The Marauders of Slytherin

Your time is gonna come

Hogwarts Christmas – Common room sense

The first Trimester was finally over, and Theodore, Lorenzo and I had miraculously passed the Divination test. After the holidays, we would finally learn about Ancient Runes, which I had secretly already read about a little in Spellman's Syllabary by Spencer Spellman.

Mattheo had decided to stay at Hogwarts with me during the Christmas Break. That is, after he already packed his bags, I told him that I was staying here. There was no reason for him to go to the Malfoys if I wasn't going. And I would much rather stay here with Mattheo than face Lucius back home. Since the summer, I had felt more like a black sheep in the family than ever before. Where at first, I had refused to fit in dresses, now I refused to fit in at all. I couldn't be forced to go back to that house the same way they forced me to wear those ridiculous clothes. I wanted Bella back; I wanted her to hug me and tell me that the Dark Lord would be back soon to save us all. Or even hit me in the face and tell me to pull myself together, that I was stronger than this and had a task to fulfil. To make her proud. But every time I thought of her, the article about the muggle woman crept up my mind like a tiny Acromantula.

I was exhausted of feeling like I had to protect this irresponsible boy, while I suspected that he knew more about the danger than I did. Every time I brought up Professor Snape's limp, he waved it off and changed the subject. I was fairly certain that there was something that he wasn't sharing with me, but I couldn't bring it up without upsetting him. So for now, I decided to appease him and enjoy the holidays.

"Shit, who taught you to play chess like this?"

Mattheo's queen was brutally slayed by my bishop and wiped off the board. We sat in the empty Common Room next to the fire, the board on the ground in between us.

"Bella did," I said, watching him make his next move. His hand faltered, as he re-arranged some pieces on the board. They all went back to their original places as he contemplated to make his most strategic move.

"King to H8," he said.

I grinned. "You're done."

"No, I'm not, I can... oh fuck." He knocked the entire board over. I scoffed. Loser.

He narrowed his eyes. "You know, if she had taken the time to teach me as well, I definitely would have won."

"Yeah whatever, how are the samples doing?"

"I checked up on them this morning when Snape was out of the dungeons."

We were forging spider web-like material in a dusty cabinet in the Potions classroom, which was all part of the big prank. It was all really experimental and so far, the samples had failed to be either sticky enough, or thin enough.

"Don't you wonder why Snape spends his holidays at Hogwarts?" Mattheo said. "Maybe he is too scared to go home because there is a big spider under his bed."

"Too bad, soon his spidery home will seem spic and span in comparison with Hogwarts."

"We will use the Permanent Sticking Charm, won't we?"

"Uhm, I don't think it's the best idea to use an illegal spell since I was already almost expelled for casting Obtrunco Deripio at Andrew Kirke last year," I reminded him.

Mattheo's eyes grew large as he stared at me in proud disbelief. "You casted the Mutilating Curse at that prick?" He huffed a breath. "Wow. You keep surprising me, Black."

I looked down modestly. "Well, his limbs are still attached to his body aren't they."

"Maybe one day you'll get the chance."