CHAPTER 5 | A GHOUL'S EYE !

            THE DARK FORCES: A Guide to Self-Protection was not a book that could hold Kennedy's attention for long, and the longer she sat in the anticipated silence of two feuding houses and awaited the clunking footsteps of Alastor Moody, the easier it became to believe she was about to face the consequences of that. Cue the clunking footsteps of Alastor Moody as he hobbled into the classroom - his clawed wooden foot which she thought would look comical on anyone else, his mangled face and as always, that damn ghoul's eye. It always caught her attention and she could never pinpoint why. Something felt... wrong about it.

"You can put those away", came his rumbling voice as he sat down at his desk at the front of the classroom, a while away from her towards-the-back-of-the-middle seat with Rachel and Daphne to her right. "Those books", he spat the word like it disgusted him, "You won't need them".

Kennedy's stomach churned at the thought of them doing practical magic, but at least the Gryffindors looked psyched about it.

Moody took out a register as he shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his face, calling out names with his human eye moving steadily down the list and his other swiveling around and fixing upon each student as they answered.

"Right then", he said when the last person declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, kappas, and werewolves, is that right?".

There was a general murmur of assent, which Kennedy didn't partake in but was glad to know that if she had, she wouldn't be lying. She had learned those topics about two years ago while she had that Italian mistress, the one before the Russian master and then the Egyptian one, then the Swedish one-

"But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses", brought Kennedy's mind back to the present. And, Kennedy's state of calm twisted into something ugly. The promise of doing practical magic loomed over her head, taunting and mean. She really had to figure out a way to practice, or maybe she could arrange for extra classes with someone. Perhaps McGonagall? She made a mental note to work on it later.

"I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark-", Moody was cut off by Ron Weasley blurting out, "What, aren't you staying?". Moody's eye spun and stared at Ron.

(Kennedy couldn't see Ron's face, but she guessed he was at least a little nervous. He was a Gryffindor but not stupid. Perhaps. You never quite know with teenage boys.)

Moody smiled.

The effect wasn't nearly as heart-warming as one would imagine - the skin on his face contorted unevenly and Rachel made a sound of vague disgust, followed by a thump of fabric on fabric that Kennedy guessed was Daphne smacking her arm.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?", Moody said, "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago... Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore then back to my quiet retirement"

Kennedy glanced at Rachel through the side of her eye and whispered harshly, "Minks, you told me Ron's father's name was Archibald".

"Well, Ms. Bishop, I did make clear I wasn't quite sure", Rachel hissed back.

Professor Moody clapped his gnarled hands together.

"So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But, Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves. He reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen?"

"A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. He's not going to care that you're a child. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking".

Lavender Brown jumped and blushed. Kennedy looked over to where she was sitting - a little ways away from her and toward the right of the classroom. Under the desk, she was showing an Indian Gryffindor girl what looked like a right pain in the ass i.e. their Astronomy homework.

"You know, we still haven't completed the bullshit chart", Daphne whispered. "Tonight in the common room?", Kennedy asked both of them and heard their low murmurs of agreement.

"So... do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?", asked Moody and several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Kennedy's. Moody chose Ron, though the ghoul's eye was still fixed on Lavender. "Er, my dad told me about one ... the Imperius Curse, or something?".

"Ah, yes", said Moody, "Your father would know about that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at a time, the Imperius Curse".

The Imperius Curse. Kennedy's blood was racing. She didn't dare think about blinking for longer than necessary, and looking away seemed sacrilegious. She didn't know exactly what this curse did but she knew vaguely the power it granted, and witnessing it would surely be enlightening.

Moody stood on mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders scuttled around on it, one was trying to climb it and struggling to find a grip on the smoothness of the walls. Moody reached into the jar and lifted the formerly struggling spider into the view of the class.

He pointed his wand and muttered, "Imperio!". Kennedy's eyes widened as she watched with bated breath - almost as if showing more of her eyeballs would burn the experience into her memory permanently.

The spider leaped from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, did a backflip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and began an odd-looking tap dance. Everyone around Kennedy laughed as she looked at the spider, trying to deduce if it was in pain or not. Everyone laughed- everyone except Moody.

"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" The laughter died away almost instantly. "Total control," said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..."

