The Other Side: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter XXVII

Lana woke the next morning to the blinds being opened.

            "Aagh!" she screamed, throwing her arm out wildly in an attempt to block out the light. Her elbow connected with something hard, and she heard a disgruntled cry and several girls giggling.

            "She just elbowed my shin!" Kendra yelled in disbelief, "She just elbowed my shin!"

            "Yes, we all saw it," Lexi laughed, "That's what you get for opening the blinds."

            "Clearly being assigned as her alarm clock was not a job I should've accepted," Kendra growled.

            Lana opened an eye. All the girls were gathered in the bedroom, dressed and grinning. "Is it tomorrow already?"

            "Yup," Jesse replied, "Specifically, it's tomorrow at 7:30 a.m."

            Lana groaned. "Do I really have to get up this early everyday?"

            "Sirius's orders," Kendra said, "So get up."

            "Ugh," Lana moaned and sat up, stretched out her arms, and asked, "Where exactly am I going?"

            "Sirius had a bunch of us move around the furniture in the drawing room, so he'll be waiting for you there," Callie responded.

            "Awesome," Lana said. She stood up yawned, and said, "See you all at lunchtime, then."

            "Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Lexi asked, "And get dressed?"

            "I don't eat breakfast on schooldays, and I'm pretty much dressed already," Lana replied, motioning to her gray shirt and jeans.

            "Oh, right," Lexi muttered, "I forgot. Sorry."

            "Don't worry about it," Lana murmured, starting out of the room. "Buh-bye."

            "Bye," they all said.

            The hallways weren't as crowded as usual, most of the refugees probably still in the dining room or kitchen. Lana walked slowly, her feet dragging along the floor, to the staircase. Her eyelids felt heavy and she yawned again unconsciously.

            "Lana?"

            She turned around to see Cedric standing in the hallway.

            He scratched his head uncomfortably. "I just...er...wanted to apologize for last night... you know, when I suggested that-"

            "That I needed help?" Lana interrupted.

            He nodded.

            "Don't beat yourself up about it," she said, "If I were you and you were me, I'd react the same way."

            "Would you?"

            "Yes, I would."

            Cedric sighed. "You're going to your lesson, then?"

            "Working on it."

            "Good luck," he said, "I hope everything goes well."

            "Join the club," Lana muttered, turning around and starting down the stairs again, saying over her shoulder, "Thanks."

            The drawing room door was hanging ajar. Lana pushed it open and stepped inside, saying, "Hello?"