Nadine Longbottom - Harry Potter Fanfiction

14. The Exams are Over but The Day Hasn't.

Nadine entered the Gryffindor common room with Neville's bag as he had decided to go to the castle ground and enjoy the end of exams with Dean and Seamus. After depositing Neville's bag in the boy's dormitory, Nadine went back to her own dormitory and changed out of her Gryffindor robes. She found Hermione in the dormitory's bathroom freshning up. When she looked at her bushy haired mate, Nadine realised her face almost mirrored Hermione's with dark rings surrounding both of their eyes and their hair looking like a birds half destructed nest. Nadine splashed cold water on her face from the tap as her eyes burned fiercely because of the lack of sleep.

"We look like Nearly Headless Nick's relatives. In short we look horrible." Nadine commented.

"Don't you think I haven't noticed? The moment we come back from Hagrid's I'm hibernating" Hermione said, looking at her friend through the mirror. "Or I could talk to some fourth years and ask them about the upcoming year's syllabi."

Nadine was about to try and convince Hermione that the former option was better, when... "Nadine! Hermione! Where are you guys? Come quick! I'm waiting." A voice came from the common room.

"That's Ron. He's probably getting impatient to know how Buckbeak's appeal went. Let's head out." Nadine secured her elbow length, dry as sandpaper hair in a tight ponytail.

"Hey Ronykins, did you came back just now?" Nadine was surprised to find that Ron didn't even look annoyed at his nick name. He looked disturbed when she look closely.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Hermione's asked anxiously.

"It's a letter from Hagrid. Buckbeak lost."

Nadine flew down the stairs, taking two at a time and read the letter Ron was holding.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.

Hagrid

"We've got to go. Oh, Hagrid must be feeling miserable. We can't let him do this alone." Hermione all but shrieked. Nadine did agree with Hermione on some level. She too had wanted to pull her friends and drag them down to Hagrid's place, but her mind, from its deep recesses, had somehow pulled rationality to the top.

"'Mione, calm down," Nadine held Hermione's shoulders and shook her. "We've got to wait for Harry. And besides we aren't allowed to go outside school grounds, remember?"

The opening of the Gryffindor Common Room door was heard and Harry entered, gasping. He looked like he had ran a marathon. He was about to say something about Professor Trelawney but stopped when he looked at his friends defeated expressions. Nadine pushed the letter in Harry's palm. As soon as he read it, a chorus of 'We've got to go' erupted from both Hermione and Harry, while Ron and Nadine waited for their friends to stop panicking and think about their next step.

"Sunset, though," Ron said. "We'd never be allowed ... specially you, Harry ..."

Ron stood up and walked towards the boys dormitory muttering to his friends about taking a bathroom break.

"Why aren't we using your Invisibility Cloak, Harry?" Nadine asked, confused.

"When Malfoy saw me at Hogsmead, I had to get back to the castle quickly so I left the cloak near the one eyed witch's statue, if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble." Harry said.

"That's true" Hermione said, getting to her feet. "If he sees you ... how do you open the witch's hump again?"

Nadine could clearly see the glint in Hermione's eyes. The same glint that had been present whenever the rule abiding Hermione's Gryffindor bravery had come out and she had broken a plethora of rules in their three years of school life.