My eyes widened as the massive dog glanced at me, before leaping down the halls and out of the building. Bed's and blankets rustled as students aroused from their sleep, mad ravings about Sirius Black gathered through the room like a game of Chinese whispers, each story varying slightly.
Professor McGonagall rushed in, her hair in a wild mess, nightgown covering her gaunt features. Walking out, I saw her scold Percy and the Gryffindor's for partying too much through the night, despite their amazing effort sin the game.
"...Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he have possibly gotten through the portrait hole?" drawled McGonagall, her eyes bloodshot with sleep.
"Ask him! Ask him if he saw-" stammered Ron, who seemed to have been the one to see Sirius.
"Sir. Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor tower?" asked McGonagall, her eyes narrowing at the proud knight.
"Certainly, good lady!" bellowed the knight.
Silence. Neville's face looked impossibly guilty in the corner of the common room, and I guessed that he knew how Sirius Black got in to the tower. Biting my lip, I listened further to the conversation, rather than comforting him.
"You- You did? But- but the password" gasped McGonagall, looking appalled.
"He had 'em! Had the whole week's, my lady. Read 'em off a piece of paper." said the knight proudly, unaware of his mistake.
"Which person... Which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around..." said McGonagall, her voice shaking violently.
It was at that moment that I remembered Neville talking about how Sir. Cadogan changed his passwords rapidly, and that he never let Neville in to the tower. Oh no... Covering my mouth, I watched as the students turned to face the boy, looking not unlike lions about to feast on a mouse.
Loud yells broke out, and above them all I cried out to Nev that I was sorry, but I can't be sure as to whether he heard me or not. McGonagall ushered everybody back to bed, and I took the chance to return to Ravenclaw tower to think.
If only I hadn't of ignored Nev, maybe he wouldn't have lost the paper... I mean, I always keep track of his things; he would have never lost them if only I had of taken care of him. What would the Gryffindor's do? I don't imagine that he will be treated kindly...
Sighing, I buried myself in blankets once more, but no sleep came. I couldn't stop thinking about the scene that I had witnessed, and about poor old Nev being bullied by his roommates. Everybody knows that Sir. Cadogan was an idiot, and that it was nearly impossible to keep track of his foolish passwords.
The next day at breakfast, I found Neville alone at the table, and sat beside him. A few Ravenclaw's gave me frowns, but I didn't much care. Wrapping my arm around Nev, I shot him a smile to cheer him up. I could have shot a muggle bullet at him and it couldn't have made him look sadder.
"Nev, I'm sorry, I was stupid..." I began, before his eyes widened and made me fall silent.
Barnabus hovered over us, before dropping a scarlet letter in front of Neville. I saw Noctis sitting on the windowsill not far away, waiting for her mate to return. Barnabus swiftly flew away, with his black friend. Staring at the letter, I knew exactly what it was.
A howler.
A few Gryffindor's gasped and warned him to run as fast as he could. Knowing his grandmother, I advised him to do so as well, and soon he was bolting out of the Great Hall, the scarlet letter looking as though it was burning his fingers.
Even in the distance, I could hear the shrill voice of his outraged Grandmother, scolding him for being so stupid and informing him about how disappointed his parents would be if they knew... or understood. I remembered Neville speaking off his parents, and their insanity.
I wished that I could bury my head in flames, I had been so foolish. Hermione sat beside me, after the gap had been made in Neville's absence, looking almost as forlorn as I assumed that I did right now. It was common knowledge that Ron was ignoring her, and that Harry was stuck in the middle.
I couldn't quite remember Ron's reasoning for being mad at Hermione, but I assumed that it was friendship threatening. Hermione and Ron fought often; I knew that, but never for so long and so furiously. Smiling weakly at her, I realised how tired she looked.
She took every single class available, which had caused me to believe that she was using a time-turner or a similar device. That would explain why she was so tired, she'd be living double the day that we were. The thought of it made me yawn.
"Hey, Mione." I said warmly, smiling at her.
"Oh... hey, Elle..." she said, her voice a skeleton of the once-bossy tone she used so well.
"What's up with you and Ron?" I inquired, wincing in case of a backlash.
"It's Crookshanks... He stole Scabbers, Ron's rat, from him, and Ron will never forgive me..." she breathed, her eyes brimming with tears.
Crookshanks stole a rat... Peter was an Animagus.. It all clicked, and I felt like a fool for not realising it before. Looking up, I wished to aid her struggles by telling her that Crookshanks was a very good cat indeed, but I couldn't possibly betray Sirius.
