Venom & Virtue

chapter 52

"Ugh, this is painful," Violetta groaned, gripping her quill so hard that the skin of her knuckles turned white.

It was late on Tuesday night, we'd been revising devotedly for the last two days, utilising our time like a precious commodity as we switched between our class topics.

The determined witch had been busy pouring over her transfiguration notes, frustratedly rewriting them onto a blank page in the hope that the words might sink in.

"Maybe you should look at something else for a while?" I suggested, pausing my own writing, "how about History of Magic? I'm on Ancient Runes, it's boring but simple enough."

"No that'll just push this back to tomorrow, I might as well work through it now," she sighed, kneading her temples in an attempt to ease the headache that had been growing.

I smiled sympathetically, pulling away the paper she'd torn through and replacing it with a fresh sheet.

She thanked me, turning back to the book in front of her as the quill began to scratch words onto the page again.

I dropped my own onto the table, yawning and stretching my back out as I glanced around the great hall.

It was entirely empty, except for our presence; only a few students had joined us earlier on before departing once the clock struck 9pm, resigning themselves to their beds.

I envied them, secretly wishing I could retire back to the safety of Draco's dorm, it had become a significant cosy retreat over the last few days.

But Violetta and I had made a pact to stay late for the evening, hoping it would give us a head start for the coming week ahead.

I looked back down at my notebook, grimacing as I took in the raggedy appearance of my handwriting, the skewed letters hovering too far above the lines to be orderly.

I'd attempted to fix it halfway down the page, crossing out a few lines and rewriting them before I realised it was too time consuming and pointless.

My aching hand picked up the quill again, turning the page of my textbook as I attempted to start the next subtopic.

"I bet Terence and Adrian are having the best time right now," Violetta grumbled.

Her confident facade had crumbled with every hour that passed; I secretly suspected that she began to regret her decision not to join them in New Zealand.

"It must be 10am there, they're probably at the beach," I muttered, recalling how they'd been enthusiastic to try muggle surfing.

"I can't remember the last time I went to the beach," she replied, her tone wistful.

"I've never been," I shrugged.

"Really?"

I nodded in return.

"Then we'll go in summer, how's that?" She grinned, perking up at the thought.

"It's a deal," I agreed, keen on the idea.

There had never been the opportunity to go anywhere whilst living in the Ministry.

Anytime Kingsley had to travel I was banned from joining, not venturing further than London in my 17 years.

Violetta smiled in approval, continuing to write as I imagined what the pleasures of a beach might contain.

I'd just begun thinking about how it might feel to stand in the sand, when there was a sharp caw from overhead, drawing our attention upwards.

We looked towards the ceiling, watching as Violetta's signature crow began spiralling downwards in a circular motion.

"Cronus?" She frowned in confusion, clearly not expecting any post.