Let's Blame Magic

Chapter Seven

  Immediate action took place once the word got out that Sirius Black was in the Castle. There were Dementors stationed at every entrance of the Castle, so if Sirius Black tried to leave, he’d have no chance. However, there would be no chances taken, that night, every house was to sleep in the Great Hall till it was certain that Sirius Black was no longer present in the Castle. 

  Ariella made her way to the Great Hall after gathering some of her items from her Common Room, once she arrived there were no tables but in its place was an ocean of students side by side one another. The Gryffindors near the front of the Hall with Hufflepuff on its left, Slytherin just underneath them and Ravenclaw near the doors on the right hand side.
 
  Some of the Professors not attending the Dementors were pacing up and down the room, keeping a sharp eye on the students. Ariella noticed Fred and George huddled together at the border between some Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students; she remembered what Ron told her about his brothers and decided that she should be the one to end what she started.

  She could feel her heart racing every step she took towards the Twins and felt her breath hasten, when she was only a few steps away from them, she withdrew her breath,
   
   “Am I interrupting?” She said with a formal tone
 
  The Twins’ head turned sharply towards Ariella but their eyes soften once they caught a glimpse of her.
   
   “Ariella…” Fred said softly as he noticed Ariella’s eyes wander off to the corner of her eyes.
 
  She released a small sigh and bit the bottom of her lip before she opened her mouth, “I just came over here to apologize for what happened a few nights ago. I should have listened rather than created a scene.” She said with her eyes piercing both sets of blue eyes.
  
   “It was really our fault, I hope you didn’t take it the wrong or anything.” George said shortly after Ariella’s apology.
 
  She didn’t know what to say after, her true intentions was to forget everything that happened over the past couple of days.
  
   “Can we just,” She took her time and released one more sigh, she feared what she was about to say would sound incredibly stupid, “forget about it?” She asked and watched as they looked at each other.
 
  She watched George smile at Fred as Fred smiled at George, she felt reassurance and joy growing inside of her as she watched the smiles formed, but she couldn’t help feel a tiny ounce of fear beneath their smile.
   
   “I think we can, right, George?” Fred turned his head to Ariella with George quickly following as he gave a nod.

   A feeling of relief flushed through Ariella’s body, she spent the remainder of her time getting to know the Twins better and it was a step for her because during the duration she spent with them, she didn’t feel an ounce of anxiety. She found out that the Twins were thinking of products they’d like to sell when they’ve opened up their own joke shop; the image formed perfectly in Ariella’s head and she knew that once day, they’ll reach their dream. She couldn’t stay and chat for long because her bladder had other plans.
 
  She made her way to the first floor bathroom with thoughts overflowing of what has happened the past couple of days and despite it all, she realized that the fact there may be a serial killer loose in the Castle doesn’t even bother her at all; the joy of talking to others and knowing there are other people in her life is masking her sense of fear.
 
  Once she was finished, Ariella made her way to the Great Hall but as soon as she turned the corner, there in front of her was Oliver Wood, his black hair friend, Robbie and two other boys. She felt her heart skip a beat once she saw Oliver but it seemed no one noticed her yet. She planned to walk past them and continue spending the night talking to the other students until she took a step closer,
  
   “Hey, are you still planning to ask that Third year out?” One of Oliver’s friends said.
 
  Instantly, she knew who he was referring to and by instinct, she hid behind a suit of armour. She questioned what she was doing, why she felt the need to hide but there was no voice in her head telling her otherwise, all she could hear was her shallow breathing and their conversation.
  
   “What Third year?” Oliver said trying to be oblivious as his footsteps became faint.
  
   “You know,” Another voice said. The sound of footsteps stopped which gave Ariella the idea that they stopped Oliver from leaving “You know, what’s her name? Robbie, help me out.”
  
   “Ariella Price.” Robbie said with a little laugh in his voice.
 
  Ariella’s heart was beating fast once her name was mentioned.
  
   “Don’t lie to us, Wood! You’ve been crushing on her ever since you’ve laid eyes on her the first night we came back!” The voice from the first friend said with a little tease in his voice.
 
  She couldn’t see it but she knew that her cheeks were turning a faint pink, she placed her hands on her chest even though she already knew they were beating at a fast pace.
  
   “You’ve even sent her love notes, do you know how hard it was for me giving that to Joyce to give to her without Elliot  thinking I was hitting on his girl?!” The other friend complained.
 
  The image of the Seventh year Ravenclaw student came to mind.
 
  A sigh was released and by the first syllable, Ariella recognized it came from Oliver.
  
   “I don’t think she’s even interested.” Oliver said with a tone of disappointment.