Cast yourself (you are the spell)

Chapter 12

After the game, the team agrees to meet up in the common room once they've all showered and changed into warmer clothes. The rain outside has only gotten worse over the past hour, brutally pounding into the ground outside. Slipping on her coat and gloves, Hope jogs down the stairs to meet her friends.

"Damn, Mikaelson," Maya whistles. "You've been in the shower for hours. What took so long?"

Hope doesn't hesitate, narrowing her eyes at the blatant exaggeration. "Sorry. It took a while to scrub away the embarrassment you all put me through last match."

Maya smiles, opening her mouth to retort.

"Your useless banter can wait," Ethan cuts in quickly. "Honeydukes closes early today, we should get going."

The boy has dearly loved the sweetshop ever since third year, and Hope can't resist the smile that stretches her lips. Someone opens the common room door and a sudden breeze blows in, allowing Hope to notice that her hair is still completely wet from her shower. She shivers, reaching for her wand to dry her hair.

She doesn't find it in her pocket.

"Crap," Hope curses. She didn't really feel like going back to her dorm room. "I think I left my wand in my bag upstairs. I'll be right back."

She takes the steps two at a time when she catches Ethan's pout, reaching her dorm room in record time. She automatically walks toward her nightstand, where her book bag lies on top of it.

She searches through it quickly, her fingers finding nothing. Frustrated, she spills out the bag's contents all over her bed. She finds her wand quite faster that way, and waves it over her head. Her hair dries instantly, and she almost turns her back before something catches her eye.

It's a pale envelope, sealed by a red, circular wax stamp. The envelope itself is stuck between the book she had stolen from Josette, and-curiosity reeling-she pulls the envelope out from within the book.

The envelope has already been opened, she can tell. There's a perfect slit in the side, and Hope wonders why it was opened in such a weird way. She turns the envelope over to find the school's address and an inscription:

My Dearest Josie

It's not the first time she's heard the nickname, but her heart thuds deeply in her chest at the words anyways. She takes a harsh breath, her fingers twitching where they meet the envelope. When she finally musters the courage to open it, she finds a piece of parchment paper inside-obviously a letter.

She stops herself shortly, deciding not to open it. She shoves the letter to her bed, wondering if that's why Josette had wanted the book so badly. Had she noticed the letter had been missing? Had she accidentally placed it in the book and had consequentially forgotten about it?

And should Hope dare open it if so? The Slytherin side of her was screaming to do it, but a deeper part still was shaking its head in her mind. If she read it, she could potentially blackmail the other girl with the contents of the letter.

Yet, for once in her life, doing something so malicious did not make Hope excited. There was a large part of her that did not want to ever touch the letter again, but she knew that it could be something important to use against the other girl. The relationship she had with Josette was very shaky, and this would be the perfect way to get one over her.

But she could not bring herself to do it. Hope grabs the letter quickly and shoves it back into her bag with the book, wondering why she was even thinking about being so nosy in the first place.

No, she decides. She would not read it. But, if things ever came to it, she would not hesitate to utilize it to her advantage. And if anything, she could just make Josette think she read it. Yes, she would do that.