Astra

LXXXII - The Quibbler Plan

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water; it was clearly raining hard outside. 

Astra looked closely, beaming as a large tawny owl with scattered white feathers arrived, tumbling down with a big stack of papers that attracted quite a bit of attention next to Luna.

Along with that, Hermione quickly moved her orange juice aside to make way for a damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.

Harry looked like he was debating on who to ask about first.

"It's best to know what the enemy is saying," said Hermione before Harry could say anything, placing a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg before it took off again.

"And you?" Harry looked to Astra and Luna.

Astra smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

It was obvious that this wasn't a good enough answer, but Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.

"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts... Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted..."

"Do mine ears deceive me?" said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing on to the bench beside Harry. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today," said Ron grumpily, shoving his timetable under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Ha!" exclaimed Astra with a proud grin, "I've got History replaced with Arithmancy!"

"What?" Hermione gasped, "But I thought you didn't take Arithmancy -"

"I used to just take the homework, now I have to take the actual class to get my OWL's, but I've made an... arrangement with Minnie, so I can get out of a few of Binns' classes."

"Lucky."

"Fair point, little bro," said Fred after scanning the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

"Why's it cheap?" said Ron suspiciously.

"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet," said George, helping himself to a skipper.

"Cheers," said Ron moodily, pocketing his timetable, "but I think I'll take the lessons."

"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," said Hermione, eyeing Fred and George beadily, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor noticeboard."

"Says who?" said George, looking astonished.

"Not really anyone," muttered Astra under her breath just as Hermione responded, "Says me, and Ron."

"Leave me out of it," said Ron hastily.

Hermione glared at him. Fred and George sniggered.

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione," said Fred, thickly buttering a crumpet. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."

"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?" asked Hermione.

"Fifth year's OWL year," said George.

"So?"

"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw," said Fred with satisfaction.