Stay - Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 164

"You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" said Mattheo indignantly, he was growing more and more worried about the girl as the days passed. She had just spent the last half an hour explaining to Mattheo, Theodore and Jasper that she hadn't meant to drown, she had accidentally blacked out somehow... and now she was telling them that she hadn't fully figured out the egg

"Keep your voice down!" said Kirra quickly as she felt Mattheos grip on her hand tighten slightly. "I just need to —sort of fine-tune it, all right?"

She, Mattheo, Theodore and Jasper were sitting at the very back of the Charms class with a table to themselves. They were supposed to be practising the opposite of the Summoning Charm today — the Banishing Charm. 

Kirra already knew how to do it perfectly, Mattheo was pretty good but Jasper and Theodore hadn't gotten it completely under control. Owing to the potential for nasty accidents when objects kept flying across the room, Professor Flitwick had given each student a stack of cushions on which to practice, the theory being that these wouldn't hurt anyone if they went off target. 

It was a good theory, but it wasn't working very well. Jasper's aim was so poor that he kept accidentally sending much heavier things flying across the room — Professor Flitwick, for instance.

"Just forget the egg for a minute, all right?" Kirra hissed as Professor Flitwick went whizzing resignedly past them, landing on top a large cabinet. "I'm trying to tell you about Snape and Moody. . . ."

This class was an ideal cover for a private conversation, as everyone was having far too much fun to pay them any attention. Kirra had been recounting her and Jasper's adventures of the previous night in whispered instalments. 

"Snape said Moody's searched his office as well?" Mattheo whispered, his eyes alight with interest as he Banished a cushion with a sweep of his wand (it soared into the air and knocked Draco's hat off).

"What . . . d'you reckon Moody's here to keep an eye on Snape as well as Karkaroff?" Theodore added as he stuck his tongue out at Draco as he glared over at their group

"Well, I dunno if that's what Dumbledore asked him to do, but he's definitely doing it," said Kirra, waving her wand without paying much attention, so that her cushion did an odd sort of bellyflop off the desk. "Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stay here because he's giving him a second chance or something. . . ."

"What?" said Theodore, his eyes widening, his next cushion spinninghigh into the air, ricocheting off the chandelier, and dropping heavily onto Flitwick's desk. "Princess. . . maybe Moody thinks Snape put your name in the Goblet of Fire!" 

"Oh Nott come off it mate," said Mattheo, shaking his head sceptically, "sure Snape hates Kirra, but he knows that none of us would let him get away with hurting her." He Banished a cushion and it flew across the room and landedin the box they were all supposed to be aiming at. 

Kirra looked at Mattheo, thinking . . . Snape definitely loathed her, just as he'd loathed her and her friends when they had been at school together. Snape loved taking points from Kirra, and had certainly never missed an opportunity to give her punishments, or even to suggest that he should be suspended from the school.

"I don't care what Moody says," Mattheo went on. "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin, even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit —"

"— evil," said Jasper promptly. 

"tell me about it," Kirra commented, her and Jasper snickering slightly

"Come on, Mattheo, why are all these Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?" Theodore asks Mattheo 

"And why has Mr. Crouch been pretending to be ill?" said Kirra, adding to the pile of questions that they all wanted answered