Chapter Text
"Is this everything, Nellie?"
"That should be the last one!"
MC hoisted the final bag of many over her shoulder, and the weight nearly sent her back to the floor. "For Merlin's sake, how much stuff do you need? It's only for a weekend!"
Nellie Oggspire handled the remaining luggage which was embellished with her initials. The other seventh-year Gryffindor girls were waiting by the door to their dorm as the early morning sunlight snuck its way into the room. The way it began highlighting the dust particles that got kicked up by Nellie's bags almost looked like snow. Cressida Blume adjusted her hold on her own bag by the door.
"You always do this, Nellie. Every year it's the same with you."
Natsai Onai chimed in with a yawn. "Must you really bring your whole wardrobe with you every time?"
Nellie tucked some hair behind her ear as she looked away from her housemates. "Just because we're camping out doesn't mean I can't look fashionable."
MC grunted and blew a stray hair out of her face. "It's only three days, Nellie!"
"Three days of obstacle courses!" Natty exclaimed.
"Three days of having our courage tested with magical survival training!" Cressida added with her own enthusiasm.
Nellie gave a smug chuckle, reminding them just how above it all she is. "Three days I'll be looking fabulous while you girls will be sporting rugged clothes and dirty hair."
Following a well-timed eye roll, Natty and Cressida looked at each other. "Come on, they're gathering in the common room."
Nellie turned her head slightly to the side as MC walked behind her. "What about you, MC? What are you most looking forward to at this year's Braveheart Retreat?"
"Actually, I was permitted an excused absence by Professor Weasley this year."
All three Gryffindor girls halted in their tracks and turned to face MC directly. They all spoke at once:
"What?!"
"How?!"
"Why?!"
MC put the hand not occupied by the bag up in defense. "Easy there! I'm falling rather far behind in Binns' class. His upcoming midterm is going to kick my arse if I don't get some prep in. I made my case and Professor Weasley agreed. Besides, I didn't have that much fun the last couple of years."
"But," Natty's lower lip quivered with anguish. "It's our final year..."
"Yeah, MC," Cressida put an arm around Natty in comfort. "Couldn't you have stuck it out one more time before we all graduate?"
MC gave a sympathetic look. "Sorry, girls. I really need to pass Binns' class and this midterm will make or break me. Besides, you've done the retreat four times without me already before I even came to Hogwarts!"
"I must admit," Nellie said. "It wasn't nearly as fun without you back then. Once you got here, I learned how to make a perfect damper! But I can't say I blame you. The retreat was never my cup of tea either. I'm actually a little jealous you'll get to have the common room all to yourself for a whole weekend! You'll get to take advantage of the quiet. Lucky bitch!"
MC laughed before looking back to the heartbroken faces of Cressida and Natty. "I'm really sorry, girls. But I'll be here when you get back! I'll hold down the fort." MC gave a sloppy salute.
Lucan Brattleby's voice rang out through the rafters. "Gather 'round, everyone! It's time to hitch our wagons for this year's Braveheart Retreat!"
The girls made it to the ground floor of the common room, surrounding themselves with a sea of students who were either giddy with excitement or fighting to return to sleep. "Must we always depart so early in the morning?" Eric Northcott yawned.
Garreth Weasley passed by him, practically bouncing on his heels. He was always such a morning person, much to everyone's chagrin. "Only leaves more time for duelling practice, Northcott! Let's just be thankful they also give students the entire Friday off for Godric Day. It lets us get started on the adventure sooner!"
Eric scowled as everyone began exiting out of the common room entrance. The Fat Lady portrait could be heard as the pride of lions retreated from their den. "Farewell, my dears! Oh, do have a splendid time, would you? I will miss you all dearly!"
Lucan, who had positioned himself next to the portrait and was counting heads as they departed, looked over at her. "We will be back Sunday afternoon, ma'am. No time at all!"
"Precisely!" she whimpered. "It is Friday morning, Master Brattleby. That's just over two days without my lovely lions."
As the last student filed out, MC poked her head out of the entrance. "I'll be here, ma'am!"
The portrait rolled her eyes. "Splendid," she said sarcastically. "Just one of you to fill my cup. Wonderful."
