Bertha

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Ready for a post MINUTES before the last! (Because I wrote them at the same time and just posted half, edited the other and posted that.)

Just be proud of me. 

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As more and more students lined up outside his office, Filch's smile grew wider and wider, his eyes filling with hunger and anticipation. Harry felt the slippery wet glare of the Slytherin's around him, their judgment dripping from their face.

Harry just wished for the afternoon to be over, even wanting more of the Slytherins to show up just so he could start doing things. As he waited in line, he was struck with a searing pain in his forehead.

He buckled down, clutching his head and grinding his teeth. He tried to hold back a yell as best he could, but couldn't quite stop from the already interested Slytherins noticing.

"What's up, Potter? Can you feel your reputation unravelling already?"
"Don't worry, we won't be too hard on ye!"

"Oh shush it!" FIich sneered, his smile falling as he glared at the line of Slytherins, looking almost offended. "I'll be the one to decide that."

Harry clenched his fingers against his palm, the pain in his head simmering away through his nails and into his skin.

As another flow of Slytherins had made it to the outside of Filch's office, the sadistic man with Mrs Norris on shoulder rubbed his hands together, a malicious grin seeping across his face. "Time to get going, is it?"

Harry didn't know whether it was just from the blur of pain phasing out his vision, but he swore he didn't see Draco in the crowd. Not that he would come up and say hello with a kiss on the cheek.

The group of Slytherins and one Gryffindor shuffled after Filch, who was leading them out to the Hogwarts grounds. Harry kept his head bowed, the pain dissipating from his head but the seething judgement unchanged. They walked across mossy rocks, down towards a field just by the herbology rooms. They bumped into each other as Filch abruptly stopped, turning on his foot to look out at his subject with a hand on a large, paddock sized cage.

"This is Bertha, and her friends," He snickered with a stretched out hand motioning to four large, hog-like creatures in the cage. "She's a tebo, and has made a right mess of herself hasn't she? You see, tebo eat berries, an' lots of 'em. Now we want this cage spotless; not one speck of purple, when we get back." Filch scritched the chin of Mrs Norris, who was still perched on his shoulders, as he looked out at the cringing students. He fished out a large metal key from the depths of his trenchcoat, hobbled over to the cage door and added, "You have two hours."

At that, the cage was open and he was off, leaving the group of wizards and witches standing dumbstruck in front of the cage. Harry's glare hunted Filch as he walked off, repeating over and over in his head that he should be grateful to Filch, yet he couldn't quite kick the annoyance that entangled his spine. Harry heard the numerous feet shuffling before he realised that all the Slytherins were backing up, cowering behind him and staring at the frame of the cage door. When Harry looked up, he was met with two black eyes of one Tebo staring directly at him.

"Oh..." Harry gulped, stumbling back under the hog's incessant glare. "Hey, Bertha."

The Tebo pawed the ground, kicking up mud, poo, and berry seeds in a spray behind her, Harry's heart beating faster after every count.

He could practically hear the other Slytherins begging for him to do something, their focus channeling into the wiry fur of the ferocious beast. Harry gulped.

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