Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Child's Play
McGonagall took me to her office. We sat across from each other with her desk in between us. She took her time; summoning a house-elf for tea, offering me ginger biscuits from a plaid decorated tin, and making sure her desktop was clean enough before we got started. All the while, I found myself staring at the different animals Mcgonagall had in her office and holding on to my spoon. My hands were sweating and I very much wanted to be somewhere else.
"Is this about the assignment we turned in before break?" I asked even though I knew it wasn't. "I promise that George didn't do our assignments for us. All of us wanted to play with guinea pigs, so we chose the same spell". I left out the part where we had tried to host guinea pig races and start a betting ring, but Percy had shut us down before we could even get started.
McGonagall lowered her teacup. "I am able to discern the differences between my students' work", she assured me. At what was probably a questioning look, she explained, "Your brother George is more proficient at transfiguration than yourself, Fred, or Mister Jordan. As such the guinea pigs you submitted for grading differed in coloring, size, and behavior. If George had done the assignment for all of you, I would've had four perfect guinea pigs from all of you". And that was… an interesting statement on McGonagall's part. I'd have to tell Fred and George. While I never had trouble telling Fred and George apart (Lee didn't either, now that I think about it), many people didn't see differences between the two. Fred and George accepted it with good humor, but I knew it grated on them from time to time. The Fact McGonagall could recognize one over the other through their spell work would thrill them.
McGonagall took a deep breath before sharing why she had really brought me to her office. "Professor Snape asked for a meeting with myself and Professor Dumbledore last night."
My shoulders tensed and the grip I had on my spoon was tight enough to cut off blood flow. "Professor-" I tried to break in.
McGonagall held up one hand to silence me as she kept going. "Professor Snape reported that when he came back to his classroom last night, he found Professor Lockhart alone with you in a… well, in a rather inappropriate manner".
I looked away from McGonagall, casting my eyes to stare at the stone floor. It hadn't occurred to me that Snape would do something. Not sure why. Snape wasn't a very good teacher. I mean, it was clear he didn't want to be one. But despite that, Snape took his responsibilities seriously. Of course, he would report something he saw that looked… nefarious.
When I didn't offer any sort of confirmation, McGonagall added, "Of course, this is a matter we cannot take lightly or overlook. But my first priority is to know the state of your current wellbeing".
Of course, Snape would have done something. Told someone. Why hadn't I thought of that before? I had nothing prepared. When I didn't open my mouth or look away from the stone floor, McGonagall straight out asked, "Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey?" I shook my head. "Would you like to talk with a healer at St. Mungos?" My stomach churned uneasily. She was taking this so seriously…. I shook my head again, this time a bit slower. "Perhaps, you would like a visit with your mother."
"We're… We started a new game today", I said, barely hearing myself. My head snapped up and my wide eyes found McGonagall's. I was holding my eyes so wide that my eyelids were straining and it felt like my eyeballs would pop out of my skull if someone were to smack me on the back of my head. Fighting to keep my hand steady, I held up my spoon for McGonagall to see. "Fred, George, me, and Lee. We each took a spoon from the great hall." McGonagall pressed her lips together, but not out of ire. Lowering my voice into a whisper, I explained, "To win we have to keep our spoon safe while trying to take someone else's spoon. The last person with a spoon wins. I guess, technically we did steal these spoons from the school". Mum can't know anything about this. She'd be angry. Scared. Worried. If Mum became involved, she could be hurt. "I promise, we'll get the spoons back to the kitchens when the game is over. So… Please, can we keep playing?"
McGonagall read my request as something else. The muscles around her eyes softened. "Alright, Weasley. I won't force you to talk until you're ready. However, I will be checking in with you. But you may also talk to me whenever you want".
As if I was walking away from an edge, I released some tension in my shoulders I wasn't aware of. "Thank you, professor". And then in a clumsy attempt to make both of us feel a bit better, I added. "I told Fred and George. I tell them everything. At first, they didn't want to play this spoon game. But Lee and I did, so they decided to play along. They're really good brothers".
