Chapter Twelve: (Will Draco Ever Stop Pouting!?)
“And this chapter is
called—” Harry began, but cut himself off as he noticed the sudden grin on
Remus’ face. “Uh…Remus?” he asked.
“I think she’s here,”
was all Remus said. But that was enough.
“YES!” Sirius squealed,
bouncing up from his seat on the bed. “She’s here, she’s here, she’s here!”
And he ran out of the room, making enough noise to shame a stampede of
elephants.
“Er…,” Harry said.
“Oh, don’t worry about
it,” James grinned, seeing the bewildered looks on his and Draco’s faces.
“That’s perfectly normal for Sirius. He’s just a little excited.”
“I noticed,” Draco
muttered dryly, frowning.
Then there was silence
as everyone waited for Sirius and Destiny to come into the room. Fortunately,
it was only a couple of minutes later that they entered.
Skipping.
And singing We’re Off
to See the Wizard at the top of their lungs.
“WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP!”
Remus found himself yelling, covering his ears in a desperate attempt to block
the noise. He decided they were both singing totally off-tune on purpose, just
to annoy him.
“You’re so mean, Rem!”
Sirius pouted.
Remus only glared.
“Anyway,” Sirius
continued, clearing his throat and nervously glancing at Remus. “Guys, this is
Destiny Date.”
Everyone chorused their
helloes, looking at Destiny in interest. To be quite frank, she wasn’t anything
like they’d expected. She was nearly as tall as Sirius and skeletally thin,
with extremely pale skin. Her hair was deep brown, almost black, so long that
it swept the floor, and she had light hazel eyes with a rather mischievous
twinkle in them.
“Hi!” everyone chorused
to her, and she grinned widely.
“Des, these are the
guys, the girl, and two extra people from the future,” Sirius announced,
ignoring Destiny’s promptly raised eyebrow. “The girl is Lily Evans, James’
girlfriend and eventual wife; the short guy with messy black hair, ugly
glasses, and blue eyes is my bestest friend James Potter; the short guy with
messy black hair, ugly glasses, and green eyes is my bestest friend
James Potter’s son Harry Potter—he’s one from the future; the short guy with
really light blond hair is Peter Pettigrew; the short-ish guy with
silvery-blond hair is Draco Malfoy—he’s the other one from the future; and the
guy with really light brown hair is Remus Lupin. He’s mine.”
“I gathered that from
your auras already,” Destiny grinned, eyes traveling over the group. “In fact,
I’ve gathered a lot of things from your auras already. I’d ask if you
knew what you were getting yourself into with him, but all things considered….”
Sirius stared blankly at
her for a second before suddenly realizing what she was talking about. He
promptly smacked himself in his forehead and muttered a curse.
“I can’t believe I
forgot! You can tell everything about us because you can see our auras! Bloody
hell! You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
“‘Course I won’t,”
Destiny frowned, looking insulted. “You know I’d never tell on my friends about
something as serious as what I see! So, anyway. What are you people doing,
smushed together on that bed there?”
Sirius grinned in
cheerful relief as he bounced back onto the bed, shoving around to make room
for Destiny next to him.
“We’ve been reading some
books,” Sirius grinned.
“You mean you can read?”
Destiny returned immediately in mock shock.
“Shut up, Des.”
“No. Well, at least, I
wouldn’t, but I have nothing else to say right now. Well, except ask what I’ve
missed, since we’ll obviously be reading it now.”
“Well, you’ve missed the
entire first book and half the second one. So pretty much, Voldemort”—Peter winced—“killed
James and Lily, so now Harry gets stuck living with the Dursleys, his mean
Muggle aunt and uncle and cousin, and they attempt to squash the magic out of
him by abusing him. And then Hagrid comes to pick Harry up and takes him Diagon
Alley and tells him everything about magic and stuff and then he goes to
Hogwarts and meets bunches of people, and his best friend is Ron Weasley, and
Draco here is his rival, so they don’t like each other very much.” (Something
about that sentence seemed to make Destiny snicker.) “And my dear friend Sevvie—”
“Isn’t he the one you
always complained about?” Destiny interrupted.
“Yeah, him,” Sirius
grinned in reply. “Well, he’s the Potions professor, and he and Harry don’t
like each other very much either. Anyway, a bunch of other stuff happens, Harry
gets on the Quidditch team as Seeker, by the way, and then they end up getting
past this big three-headed dog and a bunch of other things with the help of
Hermione Granger, Harry’s other best friend after they knocked out a troll in
the girls’ bathroom,”—Destiny’s eyebrow rose again—“and they eventually get to
the Mirror of Erised, long story there but not particularly important right
now, and Harry gets the Sorcerer’s Stone from it and finds out that one of his
professors has Voldemort stuck to the back of his head, and then he saves the day
and the Stone is destroyed.
“And then second year,
so far, he’s met a house elf, escaped from the Dursleys’ house, thrown gnomes out
of the Weasleys’ back yard, learned how to use Floo Powder, met the highly
esteemed Gilderoy Lockhart, got blocked from going on the Hogwarts Express,
drove a car to Hogwarts, crashed a car into a nasty tree called the Whomping
Willow outside of Hogwarts, made fun of Sevvie, found out what a Howler is, gotten
a fan club, found out that dear old Draco got onto the Slytherin team, as
Seeker of course, heard a disembodied voice nobody else could hear, went to a
Deathday Party, been blamed for petrifying a cat, learned about the Chamber of
Secrets, gotten his arm broken by a Bludger, gotten the bones in his arm
removed by a teacher, took part in a Dueling Club, found out he was a
Parselmouth, and was blamed for petrifying some other kid and a ghost. Now he’s
going to see Dumbledore.”
“Ah,” was all Destiny
said, eyebrow still raised.
