❝ Raise your daughters to shout, to scream, to hold their heads up high for being themselves before society tries to teach them how to silence themselves, how to wear shame like it is a second skin. Let them taste rebellion from the moment they are born and watch them become flames to start a revolution. ❞ — Nikita Gill

   I squinted my eyes open, seeing at first nothing but a blurred environment. The familiar softness of bedsheets and warmth of blankets enveloped my body. But this wasn't my fluffy bed back in the Gryffindor Tower.

I rubbed my eyes sluggishly, the view starting to clear a little. I contemplated sitting up, but an immediate throb of pain on my head made me fall back down on the bed with a loud groan.

   With my left hand, I tentatively reached for my head. It was all wrapped up in bandages. The view had now cleared completely, allowing me to register that I was in the Hospital Wing.

   Although it was probably late afternoon — the large wall clock struck five pm — the room was oddly dark, the sky outside a dull shade of grey. I was also the only person in the entire infirmary.

   "Madame Pomfrey," I called, but my voice was weak. "Madame Pomfrey!" I tried again, this time much louder, although it made my head throb.

   "Ah, dear, you're finally awake," I heard the nurse's relieved voice as she hastened over to my bed.

   She grabbed a bottle of yellowish juice from the night table nearby, and I asked her how long I'd been there.

   "Two days," she said, handing me a glass full of the disgusting-looking juice that resembled goo. "You got hit by a Bludger really hard in the head. At first I was concerned that you wouldn't make it, but look at you now, fine and awake, thank Merlin! Such a fortunate thing that that blasted ball didn't mess with your brain neurons."

   "Well, I don't feel fine," I commented, taking a sip of the juice.

   My head was really, really aching. What if my skull was cracked? And what about the match? As soon as I'd get out of the hospital, I'd have to face Stanley's lecture about how careless I was out there in the pitch, and how I was probably the reason the game got cancelled and that later we'd have to do a rematch.

   I had sworn to myself that I would give it my best and not to make a fool out of myself. Yet here I was now, after having made the biggest fool out of myself on my very first match. Perfect.

   "Of course you don't. You aren't supposed to feel fine, dear, you suffered a strong concussion," Madame Pomfrey said, giving me a funny look. "Your skull was cracked alright. It was a deep gash but it's healed evidently now. You'll hopefully be out by tomorrow evening."

   I groaned, closing my eyes for a moment. So I was obliged to spend a whole day in the Hospital Wing with a cracked skull, unable to move or do anything else, apart from shifting my eyes restlessly around the room and having to miss yet another school day.

   If Stanley found out I was finally awake, he'd rush to the Hospital Wing only to start yelling at me at his first given chance, and in a situation like this, I had no way to escape from him.

   As if I had just silently prayed for a miracle to happen, the doors of the Hospital Wing sprang open and Sibi stepped inside. Her waist-length hair was curled at the tips and pinned back with a flower hair clip, and her hazel eyes shone with gladness when she saw that I was awake. She was wearing a tangerine skirt that reached just below her knees and flowed like silk behind her as she made her way to my bed with a wide beam.

   "Sibi!" I cried, the corners of my lips twisting upwards at the sight of my best friend.

   "Polly, thank God you're finally awake!" Sibi exclaimed, her voice laced with deep relief. I caught a whiff of her floral perfume as she took a seat on a chair just next to my bed. "I was so worried about you. Everyone was."

   "What happened?" I asked.

   "Well, one of the Beaters of the Hufflepuff team wanted to hit Mike but you rushed to save him so the Bludger hit you instead."

   I rolled my eyes. "You don't say?" I replied, letting out a laugh.

   "Everybody starting running towards you and the teachers brought you here immediately," Sibi continued, dismissing my ironic remark. "That guy obviously did it intentionally, so he was punished for that. What a bloody git! By the way, we won the match. 170-0; Mike had caught the Snitch a few seconds before you were hit by the Bludger. The Hufflepuff team had no time to score any goals."

   "So the match wasn't cancelled?" I replied with eyes agape, and when Sibi shook her head, I heaved out a sigh of relief.

   A slow smile was built on my face at the acknowledgment that our team had won. Although I'd still made a fool out of myself, I had done it with the intention of protecting my best friend, which I was very glad about.

   "What's been going on in school? How much have I missed?"

   "Nothing much, really," Sibi replied with a shrug. "Today in Charms' class we learned how to levitate heavy objects, which was actually somewhat difficult. Rena and Ralph were messing about with a bookcase and ended up accidentally tossing it out of the window."

