The Next Generation and the Followers of Darkness

Nothing really eventful happened in the rest of the month leading up to Halloween. Mrs. Smith wrote each of her children separately after Amelia snapped by the lake, keeping them up to date with how her job search was going. So far, they had had no luck. The House rivalries had died down even more as students found partners for the upcoming masquerade and old friendships were redeveloping. The protective measures the Gryffindors had taken were disregarded as the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs began to talk to their friends again. Even some of the Slytherins were speaking to people of the other Houses.

Classes were interesting enough, with Professor Flitwick teaching them how to levitate objects with "Wingardium Leviosa" in Charms, Professor Wordsworth helping them perfect the Shielding spell in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Alpheus being more lenient after reviewing their potions. Although many of these brews were incorrect and did not give the expected effect, none were dangerous in any major way. In addition to these classes, Professor Longbottom announced that they were ahead in regards to the curriculum, and now they were just harvesting herbs until the first week of November. This was the cause of a lot of groaning. However, in Transfiguration, Professor Fintan was finally impressed with their ability to turn a match into a needle, so he was rushing them along in their studies to catch up. And with all the extra work, the first years were pretty busy. The work wasn't boring, just time-consuming.

On top of all this, the Gryffindors and Slytherins still had flying lessons on Thursdays, and Madam Hooch now had them flying around the Quidditch Pitch, gaining height with every lesson. Melody and Rose had taken to racing each other across the surface of the field. Albus, on the other hand, kept doing loop-the-loops in and out of the goalposts. At the end of every lesson he'd receive a lecture from Madam Hooch, but she didn't seem too serious as his father had been the best Seeker in Hogwarts history. Many people expected him to take the position one day. Carter wasn't as coordinated as the others, though. He usually kept to low heights and low speeds, wincing every time the girls would go pelting by him.

On the Thursday before Halloween, after a particularly fun lesson in which Madam Hooch had brought out the Quaffle for the first years to toss back and forth through the air, Melody, Rose, Albus, and Carter found themselves sitting at their usual windowside table in the common room looking through One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Professor Alpheus had given them a load of homework the Friday before, and in true Gryffindor fashion, the four of them had saved it for the night before. Albus was dozing slightly between slaps dealt every few moments by Rose, Carter kept splotching his parchment as he began to nod off, Rose continually nudged the two of them with one hand while she turned the pages of her textbook with the other, and Melody sleepily copied down the uses of the various plants Professor Alpheus had listed a week earlier. Carter's head suddenly dropping down onto his homework made her jump a bit.

"We can't keep doing this," yawned Rose. "All four of us are exhausted" — she yawned again — "and we've still got two full rolls of parchment to write for Transfiguration."

There were groans from the two boys.

"We've got to start doing homework a couple days before it's due rather than" — yawn — "the night before," continued Rose, resting her chin on her arms, which were crossed on the table.

"Yeah," Melody laughed hollowly. "We've been saying that for nearly two months now."

Rose's eyelids flickered for a moment, but she was determined to stay awake. Still, sleep was very tempting.

"How much do we have left?" she asked.

"Er — Transfiguration essay and some more plants to analyze," yawned Melody. "Why?"

"We could do that during break and lunch tomorrow," considered Rose. "And if we wake up early, we could finish with Alpheus's homework in the morning before Potions."

"No," said Albus, his head snapping up to look at Rose as if she were mad. "I am not giving away my morning and my lunch to do schoolwork."

"Then you better get to it now," said Melody.

Albus thought about it for a bit, then a loud snore from Carter settled it. None of them said another word as the gathered up their books, quills, and parchment, bid each other good night, and slumped up to their dormitories, tripping over their robes as they went.

Isabella, Lissa, and Gianna had remained down in the common room — they had finished their work earlier that night — so Melody and Rose didn't need to whisper when they entered the room. Melody dropped her things onto the table beside her bed with a loud thump, but her quill fluttered off the top and disappeared beneath the bed. She sighed and got down on her hands and knees to retrieve it.

