Three Gryffindors and a Slytherin

8) Apricot and the Shiny Blue Cube

Luna and Santi and Camille and Cedric all go running down the hall, while Fred and I quickly mound our brooms and fly past them. The room abrupts into cheers.

Fred nearly falls off his broom and everyone goes 'Ooo'. "It's so fast for no damn reason," he groans.

"You'll get used to it," I call over my shoulder. We both zoom out of the school and into the Dark Forest. "Is the entire forest this spooky? It's practically still morning and it's so gloomy in here."

"They don't call it the Dark Forest for nothing," he laughs. "Why didn't you just give me a Cleansweep?" he asks almost falling off his broom again.

"Because, the Yajirushi suits your body type," I say bluntly before realising it sounds a little odd considering I'm fooling around with his brother. His twin brother. He blushes slightly. "That- that's not what I meant, I-"

"-doesn't matter," he says. "So, you've a plan to find this cube?"

"Oh, right," I nod before bringing my fingers to my lips and whistling loudly. Fred begins to question me but I shush him before he gets the chance. I wait about a minute or so and Fred grows impatient.

Then, out of nowhere, Apricot comes speeding towards me. He jumps onto my chest and I fall backwards.

"What the fuck!?" Fred yells before casting a spell to lift him off of me. "What the hell is this thing?"

I grab Apricot. "Don't hurt him! He's mine, he's gonna help us!"

Fred lets out a loud laugh before dropping the spell on Apricot. "What is that thing?" he laughs again, doubling over. "Why's it look like a rat with a beak?"

I stand up off the floor and slap his arm playfully. "It's my niffler! Don't be mean to him. I lift Apricot into the air facing me, like Baby Simba, a character from a muggle film my parents used to watch.

"I need you to find something shiny for me," I say to him. His eyes immediately light up. "But not just anything shiny. It's a blue box, very bright and shiny, just up your alley." I wink at him before placing him on the ground and letting him sniff around to track the cube.

"How is you rat going to help us?" Fred asks. "This forest is enormous, and we haven't even started."

"It's called a niffler," I sigh playfully. "That's what nifflers do, Fred. They track down shiny things. It's their number one hobby."

I suddenly feel disgusting and ill, and my eyesight gets a bit blurry, flashing with pictures again. The pictures are harder to make out this time, like blurry puzzle pieces I must put together.

"You alright?" Fred asks stepping off his broom and walking over to me. I almost fall off of my broom and onto the ground but he catches me by my waist. "What's wrong?"

"The- the pictures, they're moving again," I mumble. I watch hundreds of little black blobs chase me deeper and deeper into the forest. Then, a sort of herd of larger beings get us to safety, and after that, a white creatures approaches me. I hear a voice, telling me to follow it towards a dim light. "It's- it's moving-"

"-Merlin, what does he see in you," Fred chuckles, putting me on his back, grabbing our two brooms, and following Apricot on foot.