Thanks so much to Crispy-Gypsy's avatar. It totally inspired me. Ask me for the link if you want to see it. It won't show up here. (sob!)
Dedication- Crispy-Gypsy. She rules!!
Disclaimer- I own nothing. Absolutely nothing.
P.S. You can flame if you feel lead to do so...I'll feel sad, but your opinion will be there...
P.S.S. This is totally unrelated to Harry Potter, except that it happened in the past of Hogwarts and the Weasly twins are telling about it. And the legend of Clopin.
It was a winter's night, cold...windy. Snow-flurries rushed past windows, promising a good foot of snow in the morning. The morning, however, was far off. In the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess...kind of. As in, they stared at the board, thinking of anything else to do. There was no Quidditch practice, Lavender wasn't there...in short, they were bored.
"Queen to E-3." said Ron, barely even looking at the board. Harry didn't even react as Ron's queen masacred one of his pawns. In fact, his last pawn. Ron yawned.
"Check." Harry studied the board, fervently wishing Peeves would come along, shake things up a bit.
"Knight to C-10." he said, playing with one of the broken red pieces he had on the side-lines. His knight waltzed right into the path of Ron's Queen.
"Queen to C-10." said Ron. Harry winced slightly as shards of the Knight showered him.
"Screw this!" he suddenly said, getting up and going to the fire.
"Yeah." said Ron, leaving the Chess set to reorganize itself. "God!! I'm so bored!!"
"Yeah," agreed Harry. "I wish something exciting would happen."
"Then today's your lucky day!!" came a very familiar double-voice from behind them. Fred and George Weasly came vaulting over the back of the sofa, landing cat-like in front of the astounded boys.
"We're going to tell you a story."
"A legend."
"A legend that is so famous...even we haven't cracked it's records."
"Wait." said Ron, although relieved of boredom, was rather suspicious of his brothers. "Why are you going to tell us a story?"
"Because we want to?"
"Can't we tell our own brother and his friend the story of our inspirations?" The twins were pulling the most ridiculous faces, so Harry and Ron had to give in.
"Fine!" said Ron, placating them. "Tell us the story. But let me get some sweets first. I want some fudge or something." Harry went with him and they soon returned with all sorts of sweets. Hermione was now seated in the presence of the Weasly twins, laughing at something they said.
"We're back." said Ron, dumping his armload on the table. Fred and George produced Butter-Beers and gave one to everyone. They cracked them, eating the sweets and chattering.
"So," said Ron, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hermione gave him a disapproving look. "Are you going to tell us the story or not?"
"We will, Ronald."
"Patience is a virtue."
Ron growled. "Wait, I want to hear this story too." said Hermione, setting her Butter-Beer down gently. "What is it about?"
"A tale of mystery-"
"Amusement-"
"Betrayal-"
"Teachers-"
"Students-"
"Boys-"
"Girls-"
"Romance-"
"And murder." finished Fred. Everyones' mouths dropped open. (By this time, Seamus, Dean, Pavarti and an OC named Jessica have joined them).
"REALLY?!" everyone shouted.
"Naw, the last one was just to mess with ya!" teased Fred, his eyes glowing with mischief. Everyone groaned. Fred and George smirked.
"The tale we will tell,"
"Is called,"
"The Hunchback of Hufflepuff!!" they shouted together.
"But the best guy is named Clopin."
"Completely crazy."
"In a good way."
"Like us!! In fact he's our inspiration." said George. He winked at Fred.
"Most definately."
"One thing that you must understand..."
"...this was a long, long time ago."
And so the story begins...
"-And the same goes to your mother!" shouted a dark-skinned boy dressed in Gryffindor colours at the retreating back of a Slytherin girl. His friends, other dark-skinned boys and girls, most dressed in Gryffindor colours (some in Ravenclaw) laughed. The boy laughed with them, his beginnings of a goatee darkening his chin.
"Yet another fan-girl gone." said a beautiful Gryffindor girl with a head full of black curls. "I honestly don't know what attracts them to you, Clopin."
"It's his devilish looks and charm, Esmeralda!" said a Ravenclaw boy, adjusting his glasses. Clopin smirked, laying out on the lawn, his single gold hoop glinting in the sun.
"I am so glad that it's the week-end. I have way too much homework." complained another Gryffindor girl, twirling her black hair around a finger.
