Salem Academy of Sorcery (Harry Potter)

Chapter Fourteen

Shorter Chapter, but I'll post one tonight as well. Thanks again for the votes & comments!

Chapter Fourteen

Before I could ask Great Grandmother Lucille any more questions on the previous war, others came over to talk with her so I excused myself. I went to meet back up with my father who quickly began introducing me to more distant relatives until dinner was ready. It was overwhelming trying to remember so many names. We all took our seats at the table and it looked just as delicious as the feast at school, maybe even more. There were two empty seats at the table after we all sat down. One was clearly for Selina who hasn't come downstairs yet. I watched Maxine share a frustrated look with Cal after glancing over at the seat, but the door then opened. Selina stepped in and all heads turned towards her, without even looking at anyone she headed straight to one of the open seats.

"Just in time dear. Take a seat will you," Maxine said with false niceness as Selina sat down in the wooden chair. At least her father seemed glad to see her in a way. I didn't know what it was, but there was something off about her lately. Once Cal thanked everyone for coming, he promised that tomorrow's actual Thanksgiving Dinner would be even more extravagant. Then we all filled our plates.

Just a few minutes into dinner, everyone broke off into their own conversations. My father had several questions about school. I was telling him about working on conjuring patronuses. A flash of light caught my attention. Suddenly the fireplace filled with green flames and a gust of smoke smoke. Everyone stopped talking and heads snapped towards the fireplace where a tall blonde girl stepped out from the green flames. "Sofia!" Maxine exclaimed in true excitement. Sofia wore a wide smile at the sight of her family.  "I didn't know if you were coming...I saved you a seat just in case...I'm just so happy to see you."

"Hi everyone. So nice to see you all and can't wait to catch up," Sofia said as she passed the table after giving Great Grandmother Lucille a kind hug. She then went straight to Maxine who hugged her tightly. Cal stood up and hugged her as well. For once Selina was showing emotion, but I couldn't tell if it was anger or shock. Although most people went back to their conversations, my eyes were still on the Beckinghams.

"Well aren't you going to say hi to your sister?" Maxine snapped at Selina.

"Nice to see you, it's been far too long," Sofia then said facing Selina, as if she was waiting for her to get up and hug her. "We have so much to catch up on." Selina then went back to her dry expression and looked up at her sister bored.

"Hi," Selina stated and then dropped her head back to her food completely uninterested. Maxine's face flushed in rage but Sofia brushed it off and took a seat turning to talk to the relatives near her. Well this weekend was getting interesting. All I know is that I wanted to speak with Great Grandmother Lucille once more on the previous war to see what else she has to say.

That night I was exhausted so went to bed early. My father woke up around ten the next morning and asked if I wanted to go for a walk by the shore with him. We grabbed breakfast together and walked around. He asked me even more about the whole burning situation, but I honestly assured him it was fine. As I long as I remembered to take my potion the effects have not appeared. It also gave me a chance to ask him about the Wizarding World. "So nothing has changed?" I asked.

"No," he said shaking his head sadly. "Well..."

"Well what?" I asked.

"The top level prisoners of Azkaban escaped," he muttered lowly.

"What?" I gasped. "How is that possible? I mean I know Sirius Black escaped and all, but the entire top level? How did they get out?" My father did say anything. "Unless someone got them out..." He looked up at me with a slow nod. "The Dark Lord?" My father nodded once more.

"We had to have a meeting about it at work. All of the imprisoned Death Eaters escaped. The rest of prisoners that escaped, well we are assuming they joined You-Know-Who to fight for their freedom." How horrifying. The worlds darkest wizards escaped and were now fighting for the Dark Lord. Great Grandmother Lucille was right, it will only get worse.

"Did you know any of the Death Eaters? The ones that escaped?" I asked him curiously. He paused for a moment.

"Personally I only knew one. He has only been in there for a couple of months actually. I was always suspicious of him." I looked over at my father waiting for him to say anything. "Lucius Malfoy." The name wasn't familiar to me. "He was caught last year at the Department of Mysteries. I met with him a lot for Ministry related meetings. He was great friends with Cal. The two were always meeting for meals or family parties."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I added and my father looked at me with a quick and amused grin.

"Now, now, we all know that Cal is all talk," my father answered. That was true. I doubt Cal would ever get officially involved with the war. He simply used his money as protection. "Maybe we should start  heading back. See what they have in store for us today."

When Thanksgiving dinner came around...it was extremely over the top. The entire dining hall was done over in elaborate fall colored decorations. The table was adorned in cornucopias along with pumpkins and fall colored flowers. Against the wall was a table with every dessert known to man and probably every flavor pie possible. On both ends of the table there were two massive turkeys. Anything else I could have wanted to add to the meal was there: corn on the cob, peas, squash, mashed potatoes, beets, and rolls. What wasn't on the table? Everyone began taking their seats as my father and I were off in the corner enjoying the view of the crashing waves. I watched as Selina bitterly sat across from Sofia once more. As the seats began filling, my father and I realized the only two available seats were on that end. Sighing, I followed him over there and I took the seat next to Selina who didn't even flinch at my arrival.

Cal made one of his famous announcements, thanked everyone for coming, and then said to begin the feast. The room got loud as everyone broke into their own conversations. "So Bernie have you enjoyed your stay?" Cal asked looking up at my father.

"Yes you have a lovely house," my father responded politely. Cal nodded arrogantly.

"You two will have to visit more often, especially since Bradley is right here in Salem," he added with false kindness. "How are you doing with your classes?" he asked me.

"Pretty good sir," I answered as politely as possible.

"She has straight O's actually. Bradley is even taking an extra elective," my father added and looked at me with a quick smirk. The Beckinghams are always bragging to him about Sofia or their wealth. I looked back at him amused but tried to keep a straight face.

"Sofia did the same," Maxine then said with a proud smile. "Say, Selina, why aren't you taking an extra class? Clearly it's possible." Selina gave her mother a dry expression and simply shrugged.

"Oh mom," Sofia interrupted. "It is not the easiest thing to do. Most students need their free period to keep up with their regular classes."

"What do you plan on doing after school?" Cal asked looking at me.

"I plan to become a Mediwizard," I answered. He nodded, actually seeming impressed for once. I know they looked down upon me because I was a half-blood.

"Great career that is, if you're ready for all the extra years of training of course," Cal continued and then looked over at Selina. "I hope Selina still wants to work for the Ministry. Maybe one day take over my position as Senior Undersecretary." At least Cal seemed to have faith in her, unlike Maxine who unknowingly rolled her eyes. "She is a great public speaker you know, I'm sure its a possibility. Just got to keep up those grades." If Cal and Maxine knew Selina has been skipping a few of her classes lately...they would probably kill her right here. Dinner continued with Cal talking about his fantastic job and Maxine talking about all of Sofia's accomplishments. I prayed someone would slip on something about what was really going on in our world, but nothing. I would have to find more information myself.

Sorry it's so short! Hope it was interesting though, the next one will have more in it x