"I know, Miss Weasley", McGonagall assured me, her stern persona completely forgotten for this moment. My hand loosened around my spoon, leaving me with a sort of numbing feeling. "Despite all their mischief. Your brothers have plenty of redeemable qualities".
I stayed with McGonagall for the rest of her planning period. As a teacher's aid, it didn't make much sense for me to interrupt Flitwick's lesson and waste time for him to fill me in on what they were doing. But when the halls were crowded with students again as they changed classes, I joined. With my spoon in hand, I headed for History of Magic.
Having left from McGonagall's room rather than Flitwick's, the rest of my classmates got to Binns' room before I did. Entering the classroom, I immediately felt eyes on me. Nodding to acknowledge Fred and George's concerned looks, I took my seat next to Adrian. He was fuming. I could see a muscle in his face twitching as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. His grey eyes were stormy as he stared at me with a furrowed brow.
Fiddling with the spoon in my hand, I gulped. "Do you think Binns will keep lecturing about past ministers today?
My question went unanswered. "What did McGonagall say?" Adrian asked, straight to the point as always. But how did he know about that?
"Um…Well", I stammered as my brain caught up to my mouth. "She said she'd let it slide this once". I made sure to say my next sentence quickly before Adrian could become too enraged. "But she asked that we don't take the silverware from the great hall again".
Adrian's expression was dangerous. "What?" he asked; his tone suggesting that I sounded off my rocker.
For reference, I held up the spoon I was holding for Adrian to see. Meanwhile, in the front of the classroom, Binns floated into existence and started talking about Ulick Gamp. This time, and more for Adrian's benefit than anything else, I went through the motions of taking out the supplies I'd need to take notes. "We're playing a game", I whispered to Adrian as I situated myself. Turns out it's pretty hard to take things out of your school bag when one hand is occupied. "The spoons are a vital part of the game".
As if doing emotional gymnastics, Adrian's face took on many forms before landing on an extremely frustrated and slightly offended expression. If only I could tell him exactly why I didn't want to talk about… No, better not think about it. "Thing One and Thing Two told me a very different story", Adrian informed me.
Fred and George did what, now? And why? It's not like they've ever voluntarily talked to Adrian before. No matter how dire the circumstances might be. "One with a happy ending, I hope", I commented.
Adrian's stormy greys darkened. "That remains to be seen". Meanwhile, Binns lectured about how Minister Gamp made the unforgivables illegal. Needing to move, I lightly tapped my spoon on my parchment. "Did you at least see Madam Pomfrey?"
My spoon stilled. Oh, I guess Fred and George hadn't told him the true version. Makes sense. I wouldn't want to explain that one of our teachers was possessed by You-Know-Who. Even if the outcome of giving Adrian a half-truth led to very inconvenient consequences. Of course, all those consequences could have been avoided if my loving brothers hadn't told him anything at all. "There was no need. Nothing happened".
Letting out a pained sigh, catching the attention of a few students sitting nearby. Both of us remained silent until they had either returned their attention to Binns or had fallen back asleep. "Holly", Adrian tried, but I wasn't having it.
"Adrian, please", I cut him off. My voice was a little loud. In any other class, the professor would've noticed. Our peers sure did. But Binns was lost in the world of the early years of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and I'd have to be Ulick Gamp himself before Binns would notice anything I was doing. "I'm not hurt. Nothing happened. Just- Just like the teachers handle it". I kept my sentences short, gesturing with the spoon with each statement made.
Of course, Adrian couldn't just drop it. It wasn't his style. "Are the teachers handling it?" He asked, no longer mindful of the curious listening ears of our classmates.
"I don't know".
Adrian became excessively clinging after that. Whenever I stepped out of Gryffindor Tower, it wasn't long before he'd appear. Surprisingly, Fred and George didn't seem bothered as they would've been in the past. It was all very suspicious. But I never gave myself much room to ponder it. To do so would mean going down roads I wasn't ready to.
