The Letters
Liam stood in the shower, letting the hot water stream down his face. His anger at Gillian was slow to recede. We didn’t cheat, he told himself. We won fair and square. I made every one of those saves, and I’ve got the bumps and bruises to prove it.
Lara had healed his cheek and lip, but his knuckles were still skinned and his fingers were sore and stiff. He felt low, deflated. The quarrel with Gillian had robbed the joy from his victory.
Then again, Lara kissed me. When was the last time that happened? Never. She hasn’t as much as shook my hand in the six years I’ve known her.
He dried off and dressed. Mike, Fortney and Philip were ready to go, but they had waited for him. The four boys walked out together. Waiting for them was a mob of Hufflepuffs. The entire House was there, singing the House song. They let out a great cheer when they saw their captain. Many backslaps, handshakes and hugs followed.
The Seventh Years were particularly awestruck by the moment. A boy named Oliver shook Liam’s hand. “We’re still leading in the points,” he said, “and we just beat Gryffindor for the first time in twenty years! Against all odds, we are running the table.”
“Just like I said we would,” said Liam.
“When you said that as a Third Year, I thought you were crazy. I didn’t think it was possible. And now it’s happening!”
“Yes,” said Liam, “and it’s about damn time.”
After several more handshakes, Liam’s hands were painfully stiff. He brought them to Lara. “These need your help,” he said.
“Oh, you poor thing.” She took his hands in his, each in turn. She cracked his knuckles and cast warm, healing charms over him. His scrapes vanished, and he was able to move his fingers easily again.
He wrapped his arm around her, and she pressed her face into his chest. “Can’t remember the last time I got a hug from you,” he said.
“The last time I hugged you,” said Lara, laughing, “I got acromantula venom on me, and I had to spend the whole night in the Hospital Wing. I haven’t done it since.”
The Hufflepuffs slowly processed back to the castle, singing and cheering. Umberto ordered Nolan Marrett and company to keep an eye on them and to report back when they were near the entrance hall. The Slytherin Sixth Years gathered in the Hearth room. The Little Coven was nearby, waiting and eavesdropping. Blake Ellsworth came in and spoke to Umberto.
“I hear there was some harsh words between Wren and Roycester at the end of the match. Roycester called Wren a cheat, but of course, you already had Hooch rule that everything was legal.”
Umberto nodded sagely.
“Was the chanting your idea as well?” asked Blake.
“No, that was Pitchfork’s. She’s lingering over there if you’d like to speak with her.”
Alyssa quickly stepped into the spotlight. “The Gryffs are always carrying on, being loud, chanting everyone’s name. I thought we should put the shoe on the other foot and see how they liked it.”
Tess chimed in. “And that was my little sister, leading the chants on the Hufflepuff side!”
“Well, it was brilliant,” said Blake. “It rattled them. Knocked them off their stride. Contributed to the loss, certainly.” Alyssa beamed with pride.
Vanessa, sitting next to Arnold on a divan, asked, “Is it true that Roycester called Wren a cheat?”
“If she did,” said Morwena, “that will be the end of their little romance. Wren is slow to forgive slights like that. I called him a thief once, and he didn’t speak to me for three years.”
“Yes,” said Vanessa. “Wren has a short fuse. If you push him too far, he’ll drop you like a rock.” All present remembered that Vanessa herself had pressed Liam too far, and he indeed dropped her like a rock.
A note fluttered into the common room and settled on Umberto’s lap. “It’s from Marrett,” he said. “The Hufflepuffs are nearly back to the castle. And Guishar is hanging on Wren’s arm.”
“We should go investigate this development,” said Morwena. Looking to Alyssa, she said, “I’ll talk to Lara. See what you can get out of the Took twins.” The Slytherins rose as one and went up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.
The hall was full of people. The Hufflepuffs were still singing, and their voices carried up the stairwell and echoed off the high stone walls. Morwena found Liam and Lara together, lingering by the stairs leading down to the Den. Lara was hanging on Liam’s arm.
Morwena offered Liam her hand. “Well done on your victory today. It was a marvelous performance.”
“Thanks,” said Liam.
