him from singing sonnets to a few confused Ravenclaws who had come over to take a peek
at Sirius's Valentine's stash.
Mia had a list of seventeen girls that had tried to slip Sirius a Love Potion. In
addition to Callista Hitchins, eight other Ravenclaws joined the stack, including Sophia
Buckley, Mirabella Ellis, Abbie Snow, and Adelia Chapman. A small collection of
Hufflepuffs—whom Mia previously thought too sweet to do something so devious—
included Heather Hopkirk, Ophelia Shaw, and Lavinia Sheppard. There were even some
Slytherins including Bonnie Penrose, Kathleen Birchgrove, Ambrosia Mablethorpe, and
even the infamous Elora Zabini.
Mia fumed, very much lacking the strict sense of morality that she had once
possessed as Hermione Granger.
"Give me all the cards. All the ones from girls who tried to poison him." She reached
her hand out fiercely to Alice, collecting the pink and red envelopes from her.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'd hardly call it poisoning. A little pushy, but―"
"Pushy?" Mia growled out the word, hair sparking, leaving small scorches on the
Gryffindor table.
She placed the pile of envelopes in front of her and glared down at them, muttering
a quiet incantation and waving her wand over the bundle. They glowed dark red for a
moment before disappearing from sight.
"Mia?" James stared at his sister. "Do I want to know what you just did?"
Remus raised a brow. "Better yet, do you need an alibi?"
She shrugged innocently. "I just returned them to the sender."
One by one, each letter magically appeared in a puff of red smoke before girls across
the Great Hall. The Gryffindor table fell eerily silent as they watched and waited for any
sign of explosion as the returned cards were reopened. Upon opening, instead of the
original Valentine inside, there was a small untraceable note:
Love Potions are IMMORAL and should be BANNED at this School.
As if the notion of being caught sending Love-Potion-tainted chocolates were not
enough, one by one, seventeen girls began screaming. Their shrieks of horror echoed off
of the surrounding walls and vaulted ceiling. Covering their faces, the witches dashed
toward the exit, but a few stopped, tears in their eyes to turn and look in the direction of