Not forbidden, just hard | Regulus Black

Chapter 31: The howler

chapters not a month apart ur welcome :)

The plan was simple. Risky, but simple.
Everly and Regulus would do most of the work, Paisley was just the lookout, and Remus was the researcher so his part was already done.

It was 6:30am. Most students come into the great hall to eat breakfast at 7 as do the teachers so they had 30 minutes to accomplish the prank.
With Paisley at the door to the great hall Everly and Regulus got to work, charming the professor's table to float about 6 feet in the air.
It was about 6:55am when they had finished, the locking spell Remus had found took the longest but they wanted it to last at least 10 minutes before the professors realized what spell had been used.

"People are coming!" Paisley shouted across the great hall.
"Okay we are done." Regulus shouted back.
"Let's go sit down. It will just look like we are really early for breakfast." Everly said grabbing his arm and running down the steps to the tables.
"Don't you think that's going to be a bit suspicious? We are never early for breakfast." He responded as he let Everly drag him down the row.

"I second that." Paisley said, now standing beside them.
"Well we don't really have a choice because running out of the hall now that all the people are coming will look even more suspicious." Everly sat down on the bench to the Gryffindor table and grabbed Regulus's hand to play with it. Paisley sat down next to her and tried to start up a random conversation so it didn't look too weird when the students and teachers walked in.

The professors walked in only a couple seconds before the first rush of students came in.

The professors were awestruck and the students bursted out laughing. Among the students coming in was the rest of the girls and James and friends. Lily was pissed but the rest of the girls were rolling on the floor as were the guys.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this." James said sitting down across the table from Everly.
"I'm going to my table." Regulus said kissing her goodbye before Sirius sat down beside James.

Everly swung her legs around and kept her talk quiet with Paisley, the other girls cutting in here and there. She couldn't help but steal glances at the professor's tabe which was still floating even 15 minutes later. The food had appeared on the tables but when the food appeared on the teachers table, instead of appearing on top of it the food appeared at the normal height of the table and came crashing down on the floor since the table wasn't there to catch it. That sent the students into another laughing fit and Everly couldn't help but laugh with them because her and Regulus didn't actually take into account where the food would go.

Another 5 minutes later with McGonagall and Dumbledore working together they got the table down.

"Lasted longer than I thought." Everly whispered to Paisley.
"Yeah same."

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat behind them.

It was McGonagall.

"Why, Minnie you are looking rather stunning this fine morning." Everly turned to her. "Did you do something different with your hair?"
"I am not interested in your flattery Ms. Potter." She said, though if you asked anyone she had a bit of a smile. "You have detention for a month with me. And I will be sending a letter home to your parents."
"For what!?" Everly was stunned.
"Don't act dumb little Potter. I know you are the one responsible for the flotation of the professors table." She crossed her arms.
"Eve what!" James shouted. "You did that?" He was laughing now. "You finally got caught!" He was laughing so hard Sirius had to pat him on the back.
"Oh shove off Jamie I didn't do anything." Everly turned and glared at him before turning back to McGonagall. "Really Minnie it wasn't me."
"We have witnesses, Ms. Potter. Now, was there anyone working with you? Perhaps a Slytherin boy or another girl." She turned her head slightly towards Regulus who was looking over but trying to hide it before looking at Paisley and then back to Eve.
"No." Everly said confidently. "I work alone."

There was no way she was getting Regulus or Paisley in trouble.

"Very well then. I will see you in detention. Do not fret Mr. Potter, she will be out in time for quidditch practice." She had noticed James's mouth open to say something but with that he shut it quickly.

"Shit." Everly said when she turned back around. "My mums going to kill me."
"I can't believe you would do such a thing!" Lily said. "Your mum should be upset. Stooping to James's level like that."
"Oi!"
"That was fucking rude Lily." Everly said before getting up and walking out. She had lost her appetite.

Classes that day went by like a blur. A lot of people came up to her and high fived her saying things like "That was amazing Eve!" or "Even better than your brother!" She just smiled and thanked them.

It wasn't that she was upset about the detention. She had gotten detention before. She just didn't want to bother her parents with a thing like this while they are at home stressing about the war that's starting. And Regulus was a bit upset because she took all the blame.

"You could have told her I helped." He said when he followed her out of the great hall. Paisley had followed her to and said the same thing.

"I didn't want to get you two in trouble. That's not a good friend or girlfriend thing to do."
He was still upset but blushed a little despite himself at that comment.
"And besides I only didn't tell her that you guys helped because I didn't want her to send a letter home to your parents. That's the last thing muggle parents and the Blacks need."

"My parents would have just been confused." Paisley laughed.

Regulus kept quiet. He knew Eve was right but he still felt bad.

The next morning at breakfast when the mail got delivered the Potter family owl came. It dropped a letter on Everly's lap and before she could have time to run out of the hall with it the letter floated out of her hands and filled the great hall with her mothers voice.

"Everly Potter! I can not believe you would do such a thing!" Her mother shouted through the letter. "I mean I expect this sort of thing From James but really from you? I mean honestly what were you thinking? Monte do you have anything to say to your daughter?" Her mom's voice stopped and her dad came through, "How did you do it Everly? What spell was it and how did you make the table float for so long?" He sounded like a giddy school boy, "And for it to take the professors so long to take it down that's so impressive from a young witch-" His voice was cut off by her mothers again, "No Monte this is not something to be proud of. You are grounded the second you step foot in this house for break. You hear me Everly!?" That was the last thing her mother said before the letter tore itself up into shreds.

"That's so embarrassing." Everly said, still staring at the place the letter was floating a couple seconds ago. The great hall resumed its talking with a couple people laughing about the letter.
"Hey dad didn't sound mad." James shrugged.
"Oh shut it James." Everly said back. "You happy Lily? My mums pretty upset." Everly didn't even look her way.

"I-I'm sorry Eve."

"Save it." Everly took the toast that Remus was making for her and left the hall.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea anymore." Everly said to Regulus who found her in the archway. "Maybe we are too old for this stuff."
"You don't really think that darling. You love pranking."

"But getting caught feels like shit. My mum is mad at me and she doesn't have the time to worry about me. And Lily is mad at me. And I haven't talked to any of the boys besides Remus in weeks. I can't not talk to anyone else. It's exhausting." She buried her head in her hands trying not to ruin the muggle makeup Paisley had put on her in the morning.

"It's your mum's job to worry about you. And I've met her, I know she isn't really that mad. You and Lily will work things out, she already said she was sorry that's a step in the right direction. And we can go talk to the boys whenever you want. That's mostly my fault anyways." He wrapped his arms around her.
"That's not your fault Reggie." She squeezed him tighter. "We'll talk to the boys after my quidditch practice, before dinner. Sirius might need more than one brother for what's about to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Regulus pulled away and looked at her.

"Mary is breaking up with him."