Chapter 33: Penny's Secret

Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter. Whoo! Got this one in right under the wire. Last update of 2022. Let's hope the new year is a good one. Anyway I hope you like what I have planned. Please Review and Enjoy.

It had been a week since Harry's Quidditch disaster and he was finally out of the Hospital Wing and he wasn't the only one feeling better.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Prof. Lupin was much better, and needless to say he was on it when he heard about Prof. Snape's substitute assignment.

"Don't worry class, I'll have a word with Prof. Snape about this but in the meantime, you don't have to do the assignment." Lupin much to everyone's joy…well almost everyone.

"Oh no. I already finished it." Hermione pouts.

"Already? It was only given a few days ago." Ron asks.

"Hermione you have to tell me how you do it." Liz said.

"Just good at managing my time I guess." She shrugs.

After class, everyone was getting ready to leave.

"Harry a word if you don't mind?" Prof. Lupin calls out.

Looking to his friends, Harry told them to go ahead before heading toward the teacher.

"I heard about your match sorry about your broom. Any chance of getting it fixed?" Lupin asks.

"No, the tree smashed it to bits." Harry sighs.

"You know they planted the Whomping Willow the same year I arrived at Hogwarts. It was forbidden to go near when a student nearly lost an eye." Lupin sighs.

"Why did the Dementors come after me?" Harry asks.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures to ever exist they'll suck out every happy or pleasant thought and memory leaving you with only the worst experiences of your life." Lupin explains. "You are not weak Harry, the Dementors are drawn to those who have experienced true horrors in their past."

"When they come near me I can hear Voldemort murdering my mother." Harry confesses. "I'm scared Professor."

"You'd be a fool to not be." Lupin said.

"I need to learn how to fight them. I saw you stop one on the train." Harry said.

"There were only 2 that night. The more there are the harder it is." Lupin corrects.

"Please if they attack me again, I need to be prepared." Harry insists.

Looking at the determined look on his face Lupin could tell how badly Harry needed this.

"Very well, I'll teach you but after the holidays. I have much to do and chose a bad time to fall ill." Lupin said.

Harry didn't like the idea of waiting but it was better than nothing.

At the Quidditch field, we see the Slytherin team running drills.

"Come on! Move! Move! Move!" Flint said having them go over maneuvers.

Ever since Harry lost Flint had been extra driven towards them.

"Gryffindor messed up and now we have a chance to get that cup before I graduate. And I want it." Flint said.

As Orion and Skye were joining him in Chaser maneuvers, they had Sam doing a series of quick climbs and dives to catch golf balls.

"Come on! Move it!" Flint yells.

At the Quidditch stands, Eric and Cole were watching this.

"I hope those things don't show up at his match." Eric said.

"I'm not going to be the one to tell Martha that Sam got attacked and fell off his broom." Cole said.

"Okay let's just agree Martha doesn't need to know everything that happens here." Eric said.

Instantly both boys agreed on it.

After an hour of this, the practice was finally over.

"Okay team, our match with Ravenclaw is this weekend and we are going to win it! No matter what!" Flint declares before he and most of the team left.

"Ugh is it just me or is he a bigger pain than usual?" Sam groans laying in the grass.

"No, he is." Skye said sitting down next to him. "But he's not wrong. Gryffindor has always been our biggest competition. So this is definitely a big opportunity for us since they lost."

"If we beat Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first we might have enough points to beat them this year." Orion said sitting down. "And more importantly he'll graduate and we'll be done with him."

"No more Flint? You should have led with that one." Sam said as the three of them snicker.

"But hey don't worry, just do what you did last year and that cup is ours." Skye said patting him on the back. "We believe in you."

"By "we" you mean—" Sam asks.

"Me, Orion and all the people that don't hate you." Skye clarifies.

"I'll take it." Sam shrugs making them laugh.

"Well rest up you two, we'll need it." Orion said as he and Skye got and left.

"Oy! Sam!" Looking over Sam saw Eric and Cole run over.

"Hey guys. What did you think of practice?" Sam asks.

"You looked wild out there." Eric said.

"Yeah, but aren't you worried that those Dementor things coming after you like Harry?" Cole asks.

