Salem Academy of Sorcery (Harry Potter)

Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen

 I stared at the page once more making sure I was reading it correctly. It indeed read Lucius Malfoy. Ducking behind the dark wood bookshelf, I tried to remain absolutely silent. Cal and Lucius were friends though right? Maybe it was an old letter. Or was it recent? As the footsteps got closer I lowered my breathe and kept my body absolutely still. The door creaked open and I looked through the crack of the bookshelf to see who was coming in. Maybe it was Selina hiding from her parents. But it wasn't, it was Cal. What was he doing in this part of the manor at this hour? Everything was seeming suspicious to me at the moment.

Watching his movements he paced back and forth around the room looking at his desk. I prayed he didn't notice the missing Daily Prophet but his eyes seemed to be focused on the letter. He picked it up and looked it over. Slowly he took his wand out of his pocket and turned to the small fireplace in the corner of his office. Sending green sparks into the flames, he bent down into the fire. I read about this. If you create the flames of the Floo Network but only partially put your head in, you can speak to someone on the other side. "Malfoy Manor," Cal said. Now this was really getting suspicious. He placed his head in the green flames and I listened carefully to every word.

"Ah Lucius my friend. So nice to see you in person," Cal muttered. Unfortunately I couldn't hear what Lucius was saying so I had to carefully pick apart whatever Cal was about to say. "Brilliant. And the entire top floor too? Excellent." The Azkaban breakout. "Ah, very interesting. Vanishing Cabinets. Tricky contraptions those are, but genius nonetheless. I'm sure Draco will be successful." I didn't know what they were talking about exactly. but I have heard Selina mention the name Draco before. The question is, what is Draco up too and what does it have to do with Vanishing Cabinets? "Everything here is going as planned."

From that sentence alone, I was a hundred percent sure Cal was working with them. He was helping the Death Eaters. 

"Yes the Ministry here seems to be under complete stress at work. No one will expect a thing. The Minister is always busy with meetings and reassuring the public that everything will be alright. I assure you everything will go as planned but I must go. Talk to you soon my friend." They were planning something. Of course the Death Eaters would target Cal, considering he was the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. Cal would do anything for power. I watched as he stood from the flames and then tossed the note into the fading fire. Well there goes my proof...

Once again I had to tell someone, but by the time it was safe to leave the room my father was asleep. In the morning I would tell him. The Daily Prophet I stole was covered in notes of what Cal said so that I wouldn't forget when I told anyone. The next morning I awoke before my father, unable to sleep with my mind racing that night. Right as he awoke I told him everything. At first he was unhappy that I was snooping around the manor at a late hour but was interested by my words. He told me not to over think anything. Cal and Lucius have been friends for a long time and my father pointed out that Cal liked using big words, sometimes making things seem far more important than they really were. I didn't agree my father, I think Cal is up to something. Yet my father assured me that he would keep an eye on Cal at work. This wasn't something I was going to let go of. Now that I have a suspicion I was going to do everything I could to figure out what Cal was talking about.

Frustrated with my dad's calm reaction, I decided to go for a walk by the shore alone. I brought out a card and pen. It was Charlie's seventeenth birthday today and even though I was distracted, I couldn't forget my friend. I began writing.

Hi Charlie,

Happy seventeenth birthday! It's every wizards dream to finally be broken of the underage detection (even if you're surrounded by muggles). So don't go scaring your neighbors, but enjoy finally showing your parents what you have been learning all these years. Anyways, hope you have an amazing day celebrating with all your California friends who I hope to meet one day! And don't let the whole Quidditch situation get you down, I have a very strong feeling that it will all be fine soon. Now go celebrate.

Love,

Bradley

P.S. I'm sorry for the Owl...I know you don't like them very much but I haven't figured out the muggle mail system yet. I promise it will be the next thing I learn.

