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braveclementine · 5 months

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Chapter 12

Warnings: None, Readers under 18 can read this book. It is solely fluff- nothing sexual

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕬𝖙 𝖊𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙, 𝕴 met Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the entrance of the Great Hall and then we went in together. Fred, George, and Lee were there too along with multiple other Gryffindors. In fact, I was fairly certain every Gryffindor was here.

The Great Hall looked very different than I was used to. The four house tables were gone and there was a golden stage along one wall. The candles still floated overhead but the ceiling that usually reflected the weather outside had been turned off, revealing only the stone arches that the roof was constructed of. I wondered why that was.

A large majority of the school was packed in here, though I didn't see Cedric or any of the older Hufflepuffs. Heidi had come and had dragged Malcolm with her who looked sulky. Ernie and Zacharias were standing with Hannah, Susan, and Leanne.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" Hermione asked excitedly as we pushed our way through the crowd to get to the front row. "Someone told me that Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young- maybe it'll be him."

"As long as it's not-" Harry started and then groaned as Lockhart walked onto the stage, accompanied by Snape. They looked like the most unusual couple. Lockhart was wearing robes of bright plum while Snape wore his usual black.

Lockhart waved his arm for silence, something he immediately got though there were some giggles from the girls. Bloody hell. "Gather round, gather round!" Lockhart called unnecessarily as everyone was already crowded around the golden stage. "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions- for full details, see my published works."

I groaned, putting my head in my hands. Did he ever not talk about his books? Sure, he'd done some great stuff, but what a bragger!

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape." Lockhart continue. "He tells me he knows a tiny bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry- you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear."

I started to giggle and I covered my mouth with my hand. I'm sure he had 'sportingly' decided to kick Lockhart's arse.

"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron hissed in Harry's ear. I overheard and giggled harder. I needed to get a grip on myself. I pinched my lips together and looked up. Snape's lip was curling. His eyes flicked over for the briefest second to meet mine. I wasn't sure what my face looked like, probably amused.

They turned to face each other and bowed. Then, they raised their wands and I had a mental image of them starting to fight with their wands like swords. This brought on another onslaught of giggles. I needed a silencing charm done on me.

"As you see, we are holding your wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course." Lockhart said, motioning to their uplifted wands.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Harry muttered. I giggled for what was probably the fourth time, watching Snape bare his teeth.

Both of them swung their wands over their heads and pointed them at each other. Snape yelled, "Experlliarmus!" while Lockhart said nothing at all. There was a bright scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet. He flew backwards off the stage, smashed into the stone wall, narrowly missing a torch light, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

I jumped into the air and cheered. It was more epic in real life than it had been in the vision!

"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione squealed, looking through her fingers.

"Who cares?" Harry, Ron, and I all exclaimed together.

Lockhart got unsteadily to his feet. His robes were ruffled, his hat had fallen off, and his wavy hair was sticking out like a cat in water.

"Well, there you have it!" Lockhart said, walking back up to the stage. "That was a Disarming Charm- as you see, I've lost my wand- ah, thank you Miss Brown-" He said as Lavender Brown handed his wand to him eagerly. "-yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have only too easy- however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see."

I snorted. Snape's face contorted into a look that could quite literally kill. It was perhaps possible that Lockhart may have finally noticed as he decided that it was now time to pair us up so that we could practice with each other.

Snape reached Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I first, sneering down at us. I folded my arms. I wasn't afraid of him. "Time to split up the dream team, I think." He sneered. "Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter-"

Harry immediately moved closer to me and then towards Hermione, unsure who he was going to be partnered with.

"I don't think so." Snape said, his smile broadening. "Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter. And you Miss Granger- you can partner Miss Bulstrode. Miss Kane, you can partner with Miss Parkinson."

He wasn't showing any favoritism now. I watched the three Slytherins strut over. Bulstrode was one ugly girl. I said so out-loud. Harry snorted but I felt a sharp flick on my ear. My hand flew up and I turned and glared at Professor Snape. He glared down at me. I smiled at him. He stared at me for a second, colour coming into his face, and then looked away.

