Heavenly Waters||Sirius Black

Chapter 8

Peeves is singing, loud and proud and full of impish excitement as Gwen simple stares up at him as he circles above.

"Witty Whitlock returned at last, Witty Whitlock forget the past," He crows, bells on his hat jingling and hands clapping, "The castle missed its favorite gal, but no one missed her more than her best pal!"

Gwen grins and sits up, brushing off her pants before clambering to her feet. She opens her arms and the poltergeist flies into her again, his black hair sticking out wildly from her hat and tickling her nose. Her eyes burn and she swallows down emotion, her cheeks aching from her smile. Peeves.

Some things hadn't changed.

"A riddle, Witty!" Peeves springs free from their hug, dark eyes glinting with excitement as he begs, "Please, Witty! A riddle for your bestest pal, Peevsie!!!"

Gwen clasps her hands together, staring at him pensively as she thinks. Her eyes drift passively over her floating friend's shoulder, finding that the gawking lanky boys have drawn a crowd. A crowd that includes Harry.

She smiles, the action harder now that she knows she's being watched. Stared at. Peeves doesn't mind however, and she feels a rush of youthfulness and mischief that had been eroded by the winds of time. It wasn't that long ago that she would sit and read to Peeves while he swam in the toilets, or they would trade limericks and rhymes while munching mindlessly on acid pops. It wasn't that long ago. Was it?

Her gaze returns to Peeves and her shoulders feel lighter. She smiles wryly and relents, "Fine, but only because I liked your song."

The faint tinge of pink on the poltergeist's pale cheeks spurs her onward and she looks at him calmly, saying, "I am everywhere, I am a part of everyone. I am the end of space and time. I am the end of existence, yet the beginning of the end. What am I?"

Peeves' eyes narrow, his hand coming up to dramatically stroke his chin. The children behind them are silent, waiting, watching in awe. It was beginning to show that none of them knew who this Professor was, and they certainly didn't know how she had peeves wrapped around her finger.

"E!!!"

Gwen smiles and bobs her head up and down, joy warming her heart again at the rather pleased look on the Poltergeist's face.

"Brilliant," Gwen says firmly. "You've only gotten smarter with age, Peevsie. I see that you've been making friends."

Peeves quirks his head to the side, looking confused before he gasps dramatically, eyes darting over his shoulder to where the pair of boys with auburn hair are watching the Veela and the Poltergeist warily.

"Not friends," He scolds lowly, an impish grin on his face. "Means to an end, Witty. Means to an end!"

Gwen's smile grows and she winks, humming thoughtfully before asking, "Perhaps a swim in the toilets later?"

"Yes!!!" Peeves cheers, cackling with wholehearted excitement. His eyes suddenly grow round and his smile spreads from ear to ear.

"The Baron!" He cries happily, zooming away from the Veela and the crowd of students as he shouts over his shoulder, "Wait until the Baron hears that Witty Whitlock is back!"

Gwen's passiveness returns now that the reunion is over, her legs carrying her to the crowd of students hovering by the door. She pauses just before walking through the space that they've all backed away to make for her.

Her smile returns, faint but there. She avoids looking at Harry, determined to hang onto her happiness instead of her guilt for at least the time being.

Instead, she looks at what Peeves called his means to an end.

"Mr. Weasley," Gwen greets one of the twins, his jaw never quite having returned from its normal place. Her eyes shift to the other one, meeting a curious and inquisitive stare that piques her interest. She smiles, offers again in the same bored tone, "Mr. Weasley."

Finally, she glances at Harry standing silently besides Hermione and Ron. She winks, brief and perhaps imperceptible to most watching, and then disappears into the great hall, her stomach urging her to finally find some food. The students stare after her, as if frozen by her icy gaze and enigmatic aura. Gwen didn't mind, in fact it felt quite familiar.

She can hear them spring into action, following her hurriedly into the hall. Gwen smiles to herself when she hears Hermione failing miserably to whisper,

"...Lupin has at least some notes! She has no written history! None! All it says is that Gwenyth Margaux Whitlock attended Hogwarts from 1971 to 1978–"

The Veela continues walking down the row of tables, simply musing over her shoulder, "Perhaps there just isn't much to say, Miss. Granger. Please, hurry to eat breakfast. I'd hate for you to run low on time."

Hermione stutters to a stop, earning a disgruntled noise from Ron and Harry when they slam into her back. Gwen just smiles, taking her seat at the table for Professors before looking up to find the Gryffindor golden girl staring at her in horror and confusion. She'd seen that look before. She'd seen it quite a bit.

Some things never change.