Bat-Bogey Hexers

15

Hufflepuff Hugo was also weighing on Viola's mind as he wouldn't stop following her around. Viola was worried Morgana would notice and, seeing as Hugo was a Hufflepuff and a muggle born, Viola knew Morgana would try and punish Viola for tarnishing the Slytherin outlook. The thing was, Viola didn't even want to be with Hugo, but the boy wouldn't leave her her alone. He was like her shadow.

The biggest of all Viola's problems however was Luna Lovegood. Viola had never meet anyone as annoying as Luna, even Hugo and Colin.

On Tuesday, the third week of school, Luna finally managed to push Viola to the breaking point. It was during potions with the Ravenclaws. In one of her usual spouts of luck, Viola had been assigned a seat beside the blonde haired girl. They were required to make a potion together.

"Do you think it will effect the potion if your wrackspurts fly in?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

"For the last time, I do not have wrackspurts!" Viola said through clenched teeth.

"Yes you do," said Luna. "It isn't something to be ashamed of. Lots of people have wrackspurts. Oh dear, I don't want to cut this poor little caterpillar up!"

Luna gazed down at the pile of dried bugs in front of her.

"Then I'll do it,"  Viola said.

Viola took the pile and began chopping them up. When she finished, she scooped the pile up with a measuring cup and was about to dump the scoop in when she saw Luna. Luna was stirring the potion with a dreamy expression on her face, while she sprinkled salt from a salt shaker absentmindedly into the potion which had turned a strange green color.

"What are you doing?" Viola demanded. She dropped the cup caterpillars and yanked the salt out of Luna's hand. "Are you even reading the recipe?"

"Recipe?" Luna asked.

"Yes!" Viola pointed to the front of the lad where Snape had written directions on the blackboard.

"Oh, but it would be much more interesting if we made our own recipe," said Luna with a smile.

"It isn't supposed to be interesting! It's supposed to cure head aches!" Viola snapped.

"Yes..." said Luna. "Daddy says people would get less headaches if the stopped reading the Daily Prophet  and read the Quibbler instead. Daddy says it's about as hard to find useful information in the Daily Prophet as it is to find a crumple horned snorcack, and they're very, very shy."

Viola had heard more than enough about the joke of her magazine Mr Lovegood ran and the creatures that most certainly didn't exist.

Viola was a very emotional person. The most familiar emotions to her were loneliness, sadness, want and sympathy. One emotion she did not feel very often was anger, and yet it bubbled up inside of her when Snape pronounced her and Luna's lumpy, brown potion useless.

She stormed out of class feeling hot and irritable. She tried so hard to stay ahead in class. Before that day Professor Snape had always found her potions at least passable. In fact Viola was the best in her year at potions. Now Luna had to go ruin all that by being so stupid. Why couldn't anything happy on Viola's life last? Viola didn't think she could ever forgive Luna, nor did she intend to. No, she was going to get revenge.

🦇🦇🦇

Everyone else was in class. It was only History of Magic she was skipping. It was doubtful Professor Binn's  would even notice her absence. And even if he did this was her only chance to get into the Ravenclaw tower while no one was there.

From what she had heard the Ravenclaw tower didn't even have a password. All you had to do was answer a question. Hopefully that wasn't just a rumor because if so, Viola had no idea what the password would be.

She climbed up the path of dizzying staircases to the Ravenclaw tower. She had asked the Ravenclaw ghost, the Gray Lady, for directions. The Gray Lady was usually shy ghost, but she seemed to like Viola for whatever reason and had willingly told her where to go.

Viola soon came to a door with no handle and no key. Nothing except a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. Viola did the most logical thing she could think of. She reached out a hand, grabbed ahold of the knocker, and knocked once. She winced as a loud bang was let off. She looked around to make sure no one else had heard, but she was perfectly alone. Then the beak of the bronze eagle opened and a soft musical voice said "What weighs more, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?"

Viola thought hard. A pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? Well obviously a pound of bricks would weigh more than a pound of...hold on.

"Neither, they're both a pound!" Said Viola. "They weigh the same amount!"

"Correct," said the door and it swung open.

Viola cautiously entered the Ravenclaw Common Room. Viola immediately loved it. It was so pretty and peaceful. Gracefully arched windows looked out upon the mountains in the distance, the ceiling was domed and painted with stars, mirroring the carpet just below that. There were bookcases, blue sofas and in the niche opposite the door stood a tall, white statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. She had a diadem on her head. Viola wished the Slytherin Common Room were as airy and pretty as this one...Viola shook her head. She wasn't here to admire the Ravenclaws accommodations.

Viola headed up the stairs below a sign reading Girls Dormitories. She found the first years Room and entered. The bed that belonged to Luna was immediately obvious. It was covered in a patchwork quilt with absolutely no color scheme. An assortment of odd shoes were in a row on the floor. There was a mobile of paper butterfly's and on the table beside the bed was a stack of Quibbler magazines and a frame with a much younger Luna and what looked like her parents.

Viola knew she didn't have time to waste. She opened up the bag that she normally filled with books and stuffed every single one of Luna's shoes inside. Then she left. She met a group of Ravenclaws on her way down the stairs. A fourth year boy gave her an odd look. "That's not a Ravenclaw. She's not a Ravenclaw. Is she?"

"Probably just one of the first years who you don't recognize Derrick," said the girl he was with. Viola hurried away and just made it on time for transfiguration.

Later that evening Viola roamed the halls, levitating Luna's shoes -Flitwick hadn't taught them levitating yet but Viola had quickly picked it up by watching the older Slytherins- into the air and hanging them on candle holders and the like. She also stuffed some into different nooks and crannies.

When she finished she smiled with satisfaction. That would serve Luna right for making a fool of Viola in class.