Chapter 117: Turning Points (4)

"I feel like myself again!" – Sirius sighed happily as they exited the Great Hall, trailing behind a procession of Gryffindors led by a few Prefects.

"I feel sick." – Catherine complained sulkily – "I can't eat that much."

"Get used to it." – James grinned, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulders.

The girl rolled her eyes, frustrated by her friend's unreasonable stubbornness. As her gaze wandered, she caught a brief glimpse of a familiar silvery figure floating toward the second floor. Without hesitation, Catherine dashed ahead.

"Flame! Where are you going?" – Sirius shouted after her.

"To speak with the Grey Lady! Cover for me!" – she hissed over her shoulder, slipping into the crowd of third-years.

Finally breaking free from her housemates, the young witch sprinted through the empty hallways of Hogwarts. Taking a sharp right turn, she found herself in a corridor flanked by towering bookcases, leading to a tetraptych of Helena Ravenclaw. The House Ghost floated gracefully above the floor, engrossed in the titles of the books on the highest shelf.

"Good evening." – the girl greeted politely. The Grey Lady turned around, her spectral gaze fixed on the Gryffindor with an unreadable expression – "I'm not sure if you remember me."

"I do." – the ghost replied, a hint of irritation colouring her tone – "You're this insolent Gryffindor girl who doesn't take no for an answer."

"I'm not insolent; I simply need you to answer my question." – Catherine insisted.

"I still see no reason to oblige." – the Grey Lady remained steadfast.

"One reason could be to help your family." – the young witch suggested calmly, despite her heart pounding in her chest.

The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw stared at Catherine in disbelief. Several moments passed in complete silence.

"You lie!" – she accused finally – "I have no female descendants… I can't have any female descendants."

"And yet, here I am – Lady Catherine Maragret McMahon, born and raised at Feywood Heights, the daughter of Duke Edward McMahon and Duchess Louisa McMahon, descendant of the Four Founders, vessel of the Curse of Morgana." – the young witch declared, her green eyes flashing.

The Grey Lady almost jumped after the last words, her translucent features betrayed a deep worry as she studied the girl from head to toe.

"This isn't possible." – she whispered.

"But here I stand – your blood coursing through my veins." – Catherine asserted – "I speak Parseltongue like Slytherin. I can heal with my magic and vital power like Hufflepuff. I'm a Fire mage like Gryffindor. Now, I seek the gift of knowledge to connect me to your mother and you. I need your help! You won't betray your family, will you?"

The ghost stood silent again for quite a while, as if deeply contemplating the situation. After a the long pause, Helena Ravenclaw let out an audible sigh and glided closer to the young witch, positioning herself to engage in a more intimate conversation.

"I never anticipated this, even after all these years." – she murmured softly – "Since Morgana left Hogwarts, there hasn't been another one of my female descendants enrolled here. They were all home-schooled until… well, until they could no longer hold the demon. I was truly heartbroken when it came to that, you know! I couldn't understand what my granddaughter was thinking to contract a demon! After the Pact, I chose to distance myself from the McMahons. I just couldn't accept they committed such an atrocity. For you to be here... it's nothing short of a miracle. How old are you now?"

"I'm going to be fourteen in about two and a half months." – the young witch replied anxiously. Despite knowing this was merely an echo of the real Helena, the girl couldn't help but be moved by the sincerity of her emotions.

"Then you're already one of the oldest ones, aside from Morgana. Do you still feel in control of yourself?" – asked the House Ghost of Ravenclaw.

"I am one hundred percent myself!" – the girl affirmed, sensing the immediate relief from her ancestor – "But I do need your help. Dumbledore believes my friends are the key of fencing off the demon, and for their well-being, I do need to find a place where nobody could stumble upon us. Do you know if there is such a place in Hogwarts?"

"The Room of Requirement is likely what you're seeking." – the Grey Lady mused.

"The Room of Requirement? What's this?" – Catherine asked eagerly.

"It's one of the castle's many secrets my mom discovered." – Helena explained – "You see, they had plans and sketches when they were building the school, but due to the heavy loads of ancient magic and spells waved into the very foundations of Hogwarts, it became a bit of a living thing itself. Therefore, many premises and oddities developed over time and had never been planned or accounted for."

"This is fascinating!" – the young witch exclaimed – "Where can I find this room?"

"On the seventh floor in the left corridor. The entrance is just across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet. You'll only see the door when you walk past it three times, thinking about what you need. The room will provide it for you."

