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CHAPTER FOUR

The events of the previous day somehow told Arabella that her second year at Hogwarts would be just as chaotic, if not worse, than her first. She was just happy to be back with her friends and learning new things.

Their very first class was Herbology.

"Morning, everyone," Professor Sprout greeted the class as she entered the greenhouse. However, no one was paying attention. She had to tap her wand on a pot to get her students to acknowledge her. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning, Professor Sprout," the class responded.

"Welcome to greenhouse three, second years! Now, gather round, everyone. Today we're going to re-pot Mandrakes. Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?"

Arabella, Herbology not being her strong suit, didn't know the answer to this one, so Hermione was the only one who raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state," Hermione stated confidently. "It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Arabella high-fived Hermione, and returned the dirty look Draco Malfoy was giving them.

"As our Mandrakes are still only seedlings," Professor Sprout continued, "their cries won't kill you yet. But they could still knock you out for several hours, which is why I have given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. So could you please put them on right away? Quickly. Flaps tight down, and watch me closely."

Arabella, nervous to hear a potentially fatal cry and not wanting to die or go unconscious in the middle of class, put the earmuffs on quickly and made sure they were on correctly. After she did so, she couldn't hear Professor Sprout anymore, so she made sure to pay close attention to what she was doing.

Professor Sprout grasped the plant and seemed to struggle to pull it out of its pot, but she did, and they were all shocked to see what the plant looked like. Instead of a regular plant root, there was what resembled a baby, but it was very ugly and it looked like it was crying.

Arabella made a disgusted noise and said, "Hope my kid doesn't look like that." She wasn't quite sure she said this out loud though because she didn't hear it and nobody looked at her.

Then, Professor Sprout put the Mandrake in a different pot and dumped more dirt in it as it continued to cry.

Out of the corner of her eye, Arabella saw Neville Longbottom fall backward. She gave Seamus, who was standing next to him, a questioning look, but he was too busy having a conversation with the professor, and Arabella didn't hear a thing.

That afternoon, during lunch, Ron was attempting to fix his broken wand with Spellotape. "Say it. I'm doomed," he said.

"You're doomed," Harry and Arabella said.

"Hi, Harry," said a boy. He was holding a camera and looking very eager. Then, without warning, he snapped a photo of Harry. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor, too."

"Hi, Colin. Nice to meet you," Harry said, confused but still wanting to be polite.

"Ari, is that your owl?" Dean asked.