All Hail Queen Regina
After the weird encounter with dementors and patronuses, Lilith have refused to talk about it and disclosed it with personal matters. Her friends stopped bugging her about it as they realized it might be because of her life outside Hogwarts.
Their classes and schedules were ever so packed, they all barely see each other; Lilith and George attended classes together, Cole would only see Lilith when they studied together and George spent her breaks with her boyfriend—she hardly studied, Moon would only see Lilith when they have detention.
Tonight after spending four hours emptying that crusty big coffin in the ROR, they stole food from the kitchens with Moon’s invisibility cloak. But they were far too tall to not get seen from the fabric, naturally, they had to duck and keep close to the walls.
On the way to the kitchen, on the second floor library, they were met by Cole kissing Hera everywhere. Moon and Lilith struggled not to make a sound while they laugh and gag.
“I didn’t really think that Cole could snog. But wow he ate her face.” Lilith said as they passed them and crept towards Moon’s hidden passage behind a frame of Ratitous Winsdor—a noble warrior (or so he claimed to be). Moon snorted.
Lilith brought out her charmed bag that could contain any amount of things and scooped rations of pecan pie and bottled apple juice along with Moon’s favorite shepherd’s pie and scotch egg. They cautiously walked back to the common room when they spotted a fleeting hamster.
“It’s not a hamster!” Moon whispered loudly—almost shouting. “It’s a porcupine!”
“Doesn’t look like one.” She savagely replied with her usual voice, without whispering like a fool that he is.
“Get glasses, bloody hell.” He glared at her. “I reckon that’s Hera’s pet. We saw them kiss a few meters from here.”
“Do we get it?” She wasn’t asking of course. He already knew she’d help the creature.
“Er. . .yes. Put it in your bag, I’ll cover you.” He said.
She scooped the small porcupine gingerly while Moon tried to shield them with the Invisibility Cloak. Then they heard stammering from the end of the hallway.
“Shit. It’s Peeves.” Sure enough, Peeves came barreling towards their direction screeching and babbling like a broken record player. Moon and Lilith stuck to the wall and held their breaths. But there was a chirping sound that resonated towards the hall that made Peeves stop dead on his tracks.
“Who is it? I can here you. You can’t scare me, I’m already dead!”
Still the chirping sounds didn’t stop even as Lilith tried to comfort the little animal. Moon looked at her as if asking, “How is it making a sound? It’s a porcupine!” Lilith looked at him like, “How would I know, this isn’t my pet!” Moon implied, “Then why did you have to pick it up? Put it down or we’ll never get away!” But Lilith glared at him with murderous intent. “Peeves might hurt it!”
They both knew Peeves would eventually find them if they didn’t think of something. Lilith furiously calmed down the little creature and Moon pressed his body towards her until they think Peeves was gone. The little porcupine had stopped making noises and Peeves seized looking for the sound. However, the Peeves they knew would not just let a sneaking student alone without getting it into trouble. So both of them waited with their bodies pressed together with the small bag and the porcupine as their boundary. Lilith had her eyes closed, thinking maybe if she did—she would not be seen. Moon had his hands planted to the sides or her head to hold down the Invisibility Cloak and his eyes planted on her forehead as opposed to her face just so he wouldn’t be embarrassed of being too close to her.
After a while, maybe half an hour—just enough that Peeves would be bored to linger in the place, Lilith opened her eyes and exhaled indicating that she might think it was safe to start walking now. Moon caught up with her and dropped his arms to his sides limply, he thought they died. They held on for a long minute. He just gazed upon her hands holding the porcupine and feeling for her rising and falling breath. Lilith could tell he was tense; she didn’t like their situation either. Their breaths huddled under the cloak and there weren’t any other noises around them except their breaths. Then they left.
She was telling him about pretending to sleep while Cole snuck to their dormitories while both of them gobbled away. “So what was the name?”
“Regina.”
“As in Elizabeth Regina Winsdor—Queen Elizabeth?”
“Right. Yes.”
“Beautiful name.” He said and she beamed. “Especially for Gryffindor’s favorite Chaser.”
Lilith gasped. “Wouldn’t she want people shouting her name on the last match?”
“Let me see,” he said thoughtfully, “You’re proposing to give all the attention to George—I mean Regina who loved being in the spotlight?”
She cocked her eyebrow up, “She deserves every bit of attention. She’s the best player in Gryffindor, if not in Hogwarts.”
“Don’t be mistaken, I have no doubt about that.” He waved her off, once again excited, “We should have banners distributed as well as party hats, don’t you think?”