“I heard there were some unsportsmanlike comments by the Lions’ players at the end of the game,” probed Morwena.
Liam shrugged and then nodded. Lara said, “We’re very proud of him for how he’s conducted himself.” She beamed up at Liam, and he smiled tenderly back at her.
“As you should be. Congratulations again.” Liam may have been reluctant to speak, but the look he shared with Lara told Morwena all she wanted to know. Roycester was never the girl you were going to take home, was she? You had fun with her, but now it’s over. Lara has quickly asserted herself and taken her rightful place at your side.
Alyssa questioned Belladonna while Meriko whispered into Ben’s ear. Freya, meanwhile, meandered through the crowd until she got close to Philip and Pauline. She knew Pauline would be on the lookout for spies like her, but Freya was second only to Q in being inconspicuous. She slipped behind Philip, keeping the tall boy between her and Pauline’s green eyes and listened.
They were speaking in French to one another. Freya concentrated and translated all that she heard.
Pauline’s voice was low and sultry. “You flew so well today! You deserve a special reward.”
Philip pulled her into a tight embrace. Freya strained to hear his words. “I’m so charged up right now,” he said. “If I go with you, you’ll need some protection.”
“Silly! It’s you that needs protection!”
Freya quickly backed away before she was caught eavesdropping. She mulled the word “protection” in her mind. Pauline is not in danger any longer, is she? No, they’re speaking in code as well as in French. Whatever it is, they want to keep it very much a secret. She looked back at them, still in a tight embrace, and the word clicked. Condoms. Protection from pregnancy. They’re planning to have sex tonight!
She watched as Philip broke the embrace and disappeared down the Hufflepuff stairwell. He’s gone to get them, she decided. Michael followed Philip down the stairs. Bendrix may be thinking the same thing I am. If I were him, I’d go and see just what my friend was up to.
In the Great Hall at dinner, as soon as all the Hufflepuffs were seated, Paul and Dave rose from the Gryffindor table and went over to Liam.
“I apologize for the harsh words of my teammate,” said Paul. “That was very unsportsmanlike of her.”
Liam nodded, and the two shook hands. Dave extended his hand as well. “You had a great game in front of the hoops today, Wren,” he said.
“Thanks.”
Paul moved down the table and shook hands with Philip, Stacy and Stephanie. To Belladonna, he said, “You have real spirit out there. It’s fun to play against you. I wish you were on our side.”
“The Lions can’t have all the good players,” said Bell, laughing.
Despite Paul and Dave’s cheerful tone, the rest of the Gryffindor table was glum. The Slytherins were elated, and gloated as if they had been the ones to hang the loss on Gryffindor. “We’re beating them in the rivalry game,” said Blake.
Rhiannon nodded, “The Took girl exposed them. If they don’t tighten up their defence during practice next week, we should be able to score some goals.”
“Their Seeker, Krauss, is in a slump,” added Blake. “This is the second game in a row that she failed to get the Snitch.” Looking to Umberto, he added, “Make it three in a row.”
Tess, meanwhile, was gazing at Liam and Lara. She didn’t see them kiss, but they were sitting quite close and were in deep conversation with one another. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two sit together,” said Tess. “They’re always on opposite sides of the table.”
“I saw a very tender look pass between them, earlier,” said Morwena.
“So, Liam’s girlfriends so far,” said Tess. “Sadie Thompson from Ravenclaw, Nessa here from Slytherin, Roycester of Gryffindor, and now Lara Guishar? That’s a girl from every House!”
“I think that was the plan from the beginning,” said Morwena.
As the two girls watched the Hufflepuff table, an owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped a letter beside Liam. A few minutes later, another one came, and then another still.
“What’s with the owls?” asked Michael.
“I dunno,” said Liam. He opened one letter and read it. “It’s a letter of congratulations. Some bloke named MacMillan.”
“Ernie MacMillan?” asked Philip. “He fought in the Battle of Hogwarts alongside Harry Potter.”
“More are coming,” said Lara. “You should read them aloud to everyone after dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Liam. He stood and called out to the table. “We’re getting letters of congratulations on our victory today. I’ll be in the Hearth room tonight reading them out loud to whoever wants to listen.” The table let out a cheer.
