"𝐈'𝐌 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐎 𝐈𝐓," Cedric walked over to Raya at the end of breakfast. "You try too, okay?"
Raya didn't need to ask what he was talking about.
The next morning, the only thing anyone could talk about was the Triwizard Tournament, and how they'd be the one to make Hogwarts proud. Raya, however, was beyond annoyed.
"Not a chance," she shook her head adamantly.
"Oh come on," Cedric pleaded. "You're like the best Witch ever, and... you know? You've got a pretty cool advantage."
Raya rolled her eyes at Cedric's horrible attempt at subtlety. She was a demigod. He could at least try to be a little less conspicuous.
"I'm protesting," she said.
"What?"
"I'm protesting," Raya repeated. "I want to play Quidditch. Besides, there's only gonna be one kid selected. What if they don't even play Quidditch? The rest of us might want to."
"The teachers are gonna be too busy."
"Then a non-competitive league," Raya shrugged. "Intramurals, drop-in, I don't really care too much for the finer details. I just want to play."
Cedric looked like he was going to argue, but Raya continued, "Dude. I was out for the two games last year. I only played one game, at the start of the season. This year I was supposed to be Captain and bring the Quidditch Cup back to Ravenclaw. I need to play."
I need something bigger than school to distract me from Luke, she thought.
Cedric sighed, but nodded anyways, "Well, I'll definitely help you. And If I'm not picked, I'll even play. Tell you what, because you're my best friend, I'll play even if I do get picked."
Raya laughed as Cedric threw his arm over her shoulder. "You're the best! I'm gonna go talk to Madam Hooch next week, probably bully her a bit."
"When are you going?" Cedric asked, looking at his timetable. "I'll come if I'm free. I won't partake in any bullying, though."
"Probably Tuesday, in the afternoon," she answered. "Around four o'clock."
"Eh, I can skip Divination," Cedric shrugged. "We'll go together. Oh, we've got Charms together right before that. That's perfect!"
Raya put their schedules side by side, examining the classes they had together. "We got Potions, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, and Care of Magical Creatures together! That's better than last year, huh?"
"Much," he agreed. "I just wish there wasn't a double Herbology lesson on the first day."
Raya laughed as they continued to the greenhouse, "Extra time to sleep, Ced. It's practically extra time to sleep."
They sat in their usual seats near the middle of the class, waiting for Professor Sprout to appear. Herbology was an easy subject, one Cierra excelled in. Even though Raya was half-asleep — sometimes actually asleep — she managed to get excellent marks. It might have to do with her dad, Apollo, and how connected he was to nature, but she wasn't too sure.
The second Professor Sprout entered, a determined look on her face, Raya began to doubt whether she'd be able to sleep this year.
"Settle down, now," she said to the class. Everyone quieted at her voice. "As you all know, you're in your fifth-year now, and you'll be doing your O.W.L.s at the end of it. Your O.W.L.s are extremely important, perhaps even more than your N.E.W.T. Your marks at the end of the year are what will determine whether or not you'll be able to study on in a certain course. I expect nothing less than an Exceeds Expectations from all of you."
The class stared in silence, absorbing her statement.
"Let's begin with Gillyweed," she announced. "Who can tell me about it's uses and properties?"
Cierra's hand shot into the air.
"Miss Stone," Professor Sprout called on her.
"It's a magical plant that allows the eater to breathe underwater," she said. "It's useful in potion making as well. Gillyweed tends to be grey-green in color, and grows in salt water."
"Wonderful. Five points to Ravenclaw," she smiled. She waved her wand, a small tank appearing on every students desk. "Inside, there is Gillyweed, which you will observing. Take as many notes as you can on it, use your textbook if you need. I need a one parchment essay on it's distinctions, uses, and properties by Friday."
Raya and Cedric shared a scared glance.
It didn't look like there would be much sleeping in Herbology this year.
Muggle Studies was a relief after the torture Raya had endured in Herbology.
