Marriage, Murder & Magic- [OMINIS GAUNT]

Chapter 16- Imelda's Secret

I found Everett waiting for me just outside the women's locker rooms. The women's locker rooms would go unused this year due to the Quidditch gender ban.

"Oh, good, you made it-" He choked on his words when I drew my wand and pointed it at his throat.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear," I pressed the tip of my wand to his Adam's apple. "If you are planning anything funny, which I assure you I will most certainly not find funny, I will turn your larynx into a very, very small duck. You will be quacking until the birth of your first child."

Everett's glasses were about to topple off his face. "Prisma! Prisma, please. There's no need for threats. We're friends. House mates."

I didn't remove my wand from his throat just yet. "Andrew Larson saw you out of bed the night Morgana died. I need to know what exactly you were doing, and who you saw."

Everett's eyes narrowed before they widened. "Oh, god. You think I had something to do with Morgana's death? She didn't like me, I'll admit, but that doesn't mean I want to kill the woman."

"Then what were you doing sneaking around?"

A nearby rustling in the dark caught my attention. We weren't alone.

Just as I was about to stun the intruder, Everett yelled, "Wait, it's Imelda!"

Imelda Reyes, 6th year Slytherin and flying champion, had joined us in the small walkway outside the Quidditch restrooms.

"Sorry I'm late," the stern-faced girl said, removing her dark green Slytherin hood.

I was floored. Imelda was Everett's alibi.

I lowered my wand. So, Everett and Imelda had been having secret meet-ups, and that's why he couldn't tell anyone. "Wow. I'm so happy for you two," I said.

"It's not what you think," Imelda immediately shot down my assumption. "Everett, show her the toilet."

"Wha-"

I don't know why, but I followed them into the women's Quidditch restroom, where Everett opened the very last stall. Atop the toilet was a cauldron.

I recognized the greenish appearance and fruity smell from potions class. "You two have been brewing polyjuice potion?" I asked in disbelief.

"After women were banned from participating in Quidditch, I knew I had to figure something out," Imelda said. "I considered freezing Lord Bart in ice for a year. Or turning him into a snail."

My mouth shot open. "So you're going to use polyjuice potion to turn into Lord Bart and un-ban women from Quidditch?"

"No. Although, that wouldn't be a bad idea." Imelda looked at Everett. "Why didn't you think of that?"

Everett chimed in. "Look, I don't want to play Quidditch anymore. Especially not with the new Quidditch coach, Lord Fart. But, I like the perks, like getting to skip class and having extra time on assignments. And I knew that Imelda wanted to play on a team. So I thought we could help each other out."

"I will take a bit of polyjuice potion every Quidditch game and turn myself into Everett Clopton, Ravenclaw beater," Imelda said with glee. "I'm so excited. I'll finally get to play!"

"On a team that's not yours," I pointed out.

"I'm going to pretend to be a man for six hours a week. Switching teams is really not such a big deal compared to that."

It was a pretty risky plan. I understood now why they had to sneak around. It would be a huge deal if anyone else knew about this.

"But- Everett's not that good of a player," I winced. If he was suddenly a fantastic rider, people would get suspicious.