As soon as the bell rings signalling the end of classes I practically run out of the broom cupboard I was sitting in during my spare and head into the music room on the seventh floor to rehearse for the Frog Choir. It's become a tradition I guess, to have the Hogwarts Frog Choir to sing at the beginning of the first quidditch match of the year. Which makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it but I've been in the Choir since first year and I'm slowly getting used to being in front of so many people. Mum and dad haven't got a clue that I'm in the choir and I made sure that no one told them, its safer for me to have them think that Leah is the only one that likes to sing or else they'd make me perform all the time.
"Ah Miss Weasley! Early as always!" Professor Flitwick says as I enter the room. He's always excited to see me, even though I just finished double charms with him after lunch.
"Course Professor. Wouldn't miss choir practice for anything." I say with a smile. It's true. Just being in this classroom makes me think that life isn't as bad as it's been.
It's not long until other students start coming into the classroom. Mia Davis, Phoebe Martins, Bailey Chang, Christopher Herman, Floyd Dean, Darcy...
I haven't really seen much of Darcy since Hogsmeade. I heard from Rose and Leah that he actually ended up kicking Todd Martin in the back once he realized what was going on but he hasn't said anything to me about it. And I'm not too sure if I should say anything. I didn't at first and now it's been a month so I really don't think that I should say anything now.
"Hey, Cass," Mia says as she passes me. She's in the same year as Freddie is, only in Ravenclaw. A shame honestly, cause that means she's far too bright to fall for Freddie.
"Alright, people focus! We've got two days before performance and I hate to be the bringer of bad news but some of us aren't off-book yet!" Flitwick says. He's standing on a chair in the middle of the room so we can all see him clearly. "I need everyone in their places please!"
Darcy and I are situated side by side in the front row of the choir given that both of us are pretty short. I never met Darcy's dad but I don't think he was a very tall individual and Auntie Em is as short as they come.
Our arms brush up against each other and it gives me chills. I should really say something to him. I mean now feels like a decent enough time to say hi at least...
"Alright, everyone! From the top!" Flitwick says loudly, cutting through the thought of talking to Darcy.
Everyone takes a collective deep breath and starts singing the song we've been practicing since September;
Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double, toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes!
I look at Darcy's side profile and sort of admire how perfect it is. Which is weird and I'm fully aware of how weird that sounds, but it really is perfect. His nose has the slightest bump in it but it fits his face perfectly. His jawline is sharp, his lips are big...
Eye of newt and toe of frog
Wool of bat and tongue of dog
Addler's fork and blind worms sting
Lizard's leg and howlets wing!
"Stop! Stop!" Flitwick screams. Everyone stops singing almost instantly. Even the toads that Phoebe and Christopher stop making noise. Flitwick hops off his chair and comes to stand in front of us all, "The line is Addler's FORK and blind worm's STING. Say it with me altogether because one of you is simply not getting it!"
Everyone says the line carefully, "Addler's fork and blind worm's sting."
Flitwick glares at each of us in turn, trying to figure out which one of us is messing it up. "Do that verse again before you continue with the rest of the song!" He shrieks. We wait till he's standing back up on his chair before we start singing again.
Eye of newt and toe of frog
Wool of bat and tongue of dog
Addler's fork and blind worm's sting
Lizard's leg and howlets wing!
By the look on Flitwick's face, it's safe to say that we did the verse correctly. I look at Darcy again and to my surprise, he's looking at me too. Both of us quickly turn our attention back to Flitwick and his flailing arms as he conducts us.
Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes!
Flitwick smiles and shouts something along the lines of 'yes! Perfect!' but I can't hear him over my own singing voice. Darcy bumps my shoulder and looks at me with a smile on his face before fixing his eyes back onto Flitwick.
In the cauldron boil and bake,
Fillet of a fenny snake
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf
Witches mummy, maw and gulf
The next bit of the song is the hardest to get right given a few of us have a special part we have to sing. The boys, Christopher, Floyd, and Darcy have to repeat the chorus in a very deep voice while each of the girls have their own special verse. Mia is first.
Roundabout the cauldron go (double, double toil and trouble)
In the poisoned entrails go (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
Toad that under cold stone (double, double, toil and trouble)
Days and nights has thirty-one (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
Sweltered poison, sleeping got (double, double toil and trouble)
Boil thou first I' charmed pot (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
Then everyone joins in for the last line of the chorus which is 'something wicked this way comes!'
"Beautiful Mia! Absolutely perfect!" Flitwick shouts as everyone prepares for Phoebe's verse.
Finger of birth-strangled babe (double, double toil and trouble)
Ditch delivered by a drab (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
Make the gruel thick and slab (double, double, toil and trouble)
Add thereto of a tigers chauldron (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
For the ingredients of our cauldron
That verse is definitely not my favourite. Honestly, no wonder why muggles are so nervous about magical folk when we talk about throwing fingers of stillborn babies into our cauldrons all the time. Something that doesn't even happen... I hope.
My verse is next, well it's less of a verse and more of two lines, which the boys all sing double, double toil and trouble over and over again as I sing.
For a charm of powerful trouble (double, double, toil and trouble)
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble (double, double, toil and trouble)
I was supposed to get one of the bigger verses to sing but I can barely get through my two measly lines without wanting to vomit everywhere so I really don't know how I'd manage to do a six-lined verse. Darcy nudges me again as a sort of 'good job' thing. At least I hope that's what it meant.