I walked some paces away and Pansy Parkinson and I faced each other. I wondered if she would actually try to disarm. Slytherins didn't particularly have a problem with Hufflepuffs but considering I was friends with Harry. . .

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted and there was movement in the crowd as everyone lifted their wands. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents- only to disarm them- we don't want any accidents- one. . . two. . . three-"

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, swinging my arm around my head the way Professor Snape had, and pointed it at Pansy. A scarlet light came out of my wand and sent her flying. I smiled, happy to have done the spell properly first try. It really wasn't very difficult. Pansy on the other hand, wasn't as happy.

She leapt to her feet and shouted, "Locomotor Mortis!" My legs snapped together and I nearly fell over. Luckily, I knew the counter-charm. I pointed my wand at my legs and said, "Locomotor Liberari" Once my legs were free, I glared at her. "Disarm only."

"Too bad." Pansy said narrowing her eyes at me. She shot another spell at me, but this time I was ready for it and I said, "Finite." Whatever spell she'd thrown at me was canceled. Then, angry, I shouted, "Mimble Wimble," and pointed my wand at her mouth.

She started to stutter and was unable to form the words to curse me again. With that in mind, I did Expelliarmus again, this time sending her wand flying from her hand though she stayed on her feet this time. Pansy glared at me and shouted something at me, but she stuttered over her words and against my will, I started to laugh. She sounded ridiculous and I was twelve and it was hilarious to me. She stormed over to where her wand was laying and grabbed it. I wasn't bothered. She wouldn't be able to perform a correct spell with her wand. I prepared to disarm her again, but thought against it.

Snape and Lockhart were moving through the crowd, undoing people's spells like Harry and Draco. Snape wandered over and undid Pansy's tongue-tying curse. She glared angrily at me. I shrugged, turned my back on her, and wandered over to where Harry was pulling Bulstrode off of Hermione. I helped Harry pull her off and made sure that Hermione was okay.

"I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells." Lockhart said, standing in the middle of the hall. "Let's have a volunteer pair- Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you-"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart." Snape said, gliding over. I say gliding because he certainly didn't look like he was walking. I wondered if he could turn into a bat the way Harry and Ron thought he could. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox."

Neville's face went pink. I scoffed, glaring at Snape. Must he always be picking on a Gryffindor?

"How about Malfoy and Potter?" Said Snape with a twisted smile. I glared at Snape again. Did he always have to torture Harry?

"Excellent idea!" Lockhart said, the way he always did when Harry was involved in something. He gestured that Harry and Malfoy should climb onto the golden stage, but I grabbed Harry's arm.

"Lockhart doesn't know how to block spells." I whispered furiously in his ear. "But if you create a shield with your wand and say finite, it should cancel most spells. Protego will also create a shield between you and your opponent."

"Thanks Liz." He muttered gratefully and then made his way up to the stage. I crossed my fingers and waited anxiously.

Lockhart was showing how he thought Harry should block. Harry wasn't paying him any attention. Instead, he was whispering under his breath the charm I'd given him. Finally Lockhart stepped back and said, "Three- two- one- go!" he shouted.

Malfoy raised his wand as fast as possible and shouted, "Serpensortia!"

Harry lifted his wand and said, "Finite," but it was too late. A black snake was already coming from Draco's wand and fell heavily onto the floor between the two duelers. There were actually screams from the crowd. Hypnotized, I moved even closer as I felt a pull from the snake, like it was a magnet and I was made of metal.

"Don't move, Potter." Snape said lazily. "I'll get rid of it." He raised his wand slowly. This, unfortunately, gave time for Lockhart to say, "Allow me!" He brandished his wand and there was a loud bang; the snake flew up into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud thud. It raised itself up even higher, facing me at first. I stared at it with wide eyes, frozen, but couldn't move my feet. "Go away," I whispered. I didn't think it would listen. But then, it turned to face Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Harry walked forward and I heard him say, "Leave him alone!" The snake slumped to the floor, looking like a black garden hose. Harry smiled and looked at Justin.

