POV: NATSUKI.
Tock… tock… tock…
The heavy ticking of the large grandfather clock in the corner mixed in well with the soft pops and crackles from thick, partly consumed logs in the fireplace next to my armchair. It had a strange kinda rhythm to it, like a natural, idle musical beat- or maybe I was just desperate for any kind of noise to distract from those insufferable Gryffindor partygoers, celebrating their stupid victory in that stupid game and setting off their stupid fireworks.
I cringed inwardly as those Weasley clown twins renewed their monkey-like hooting. I would have left the Common Room and retreated to my bed long ago if I hadn't needed the snug warmth to recharge after enduring the cold, wet misery of today's weather. As it were, I didn't even have the energy to yell at those buffoons to quiet down.
Instead, I just replenished my quill with a brief dip in my ink bottle, placed its tip back on the surface of the yellowish parchment before me, and continued jotting down the main uses of fruity fungal fangs for my Herbology essay. All the while doing my very best to ignore the tireless rambles taking place on the sofa opposite from me.
A hard thing to do, considering the speaker had deliberately been addressing me for the past twenty minutes.
"…so cool, wasn't it?! Don't you think Harry Potter was just incredible?!" Colin Creevey rocked back and forth in his seat excitedly, (seriously, when wasn't this kidexcited about something?) recounting today's match for what felt like the fiftieth time in a row. "The way he kept dodging that Bludger in the air… he was like, zip! Whiz! Shoosh! I mean, you saw him, right Suki?!"
"No, because I wasn't there." I lied exhaustedly, unsure why I even bothered responding. It should have been obvious by now that anything I said would fall on deaf ears when the kid was this riled up.
Maybe I just wanted to make absolutely sure my story stayed nice and consistent until even I would start believing it. After all, it would be very awkward if people started getting a clue of where I'd actually spent the afternoon.
I supposed I should be grateful that the Gryffindors were so occupied celebrating their Quidditch victory that nobody had even noticed me sneaking out of the boy's dormitories after returning the Invisibility Cloak I'd "borrowed" from Harry Potter's trunk to see the match.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I shouldn't take other people's stuff without permission, stealing is bad and whatever, how would I feel if someone stole my Manga, et cetera, et cetera. But this had been a proper emergency! After all, I couldn't very well have shown up to watch a match Monika was playing in and risk being seen, now could I?!
Wasn't like Scarhead had told me specifically I wasn't allowed to use it (granted, we hadn't really spoken at all since the night I'd caught them sneaking out last year, but still) and it wasn't like he'd needed it while he'd been up in the sky, getting manhandled by Bludgers. I'd made sure to dry it with a heat spell afterward and placed it right back where I'd found it at the bottom of his trunk. He wasn't even going to notice it'd been gone for a few hours. I hadn't done anything wrong, and if I had, it was his fault for showing me the damn thing!
…
For what it was worth, I wouldn't do it again. Being invisible had been just a bit too much of a power trip. There were so many things I could do with a Cloak like that, so many problems I could just sidestep completely- especially at home, with him. The moment I'd pulled it off, I knew I had to promise never to put it on again or the temptation to keep it would be way too strong to resist.
Whatever else people said about me, I always kept my promises.
"Which Quidditch team is your favourite, Suki?!" Colin asked, and then, after less than half a second; "Which one do you think is Harry Potter's favourite?! Do y'reckon he'll get to play professionally after Hogwarts? Oooh, I hope me dad'll buy tickets for his first match! I can't believe I'm actually going to the same school as him!"
I can't believe you still haven't shut up…
Wearily, I glanced up from my homework, searching around the common room for someone, anyone who might be better suited at taking care of hyperactive toddlers who'd clearly had way too much sugar before bed.
But I knew it was in vain. Though the room was chock full of people eager to sing Potter-Boy's praises that he could go and annoy, the kid would eventually always find his way back to me for some reason. No matter what I did, I never could shake him off.
The only other person he seemed to have imprinted on more than me was Potter himself, but unfortunately, that option wasn't exactly available right now. Why the Weasleys thought throwing a party for their "star player" when he was stuck overnight in the Hospital Wing, was beyond me.
In my half-hearted search, I found the only other person in a more secluded spot than us, sitting in a nearby corner. It was the same first-year I'd been sat with on the Hogwarts Express ride with Monika, another Weasley going by her flaming red hair. Contrary to me, she didn't seem the least bit bothered by Colin's eternal chippering, far too busy scribbling in a black book on her lap to pay attention to anything around her. In fact, wasn't that the exact same book she'd had on the train, too? I hadn't seen her look up from it all evening, and I think she'd been here way before me.
What is she writing anyway, a damn novel? I wondered briefly but shrugged it off. Whatever she was doing, it was obvious she wouldn't be of much help to me.
I'm stuck with a boy. I thought, miserably. A boy obsessed with Quidditch, AND Harry Potter. This must be what Hell is like.
Okay, so technically I wasn't exactly stuck, per se. I could retreat upstairs whenever I wanted and finish the essay where even Colin wouldn't be able to follow, due to the special 'anti-boy' counter jinxes the girls' dormitories had been blessed with. Of course I knew that, but that wasn't the point. This armchair was my spot, and nobody, especially this twerp, was going to decide when I left it. If I was going to leave, it'd be when I wanted to and not a second sooner!
The small boy seemed to take that as a challenge.
