Feral Den

Chapter 20

Hermione squealed, jumping onto Hailee the next morning. "I knew you would agree!" She yelled rather loudly.
"Yeah, uh-huh, shh." Hailee shushed her. Hermione clamped a hand over her mouth, the smile unrelenting as she practically bounced back to Gryffindor.

Hailee sighed, grabbing the coffee pot from the table and filling her cup with the hot liquid. She took a large drink before putting anything else into it.

"Hate yourself already?" Nott asked.
Hailee glared. "No. I stayed up all night doing homework." She cracked her lower back. "And then went to the pitch with the team."
"Where she proceeded to scream at us from the benches." Malfoy grunted.
"You said you wanted my help."
He only grunted before sipping his own cup of coffee.

"How were rounds?"
Malfoy glared at Parkinson. She whistled.
"That bad?"
He sighed, "With Umbridge around you'd think people wouldn't sneak out as much —you'd be wrong if you thought that."
Hailee hummed, "She doesn't usually patrol though, does she? Only during the day?"
Malfoy grunted, confirming that specific rumor. "Doesn't stop her from hearing the latest reports us Prefects have to give the Head boy and girl though."
Hailee could understand that.

Adding milk and sugar to her cup, Hailee quickly drank the rest before the bell rang.

"What do you have first?"
"Muggle Studies."
"I still can't believe you took that class."
"It's one of the easier subjects," Hailee shrugged. "Thought I'd get an easy A."
"The only reason it's easy for you is because you were raised Muggle." Nott took the pack of gum Hailee handed to him.
"Like I said —easy A." 
Everyone rolled their eyes as the girl sauntered off.

They watched as she waved to Chris and said good morning to Natalia —the Head Girl.
Natalia smiled, looping their arms together as Hailee pulled Cho toward her.

"She's definitely recruiting them."
"Her connections are wide."
"Whatever," Malfoy gruffed. "Let's just get to class."
"You're such a prickly bitch in the morning."
Malfoy ignored Greengrass' jab.

Little Greengrass turned to her sister. "I think it's just because he's been up for so long."
Greengrass rolled her eyes. "How much of a simp are you for him?" She asked, making her sisters ears go pink.
"I'm not —what's simping?"
"Oh Merlin."
Parkinson chuckled. "It's okay to have a crush on him Storia. I did once."
"You only got over that when Hailee joined our group and his attention solely focused on her."
"Shut up Daphne. I got over him way before that."
"Mhm."
Parkinson scoffed. Little Greengrass blushed.
"I do not have a crush on him."
"And Blaise's mate isn't Weasel." Nott snickered when Little Greengrass smacked his arm.
"I'm not looking for your opinion."
"Yeah, shut up Theo. You can't say anything when you're in love with Hailee."
"As a sister."
"You call your sister Amore?"
"I've been calling her that since first year."
The girls' rolled their eyes.

Departing their own ways, Greengrass and Zabini split for Charms while the rest went to their separate classes.

In Muggle Studies, Hailee sat beside Fiona Furke. She was a fifth year Hufflepuff who Hailee had gotten rather close with after Cedric's death.
She was also friends with Cho.

"I heard what you said to Cho," Fiona whispered to Hailee as Professor Burbage was explaining the money circuit in Muggle England.
Hailee nodded, "Yeah. You going to scold me?" She teased.
Fiona shook her head. "What's with this club you thought up?" She asked. "What does it entail?"
Hailee glanced at Fiona who was unabashedly staring at her.
"I'll be teaching a group of students spells that we're supposed to be learning this year. You'll do what Umbridge asks of you, but on certain dates we'll meet up at a secret location to hold a sort of class —I've got copies of the course work."
Fiona nodded, glancing at the slideshow currently projecting from Professor Burbages wand then back to Hailee.
"When's the first meet-up?"
"This Sunday there'll be a meeting entailing everything at the Hogs Head. Come if you're really interested."
Fiona nodded, before both girls turned back to their classwork.