(16th July, 5th Year)
Thursday rolled around quicker than Sylvia expected.
Why Newt wanted to meet in the Forbidden Forest was beyond her imagination, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Most, if not all, students were at different end of school parties making the corridors perfectly clear for Sylvia to sneak out. She had nothing but her wand and a hopeful heart.
Once out of the castle, she made her way quickly across the school grounds and past the quidditch stadium. Finally standing before the Forbidden Forest, Sylvia realised that Newt had failed to mention where exactly they would meet inside, but she did have an idea.
Casting a light from the tip of her wand, she broke the edge of the forest and disappeared inside – oblivious to the person following her.
Sylvia had a great amount of difficulty finding the clearing she had discovered with Newt over a year ago, as the many times they had ventured into the forest for Pickett, Newt always lead the way.
It took over an hour to finally come across the clearing, and when she did, she was disappointed to find no-one there.
"Newt?" She called. The word echoed terribly throughout the trees.
The silence was almost deafening, except from the occasional crunch of a branch or the call of an owl.
She called his name again and there was still no reply. Had he forgotten? Or had he got caught trying to leave after curfew? Questions with little answers swam through Sylvia's mind as she waited in the near pitch-black darkness. The light from only her wand illuminated little.
Sylvia was almost going to give up and return back to her dormitory, when a blinding light swam past her head.
"Lumos maxima." Uttered a voice, and suddenly the entire clearing was visible.
"Leta?" Sylvia frowned, and sure enough, Leta stepped out into the light, her back straight and her eyes trained on the red-head.
"I can't believe you actually came," Leta said, a slight chuckle in her voice.
"What do you want, Leta?" Sylvia was far too tired for her games, and a strong ache settled in her chest when she realised Newt wasn't coming.
Then it dawned on her that they were alone. Her hand twitched around her wand.
"I thought we should talk properly," Leta explained casually. "Things between us have been a little... strained, as of late. I want to repair that."
"Pfft," Sylvia couldn't have stopped the scoff even if she had actually wanted to. "You've made me look like a complete villain in front of the one person I care about and you want to just... talk? Don't think I don't know your game, Leta."
Leta held her hands up defensively. "I understand. I understand that you may feel a certain type of... way, about me." Sadness briefly flickered across her features. "But I genuinely just wanted to talk. I knew you wouldn't have come if I had asked - so I forged the note."
Sylvia still didn't trust her with every ounce of her being but decided if she was going to come all the way out to the Forbidden Forest at night, then she might at least make it worth her while. She nodded for her to continue.
"Thank you." Leta sighed. She walked forward a few steps but stopped when Sylvia took an equal amount of steps backward. "I know I've been perhaps a little... cruel towards you – but you really hurt me, Sylvia."
"Hurt you-" Sylvia squealed before she cut herself off. She cleared her throat. "Go on."
"I suppose, I was a little jealous of your... relationship. You and Newt. Everyone always distances themselves from me because I'm a Lestrange. What you and Newt had – I wanted...I just wanted to be a part of that and you... weren't really accepting."
"Oh, knock it off, Leta." Sylvia scoffed. "You only started being interested in me when you thought I was involved with Grindelwald – and you didn't think twice about Newt until you realised how close he was with me." Leta may have been able to coerce everyone else with her words, but Sylvia wouldn't be so easily swayed.
"No, no!" Leta protested. "I just thought your family was like... mine."
Dark, Sylvia thought harshly.
"Definitely not." Sylvia spat.
"And I may have judged Newt a little prematurely..." Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Could we perhaps just..." Leta heaved a deep sigh. "Forgive each other? And move on?"
Sylvia thought this must have been some cruel joke. Leta had made Sylvia's life as uncomfortable as it could have possibly been for her at the time and now the witch was asking for her forgiveness? It was almost laughable. But whilst Leta was around, there wasn't a chance for Sylvia and Newt to ever become friends again. Sylvia full well knew the power that Leta currently held.
"No," Sylvia said finally. "I'm not like you, Leta. My mother didn't raise me to associate with people like you, no matter how good their intentions are. Leave me alone."
Sylvia went to walk away, her heart heavy and tired.
