COLLISION COURSE // george weasley

Chapter seven.

He circled behind Helena and me, taking peeks into our cauldrons only to look positively surprised. ''Five points to Slytherin,'' he drawled.

His cloak billowed behind him as he moved towards the cauldrons of Fred and George, who were still stirring and peering into their cauldrons with frowning faces. Fred's potion started bubbling more and more.

A deafening sound made half the students in the classroom jump as Fred's potion exploded in a mixture of blue vapor and droplets. Helena and I nearly choked as we tried to hold back our laughter, but one look at the threatening face of Professor Snape helped tremendously to keep us quiet.

The Professor slowly wiped a blue stain from his robes. ''Ten points from Gryffindor,'' he said, his slow voice holding a threatening edge. He didn't spare a glance at George's potion, even though it looked about as good as mine.

Snape left the table after instructing the twins to clean the entire classroom before being allowed to leave for lunch. Fred caught my eye, and I saw him clenching his fist in fury. I gave him my best innocent look, winking at George before grabbing my bag and following Helena out of the classroom.

Throughout the day Helena's words kept gnawing at me. Night fell, and after tossing and turning in bed for a while, I decided to head down to the library. I slipped out of bed, pulling on some clothes as quietly as I could and tucking my wand in my back pocket. The door creaked louder than I would've liked, and I found myself being thankful that our common room's entrance wasn't covered by a nosy portrait, like the Gryffindor's.

I knew my way through the castle at night, as Helena and I had gone on many late-night adventures before. I stopped behind a pillar as I heard Peeves cause mischief down the hall, not fancying being snitched on by the poltergeist. Peeves left rather quickly, and I darted off to slip into the dark library.

''Lumos,'' I whispered, and a tiny speck of light came from my wand, lighting up the bookshelves around me.

I moved as quietly as I could, stopping every few seconds to listen if Peeves or Filch was approaching. My fingers traced the back of several book covers containing magical creatures, but none covered those of dark magic. I pulled out a promising book, flipping through its pages until I reached the letter D. I got distracted slightly as I opened a page filled with intricate drawings of dragons.

I nearly dropped the book as I heard a shuffling noise coming from further down the library. ''Nox,'' I said under my breath. I closed my eyes and prayed it wasn't Filch, waiting to put me in detention for at least a month.

I moved back towards the far wall, my wand pointed in front of me, when I saw a dark shadow moving about through the library. Its silhouette couldn't be Filch, as it was much taller. It couldn't be Peeves either, for it was too dense to be a ghost. My heartbeat sped up as I lost sight of the person, and I clutched my wand to my chest as I looked around frantically in the darkness.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice sounded to my left. ''What are you doing here?'' it said, and I placed a hand over my racing heart.

''Lumos,'' I whispered, and I was met with the inquiring face of George Weasley.

''Sorry,'' he smiled smugly. ''Didn't mean to scare you like that.''

I let out a long breath. ''I'm just checking something, that's all,'' I answered his initial question. ''What are you doing here.''

I looked around the library to see if his brother was hidden somewhere between the bookshelves. George stayed silent for a second, looking around with me suspiciously before realizing what I was looking for.