ALOHOMORA | CEDRIC DIGGORY

48〝forty-eight〞

WINNING THE MATCH FOR SLYTHERIN proved to be a kind of windfall for Ellis, though she wasn't sure if she enjoyed all of it. Flint was so satisfied with the team's performance that he broke out his own stash of butterbeer and treated all of them to a bottle each.

"That was the best feint I've ever seen in Hogwarts!" he thundered, and before the entire Slytherin common room that turned host to a party on Saturday night no less. "Charlie Weasley who?"

Ellis was both surprised and delighted by this. For one, Flint had never quite complimented her in so many words, nor in front of so many people; it was usually curt nods and meaningful grunts, and only during practice. For another, the serendipitous discovery that Charlie Weasley also played Seeker made her aware of their similarities, and Ellis could already see her future just like his. Although Professor Snape congratulated her only halfheartedly that evening (he looked less sulky offering it to the others), he seemed to have abandoned his efforts of totally ignoring her, which was at least something.

What Ellis couldn't get accustomed to was the fact that people actually seemed to like her—or the idea of her. Every member of the Slytherin Quidditch team now roamed the castle halls as though they were celebrities: to applause and cheers of other Slytherins wherever they went. Of course, this was apart from Draco Malfoy and his gang in the case of Ellis.

Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey had pronounced Cho Chang unscathed; Professor Flitwick, upon hearing Chang's account, explained to the Ravenclaws that her non-injury was most certainly the result of a Cushioning Charm—one that, under the circumstances, could only have been produced by Ellis.

Still bathing in the joys of their House leading the tournament (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff still with a game to spare regardless), the Slytherins shrugged off this news. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs alike seemed to have pieced the story together that she wasn't so "evil" after all; only a handful remained clinging to the opinion that she was. Many Ravenclaws, however, were uncharacteristically influenced by their outrage at their side's hammering that they blatantly chose to pass over this act of decency—some even slamming it.

Cedric was so incensed that his letters now came with several holes where he'd punctured the parchment dotting his "i"s too hard. Although she wrote back that he needn't be, his indignation on her behalf was as adorable as ever and heartened her as it always did. But she had more burning worries than Koracick's and Davies's attempts at slander: Ginny Weasley.

Given their focus on the Quidditch Cup, Ellis and Cedric had made little headway in this domain, and Ellis felt immensely relieved whenever she saw Ginny, because it meant that she hadn't yet dropped dead, though the redhead did look increasingly dreadful as the days rolled by. Ellis briefly wondered if homesickness ever induced death. Her only thought was to obtain more clues, but to do so would entail getting another "vision," which made Cedric's initial suggestion of talking to Professor Snape all the more tempting in contrast—and that was no walk in the park either.

The task was made still trickier by Snape's mood, which despite Slytherin's triumph was nastier than ever during Thursday's Double Potions. It was common knowledge that he disliked basically anyone who wasn't from Slytherin, but his animosity towards Ginny in particular seemed to have reached unprecedented heights. In the past, Snape had mostly acted as though she was invisible, which meant that he had hardly glimpsed their table (shared also by Colin Creevey and Jeremy Harper, whom Snape found unmemorable) after Christmas break besides to give Ginny the occasional dirty look, as was the norm.

Ever since Valentine's Day, however, Ellis could not remember a lesson where he hadn't gone out of his way to bully Ginny, whether it was spending half the time nitpicking or criticizing her work, or else using it to show the whole class how things were not supposed to be done, and where Ginny hadn't left the dungeons in tears. Ellis felt supremely guilty, as she had associated Snape's behavior to their little mishap in Professor Lockhart's classroom. After all, Snape did look ready to curse Justin Finch-Fletchley once; what else could have triggered such a spike in his ill feeling?

Ginny's recent absentmindedness wasn't helping anyone. Today was no exception. Midway through the class, her Forgetfulness Potion hissed menacingly while discharging a rather strong odour of melted rubber. It attracted still more attention because the room was silent—everyone else had finished preparing their crushed Standard Ingredient and mistletoe berries, and was waiting until it was time to add the mixture into their brew. Snape had reiterated at least thrice as he swept along the aisles that it ought to be simmered for a minimum of three-quarters, up to a maximum of one hour, before the addition.

For Ellis, who had completed the first part of her potion before Ginny, there was still ten minutes to go. She suddenly wished she had paid more attention too—instead of poring over the recipe of a Shrinking Solution to while away the time. Clearly, the Gryffindor had been overly eager and thrown in her dry ingredients too early (and probably more than the required two pinches), for her mortar now stood emptied. Harper, who was easily the most mediocre at the table even when Colin was around, obviously said nothing; even if he had known what she was up to, he had always been outshone and relished the weeks in which Ginny had been tormented by Snape that there was no way he wouldn't let her make a fool of herself. If only Ellis had noticed her intent sooner, she could have prevented the catastrophe that was next.

Snape gave Ginny such a lengthy dressing-down—which was really just a staggering number of insults, yet without so much as a syllable of profanity—that most of the class had their turns to add the powder by the time he was done. Detention aside, twenty points were taken from Gryffindor and Ginny was forced to scrub out the gooey contents of her cauldron without magic as punishment.

So, weeping, she proceeded to the stone basin where Ellis, who had already submitted a vial of her sample, was washing her hands and apparatus. As Ellis pivoted to leave, she came face-to-face with Ginny. The blonde tried to move aside but so did the ginger, and for a few seconds both girls kept stepping in the same direction.

"Stop," said Ellis, and immediately regretted her impatient tone—as if Ginny hadn't had enough of that. Ginny jumped. "I'm sorry. Here—"

She had just grabbed Ginny to steer her when the flashes came: Ginny was in a sad-looking toilet that Ellis had never before seen, the grimy mirror reflecting her robes stained with reddish patches; she was on her back, surrounded by darkness, her hair thrashing behind her as though moving feet-first at high speeds; she was mouthing frantically again, this time looking up at an evidently annoyed boy whom Ellis didn't recognize, and who was otherwise handsome (though not Cedric-handsome) if not for the strange red gleam in his eyes...

There was no explaining why Ellis chose to release Ginny at that very moment; she had scarcely redirected her at all. She was convinced she would have seen more if she had held on, but she didn't seem to want to—her hands had flinched away as if scalded. With slight desperation, she examined Ginny, who was committed to avoid eye contact, and would have penetrated Ginny's head if Professor Snape's voice hadn't rung out.

"Dawdle anymore and it shall be a week's detention, Weasley," he snarled. "The rest of you, homework"—he flicked his wand—"on the board."

Ginny scuttled off. Ellis trudged back to her seat, feeling more puzzled than illuminated. As she copied down the essay Snape had assigned, she glanced at him: his face was so black (Ginny had just broken a scouring brush) Ellis was amazed it hadn't been camouflaged by the greasy locks that framed it.

Her resolve to consult him that day evaporated into thin air.