"That's it? I'm being nice and you-"
"It's not about how nice you are, for Merlin's sake!" Sylvia spat. "I saw you nearly kill a girl the first day we met – that's why I didn't..." Sylvia raised her fingers to make quotation marks. "'accept' you. Newt must be some kind of saint to see past that side of you. Either that or he hasn't seen it yet."
Leta scowled at Sylvia. "Newt doesn't care about that! He likes me for who I am."
"He likes you for who he sees," Sylvia said tiredly. Talking about Newt hurt more than she imagined. "But that's his business, I suppose."
Sylvia went to walk away again. The whole conversation was pointless.
"You're giving up on him, as well?" Leta barked as Sylvia began to disappear through the trees.
"I guess," Sylvia whispered. She stopped and looked at Leta one last time. "And if you ever hurt him, Leta – I'll do worse things to you than were in that silly little book you gave me last Christmas."
Leta's eyes narrowed into a challenge, but Sylvia simply turned away. If Newt was safe and content with Leta, who was Sylvia to change that?
And if anyone ever asked about the tears on her face, she would deny it to her dying breath.
(12th September, 6th Year)
Sylvia examined the notice on the Gryffindor common room board closely. The holidays had been and gone and Sylvia's conversation with Leta in the forest now seemed like a bad dream. When Sylvia's mother had asked about her and Newt, Sylvia avoided the question like the plague. It didn't stop the pitiful look Hanna gave her for the rest of the six-weeks.
"Well? Going to give it a try?" Malvin asked.
Sylvia detested apparition with every fibre of her being, but could not fault that it would be a useful skill to have. Her mother would certainly approve, no doubt.
"I suppose it would be useful for an Auror." Sylvia thought out loud as she folded her arms across her chest.
Malvin glanced at her. A small silence passed between them.
"So... you really want to be an Auror? I thought you weren't sure."
"I wasn't..." Sylvia walked away from the small crowd gathering around the notice board and Malvin followed. "But I passed my O.W.L's so I can take the appropriate... exams."
"The N.E.W.T's?"
Sylvia didn't like calling them by their names, for very obvious reasons. "Yes – them."
She had passed her exams with almost flying colours, with a few obvious exceptions. Her potions exam she had passed through the skin of her teeth, but luckily the professor accepted 'exceeds expectations' for those wishing to take their N.E.W.T's with him. Sylvia wasn't completely sure what made her want to become an Auror more than anything else, it certainly wasn't her mother's influence, but deep in the back of her mind – she knew why.
"I think I'd like a cushy job somewhere..." Malvin said as they walked towards their first class.
"I hear the kitchens are accepting more house-elves."
"Ha, ha."
They winded through the corridors, sharing occasional jibes and discussing things that didn't really matter. Defense Against the Dark Arts was her first class on a Monday and she was very much looking forward to it.
"Wait, I think I have a stone in my shoe," Sylvia called as Malvin carried on walking. She slipped her foot out of her small heel and examined it for the offending rock. Putting her shoe back on, she looked back up and saw Malvin walking back towards her.
"I think we should walk the other way," Malvin said so quickly Sylvia barely understood what he said.
"What? My class is through that way, Malvin. I'm not taking some stupid detour so you can raid the kitchens again."
"Why not?" Malvin laughed nervously. "I do get awfully peckish in the morning!" His voice was almost comically high-pitched.
He grabbed Sylvia's arm and began to pull her backward.
"Wait- for goodness sake, Malvin!" Sylvia wrenched her arm free. "What is it?" She marched around the corner that her friend was trying so desperately to hide her from. Malvin sighed loudly and joined her.
"Oh."
Peaking around the corner, she saw what Malvin was trying to hide.
On a small bench sat Newt and Leta, chatting quietly about something, their faces so close together they could easily be mistaken for kissing. Sylvia felt her heart sink into her sock. She retreated her body back around the stone corner.
"Now I get it."
Malvin looked at her sadly.
"You know what? I think a detour through the kitchens would be great." Sylvia said, trying her hardest to sound perkier than she actually was.
Sylvia walked past him, hoping to hide the evident remorse on her features.
"Psst, look!" Malvin hissed.
"I really don't want to watch them, Malvin-"
"Just get your arse here!"
Sylvia walked back to where she just stood a second before. "What?"