MC scoffed with a smile before waving to the girls one final time and retreating back into the common room. She sped up to her dorm to grab her book on alchemy in Medieval Europe and meandered down to the couches by the fireplace. She grabbed an apple from a nearby fruit bowl and tossed it in her hand before sitting on the couch.
Holding the apple with her teeth, she tied her hair up in her favorite bun style. Once she opened her textbook, she skimmed the pages to find where she last left off and began chewing her breakfast, but she paused when she felt the rising sunlight's warmth hit the back of her neck. She looked up from the book and out the common room windows as the day was making its grand entrance. In her opinion, the natural light seen in the Gryffindor common room was better than everywhere else in the castle and, despite being woken up early to see her friends off for the retreat, she enjoyed the idea of being able to spend the entire day in its glow instead of sleeping in like she was originally planning.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she leaned her head back and relished in the silence that was rare here. On a typical day, it was flush with activity. Not necessarily chaos, but it was never quiet like she suspected the other common rooms to be. Cressida could often be heard chastising Nellie, telling her to come down from climbing the wall tapestries; the same group of third-years was always practicing their duelling, often with detrimental results; and where would any of them be without the disastrous effects of Garreth's "concoctions"? Yes, quiet was a scarce thing in—
"Hey, there!"
MC nearly fell into the fireplace from how hard she jumped at the sudden voice coming from right next to her. "AH! What the—?"
With an annoyed expression, she looked to her side and found none other than Leander Prewett standing behind the couch she was sitting on. He was leaning over, resting his crossed arms on the back of the couch as he looked at her. "Whatcha doin'?
"Fuck's sake, Leander!" She held a hand to her heaving chest as she panted. "You scared me half to death!"
He merely shrugged like he didn't notice the fright he just gave her. "Thought you were braver than that," he said nonchalantly.
She squinted her eyes at him, already annoyed by his presence. "I thought I was completely alone. Why aren't you on the retreat?"
He sucked his teeth. "Didn't have the marks this year. 'Academic probation', they call it," he gestured with finger quotes.
MC looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed brows, shocked as he spoke so carelessly about his failing grades. He was always so casual, almost too casual. She couldn't help but wonder if that's why everyone always seemed to despise him.
But he also had a bravado that she could definitely see as obnoxious to some. His excessive house pride was a sore spot for their classmates, even for his fellow Gryffindors at times. From the moment she met him in Herbology in fifth year, she could tell that his constant air of confidence left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. When she recalled how Sebastian nearly killed him in their pre-class duel in Defence Against the Dark Arts that year, she put the pieces together and realized he was probably far more confident than his skills could carry him. People's distaste for him wasn't entirely unfounded.
"What about you? Why are you here?" He asked as he stole her apple, taking a large bite out of it.
Yes, their annoyance with him made perfect sense.
Especially now.
MC snapped her book shut and eyed him chewing. "I'm getting a head start on Binns' upcoming midterm."
He tilted his head at her like a curious crup pup. "Don't be afraid to just say you're failing," he muffled around his bites. "Of all people, I'll understand."
She scoffed. "I'm not failing, Leander." She looked back to the book in her lap and traced the embellished cover with a troubled finger. "But I will admit, I'm nearly there. Just how does anyone expect a student to be passionate about History of Magic when there's a grumbling dead man teaching it? How can we expect an inspired mind to come forward and teach the next generation?"
Leander gave a light chuckle that had a touch of sweetness and MC couldn't help but notice. Then again, this basic conversation was the longest they'd ever gone alone in each other's company. "You said it yourself, MC. He's a ghost; there's no replacing him. At least, not in our lifetime. Or the one after that. Or the one after that..."
MC gave a laugh of her own in response as she continued her mindless tracing of the cover, reflecting on the terrifying truth of his words. After a moment of silence, Leander took the invisible hint, pushed himself off the couch, and headed toward the door. "Alright. I'm off to get some breakfast. Try to loosen up this weekend, eh? Find a way to relax."
She looked up just in time to catch the discarded apple core he'd tossed her with a casual underhand. Before she could fire back, the entrance sealed shut behind him. Scowling, she hurled the core into the fireplace and grabbed a fresh apple, taking an exaggerated first bite purely out of spite. Her blood simmered at the realization that the common room wouldn't be nearly as empty as she'd hoped.
It was going to be a long weekend.