My classes seemed never ending the Friday I was supposed to meet the twins. Even Defense Against the Dark Arts dragged on, despite how nervous I had been to return to it after last week. Today, no boggarts were to be found. Lupin instead spoke of spells that are safe for animals you need to get away from but not harm.
When he finally released us and set us our first homework assignment of the term, I rushed to the staircase and climbed one flight until I was where the twins said to meet. I leaned against the wall for a few minutes until I heard the double doors burst open and Fred walked over to me alone.
"Sorry, Sorry. George got held up. Sorry I'm late."
"You're fine, Fred. I've been here barely five minutes."
Fred's face twisted into an almost guilty expression for making me wait and then nodded down the hallway where three stone statues, chipped and weathered stood along the wall.
"Alright, so, you know George and I have a knack for... well-"
"Mischief?" I smirked, earning a grin back from the ginger.
"You could say. Well anyways, over the years, we've become a bit obsessed with finding these... Well... I'll just show you."
Fred reached into his robe and pulled his wand out, tapping a particularly unpleasant looking statue of a witch with one eye on the head.
"Dissendium."
Before I could question what he was doing, the statue slid to the right, exposing a small crevice only a very skinny person could slip through. Lucky for the twins and myself, as well as Harry who I assumed they had shown this too as well, we all fit that description.
"That's wild!" I whispered excitedly, looking up and down the hall nervously.
"Come in, i'll show you. Don't want to be caught out here though."
He was right. He stepped in and I watched him drop about a foot or so before landing on a dirt path and reaching up for my hands. I hesitated shyly but decided being down there was better than getting caught breaking the rules, and at this point the walls.
I took Fred's hands and let him pull me down next to him, trying to keep my face steady and not allowing myself to blush. His hands were warm which felt nice after standing in the cool hallway and now dropping into the freezing tunnel.
The statue slid shut, plunging us into near darkness and I unconsciously stepped nearer to Fred.
"Lumos." He whispered, his wand shining down the tunnel. "No worries, it gets lighter as you walk too. The tunnel's a straight shot to the sweet shop in Hogsmeade, there's just one turn near the end but it's all boarded up. This is the only tunnel left that leads out to town, the rest have all caved in, or there's a few Filch patrols. Too risky. He'll never find this one though, seeing as you need magic and all."
"How do you get out?" I asked, looking back to the wall we came through which was now sealed shut.
"Oh, one sec." He pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket and tapped it with his lit wand, muttering something under his breath. "Okay, coast looks clear."
"What do you mean 'coast looks clear,' how would you know?" I asked, trying to steal a glance at what now looked like a map.
"Mind your business, Olsen." He teased, walking to the wall and repeating the spell from earlier.
He grabbed the leg of the statue and pulled himself out, looking both ways before pulling me up to join him.
The witch slid closed once again and I turned back to Fred.
"So this is what you showed Harry, too?" I asked, thinking that if I did decide to attend the tunnel, Harry and I could walk together.
"Er... that's the plan. George and I are kinda stalling... Thinking it over."
"What? Gatekeeping the rule breaking?" I teased, matching the smile that my joke had earned me.
"It's just... God mum would kill us if she found out we let Harry out. I mean, Sirius Black and all. And Harry has shit luck with coming face to face with his own death."
"Oh, so Harry's life is sacred, but send Cassidy off to the murderer!" I faked offense and threw my hand over my chest.
"Oh shut up." He said hurriedly, "I just thought... I mean people say Sirius is looking for Harry."
"Mhm, right!"
"Well, and I was thinking... George and I would take you. You know, show you around."
I felt the now familiar butterflies flutter in my chest as I sucked in a soft breath, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"Yeah, I'd like that. I'm... I mean I'm not sure, 100% that I'm going to go."
"Why wouldn't you? You've gotta see Hogsmeade at least once, it's beautiful. And when they put all of their Christmas decorations out, it's-" He trailed off when he caught me smiling at his animated descriptions. "Well, think about it. It's still two weeks away."
"Yeah, I will. Thank you, Fred, for showing me. It's impressive, you and George."
"Thank you, maybe you could write to our mum? She never understands just how impressive we really are!" He winked. "I gotta grab some dinner before quidditch practice. Are you... Will you be at the game tomorrow? It's, um, Gryffindor/Hufflepuff."
I hadn't even realized. Any other year, I would have been waiting for Hufflepuff's first match for weeks, watching Tommy head off to practices every night and return covered in mud and sweat and badly needing a shower.
"Yes." I decided. "Wouldn't miss it."
I awoke the next morning when the a large crack of thunder rang through the window and stretched my arms above my head. The quidditch match wasn't for hours, but I could head down and get some breakfast in a bit. I snuck silently from bed and fumbled through my trunk. It was pouring out, but they had never cancelled a match for the weather in my time here, nor Tommy's...
I pulled out a yellow hoodie and raincoat and opted for a pair of black yoga pants in hopes of staying warm in the stands. Once I was dressed I tiptoed to the bathroom. I had wanted to do something with my hair, but seeing the weather I decided on braids, knowing my hood would be up all day.
"Hannah," I hissed at the end of her bed. "Hannah!" No answer. I tried Bri. "Bri, are you going to the match?"
"What? No? Go back to bed." She muttered without so much as opening her eyes.
"Maddie." Last shot. "Madison! You going to the match?"
"Yeah maybe... If I wake up. Prolly not." She turned over facing away from the window and I sighed. I wished I could sleep my days away like the three of them, but I was used to being woken up early.