Peering around the corner once again, and above Malvin's blonde head, she saw Newt looking very apprehensive about something. He was standing, seemingly alone if it weren't for him whispering quickly to someone. She presumed it was Leta out of her view.
"Leta may be an expert at hiding her emotions but Newt clearly isn't. Does he look very nervous to you?" Malvin whispered.
"Yes," Sylvia replied. Newt looked the picture of anxiety as he stared into a closet she couldn't see from her position. This was coming from the boy who had kept an illegal creature in his pocket for two years, whatever was making him anxious was clearly something to worry about.
Leta came into view then, her arms carrying a small jar. She looked very pleased, before kissing Newt on the cheek. Sylvia's heart cracked once again.
They watched quietly as Leta walked the opposite way, a confident sway in her steps. Newt stood idle for a moment, seemingly torn, before following her.
"Was that the potions cupboard?" Malvin asked loudly once the couple was clear out of ear-shot. "Yes," Sylvia said as they walked around the corner. They eyed the small wooden door curiously.
"I thought it was locked to students?"
"It normally is, but nothing a quick spell couldn't solve." She tried the door, and sure enough, it was locked tightly.
"I wonder what was in that jar?" Malvin looked at the corner Newt and Leta had not long turned around, obviously frightened they might walk back around and curse him. "She looked awfully chuffed about it."
"If it was in her hands, it can't be anything good."
(15th October, 6th Year)
Thoughts of Leta and the strange jar still hung in the back of Sylvia's mind, even as she started to take her apparition lessons with a handful of other students in her year. Surprisingly, she found Newt there, after a brief and rather awkward moment of eye-contact. Sylvia looked away first and focused on the Ministry teacher at the front.
No-one walked away too badly damaged, aside from Malvin lost part of his right nostril, and for the first class of the year, it was deemed very much a success.
Walking out of the Great Hall with the crowd, Sylvia was surprised to feel a tap on her shoulder. Turning around quickly, she was saddened to see a chiselled looking boy with a wide smile and dark brown eyes. It very much wasn't Newt.
"Oh, hello, Carson." Sylvia greeted sullenly. The crowd around them began to thin out as students went their separate ways. She quickly looked for Malvin but couldn't see him anywhere.
"No need to seem so depressed, Sylvia." Carson chuckled before lowering his voice. "Did you get my note?" He smiled and stuffed his bucket-sized hands into his trouser pockets. She eyed his messy appearance with clear distaste.
Yes, was the answer - and she had promptly burned it as well. A rather shoddy poem about her 'vibrant red hair' and her 'moonlit, ivory skin'.
"No..." Sylvia drawled as she stared everywhere but the towering boy standing in front of her. "Must have gotten lost or... something..."
"No worries! I can always write another one." He shuffled his feet and a very awkward silence fell upon them. "You're... very good at apparition."
She knew that was a lie. Sylvia had accomplished nothing but tripping over her own legs.
"Thanks." She said simply. "So... are you." Another lie. She had spotted Carson and his friend fooling around for most of the lesson.
"I haven't seen you with that other lad, recently." Sylvia felt her breath hitch. "You two have broken up, haven't you?" It took Sylvia every amount of her will power to not curse him where he stood. Instead, she took a small breath.
"No." She saw Carson's face drop. "We were never together." His face lightened up again. Her voice came across much more rational and confident than she really felt. "And I'm not looking for a relationship, either. I'm an independent witch." The confident tone was slowly slipping. "And I don't need anyone. At all. Not a man or a woman."
Carson thick brows raised in surprise. "O...kay."
"Especially not a thick idiot whose only interest in me is my... female attributes." She pointed a finger rudely at him.
"I wasn't-"
"Don't give me that!" Sylvia spat. "I bet you'll say that to the next witch who walks past here, too!"
Sylvia wasn't sure what she was doing. She knew she was being ridiculous, Carson was only being nice but the mention of her... previous friend uncorked a whole bottle of emotions she wasn't aware she had been bottling.
"I also hate poems." She finished, her breath clearly uneven and her eyes looking a little wild.
"I-" Carson smacked his lips together. "Well, alright then." He avoided her eye contact as he shuffled away. "Bye, Sylvia."
"Bye," Sylvia mumbled, feeling like the biggest idiot she had ever come across – and she had come across a few.