“So, anyway!” James
grinned suddenly. “We’ve all been introduced, you know about as much of Harry’s
life as we do, and it’s all good. Now then, Harry, if you’d kindly do the
honor?”
“I’d be happy to,” Harry
grinned, turning back to the book. “This chapter is called The Polyjuice
Potion.”
“Polyjuice Potion?”
Destiny asked. “How nice that you forgot to tell me they were making it.”
“Oops, sorry,” Sirius
apologized.
Destiny just waved it
off and Harry began reading.
They stepped off the stone staircase at the top,
James- As opposed to the
bottom.
Remus- Or the middle.
Sirius- Or not stepping
off at all.
and Professor McGonagall rapped
Remus- ::opens his mouth::
James- Don’t even think
about it, Rem. Singing’s bad enough!
Remus- ::pouts:: I had a
really good one too! (1)
on the door. It opened silently and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Harry to wait and left him there, alone.
James- She’s leaving a
Marauder’s son in the Headmaster’s office alone?
Harry- Like I’d actually
do anything?
James- Yeah, but still! You’re
my son! She wouldn’t trust me in Dumbledore’s office alone!
Harry- I don’t do pranks
like you do.
Remus- And she trusted me
enough to leave me in his office alone. She’s given me as many detentions as
she’s given you.
James- …Shut up.
Harry looked
around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers' offices Harry had visited
so far this year, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting.
Sirius- I don’t know, I think Lockhart’s office was rather interesting.
Peter- And we know you’re being
sarcastic, so shut up.
Sirius- ::pouts::
If he hadn't been scared out of his wits
Destiny- I never got that saying. Shouldn’t his wits have been scared
out of him?
Sirius- Hey, that’s a good point! I never
thought of that!
Remus- ::sighs:: Oh boy.
Destiny/Sirius- Yeeees?
Remus- Nothing. Forget it.
Destiny/Sirius- ::grin::
that he was about to be thrown out of school,
James- You weren’t thrown out of school for crashing a car into the
Whomping Willow, why would you be thrown out for doing something if they haven’t
got any proof you did it?
Harry- Leave me alone, I was twelve!
Others- ::snicker::
he would have been very pleased to have a
chance to look around it.
Remus- It is a rather interesting room to look at. Very nice, and some
of the old headmasters are interesting.
Harry- ::snickers:: I noticed.
It was a
large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of
curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged
Sirius- Why is everything spindle-legged? And what exactly is
spindle-legged, anyway?
Remus- the legs are long and thin.
Sirius- Oh, right. I should’ve known
that.
tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of
smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and
headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames.
Remus- Like they’d have anything better to do?
There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk,
Sirius- I wonder if that’s spindle-legged too?
Remus/Harry- Nope.
and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby,
tattered wizard's hat—the Sorting Hat.
Destiny- Dun dun dun.
Others- What?
Destiny- ::snickers:: Nothing.
Harry
hesitated. He cast a wary eye around the sleeping witches and wizards on the
walls. Surely it couldn't hurt if he took the hat down and tried it on again?
James- Whoo boy.
Harry- Shut up.
Just to see…just to make sure it had
put him in the right House—
He walked
quietly around the desk, lifted the hat from its shelf, and lowered it slowly
onto his head. It was much too large and slipped down over his eyes, just as it
had done the last time he'd put it on. Harry stared at the black inside of the
hat, waiting. Then a small voice said in his ear, "Bee in your bonnet,
Sirius- You wear a bonnet?
Harry- ::rolls his eyes:: No.
Sirius- But the hat said—
Draco- Do yourself a favor and shut up
before you hurt yourself.
Sirius- How would I hurt myself?
James- By acting so stupid that we hit
you.
Sirius- Now, why would something like
that happen?
Remus- ::smacks Sirius::
Sirius- Ow! What was that for?
Remus- ::grins:: Just proving a point.
Sirius- ::pouts::
Harry Potter?"
"Er,
yes,"
All but Harry- ::snicker::
Harry- ::scowls::
Harry muttered. "Er—sorry to bother
you—I wanted to ask—"
"You've
been wondering whether I put you in the right House," said the hat
smartly.
Lily- (grumbles) Intelligently.
Harry- Gee, that’s a word? Since when?
Lily- ::glares at Harry::
Harry- ::grins::
"Yes…you were particularly difficult to
place. But I stand by what I said before”
Draco- Why?
All but Destiny/Draco- ::glare at
Draco::
Draco- What?
—Harry’s heart
leapt—"you would have done well in Slytherin—"
Draco- Oh, that’s why. In that case, I totally agree.
Harry- Shut up, Draco.
Harry's
stomach plummeted.
Destiny- Here’s another question to ask: why does your heart leap, but
your stomach plummet? Shouldn’t just one of them do both?
Sirius- Hey, yeah!
Remus- No. Any more questions
you need to ask, Destiny?
Destiny- Yeah. Why do you park on a
driveway and drive on a parkway?
Sirius/James/Draco- Huh?
Remus-
::sighs:: Why did I ask?
Destiny- You’re male.
All but Lily/Destiny- HEY!
He grabbed the point of the hat
Sirius- Why didn’t you grab the brim? It would’ve been easier to reach.
Harry- Because I didn’t feel like it.
Now, will you shut up and let me read?
Sirius- ::pouts::
and pulled it off. It hung limply in his
hand, grubby and faded. Harry pushed it back onto its shelf, feeling sick.
Draco- HEY!
Harry- What? I don’t want to be
a bloody Slytherin!
Draco- ::pouts:: There’s nothing wrong
with being in Slytherin.
Harry- Yes there is. And stop pouting!
Draco- I’M NOT POUTING!
Others- ::snicker::
"You're
wrong," he said aloud to the still and silent hat. It didn't move. Harry
backed away, watching it. Then a strange, gagging noise behind him made him
wheel around.
