Harry Potter and the Guardians of Kandrakar
As of Nov. 2017, I have gone through this fic and touched up some plot points that bothered me, as well as attempting to fix any errors I can find in general. Refurbished to the best of my ability, here is the new and improved story, which I hope to continue to completion.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling; W.I.T.C.H. was created by Elisabetta Gnone. I do not own either of these works, I'm just having some fun in their worlds for a while.
Author's Note at the end may answer some of your questions, but for now, enjoy!
Chapter Ten
The morning of the first Hogsmeade trip, halfway through October, dawned stormy, and many of the students at Hogwarts were quite pleased to find out that the trips were still allowed due to the tightened security; it was a definite relief to get out of the castle every once in a while.
Irma awoke quite suddenly, butterflies cavorting through her stomach as she realized that on this day she'd finally get to see George again. They had been corresponding weekly at this point, their letters something Irma could look forward to throughout the increasingly fierce workload of her classes (on top of which she maintained extra lessons with Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall). So far, her classes seemed to be going okay, with her best being Charms, Potions, and Divination, though this last did not surprise her. This year, the subject's classes were divided evenly between Professor Trelawney and Firenze the centaur; Irma was in his class. She was able to scry within the pool of crystalline water which the Headmaster had bewitched into the forestscape of a classroom. Firenze was quite hard to read, being a centaur and all, but Irma began to suspect that he had a deeper knowledge of her abilities than he let on.
Pushing aside thoughts of school, Irma shot up out of bed and began rifling through her trunk for her shrunken bag of clothing; she was not about to be wearing robes while out with George! Upon locating her bag, she set it on her bed and realized suddenly that she couldn't remember the spell to change the bag's size back to normal. Shiftily glancing around the room and noticing all her roommates were still sleeping, she waved her hand over the bag and with a bright blue glow, it grew back to its normal size. Irma smirked to herself, grateful for her familiar elemental magic, and began choosing what to wear.
By the time she had decided on a getup, a dark blue fluffy sweater with some jeans, black boots, scarf, and her winter cloak, Ginny was also awake and dressed. Shaking her head knowingly, the two headed down to breakfast. The others were already there, equally as bundled up for the cold outside, and Ron seemed to be regaling them all with an amusing story.
"...and there was another flash of light and I landed on the bed again!" Ron finished with a grin, helping himself to a heaping pile of sausages with his eggs. Will looked perplexed, Cornelia slightly perturbed, but Hermione seemed to not have cracked a smile during this entire anecdote, turning a look of distinctly wintry disapproval on Harry.
"Was this spell you used on him, by any chance, another one from that potion book of yours?" she asked. Harry frowned at her, grumbling.
"Always jump to the worst conclusions, don't you?"
"Well, was it?"
"Er... well, yeah, it was, but so what?" he bit back.
"So," Hermione began in a tone of barely contained frustration, "you just decide it's a good idea to try out an unknown, untested, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?" she fired at him. Cornelia raised an eyebrow at the exchange, delicately sipping from her pumpkin juice while Will seemed to embarrassedly pour herself more coffee in order to avoid the situation entirely. Irma was only just coming up to speed on it all, but exchanged a look with Ginny.
"Why does it matter that it's handwritten, anyway?" said Harry in retort, evading the rest of Hermione's questions Irma noted.
"Because it's not Ministry of Magic-approved," Hermione replied primly. "And also," she added, "because this Prince character is starting to seem kind of dodgy." Irma cringed as Hermione said this, knowing full well what was to come as she personally agreed with anyone who was able to find a way around difficult lessons. Harry and Ron shot Hermione's comments down at once, outraged.
"It was just a laugh! That's all!" Ron upended the ketchup bottle over his sausages in the process of saying this, "Just a laugh!"
"Dangling people upside-down by the ankle?" said Hermione. "Who puts their time and energy into making up a spell like that?"
"Fred and George would," said Ron, causing Irma's stomach to flip again while Will seemed to choke on her coffee. "It's their kind of thing. And, er-"
"My dad," said Harry suddenly. They all gaped at him.
"What?" said Ron and Hermione together, while the three Guardians exchanged looks.
"I thought, um, your parents passed when you were little?" Will said as delicately as she could, looking rather lost.
"My dad used that spell when he went to Hogwarts... I've only just remembered. I- Lupin told me," he finished abruptly. Cornelia's brow furrowed at the last part of his statement, and Irma managed to pick up the mental link as the Earth Guardian spoke to them.
'I don't think he's being fully honest, but what harm is there really?'
'Beats me,' thought Will. 'If Hay Lin had been here she'd have been able to sense if he was lying or not...'