When Professor Sikander said they were going to be focusing on electricity and its usages with daily appliances, Raya almost cried from happiness.
"You're back to being my absolute favorite teacher ever," Raya told him. "I'm sorry for ever even thinking about replacing you. You're the best and will never ever be replaced."
Professor Sikander raised a concerned eyebrow, "Are you all right?"
Raya shook her head happily, "Not one bit. Herbology — which is supposed to be, like, the easiest class — has actual work this year. Everyone's stressing over the O.W.L.s, and it's not fun Arif. It really isn't."
Professor Sikander blinked at Raya's use of his first name, but otherwise didn't seem to care much. "Well, this is a bit of an easier subject — especially if you're already familiar with Muggles and their use of technology. I try not to stress out my kids too much during their fifth or seventh year. Merlin knows you lot already have enough on your plate."
A Gryffindor burst into tears at that, thanking Professor Sikander profusely.
Raya was tempted to do the same.
When she calmed down, Professor Sikander began explaining their first assignment.
"You'll have to interview anyone in the school who is familiar with Muggle customs," he told them. "It's preferable that they were raised in a Muggle home or environment as they'll have a better grasp on these things. Ask them about their daily routine, noting down all and any times they use electricity in the day. Note down what appliance they use as well. You have a week to conduct your research, and then two more weeks to write out your essay. I'll be giving you class time to work on it, so don't stress about it too much."
A few more kids burst into happy tears at his statement. Professor Sikander looked slightly taken aback at the reaction.
"The Gryffindors just had Potions with Snape," Elias informed him. "He gives a shit ton of homework on normal days, I don't even wanna know how much he's gonna be giving for O.W.L.s."
Professor Sikander nodded at that, "That's good to know. I just thought they were losing it."
After Muggle Studies, they had lunch, which Hermione had interrupted Raya during.
"Hogwarts has house-elves?" she asked.
Raya blinked, "I mean, yeah. I've been to the kitchens a couple of times, and they're all really nice. Dia makes the best fudge pie!"
"They don't get pay!" she seemed horrified, not even hearing Raya's words. "Or sick leaves or anything like that. You give Rosie pay, and holidays, don't you?"
"I would never offend her like that," Raya reeled back. "Look, Hermione, I know where you're coming from. The thing is, at the end of the day, while I'd love to give Rosie and all other house elves wages and workers' rights... they themselves don't believe in it."
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Raya hurried on.
"If I asked Rosie how much pay she wanted, she'd be sad and offended," Raya explained. "She'd think I was trying to get rid of her. My family gives house elves a retirement once they've worked for three to five generations. They start getting older, and that's when they're more willing to stop working. Mumpty's been retired for about nine years now. She shows a place where she wants to travel, or something she wants to get, and the next day, she's got it. It's not anything near pay for work, but it's the only thing we can do without offending the house elves."
"It's not fair," Hermione stamped her foot. "If only they could see that they're more than what their owners treat them as, they'd take the pay. And buying vacations is nothing compared to laboring after a family for five generations!"
"I know," Raya raised her hands. "But it's literally the only thing our house elves will accept without getting offended. Believe me, if someone's cooking your breakfast, you don't want to piss them off."
Hermione grumbled something under her breath, and refused to talk to Raya for the rest of the week.
Raya tried to get Hermione to talk to her for a bit, before understanding that she just needed some time to cool off and process what Raya had told her. She was proven correct as Hermione came up to her at the end of the week, apologizing profusely.
"I just hate how everyone treats house elves," she ranted. "Mr. Crouch forced his house elf to sit at the top box, then didn't even show up to the game. And he fired her! House elves deserve fair treatment. They may not be humans, but they're still sentient."
"I get your point," Raya told her. "But house elves don't have the same feelings as humans on these matters. We can try, but if they don't like it, I don't see the point. But if someone's treating their house elf cruelly, they don't deserve one."
