Mezrielda wasn't at dinner, the Hufflepuff table or the Slytherin table, and when Bagsy asked Tod he just shrugged.
'How are you doing, by the way?' Bagsy added, both wanting to show him she genuinely cared, and also wanting to make sure her interaction with him wasn't purely trying to get information. She remembered he was sensitive about things being transactional.
Hamley, who had tanned skin and shoulder length curly hair, looked at Bagsy with excitement. 'You should tell her!' he said to Tod, who looked uncertainly between the two.
'We were going to the owlery,' Tod said to Bagsy. 'If you join us on the way I can tell you about... the plan.'
'The plan?' Bagsy arched an eyebrow.
'Yep. I'm not talking about it here, though. Too many ears.'
Hamley put his cutlery on his plate and patted his belly. 'I've finished my dinner anyway.' He swung his legs over the bench and stood up, Tod joining him, and Bagsy followed them to the owlery.
'Hamley wants to send a letter home,' Tod said as they walked up the steps.
'And Tod wants to open a school newspaper!' Hamley cut in.
Tod smiled crookedly. 'I figured it's the best way to become useful again.'
Bagsy looked at Tod silently.
Hamley, on the other hand, shook his head, mystified. 'You've been talking about becoming useful again this year, which I couldn't agree more with, but I'm not sure why you settled on opening a paper. It'll only make you as useful as you always are.' He looked cheekily over his shoulder. 'Which is not at all.'
'Watch it,' Tod warned, pointing his wand at Hamley, who held his hands up in mock surrender as he walked into the owlery.
'No, no, please, kind sir! Not the dancing curse, I beg you, I have two left feet!'
'I'll make you have no feet if you don't learn some manners,' Tod mocked back.
Noticing a girl standing in the middle of the owlery, Bagsy reached out her hand in warning. 'Careful–' she tried to say but Hamley, not looking where he was going, walked into her.
Primrose Vinski fell over with a thud, Hamley landing next to her.
'You idiot!' Primrose bared her teeth and jabbed a hand at Hamley.
'Protego!' Tod cast.
Primrose's claws clinked off the shield. Frustrated, she got to her feet and collected the pages that had fallen out of the envelope she'd been sealing. Looking down at them, Bagsy spotted the name Mezrielda written before Primrose had snatched them all up.
'Who's that letter for?' Bagsy asked sharply.
'None of your business.'
'Her parents,' said Tod, gesturing at the Mr and Mrs Vinski written on the front before offering a hand to help Hamley back to his feet.
Primrose turned her letter over, hiding the address. In a huff, she grabbed an owl, forced the letter into its talons and threw it out a window where is managed to take flight.
'I'm not wasting my time on you,' she added, barging past Bagsy and out of the owlery.
Tod shook his head. 'Someone sunned themselves on the wrong side of the rock,' he commented to laughter from Hamley. Bagsy, feeling only slightly guilty, giggled as well.
'What a strange girl,' Hamley said as he offered a letter to a barn owl.
'Too right.' Tod found his gannet and gave the sharp-shaped bird a pet on its head.
Pushing Primrose from her mind, Bagsy said, 'What are you going to call this newspaper?'
The way Tod tilted his head was eerily like his gannet. 'I'm not sure yet, but I'm confident inspiration will strike.'
As they made their way out of the owlery, Bagsy gently gripped Tod's arm and held him back a second, lowering her voice. 'On the Hogwarts express you were talking with your brother about wiping someone's memory. I... I have to know... are you planning on taking my memories again?'
Tod looked at her, blinking rapidly, then pulled his arm out of her grip. 'Of course not,' he practically growled. 'I already put a lot on the line letting you have your memories back. I would've thought that'd be enough for you to trust me.'
Bagsy looked at the floor. 'I don't know. I don't seem to have a good track record of knowing who I can trust.'
'Whatever,' he grumbled, walking after Hamley.
'Tod,' Bagsy tried to call after him, but he waved her off, ignoring any further comment as he and Hamley left.
Unable to find Mezrielda the next day and finding the school alive with excited talk about Vampire Affairs, not to mention feeling sorry for herself about the conversation she'd had with Tod, Bagsy spent her time working on school stuff, inventions and spellcasting. Seeing Blythurst pushing his wheelchair had made her think of Jill, who she'd made a set of wheels for when her back legs had given out last summer, and ideas buzzed around her head.
