Magic (5sos/l.h. Hogwarts AU)

Chapter 85

~A/N~ Does anyone remember the A/N I wrote a year ago complaining about not being allowed to see All Time Low because I went to see them yesterday and it was so good (the support act was awful though)
Enjoy the chapter!
Leila xx

Many tearful goodbyes were exchanged when we returned to Hogwarts - of course, Mrs Weasley was fussing around us as though she was a mother hen among all her chicks, and I clung tightly to Sirius before departing for King's Cross. Something in my gut told me I wasn't going to see him for a long time, as the opportunity was unlikely to arise for me to visit Grimmauld Place.

He had been a good friend to me over the holidays, gladly expressing strong feelings against anyone who opposed me (particularly Pansy), which was truly what I needed instead of a mediator.

I was understandably upset at leaving the dingy house of safety, but if there was a chance that soon things between Ashton and I would be back to normal I was completely ready for it.

However, things at school didn't change for a long time, and January and February remained incredibly uneventful. We found out Hagrid was on probation, but that only altered Calum's mood slightly while we all kept up the pretence that everything was all right, and we were still a big group of inseparable friends.

We weren't fooling anyone - now that Ron and Harry knew about the drama it had been spread everywhere, but no one particularly cared.

A cloud of gloom hung over our house as a result of the changes to the Quidditch team - many evenings were spent consoling a raging Ginny and heartbroken Luke after terrible practices.

"Quidditch isn't the be all and end all, you know," I said calmly as Ginny paced around furiously. "Just because the team isn't the best now, you just need some practice."

"How bad can you even be?" Michael asked from the other armchair, and I let out a muffled laugh underneath a cough.

"We're going to be flattened," Fred said, slinging his arm over my shoulder. "Mind you, Ginny is pretty good and Luke's always been a talented Chaser, it's just the others. Our Beater replacements can't hit a ball to save their lives, and Ron is the worst keeper I've ever seen."

"Come on," Ginny protested. "He can save the ball when no one's looking."

"Oh that's great then, we'll just tell the audience to turn around and talk amongst themselves whenever the Quaffle goes down his end," Luke rolled his eyes. "Angelina was furious, I don't think I've ever seen someone so ready to cry."

"Imagine if Wood was still here," I said. "It could be worse."

"Yeah, well," Fred sighed, "I'm not up for this tension. Everyone's been so miserable lately, I think they need something to cheer them up. Fortunately, we've almost perfected the Skiving Snackboxes! Come on Leila, time for work!"

I groaned but allowed him to drag me over to George in the corner with several bottles of a substance I recognised from Potions but couldn't quite name.

"We've figured out how to get rid of the side effects from some of our sweets," George grinned. "We have to put Murtlap Essence on the boils and they go down."

"We're trying a new formula, putting Murtlap Essence into the actual sweet so the boils will go down pretty quickly," said Fred. "Give us a hand, will you?"

The twins always had a habit of lifting any stress off my shoulders, and the toxic atmosphere around me dissolved for a while as we worked and joked, trying hard to secure a future for the two of them.

"When we get this joke shop, you can come and work in it," said Fred. "A proper high rank as well, right from the start!"

"Yeah, we would ask you to co-own it but I'm guessing you want to do something useful with your life," George chuckled.