Chapter 87: Partners in Crime (4)

During the winter term, Gryffindors were scheduled to have a double class of Defence Against the Dark Arts every Friday afternoon. At the sight of the program, Catherine's immediate reaction was a desperate grunt she couldn't contain. Not only did she need to put up with Thorne for two consecutive hours, but they also had to share the class with Slytherins. And while the DADA Professor continued the trend of his unexplainably good behaviour towards the young witch, the Slytherins weren't shy in demonstrating how much they hated her every chance they got.

For some reason, Snape was especially vicious after the Christmas break. Each time their eyes met, he would bite his lips, leaving the Gryffindor with an unsettling feeling that he was suppressing the urge to hex her. She was puzzled by what she could have possibly done to intensify his hatred towards her, especially since they hadn't seen each other during the holidays. However, the young witch had grown accustomed to Slytherins treating her badly often without any apparent reason, besides her perceived blood status. The only issue was that during their Ancient Runes class, she felt constantly on edge and couldn't concentrate entirely on the lessons.

Unfortunately, Lily couldn't provide any additional information, therefore Catherine decided to ignore Snape as much as possible and stop worrying about him. Moreover, she had her friends always watching her back, thus she had no reason to feel anxious.

During the final week of January, a thick blanket of snow enveloped Hogwarts and the neighbouring mountains, casting a serene hush over the landscape. Despite the wintry tranquillity, students were adamant to seize every opportunity for outdoor amusement. The mild weather and the abundance of snow provided great conditions for entertainment such as sliding down the slopes with enchanted toboggans that went way swifter than the Muggle ones.

Catherine and Lily had spent their lunch break eating sandwiches in the courtyard, enjoying the friendly but fierce snowball fight between the Hufflepuff fourth-years and the Gryffindor fifth-years. The skirmish culminated in a spectacular victory for the lions, largely thanks to Fabian Prewett and his remarkably accurate aim.

"You could have been one hell of a Beater, Fabe!" – laughed Marvolo Wood as they headed inside to dry their wet clothes – "Too bad you're a complete disaster on a broom!"

"A bit like me." – chuckled Lily, glancing with amusement after their laughing housemates – "But Daisy, you really should consider trying out for the team next year! You're a natural flyer!"

"We shall see." – the other witch replied, skilfully using one of the lower branches of the cherry tree, which grew in the far end of the Courtyard, to climb to the top. With graceful ease, she balanced on one of the highest points and gazed out at the snowy clouds already blanketing the nearby hills. After a moment, she swiftly descended and leaped down, landing beside her red-haired friend.

"Such a show-off!" – Lily laughed, teasingly – "And you wonder why Gwynnie calls you a tomboy!"

"I don't wonder why she does it. I just think she means it as an insult." – answered Catherine, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I think she's just jealous because she likes Sirius Black, and he doesn't even look at her twice." – said Lily, as they entered the castle and made their way toward the Grand Staircase.

"And how is this my fault?" – fumed the black-haired witch, earning a shrug from her friend – "If she's that interested in Sirius, she should try talking to him about something more engaging than the latest hair conditioner potion she saw in a magazine."

The girls walked the rest of the way to the DADA classroom without speaking, Catherine preoccupied with much more pressing matters than Gwyneth Jones's crush on Sirius. Following her conversation with Gwendolyn, the young witch was determined to seek advice from the Grey Lady on a discreet location for brewing the Animagi Potion. However, finding the house ghost of Ravenclaw proved to be a challenge. She was generally not known to be one to wonder around the castle and Catherine couldn't just hang around the Ravenclaw Tower in hope of encountering their ghost.

The girl had asked Sir Nicolas if he could arrange a meeting with the Grey Lady, but despite his efforts the answer was negative. She had proudly declined, dismissing the invitation as a waste of her time. It seemed she was wary of outsiders and rarely interacted with anyone outside her house Undeterred, Catherine sought a different approach. She speculated that demonstrating a shared interest might garner the Grey Lady's cooperation. Yet, when she inquired with Sir Nicholas about the Ravenclaw house ghost's interests when she had been alive, the third-year received a severe scolding because it apparently was considered rude asking about a ghost's life prior their death.