After sealing the letter up, I sent it with my fathers owl. Charlie has this weird fear of owls which is why he refused to have one at school. I suppose everyone is afraid of something. When I got back, some relatives began leaving now that Thanksgiving was over. My father and I were going to stay since I would be going back in a few days anyway. Sadly Great Grandmother Lucille had to return to the hospital after I got to say goodbye to her. Selina wasn't around all day, who knew where she could be yet her parents didn't seem to concerned. They were obsessed with talking to Sofia about everything she was accomplishing over in Scotland. Sofia surprisingly came over to me and asked about school. I told her about our apparition exams coming up and she showed me a few tricks on how to avoid splinching. I understand why Selina disliked Sofia because of the way her parents treat them, but overall Sofia was extremely smart and kind. Selina was jealous of her.

My father was downstairs with Cal and his cousin Marty while I was up in my room doing some packing. I spotted Odila running towards me with a letter in her mouth. Wow, Charlie wrote back quickly and figured out how to send mail with owls. "Odila you make a great owl, don't you?" I said laughing as she dropped the letter in front of me. Opening it up, it wasn't from Charlie. It was from Kent.

Bradley,

I have been thinking about what I said to you in class and it has been killing me these past few weeks. I'm so sorry if I hurt you in anyway. I didn't mean any of it. I was completely fine that night and kissed you because I really like you. Unfortunately right after, I thought how much Grant would hate me if he ever found out. He has been my best friend for years and I know he has been treating you horribly, but I was afraid of losing a friend. Then there was the thought that if things didn't work out between us, I would lose two friends. I was just over thinking everything and ruined a great thing before it even started. Once again, I'm so sorry that I hurt you and I hope we can soon go back to the way we were.

Hope you're having a great break,

Kent

I sat there after reading the letter twice. So he did like me? I pushed all of my anger aside and couldn't wait to tell Idella. I knew her and Charlie were furious at him, and so was I, but he admitted to liking me. And from what I got in the letter, he still liked me. I have to understand where he is coming from, losing friends is always tough. I would never want to jeopardize my friendship with Idella and Charlie. Him dating me, would be like me dating Colin. Suddenly I felt guilty, but thinking about Kent admitting to liking me back made it all worth while. Smiling, I folded up the letter and placed it deep into my bag. 

Finally it was the night before we had to leave. Selina and I were heading back on the earliest ferry, she seemed eager to get out of this house. That night I laid in my bed and fell quickly asleep. I dreamt of the time Kent kissed me yet it was different in the dream. We were on a small boat in the middle of a lake with the dark sky's stars reflecting on the water. The moon was full and there wasn't a person in sight. I turned to smile at him and as he looked at me, his smile faded. "What?" I asked him curiously. His face turned into fear. "Kent is everything-" Then I smelt smoke. Fire.

Panicking I jumped up causing the boat to rock. All around me was fire and it quickly engulfed the boat. "Jump!" I yelled at him, but it was too late. The flames caught onto his clothes and he began screaming. Running over I pushed him over the edge of the boat hearing the splash, but now I was engulfed in flames, unable to breath with all the heat around me.

"Bradley!" someone cried. I thought it was Kent...but as I fluttered my eyes open I realized it was just a dream. Only my father wore the same horrified look at Kent did in the dream. Sitting up from my bed I realized I was covered in flames but they weren't burning me. Jumping up I began brushing them off, but it was only an illusion. They weren't actual flames and slowly they began to fade. "Wh-What-" my father was saying looking completely fearful. "Are you okay?!" he said rushing over to me.

"I'm fine," I replied taking a deep breath when I realized I had forgotten to take my potion. "I forgot to take the potion," I admitted unable to look at him. "I was supposed to take it yesterday but I was a bit distracted..." Distracted by what I overheard Cal saying and by Kent's letter.

"Bradley you have to focus on what is important," he replied in a serious tone. "You can't let your suspicious distract you. Promise me this won't happen again."

"I promise," I answered.