Philip said, “If you don’t mind, I have plans tonight. I want to hang out with Pauline.”
“You do what you need to do,” said Liam. “Take care of that girl.” The two boys shook hands.
Philip left the table shortly afterwards and went over to the Slytherin table, where he enjoyed many congratulations for the victory over Gryffindor. When he finally reached Pauline, she stood and took his hand. She said to her friends, “I’ll be back late.”
“We won’t wait up for you,” answered Morwena.
The two walked as casually as they could out of the Great Hall and up the stairs to the library. Pauline gazed up at Philip. “Are you nervous?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “I want it all to go perfectly.”
“Don’t put pressure on yourself,” she said. “I’ve been talking to some of the Seventh Year girls, and the girls who recently graduated, like Anita Soulspring. They’ve been giving me tips and advice. The first time is never perfect. It’s always awkward. It can be painful for the girl. But it doesn’t have to be awful. It can still be sweet.”
“I’ll play to my strength, then,” said Philip.
“Yes. You’ve got sweet down pat. Let’s take our time and go slow. We have all night.”
“Well, I should get you home by midnight.”
Pauline laughed. “You don’t want me turning into a pumpkin on you!”
By the time Liam led the Hufflepuffs down to the common room, he had a large stack of letters. Meadows walked with them. “You don’t mind that I tag along, do you?” she asked Liam.
“Of course not!” he said. “You’re our Head of House! You’re welcome to be here and bask in our triumph.”
More letters awaited them at the Den. Liam sat down in a chair, while others sat around him. Aylie and Rainey were right at his feet, sitting cross-legged on the rug with the other First and Second Years. Liam picked a letter off the stack, opened the envelope, and began to read aloud each message.
There were messages from previous captains Jen Ward and Marty Remington, former prefect Mary Leary and longtime Seeker Carol Kilgress. Liam picked up the next letter and said, “Hey Mike, this one’s from Archie Stollencroft.”
“That’s my cousin!” said Michael. “Let me read this one.” Liam handed over the letter, and Michael read it aloud. “Good job today, Wren, leading your club to victory. Knew you were a good ‘un, first time I clapped eyes on you.”
“This next one’s addressed to me and Hark,” said Liam, “but since he’s not here, I’ll read it for both of us.”
“Where is Hark by the way?” asked Fortney.
“He’s with Pauline,” answered Stacy.
Michael, with a mischievous grin, added, “I personally saw him take a couple rubbers with him.”
A scandalized “Oooooo!” rose out from the younger students. Everyone looked nervously at Meadows, sitting in one of the chairs nearby. “It sounds like he’s being very responsible,” she said, to many giggles.
“Why’d he bring two of them, I wonder,” mused Fortney.
“Do we have to spell it out for you, Fortney?” snapped Stephanie. “He might need two!”
More nervous laughter followed, louder this time. “Alright, settle down,” said Liam. “I’ve got a few more of these to read.”
“Who’s that one from?” asked Lara.
Liam gazed at the bottom of the letter. “Amos Diggory.”
Mention of the name Diggory silenced the group the rest of the way. “Cedric’s father?” asked Meadows.
Liam scanned the letter. “Yes.”
“Read it, please!” said Lara.
“Dear Messers Harkenborough and Wren. Superb effort today. A magnificent display of flying from the entire Badger seven, but especially by the Seeker, Harkenborough, who’s capture of the Snitch was right above my head, and the Keeper, Wren, who I understand is the team captain. Few can claim a clean sheet against Gryffindor! First time the Badgers have hung a loss on the Lions since my own son Cedric did it so many years ago. All the Hufflepuffs throughout the land are beaming with pride tonight. Yours truly, Amos Diggory.”
“What a sweet letter!” said Meadows. “You ought to frame it and hang it in the hall.”
“I can manage that,” said Stacy. She took the letter from Liam, and with a few waves of her wand, had it set in a black wood frame. She hung it on the wall next to Cedric’s plaque.