   "Why am I not surprised?" I murmured with a laugh. No such mischief could possibly be an accident when it came to the Richards. "What about Defense Against the Dark Arts? What did Breeze teach you today?"

   "We practiced the Protego spell," Sibi said. "Our plan's going pretty well so far, by the way. These days, Mike and I have spent all of our free time with the Richards and Alex."

   "That's great, guys," I said with an honest smile, though I couldn't help but feel a little unhappy that I hadn't been with them.

   Alas, it felt like two whole weeks had passed instead of three days!

   "Speaking of Alex," Sibi continued thoughtfully, her eyebrows pressed into a line. "I don't know what it is, but something has definitely changed about him. I mean, he isn't . . . exactly the same person he used to be last year. We never used to hang out before because, well," she straightened her back, lifting her chin, "my free time was and still is too valuable to be spent with self-centered nitwits like him. But this year he's been, I dunno . . . quieter, I guess. Doesn't go around boasting as much as he used to, or trying to get himself some attractive brainless bimbo."

   I couldn't help but give a loud laugh at Sibi's exquisite choice of words. She arched an eyebrow at me.

   "Attractive brainless bimbo?" I asked, cackling in laughter once again.

   "Well, definitely," Sibi replied, as though pointing out the obvious. "Do you expect moral clever girls to stoop so low as to go out with a person like him, who takes everyone and everything as a joke?"

   I looked at her mutely for a few seconds.

   "Is he really that bad?" I asked. "I mean, I know he may look like the typical bad boy and all, but I wouldn't be so quick to judge him if I were you."

   She was the one to let out a light laugh this time. "You're such a nice person, Pol. Always looking at the bright side and giving people chances. I didn't say he's a horrible human, but I've known him ever since year one and . . . well, we were kids back then but he started showing his true personality last year. Oh, and also, he's had like, six to seven girlfriends so far. Not that it's any of my business, but the bloke needs to chill."

   "Six to seven?" I gasped, my eyes goggling in astonishment.

   "That's why I'm saying that it is surprising how he hasn't gallanted with anyone this year so far," Sibi said. "He's been kinder to us too. To be honest, he was never actually rude, but these days that he's hung around with us, he's been more . . . genuine, you know. Naturally nice, not in his overly chivalric ways."

   I nodded, my brain slowly processing what she'd just told me. Before I could open my mouth to say something, Sibi added, "Oh, he even came to visit you here yesterday."

   I froze as the information left me temporarily speechless. Why would he even bother to come and visit me? We weren't the best of friends or something— I still didn't know whether to consider him an actual friend or not.

   "O-Oh," was what simply managed to stumble out of my lips.

   Sibi's twinkling eyes were focused intently on mine, as though she was trying to grasp something.

   "Polly, I swear to God, if that git has made up his mind to make you his next girlfriend, I will—"

   But I dissolved in laughter before she could finish her sentence. There was no way I'd let my first boyfriend be Alex Forster. Although I was truly grateful that he'd kept my real identity a secret and had been really understanding about me being Robert Kin's daughter, I couldn't ever imagine myself developing feelings for him.

   "Don't worry, Sibi, Alex is not my type," I replied in amusement.

   Her face softened, the contented smile reappearing on her lips.

   "Good," she said. "Because I'd never let my best friend date a person who wouldn't appreciate her enough or even take her seriously in the first place."

   "I wouldn't let that happen either, trust me," I said in an assuring tone. "Hey, where's Mike, by the way?"

   "No idea," Sibi said with a shrug. "I was just hanging out with the Richards and they introduced me to another pair of twins from Hufflepuff — Merlin, they know the whole school! So yeah, then I decided to come and pay you a visit. Mike was here yesterday; now that I'll tell him you're awake, he's probably gonna visit again this evening."

   After a small pause, she added, "Oh, and he's really grateful that you saved his life, Polly."

   "It's no problem at all. I had to," I said. "If it wasn't for Mike who took me to his house that night in the summer, who knows where I'd be by now."

   "Come on," Sibi laughed. "I would have done the same thing if I saw you from the window of my house."

   "Oh, I'm sure you would," I replied, rolling my eyes.

   But suddenly I remembered the way I felt about Mike that day in the pitch before the game began. I remembered how I wondered if Sibi had ever felt that way too. My face grew serious and I looked straight into Sibi's hazel eyes.

