A/N so this is my Themed submission for Round 3 of the houses competition 2! Enjoy!
Year: Year 5 stand in
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Themed
Prompt: Magic 8 Ball
Word count: 2154
Colin was certain there was magic in the world. So when he got a magic 8 ball for Christmas, his eyes lit up, a bright smile stretching across his face. He frequently asked it if magic was real, always getting variations of the same, affirmative answer. "Yes." "it is certain." "Without a doubt." Which meant that, when he got his Hogwarts acceptance letter that summer, he wasn't really all that surprised. Of course, his dad and Dennis were amazed.
Minerva McGonagall stood in the kitchen, watching on at the individual reactions of the Creevey family; Colin looked like Christmas had come early, the younger Creevey, that must have been Colin's brother Dennis' expression changed frequently from amazed to confused and back again whilst the Creevey Brothers' father looked baffled by the situation.
"This has to be some kind of joke Colin, you haven't applied to one of those magazine competitions advertising a magical experience without telling me again have you?"
"No, Dad! I think it's genuine!" Colin said enthusiastically.
"Wow! Are you really a Wizard Colin?" Dennis asked now looking at his older brother awestruck.
"And you...You're a teacher at this...Hogwarts?" Colin's dad asked, turning to Minerva.
"That is correct Mr Creevey and your son is indeed magic." At this, Colin smile grew impossibly brighter and his knee started bouncing under the table excitedly, eyes dating from between McGonagall and his father frantically. Yet, even with all the energy and excitement within the boy seeming as if it was going to make him explode, all he did was whisper quietly, "I knew magic was real."
Over the next few years Colin never parted from his magic 8 ball - it was always at least in his robes. It not only answered his questions but also acted as a reminder of home.
The magic 8 ball always seemed to be right no matter the conundrum. Of course he was limited to "yes" or "no" questions but Colin truly felt he had now mastered the art of phrasing the question and the magic 8 ball always came back with the right answer, even when it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. For example, he once asked the ball if one of the Gryffindor girls - who was also from a muggle family and actually talked to Colin in potions class - would accept an invitation to go on a date with him sometime to the Great Lake. The magic 8 ball responded with "Outlook not so good" to which Colin got frustrated and asked her anyway. Needless to say, the Magic 8 ball was right, Colin was rejected and he spent the rest of the year avoiding her out of embarrassment.
However, the magic 8 ball wasn't just a bringer of bad news, for it also brought along promises of joy. For example, the summer when Dennis got his Hogwarts letter, the magic 8 ball predicted it as well as Dennis being sorted into Gryffindor like his brother.
There were times it was wrong for sure. For example when it said Colin could pass charms without revising "Without a doubt" but unfortunately, this wasn't the case and Colin failed dramatically. However, his faith in the ball was unwavering; it was right more so than it was wrong.
Colin cracked his eyes open one morning as sun had just started peaking through the window, he rubbed his face, clearing the sleep from his eyes and stretched over to the bedside drawer where he kept the Magic 8 ball, beginning his morning ritual in which he'd ask the ball questions on how the day would go. His hand searched but only met the wooden bottom of the drawer. Panic gripped at his very core as he upturned every square inch of his dorm looking for it. He was sure he put it in the drawer next to his bed, where he kept it every night. There was nowhere else it could be. Colin missed breakfast that morning as well as half of his first period of transfiguration as he continued to look for the ball. Alas, to no avail, and when he realised the time, he cursed and sprinted to transfiguration to be confronted with a very annoyed professor McGonagall. Colin didn't even try to defend himself, just took the lecture and the detention and sat in his seat dejectedly, not even paying attention to the rest of the class.
Colin was polishing the candelabra of the Great Hall as his detention punishment when his brother found him.
"Whatcha doing there Col?"
"Polishing," Colin said with a sigh.
"Why?" Dennis asked curiously, the way little brothers do.
"I was late to McGonagall's class this morning, so I'm in detention."
"Oh. Why were you late?"
The curiosity of his younger brother was starting to grate on Colin, who was already in a foul mood. "I was looking for something I lost."
"Maybe I could help find it? What was it? Have you asked a Hufflepuff? Apparently, they're good at finding things." Dennis tried to joke. It didn't work.
"It was my magic 8 ball."
At that, the smile previously on Dennis' face fell, knowing what the ball meant to Colin. "Oh...well have you asked the boys in your dorm? Maybe they picked it up."
"Yeah, they said they haven't seen it… Say, you haven't seen it and have you?"
"Can't say I have, I'll keep an eye out for it though."
"Okay, thanks, you should probably disappear before McGonagall catches you talking to me and we both end up in detention."
Dennis cracked a smile, "Okay, see you later Colin." and with that he sauntered out of the Great Hall, leaving Colin alone to continue to ponder on the whereabouts of his magic 8 ball.
About a month later, the castle was bustling with the news of the Triwizard Tournament contestants being announced that night. Nobody was able to concentrate the whole day despite the professors best attempts to keep their students attention. Nevertheless, all the students could do was wonder who would have the honour of representing Hogwarts in the tournament. The big names floating around the school to be selected were Cassius Warrington and Cedric Diggory, as well as Viktor Krum for Durmstrang. All of whom could certainly hold their own in whatever trials were thrown at them. Nobody, especially not Colin, expected Harry Potter to also be called.