There goes the complications again. Sighing irritably, I nodded and continued eating me breakfast (which, by the way, was not nearly as nice as the food at Ravenclaw table, which has always been better)
"Um... Why are you at the Gryffindor table?" asked Hermione finally, after many awkward glances.
"I was with Nev, until... You know, the howler..." I replied, poking at the leftovers on my plate.
"Hah, Neville, say no more..." she chuckled, showing the first smile that I had seen on her in days.
Looking guiltily back at Ravenclaw table, I saw Drew's mop of brown hair amongst every other boy in his group. He had two chopsticks up his mouth, and was currently doing a lively walrus impersonation. Just watching him made me laugh, he was such an idiot.
Pushing away my plate, I left the table to find Neville and help him out, I owed him that much.
Nev had been banned from Hogsmeade trips, much to his dismay. Nobody was harder on him than he was, though. I really didn't think that he needed any punishment, he was punishing himself so well, no Professor could out-do him on that; not even Snape.
"Nev, I won't go to Hogsmeade, it's stupid anyway..." I said, my mind flicking back to the Christmas trip, and the mistle-toe...
Now that I thought about it, Neville never really had talked to me about that day. What were we? 13, is what we were, or at least I was... Nodding at the thought of being too young, I once again ignored the tension and smiled at Neville.
Trolls now guarded Gryffindor tower, a precaution requested by the Fat Lady, in order to restore her post. I must admit, I preferred her to Sir. Cadogan any day... at leats I knew how to frighten the pants off of the Fat Lady...
Sitting across from Neville, I took out 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', and read it to Neville, an exercise that seemed to comfort him immensely. I couldn't help but feel like an old lady, with his head rested on my lap and a book in my hands.
Looking down, I saw that his eyes were shut and that he was asleep. I wondered how long he had been asleep for, leaving me to read mindlessly to no particular audience... The thought was amusing, and I laughed accordingly.
Just seeing his tranquil face, and odd sight seeing as he had been miserable for the past week, made my eyes droop and my breaths grow deeper. Yawning loudly, I bowed my head against the soft couch and soon found myself in a deep sleep.
"Shh! Don't wake 'em yet, we have to put some Puking Pastel's in their mouths!" whispered a voice.
"Him... how about some home brewed Ear Wax caramels? That ought to do the trick..." replied a voice, that sounded very similar to the first.
"Or, how about some 'GTE THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!'" I bellowed, frightening both Fred and George.
"Geesh, Smelly, didn't have to frighten us-" began George, or Fred...
"We were only playing with ya-" continued... the other one.
"We knew you were awake..." finished the first speaker.
"Yeah, I'm su-" my speech was interrupted by my own yawn.
"-rrree." I finished, stretching out.
Jabbing them both in the ribs, I tickled Neville until he awoke, and we continued on with our days, in the separate houses. I realised that I had made up with Neville, but not Drew, and that I probably ought to see Drew as well.
However, I was a coward in this situation, and I avoided him studiously.
The preceding weeks gave me only two interesting pieces of information.
1) Cheering charms worked excellently on Neville.
2) Buckbeak, Hagrid's pet Hippogriff who had been framed by Malfoy, was due to be executed on the 6th of July.
I had tried to help Hermione with Buckbeak's hearing, by giving her as many books on Animal Hearing's as I possibly could, but nothing seemed to cheer her up from her present state of fighting and exhaustion mixed together.
With the Ravenclaw quidditch season over, after our loss to Gryffindor, all that I had to look forward to concerning quidditch was the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match at the end of May, which was coming closer every day now.
However, after this game, exams would begin, as well as Buckbeaks execution, and the entire scene I dreaded. Trudging through the halls, on my way to various classes, I contemplated apologising to Drew... for what, I didn’t know.
Luckily, fate dealt me an awesome card, and I collided, head first, in to Drew. Drew stood an entire head taller than me, so (Lucky for him, less lucky for me) I slammed in to his chest. As I rubbed my head, I thought briefly about how clumsy I was, and then about how i should probably say sorry.
"Man, I'm sorry, I should have been looking where I was going-" began Drew, his warm grey eyes (don't ask.) comforting me.
"No, I'm sorry... I've been stupid, and I shouldn't have ignored you... ButitwasjusthatI'vebeensostressedoutlatelyandit'sallconfusing-" I began, before speeding off and not breathing at all.
