Chapter 29: The Lion, the Snake, and the Pumpkin (1)

The attack on Catherine and Lily was supposed to be a secret, but as it goes with most school secrets, everyone got wind of it. They were a bit fuzzy on the details, but one thing was clear as day – Slytherins dared to sneakily attack two Gryffindor girls without any provocation. In Gryffindor's book that was a declaration of war. 

Things kicked off subtle-like. Some fourth-years got hold of the Slytherins' Charms essays, left on top of Professor Flitwick's desk. After a bit of tweaking, the Gryffindors returned the parchments with some major changes which led to the whole class receiving Ds and being assigned the longest additional homework the Charms teacher had ever given to anyone. 

The payback manifested in the form of spontaneous mass duel in the Courtyard, the results of which were a few horns, some boils and cut wounds, as well as Marvolo Wood from Gryffindor ending up with a squirrel head. Professor McGonagall was furious, especially because it took her quite a while to undo the messy transfiguration. 

Two days later, Peter Pettigrew was discovered crammed inside an old chest on the fourth floor. A Silencing Charm had been cast on him, and it was nothing short of a miracle that Peeves, the poltergeist, opted to trap Filch's cat, Mrs Norris, in the very same chest. Consequently, Peter was also stumbled upon by the caretaker. 

On the same evening Catherine relished a cup of tea in the Gryffindor Common Room. Nested in an old velvet armchair in front of the fireplace, she was quite surprised when a magnificent orange cat leaped into her lap.

"Hello, beautiful!" – she exclaimed, gently caressing the feline's luxurious fur – "Who do you belong to?"

"Calpurnia Yaxley if I'm not mistaken." – chuckled Sirius as he settled on the floor next to the armchair.

"You kidnapped her cat?" – Catherine asked, half-horrified, half-amused.

"How could you think that?" – Sirius responded dramatically – "I merely offered it some treats, and it came on its own free will. Can't help it if Slytherins don't take good care of their pets."

The cat's 'kidnapping' was eventually resolved by Professor McGonagall who marched into the Common Room, and took the protesting animal away, with a brief pause to scold Sirius and give him a detention. 

"I still insist we were saving the kitty!" – objected the boy to Catherine while they were practicing the Freezing Charm in Charms class.

"Immobulus!" – the girl pointed her wand toward one of the large fluttering butterflies the students were using for practice. The insect froze midair in a picturesque pose, its bright yellow wings shining like gold - "We need to find a way to stop this madness with Slytherins. We can't be constantly vigilant. This is a school, after all."

"They were the one who started this. We're not letting them off the hook after what they did to you." – said Sirius decisively.

"But it was Volumnia and Tullia who beat me up, not the whole House." – Catherine pointed out – "It's not like they're going to apologise. What are we trying to accomplish?"

"Justice!" – insisted the boy.

"That's wishful thinking rather than a realistic goal." – scoffed the young witch sarcastically.

Sirius attempted to argue, but the class was over, and they left for lunch without finishing their conversation. Walking towards the Great Hall, the tense atmosphere between Gryffindors and Slytherins was evident. Students moved in large groups to avoid sneak attacks from the other house, creating issued with the traffic in the corridors. Prefects did their best to manage the masses more efficiently, but to no avail. 

"Watch it!" – snapped Sirius when someone bumped into him, going in the other direction – "Honestly, it's like nobody pays attention to where they're going."

Finally, they arrived at the Great Hall and were soon joined by Peter, who had stayed behind to receive additional homework from Flitwick. 

"Where's James?" – asked Catherine, looking around.

"I don't know. Didn't he come with you?" – asked Peter, taking some baked potatoes from the plate in front of him.

"No. He was behind us, but we lost him on the way here." – answered Catherine, starting to look a little worried. 

"Don't be such a panic, Flame." – said Sirius, also serving himself potatoes – "He's probably stuck in traffic somewhere."

But James didn't appear during lunch, and he also didn't attend Transfiguration in the afternoon. At this point, Catherine informed Professor McGonagall about their missing classmate. The Head of Gryffindor acted swiftly, summoning the Hogwarts ghosts and Filch, giving them instructions, and then she turned her attention back to Catherine.

"When is this going to stop, Miss Plantier? I'm really losing my patience." – the teacher said, her expression deadly serious. 

"I haven't done anything, Professor." – said Catherine, feeling a bit tempted to tell her about what she experienced in the girls' bathroom but eventually deciding to keep her mouth shut and go to History of Magic.

Later at dinner, a rumour spread that James Potter was found unconscious near the DADA classroom on the third floor and had been treated in the Hospital Wing. Catherine, Sirius, and Peter quickly finished their meal, rushing to the Gryffindor Tower to drop off their schoolbags before attempting to visit their friend. However, James was already there, calmly finishing his Potions assignment for the next day. 

"Mate, what happened?" – shouted Sirius when he saw the other boy.

"Nothing really." – shrugged James – "Someone stunned me from behind. Well, me and Astrid Sinclair, apparently."

"Who could have done that?" – gasped Peter, his round eyes filled with astonishment.

"I don't know, Peter." – snapped James – "I told you, it was from behind."

"Cowards!" – growled Sirius and smashed the table with his fist. 

"Apparently, we should constantly look behind our backs wherever we go." – sighed Catherine – "At least Remus is not at risk…being sick."

"Well, it's not like what he's experiencing now is a walk in the park." – frowned James.