Sirius- It
was me. Don’t ask me how, but I heard the thing about the hat wanting Harry in
Slytherin, and now I’m making gagging noises because that’s just wrong!
Draco- HEY!
Sirius- ::ignores
Draco:: And then I grab him and run for me life.
Others-
::roll their eyes::
He wasn't
alone after all.
Destiny- No shit.
Standing on a golden perch behind the door
was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey.
Lily- Ugh. Pleasant.
Harry stared at it and the bird looked
balefully back, making its gagging noise again.
Sirius- Get back, Harry! It’s gonna puke!
Harry- ::rolls his eyes::
Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes
were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its
tail.
Harry was
just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore's pet bird to die while he
was alone in the office with it,
All- ::wince::
when the bird burst into flames.
All but Harry/Remus- Flames?
Sirius- Cool! Dumbledore’s got a phoenix!
Remus- Yes he does. And Fawkes is a
gorgeous phoenix.
Destiny- All phoenixes are
gorgeous. It’s a phoenix thing.
Harry
yelled in shock and backed away into the desk.
James- ::looks at Harry:: Please tell me you knew what a phoenix
was.
Harry- Well, I knew what one was,
I’d just never seen one before! And when it actually burst into flames, I was a
tad bit busy being shocked as hell, I couldn’t think straight!
James- Ah.
He looked feverishly around in case there was
a glass of water somewhere
All but Harry- ::snicker::
Harry- ::blushes:: Shut up!
but couldn't see one; the bird, meanwhile,
had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek and next second there was
nothing but a smouldering pile of ash on the floor.
The office
door opened. Dumbledore came in, looking very somber.
Sirius- He
looked around the room for a moment, and then caught sight of the pile of ash
on the floor under his bird’s perch.
“You’ve killed my bird!” Dumbledore
guessed, glaring furiously at Harry. “You’re expelled!”
“Aw, damn,” Harry groaned. “I knew
I shouldn’t’ve gotten up this morning!”
James-
::snickers:: Enough, Siri.
Sirius-
::pouts:: Aw, I was having fun!
James- I know,
but we need to get on with the book.
Sirius-
::shrugs:: Okay!
"Professor,"
Harry gasped. "Your bird—I couldn't do anything—he just caught fire—"
Draco- Yes,
phoenixes do tend to do that after a while.
Harry-
::elbows Draco::
To Harry's
astonishment, Dumbledore smiled.
"About
time, too,"
Sirius- (as Dumbledore) I was wondering when that stupid spell would
work!
he said. "He's been looking dreadful for
days; I've been telling him to get a move on."
He
chuckled at the stunned look on Harry's face.
"Fawkes
is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die
and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him…"
Harry
looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of
the ashes. It was quite as ugly as the old one.
"It's
a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day,"
Harry- What is that, a holiday now?
Others- Huh?
Harry- Burning Day has capitals.
Others- …Oh. Right.
Harry- ::pouts:: Shut up.
said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his
desk. "He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold
plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy
loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful
pets."
James- ::grins:: So does Padfoot.
Sirius- Woof!
In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, Harry had forgotten what he was there for, but it all came back to him as Dumbledore settled himself in the high chair behind the desk and fixed Harry with his penetrating, light-blue stare.
James- ::shivers::
That stare can be really freaky sometimes.
Draco- (grumbles)
You’re telling me!
James- Huh?
Draco- ::blushes::
Nothing!
Before
Dumbledore could speak another word, however, the door of the office flew open
with an almighty bang and Hagrid burst in,
All but Destiny- Oh boy.
Destiny- ::looks blank:: Who?
Sirius- You’ll find out. Keep reading Harry.
Destiny- ::shrugs::
a wild look in his eyes, his balaclava
perched on top of his shaggy black head and the dead rooster still swinging
from his hand.
Destiny- He has a dead rooster.
Sirius- Well, it died.
Destiny- And he’s carrying it around?
That’s gross!
Sirius- It’s nothing. You should see
some of the other things he does.
Destiny- I don’t wanna know.
"It
wasn' Harry, Professor Dumbledore!" said Hagrid urgently. "I was
talkin' ter him seconds before that kid was found, he never had time,
sir—"
Dumbledore
tried to say something, but Hagrid went ranting on, waving the rooster around
in his agitation, sending feathers everywhere.
All- Ugh!
"—It
can't've bin him, I'll swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have
to—"
"Hagrid,
I—"
"—yeh've
got the wrong boy, sir, I know Harry never—”
"Hagrid!"
said Dumbledore loudly. "I do not think that Harry attacked those
people."
Destiny- He
doesn’t?
Peter- Duh.
Destiny- But
why’s Harry up there then?
Sirius- You’ll
find out in a second.
"Oh,"
said Hagrid, the rooster falling limply at his side. "Right. I'll wait
outside then, Headmaster."
And he
stomped out looking embarrassed.
"You don't
think it was me, Professor?"
James- ::rolls his eyes:: Harry, you are such an idiot!
Harry- Well, what can I say? It runs
in the family.
James- HEY!
Harry repeated hopefully as Dumbledore
brushed rooster feathers off his desk.
"No,
Harry, I don't," said Dumbledore, though his face was somber again.
"But I still want to talk to you."
Harry
waited nervously while Dumbledore considered him, the tips of his long fingers
together.
"I
must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me," he
said gently. "Anything at all."
Harry
didn't know what to say. He thought of Malfoy shouting, "You'll be next,
Mudbloods!"
Remus- Which he probably already knows about.
and of the Polyjuice Potion simmering away in
Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Remus- Which you want to keep him from knowing about.
Then he thought of the disembodied voice he
had heard twice and remembered what Ron had said: "Hearing voices no
one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world." He
thought, too, about what everyone was saying about him, and his growing dread
that he was somehow connected with Salazar Slytherin….
