2 o'clock

Thursday afternoon Defence Against the Dark Arts was a moment Heather looked forward to each week. Yes it might also coincide with a pile of homework being set by their grumpy professor, but it had unofficially become a duelling club meeting. The speccy Ravenclaws headed off to Runes, Astronomy and History, but practical Gryffindors slammed their textbooks shut and rolled up their shirt sleeves.

“Is it bad that I am keeping our homework for a treat after Professor Singh’s Transfiguration questions?” Heather leaned over to Meredith, pressing their shoulders together. “They look like killers, you’re totally going to do it with me later.” Meredith was truly brainy, almost Ravenclaw brainy, in Heather’s opinion. “Otherwise I’m going to have to ask Watkins and do his patrol.” For prefects traded duties when doing favours for each other.

The classroom around them was busy, the sixth years leaving for their lessons, scraping chairs back under the desks and calling after each other. Their professor meanwhile stood sentinel at the front, watching the retreat. Heather glanced back over her shoulder, satisfied enough people had left, so she wouldn’t look ‘eager’.

“Come on,” she told Meredith.

"Deranged." Said Meredith. Rolled her eyes. "Of course." Meredith slid her books back into her satchel. Careful not to bend the corners. Slid her quill back into its silver case. Everything had its proper place. She flicked her curls over her shoulder. Stood up. Folded parchment in her hand. Set her face. Polite. Inquisitive. Respectful.

"Professor." Said Meredith. "Another enlightening lesson sir." He may see through her placation. "Do you have a moment? Heather and I... well... we have a proposition for you. For the club." Some days Professor Storm looked seven foot tall. It was his personality. But Meredith had to look up. Further than she had to look up at Heather. Witches as short as Meredith wore tall hats and tall shoes to compensate. Meredith held out the folded parchment. She had summarized their proposal.

"Not on the day. Of course. But later in the month." Explained Meredith. She held her hands together. Looked to Heather to contribute.

Leaving their pew on the third row of the class, they approached, and Heather attempted to straighten her wonky tie, unsuccessfully. Beside Heather, Meredith wore her uniform perfectly. Misslethorpe was the neatest person Heather knew, both in how she completed her work and presented herself.

Since they were making a proposal together, and Meredith was the ‘good’ one, despite being a total snake, Heather let her speak first, even though she was secretly bursting. She watched Meredith extend the parchment to their teacher, who after a brief pause slid his wand away into his robes and received it. Heather held her breath, watching him take a look.

“Not on the day, of course, but later in the month.” Meredith added smoothly. Heather couldn’t hold it any longer.

“So we had an idea, like,” Heather addressed their teacher, waving her hands in a more animated than usual way, gesturing between her and Meredith. “Another contest, after Remembering Day. We’ll organise it, like.” Heather had just literally described what the neatly inked note conveyed at a glance, but she’d been looking forward to saying it ever since they had the idea.

“We’ll even referee it for the younger ones. Because it was a lot of work last time, right?” Heather appealed to the Professor’s potential lazy side. If he had one, perhaps.

The sixth years were a mix of delight and dismay as ever. Each year he did his best to put off as many as possible, but somehow his NEWT classes were full to bursting. Some of them were better than others, and the two witches waiting to approach him were in that category. Misslethorpe was composed, careful and a hard working student, though struggled to admit her own shortcomings. Abbott was a short fuse, often scruffy but plucky and equally hard working. Given their height difference and houses they were a strange pair. Better friends than enemies.

He skimmed the parchment, clearly Misslethorpe’s hand, and looked from one to the other, listening to what they had to say. They had been rather useful with the club, offering to organise friendly matches, tutoring the younger years during meetings. He had even honoured them both with a little private tuition after their Thursday lesson, which was why they liked to linger. He really had to do more to put students off.

“My focus is on the upcoming examinations,” he informed them both, his priority being the fifth and seventh years in the summer term particularly, “but if you feel you can adequately carry the administration, organisation and scheduling, I can advise.” It was the closest they were getting to a ‘yes’.

“It is not as if the club captain is in any state to propose similar,” the Professor added, glancing back down at the note. “Measles and now the black cat flu.” It was the reason he had been so pleased to see other students step up. “He needs to focus on his NEWTs once recovered, which leaves us without a captain.” Under the guise of studying the note he glanced up at the two of them subtly.

Well that was easier than they feared! It sounded like they would do all the work. But if it meant they could have a tournament in May then Meredith was prepared. She would put Heather to work too. Lots of it!

"Thank you Professor." Said Meredith. Pleased. She was about to outline their plans when he said more. About the captaincy. The poor captain had been unwell since Christmas. He had a run of very bad luck. Meredith and Heather had not seen it as their advantage. Not at all. They were pleased to help. Someone would always need to take over next year. That was how it always was. Meredith knew there were times to ask for things. And time to wait for them to be granted and act surprised.

