She slapped him… his left cheek. Only when she noticed the evident mark of her fingers on his face did she realize that she was shaking. She was so mad at him. He said he didn’t love Indy but they were together. Was their relationship only a game? She couldn’t understand it.

That was why when Dylan hugged her suddenly, she was unable to move. Moreover, when he brushed his lips on her forehead, both words and actions betrayed her…

Helplessness crept into her nerves like electric waves.

She was confused with him… with the whole situation… and with herself…

Carefully and silently, Beezus stepped out of her bedroom and scuttled downstairs into the Kitchen. She was hungry because she didn’t touch anything on her dinner plate that night for it contained food that she wasn’t even certain edible. It made her wonder how her Grandmother found it sumptuous.

She laid the bread and peanut butter on the table just as a shabby-looking creature emerged from the back door. It was Nadir, the house elf. With its large eyeballs, it ogled at her. Beezus returned the gaping and continued staring as it went upstairs.

Eeeeekkk…that house elf sure was creepy.

“OUCH!” Beezus squeaked so loudly after flopping down on the floor because apparently, she had tripped over a small box. She was currently at her Grandmother’s bedroom for the woman asked her to look for her satchel. After stroking her knees, she grabbed the box and opened it.

What she found inside made her eyebrows raise. There were so many miniature leprechaun figurines in it, there must have been over a thousand. “Is this a collection?” Beezus muttered incredulously. Suddenly, she heard footsteps nearing the door. She closed the box and shove it under the bed quickly.

“Beatrice, my satchel.”

It was going to be a wondrous night! Professor Roslund, their Astronomy Professor had organized a Balloon Spotting Sleepover Party, which she and her friends had shortened into the BSSP. They were out on the wide school grounds, pajamas on.

“Kurumi, Beatrice. Thank you for helping.” The Professor said when she and the Prefect approached him after the preparations were done. The two of them had helped him organize the things needed for the activity to take place.

With a smile, Beezus also expressed her thanks then scooted over to where her friends were.

Time to get the party started!

“Next, add 6 Dried Billywig Stings to your Cauldron. Careful stir it afterwards in a clockwise direction.” Professor Hecate Lafay instructed as they finished pulverizing the Standard Ingredient on their mortars.

Before doing the said step, Beezus scribbled it down on her spare parchment. After doing so, she added the stings into the cauldron and took the ladle. Then she noticed her shoelaces were untied so she bent down to fix it but when she straightened up, she accidentally pushed the cauldron, causing it fall on the floor, contents spilling everywhere.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP!

“Castell!”

“Yes…………..Professor?”

“Do it again! From the top!”

“ERRRRIIIIIINNNNNN!” Beezus called, unable to restrain herself. It has been weeks, even months since they’ve been having this silent fight. She didn’t know why but rumors has it that Erin was mad at her because she took in Indy as her bestie when she had her as best friend. Okay, it was all her fault, she became selfish and that was why she was making the first move to make everything better.

“So we’re talking now?” Erin asked incredulously.

“YES! YES! YES! I am so sorry Cornelia. I really am.” She moved forward and hugged Erin tight. “I missed you.”

“So why exactly didn’t you come back last term?”

“I got into Durmstrang and……”

Beezus listened as Mordred told her how his life at Durmstrang went. All she could do was feel sorry for him because apparently, his cousins made him look like a fool while he was there. Then their conversation arrived to the tragedy that swept her family into pieces and next thing she knew, her head was on his shoulder and he was caressing her back, trying to calm her down for she had been crying.

There on the Owlery, with the owls’ hooting, their friendship strengthened.

“Bee…I have got to stop talking to you.” Dylan, the Slytherin Captain, not her cousin said.

“…Why?...”

“Because…because you make me go crazy and insane.”

HOLYSNITCH! What on earth was he talking about?!, the Ravenclaw thought.

“Excuse me?!” Beezus snapped. “You can’t mean that Dylan. I am not some kind of dangerous drug for you to go insane about.” Obviously, this girl couldn’t quite catch the hint.

He sighed, mused his hair and rubbed his face with his hands, clearly frustrated with how the situation has turned out. “But it’s true Bee..”

“Stop giving me this nonsense! Just…please, shut up!”

Beezus folded the parchment on her hands and slipped it inside the envelope. She then approached her owl’s cage.

“Jordin, I need you to send this for me.” The owl hooted but turned its feathery head away from her.

“Come on.. you can’t blame me for the weird food here.” It wasn’t her fault, really. Her Grandmother just seemed to have the definition of delicious and distasteful all mixed up.

