Chapter 175 - Gossip! Part-1 (Patreon)

{Outside grounds, Greengrass Manor}

{31th Oct 1991} 

{Rigel's POV}

{A few minutes later}

Sneaking back into the ballroom, I went in a few minutes before Narcissa. Several new people were scattered around the ballroom, though my attention quickly shifted to Susan. She was talking with Amelia and Sirius, trying not to laugh at the story Sirius was telling her, while Amelia looked at both of them with an amused expression.

'Did she go up more than a cup size or something?' I thought as I walked over. While Daphne and Pansy had gone for a cup that was the best B cup, Susan's new figure was touching the ceilings of the C-cup. 

"Rigel..." Susan breathed out as she smiled. She stood up and noticed me walking closer. I noticed Amelia eyeing me as I approached their table, and Susan hugged me. 

'Now that was on purpose,' 

"When did you arrive?" I asked as I stepped back. A momentary frown appeared before she smiled and replied, "A while ago, where were you? I was looking around for you."

"I'm just taking a minute to myself," I deflected the question and extended my hand. "Wanna dance?"

I was much less formal in asking her, but it didn't seem to have made any difference; with another smile, she extended her hand and placed it in my palm. As we approached the dance floor, I heard Sirius and Amelia start whispering something.

"So, how do you like him?" I asked.

"I dunno, he has nice stories and looks much better than those pictures in the papers. Aunty never mentioned him, though; from the looks of it, they were quite close." Susan formed as she looked back at the table.

"Well, he did go to Azkaban for mass murder; I dunno if anyone is going to claim that they knew him." I shrugged as we arrived at one corner of the dance floor. Rather than going to the center, I twirled Susan around and started moving along with the faster song already playing. She must have practiced a lot because, almost instantly, her muscle memory kicked in, and she followed my lead.

"Your Anuty's past life of dating fake mass murderers aside," I spoke, getting a frown from her, "How are you after what happened at Hogwarts?"

She missed a step and almost stumbled at the mention of last night. Her eyes went into a daze for a moment before she shook her head. She shivered slightly, so I squeezed her hand and waist slightly.

After a moment, she looked into my eyes; she hadn't spoken anything for a while.

"It was so large, the Basilisk." She began.

'Wait, what? I thought Dumbledore locked down all the common rooms.'

My face must have been confused as she clarified, "We only saw it pinned to the roof. Hanna and Ernie wanted to see what the fuss was about, and Aunty had told me about a secret entrance to the common room..."

After a momentary pause as the song ended and we stopped dancing, she continued, "...We sneaked out of the common room. Our common room is quite close to where the fight must have happened, as the Basilisk was pinned to the roof with spikes made out of metal."

'How did Dumbledore pierce a Basilik's scales with just metal spikes?' 

I didn't voice the question and instead focused on Susan, "Did you tell your Aunty that, you know, you should take a day or two off to stay in your own room?" 

While I didn't have a degree in Psychology, it could be quite disturbing to have the knowledge that a giant snake lived in the castle. Susan said nothing until I nudged her, "N-no, I would get into trouble with Aunty, Hannah, and Ernie as well."

"I know you want to protect your friends," I spoke, trying to keep my voice calm and smooth, "but you might as well be harming them. You guys made a mistake sneaking out, but just as you might be dealing with nightmares, your friends could be suffering as well. You guys are all holding out for each other, which might hurt you in the long run."

By now, I was slowly walking her off the stage, and she reluctantly followed me back to her table. I nodded at Amelia, who looked at us in confusion and then pointed at Susan.

"You are quite convincing..." She whispered.

"You are a Hufflepuff, and I'm a Slytherin. You never had a chance, sweetheart." I teased her getting a small smile on her face before she turned to Amelia.

A guilty look must have been plastered on her because Ameia immediately asked, "What happened."

After taking a shaking breath, Susan finally spoke, "We sneaked out last night during the curfew from the secret entrance you told me about." 

Amelia stood up immediately, her eyes wide as she almost rushed us down. With a gentle push, I rubbed Susan's back and threw her in Amelia's arms to save myself. Unconcerned about their surroundings, Amelia wrapped her arms around Susan and hugged the girl; I saw Susan stiff before she melted in the hug.

'Their relationship is a lot closer than a strict Aunt and a shy niece.'

"Sirius, let's go get something to drink," I nodded at the man who got the clue as we gave the hugging pair some space. He had a raised eyebrow, which I chose to ignore. Instead, I turned the situation on him.

"What's happening with You and Madam Bones? Should I be worried about any unexpected news?" I teased. 

Sirius smiled at the mention of Amelia, but then he shook his head, "It's a long story..."

I expected him to elaborate, but he pointedly ignored my look; I was about to tease him some more when I caught a pair of Brown locks and eyes looking at me. Pausing momentarily, I spoke to Sirius and started walking toward the busty Gryffindor.

"I expect the full story later..." With those parting words, I walked over to the duo of giggling girls.

'Surely Lavender and Padma would know about what happened, along with several outrageous theories...'

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AN: No pictures yet. I will probably update pictures related to scenes from the past three chapters tonight. With Susan's outfit and the NSFW Scene with Narcissa and Pansy.