Chapter 32: End of Winter Break

Given the short length of the winter break, there was only an opportunity for one maze quest before the children went back to school.

Cedric got dragged off to some Ministry gathering by his parents and was replaced by first timers Row and Sharon who were very excited to be part of the fun. However, their excitement was quickly replaced with panic when the realised how realistic things seemed within the maze and how hard Jane pushed them.

"Did you seriously just jump off a cliff, Simon??" Sharon gasped when Simon completed the quest by catching the fake artefact they were supposed to "steal" from a cursed chamber.

"I mean the artefact suddenly propelled itself off the cliff and *accio* was not working, so yes, I jumped off a cliff," Simon said nonchalantly.

"That was such a Gryffindor move!" Fred said, "I should have done that!"

"Actually, it wasn't," Phoebe interjected, "Because after he grabbed the artefact, he casted the impediment charm on himself to slow his fall. Then he froze the water on the river below the cliff for his own landing."

"Then why didn't you think of it?" Simon could not help but smirk smugly. He was currently leading in their unspoken competition by four quests.

"Because it is not a best plan?" Phoebe fired back. Simon wanted to make a snide comment about how she was clearly lying, since her ears were flushed pink like they always did when she lied. However, he quickly remembered the possible issues happening at Phoebe's home and kept his mouth shut.

"Plus because Slytherins would want to consider something that does not involve possibly killing themselves first?" Row suggested, seeming to notice the tension in the air.

George, also sensing this, coughed loudly, "So who wants treats? I think Mr. Li just baked something because that smells really good…"

---

Two days later, the children all met again on Platform 9 ¾ for their train ride back to Hogwarts. Simon noticed Sue was much more restrained after the 30 minutes of falling treatment - he was still quite impressed by what his mum was able to make happen within the maze. Whoever first designed practice simulation for magical martial arts was clearly a forerunner of virtual reality video games. And thanks to the rather realistic falling treatment, Sue would still tease him here and there but there was no more strange objects found in his room or bed or in his bathwater. He hoped this was the start of a healthier sibling relationship.

"Remember to write back often! We love you!" Dirk Li said to his son.

Simon gave his dad a hug and quickly got on the train before the man got too emotional. Jane and Sue each gave him a wave.

It appeared that Fred and George had already found a compartment on the train and had made themselves comfortable. Fred was busying scribbling away with his quill, clearly having left an assignment to the very last minute.

"I don't know if I should be worried or impressed that you are trying to draw the moon cycle charts on a moving train," Cedric said, picking the seat furthest away from Fred.

"If you are worried, you are not alone. Phoebe and Row went to find another compartment the moment they saw Fred's set-up," George replied, kindly offering directions to the other compartment.

"Actually, I am almost done!" Fred cried, "April 25th, June 23rd….done! Hey, stay behind – George and I have April Fools plans and we want your input on them!"

---

Meanwhile in another compartment, Phoebe showed Row a doll of Josette Rosier and Delilah Selwyn that she had made with a strand of each of their hairs.

"Last term I was mainly using a few whispers of spells here and there to make people around Caractaca get her into trouble. But just in case she is catching on, I made sure her two minions could be easily made to trip or slip and generally complicate things for her. I don't think she would have time to bother with you this term either."

"I still can't believe you managed to pull that off last term," Row muttered, looking gratefully at Phoebe.

"Honestly, I did not think it would necessarily work either," Phoebe replied honestly, "Guess it is good that many in our house underestimates us half-bloods and blood-traitors, especially first year ones."

"Speaking of our house, I think we may have an opportunity to gain a little bit of respect from the older years," Row began, with a playful glint in her eyes.

"I am listening," said Phoebe, who fully understood respect equated protection in the den of snakes.

"A little girl told me our resident twins are planning an Aprils' Fool prank on the Slytherin House..."

---

Ginny sneezed loudly.

"Ew, you sneezed on my new chess set!" Ron groaned, earning a smack on the back of his head from Molly Weasley.

"Don't talk to your sister like that!" Mrs. Weasley said, quickly cleaning the chess set with a swish of her wand, "Ginny dear, are you cold?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

---

Simon whistled as he opened the letter from his parents the following day as he got out of bed. Suddenly, green gooey liquid burst out of the envelope and Simon hastily casted a cleaning charm.

"Have a good term dear brother! Hope you enjoyed the one single prank just for you for the month of January."

*"Why didn't you say anything?"* Simon said internally, starring daggers at Raze who just delivered the letter.

*"What? It was funny. Plus it was much less harmful than her previous pranks."*

Maybe Sue was indeed learning.