"…he was like WHOOSH," Colin had started recapping today's match yet again, mimicking a fast dive with his hand while making crude sound effects with his lips. "And that Malfoy guy went all 'AAAH,' and then he caught it! Harry Potter caught the Snitch with a broken arm! Oh my gosh, he's like, the best Quidditch player I've ever seen!"
I'd point out that since Colin was Muggleborn, (I'd basically memorized his entire family tree at this point, despite my best efforts) there was a good chance Potter was the only Quidditch player he'd ever seen, but I kept silent. Responding would only encourage the blabbering.
I did find it kinda funny that he hadn't mentioned Monika's stunt with the goal-hoop even once, despite it being just as crazy as anything Potter had done. Her biggest accomplishment of the entire match, and nobody had even been looking. I'd have to mention that to her at the Club tomorrow, should be good for a lau-
…oh. My train of thought stopped abruptly as I suddenly remembered one key flaw in that plan. That's right. I'm not talking to her anymore.
There was a brief, but sharp sting in my gut that I decided to ignore because it didn't make any sense at all. When she'd been dangling from that ring earlier I'd been anxious to see her fall, and not because I was worried about her! I definitely didn't miss seeing that slimy blood-fanatic's face, or hearing her voice when she praised one of my poems! Cutting Monika out of my life had been the best decision ever! Good riddance is what I said!
"Hey, Suki…" Colin brought me back with an inquiry. "…d'ya think I should apply for the Quidditch team?"
I glared at him.
"Sure, Colin," I said, imagining the peace and quiet there'd be around the place if he was the one hit by a Bludger. "What a great idea, go for it!"
As always, my sarcasm went right over his head which lit up into a bright, beaming smile at my 'support.'
Ugh. I fumed, cursing him, and everyone else within 500 miles.
Why couldn't this kid just take a hint? What defect in his brain made him believe we were such great chums? We weren't! I didn't do friends! I never had, never would!
Yeah, I'd enjoyed Sayori and Yuri's company well enough I suppose, and sure, sometimes I caught myself looking forward to today's meeting out of sheer habit. That didn't mean anything, though! The whole Club had just been a vaguely 'fun' way to spend my free time a Hogwarts, but nothing deeper than that. Because at the end of the day, all it'd really been was a waste of my damn time!
Monika revealing her true nature had been a blessing in disguise, really. That little 'betrayal' had finally helped me realize just how overrated friendships actually were, and how much better off I'd be without it.
Of course, if Yuri and Sayori kept insisting on staying in touch, I wouldn't shoo them away like some arsehole. They hadn't done anything wrong, after all. But I was done getting emotionally attached to anyone ever again. I knew better now- it was only a matter of time before they would get bored and leave me behind again. Everyone did, eventually. And that was okay! It was reassuring to know where we all stood.
Without the Literature Club to distract me, I was free to focus on the things that actually mattered in life- getting my education, leaving the country, setting up shop in America, and never looking back again.
My original game plan, simply put. I couldn't believe I'd actually lost sight of it, but it was good to be back on track again. No dependency on others, no compassion, no bullshit. Just me, and only me, against the rest of the world.
Bring it on.
Tock… tock… tock…
"…do you think he'll be okay?"
"Huh?" I glanced up from my essay, caught off guard by the sudden and uncharacteristically low-energy question.
Colin looked back at me, with what looked like genuine concern.
"The thing Professor Lockhart did to Harry Potter after the match…" He clarified with a shudder. "I can't stop thinking about it. It looked so… scary. Do you think it'll get back to normal?"
"I dunno. Hard to say." I shrugged. "Losing all bones in your arm doesn't really happen to a whole lot of people, even at Hogwarts."
I recalled the brief glimpse I'd caught of the boneless limb dangling and bending in unnatural ways like an overgrown sausage. I could definitely see how something like that could be traumatizing to some people.
Lockhart was such a joke, one that'd long outstayed its welcome. If I fathomed how he still had the job after casting a spell that somehow made a broken arm seem better in comparison. And that wasn't even going into the classes he 'taught,' if you could even call it that. Between all the pop quizzes and re-enactments of his own books he was making us do, the subject should be renamed 'Drama Against the Dark Arts.'
"But… Madam Pomfrey'll be able to help him, right?" Colin insisted, looking hopeful. "I heard she can cure anything!"
"She can't cure everything." I corrected, maybe just a tad bitterly as I blew a few strands of bubblegum-pink hair out of my eyes.
He didn't look very reassured by that, which I supposed was understandable enough.
"I wish she would have let me visit him in the Hospital Wing." Colin lamented with a whimper and reached into his pocket. "I would have given him these…"
He pulled out a stalk of sorts, connected to which were a bunch of bright purple, round fruits I guessed he'd nicked from a bowl at tonight's feast.
"Oh yeah, definitely." I scoffed dryly. "Some grapes are obviously going to help re-grow his bones again. How shall he ever cope without them?"
"I like grapes." He answered simply, naturally not getting my sarcasm as he plucked a lone fruit off the stalk, popped it in his mouth, and chewed miserably. "Me mum used to always get me one when I got scared or hurt. 'Bravery Grapes,' she'd call 'em."
I shook my head and returned my attention to the essay again, hoping this was the last useless thing the boy had to say to me.
I was a bit 'Creeveyed" out for tonight, to put it mildly.
Thankfully, the next minutes went by without any major interruptions. The party seemed to be quieting down somewhat at last. Finally, I had the peace I needed to put the finishing touches on my essay, until at last-
"Yes!" I exclaimed triumphantly, smiling as I brought my quill down to jot a concluding period on the parchment. At last, it was all done.
