"It's almost done" I grinned, looking down proudly at the parchment.
Lee let out a deep sigh of relief, sliding down the seat until he was slouching awkwardly, "Thank Merlin. So how long are we thinking? A week? Two?"
"If we do a few hours every night then possibly"
George let out a quiet whoop of excitement, shaking Fred's shoulder, "our very own map!"
"All that's left is the locking enchantment"
"Ooooooh but what should our words be?"
The four of us sat in complacent silence for a few minutes before Lee broke it with a sharp intake of breath.
"How about that supercallyfragilinstic thing from that movie you showed us last summer?"
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?"
"Yes! Most wizards would never think of that!"
"I mean he's got a point"
"But what abou-"
I cut myself off as I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, all of our eyes widening as we rushed to clear the table and hide any evidence of what we were doing.
"Get in the corner" I hissed.
"What?"
"Hide in the corner!"
Shoving my pile of things into Lee's arms, I ushered the boys into the corner of the room where the firelight cast a shadow.
As the prefect walked in, I stood up with a smile, holding my wand.
"Why are you out of bed?"
"You know I could ask you the same-" I quickly cut myself off at his blank look, "but I can tell you're not exactly the joking type. I had to come down because I had left my wand down here"
"You couldn't get it in the morning?"
I sighed, internally rolling my eyes as I prepared myself for my performance.
"I'm not going to lie to you, I had to go and get something for my lady troubles" I said, overly stressing the last two words. The boy (who looked very uncomfortable in his masculinity) squirmed, flailing at me to stop my explanation.
"That's ok, just - just go back upstairs now"
"Will do"
Waving discreetly behind my back, I made my way up the stairs and to my dorm, hoping the boys would be sensible and wait until the prefect had gone.
"Gooooood morning" Beth grinned, flopping down onto the bench next to me, stealing a piece of toast from my plate.
"Bethany"
"Oh come on, you're not still mad at me are you? I stopped wearing the badges, see?"
I simply raised my eyebrow, turning back to Lee.
"Okay fine" she huffed, catching Harry's eye, "I am very sorry for any upset I may have caused you, oh chosen one. It was a poor choice on my part, I let my anger get away from me"
"It's fine-"
"Never again will I let my emotions control my actions. It was selfish and wrong and unkind"
"Really Bethany you can stop-" Harry said, aware of how many people were now watching this exchange.
"Not until you accept my apology. I could never live with myself until I-"
I let out an exasperated huff, pulling Bethany back to sit on the bench, "Okay we get it, you can stop now"
Lee chuckled, offering her the plate of breakfast waffles, "you never fail to amaze me"
"Why thank you Jordan" she chirped, picking a waffle up off of the plate with a wink.
"How's Cedric feeing after yesterday?"
"He's doing alright, he's already trying to work out the egg's meaning. Not to mention his attempt at flirting with Cho this morning"
"Oh Merlin what did he do" Lee asked, far too eager.
"Let's just say she doesn't appreciate having orange juice dropped on to her this early in the morning"
Lee burst into laughter, smacking the table with glee.
"What's happening?" George asked, sliding into the seat opposite us, Fred beside him.
"You'll never guess what Cedric did this morning" Lee howled, choking out the story in between shuddering breaths.
Shoving the rest of the waffle in to her mouth, Bethany grabbed my sleeve and pulled me away from the table, "We're off to herbology! See you suckers later!"
Fred watched with a small smile, shaking his head at our behaviour.
As we rounded the corner, Beth let out a strangled noise as she saw Ebony, pulling me in the opposite direction.
"So... I feel like there's something I've missed" I mused, tripping over my feet with the speed I was being pulled along.
"What? No-" as if just realising how quickly she was pulling me, Beth slowed down to a moderate pace, "Okay, maybe a little bit"
I narrowed my eyes at the blush that crept up her neck, "spill"
"Okay, okay. Ebony's called it off with Conor - said it didn't feel right"
I gasped, smacking Beth's arm in excitement.
"Ow you bitch! Careful with the merchandise"
"Why are you only telling me this now?!"
"I only found out this morning, she told me herself"
"Has she apologised to you?"
"Well, no. Not exactly-"
"Then don't even think about doing anything. You deserve basic respect"
Beth groaned, her head hanging backwards as we walked across the grass to the greenhouse.
"But she's pretty"
"Bethany"
"I know, I know. Basic respect. I got it"
I giggled, nudging her in the side, "she'll come around, if she dropped the act it's only a matter of time before she realises how shit she treated you the past year"
Beth nodded, "damn right"