The whole 'not breathing' situation wasn't helped by Drew's lips. Which were on my mouth. Which was my main air source. So, now I had to use my nose. My nose is blocked. What up. Hold up. Am I being kissed? Returning back to Earth, I saw that I was, in fact, being kissed.
Placing a hand on each of Drew's shoulders, I promptly pushed him away and took a deep breath. This was to both regain air in my lungs, and to... well... Push Drew away... Smiling weakly at him, I shrugged and was about to turn around, before he wrapped his arms around me.
I am thirteen; I am not interested in guys... Well, not much... No! Not all all!
"No! Drew!" I said finally, leaning back from him as I had done not long ago with his brother.
"No?" he repeated, his eyebrows shooting up.
"No." I said firmly, wishing that he wouldn't look so betrayed.
"It's because of Neville, right?" he said, his voice low.
"No, it's just... we are way too young for all this... mumbo jumbo." I said, trying desperately to make up with him successfully.
"Yeah, you're right... Can I ask something, though..." he inquired, looking slightly less crestfallen.
"Sure." I said, smiling with relief.
"When will we be old enough? To... kiss, or whatever... like date... only if you wanted..." he stammered, his cheeks reddening.
Not until I get my first grey hair...
"Not for a while." I said, smiling at my original comeback.
All of the sudden, Drew started chuckling. Raising my eyebrows, I asked him why. Yet, he didn't reply, instead his laughs grow. Punching him hard on each arm, i demanded to know why he was laughing.
Then, putting on a voice not unlike the Muggle Queen, he declared,
"'We are waaaaaay to young for this... mumbo jumbo!'"
"I did not sound like that!" I laughed, punching him harder on his arms.
"Sure sure..." he snickered, chuckling still.
"I didn't..." I reassured myself quietly, while he wasn't looking.
But, it was good to be laughing again with Drew. I had craved this carefree feeling, and now it had returned. I would just, put the 'kiss' behind me, and we would never speak of it. Ever. Not in a million years. It never even happened.
As May approached, so did the legendary Slytherin vs. Gryffindor quidditch match, which would secure either one of the teams with the house cup. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, as usual, were cheering for Gryffindor; after all, we all knew that Slytherin’s were dirty cheats.
I managed to retrieve Nev form the common room, to get him to watch the game. Quidditch had never been a passion of his, but I managed to convince him. Sitting in the grandstands, I tried to ignore that these wooden structures reached high in the air.
The also had a habit of creaking and groaning whenever a strong wind blew, which today provided many a time. I wanted to leap on to a broomstick myself; at least I controlled a broomstick... Trying not to chew on my nails, I watched anxiously as the game unfolded.
Of course, Slytherin played a dirty as possible, a fact that Lee (the commentator) pointed out enough to annoy both Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall, yet we were all used to Lee bugging Professor McGonagall during matches.
But we all knew that she didn't mind on this particular occasion, as she was an avid Gryffindor supporter, being their house leader. Wincing as the beaters sent merciless blows towards the Gryffindor players, and sucking air through my teeth as they narrowly avoided serious injury, I couldn't take my eyes off of Harry, his eyes searching for the snitch.
The entire game was enthralling, but I wasn't surprised when Harry surpassed Draco in catching the snitch. I seethed every time I glared at Draco, the rotten liar an incarnation of his Death Eater father.
Yeah, I was a massive hypocrite, judging him because of his father, but he deserved it. At least I was nothing like my father.
Remember your dream, Elle, the one where you killed Drew and Heath? Yeah, nothing like Voldy.
Sighing irritably, I feigned a smile for Neville's sake and acted happy for Gryffindor, but my mood was spoiled. I know, I ran through this process nearly daily, but I had to reassure myself that I was nothing like Voldemort... nothing like him at all...
And I knew that the only thing that was going to make me feel better was for me to assist Sirius in catching Peter Pettigrew. Sure, nobody but me would know it, but it was me who needed to defy Voldemort, properly.
I had to find Sirius.
~
Short chapter, I know, but it's night time and I'm tired :'(
On the fence about Drew and Neville, feedback wanted.
And yes, I know I'm getting a bit lovey dovey with Elle, but the truth is that the Harry Potter books don't introduce romantic tension until The Order of the Phoenix,
and it does not start when your suddenly the correct age for it.
But yeah, nothing serious (Siriusly?) will happen until the next book. (I mean the next Elysia book, not HP book.)
Feedback appreciated!
Mercy and near-deaths,
Livvi c: