The next morning I waited eagerly inside the entrance to the Great Hall for the Weasley twins to thank them but they breezed right past me, and to my surprise accompanied by Sergius, the three of them thick as thieves. Feeling slightly left out but also contented I hadn’t been seen, I walked back to my house table, a little glow of happiness surrounding me for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
At Care of Magical Creatures that morning Hagrid was instructing us on how to care for our magical companions, or familiars, whether it be a cat, toad, or owl. Some students also had rats or newts, but very rarely as they weren’t among the first year shopping list every student was mailed along with their acceptance letter. I thought of Binx, my fluffy black cat, hunting mice in the girls’ dormitory at that very moment and took down extra notes than usual, intent to make him as healthy and happy as possible. Hagrid was great with animals; he had a real soft spot for them. He treated dangerous beasts like they were nothing but kittens looking for some love.
When class concluded Hagrid bellowed, “Alrigh’ third years, enjoy the res’ o’ yer afternoon an’ weekend. And don’ forget to come to me if ye’ve got any problems with yer pet!”
Although the third years had the afternoon off, I knew the sixth years didn’t and as the rest of my class dawdled along on the lawn, I headed quickly into the school, just as the bell rang and classes were filing out. I caught a glint of green Slytherin robes and followed the group to the third floor corridor where a crowd of them were hanging around outside the entrance to the astronomy tower. Professor Sinistra waved her wand to open the way for them, and then I spotted his wavy dark hair among the bobbing heads of the other students. I took a deep breath for courage and then stepped in front of Mr Moonblood, determined he wouldn’t walk right past me this time, blocking the way.
“Move,” a couple of students hissed at me as they pushed their way by. Sergius looked surprised, then smiled. A corner of my mouth turned up in a smirk and we simply looked at each other, rooted to the spot, as his classmates wound their way around us to head up the steep steps of the tower. When they’d all gone my courage started to wane and I realized I hadn’t thought of anything to say.
He looked at me expectantly, but saved me from making a fool out of myself by asking mischievously, “What are you up to?” I grinned back and shrugged my shoulders.
“On Fridays I’ve got the afternoon off.”
“Ah,” he replied. “Jealous.”
“It’s supposed to encourage us to explore the village on our own,” I added. He glanced up at the astronomy tower agonizingly.
“Are you asking me to skip class, Miss Twyla?”
“No! No, I just-” I started, still not sure what I had wanted to say.
“Too late,” he replied. “I don’t want to go now.” And with that he threw an arm around my shoulders and started to lead me away from the stairs.
“Wait, no, no, no, no, no,” I spluttered, digging my heels into the floor. He stopped. “I’ll-I’ll come back.” I gave him a meager smile.
“You’re gonna make me sit in class thinking about you all day?” I blushed so red I had to turn around to hide my face.
“Alright, alright,” he said, lifting my chin to look into my eyes. This was too intimate, I stood rapt. “Meet me back here at three,” he commanded, pointing a finger warningly at me.
I nodded my head and watched him unblinkingly as he climbed the steps and left me out in the hall this time.

Assuming he’d want to go on another outing to Hogsmeade I hurried up to my dorm to change into plainclothes. Binx sat on my bed watching as I tried on outfit after outfit. I ended up going with a warm pair of black leggings, fuzzy socks, and a gray sweater. Then I passed the time playing with Binx, keeping in mind Hagrid’s lesson from earlier that day, and reading over my texts until an hour later when Darwinnia and Phoebe breezed into the room. I didn’t much feel like talking and so gave Binx free run of the common room while I slipped past them and out the portrait hole. I had enough time to kill and so decided to explore the innumerable hidden rooms and secret passageways of the school.
It was always quiet within the walls, with endless opportunities to get lost and discover something new. Today I tried my hand at opening the doorway behind the tapestry and found the darkness and solitude of the spiral staircase very peaceful and safe. I strolled slowly to the end of the narrow corridor where the porthole looked onto the Slytherin common room and watched.
The giant squid of the Black Lake had its enormous eye pressed up against the wide bay window and seemed to be watching a wizard’s duel between the Bloody Baron and a third year Slytherin girl. Many of the moving portraits on the walls were egging them on. I slumped down under the porthole and enjoyed the stillness. When I returned from my excursion in the passageways I became anxious and ended up finding my way to the astronomy tower a half hour early. My anxiety increased when I realized loitering there in my plainclothes was sure to get me in trouble. I started to think.
