Professor Binns was not as interesting as it usually was, not that he was ever interesting. Jillian sat with her head on her desk, wondering how she got herself into this kind of mess.
Peter was no longer talking to her. That was obvious in Potions class this afternoon when he had deliberately turned his back on her. Kirsten was also snubbing her even though she had to know that the Locust had only been using her. Why couldn’t she see what Jillian had seen all along?
This was her last class, and, for the first time, Jillian didn’t want Professor Binns to ever stop droning on about the 13th century goblins. She dreaded leaving this class because that meant she would have to go to the Great Hall, and after that, to Professor Kilicus’ classroom for her “lessons.” She groaned at the thought and silently cursed her difficulty with Defense Against the Dark Arts and her inability to keep from panicking.
“Miss Cole?”
Jillian’s head shot up, and she stared at Professor Binns as he stared at her. Oh no. This was one of those times that Professor Binns actually asked a question. He rarely did, but, when he did, it usually did you good to know the answer.
“Yes, Professor?”
“I asked what the name of the leader of the 1347 rebellion against Gorin the Grim was.”
“Um…..Was it….”
“Horned Hornac,” she heard someone hiss, and immediately relayed his answer.
Binns blinked and continued on with his lesson while Jillian sighed in relief. She looked around to see who had whispered the answer to her, but couldn’t see anyone. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but no one met her gaze or grinned at her to show her who had done it.
She was left in confusion until the end of the class when Binns assigned a fourteen inch essay on the eight rebellions of the giants in the 14th century. She groaned along with the rest of the class and gathered up her books. She walked as slowly as possible to the door, where other rushed out.
She stared longingly at the clock and wished Professor Kilicus would just forget the lesson, and leave her alone. She walked out of the classroom with a sigh.
She went to the Great Hall, and ate her dinner in silence, listening to the sounds around her. Everyone seemed to be happy, but her. Well, she thought as she looked at Kirsten’s angry gaze at the Locust, not everyone.
After she ate the last piece of chicken on her plate, she walked toward Kirsten hesitantly. She paused at her sister’s side and waited for her to notice her. She wasn’t expecting Kirsten to speak without looking at her, so she jumped when Kirsten said, “Do you happen to know any curses that would take him off girls for a while?”
Kirsten turned toward Jillian with a small smile, and Jillian smiled back. “Well, let me see what I can come up with.”
Both sisters sat in silence as the Locust continued to cuddle Jenny Green and boast about how he knew Kirsten wasn’t good enough for him. Jillian rolled her eyes, suddenly smiling. She pulled her wand out, pointed it at the Locust, and whispered, “Lovia Locust.”
Kirsten raised and eyebrow and started giggling as the Locust started patting his body as if something were crawling all over him. A few seconds later, it became apparent that there were grasshoppers crawling all over Lucian, and they weren’t coming off. Girls jumped away from him, screaming as the locusts continued to swarm all over Lucian. Kirsten and Jillian giggled as he tried, without success, to swat away the bugs swarming all over him. He started to scream, a high pitched, extremely unmanly scream until Dumbledore stood up and waved his wand. He raised an eyebrow at Jillian as the locusts disappeared and Lucian continued to scream, but he only ordered him to the Hospital Wing.
Jillian left the Great Hall with a smile. She saw Peter leaving, too, and he raised an eyebrow at her, showing her he knew what had really happened. Her grin grew wider until he started to walk away. Jillian bit her lip with indecision before running after him and grabbing his arm.
“Listen, I’m sorry about the whole showing up in your room and being weird and insulting you, and…..yeah.” She said it all in a rush as if she couldn’t wait to get it all out.
Peter thought for a few seconds before smiling. “I forgive you as long as you never do to me what you did to Lucian.”
Jillian beamed in relief before remembering why she had been in Peter’s room. “Peter, I’m going to Professor Kilicus’ class tonight, and I was wondering if you had any advice.”
“What did you do?”
She scowled. “I panicked, okay, and now he thinks I need help with Defense Against the Dark Arts. I really don’t want to be alone with him. I think I’ll let something out.”
Peter rubbed his chin thoughtfully then nodded. “I’ll come, but I’m not going to let him see me.”
She snorted. “And how are you going to do that?”
He smiled. “I’ll think of something.”
Jillian nodded. “8:00? You’ll be there?”
He nodded and left.
By the time Jillian got her nerves under control, it was eight and she was walking to Professor Kilicus’ classroom. She took a deep breath and, trusting that Peter was already there somehow, walked into the classroom.
Professor Kilicus looked up, startled. “Can I help you, Miss Cole?”
She gulped. “I c-came for my, um, lesson, P-professor.”
He looked at her blankly, and she saw him trying to cover something on his desk. “What lesson, Miss Cole. Aren’t you supposed to be in your common room?”
She gaped at him, bewildered, and opened her mouth to tell him everything. She snapped it closed, thinking, If he doesn’t remember, I’m not telling him.
She nodded and stuttered, “W-well, I’d, um, best be g-going. B-bye.”
She fled the room and thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t have to be in that room alone, even if Peter was invisible with her.
She turned when she heard footsteps behind her and saw Peter round the corner. She threw herself at him and breathed out, “I’m so glad he didn’t remember. I don’t think I would have been able to stand it!”
She grinned up at him, but he only stared at her. She stepped away. “What’s wrong,” she asked.
He shook his head and smiled at her. “Nothing, I’m just glad he didn’t remember either. Do you know why he wouldn’t?”
Jillian shook her head and shrugged. “Maybe he just has that kind of memory. My Uncle Cleave has that same problem. He can’t remember anything after it only happened an hour ago!”
Peter continued to stare at her, and she started feeling uncomfortable. “Um, Peter, would you quit that.”
He blinked and cleared his throat. “Just thinking, yeah, just thinking. Did you see that he was hiding something on his desk? I think I’ll go think about that, er, yeah, think about what was on his desk, or not. Nothing else, just the desk......Yeah.”
Jillian raised an eyebrow and Peter shuffled down the hall. That was weird, she thought as she turned back to her own House. She grinned all the way down the hallway at the thought of Peter so flustered, and didn’t even think to wonder what had happened in the Professor’s classroom.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that. It certainly adds a bit of…mystery…I hope. Well, there’s no telling what will happen next, but if you have suggestion for either my story or the Panecki Fan Club Website, please post them on my reviews. I really don’t mind. Good luck and good day.