CHAPTER TEN
it pours

𖦹 ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ˚⋆˚ 𖦹

THE GREAT HALL IS ALIGHT UNDER the golden glow of candlelight, the grandiose room echoing all the laughter and chatter as everyone catches up with their friends after a long two weeks apart. Each table is adorned in embroidered tablecloths that are specific to every house, little clusters of holly and sprigs of pine arranged atop the rich fabric to serve as the final winter decorations before it officially becomes spring. The enchanted ceiling has already darkened down to canvas of smoky purple smudges behind clouds of midnight blue, the wintry darkness bejewelled with constellations.

   Fallon is babbling away about something hilarious that her uncle had done during the holidays, her chestnut hair restrained in two pretty French plaits that frame her jaw. She's sporting sparkly eyeshadow and a new pair of golden hoops that she'd gotten from her step mum for Christmas, her matching bangles jingling wildly as she speaks.

Although, Cove feels sorry to say that she's not entirely listening to Fallon's melodramas tonight, her focus drifting past her friend's head to the table situated behind.

    Cove has been trying to catch Remus' eye from over Fallon's shoulder all evening. She wants an indication that he's alright, even if it's just something small to say that everything went okay between him and his friends. The only problem with that is how he's pointedly sat himself at the opposite end of the table from them, instead choosing to sandwich himself in between Lily Evans and Frank Longbottom as he piles his plate high with more mashed potatoes than is really ever necessary. He looks like he's engaged in an intense conversation with Mary and Marlene, his dimples poking out when the blonde says something particularly daft.

   Seeing him laugh fills her chest with warmth, even if she looks like a bit of a creep sitting and glaring daggers at him as he talks amongst his friends. His relaxed body language and the smile on his face should reassure her that he's perfectly fine, but she just feels like there's something else weighing on his mind. She simply wants to know what's wrong so that she can make him feel better. Is that such a crime?

   Cove deflates slightly when she realises that he's not going to look over anytime soon. She'll just have to bide her time and wait until the morning to ask him if everything's fine. First period seems like a lifetime away when there's a whole ( probably sleepless ) night wedged between herself and that nine o'clock start.

   "Is there something on Lupin's face that's more interesting than what I've got to say?" Fallon teases, her eyes twinkling. 

  That snaps her out of her daydream.

  "Shite. No," Cove hurries. "Of course not. I'm sorry, my lovely. I didn't mean to ignore you. It's just..."

   "You're worried," Fallon fills in the blank. "I know. I get it."

   Everyone knows. If you hadn't heard about the falling out between Remus and Sirius by no, you were truly living under a rock. Gossip spreads around the school like wildfire on the best of days but when it comes from the prime source of entertainment, it tends to spread with more vigour.

   "Hey, don't look so gutted," Fallon says softly. "He'll be perfectly fine. I'm sure he knows how to handle himself."

   "Aye, but—"

   "No. Nuh uh. There's no but. He wouldn't want you to stress yourself out over this. Just leave it for tonight, yeah? It's clearly upsetting you."

   Cove huffs, propping her chin up in her palm. "You're right."

   Fallon grins. "I always am."

   She rolls her eyes playfully. "Alright, alright. Pack it in. Oh, hold on, I think Dumbledore's about to give his speech."

   "Wow," Fallon deadpans. "I simply cannot contain myself."

   As Cove predicted, Dumbledore rises up to the aureate lectern with an owl depicted on the front, stretching his arms wide to command the attention of all the students in the room. The commotion goes silent and he clears his throat, his wizened voice echoing off of the cobblestone, amplified as if he were using an invisible microphone.

"Welcome back, everyone!" he says joyfully. "I hope that the Christmas holidays were marvellous for all, whether they were spent at home, abroad or within the fine walls of our school. As the seasons change and we wish our senior students luck with their exams, we shall embark on another term of perfectly arcane education through springtime and summer." He claps his hands together. "Now, finally, it is my honour to announce that we are going to be hosting a Litha Leavers Ball for all of our Seventh Years in their final month here with us at Hogwarts." His smile makes an appearance, wise and small. "I shan't bore you any longer. That is all for tonight. Tuck in!"

   Fallon and Cove turn to each other with matching expressions of pure excitement, spinning around to try and signal to Mary from across the hall. The food that materialises before them becomes a second priority now that they've been informed of a whole dance that they need to plan for — their dinner growing cold as they gesture wildly at their best friend from a whole table away.