“Please, Jordin? I bet she’ll give you treats.” She urged on, referring to the person she was sending the letter to, but the owl continued with his silent tantrum.

SIGH.

“Good morning Professor,” Beezus greeted upon entering the classroom. Oh, look! He got his skin tanned. “You look magnificent today.” She supplemented with a grin.

"Magnifissent...?" he repeated, followed by a firm, “No.”

Beezus gave him a questioning look. What no?

"You vill not... vas is de vord... crash on me. I do not like zat." The Professor added before she could inquire.

WHUUT?

Was she going deaf, because it sounded like he was telling her not to have a crush on him. Her? Having a crush on him? When she can barely understand a word he was spouting?

SNORT.

Dare Games infected their school like an epidemic. Every reckless actions came witha resounding ‘It’s because of a dare’ afterword and because of its sudden popularity, Beezus urged Erin into joining the fun.

“I don’t want to Beezus.”

“Come on, you’re not a spoilsport.”

“Oh.. alright! What is it?”

“Tell Jonathan Kim you like him.”

Faster than lightning did Erin’s “NO!” struck Beezus’ ears that she had to massage both to make sure they were still working before saying, “So I win. That means you get to be my slave for a WHOLE week.”

“Why are you so mean Evangeline?!!”

“What’re you doing?” Bambi Castell asked playfully.

With a serious expression, Beezus eyed her younger sister. “I’m busy reading Mom’s Spell Journal.” She showed her the small, emerald notebook.

“Hmmm?” Her sister replied sneakily and grabbed the journal without permission.

“Bambi! Give it back….or I’ll hex you!” For a moment, they scrutinized each other with intense glares.

“Try me, Beezus.”

“You’re... such a little brat, I wanna turn you into..... a rat, with a swish and flick, you’ll have fur so thick, run now.... Bambi, and stop bothering me!”

Upon hearing that, Bambi laughed and threw the book at her.

Shrunken Head Bowling Alley. That’s where Beezus and Erin had set to rendezvous.

After a few exchange of catch up statements, they immediately changed into proper attire and proceeded to their assigned lane. Beezus grabbed a shrunken head which was going to be their bowling ball and examined it carefully. “A splatted head indeed.” without warning, it yelled at her and because of shock, she had released it and it fell on the floor with a loud thud.

She crouched down to pick it up then she noticed an icky, gooey liquid oozing from its eyes. Ooze. Ooze. Ooze.

EWWWWWW!

“What’s going on?” the brunette queried, a quizzical look etched on her face. The lights just went off, but now it was back on. Was somebody pulling a prank on the passengers of the Hogwarts Express? But even before she could get an answer from Rich, her current companion at the compartment, the train suddenly halted and she fell on the floor.

Without another word, she barged out of the compartment and approached the crowd assembled on the corridor.

“What happened?”

“Train’s wrecked. We heard they’re sending portkeys for us to use.”

Portkeys? But she haven’t tried using one before.

“Of course I’ll write.” The Slytherin graduate replied, smirking.

“And if you don’t, I am going to send you howler at the Wizard University.” Beezus told Jonathan before she laughed. “I’ll miss you for sure though.” She added. It was undeniably true. Jonathan was her pseudo brother. They had developed a unique bond, and there were some things she can open up only to him. He was special to her.

“I’ll miss you too.”

The Ravenclaw pushed her chair back, stood up, and went to his side. She then bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

That was so delicious! Florean’s really had the best ice cream flavor twists in the whole Wizarding World. Oh, sugar quills? Where did those come from? No matter. She was exceptionally fond of those, especially the deluxe ones. There was also Banoffee pie! She would be drooling any time now.

You’ll have it all, Castell. She heard a tiny voice say.

Castell? Castell?! Castell! CASTELL!

Huh, what?

Beezus opened her eyes.

“What do you think we’re having? A slumber party?” Professor Scabior glared at her.

Wiping her mouth, she looked down. “Ermm..no sir.”

“HMPH.”

But..but..that was such a wonderful nap!

“How did night patrol go?” Beezus heard her friend, Elliot, ask when she entered their dormitory. Underneath the moonlight, the brunette squinted at the hunched figure sprawled on the bed next to hers and shrugged, “As usual, tiring.” She replied whilst she took off her shoes, yawning.

“Oh?”

“Yes. Why are you still up?”

“I’m waiting for you. I got you something.”

“And what is that?”

Before Beezus could make any move, Elliot was out of her blankets and now jumping towards her, enveloped in lace-bordered pajamas. Beezus’ eyes widened in horror and she flailed, “Lace! EWWW. Get off me!”