Taking stock of where I was I realized Professor McGonagall’s office was just on the other side of the corridor and she might be finished classes for the day. I walked over anyway, if not just to seem like I had somewhere to go. I was right, and she was sitting at her desk writing fervently with an eagle feather quill. I knocked on the door, awaited her response, and went in.
“Miss Twyla,” she said with faint surprise, “what can I do for you?”
“I don’t want to waste your time, professor, if you’re busy. It’s not anything important.”
“I’d be willing to take a short break to humour you, Miss Twyla, you may have a seat.” She put down her quill and perched her thin rimmed glasses higher on her nose.
“I was wondering about the exchange program with Durmstrang Institute,” I said, sitting up as straight as possible, trying to make a polite amount of eye contact, which was not my specialty. I often looked anywhere but the person when I spoke.
“I would hardly call it a program,” she laughed lightly. Professor McGonagall had a wonderful Scottish lilt when she spoke, and I always found it very comforting. “After all, we did not have to forfeit a Hogwarts student in exchange for Mr Moonblood.”
My heart leapt at the mention of his name.
“Why, are you interested in leaving us to study abroad, Miss Twyla?” she asked curiously.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I muttered, having lost my train of thought.
“Or are you simply interested in our new student?” she continued suspiciously, her voice becoming harder. “I’ll inform you that it is not becoming of a young witch or wizard to gossip. A nasty habit, and hard to break too!” she added matter-of-factly.
“No, no,” I said desperately, “I’m, uh, I’m just terribly interested in the wizarding world of the north and the different cultures and classes-”
“Ah, well,” she said, the warmth returning to her voice. “If it’s knowledge you’re after, why not ask Mr Moonblood himself? I’m sure he could more than accommodate you.”
And with a reassuring smile she dismissed me and raised her quill again. I thanked her meekly and backed out into the hallway. It was now only a few minutes to the chiming bell that marked the transfer of classes and meal times and I now felt comfortable waiting in the wings below the astronomy tower.
When the Slytherins came flooding down the steps I smoothed down my sweater and tried to look nonchalant. I spotted Sergius first, talking to a classmate before saying goodbye and standing at the foot of the stairs, eyes scanning down the corridor. He hadn’t noticed me yet.
Oh god, what do I do? I thought. He’s going to see me just standing here staring at him.
His eyes flitted right over me as a swell of Slytherins basically stepped on my toes trying to get past. When they cleared I turned away from the many robes heading down the hallway to face him and found he was already looking at me, giving me a once over I pretended not to notice as he saw me for the first time in plainclothes. He smiled and strolled over to me.
“Are you going somewhere?” he quipped jokingly. I shrugged and smiled back. I’d been smiling a lot lately. “You think you’re cooler than me in your civilian attire, huh?” he teased as we headed down to the first floor. I didn’t bother asking where we were going as he led the way down to the dungeons, stealing quick glances at me along the walk.
“Do you want to wait here?” he asked as we approached what must have been the entrance to the Slytherin common room. There was a large black portrait hanging floor to ceiling on the wall, but as far as I could see, there was nothing in it.
Technically I could go in with him since I was in plainclothes, but I didn’t want to risk it. Maybe another time.
I nodded and backed up to lean against the damp stone wall of the corridor, thinking about the porthole and the watery luminescence spilling onto all the ornate silver furniture. A few Slytherins came and went while I waited, glaring suspiciously at me. I made a mental note not to loiter around here again, even if I was out of my Ravenclaw robes.
Sergius soon emerged in a large fur lined jacket I eyed jealously. I already felt cold in comparison - even his boots looked warmer, even though I’d worn my winter ones. The attire nearly doubled his size and I felt wholly small and insignificant as we strolled out onto the castle grounds. He seemed more in his element dressed this way, and I got the feeling he missed the tundra of where he was from. Two students and one teacher said hello to Sergius before we even made it to the tunnel bridge outside. I tried to ignore all these interactions so as not to seem terribly unpopular. No one was saying ‘Hi’ to me.
“So what is it like at Durmstrang?” I finally asked, trying to segue into all the topics I’d been dying to hear about.
But he just shrugged his shoulders and said in a ‘so what’ tone, “I left.”
“Okay,” I accepted, “well, why?” He didn’t seem terribly inclined to talk about it and I was miffed, because it was hard for me to keep up, let alone begin a conversation. I combated his reluctance with silence until he gave in.
“What do you want to know?” he said with a sigh. I threw about ten questions at him in one breath and he let out a long, loud laugh. He looked down at me and said, “You’re adorable.”
