Chapter 42

Time went on, and Easter break finally came. Joe, Pete, Andy, and I all chose to stay behind for Easter break, but as usual, it wasn't all that much fun. I had to study for finals, while the seventh years had to study for their NEWTs. The end of the year was approaching, and all of us had to be prepared.

The day before Easter, Pete and I asked Professor McGonagall if we could perform at the Easter feast. "I don't see why not," Professor McGonagall said. "You boys are very talented, and I'm sure that your fellow students would love to listen to your music."

"Thank you, Professor," I said.

"Yeah, thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great," Pete said.

"What are you talking about?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Don't listen to him," I said. "Come on, Pete. Let's go."

The two of us left, and all throughout that day, we practiced in one of the empty classrooms. Andy came up with a setlist, and we decided to use it for the concert the next day. We were determined to save rock and roll right there at Hogwarts.

The next night, Professor McGonagall set up a stage for us in the Great Hall. During the feast, Pete, Andy, Joe, and I stepped up onstage. "Accio guitar!" I exclaimed, and my guitar flew from the Hufflepuff Common Room and into my arms. I then did a simple Amplifying Charm on both my voice and the guitar. I quickly looked over at my bandmates and we began to play, beginning with Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy.

Where is your boy tonight?

I hope he is a gentleman

And maybe he won't find out what I know

You were the last good thing about this part of town

The students cheered throughout the song, and I heard someone near the stage say something about my "soul voice," whatever that was supposed to mean. I did like soul, so I supposed that was a compliment.

We transitioned into Sugar We're Goin Down, followed by Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued. Even the professors seemed to be having a good time, so we just kept playing. The whole Hufflepuff table cheered after every single song. I liked having that sort of support, especially as I was preaching electric to a microphone stand. We were feeling so good just the way that we do.

We ended the set with Saturday, which everyone loved. "Thank you Hogwarts!" Pete shouted right before we stepped off the stage to join the feast. The whole Great Hall cheered. I was just about to head back to the Hufflepuff table when Pete stopped me. "You did great tonight, Trick," he said.

"Thanks," I said. "You played really well too."

"You did better," Pete said. "Your voice sounded so beautiful. I think you must have stolen my lungs or something."

I laughed. "I didn't steal your lungs, Pete," I said.

"Are you sure?" Pete asked.

"I'm sure," I said.

"Well, you've stolen my heart," Pete said.

This was why I cherished my relationship with Pete. As I looked into his wide eyed browns, I hoped that we could stay together, even after both of us had left school. Plenty of couples stayed together after their time at Hogwarts, so why couldn't we? "I want to scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs," I said.

"Then why don't you?" Pete asked.

"I'm afraid that someone else will hear me," I said.

"I'll do it for you then," Pete said. "PATRICK STUMP LOVES ME!"

"Really Pete?" I said, blushing. "Did you have to do that?"

"Of course I did, Lunchbox," Pete said.

I just shook my head and returned to the Hufflepuff table. "Nice job, Patrick," Miss Jackson said as I took a seat next to her. "You sounded great."

"Yeah, I didn't know that you could sing like that!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Thanks," I said as I took some food. I was hungry after all of that singing.

After dinner, I left the castle and went out to the lake. Gerard was there as well, sketching the view of the lake from the shore. "Hi Patrick," he said.

"Hi Gerard," I said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright," Gerard said. "Things have calmed down a lot now that the Daily Prophet has stopped attacking us, but Professor Lester accidentally mentioned My Chemical Romance on his YouTube channel."

"What's YouTube?" I asked. Even after three years of Muggle Studies, I still didn't understand everything about the Muggle world.

"It's an odd little thing that Muggles use to share their moving pictures," Gerard explained. "Professor Howell and Professor Lester are very popular there, but none of their fans know that they're wizards. Anyways, Professor Lester mentioned us on YouTube, and now all of these Muggles want to know who we are. It's all very complicated."

"I could imagine," I said.

"I heard you and the rest of Fall Out Boy in the Great Hall," Gerard said. "You sounded great."

"Thanks," I said.

"What else is new with you?" Gerard asked.

I sighed. "Brendon left Hogwarts to become a Death Eater," I said.

"Did he really?" Gerard said.

I was going to respond, but something very strange interrupted us. The giant squid rose out of the water for a moment, and as it dove back into the water, I swore that I heard it say, "So long and thanks for all the fish!"

"What just happened?" Gerard asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "I didn't know that the squid could talk."

"Frank trained his dog to talk, so I suppose anything's possible," Gerard said. "He can still only say 'My name's Blurryface, and I care what you think.'"

"It's still pretty odd," I said.

Gerard took a look at the clock, and said, "I should probably go. See you soon, Patrick."

"Bye Gerard," I said, and he was gone. I ran back into the castle and went back into the Hufflepuff Common Room. Everything was still so wrong, and I didn't know how it could get better. Even playing with Fall Out Boy couldn't make it better. Someday, Pete would be gone, and then what would I do? I would be a goner. No matter how many times that he told me that we could be immortals, I couldn't believe him. My life was already falling apart to half-time, and before I knew it, the whole wizarding world would fall apart too. It was just a matter of time.