Beware The Billowy Cape of Doom

BEWARE THE BILLOWY CAPE OF DOOM- Chapter 4- The Mirror

Krystall has settled back into life at Hogwarts after her upset over leaving her aunt and uncle, and finding out that one of her friends had a secret, and had no plans to tell her anytime soon. So she made up her mind to confront him about it. But she didn’t have a chance until the Gryffindor verses Hufflepuff Quidditch game that took place a fortnight after the Christmas holidays. Luckily for the population of the school, it was a new moon.
“Oi, Lupin! I need a word with you!”
“Hi Krystall. What you after?”
“A word in private,” Krystall huffed.
“OK,” Remus said nervously. Together they walked away from the match and towards the forest and Hagrid’s Hut. What was on Krystall’s mind was more important than the match in progress. Once they were a safe distance from everyone else, Krystall turned on Remus and started to vent her every building anger.
“How could you not tell me about you being a werewolf?”
“How do you know? Who told?,” Remus asked, hoping to God that she wasn’t told by the Maurader’s arch enemy, Severus Snape.
“I managed to work it out by myself, but did have my suspicions authenticated by the one and only Severus Snape,” she explained.
“Oh great! My worst fears have finally come true,” Remus mused, more to his-self then directing it to Krystall.
“Are you going to say anything? Or am I going to just walk off now and never speak to you ever again?”
Remus said nothing and then suddenly reached out to Krystall as she turned to leave. As he reached out to her, he rummaged in his coat pocket for a carefully wrapped package.
“Krystall.... I was going to give you this at your aunt and uncle’s for Christmas, but because of my condition, I had missed out on giving it to you,” he stammered, handing it over. Krystall was astonished at the fact that he was handing over a present... for her!
“Is it really for me?,” she squealed as she ripped off the paper, carefully opening the box that had lain beneath the paper. In the box was a quite handsome necklace, with a pendant in the shape of a feather, in bright silver hanging from it.
“Oh Remus!! Thank you!! But I didn’t get you anything at all!,” Krystall tried to explain, but Remus held up his hand and shook his head.
“I only got it as a thank you mainly- for inviting me to your aunt and uncle’s for Christmas.” There was a long silence.
“Still friends?,” Remus asked tentively.
Krystall linked her arm through his and gently led him back towards the pitch, which was now emptying quite fast. Streams of yellow and red were all heading back to the castle, the reds more rowdy than the yellows.
“Looks like the Gryffs won,” Krystall said to Remus, smiling.
Severus had noticed that during the match that Krystall and Remus had disappeared and were now walking from the forest, linked arm in arm.
‘Oh just my luck! Werewolf boy gets the girl- how ironic!,’ thought Severus.
He slowed his pace so that he could walk behind the couple, silently brooding over his loss.
In the next Potions lesson, Severus was extremely quiet and wouldn’t tell Krystall why.
“Oh shut up and go sit with your boyfriend,” he hissed, which left Krystall feeling very affronted and upset at the fact Severus had jumped to the wrong conclusion with her and Remus.
“Remus is NOT my boyfriend,” Krystall hissed back, careful not to raise her voice so that it would sound like an argument and nothing more than a discussion about the work taking place in the class. At the end of the class, the pair were called back by Professor Slughorn.
“Oh great! Now we’re in trouble,” whispered Krystall to Severus as they walked towards the Professor’s desk. Severus just shrugged.
“Well my dears. It seems to me that you two are my best students and in different houses too! Well, it appears to me that this situation must be...”
Krystall and Severus held their breaths.
“....applauded!,” finished the Professor. Krystall and Severus looked at each other, pleased that their quarrel hadn’t been overheard.
They left the room, both of them practically skipping as they had also been rewarded with 50 points for their own houses.
“Were you telling me the truth in class Krystall?,” Severus asked as they made their way to Transfiguration.
“I would never lie to you Severus,” Krystall replied, smiling at the fact Severus might not have believed her and wanted his suspicions confirmed.
They entered the classroom to find Sirius making a fool of his-self- as usual- with much glee to the little fan club that had gathered around the Marauders. In that group was Lily Evans, Severus’ other female friend, looking quite cosy with James Potter.
“I’ll be right back,” whispered Krystall, before heading over to the group.
She was welcomed with open arms and such glee and cheer, which made Severus scowl and turn his back to go find a seat as far away from the now growing crowd and hide his head into a book. The lesson soon passed without much trouble as Professor McGonagall took no prisoners as to the behaviour of her students. Severus had sat by his-self for most of the lesson, all apart from when they had to pair up and turn each other in to animals and back again. Unfortunately for Severus he had been paired with Remus and this caused even more tension between the two enemies.
The lesson soon ended and Severus was soon stalking out of the room towards the Great Hall for dinner. Severus threw his bag down next to his seat and soon engaged his-self into eating and ignoring the rest of the school population.
“Bad day Snape?,” droned the voice of the younger brother of Sirius Black, Regulus. He was a whole two years younger than Severus and his brother.