She had felt around in the darkness for a moment when her fingers landed on something that felt nothing like her quill. Pulling it out, she discovered that she was holding a folded piece of parchment covered in sloppily written words. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn't remember where from. Curious, she placed it on her pillow, then found her quill and tucked it inside her bag.

Rose had already changed into her dressing gown and had pulled the curtains of her four-poster closed, but Melody wasn't tired anymore. She, too, dressed for bed, crawled into her sheets, and closed the curtains, snatching her wand off the dresser at the last moment. It was too dark to read what was on the paper with the curtains drawn.

"Lumos," she muttered, remembering a spell Professor Flitwick had taught them. The tip of her wand lit up, giving off just enough light to allow her to read the piece of parchment.

On the paper was a short list of names, several of which were scratched off. None of the names were familiar, and Melody stared at it for at least ten minutes before she heard the door fly open. The other three girl Gryffindor first years had decided to go to bed and seemed to take no notice that Melody and Rose already had their curtains drawn. Chattering loudly, Isabella, Lissa, and Gianna changed and got into bed, blowing out the candles on their bedside tables. After a few more minutes of gossiping about nothing in particular, Melody heard them finally settle into bed.

Suddenly tired after finding nothing significant about the parchment but still curious, Melody whispered, "Nox," to her wand — which put out the tip. She pulled the curtain back slightly and placed both her wand and the piece of parchment on her dresser beside the unorganized stack of books. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she was fast asleep.

Melody forgot about the list of names the next morning, not noticing as it fluttered back under her bed while she packed up her homework and books.

~~~~~

The day before Halloween was filled with excited whispers throughout the corridors and during classes. Some of the teachers had completely abandoned any hope of getting work done that morning, Flitwick and Alpheus allowing their first through third year students to chatter excitedly about the feast that would take place later that night.

Others, however, would not give up so easily and threatened to give every single student a detention if work did not resume. Professor Fintan was one of the sticklers who enforced this idea and stayed true to his word when Isabella muttered something to Gianna.

"If you did not believe me," he snarled, "you should know that every Gryffindor first year will now receive a detention for your insolence."

There was a collective groan and everyone turned to glare at the two girls at the back of the room. Faces pink, they stared at their desks as class proceeded.

Melody couldn't help feeling extremely irritated. Neither Mr. Witt nor Professor Longbottom had informed her of what her first detention would be, and now, on top of that, she had gotten another for something someone else had done. Although it was in no way her fault, Melody knew that her mother would not view it that way. As she walked to the Great Hall for lunch, she and Rose glared at Isabella's receding form as the girl hurried along ahead of them.

"I can't believe this," Rose grumbled, not looking at Melody until the other three girls had disappeared around the corner. "Now we've got two detentions. My mum is going to kill me!"

"Mine, too," Melody said solemnly, looking down at her shoes for a moment.

"What're you two mumbling about?" said Albus as he and Carter came up beside them.

"Double detentions," the girls said.

"Oh."

"Double?" Carter said. "As in two?"

Melody, Rose, and Albus nodded bitterly.

"How?"

It didn't take long for them to explain the events of their first day at Hogwarts. By the time they finished the story, the four friends had arrived at the doors to Great Hall. All their worries about detentions were pushed to the back of their minds when they saw the preparations that we're going on for the feast that night and the masquerade the next day.

Jack-o-lanterns had been lined up along each of the tables, some still being carved by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher. The two of them were walking down the long tables, pointing their wands at the pumpkins and carving out faces without even touching them. The enchanted ceiling, too, was in full spirits for the festivities, having been charmed to look stormy with flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder — despite the sunny but chilly day out on the grounds. Up at the High Table, Professor Longbottom was tracing orange and black streamers across the back wall, looking up as Hagrid entered the Great Hall just behind Melody, Rose, Albus, and Carter.

"Hagrid!" he said, finishing with the streamers and striding toward the giant man to meet him. "Oh, those pumpkins will do fantastically!"

Melody noticed at once the four pumpkins, all the size of her, that Hagrid was carrying. Too large for Longbottom, the Herbology professor bewitched the pumpkins to fly over the heads of the students gathered for lunch to stand at either end of the High Table, two on each side.

The smell of freshly baked pumpkin bread overwhelming the boys, Melody and Rose followed them to the front of the Hall, sitting down at the table they always sat at. Albus and Carter began to inhale whatever was closest, ignoring the girls' warnings to save their appetites for the feast.

"We still have ages until then," Carter said through a mouthful of chicken sandwich. Him and Albus had at least a dozen sandwiches on each of their plates, as well as a warm slice of pumpkin bread covered in melting butter. Melody had to admit that it looked tasty.

"Fine," Rose snapped. "You two're right."

Snatching a ham sandwich off the nearest platter, Rose shut her mouth for the remainder of lunch, every once in a while forking her slice of pumpkin bread with excessive force.

Melody couldn't help rolling her eyes. Despite her best friend's typically understanding nature, Rose was one of the most stubborn people when it came to small things. She had her younger brother, Hugo, of course, who was apparently quite annoying and just as difficult.

Suddenly, someone jabbed Melody in the side. She gasped.

"Hey," said Oliver, appearing on her right.

"Oliver! Do you have to stab me in the ribs every time you just want to say 'hey'?" joked Melody, elbowing her brother.

"Well," said James as he took the seat beside Albus on the other side of the table, "we just thought we'd ask if you all were going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"There's a trip?" Albus said, a piece of chicken nearly falling out of his mouth as he spoke. Curious, he put his sandwich back on his plate.

"What's Hogsmeade?" asked Carter.

"It's the little village where the train station is," explained Melody. "Across the lake from the castle. First and second years aren't allowed to go on the trips."

"Of course, they are," said Oliver, grinning mischievously.

"Mel, there's something wrong with your information," teased James.

She stared from one boy to the other, just going to ask what on earth they were talking about, when the two of them sprung to their feet and hurried off, muttering about telling the first years later.

"They're up to something," Rose muttered as she, Melody, Albus, and Carter left the Great Hall for Charms.