How did he even get his name in there? Colin wondered about his idol. Harry was underage, and not even the Weasley twins had managed to trick the goblet. What if something happened to him? Colin had heard that the trials could be dangerous, like when the cockatrice even injured the judges in the 1792 tournament. If only he had his magic 8 ball, that would settle his worry for Harry who was always so nice to him. Colin shook himself, of course, Harry would be ok. It was Harry Potter, the boy who lived himself. Hell, it would probably impress Hermione even further, Colin was pretty sure there was something going on between those two. That was probably why Harry put his name in the goblet. Still, the yearning he felt a few weeks ago for his Magic 8 ball returned and Colin felt his shoulder slump as the sadness filled him.
Around a week later, Colin came down the steps of the boy's dorms and entered the Gryffindor common room, in the corner was his brother and some other Gryffindor first years. Dennis was holding something in his hand, showing it to his peers whose eyes were wide in amazement.
"So how does it work Dennis," One of his friends asked.
"Magic," Dennis replied simply.
"Didn't you say it was a muggle invention though?" another chirped up.
"Yes… well, even muggles use some magic, but there's comes from this thing called code and programming."
Colin strolled over, "What you got there Den?" Colin asked.
Dennis quickly shoved whatever it was in his pocket, and turned to face his brother. "Oh. Colin. Hi...What are you doing here? I thought you had transfiguration now?" he stammered.
"No… I have a free. So what were you showing the others?"
"Oh, nothing..." Dennis shrugged. "Just something from home."
"It's something called a Magic 8 ball." One of the other first years called. A small ginger girl, face speckled with freckles. "Your Dennis' brother right? Do you have one?"
Colin tried to recall his brother also got a magic 8 ball - he couldn't have stolen his, could he? Yet the deep red blush that crept up over Dennis' features seemed to confirm it.
"Dennis," Colin said through gritted teeth. "A moment."
Colin marched his brother to the other side of the common room. All Colin felt was a seething Anger and betrayal at his younger brother.
"You lied to me. How could you? Give it back."
But his brother shook his head a defiant look in his eye. "No Colin, frankly it was weird how attached you were to it, taking it everywhere, asking it everything. Yes, I know I shouldn't have stolen it and yes I shouldn't have lied to you about having it but you're better off without it. Plus…Daryl in my class was taking the mick out of me being a mudblood again so this gave me something to show that mudbloods were cool too!"
"You shouldn't have stolen it, Dennis. I wasn't some kind of addict, you realise now I can't trust you with anything? Ever right? You've betrayed that trust. Betrayed me. Now give. It. back."
"No."
"Give. It."
"No."
"Just hand it over." And, with that, Colin launched at the younger boy, targeting the pocket the magic 8 ball was in. Colin may have been referred to as scrawny but he still had some weight on his younger brother and the two Creevey's crashed to the ground, wrestling for the muggle toy. Punches, kicks and slaps were thrown and a circle of Gryffindors formed around them, some chanting for Colin, others for Dennis, some just for the fight. With prefects nowhere to be seen the fight continued as the adrenaline pumped through Colin's system. He now had a grasp on the ball and started to pry his younger brothers fingers off one by one. Dennis held on tightly though and as he pried the last few fingers off the ball flew in the air, back over to the fireplace in the common room, smashing on the stone corner.
Colin immediately stopped fighting and flew over to the ball. Anxiety clawing at the back of his throat. He shook the ball and inside heard a rattle that shouldn't be there, the screen was cracked and no answer appeared. The room was quiet now and Colin looked over at his brother whose chest like his own, was rising and falling sharply a deep look of content in his eyes. Colin couldn't take it anymore and fled to his dorm, not coming out until dinner that evening.
It took weeks for them to even be in the same room again, but as the Christmas holidays drew closer and the thought of having to return home together, Colin contemplated talking to his brother again. He was still mad. Hell, he was furious. But it was just a ball and Dennis was at the end of the day his brother. With a week till they went home for Christmas, Colin went over to his brother during dinner.
"Hey, Dennis."
"What do you want?" Dennis aggressively shot back.
"I'm sorry for being so angry at you. It was childish of me."
Dennis paused, obviously not expecting the apology, after a moment he recovered. "Yes, it was...But I suppose I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have stolen it."
"That's right, you shouldn't have but it's understandable. Why didn't you talk to me about Darryl? We could have sorted it or something."
"I don't know, you always seemed to have more important things to talk about, like Harry Potter."
"Look, Dennis, Harry's cool but he's not my brother, now let's go to McGonagall and get Daryl sorted okay? There's nothing wrong with having Muggle parents, look at me, I'm not that bad right?"
It was Christmas day and both Colin and Dennis got up to there alarm and raced each other downstairs where an explosion of presents lay, the epicentre originating around a decorated pine tree in the corner of the room.
The Creevey Brothers dad then came down the stairs in his pyjama bottoms and shirt.
"Merry Christmas boys. You can open one now and the rest after breakfast.
The boys cheered and dived for the presents. Colin reached for a cuboid shaped one where on the tag read "Colin, Merry Christmas. Dennis."
He tore the wrapping paper open, not sure what to expect and there in it's packaging, a spherical black orb rested.
It was a magic 8 ball.