Snakes and Sanguine

Year 3: Cupid's Game

The sheets were sticking hot against my skin. If I put my legs over the covers I was too cold. My pillow was warm on both sides and the ticking of Annabeth's clock was ringing through my ears.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

I threw the covers off of me and aggressively stood out of bed, one of my pillows falling on the floor as I did so. I tied my hair up with a green ribbon, the same one I have had since first year since pieces of my hair were latching themselves onto the hot skin at the back of my neck.

I looked over at Annabeth's date-telling clock that sat on the chest in front of her bed.

"Scotland: Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 2:45 am"

I let out a sigh and grabbed the satchel that hung on my bedpost. I walked quietly out the door, careful not to make any sound that would wake up the other three girls.

I sunk my body into one of the couches in the common room, the fireplace still blazing magically. I sat cross-legged with my father's notebook on my lap, staring at the cover. I flicked the cover over, revealing the first page and the words:

"Password Required" and the six empty boxes underneath. I took a quill out from the satchel and began to write the numbers; zero, two, one, six, zero, six.

"Access Granted."

I examined the first page that held a recipe. "Potion to Freeze."

"Turns the drinker's blood into ice."

My eyes widened at the recipe that seemed simple enough for me to do. As I looked farther through the book, I noticed that all these recipes seemed simple enough for me to attempt. Had my father been expecting me to take over? Is that why he gave me this book?

I shook my head to scatter the thought away then turned to the page titled "Enemies Be-Aware". The page with the potion that created the mirror glass. The glass that I had received two long years ago. The one that revealed Cepheus Archana, the one that revealed Lucius Malfoy, the one that revealed Al.

I wondered that if we were to go back to the mirror, would our enemies change? Though, I guess it didn't really matter. It had not been useful in any way. Maybe it would have if Cepheus had not used Polyjuice potion, or if he had revealed his face before he tried to kill me.

My mouth fell agape when I noticed a symbol in the bottom corner of the page. The symbol of a batwing. The same symbol printed on the back of Cepheus' robes. I ran my thumb slowly across the symbol. I flicked through the other pages to see if the symbol had appeared on any other pages. But it didn't. Odd.

✧

For weeks now, Cupid had been telling us how she was going to host "a game." That we "must save the date for December 7, otherwise I'm going to be very angry. I've invited everyone."

By everyone, she meant all those she thought to be closely associated with, excluding the guys she's snogged. Though for some reason, she had invited James.

We were all sitting in a circle on the floor in the center of the common room late at night. This "game" consisted of Al, Scorpius, Lucien, Silas, James, Fred, Annabeth, Sasha, Zabini, Goyle, Venus, Tiberius Nott (who I have never spoken a word to), Brutus Nott (who was close friends with Silas), Jeremy Chang (Ravenclaw's pretty boy) and of course, Cupid and I.

Venus was lying down, her head on Scorpius' lap as she blew bubbles with her gum and snapped them between her teeth. I was sitting between Silas and Annabeth and to Al's dismay, Lucien had taken his seat next to him.