Stay - Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 123

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive, the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Leaning against the window, Kirra and Jasper could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain.

Kirra had both her own and Jasper's jumper around her body as she struggled to keep herself warm. Ever since she was a kid, she had always gotten cold easily which sucked considering she hated the cold. 

In her earlier years before she had regained her memory she had no idea what it was that had made her dispise the cold so much, but as he memory of her previous life returned to her, it didn't take her long to figure out the true reason...

Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. 

Kirra and Jasper jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.

"Merlin," said Kirra, shaking her head and sending water everywhere as she rubbed her hands up her arms, trying to spark some warmth, "if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak —"

She was cut off from Jasper beside her who had been listening to her moments ago, "ARRGH!" A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto his head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Jasper staggered sideways into Kirra, just as a second water bomb dropped — narrowly missing her head, it burst at her feet, sending a wave of cold water over her sneakers into her socks. 

People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get out of the line of fire. Kirra looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!" Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling, causing Jasper and Kirra to try and hold back snorts of laughter.

"well that's unfortunate," Jasper whispered to the Hufflepuff with a large smirk on his face, nudging her side softly. She turned to look into his brown eyes with a cheeky grin, chuckling a little bit.

Jasper was happy to see her smile, ever since their encounter on the train, she had visibly been upset and Jasper definitely couldn't blame her. She had just lost her best friend and boyfriend in the same week and she didn't even know why. 

"Ouch — sorry, Miss Granger —"

"That's all right, Professor!" Hermione gasped, massaging her throat.

"Peeves, get down here NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upward through her square-rimmed spectacles.

"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth-year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

"I shall call the headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves —" Peeves stuck out his tongue, threw the last of his water bombs into the air, and zoomed off up the marble staircase, cackling insanely.