"Mm, you fimished? Cahn I see?!" Colin munched interestedly through a mouthful of grapes. Rather than wait for a response, he'd already shot a hand across the table and knocked it against the open ink bottle on the way.
I could only watch in despair as the black bottle tilted forward and fell, spilling its contents all over the parchment I'd spent the last three hours working on. It all happened so quickly, there was no way I could stop it. One moment, I'd had a finished essay. The next, I had a worthless, soaked, all-black rag.
"Uh… whoops." I heard the perpetrator's faded comment, his voice muted as if coming from underwater. The after-image of my smile faded when I slowly looked up at Colin's despicable rat face, smiling apologetically back at me.
"S- sorry 'bout that!" He stammered with a nervous laugh as if that meant anything. What did I care if he was sorry or not? Would a 'sorry' remove all the wasted ink? Would a 'sorry' rewrite my essay? My fists clenched up as I stared back at him, furious.
He awkwardly plucked a particularly ripe fruit from his bunch and handed it to me.
"…d'ya wanna grape?" He asked pathetically, expression hopeful as he swallowed.
I only gave his peace offering the briefest of sparing glances before returning my full attention to him, inwardly debating whether to pull out my wand and come up with a suitable curse, or just start beating him to a pulp right here and now. That dumb camera around his neck wouldn't be enough to save him this time. The twerp was going down, tonight!
Somehow, I managed to restrain myself. Not because I was calming down mind you, far the opposite. Just that, none of my options seemed close to punishing enough for a kid like him, who'd not only ruined a full evening's work but had done his very best to make me despise him since the very first day of school. There had to be something else I could do to him. Something that would make his suffering all the more appropriately devastating than whatever I could do with my fists or wand.
After a second's consideration, I had it. A truly evil idea that would finally give him the comeuppance he deserved. And the best part, it wouldn't even require me to go through any effort of my own.
"It's fine, Colin. Really!" I said, forcing out an exaggerated smile, and accepted his grape. "Accidents happen, no harm done!"
He blinked in response, apparently surprised at my reaction. I casually popped the grape in my mouth and felt its juices explode, though I barely paid attention to the taste. My focus was all on Colin, determined to sell the idea that I wasn't upset.
It looked like he bought it, judging from the uncertain smile growing across his lips.
Good.
"Mmh, you know," I started again in pretend thoughtfulness. "I think you should do it, actually."
"Huh?" Colin furrowed his brows vaguely, confused. "Do what?"
"Why, go see Harry Potter, dummy!" Maybe my giggle was overplaying it a bit, but whatever. "Grapes contain a lot of nutrients, don't they? He'll definitely need those after his bones grow back! You'd be doing him a great favor!"
"I would?!"
Of course not, you blithering idiot.
"Sure! Harry Potter loves the stuff, he says so all the time. 'I'm the Boy Who Lived, and I demand more grapes!' It's practically his catchphrase at this point."
"I never knew that!"
Colin's eyes were filled with child-like wonder, readily drinking up every lie I fed him, no matter how ludicrous they were. It was almost too easy.
"I'm sure if you went to the Hospital Wing right now and gave him those, he'd be so pleased with ya." I winked suggestively. "So pleased, I reckon he'd even pose for any picture you want!"
Though Colin's face was beaming like a tree on Christmas, I noticed just the tiniest hint of doubt entering his eyes as well. He was fully on board with what I was saying, but it looked like he still harbored a certain trepidation that prevented him from going through with it.
"But… aren't we supposed to stay in our rooms at night?" He squeaked worriedly. "Professor McGonagall said no one's allowed to roam the Halls after curfew. I just- can't I just wait till tomorrow to give him the grapes?"
"Come on, Colin…" I dismissed his concerns with an overbearing wave. "Rules are for losers! So long as you don't get caught, they don't even matter!"
The tiny boy glanced nervously in the portrait hole's direction, looking scared but tempted. I decided he needed one more push.
"Y'know, Harry Potter constantly snuck out at night last year," I mentioned casually, checking my nails. "I saw him do it three nights straight in a row. Nobody could stop him."
Bingo. At the mention of his idol, Colin's massive eyes glinted brilliantly.
"Really?! He did that?! How did he not get caught?!"
"Oh, it's not that hard to do." I shrugged, deliberately not mentioning the Invisibility Cloak. "And it's about ten times easier now that Filch's cat is out of the picture."
The Caretaker also knew just about every secret passageway in the castle, was deceptively fast, always showed up wherever you least wanted him to seemingly without ever sleeping, and was a hundred times more hell-bent on punishing rule breakers these days, but I didn't see the need to inform Colin of any of this.
"Oh." I could see the realization slowly dawning on him. "Uhm- but why don't you go out then?"
I sighed dramatically. "I would, but I've got so much homework. And also… oh, it's so embarrassing to admit but fine. I'm just too scared of the dark! One time I was walking around in my own thoughts when suddenly the Grey Lady came waltzing right through a wall, so I screamed and got caught. Gosh, I'm such a girl! But a brave boy like you? Easy!"
"You're not weak!" Colin objected at once. "And don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone that you're afraid of the dark! If you come with me, I promise to protect you!"
His voice was so earnest and genuine that I almost got second thoughts about this scheme- until I remembered that because of him, I had to spend the rest of the night rewriting my entire bloody Fungi essay.
He's a brat. A nuisance. An idiot!
"Thanks, but no thanks." I declined politely. "If Potter sees me with you, he's just gonna think I put you up to this. I guarantee he'll be much more impressed if he thinks you did all of this by yourself!"
