IT'S MAGIC ❤︎ WHY DONT WE

twenty

there's been another attack. collin creevey. as if zach wasn't scared before, he definitely is now. at first it was just mrs. norris and writing on the wall.

now it was really happening. students were being petrified.

if they hadn't decided this before, they definitely have now. zach was not to go anywhere without one of his friends.

"gabbie, i'm scared." zach spoke quietly as they sat in the common room. "i know zach, i am too. i don't want anything to happen to you." she sighed.

the two sat watching the fire when christina joined them. "is the necklace helping you stay calm?" she asked, the boy nodding once. "a little. i still feel terrified." he let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes momentarily.

"starting to wonder if i should go home? if all muggleborns should go home until this is over." he spoke quietly. "that is an option, but that's exactly what they want."

"christina's right, if you go home, they win. if you go home, this will never be over." gabriela said, but zach didn't quite like that.

"so we're supposed to just stay here as bait?! our lives are in danger and we can't leave?" anger was rising in him for a moment, luckily the necklace was there to calm him.

"zach, please, you need to stay calm. please, just relax." gabriela spoke soothingly, it helped. "what if you told us some stories of your family? your mum and brother." the eldest friend suggested.

so he did, he told them all of what his mother was like. her personality, how calming and loving she is, how supportive she is of anything for her kids. "sounds like she'd be a hufflepuff too." christina smiled.

"ryan would definitely be a gryffindor then." zach chuckled, "well, either hufflepuff or gryffindor, he fits both." he added. he clutched the necklace, taking in the scent.

to his surprise, it smelt like the village. not his mother, not his brother, not his baby sister. not mr. wilson or the library.

but in fact the mistic and almost musty yet pleasant smell of godric's hollow.

"what does it smell like?" christina wondered, "home. surprisingly. no one specifically, just the village. i find that weird." zach sighed. "i mean it's not exactly my favourite place."

"zach i promise you, we will all do the best we can to keep you safe. i don't want anything to happen to you. i promise, you'll be okay."

•••

in hopes of helping protect their students, a dueling club was set up. being run by professor lockhart. zach, jonah, daniel, and corbyn don't understand why the girls like him. he's an evident tosser.

he introduced professor snape as his assistant for this dueling club, blabbering on about how it will be an easy defeat. "you'll still have your potions master when i'm through with him, never fear."

"yeah because he won't even get a good knick in." zach muttered as he and his friends stood to watch. his friends laughing, well, not the girls fancying him obviously.

and, obviously, professor snape flipped him easily. "do you think he's alright?" hermione wondered, "who cares?" ron laughed.

"honestly, what was professor dumbledore thinking hiring that nutter! can't even block a simple spell." zach shook his head, the boys laughing at his comment.

"he's an incredible wizard zach! have you never read his work?" christina countered his statement. "course not, wouldn't want to waste my time reading rubbish when i could read something that was true!"

"an excellent idea to show them that professor snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious what you were about to do. and if i had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy." professor lockhart spoke.

"yeah right." both zach and corbyn muttered in unison. "perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, professor." snape spoke plainly.

"an excellent suggestion, professor snape! how about a volunteer pair. ah, potter, weasley, how about you?" he said, pointing to the two gryffindors.

"weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplist spells. we'll be sending potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. might i suggest someone from my own house?" the potions teacher denied, "malfoy, perhaps?"

draco began to walk up, harry following suit. "good luck harry." zach said as the boy walked forward.

"wands at the ready." lockhart stated. "on the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent -only to disarm, we don't want any accidents here. one, two-"

"everte statium!" draco cast his spells, repelling harry backwards.

jack and crabbe's laughter was easily heard as harry got up. "rictusempra!" harry cast, knocking draco back.

"i said disarm only!"

"serpensortia!" draco shouted, a snake now appearing on the mat. zach gasped, snakes always did freak him out.

snape went to deal with it although he was stopped by lockhart, who didn't get rid of it, only flung it up in the air.

"what a ponce this bloke is." zach muttered yet again as lockhart proved further that he knew nothing. "that's rubbish zach." kay denied.

"really? if this tosser really did any of what he wrote, he would have gotten rid of the snake by now." zach bounced back, he knew he was right. this man was a definite poser.

then, it happened, harry started speaking a different language. he was talking to the snake.

after a moment, snape cast the proper spell to get rid of the snake and all eyes were on harry potter.