Flitwick is over the moon, he's nearly bouncing up and down at this point, which honestly is well deserved. This is the best run through we've had so far.
Finally, it's Bailey's turn, she's also got a small part but she also gets to sing, or rather, shout the last line which is a pretty important part.
Cool it with a baboons blood (double, double toil and trouble)
Then the charm will be firm and good (fire burn and cauldron bubble)
We go through one more round of the chorus as a group before Bailey ends it with a very loud, and perfectly pitched, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES!
Flitwick breaks into a massive round of one-person applause which makes everyone laugh. "Perfect! Absolutely perfect! But please let's focus on presentation? Meaning you have got to stop looking at each other while you sing!" He doesn't exactly say that it was Darcy and me who were stealing glances at each other but I know that he was talking about us.
"I'm going to put a bit of parchment on the far wall with a big dot on it. That's where I want you to be looking throughout the entire performance. Straight ahead!" Flitwick hops of his chair, "Go get some water everyone, it's going to be a long practice!"
Darcy walks away from the group and heads out into the hallway, looking for a water fountain probably. Now's better than ever I guess.
I go over to my backpack and take my water bottle out before following Darcy out of the classroom. He's down the corridor a little way, taking a long drink from one of the fountains nearby. I approach him carefully and stand behind him. I take a deep breath and calm my nerves. Why do I have nerves? Darcy is like my best friend.
"Hey," I say quietly.
Darcy nearly jumps out of his skin. He hits his head on the top part of the fountain and groans before turning around and looking at me, "Godric Weasley, warn a person next time." He says with a slight smile on his face.
He moves out of my way so I can fill up my water bottle. I can feel him watching me as I do it which makes my hands shake a little. Turning back around I twist the cap back onto my water bottle.
"I guess it's a little awkward if I thank you for what you did in Hogsmeade huh?"
Darcy laughs and shakes his head, "It wasn't a big deal. You don't deserve to be called mean things. Especially from someone you barely know."
"Sorry, you got detention for it. If I smarter I would have realized that it was a prank and no one would have gotten in trouble." I do my best to not look directly into Darcy's eyes, looking at his neck, his eyebrows, my feet, anywhere but his eyes.
"You're fucking kidding me right?" He says it so seriously that I have to look at him now. His eyes are determined, annoyed almost. "Cass it's not your fault. Nothing that happened that day was your fault."
"I mean if I just - "
"No stop Cass I'm serious. Nothing that day was your fault." We look at each other for what feels like forever after that but it was probably like three seconds max. "Say it with me. Nothing that day was your fault."
"Nothing that day was my fault," I say barely above a whisper.
It seems to satisfy Darcy though because he smiles, "I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend recently. I've been working out a few things and I needed to distance myself for a second. Won't happen again."
"Are you alright? Is everything okay?" I say in a panicked tone. My mind instantly goes to the worst possible scenario. Like Auntie Em moving to America and Darcy will have to transfer out of Hogwarts and into Ilvermorny or something.
"Not anything bad... I don't think at least. It's good, I'm good."
"You can tell me you know. I'm supposed to be your best friend."
Darcy laughs and rubs the back of his neck with his hand. Is he... nervous? I can't really tell.
"You have Halloween plans?" He asks me.
I shake my head, I nearly forgot that Halloween is tomorrow honestly. Hogwarts puts together a pretty great feast and lots of pumpkins are brought up from Professor Hagrid's garden but other than that not much happens. Well, Freddie and Lou tend to have something massive planned and Leah always tries to outdo them which means absolute chaos in the corridors for a few hours.
"No, I haven't got a thing planned. Suppose I'll bum around in the library and help Madam Pince with things and see if any first years need tutoring."
Darcy smiles, "Or you could come carve a pumpkin with me? Hufflepuff is having a competition, best jack o lantern wins twenty galleons. I could use some help with mine."
"Molly's the artist, you should ask her to help if you really need the prize money."
"Alright but I'm asking you."
"You and I both know that I can't even draw a stick witch let alone carve a pumpkin good enough to win a prize."
Darcy goes to say something but Flitwick pops his head out of the classroom down the corridor and looks at us both, "Break is over you two come back in here."
Darcy looks at me and shrugs before we start down the corridor together. "Come help me tomorrow. We're allowed to bring a friend to help. You'll get to see inside the Puff common room."
"You've already shown me inside the Puff common room remember?"
Darcy pulls the door open for me and I step back into the classroom. He waits as I take another drink from my water before putting it back in my backpack, "Godric Cassiopeia, how did Todd do it so easily?" He says as we get back into positions.
"Do what so easily?"
"Ask you out, cause it's either Albus and Scorpius were wrong about you fancying me too or you're just extremely pigheaded."
Flitwick climbs back up onto his chair and looks at us all but I'm not paying attention to what he's saying.
"Albus and Scorpius said..."
"That they think you fancy me yeah. So I'm asking you to come help me lose the pumpkin carving contest with me."
"As a date?"
Darcy rolls his eyes, "Uh yeah?"
Flitwick claps his hands together, "From the beginning everyone! I want books down, chins up. Absolutely no mistakes!"
I sing absent-mindedly with the rest of the choir, all I can think about is what Darcy just said to me.
That and what hex to use on Al and Scor for opening their big mouths.