The Hollow Beneath Hogwarts

106. She's Electric

"So we have to put our trust in you two?" Jack laughed, pointing between Sloane and Draco as though the very idea was the greatest joke he'd heard all year. "Great."

He rolled his eyes dramatically and leaned back in his chair.

Beside him, Ginny was muttering under her breath.

Jack's gaze snapped towards her. "What are you mumbling about?" he asked. "You sound like a blinking freak."

The room immediately went quiet.

Harry closed his eyes.

Ron groaned.

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh brilliant," Blaise sighed. "He's chosen violence."

Ginny slowly lifted her head. The smile that spread across her face was so sweet that it instantly terrified everyone who knew her. She batted her eyelashes. "I was just going over all the hexes I've learned over the last few years."

Jack snorted.

Ginny's smile widened. "You remember Sirius Black?"

The amusement vanished from Jack's face so quickly it was almost impressive.

His shoulders stiffened.

"Oh, he knows who Sirius is," Harry said dryly.

"You'd have to be living under a rock not to know who Sirius Black was," Ron added.

Jack swallowed.

Sirius Black's name still carried weight. Harry had fought to clear his godfather's reputation. Kingsley himself had helped expose the truth.

But there were still plenty of witches and wizards who remembered the escaped prisoner from Azkaban first and the war hero second.

"Yeah," Ginny continued casually. "He taught me everything he knew."

Jack blinked. "He what?"

Ginny nodded. "Mhmm." She sounded entirely too pleased with herself. "We were very close. Family friends and all that."

Harry nearly choked trying not to laugh.

"I spent years learning from him." She tilted her head. "Lots and lots of years."

Jack looked noticeably less confident.

"She's not joking," Hermione offered helpfully.

"Not helping, Hermione," Harry muttered.

"Oh no, I'm helping."

Arabella pressed her lips together, desperately trying not to smile. Truthfully, she found the whole thing hilarious.

These kids were absolute menaces.

Every single one of them.

Yet somehow she'd grown fond of them. Maybe because she'd seen what they'd survived. Maybe because they'd repeatedly risked their lives while most adults told them to stay put.

Or maybe because they reminded her that courage wasn't always neat and professional.

Sometimes courage came wrapped in sarcasm, poor decision-making and an unhealthy tendency to charge directly towards danger.

Jack, however, continued huffing.

Arabella was getting sick of it.

Every day it was the same thing. The students were irresponsible. The students were reckless. The students needed to learn their place. The students should leave things to the professionals.