Shocking as it may be, it wasn't Lockhart/ Riddle I was trying to avoid thinking about. Last night served more as the first domino in a long chain of them. But it was an issue all the same. It was hard enough to come up with a plan to get the diary back from Lockhart/Riddle. It became impossible when I couldn't even think about the man without working myself into a panic. The easiest thing to think about, sadly, was spoons.
Fred and George were eliminated pretty easily. Their hearts weren't into playing. That much was obvious. Even to Lee, but he didn't comment on it. Working as a team, just as we had discussed, it was a simple act of bait and switch. My spoon was the bait. I kept it completely visible while pretending to be occupied with something else. Usually charms homework. Since it was my favorite subject and because I felt like I owed it to Professor Flitwick to try my best in his class. For everything he's done to… No, don't think about it.
While Fred or George's fingers were slowly inching towards my unintended spoon, Lee worked quickly to locate theirs. As per the rules and just the general nature of the game, they were never too hard to find. Fred was using his spoon as a bookmark. George kept his spoon behind his ear as if it were a quill. Despite the fact that it would fall whenever he turned his head. But as I've said, their hearts weren't in the game.
And then, it was just Lee and me remaining. "So sorry", I said without meaning a single word as I snatched my spoon away from Lee's outstretched hand. "But you seem to have mistaken my spoon for yours".
Retracting his hand, Lee used it to run over the top of his hair. "Oh, no. That would have been unfortunate", he said with a sarcastic smile.
One that I returned in kind. "Quite". My eyes never left Lee as my attention was pulled a little ways down the table. Tonight was a rare occurrence where Adrian hadn't invited himself to dine at Gryffindor table. Something about Flint holding a team meeting. Or something. I hadn't really listened when he told me, too busy playing keep-away with Lee. What had drawn my ears was Fred and George's conversation.
"Lockhart's been acting weird. Well, weirder", George corrected himself over his meal of pot roast.
The smile slipped off my face. "Like a cornered wolf", Fred agreed with George. Soon, Lee's expression morphed to match mine. Like me, he noticed Fred and George's lack of enthusiasm in our game. Like every student with an ear in the rumor mill, he suspected something happened between Lockhart and me. Something other than what caused me to become a teacher's aid. Like everyone in the castle, Lee was watching Lockhart's movements closely. It was hard to miss when Lockhart went from being the teacher every staff member avoided to one they never left alone. If he wasn't teaching a class or in his rooms someone was haunting his steps. As if they were taking shifts. As of late, a permanent scowl has graced his face. And while I was never close enough to see for myself, others talked about a twitch in Lockhart's fingers. Like an agitated tic he couldn't break. Making Fred's cornered wolf comment all the more appropriate.
"He'll attempt something soon", George warned. "It's just like Quirrell. When he became close to the adults learning about him, he-"
"I have an idea", Lee suddenly announced, taking back my wandering attention. "It's obvious we're master spoon protectors". He waved his spoon in my face as an example. "This could go on until the end of term".
"Oh, what's the matter, Lee? Are you doubting yourself?" I played along, ignoring the small tremor in my hands. Spoons. Just think about spoons.
Lee grinned at me. Something I appreciated. Even if it was strained. "I propose a battle tonight. One final challenge of cleverness and sticky fingers. Winner takes it all".
A part of me wanted to refuse. Agreeing this meant ending the spoons game. Without this game what would I think about? What would be distracting just enough to keep my head clear? But saying no meant eavesdropping on Fred and George as they speculated about… "Yeah, okay", I said with a small shake of my head. "Do you have a place in mind?"
"Third-floor corridor?" Lee suggested with a shrug.
Nodding once, I left my dinner and swung my legs over the bench. "Lead the way", I said.
Lee and I made it a few steps towards the downs. But our standing up had pulled Fred and George from their conversation. "Holly, where are you going?" Fred asked. There was a quality to his voice that made my stomach turn uncomfortably.
"I'll be fine. I'll be with Lee", I assured him, Fred didn't look like he believed me.