Amisty had just finished her Divination homework (getting rather creative with helping Ron and Harry make choices of misfortune for the upcoming month) when Hermione climbed through the portrait hole with a sheet of parchment and a rattling box.
"Hello, I've just finished!" She beamed, heading toward them.
"So have I!" Ron declared, throwing his quill down with a thump and clatter.
Hermione pulled his predictions toward her, "Not going to have a very good month, are you?"
"Ah well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron replied, yawning as Hermione took a closer look.
"You seem to be drowning twice," She pointed out.
"Oh am I? I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff," Ron looked his homework over.
"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" Hermione asked, petting Crookshanks as he had curled up in her lap.
"How dare you! We've been working like house-elves in here!" Ron feigned anger.
Amisty kicked him under the table.
"It's just an expression."
"What's in the box?" Harry asked, setting down his quill and rubbing his eyes behind his glasses.
"Funny you should ask," Hermione replied, throwing a nasty look at Ron as she opened the box.
There were about fifty colorful badges inside, all gleaming with the letters S.P.E.W.
"'Spew'? What's this about?" Harry asked, picking up on the colorful badges and looking at it closer.
"Not spew. It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione replied impatiently.
"Never heard of it," Ron didn't seem to be too invested.
"Well, of course you haven't, I've only just started it," Hermione replied, sounding very brisk and faintly annoyed.
"Yeah? How many members have you got?" Ron asked. Now he sounded slightly interested.
"Well -- if you three join -- four," Hermione started to dig through the box.
"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.
"S-P-E-W! I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Chance in Their Legal Status -- but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto," Hermione snapped, shoving the parchment in their faces.
"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now."
"Hermione -- open your ears. They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!" Ron argued.
Amisty couldn't help but agree with him.
"Our short-term aims are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented," Hermione went on, completely ignoring Ron.
"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked.
"We start by recruiting members. I thought two Sickles to join -- that buys a badge -- and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron -- I've got you a collecting tin upstairs -- and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting," Hermione replied, beaming.
Amisty let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Far too soon.
"And you," Hermione turned her smiling face toward the raven-haired girl, "are going to be the vice president."
It took all of her self-control not to punch Ron into the next common room by the poorly concealed snort he emitted.
Tap tap tap.
Amisty glanced up, spotting a familiar snowy owl perched just outside the window.
"Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed loudly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them all.
He raced to the window, throwing it open and letting his owl in. She landed on the table with Harry's homework.
"About time!"
"She's got an answer!" Ron grinned, gesturing at the roll of parchment tied securely to Hedwig's leg.
Harry unraveled the twine quickly, tearing open the letter and scanning through it.
"What does it say?" Hermione asked, the topic of S.P.E.W. long forgotten in the wake of Sirius's letter.
Harry straightened the paper and began to read, "Harry, I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore -- they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron, Hermione, and Amisty. Keep your eyes open, Harry. Sirius."
"He's flying north? He's coming back?" Hermione whispered, aghast.
"'Keep your eyes open'? What does that even mean?" Amisty added, peering over his shoulder.
"Dumbledore's reading what signs?" Ron asked. Harry then hit himself in the forehead with a clenched fist. "Harry -- what's up?"
"I shouldn't've told him!" Harry snapped angrily, tugging on the tangles of black hair on his head.
"What are you on about?" Ron exclaimed, surprised.
"It's made him think he's got to come back! Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me!" Harry slammed his hand on the table, sending Hedwig flying up to perch on Ron's chair.
He turned to his neglected owl, still furious.
"And I haven't got anything for you, you'll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food."
Hedwig clicked her beak in an annoyed way, flying off through the open window and hitting him with her wing as she passed.
Amisty watched, biting her lip, but she knew that her friends were more important.
"Harry -- " Hermione started, her voice calm and reassuring.
"I'm going to bed," He declared, cutting her off in an instant. "See you in the morning."
Amisty went to follow after him, but Ron placed a warning hand on her shoulder and she stopped in her tracks.
"Let him," He murmured. "He just wants Sirius to be safe."
-=+=-
Their next lesson with Professor Moody was even more shocking than their first.
Amisty hadn't thought it was possible. But he had bested the last lesson by telling them he'd be putting the Imperius Curse on them to show them the dangers of the spell.
"But -- but you said it's illegal, Professor. You said -- to use it against another human was -- " Hermione started to protest as Moody started to clear away an open space.