I knew I'd convinced him then. With a confident smirk, the kid abruptly leaped to his feet from the sofa.
"Okay, I- I'll do it!" He announced with a muted giggle, pocketing the grapes. "Thanks, Suki, I'll tell him you said hi!"
"Attaboy!" I smiled back innocently and watched as he started towards the portrait hole, using an argument that'd broken out between the Weasley twins and their older Prefect brother (whose robes were smoking mildly after a firework that'd either gone off course or been aimed perfectly) as cover. He was so tiny, that nobody except me even noticed him crawling through the tunnel or slipping out to the Hall outside.
I smirked to myself, knowing full well he'd be caught well before he ever reached the Hospital Wing. I treated myself with fantasies about all the delicious punishments Filch would rain down on the kid- sure to be a thousand times more cruel and creative than whatever I could come up with.
The idea of Colin suspended in chains by his ankles or being forced to go through the Forbidden Forest was so pleasing, I almost didn't even mind the extra homework ahead.
Almost.
With a deep sigh, I pulled out my wand to magic away the damage from my parchment. Unfortunately, there was no way to distinguish between the spilled ink and the legitimate writing beneath it, effectively giving me a completely blank space to work with.
S'gonna be a looong night.
But as I dipped my pen in the now upright ink bottle anew, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Snapping my head sideways, I noticed the girl in the corner no longer obsessively writing with her nose buried in the black book, but instead peering over the dark cover's rim, her deep brown eyes intense and unblinking. Staring directly at me.
Silent. Unyielding. Judging.
I scowled back at her, feeling vaguely guilty and nervous- not that I'd ever admit it out loud, of course.
"What?!" I demanded, raising my voice. "Got something to say?! Spill it, then!"
I knew the Ginger could have ruined my scheme completely and thrown it back in my face just by telling the Prefect what I'd done. Would probably be even easier for her, considering they were related. But instead, she merely kept silent and averted her gaze back to her book.
I scoffed.
Yeah, that's right. Go back to your book. This has nothing to do with you, mind your own bloody beeswax!
Stupid coward. The hell did she care if Creevey got caught? What, did she somehow think she was better than me?! She'd sat by and watched everything happen without saying a word, which meant she was just as guilty!
I returned my attention to the parchment in front of me, still fuming as I rewrote the intro. Yeah, Gryffindor would lose a few points when Colin got busted, big deal! It'd be good for the kid to experience the rest of our House hating him for a bit when they caught wind of it, just like his hero had last year.
Maybe it'd even humble him a bit. Teach him not to be so damn hyper all the time, and see that Harry Potter wasn't the holy deity he'd built up in his mind. Probably just wishful thinking on my part but hey, a girl could dream.
But if he'd just take away one thing from the ordeal, more than anything else, I hoped it'd be this: we were not, had never been, and never would be, friends. As long as we got that clear, I really couldn't care less about what happened to that little twerp!
I pulled my eyes away from the portrait hole for the last time (I hadn't even realized I'd been staring at it) and focused on my unwritten parchment- for real, this time. The heavy sounds of the grandfather clock's ticking were soon accompanied by furious scratching as I once again jotted down the common usages and other interesting facts about the fruity fungal fangs.
Tock… Tock… Tock…
After a few minutes, the party eventually died down completely after the Prefect had confiscated the fireworks. Not seeing any purpose to keep staying up if they couldn't make a lotta noise doing it, everyone just kinda went to bed and finally left the rest of the room in silence again.
A silence that was then broken when the redhead in the corner suddenly closed her book shut with a loud snap!
The motion was so unexpected and abrupt that I was momentarily pulled out of my writing streak, looking up as she got to her feet.
At first, I figured she was just tucking in for the night- it was getting pretty late, after all- but as she began making her way across the floor with rather stiff, staggering movements, it soon became apparent that she was ignoring the stairs to girls' dormitories in favor of the tunnel exit Colin had vacated through just a bit earlier.
I frowned, getting more uncomfortable the longer I watched her, now bending forward with the book firmly clutched under an armpit.
"…Oi!" I was unable to hold myself back when the girl started crawling in. "The hell d'you think you're going?!"
She barely even paused at my voice, continuing her trek. The only indication that she'd even heard me came in the form of a weak response, so bleary it sounded like she was talking in her sleep.
"Need to find him..."
"What?! Are you insane?!" I got up from my armchair, placing both hands on my hips at the lunacy. "Don't! You're just gonna get caught too!"
If she heard me, she didn't show it. Wordlessly she crawled onwards, pushing open the portrait entrance, and slipped out into the hall.
Leaving me on my own.
My jaw dropped open as I struggled to wrap my head around what'd happened. Had she just ignored me?! What was wrong with everyone in this bloody school?!
I felt like history was repeating itself in front of me. This was like, the exact same thing that'd happened last year with the fake baby dragon incident last year, stupid first years sneaking out at night to go on dumb adventures! I'd thought it'd just been Potter's trio (and poor Neville) who'd been exceptional idiots, but apparently not!
I turned on the spot with a loud scoff to announce my disapproval and stomped back to my seat. Whatever. If those moronswanted to lose a hundred points so badly, they could have it! Wasn't like I cared either way! They weren't my friends, (I didn't have friends) so it wasn't my problem!
And it definitely wasn't my fault!
POV: COLIN
Click, FLASH!
Brilliant white light lit up the hallway, and for about half a second, I was able to make out every detail of the stone road ahead before everything went pitch black again.