Justin looked back in anger and fright. "What do you think you're playing at?" He shouted and stormed out of the room. Harry's face turned from a smile to a shocked face. I quickly jumped onto the stage, avoiding Snape and Lockhart's gazes, and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him off the stage. Hermione and Ron followed us and we hurried from the Great Hall, people avoided us, even Fred, George, and Lee looked at us like they didn't know us. I looked away, unable to face that sort of look from Fred.

We made our way upstairs to the Gryffindor common room which was completely empty. Ron pushed Harry into an armchair, and he and Hermione cornered Harry. I sat down to the side of him on the couch.

"You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm a what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"A Parselmouth." Ron exclaimed exasperated. "You can talk to snakes!"

"I know." Harry said calmly, looking a bit confused. "I mean, that's only the second time I've ever done it. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once- long story- but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to- that was before I knew I was a wizard-"

I laughed tensely. I wish I'd been there.

"A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?" Ron asked, sounding like he might faint at any moment. I rolled my eyes. How theatrical.

"So?" Harry asked, more confused than ever. "I bet loads of people here can do it."

"Oh no, they can't." Ron said. "It's not a very common gift. Harry this is bad."

I frowned. I should ask Lupin if my dad or mum could speak Parseltongue. If both Harry and I could speak it, then perhaps it was something we'd inherited.

"What's bad?" Harry asked, anger tainting his confusion "What's wrong with everyone? Listen, if I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

"Oh, that's what you said to it?" Ron asked.

I frowned deeper. Even if I hadn't been able to speak Parseltongue, I figured the fact that the snake had stopped being angry and had laid docile on the floor was a given sign that it wasn't going to attack anymore.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked, still angry. "You were there- you heard me-"

"I heard you speaking Parseltongue." Ron said. "Snake language. You could have been saying anything- no wonder Justin panicked, you sounded like you were egging the snake on or something- it was creepy, you know-"

I scoffed. "He told the snake to back off."

Harry meanwhile, gaped at Ron in shock. "I spoke a different language? But- I didn't realize- how can I speak a language without knowing I can speak it?"

Ron shook his head, not having an answer. Hermione and him looked so somber that I burst out laughing. They glared at me. I grinned, shaking my own head in exasperation. Harry was getting snippy. "D'you want to tell me what's wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin's head? What does it matter how I did it as long as Justin doesn't have to join the Headless Haunt?"

"It matters." Hermione finally spoke, "because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."

Harry's mouth dropped open like this was a bad thing. Of course, I knew that Salazar Slytherin wasn't a bad person or wizard. He'd just had bad experiences when he was a kid which led him not to trust Muggles. People do things when they're afraid.

"Exactly." Ron said, "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-great grandson or something-"

"But I'm not." Harry said, sounding like he was about to panic.

"You'll find that hard to prove." Hermione said. "He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be."

I sighed. "It's not as bad as you think, Harry." I said. "I speak Parseltongue too."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to look at me. Ron and Hermione's mouths were dropped. "you can?" They all asked together.

I hesitated. "Well I think so at least. I mean, I understood what you were saying to the snake just a moment ago. And when the snake faced me, I told it to go away and that was when it turned to face Justin. I hadn't meant it to go towards another person, I just didn't want it near me."

Ron was gaping. I glared at him. Hermione sighed. "We can't worry about it right now."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'm going back to the Hufflepuff common room. Night." I walked out the door and took the long way back to the common room. Inside, the Hufflepuffs were talking, mostly of them surrounding Justin. When I walked in, the voices hushed and they all stared at me. I knew a few of them had heard me speak Parseltongue. There had been people next to me when I'd told the snake to go away.

I didn't pay any of them attention and headed up to the Hufflepuff dorm room. What a bunch of bloody idiots I was stuck with! I was not looking forward to Herbology tomorrow. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me. It took a long time to fall asleep.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌, however, there had been a blizzard and so our Herbology lesson was canceled. On that joyful note, I headed down to eat some breakfast. Cedric was sitting with some older students and the students my age all sat away from me so I sat down by myself in the middle of the table.

