Wicked Ways

Chapter 16 – Flight Back Home


Avari headed down to the dining hall the morning before everyone was set to leave Hogwarts for the holiday season. The hallways were filled the usual chatter, which was only heightened by the fact that everyone was looking forward to time off from classes. Her eyes scanned the hall until she found her sister, who was flitting around from table to table, talking to everyone she wouldn’t see over the holidays. Figures. She was always the little social butterfly.

“Tuardae,” she said slyly, skipping over next to her and pulling the brown-haired elf away from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. “I need to talk to you.”

Tuardae waved to the Quidditch team and promised to answer their questions later. “What is it?” she asked, her attention fully on her sister.

“I’ve decided who I’m taking back to America,” Avari mumbled, looking around the dining hall. Half of the Slytherin house wasn’t up yet. Lazy morons. Of course, Blaize was up, and casting her happy little glances. Ugh. She’d have to do something about him sooner or later.

Tuardae’s thin eyebrows shot up and her eyes sparkled. “Who is it?” she hissed, glancing over the faces at the Slytherin table.

“Malfoy.”

Her sister’s face screwed up. “Oh we’re so not going to have fun going home,” she responded, crossing her arms and looking down at their feet.

Avari cast her glance down as well and sighed. “I know. Maybe we can get them to get along?”

“For a whole week and a half?” Tuardae whined. “They’d more than likely kill each other!”

Avari rolled her eyes.

Her mind reeled as she thought of a way to pull this off. Malfoy and Potter were enemies to the core. They tried to jinx each other in the hallway at least once a week if not more. All right, so it was Malfoy who did most of the jinxing, but the brat Potter still got in a good one or two when he wasn’t stunned or under the eye of Snape.

Tuardae was talking, so she turned her attention back to her sister.

“What if we just go home the Muggle way?” she asked. “We were planning on it anyway, but if we tell dad to cancel the limo to and from the airports then maybe they can lay off of each other for a while. When they’re surrounded by Muggles the entire way home they can’t exactly do much, now can they?”

Avari raised her eyebrows. “Oh dear Lord, Tuardae,” she said, shocked.

“What?”

“That might actually work!”

Tuardae snorted, putting her hands on her hips. “And why wouldn’t it?”

“Because you’re an airhead half the time,” Avari said flatly.

Tuardae rolled her eyes. “Not all the time Avari. Remember I got you out of half of those little scandals back at Fernlin.” Avari rolled her eyes and walked off haughtily to the Slytherin table, settling down next to Blaize with a gleam in her eyes.

Tuardae shook her head. She hated that gleam. It meant that she was going to break up with him the hard way. Like always, she wondered if Avari was even going to tell Blaize who she was breaking up with him for. The girls weren’t really flaunting their plane tickets back home, and Malfoy would be quiet about it. He was quiet about everything the little snake. Harry wasn’t going to tell anyone because he was being awfully shy about his feelings for Tuardae. Which she, personally, thought was cute.

“Oh, hey Cho,” she said, turning around and almost running into the Ravenclaw Seeker.

“Hey,” she said back, looking a little flustered. “I have a question to ask you.”

“What is it?” piqued Tuardae cheerfully. Cho always made her a little nervous, being Harry’s ex.

“Are you and Harry … a thing?”

Tuardae wrinkled her nose. This was the question she’d been fearing since she and Harry had been getting closer and closer. “I don’t think so,” was all she said, since she wasn’t entirely sure herself. Spotting Hermione she made an excuse about needing notes for a Potions class.

Sitting down next to Hermione she made a loud comment about Potions homework until Cho was done scowling and walked to the other end of the Ravenclaw table. With a sigh she pushed her hair behind her ear. Harry suddenly sat down next to her, his hair looking wild as it always did, but it seemed to be amplified by the fact that he’d just woken up and not combed it.

“So when do we leave tomorrow?” he asked quietly.

She smiled and looked around. Everyone was engrossed in something else, even Hermione had started to ignore the pair and went back to look at the paper that was spread out on the table in front of her. Since her fifth year she’d never really gotten over not having the paper to read every morning. She was entirely too grown up for her own good. Parvati should at least do something to control that.

“Early. We need to catch a cab, then head to the airport from there. We fly over to America and stay in a hotel for a night,” she said.

“A hotel?” Harry asked, resting a hand on her leg, with a slight frown.

“Yes,” she said simply. “Daddy doesn’t like us to travel that whole distance in one day. It’s quiete exhaustive.”

“Oh.”

“And then we travel to Fernlin.”

“Fernlin? I thought we were going to your home.”

“We are, but it’s slight ways away from the school and Daddy wants us to see all of our old friends and the like,” she said with a smile. “Now, I’ve got to go pack. I’ll see you later Harry.”

“Right, later,” he said as he watched her get up and go.

Tuardae walked out of the hallway and past Avari, who was getting up as well to follow her sister. Blaize was looking heartbroken. Big surprise. The two walked down the hallway, chatting quietly for a short period of time. Then they started talking in quiet voices about their plans to get Harry and Draco to get along. Maybe, Avari thought, even more than that.

That’s gross Avari.

Stop reading my thoughts!

You think too loudly.

Shut up. It’s a good idea.

Whatever.

It’ll happen.

No it won’t.

Betcha it will.

… how much?

Hmmm. 50 Galleons?

That’s a bit steep.

Wussin’ out on me?

Never. You’re on.

Hahaha. Deal.

It’ll only happen once.

Maybe twice.

You’re so dreamin’ Avari.

I know. But they’re such wonderful dreams.