"Merlin, what's a matter with me?" She whispered, watching Carson's defeated figure sulk away.
(20th October, 6th Year)
"Well, he's a creep anyway." Malvin judged, stuffing another toffee into his mouth as he lay on his bed.
They sat in the Gryffindor boys dormitory, Sylvia sitting on his school trunk. It was too early to be busy, and most of the other Gryffindor boys had become accustomed to Sylvia's presence there anyway. After her debacle with Carson outside of the Great Hall, most boys in her year had started to avoid her like the plague.
"That's not the point, Malvin." Sylvia sighed as she stood up and paced the small space. "I just... couldn't control what I was saying. He just mentioned his name and..."
Malvin threw another toffee into his already full mouth. "I think that's just called being a teenager, Sylv. Emotions and hormones flying everywhere."
Sylvia huffed and sat back on the trunk. She couldn't keep still. "I think I'm going mad."
"Yeah, I'd agree."
Sylvia shot him a tired look.
"I think the pressures of our N.E.W.T's and stuff is weighing on you too. Add that to boy trouble and you're bound to go a little stir-crazy." Malvin sat up. "I mean look at Bettie – with Gryffindor quidditch matches, her exams and a fight with a mother she had two weeks back, she's practically gone barmy. You're not alone."
"Great, so not only am I losing the plot, I can feel comforted knowing everyone else is too." Sylvia spat.
"Hey," Malvin raised his hands defensively. "Just trying to help."
"Sorry, Malvin." Sylvia sighed again. It was fast becoming her trademark. She stood up to leave. "I think I just need to clear my head."
Her friend mumbled a goodbye between a fistful of toffee as Sylvia went for the exit.
She stopped as her hand reached for the door.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a light in the window. She turned fully. "What's that?" Sylvia pointed.
Malvin tilted his head to stare out of the window she was pointing at.
"Probably the groundskeeper." He waved it off.
"At this time?" Sylvia walked towards the window and through the glass saw a small light in the distance. It was heading towards the Forbidden Forest. "Come here, Malvin, your eye-sights better than mine."
Malvin huffed in annoyance, before leaving his bed and joining Sylvia at the window. He pressed his wide-nose against the pane. "I don't-"
"There." Sylvia pointed out again. The light had stopped moving.
"That's a very faint light," Malvin observed. "Doesn't look like the groundkeeper's lantern."
The night was cloudy and the moon was obstructed. They could see very little apart from the small light.
"Hey, there's another one." Malvin poked a finger at the glass, a little further away from where Sylvia had pointed before. The new light that was also heading towards the forest seemed much brighter.
"Those look like the lights from the Lumos spell," Sylvia said.
They both stood in silence for a moment and quietly observed the second light draw nearer to the first.
"It's probably some kids fooling about," Malvin explained.
"At this time?" Sylvia repeated again.
"Why not?" Malvin defended. "Didn't you?"
Sylvia thought for a moment and nodded. She supposed it wasn't terribly unusual for two students to go investigating in the forest, no matter how many times Dippet had said it was dangerous. Children could be rather stupid. Then she remembered exactly who she had visited the forest with.
"That's Newt and Leta!" Sylvia squealed. It would explain the fainter light. Newt always had trouble with the Lumos spell, and she guessed Leta because, well, Newt rarely went anywhere without her.
"What?" Malvin pressed even closer to the glass and tried to see what Sylvia was talking about.
She explained quickly and Malvin looked at her oddly.
"Why would they be going to the forest?" He asked. A light bulb seemingly went off in his brain, and his experience as a gossip and conspirator clearly came in use. "Maybe it has something to do with that strange jar!"
They saw the two lights disappear into the forest.
"We should go after them." Sylvia quickly turned and ran towards the door.
"Sylvia, stop!" Malvin shouted.
Sylvia stopped in her tracks and frowned at him. "Come on, we'll lose them if we don't hurry up."
"Sylvia, for Merlin's sake, look at yourself!"
She couldn't understand what the problem was. "What?"
"Sure we can head in the forest, but what if they're up to nothing? They're teenagers, Sylv, what if they just snuck out to... you know..."
Sylvia felt a gag rising in her throat. She quickly swallowed it. "What if they're up to something, though? What if she gets him in danger, Malvin. You don't know her like I know her."