I didn't particularly care that they were avoiding me. My friends were the Gryffindors and they were the only friends that I needed. Yet. . .I couldn't forget the looks on Fred and George and Lee's faces. The utter shock. Suddenly, I found that I wasn't hungry. I was going to go to the forest today. I needed to talk to someone intelligent and someone that wasn't going to judge me. I wanted to learn from Firenze the results of my trial from weeks ago.

Knowing that I would get hungry later, I grabbed a couple of apples from the table and stood up, stuffing them in my bag. I left the Great Hall and made my way back to the common room. I was going to need my thick cloak, gloves, hat, and scarf.

In the dorm, I put some other things in my bag besides the apples. I included my sketchbook, journal, some glass jars, a pair of shears, a few muggle pencils I kept for only drawing, a couple of quills, and an ink pot. I left my dragon ring and bracelet from Fred in a drawer and locked it. I kept on my parents' necklace and also slipped on the necklace Lupin had gotten me last Christmas with the sapphire jewel. It reminded me of Firenze's eyes.

Then, pulling on my thick cloak, I stuffed the hat, gloves, and scarf into the bag to put on later. I flew down the stairs and ran smack dab into Cedric.

"Oh, hey, Cedric." I said breathless, bouncing back.

"Hey Elizabeth. I was wondering if I could talk to you real quick."

"Sure." I said, dread filling my veins.

"Can you tell me what happened at the dueling club?" Cedric asked, frowning.

"Draco Malfoy created a snake to attack Harry Potter. Lockhart tried to get rid of the snake but just made it angrier. It faced me, I told it to go away and it did, but it went towards Justin. It was going to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley. But Harry spoke Parseltongue and the snake backed down, becoming docile. Professor Snape got rid of the snake and Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and I pulled Harry out of the room." I said speaking as quickly and as concisely as possible.

Cedric nodded. "Thank you. I figured the others were exaggerating."

"Let me guess, they said Harry and I were egging on the snake to attack Justin?" I asked angrily.

Cedric nodded. "I was also approached that I should take you off the Quidditch team."

I looked at him in shock and my heart thudded. What! My eyes immediately filled with tears. STUPID HORMONES! I quickly looked away.

Cedric quickly said, "I told them to piss off, I'm not taking off one of my best fliers!" He seemed anxious that I shouldn't cry.

I wiped the tears away quickly. "Sorry, knee-jerk reaction." I said in a quavering voice. "I love the Quidditch team."

Cedric then did something unexpected. He pulled me into a hug. I froze for a second and then hugged him back and then we pulled apart quickly. Cedric smiled. "I'll never kick you off, no matter what, promise."

I grinned. "Thanks Cedric."

"Call me Ced." Cedric said. "That's what all my friends call me."

I grinned broadly. I couldn't believe this was happening! "My friends call me Liz." I admitted, blushing.

Cedric laughed and then raised a hand. "See ya around Liz." He walked off, back up to the boys dorm. I stood there for a second, trying to figure out if perhaps I had died and gone to heaven. A heaven were Cedirc Diggory was okay with me calling him Ced and being his friend! I nearly squealed aloud and then remembered what I was supposed to be doing.

I went outside in much better spirits. I made my way into the Forbidden Forest, looking for pretty flowers to pluck and press into my journal. I found a new area that I had never seen before and spent an hour drawing it. It came out a little worse than the intended outcome but I was decently proud of it. I wish I had a camera like Colin so I could take pictures and draw later. Maybe I'd ask for that in the future for Christmas or my birthday. Were cameras expensive? I'd have to ask Colin after he was unpetrified.

I heard hooves on snow and looked up, expecting to see Firenze but instead, it was Bane. I quickly leapt to me feet, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Was he going to attack me? Tell me to get out of his forest? I shivered from cold and nerves. Then, strangely, he simply walked past me and continued on his way. I stood standing there for another moment and then sat back down. That was. . .strange? Unexpected?

I gathered my stuff and made my way to a field of flowers and found ones that I didn't have. I cut them cleanly so that they could grow back and then worked on pressing the flowers into my journal.

I laid my journal and sketchbook out on the snow, taking turns using them. Then, I heard the soft indents of hooves on snow and I looked up. This time, it really was Firenze.

"Hello Firenze." I said, pressing a lavender colored flower into my book.

