Mischief Managed | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 95

It was late in the afternoon and some of the students had gathered in the Great Hall, some busy studying for their upcoming exams, and some talking and enjoying their tome while being served hot tea that traveled above them in floating pots.

     "Ugh, I can't find this stupid spell anywhere," Marlene said angrily, flipping through her book.

"What are you looking for?" Alice asked.

"The last chapter Professor Flitwick taught us this week," she said, picking up the feather she had placed in front of her on the table. "We're suppose to make this bigger, but I can't find it."

"Here, let me help you find the page," Alice offered, reaching out her hand to take the book from Marlene.

Although Jenna stopped her, saying, "If you're looking for the incantation to make the feather bigger, it's Eam Indespectus."

"Oh, thanks," Marlene muttered. "Eam Ins — come again?"

"Do you want me to write it down for you?" Jenna offered kindly, giving her a sweet smile.

"Sure, that would be a great help," Marlene said cheerfully, grabbing a piece of parchment and handing it to Jenna.

"Eam Indespectus?" Alice mused, frowning thoughtfully. "That doesn't sound familiar."

"It's because you kept dozing out during Flitwick's class again," Jenna reasoned, writing down the incantation and giving it back to Marlene.

Alice sighed, placing her chin on the palm of her hand. "Yeah, I do that a lot, don't I? Can't really help it."

By that time, Marlene had already took out her wand and pointed it at her feather, saying over and over again, "Eam Indespectus!"

Jenna remained quiet, pretending to read her Herbology notes while stealing glances at Marlene from the corner of her eyes.

And that was when it suddenly happened.

"Where the heck did my feather go!?" Marlene said in horror and surprise, staring at the spot on the table where her feather used to be only seconds ago. "Where is it!?"

     At the sound of sneaky sniggering, Marlene glared up at Jenna's direction, who was trying her best not to burst out in laughter.

     "That was an Invisibility spell wasn't it?" Marlene growled dangerously, and that was Jenna's laughter exploded. "I'LL KILL YOU, POTTER!"

     Marlene shouted, lurching forward from the other side of the table, trying to grab a hold of Jenna. But Jenna ducked out of her reach, still laughing.

     "Aargh!" Marlene yelled in surprise and pulled back when suddenly from the middle of the table Nearly Headless Nick emerged, looking at the girls with a raised brow.

     "There's no problem here, is there, ladies?" said the ghost, floating out of the table.

     "No, of course not," said Alice, still giggling.

     "Well, good. We don't want to lose any more points, now do we?" he said. "I sure would like to see Gryffindor win the House Cup this year. I have certainly had enough of the Bloody Baron boasting around about how well the Slytherins these past few years."

     "We would've won the Cup last year if it weren't for those four," Marlene grumbled moodily, gesturing her head at the other end of the Gryffindor table, where James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were sitting.

     "Huh..." Jenna said thoughtfully once Sir Nicholas had floated away. Her narrowed eyes were fixed on her brother and her friends.

      "What is it?" Marlene asked, pulling another feather out of her bag.

     "Those four seem oddly quiet lately, don't you think?" said Jenna.

     "Yeah, now that you mention it," said Marlene, stealing another glance at them. "They haven't said a single word all week. During none of the classes. That's just suspicious."

     Jenna nodded. "And remember in Defense Against the Dark Arts class? When the professor asked for a volunteer to do the spell, none of them did. James or Sirius always volunteer for that class."

     But just then, their attention was caught by Lily who entered the Great Hall along with Snape, her books hugged to her chest. Although her face crumbled when Snape quickly moved away from her and made his way over to the Slytherin table without as much as a simple goodbye.

Gloomy and down, Lily walked toward her friends and sat at the Gryffindor table.

"You okay, Lil?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Yeah, of course." Lily nodded, giving them a reassuring smile which Jenna was sure was forced.

"But —"

"So how's your Charms practice going, Mar? Need any help? I'm all done with my Transfigurations essay so I'm free." Lily said kindly, attempting to change the subject.

***

As it turned out, keeping a Mandrake in your mouth for a whole month turned out to be way more difficult than any of them had anticipated. They couldn't speak, they couldn't eat properly, and Peter had swallowed one of the Mandrakes in his sleep one night.

     Each time they ruined a Mandrake or it fell out of their mouth, they all had to start all over.

      "This is just hard. I've ruined three leaves already! Even James and Sirius had each ruined one while eating." Peter nagged as the four boys walked down the corridors, following after James. "Where are we going anyway?"

     "The second floor — watch for the moving staircase here," said James, looking excited about something. But no matter how much they asked, he wouldn't tell them where he was leading them. He liked stringing them along and keeping them on edge.

      Peter sigher. "Maybe I should just quit. You guys go on with it. It's too difficult for me. I can't do it."

     Sirius shook his head. "Oh, nonsense. We're in this together. We'll help you out."

     "We're only three days away from the finals and you can't perform spells for the practical exams with leaves in your mouth," said Remus. "How about doing this during summer break?"

     "Yeah, my thought exactly. But for now," James grinned, reaching the second floor, "I have found the place where we can stash our potions. Somewhere no one can find it. No one can find it, because no one ever goes there."

      "Oh, for Merlin's sake, just tell us where it is already!" Sirius huffed out impatiently.

     James sniggered, turning right and finally stopping. "Relax. We're here."

      The boys looked up, eyes widening when they saw where James had taken them.

     The girls' bathroom.