I looked down at my feet the rest of the way to Hogsmeade and didn’t ask him anymore. The Fat Friar had once told me the worst trait of Rowena Ravenclaw was that she treated people like walking textbooks. I took it as a motto rather than a lesson, but I tried not to be so inquisitive now. All in good time.
We toured through the village in a comfortable silence. The sun was shining but it was rather cold, and once we’d made a small roundabout of the town I was desperate to enter a shop somewhere and get warm.
Sidestepping both Honeyduke’s and The Three Broomsticks to duck into Zonko’s Joke Shop, we were instantly met by a barrage of bright orange moving posters. They were tacked up and taped; flying around looseleaf over customers’ heads.
I ripped one of the posters down from a bulletin board and felt Sergius leaning over my shoulder as we examined it.
One side was emblazoned with a large black question mark, rounded and bulbous, and the tell-tale signature of the Weasley Twins was scrawled teeny tiny in the right hand corner.
“What is it?” he asked, dispelling all light as he stood closer beside to me. I recognized the poster immediately for what it was, and slipped my wand out of my pocket, glancing around the shop.
When I was sure no one was looking, I flipped the flyer over to its blank side, tapped it, and mumbled, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”
Like ink blots bleeding onto a Rorschach test the page came alive with the elegantly scrawled words of a formal invitation. I read it silently to myself and sensed Sergius was doing the same.
On Halloween come trick or treat
For the Weasley Twins have another cheat
Before October comes to a close
Join us where no one unimportant goes
The Room of Requirement after the feast
Will welcome those with swift feet
Be there by midnight
And be discreet!
I folded the paper neatly and stuffed it into my pocket, then, thinking twice, pulled it out again and whispered, “Mischief Managed.” The words dissolved into the laughing face of a jack-o-lantern before disappearing altogether.
“So, wait, what’s that?” Sergius asked as we stepped out into the street again. I looked both ways over my shoulder to make sure no one was listening, then turned half my attention to his broad chest.
“It’s an outlaw party,” I said in a hushed tone, the top of my head barely level with his ear. “Fred and George are throwing one on Halloween after the feast.”
His brow furrowed and he looked down at me in a way that said he didn’t want to ask me again what it meant. I led him on a walk down the winding path to the Shrieking Shack and started at the beginning.
“The castle is riddled with secret passageways and hidden rooms,” I began. He nodded for me to continue. “An outlaw party,” I whispered, “is thrown in one of these concealed locations - illegally - and therefore only those who know where it is, when it is, and how to get in, can attend the party. We’ve read the invitation now, so…”
“And you know where these places are, do you?” he replied, smirking at me. I pursed my lips in a knowing smile. “Then let’s go. You can show me,” he said. My step faltered.
“Oh, right now?”
“Sure,” he replied with a laugh. “Halloween is next weekend, no?”
“Right, sure, I, uh, I can show you where it will be.”
“You don’t want to go with me to the party?” he asked abruptly. I hid a small smile from my face.
“Well, it doesn’t really work that way. You’ll be coming from the dungeons. It’s dangerous enough to be out of bed after hours, I don’t think we’d be able to wait anywhere to meet up with each other. But I can see you there?” I answered meekly. He accepted this but still pushed to make a compromise.
“Okay, you show me where this party will be today, and I’ll wait for you there next Saturday. I blushed and blew out a breath of cold air. He said no more as we made the walk back to school. Just as we stepped into the Entrance Hall Professor McGonagall came down one of the many moving marble staircases.
“Ah,” she said with stoic approval, “Miss Twyla, Mr Moonblood, I’m glad you found each other. I look forward to hearing what you two have learned.” She walked briskly past us and I clapped a hand to my forehead.
“What happened?” Sergius asked as we headed out of earshot. I pretended I didn’t hear him and changed the subject.
“Okay, the flyer said the Room of Requirement,” I said, stopping in front of a stone wall at the end of the first floor corridor. I started calculating the route Mr Moonblood would need to take to avoid detection. “So, if you come up the usual passage from the dungeons, but take the west wing staircase and avoid the entrance hall, you shouldn’t be caught as easily,” I rattled off. He looked around at the classrooms on either side of us.
“So, where am I going?” he asked quizzically.
“Right here,”I replied, pulling my wand once again out of my coat pocket. I waited for a young Gryffindor boy to scurry out of the hallway, and hoped Sergius was taking note of how careful a subject this was, as I’d feel really bad if he got caught or let the details of the party slip to someone who could not be trusted.