I left the common room, the walls closing behind me and ran straight into the twins.
"Breakfast is not down here, you know." I fake scolded, seeing them in their quidditch robes and each sporting one of the schools brooms, the looks of which I recognized at once, since that's all Tommy had been allowed as well.
"We were coming to tell you," George started.
"You don't have to come, it's pouring out there. Lightning too." Fred finished for his brother. A habit the pair seemed to do a lot.
"No, I'm coming! It's the first match, and..." I trailed off, not wanting to bring Tommy up. "I'm coming."
"Okay, well hopefully you'll be able to see us in the storm! Everyone knows people only come to these matches for the beaters." George winked and I let out a laugh as we passed by the kitchens and headed up to the Great Hall.
"Ooh, look how cute you look!" Hermione cooed, her own hair even messier than normal, most likely due to the weather. Harry looked up at her words but looked away almost instantly, probably nervous for the first match in this kind of weather. How was he supposed to see a small gold flying ball amidst the lightning strikes around him?
"She's wearing the wrong colors though, but we'll forgive her this once. Gotta get you some scarlett, Cassy." Fred smirked, laying his arm on my shoulder once again and I shuddered under his touch.
You have to stop doing that.
The three teammates scarfed down their breakfast before grabbing their things and scampering down the tables to the exit. Ron, Hermione and I finished our juice before finally getting up to follow them. Hermione tried a seemingly difficult spell which would keep the water off us for our walk to the quidditch pitch, but it worked for just three seconds before we were drenched again.
"Gotta practice that one."
"Where'd you learn that?"
"It's in Quintessential Magic, the sixth years are learning it right now. Controlling the natural elements."
"Bloody Hell Hermione, just skip grades already. You're making us look bad." Ron complained, earning matching laughs from the two of us.
We finally reached the stands, dripping extra water onto the wood beneath our feet as we climbed the slippery steps to the top for the best view.
"Any of your friends coming, Cassidy?" Hermione asked before we took a seat.
"Uhm, I would guess not. They're more a fan of sleep than quidditch."
"Well sit with us then!" She patted the sopping seat next to her, using a quick charm again to repel the water from the bench before I sat down.
We had arrived early enough to get good seats, but we didn't wait long. The team came out of the locker rooms after a short while and I saw the twins matching red hair right away. It would be easy to keep an eye on the pair of them, even in this storm. I watched one of them walk towards the Hufflepuff captain, Cedric Diggory and shake his hand. The teams were never hostile towards each other, apart from Slytherin of course, but they didn't usually go out of their way to shake hands, aside from the two captains at the start of each match as directed by Madame Hooch.
"What's Fred doing?" Ron asked, squinting at his brothers through the thick sheets of rain.
Before Hermione or I could formulate a guess, Lee Jordan's voice rang out over the speakers, signaling the match was about the begin.
"Welcome all to the first match of the year! I'm Lee Jordan, your source for all of your Quidditch Match information and spectation-"
"Lee." McGonagall said warningly from the seat behind him.
"Right, Professor. Joining the field we have Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, lead by Captains Oliver Wood and Cedric Diggory! But before the match, the Hufflepuff team has a, er... well." He paused awkwardly and everyone turned to look at the teams on the ground.
Cedric turned his wand toward the locker room wall and with a barely audible bang, a banner shot down with moving pictures of last years team. My eyes scanned for only a second before I saw him, his school broom thrown over his shoulder and a laid back smile on his face. I looked back to the field to see Fred and George's knees hit the mud, sinking a few inches down. Harry sank after them and the rest of the Gryffindor's followed, the Hufflepuffs sinking down to match. I felt the prickle of tears in my eyes and I thanked God for the rain. Hermione and Ron snuck glances at me as if I couldn't see and then shot their sights back to the field.
When I looked back down, the teams were standing up to a roaring applause from the stands, a tribute to Tommy. But my eyes were on Fred, staring straight up at me, yet I was sure he couldn't see up here through the rain.
Once the captains shook hands, Madame Hooch's whistle signaled the boys to push up from the mud. Harry circled the field madly, appearing as if he had about five millimeters line of sight. The fiery hair of the beaters was easy to pick out, chasing down bludgers and hitting them to wherever they saw flashes of yellow.
Half an hour in, it was still tied at 10 points, mostly due to the fact that the quaffle was slippery and kept falling out of the players hands. Harry and Cedric circled the pitch over and over, staying as high as they could without being absorbed into the clouds.
I was painfully cold now, the chill creeping into my skin, almost into my lungs, before I realized I wasn't just cold. I was freezing and everything was still and quiet. Just like the train.
It felt like everyone say them at once, the dementors long cloaks dragging below in the wind as they swam through the air at the teams.
Hermione and my scream mingled into one as we watched everything in slow motion. Harry catching sight of the dementors, Cedric's fingers closing around the golden snitch at the opposite end of the field, not yet noticing the cloaked creatures, Harry's face going white as he slipped from his broom. The twins noticed him much too late, but still dove toward him as he fell, hoping to catch him mid air before we heard Dumbledore's yell.
"Arresto Momentum!" His voice echoed over the pitch, louder even than the storm. We watched Harry's body slow until he hit the ground with a light thud, softened as well by his landing in the mud as opposed to solid dirt.
Hermione Ron and I started for the field, but we were no match for the crowds that swarmed around us. By the time we reached the stairs and got a glimpse of the field, Harry was already on a stretcher being floated over the ground and back up towards the school, accompanied by Dumbledore himself.