   "Sibi?" I asked.

   "Hm?" she replied, looking back at me.

   "Do you ever feel like—" I didn't really know how to put it into words. It sounded stupid and shameful of me. "That day before the game began, I saw Mike standing a little distanced from the crowd, trembling in fear and . . . I don't know, seeing him like that . . . it made me sad, y'know?

   "Like all he needed was some support and care, so I started saying motivational words to get him to feel better. He must have had a tough childhood without a mother and being forced to live in such a remote place with no magical activity and no good living conditions. I know I shouldn't pity him because he's my best friend, but I couldn't help it, Sibi.

   "And with all this Dolphinus' thing going on . . ." I breathed out a sigh, shaking my head ruefully. "Innocent people are getting imprisoned, executed; people have been convinced by the government that we Dolphinuses are all evil and bad . . . And now we're about to take the first step towards what could be a revolution. We're standing up against this unfairness and cruelty. But I know the Ministry won't just let it go with it. When they'll find out—"

   I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn't even want to think about the consequences, about the death that awaited not only me, but also all of my friends who were helping me on my initiative.

   "Hard times are coming, Sibi, you know that," I continued, voice laced with bitterness. "This plan that I agreed to is crazy. I know it's the right thing to do, but I also know that it's not going to be easy. Like I said, the Ministry won't be pleased to find out we're standing up against them.

   "And I don't want you guys to die because of me. I know you're strong, Sibi. But Mike's already had a tough life, and I don't know how he will manage to handle all of this. I feel an obligation to protect him, do you understand? I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Mike. Well, even if something happened to you, I'd still never forgive myself, but . . . you get the idea."

   "Yeah," Sibi nodded, suddenly falling silent.

   I knew millions of things were probably running through her mind just like lots of others were running through mine. We had started this whole organization easily, almost nonchalantly, trying to enjoy ourselves and not feel scared.

   But the true meaning of the plan was now unfolding right in front of our eyes. Only now was I realizing how serious the whole situation was, how careful and quick we needed to be. This wasn't all just a game.

   "Whatever is about to come, I'll promise you something, Polly," Sibi spoke up, interrupting my flow of thoughts. "I will always stand by your side, protect you, support you. And of course I'll do the same thing for Mike because I understand very well how you feel about him. It's the same way I've felt for years now and I still do."

   She took a deep breath, her soft hand reaching for mine and squeezing it gently.

   "You guys are my best friends and I'll do anything to keep you alive and safe," she continued. "That's why I agreed to this plan in the first place, Polly. I would never be able to see you behind the bars in Azkaban . . . or worse, dead." She shuddered, shaking her head vigorously, "I won't ever let that happen."

   "I'll do the same for you and Mike," I replied, squeezing her hand back. "I won't let anything harm you. I promise."

   Sibi opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the gong that signalized it was time for supper.

   "Well, looks like I have to go." She sighed, getting to her feet and smoothing down her skirt. "I'll try to come and see you again tomorrow morning."

   "You don't have to," I said. "I'll be out by the evening."

   "Alright then," she said before turning around to leave. "Bye, Pol."

   Waving at me faintly, Sibi walked out of the hospital wing, her silky brown hair flowing behind her back as she left.

   I reached for the glass of the disgusting yellowish drink on the night table and forced it down my throat, hoping it would make the throbbing pain in my head stop. After tilting and rolling my head and talking for about two hours, I felt exhausted, so I was glad when the goo-like thing did its work.

   "I need some sleep," I whispered to myself, my eyelids fluttering shut.

   The room had now become entirely dark as the thick clouds outside had dispersed from view, revealing a navy blue patch of sky sprinkled with a splatter of stars.

   The thoughts streamed inside my brain at an exhausting pace, forcing me to stop and pay attention to each and every single one of them. Scenarios of events that had already occurred to me replayed in my head.

   The Quidditch match we had won, the lessons I had missed, my new group of friends, Dolphinuses, The Ministry of Magic, what Sibi had told me about Alex, the pity I had felt towards Mike, the possibly upcoming revolution, Breeze McBon, my dad, my mum and Rochelle, Sibi's promise, my promise . . .

   When all these jammed up thoughts became too consuming, I realized that sleep was the best cure. Rolling over to the other side for the hundredth time that night, I was relieved to find out that my head didn't hurt that much anymore.

   Then, I snuggled comfortably under the cottony blanket and closed my eyes once again, this time to finally fall asleep.