James- Which you can’t be, because you’re related to Gryffindor.
"No,"
said Harry. "There isn't anything, Professor…."
Lily- Harry!
Harry- What?
Lily- You
lied to Dumbledore!
Harry- Well,
what did you want me to say? “Oh, yes, Professor, did I forgot to mention that me,
Ron, and Hermione are making an illegal potion in a girls’ bathroom? Or that I’ve
been hearing these voices and I can’t explain them?” Yeah, I’m sure that
would’ve gone real good with him.
Lily- Well,
yes, but….
Draco-
::snickers:: (under his breath) Slytherin….
Harry- AND
SHUT UP, DRACO!
Draco-
::stares at Harry::
Harry- ::scowls::
I’m getting back to the book.
The double
attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick turned what had hitherto
Destiny- ::giggles:: That’s a funny word.
James- ::rolls his eyes:: Americans.
Destiny- Oh, shut up.
been nervousness into real panic. Curiously,
it was Nearly Headless Nick's fate that seemed to worry people most. What could
possibly do that to a ghost? people asked each other; what terrible power could
harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on
the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.
Sirius- The basilisk was following them.
"At
this rate, we'll be the only ones left," Ron told Harry and Hermione.
"Us, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a jolly holiday it's going to
be."
Crabbe and
Goyle, who always did whatever Malfoy did,
Draco- ::scowls::
had signed up to stay over the holidays, too.
But Harry was glad that most people were leaving. He was tired of people
skirting around him in the corridors, as though he was about to sprout fangs or
spit poison;
Sirius/James/Destiny- Oooooh! Cool!
Others- ::roll their eyes::
tired of all the muttering, pointing, and
hissing as he passed.
Fred and
George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march
ahead of Harry down the corridors, shouting, "Make way for the Heir of
Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through….”
All but Lily-
::snicker::
Percy was
deeply disapproving of this behavior.
"It
is not a laughing matter," he said coldly.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said Fred. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah,
he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged
servant," said George, chortling.
Sirius- I bet
the basilisk really likes tea, too.
Harry- I wouldn’t
bet on it.
Ginny
didn't find it amusing either.
"Oh, don't,"
she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack
next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic
when they met.
Destiny- What
is he, a vampire?
James- I certainly
hope not!
Harry
didn't mind; it made him feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought
the idea of his being Slytherin's heir was quite ludicrous. But their antics
seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time
he saw them at it.
Harry- Which
reminds me. Why did you look so sour when you saw them?
Draco-
::scowls:: Because if I didn’t make myself look sour, I’d probably start
laughing. That wouldn’t have exactly been good for my imagine, laughing with Weasleys.
Harry- You
think you’re image is too important.
Draco- And
you’d feel the same, if you lived like I did. Do you know how many people would
want to kill me for agreeing with Gryffindors?
Harry- See
why I don’t want to be a Slytherin?
Draco-
::scowls:: Shut up.
"It's
because he's bursting to say it's really him,"
Draco- ::snorts:: Yeah, right.
said Ron knowingly. "You know how he
hates anyone beating him at anything, and you're getting all the credit for his
dirty work."
"Not
for long," said Hermione in a satisfied tone. "The Polyjuice Potion's
nearly ready. We'll be getting the truth out of him any day now."
At last
the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the
castle. Harry found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact that
he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant
they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, and practice
dueling in private.
Draco- (sarcastically) Well, aren’t you special?
Harry- What did you, Crabbe, and Goyle
spend your time doing?
Draco- Not playing Exploding Snape, I’ll
tell you that much.
Fred, George, and Ginny had chosen to stay at
school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Percy, who
disapproved of what he termed their childish behavior, didn't spend much time
in the Gryffindor common room.
Sirius- ::looks insulted:: Well, what’s wrong with Exploding Snap?
Draco- Other then that it’s loud?
Sirius- But that’s a good
thing!
Draco- ::rolls his eyes::
He had already told them pompously that he
was only staying over Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support
the teachers during this troubled time.
Christmas morning dawned, cold and white.
Sirius- As opposed to cold
and pink, like it should’ve been.
Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both.
"Wake
up," she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.
"Hermione—you're
not supposed to be in here—" said Ron, shielding his eyes against the
light.
"Merry
Christmas to you, too," said Hermione, throwing him his present.
"I've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion.
It's ready."
Draco-
::suddenly looks suspicious:: On Christmas?
Harry-
::grins:: Yep!
Draco- I knew
something strange was going on!
Harry- Not my
fault you were too stupid to figure it out.
Draco-
::glares furiously at Harry::
Harry-
::smiles innocently back::
Harry sat
up, suddenly wide awake.
"Are
you sure?"
"Positive,"
said Hermione, shifting Scabbers the rat so that she could sit down on the end
of Ron's four-poster.
Draco- Why didn’t she just sit on an empty bed?
Sirius- ::grins:: Well…
Harry- Sirius, shut up about that!
"If we're going to do it, I say it
should be tonight."
At that
moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her
beak.
"Hello,"
said Harry happily as she landed on his bed. "Are you speaking to me
again?"
Sirius- She
talks?
Others- ::roll
their eyes and ignore him::
Sirius-
::pouts::
She
nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way, which was a far better present
than the one that she had brought him, which turned out to be from the
Dursleys. They had sent Harry a toothpick and a note telling him to find out
whether he'd be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer vacation, too.
Harry- Wish I
could.
The rest
of Harry's Christmas presents were far more satisfactory. Hagrid had sent him a
large tin of treacle fudge, which Harry decided to soften by the fire before
eating; Ron had given him a book called Flying with the Cannons, a book
of interesting facts about his favorite Quidditch team, and Hermione had bought
him a luxury eagle-feather quill. Harry opened the last present to find a new,
hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake. He read her card
with a fresh surge of guilt, thinking about Mr. Weasley's car (which hadn't
been seen since its crash with the Whomping Willow), and the bout of
rule-breaking he and Ron were planning next.