I lowered Dad's camera from my grinning face, blinking the bright spots out of my eyes. Man, Hogwarts was even cooler at night!
Now that I'd gotten a look at where everything was, I could move around freely again without having to feel my way around the place and bang my legs against empty armor stands or benches. My knees were already starting to go numb!
Usually, the hallways were lit up with awesome floating candles, but it seemed someone had been blowing them all out before I came. Probably Peeves, he always did funny stuff like that. One time in Astronomy, he'd popped in and dropped an actual scorpion down my blouse because I was the only Scorpio- hilarious!
That was okay, though. This trip was so totally worth the bruises when I was about to see Harry Potter himself! Well, if I could find the way to the Hospital Wing, of course. I thought I'd been on the right path before, but then I snapped another pic and realized I'd somehow arrived right in front of the Girls' bathrooms!
But I was like, ninety-eight percent sure this was the right way now. Well, maybe ninety-five. It was a bit hard to find anything in this place when the castle stairs suddenly decided to move on their own and lead to a whole other place than before, and all the darkness sure didn't make things any easier!
It's a good thing Suki didn't come with me. I thought, rounding another corner and grabbing the camera again. She'd have hated all this darkness!
Not like I was that big on it, myself. The usually cozy castle was like a completely different beast at night. Every looming shadow looked like clawed hands reaching for me, every creak sounded as though a mad cannibal was sneaking closer. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing straighter than uncooked spaghetti and my skin was spotty with goosebumps.
I'm scared out of my wits! I thought, resisting a strong urge to giggle.
But it was all right, really! Even though I'd forgotten to bring my wand for light, I had the next best thing with me!
Click, FLASH!
Dad's camera flash bathed the new hallway in sharp light again, including a portrait of some old blokes in wigs sleeping soundly at their desks, as well as a staircase by the far end.
The portrait blokes grunted in protest and began demanding to know who'd dared disturb their rest, but I ignored them. While everything had gone dark again, I could still see the afterimage of those stairs that definitely led to the Hospital Wing this time! I was ninety, no, eighty, no, seventy-five percent sure this time! Unless they'd moved again, but I didn't think they had.
Only one way to find out, though!
I walked on without paying much mind to the portrait's grumpy complaints about student harassment and how they were gonna tell Mr. Filch. They kinda reminded me of Suki and how she would yell at me, using words my dad only said when he thought Dennis and I weren't listening.
I smiled so hard it almost hurt my face. Just thinking about Suki made roaming around these dark halls much easier. I was so lucky to have her as my best friend here- by far the coolest person I'd met at Hogwarts, besides Harry Potter and Professor Lockhart of course (they were famous enough to be in the paper!)
I'd ask Harry to sign a picture for her too after giving him the grapes. She deserved one after all she'd done for me here!
Without her, I probably would've been too nervous to ever even approach those guys. It was only thanks to Suki inspiring me with her fearless bravery that I was now able to talk to everyone at Hogwarts without any problems! Heck, I wouldn't even be out here now if she hadn't encouraged me!
So even though I was tired and terrified of all the darkness and scary noises, I wasn't gonna turn back. She was counting on me to go through with this, and I couldn't disappoint someone that awesome and funny and pretty and cute!
I'd definitely invite her home with me for the winter holidays when I got back. I'd show her dad's picture collection and introduce her to Dennis who'd absolutely love her. Ooh, and then I could visit her, next! A girl like Suki was bound to have a totally cool family! I wonder if they all had the same hair as her…?
I couldn't help it this time. The thought of her father (whom I pictured in my mind as a big strong adult like my dad, but with a thick, pink handlebar moustache above his lips) was way too funny! By the time I managed to stifle my mouth with a hand, the choked snicker was already echoing against the walls of the deserted hallway.
Whoops.
I froze on the first stair step, listening for sounds like wheezing breaths or gleeful hooting, or any sign that someone or something might've heard and were on their way to get me.
I wasn't really that concerned about it. Getting caught was just another experience to check off my list, and I bet the pictures I could get of Mr. Filch or Peeves chasing me would look splendid! Although getting Harry Potter those grapes was still my main goal here- I just liked looking at the bright side of things.
At first, there were no sounds besides the usual creaking and groaning that was expected of an old castle at night, and I started to think nobody had heard me laugh.
Well, that's a relief. Suki did say Mr. Filch wasn't as good without his ca-
Then, I heard it. A weird, sort of sliding noise behind me, which definitely didn't sound like any caretakers or poltergeists I'd seen at Hogwarts. I didn't have a clue what it could possibly be- the closest way I could describe it was something getting dragged across the floor, like a rubbish bag too heavy for me and Dennis to lift to the bin outside. Only, there were no footsteps accompanying it, so it had to somehow be dragging itself.
And it sounded way bigger and heavier than any rubbish bag I'd seen.
I turned around and squinted. I thought I could maybe see some of the shadows shifting, but it was impossible to tell for sure in this darkness.
My heart beat faster and I felt like laughing again. Not because it was funny or anything, that was just something I did when I got really scared. I could remember when I was little and hating when dad played peek-a-boo with me, but since I always giggled, he would keep doing it.
Maybe that's why people kept saying I was weird. I never could figure out how to react like I was "supposed to," whatever that meant.
The sliding noise was getting louder, but now I could hear a weird kind of hissing sound too like the gas valve on a stove turned to maximum- only way creepier.
I then realized that no, the sounds weren't getting any louder. The thing making it was just getting closer.