When she finally saw Mezrielda on Monday morning, she didn't seem any happier, and her mood only worsened when Bagsy gave her wand back to her. She was silent at breakfast, and during Charms she kept her head low in the hopes of avoiding detention.
'Just give it a go,' Bagsy encouraged her as she herself tried to make the tea set in front of them dance.
'There's no point. I won't be able to do it.'
Bagsy sighed and found herself unsurprised when Starrett walked up their section of the tiered seating, saw Mezrielda refusing to even try, and instantly gave her detention.
'If you don't work in my class I'll have you feeding the pin-poke bees at the weekend,' Starrett added.
Mezrielda looked, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, at Starrett. They were both aware that the coming weekend was the first visit to Hogsmeade.
'Fine,' Mezrielda grit out.
'Professor Starrett,' Starrett reminded her.
'Fine, Professor Starrett.'
Starrett left them alone the rest of the lesson, satisfied with the half-hearted wand swishing Mezrielda made.
What concerned Bagsy was that same look of curiosity crossing Primrose's face as she watched them from across the classroom.
Mezrielda spent the week sulking. Bagsy kept offering to help her learn spells. She may not be able to cast them herself, but she knew the techniques by heart, given how often she'd practised them.
'Please, Mezrielda,' Bagsy asked, while they worked on their Herbology garden. Mezrielda seemed most at peace during Herbology. She was currently planting some rainbow tulips and gum-drop pansies.
'It won't be any use you teaching me spells,' Mezrielda said, sounding annoyed.
Bagsy paused, gloved hands half-way through planting weeping weeds. 'What's that supposed to mean?'
Mezrielda said nothing.
Genuine hurt raced up Bagsy's chest and closed around her throat. She fought back the urge to cry. Evidently, Mezrielda didn't see the point in being taught by someone incapable of casting spells.
The rest of Herbology was far less enjoyable after that.
Usually, when Mezrielda said something that upset Bagsy, she'd have some way of showing she was sorry. This time, though, she remained distant, looking blankly at the horizon. At lunch, she pushed her food around her plate without eating it or held a book without looking at the pages.
Bagsy didn't care that Mezrielda wasn't trying to make right what she'd said to her, because it was plain to her that Mezrielda wasn't herself.
Oddly, Artifisiary was a reprieve from Bagsy's worrying. At least while she was dodging bouncing balls that zipped around the Charms classroom or swatting winged hammers that tried to hit her, she wasn't thinking about Mezrielda and her memory-loss.
After what felt like forever, the trip to Hogsmeade arrived. The students lined up in the courtyard, snowflakes landing on their cloaks.
'Hey, Bagsy,' Arice called. Bagsy looked over at him and smiled politely. 'Want to join me?'
'Uh.' Bagsy stalled. 'Not this time, sorry,' she said awkwardly.
Arice's smile faltered, then he noticed a smouldering Mezrielda standing next to Bagsy. He dipped his head respectfully. 'Fair enough.'
Professor Wattleseed and Professor Kim arrived slightly late and looking a bit flustered.
'So sorry, kids!' Wattleseed apologised profusely. 'We got the time wrong.'
Maisy, who was standing in front of Bagsy and Mezrielda, turned to Paloma with a frown. 'No they didn't,' she said, trying to sound wise. 'They were having breakfast together in the rose garden and forgot.'
Mezrielda snarled at Maisy. 'More fibs. What a surprise.'
Maisy glared back at Mezrielda. 'How do you know it's a fib?'
'You've been here in the courtyard, so how do you know they were having breakfast in the rose garden?'
'I saw them on my way here,' said Maisy as Paloma looked disapprovingly at Mezrielda.
'How? The rose garden is the opposite direction from the Slytherin common room,' said Mezrielda.
'Whatever.' Maisy turned away from them and whispered in angry tones to Paloma.
'Can you believe her?' Mezrielda complained as they set off. 'She's utterly insufferable.'
'I thought you wanted to make friends with her again,' Bagsy interjected. 'After you found out she wasn't lying about the chair thing last year.'
Mezrielda opened her mouth, paused, then shut it, as if she realised she didn't have much footing to stand on. 'She's lied about other things, too,' she tried.
'Hmm.' Bagsy wasn't entirely convinced.
Once they reached Hogsmeade they stopped at Hoohsair. They knocked on the door and asked 'who's there?'
'WHO'S THERE? WHO'S THERE? IT'S HOOHSAIR, JOKE SHOP EXTRODANAIRE!'