"I can help you with that." said a Gryffindor boy, sidling up to her and grasping her shoulders. She giggled, swatting him away.
"Get off, Janof!" she laughed. He smirked, leaned over and kissed her.
"OO-ooo!!" said all the gang, laughing. Suddenly, one of the Ravenclaw kids happened to look up at the Hogwarts castle.
"Oh, Pine-nuts, Professor Frollo is coming!" Janof and Geneviève quickly broke apart and everyone whipped out books. They pretended to study.
"-And that's how equilibrium will be achieved...Oh, Professor Frollo. How do you do?" asked a Gryffindor girl by the name of Anastasia. Frollo, one of the oldest teachers at the school (he taught Transfiguration), glared down at Janof and Geneviève. He completely ignored Anastasia's question, addressing the two teenage lovers.
"You both know the rules of the school, Mr. Antone and Miss. Hilltop. No P.D.A." He spat out the saying as if it were a curse word. And not just a word. "Detention for two days, my office." He turned and stalked back up to the castle, cloak billowing behind him.
"I can't stand being in his office." shuddered Geneviève. "He keeps looking at me."
"Don't fret." said Janof, putting a protective hand around her waist. "If he tried anything, I'm gonna punch him and damn the consequences."
"That's right. Who does he think he is?" said Clopin, turning over on his stomach, picking at some clover. Leaves fell from the tree fell over them, showering them with the reminder that the school year had just started. They sighed, gearing themselves up for another year of Frollo's injustices and bad grades with good food. The food was really good...it almost cancelled everything else out.
Quasimodo stared at the gang on the ground below. He was up in his own chamber. He was, in fact, a Squib (but only a small one. Spells worked, but sometimes got out of control). Frollo, his uncle, allowed him to come to Hogwarts and learn from him as long as he did not go outside of the chambers that Frollo had given him. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, he was!! It was just...the other kids looked so free. He wanted to go down and go to the Green-houses, go to the Observatory, even the Owl Tower would be satisfactory.
He wore Hufflepuff colours, his robes custom made for his hunched back. He also had a mole or wart over one eye, causing it to be smaller than his other one. He sighed, turning from the window, going back to his desk. His Potions book was open, he was studying one of the level five potions. Maybe Frollo would let him make the potion later.
"Hey, hey, hey, why the long face Quasi?!" said one of the three little statues on his desk, coming to life.
"It's nothing, Hugo." said Quasi, picking his book up again.
"Don't say it's nothing." said Laverne, coming to life herself. She shook off the magical residue, brushing her gargolye arms off. "If it's bothering you, it's bothering us."
"True as blue." said Victor, shaking off the cat's whiskers that Quasi had accidentally given him when he was practicing transfiguration. "We're here, though all things. Cat whiskers and all!"
"I'm just wishing I could go outside for once. I want to see the Green-houses, that's all."
"Why don't you?" asked Hugo.
"Uncle Frollo told me not to. He'll stop teaching me if I do."
"What he doesn't know, can't hurt him." said Hugo.
"But he'll find out, he always does."
"He doesn't have to find out." said Victor, looking out the window himself. He saw the Gyspy gang underneath the trees. He smiled. "I bet you'd like to study with that bunch of teenagers down there."
Quasi blushed. "No, no, not really." Hugo chuckled.
"You draw them often enough." Quasi quickly touched his sketchbook, to make sure that it was still there. He opened it, looking at the drawings that he had done over the years. Kids fighting, girls gossiping, teenagers kissing, boys playing. It was all there. Including the scenery from his window; the Black Lake, the Dark Forest, the Green-houses. Everything. He touched the sketch of Clopin, arms spread to the sun, twirling with his head tilted upwards. Clopin made the best subject...Quasi looked about him, looking at the various hiding places for his sketchbooks. He had two underneath the mattress, one on the book-shelf, and three in the closet.
"I can't help it." he mumbled, blushing. "They just make such good drawing material."
"Quasimodo?" called Professor Frollo from the doorway.
"Y-Yes, Uncle?" he called back, quickly hiding his sketchbook, as his three friends turned back to stone.
"I've brought some pumpkin juice and sandwiches. Perhaps you could show me your progress over lunch."
Please, please, please be kind!!