Hogwarts Mystery [HP APPLY FIC]

year two, chapter six

Camille had come back from Christmas break bubbling with quiet anticipation. The Bloody Baron had taken a shine to her, and had named her his apprentice (despite her telling him she could not procure an axe so he could teach her how to slash people's throats open with it).

It had taken some convincing, but he had begrudgingly given up on the idea of mass murder and instead reeled off a few dozen enchantments he insisted she memorised. Camille had made sure to set aside plenty of time in the holidays to learn the list of old-fashioned spells because she knew he'd grill her on them the moment she returned.

She was still a little uneasy in his presence, but she was adjusting to it simply being a part of her life now.

Besides, she enjoyed telling people she was being trained by the Bloody Baron. (Camille briefly considered whether it was something she could put on her resume once she'd finished school, but she decided not to broach the topic with the Baron just yet.)

Talbott didn't like it one bit, but he was always disappearing off to odd locations by himself so (in her opinion) he wasn't enough to have earned the right to complain.

"Did you learn the spells?" Were the first words out of the Baron's mouth as she stepped into the hall in the New Year, and she couldn't contain her smile.

"I did."

"Good. I shall test you on them later." He leaned closer to her, narrowing his translucent eyes. "I have located an appropriate place for you to begin practicing them, free of prying eyes."

Satisfied with how she met his unflinching stare, he glided away.

Camille giggled to herself once he'd left. She knew he had a terrifying reputation (he was the 'Bloody' Baron after all) but the more time she spent with him, the more she realised how much of his grumpiness was just loneliness poorly disguised.

In truth, he must have been waiting years for an opportunity like this to come about.

She continued on to Ravenclaw tower, ready to unpack her belongings and re-settle.

As she walked into the dormitory, she noticed Maddie sat on the edge of her bed, twisting the end of her jumper around her hands and chewing her lower lip.

"Mads." Camille nudged her friend's shoulder, and Maddie startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump! Are you okay?"

"Oh, no worries! It's good to see you." She smiled kindly. "I'm fine, just a little worried. Zoë and Evan were acting suspiciously on the way down here, and I can't help but feel like they're going to get themselves into trouble."

Camille did her best to reassure her, unaware of just how correct Maddie's prediction was.

Over in the Gryffindor common room, Evan and Zoë had gathered Caleb and Winnie, and were stood in a semicircle around the fireplace.

"You think it's up there?" Caleb repeated Zoë's words, frowning. "Huh."

"What, you disagree?" Zoë questioned him.

"No, it's a good suggestion, I just have the sneaking suspicion it's going to be my job to climb up and check."

Evan and Zoë exchanged a look which didn't soothe Caleb's fears.

"Investigating it is worth a shot," Winnie agreed, eyes glued to the mantlepiece. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"Hey!" Caleb interrupted, expression softening. "It's not all down to one person to think of a solution. We're a team, and the whole point of being a team is we help each other out. We work together."