Draco- Then
again, most Slytherins wouldn’t feel guilty about somethin stupid like breaking
rules.
James-
Neither would we.
Harry- All
right, so I’m really weird. Just leave me alone!
No one,
not even someone dreading taking Polyjuice Potion later, could fail to enjoy
Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.
The Great
Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas
trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but
enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling. Dumbledore led them
in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every
goblet of eggnog he consumed. Percy, who hadn't noticed that Fred had bewitched
his prefect badge so that it now read "Pinhead," kept asking them all
what they were sniggering at.
All but Lily- ::snicker::
Harry didn't even care that Draco Malfoy was
making loud, snide remarks about his new sweater from the Slytherin table.
Draco- You’re so mean, Harry! I thought you loved me!
Harry- (sarcastically) Oh, yes, so
much.
Draco- Well, the sweater was ugly.
Harry- ::scowls:: I like it.
With a bit of luck, Malfoy would be getting
his comeuppance in a few hours' time.
Draco- ::pouts:: I didn’t do it!
Harry- Well, we know that now,
so stop pouting!
Draco- ::pouts more:: I’m not pouting.
Others- YES YOU ARE!
Draco- ::pouts even more::
Harry and
Ron had barely finished their third helpings of Christmas pudding when Hermione
ushered them out of the hall to finalize their plans for the evening.
"We
still need a bit of the people you're changing into," said Hermione
matter-of-factly, as though she were sending them to the supermarket for
laundry detergent. "And obviously, it'll be best if you can get something
of Crabbe's and Goyle's; they're Malfoys best friends, he'll tell them
anything. And we also need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst
in on us while we're interrogating him.
"I've got it all worked out," she went on smoothly, ignoring Harry's and Ron's stupefied faces. She held up two plump chocolate cakes. "I've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is make sure Crabbe and Goyle find them. You know how greedy they are, they're bound to eat them. Once they're asleep, pull out a few of their hairs and hide them in a broom closet."
Harry and
Ron looked incredulously at each other.
"Hermione,
I don't think—"
"That
could go seriously wrong—"
But
Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall
sometimes had.
"The
potion will be useless without Crabbe's and Goyle's hair," she said
sternly. "You do want to investigate Malfoy, don't you?"
"Oh,
all right, all right," said Harry. "But what about you? Whose hair
are you ripping out?"
Sirius-
Nobody’s, obviously. She did all the work on the potion, you can get the
information on your own!
Harry- HEY!
"I've already got mine!"
Destiny- Well, I hope
you’ve got hair!
Sirius- ::snickers::
said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. "Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me at the Dueling Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me! And she's gone home for Christmas—so I'll just have to tell the Slytherins I've decided to come back."
When
Hermione had bustled off to check on the Polyjuice Potion again, Ron turned to
Harry with a doom-laden expression.
"Have
you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?"
Draco- Have
you ever heard Crabbe and Goyle trying to make a plan?
Harry- They
make plans?
Draco- Try
to. I stop them before they get very far, though.
Harry- I would
certainly hope so. That’s just scary!
But to
Harry's and Ron's utter amazement, stage one of the operation went just as
smoothly as Hermione had said.
James- Scary.
They lurked in the deserted entrance hall
after Christmas tea, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle who had remained alone at the
Slytherin table, shoveling down fourth helpings of trifle. Harry had perched
the chocolate cakes on the end of the banisters. When they spotted Crabbe and
Goyle coming out of the Great Hall, Harry and Ron hid quickly behind a suit of
armor next to the front door.
“How thick
can you get?" Ron whispered ecstatically as Crabbe gleefully pointed out
the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them.
Destiny- Okay, who in hell would take food left in an obvious place like that? How damned stupid are these two?
Draco- You don’t want to know.
Destiny- …I’m inclined to agree.
Grinning stupidly, they stuffed the cakes
whole into their large mouths. For a moment, both of them chewed greedily,
looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of
expression, they both keeled over backward onto the floor.
Remus- I thought they were supposed to feel asleep?
Harry- No, it just knocks them unconscious.
Remus- …Ah. I still hate Potions.
By far the
hardest part was hiding them in the closet across the hall.
James- At least it’s close.
Sirius- It wouldn’t have been any trouble
at all if I was there
Once they were safely stowed among the
buckets and mops, Harry yanked out a couple of the bristles that covered
Goyle's forehead and Ron pulled out several of Crabbe's hairs. They also stole
their shoes, because their own were far too small for Crabbe- and Goyle-size
feet. Then, still stunned at what they had just done, they sprinted up to
Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
They could
hardly see for the thick black smoke issuing from the stall in which Hermione
was stirring the cauldron. Pulling their robes up over their faces, Harry and
Ron knocked softly on the door.
"Hermione?"
They heard
the scrape of the lock and Hermione emerged, shiny-faced
Draco- ::frowns:: That’s the big problem with potions. Spend to long
with them, and you get so greasy. It’s disgusting.
Sirius- Certainly explains Snape’s
looks. But still, he can’t be that obsessed!
Draco- He’s not obsessed, he’s
dedicated.
Sirius- ::snickers:: Yeah, right.
Draco- ::glares at Sirius::
and looking anxious. Behind her they heard
the gloop gloop of the bubbling, glutinous potion. Three glass tumblers
stood ready on the toilet seat.
Destiny- Nice place to get glasses from.
Sirius- Ugh. Thanks, Des.
Destiny- ::grins::
"Did
you get them?" Hermione asked breathlessly.
Harry
showed her Goyle's hair.
"Good.
And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry," Hermione said,
holding up a small sack. "You'll need bigger sizes once you're Crabbe and
Goyle."
