The Sight Of Eternity With You

Million Dollar Baby

"I'll go walkin' in the twilight, countin' down to midnight
Close my eyes and wait for her to shine
I'm hidin' in the shadows, prayin' that she'll break free
In the dark of the night, she got danger on her mind
She's a million dollar baby, nobody can explain it
She's a miracle, She broke out of her chains, turned the fire into rain"
-Million Dollar Baby, Ava Max

****

Harper frowned as she looked over the stiff parchment, running her hands through her hair and shaking it out around her shoulders. School had only been in session for maybe a week and a half and already there was trouble.

"Educational decree 23....Dolores Umbridge is hereby made Hogwarts High Inquisitor? What the hell does that mean?!" She looked over at Victor as he leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

One perk of being Head Girl was the private office that the Head prefects shared, it was a small room with a fireplace beside two chairs and loveseat. A large desk was setup for both prefects to use, Harper's side was neatly setup with picture frames and her school things while Victor's side was a chaotic mess of spilled ink wells and crumpled parchment. A small workbench had been setup for them that Harper was using for potion making for the joke shop. Her notebook open on display as she looked over all her ingredients, surveying if she needed to go and siphon some from her next Potions class or if she could sneak around Hagrid's hut for ingredients or the greenhouses.

"I smell trouble!" Victor said in a sing song voice.

Harper nodded slowly, getting up from her chair and walking over to her potion setup, stirring her cauldron once clockwise. The scent of lit matchsticks, cinnamon, and broomstick wax floated up in small puffs of hearts to meet her.

"Vici, do you think the Ministry is trying to pull something?" Harper asked over her shoulder.

"Absolutely! There's no doubt, just look at how Defense has been going. We're not allowed to practice anything, it's all reading and rewriting lines...for maximum retention," He made an annoyed noise, increasing the volume on their record player beside him.

"Wonder what took so long..."

"Pretty sure last year was the final straw...multiple lives were discreetly taken, have you seen the Prophet during the summer? People are slowly going missing, have been since last summer if you know where to look. Also I'm curious if word got back to parents that a phantom menace roving the corridors last term," at this Harper turned on her heel, Victor was sitting in her chair looking at all her photos. "Does Weasley know you have a picture with pretty boy?"

"What was that last part?" Harper clipped, eyes narrowing as she studied the brunette who buried his face into the picture he was holding. The only sound that echoed around the quiet room was the record player on Victor's side of the desk. Her heart was beating so loud in her ears that it almost drowned out the music itself as she waited for Victor to continue.

"Word always gets around this place, Nonemacker. That includes students talking about the pretty, dark haired prefect feeding students almost deadly sweets. The Slytherin quidditch team almost went into anemic shock! But...." He put the frame on a corner and slowly spun it, Harper had been correct in guessing which one he'd been studying—it was a picture of her with George at the Yule Ball. "I don't blame you, no one does, people were nasty when that article came out."

"I just wanted them to stop, I didn't mean to hurt anyone," her voice was barely audible above the record player.

"I know, Harper," Victor spoke softly. "And it's fine, the past is the past. On the bright side it seems like students really want to partake in those snackboxes," he snorted slightly. "It's been a week and I've seen students with boils all over their faces."