"Very, but I'm going to let these hooded freaks ruin everything for me." Sam said getting up.

"So Sam think we can expect a win tomorrow because I feel like since we're your closest friends we're obligated to be the guys in front screaming your name." Eric said.

"You guys don't have to go through all that for me." Sam said.

"So you don't want us to cheer?" Cole asks.

"I didn't say that." Sam said.

"Good to see you got your arm back Draco." Looking ahead they saw Malfoy had gotten his cast taken off and was being admired by people.

"I wish I could break that stupid arm of his again." Eric said.

"We all do. He acts like we don't know anything about anything, I'd love nothing more than to get him back." Cole growls.

Pausing Sam suddenly got an idea.

"Hey guys how interested would you be in doing some snooping around this year? Finding out things that Malfoy or really anyone else doesn't know about." Sam asks.

"I'm listening." Eric said.

"So am I." Cole said.

"I found some secret passages in the school. I need some extra eyes to help make heads or tails of it all." Sam said.

"Is it dangerous?" Cole asks.

"Possibly." Sam said.

"Against the rules?" Eric asks.

"Naturally." Sam nods.

"We're in." Both grin.

"Not even hesitating huh?" Sam smirks.

"We are not doing anything. Thanks to prick Malfoy we can't do anything interesting with magical creatures." Eric said.

"I don't suppose any of these passages can lead to your common room?" Cole asks.

"Yeah that was the first one I found why would want to…" Sam pauses before grinning. "Are you guys asking for what I think you are?"

"Yes." Cole nods.

"You'll have to do it during the day. Nighttime those stinking Dementors are everywhere." Sam said.

"You mean like during your game?" Eric hints.

Instantly the three of them grinned getting some wicked ideas.

Soon the day of the Quidditch match was here and Sam was sitting at his table eating breakfast with Harry.

"So Harry have you considered getting a new broom?" Sam asks.

"Yeah but Brooms are pricey and I don't know if I can really afford to empty most of my vault on a new one." Harry said.

"Well if you want another Nimbus I can sell you mine at a discount. Might be able to order a new one in time after Christmas." Sam offers.

"I'll make that Plan B in case I can't figure anything out." Harry said.

"In the meantime I hope I can count on you to root for me." Sam said.

"Definitely." Harry said when Penny passed by.

Looking at Sam, she was about to call out but stopped herself.

She wanted to reach out but she just wasn't sure how.

At the Quidditch field, we see Slytherin and Ravenclaw ready to fly.

"And here we are at the second game of the season Slytherin vs Ravenclaw!" Lee Jordan said as the crowds cheered. "You can feel the tension in the air folks! After that last match these two houses are eager to win this and win this fast luckily thanks to Dumbledore no Dementors are anywhere near this."

"Come on Sam!" All his friends cheered as the game began.

Flying in, Flint grabs the quaffle instantly and raced towards the goal.

As the Ravenclaw chasers flew at him, Flint threw the ball toward Orion and immediately he spins whacking it with his broom and scoring the goal.

"And Slytherin scores the first point of the game!" Lee said

As Sam flew up high to find the Snitch, he spotted Cho flying across from him.

"Don't think because you're famous now I'm gonna go easy on you." Cho smirks.

"I'd be insulted if you did." Sam said.

"Hey!" Looking over Sam saw Flint glaring at him. "Stop flirting and get your head in the game!"

"Flirting?" Sam pauses glancing at her.

"See ya." Cho said flying off.

Narrowing his eyes, Sam flew around to find that Snitch.

Meanwhile, while everyone was watching the game, we see the secret entrance open in the Slytherin Common room as Eric and Cole popped their heads out.

"I don't believe. Sam really does know secret tunnels." Cole said amazed.

"We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to move, it's payback time." Eric said as they slowly snuck in.

Making their way into Malfoy's room, the two reached into their bags and took out various tools.

"This is for Hagrid and Buckbeak." Eric declares as they got to work.

Sneaking into the bathroom, Cole grabbed Malfoy, Golye Crabbe's toothbrushes, and dunked them into hot sauce before putting them back.

Looking around Malfoy's area Eric noticed some dessert cakes.