~~~~~

The rest of the day passed in an excited blur. After students had been trying to get a sneak peek at the fully decorated Great Hall all afternoon, the doors had been closed. Melody and her friends couldn't wait to seen the finished product.

At six thirty, all the Gryffindor first through third years began to make their way down to the Great Hall. But when they arrived the doors were still closed and the other Houses were milling about the entrance hall. Aubree, Pierson, and a couple of their Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff friends came over the hang out with Albus, Rose, Melody, and Carter.

But they didn't have to chit chat for long before the doors swung open and everyone began to stream into the Great Hall.

It was absolutely spectacular. Instead of the long House tables, round tables with a dozen chairs each were scattered around the Hall. All the Jack-o-lanterns that had sat empty on the tables earlier that day were alight, giving off an eerie yellow-orange glow that lit up the hall considerably. A false thunderstorm was brewing up in the enchanted ceiling, and just below that, the ghosts were swooping about in clusters, having their own little party above the students. Black and orange streamers lined the walls and tablecloths of the same colors were draped over the tables.

With the new seating arrangements, no one seemed to know what to do or where to sit. Up where the High Table should have been, the teachers were lined up, all of them beaming as if it hurt. The four House ghosts — Sir Nick, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and the Bloody Baron — descended from the party above to stand before the students who had flooded into the Hall but not sat down.

"Welcome to the Halloween Feast!" bellowed the Fat Friar, waving merrily to the Hufflepuffs. "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!"

"We've overseen everything," croaked the Bloody Baron, "and I must say that this is one of the most delicious-looking Hogwarts feasts I've ever seen in all my years."

"Oh, yes," agreed the Grey Lady, a pearly white smile crossing her pale face. "There's some wonderful food on the way for all of you."

"Now, you're all probably wondering where you should sit," Sir Nick said, voicing their thoughts. "And there's a very simple answer to that: Sit wherever you wish! There are no House tables as this is a time for all of us to get together and celebrate."

"Once you are all seated, the feast will begin," Professor McGonagall cut in, coming to stand beside the ghosts.