"Sylvia, do you know nothing about me?" Malvin walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "You've got to be smart about this."
She sighed heavily. Her legs were itching to follow the duo into the forest, but the small rational part of her brain was winning her over.
"What do you recommend, hm? We just wait and hope for the best?"
"Pfft, no." Malvin scoffed. "Sylvia, what am I insanely good at?"
Sylvia thought for a moment. "Sticking your nose in other people's business?"
Malvin blanched. "I was going to say collecting information... but okay."
"That's another term for it."
"We collect a little more information first. If what they're up to really is sinister than we can confront them – and by confront I mean you do that and I'll wait here."
Sylvia rolled her eyes at his poorly timed humour, but she couldn't help but agree it was a better plan than running in blindly.
"So... we wait and find out what they're up to," Sylvia confirmed.
Malvin walked back over to his bed and sat down. "Umhm," He agreed. "And then if there is something dark going on, we stop it."
Had Sylvia been thinking a little more clearly she would have known that telling a professor would have been perhaps a little wiser, but she was a Gryffindor. Gryffindor's valued bravery. The only problem was, bravery often went hand-in-hand with stupidity.
(3rd November, 6th Year)
"You look positively ridiculous."
Malvin adjusted the spectacles on his nose. They were far too large for him, and his eyes were comically magnified as Sylvia tried to stifle her laugh.
"So? I read detective novels over the summer and most of them wear glasses. So when they get an epiphany, they do this," He pushed them up his nose and pretended to be deep in thought. "You want to be an Auror, get used to this."
Sylvia rolled her eyes as they made their way down to the dungeon. Night had already settled in, and after they were both sure everyone had settled into bed, they sneaked out of the dormitory.
At the time, Sylvia knew nothing of masking spells – so all they had were what sneaking skills they already had. Sylvia was a foot taller for her age and Malvin, with his excessive eating habits, had begun to grow to the width of a child's desk. If anyone with two eyes was to find them in the halls, it would be game over.
They tiptoed down the many steps to the dungeon, their steps seemingly ten times louder in the silence of the castle – and Malvin was a very heavy-footed boy.
"Merlin's beard, Malvin, are you stomping on purpose?" Sylvia hissed as they reached the bottom.
"Of course not, I'm just perhaps a little..."
"Overweight?" Sylvia peered around a corner and saw the corridor they were looking for deserted.
"I was going to say horizontally gifted, but sure. You're not exactly a light-footed ballerina, either." Malvin protested.
Quickly sprinting across the dungeon's floor, they stopped in front of the potions-pantry.
"And what exactly are we hoping to find?" Sylvia questioned as she withdrew her wand.
"I know the professor keeps a ledger of everything he keeps, no doubt Leta took what she wanted without permission – so whatever she took should be noted as missing. Now, open it!" He whispered, checking behind him.
Sylvia pointed her wand. "Alohomora." She whispered.
The door unlocked without hesitation.
"You'd think your old professor would place some sort of charm on his pantry since students keep raiding it'."
"Let's not question it," Sylvia dismissed as she took point. "Quickly, Malvin."
He quickly dashed into the cupboard, almost knocking over a small stool.
"Quietly, as well!" Sylvia hissed. Malvin mumbled a small 'sorry' as he began searching for a ledger. A tense minute passed.
"Damn it." He cursed.
"What?"
"I can see it, it's just on the top shelf," Malvin said as he made a few feeble attempts to reach for it. "Come and grab it, Sylvia, put that unnatural height to good use."
Sylvia scoffed. "Are you an idiot? You're a wizard, Malvin, use the Accio charm."
"Oh, right." Malvin pulled out his small wand and pointed it at the book. "Accio, ledger!"
The ledger flew towards him at a speed Malvin did not anticipate and sent him barrelling against the shelves behind him. Jars flew off it and crashed against the cobble floor with an almighty smash.
"Oh, no," Sylvia whispered. "Hurry, Malvin – find what Leta took!"
Malvin quickly opened the book and began flicking through the pages, his fingers fumbling with the pieces of paper. Sylvia's ears perked up like a greyhounds as she heard footsteps echoing off of the walls. It was a fair distance away, but they were making their way towards them – quickly.
"When was it?" Malvin called quickly. "It's sorted into dates!"
