"And?" Asked little Black.

"The last name Black is not very common," Malfoy replied.

"What do you imply, Malfoy?" Asked Sirius this time trying not to sound nervous.

"Me? I do not imply anything, are facts, not assumptions," he replied, waving the newspaper in his hand. "And I know you know these people," he continued defiantly. "Are they your parents?" Malfoy questioned Sirius with a mischievous smile.

"The Black family is too big and even more than yours," Sirius began defiantly, "if these people are part of our family, we didn't know," he finished without letting Malfoy answer that he was about to reproach.

"So, if you don't know these people, I don't think it bothers you that the whole school finds out," he finished with a smile on his lips.

Calynn was very nervous about that situation, she could not say that it would bother her that the whole school found out because it would raise suspicions, but that everyone would find out would not matter because she is not the only Black in the school.

"Still, they'll find out, won't they, Malfoy? Or are you the only one who reads The Daily Prophet?" Sirius scoffed.

Lucius stopped smiling and was about to answer when McGonagall's voice interrupted them.

"Johnson, come with me to my office," Minerva ordered with a paper in her hand.

"But teacher, it's the banquet and..." Meryl stammered.

"I would cancel a Quidditch match for this, miss," McGonagall replied hurrying to the blonde, who rolled her eyes rather annoyingly.

Meryl got up from where she was and said goodbye to her friends with a sad movement of hands.

"Why does McGonagall call her always?" Calynn asked Lily.

"Surely she committed some mischief," she replied without giving it any importance and continued with her pudding.

"Did you say something to her, Lilianne?" Calynn asked annoyed and at the same time nervous, it was really strange that she disappeared so frequently.

"Why would I do that? And since when do you call me Lilianne?" Asked the slightly offended redhead.

"Who else would I suspect?" Asked little Black.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Malfoy? Also, don't you trust me?" Lily snapped.

"You have too much confidence in Meryl," Calynn replied.

"I would never do anything that could harm you," Lily promised.

Calynn smiled at her melancholy and slightly mired in her thoughts.

"Strange," she began, "my father always repeated that when he hugged me," she said, "look at him now."

"I mean it," said the redhead. "You can't compare me to those ruthless and heartless people."

Little Black smiled at her before someone caught their attention.

"Listen! Do you really want to feel a good party?" Asked a second-year boy from Gryffindor, he smiled and took out from his robes a group of fireworks that began to explode forming huge orange pumpkins causing everyone to get up from their seats to observe better.

Two more students mounted on brooms entered the door leading to the Great Hall while flying.

"Wonderful!" Exclaimed Lily and Calynn at the same time.

The boys who were on the brooms passed over the tables and began throwing chocolate frogs out of their packaging causing them to jump everywhere or over the heads of some students. The students who were on the broom went around the tables and this time they took out boxes and boxes of Bertie Bott beans and began to spread them creating mountains of beans on each table with hundreds of them, not to mention thousands. Then they stopped in the middle of the dining room and from the pockets of their robes they took out more fireworks that they threw with some purple and orange confetti. The students were amazed at the bursting of fireworks and all kinds of figures that formed as pumpkins, hats, candy and so on. When all the rockets exploded the students applauded along with some teachers who stopped eating to see the show.

"This is what I call the real party," Dumbledore remarked cheerfully, making Professor Galatea of ​​DCAO look at him strangely, then rolled her eyes and continued with her pumpkin pie.

"That woman is really bitter," said an agitated voice behind Calynn.

"Meryl! Can you appear? How did you come back so fast?" Asked little Black. "And why are you so red?"

"I think it's about running down," the blonde said.

"And why did you do that?" Asked Little Black without letting Lily speak.

"It was just because I got a little mad at her and that's why I went downstairs quickly," Meryl stammered. "We must not talk about it."

"But have you fixed it yet?" Asked Lily this time.

"Yes, everything is solved," said the blonde as she nodded, quite convinced.

The three friends returned to their seats without catching some chocolate frogs that jumped nonstop.

"Meryl! You've missed the fireworks, they have been amazing," Frank commented.

"At least there are still jelly beans," she said, then grabbed a handful and put them on her plate.

"Nothing stops you when it comes to food, right?" Asked Calynn.

"Not even courage with McGonagall," she replied before cracking up.

"Frank, will you stay here for Christmas holidays?" Calynn asked as she cut a piece of cake accompanied by jelly beans.

"No, my family always meets on those dates to spend it all together. We are a huge family, you can't even imagine it," the boy confessed.

"I imagine they are full of wizards and witches," Calynn commented.

"That's right, in fact, my parents want us to go back to a Quidditch game for my birthday," he replied enthusiastically.

"But you don't like Quidditch!" Said little Black.

"I don't like to practice it, but I do see it," Frank said.

The feast continued until most of the students finished their meal. Then, out of nowhere and suddenly four ghosts came out across the tables scaring the students; Amelie who was in the middle of Slytherin's table spit out the pumpkin juice making Lucius's face soaked. Lily and Calynn endured their laughter while Meryl, James and their friends kept laughing like most Slytherin students.

