Author's Note: I never intended to do a sequel or continue the Racketeers - but Hey! Look what happened! I wan't to be clear that right now this is more of an idea than an actual first chapter. It's been a looooong time since I wrote any of these characters so the story might be on the poor side. If you guys like it I'll carry on, if not I'll ditch it. So feedback would be grately appreciated.
Also! This isn't going to be a story with a clear beginning/middle/end kind of plot. I left RR basically saying Arry and Reanne were going to be in charge, so this will be - as the title implies - just a selection of the things the racketeers are getting up to with their new boss ladies. Enjoy!
The Hogwarts halls were teaming with students fresh back from the summer holidays, rushing to see their friends and gabbling excitedly about who did what during their lazy summer days. It was at the head of this hallway that Arcadia Morreno and Reanne Charles emerged.
Heavenly music seemed to extend down the corridor ahead of them and a breeze appeared from nowhere. Slow smiles spread across their faces as they strutted, as if in slow motion, down the halls. Arry winked at a passerby and gave him the thumbs up, maybe she knew him, maybe she didn't. She definitely didn't.
It was as the girls made their way gracefully, if not mystically, down the hall that a voice asked from behind "What the hell are you two doing?"
The girls turned in slow, slow unison to meet the gaze of Draco Malfoy, his brow drawn and his expression already exasperated.
"Waaaalkiiiing," Arry responded, taking her time over the word.
"I see that. Why are you doing it so…slowly?" He asked, managing to sigh and talk at the same time, which Arry found impressive.
"Tooo maaaake aaaan eeeentrraaaaancccce," Arry replied, smiling…eventually.
Draco rubbed his eyes. "Have you cast a slow time spell?"
"Weeeee preeeefeeeeer 'slooooow moooootioooon speeeeeeell'," Reanne informed him.
"Iiiiit's mooooooreee iiiiiiimpreeeesssssiiiive foooor aaaaaan eeeeeentraaaaa-" Arry didn't manage to finish the sentence before Draco had tapped her forehead with his wand, and Reanne's a second later. "-nce. Well that's no fun."
"I thought you might manage a week before you embarrassed me," He told Arry firmly.
"I thought it might take you a week to realise I'm more embarrassing than funny," Arry smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "We worked hard on that entrance!"
"I'm just sad Blaise didn't get to see it," Draco replied, slipping an am around her waist. Ha, can't be that embarrassed, he's just hiding how proud he is.
"Ha!" Reanne grinned, "Who do you think was doing the music?"
Draco's jaw tightened slightly and his gaze moved over Reanne's head. "They've gotten to you. You're almost as mad as them now,"
Blaise slapped a hand over his heart, "You wound me. I'm nowhere near as mad as Arry, and you sleep with her,"
"You don't know that," Arry said with a frown. "Maybe our love is pure and we are waiting until we are wed. Maybe he loves me for my rapier-" Haha rape-ier "wit and gentle nature. Maybe-"
"No, you're definitely sleeping together," Blaise smiled. Arry punched him on the arm. "So you girls never explained why I had to follow you around making music,"
"Follow them around? How long have you been doing it?" Draco asked as he tugged Arry along, the group making their way towards the main staircases.
Blaise shrugged and grinned, "Pretty much since we got off the Express and you and I split up,"
Draco shot him a despairing look.
"They asked me so nicely,"
"Well Blaise, since you asked so politely, and so interestedly - almost as though you care about our private lives – we wanted to make an entrance because this is a very important year for Miss Charles and myself." Arry announced.
"Oh," Draco said, realising what she meant "Because you've been put in charge of the-"
NO! No he mustn't say it! Arry looked around desperately. Through the stone arches, into the commons, there "GRASS!"
Draco jumped slightly and looked at Arry with widened eyes; Blaise had a similar expression though Reanne looked alarmingly unfazed. "What?" Draco ventured.
