With a name destined to get her into trouble, Sapphire Black knew that the only way to live life was by taking risks and never looking back. Her brother, family and friends at her side were all that she needed to make it through the poor handout sh...
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After the Yule Ball, the castle seemed unusually tranquil, a welcome change for Sapphire Black.
As usual, she spent her time with Fred and George Weasley, trailing behind them as they schemed their way around Hogwarts. Their pranks had been relatively tame of late—they didn't want to ruffle feathers with the castle's foreign guests. Sapphire had no complaints. She got along well enough with most of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.
Still, she couldn't shake a pang of sympathy for Hagrid. Rita Skeeter's exposé on his half-giant heritage had been cruel and unnecessary. It wasn't hard to figure out, sure, but it wasn't her secret to share, and the nasty remarks that followed were completely uncalled for. Though Sapphire wasn't particularly close to Hagrid, she liked him. He was kindhearted and always looked out for Harry.
"Hiya, Harry!" she chirped as she stepped into the Gryffindor common room, her arms full of books.
"Hi," Harry replied, glancing up from his Quidditch book.
Ron sat next to him, sulking as usual. Sapphire could guess why—he still hadn't gotten over Hermione going to the ball with Viktor Krum.
"Where are you going?" Ron grumbled, his eyes narrowing as they landed on the books. "What are those for?"
"I'm off to meet Cedric," she said nonchalantly.
"Diggory?"
"Yes, Ron, Diggory," she replied with exaggerated drama. "And Alex and Jaden. We're working on the second task, if you must know."
"You've figured it out?" Harry asked, sitting up straight, his face alight with curiosity.
"You haven't?" Sapphire gave him a mockingly pained look. "Right, well, since you helped me with the dragons, here's a tip: put the egg underwater and listen to what it says. Hermione will figure it out if you haven't already."
"Why not just tell me outright?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Because that wouldn't be fun!" Sapphire winked. "If Hermione can't crack it, come find me."
"Isn't that cheating?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"Ron, what's with all the questions?" Sapphire sighed dramatically, tapping him on the head with one of her books. "And Harry, make sure you use the prefects' bathroom. Fourth door to the left of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. The password's 'pine fresh.'"