"How are you doing, ladies?" Nick greeted politely across the table.

"Hello, Nick, what brings you here?" Greeted little Black.

"We like to come every Halloween party to scare the children first, but not any Gryffindor student, no sir, they are brave and strong," said the ghost. "The easiest to scare are the Hufflepuff boys, especially when the Bloody Baron walks around."

"The Bloody Baron?" Asked Lily confused.

"The ghost of the Slytherin house, even scares me," he whispered and then paused, "but don't tell anyone. Now I come back, that little boy Ted Tonks is too distracted and perfect to scare" he mentioned to scare a little boy who was reading a book at Hufflepuff's table.

After a few minutes the director said a few words of farewell ending the banquet. Some students stayed to talk, others went to their common room and some had even changed tables. The students who were still in the dining room were because they had stayed to be alone with a couple.

"Wouldn't you like to go up to the common room?" Frank proposed before giving a yawn.

"We'll stay a little longer until Filch comes to punish us and finish this party with a flourish when he removes as many points as possible," James said with a smile on his lips.

"I will accompany Severus, he is very alone at Slytherin's table," the redhead announced.

"Well, we'll go up at once, see you there," said Little Black to go out the huge doors of the Great Hall with Frank.

"Will you stay here for Christmas?" Asked Frank as they climbed the lobby stairs.

"No, my family is reunited and I have to go back," the girl lied.

"I'm glad, although I've heard that since the fourth year, they do a Christmas dance where you take someone special for you," Frank replied. "Who would you take?"

"I don't know," the little girl replied with a shrug. "And you?"

"To you of course," the boy confessed, stopping dry.

"Are you serious?" The girl asked in a sweet voice while Frank took her hands.

"Totally," the boy said, then hugged her tightly with love, the girl returned it without hesitation with a smile on h34 lips. When they separated, they stared at each other without saying a word because it was not necessary because at that time both had confirmed that this feeling, they had with each other went beyond friendship.

"You could have added something," the redhead suggested to Calynn after she told her what had happened a few days ago.

"Like what? We just look at each other without speaking," said the little girl, without blushing.

"I don't know, you know him better than me," she replied as they finished collecting their things from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where they believed themselves.

"Severus told me Thana has become too smug," Lily continued dumbfounded.

"She is Muggle's daughter, isn't she?" Asked the confused girl.

"She is, but I think it is because she belongs to snakes that she thinks it's better," the girl explained.

"We've left her forgotten, I think we should talk to her more often," the little girl said, picking up the class scroll.

"It may be a good idea," said the redhead leaving the room followed by Calynn. After a moment that both girls had left the classroom, a blonde and green-eyed girl emerged from the hiding place with a malicious smile and followed both girls from Gryffindor.

They kept walking until they reached the Great Hall to enjoy some of the midday dishes.

"Minerva will kill me," said Meryl, who was already at the Gryffindor table.

"Why do she will do that?" Asked Calynn amusedly.

"I'm missing more than three tasks in what we have been doing at Hogwarts," said the blonde.

"I would worry more about the discussion they had a few days ago," Lily said very teasingly.

"... Moony, don't make us earn points for being nominated for the couple of the year." James's voice was heard behind him, followed by a laugh from Sirius.

"Very funny," Lupin replied sarcastically. "But you wouldn't mind if your partner was Lili..." replied the boy before his mouth was covered and he began to struggle to get away. While James and Lupin fought, Sirius watched them while laughing and Peter watched them worried.

"Au!" Lily howled.

"Look what you do, Moony," James warned.

"Me? But you've been the one who started," Lupin replied angrily.

"Enough, guys!" Lily's words seemed to be orders since at that moment they both shut up and sat down as they usually did.

"Look! There are a few owls," Meryl announced, pointing to a high part of the castle. Calynn did not notice at all and continued with her lunch until while she ate, she observed perfect yellowish legs that were placed in front of her. The owl brought a large package without any letter. The fear that it was on his parents' side ran through her body feeling a great chill all over her back.

"Open it! It looks like it must be something really big," Meryl said enthusiastically, although Calynn didn't know if that could be considered good.

She took the package and began to open it carefully as if it had a bomb inside. When she finished removing each of the wraps, she found two large boxes of Bertie Bott beans like the ones Frank and she had eaten during that afternoon by the lake. She looked for who had given them to her, but no letter was coming, when she looked up, she saw Frank looking at her with a smile as he showed her a violet box full of jelly beans. Before she threw the wrapper, she shook it well to see that she didn't forget anything and it was when a small paper envelope fell on her hands, the girl opened it and read:

"Dear Calynn:

I think that some of the happiest moments have been with you, I hope we are still friends and maybe something else. And I want you to know that no matter how many secrets you have, I will continue with you no matter what.

Your special friend

Frank

PS: Enjoy the sweets."