Dad had always told me and Dennis not to be afraid of the dark, and that there were no such things as monsters. Although after those men had come with the letter from Hogwarts and explained my little brother and I were Wizards and magic was real, he'd kinda stopped doing that.
The hissing was so loud now. I opened my mouth, and tried saying something like "Hullo?" or "Help me!" but the only sounds coming out were a few hoarse clucks, like a chicken.
Oh wow, I'm too scared to even talk now! Cool!
I mean, it was pretty bad, but still- I always talked. If something was spooky enough to make me shut up, then that was automatically pretty impressive. Terrifying, but so rad as well!
But what am I supposed to do though? Thinking was hard when the hissing was so loud. How do I get less scared?
I suppose there were always the Bravery Grapes. Maybe having a fruit or two would help me think a little better. I mean, eating was always nice.
But by the time I pulled out the bunch, my hands were so shaky and covered in sweat that they immediately lost their grip and dropped them on the stair steps beneath my feet.
Poop!
I chuckled miserably. Those had been for Harry Potter, now I had to pick them all up again and I couldn't even see where they'd landed and the hissing had gotten so loud now! What was I gonna do?!
If only I could see-
The answer suddenly came to me, loud as the chime of a church bell. The camera, of course! How could I have forgotten?!
I closed my trembling hands around the metal box hanging around my neck and raised it to peek through the viewfinder. Closing one eye and directing a finger to the trigger, I aimed it at where the scary sounds were coming from. Everything was as dark as ever, but now that I had Dad's camera shielding my face, they seemed a little less spooky. Like a video game!
All right, Colin. I tried to calm down, adjusting the settings, and turning the flash to maximum. This is just like any other picture you've taken. There's nothing to be scared about. Just be brave like Suki would be.
Click. I pressed the trigger with a final giggle.
FLASH!
As sharp, blinding light filled up the hallway, I could already tell this wouldn't be the best picture I'd taken. I did get a brief glimpse of… something before everything went dark again, but since I hadn't been able to see what I was pointing the lens at, everything in the viewfinder ended up out of focus, washed out, and completely obscured.
Whatever it was, it was big. Like, really, really big, right in front of me. And by that I mean I could have probably touched it if I'd reached out an arm. From what I could tell, it was covered in green… what was that even, scales? I wasn't sure. And there'd been these super weird, yellow thingies as well, flaring in the light.
…no, not yellow. Not really. They'd been more like… man, I don't even know what. Thinking about it, I'd never even seen a colour like that before in my life.
The more I thought about what they'd looked like, the more my head hurt. Badly. I was starting to get the feeling I really hadn't been supposed to see those things. They'd just been… wrong.
A loud BANG! erupted, and for a second I thought it was my head literally bursting at the thought of those round, yellow-but-not-yellow things. Then, when a sudden hotness scolded my fingertips and a smell of burnt plastic started flooding my nose, I realized the mini-explosion hadn't come from my head, but the camera!
When I tried lowering it to see what'd happened, (Dad would not be pleased if I'd broken his favorite camera) I discovered my arms wouldn't budge. Not because I was paralyzed with fear or anything like that- though I probably should've been very afraid of whatever was in front of me- but more like... they'd turned to stone, somehow? I couldn't even feel the camera's heat against my fingers anymore. In fact, I couldn't feel anything at all!
And it wasn't just my arms. When I finally decided to just run away, I found my legs had gotten stuck too. My neck, head, and the rest of my body became all hard like my blood was getting replaced with cement. I couldn't even blink!
Man, am I glad Suki didn't come with me. I thought dimly. Even my thoughts seemed slower than usual now. Gosh, I really hope dad's camera isn't bro-
POV: NATSUKI
Tock… tock… tock…
I glanced at the grandfather clock, half-expecting the portrait hole to swing open and reveal Professor McGonagall furiously dragging the first years inside by the ears.
Of course, no such thing happened. The Common Room remained just as empty and deserted as the last five or so times I'd checked.
It'd been about fifty-five minutes since Colin had left now, forty since the Weasley girl had followed suit, and there were still no signs of either's return.
Huh. I thought, mildly surprised. Maybe it really IS that easy to traverse the castle at night.
I shook my head, forcing my attention back to my half-finished rewrite again. What did I care how long they were taking? I had far more important things to worry about than two idiot kids getting lost in the halls!
Tock… tock… tock…
Man, was it just me or was the clock getting louder and louder with each passing minute?
Having finished my essay in record time (it hadn't been that hard- I'd written it once already, after all) I put down my quill, folded my work into a roll, and began the preparations to seal it. As I waited for my candle to melt the wax, I chanced another, totally innocent and casual peek at the time.
A quarter to one. Almost two hours since Colin had made his way outta here.
My throat tightened uncomfortably, but I ignored it. At this point, Filch had probably already caught them and was busy wheezing every punishment he could think of before settling on one. Yeah, that was it. Any moment now they'd come crawling through the entrance like miserable drowned mice who'd been chewed up and spit out again. That'd serve them right!
I dripped red wax onto my scroll, stamped it hard with my student insignia, and loaded it into my bag.
I was just about to zip it shut again but hesitated.
It's late. I thought, rationally. I should really go to bed now.
It's the weekend, though. Came the other, more tempting argument. Besides, you know how much you wanna say 'I told you so' when they get back!
My dilemma went back and forth like that for a bit before I finally gave a sigh, reached into my unclosed bag again, and pulled out some fresh, blank parchment.
Might as well check off a bit of the Charms report while I wait…
It couldn't be much longer now.
