build me up buttercup [s.black]

[33] Secrets

Something strange had been happening to the sixth and seventh years.

Over the last few weeks, some N.E.W.T. students had been approached by first and second years who had tightly bound scrolls in their hands. Every piece of parchment had the same thin, slanted writing on it and each student who received one had flatly refused to divulge to anyone the contents. Even Lily had denied Aisling and Alice's desperate pleas for information. Aisling had felt sure that when Sirius had received his he would let her in on the big mystery; but he had simply told her, in a very condescending manner that 'she would understand why it was so important if she received one.' Once she heard that Sam Matthews had also been the recipient of one of the mysterious letters, she thought for a second that she might try to get the secret out of him; but she was immediately disgusted with herself for even considering it.

In regards to Sam, she had also had an interesting conversation with Mary Macdonald the previous week. The girl had approached her in the common room, looking slightly nervous, and asked to speak to her alone. Aisling had obliged, wondering what this was about; after all, she and Mary were friends.

"The thing is," Mary had said, pushing her reading glasses up her nose and fiddling with a lock of honey blonde hair. "Sam Matthews kind of asked me out."

Aisling smiled.

"That's great Mary! But...why are you telling me?"

"Well, you know. I just wanted to check if it was okay with you before I said yes. Because we're mates."

"Oh." Aisling blinked several times. "Yeah of course it's okay. We didn't really go out properly anyway."

"Brilliant." Mary said, her face lighting up. "I thought you would be cool with it. Anyway, you're going with Sirius Black now, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Aisling had been unable to suppress a smile at this, her cheeks flaming red.

The news that Aisling McCawley was seeing Sirius Black had spread through the school like wildfire. She had been subject to many questions from curious girls which were not only annoying, but sometimes incredibly inappropriate and made Aisling blush almost as red as her Gryffindor tie. Although most girls were merely interested in the new relationship, she had been sensing some definite animosity from others. She had heard Anastasia Richards, a dark haired Hufflepuff in the year above, commenting disapprovingly on 'Aisling McCawley's habit of jumping straight from one boy to the next.' The girls who were standing with her had found it quite funny, until Alice and Marlene had hit them with a hex or two each from across the corridor.

One morning at breakfast, while having a heated debate with James over the best model of broomstick - Aisling favoured the Shooting Star while James was devoted to Cleansweeps - Aisling felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Nadia Belewa standing there. The girl, whom Aisling had grown rather fond of since she had met her at the sorting ceremony, held a tight scroll of parchment in her slightly clammy hand.

"For you." She panted, beaming up at Aisling. It seemed that the fondness was mutual.

"Thanks Nadia." Aisling said, taking the scroll and unrolling it.

She noticed a few people at the table craning to read it, but concealed it behind a large toast rack. Her eyes flicked over the parchment two or three times before she looked up again.

Dear Miss McCawley,

I request your presence in my office at 7pm on Friday the 15th of April. I should ask that you do not inform any student of this meeting who will not also be attending, it is of utmost importance that it remains – as the muggles say – 'under wraps.'