SIX HOGWARTS IS CHANGING

     Snow fell gently around them as they walked down the long road from Hogsmeade back to Hogwarts. Diana was talking about their potions professor, Horace Slughorn, that had taken quite a liking to Diana. Xander wasn't surprised by this because she had always been stellar at potions even while dreadful Professor Snape was teaching it. It was strange to think that it was already easing into the wintertime considering Xander felt like classes had hardly started. He loved Hogwarts and the last thing he wanted was for this last two years there to go quickly -- he was the type to cling onto his youth, he knew that much.

"Closer to the winter holidays, he's throwing like a Christmas party or something and we're allowed to bring someone and you know I'd rather die than ask Justin, but I think it would be fun if we went together. Besides, most of them are pure-bloods so no one really knows what I'm talking about when I talk about muggle stuff. I feel so bad for Hermione, though, at one of the meetings, she said that her parents were dentists and no one even knew what that was. Seriously, you would think wizards knew what a dentist was! It was ridiculous, I just stayed silent. Much better than saying that my mum is a waitress, I think so. I don't know, I just think you should come, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go with you," Xander nodded along with what she was saying. He was only half-listening if he was being honest mainly because he was focused on the voices behind him. Last he checked it was Katie Bell behind them and not far behind were Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. He had divination with the three of them their third year, but that was about as close as he got to interacting with them. He remembered at one point Hermione had smacked the crystal ball off of its stand and walked right out of the attic. He quite respected her after that stunt.

Katie Bell was talking a package or something she had been given to deliver which Xander found odd, but he didn't really know Katie well enough to turn around and say something. He just liked to eavesdrop which was bad, he knew this, but he was nosy as hell. This was a widely known fact.

"Are you even listening to me?" Diana asked with a small chuckle, nudging her best friend on the side. He stumbled a bit in the snow, but still laughed as he pushed her back.

Any response he had was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from behind them. The package he assumed they were talking about was open and the black packaging along with what looked like a silver and sapphire necklace was a stark contrast to the clean whiteness of the snow. However, that wasn't what the girl was screaming at. Turning around, he saw that Katie Bell was now pressed against the snow-covered road, being pushed around by some invisible force. Her face was frozen in a contorted scream, but no noise was leaving her throat. Xander jumped to help her, but the girl was thrown up the air where she stayed with her arms out and her hair splayed against the white sky -- her expression still frozen in a mute cry for help.

"What the hell?" Diana shouted, looking up at the girl. Xander reached for his wand just to do something, anything to make it stop, but Diana grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "No, don't, I don't want you getting hurt and we don't know what caused this."

"Diana, I can't just let her--" Xander began, but was cut off by the entrance of the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. He was telling them not to touch the package, but that was the last he heard before Diana yanked on his arm one last time and they both took off in a run. As they ran, he heaved out, "You -- are -- making -- us -- look -- very -- guilty!"

Diana shook her head as they got far enough away from the scene, "We're fucking Hufflepuffs, no one is going to accuse us of shit, Xander. Besides, I don't wanna get pulled into McGonagall's or Dumbledore's office just because we watched her get tossed around. That shit was weird and I want nothing to do with it.

"I wouldn't have minded staying," Xander muttered as the two of them headed towards the Hogwarts entrance. The boy kept looking over his shoulder seeing if they were behind him because he really did want to make sure Katie was okay. They had a few classes together over the years and yeah, they didn't talk much, but whatever that curse was -- it was haunting. Xander shivered at the thought of being cursed. Not to mention, he had never seen anything like that before. His life at Hogwarts was particularly sheltered save for witnessing the aftermath of Cedric's death two years ago. No one had ever been cursed in front of him. It was... jarring... to say the least.

"What the fuck was that?" the blonde girl asked with a wretched tone of voice that was akin to curiosity but also horror. "I mean, she was fine like five seconds before it happened."

