Clubs! -Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery

Exciting News

Halfway through the next week, Sarah and her friends sat underneath their favorite tree by the lake. Rowan had wanted to study in the library, but Sarah had insisted they take a break. Between the multiple club meetings, quidditch practice, prefect duties, and doing Peeves's bidding, she was exhausted.

She laid on Penny's blanket, half-listening to her friends chatting with her eyes closed. It was slightly chilly, so she cuddled up in Barnaby's sweater, a new Gryffindor patch emblazoned on it. Barnaby swore he figured out how to transfigure it, but she was pretty sure he'd knicked the patch from somewhere and persuaded a house elf to sew it on.

"Oi, Sarah!" came Tonks's voice.

"Hmm?"

"We've been discussing the mischief masterpiece you've got to perform for Peeves. Haven't you been listening?"

"Yes, I listened. Good ideas."

"Really? Name one."

They laughed when Sarah remained silent.

"I'll have to brew you a wit sharpening potion," said Penny.

Sarah sat up, blinking sleepily. "I'll take anything you can give me."

"You're trying to do too much," said Rowan without looking up from her book. "You've worn yourself out with all these extra activities."

"What else is new? Anyway, I'll finally be able to rest a bit when I'm rid of Peeves. I cannot describe how angry I was when he tried to hand me that self-portrait instead of the vault portrait."

"Not as mad I was when I discovered my bath was full of frogs!" shouted Charlie.

"Sorry about that," she said through a grin. "It was for the cause."

"Well, it will take a lot more than frog spawn soap to impress Peeves this time," said Tulip. "Any ideas?"

"Nope. I'll leave that up to the pranking masterminds." She closed her eyes and laid back down. Barnaby had shifted over so that when she leaned back her head rested on his lap. She figured this was earning her some strange looks from her friends, but the was too tired and too comfortable to care.

She was vaguely aware of the others resuming their conversation and Barnaby stroking her hair before falling asleep.

That week the Dragon club submitted their findings on the effects of dancing on dueling to Flitwick, who was so impressed with their work he gave them all fifty dragon points. He even submitted their paper to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Sarah and Diego were called to Flitwick's office a few days later. "I have most exciting news!" he told them. "The Aurors found your paper fascinating! They've invited you to go to the ministry this Friday to present your findings to them and the Department of Magical Games and Sports to open a discussion about bringing dancing into the Auror training program."

"What does that mean?" asked Sarah excitedly.

"It means you two would be given a day off your lessons to receive a tour of the ministry of magic, and to present your paper to the ministry officials."

"Wow," said Diego. "I can't believe it! Professional duelers are interested in my work!"

"I understand why Diego's been invited, as this was all his idea, but why am I going?" asked Sarah.

"Well, the Aurors were particularly impressed with the section of the paper in which you explained how your dance lessons allowed you to survive your battle with the chimera," said Flitwick. "Will you both see me after breakfast Friday morning? I shall accompany you to the ministry."

"Yes! Of course!" said Diego.

"What he said," said Sarah.

Sarah told Barnaby about the invitation to the ministry during their next study session.

"Wow, that's so cool!" he said. "I wish I could come. I could use a break from lessons."

"You just want to make sure Diego doesn't get to close to me."

"That too."

"Well," said Sarah, closing their DADA textbook. "I reckon you're ready for that test tomorrow. Time for your reward for working so hard." She wrapped her arms around him.

"Actually," he said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay," she said. "What is it?"

"Well, I've made a lot of friends in the Hippogriff club."

"That's great," she said. 

"Yeah, it's just that they're mostly girl friends, and I get the feeling most of them want to be more than friends."

"I'm not surprised," said Sarah. "You're handsome, charming, funny, and let's be honest it's downright sexy when you take your shirt off to work with that Kelpie."

He grinned. "Well, they've been asking me on, like, dates and stuff, and I'm running out of excuses. I'd like to tell them I'm not interested, you know, because I'm seeing someone else. I'd like to tell them I have a girlfriend."

"Oh."

He kissed her forehead. "I know you have even more stuff to deal with than when we first talked about this, so I'm okay if you aren't ready for that yet. But I wanted to let you know that I'm ready. You're definitely way more than a friend to me. Just say the word, and I'll be your boyfriend."

Sarah didn't know what to say, but she didn't have to say anything. At that moment, the door to the classroom opened. They barely had time to scoot apart and open their textbooks before Snape and Filch strode in.

"Spellman, Lee, what are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Just studying, Professor," said Sarah.

Snape's eyes narrowed and surveyed the room suspiciously. "Setting up another foolhardy prank, more likely. That's right, Spellman I'm onto you. All of the recent nasty events—the food fight, the frogspawn, my cloak—have had one thing in common: you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," said Snape, leaning closer to her. "And I'll prove it soon enough. Now, be gone. Take your studying to the library, and if I see you hiding away in a classroom again, it'll be detention."

"That's unfair," said Barnaby, after they'd hurried out of Snape's presence. "Students are allowed to study in unused classrooms, aren't they?"

"That won't stop Snape from punishing me for it," she said. "Let's go to the hippogriff club. I could use a cup of tea, anyway."