Total control, total control, total control ... the words echoed and echoed in Kennedy's mind. It didn't sound- horrifying. It didn't sound wrong. It didn't sound immoral. It sounded exhilarating and like a promising opportunity for so much to be achieved. Kennedy had known vaguely about the Unforgivables, but wasn't aware they were so ... enchanting.

"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse", said Moody, referring to the First Wizarding War. "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act and who was acting of their own free will".

"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!", he barked and the class jumped.

He turned away from the class and picked up the somersaulting spider, throwing it cruelly into the jar. "Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?", Hermione Granger - an acquaintance Kennedy wasn't sure why she made - flung her hand up. Less confidently, a shy-looking Gryffindor boy did same.

"Yes?", said Moody, both eyes rolling over to fixate on him. "There's one - the Cruciatus Curse", he said in a small but distinct voice. "Your name's Longbottom?", he asked, ghoul's eye swooping down to check the register again.

Merlin, this kid's name was Longbottom-

(Later in the day, Kennedy would realize that this was Rachel's Herbology rival.)

Insert First Name Longbottom nodded nervously, and Moody made no further inquiries. He turned back to the larger class, reached into the jar for the next spider, and placed it upon the desk where it stood motionless. Kennedy guessed it was too scared to move after seeing what had happened to the first spider, now curled up on its back and twitching. At least it wasn't dead.

"The Cruciatus Curse", said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea", he said and pointed his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!", the spider swelled and swelled until it was larger than a tarantula. Kennedy wondered if the feeling of your organs and bones welling larger than natural and your blood gaining gallons and gallons and your brain stretching frantically to have control of a larger surface area was painful. If it was, the spider didn't show it. Numb with terror, Kennedy guessed.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "Crucio!".

The spider's leg bent in upon its body and seemed to bend at places where there weren't any joints. It rolled over and over and quivered and twitched horrifically on chipping wood. Side to side, like a pendulum, it rocked. Not a sound came from it, but Kennedy thought if it were human, it would make the most fascinating screams.

Kennedy wondered what that would be like - having the power to cause something or someone such intense pain. Would it cause hallucinations? Induce nightmares? Would they babble nonsense? What could she learn if she did that to someone? Stood tall over them and glared down at them meanly from above her wand, muttered a single word, and shifted their world into one of nightmares and quivering and jerks and screams.

And then, the horror set in. Her fingers trembled and her eyes grew wide - not out of a desire to take everything in like before - but in pure, unfiltered horror. What the hell was she thinking? Why was she thinking this way? How could she ever think that? Was there something wrong with her-

"Stop it!", Hermione cried shrilly as the spider began to shudder and jerk violently.

Kennedy followed her line of vision and landed on the shy Gryffindor from earlier. He looked as if he'd seen a phantom, or perhaps something he'd envisioned enough it felt like a memory. His eyes were blown wide with horror, his hands clenched upon the desk in front of him and his knuckles white, white, white. Kennedy wondered why he had such a reaction to it - it seemed intimate and personal to him versus the more detached terror the rest of the classroom experienced.

"Reducio", Moody muttered, and he seemed a bit reluctant. He placed the normal-sized spider back into the jar. "Pain", he said softly, "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse ... That one was very popular once too. Right, anyone know any others?".

Hermione Granger's trembling hand rose into Kennedy's line of vision.

"Yes?", Moody said, looking at her. "Avada Kedavra", she whispered and Kennedy could feel the air of the classroom shift.

"Ah", Moody said, a slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. "The last and worst. Avada Kedavra ... the Killing Curse", he placed his hand into the glass jar, and almost as if it knew what fate had decreed its final moments, it attempted to evade Moody's quick fingers. It failed and seemed resigned but terrified as he placed it down on the desk.

Moody raised his wand and roared with a power that made the hair on the back of Kennedy's neck raise, "Avada Kedavra!".

A flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - then stillness. The spider rolled over on its back, unmarked but unmistakably dead.

Several students stifled cries; Hermione stared at it with a slack-jawed horror, Ron had thrown himself backward and almost toppled off his seat, Rachel's hands had flown to her mouth in horror, Daphne couldn't bear to look and for the first time in a lesson riddled with terrible, terrible curses that had fascinated her - Kennedy was horrified.

Carelessly, Moody swept the dead spider off the desk and onto the floor. "Not nice", he said as if describing a playground insult and not a curse to snuff life out of a living being. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me", he stood directly in front of the famed Harry Potter, his eyes - human and ghoul - trained directly on him. The whole classroom watched them and Potter stared at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it.