This year, Bagsy and Mezrielda were prepared for the sheer force of the voice and held on to each other and the doorframe to avoid being bowled over. The door, now open, allowed them inside.
A spider's web of twisting ladders, with crammed shelves, greeted them. A big sign announced a new product; bubble-gum parachutes.
'Hey!' Bagsy squeaked indignantly. 'That was my idea!'
'You did use that idea to pay for items,' said Mezrielda.
'Still...'
Mezrielda took her time looking at the items on the bottom floor while Bagsy began the gauntlet of ladders as she peered at all the oddities. They'd decided they needed to buy at least one thing to avoid suspicion before sneaking into the forest to look at the crime scene, but that didn't mean Bagsy couldn't chose something she genuinely wanted.
She stopped in her tracks, gripping the bars of the ladder in excitement, as her eyes landed on the perfect thing to buy.
Trick your friends with this mischievous scroll set! One scroll claims to predict the compatibility of the owner with their crush using their names, while the other scroll allows you to see what name your friend wrote down! Find out who your friend has a crush on with this clever little set.
Glancing with a smirk at Mezrielda, Bagsy grabbed the set and held it under her arm. She'd find something else to buy so that Mezrielda wouldn't see the prank coming. Bagsy was sure Mezrielda didn't do crushes but if she did, she would tease her for years to come.
Finding some hazelnut chocolate truffle-ruffles, that made your mouth turn around like a spinning wheel with each bite, and a spiked ball that made loud, chattering noises and zipped about once released, Bagsy purchased her items. When the mole-like man asked greedily to take one of her ideas as payments, Bagsy quickly offered him a galleon instead.
'No thanks,' she said, looking wearily at the helmet he was eagerly waiting to fasten over her head. 'I want to keep my ideas inside my own head from now on.'
Items bought, Bagsy and Mezrielda left, pulling their hoods up and checking no one was paying any attention, and hurried towards the forest.
'Look over there,' Bagsy whispered, as they passed by Pepsini's Curiosities. 'Someone's inside.'
Mezrielda glanced at the shop whose steamed windows were filled with old antiques. 'It seems that way, but we have more important things to do.'
'Yeah.'
Mezrielda held out her hand to stop Bagsy. 'We're being followed.' Bagsy turned but Mezrielda sharply stopping her. 'Don't look!'
'Who is it?'
'I think it's Primrose.'
'Morgana,' Bagsy cursed.
'In here.' Mezrielda guided them into a side street. They dipped in and out of alleys and squeezed between buildings until they reached the edge of the town. 'I think we lost her,' Mezrielda breathed. 'Quickly. The sooner we're in the trees, the better.'
Their feet moving over the lightly snow-covered ground, they found themselves surrounded by the creak of trees, rustling of pine needles and the crunching of their feet over frozen ground. Strange hoots and caws sounded in the distance, joined by the occasional howl.
'This way,' said Mezrielda, peering at a map in her hands.
Bagsy didn't need to ask when they'd reached their destination; the ground was brown from dead grass and the bark on the trees had blackened and was peeling off. Every now and then she heard the buzzing of flies, though she never managed to spot them.
'This must be where it happened,' Mezrielda's voice cut coldly through the still air. It felt as if the entire forest was watching them, waiting for them to do something.
Bagsy inspected the ground. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but it was better than nothing. 'He was here.'
'I've been writing to Wayne some more,' said Mezrielda. 'There haven't been any more deaths in Australia since the last one. He's definitely come to the UK.'
Bagsy stood back up, wrapping her arms around herself, her teeth chattering. Instinctively, Mezrielda pointed her wand at her, before pausing, gritting her teeth and putting it away.
'It's fine,' said Bagsy. 'I'm only a little cold.' Mezrielda nodded mutely.
They spent another half an hour poking around the area, but no clues presented themselves.
'We should be heading back,' said Bagsy. The sun was directly overhead.
They didn't get lost on their way back and soon enough they were approaching Hogsmeade. Just as they were about to break the tree line, Bagsy saw a figure in one of the trees, slowly growing more visible as they progressed. 'Oh no.'
'Look what the gargoyle dragged in,' Primrose remarked snidely, her feet hanging from a low branch she was sitting on. She swung them forwards and dropped down, landing with a thud in the leaves. 'Been chasing animals and drinking their blood?'
'What are you talking about,' snapped Mezrielda.
'Oh, nothing much. Just the fact that you're a vampire.'