Notes:
Hiii!
I finally updated. Life has just been crazy busy lately but it's getting better now, so I hopefully get back into updating more often. When I started posting, I really wanted to update like twice a week and I am still aiming for that..
Anyway, enjoy the chapter :)
_________________________
The last two weeks have been homework-free and an absolute blast. I had way more time to hang out with my friends and to annoy the piss out of my brother.
I also really tried to get into chess, but it seems like that's yet another thing I suck at. Thankfully, that is not something that actually bothers me at all.
For the third time this week, I try to start with the book Levian has got me for my birthday, "Pride and Prejudice". I am really trying to like it, but just like the first two times, after only a few pages, my eyelids are getting heavier, and I sink comfortably back into the armchair by the fire. I snap my eyes back open.
Focus.
I try to re-read the sentence, but the warmth of the fire hugs my body like a cosy blanket, the air is heavy with the smell of the burning wood, and the crackle of the fire lures me in like a sweet lullaby. I think I have read the same sentence five times now, and I still don't know what it says. My remaining strength to combat the constant fatigue is dwindling with every second.
"Hey, sleepyhead". I hear someone say, but I just grunt and try to turn the other direction with very little space. That's when it hit me that I fell asleep in the common room.
I pull myself together and slowly force one eye to open, trying to take in my surroundings. All the lights are turned off. Only a small, lingering fire that has yet to distinguish shines a few rays of light through the room, giving me the opportunity to recognise the person who woke me up. Garreth.
"Hey", I mumble. My voice is low and raspy.
He chuckles.
"Seems like a very interesting book-", he says, pointing to the dropped book on my lap. "If it made you fall asleep on -", he picks it up and turns it over to look at the pages. "Ooh, page ten." His loud laugh wakes me up from my comatose state, and I can't suppress a slight laugh myself.
"I really tried," I try to defend myself, "but it's just not my cup of tea."
He holds out his hand for me to help me out of the chair, and I graciously accept it. "Maybe you should try again in the morning." His voice is soft, but there is still a lingering delight in it.
"Maybe. Good night, Garreth." I give him a small smile and go up the stairs to the girls dorms.
After an energising breakfast the next day, I decide it's time to collect the rest of my, hopefully, finished homework from Sallow. I have already submitted some of it, like an essay for potions, where we had to write about the wiggenweld potion.
I check the Slytherin table for him, and as soon as I spot him, I excuse myself from my friends and walk straight towards him.
"Morning." I greet him with a bright smile that holds a tint of malicious joy.
He eyes me wary. "You came to collect your homework, I presume?"
"Precisely."
"Fine. Follow me." He gets up from the table, and I follow him out of the great hall and down into the dungeons. I haven't got used to the dungeons yet. It's always way colder down here, and the atmosphere is creeping me out a bit.
Sallow must have noticed my discomfort because he looks at me questioningly, "are you OK?"
"Ya, just freezing", I try to downplay my uneasiness while we continue walking. He just nods, but I can still feel his eyes on me, which isn't very helpful with the uneasiness already swirling inside of me.
We stop in front of a large blank wall.
I stare at the wall, mildly confused, when he tells me to wait a minute before he mumbles something inaudible.
Sudden movements on the ground make me look down. The body of a stone serpent rises from the floor right before the wall and forms an arch. Under the arch, a dark wooden door appears, and Sebastian quickly steps in, leaving me in the hall behind.
I watch the serpent's body and door disappear as I nervously fidget with my fingers. Thankfully, I don't have to wait long; just a few minutes later, the serpent rises again, revealing the wooden door.
Sallow steps out and says, "Here you go." He puts several parchments into my arms.
I thank him and can't bite back a nasty remark: "I hope the last two weeks have been as fun for you as they were for me." He stares at me, poking his tongue into his cheek, and I immediately realise that I hit a nerve. "Yeah... so much fun."
I suppress a laugh, turn around, and head for my dorm.
Once inside, I put the parchments on my desk and examine them quickly, just to check if everything is there, when something odd catches my eye.
I take a closer look at my herbology essay, which was supposed to be about dittany, or "Dictamnus albus," as it's called.
At first, I'm not sure if Sebastian Sallow is just stupid and accidentally spelled it "Dicktamus," but as I continue reading, I'm noticing more and more spelling errors and sometimes even simply incorrect information. The more I read about the essay, the worse it gets. In a panicked rush, I flip through all the parchments and pray fervently that Sebastian just had a brain lapse for herbology.
A quick scan of the history of magic tells me otherwise. That essay is even worse than herbology; it's full of wrong dates, silly names, and made-up scenarios.
What the fuck is happening?
I slam my hand on the table, furious and ready to chop Sebastian's head off of his shoulders so I can use it as a bludger on his body.
"I've been looking for you. I thought you'd come back to the table, but -" Nellie, who just entered the dorm, can't even finish her sentence before I storm out of the room and back into the Great Hall, looking for a certain Slytherin.
