Blonde Ferret
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"Congratulations."
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THE Storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter gray swirled overhead as Harry, Ron, and Hermione examined their new course schedules at breakfast.
Rose had not made it to the Great Hall yet, and Harry was slightly worried.
"Today's not bad... outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his schedule. "Herbology with Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins." Hermione side-eyed him. "That's not including Rose."
"Speaking of Rose, where is she?" Hermione, questioned, looking up from the table and towards the doors, then toward the Slytherin table.
Just at that moment, the Great Hall doors had opened.
"There she is," said Ron, not looking up from his schedule.
Taking one look into Harry's eyes, she walked straight to Blaise Zabini's side at the Slytherin table.
Rose knew Harry did nothing wrong, she just wanted to fuck with him. He's been annoying for too long. He was right after all, when he took a very sharp guess as to what happened with Brian. Soon enough she was going to explain that she did kill him, but for now, she's making Harry think she's mad at him. What harm could it do?
Harry gaped at her as she walked away.
"What the hell did you do, Harry?" Ron turned his head toward him, shaking his head disapprovingly.
"I—I didn't do anything!" Harry defended himself, rapidly shaking his head.
Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry in a way like 'Right. Now tell us what you did."
Harry sighed in frustration, "I just asked her about Brian—"
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, interrupting him. "We all agreed that we wouldn't bring up that topic around her. We said that we would let her grieve—or celebrate— his death. Harry, you swore."
"I know i did, but i had to ask. Do you not think it's suspicious how he was announced dead the day after Rose returned from her home?" Harry looked between the both of them, hoping one would come to their senses. "Look, i'm not blaming her for anything. If i had the chance, i'd kill him too."
"Shhh!" Ron hushed him, looking around the table.
"Okay, maybe it's a little concerning but you should have minded your own business." Hermione pipped up, turning to look at Rose's talking figure.
"Alright, fine, i won't bring it up again." Harry sighed, looking back down to his schedule and groaned. "Double Divination this afternoon."
Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawaney kept predicting Harry's death, and constantly telling him a certain ginger is his soulmate. He assumed she was talking about Ron, which he found annoying.
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"You dating Potter yet?" Blaise asked Rose nonchalantly, taking a drink of orange juice.
Rose clenched her jaw, closing her eyes before opening them again. "No."
"Why not?" He swallowed, turning to look at her, fork in hand.
"Because," she sighed in annoyance for having to explain this for the fiftieth time. "I don't like him like that."
"But you do."
"But i don't."
"But you doooo."
"I hope you choke on your orange juice."
There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls cane soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Rose didn't look up because she never gets mail. But, once she heard the slight drop of an envelope in front of her, she looked up from her lap and stared at it.
Blaise's eyes widened. "Oh boy."
It was a howler.
"Who's it from?" Daphne perked up in her seat from the opposite of Rose.
Rose looked over it before feeling her gut clench. "Amanda."
If possible, Blaise's eyes widened even more. "Don't open it."
"Who's Amanda?" Theo chimed in.
"I have to open it though, don't i?" Rose was still staring at the howler.
"Open it." Draco smirked from his seat five people away.
"Rose, if you don't want to hear what Amanda has to say, just open it but down it in the milk as quickly as possible." Daphne suggested, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Rose picked it up, surprisingly calm, before tearing open the seal. It ripped itself from her palms and shapeshifed into the form of a mouth.
"YOU FUCKING—"
Rose had never moved faster. She grabbed it in one swift motion and shoved it into the cup of milk, getting it all over her hands and the table in the process. The first two words from the howler pretty much got everyone's attention. Once the muffled yelling died down, she slowly took the soaked envelope out from the cup, and watched it drip onto the table.
"That fucking hag." Blaise insulted, shaking his head.
—————-
Rose was still curious as to what Amanda had to say in the howler, but glad that she didn't have to listen to the whole rant in the middle of the Great Hall.
Her curiosity lasted until she was heading down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid's small wooden cabin with Blaise, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden forest.
Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were behind them, snickering rude remarks to each other about how lazy the Gryffindors were. They are quite obsessed, Rose thought.
Once we were close enough, we heard Hagrid speaking to the Gryffindors. "On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Though we'd make a bit of a project of it!"
Draco scoffed, "And why would we want to raise them?"
All the Slytherins had officially arrived to Hagrid's hut. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at Draco's words.
Hagrid looked stumped at the question.
"I mean, what do they do?" asked Draco. "What is the point of them?"
Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds pause, then he said roughly, "That's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things— I've never had 'em before, not sure what the go fer— I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake— just try 'em out with a bit of each."
———-
Rose and Blaise sat down on tree trunks, their chin resting in the palm of their hand as their elbows were on their knees.
"I'm not touching this shit." Rose said as she analyzed the squelchy frog liver and ant eggs.
Blaise shook his head, "Me neither."
Rose couldn't suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn't seem to have mouths.
Harry seeing as they weren't busy, took this as a chance to apologize.
He got up from his seat by Hermione and Ron, excuses himself, and made his way toward Rose and Blaise.
Rose heard crackling of leaves before her. Sighing, she looked up to see Harry standing in front of the trunk she was sitting upon.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for bringing up your dead adoptive father." He blurted out quickly, before leaning in and quietly adding, "and for assuming that you killed him."
She nodded, "Okay."
Harry was taken back, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Okay?"
She nodded once more fighting the urge to grin, "Yeah. Okay. I forgive you."
"Oh. Uh, okay. Great."
"You can go back to your slimy frog liver now." She gestured her head toward Ron and Hermione.
He stared at her for a couple seconds, neither of them acknowledging Blaise's nodding smirk two feet away from them, before Harry hesitantly walked away.
"That was a lot easier than i thought." Harry mumbled to himself.
"God, you both are so in love." Blaise grinned as Rose sighed in annoyance.
"Feed your Skrewts."
"Ouch!" yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. "It got me!"
Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.
"It's end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.
"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.
"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"
"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hahrid enthusiastically. "I reckon they're the males... The females got sorta sucker things on their bellies... I think they might be ter suck blood."
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" said Rose.
"Well, i—" He seemed as though he wasn't sure. "I don't know."
"Well, i can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Draco sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"
"Just because they're not very pretty, doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"
————
As Blaise went along back to the castle with Theo about an hour later for lunch, Rose walked behind the golden trio, without them even noticing she was there.
"Well, at least the skrewts are small," said Ron.
"They are for now," said Rose in an exasperated voice, scaring Harry and Ron half to death. "Once Hagrid figures out what they're supposed to be eating, they'll be bigger than Snape's ego."
"When did you get here?" Ron asked, holding his hand over his heart.
"I've been here for about," She looked down at her bare wrist as though she was checking a watch. "five minutes."
"Well, if they're big, that won't matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?" said Ron, grinning slyly at Hermione.
"You know perfectly well i only said that to shut Malfoy up," said Hermione. "As a matter of fact i think he's right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."
They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes, all except for Rose.
"Why are you sitting at the Gryffindor table? I thought it wasn't allowed." Ron said, scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate.
"They changed the rules. I can only sit here during lunch or breakfast. Dinner, you gotta sit at your house table." She answered dryly.
"Oh, well why aren't you eating?" Harry asked, slightly concerned.
"Doesn't matter. Who am i supposed to stay with once this year is over?" She changed the subject, this thing being on her mind for a while.
"So that's what you're worried about." said Ron.
"Not worried, just.. curious."
"Why can't you stay with Amanda?" Hermione questioned, eating very quickly.
Rose looked up at her, "You think i wanna stay with Amanda? Again? Especially while she's grieving? And after that howler she sent to me."
"That was your howler?" examined Ron, his mouth full of food while raising his eyebrows. "It went by so quick we couldn't see who it was for."
"Yeah." Rose confirmed in a tired voice, looking around the Great Hall slightly to shift her eyes to Cho Chang. No one noticed, well, except for Harry.
He turned his eyes to her line of vision before looking back at Rose, connecting the dots. "Oh." He mouthed to himself.
"Damn, she must be angry. I wouldn't go back there either. Maybe my mum and dad will let you stay with us." Ron resumed, swallowing his food.
"Yeah, maybe."
"Hermione, why are you eating like that?" Harry turned to blink at Hermione.
"Like what?"
Rose tilted her head, "Like you're trying to make yourself throw up."
"I am not trying to make myself throw up," said Hermione, with so much dignity she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. "I just want to get to the library."
"What?" said Ron in disbelief. "Hermione—it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"
Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten in days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, "See you at dinner!" and departed at high speed.
When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry, Rose, and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the too of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived.
The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry, Rose and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at a small circular table. Rose on Harry's left, and Ron on Harry's right.
"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump.
A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight.
"You are preoccupied, my dear," she said mournfully to Harry. "My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And i regret to say that your worried are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas... most difficult... i fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass... and perhaps sooner than you think...."
Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes. Rose stared at her, then looked at Harry, unimpressed, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her.
"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she said. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of tue celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle..."
Rose yawned before whispering, "I know she's speaking, but, i can never understand the words coming out of her mouth."
Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment if birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles.
"I've got two Neptunes here," said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"
"Aaaaah," said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney's mystical whisper, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry...."
Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, snickered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown— "Oh Professor, look! I think i've got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"
"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart.
"Can i have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of class.
"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart," she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. "I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!"
"Miserable old bat," said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. "That'll take all weekend, that will. . ."
"Lots of homework?" said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. "Professor Vector didn't give us any at all!"
"Congratulations." said Rose moodily.
They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them.
"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"
Harry, Ron, Rose, and Hermione turned. Draco and his boyfriends, Crabbe and Goyle, were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something.
"What?" said Ron shortly.
"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. "Listen to be this!"
FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
It seems as though the Minister of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for it's poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of it's witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
Malfoy looked up.
"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed.
Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:
"Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify serval memories before he could escape the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.
"And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house—if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"
Rose's lips parted, did he really just comment on Molly's weight?
Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him.
"Fuck off," said Rose. "C'mon, Ron."
"Oh yeah? Don't even get me started of you." Draco snickered as her and Hermione dragged Ron away by his robes. "Brian was also in the paper, wasn't he? Y'think he had a unique way of death? Or maybe Aurora died the same way."
Blaise, who was watching from the crowd, gasped. His eyes landing on Rose immediately.
Rose had stopped in her tracks, her grip on Ron's robes loosening.
"Struck a nerve there, didn't i?" Draco continued, "Like father like daughter, y'know? Maybe she gave him some advice beyond the grave—"
Rose had spun around, ripping her wand out from her back pocket and pointing it straight to Draco's throat, as he quickly took his wand out, and pointed it at her stomach.
She glared into his eyes, "You remember what i did to Pansy? I won't hesitate to do the same to you."
While he shouted "Petrificus Total—", having no idea what spell she would use, she shouted, "Cruci—!"
"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"
Rose spun around, the red fading from her eyes as quick as it came. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, directly in front of Rose, exactly where Malfoy had been standing.
Roses eyes widened, her hand falling her her sides as she hesitantly stepped away from the ferret.
There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Rose— at least, his normal eye was looking at Rose; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.
"Did he get you?" Moody growled, His voice was low and gravelly. He took note in the very small red color fading from Rose's eyes.
"No." said Rose breathlessly.
"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.
"Leave—what?" Rose said, bewildered.
"Not you—him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head.
Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons.
"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again—it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more.
"Stinking coward," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain.
The ferret flew through the air, it's legs and tail flailing helplessly. "Never—do—that—again—" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.
"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice.
Professor Mcgonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.
"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.
"What—what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagallc her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.
"Teaching," said Moody.
"Teach—Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.
"Yep," said Moody.
"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleep blonde hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing.
"Moody, we never us Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"
"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, "but i thought a good sharp shock—"
"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's head of House!"
"I'll do that, then," said Moody, staring at Draco with great dislike.
Draco, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looking malevolently up and Moody and muttered something in the words "my father" were distinguishable.
"Oh yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well, i know your father of old, boy... You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son... you tell him that from me... Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"
"Yes," said Draco resentfully. "But why was i the only one that was turned into a ferret? She was going to Crucio me!"
Moody turned his eye to look at Rose, she frantically shook her head.
He looked back at Draco, "Come on, you..."
And he seized Malfoy's upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons.
Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her hand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.
"Rose," Hermione hesitantly put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Who is Aurora?"
The memories of what happened just five minutes before flashed back into her mind and she yanked her shoulder away from Hermione's hand, stalking into the Great Hall, ignoring Hermione's saddened face.
————-
"You almost crucio'ed him." Blaise repeated for the hundredth time, shaking his head in pure admiration.
"I think we all know that already." said Rose stonily.
"I mean, i don't blame you at all. I would have done the same." said Theo, shoving a spoon full of green beans into his mouth.
"Who was he talking about? Aurora, i mean." questioned Daphne.
When Rose did not reply, Daphne looked toward Blaise. He shook his head slightly, signaling not to bring it up.
Rose stood up from her seat, swinging her legs over the bench to stand.
"Where are you going?" said Blaise, staring at her.
She shrugged, walking away and toward the Great Hall doors, opening them as quietly as she could to not draw attention and leaving out of them.
The second she stepped foot into her empty dorm, she had burst into tears.
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