Smirking Eric took them and crumpled the crumbs around Goyle's bed.

Finally opening their closet, the two began making adjustments to their robes.

"Remind me to thank Martha for forcing us learn how to use a needle and thread." Cole said taking something out of his bag and handing some to Eric.

"She said we would need this skill in the future, and what do you know? She was right." Eric nods before taking out a needle and thread.

Back on the Quidditch field, the game was getting intense and luckily no dementors in sight.

The score was Slytherin 80 while Ravenclaw had 40.

Flying in, Sam swerved to avoid a bludger.

"Come on where are you?" Sam asks when a hint of gold fly past him.

Gasping Sam turns in that direction and flies in.

Unfortunately for him, Cho spotted it too.

As both Seekers flew through the course ripping past all the other players.

"And Snape and Chang are neck and neck as they gain on the Snitch!" Jordan said.

Leaning in Sam pulled ahead with Cho catching up.

As a beater tried hurling a bludger at them, Sam leaned dodging the attack while Cho was forced to pull back to avoid being hit.

"Sam now's your chance!" Harry yells as the Snitch flew toward the Slytherin goals.

Coming out from finishing their sabotage, Eric and Cole gasp seeing Sam diving down towards the goalposts.

"Come on Sam!" Both cheered.

Holding his hand out, everyone thought Sam was grabbing the snitch but as he grabbed a goal post he slingshot himself around and grabs the Snitch from the front.

"And Samuel Snape as caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins!"

Erupting into cheers everyone was blown away.

Landing on the ground, Sam smiles happily.

One win down, 2 more to go and the cup were theirs.

"Whoo! Way to go Sam!" Looking over he saw Eric and Cole waving at him.

"Well?" Sam asks running to them.

"Wait until our little surprises." Cole said.

"Anyone catch you?" Sam asks

"Nope." Eric said. "I can't believe you actually let us do this."

"He's had that coming for 3 years now. So are you guys in?" Sam asks.

"Whatever you need Sam we got your back." Eric nods.

Smiling the three friends walked out together as they did Penny watched them.

As the game ended Penny was making her way down when she almost runs into someone.

"Hey watch it." Chiara said before realizing who it was. "Oh Penny."

"Sorry had some stuff on my mind." Penny said.

"It's alright, been a little tense lately." Chiara said.

"Hey uh Chiara can I ask you something?" Penny asks.

"What's wrong?" Chiara asks.

"Well say you had a secret. A big one that you've been hiding from the people you care about for a while because you were scared how they would react to it." Penny said making Chiara's eyes widen in fear.

"What do you know?" Chiara gulps.

"What?" Penny asks.

"Oh uh…nevermind." Chiara pauses realizing Penny wasn't talking about her.

"Listen I've been ignoring everyone for a while now because I was scared. What should I do?" Penny asks.

"Look Penny I'm probably not the right one to say this, but you if you really want to make things right then you just need to muster up the courage to admit it and hope things work out." Chiara said.

Hearing that Penny looks out to Sam who was making his way off the field.

"Thanks Chiara, I hope I can do it." Penny said.

"Yeah…now if only I had the courage to admit mine." Chiara mumbles.

As Sam made his way out of the locker rooms, Orion and Sky were smiling widely.

"Way to go Sam. If we keep this point gap big enough the cup is ours." Orion said.

"Well then you two better keep scoring as many goals as you can." Sam said.

"Count on it. Flint may be the captain, but we're the ones who get the points." Skye said.

"And don't you two forget it." Orion smiles as he and Skye headed back to the common room.

Sam was about to follow when Penny slowly walked out.

"Oh Penny?" Sam said surprised.

"I saw your game today. You were good." Penny said.

"Thanks." Sam said.

Pausing there was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"Hey uh Sam you got a minute?" Penny asks. "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Getting up, Sam followed Penny to the courtyard by the fountain.

"This is a bit of a surprise, I honestly didn't expect you to come to me after all this time." Sam said.

"I know, I've been trying to keep my distance from you all and I never bothered to explain why." Penny admits.

"Penny you don't have to do this." Sam said.

