Guts and Glory - Trouble with Twins, Book 2

A Jinxed Easter

I knew better than to believe we would have a homework free Easter. Last year had piles packed onto us, but this year was even worse. McGonagall made good on her promise of an increase in work and she wasn't alone. All of the professors had given something to do over the break. We decided that they had obviously worked together to come up with the best ways to torture us. I tried to keep my complaints to a minimum; what we had was nothing compared to what everyone studying for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s was going through. Those exams were coming up soon, likely a lot sooner than anyone had expected. The common room was largely empty since most students were busy flocking to the library. Occasionally girls came back in small packs in tears from the stress, but that just about the only amusing thing that ever happened inside the common room.

The weather was surprisingly nice for the time of year, and I decided I wanted to take advantage of that by bringing my bag of homework outside. Where I had planned to do all my homework right at the beginning of the holiday, Fred and George had different plans. Lee had offered to go find ways to bother Filch, and the twins had gladly accepted. I knew that they would eventually be requesting help with their own work later, so I politely declined Lee's proposal and searched for someone else to spend the first afternoon with. Charlie and Thomas were likely down in the library and earlier I had heard Angelina, Alicia, and Katie say they wanted to go walk around the grounds. Going for tea with Hagrid was always an option, but I didn't think I'd be able to get much work done when I'd rather just sit and chat. So I decided maybe working alone would be the best idea. Luckily for me I knew just the place to go.

Nobody ever went near the Black Lake. I didn't really know why. Sure, there was a giant squid in there, but had it ever killed anyone before? The Ministry probably would've killed it the second it had. Everyone was scared of it for nothing. He probably just wanted someone to play around with. As I walked towards the tree along the edge of the lake, I saw its tentacles waving around above the water. I smiled and ran over towards the bank, just watching it swim around.

"He likes company." A very familiar voice said. I whipped around to see Cedric climbing down from the tree.

Taken aback, it took me a moment before finally saying, "Cedric! I, uh, hadn't really expected anyone else to be here."

"I can leave if you want." He gestured his head back towards the castle.

"No!" I said quickly, before adding, "I just- that's not what I meant, I didn't want you to leave."

He smiled and looked down at my bag, which I now realized was nearly overflowing with parchment and schoolbooks.

"I came here to get some of the essays done. That's why you're here, right?"

"Yeah, but it'll take ages to get through it all." I settled down against the tree trunk, pulling out the books for every single class.

"We could get it done faster if we worked together, don't you think?" I wholeheartedly agreed, and we started debating which class to start with. There was the most boring, History of Magic, the most tedious, Defense Against the Dark Arts, or the most difficult, Potions. I loved Transfiguration, so that one would be the easiest to complete.

Cedric suggested we start on Defense Against the Dark Arts and go from there. By the time we decided to call it quits, the essays on Vampires, Emeric the Evil, and the Wiggenweld Potion were all finished to our best ability. Flitwick had also assigned practice on the Tickling Charm, which we had fun completing.

We didn't leave right after the work was done. I had known Cedric since we were young but I had barely seen him since we started at Hogwarts. We said hello in the halls but that was it. I hadn't properly spent with him in years until last Christmas, and that was months ago. So we spent some time catching up and telling stories of what we had done here at school so far. Though I very much trusted him, I made sure to avoid telling him about the Marauder's Map or our excursion to Hogsmeade. Those could get me expelled if the wrong person accidentally found out, and that wasn't a risk I was willing to take. Instead I told him about the incident with Dara last year (he was shocked by the actions of a fellow Hufflepuff) and we talked about Quidditch for the longest time. He had been to all the matches so far, and he wished he could've been on the team this year.