"Um..." Sylvia scrambled her mind quickly. "The 18th, I think? September."
Malvin flicked through the pages. "No, nothing! Are you sure?"
"Oh, my," Sylvia panicked as the footsteps were getting louder. There were also several voices. "The 12th?"
He flicked forward two more pages. "Yes! It says here that a jar of... puffer-fish eyes went missing, though the professor put a little side-note saying that he probably misplaced it."
"Is that it? Quickly, Malvin, we need to leave – now!" Sylvia began magically repairing the jars that had fallen on the floor.
"Wait, other things went missing too, and have been for the past two weeks!" Malvin licked his thumb and turned the page, apparently forgetting about the loud voices that were soon to turn the corner.
"Malvin!" Sylvia hissed as she placed the last jar on the shelf.
"Oh, yeah," Malvin snapped the book shut and threw it back on the top shelf with a jump.
Leaving the pantry, and closing it behind them, they hurried back to the Gryffindor dormitory without further talk.
Reaching the common room, they gasped for air. Malvin tore off his glasses and threw them on the ground with a huff.
"Detective...work... I can do... But... never ask... me... to run... again..." He gasped as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Sylvia didn't fair much better as she collapsed into one of the chairs by the fire, it's small embers crackling as they gasped for air.
"What... now?" Sylvia heaved.
Malvin sank into one of the chairs next to her. "We see what potions use... puffer-fish eyes..."
"That could be any though!"
"I hadn't finished... there were other things missing too..." Malvin puffed. "I didn't see them all, but I saw bat spleens... and something else." He sat in thought for a second. "Damn it, I can't remember!"
"Keep your voice down!" Sylvia whispered between clenched teeth. Through their excitement, it was easy to forget that they were meant to be in bed, and it all it took was one inquisitive kid to walk in at the wrong moment. "At least that narrows it down a little."
"A swelling potion?" Malvin suggested out of the blue. He sat forward, his face expelling every clear emotion as he thought on it.
"What would they use a swelling potion for?" Sylvia questioned.
"I don't know, I just remembered making it in our second year."
"And what exactly would they use a swelling potion for in the Forbidden Forest?"
Malvin sucked on his bottom lip. "No idea, but it's a start, I guess." He clapped his hands together. "It's all very exciting though, isn't it?"
Sylvia rolled her eyes. "It brings us no closer to what they're doing though, does it?"
"I suppose not. I'll ask around a little tomorrow."
"Don't make it obvious, though, Malvin. We're meant to be sneaky, remember?"
"I, Ms. Sylvia, am the master of stealth!"
Sylvia didn't agree.
(7th January, 6th Year)
There he stood.
Through the thick crowd of students making their way to their next lesson - he stood at the furthest end of the hallway.
They locked eyes, and for a minute Sylvia was grounded to where she stood.
As tough a front Sylvia put on, it was nothing at that moment. She wanted to walk over, grab his shoulders and shake him. Scream at him, perhaps? Ask him why he liked that girl so much, ask him if he was safe and what he was doing.
But she didn't.
They just stood there, at opposite ends of the hallways and... stared.
Newt had certainly grown more than she had remembered, and he had managed to comb his hair into some neater style than she had grown to know. His frame had filled out more too, he looked rather...manly, Sylvia thought.
He raised a hand feebly, it might have been a wave. Sylvia returned it, pathetically awkward.
And then she came around the corner, smiling with her books hugged to her chest. She patted Newt on the shoulder and his attention was ripped away from his old friend and onto his new one.
Leta looked at Newt and said something before her gaze flicked to Sylvia. Sylvia felt her face harden. Leta didn't so much as blink, before placing a gentle arm around Newt. She lead him away.
And Sylvia just stood there, students hurrying past her as if she didn't exist.
"Sylvia?" Malvin said, clicking his fingers in front of her face.
Sylvia blinked and shook her head. "Mm?" How long had he been standing there? She wondered.
"Great, now your back on planet earth, I have some new info. Follow me." He grabbed Sylvia's arm without further comment and lead her away. She was grateful for it, her mind didn't quite feel herself.
Entering the library, he told Sylvia to sit at a free table whilst he grabbed some books. Coming back with a pile taller than himself, he let them fall onto the table with a loud bang. The nearby librarian shot them a disapproving look over her small, square glasses.