Hermione hummed, as if she was half listening to Raya, and half planning to free every house elf in existence. Raya didn't doubt that much.
They separated once the reached the Great Hall, to eat their dinner. Raya took a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where Elias and Nathaniel were trying to stick fries into Thomas's hoodie without him noticing.
"You guys better clean that before dinner's over," Raya told them.
"We will," Nathaniel promised.
"What?" Thomas looked up from his novel.
Elias snatched his hand away from Thomas' hood, sticking the fries in his mouth.
"Nothing," Raya told him. "Talking to the idiots on either side of you."
"Oh, okay."
Raya's friends continued eating — or sticking fries in Thomas' hood — until a loud voice caught their attention.
"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Draco Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed Great Hall could hear. "Listen to this!"
Raya rolled her eyes as he began to read in a loud and weirdly obnoxious tone.
"Further mistakes at the Ministry of Magic. It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of 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 Hall was listening now.
Raya was about to get up and drag him off, but Cierra — who had just arrived — pulled her back down.
"He's not worth getting in trouble for," she said. "Cedric's gone to inform a Professor already. You'll go there to get him to stop, he'll rile you up, and you'll probably punch him."
Raya begrudgingly sat back down.
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 several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene."
He laughed as he held the paper up, "And there's a picture, Weasley! 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?"
Raya got up again, and this time, Cierra and Cho both had to grab her. Meredith whispering death threats against her stuffed elephant was the only reason she sat back down.
Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him.
"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry. "C'mon, Ron..."
"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"
"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry — both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy — "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"
Malfoy's pale face went slightly pink. "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."
"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away.
BANG!
Raya blinked in surprise as Draco shot a spell towards Harry, who had already turned away. Harry was teaching for his wand, but before he could grab it, Raya watched as another jet of magic streamed towards Malfoy.
"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" Mad-Eye Moody's voice echoed in the hall.
Raya craned her neck to see where Draco went, only to see a pure white ferret right where he'd been standing.
While it may have been the funniest thing she'd seen in a while, it was also a little terrifying that Moody had just casted the spell so thoughtlessly.
There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle.
Moody turned to look at Harry — at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.
"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.
"No," said Harry, "missed."
"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.
"Leave — what?" Harry 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.
"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."
The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.
As much as she disliked Draco, she couldn't help but feel this was a little unfair. Flicking her fingers beneath the table, she summoned a trick of the light, making it look like the ferret was still bouncing up and down.
In reality, she'd just done a bit of wandless and nonverbal magic, allowing the ferret to settle on the ground, and then wrapped Moody's magic around the fake ferret she'd conjured using her demigodly powers.
"Never — do — that — again —" said Moody, speaking each word as the fake 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, and Cedric trailing.
"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the fake ferret still higher.
The real ferret — Draco — was shivering on the floor, looking at the fake ferret in horror and confusion. Of course, he had no idea what was going on.
"What — what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, 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 sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing.
Raya had worked that out already, making her fake ferret disappear, and allowing McGonagall's magic to hit the real ferret... well, Draco.
"Moody, we never use 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 Malfoy with great dislike.
Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which 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 Malfoy resentfully.
"Another old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape... 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 wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.
Raya was half tempted to follow and make sure Moody didn't do anything else that would permanently scar the kid. Before she could make up her mind, Thomas groaned.
"Where the hell do these fries keep coming from?"
"I need your help," Raya muttered.
"Huh?" Kayse looked up from his textbook, narrowing his eyes at Raya.
While the two didn't hate each other anymore, they weren't necessarily the best of friends. Raya seeking him out in the library could be good or bad. Probably bad.
"You know the assignment Professor Sikander gave us?" she asked. "The one where you've got to interview someone who grew up with Muggle influence?"
"Uh, yeah," he nodded slowly. It took a second, but his eyes widened in understanding. "You want to interview me for that?"
"Yeah," she nodded, taking a seat next to him. "Thomas and Elias are interviewing each other, and—"
"Thomas is Muggleborn?" he asked. "I did not know that."