"Hello Elizabeth Kane." He said as he usually did. He knelt in the snow next to me. "I see you're back to being your artistic self."

I smiled, carefully sticking the plastic across the flower. "I couldn't stay away, to be completely honest. I miss drawing the forest and collecting things."

Firenze was quiet for a long moment while I regrew the flowers I had cut from the stems. I made sure to use as little willpower as possible so that the flowers wouldn't rely on magic to grow from now on.

I broke the silence as I picked up a charcoal pencil to draw the flower field for the umpteenth time. But this time, it would be a winter scene. I wondered what the spell was to bring drawings and paintings to life. I'd have to ask Professor Flitwick.

"I saw Bane earlier." I whispered softly, not pausing from drawing the field to look at Firenze. "But he did not say anything to me."

Firenze was quiet a bit longer, looking thoughtfully out into the field. I had a hard time concentrating and wondered if perhaps I could draw him into the landscape. However, I had a fear that I wouldn't be able to capture his handsomeness correctly, so I didn't.

"Yes. We decided not to do anything particular. You're still welcome in our discussions and forest but we also have decided to keep our teachings to a minimum." Firenze finally said slowly, looking at my drawing.

I sighed, a bit disappointed, but said, "I respect that. I never wanted to know your deep secrets anyways. Only what you wanted to share and I was eager to learn."

Firenze nodded slowly, his handsome face thoughtful. I wondered if there was a phase where I found most boys and men handsome. If so, I was definitely going through it. Lucius Malfoy, Professor Snape, Professor Lockhart, Firenze, Fred, Oliver, Percy, Fred, Lee, Cedric. I was certainly in a boy phase. "Yes, I know that. But it is harder to make the more prejudiced of us see the difference between stealing and learning."

But then again, simply thinking that men and boys were handsome just meant that I was a girl who liked boys, right? It didn't mean that I was particularly infatuated with any of them. After all, it wasn't like when I saw Lucius Malfoy I desired to be with him, no. I simply thought he had good features.

I nodded, blushing like crazy. "That's how the Slytherins at Hogwarts feel about Muggles. They believe that the Muggle-born witches and wizards are trying to steal magic."

Firenze laughed, a wonderful hearty sound that lifted my soul listening to it. "Yes, I do believe it is something like that."

A few more moments of silence and then I asked, "I hope you don't find this question rude, but are you cold, sitting in the snow?"

Firenze's sapphire blue eyes pierced me, amusement dancing like blue fire in his eyes. "Of course not."

I blushed. "Right, just curious."

"I will never be offended by your questions Elizabeth Kane, as long as you don't mind mine." He said, still sounding amused.

I nodded. "Then I'll ask another. Do you make fires? I've always been curious because even in the winter, I've never seen you stand around a fire. Though I must admit, I'm not usually out in the winter. And," I glanced at his upper chest. "do you ever wear a garment, not necessarily clothes, but something to cover your chest in the winter? I mean, you have a human like torso, so wouldn't that get cold at some point?"

Firenze laughed again. I blew away a piece of broken charcoal on my drawing, cheeks burning red.

"Ah Elizabeth Kane, you do ask strange questions. We do make fires occasionally, usually at night in the winter. No, we never cover our 'torsos' with any type of garment, though we do occasionally get cold. But its in our DNA so we've built up a system against it."

I nodded, though my cheeks were still red.

There was more silence. The Firenze rose from his haunches. "I must get back to the tribe. You should leave soon. There will be a blizzard tonight and you don't want to get lost in here after dark."

I nodded. "I'll be done in a moment." I squinted through the glaring sun beaming off the snow, finishing the touches on the drawing. Firenze bent down over my shoulder and examined the drawing. "You have talent, Elizabeth Kane."

"Thank you." I said breathlessly. Just like Professor Snape, Firenze's opinions meant the world to me. I kept the page open to that so the charcoal wouldn't transfer onto the next one. I put the jars, journal, and writing utensils back into my bag. I had forgotten to eat and I quickly pulled out an apple. "Er- would it be rude to give you this? I want to thank you."