"Weren't they talking about delivering that package to someone?" Xander furrowed his brow as they warmed up in the Hogwarts hallways, heading down to their common room by the kitchens as his cold bones ached for a fireplace to sit in front of right now. He brushed snow off of his jacket as they walked.

Diana nodded, pulling her jacket off of her shoulders and folding it over her arm as they walked. "I don't think Katie was the target, which makes it all that much worse! Like, who in Hogsmeade was trying to curse someone here? I don't think giving her the cursed necklace was an accident."

"Unless someone bought it in Hogsmeade and didn't know it was cursed?" Xander offered, the statement coming out as more of a question as even he wasn't sure if he was convinced with what he was saying. His mind betrayed him as he thought back to Draco sneaking around in the Room of Requirement. No, no, Draco couldn't be behind this. The boy was a liar and a bully, maybe, but cursing someone? That was just downright evil. Besides, he hadn't even seen Draco in Hogsmeade that day. Maybe he just wasn't looking hard enough. "Things haven't been the same since fourth year, I reckon. Something about the tournament... I could swear Hogwarts has been cursed ever since then."

"I don't know, but if shit like that is going to keep happening?" Diana shivered, but not from the cold. They stood in front of their common room entrance and the girl spoke the password which let them in. Before they entered, they stood in the hallway for a minute and the girl placed a hand in front of the boy to keep him from walking forward. When she spoke again, her voice was dropped to a whisper as she was cautious of anyone in the common room overhearing, "Xander, let's... let's not tell anyone about this, I don't think people should know we were there. You know how rumors are around here. It's bad enough that Harry was there, I mean people still remember him speaking Parseltongue second year like it was yesterday. This whole thing is just... scary. That's why I ran."

"Diana, what are you saying?" Xander asked as his eyes met the girl's and for the first time, he saw her own fear reflected in them.

The girl chewed her fingernails as she contemplated her next words carefully, "I didn't run because I didn't want to deal with McGonagall. I-I ran because it was scary, I was scared. Truth is, I've been scared of this place ever since Umbridge's little rampage last year. I swear, it was like militant, it was bloody awful. I was nervous about coming back this year, even, just because I didn't want shit like that happening again, but we're hardly a month or so in and shit's already happening."

Xander had never heard such an earnest confession from a girl with usually the brightest smile in a room. It killed him to see Diana look so terrified of the words that were leaving from her mouth. He sighed, grabbing her hands and squeezing them reassuringly. Quietly, he said, "Di, I know it's scary and I know Hogwarts is changing, I can feel it. But whatever happens, I'll be right by your side, always."

The girl didn't say anything as she dropped her jacket and pulled the boy into a fierce hug. It was at that moment the common room door opened and they heard a low wolf whistle. Immediately, Diana's facade was back up as she turned and flipped off the intruder who just so happened to be Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Fuck off, Fletchley," Diana muttered with a small smile, her cheeks turning pink as she let go of Xander and headed into the common room without waiting for her best friend to catch up. Xander offered a measly smile and a hello before he followed after Diana, picking up her discarded jacket as he did so. He tossed it to her and she caught it with ease as she headed up to the dormitories with a solemn expression on her face.

Xander wished he could go up there with her, but he didn't feel like sliding back down into the common room on his ass, so instead, he watched her go with a sigh. At that moment, Justin clapped a hand over his shoulder.

"Ah, I know it's tough. She's quite the wonder, isn't she?"

"Justin, you're so nice, but it's a shame that you're stupid," was all Xander said before he wrenched free of the boy's grip and headed up to the dormitories. He didn't stop thinking about the fear in his friend's eyes. He itched to write a letter to Alecks, but instead, he sat on his bed and tried not to wish that he would wake up at the beginning of second year again, back when magic still felt like magic. Growing up sucks -- even without curses involved.

me watching the movie where months pass in between some scenes but I have a whole love story to write: bro why we going so fucking FAST