“Gather ‘round.” Team Cap spoke, pushing Moon roughly out the changing tent of Gryffindor who cursed her loudly, got heard by Professor Porta and gotten a deduction to Slytherin. “I have no pep talk to give,” she paused with a hand in her mouth to suppress her laugh at Moon’s desperate wailing for Maddie to take it back. “But this is the last game and I will strangle all of you if we don’t win. I will do my best and I know Magnus will. I know Carlo would as well. This is their last year and we have to win it for them!” Gryffindor’s determination rose, all of them cheered.
“And if we lose what comes next?”
“OUR FUNERALS!” They heard Johnny from Hufflepuff introduce the Slytherin team outside, Team Cap knew that it was time to go.
“GOOD THING YOU KNOW, NOW LET’S EARN THAT SILVER HOUSE CUP TROPHY!”
“YES TEAM CAP!”
The whole faculty was present, so are the other house players of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seated next to the raised platform of Johnny’s commentary box—they all had one thing in common: their emotions. Their face melded together, all depicting excitement, fear, and agitation. But most important of all, the moment Team Cap left the tent, they all wore their party hats in Gryffindor orange and shouted, “All Hail Queen Regina!”
The teacher’s followed suit, as well as the rest of the students in the stands. “All Hail Queen Regina,” they cheered.
“INTRODUCING THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM WITH TEAM CAP REGINA!” Johnny’s voice boomed. “And Lilith, my girlfriend.” He added nonchalantly. “ALL HAIL QUEEN REGINA!!”
Team Cap looked at everyone, so very close to crying but there was a House Cup to win and people to thank after. They all mounted their brooms, Lilith’s manic look was back. Moon saluted Regina. The game started.
And the game finished. And the game was played as well as before.
“GRYFFINDOR HOUSE EARNS THE RIGHT TO BE CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS IN TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT!!”
Slytherin shook hands with them rather bitterly but the crowd was wild and mental. Regina waved at them all with Carlo and Magnus like the champions they are.
“ALL HAIL QUEEN REGINA!” The whole Quidditch pitch chanted repeatedly.
“Johhny Pleamore huh?” Moon snorted his food on his plate.
“Yes. We’re seeing each other. But I’m well aware that you’re not supposed to eat here, Mr. Lovegood.” Lilith rolled her eyes.
“But Cole is here.” He whined.
“Nicholas please. Get back to Ravenclaw table.”
He turned his ashy blond head to her with pain in his eyes.
“Get your asses back in your Houses!” She banged the table so hard that the plates rattled and caught the attention of the faculty and other students. She looked up from her hard-boiled egg slices feeling embarrassed of her outrage. It seems like she always attracted silence when she caught the attention of others.
“Sorry.”
“No. It’s quite alright.” Trelawney have gotten up. “I think I should start my speech now. Thank you for the silence Miss Malfoy.” She looked at her with amusement. “I suppose Mister Lovegood and Mister McCornell could stay in the Gryffindor table if they liked. Actually, I give everyone freedom to sit wherever they liked in feasts—I guess we have to have our own kind in inclusivity in Hogwarts,” she gave Regina a knowing look. “Don’t you all think so?”
Many people nodded and said, “All hail Queen Regina!” Which made her blush uncontrollably to which Trelawney pleasantly chuckled to.
“Congratulations to Gryffindor for winning the first seat in the House Cup. But I daresay, I was rooting for Slytherin. I am a Slytherin alumni after all. But never mind that, Gryffindor worked loads for their seating and we must give the credit where credit is due.” She paused to meet the eyes of the Gryffindor team, she smiled for the seventh years that would soon graduate and pass their batons of making trouble to the next generation. “I would also like to say that I have been preparing for an announcement for the Triwizard Tournament but I believe you have heard everything from Mister Pleamore.” She eyed him carefully.
“But then again he did not say everything at all. As you all know already, Gryffindor secured the first House that would be eligible to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw would also determine the next house, that is to say that the House Cup will go on as it usually does and whoever wins between the said houses will be pitted against Gryffindor and whoever wins that match will win the House Cup Trophy and then so on.
I would dare to add that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will not be coming to Hogwarts.” People’s chatter grew louder, drowning Headmistress Trelawney’s small and firm voice but holding her hand up was enough distress call to be stay silent once again. “Instead, Hogwarts and Beauxbatons are both coming to Durmstrang Institute for the Triwizard Tournament. So prepare for the harshest winters and bundle up. And let us all hope we don’t have an evil impostor professor that would sabotage such a fun year for us, shall we?”
The students laughed, applauded and cheered, all excited and invigorated.