𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲

thirty-two.

32. THAT NIGHT IN
THE SILVER FOREST

"SO EVERYONE IN your family has always been Slytherin?" Thea asked as she and Louis walked through the hallways of the school. They had just gotten back from Hogsmeade, and it was now nightfall. The full moon was shining in the dark sky, and the de Oros and their friends all had plans to go star-gazing that night in the Silver Forest on school grounds.

"Pretty much, yeah," Louis nodded and glanced at the girl. They had spent of the most day together at Hogsmeade, and both of the fourth-years could agree that it was pretty great.

For a few hours, Thea's mind was at peace. She wasn't thinking about Cedric, or her broken brain— Which was silent for once. No screaming. Louis made her calm, and at some moments, she was happy— Something she hadn't experienced in a long time.

"There was a cousin on my mom's side who got sorted into Gryffindor though," Louis added. "Last name Black."

That name made Thea freeze for a moment, and her mind was flooded with thoughts of Sirius Black, who was in fact a Gryffindor. The wizard-world-famous criminal. Her Uncle Pads. But of course, Thea couldn't say anything. She just mumbled, "Weird."

"I had a lot of fun today, Thea," Louis stopped in their tracks and turned to the girl with a grin. "I would love to do it again."

"Me too," Thea agreed, a smile decorating her lips. She stared up at the taller boy before taking a deep breath. Leaning up on her tiptoes, she placed a soft kiss on Louis's cheeks. The boy's eyes widened and his pale cheeks covered with blush. Thea grinned again, "We better start heading towards the rest of the group, or else they'll wonder where we are."

The two walked through the gates that marked the entrance of the Silver Forest and Louis took out his wand, whispering, "Lumos."

The tip of his wand lit up, lighting the path for the two to walk through the forest. Thea tried not to panic at the dark surroundings, and instead just slipped her hand into Louis's. He gently squeezed her hand and the two began to walk through the pitch-black forest.

"Where have you two been?" Tobi popped up out of the dark with a lantern in his hand and Thea let out a shriek. Tobi and Louis both laughed while the girl rolled her eyes.

"We just got back from Hogsmeade." Thea replied, slightly out of breath from the scare.

"Oh, did you two have fun?" Tobi smirked at the pair as they walked through the forest.

"Shut up." Thea scoffed, a smile appearing on her lips when she saw a bunch of her friends sitting down on blankets, lanterns surrounding them. Tommy and Eva sat in the middle of a blanket, both of them bickering over who would use the telescope first. Micah sat nearby, drinking some pumpkin juice while Poppy had her head in her lap tiredly.

Noelia and Sonali were cuddled up together on a corner of a blanket with muffins in their hands. Teo sat to the side, sitting next to Silas and Cedric. Ember and Ashton stood up next to a blanket, the twins bickering over who got to use a camera to photo the stars for the Howler. In another corner of the blanket, sat a Gryffindor girl who Thea was unfamiliar with.