Tock… tock… t-
"Silencio!"
The grandfather clock's incessant ticks ended abruptly, and I pocketed my wand again with some difficulty- my hand was trembling. But I was ignoring that.
The wood in the fireplace had been reduced to a few smoldering embers which dimmed the lights in the common room and made it hard to see what you were writing. Not that I cared, since I'd stopped doing homework a long while ago.
My focus was reserved purely for the clock now, glaring intently at the aggravating instrument with my full, undivided attention. The dead silence I'd bestowed on it hardly provided any solace as I watched the minutes snail by.
Three hours. Three goddamn hours!
What the hell was taking so long?! Even if they'd both made it to Potter with an entire three-course meal and dessert, there was absolutely no reason why they still hadn't returned. It just didn't make any sense!
Reluctantly, I thought back to that night last week, on Hallowe'en. How Filch had reacted when he'd found Potter and the rest of the trio right where his cat was hanging. The look of madness and rage on his face at the time was impossible to overstate.
He said he'd actually KILL Potter. I shivered involuntarily. Could he… WOULD he…?
I shook off the unfinished thought. I really needed to get a hold of myself now, this was a freaking school! Of course, we weren't in any kind of life danger!
…right?
Any second now. I kept up my one-sided staring contest with the closed entrance, only occasionally looking away to check the time on the muted clock. They'll be here aaany second now!
Seconds stretched on to another twenty minutes or so before something finally happened. I jolted to my feet at once when the portrait hole finally swung open and a small, pale-faced girl with scarlet hair stumbled inside.
"Merlin's beard!" I swore loudly to mask a sigh of relief. "What were you doing out there?! Didya fall asleep on the stairs or something?!"
The girl backed away from me with a startled gasp. I didn't care and went on with my barrage.
"Talk to me!" I insisted, angrily. Where did she get off, keeping me awake all this time and then ignoring me when she got back?! That wasn't just insensitive, it was freakin' rude! "How long did Filch keep ya? Did he beat you up, call yer parents? How much detention did you ge- wait a minute."
I temporarily stopped my interrogation to properly take in her appearance. Her usually straight hair was mangy and disheveled whereas her eyes were large and fearful, locked in a downward stare and refusing to meet mine. Her body was shivering, and she was clutching the black book tightly against her chest as if her life depended on it.
But none of that bothered me nearly as much as my next realization. I'd gotten so worked out about her return that I'd completely failed to notice she'd come back alone.
"…hey, where is he?" I asked quietly, my voice strangely hollow.
This got the girl's attention, albeit briefly. Blinking, her pupils flickered up at mine before retreating to the floor again.
"…who?" She finally squeaked, voice high-pitched.
Her confusion broke me out of the stupor, annoying me. Was she playing dumb or something?!
"Who do you think?!" I growled impatiently. "Colin Creevey, o'course! Y'know, the little maniac with a camera and a Potter crush! The kid you went out to find?!"
She seemed to jump ever so slightly at the mention of his name, but beyond that, my words might as well have been in Russian. Her eyes had started to shift back and forth in their sockets like a mad pendulum, and I actually found myself growing a bit concerned.
"…what happened?" I asked, trying to be patient when really I just wanted to scream in her face. "Were you even caught?"
"I d- don't… think so?" She bit her lip uncertainly.
"You don't think so?!" I repeated, incredulous. "What does that even mean?! You were there! If anyone knows, it's you!"
"I don't…" She shook her head, trembling. "I don't re- I should really go to bed now. E- excuse me…"
And before I even had time to say "Are you kidding me right now?!" she'd quickly ducked out of reach, slipped up the stairs behind me, and disappeared into the first-year girls' dormitories.
I stared blankly at the closed door left in her wake, speechless. Finally, I managed to open my mouth and speak one word that perfectly encapsulated the entire interaction:
"What."
I debated stomping right up there after her and demand a clear answer, or else. But something told me doing that wouldn't accomplish anything besides possibly disturbing and waking up the entire House, and then I'd have that whole headache to deal with.
And while I would have a shouting match with the incompetent Gryffindor Prefects, Colin might use the chaos to slip inside into his bed unnoticed. And I'd be damned if I let the twerp get off that easily!
A quick glance at the clock informed me it was half past two in the morning, but I didn't feel tired in the slightest as I plopped down in the armchair again, crossed my arms, and got comfortable staring daggers into the portrait hole. If Colin thought he could wait until I'd dozed off to sneak inside, he'd have another thing coming. I could stay up for as long as I had to!
And if- WHEN he gets back, he'll get what's coming to him. I thought, scowling appropriately. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind and make him WISH he never came back here!
I had no idea why he hadn't come back already. I didn't know what'd happened with the girl, or why she'd acted like that. And it didn't really matter, at the end of the day.
Because whatever the case might be, I knew one thing for absolute certain:
It wasn't my fault.
Fifteen minutes passed.
He's only making it worse for himself… My scowl deepened.
And another.
I rubbed some stray crust out of my eyes. Keeping them open in this darkness was starting to become really bothersome, but I could handle it fine.
And another still.
I saw something moving around the fireplace on tiny bare feet. It was too small to be Colin, and its eyes and ears too large to be human. When it noticed I was awake and staring at it, it vanished on the spot with a startling crack!
Clutching my chest after the shock, I sat up a little straighter and thanked the stars nobody had been around to hear me gasp.
Stupid house-elf.
I shook my head and continued watching the entrance.
After thirty additional minutes, I'd had enough. Swinging my legs, I rose from the armchair and got to my feet which were a bit more wobbly than I'd have liked, and started making my way toward the portrait hole.