"Because Reanne and I have been put in charge of the grass," Arry widened her eyes, trying to send the message through her brain waves; those magical, magical brain waves. "You know, tending to its growth, keeping it green…making sure it finishes all its challenges in a prompt and orderly manner," Arry looked around and laughed loudly and nervously. "No talkio about the secret clubio."
"What?" Reanne asked.
"That's pig Latin."
"It really isn't."
"I was only going to say that you've been put in charge of your extracurricular group," Draco sighed, patting Arry's back gently as he said it.
She narrowed her eyes, "You sigh a lot." Draco patted her again and said nothing.
She continued "Well, you have hit the nail's face with a very heavy hammer there Draco-"
"That isn't the expression,"
"-because Reanne and I have indeed been placed in charge of the secret thing of which we do not speak and, in my very, very- almost overly humble opinion- this year our secret thing of which we do not speak is going to be epic. I'm talking legendary. There will be songs sung about it for years to come in the Ravenclaw common room. They'll write our names on the walls and stare at them reverently every night, dancing to our memory and-"
"Merlin's ghost, this is your humble opinion?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, yeah."
"Arry has some 'stuff up her sleeve' apparently," Reanne explained, "Which I personally am very excited about, and you know why?"
"Because it's going to go horribly, horribly wrong?" Blaise asked.
"Bingo." Reanne grinned.
"You said my ideas were good!" Arry exclaimed. They'd reached the bottom of the main staircase; the girls needed to head up to the towers, the boys would be splitting off to the dungeons before the whole student body reconvened in the Great Hall for the Welcome Back dinner. "You have faith in me don't you Malfoy?" Arry asked, stood on the first step so her face was about level with Draco's.
He smiled at her, one of his rare genuine smiles and leaned forward to kiss her briefly on the lips, "Not even a little bit you mad idiot."
The Welcome Back dinner was a delicious feast, succulent food piled so high across the tables you almost couldn't see the person sat opposite you. There was the customary headmaster's speech, the traditional first year sorting, the not quite so traditional but undeniably hilarious moment when professor Flitwick set his sleeve on fire gesturing too close to a candle, and managed to upend a gravy boat over Professor Snape's lap as he flailed around trying to put it out.
And then, full from the feast and tired from the days events, the students had yawned their way back to their common rooms, hoping to get plenty of rest before their first lessons of the new school year.
As midnight drew close the Ravenclaw common room was quiet, the only noise being the soft crackle of the fire which sent a low orange glow across the room.
"Are you getting a weird déjà vu?" Arry asked Reanne, she slipped among the ring of armchairs by the fire, threw some cushions into the centre and dropped into the chair nearest the fire.
"If by that you mean 'do I recognise our common room' then yes, yes I do." Reanne replied. She threw her own armful of cushions on top of Arry's and fussed about spreading them around the floor.
Our first decree of awesomeness, Arry thought merrily, No one sits on the floor.
"I'm nervous, do you think they'll like us?" Arry asked, shooting a glance towards the grandfather clock; only a couple of minutes to go.
"No more than they did before you were put in charge. Maybe less, you don't make a brilliant first impression, Arry," Reanne finished fussing and joined her friend by the fire with a wry smile "Or second."
"Gee, thanks," Arry replied sarcastically.
"I'm nervous too," Reanne admitted.
"Really?" Arry asked, surprised. Reanne was usually much cooler and level headed than Arry, not that that's hard!
"Really. Any ship would run aground with you at the wheel," Reanne grinned.
"Reanne…that's so sweet of you to say,"
"Uh, I think you missed the point Arry,"
"Shh," The grandfather clock was chiming dully in the corner and Arry heard whispers on the stairs. "Quick! They're coming look…I don't know, authoritarian,"
Did I mean utilitarian? Or totalitarian?...in-charge-itarian?
Girls and boys filled the seats and sat on the cushions, whispering as quietly as they could, until it was clear no-one else would be emerging from the dorms and an expectant hush fell over the group.
