A Memorable Tale

65 | Rebound

As the first Quidditch game of the year approached, Ron seemed to contrast more and more with his flaming hair, turning paler and paler as he entered the Great Hall for the last time before the match, as if this were his final meal before going on The Mile.

During the game, the library was filled with students who finally got to use a library as a place to study rather than a place to hear hushed gossip and flat out bullying — which Madam Pince truly couldn't care less about.

"I can still see your snail's shell," I pointed out to Terry, who was practicing Transfiguration. I waved my wand at the tea cup in front of me and it grew legs and began walking about the table, stopping on Padma's saucer and sitting down, the legs disappearing.

"Show-off."

"At least mine moved. Yours grew legs but was frozen in place."

Sue and Mandy giggled as Terry slouched in his chair, his face growing red.

Anthony waved his wand similarly and the tea cup changed from a creamy white to a pale blue. "Ugh... It was supposed to be darker."

"At least it changed!" Michael's eyes rolled to the sky. "You're too hard on yourself, Anthony."

Morag hunched over her Herbology notes, her head in her hands. "Who named these? I can hardly remember gillyweed."

"Belladonna sounds like the name of a beautiful but dangerous woman," Sue said dreamily.

"Well, it is a poison," Lisa reminded her.

Before we could truly bask in the studying environment that was given to us, surrounded by the hushed conversations of things that were actually intelligible, the library doors burst open as those who were watching the math entered.

Slytherins bullied younger students from their tables and the sounds of books being dropped and open, spells being cast as if the volume was going to affect the performance and people loudly singing a song about Weasley being king or something, we all gathered our things and returned to the common room.

"Idiots," Padma muttered, a couple of us nodding in agreement.

We walked into the common room after answering the riddle and sat at our usual table.

"Did you hear?" Sue started. "Harry and George started fighting Malfoy."

"How did you even hear that?" Michael shook his head. "Your ear for gossip should be used in class, then maybe you wouldn't be taking some nonsense class like Divination."

"Divination is not nonsense."

"Anyways, what did you say about Harry and George?" I asked, although I knew I was really talking about what she said about Draco.

"They got in a fight with Malfoy. Madam Hooch put a stop to it and sent them to McGonagall's office."

Mandy shuddered. "Let's hope Umbridge doesn't find out, or they'll be in some deep trouble."

"Something tells me that she already did." I looked back at my Charms textbook.

What did that idiot do now?

"You're not going to go find them, are you?" Padma asked with a raised brow.

"...Of course not. We have studying to do."

•••

The last D.A. meeting before Christmas break was mainly review, which is strange when it comes to there being no teacher at all but a scrawny boy with scruffy hair and round glasses walking about.