Hogwarts Nights

Chapter Eighty

Cadence POV:

It was already getting dark outside when a group of around 30 students met up in the Clock Tower of Hogwarts. Violet and I were among them, as Mia had handed us a secret message earlier that day. The meeting was led by Virginia, as always: "Hello, everyone. After the hopeful mood we were in yesterday, today's shock feels even heavier on all of us. Professor McGonagall and the teachers of Hogwarts have decided to ban our meetings and by doing that, they tried to destroy the core of Dumbledore's Army Reloaded, which has become an international organisation within just a few weeks. We deeply regret this decision and don't understand it at all. But as you can all see, they didn't manage to silence us. We're still here tonight, meeting in secret."

When I woke up in the middle of the night, I realised immediately that something wasn't right. Someone had entered the castle. Someone who didn't have good intentions...

"Cady, quick", Diana said and took my hand. Together, we went downstairs. A lot of people were running around in panic.

"What happened?", I asked.

"They are attacking Hogwarts!"

"Who?", I asked.

But I didn't get an answer. Suddenly, tall men entered our common room and started firing spells at the confused students. I saw a first year falling down when he was hit with a green light... Diana and ran out of the common room. It was only there when we saw the dimension of everything: Students and teachers were laying all over the floor, covered in blood. Some of them were screaming for help. Others couldn't talk anymore.

"Cady, if we die tonight", Diana said, breathing heavily. "Please know that I love you."

"Cady!", Diana said. "Are you awake?"

Sweating, I woke up from my nightmare. It was only a dream, I told myself. You're going crazy. No one is attacking Hogwarts.

"Cady, is everything alright?", Diana asked, concerned.

"Yes, sorry. Just a bad dream. What is it?"

"You need to see this!", Selena, who suddenly appeared next to Diana, said.

"What?"

"Ed Sheeran! He's coming to Hogwarts!"

"When?"

"On Saturday! And we're going, right?"

After the anger about McGonagall prohibiting Dumbledore's Army Reloaded and my nightmare, the thought of an upcoming Ed Sheeran concert brightened my mood a lot. Ed Sheeran, who was a famous singer in the Muggle world, was actually a wizard and occasionally gave some exclusive performances in the magical world. The concert at Hogwarts was going to be in the Great Hall and was free for every Hogwarts student.

But as Saturday approached, my mood got worse again. On Friday evening, Selena said to us: "Listen, everyone. We want to be in the front row to see Ed from close. But we're not the only one with that intention. So, I suggest we'll start queuing up at 7am."

"You must be crazy!", I said.

"I'm serious", Selena answered. "You also like him, don't you?"

"I like his music", I explained. "But you can also hear that when you're a bit more at the back."

After going back and forth for a while, I decided not to join Diana, Selena and Amy in their queuing up for the concert.

"But you will come to the concert, right?", Diana asked. "You can go with Matthew and Violet."

"Violet doesn't want to go", I said. "And Matthew has a date. But I'll come, if I feel like it. Don't worry."

That was the thing about the concert: The only people who were going were either groups of crazy fangirls or people on a date. Although I liked Ed's music, I wasn't sure whether I actually wanted to go to his concert.

After lunch (which took place in another room, because the Great Hall was getting set up for the concert), I saw Albus in the hallway.

"Hey, Al", I said.

"Hey, Cady. I see you aren't in the queue for Ed yet."

I laughed.

"But you're going?"

"I guess", I said. "What about you?"

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I could ask him if we wanted to go together. But then, he answered: "Yes, with Mary."

Sounds like a date to me, I thought.

In the evening, I didn't feel like going to the concert at all. Instead, I went to the kitchen to talk to Toby, Minny, Betty and the other house-elves. I felt the need to talk to someone who wouldn't judge me for my feelings and who would understand me. They were happy about my visit and we had a lot to talk about, from Dumbeldore's Army Reloaded and the current situation at Hogwarts to Quidditch and Ed Sheeran.

At some point, we talked about my friendship with Albus.

"I'm not sure how close we still are", I admitted. "We haven't really talked in some time, except for some small talk. He seems really into the whole Dumbledore's Army Reloaded thing and always hangs out with his people from Gryffindor and some Slytherins. Tonight, he went to see the concert with Mary."

"Are you unhappy that the two of you aren't as close anymore?", Minny asked.

"Sort of", I admitted.

"Maybe he feels the same", she said. "Think about it: You may feel like he ignores you sometimes. But aren't you doing the same thing? Instead of asking him to go to the concert with him first, you complain about him going with another girl. Maybe he would have liked to have you with him. I suggest you go talk to him after the concert. It's not healthy to swallow down your feelings."

I sighed: "I guess you are right."

Hello, loves! Wow, 80 chapters... We've come a long way and now the end is getting so close. I hope you're still enjoying it - please don't forget to vote and maybe leave a comment if you do! All the love, Tanja <3