There was a short scramble for seats, in which Melody, Rose, Albus, Carter, Aubree, Lauren Simons (the Ravenclaw friend), Pierson, and Charles Wood (the Hufflepuff friend) hurried over to what looked like an empty table in the center of the hall. But when they got to it, they discovered someone else sitting there alone.

Scorpius.

He looked up, locking eyes with Melody instantly. His pale face lit up suddenly as he realized this was where she and her friends had decided to sit before the little smile disappeared under the glares of the others. What Melody felt next was strange. For the first time since their first flying lesson, Melody felt that they could be friends and that's what he wanted, even if no one else trusted him. Of course, she didn't necessarily trust him either after he had broken her wrist, but he had been different the past few weeks and was alone now, Almer on the other side of the room with the rest of his Followers.

"Hello, Scorpius," she said, taking the seat right beside him. If they were going to be friends, first she needed to test him to make sure he wasn't on another assignment from Almer. She wouldn't have to be angry if he was — Scorpius would be facing Oliver's wrath.

At her friendly action, the Slytherin, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs exchanged confused and surprised looks. Rose just gawked at Melody, seemingly incredulous as to why Melody would be so kind to this boy. Nevertheless, they all sat down slowly around the table, Rose taking the spot on Melody's right.

No one spoke as another Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuff girls joined them at the table. Melody gave Scorpius a brief smirk, then turned her attention to Professor McGonagall, who was standing at a table not too far away.

"Let the feast begin!" she announced.

Just like at the Start-of-Term feast, everything was incredible. Dessert was the best, and this was when real conversations began to pop up.

"Anyone excited about the game in a few weeks?" said Albus, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," said Scorpius after taking a bite of treacle tart. "I'm really interested to see who will win. I heard Gryffindor has been practicing really hard. It should be a great game!"

"How've the Slytherins been doing in practice?" asked Rose suspiciously.

"We're doing fine," admitted Scorpius. "But I won't give away too much. You'll just have to wait till the game."

There was a little bit of unrestrained laughter. Scorpius seemed to relax and the tension between him and Rose was diffused slightly. Not to say that they were having cheerful, friendly conversations with each other, but the two of them were civil and pleasant.

Melody, Scorpius, Rose, Albus, and Carter all walked out of the Great Hall together as the feast came to a close. They were surprisingly fine until someone pushed past Scorpius into the entrance hall, throwing him a dark look from the entrance to the dungeons.

"I need to tell you guys something," muttered Scorpius, and the five of them stepped to the side as to keep from being trampled by the stampede of first, second, and third years making their way back to their common rooms and beds. "Melody, I'm the one who pushed you down the stairs."

The boys clenched their fists, and Rose's eyes narrowed, but Melody sighed, just giving Scorpius a knowing look.

"I know," was all she could say in response to his confession.

"You're not angry?"

"I've gotten over it. People do bad things when they're in a stressful situation."

"I was going to tell you before now, but Almer threatened to kick me out of his group. I didn't want to be alone again. I wrote my father to ask what he thought I should do. All he told me to do was the opposite of what he would have done. So I got out. I left the Followers of Darkness. I went to Longbottom and told him what I'd done. I've got detention for it and I can't say that it's a bad thing. I know I deserve it. But I still don't want to be alone . . . I want us to be friends."

Melody couldn't tell if it was an act, but in the short time that she'd known Scorpius she had never seen him look so sincere. For a moment, she narrowed her eyes, thinking. Scorpius continued to stare hopefully at her.

"All right," she replied finally. "Friends?"

She stuck out her hand to shake.