Firenze looked at the apple in amusement and took it. He laughed for a third time and then laid his gaze back on me and said, "Elizabeth Kane, you are an amusing person and a joy this afternoon. I will gladly accept this." I blushed, a weird thumping in my heart.

Okay. So maybe I didn't think of being with Lucius Malfoy or Lockhart. But the others- Fred, Ced, Oliver, Percy. . .even Professor Snape and Firenze. If I could've stolen a kiss from any of them, I would've.

Course, Bane might just kill me if I kissed a Centaur. Or Firenze would end up paying the price. I wondered how Snape would react to me kissing him. I daydreamed his reaction for a moment. His reactions varied greatly from him giving me detention, proclaiming his love for me, and also fainting. I tried not to laugh aloud.

Firenze trotted off, smiling, and I quickly gathered the rest of my stuff and headed out of the forest. It was getting close to four, judging by the sun which was low in the sky. It would be dark very soon. I would have Quidditch practice later tonight so I should go to the Great Hall for dinner. But I couldn't bring myself to.

I stopped by Hagrid's cabin on the way in. He looked distracted and I asked what was wrong. "My roosters have been killed an' there was 'nother attack up at ter school." He said, looking out the window.

"Another attack!" I exclaimed. What? I hadn't foreseen that! "Who was it? What happened?"

Hagrid grunted, shaking his head and setting a tea cup in front of me. "I was going ter see Professor Dumbledore 'cause o' the roosters dying and I ran inter Harry. He seemed a bit distracted. Anyway, the attack was on Justin Finch-Fletchley an' Nearly Headless Nick." Hagrid said grimly.

"Oh my. . ." I said and all amusing thoughts about boys and men and Professors and centaurs left my head almost immediately. "Nearly Headless Nick! But what can do that to a ghost?"

Hagrid shrugged, sipping his jug of tea. "Beats me. Professor McGonagall brought Harry up ter Dumbledore's office. Apparently some o' the students think Harry did it. Codswallop, Harry would ne'r do it." I nodded my head in agreement. "Dumbledore don' think it was Harry neither, which is good."

I nodded, not relieved. "I should go up to the castle Hagrid."

"Yeah, yeah. . ." Hagrid said, but I saw he seemed really upset so I didn't get up right away.

I fingered my cup and then asked, "Hagrid, what's really bothering you?"

Hagrid didn't answer me for a moment and then cleared his throat and said, "You 'ought to get up ter the castle Elizabeth. It's dangerous ter be out to late now."

I bit my lip but took the hint and made myself scarce. When I entered the Great Hall, I heard everyone talking about the attack in hushed whispers. I decided I'd go back to the Hufflepuff common room, but Cedric intercepted me outside the Great Hall where people were eating and talking in hushed whispers.

"Liz!" He exclaimed, "There you are. Professor Snape has been looking for your for hours, where have you been?"

I was distracted for a moment because even though it was a serious situation, he still remembered to call me Liz. "I was outside." I answered as honestly as I could. "I visited Hagrid." For about five minutes I tacked on without saying.

Cedric nodded hurriedly and said, "I don't know what he wants with you but he said it was important. He said he'd be waiting in Professor Dumbledore's office."

I started to walk and then I turned and said, "Ced, did something happen while I was out?"

Cedric nodded and then said, "Blimey, you wouldn't know. There's been a double attack. Justin from our house and also Nearly Headless Nick."

I dropped my mouth in mock surprise and said, "A ghost?"

Cedric nodded seriously. "We have to cancel practice tonight."

"What?! Why?" I asked, nearly on the left side of whining.

Cedric said downhearted, "The teachers are talking about upping curfew even earlier. We may have to start practicing early in the mornings instead."

I nodded. "I ought to go see Snape and Dumbledore and see what they want. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem." Ced said, looking down. Justin was a part of our house after all. "See ya around."

I hurried off in the direction of Dumbledore's office, almost sprinting. My heart pounded with anticipation. I hadn't seen this and this had been a big moment. How had I missed this? Sure, I hadn't been looking, but usually the big moments just came to me.

I knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office, catching my breath.

"Come in." I heard tired words.