"No, I do." Penny said before taking a deep breath. "It happened over the summer. There was this muggle girl named Scarlett, she was my best friend and even though I was here at Hogwarts I would always tell her about all the amazing things that happened here." Penny starts.

"Like with me, Eric and Cole." Sam realized.

"Exactly. Every summer she and her family would come to the countryside where me and my family were and we'd have so much fun together. Then one night it all changed." Penny frowns.

"What happened?" Sam asks scooting closer.

"One night during a full moon, Scarlett and I snuck out of the house, but when we did we saw a werewolf roaming nearby. Because of my letters, Scarlett so fascinated by all things magical and insisted we follow it. I tried to tell her it was a bad idea, but she said as long as I had my wand we would be safe. Against my better judgement I agreed and we followed it, but what I didn't know was that was that it knew and it attacked Scarlett. I tried to save her but the monster got her before I could get grab my wand and it almost got me too until my parents showed up. They managed to save me…but they didn't save Scarlett." Penny chokes as tears came down her eyes.

"Penny I'm so sorry." Sam said.

"It was all my fault. I'm a terrible friend and I didn't want to lose anyone else. So I pushed you all away." Penny sobs.

"But Penny you're not a terrible friend." Sam said.

"Yes I am. It's because of me Scarlett is gone. Because of me my friend is gone." Penny chokes.

Wrapping his arms around Sam pulls Penny in close.

"It's not your fault. That werewolf the one that hurt her, it's his fault. Not yours. You're a great friend Penny and it's not just me. Ask Harry, ask Barnby, ask any of our friends. They'll tell you the same thing. Don't push us away Penny. Please." Sam said.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant lately." Penny apologizes.

"Honestly I'm a little relieved. I thought after what happened last year you hated me and wanted nothing to do with me." Sam admits surprising her.

"What? Why would you think that?" Penny sniffles.

"Well I mean I'm sort of famous now and everyone either hates me more or wants to hang out with me. And then after…well that incident after the chamber I thought you didn't like me anymore." Sam said.

Rubbing her eyes, Penny saw Sam still wanted to be around her even though he thought he was the reason.

"Sam, I could never hate you. I should have realized that you were dealing with so much change but I kept pushing you away when you needed help. But no matter what I would never hate you." Penny said.

"Really?" Sam smiles.

"Really, really you're amazing." Penny giggles.

Little did they know Peeves popped his head through the wall.

"Ooh." Peeves grins.

Slowly sneaking down he came up near Penny.

"BOO!" Peeves yells scaring Penny into Sam as both falls into the fountain causing a big splash making him burst into laughter.

As Sam tried to get up his eyes widen to see he and Penny's faces were inches from each other.

"Oh man! What's this? Two soaking wet lovebirds?" Peeves laugh as both sit up.

Looking at them Peeves saw both growling in anger with their wands at the ready.

"Uh…can't you two take a joke?" Peeves gulps.

"GET HIM!" Both yell climbing out of the fountain and firing spells at the screaming ghost.

The next morning in the Slytherin dorms, Sam was walking out of his room having just woken up.

Suddenly three loud screams echoed through the dorm getting everyone's attention.

"What in the?" Liz looks to see Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle exit the dorm with burnt-red lips, and some ruffled bruises from a fight amongst them.

"Oh my god." Sam said.

"It's not funny." Malfoy said in a slurred tone but that just made everyone laugh harder.

"Who did this?!" Crabbe asks in a slurred tone.

"Who else?" Malfoy asks looking at Sam.

"Impossible, Sam was preparing for the Qudditch game and we were with him all the while afterwards." Barnaby said.

"It's not our fault people don't like you." Daphne said.

Growling as they stormed off they didn't notice that the back of their robes they had words sewn into the back. Malfoy had KICK ME AS HARD AS YOU CAN, Crabbe had IDIOT 1 and Golye had IDIOT 2.

Holding back their laughter, Sam couldn't believe how badly they got back at him.

"Payback. She truly is a bitch." Sam said as all the other snickered.

"I will pay 10 Galleons to anyone who does it." Daphne giggles.

"Someone get Colin and his camera this is gold." Barnaby smiles as the three of them walked away unaware of the saboteurs.