Catherine's eyes lit up as she realised this was exactly what she needed. She curtsied and grinned happily. "Thank you, Helena! Your help means the world to me, and I'll find a way to repay you!"

"Just fight for as long as you can!" – the Grey Lady said with a voice full of sorrow.

"I'm not going to just fight! I'm planning to win!" – the young witch responded cheekily and darted back towards the Gryffindor Tower. Nevertheless, upon reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, she suddenly remembered she didn't know the password.

"Let me in!" – Catherine ordered the Fat Lady. Just like last time, she opened her mouth to argue, but her eyes lost focus and the portrait swung forward, obeyed the girl.

The fourth-year's smug smirk, however, vanished in an instant when she found herself face to face with Greg, his expression seething with annoyance.

"Where the hell have you been?" – he hissed angrily.

"I had to retrieve something from the Great Hall." – Catherine lied.

"Really?" – Greg chuckled darkly – "Your friends might know you well, but they don't see everything like I do, Flame. For example, I bet they've never noticed that when you lie, you always make eye contact to feign honesty, but your eyes betray you for a fleeting moment."

"I don't know what you're talking about." – the girl murmured, averting her gaze.

"Don't play dumb with me!" – he growled – "Do you realise how dangerous Hogwarts has become lately?! I'm not exaggerating when I say it's no longer safe for Muggle-borns to wander alone, especially Muggle-born witches. Don't make this face! To everyone here, that's who you are!"

"I can protect myself." – Catherine snapped stubbornly.

"Yeah, right. That's why you've ended up in the Hospital Wing more often than all my classmates combined." – the young wizard scoffed – "I see you just refuse to understand. Perhaps deducting a few House Points is in order since you're half an hour past curfew!"

"What?" – the girl almost screamed – "How dare you?!"

"Daisy!" – Lily's voice startled the two siblings – "There you are! I was looking all over for you. I was almost considering checking the boys' dormitory!"

"Tell me you don't go to the boys' dormitory!" – Greg almost moaned, but then he noticed the confused look on Lily's face and quickly tried to smooth the situation – "You know, despite us being friends, I can't just overlook you breaking school rules left and right."

"Since when have we become friends?" – Catherine mocked him, flashing a smile at Lily – "I forgot something in the Great Hall and was just being reprimanded by our new Prefect, but he graciously agreed to let me go this time, being my first infraction this year."

"I…" – the wizard attempted to argue but decided there was little point, eventually just sighing and shaking his head – "Alright, you can go, but please next time be mindful of curfew. It's for your own safety."

With an arrogant smirk, Catherine followed Lily up to the fourth-years girls' dormitory where Gwyneth and Mary were chatting excitedly, seated on their beds.

"You finally decided to join us!" – giggled Gwyneth, jumping to her feet and giving Catherine a quick hug – "We were anxiously waiting for you!"

"Why?" – the other girl asked with suspicion. It was not natural for her classmate to be so friendly all of a sudden.

"She wants to ask you about Remus!" – chuckled Lily, going to her trunk and starting to unpack.

"I thought you were more into Sirius." – Catherine replied with a crooked smile. She felt a bit taken aback by the sudden interest Gwyneth had shown towards her shy friend.

"Well, since Sirius is entirely preoccupied with chasing after you, I thought I might look around while waiting for him to get to his senses! – the witch stated, tossing back her shiny black hair.

"If your goal is to date all his friends in the meantime, you may want to start with Peter. He's probably available." – Catherine retorted a bit more confrontationally than she intended. The truth was, compared to Gwyneth, she had always felt inadequate. The witch had a rather early growth spurt and she looked much more mature than Catherine. In addition to her very agile and athletic body, she had beautiful tawny skin and dark brown eyes that Hogwarts' boys found irresistibly mysterious. Her behaviour was always a bit flirtatious which further infuriated the other witch, who was completely at loss on how to attract anyone. In the light of this, Gwyneth's sudden interest in Moony was really bothering Catherine.

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" – Gwyneth asked with a not-so-innocent smile – "You know, you can't have them all! Leave some for the rest of us!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." – the other girl responded flatly – "I know there are all sorts of rumours about us, but you of all people should know they are not true! We're just friends with the boys!"

"I'm sure it's not true that you toss a Galleon to determine who you're going to sleep with that particular week, but come on, you can't tell me you haven't considered dating one of them!" – Gwyneth refused to give up.