"Friends," confirmed Scorpius. He took her hand and shook it, smiling.

~~~~~

"I still can't believe that you're friends with that git!" exclaimed Rose as they came down to the common room the next morning. "How could you believe that story?"

"Rose — give it a rest," snapped Melody. "We're friends and that's the end of it. Just leave it."

"It's more like a business agreement than a friendship," Carter said as he and Albus joined them on the way to the portrait hole.

"Yeah, you don't seem to like each other too much for being friends," agreed Albus. "What type of people shake hands when they agree to be friends?"

Melody rolled her eyes and crawled through the portrait hole, crossing her arms as she waited in the corridor outside for her three friends. Rose mirrored her expression perfectly when she and the boys came through. So much that Melody had to snigger as the four of them strolled down the hallway on the way down to breakfast.

For a minute or two, they talked about the ball and who was going with who. It turned out that Victoire had decided to go as friends with a Gryffindor seventh year name Daniel Reddin. And Edward had ended up asking Amelia to the ball, to the Head Girl's overwhelming excitement. Roxanne was going, too, asked by Michael Rainsford. She was too kind to turn him down, despite his nasty temper and controlling nature. Fred was going by himself, having been too nervous to ask anyone. On the other hand, Dominique Weasley and Molly Weasley had both been asked by twin brothers from Ravenclaw — Paul and John MacArthur. In all the excitement, another Weasley Meeting, as they had come to be known, was called only for people who were going to the masquerade. Apparently they had discussed what they would wear for the event.

But as they were walking down the hallway to the marble staircase, Rose changed the subject back to Scorpius.

"So, do you really believe that damn story Malfoy fed you last night?" asked Rose.

"Look." Melody stopped and turned to the side to face Rose. "We are friends. I don't trust him, but I'm not going to brush him to the side because of what he did. People make mistakes. People change. If he proves to be trustworthy, we'll really be friends. I'm testing him. I want to know that he's telling the truth as much as you do."

They walked down the marble staircase, Rose no longer pestering her about Scorpius, and walked into the Great Hall, which was much different looking than the night before.

The Jack-o-lanterns were no longer orange, but had been turned white; most of the round tables had been left for the ball later that night, students sitting all mixed up again, House rivalries not separating them as the House tables did; and a large space had been cleared in the center of the Hall, where students could dance during the masquerade. It was quite beautiful.

"Mel!" someone called to their left. "Rose! Albus! Carter!"

The four of them turned to see Scorpius walking toward them. For once, he looked genuinely happy.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning, Scorpius," they all said together.

"I'd eat breakfast with you all, but Professor Longbottom is having me serve my detention this morning with Professor Alpheus." Scorpius cringed. "Organizing potions ingredients and cleaning out cauldrons. I'll see you later."

"Ooh, gross," said Albus. "Well, see you in Potions."

"Bye, Scorpius!" Melody said.

"See you later!" Rose said.

"Bye!" said Carter.

Scorpius disappeared out of the Hall and headed in the direction of the dungeons.

"I don't believe him," snapped Rose as soon as the Slytherin was out of earshot.

"If he was meeting Almer, wouldn't he have just walked over to where Almer's sitting?" Carter pointed out. The third year bully was sitting in the corner of the Hall, telling his Followers of Darkness something that they all laughed hysterically at.

"Carter's got a point," said Albus.

Obviously still thinking, Rose marched off to the nearest empty table, Melody, Albus, and Carter joining her a moment later.

~~~~~

One of the best things about being friends with the Weasleys was being involved in everything they did. Later that day at five o'clock, Melody, Rose, and Lucy were sitting in the common room playing a quick game of exploding snap when Victoire, Dominique, Molly, and Roxanne came into the common room along with a crowd of other fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh year girls. The others headed straight for the girls' dormitory, chattering excitedly, but the Weasley cousins stopped beside the younger girls.

"Rose, Melody, is there anyone in your dormitory right now?" asked Dominique.

"No, why?" replied Rose.

"We're gonna get ready for the masquerade. Want to help, you three?"

"Sure!" Melody, Rose, and Lucy exclaimed, abandoning their game with all haste and following the elder Gryffindors up to their dormitory.

Two and a half hours later, the four elder Weasley girls were standing before them, each wearing different color dress robes and masks that covered their eyes.

Victoire had on robes of silver, which complimented her pale, flawless skin and light blonde hair. The silver mask was edged with fake jewels and a big, plush feather complimented the whole thing, brushing over her forehead. Her hair was tied in a loose knot on the side of her head, not a single tangle in sight.