"I've been asking around about our dark-haired wonder, but she mainly keeps to herself." He spaced the books out on the table. Sylvia viewed them oddly. They were mainly books of magical creatures. "But, she has been talking to a few teachers. Mainly, the Care of Magical Creatures professor. She's been very interested in some rather... beastly animals."
"And? I could have told you that. It's probably why Newt likes her so much." Sylvia absent-mindedly picked up a book in front of her. 'Beasts and Why They're Bad'.
"Yes, but Newt likes all creatures. Leta's been asking about a specific few." He sat down across from Sylvia. "Very dangerous and illegal ones."
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "How did you manage to find this all out?"
Malvin tapped the side of his nose and winked. Sylvia sighed.
"I think she's keeping one in the forest," Malvin said. Sylvia raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"And just how did she manage to get a..." She picked a random beast off of the page in front of her. "Acromantula into the forest? Asked Dippet nicely?" Sylvia said sarcastically.
"No... it'd have to be something smaller..." Malvin flicked through his own book for a moment, his lips pursed in thought.
Sylvia was seeing a thousand different flaws in Malvin's theory. How did she smuggle it in? Why would she smuggle it in? What does a creature have to do with a potion?
"What would you do with one of these creatures anyway?" Sylvia asked.
Malvin shrugged. "They're all pretty nasty," He turned a page. "And capable of doing very nasty things, if you have the incentive." "I don't know, Malvin... this is a bit of a push." Sylvia sighed and shut her book. She wasn't in the mood for impossible theories, the more they researched the crazier the idea seemed. Sylvia knew Leta was, for lack of a better term, a bad egg, but even Sylvia doubted that Leta would do something so... out-there.
"Thank you for the help, Malvin, but come find me when you have something solid," Sylvia said tiredly as she stood.
"Fine, but when I win a prize for my expert detective work, you're not getting an honourable mention!" Malvin called as Sylvia left the library.
At no point in time did Malvin know what danger he was getting himself into.
(10th February, 6th Year)
"Quickly, Sylvia!" The small girl called. She was a first year, Sylvia vaguely noticed, but ran awfully fast for someone with such short legs.
Sylvia's heart hammered in her chest, and certainly not from the exertion from of running. It was her first real taste of fear.
"Is he okay?" Sylvia asked as the little girl sprinted down some stairs.
"I don't know, Dumbledore said to quickly run and grab you."
All she knew, was that Malvin had been poisoned – and it looked grave.
They dashed past corridor after corridor, the paintings on the walls looking down at them curiously. After what very much felt like a year of running and panting, they barrelled through the hospital wing doors. Upon entering, Sylvia's eyes settled on a group of teachers standing around a hospital bed. She recognised the screaming instantly.
"Ah, there you are, Sylvia." Dumbledore turned around when he heard the doors swing open. He looked as calm as ever. "Thank you, Lydia. Please wait outside a moment."
The smaller girl tried to peek at the commotion one last time before leaving.
"What... happened..." Sylvia said between panicked breaths.
"We were hoping to ask you that," Dumbledore said. Sylvia tried to look around his shoulders but found he blocked the way quite well. Even she wasn't a hundred percent sure she wanted to see. The howling still scarred her for weeks after.
The older wizard placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to lead her away from the bed. The screaming only seemed to increase, and two teachers tried to hold the body on the bed.
A little distance away, but still in the hospital wing, Dumbledore lowered his voice. "Malvin's in a very bad condition, Sylvia." He looked deep into Sylvia's eyes. "It's up to fate whether he lives tonight. The poison that is coursing through his body is unforgiving." He paused. "And very hard to obtain."
A wallowing scream bounced off the stone walls. Sylvia flinched and grimaced. The teachers shouted to each other in frantic tones as the nurse ran back and forth between her medicine cabinet and the bedside.
"He was poisoned?" Sylvia questioned, placing a hand over her heart in hopes that it might still it. It didn't.
"Yes, and by the evidence we have," He pulled a note out of the inside of his robes. "By you." He handed the small piece of parchment to Sylvia. "It was attached to a box of toffee's on Mallory's bed."
Malvin,
Here's a little something for all the hard work you've been doing!
