PETRIFIED (IT 2017/ Harry Potter Crossover)

Chapter 20 (4th year)

"What the hell are you doing, Ruby!?" A voice asks me.

"Making pancakes." I shrug.

I turn and see my brother looking horrified at the mess I created in the twenty minutes I have been in the kitchen. There was cracked egg shells carelessly tossed besides the trashcan when I missed and told myself I will pick them up later. Papers where scattered everywhere from where I tried to find the recipe on how to actually make the pancakes because I am not a cook. I don't know this stuff by heart. There was also pots and pans on the floor due to me not being able to find the right pan. So I just took them all out of the storage to find the right one. Not to mention there was half a bag of flour scattered across the floor from where I tripped over one of the pots.

My appearance was no better though. I was wearing sweat pants and a black t-shirt that was way too big on me with a faded image of a cat in sunglasses on it. My hair was in a very messy bun and I was pretty much covered in flour from when I tripped. Which was also why I had an icepack on my slightly swollen lip from when my face mercilessly met the kitchen floor. I'm not very coordinated in the morning.

"Why are you even cooking? We both know that the only things you are capable of making is cookie dough and pizza." Billy asks me and I put the ice pack down.

"I'm cooking because I'm bored and hungry. Also, I'm tired of surviving off of toast and cereal. As much as I love it, it gets old after a while." I tell him as I flip a pancake, only to frown when I see it's burnt on the end. I take it off the pan and chuck it on a plate full of failed pancakes. I'm running out of batter.

"Yeah, I'm sure going to a school that serves five star meals doesn't make it any easier. You are going to clean this all up, right? The parents will be pissed if they walk into this kitchen and saw that half the food is on the floor." Billy says. I roll my eyes and pick up the pan.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll clean it up. Now quiet. I'm trying to perfect my pancake flip." I prepare to flip the pancake. I toss it into the air and...it lands back in the pan. I smile and cheer as I put it back on the stove and look at the perfectly golden brown pancake.

"Success!" I cheer as I do a little happy dance, making Billy chuckles and and shake his head at my actions.

So far, the past couple weeks of my summer consisted of me sitting in the house in my pajamas and finding random things to do. Billy insisted on it due to the incident with the bully's last year. I wasn't eager for a repeat either. But, I have quickly grown bored of being in the house by myself with everyone else out and about doing whatever they do.

My sleep schedule is still crap. Thinking about what Lupin said last year has not helped either. All my thoughts result in a restless sleep. So coffee is my best friend at the moment.

We haven't called the other Losers often. Everyone seems to be too busy with their own lives or are just trying to move on and put the past behind them. Not that I blame them. I have sort of done the same thing myself.

And Billy, well... he seems to have forgotten a lot more. When I came back from Hogwarts, he forgot who the Losers even where. Some of the Losers have left Derry, so it was only a matter of time before they forgot as well.

I've debated trying to reunite, but then I figured everyone else may be happier without each other. As terrible as that sounds, maybe they would all be better off. We would all just remind each other of those terrible memories. I don't want to drag everyone down, so drifting off seems like the better option at the moment.

"Looks good, Ruby. And that was your, what, tenth try?" He asks in a smocking voice as he looks at the pile of burnt and weird looking pancakes.

"It was my twelfth. But twelfth times the charm, Billy." I say, ignoring the tone.