"Oh, Victoire," said Rose wistfully. "You look like your mum."

"Er — thanks for the compliment?"

"No, didn't she ever show you that picture from when she was a champion in the Triwizard Tournament and went to the Yule Ball?" whispered Lucy. "She looked so beautiful. So do you!"

Victoire's cheeks went a light pink.

Dominique's robes were not as plain but were a pale lavender with dark trim. Her mask was the same color as the trim, glimmering with sparkles. A gold pendant hung around her neck, and her blonde hair was curled, her bangs pinned back. To make herself taller, she wore two inch heels the same lavender color as her robes. Victoire was in tears and couldn't stop sobbing about how beautiful her younger sister was.

Molly's robes were quite a shock compared to the light colors of her cousins' robes. Bright pink, they were a little short, ankles visible when she sat down. But, she had apparently insisted on this color and this is what she had got. To match the trim of her robes, she had a sparkly black mask on a stick that she could hold up at her leisure when she walked into the ball. Despite the surprisingly bright color of her robes, she looked stunning none the less with her normally wavy brown hair straightened.

Roxanne was easily the most plain of them all, but no less lovely than any of the others. Her tan skin was complimented by the pastel blue color of her dress robes, her matching mask ended at points above her ears, and her hair was to the side, draped over her shoulder in a thick, dark brown plait. It was odd to see Roxanne so dressed up.

"You all look beautiful!" Melody said, smiling. She, Rose, and Lucy had all had a hand in helping the elder girls prepare for the ball and proudly viewed their handy work.

"Oh! Mum sent me a camera to take pictures," said Lucy quickly, hurrying out the door. She reappeared a minute or so later with an old Muggle camera in her hands.

She snapped pictures of Victoire, Dominique, Molly, and Roxanne separately, then as a group, then asked someone walking down to the common room to take a picture of all seven of them. Melody felt a little out of place but also part of the family.

Looking at the watch on Gianna's dresser, Lucy quickly ushered Victoire, Dominique, Molly, and Roxanne out of the dormitory and into the common room, where people were beginning to gather before the ball. She returned to the room where Melody and Rose had waited, soon followed by Isabella, Lissa, and Gianna.

Some of the first, second, and third years stayed up until the common room cleared of older students, either to do homework or gossip about the masquerade. Once everyone was gone, Melody and Rose took their books and homework back down into the common room. Albus and Carter met them there. In addition, Oliver, James, Hayden, Richard, and Luke came down to do homework — of all things. The third years stole the table by the window, so Melody, Rose, Albus, and Carter resigned to the couches and low tables by the fireplace, doing their homework over the course of the next few hours.

But at about ten thirty, the peaceful silence of the circular room was broken by an apprehensive whisper from Hayden.

"What the hell is that?"

He was peering out the window, his four friends standing to look where he was pointing out at the grounds, in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

"Those lights?"

"Wand-tips."

"Can't be. All the teachers are at the ball right now."

"It could be Hagrid."

"Hagrid doesn't have a wand. He uses a lantern, you idiot."

"What are you all arguing about?" snapped Albus. The whispers had turned disruptive and we're now distracting the whole common room.

"Come here," Oliver said, waving the four of them over with an anxious look on his face.

Melody and Rose got to their feet quickly, dashing over to the window before Albus and Carter, curiosity getting the best of them. And down by where the forest, they could see what Oliver and his friends had been discussing.

A small line of lights — obviously wand-tips by the color and size (they were little white pinpricks in the distance) — was just where the forest should be, not too far from Hagrid's hut by the looks of it. Melody squinted, willing her eyes to see into the darkness.

She seemed to stare out the windows for ages. Oliver, James, Rose, Albus, and Carter were crowded beside her to peer out, too, while Hayden, Richard, and Luke stood on chairs behind them to look over the heads of their friends out the window.

Then the lights began to fade, as if the people holding them were walking away from the castle, into the trees. Eventually, they disappeared completely, leaving Melody, Oliver, and their friends to stare out the window at where the lights had been only moments before.