As soon as the boy was out of sight and I could hear his footsteps fading down the marble steps, I waved my wand over the wall behind me. Sergius raised an eyebrow at me when nothing happened, so I gave him a mischievous smirk and backed right through the wall, vanishing completely. He quickly stepped in after me. “This is it,” I said. We were standing in what appeared to be a very small broom closet.
“Wait,” he mumbled, barely able to look around in the dark space, “this is where the party is?” I nodded my head.
“The room of requirement shrinks, grows, decorates, and accommodates whatever its finder requires it for,” I explained. He looked down at me and I suddenly became very nervous as he pressed even closer.
“Did you need a broom?” he asked, inching his face closer to mine.
“I-I think the room knew that I didn’t really need it,” I replied.
“And what about what I need?” he countered, his eyes roaming over what he could see of me in the darkness. I turned my face away and groped along the stone until I fell through the wall into the corridor. I scrambled to stand up before he appeared too, dusting off his jacket.
“So, yeah,” I continued as if nothing had happened, “everyone will be here tomorrow night and the gateway should be opened.” He nodded but didn’t look at me as we started to walk back down the hallway. “Oh,” I remembered, “close it before we forget.”
“I don’t have a wand,” he declared.
“You left it in your dormitory?” I asked rhetorically. He shook his head.
“No, I use a staff,” he said nonchalantly.
“A STAFF?!” I practically screamed at him. He laughed and glanced around the now vaguely populated corridor, taking my hand to walk next to me. I waved my wand absentmindedly behind me and the entrance to the Room of Requirement glimmered back into solidity. Sergius held my hand in his while we wandered down the shifting maze of marble steps and for the first time since I met him, gave me some tangible information about himself.
“They give us our staff when we’re nine years old,” he said. I looked up at him with wonder. “It grows as we do, with power; with knowledge.”
I listened with rapt attention, trying to piece together this amazing first hand account of a wizarding world unlike the one I was born into. I knew at Durmstrang they started at nine, rather than eleven like at Hogwarts, and graduated at 21 - that might’ve been a deciding factor in his choice to stay at Hogwarts. But magic staffs? I wondered why he didn’t have to carry it around to all his classes. He’d obviously mastered some advanced wandless magic from a young age. I swooned.
“And no houses; no robes,” he continued “you wear fur to keep warm, or the school colours of brown and blood red. Work hard, gain power.” He said this systematically and I got the idea that was exactly the way he saw it. After a short silence he continued, “Karkaroff wanted to ship a few of us off to Hogwarts for a week to parade around; show off. I volunteered. When we got here Professor Dumbledore gave us robes and the run of the place. Wanted us to feel at home. It only took a day of classes for me to want to stay. I talked to the Headmaster before dinner and he sent an owl to Karkaroff requesting permission for me to continue studies here. He made a big deal about it but didn’t really care in the end - Karkaroff, not Dumbledore. Never liked me cause when they tried to give me the regulatory crew cut, my hair just grew back overnight,” he said. I giggled. Apparently I was someone who giggled now, and although I felt foolish, I liked it.
“What did the sorting hat say to you when you put it on?” I asked.
“Slytherin,” he answered blankly.
We were entering the Great Hall for supper and I felt a sense of relief as he let go of my hand. I wasn’t sure what that had meant in the first place, and I felt terribly self conscious whenever he did it. As we passed the Weasleys at the Gryffindor table I dug in my pocket for the orange flyer and dropped it between their goblets on a plate of rolls. They were ecstatic as they turned to watch us pass.
“Oy, Moonblood, Twyla, alright!” they crowed. I smiled at Sergius and he gave me a sly nod as we joined our mates at separate tables.
“Are you mad?” Phoebe cried as I took my place among my dorm mates. “Where are your robes?!”
I looked down at my sweater. I’d completely forgotten it was a school day and we weren’t allowed to dine in plainclothes. My eyes shot up to the head table where Professor McGonagall had her eyes fixed on me with a disapproving but compliant look. She gazed toward the Slytherin table with the same expression and then continued eating, bowing her face into a glass of pumpkin juice. I turned back to Phoebe and shrugged my shoulders embarrassedly. I stuffed my face at dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered green beans and tough pieces of game before heading back up to my dormitory alone to sit with Binx and plan out my week. It was midterms, and I was actually looking forward to reviewing my notes and burying my nose in a book the next few days. Anything to keep my mind off the pleasure and unease I felt when thinking about the Weasleys’ Halloween festivities.