Yup, that's right. If nobody else was going to bother to look for him, I'd be forced to do it my damn self.
To be completely honest, it was a little daunting. I'd taken special care to avoid breaking any Hogwarts rules before, and the only times I lost us any points were when I deliberately chose to talk back to the faculty- never anything of this magnitude.
When they found me, it was pretty much guaranteed they'd send an owl home, telling him what I'd done. Then I'd be in real trouble.
But screw the rules, screw the points, and most importantly, screw him! None of that mattered right now.
It'd been over four bloody hours. Someone had to do something, and I guess that someone was gonna be me.
Merlin save us all.
I scampered through the tunnel, grunting and grumbling all the way until finally I reached the end, pushed open the Fat Lady's frame, climbed out into the forbidden hallway-
-and found my path blocked by an emerald green nightgown towering before me.
Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no…!
Stunned, and with my heart quickly sinking to the very pit of my stomach, I tilted my face up to stare at the spectacled, elder face of Professor McGonagall, who managed to look exceptionally terrifying for someone wearing fluffy slippers.
Her lips were so tightly pressed together, they could have been a line drawn with an ultra-thin precision quill, and she was looking directly down at me with eyes narrowed behind the wire-rimmed glasses.
"You aren't supposed to be out of bed this late, Miss Belby." She said finally, in a deceptively calm and level voice. I wasn't fooled, though. I could tell exactly how much trouble I was in by just looking at her eyes.
I'm dead. Dead. Dead girl be I. Rest in peace, me. I'm so fucking dead.
I allowed myself a moment to swallow my panic and consider what limited options I had. This teacher was strict, harsh, and no-nonsense, but she didn't go out of her way to be a dick like Filch and Snape. Maybe, just maybe, there was still some hope left for me.
"I- I'm sorry, Professor." I stammered feebly, somehow managing not to collapse in the process. "I know I s- shouldn't have, and you should totally take all the points you want from me, b- but…!"
Though she might not be actively cruel, Professor McGonagall definitely wasn't one to tolerate disrespect, and the tight bun at the back of her head might as well be a lie detector with the way she always seemed to know when someone was fibbing. If I wanted any hope of getting out of this, I would need to be a hundred percent honest with her.
"…I was just t- trying to find C- Colin Creevey!" I blurted out. "It's been almost five hours since I saw him leave, and I didn't want to get him into trouble by telling the Prefects!"
Okay, so maybe just eighty-five percent honest then. Surely I could get away with a few white lies, just to make me stand in a better light. Not like that changed the outcome much, right?
It's not my fault.
I braced myself for her response, preparing for the worst. But then, she did something I never would have expected. Instead of berating me for my foolishness, she simply sighed and removed her glasses to wipe them clean in her skirt.
And then things turned even nuttier when she next spoke in a much gentler, somewhat muddled voice.
"I… I see. Of course, your concern is… most admirable." She put her glasses back on. "I will not be taking any points away this time, but I must implore you to never try and traverse these halls at night again- for your own safety. Is that understood?"
"I- yes, Professor!" I nodded feverishly, hardly able to believe my luck. What was going on here? Did Professor McGonagall turn all soft and sentimental at night, like a reverse werewolf?! "Th- thank you!"
McGonagall just nodded and turned to address the portrait of the Fat Lady who'd been quietly watching our whole exchange with a similar expression of disbelief.
"Wattlebird." She recited the password, and the frame swung open again.
"Move along now, Miss Belby. Try to get some sleep." She gestured for me to crawl back inside. "I'll need to have a word with the Prefects."
"R- right, 'course-" I said right away and was just about to obey- then hesitated. "…but, uh- what about Colin? Did you catch him?"
I hadn't thought it possible for her lips to tighten up even more than they already had, but clearly, I'd been dead wrong. At that point, I definitely should have just counted whatever blessings allowed me to get through this unpunished and crawled into bed like a good little girl instead of testing this insane streak of luck.
But I needed to know.
"Please, Professor." I didn't want to sound like I was pleading with her, but I reminded myself to be honest. "I'm just… well… kinda worried about him, and- and I don't think I'll be able to sleep if I don't know!"
I regretted asking the moment I saw the sadness in the teacher's usually stern eyes reflected back at me.
A clawed hand clenched my guts as I remembered the picture of Mrs. Norris' lifeless body dangling from the torch. Suddenly, I wanted to remain ignorant of Colin's fate for the rest of my life.
Whatever happened, it's not my fault. I didn't force him to go out. It's not my fault. He left on his own accord. It's not my fault. He could have just said no. It's not my fault!
"Yes, I… I suppose there's no use keeping quiet about it." McGonagall said, taking off her glasses again. "You'll all find out soon enough anyway…"
Her eyes had become all watery, but that couldn't be right. McGonagall was one of the toughest nails at Hogwarts, she couldn't cry! She wasn't allowed to! Maybe I was dreaming? Yeah, that was it. For sure. Definitely!
It's not my fault! McGonagall was saying something, but I couldn't hear her over the screaming voice in my head. It's not my fault, it's not my fault, it's not my fault, IT'S NOT. MY. FAULT!
A/N: Heyo guys, wanted to say sorry for taking so long on posting this, and sorry in advance that it's gonna continue taking long to post more. My focus has just been really scattered lately, and though I want nothing more than to keep posting, things haven't been very ideal. Hope you still enjoy what little I can provide.
See ya in the next update, thanks for reading!