"Toss a Galleon to… what? Who the fuck is so sick they spread such dirty lies?!" – Catherine almost screamed, blushing furiously with both anger and embarrassment.

"I don't know who started it but you have a rich pool of options. A lot of people hate you." – Lily intertwined.

"Do you believe it?" – asked Catherine, beyond herself with shock.

"Of course I don't! Nobody sane would ever have!" – Lily scolded her gently – "Gwynnie, stop teasing her! If you like Remus so much, go ask him on a date!

"Easy for you to say, Miss Hertbreaker!"- laughed the other witch – "Not all of us can have the most popular boys at school running after us, just so you can ignore them coldheartedly!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." – the red-headed girl replied, but Catherine thought she didn't look quite sincere.

"You don't? Just today, I personally witnessed how you declined date invitation from both James Potter and Greg McMahon!"

"What?!" – the other two girls exclaimed at the same time.

"This is so not true, Gwyneth Jones!" – Lily hissed angrily – "Potter asks me on 'dates' every chance he gets, just to appear smug in front of his stupid friends! Sorry, Daisy, no offence! And Greg didn't ask me on a date; he thought I could help him pick new robes for the Halloween party. He wanted a girl's opinion because he was not confident in what he should pick."

'Yeah, right!' – thought Catherine, trying hard not to roll her eyes upon hearing about her brother's suddenly developed uncertainty in picking his own wardrobe. Gwyneth apparently shared her sentiments because she scoffed condescendingly. "If you prefer to believe this, it's quite alright. Apparently being so hard to reach makes them even more determined. And that's without counting that creep Snape."

"He's not a creep!" – Lily snapped, adding with much calmer tone – "We're just friends."

"You better tell him then because if someone was looking at me the way he looks at you, I'll be very scared. Right girls?" – asked the other witches.

"I'm not scared of Snape!" – Catherine stated firmly, noticing the odd expressions around her, she realised they were not talking about that, so she blushed and added quickly – "But it's always better if people have the same expectations in one relationship."

"I also think he fancies you." – Mary answered softly, as she was preparing for bed.

"You don't know what you're talking about!' – the red-headed witch insisted stubbornly – "We're just very close with Severus. We've known each other since we were kids. He's just protective of me! And what right have you to preach about honesty in a relationship, Catherine? The only thing left is for Sirius Black to start sleeping in front of our door! Why don't you address his feelings?"

"We're very clear about our feelings!" – Catherine lied not willing to delve into this topic, which was already causing quite a lot of confusion for her.

"Can we stop arguing already?" – Gwyneth said, tossing herself on the bed – "I have really bad cramps, and this noise makes me want to start hexing all of you!"

"You started it, Gwynnie!" – Lily replied, but her eyes softened and she quickly went through her luggage, taking out a small red bottle and tossed it on the other girl's bed – "This is Moon Cycle Draught. It helps with all the nasty symptoms."

"Oh? Do you have some more?" – asked Mary hopefully – "I usually have terrible headaches, and I was already dreading next week."

"No, but I can make more. It's easy." – Lily assured her.

"Are you talking about periods?" – Catherine asked contemplatively.

"Duh? What else do you think we talk about?" – chuckled Gwyneth, uncorking the bottle of the remedy – "Why do you look so surprised? Hasn't your period started yet?"

"Um, no, actually it hasn't." – Catherine admitted, feeling somewhat out of place among the other girls. She couldn't help but notice that all of them already looked more mature than her. Even Mary had blossomed over the summer and developed some curves.

'It's just me who looks like a stick, not to mention I don't even need to wear a bra.' – she thought self-consciously, hurrying to prepare for bed, feeling overly shy to undress in front of the others – 'They must be crazy to think that Sirius really likes me this way!'

"Hey." – Lily gently put her hand on Catherine's shoulder, prompting her to turn back – "You seem upset. Is it about your period? You know it will start eventually. Girls develop differently. There's no need to feel ashamed or shy about it."

The black-haired girl simply nodded and managed a smile at her compassionate friend. Despite James' obsessed behaviour he was right - Lily was undoubtedly one of the most captivating witches at Hogwarts. She possessed not only beauty but kindness, brilliance, and a dash of sassiness. At that moment, Catherine thought that if someone asked her to describe the perfect image of a girl, she would have answered: Lily Evans.

'I hope that one day I can get to be even half as remarkable as she is! How is it possible to feel as though I'm carrying the weight of the world in one moment and, in the next, be as clueless as a child?' – the young witch pondered wearily before succumbing to sleep.