation that she was talking about her parents stuck in a country and maybe not be back home before she leaves for school. She handed Mrs. Weasley a letter as well as one for Sirius before walking back into the living room glancing at him with a faint smile on her face and walked over to Ginny handed her a plate of cookies.
"So," sighed Tessa. As she finally walked over to Fred and George playing wizard's chess at the far end of the room. "Your mom said it was cool if we all went to my place for a bit. Until the dinner of co-"
Before Tessa could finished her sentence Fred and George were already up and putting their coats on and walking over to their shoes. Tessa laughed as She walked over to the two putting her shoes on as well. After the last shoe was tied Tessa apparated out of Grimmauld place and into her dark home.
The twins let go of her arms and began taking their shoes off as Tessa turned on the hallway light. The house was clean and quiet showing signs of not being touched in months. The kitchen still smelled of eggs and bacon from Tessa's breakfast earlier that day.
"How'd you even get here so early to make breakfast," laughed George.
"Well," sighed Tessa. "I noticed Malfoy and his stupid squad following me around the castle yesterday and onto the train today so I picked the most concealed cart with Lee and we both apparated with our things to here."
Fred and George nodded, as they both sat at the kitchen bar watching Tessa pulling out a kettle and placing in the stove. She turned the large knob in the center knob with her hand hearing it click three times before flames lightly emitted from the bottom. She flipped the knob to a hi heat. Fred watched Tessa weave around the house, never once using magic, as George read Lee's letter that Tessa handed to him.
"What about the bag?"
"Pardon?"
Tessa looked up from a tin gaudily decorated in red and green patterns.
"The bag with our supplies in it," said George looking up from the letter.
"Oh," said Tessa quickly as she put the tin down and walking over to her backpack placed next to the fridge. She picked it up and placed it on the table allowing Fred to unzip the backpack.
"Accio cauldron," said Tessa waving her wand. Fred's cauldron popped out of the bag and flew in Tessa's Hands.
"Brilliant that is," said George leaning forward into his chair and peering into the bag.
Fred waved his hand in an arching motion over the bag and for a moment the bag regurgitated notes and books, but eventually boxes of supplies, materials, and utensils sprung out of the bag and onto the table as Fred pushed the bag onto its side.
The kettle whistled behind them as Fred and George inspected jars and prying open books that got damp from the humidity due to the cauldron yet to be dry. The kettle floated off of the stove as well as three glasses out of the cupboard and saucers. The tea poured into each cup two with strainers one without. Everything seemed in order as the kettle poured water over the three and placed themselves amongst the table.
"Are your parents here?" Asked George blowing steam over his cup.
"No they haven't even left the country they're in right now," sighed Tessa.
"You could stay with us," said Fred quietly. "Sirius has plenty of room."
"Yeah," stated George excitedly. "Ginny has the biggest bedroom to herself until Hermione gets back. Still, big enough for three people."
"I suppose I can do that," said Tessa happily. "But I have to stay at home when my parents get back."
It was a while before Tessa drank her tea and finished it by placing onto the saucer upside down. Fred and George put their cups in the sink and sat back down to begin devouring the tin full of biscuits, creme, and jam.
"How's Harry doing?" Asked Tessa tapping her cup watching the last of the liquid seep into the saucer creating a brown ringlet around the golden rimed cup.
"He's alright,' said George. "Still can't figure how he knew about dad."
"Were you there when he explained it," stated Tessa.
"Explained what?" Asked Fred confused.
"When he explained what happen," said Tessa. "In his dream."
"No" sighed George. "When we can eaves drop on him and Ron all they talk about is Cho Chang and Hermione."
"Maybe they will tonight," said Tessa quickly. She showed her cup to Fred and George. "A fortune of luck in the future."
"Optimistic," laughed George.
"No, Hermione's coming to Sirius' tonight. She told me before we got on the train," said Tessa as she looked up from her divination book at Fred and George excitedly. "Maybe he'll talk then."