Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
————————————
Aurora Areli
"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE okay, Ginny?" I asked, placing a hand on the youngest Weasley's shoulder. We were in the common room on one of the sofas by the fire, and I was helping her with her Charms homework.
Ginny nodded, though she looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes.
"Maybe you should go and get a Pepperup Potion from Madam Pomfrey," I suggested as Percy approached us.
"I think that's a good idea, Ginny," he said. "You're looking a bit peaky."
"I'm fine," Ginny defended.
"No, you must go," Percy insisted. "Mother wouldn't want me to let you just sit there with a cold."
"I'll go with you," I said, getting to my feet. "They really do help, my cold was cured after a few minutes."
She reluctantly agreed. The potion always made the drinker smoke out of the ears for a few hours, though. Combine that and Ginny's vivid Weasley hair, and it looked like her whole head was on fire.
October had arrived, which brought cold wind and rain to Hogwarts. This also meant that many students had developed colds, which Madam Pomfrey cured instantly.
Raindrops the size of bullets constantly thundered on the castle windows, causing the lake to rise, the flowerbeds to turn into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins to swell to the size of garden sheds.
Oliver's enthusiasm for regular Quidditch training hadn't dampened in the slightest, which meant that Harry and I were constantly returning to the common room drenched and covered in mud after practice.
One particularly stormy Saturday, a few days before Halloween, Harry and I were returning to Gryffindor Tower when we came across Nearly Headless Nick. He was staring dolefully out of a window, muttering under his breath.
". . . don't fulfil their requirements . . . half an inch, if that . . ."
"Hello, Nick," Harry greeted.
"Hello, hello," Nick said with a start, turning to look at us. "You look troubled, young ones."
"So do you," Harry said.
"Ah," Nearly Headless Nick waved an elegant hand with a bitter look on his face, "a matter of no importance . . . it's not as though I really wanted to join . . . thought I'd apply, but apparently I 'don't fulfil requirements'.
