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CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
dreamless nights
THREE WHOLE DAYS had past since Fenrir Greyback and his cronies had broken into the castle. Three mornings of James staring blankly at his eggs, three afternoons of Betty not being able to focus in class as Professor McGonagall taught them about turnings Gnomes to Lawn Gnomes and three nights of both of their sheets become tangled in their legs.
Wands were now at the ready underneath cloaks and the duels at night had become more vicious, but infrequent. The curfew became strict as students ran through the hallways to get to their common rooms before they were practically sealed shut. Professors stood in the corridors between classes—counting heads and trying to recognize everyone. And life slowly tilted and tilted back towards normal. The laughter was quieter, but it slowly came back, even if Betty's grand party was ruined. Nothing had died that day other than the small sliver of Hope she'd been clinging onto since the first headline. James's fireworks were packed away and even Peeves didn't trouble the students like he did—preferring to vex Moaning Myrtle in the quietude of her abandoned bathroom. Philippa, Cece and Aisling's glances towards Betty became nervous again.
She'd been slipping back into her normal self, but something had happened that day and they could all guess what. No one knew who was in the castle except for the professors, Betty and James, so it could've been anyone that Betty could've seen. They shook her hand to wake her up out of dazes and forced food onto her plate in the mornings, Aisling trying to airplane food into her mouth, hoping to catch a hint of a smile. They wrote their notes for her and abandoned lovers of various kinds to all sit together in the Hufflepuff common room during their study time at night while Betty read the same line over and over again in her textbook each night on one of the armchairs.
It was the early evening of the fourth day when Betty past the notice on the door of the Hufflepuff common room. In curling black font backed by a slate blue, it read: "MANDATORY DUELLING LESSONS". Under it listed the various days that each year would part take in their new tradition. Professor Birdsall was to lead with "surprise guests" and it promised an afternoon of fun and friendly competition. Betty stared at the notice, her eyes transfixed on the words as she read them over and over as her grip tightened on the strap of her book bag. Her knuckles had turned white by the time Aisling approached her.
"Hey, let's go sit down." Aisling's voice was quiet and urgent as she looked between her friend and the poster.
"Of course this is their answer to everything," Betty whispered. She tried to manage anger, but she could only seem to muster defeat as her ideals smashed under the weight of the bolded font. "Train us so we can fight their wars."