"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like. If you'd rather learn the hard way -- when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely -- fine by me," Moody replied, his magical eye fixing Hermione with an eerie stare as he pointed at the door.
"You're excused. Off you go."
Hermione blushed scarlet, lowering her head, "Sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to leave..."
Moody called students up one by one and placed the curse upon them.
It was quite a sight. Dean jumped around the room singing the national anthem, Lavender imitated a squirrel, and Neville had managed to do a feat of gymnastics Amisty hadn't he had the ability to do.
He probably wouldn't have if he hadn't been under the spell's influence. Not one person had managed to fight off the spell.
"Miss River," Moody nodded at her. She got to her feet, rubbing her hands together nervously as she stepped into the cleared space.
"Imperio!"
It was a very pleasant feeling. Not at all what she had been expecting.
She was the most relaxed than she had been in years.
Her mind was clear, the stares from her classmates seeming to disappear entirely. It was almost as if she were floating on a cloud high up above the city, watching car lights flash by and pinpricks walk past on the streets.
But then the calm silence was disrupted, to her distaste.
Climb up to the ceiling...
She scowled, annoyed that her state of relaxation was being interrupted.
It didn't help that the interruption was an order. But then her annoyance faded away as the comforting feeling returned.
Climb up to the ceiling...
This time it didn't seem that bad.
She felt herself leap up and grab one of the rafters, hauling herself up and dangling her legs down. And then her mind came back to her, and she stared around, completely and utterly confused as to why she was sitting in the rafters.
Blinking, she stared down at where her friends were sitting. Ron looked mildly impressed, and Harry looked on the verge of busting out laughing.
She lowered herself down, fingers grabbing onto the edge of the rafter she had been sitting on, and swung down to the floor, sinking down when she landed so she didn't hurt her knees.
"That was something else," Ron whispered as she took her seat.
"You should see what she does back home," Harry grinned, sending Amisty a sly wink.
She just rolled her eyes, fighting down the proud grin that threatened to break across her face.
"Potter, you next," Moody growled lowly.
Harry walked up.
"Imperio!"
It was quiet for a while. Harry's knees bent, but then it was quiet for a while longer.
Harry's eyes hadn't gone cloudy, they were remarkably clear. They narrowed slightly as if he were in deep concentration.
And then Harry stumbled halfway through a jump and his head hit the side of the desk, which went clattering to the ground.
"Now, that's more like it!" Moody praised. "Look at that, you lot... Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention -- watch his eyes, that's where you see it -- very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"
-=+=-
By the end of class, Harry had been through that same process at least four times in a row until he was completely unaffected.
"The way he talks, you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second," Harry muttered, rubbing his knees.
"Yeah, I know. Talk about paranoid..." Ron nodded, skipping occasionally with every other step. "No wonder they were glad to get shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted 'Boo' behind him on April Fools' Day? And when are we supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?"
Ron definitely had a point.
The homework in all of their classes had been piling up immensely. Professor McGonagall had explained why after the collective groan when she assigned a stack of papers for homework.
"You are now entering the most important phase of your magical education! Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer -- " She snapped, green eyes glinting.
"We don't take O.W.L.s till fifth year!" Dean interrupted, not making any effort to hide his annoyance.
"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin!" Professor McGonagall shot back.
Hermione had turned pink again.
Harry and Ron had gotten their homework read out loud to the class for Divination, a happiness soon forgotten when Professor Trelawney assigned the same homework for the next month.
History of Magic had them writing weekly essays about goblin rebellions, not the most exciting topic to write about, and Snape warned them to take their research of antidotes seriously, as he might poison them before Christmas.
Also not a very fun topic to research, though for different reasons.
Reading the effects of poisons and even antidotes when prepared incorrectly was rather nightmare inducing.
Then Professor Flitwick had given them three extra books to read for their lesson on Summoning Charms, and even Hagrid asked them to come down to his hut on alternate evenings to observe the skrewts.
"I will not. I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks," Draco argued, his voice flat.
"Yeh'll do wha' yer told or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book... I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy," Hagrid countered.
Amisty grinned, watching as Draco's ears slowly turned pink, and then the color spread across his cheeks.
"Deserved that," She whispered as she passed them on the way back to the castle for dinner.
"Shut up," He snapped back, but the smile on his face was unmistakable, leaving his harsh words with no bite.
She jostled him with her shoulder, dodging out of the way as he went to poke her with his elbow and barely containing her laughter as she rejoined her friends.
Hermione just gave her a knowing look, to which her only response was a shrug.