“Keep your nose out of my business Black. You’re worse than your prat of a brother,” Severus snapped.
“Fine, I’ll leave you to your brooding then.”
And with that Regulus walked off and joined his friends from his own year further down the table. From where Severus was sitting he could see Krystall laughing with her Ravenclaw friends and the laughter soon was stopped when an owl rushed down and deposited a large package into Krystall’s lap. It was a thick manila envelope which Krystall was soon tearing into to see what was inside it.
Krystall’s face glowed when she reached into the envelope and pulled out rather thick, leather bound score of the musical that was the years biggest hit.
This surprised Krystall once more, as it did when she received the news of the tickets, but to be holding a copy of the score to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, that was signed by the author himself Andrew Lloyd Webber. This was such a treasure that Krystall wanted to keep it to herself, but it was soon prised out of her clutched hands by Professor Flitwick, who let out a squeal of delight and toppled over giggling.
“Oh my dear! By Merlin’s Beard, just how were you able to get hold of this exquisite piece of playwork Miss Calvet-Blott?”
“I’ve only just received it Professor. I attended the opening night of this play during the Christmas holidays. Oh Professor, it was spectacular!,” mused Krystall, flushing with excitement.
“Could I borrow this enchanting score foe a while? This score has given me an idea,” mused the Professor as he walked of with the leather bound score, it dwarfing him as he waddled away.
Soon rumours were passing round the entire school about the possible auditions to the musical play ‘The Phantom of the Opera’. It didn’t take long for the rumours to come true, when a notice was posted on the Common Room boards, advertising the fact that there would be auditions held the following weekend in the Charms classroom for the parts of the principal characters. In the Ravenclaw Common Room, Kiki was practically jumping up and down in front of the board, gleefully waiting for her friend to sign her name on the sheet. But Krystall was nowhere to be found in the Common Room or in any of her usual haunts.
In fact she was cloistered away in an unused classroom, singing her heart out, singing the lyrics of ’Think of Me’ from the opera. Soon her voice could be heard throughout the school and it soon drew the tiny Professor Flitwick to just outside the room, knowing he had found his Christine, no matter who owned that voice behind the door. He soon found out it was one of his own Ravenclaws who was the owner of the voice of Christine.
“Bravo, my dear! Bravo!,” the Professor cheered as Krystall stepped out of the classroom, expecting the corridor to be empty.
“Oh Professor....,” Krystall stammered looking down at the tiny professor.
“My dear child, you’re the embodiment of Christine Daea!! Not only the looks, but the voice to match. Oh yes my dear, you are my Christine! There will be no need to audition the part now!,” the very chirpy professor said as he trotted of back down the corridor, leaving Krystall standing in the now once again empty corridor, bemused at what had just happened. She raced back to her Common Room to find her entire house erupt into shouts of excitement and glee. Kiki pulled her through the doorway and was soon pointing out banners that all proclaimed ’Krystall = Christine. Well Duh!!’ She laughed out loud and soon had many hands patting her on the back in congratulations.
The news that the role of Christine had been filled was soon running wild through the school, which upset the majority of the older female population as the years 5 to 7 were the ones able to audition for the parts, and many of them had set they hearts on the role. The rest of the auditions went ahead without much problems, except that the role of The Phantom had not yet been filled, as no one had auditioned for it.
“The results of the auditions will be posted on your Common Room boards within the week, my dears,” squeaked Professor Flitwick as the hoards of auditionees were leaving the classroom, relieved to be out of the stuffy room and away from the embarrassment of singing in front of their fellow students.
Another casting day was held later in the day to audition for the extras and the dancing cast, which comprised of a range of students from all years, although many were just glad to be apart of the production and have only the smallest of parts to complete.
“My dear, the musical can not go on without the role of The Phantom filled. There’s no point of doing this if the main role remains empty,” Professor Flitwick said worriedly after a very demanding Charms lesson. Krystall’s eyes wandered over to the now empty seat that had held the body of Severus Snape.
“Professor, I think I know the perfect person. But convincing him might be a bit of a problem.”
“I’m sure you’ll manage to convince the person in mind Miss Calvet-Blott.”
Krystall blushed and headed out of the classroom. She soon caught up with Severus and decided to ask him straight out for a very big favour. She found him in the library, hidden away between the volumes of books.
“Please Severus! We can’t go on without this role filled. And you know you would be ever so good at it. It’s almost as if you were born to play the role!”
“Oh, so I’m perfect of such a dark and brooding role, am I?,” Severus said sarcastically.
“It’s not like that Sev!! You know that only you can fill this role!”
“I never thought that reading a book would end in me making a spectacle of myself in front of the entire school- and all for a part in the now musical on the West End!”
“So is that a yes then?,” Krystall asked hesitantly, fingers crossed by her sides.
“Seeing as I’m the only choice, then yes, I’ll do it. But I will only do it because you have asked me to do it.”
Krystall couldn’t say anything, but did rush to give him a hug, which was interrupted by Sirius and James walking by and jeering at the scene before them.
