Entry for the "Art Club" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)
Category: Art
Entry for the "Chocolate Frog Card Collection Club" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"
Dee Bourcier, Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Dee Bourcier is more well-known for her creation of the Translation Charm, which allows for easier communication between peers who don't speak the same language. Her love of magical creatures far eclipses her love of humans, and it is speculated that this Slytherin Alumni lives with three kneazles, a fwooper, and an unhealthy emotional attachment to dragons. Whether or not that attachment has anything to do with the rumor that she has devised a way to speak to them remains unknown - but it is inadvisable to ask her about it.
Prompt: Write about your favorite character stumbling across an animal (can be magical or non-magical) and talking to it. Using words critter, Latin, and the phrase "...the Hungarian Horntail, the most terrifying thing you'll ever see in your whole life!" -Albus Dumbledore, A Very Potter Musical.
I hope you all like it, leave me your opinion :)
"Are we there yet?"
Rolanda Hooch rolled her eyes over the snarl that had come from the dark-clothed man behind her as she stomped through the thick snow that covered the outskirts of Hogsmeade, the fields, the trees, the near mountains of the Scottish Highlands and the village itself like a fluffy blanket. The young witch was searching for her broomstick in the snowy fields and as she had had walked past the Hogs Head earlier she had met Severus Snape who had surprised her with his frighteningly friendly offer to help her, but slowly she realised that this had had only one purpose: to annoy her. Well, and maybe have some fun.
"Shut up, cauldron boy," she snorted, pulling her winter cloak tighter around her body. "No one forced you to join me on my search."
"And missing the sight of you trying desperately to find a broomstick which already could have flown to London? Why don't you Accio it, by the way?"
"I said shut up!"
"And why did you loose it in first place?"
"Curiosity can kill a potions master, Severus!" Rolanda grumbled, shooting death glares at the tall man who gave her his signature grin as he offered:"I would be far more helpful if I knew the story how you lost your precious broom, you know?"
Rolanda sighed. She had to make a choice: Doubling the amount of humiliation by telling Severus how it had come to this and being able to get back into the warmth of the castle earlier or keeping quiet to go on searching for who know how much hours?
"Damn," she cursed as she realised that her icy feet left her no other option. She took a deep breath, shook her head and started to explain:"Do... do you remember how angry Minerva was last week and nobody knew what was going on?"
"Yes. You had something to do with it?"
Rolanda wiped her gloved hands over her face and nodded.
"If I ever feel the desire to prank Minerva because I am bored again, please, just... stop me with every available means. I used catnip and wool and so on as she strolled around in her animagus form... I won't explain this any further, but... well, her revenge will surely be more than this."
Severus looked at her in his usual unimpressed manner, but inwardly he had to fight to prevent himself from laughing. How he wished he could have been there to watch Minerva's reaction! Nearly every teacher had been speculating what would happen if animagus-Minerva was confronted with things normal cats loved, but no one had ever dared to turn imagined experiments into reality. Well, except for Rolanda. Once again Severus was impressed by the reckless courage this woman was having, regarding the fact that The Scottish Storm Minerva was not someone you usually did prank.
"You have a death wish, Hooch," Severus snarled, but Rolanda could tell that he was amused by her prank – through the countless banters with him she had learned how to interpret even the smallest sign. "And her revenge was to steal your broom?"
"Well, not exactly... I... I was having a short flight around the Grounds and then all the sudden I was attacked by thousands of snowballs! I was lucky that I was flying low, otherwise I could have some broken bones right now."
"You fell off your broom?" Severus asked, his gloating grin reaching from one ear to the other. "Rolanda Hooch, one of the most famous chasers from Ireland fell off her broom because of a snowball attack?"
"Oh, just... Stop it! They were coming back at me again and again! And then Minerva took my wand and send my broom flying on its own, in this direction! It is not funny!"
"But it surely is," Severus answered breathless, bathing in her misery, but a punch in his side brought him back to reality.
"Will you help me now?!" Rolanda asked, more annoyed than before. Telling Severus had made it worse – she should have chosen the lone search instead, at least nobody would have laughed at her... She was sure that Severus would not help her, that he only wanted to know the reason why she was out here so he could make even more fun of her, but the potions master surprised her as he pulled his wand out, murmuring:"Accio Rolanda's broom."
The two of them waited for a short time, staring to the skies, but nothing happened, no broom was flying towards them.
"There is a Latin saying that...," Severus grinned, but Rolanda raised her hand, hissing:"Don't you even think about it."
"And now? It will soon be dark and you cannot go on searching," he wanted to know while Rolanda started to march through the snow again, inwardly cursing Minerva and her own bad ideas.
"I can and I will."
"You are so damn stubborn, Rolanda! Do you want to freeze yourself to death?"
Severus did catch up with her, walking right beside her, but Rolanda did not look at him as she asked:"Since when do you care?!"
His mouth opened and closed for a few times, feeling that she had hit a weak point, but suddenly they both were distracted by the loud rustle of a snow-laden bush in front of them, then the snow moved, being pushed up in front of them and Rolanda released a scream as Severus threw himself to the ground, pulling her with him. They rolled over the snow for a few metres before they stopped, Severus lying on top of Rolanda who stared back at him with a shocked expression.
"What the hell was that?" She whispered, her breath brushing over Severus' face and he gulped, his gaze wandering from her rosy lips to her golden eyes.
"I... don't..."
"Damn, stop staring, get off me!"
Rolanda's outburst came sudden and all he could do was roll off as she hit his chest with her fists. He watched her as she slowly approached the small bulge in the snow, then she released sounds of rapture while kneeling down on the snow and taking something on her arms. She had a motherly smile on her face as she turned, laughing:"The Hungarian Horntail, the most terrifying thing you'll ever see in your whole life! You are such a girl, Severus."
A small, fluffy white puppy dog was lying in her arms, cuddling against the woman while it looked around, seemingly confused.
"A critter? Well, you would have been of another opinion if a werewolf had jumped on you!" Severus answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest while watching how Rolanda freed the white fur from snow.
"Remus never flirted with me, you jealous git," she winked, wrapping the small dog in her cloak. "Well, now we will bring you somewhere were it is warm and we will get you something to eat, sweetie... and then you will stay, how do you like that?"
"Oh, no, Rolanda, no! You do know how this works at Hogwarts! Cats! Not dogs! Albus won't agree on that, you will get yourself in trouble and..."
"Do you hear that, little one? How the bat snarls and rants and nobody cares?" Rolanda whispered to the small dog as she started to walk towards Hogsmeade, her broom apparently forgotten. Severus rolled his eyes as he followed her, already seeing in front of his inner eye how Minerva would scold as soon as she would see the little puppy in the castle – there was no way he was going to miss this!
