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MANY PEOPLE WERE STILL ASLEEP IN THE EARLY HOURS OF DECEMBER 26TH. Ebony, however, had slept better than any other night that year which means she is awake and well-rested. She had decided to take a stroll around the Hogwarts grounds with her brother today.
Ebony wears a dark green dress with fur on the inside which she had bought in Hogsmeade once upon a time and a black cape over it to make sure she stays warm. Cedric, however, is wearing a normal yellow coat and some black trousers underneath.
"I saw you at the Yule Ball yesterday, you looked so happy, you almost made me jealous." Cedric comments, their feet leave footsteps in the thick layered snow.
"I hadn't been that happy in a while." Ebony admits. "Besides, Fred is great company."
"You know, the whole news of you two dating came as a surprise for me when you first announced it." Cedric explains. "I mean, you had never talked about him that way and you never showed any signs of crushing but when I stumbled upon the two of you yesterday evening, everything made sense."
"You heard all that?"
"Most of it." Cedric admits. "I'm happy for you but. . . next time, come to me when someone is bothering you, okay? I know next year you will have to do it on your own but for now I'm still here, mind as well use that."
"I thought many times why I didn't come to you. . . I mean, you were busy with the Triwizard Tournament but that wasn't the reason I didn't talk to you about Derrick. It's just, Fred was always there and at the time, he was perfect to distract me from it."
"You must've been in love with him for longer than you let on." Cedric states, stopping when they reach the Black Lake. He reaches into the pocket of his coat and takes out a letter. "This one arrived yesterday, I thought it was for me so I opened it but realized it was for you." He hands her the letter. "I'm sorry." Ebony chuckles and opens the letter.
Dear Ebony,
I have so many questions on your double-sided words but for my sake, I won't ask any of them. I am beyond impressed that you figured out that I am keeping Sirius safe in my house for a while. Nobody would come here to look for him, so don't worry about your father.
I would love it if you decided to spent your next summer with us, it would give all of us the time to have some family-bonding. I look forward to your arrival but I need you to succeed in your grades first, we can talk about your holiday later.
How was the Yule Ball? I reckon it already passed when this letter arrive, if not, answer my question afterwards. I'm sure you looked gorgeous in Esme's dress. I knew her only briefly but she always stood out in her expensive outfits. Almost as much as Katherine did.
Write to you soon,
Much love,
Moony and Padfoot.
Ebony reads over the name a couple of times again. Katherine. . . Ebony has no clue who this woman was but she's going to find out. She had almost forgotten her brother's presence until he clears his throat next to her. She looks at him.
"You should send one of the photos that were taken yesterday to them." Cedric states. Ebony frowns at him. "Oh, come on, you're not gonna tell me that you had no clue people were making photos."
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CEDRIC WAS RIGHT. There were many photos hung on the wall during the night of couples and students simply enjoying their time. Everyone could take some to either take home or do whatever they want with them. Ebony decides to take five pictures which four of them are with Fred on them. She has sat down at the breakfast table with the other awake students.
"We look cute." Fred whispers as he wraps his arms around her waist from behind her and looks over her shoulder to the photo in her hands.
"We indeed do." Ebony replies. "I figured, Remus and Sirius would like one so I'm sending them this." She puts the photo down and turns her head to face Fred. He leans closer to kiss her lips and then sits down next to her.
"Since when do you guys kiss in front of us?" Lee asks, annoyed. "I thought your PDA levels weren't that high."
George looks suspiciously between his brother and best friend. He makes eye-contact with Ebony and silently asks her what this means. Ebony smiles at him and nods softly. George smiles back, getting the hint and leaning back a little.
"How did your dates go?" Fred asks, curiously.
"Good, Angelina is quite nice." George replies, looking over at the girl. "Not sure if we click as well as you two do but I'm sure no one does anyways."
"What about you, Lee?" Ebony asks, looking at his other friend.
"Megan is chill, she's just. . . young."
"Cedric had a date with someone three years younger, you and Megan wouldn't matter that much."
"Yeah but. . . Megan acts younger as well." Lee replies. "She is childish, not that she shouldn't be. I bet we were worse when we were fourteen but, I don't know, it's not something I'm looking for."
"There's always a next." Fred assures him.
Ebony looks at the pictures and has a little argument in her head on which one she would sent to her father and uncle. It's a very hard decision somehow. Fred leans over and takes one of them, he smiles down at it.
"If you don't mind, I'm keeping this one."
"No, I don't mind." Ebony replies, smiling at him.
"I found these ones and I'm so glad." Lee says, putting one on the table. The first photo is one with Lee, George and Fred standing together and talking before the ball had begun, the second is a photo with the four of them, laughing together after the ball had finished.
"Shotgun!" George screams and grabs the one with all four of them.
"You're gonna make copies of that one." Ebony says, quickly. "I want one!"
"Me too!" Lee and Fred add.
"Fine, whatever." George mutters, annoyedly.
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EBONY HAD POSTED A SMALL NOTE WITH TWO PHOTOS INSIDE OF THEM. One where she is standing together with Fred and one where she is alone. Sirius and Remus would definitely like to see those.
Meanwhile the first day of the new term arrived, and Ebony set off to lessons, weighed down with books, parchment and quills as usual, but also with the happy feeling she has whenever Fred appears next to her, to take her bag over. She could tell him a million times to stop, but he insists every time, even if he has to miss a good part of his own class to do so.
Snow is still thick upon the grounds, and the greenhouse windows are covered in condensation so thick that they couldn't see out of them in Herbology. Nobody is looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures much in this weather, though, as Angelina had said, the Skrewts would probably warm them up nicely, either by chasing them or by blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin caught fire.
However, when they arrived at Care of Magical Creatures, it wasn't Hagrid that stood in front of his cabin, it was a witch. She introduced herself as Professor Grubbly-Plank and said that Hagrid was indisposed. The lesson was annoying and very boring, to the point where Ebony even considered to just drop it.
It was only at dinner that she heard some students mumble about the Daily Prophet. Ebony had asked some very nice Hufflepuff students if she could borrow theirs and they agreed. She sits back down at the Gryffindor table and starts reading with Fred and George looking over her shoulders.
DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly, when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the Headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.
An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons which many admit to be 'very frightening'.
'I was attacked by a Hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a Flobberworm,' says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. 'We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything.'
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. I conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed 'Blast-Ended Skrewts', highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, it seems, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.
'I was just having some fun,' he says, before hastily changing the subject.
As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring among themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He Who Must Not Be Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle-killings of his reign of terror.
While many of the giants who served He Who Must Not Be Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.
In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought about You-Know-Who's fall from power – thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.
It made Ebony's blood boil. She looks over at the Slytherin table, the people who are supposed to be her family sit together with big grins on their faces. She folds the Daily Prophet neatly and places it on the wooden table. She doesn't look away from her target, instead, she smirks.
"Boys, I suddenly have a brilliant idea for a prank. And I also know who we are going to get this time."
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Written: 27/04/2023
Word Count: 1956