“You’re so into me, Grumpy Ravenclaw. Just admit it. I don’t mind. I know I’m hot.” Elijah Wilde, the ever taunting and overweening Hufflepuff whose perfume was his very own brand of conceitedness told her as his lips curled into a sly smirk.

Shutting her book, Beezus sighed with frustration. “Get a life, would you?”

“Not until you admit that you like me.”

She stared at him disbelievingly then coughed forcibly and retched.

“Hey, hey...Are you okay?”

“Eh! Don’t....touch me. I’m fine.” Eyeroll. “Merlin, I look at you and I try to quell my nausea – unsuccessfully, I might add.”

The Great Hall.

At the Gryffindor Table.

Beezus was not lost, nope. She was actually there, sitting with some lions and lioness for the sole purpose of hanging out. They were a delightful bunch after all. And they were fun to be with whenever there was food around.

“Ravenclaws caw, Slytherins hiss, Gryffindors roar, and Hufflep---“Alice started but was immediately cut off by her bestfriend, Melanie saying, “I don’t roar. Not like a lion’s raaaaawr, at least.”

“Then what do you do?” Beezus asked with an amused expression.

Melanie beamed. “I go Pika Pika! Pikachu! Pikachuuuuu!”

They all giggled.

Beezus tied her hair before responding to Elise’s query. “It’s an object used to review stored memories. “ She said, referring to the object of discussion – a Pensieve.

“I know that. But where do you think we can find one?”

“Maybe---“but before Beezus could finish, Moaning Myrtle came screeching from one of the cubicles. “I haaaaaaaAAAAaaaaappeeeen to have a pensiEEEEEEEEeeeeeeve.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow at the ghost, “You do?” Ghosts have pensieves? That’s new knowledge.

“YeeeeeEEEEEEEEeeees.”

“Where?” She and Elise asked in unison.

“In my tooooOOOOOiiiiileeeeeEEEEt bowl.”

They stared at the ghost and stuttered. “Er, t-thank you Myrtle..”

Beezus shivered as she sauntered out of the Castle.

It was snowball fight day with Dylan. And she had something important to ask him.

“Captain.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Guess what I found out?”

“That I’m the hottest guy alive?”

She rolled her eyes and stepped onto the snow-matted ground. “No.” Snort. “It’s about your ancestor, Laverne de Montmorency, she invented love potions............You used one on me, didn’t you?”

The Slytherin smirked. “Looks like my secret is out.”

“Haha.” The brunette bent down and gathered snow.

He laughed. That was her cue to send a snowball his way.

Let the fight begin!

Beatrice Evangeline.

Merlin, her name sounded so ancient....and boring but mostly ancient. It was the names of her Grandmothers’ combined after all.

She’d been living off with that name for almost seventeen years now yet not once had she looked what meanings where affined with it. So she was going to do that right now. In the library. Using a dictionary.

“Beatrice, derived from the Latin Beatrix.” Hmm. Her mother’s name was Beatrix and she was indeed derived from her. Fitting. “It means bringer of joy.......?” Uh, really? “Evangeline.....bearer of good news.”

A bit of incredulous chuckling going on here.

Beezus couldn’t sleep.

So, throwing a shawl over her pajamas, the brunette climbed off her bed and went to get Mavis, her guitar. She scurried down to the Common Room and out in light steps.

The corridor was eerily silent when she stepped out so she hurried along and sat down on the topmost step of one of the moving staircases.

Then she began to sweep her thumb on the guitar strings and started to hum a melody.

Finally, she sang slowly, “If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy....if our love’s insanity, why are you my clarity....”

“Well.... blue with patriotic wipers, an aerodynamic ‘three-hole’ grille, sealed beam headlights and small, separate parking lights mounted underneath, as well as dual tail lights.....That’s Ford Anglia!” Her friend said all too enthusiastically as they took their time eyeing the car behind the glass on the car shop they passed by on their way to a muggle place called the mall.

“Yeah? .........It must have been ...horrible.”

“Huh? What’s horrible?”

“Oh...um, nothing.” Actually, there was.

Merlin, she was certain it was an awful sight when a Weasley received a howler from his mother because of wrecking a car like that.

Breathing in raggedly, Beezus sat up on the bed and clutched her head. It was throbbing and pounding hard against her skull. Through blurry eyes, she managed to turn on the bedside lamp and that’s when she noticed the red stains on the blanket that she had covered herself up to her waist. Releasing a shaky breath, a hand went to her nose and at the feel of warm liquid; a small sob escaped her lips.

What has she done to deserve this?

She wanted to look forward to the future too.

But everything is slipping away all at once.