Your Best Buddy,
Sylvia
It was very much her writing – it also had her exact signature at the bottom. The parchment even smelled like her perfume.
"I didn't-" Sylvia began to protest, feeling very hot around the collar.
"We don't suspect you, Sylvia," Dumbledore took the note out of Sylvia's clammy hands. "The particular brew that plagues your friend is near impossible to buy – and we certainly do not have it on these grounds." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "And, forgive me Sylvia, but your potions professor very much assures us that you... lack the skill to create such a concoction."
Sylvia felt half insulted, but half grateful. Apparently being his closest friend didn't count as an alibi, but her poor potion skills did.
"So... who did?"
"We were hoping you might shine some light on that for us." Another ear-piercing scream filled the room. "Is there anyone who might want to cause Mallory any harm?"
Sylvia knew who instantly. She had almost been in the exact same position at the end of the previous year, and it was no doubt Leta's penmanship that forged both Newt's handwriting and now hers. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her silence.
But what evidence did she have? Sylvia chewed on her tongue anxiously. Would a hunch be valid evidence in court? At that moment in time, as Sylvia's eyes filled with tears at the thought of losing her friend, a lifetime in Azkaban didn't seem punishment enough. No-one could have told her otherwise at the time. Not even Dumbledore.
"I..." Sylvia slammed her mouth shut. Dumbledore looked at her intensely.
"Even if it's just a... idea, Sylvia. Anything we could use to find who did this to your friend."
"I...um..." Sylvia pretended to think. "I don't know... professor. Malvin could be," She coughed into her fist. "Rather nosy... I'm sure there are a lot of people who would want Malvin to shut up."
"Hm," Dumbledore cast her one last deep look. "Very well. You should return to your dormitory, Sylvia. The final stages of this potion are not... kind."
"Where was Malvin before he ate the toffee's?" Sylvia asked suddenly before Dumbledore could turn around.
Dumbledore stopped and reviewed her carefully. "He had been caught by the groundskeeper by the Forbidden Forest." A pause. "I thought it rather curious. Why?"
"Oh, I..." Sylvia realised she sounded very much suspicious. "I thought Malvin might have picked something up from the forest... he's always been rather... curious..."
Dumbledore nodded but did not seem at all convinced. "I see. No, this was very much a poison – not a herb."
He had just told her a second ago that Malvin had been poisoned by a potion. Sylvia mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. Lying was not her strong point.
"You should get some rest, Sylvia. I'll send word to you on Mallory's condition in the morning."
"But-"
"I'll have another student escort you," Dumbledore said, and he did not have the appearance of a man who could be persuaded otherwise. He turned his back on Sylvia with a final warning. "Stay in your dormitory, Sylvia. Do not seek this person yourself."
Sure enough, Lydia came running back into the room and waved at Sylvia for her to join her. Sylvia did so reluctantly, tears welling in her eyes.
"I'm sorry about Malvin, Sylvia." Lydia began, her high-pitched voice filling the silence of the corridor. The sounds of screaming began to dissipate the further they walked.
"So am I," Sylvia said quietly as she made a final decision – the most foolish of them all. "But you know who I feel sorrier for, Lydia?"
Lydia frowned. "Who?"
"The person who did this to him." Sylvia felt her face contort in distaste. "Especially what they're about to go through." Sylvia seethed, anger rising in her stomach. The girl looked at Sylvia questioningly.
"I don't-"
"Petrificus Totalus."
The small girl froze instantly and fell to the floor like a marble statue before she was aware of anything.
"Sorry, Lydia, you'll understand one day."
Sylvia stepped over her body and gripped her wand firmly.
She was going to find out what Leta was hiding in the Forbidden Forest – and she was going to find out tonight. Sylvia had enough of skirting around her biggest problem. Leta was going to pay for turning Newt against her, she was going to pay for poisoning Malvin and she was going to pay just for her very existence. And if Leta tried to stop her?
Sylvia sneered. "Then poor Leta."
A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. If anyone's wondering - I do try to update this about every 4 days, but it's not always possible. Thanks for waiting though! Also if you're worried I might suddenly drop this and stop writing, fear not! I actually write a few chapters in front and go back to edit and publish the previous ones, so, where I'm at at the moment - I've actually nearly finished the entire story. (If that makes any sense). But thank you for the reviews so far!