Chapter 11

Several weeks passed, and as the already chilly weather turned even colder, I couldn't stop thinking about the blank piece of parchment and the secrets that it might hide. I figured that it was simply enchanted to insult whoever it came across, but I was scared to take it in to Professor Howell. I never got around to getting rid of it either, so it just sat in a drawer in the Hufflepuff boys' dormitories.

There were more important things to worry about though. My classes were getting harder and harder. We were working on nonverbal spells in Charms, and Potions turned out to be surprisingly difficult in sixth year. There was also the fact that I was moving at the end of the year.

In fact, that's what I was thinking about one night as I lay awake in the Hufflepuff Common Room. I was waiting for the horrors of the night to melt away, but that didn't seem to happen. I could only hope that my dreams would torture someone else's sleep.

I still had no idea how I was going to tell Pete that I was moving, or what his reaction would be. Would he be angry at me? Would he want to keep going with our relationship if he knew that I would be in Chicago next year? Then again, maybe he wouldn't care. After all, he wouldn't be at Hogwarts next year either.

Maybe our relationship was doomed from the start.

I didn't like that idea though. He was supposed to love me. Ever since we got together, I always thought of him as my picket fence, and in the end, I'd do it all again. I wanted him to feel the same way, but there was no way to be sure.

I was lukewarm about the idea of moving at first, but I had changed my mind. I despised the idea. I couldn't just leave everything at Hogwarts behind like it was nothing. I didn't want to make my parents upset though, and I knew how much they wanted to move. Besides, I enjoyed Chicago the first time. Why couldn't I enjoy it now?

I rolled over once again to look at the old grandfather clock that was near the entrance to the dormitories. It said that it was nine in the afternoon, but I was sure that I must have been reading it wrong. I took a closer look, confirming that I had in fact read it wrong. It was really three o'clock in the morning. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Donnie Catcher sleeping soundly next to me. Won't you torture someone else's sleep? I thought once again.

Donnie continued to snore softly, while I adjusted my patchwork quilt, still trying to sleep, although I knew it was a lost cause at that point. I realised that I may never sleep tonight, especially not with the move still on my mind. I had to tell Pete eventually, but it seemed too soon. I wished that I could wait just a little bit longer, but it seemed better to get it over with. If Pete was going to break up with me over this, then he could do it now.

I tried to clear my mind and just sleep, but every attempt was a failure. Chicago and Ilvermorny were both a year away, but that didn't mean that they would just leave my thoughts. In fact, I had already had many sleepless nights like this. I had come up with a handful of good songs for Fall Out Boy during these nights, but most of them were just spent like this, staring at the ceiling and hoping that I would eventually fall asleep. By this point, it was far too late to make a Sleeping Draught, as much as I needed one. I promised myself that I would make one for the next night. My insomnia was starting to take its toll, and I desperately needed a cure.

I also promised myself that I would talk to Pete the next morning. I hated keeping things from him. My secret would be out, even though it wasn't even a good one, and no matter what happened, it couldn't be worse than keeping it inside. He deserved to know.

All of a sudden, I heard footsteps, and they seemed to be heading towards the dormitories. I reached for my wand and looked around. The room was still dark, so I couldn't see who was coming, which just made me even more nervous. I held my wand out in front of me, ready to defend myself and all of the other Hufflepuffs if these intruders attacked.

The door creaked open, and light flooded into the dormitories. I lowered my wand as I saw who the trespassers were. Josh entered the room first, followed by Tyler, Pete, Joe, and Andy. Pete quickly closed the door once everyone was in the room. "Holy smokes," I said under my breath, still unsure of what was going on. "What are all of you doing here?"

Tyler smirked and took a step closer. "Patrick, what do you know about the Marauder's Map?"