Grey Eyes (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

31. Candles

“Hey, Cecilia! Professor Grubbly-Plank wants to see you down by the Forbidden Forest.” James suddenly pops his head in through the door of the girls’ dormitory.

I look over at him in surprise (not so much that he was even here, since he and Sirius had long ago discovered a myriad of ways around the anti-boy spell). “What, at this hour? Why?”

James touches his chin in mock-thought. “Maaaaybe it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we let loose all the knarls into the forest during the lesson today behind the professor’s back?”

“Bollocks, I knew that would bite us in the arse soon enough,” I groan before hastily finishing my letter and rolling it up to tie onto the leg of Lily’s owl. “It’s so late though. She didn’t even give me a heads up on detention!” I complain. “Plus, why aren’t you going? It was your idea!”

“Yeah, but you’re the one that did it.”

“Fair enough.”

I let Lily’s owl loose through the window and give James a wave as I pass him in the doorway and out of the portrait hole.

Great, my first bout of detention. What a week. Though it’s weird… it may be my first detention but I’ve never heard of a professor calling a student out so late. I’m pretty sure the headmaster wouldn’t approve of this at all, but then again who am I to go against a teacher?

I firmly explain my situation to Filch at the front doors before stepping out into the night. Immediately, I wrap my arms around my body as a shudder runs up my spine. It’s pitch black out here… Why did I let James convince me that pulling a prank during Care of Magical Creatures was in any way a good idea?

I’m just about to turn around and admit to the professor later that I chickened out when a ghostly voice whispers in my ear.

“Boo.”

It was the most clichéd scare tactic in the history of ever, but (as I shamefully might add) it totally worked.

I let out an ear-splitting shriek, trip over my own feet, and faceplant into the grass. But as I try to scramble to my feet again, my hand connects with some sort of wooden plank and the moment I feel it topple over, the hill is suddenly aflame with light.

“What in the world…?”

I push myself off the ground and onto my knees, but before I can get a good look at what exactly got set on fire, a pair of arms shoot around my waist and pull me to my feet. For the second time, I let out another yell of shock.

I hear a hardly subdued laughter behind me and look over my shoulder to find none other than…

“Sirius!” I gasp in relief. “Bloody hell, can’t you find anything better to do than scare the living crap out of me?!”

All I get in reply is Sirius’ muffled chuckles into my shoulder.

I roll my eyes and attempt to wriggle out of his arms. “Right, I’m glad you’re so amused that you’ve managed to hear my girly screams of terror,” I snap impatiently. “Now, can you please let me go? I have to get to detention.”

At these words, Sirius just laughs even harder.

And suddenly, everything clicks into place. I stop struggling and stare at him flabbergasted. “The professor never called me.”

Sirius finally stops chortling and grins at me. “Yeah, that’s right.”

I let out a short breath of exasperation. “Ha ha, very funny. You got me,” I say dryly. “So, what did you call me out here for then? Don’t tell me you mistook me for Lily or somethi—”