The three
of them stared into the cauldron. Close up, the potion looked like thick, dark
mud, bubbling sluggishly.
James- Oh,
yum.
"I'm
sure I've done everything right," said Hermione, nervously rereading the
splotched page of Moste Potente Potions. "It looks like the book
says it should…once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before we change
back into ourselves."
"Now
what?" Ron whispered.
"We
separate it into three glasses and add the hairs."
Hermione ladled
large dollops of the potion into each of the glasses. Then, her hand trembling,
she shook Millicent Bulstrode's hair out of its bottle into the first glass.
The potion
hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and frothed madly. A second later, it had
turned a sick sort of yellow.
"Urgh—essence of Millicent Bulstrode," said Ron, eyeing it with loathing. "Bet it tastes disgusting."
"Add
yours, then," said Hermione.
Harry
dropped Goyle's hair into the middle glass and Ron put Crabbe's into the last
one. Both glasses hissed and frothed: Goyle's turned the khaki color of a
booger, Crabbe's a dark, murky brown.
Destiny- Oh,
yay. Snot and shit. Wonderful.
James- Ugh.
Would you shut up?
Destiny-
::grins:: You know you love me!
James- I just
met you!
Destiny-
Yeah, well, you like Sirius, don’t you?
James- …
"Hang
on," said Harry as Ron and Hermione reached for their glasses. "We'd
better not all drink them in here…. Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won't
fit. And Millicent Bulstrode's no pixie.”
Draco- That’s
an understatement.
"Good
thinking," said Ron, unlocking the door. "We'll take separate
stalls."
Careful
not to spill a drop of his Polyjuice Potion, Harry slipped into the middle
stall.
"Ready?"
he called.
"Ready,"
came Ron's and Hermione's voices.
"One—two—three—"
Pinching
his nose, Harry drank the potion down in two large gulps. It tasted like
overcooked cabbage.
All-Ugh!
Immediately,
his insides started writhing as though he'd just swallowed live snakes—doubled
up, he wondered whether he was going to be sick—
Draco- Too late.
Harry- ::elbows Draco::
then a burning
sensation spread rapidly from his stomach to the very ends of his fingers and
toes—next, bringing him gasping to all fours, came a horrible melting feeling,
as the skin all over his body bubbled like hot wax—
Sirius- Ow.
Harry- Just a little.
and before his
eyes, his hands began to grow, the fingers thickened, the nails broadened, the
knuckles were bulging like bolts—his shoulders stretched painfully and a
prickling on his forehead told him that hair was creeping down toward his
eyebrows—his robes ripped as his chest expanded like a barrel bursting its
hoops—his feet were agony in shoes four sizes too small—
As
suddenly as it had started, everything stopped. Harry lay facedown on the
stone-cold floor, listening to Myrtle gurgling morosely in the end toilet. With
difficulty, he kicked off his shoes and stood up. So this was what it felt
like, being Goyle.
Harry- Not a good feeling at all.
His large hand trembling, he pulled off his
old robes, which were hanging a foot above his ankles, pulled on the spare
ones, and laced up Goyle's boatlike shoes. He reached up to brush his hair out
of his eyes and met only the short growth of wiry bristles, low on his
forehead. Then he realized that his glasses were clouding his eyes because
Goyle obviously didn't need them—he took them off and called, "Are you two
okay?" Goyle's low rasp of a voice issued from his mouth.
"Yeah,"
came the deep grunt of Crabbe from his right.
Harry
unlocked his door and stepped in front of the cracked mirror. Goyle stared back
at him out of dull, deepset eyes. Harry scratched his ear. So did Goyle.
Ron's door
opened. They stared at each other. Except that he looked pale and shocked, Ron
was indistinguishable from Crabbe, from the pudding-bowl haircut to the long,
gorilla arms.
"This
is unbelievable," said Ron, approaching the mirror and prodding Crabbe's
flat nose.
Draco- Must be a much better nose than he’s used to.
Harry- Oh, shut up, Draco.
"Unbelievable."
"We'd better get going," said Harry, loosening the watch that was cutting into Goyle's thick wrist. "We've still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow…"
Draco- So, of course
you end up with me.
Sirius- You know,
that could be taken very wrong….
Draco- ::smacks
Sirius:: Shut. Up.
Ron, who
had been gazing at Harry,
Sirius- (as Ron thinking) Oh, I never realized how handsome
Goyle is!
Harry/Draco- Ewwwwww!
Draco- ::smacks Sirius::
Sirius- Ow! Leave me alone!
Draco- Then shut up!
said, "You don't know how bizarre it is
to see Goyle thinking." He banged on Hermione's door. "C'mon,
we need to go—"
A
high-pitched voice answered him.
Draco-
Millicent does not have a high-pitched voice.
Harry- Like
we’d know. We’ve certainly never heard her talk.
"I—I don't
think I'm going to come after all. You go on without me.”
"Hermione,
we know Millicent Bulstrode's ugly, no one's going to know it's you—"
All-
::snicker::
"No—really—I
don't think I'll come. You two hurry up, you re wasting time—”
Harry
looked at Ron, bewildered.
"That
looks more like Goyle," said Ron. "That's how he looks every time a
teacher asks him a question."
Draco- That’s
how he looks whenever anyone talks.
"Hermione,
are you okay?" said Harry through the door.
"Fine—I'm
fine—go on—"
Harry
looked at his watch. Five of their precious sixty minutes had already passed.
"We'll
meet you back here, all right?" he said.
Harry and
Ron opened the door of the bathroom carefully, checked that the coast was
clear, and set off.
"Don't
swing your arms like that," Harry muttered to Ron.
"Eh?"
"Crabbe
holds them sort of stiff…."
"How's
this?"
"Yeah,
that's better…."
