my riddle to solve (re-written version)

four

The sun was still completely blocked by the veil of dark night when I was forcibly awakened. Covered in a cold sweat and absolutely terrified, it took me a few moments to collect myself. I had been having a nightmare; that I was sure of. Yet I could not remember a single detail of the dream that had been plaguing my sleep.

Deciding that a glass of cool water was what I needed, I rose from my bed and crept into the bathroom, then to Adelaide's room. As always, a large brass basin held water at the edge of her dresser. Not wanting to disturb my friend, I stayed as quiet as possible while I drank. Adelaide was sleeping on her stomach, her head crocked out and dangling off to the side. Her position looked dreadfully uncomfortable, but she was soundly asleep.

Creeping back into my room, I noticed that my Saturn globe had begun to rotate on its own. Silvery rings spun around the planet as Saturn itself twirled on the brass podium. The shopkeeper I had bought it from had told me that the model mimicked the movements of the one in the sky, although that could have easily been a lie to win my purchase. Nevertheless, I wondered if the real Saturn was currently spinning so strangely.

I drifted back to sleep with stars dancing in my vision and around my mind.

                                                                                            ***

"Absolutely not! This is my second-to-last chance at winning the Quidditch Cup, and I will not risk success by allowing you on the team," Raymond grunted through a mouthful of toast. I rotated my face away from his, not wanting to be sprayed with bits of half-chewed bread. The usual flock of owls swept through the Great Hall, delivering morning papers and a variety of parcels.

"Oh, come on, Raymond! You have to let me try out! Ravenclaw needs a new Beater and a new Chaser this year. I'm a rather good flier; you know that. And I've been practicing all summer," Adelaide argued. The sky above us was a cheerful blue dotted with a few wispy clouds. I sipped on my orange juice and tried to ignore the dozens of eyes on me; my friends were being quite loud.

"Will the two of you pipe down? It's much too early for all of this," snapped Joslyn. Raymond and Adelaide heeded her, but not without flashing each other a few discontented glares. "Have any of you got a spare quill? I left all of mine in Ravenclaw and I don't fancy having to walk all the way back before Divination." I turned to the side to dig through my bag, and my gaze accidentally crossed with Julian Black's. I sent him a scowl before handing a quill to Joslyn.

The first class I had was Potions with Slughorn, which meant listening to Raymond worry about how he was sure he would fail his N.E.W.T. Ever since our first year, he had struggled with potions, most likely due to his lack of precision and restless fingers. Him, Adelaide, Cindy Shacklebolt, and I chose facing desks towards the front of the class, purposefully away from the class' Slytherins. Riddle offered me a polite nod when I entered the room, and another one when we all departed.

Charms was a rather interesting lesson on Extinguishing Spells and their evolution, but History of Magic was dreadfully boring. Adelaide and I spent the entirety of the time playing hangman on spare bits of parchment while whispering about a party that was rumored to be taking place tonight. The prospect was entertaining, until she revealed that Slytherin would be hosting.

"Go with Raymond or Joslyn. I need to find my cousin after dinner, and I doubt she'll want to go crawling into the den of vipers," I told her while doodling a small stick figure body to hang from the noose. Adelaide had just incorrectly guessed the letter 'a.'

"Well of course Corrina won't want to go, but that shouldn't stop you! Nearly everyone in our year will be there, except for the Gryffindors of course. E." Biting on my lower lip, I filled in the third and fifth spaces of my word. Terrance let out a sudden snore from the back of the room, which went unnoticed by the Professor.