A Younger Generation of Keepers

Chapter 3: Christmas at Hogsmeade (part 1)

Jessica's pov

The first snowflakes of December were finally falling. I was looking out the window from the Great Hall; the view was breathtaking. As I wandered the corridors, I saw Ominis standing right outside of the Music Hall. Is he eavesdropping?

"Ominis, what are you doing here?" I asked. I probably scared him, because he slightly flinched.

"Oh Jess, I – I'm just listening to the school band" he responded nervously. I peeked through the half-open door and saw Grayson; he was singing and his voice sounded angelic.

"It's Grayson" I noticed.

"I know" he smiled timidly.

"You're standing here, because you wanted to hear Grayson sing"

"Yes – his voice is amazing" Ominis admitted.

"It truly is" I agreed.

"Well done Grayson, I'm sure you'll be the perfect fit for our band" we heard Eric Northcott's voice from inside the room.

"He's auditioned for the school band" Ominis let out excitedly "He told me he wanted to, but he was too shy"

"Looks like someone isn't letting his fears prevent him from doing what he loves" I said with a cunning smile "Oh! It's Amit; Grayson came here with Amit!" I added.

"Of course! It's always Amit, isn't it?" Ominis sounded annoyed.

"Are you jealous of Amit?"

"No I'm not!" his tone made it obvious that he was angry, but typical Ominis preferred to lie to himself than express his feelings. I guess that is a Slytherin thing?

"Wow Ominis I didn't take you for the jealous type" I teased him.

"Let's go, before they see us" Ominis muttered, and we walked away. We headed to the boathouse and sat by the lake. Ominis was quiet, and I did not want to pressure him.

"What are you doing?" Ominis broke the silence.

"I'm just braiding my hair" I replied while gazing at the beautiful Black Lake.

"Can I try?" he asked.

"Yes, simply split my hair into three equal parts and then you have to keep repeating this movement" I took his hands and guided him.

"Your hair is so soft; I'm sure you are the prettiest girl at Hogwarts" Ominis smiled while examining my hair.

"Beauty is subjective Ominis" I said.

"I'm sure Sebastian will tell me all about how beautiful you look with your hair braided" Ominis carried on. Now, why did he have to bring up Sebastian?

"And I'm sure Grayson would appreciate it if you told him how pleasantly he sang today" I changed the topic.

"I would love that, but that's rather difficult for me" he expressed "I'm trying my best to suppress my emotions, because of my family's beliefs; I wouldn't want them to find out".

"I understand, Ominis. Your family's beliefs are wrong, but there is nothing wrong with who you are!" I reassured him.

Ominis seemed sceptical but remained silent, lost deeply in his thoughts, as I rested my head on his shoulder.

Grayson's pov

Another snowy morning and my mood was better than ever. I made my way to the Room of Requirement to meet up with the other Keepers. Once I inside, I headed left, where George, Mia and Jessica were sitting in one of the small living rooms.

"Apparently, Sophronia has never heard of Larissa, but she managed to gather some important information about the book. It was supposedly "borrowed" by Headmaster Black on August 18, and it was never returned" George filled us in.

"I always knew he was a traitor" Mia expressed angrily.

"So we need to search his office again; it should be there, right?" Jessica recommended.

"I doubt it'd be there; he stole it for a reason. He's probably put it somewhere safe!" I chimed in.

"What's safer than his own office?" Jessica questioned.

"Perhaps he stole it to give it to someone else; someone who doesn't have access to our library" I externalised my thoughts, which got everyone thinking. We all agreed to discuss it further some other time, and then Jessica and I made our way to the Bell Tower Courtyard.

Jessica's pov

Grayson and I were hanging, when Poppy approached us. She seemed upset and her eyes were teary; she must have been crying before.

"Hello guys, do you have a moment?" she said.

"Hello Poppy, is everything alright?" I asked her.

"Certainly not!" she explained "Cressida Blume is threatening to publish some pages from her diary about me in the school newspaper"

"That awful witch! What did she write about you?" I questioned.

"I have no idea; she hasn't told me"

She was definitely lying about that, if she had no idea about what she wrote she would not have been so upset in the first place.

"Well you can just deny anything she says" I tried to calm her down.

"Please, Jess, could you go to her dorm and check what's written about me in her diary?" she practically begged.

"Poppy, what's the point of that? She can just write these things about you again"

"You should steal it! If we have her diary, we will know all of her secrets, so she won't dare to threaten anyone anymore" Grayson chimed in with a mischievous suggestion.

"You are an evil genius Grayson" I clapped my hands with enthusiastically, giving him a cunning gaze.

Without wasting any time, I returned to the Gryffindor dorm and searched for Cressida's diary. It was on top of her nightstand, adjacent to her bed. Hideous stuff were written about several students.

"I persuaded Poppy to sleep with George to supposedly "eliminate" the competition. It was so easy;, all I needed to do was convince Poppy that she was not good enough to keep our school's bad boy and saviour. What's so special about her that's got him wrapped all around her finger anyway? Once George finds out Poppy isn't the innocent girl he thinks she is and that she only slept with him because I told her to, he will break up with her."

I could not believe what I was reading. Why would Cressida even think that this plan would work? I carried on flipping through the pages.

"Natty has a crush on George; she confessed she's in love with him today in our Common Room while talking to Garreth. She said George and Poppy are officially dating. She claimed she saw them kissing on a balcony. Why would George choose her? Natty is angry at Jessica; apparently, Jessica knew all about it but didn't have the courage to tell her best friend. What a Gryffindor huh?"

That awful monstrosity! My name was mentioned negatively a few more times and so was Garreth's and Mia's.

"Who does Jessica think she is? She's just a daft, annoying witch who people seem to like only because of her looks. What do they even like about her? Her shitty personality or her diva-like behaviour? She annoys me so much! She dared to threaten me the other day, but she will be terribly sorry once my plan is implemented."

I took the diary and put it in my cloak, I had to hide this "piece of work" and knew the perfect place for that.