They went
down the marble staircase. All they needed now was a Slytherin that they could
follow to the Slytherin common room,
Sirius- ::grins:: Or a Marauder!
Harry- Don’t I wish?
but there was nobody around.
"Any
ideas?" muttered Harry.
"The
Slytherins always come up to breakfast from over there," said Ron, nodding
at the entrance to the dungeons. The words had barely left his mouth when a
girl with long, curly hair emerged from the entrance.
"Excuse
me," said Ron, hurrying up to her. "We've forgotten the way to our common
room."
Draco-
::snorts:: I wouldn’t be surprised.
"I
beg your pardon?" said the girl stiffly. "Our common room? I'm
a Ravenclaw."
Draco-
::smirks:: Clearwater then. She is such a bitch.
Harry-
Probably just to Slytherins.
Draco- Shut
up, Harry.
Harry-
::grins::
She walked
away, looking suspiciously back at them.
Harry and
Ron hurried down the stone steps into the darkness, their footsteps echoing
particularly loudly as Crabbe's and Goyle's huge feet hit the floor, feeling
that this wasn't going to be as easy as they had hoped.
The
labyrinthine passages were deserted. They walked deeper and deeper under the
school, constantly checking their watches to see how much time they had left.
After a quarter of an hour, just when they were getting desperate, they heard a
sudden movement ahead.
"Ha!"
said Ron excitedly. "There's one of them now!"
The figure
was emerging from a side room. As they hurried nearer, however, their hearts sank.
It wasn't a Slytherin, it was Percy.
"What're
you doing down here?" said Ron in surprise.
James- Good
question.
Sirius-
::snickers:: Maybe he is dating Flint.
Draco- Ew,
no.
Percy
looked affronted.
"That,"
he said stiffly, "is none of your business. It's Crabbe, isn't it?"
"Wh—oh,
yeah," said Ron.
"Well,
get off to your dormitories," said Percy sternly. "It's not safe to
go wandering around dark corridors these days."
"You
are," Ron pointed out.
"I,"
said Percy, drawing himself up, "am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me."
Draco-
::grins evilly: Wanna bet?
A voice suddenly echoed behind Harry and Ron. Draco Malfoy was strolling toward them, and for the first time in his life, Harry was pleased to see him.
Draco- You’re so
sweet, Harry!
Harry- I’m sweet
because I want to ask you questions about why you’re an evil bastard?
Draco- Yes.
Harry- …Right….
"There
you are," he drawled, looking at them. "Have you two been pigging out
in the Great Hall all this time? I've been looking for you; I want to show you
something really funny."
Malfoy
glanced witheringly at Percy.
"And
what're you doing down here, Weasley?" he sneered.
Percy
looked outraged.
"You
want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect!" he said. "I
don't like your attitude!"
Malfoy
sneered and motioned for Harry and Ron to follow him. Harry almost said
something apologetic to Percy but caught himself just in time.
Draco- Unfortunately.
He and Ron hurried after Malfoy, who said as
they turned into the next passage, "That Peter Weasley—"
"Percy,"
Ron corrected him automatically.
"Whatever,"
said Malfoy. "I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I
know what he's up to. He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's heir
single-handed."
He gave a
short, derisive laugh. Harry and Ron exchanged excited looks.
Malfoy paused
by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.
"What's
the new password again?" he said to Harry.
"Er—"
said Harry.
"Oh,
yeah—pure-blood!" said Malfoy, not listening, and a stone door
concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through it, and Harry and Ron
followed him.
The
Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls
and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was
crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several
Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.
Harry- It’s
ugly.
Draco- It’s
really very nice when you get used to it.
Harry-
::snorts:: I seriously doubt it.
"Wait
here," said Malfoy to Harry and Ron, motioning them to a pair of empty
chairs set back from the fire. "I'll go and get it—my father's just sent
it to me—"
Wondering
what Malfoy was going to show them, Harry and Ron sat down, doing their best to
look at home.
Draco- Nobody
looks at home in Slytherin. They’re all tense and secretive all the time.
Harry- I definitely
don’t want to be a Slytherin.
Draco- Oh,
shut up.
Malfoy
came back a minute later, holding what looked like a newspaper clipping. He
thrust it under Ron's nose.
“That'll
give you a laugh," he said.
Harry saw
Ron's eyes widen in shock. He read the clipping quickly, gave a very forced
laugh, and handed it to Harry.
It had
been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it said:
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.
Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for
Mr. Weasley's resignation.
"Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy
told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his
ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately."
Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them.
"Well?"
said Malfoy impatiently as Harry handed the clipping back to him. "Don't
you think it's funny?"
"Ha,
ha," said Harry bleakly.
"Arthur
Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join
them," said Malfoy scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were
pure-bloods, the way they behave."
Harry-
::scowls::
Draco- Well,
it’s true. Most pure-bloods wouldn’t be caught dead with Muggle-borns.
James- Well,
they’re not most pure-bloods, are they? And neither is my family or Siri’s
family.
Draco- Why do
you think most pure-bloods aren’t in Gryffindor?
James- …
Draco-
Exactly.
James- Oh,
shut up.
Ron's—or
rather, Crabbe's—face was contorted with fury.
"What's
up with you, Crabbe?" snapped Malfoy.
"Stomachache,"
Ron grunted.
"Well,
go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me,"
said Malfoy, snickering. "You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet
hasn't reported all these attacks yet," he went on thoughtfully. "I suppose
Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon.
Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to
this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never've let slime
like that Creevey in."
All- ::glare
at Draco::
Draco-
::scowls:: Leave me alone.
Malfoy
started taking pictures with an imaginary camera and did a cruel but accurate
impression of Colin: "`Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have
your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?"'
Harry- If he
ever actually asked me if he could lick me shoes, I’d run.
Others-
::snicker::
He dropped his hands and looked at
Harry and Ron.