Oh Merlin they're looking at me. They expect me to say something. I expect me to say something. C'mon, Arry, you had this all planned, just start with a sophisticated-
"HELLO!" Arry squawked. She cleared her throat, ignored Reanne's muffled laughter and said again, "Hello, and welcome to this school years first meeting of the Ravenclaw Racketeers." Arms spread wise to indicate the group. Scheduled pause as I look around the faces, "Some of you I know, some of you I do not. Some of you are new to our school and to our little group," She picked a girl, "You, what is your name?"
The girl shot Arry a puzzled look, "Beth,"
"Beth, what?" Arry asked.
"Beth Hawley," the girl said as though it were obvious.
"Beth Hawley," Arry repeated, smiling in a way she hoped looked regal, "Welcome, Beth, over the coming year we shall get to know each other very well as you and our other recruits-"
"Are you kidding?" Beth frowned, dark eyebrows furrowed as she looked to Reanne for confirmation, "Arry, I've been in this group before you even came to the school. We sat next to each other in charms all last year,"
Oh, Beth Hawley! I though she said…Bob.
"Haha…haha…ha, yes. I know, Beth, I was joking…obviously. To demonstrate our good nature and sense of humour to all of the new members, wasn't I Reanne?"
Reanne looked at Arry in disbelief but still replied "Yes…she was,"
"But just for future reference could anybody new raise their hands?" A few first years stuck their hands up and a girl who was maybe a third or fourth year, and a fifth year Arry recognised from around the common room. "Good, yes, now everybody get a good look at them. Don't be shy, feel free to stare. You are all here because it is a tradition passed down from your ancestors – or because somebody couldn't keep their mouth shut and you found out and we invited you because we had no other choice. And I think we all know who I'm talking about don't we George?" Arry winked.
"You?"
"But enough of that! I think it's time we got our first challenge underway. Reanne the hat!" Arry clapped her hands together once, Reanne shot her a look that indicated she did not appreciate that and held out a plain witches hat, upside down and filled with balled up bits of paper.
Reanne hadn't added the names of the new members yet, having managed to convince Arry that no, it was not fair to expect terrified first years to attempt something horrendously stupid on their first night in the castle. Reanne stuck her wand into the hat, swirled it around and then pulled her wand back out and thrust it into the air. A piece of paper was flung into the air and unfurled as it floated slowly back down, revealing a name in looping purple ink.
"Terry Boot," Arry read smiling, "Doesn't this take you back Terry?"
Terry quirked an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Yes me too," Arry continued, "The challenge I have for you is…well, I won't lie, Terry, it is dangerous; it's perilous and you might not live."
Terry glanced around in obvious panic.
"I want you to," Dramatic pause, "steal," More dramatic, more! "an emblem of Hogwarts," Arry leaned back and folded her arms behind her head. And wait for the awe to come flooding in.
Terry stared at her for a moment, his expression changing from concern to incredulity, "An emblem of Hogwarts?" He asked without emotion.
"Yeaaah," Arry confirmed, elongating the word and nodding with pride. "Specifically of Ravenclaw,"
"An emblem of Ravenclaw?" Terry asked, eyebrows high on his forehead.
He can't believe what a brilliant challenge it is, Arry smiled to herself. "And don't worry, it could be pretty difficult so we'll give you plenty of time…"
Terry stood up, made his way out of the circle of racketeers, walked to the fire, plucked something off the smooth marble mantle and handed it across to Arry. "One emblem of Ravenclaw," he announced.
Arry took it from him stiffly and cleared her throat. She held a smooth piece of stone, about as big as her hand, rounded but flat on the bottom so it stood. Into its surface was carved the same badge of Ravenclaw they all had on their uniforms. Arry cleared her throat again. "Uh, yes. Well done,"
Reanne looked pained as she leant over and whispered to Arry, so no one else could hear, "What exactly did you think an emblem was?"
"I thought it was a kind of boat."
Reanne handed out the rest of the challenges that night.