“OMG!!! Krystall, what would Remus say if he knew you where cheating on him with ’Snivellus’ of all people?,” laughed Sirius, nudging James in the ribs. Krystall untangled herself from the embrace with Severus and marched up to Sirius and spat in his face,
“How dare you insinuate who I go out with! It’s none of your big nose’s business how I conduct myself. Remus is not my boyfriend and neither is Severus. If I was to choose between them, it would only be myself and my chosen beau and not the entire school who would know, until we decide to share the news with everyone, Thank You very much!!”
“Oh by Merlin, you’re fiery when you’re angry Krystall,” remarked James, almost intrigued in her mood.
“Well that’s me told then, right Prongs?,” chuckled Sirius.
“It sure is Padfoot, old pal,” James laughed as he pushed his friend down the corridor and back towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Krystall turned back round to face Severus, who was still stood where she had left him and said,
“Did you really mean it when you said you’ll take the role?” She silently hoped it was true.
“I did,” was all that he said before turning and heading to his own Common Room in the dungeons. Krystall walked back towards her Common Room, but stopped along the way to gaze out of the large castle windows to the wide lawn beneath her.
She could see from her position a small group of animals moving towards the castle, away from the Whomping Willow. The animals had the forms of a very large, black dog, an elegant stag and a small rodent.
Krystall looked upwards, only to see the bright orb of the full moon.
‘Oh Poor Remus’, she thought as she moved again. As she walked once more, her mind worked overtime, piecing together small snippets of conversations she had over heard between the Marauders.
‘Nar, I’ve got it all wrong. There’s no way that those three could have managed to hide such a huge secret of them being who and what why are! How could they hide the fact that they were Animagi? Did Dumbledore know that three of his students were illegally changing into animals right under his nose? Come off it, Sirius is too much of a show off not to brag about the fact he and his friends were changing who they were for a few nights during the month, every month!! Or would he keep the secret to protect his friend Remus??’ Krystall’s mind was in turmoil all night and she was glad that it was a weekend and no lessons the following day.
The next time Krystall saw any of the illegal Animangi it was in Transfiguration. Once again, Sirius was showing off and Krystall managed to get hold of James and pull him to one side.
“I know about you, Sirius and Peter changing,” Krystall hinted. James’ face fell and he whispered,
“How did you find out? Did Wormtail squeal?”
“Nobody squealed Potter. I saw you in animal form whilst looking out of a window after yourself and Black barged in on my conversation with Severus,” Krystall explained.
“You worked this out on your own? You know we only do it to help Remus when he’s dangerous. I take it you know about his furry problem, as we call it,” James said with a smile.
“So long as it’s only for keeping Remus in check, then I have no problem with it, Prongs!”
“Hey, my nickname! Gee Krystall, you really know how to build up a guy’s ego!,” chuckled James, shaking his head as he walked back to his small group of friends.
“Hey Krys! What were you talking to James about?” It was Lily Evans.
“Oh I was just asking him what the weather would be like on Saturday, seeing as it’s Quidditch match day. And it’s Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw,” Krystall tried to explain and cover up the real reason why they had been talking.
“Ahhh, so you’ll be playing against him, won’t you? Hehe, he’ll love that!,” laughed Lily as McGonagall entered the room, silence descending on the population of the classroom.
The main talk of the school was of the impending audition results and the up and coming match. There was more then just these things on Krystall’s mind, but she knew she had to try and put them to the back of her mind, in readiness for the match.
Krystall had been playing on her house team for the majority of her time at Hogwarts and was the most experienced Chaser on the team. During the game Krystall did try to forget everything except for the match in hand. But her game was off. She had missed several easy shots because all she could think of was Remus and Severus, which for a Quidditch player was not a good thing to do. Due to lack of concentration, Ravenclaw lost the game by sixty points, despite their Seeker catching the Golden Snitch. In the changing rooms, Krystall apologised profusely to her team.
“I don’t know what’s come over me?!,” she cried dryly.
“It’s because you have two lads after you Krys, you lucky thing! It’s not everyday that you get people vying for your affections,” explained her seasoned Captain.
It was known that the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain was quite the catch, true he was handsome, but Krystall’s childish crush in him was over long ago when she joined the team. It was also true that almost half of the girls in her year and in the year above wanted just one date with him. This included Kiki, who was always begging her friend to ask him for her for one date. Out of all of the Captain’s ardent followers, Kiki was the worst.
“Oh. My. God! He’s so dreamy! How can you resist him Krys?,” Kiki asked after the match and Krystall had finally calmed down from her hysterics.
“Kiki, he’s more than that girl! He’s a lovely, sweet, down to earth lad who just needs - and wants- to be left alone! Let him decide for his-self who he wants to go out with. I’m not a dating agency and if I was, I’ll be a failure as I cant even get one measly date, or even a boyfriend of my own!,” groaned Krystall, her head in her hands, which were resting on her unfinished homework. She and Kiki had taken refuge in the library so that they could finish any and all forgotten homework, away from the noise that was a disgruntled Common Room.
“Oh Kiki! What am I going to do?,” Krystall asked despairingly.