  Their penultimate Start of Term Feast is spent in a whirlwind of planning and anticipation for something months on the horizon, Fallon counting off all the nearby dress shops in Hogsmeade that come to mind. She's already talking colour coordination by the time they've moved onto dessert. She even goes as far as conjuring a scroll of parchment and a quill to start taking notes so that they don't completely slip her mind, the feather rapidly scrawling down all her thoughts as she rants at a million miles an hour. Lost in the throes of her enthusiasm, Fallon would've knocked over her goblet of Vimto if it weren't for Cove catching it at the last minute.

  Cove stifles a giggle in her palm as she sets it back upright. "We have until June, Fallon. I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here."

  Fallon gasps. "There's no such thing as getting ahead of ourselves at a time like this! When was the last time we got a school dance that wasn't completely ruined by First Years? We finally have the night to ourselves, we need to make the most of it! You catch my drift?"

  "I catch your drift," she confirms, unable to contain her smile. "I'm buzzing too, don't get me wrong, but how is this any different from all the gaffs and parties we usually go to?"

  "Okay, well, let's see — it's our last ever party at Hogwarts ever, we get to utilise a ginormous ballroom for it and we get to dress up all fancy," Fallon lists, flipping down three fingers as she goes. "What more could you want?"

  Cove hums, eyebrows raised. "I've got absolutely no idea."

"Exactly!"

°•.•°•.•°•.•°

   EVERYONE RUSHES TO FILTER OUT into the halls of Hogwarts the very second that dinner is over, more than ready to collapse into bed and get rested up for their dreaded first day of classes. It looks like the Seventh Years all have varying reactions regarding the announcement of the dance, some more happy to hear about it than others. Cove supposes that it wasn't bound to be a hit with every last one of her classmates. You can't please everyone, after all.

The flames flicker in their wall sconces as the crowds pass on by, rousing the agitated portraits from their sleep. Cove doesn't know if she can handle being shouted at by another man made out of oil paint this late in the evening — her main priority right now is to get back to her dormitory, cuddle Pip so that she doesn't feel neglected after a few hours by herself, and finally hibernate under her covers until her roommate's alarm clock goes off in the morning. That sounds like her ideal night in before school officially starts again.

Cove and Fallon descend into the dungeons, chatting happily as they progress through the winding corridors. It grows quieter and quieter the further down they get, all of the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs eventually splitting to go in opposite directions. The crowd has whittled down to the pair of them and a handful of other stragglers that had decided to take the long way down as well, their voices reverberating around the almost empty halls.

It's only when they pass the kitchens that Cove starts to feel lightheaded. The very beginning of a domino effect that would spiral her night into the polar opposite of what she'd imagined. Just her luck, really.

She slows her walking pace down until she's practically stood still, lifting a tentative hand up to rub at the side of her head. It feels like there are daggers being plunged into her skull, unrelenting no matter what she does to stop it. Her throat constricts when she swallows, dry as sandpaper. Stars begin to dance along her vision, little pearly things that aren't anything like the ones that paint the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall.

   Fallon notices that she's stopped after a few seconds. She turns to Cove, her expression addled with concern. "Are you okay, Vee?"

   Cove rubs at her eyes to shoo the spots away and reassure her that everything's perfect, only to be hit with a wave of sudden nausea. She stops to lean up against a wall, the cool stone pressing against her suddenly scalding flesh. The relief doesn't last for nearly as long as she'd have liked it to.

   "I'm... grand, my lovely," she mutters, though her words begin to slur together near the end of her sentence. Her brows tug together into a frown when she hears herself, her voice sounding faraway. As if she's underwater.

   Water. She likes water. Why is her mouth so dry all of a sudden?

   Cove takes a step forward only for her knees to buckle under her, an outcry surging from her lips. It feels like walking on glass — every movement agonises her, like all of her muscles liquified and melted onto an awaiting carpet of needles. Her legs begin to feel like a suffocating, too tight layer entrapping her lower body. Cove can't help clawing at them through her tights, desperation seeping through her actions as she scrambles to free herself from her prison. The skin begins to bleed under her sharpening nails but she pays it no mind. She can't breathe. She needs them off.

    Fallon rushes forward, grasping her arms in an attempt to steady her. She says something but it's lost on Cove, the sounds around her growing shallow and incoherent as her focus drifts to keeping herself upright.

    The world goes black around her before she can hit the ground. Cove can't say she remembers much of what happened after.

author's note!

does any of this make sense at all 😭 it feels very rushed i'm sorry

i wrote the majority of this first thing in the morning when i'd just woken up so if there are any properly confusing bits just blame it on my sleepy brain pls and ty