I don't even bother to look at who I am pushing out of my way or how many other students I almost knock over. As I rush into the hall, I notice that it is almost empty. Breakfast is over, and there are hardly any students left.
Oh, he better not be hiding in his common room.
I debate with myself for a second about whether I should go back down or look outside, but I have a feeling that he is back inside the safety of the common room. So I whip my head around and walk back into the dungeons.
I don't know what I thought would happen once I reach the blank wall, but I realise hat I clearly haven't thought that through while looking helplessly around. The sound of shoes clicking on the stone floor comes from behind me, and I turn around to see Timothy Clark, a black-haired first-year Slytherin. "Clark!" I exclaim.
He looks at me, slightly confused.
"You're taking me into the common room." It wasn't a request, but a command. He seems to be debating himself and weighing the possible consequences, but after a few seconds, he sighs, "Fine. Just don't listen to the password, please. The others will have my head."
I roll my eyes but cover my ears with my hands. "Better?"
He gets closer to the wall as I stand back a bit, giving in to his silly request with my ears still covered.
For the third time this day, I see the serpent's body and the wooden door appear, making me drop my arms back down. Clark walks in, and I quickly follow, immediately scanning my surroundings. The first thing I notice is that the windows of the room do not look out over the school grounds but rather seem to provide a view into the Black Lake. We are underwater.
The sparsely penetrating light bathes the room in a slightly blue-greenish light, giving it a colder atmosphere than our common room.
It's fascinating, really, but I have no time to appreciate it.
I don't have to look long until I spot both Sallows and Ominis sitting around a table, playing chess. I stomp over to them. "You!" I screech, pointing my finger at the culprit while coming closer. All of their heads shoot up; two of them seem surprised, but Sebastian's face is graced with an amused smile.
"Can I help you?" He grins.
My blood immediately starts boiling. He knows exactly why I'm here. "What the fuck were you thinking?"
He shrugs his shoulders, putting on a confused expression. "I don't know what you mean." But his slight smile gives him away.
"Don't play dumb! You know exactly what I mean. Did you think I wouldn't find out?" I furrow my brows and give him a death stare.
His acting falls apart when he starts laughing. "Well, you didn't seem to notice for your first two essays."
"WHAT?" I'm yelling, furious at his casualness. "We had an agreement," I state.
He leans back into his chair, smirking, "Yeah... I would do your homework if you'd win the bet... and I did do your homework." He shrugs his shoulders once more.
"No, you didn't. You fucked it up."
"No, I did what I had to do and just made some slight changes." His smirk never leaves his face, and I feel like I'm about to have smoke steaming out of my ears.
"Slight changes? That's what you call it? You wrote a Romeo and Juliet-like story for the leaders of the first wizard-goblin war, where you stated that it ended because the leaders were madly in love with each other but killed themselves, which brought the two fighting parties back together... That is not just a minor change." I throw my hands up in the air; my anger is slowly being replaced by frustration. All three of them start laughing, and I hear Anne adressing her brother, "You did not really do that?"
His eyes never leave mine while he answers smugly, "I might have done that." His face is not showing an ounce of remorse while he keeps laughing. "What can I say? I got a little creative."
I let out a deep sigh, saying, "That is not what we agreed on. You were supposed to do it properly and not get 'creative' with it."
"Ah, and see, this is where you're wrong-" He rises from his chair, walks around the table, and stands in front of me while raising his right index finger. "-We agreed that I'd do your homework. There was never an agreement about doing it properly or getting you good grades. I never said that you wouldn't have to redo it all. You're way too naive."
"I...You... What? I can't believe you did that." I am astonished at his sneakiness.
He crosses his arms over his chest. "Well, next time, pay more attention to the phrasing, princess." His tone is playful, but I notice how the last word was intended to sound derogatory.
I grit my teeth. "Maybe the phrasing isn't the problem; it's that you're a sore loser." With one last disparaging look at Sebastian, who is now glaring at me, I turn around and hurry out of the Slytherin common room.
I am so mad at him, but maybe he is right about me being too naive. I should have known he'd find a loophole.
Back at my dorm, I flop down at my desk, cursing Sebastian Sallow while getting through the assignments and trying to fix them before their deadline. I try not to think about the consequences of the homework that was already handed in last week because I didn't check it.
The rest of the weekend, I barely leave my desk, improving every assignment. As Monday morning comes around, I find myself completely exhausted, and I wonder if it would have been a lot less stressful if I had just done it myself from the very beginning.
I tiredly pick at my toast at the breakfast table and listen to the conversations next to me as my eyelids get heavier by the second.
I feel my head being caught by someone before I can drop it on my plate or pumpkin juice. Slightly embarrassed, I look into Garreth's amused eyes. “Do you ever actually sleep in your dorm?” he asks jokingly.
"Rarely." I joke back as I get up from the table and motion for him to come with me. Together we walk towards the Charms classroom.