"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it - you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words and I doubt I'd get more than a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it", Mody continued with the lesson, "Now, if there's no countercourse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!", he roared and the class jumped again.

"Now... those three curses - Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus - are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills... copy this down..."

The rest of the lesson was the scratch of quills on parchment, crossing out butchered words and giggling discreetly with the two girls by her side. The bell rang, Moody dismissed them and that damn ghoul's eye wouldn't leave Kennedy's mind as she packed her textbook and quills into her satchel. "I'll catch up with you guys at dinner, I have a question to ask Moody. I won't be long", Kennedy said. "We'll wait in the hallway", Daphne kindly offered.

"Oh, no. Go ahead, you know how long the line gets if you're late-", Kennedy protested but Rachel butted in. "Nonsense, we'll wait in the hallway even if you take half an hour", she paused for a second as she swung her bag over her shoulder, "Plus, Eshaal's Potions class ends in a few minutes. We can probably catch her on the way".

"Always the ulterior motive, I see", Kennedy teased as she stood, "I'll see you guys in a few. Dee, prevent her from snogging her girlfriend while I'm gone please. There's young eyes present".

Daphne mockingly saluted as Rachel smacked her up the head and they made their way out of the classroom.

Kennedy walked toward the front of the class, ignoring awed voices around her.

"Did you see it twitch?"

"- And when he killed it - just like that!"

"Professor Moody", Kennedy said as she approached him where he sat behind his desk, "My name is Kennedy Bishop. I was hoping I could ask you a question?".

"I'm all ears. Bishop... you'll be Achille's daughter, if I'm right?", both his eyes were trained on her. "That's me", she beamed before continuing, "Since you know who my father is, you'd also understand I have a good understanding of potions ingredients. And your eye... it's fascinated me since I laid eyes on it. I just wanted to ask... is it actually a ghoul's eye, or am I wrong?".

He smiled that skin-stretching wrong smile, "Right, you are. Although, I'm not sure what exactly it's used for in Potions."

"It's used for heightened endurance and durability potions because of the ghoul's spectacular eyesight," Kennedy replied.

"Is that right? I lost my eye in a terrible duel years ago and the tissue couldn't be re-grown. And so, the healers down by St. Mungo's gave me this ghoul's eye to compensate," he explained.

"Ah, I understand. Thank you for telling me, I know it's not exactly related to Defense," Kennedy said. Moody waved her off, "Not to worry, lass. You should get to dinner before the queue gets too long."

Kennedy smiled and bid him farewell, meeting Rachel and Daphne still outside the classroom.

"I thought you guys would've gone ahead to meet Eshaal"

"The girl's late for everything", Rachel dismissed her concerns as they began walking, "She takes forever to pack her stuff too".

After a few beats of silence as they walked down the hallway, Daphne brought up the topic she clearly wanted to discuss. "So... that lesson".

Kennedy bit her tongue to stop herself from blurting out how exciting she'd found it. She knew that wouldn't be welcome.

"It was a little too hands-on but I agree with the idea of it. We do need to know what we're up against to properly defend ourselves," Rachel reasoned.

"But, those curses are illegal for a reason, Rachel. And showing them to a bunch of reckless teenagers - half of which are adrenaline junkies - is like giving a child a cookie and expecting them not to eat it", Daphne said, "And I do agree, but there must be some other way because now a whole year of Gryffindors and Slytherins know the incantations. Anyone could use it, provided they learn or figure out the wand movement".

"It is quite dangerous", Kennedy said and once again didn't voice her true thoughts, "But necessary. We need to know".

"When Pandora's Box is opened, it can never be closed", Daphne sing-songed.

"We didn't open it - whoever invented those spells did", Kennedy argued.

"Moody spilled the contents out then", Daphne retorted.

"As much as I adore your analogies and poetic banter", Rachel dragged both of them into the classroom, "We're here. Let's go grab Eshaal".

Together, they walked in and found the room virtually empty except for the chronic slow packers and dawdlers - Eshaal included. She was pretty in a cute, endearing way. Her features were all round and soft - a roundish face, glowy dark brown skin mottled by a few acne scars, and deep, deep dimples on both cheeks. Her square-ish glasses contrasted it all beautifully and her lovely ivory hijab made her look like an angel.

