Crossroads of Two Worlds

19- Pranks and Potions Galore

I sat by Kaley and Rose plopped down next to me, both of us bracing ourselves for Kaley's lecture. She, having no one else to talk to, had sat by Alice Longbottom and Roxanne Weasley, who were levitating their forks and making them fight in midair. Their verbal sound effects entertained Kaley but as soon as we showed up, the happiness melted from her expression, replaced with sadness, "You left me."

The statement was said bluntly and the accuser crossed her arms in unhappiness, while the accused sat there, trying desperately to find something to say. Kaley was new to the wizarding world but wasn't quite as sure-footed as I was. She was scared to be left alone, or left behind. That we left her with the other kids might not have seemed like a big deal but it was to her, and we both knew it. When we both had been asked to stay behind we received a death glare, but not as bad as the one we presently absorbed.

Neither Rose nor I could think of anything to defend ourselves with, but Rose finally blurted out, "We're trying out for the Quidditch team!"

I glared at her and her eyes widened, "What? Not the right thing to say?"

"Perhaps not," I sighed at my redheaded friend.

"Bugger," Rose grumbled.

I took a breath and put a small smile on my face before turning to Kaley, "Kaley, I know you're upset, but please hear me out."

Her eyes narrowed, but, to the surprise of both me and Rose, she crossed her arms and breathed out, "Okay, fine."

Taking another breath, I spoke, "Rose would first like to apologize for being insensitive."

I elbowed Rose in the ribs and she dropped her fork, which then fell handle-first into her gravy, "Alana! Why wou-"

"Rose!" I interrupted her tantrum.

Rose sighed and set down her spoon, which she'd gripped in her other hand. Facing Kaley, with sincerity she apologized, "Kaley, I am very sorry for being insensitive."

Kaley nodded in a way that clearly said 'I thought so'.

I put my hand on hers and looked into her eyes directly, "Look, we didn't know that we'd be singled out! I've never even ridden a broom before! Did you ever think that we didn't like it any more than you did? All those people staring at us? Scorpius and Albus might have liked it, but I know I didn't. And you know Rose, she acts all cocky and arrogant until you put her on the spot! Did you think she enjoyed it? You remember the first day of Herbology when Professor Longbottom pointed her out and she looked like she was going to puke! And as for leaving you, we weren't even a quarter of a mile away, if you were hurt or angry we would have noticed."

Kaley had started to look like she felt bad for blaming us. I hadn't wanted her to feel bad about it, I just wanted her to be my friend again. Surely she knew that I didn't want to be alone any more than she did.

Rose, under her breath, mumbled into her cup of juice, "Did we tell you that we're trying out for The Quidditch team?"

It was just enough to lighten the tension. Kaley laughed just as I snorted water up my nose.

Suddenly, our serious conversation was dissolved with laughter and snorting. We calmed down eventually and stuffed mashed potatoes down our throats so we could have the rest of the day in the common room. Our schedules were different from how they used to be, due to the few students actually attending the school. We occasionally had half a day of free periods to do work, but I wasn't planning to work all that much. It wouldn't take me very long to write the paper for Herbology, since I remembered everything that Professor Longbottom had said during class. My assignment for Transfiguration was to research the spell to turn a pencil into a pen and write a foot long essay on it. At least it wasn't measured in pages, at muggle school we'd write four page assignments just for one class. In History we simply listened to the ghost talk the entire time and sat at the end of class to remember it. Our DADA teacher had neglected to even hand out our textbooks, so even if he had been awake enough to teach anything, we wouldn't have been able to complete the work given to us. Rose said that Albus's God Brother, Teddy, was applying for the job of DADA teacher in a few years, after the training he was currently in. Rose's cousin, Victoire, was also applying for the position of Transfiguration Professor, to replace Mcgonagall, whose time was already full being Headmistress, much less adding on the load of a teacher of one of the most difficult classes.