The Black Queen | F. Weasley

46. Mad-Eye Moody

They had spend the remainder of the evening in the bathroom trying to come up with other alternatives if Salem's siren idea didn't work out. Most of them weren't even half bad, but Salem knew that if she wanted to impress the judges and score points she had to think of something original, something people wouldn't immediately think of. Therefore using the Bubblehead Charm certainly wasn't an option, because she knew that Cassius had already thought of that solution. After all, they had just covered it in Charms...

Currently the four of them were drying themselves off and changing into some pyjamas. While George, Fred and Salem were utterly calm and relaxed, Lee was the complete opposite. The boy was making up all kinds of scenarios in his head where they'd run into Filch, or even worse McGonagall or Moody. Salem shuddered at the thought of the latter, still feeling a creeping unease whenever her gaze fell upon him. There was just something fishy about him, and she simply couldn't pinpoint what it was which made her feel that way.

When they were all dressed they waited near the door patiently for Salem to give them the clear. But besides her enhanced hearing, she had another trick up her sleeve that evening... With a triumphant smirk she pulled the Marauder's Map out from the pocket of her pyjama jacket. Fred and George made an unearthly sound as their eyes settled on their beloved piece of parchment. Fred dramatically clutched his chest while looking about ready to bawl his eyes out and George was making cooing sounds as he stroked the yellowing paper gently with the tips of his fingers. With a roll of her eyes Salem snatched the Map out of their grasps and clutched it to her chest protectively.

"Before we lose it again," she stared pointedly at Fred who grinned innocently as he shrugged, as if trying to say 'don't know what you're talking about', "which will definitely make Harry murder me, I'll take the responsibility on me of looking after the Map..."

George had pulled his wand out of his trousers and pointed it at the blank parchment with a wicked grin. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good... Oh, how I missed saying that on a daily basis."

"Drama queen much," Salem muttered under her breath as she watched the ink spread out over the parchment, taking the form of the familiar black lines and little footsteps.

The redhead made an offended high-pitched noise. "Excuse me?!"

"You're excused, Georgie. You don't need my permission for that, how many times do I have to tell you?"

The exasperated groan that left his lips made her grin in amusement and she looked up at his disgruntled expression with twinkling eyes. "It's so easy to get a rise out of you."

"One day I'm going to throttle you, I swear to Merlin."

Salem cleared her throat, and while the easy going smile still graced her lips, she let her eyes run over the Map checking if everything was in the clear. She found Filch and Mrs Norris walking on the third floor and McGonagall and Snape were in their respective offices, but the person she couldn't find was Moody. Making a mental note of that specific piece of information she was about to wipe it clean when her gaze fell on a name she hadn't expected to be seeing.

None other than Barty Crouch was strolling about through the castle on the Second Floor, heading toward the DADA classroom. Salem frowned in confusion. She had heard the rumours of Crouch being ill and Percy being forced to takeover all the man's work en disputing for him at the Yule Ball and the upcoming task. Why would Crouch be at Hogwarts if he was terribly ill?

"Everything's clear..." Salem said distractedly and followed the boys out into the corridor. She eyed the direction of the stairs which would take her to the lower floors and made a quick decision. "You guys go ahead... I just remembered that I have to do one last thing before heading back."