"Rachel darling!", she chirped as she swung her satchel over her shoulder.

Rachel giggled as she ran up to her and hugged her before pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek, leaning up slightly to do so.

"Oh, they're that kind of couple", Kennedy said with fake disgust.

"They're nauseating. Been in love since second year", Daphne whispered back with an endeared smile on her face.

Eshaal leaped out of Rachel's arms to hug Daphne, "And you, I haven't seen you since the train ride!".

Eshaal noticed Kennedy belatedly, "Oh, hello. You're the new student, aren't you? What's your name?".

"Kennedy Bishop", she said, "I only just made friends with Rachel and Daphne a few days ago".

"Ah, I'm Eshaal Akel. Ravenclaw - but you got that already from my robes. I'm happy you met them instead of some other people in Slytherin", Eshaal smiled kindly. Sure, she was a little chatty and almost at the tipping point of how much bubbliness Kennedy could take but Kennedy couldn't see herself actively disliking her.

"Oh, you mean like Draco and his little goons?", Kennedy chuckled.

"Those oafs. So brainless, honestly", Eshaal rolled her eyes and her dimples peeked out again as she smiled brightly. Kennedy noticed she had blue braces in. "But, let's not wait around, yeah? I'm sure the line's winding down the Entrance Hall already"

"Well, it's turkey night and you know how people get. Pretending to go to the bathroom only to just lurk around the Entrance Hall and wait for the bell to ring", Daphne said, "We should really try that one of these days".

"Snape would die before he'd let me leave. I've tried millions of times with more elaborate excuses than the previous time. Said I was coming down with spattergroit, explosive diarrhea, anything. But the man never budges", Eshaal gently allowed Rachel to take her bag as she smiled an appreciative smile, "Really, he needs to stop interfering in my plans".

"I don't know him well but he seems quite fussy", Kennedy supplied.

"Beyond fussy", Eshaal said, "I'm still so glad he's not my head of house. Flitwick may be disciplined but he's not totalitarian. He even turns a blind eye when we let people in other houses come to the Common Room".

Kennedy sputtered, "When Snape was doing his little orientation, one of the first things he said was", she put on a drawly slow voice, "Never under any circumstances allow students from other houses into the Common Room".

"Gosh, it sounds like hell"

"Never mind that we're low enough to be close to it", Rachel sighed, "I've no idea how they expect us to focus on our homework when the damn squid is peering over your shoulder".

"Prep for exams", Daphne shrugged with a dry tone, "People turn into giraffes around that time, it's insane".

"MacMillan copied off me in Transfiguration last year, and borrowed my quill the next day and never gave it back!", Eshaal huffed.

"Pure evil", Kennedy shook her head.

"Truly", Eshaal nodded firmly before making a realization, "Snape doesn't allow people from other houses 'cause he doesn't want you guys to host parties".

"There's parties?", Kennedy asked and only then realized that of course there would be parties. It's a bunch of hormonal teenagers cooped up in one place for years on end.

"They're usually sixth years and up 'cause they smuggle in Firewhiskey from Hogsmeade", Rachel said and turned to Eshaal questioningly, "Wasn't there one first night of school?".

"Yeah, the Weasley twins planned one in Gryffindor Tower. It's the annual back-to-school bash. It rotates around each house - except for Slytherin 'cause Snape would shatter if he ever so much as sensed the joy of children"

"It would be fun to go to them, wouldn't it?", Daphne said.

"It would be terribly exciting", Kennedy's smile glinted under the lights of the Entrance Hall.

"Well, at least we're late enough that the line is basically gone", Rachel smiled optimistically before faltering as she noticed the empty dishes on the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables that used to hold delicious, delicious turkey, "Bad news is that I'm certain the turkey's all finished".

"Eshaal love, if you need one", Rachel handed Eshaal a handkerchief from inside her robes, eyes wide and empty as she stared at the remains of what should have been theirs.

The Ravenclaw dabbed at the corner of her eye.

.·:••●••:·.

"LADIES, are we feeling mauling or decapitation today?", Daphne pondered as the three of them sat around a desk in a corner of the Slytherin Common Room, hunched over their Divination charts.

"Mauling", Kennedy and Rachel agreed before furiously scribbling into a slot on their chart. "Wait shit, we can't get mauled by the same thing. I'll get mauled by a bear and you can get mauled by....", Rachel trailed off.

