"A Witch's Quarrel"

December 1969, 6 months later

It was snowing in the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling sprinkled the snow above the students head, the flurry disappearing mid-air as it met with the heat of the fireplace. The dinner held every Christmas delicacy the students could imagine and each house was intermingling in the spirit of the season. Merritt had joined the Hufflepuff table where her fellow fourth-years, Erin and Dexter, where slicing up carrots and sausages for Cormac and Winston. The twins were still jittery around their peers at dinner, their cousins swarming them constantly with hugs and laughter to the point that they could care less about the unusual stares they were receiving.

"Where's Serenity, I thought she was Hufflepuff too?" Cormac glances around at his cousins, each of them seeming much larger than him which made him hunch his shoulders up more so. Winston nudged his brother, raising his arm in the direction of the Slytherin table on the other side of the room.

"I wouldn't expect to see much of her any longer," Dexter mumbled.

"She still has the 'older sibling' instincts she did when we were kids; that much will never change... but she doesn't want anything to do with us anymore." Erin frowned, holding out the fork to Winston once she was done. He gripped it awkwardly with the heel of his palms, struggled to stab his food and threw it to the side. A bit of carrot raised into the air and he opened his mouth for it. As the twins both utilised their magic for ease, Merritt slumped over her plate and pressed her hands against her face.

"I hate it," she mumbles around her squished cheeks, "she's starting to remind me of Great-Grandad." Across the hall, she witnessed a brief change in her sister's demeanour. Serenity had been laughing with Lucius until Narcissa said something. As the younger Black sister spoke Serenity's shoulders tensed and her eye twitched; the change in attitude was brief as she went back to whispering with her boyfriend. "And auntie Dara."

Erin stared into space as she chewed her food, her eyebrows knitted together as her fork hung loosely between her fingers. While she could hear her cousins deliberating, she could also make out the distinct sharpness of Serenity's voice she only ever heard in their heated disagreements before they arrived at Hogwarts. Finding her focus come rushing back to reality, Erin glanced around her. Her cousins were now eating peacefully and the other students were having the same discussions they usually had. At the other end of the bench, she caught Lakita's eye.

The two of them pursed their lips. The conversations from the Slytherin side of the room dwindled, the sound dispersing in a gradient until it ceased altogether. As Professor Dumbledore trailed his sentence off everyone turned their attention to where the silence had begun.

Narcissa stood, chest heaving and eyes reflecting the fire beside her, her wand pointed at Serenity. Serenity stood comfortable behind Lucius' outstretched arm as she stared cooly down the wand at the Fourth-year.

Lakita, Erin and Merritt all stood as soon as they processed the sight they were greeted with. Briefly, Lakita glanced down at her brothers that sat across from her before reluctantly sitting back down. Erin held her hand out to hold Merritt's chest and restrain her sibling from moving any further as the boys also stood reluctantly.

"It's not fair!" Narcissa yelled. Her voice cracked as it echoed around the hall. The ceiling seemed to become colder as she spoke and Serenity pushed Lucius' arm down. "What did I ever do to you to deserve this? You get everything: my sister, loving friends, the boy I love!" Serenity failed to hold back her amusement at Narcissa's argument which angered her more. "Petrificus totalus!"

Serenity raised her hand, blocking the spell. She stumbled backwards as she was unprepared for the attack, her smile had completely vanished as she looked from her hand to the girl that had attacked her.

"That was hardly fair," she sneered and drew her wand from her robe. The two began to throw spells back and forth. Narcissa either found her own spells rebounding or Serenity's coming at her faster than she could register.

Merritt broke out of Erin's grip and ran the opposite direction she had intended to go. Erin groaned and ran after the Ravenclaw as she headed straight for her sister. Dexter, Cormac and Winston also ran to their aid yet were stopped at the base of the steps to the professor's bench by Professor Dumbledore who watched calmly as Professor McGonagall hurriedly jogged down the steps while yelling at the two duelling witches.

Narcissa yelled out as a spell hit her shoulder and sent her flying backwards. The students around them screamed as the youngest Black sister lay motionless on the ground. Andromeda and Bellatrix ran to her aid as they brushed past Serenity. Lowering her wand, Serenity stared down at Narcissa as McGonagall tended to her. Merritt and Erin reached her, asking if she was okay. Her body jolted yet her face remained stoic.

The wand clattered from her hand and to the floor. Water rushed into Serenity's ears as her head mind began to spin. She shrugged out of Merritt and Erin's hold and moved away from the crowd surrounding them. Whoever spoke to her sounded as they were underwater and her skin burned at anyone's touch; she felt as though she was dragging her own body out of a room that was burning her alive. A lump formed in her throat and suddenly she couldn't breathe, she clawed at her throat as she stumbled out into the corridor. A wave of cool air seared her skin and she buckled over, gagging.

Lucius jogged out of the hall, finding her stumbling around looking as pale as the Bloody Baron, followed closely by Professors Witherspoon and Kettleburn. The defence against the dark arts and care of magical creatures professors were stupefied, to say the least, to witness the ghostly Fifth-year suddenly collapse to the ground. Lucius fell to his knees beside her as Professor Witherspoon also came down to their level to help his students while Professor Kettleburn hurried off to fetch Madame Knaggs, the school's matron who was verging on ancient.

Despite the woman's shrivelled skin and sunken features, she moved quickly. As she hobbled out of the Great Hall with various other professors, she was quick to begin yelling orders.

"Hurry now, get her to the hospital wing!" Her shallow voice bounced off of the walls as if a permanent magnification spell had been cast on her, the sharp tone to it immediately setting Lucius into action. He hooked one arm under Serenity's legs and the other supporting her back as her and a handful of Professors hurried away.

"Lucius, wait!" Merritt sprinted out of the hall, trying to catch up with them. Professor Witherspoon held back, halting her.

"What is the problem, Miss Rier?" He matched her height, his eyes holding his power as he waited for her response.

"This is my sister's wand..." she offers Serenity's wand out which the Professor promptly accepts. Could you make sure she gets it back, please?" He nods with a small smile before hurrying after his colleagues and students.