Hey everyone!
This was written in response to yet another HPFC challenge, the details of which have been included below.
…..
Hannah Abbot was startled awake by strange scuffling noises coming from somewhere outside her dorm room door. She frowned as she sat up, listening intently. It seemed as though some small animal was trying to dig its way through the door. A rustle from somewhere to her left told her she wasn't the only one who noticed either.
"What do you think it is?" Susan tiptoed her way to the door, wand in hand.
Hannah shook her head. "I'm not sure," she replied. "Maybe it's that cat from the fifth years' dorm again, it's always been creeping about at weird hours."
"Yeah, maybe."
Hannah joined her friend at the door. "Should we go find out?"
Susan nodded. "Yeah, then we can get back to sleep."
Hannah nudged the door open and the pair stared out into the narrow corridor of the girls dorm area. It was dark and deserted, with no sign of the cat they'd been expecting.
Susan tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a spot to their left. "Over there," she whispered.
Hannah inched closer, she and Susan lifting their wands higher to see. "Is that...?"
"Yeah, I think so," Susan replied.
"It's so small," Hannah murmured, crouching down to the critter's level. "How do you think it got in here?"
Her friend shrugged, following suit. "Don't know. What should we do, though? Think Sprout would let us keep it?"
"Maybe..."
Harry sat in the Gryffindor stands along with Ron and Hermione as they waited for the Quidditch match to begin. It was Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff, and the trio had agreed to support the Puffs that day. Just as the last few players were being announced, a commotion began down on the pitch. Hermione reached into the pockets of her robes and pulled out a pair of binoculars.
"What's happening?" Ron asked as a group of people forced their way onto the pitch.
Hermione frowned. "Looks like some Hufflepuffs are bringing something onto the pitch; one of them has blankets."
"Blankets?" Harry echoed. "Can I look?" She nodded and passed the binoculars over.
"I bet they'll all get a detention for that," Hermione murmured as they watched Madam Hooch rush over to the extra students on the grass. "Hooch is fairly strict about things."
"Why would they run out like that anyway?" Ron muttered, leaning forward in his seat. "You're not allowed to just rush in, it's just not done!"
"Who knows?" Harry said, passing the binoculars over to Ron, who accepted them wordlessly. "Maybe it was a dare or something."
"For a Puff?" Ron scoffed. "Hardly."
A sonorused cry of "Huff the Puff!" resounded through the stands, and the bundle of blankets was suddenly lifted up higher. The cheers from Hufflepuff at that moment were almost deafening.
"They must have asked a seventh year for that spell," Hermione murmured. "Perhaps a professor."
Ron nearly dropped the binoculars in surprise. "No way," he said.
His friends stared at him. "What?"
Bundled in those blankets was a young badger, wearing a black and gold scarf.
This is for the Battle of the Houses Competition on HPFC, representing Hufflepuff. (500 words using the prompt: badger.)
Until next time, peace out!
Shadowcaster01