the baby project ━━ george weasley ⁵

03. The Source of All Evil

     Jazz heaved her bag onto her lap, pulling out various sheets and textbooks, before clunking it back onto the floor. "Clay, can I look at your Divination homework, please?" she asked desperately fed-up. "I don't have the work ethic to actually try right now and this girl is driving me nuts."

     Gia's mouth fell agape, in an offended expression. She got over it in a matter of seconds.

     Clayton, who had his head in a horoscope-related book, laying flat on his stomach, across a bench, visibly tutted, "You know, if you always use someone else's work to copy, you'll never learn a thing."

     "Yeah, well, I've never shown an enthusiastic attitude towards the study of Tea Leaves, so why start now?" Jazz asked with a tone that read duh, as she crossed one leg over the other.

     Clayton left his eyes wide, as he continued to read. "Just saying. You can't copy me on the final exam," he advised.

     "I'm sure I'll manage," Jazz faked an expression of gentleness, before sending Clayton one final pleading look. Clayton reluctantly pulled a three-parchment long essay out of his bag, not letting his eyes leave his book as he sighed. Jazz squealed a little, accepting the example work with uttered thanks and an appreciative smile. It was somewhat genuine.

     Addie was lost in her own world of Potions homework. She had been surprised by how much they had received only a day into the new year, and her eyes had become easily distracted by a far-off bright green figure down by the edge of the pitch. The sound of the clacking high-heels echoing all the way up to the stands, where Addie was perched; a big bush of yellow hair still in view.

     Addie pulled her eyes away from the distant women momentarily, "Hey, have you guys noticed Rita Skeeter walking around school?" she asked.

     Jazz was busy scribbling away, but still let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, she was lurking at the back of Muggle Studies the other day. I saw her take George's notes and grimace."

     Quinn was fixing her tie for the third time that day, when she followed Addie's gaze that had returned to Rita Skeeter, over by the broom shed, watching intently the three boys messing about on their brooms. "I swear she was banished from the grounds after last year, though?" Quinn queried.

     "Guess good-old Dolores didn't get the memo," Gia quickly became distracted by the shaping of her nails, when she realized she'd never understand Quidditch.

     "Have you also got 'Life Skills' on your timetable?" Addie asked. "I only noticed it this morning, when I was desperate for Free Periods," she groaned.

     "Everyone has apparently," Jazz said.

     Addie had expected nearly no changes to her new, seventh-year timetable, seen as all her classes were the same and the only new Professor she'd expect to get was a new Defence Against the Dark Arts one. That position was ever-changing. But what was bizarre was a whole, new subject. With a new teacher. Starting this late on in their Hogwarts life.

     "Who's the teacher?" Clayton still had his head lost in the pages of his book but was aware enough of his surroundings to comply with his friends' conversation. After all, he too had taken notice of the new mystery subject.

     Addie pulled out her neatly folded timetable from her robe pocket, unravelling it, and then holding it landscape so she could read, "R.S." she read out from the tiny, printed box.

     Gia perked up, her nails suddenly not at all interesting anymore, "That psycho is gonna be teaching us life skills?" she asked incredulously.