A Younger Generation of Keepers

Chapter 5: The Masquerade Ball (part 5)

George's pov

I had decided to go to the Masquerade Ball and only moments later I was making my way through the crowded room. While searching for my friends, I spotted Amit dancing with Sacharissa and right behind him was Ominis talking to a girl with long black hair and a golden mask. I tried to move towards them, but my eyes fell on the sweetest girl in the room.

"So, you came!" Poppy managed to recognise me behind the mask.

"Yeah..." I let out as I scanned our surroundings. Andrew was not here, meaning that Ominis was right; they did not come together to the Ball. 

"Alone or did you bring a date?" she questioned.

"Free agent! What abou..."

"George!" Grayson chimed in once he was done with his performance, cutting our conversation short.

"Hey man, great job" I congratulated him.

"Thanks, man! Where's Ominis?" Grayson took a sip from his drink to hydrate his vocal cords.

"No idea, he was over there talking to a girl, a few moments ago" I described what I saw. Grayson seemed sceptical, asking for more details about that mysterious girl and I was trying myself to figure out who she was.

"Amanda!" we both concluded simultaneously. Immediately, we started searching for him around the Great Hall, but he was nowhere to found.

Grayson's pov

George and I left the Great Hall, scanning each corridor nearby, hoping to get to Ominis soon. I was probably running faster than a marathon athlete thanks to the adrenaline rush...and then I spotted him, lying down on the floor.

"Ominis!" I helped him stand up "What happened?"

"It was Amanda – she was acting all nice and kind, until I rejected to help her" his voice was shaking "She took my wand, I can't navigate myself without it"

Once I heard him say that, pure hatred filled my body as rage was building within me. How could someone be so cruel, especially to their cousin?

"There you are! Ominis?" George arrived and gave us a concerned look once he noticed Ominis being all messed up.

"Stay with him" I told George and drew my wand. I had no time to explain what was going on, I used Revelio, and a pair of footsteps appeared. I followed them hastily, seeing a running woman swearing at Peeves, who blocked her way, ultimately delaying her escape plan. I was glad Peeves' services came in handy for once.

"Going somewhere?" I asked her in the most sarcastic tone she had probably ever heard. She slightly jumped as she turned around and without saying a word, she casted several spells towards me.

I dodged them with ease, except for the last one, which I countered and sent it back to her, hitting her directly and pinning her against the wall. Ominis' wand fell onto the ground next to her. I grabbed his wand and kicked away hers before she could move.

"Grayson?" Mia and Garreth bumped into me, drawing my attention away from Amanda and making me lose sight of her. Amanda acted fast, taking control of her wand and casting Stupefy on me, knocking me down. Amanda retreated by running away, but Mia who had instantly recognised her, ran after her.

Mia's pov

I was passing through the castle's corridors at great speed, determined to prevent Amanda from fleeing. Without looking back, she was casting spells behind her, hoping they would either hit me or slow me down, but they were barely coming my way, making them easily avoidable.

I vanished and reappeared right in front of her, using the element of surprise. With the use of Ancient Magic, I lifted her up and threw her on a brazier. Amanda stood up and casted Expelliarmus, perfectly hitting my wand and launching it away.

I quickly jumped behind a brazier, using it as a shield to protect myself from her continuous spells. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to exploit the situation and get my wand back, but every time I tried to peek at her position, she bombarded me with powerful curses, forcing me to hide again.

As I was starting to lose hope, Garreth finally caught up to us and attacked Amanda. His intervention was useful, buying me enough time to crawl and retrieve my wand. At that moment, Amanda realised she would be easily overpowered; ergo, she returned to her initial escape plan of running away.

"Thank you" I smiled to Garreth and chased after her.

I made my way through several empty corridors, clearly unable to find her until I reached a balcony, where I saw her riding a broom in an attempt to fly away from the castle.

"Bombarda!" I shouted, directly hitting her.

As a result, the broom caught fire, leading to Amanda's fall in the Courtyard. I moved as fast as I could and arrived at the Courtyard only a few minutes later.

No sight of Amanda, she probably had managed to escape! Though, it seemed like she dropped something, a small vial. I picked it up and observed it closely; the vial contained a few blonde hairs.

Was it Ominis? Did this heartless bitch really try to brew a Polyjuice Potion with Ominis' hair? Was that her plan all along?