"He's a Pureblood," Raya corrected. "But he grew up in a Muggle neighborhood, even went to a Muggle school before Hogwarts. So, he's got a good sense of their customs and all."
"Don't you have other friends?" he eyed her warily.
"Nathaniel was raised in a Wizard neighborhood. Cierra, Cho, and Meredith are all Purebloods who're also raised in Wizard neighborhoods," she sighed. "Same with Ced, and the Weasleys. Hermione's too invested in her house elf thing, and Harry lived under the stairs for eleven years. Neither of them are too interested in this."
Kayse hesitated.
"Come on," she groaned. "Do me a solid. Please, please, please, please, please—"
"Alright, fine," he gave in. "What're you gonna ask?"
Raya pulled out her phone, opening the voice recorder app.
"For reference purposes," she explained at Kayse's look. She pressed record, and started, "Interview with Kayse for Muggle Studies project. Let's start with some background information. Can you tell me about yourself? Where you're from, siblings, parents, pets, all that?"
"Um, my name's Kayse Pierce," he spoke loud enough to be heard in the recording. "I was born and raised in Ithaca, New York. My mom's name is Juliette, and my dad's name is Timothy. My dad's parents live in Greenwich, London, and since they're family, there was some mix-up, and I got acceptance letters to Ilvermorny and to Hogwarts. Came to Hogwarts because it's considered better, or something. I've got two older brothers, Carden, and Grayson. They're three years older than me — twins. Cayden plays volleyball and Grayson's becoming a chef... or trying to. I got a fish for my sixth birthday, but it died after a month."
Raya scribbled down notes along with her voice recording.
"Alright, hobbies?" she asked. "You play any sports, or read, or something?"
Kayse shrugged, "I play Quidditch, but of course I only started recently. I also play volleyball. Used to play on a couple competitive teams right until the start of middle school, when I ended up coming Hogwarts. I... read, occasionally."
"Anything else?" Raya prodded.
"I like drawing," he muttered.
"Okay, good," she scribbled it down. "Now, how do you use electricity or other appliances daily, especially related to your hobbies?"
"I use a toaster to toast my bread," he said. "A hobby of mine I forgot to mention is eating."
The corner of Raya's mouth twitched upwards, "Okay, I'll give you that. Continue."
"I mean, honestly, we're always using electricity," he sat back in his chair. "I wake up in the morning, my mom's got the radio on, and she's singing along to whatever oldass song is playing. My brother will be experimenting what tastes good in a waffle, and what doesn't. The toaster's always shooting out bread. We've got the stove on for eggs. Breakfast is filled with my family using electricity."
Raya smiled lightly at the scene Kayse had just described. It sounded like a cozy place to grow up.
"Then I'll usually end up watching a movie, or playing a video game," he said. "That uses electricity. Same thing at lunch. In the afternoon, the lights in the gym are on, music's playing through my headphones. I'll usually play a bit of volleyball, or run some drills. Speakers, headphones, lights, equipment, they all use electricity at some point. After dark, the lights in the house will come on. I'll have my desk lamp on while I draw a bit. Or read, or do my homework, whatever."
Raya noted it all down, scribbling eagerly. Spending so much time at Camp, or at her dad's house, she didn't had too much time to appreciate how Muggles found comfort in the most mundane things.
She wished she'd be able to have something like that one day.
"Is that it?" Kayse asked, snapping his gaze towards his textbook. "I need to finish this."
"Huh? Oh, yeah that's all," Raya said quickly.
She turned the recording off. She felt like she should say something, Kayse had surely said a lot. But she didn't want to ruin this memory by saying something wrong.
"Thank you," she said earnestly, walking away.
REY WRITES!
thanks for reading!
raya and kayse would be such a chaotic duo
(esp since she might need a new bestie at the
end of this book, muhahaha)
thoughts?
comments?
headcanons?
theories?
questions?