Accomplices

Chapter 5: Friends?

September 2nd, 1975

Many hours had gone by and I was now done with my first set of classes for the day. It was lunchtime and all the kids rushed out of the class room to head towards the Great Hall. For only being my second day I was beginning to get the hang of navigating the halls of the castle. Yesterday, James guided me to all of our classes together and helped me find where everything was. Today, James still showed me where classes were in between but for the most part he was too busy talking to Remus, Sirius and Peter in hushed whispers. Seeing as they were busy, when class was dismissed for lunch I decided to head out on my own instead.

Rather than going to the Great Hall, I decided to take some time to explore the outside of the castle. I finally found an exit that led me out into the open. In the distance I could see a stone path that led down towards a cottage down the hill and in another direction I saw a large tent with towers and flags draped in each of the house colors. The area was open with many trails leading in different directions and plenty of trees nearby.

I picked one with plenty of shade and sat underneath, enjoying the fresh air. I had an hour to waste here before I had to get back to classes. Classes weren't terrible and were actually very interesting to learn about. Dumbledore still hadn't called me into his office to talk about what my mission was so I felt a bit lost in terms of what I was supposed to do. Although, it wasn't so bad to just be a regular student and enjoy it.

After several minutes, I began to hear voices coming from the exit of the castle. Turning my head I could see three boys in Slytherin attire, two of which appeared to be Avery and Mulciber from yesterday. The third boy was someone I did not recognize. He was taller than the other two boys and, dare I say, very easy on the eyes. His short brown hair and green hooded eyes were nothing short of pleasant to look at but when they narrowed in on my direction it was clear he had no friendly intentions.

The boys walked over and I gathered myself together to stand up, and wait for whatever trouble they were bringing.

"So," spoke the new boy, standing in between Mulciber and Avery, "you're the one that managed to gain the upperhand on Mulciber over here?"

His gaze slowly made its way down from my head to my toes, sizing me up. The moment he saw my shoes, he let out a breath of laughter.

"I guess I am," I shrugged.

My body felt tense. I was prepared to defend myself at any moment but something about this boy was extremely intimidating. The longer I looked into his eyes, the more chills I began getting on the back of my neck.

"And tell me," he said, placing a hand over my head on the tree and leaning in close, "how did a small pretty thing like you manage to do that?"

My breath hitched. I wanted to push him away but my body stood frozen. Why I couldn't move, I didn't know, but I was lost in a trance while trying to stare him down and show no fear. His sly smile only grew, fueling the anger I had at myself for being unable to move. I wanted to punch him. Really, I did. But I was outnumbered. Three of them and one of me. Avery was a short kid while Mulciber was huskier and clumsier. They didn't scare me but the way this third boy carried himself made me rethink any ideas I had about throwing any punches.

Finally, I built up enough energy to look away from him. Then, I felt him put a finger under my chin and turn my head to face him. I pushed him off quickly and stepped away from them.

"Get off of me" I spoke, although I was sure I had yelled it.

That was it. I was done with whatever these losers had planned. I didn't want any part of it. I turned to walk away but was quickly pulled back as a hand gripped my wrist tightly. The boy pulled me towards him so quickly and unexpectedly that I ran straight into him. His grip was tight around my wrist and the force of the pull was much stronger than I had assumed. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was as strong as Noah who spent all of his work days training in hand to hand combat.