"A hippogriff!", Kennedy lit up.

"You're a natural", Rachel grinned.

"Okay, but why are we getting mauled?", Daphne said, "And don't forget that we have to bullshit the planets too".

"Okay, I'm getting mauled by a hippogriff next Monday because we have Care of Magical Creatures then, and... it could be because of the unlucky conjunction of Saturn and Mercury", Kennedy said.

"Right, so I'll change mine to decapitation so she doesn't get suspicious-"

"But I already chose decapitation!", Daphne cried.

"Then...", the feather of Rachel's quill tickled her chin as she thought, "I'll get stabbed in the back by a friend! Because of... Jupiter's moons!". Rachel's tongue stuck out slightly as she eagerly wrote down her misfortunes.

"Why are you getting decapitated again?", Kennedy asked Daphne. "Because Venus is the twelfth house", she answers easily as she moves on to filling in the rest of her chart.

"Ah, nice one Dee", Rachel grinned.

For a whole hour, the three of them sat there giggling as they made up misfortune after misfortune - each mishap growing more grotesque than the previous. The last of their entries into the chart was Daphne losing an arm because the Earth did not believe her to be a friend, Kennedy contracting dragonpox and almost dying because Mars was at an inopportune place during her birth and Rachel winning the Daily Prophet's lottery, subsequently losing all her friends and wasting away living a long and lonely life - all because she's an Aries.

"I think this might be enough doom and gloom to at least get an E", Daphne remarked, "Thinking of all the ways misfortune could strike you every day within the next month really works up an appetite, though".

"That and the fact the turkey was all gone-"

"Damn, that turkey must be heavenly", Kennedy snorted, but also feeling hungry.

"It's divine", Rachel began with reverence and a shine to her eye, "Celestial, ethereal. If it were a person, it would be almost as beautiful as Eshaal-"

"Okay, she's reached the blabbering-about-her-girlfriend-in-completely-unrelated-conversations stage of hunger", Daphne stood up quickly, "Let's head to the kitchens".

"Wait, hang on...", Kennedy spotted a large afro beside the fireplace that looked familiar, along with what looked like bright stickers across freckled cheeks and a head of curled, long jet-black hair. "I think it's the kids from the boat".

"The boat?", Rachel asked.

"I came in one of the boats with the first years", Kennedy explained as they walked over, "Wanted to give me the whole experience I guess".

Jude spotted her before she could even speak. "Kennedy!", he said excitedly and rushed from his friends and their game of gobstones to hug her.

"Jude", and she felt her lips curl into an endeared smile as her arms wrapped around him, "How have you been?".

"Great! I love my classes and everyone's so nice. Those boys that were teasing me run away from me whenever they see me", Jude giggled as his cheeks bunched up. He looked back at his friends, "Lola! Reggie! Do you guys remember Kennedy from the boat?".

"Sure, we do", Lola waved with a hint of a smile and Reggie stayed silent but waved shyly. Kennedy waved back.

"Oh, these are my friends Rachel Minks and Daphne Greengrass", Kennedy gestured to both of them, "Rachel and Dee, these are Jude Vernier, Lola Jung, and Reggie Cerqueira".

"Nice to meet you guys", Daphne smiled sweetly to not scare them.

"Hey, we were just headed to the kitchens. Wanna come with us?", Rachel offered.

The three first-years looked at each other. It seemed Lola had become the leader of their little group because she shrugged and then surprisingly, Reggie let out a small "Okay".

"Let's go", Daphne smiled as they all walked out of the Common Room.

It was silent between all six of them. None were quite sure how to breach the inherent awkwardness caused by the age difference.

Surprisingly, Lola broke it. "I know you're all, like, older and stuff but should we race down to the kitchens?" She smiled a tentative smile. Still, she had that too-old glint in her eye.

Rachel chuckled and ruffled her brown hair before wrapping an arm around her as they walked in step, "I'll do you one better. Let's play tag".

"You're i-" Rachel had tried to catch her off guard but even quicker, Daphne had snuck up behind her and cried, "You're it!".

They scattered as they ran, ran, and ran down the corridors. Jude squealed with glee and Reggie smiled wide as he looked at him - the most expressive Kennedy had ever seen him.

Rachel taunted as she ran as fast as her legs would take her, "You know, I'm gonna catch you all so best to give up now".

"Never!", Lola cried.

"You're full of shit, Minks!"