The last letter addressed to the Hufflepuff team as a whole “A superb display of flying today from Seeker Harkenborough, some very creative goal scoring from the Badger Chasers, and a fine effort in front of the hoops by Captain Wren. Congratulations to all of you on a well-deserved win. Yours truly, Harry Potter.”
“That about makes up for it, doesn’t it?” said Michael.
“Just about,” said Liam.
Liam and his friends stayed by the fire and talked late into the evening. By eleven, all had gone to bed except for Liam and Lara, who were determined to wait up for Philip. They sat on a sofa together. Lara turned to face Liam. “How are you feeling about Gillian right now?”
“I’m still really angry about it,” said Liam. “It was a hard-fought game, but it was a fair game. We didn’t commit any hard fouls. And I only had the advantage over them for the first few throws. After that, I was on my own again, reading broomstick tips and body language. I had to make every save.”
“If she apologizes tomorrow, do you take her back?”
Liam sat a moment and gazed into the fire before answering. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, this isn’t our first fight this spring. It’s just the worst one. And, the night that Pauline was attacked, that really changed things for me.”
“Do you think the Gryffindors should have helped that night?”
“No. They would have made it worse. The Slytherins were amped up and ready for a fight. If some Gryffs had been there, we would have had another big brawl. I was thinking of something else. Something that happened between me and Morwena after it was all said and done.”
He described his moment on the stairs with Morwena. “I told her afterwards, I was just helping out a friend in need, that we didn’t need to change the course of our lives or anything. But it changed me. I realized I hadn’t felt for Gillian ever what I felt for Wennie at that moment. It was deeper and … I don’t know. I don’t have the words for it.”
“I think I understand,” said Lara. “And she told me about it too, by the way, the whole thing just as you described it. It moved her very deeply, having your support at that moment when she was feeling so lost and vulnerable.”
“It’s not that I didn’t have any fun with Jill. I had a blast with her. I want someone to have fun with and have those deep feelings for, too.”
Lara gazed at him steadily before asking, “Do you think that person might be me?”
“I was hoping from the minute I first laid eyes on you that you’d be the one.”
She blushed and looked away. “When I was eleven, right before the start of school, I had a dream about you. You were as you are now, the captain, the leader of the house. And I was so proud of you and honoured that you wanted me to be your girlfriend and your future wife.
“And then, I met you, and you were eleven just like me. And I wondered, do I have to marry this boy? I tried everything I could to keep my distance from you, to prove to you that I wasn’t interested. And then, the spider came and you saved me, and I knew I couldn’t escape my fate.
“But you will be my first boyfriend. My dance with Benedict doesn’t count. You’ll be starting from scratch with me. I need you to go back to how you were with Sadie. That’s where I’m at. I need you to bring me along slowly, from Sadie to Vanessa to Gillian. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does. Though, if we’re making a count of my former girlfriends, you should include Elena Morrow, too. She was my first, really. Sadie was my pal and study partner before she was my girlfriend. Elena was the first girl I really loved.”
“Your little black cat? I know about her, too. I wasn’t sure if we were counting her or not. Why don’t you tell me a little more about her?”
So, Liam told Lara the whole story about the little black cat who turned out to be a lost Muggle girl named Elena. He was just finishing the story when Philip came into the common room.
“There you are,” said Liam. “If you’d stayed out any later, I would have had to organize a search party.”
“I didn’t need a troop of Hufflepuffs to rescue me, this time,” said Philip. “I managed to get Pauline safely to her common room door tonight.”
“Very well,” said Liam.
Lara rose and gave Philip a hug. “I’m so happy for you and Pauline. Is she healing? Is her dark mood gone now?”
“It’s fewer and farther between,” said Philip.
“That’s good to hear. Good night, boys. Liam, we can continue our conversation later.”
Liam and Philip walked down to their dorm room. Liam said, “Mike spotted you grabbing a couple condoms before you left.”
“I thought all the best spies were in Slytherin,” said Philip.
“Oh, a Slytherin spy would’ve kept that secret for a more opportune time.”
“True enough.”
“Question, though: Did you use them both?”
Philip grinned and blushed. “Indeed, I did.”
“Attaboy,” said Liam.