"He does need to rest." Agreed Meredith. "It is like somebody cursed him this year." She shook her head. Looked very concerned. "Heather and I would be glad to step up."

“It is like somebody cursed him this year,” suggested Meredith at the fate of the Duelling Club Captain. Heather looked at her with slightly wider eyes, surprised at the suggestion. Meredith could speak for herself there, Heather hadn’t cursed anyone like that. She wanted to become Captain on her own merits, rather than sabotaging others.

“Heather and I would be glad to step up.”

“Of course Professor. We’ll run this tournament, you’ll see.”

Heather took a bold step closer, keen to be seen as taking an active role when Meredith had done what felt like most of the talking. There was a pause as she realised she was now stood a little too close for comfort to the wizard. She coughed and shuffled her feet backwards as if nothing had happened.

Both witches seemed keen to take on the challenge, but simultaneously pretended that the implication wasn’t there at all. This slightly strange friendship was perhaps about to see some proper strain, not just from running a competition as they proposed, but because the Professor had thrown in the unspoken suggestion that he sought a new Captain for the club, and this was an excellent way of proving their worth.

“I am sure you can run it successfully together,” he added, once Abbott had stopped uncomfortably invading his personal space, “but as you know there can only be one Club Captain when I look for replacement.” He gave the hint of a shrug, absolutely sure of what he was doing.

“You have a week. Propose a structure, secure your rule set. I am convinced at the concept, but no commitment until I see it on parchment.” He waved their refolded parchment, pinched between two fingers, and made to turn away. The conversation was over, and he still had much to do.

Heather could side-eye Meredith all she liked. Meredith had this. She could organize a tournament single handed. Without her wand. Heather was Heather. Meredith loved her friend but knew all her shortcomings. There could only be one Captain. Just like there could only be one Head Girl. Heather was no competition there.

"Thank you Professor." Meredith gave a little bow. Manners. She had been brought up with them. Meredith elbowed Heather. Went back to their desks. Picked up her things. Left in silence. Not wanting to say anything the Professor could hear. Nothing until the door closed.

"I knew he would say yes." Said Meredith. Once they were alone. "He definitely thinks we are captain material too." She smoothed out her uniform. It had no creases. She straightened her prefect pin. "You should be Captain." She said to Heather. "You love dueling. It is literally all you talk about some days. I bet he will choose you."

Competitive heat was already creeping up Heather’s neck. It was partly embarrassed fluster from her misstep, but she could feel that itch already. The I’m going to win this voice was right behind her ear.

“Yeah, thanks Professor, like.” Heather echoed Meredith, and jogged a few strides back to their desks in the third row, shoving her books and parchment into her bag as quickly as possible. They had been left in a wonky pile on the desktop while they were talking. She threw the strap of her bag across her body and tossed her ponytail as they headed to the back of the room to leave.

Heather pressed the door closed behind them, coming face to face with Meredith in the hallway.

“I knew he would say yes.”
“There was never any doubt!” Heather brightened, remembering that their tournament was now a thing, if they could get everything organised in a week.

“He definitely thinks we are captain material too.”
“Heh, yeah, no doubt there either.” Heather agreed, reaching up to tighten her ponytail, and forcing a smile.

“You should be Captain. You love duelling. It is literally…”
“Just because I talk about it non stop doesn’t make me … you should be captain.”

Heather knew this was just the little dance they had to do as friends. She would be stoked if Meredith got it, obviously, they were friends, but she did really want it too.

"Thanks Heath." Said Meredith. Smiled to herself. If he chose Heather she would just set her sights on Head Girl. Be there to take over if she flipped out. Heather was her friend but her friend had weaknesses. Meredith had none. Of course not.

"Well he will decide either way." She shrugged and smiled at her friend. "And better one of us than someone else like Esther or Lovella." Meredith rolled her eyes. "Or be bats like Amara." Meredith shared a dormitory with them all. Perfectionists and psychopaths! Heather would be better than any of them.

“They would be the end of the world,” Heather agreed. “Almost as bad as dating Bilius Clogg-Spleen!” Heather went to stick two fingers down her own throat at the thought of it. No, Meredith would be a much better choice than the others in her dormitory, and they didn’t see them stepping up to organise things for Professor Storm. They shared a moment of hilarity in the corridor, at the thought either of them would be interested in dating the poor boy.

“Catch you up later like, for Transfiguration prep, yeah?” Heather asked, referring back to Professor Singh’s work which had been set earlier that day. “And if we’ve time, like, we’ll make a start on the plans.” She gave Meredith a double thumbs up, before they headed in opposite directions, to their respective common rooms and studies.

End