I opened the door and stepped into the room. Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore were waiting, all of them standing.

"Where were you?" Snape hissed angrily. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

I thought maybe my thick cloak, gloves, scarf, and snow-dusted boots might've been a dead give away to me having been outside, but I said nothing.

"Severus." Dumbledore said calmly, raising his hand. "Miss Kane, if you don't mind, where were you?"

There was no way in burning hell I was going to tell the headmaster that I had broken one of the schools top rules. So instead, I fibbed just a little. "I visited Hagrid and I also went out to draw." I blushed, embarrassed, and took out my sketchbook, nearly dropping it. I handed it to the Professor Dumbledore who took it.

His eyebrows raised for a moment and he handed it back. "You are quite talented Miss Kane."

"Thank you Professor." I said quietly, sliding the sketchbook back into my bag. "What did you want to see me about?"

"Have you heard about the double attack?" Professor Dumbledore asked, peering at me through his glasses.

I nodded, "Cedric Diggory filled me in on my way here though I had heard about it ten minutes earlier from Hagrid."

"Did you have any prior knowledge to this attack?" Dumbledore asked seriously.

I shook my head. "No, I had no idea. But then again, I wasn't watching. Usually, they come to me, the big moments like this at least, on their own. But I didn't get any notion that this would happen. My last image was that Professor Snape was going to kick Lockhart's. . . er- that Professor Snape was going to duel Lockhart at the dueling club." I blushed and flicked my eyes up to Professor Snape's for just a second. His lips curled into a smile. "I haven't seen anything else."

Professor Dumbledore nodded, "That will be all then."

"That's it?" Professor McGonagall asked. Dumbledore looked at her and I did too.

"That's it unless you have anything you'd like to tell us." Dumbledore said, speaking to her and myself at the same time. My eyes flicked over behind Dumbledore where a pile of ashes lay, a baby phoenix sitting there. I guess Fawkes had been reborn today.

I shifted uncomfortably where I was standing. There were multiple things I could tell Dumbledore about. The Polyjuice potion, the voices that Harry and I were hearing in the wall, etc.

Slowly I said, "Er- well I know for a fact that it wasn't Harry, but you seem to have figured that out. But um, there are some that believe that um. . ." I drifted off uncomfortably and then spit out, "Some think Draco Malfoy is the heir."

Snape made a sudden movement and I avoided looking at him.

"What do you think?" Dumbledore asked me, also ignoring Snape.

I hesitated and then said, "I don't believe it's him. The most obvious person is never the one."

"And why is he obvious?" Professor Snape hissed. It was the only time that he'd been hostile towards me, but it didn't faze me.

I looked at Dumbledore. "Well, he hates Muggle-borns. He also ummm, he said that he hopes a Muggle-born dies this time. . . umm preferably. . ." I hesitated. "Well, he hasn't said it yet, but I've had a vision of him telling Crabbe and Goyle that he hopes that Hermione Granger dies this time." My cheeks coloured.

Professor McGonagall gasped and seemed ready to say something but Dumbledore raised his hand and she pressed her lips together thinly.

"Thank you for telling me this Miss Kane." Professor Dumbledore said calmly.

"It isn't him, at least I'm 90% sure it isn't Malfoy and he hasn't said what I've just said yet, but I'm just telling you other people's suspicions." I said.

Snape was fuming. "If Professor Dumbledore believes Potter couldn't have done it as a second-year, then why would they believe that Malfoy could have done it- in the same grade as Potter."

I hesitated and then said, "Because of his father. Some believe that Malfoy's father opened the chamber when he was at school and passed the secret down to Draco. But the chamber was opened before Malfoy's fathers time so I knew that it couldn't be possible."

"Do you know who opened it last time?" Snape asked. "Was it really Hagrid?"

I started to get aggravated and anxious. Why the hell did I open my mouth? "No, it wasn't Hagrid. But I also don't know who it was. . . yet." My eyes glinted dangerously. "But once I figure it out, I'm going to clear Hagrid's name."

"Very well." Dumbledore said, but I could tell he was disappointed. "You may go."

I practically fled the room.

⬅️➡️

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