"What's
the matter with you two?"
Far too
late, Harry and Ron forced themselves to laugh, but Malfoy seemed satisfied;
perhaps Crabbe and Goyle were always slow on the uptake.
Draco- Oh,
yeah.
"Saint
Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," said Malfoy slowly. "He's another one
with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up
Granger Mudblood.
Harry- ::scowls::
Draco- ::inches away slightly from
Harry::
And people think he's Slytherin's
heir!"
Harry and Ron waited with bated breath: Malfoy was surely seconds away from telling them it was him—but then—
"I wish
I knew who it is," said Malfoy petulantly. "I could help
them."
Ron's jaw dropped so that Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. Fortunately, Malfoy didn't notice, and Harry, thinking fast, said, "You must have some idea who's behind it all….”
Draco- Don’t I wish?
"You
know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?" snapped
Malfoy. "And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber
was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his
time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and
it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it.
James- Well you’re right about that one. Unless, of course, it would
make sense if you said you’d asked him about it because you were curious….
Draco- …Shut up.
But I know one thing—last time the Chamber of
Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time
before one of them's killed this time…. I hope it's Granger," he said with
relish.
Ron was
clenching Crabbe's gigantic fists. Feeling that it would be a bit of a giveaway
if Ron punched Malfoy,
Draco- Oh, just
a little.
Harry shot him a warning look and said,
"D'you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was
caught?"
"Oh,
yeah…whoever it was was expelled," said Malfoy. "They're probably
still in Azkaban."
"Azkaban?"
said Harry, puzzled.
"Azkaban—the
wizard prison, Goyle," said Malfoy, looking at him in disbelief
"Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward."
Destiny- ::grins:: I can think of a hell
of a lot more insults along those lines.
Draco- ::looks interested:: Really?
Sirius- Not now, Des. I want to
get this book done!
Destiny/Draco- ::pout::
Destiny- I’ll tell you later.
Draco- All right.
He shifted
restlessly in his chair and said, "Father says to keep my head down and
let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of
all the Mudblood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he's got a
lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor
last week?"
Sirius- About
damn time.
Draco- ::glares
at Sirius::
Harry
tried to force Goyle's dull face into a look of concern.
"Yeah…"
said Malfoy. "Luckily, they didn't find much. Father's got some very
valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we've got our own secret chamber under
the drawing-room floor—"
Sirius- ::scowls::
That’s not all you’ve got under the floor.
Draco- How do
you know?
Sirius- You mean
your father never told you about what he did to me?
Draco- What
are you talking about?
Sirius-
::snorts:: Never mind, then. Harry, get back to the book.
Draco- But—
James- Draco,
drop it. This is definitely not a good idea. Harry, read.
Draco- …
"Ho!"
said Ron.
James-
::rolls his eyes:: Idiot.
Malfoy
looked at him. So did Harry. Ron blushed. Even his hair was turning red.
Sirius- (dryly) You know, I wasn’t aware anyone could make their hair
turn red when they blushed.
James- That’s because they can’t.
His nose was also slowly lengthening—their
hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and from the look of horror he
was suddenly giving Harry, he must be, too.
They both
jumped to their feet.
"Medicine
for my stomach," Ron grunted, and without further ado they sprinted the
length of the Slytherin common room, hurled themselves at the stone wall, and
dashed up the passage, hoping against hope that Malfoy hadn't noticed anything.
Harry- ::snickers:: Which he obviously didn’t.
Draco- ::scowls::
Harry could feel his feet slipping around in
Goyle's huge shoes and had to hoist up his robes as he shrank; they crashed up
the steps into the dark entrance hall, which was full of a muffled pounding
coming from the closet where they'd locked Crabbe and Goyle. Leaving their
shoes outside the closet door, they sprinted in their socks up the marble
staircase toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"Well,
it wasn't a complete waste of time," Ron panted, closing the bathroom door
behind them. "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks,
but I'm going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys'
drawing room."
Draco-
::snorts:: Like he’ll get it.
Sirius-
::scowls::
Draco- Erm…
::inches back toward Harry::
Harry
checked his face in the cracked mirror. He was back to normal. He put his
glasses on as Ron hammered on the door of Hermione's stall.
"Hermione,
come out, we've got loads to tell you—"
"Go
away!" Hermione squeaked.
Harry and Ron looked at each other.
"What's
the matter?" said Ron. "You must be back to normal by now, we are—”
But
Moaning Myrtle glided suddenly through the stall door. Harry had never seen her
looking so happy.
Lily- ::looks
bewildered:: Myrtle, happy?
"Ooooooh,
wait till you see," she said. "It's awful—"
Lily- Oh. Now
it makes sense.
"What's
up?" said Ron uncertainly. "Have you still got Millicent's nose or
something?"
Hermione
let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.
Her face
was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long,
pointed ears poking through her hair.
"It
was a c-cat hair!" she howled. "M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat!
And the p-potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"
"Uh-oh,"
said Ron.
Sirius-
Understatement of the year?
Peter- I thought
we already had one of them?
Remus- No,
that was in his first year.
Peter- Oh.
"You'll
be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.
"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry quickly. "We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions….”
Sirius- Thankfully.
It took a
long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom. Moaning Myrtle sped them
on their way with a hearty guffaw. "Wait till everyone finds out you've
got a tail!"
All-
::snicker::
Harry- That’s
really a very good ending to this chapter.
Destiny- ::grins::
This book’s really good. You’ll need to give me the first book when I leave, so
I can read it.
James- Will
do.
Sirius- In
the meantime, however, Harry will just keep reading. Right, Harry?
Harry-
Exactly.
(1)Remus having
a good rap song to sing: Um…actually, he doesn’t. I have no idea of any rap
songs from their time period…. In fact, I barely have any idea of rap songs
from this time period, so….
