Chapter Text
“I heard that he himself was a Slytherin, but wanted to be a Gryffindor. Some say that he changed his house on all of his records just to get the position.” Bethany searched around for who had spoken. It was a sixth year boy that had previously been reading in the corner.
“Is that even possible, Panav?” another boy asked.
Panav closed his book and sighed. “Theoretically, no. In actuality, why not? It would depend on how well he paid the ministry officials.”
“There’s no way, Patil. McGonagall would have remembered him or at least seen his records before the switch,” Eddie reasoned.
“What about the rumor of him being close friends with Ivy Strauss’ parents?” Everyone’s attention turned to a small girl with bright blonde hair and a squeaky voice. She blushed, fidgeting with her uniform’s tie. “The Strauss’ are rich so they’d be able to pay Hawthorn to keep Ivy happy. For example, winning the house cup and stuff.”
Kat nodded, rubbing her chin. “That would explain why she never gets in trouble.”
“That’s actually a pretty decent theory,” Eddie agreed. He stood, stretched, and yawned. The common room had become dark, a few spare candles and the fireplace casting a warm glow on everyone. “Alright, enough of that. Is everyone ready for the first Friday night party of the semester!”
A few cheers rang out in the otherwise quiet common room. “Well, that was depressing.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “Either way, it’s going to be brilliant so do your studying before tomorrow night.”
“Yes, we asked the kitchen elves to make us some Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. I think Eddie ordered in some Butterbeer from Hogsmeade as well,” Amina added. She grinned at Eddie as the whole common room clapped and cheered.
“It’s always food,” he grumbled and came to sit beside Bethany and Kat.
“Friday night party?” Bethany whispered to her friends. “I thought Ravenclaws hated that kind of stuff. I thought they only studied and whatnot.”
Eddie squinted his eyes and scoffed. “Who told you that? I’m offended.”
“No, you’re not. The whole reason we started having these parties was because too many kids were stressing themselves out with school,” Kat said, rolling her eyes.
“Well, that’s...that’s true, but some of us actually enjoy having fun.”
Friday went by excruciatingly slow for Bethany and Kat. It seemed that every teacher had upped their class difficulty for the OWLs. In Professor Binn’s own words, “You can never prepare too much for success,” and something else Bethany didn’t care to pay attention to.
Kat pinched the bridge of her nose as they headed to the dormitories after dinner. “We need to find cheats for the test. That’s the only way I’m passing.”
“They use Anti-Cheating Spells, remember? So, I guess we’ll just have to pass the hard and legal way.”
“That sounds like rubbish. Maybe we can just run away to a dragon farm in Romania instead.”
Bethany laughed as they turned the corner to the eagle-knocker door. “Good evening, ladies,” it started. “What disappears as soon as you say its name?”
Kat groaned. “Can’t you just let us in this once? I’ve had enough thinking and problem solving today.”
The eagle knocker made a wheezing sound, almost like a laugh. “No. Come on; this one is easy!”
“It disappears as soon as you say its name?” Bethany mumbled and rubbed her chin. “Is it a secret?”
“No, good guess though.”
“What about a wish?” Kat asked through gritted teeth. The eagle knocker wheezed again.
“Nope. I told you this one was easy, right?”
“Fine. A ghost, a curse, a-"
"What about silence?" A squeaky voice from behind them said. Frankie stepped in front of them as the door laughed.
"Correct, Mr. Finnigan. You three may enter."
As the door creaked open, Frankie grinned. "You couldn't get 'silence?' That was easy!"
Kat huffed and slugged his arm. "You better watch what you say Mr. Finnigan."
Frankie laughed, sprinting toward the sofa and far away from Kat's reach.
"I can't believe we just got beat by a first year," Bethany sighed.
"You can say that again."
POP! Kat and Bethany flinched as blue and bronze confetti showered over them. “Surprise! Are you ready to party?” Eddie yelled, coming to grab both Bethany and Kat’s shoulders.
“Bethany, I’ll be right back,” the blue-haired girl muttered. Kat scurried off to the girl’s dormitories, tucking her hands in her robe pockets.
Eddie scratched the top of his head. “Did something happen?”
“Rough day. I think she’s nervous for OWLs.”
“Ah. She shouldn’t be worried, though. Kat’s always been one of the most brilliant of her year.”
Bethany smiled and nodded. “I think she’d like to hear that from someone who has already taken their OWLs.” Eddie hummed in agreement until Bethany nudged his arm. “Also known as you.”
“Oh. Oh.” The boy laughed to himself, taking off toward the dormitories. She could hear him calling for Kat in the midst of the common room noise. However, before Bethany could turn to sit on the sofa, Vanessa, Frankie’s sister, caught hold of Eddie’s shoulder.
Bethany could barely make out what she was saying, but the look on Eddie’s face was telling- quite telling.
“You want-” Eddie was cut off by someone coughing. His face lit up, crazy grin and everything.
“This can’t be good,” Bethany muttered to herself. She watched as Vanessa led Eddie toward the common room window, away from the crowd returning from classes.
Understanding dawned in Bethany’s mind. Hurrying to the dormitories, Bethany found Kat face down on her mattress. She could hear the soft sound of sniffling echo in the quiet room.
“Kat?” Bethany whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Uh-huh?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just those darn OWLs, am I right?”
She sighed and patted Kat’s shoulder. “I saw Eddie and Vanessa.”
“Oh.” The girl wiped her eyes on her sleeve and turned onto her back. “Did you hear the news? Vanessa and Marcos broke up yesterday.”
“That doesn’t mean Eddie is going to-”
“But you’ve seen the way he looks at her, Bethany.” Silence filled the dorm as the two girls stared at their hands. There was nothing Bethany could say to counter Kat’s statement. She had seen him looking at her during the Start-of-Term feast only a few weeks ago.
“I’m sorry, Kat. I’m sure this hurts.”
Her friend waved her hand. “Not more than usual. I might feel better with some chocolate, though.”
Bethany smiled and nodded, getting up from the bed. “In that case, I’ll be back with a whole trunk of it.”
“Really? Nothing chocolate?” Bethany muttered, rifling through the treats that had been set out for the party. The room was filled with laughing kids and party decor strewn about. Eddie and Vanessa were talking excitedly on the navy sofa, both unnecessarily close to the other.
She felt conflicted. Eddie wore the biggest smile she had ever seen while Kat was nearly sobbing upstairs. As Bethany exited the common room, she rubbed her temples. She had a feeling that this was going to cause her a lot of trouble.