'I need to find out more about the Hogwarts ghosts or somehow get into the Ravenclaw Common Room.' – thought Catherine, chewing the tip of her braid – 'It's better if I can avoid breaking into another House's premises. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble if they catch me there.'

"Get off my face or you're going to be sorry, Potter!"

"Oh really? What are you going to do, Snivellus? Wipe up your nose in my robes?"

A sudden outburst of voices prompted both girls to quickly take the last turn, leading to the DADA classroom, only to find Gryffindor and Slytherin third-years crowded in front of the door, many of their wands already drawn. James Potter stood no more than ten centimetres away from Severus Snape's face, looking down on him with complete disgust. The Slytherin appeared ready to fight, his uneven teeth bared and his hands trembling slightly. Sirius was right next to James, along with Remus and Peter. The rest of the Slytherin boys were a bit further away, with Cassius Mulciber leaning against one wall, still laughing at something.

While Catherine was trying to comprehend the situation, Lily darted and stood between Snape and James, her emerald-green eyes flashing dangerously.

"What is wrong with you?!" – she screamed, directing her anger mostly at James – "Why do you always feel the need to offend him?"

"Stay out of this, Evans!" – James shouted, though he did take a step back – "As usual, you rush to save Snivellus faster than he runs when he sees a shower. You have no idea what happened!"

"I know that you and your friends are standing here with your wands ready, behaving like a total toerag, James Potter!"

"Yeah, because you missed the part where Mulciber accidently sprayed poor Mary with some cologne and she turned into a human-house-elf hybrid just like Archie Smith last month!'" – yelled James, while Lily's face softened a bit, her gaze scanning the scene, likely checking on Mary.

"Thorne took her to the Hospital Wing." – Sirius interjected, his frustration mirroring James's.

"This is despicable, but as you've pointed out, it was Mulciber, not Severus!" – the red-headed Gryffindor persisted, steadfast in defending her friend.

"Don't talk about me with that dirty mouth of yours, Mudblood!" – Cassius spat, his trademark insolent grin fading – "So what if MacDonald's ears grew a bit? She looks better now, much more subservient as she should be!"

"I'll show you subservient!" – shouted Sirius, raising his wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

Professor Thorne swiftly intercepted Sirius' wand, shooting Mulciber a stern look that wiped the grin off his face as he hurried into the classroom.

"Everyone inside! The class should have begun already!" – the teacher's voice cut through the murmurs – "Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Black, and don't argue unless you want more! That also includes you, Mr Potter!"

"Professor, how's Mary?" – Lily inquired as she passed the wizard on her way inside.

"She's going to be fine. Madame Pomfrey already knows how to treat this prank, but she'll need to spend the afternoon in the Hospital Wing." – explained Thorne calmly – "I already notified both Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of that series of practical jokes, and the initiators and participants will be severely punished!"

"Like you care!" – hissed James at Lily as he took his seat, next to Sirius and behind Catherine.

"I do care, but I do not understand why you blame Severus for everything that happens. You just enjoy bullying him!" – the red-haired witch insisted angrily, taking a seat on the opposite side of the classroom next to Gwyneth Jones.

Catherine shook her head in disappointment. While Mulciber's behaviour seemed to have triggered Mary's transformation, Remus had already told her that when Thorne initially inspected the cologne bottle, it did contain cologne, and there was nothing unusual about it. This indicated that if they were indeed dealing with a potion, its complexity would have been beyond Mulciber's abilities in Potions, which were comparable to Peter's. Therefore, James's suspicion that these pranks were performed via something brewed or created by Snape was quite reasonable. Lily's refusal to acknowledge this straightforward logic was baffling.

A sharp tug on her braid caused Catherine to lean back, as James whispered angrily in her ear.

"We're far from finished with Snivellus! Evans can defend him all she wants, but we know he's behind these attacks on Muggle-borns! We'll make him pay, and I have the perfect idea, but I need your help, Flame!"