"Language, Kennedy!"

"Always so prim, Dee", Kennedy chuckled.

Daphne threw her up her middle finger in response and Reggie gasped a horrified gasp. "She did the middle finger!"

"Oh come on, you were born with one!", Daphne grinned, "Hey, wanna piggyback?".

Reggie looked a little shy but said quieter, "Sure".

Daphne took him to the side then he stood on the ledge of a window to climb onto her back. She still maintained her quick pace and Reggie squealed with delight.

"Oh shit, you're an athlete", Kennedy mused because she had briefly forgotten and wondered how she possibly could've when she saw Daphne pick up Lola as well. How she managed to hold both of them and run so quickly was unfathomable to Kennedy.

"Jude, I think she's trying to show us up!", Kennedy cried out and bent down for him to climb onto her back before taking off even faster than before. She could feel the fluff of his afro tickling the base of her neck as his hands locked around her by the collar of her sweater.

"No fair, that's not allowed. Now I can't just catch the little ones", Rachel whined.

"We didn't set any rules", Lola giggled.

"Oh, you little shit-"

Rachel was cut off by the soft meow of a cat. All six pairs of eyes widened in horror.

Mrs. Norris. Which meant Filch was nearby.

They all looked around for a place to hide. Reggie pointed at an unremarkable-looking door, "There!".

Really, they didn't have much time so they scrambled into it. Thankfully, it was a larger-than-usual broom closet. Kennedy could feel large gallons of broom polish poking into her back.

"Oh shit, there's a gap under the door", Jude mused and they all scurried their toes back, shoes scuffing the wall as they stepped out of the light from the corridor.

"Jude, language", Kennedy hissed.

"Who's prim now?", Daphne snorted.

Reggie frantically made a motion for all of them to quiet down as they heard the meowing of a cat. A meow again, and again, and again.

They stood there in silence for a long while. Kennedy looked down at her wristwatch. Shit, it was almost curfew.

The meows quieted as Mrs. Norris turned down the corridor and the sound of Filch's footsteps never came. All of them let out sighs of relief and after waiting for a bit, they all scrambled out of the cramped broom closet.

The rest of their walk to the kitchen was orderly and in an upstanding manner as they still reeled with the realization of how close they were to getting caught. Their walk back, however, was a different story.

Pastries and snacks and drinks overflowed from their arms as they laughed boisterously at an anecdote Reggie was telling them about Lola getting blamed for the gossip he had spread around their foster home in Surrey. He was quiet and shy, but when he poked his head out of his shell, he was incredibly witty and had the comedic timing of a professional.

At some point, someway or the other, Jude began to chase Kennedy for more pumpkin pasties after having finished his batch.

"Awh, come on Kenn. I'm younger! I need the nutrients", Jude had picked up the nickname from Rachel and Daphne.

"And I'm older so I need the nutrients and joy before I shrivel up and die!", Kennedy bit back.

"You're only three years older, Kenn-"

"I know. Prehistoric-", Kennedy looked back as she crooned and didn't notice Longbottom in front of her as she bumped into him.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going", Kennedy hastily apologized and was glad she hadn't opened her container of pasties yet.

"Don't- don't worry, it's quite fine-", he nervously shrugged her off and tried to assess the damage to a textbook he was holding.

"Um, Longbottom from DADA, right?", Kennedy said.

His ears turned red, "Neville's fine".

"Sorry about that, Neville. The container's closed so I don't think your book bore any damage", Kennedy smiled kindly before asking, "Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean?".

"Yeah, Professor Moody gave it to me after class".

"Ah, right, you're into Herbology. Rachel mentioned that you're in a rivalry for top spot".

Neville snorted and let out what seemed to be a bit of uncharacteristic pride, "I wouldn't say it's much of a rivalry when one's always second-"

"Oi, Neville! Stop tarnishing my reputation!", Rachel cried out from behind Kennedy.

"Too late, Minks!", he called out back.

Kennedy giggled at the banter before handing him a pack of licorice wands, "Here. A peace offering".

Neville grinned as he took them, "Very much accepted". He then turned to Rachel, "Now, if only you were half as polite as Kennedy-"

"Shove off, Longbottom!"

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AUTHOR'S NOTE!

wonder what that textbook is for

ALSO, i just realized i don't even imagine caleb as jude. somehow, he's a grown up antonio from encanto in my head 😭