12: 57pm Friday February 26th, 1993

It was an awkward climb up the stairs towards their arithmancy class. For a long while, neither Melissa, Domonkos, Jacqueline, or Garrick said a thing as they made the trek. The boys hopped over the trick step, and Melissa followed suit to avoid the illusionary gap. The sudden jostle brought a hiss of surprise as her serpentine bodyguards yelled in indignation.

"Sorry!" Melissa winced. "Are you alright?"

The snakes hissed their assurances and complaints, and Melissa tried her best to keep them calm. Unfortunately for her, it was enough to set Garrick off. "Alright, that's enough! Can someone please tell me when this," he gestured at Melissa and the group of snakes, "stopped being a joke and turned into reality?! And don't any of you deny it. Your ageing antidote was one thing, Jacqueline, but I heard you, Domonkos! What was the point of all that, back there? Chaos?!"

The trio winced, gesturing to each other in vague motions. Domonkos was the first to turn back to Garrick, arms lifting in a large, cringing shrug. "For what it's worth, I'm not sorry."

"Unbelievable!" Garrick exasperated under his breath, walking on as the group mimed gestures to each other the rest of the way to class.

8:45pm, Slytherin Girls' Fourth-Year Dorm Room

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeease?"

"No!" Melissa threw her pillow at Amy. "I am not taking you there!"

"So it does exist!" The girl's eyes glinted.

Melissa was now incredibly thankful that Rusalka was still at the infirmary visiting Warrington.

"God… damnit, why did Harry involve you two in this?" Melissa groaned.

Jacqueline offered a cheeky smile. "Because we care about you and want you to be safe."

Damn... that is a very sweet reason. She can't even muster the strength to fight against it. Melissa gave a loud, petulant sigh. "Thank you." She rapped her knuckles against her leg. "...Still not taking either of you there, though."

"Darn it!"

30 Minutes Later

"...Did you hear that?" Melissa asked quietly from under the covers.

Rusalka pressed her ear to the door. After a moment she blanched. "It sounds like screaming."

"Don't worry about it." Amy muttered from her bed. "That's just Part Two starting for the night."

Melissa jumped upright, voice squeaking in shock. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN PART TWO?!"

Saturday February 27th, 1993

As the Flying Club assembled for the day, Harry couldn't help but hold back a snicker at Draco's face. The blond looked dishevelled and grumpy, and shaking his head as if to fight off sleep. Casually, Harry walked over to him and greeted the boy. Once the group kicked off into the air, he stuck close by him.

"So, how was last night?"

"Noisy," Draco scoffed. "Honestly, if I had any idea the boys' dorms would be so loud, I'd have just left the girls to their end.

Harry snickered at the complaint. "Well, for what it's worth, I appreciate you helping us out."

"You're welcome. I'm glad to have played my part, even if you do owe me for the lack of sleep."

The boys chuckled then followed after the main group. They practiced aerial formations in a way that matched the pace of the slower school-rented brooms. During a break, Draco challenged Harry to a race, to which he obliged. They sped around the track, with Draco squeaking to a victory by a hair. Then, after some more playful ribbing, the two flew above the rest of the group.

"Not that you actually owe me…" Draco began, "but I was wondering. That book you mentioned, is it possible I can learn parseltongue, too? I always thought you had to inherit the ability."

"Well… both are technically true. It's a bit more complicated than that."

"But I can learn it, right?" Draco's eyes brightened in hope.

Harry chewed his lip. Technically speaking, he only promised Uncle Sirius to not bring Draco to the chamber. Learning parseltongue, on the other hand, wasn't part of that discussion. Maybe if he just sticks with verbal lessons and avoids showing Draco the book…

"I don't see why not."

"Brilliant!"

Meanwhile, in the music room

Plucking random strings on his cello, Merton clicked his tongue to rev his mouth forward. "So… Can you tell me what that was all about?"

Chairs creaked, leaning unsubtly towards the string section. At the centre of the pull, Melissa answered with exasperation. "I'll tell you what that was about. Hufflepuffs are terrifying!"

A few people snorted or made small, confused noises. Merton himself was part of the latter. "What? That wasn't us."

"It wasn't you but it was definitely the Puffs."

"Come on, Giggles, I'm being serious!"

"So am I!"

"She's right." Eloise leaned in from behind. "I heard hissing around the Hufflepuff table, first. It had to have been the second years."

"Oh, please," Merton groaned, "everyone knows that the hissing stuff you all do is just a prank." The remark was met with several huffs. "Besides, even if the stuff about Finch-Fletchley is true, why would he attack the school? Or any Hufflepuff, for that matter?"

"Because it turns out you guys take Friendship and Loyalty way too seriously." Melissa answered. "Protecting Justin by pretending to hiss is one thing. But this was overkill."

"Overkill for what?"

"Merton," Eloise cut in roughly, "take a moment. Does anything strange ring a bell when you think of this past month?"

A moment of silence passed before his eyes went wide. "Oh." He twisted to look at both of them. "So you think-"

"Yes." They answered.

"Because of-"

"Yes!"

"Ohh." He shifted to put his back against the chair, eyes still wide but staring off into the air. "Wow!"

"Tell me about it."

"Wait," Kenneth stage-whispered, "what happened this month?"

The witches rolled their eyes, but Eloise gave him a reprieve by coming over and whispering in his ear. Melissa, on the other hand, stayed completely silent. Merton joined her in that regard. That silence released the gravitational pull of their conversation, leading into a wave as speculation rippled around the room. By the end of the day, theories and rumours were hissed across the school. By the end of the weekend, those theories met with conclusions. By the start of the new week, the school found itself forever changed.