Lauren Davies and the Glydan Pipe

The Inquisition

Although midyear exams were looming, the Gryffindors still felt a need to celebrate the second to last week of term in style. Friday night brought a frenzy of activity to the common room, and despite the stressful week, Lauren was feeling incredibly relaxed. Somehow, she'd managed to hold herself together in Professor Oldstrum's class, even though she'd stared daggers into his back every time he turned around. The whole week had gone by without a single break-in, and Lauren was finally gaining confidence that the ministry would truly sort the whole thing out. She knew she wouldn't completely relax until Professor Oldstrum was caught, but for now, things seemed safe enough.

She ducked her head as one of Fred and George's infamous firecrackers flew wildly around the room. All around her, students were talking loudly back and forth, trying not to get drowned out by an obnoxious fifth year aggressively strumming Wonderwall. Tess, Angelina, and Isla had staked out a prime spot in the thick of the crowd and were laughing at a joke Lauren hadn't heard. The sun had gone down, and large, blazing fires lit the room. The combination of fire with an unnatural amount of gathered students had prompted someone to open the windows, making the atmosphere freezing and boiling all at once. As always, the topic seemed to be stuck on the Yule Ball.

"Helios and Diggory are going together of course." Angelina rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. "Is anyone surprised?"

"Nope," Tess said pointedly. "Who're you going with anyway?" she asked Angelina, who just shrugged with a smirk on her face.

"I've got a few options. I'm just trying to pick the best one."

"I'm calling B.S.," Isla shouted. "You haven't mentioned anyone."

"Guess you'll just have to wait and find out." Angelina tipped back the rest of her drink as the guitarist finished his solo, and the room finally reached a more tolerable volume. Lauren was about to open her mouth to add on when Fred, George, and Oliver walked over and settled down next to them.

Lauren blushed and ducked her head before anyone could notice. She'd only spoken to Oliver a few times since their sporadic exchange at the beginning of the week. Their schedules didn't typically match up, so the only time she generally saw him was quidditch practice, and normally, there wasn't much time for talking when they were flying hundreds of feet above the ground.

"Hey," he said. "How's everyone doing?"

"Just marvelous, Oliver!" Angelina said, clearly feeling very energetic.

"Someone's in a good mood," Fred commented. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Christopher Harper asking you to the ball today, would it?"

Lauren couldn't fight back her laughter and was relieved when everyone else joined in. Christopher was the definition of dopey.

"Oh, so he's the wonderful prospect you've been telling us so much about!" Isla shouted, which made everyone laugh even harder.

"Among others," Angelina said as her face turned red.

The cozy atmosphere made Lauren feel right at home. She relaxed her muscles, allowing her knee to drop and brush lightly against Oliver's. He stiffened slightly in surprise but stayed where he was. The conversation continued around them, but Lauren wasn't paying attention. She stole a glance at Oliver, who sat staring at the wall, smiling absentmindedly to himself. A few seconds passed before Angelina seemed to take notice of their connected knees. She swiveled her head to look at both of them in succession, but before she could say something, Oliver quickly jerked his leg away and stood ungracefully.

"I'm going to bed," he announced and walked away, muttering inaudibly to himself.

Isla let out a ferocious yawn and muttered, "Me too," before following Oliver. Lauren made extremely uncomfortable eye contact with Angelina before the other girl stood up and walked over to the dormitory staircases. No one spoke for a minute, and the comforting sound of crackling fire worked to fill the awkward silence.