"Maybe your dad did use it, Harry," Hermione's voice brought them out of their thoughts and back to the breakfast table, "but he's not the only one. In case you've forgotten, we've seen a bunch of people use it. Dangling people in the air. Making them float along, asleep, helpless." Irma had a feeling they were no longer talking about students at Hogwarts. Ron butted in upon seeing Harry's crestfallen look.
"That was different. Those Death Eaters... they were abusing it. Harry and his dad were just having a laugh. You just don't like the Prince, Hermione, because he's better than you at Potions-" Ron was cut off by Hermione's indignant huff.
"It's got nothing to do with that! And stop calling him 'the Prince' as if it's his title," she said, her cheeks reddening all the same. Cornelia sat her cup down gently, making stern eye contact with the boys.
"Even though we've only been here a short while, it seems irresponsible to go trying out unknown spells without knowing their purpose," she said calmly, and the boys had the decency to look ashamed if only slightly.
"Yeah, I mean, he sounds like a slimeball if he's getting his friends to call him 'Prince' of anything," Irma piped in, though hastily adding "though it's pretty brilliant of him to have all these tips for Potions, I gotta admit."
"Well it's not like he was a budding Death Eater or anything," Harry finally snapped back. "He certainly wouldn't have boasted about being a Half-Blood, don't you think?"
"The Death Eaters can't all be pure-blood, there aren't enough pureblooded wizards left for that," Hermione countered stubbornly. "I expect most of them are half-bloods pretending they're pure. It's only Muggle-borns they hate, I'm sure they'd be quite happy to let you lot join up."
"Ha! There is no way they'd let me be a Death Eater, or Ginny for that matter," Ron said indignantly, an his sister snorted loudly over her cup of tea. Ron had brandished his fork so that a bit of sausage had flown off at this last statement, soaring over to the Hufflepuff table and hitting Ernie Macmillan on the head.
"Our whole family are blood traitors! That's as bad as Muggle-borns to those Death Eaters!" Ginny said hotly.
"And they'd love to have me," Harry said sarcastically. "We'd be best pals if they didn't keep trying to do me in." At this, the group collectively snickered; even Hermione managed a grudging smile.
"Well, what about you lot? Any budding Death Eaters amongst you?" Ron joked, referring to the three Guardians sitting there. Will scoffed audibly, Cornelia made a face, and Irma pretended to think about it.
"Gosh, I dunno, a bunch of bigoted, murderous arseholes sounds like just my kind of group!" she joked, and Cornelia gave her a look of disapproval. "Nah, they wouldn't take us. I guess we're all Muggleborns, aren't we?" Irma mused aloud. Will nodded.
"I suppose so, no one in our families has ever been magical... Well, my little brother is, but my mum has no idea yet..." she trailed off, frowning.
"If anyone's got magic in their family, it's Hay Lin. Her grandma was really powerful in her time..." Irma stated, only to earn a sharp kick under the table from both Will and Cornelia. "Ow!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged curious glances, but didn't say more; a distraction in the form of Hay Lin herself arrived at their table at that vey moment.
"Hi, Harry, I'm supposed to give you this!" she smiled, handing him a scroll of parchment written in thin, familiar slanted writing. Harry cheered up considerably at this, unrolling it to glance at it quickly.
"Dumbledore's next lesson!" he exclaimed. Hay Lin moved to take the seat Ginny was now rising to vacate, as she had spotted Dean coming into the Hall. "Fantastic, it's Monday night. Want to join us later in Hogsmeade, Ginny?" he asked the youngest Weasley as she finished extricating herself from the bench,
"I'm going with Dean, but I might see you there!" she replied brightly, waving as she walked off to meet him. Irma noted Harry's smile falter a bit, but he brushed it off quickly as the rest of them finished their breakfast.
After a short while they met up with Taranee in the entrance hall, who seemed quite excited to finally have some time with her friends. Irma thought to herself that as much as she was looking forward to seeing George again, she needed to make time for her girls as well. They arrived at the oak front doors where the caretaker Mr. Filch stood, checking off the names of those who had permission to go into Hogsmeade. The girls had received these with their brochure pamphlets that the Headmaster had sent to them as a cover for their families, and thus it had not been difficult at all to receive signatures to send back to the school. As Filch checked the names off, the group noted how much longer this process seemed to be taking as he was triple-checking everyone with his Secrecy Sensor.
"What does it matter if we're smuggling Dark stuff OUT?" Ron grumbled, side-eyeing the thin Sensor with a look of trepidation. "It makes more sense to be checking what we bring back IN, don't you reckon?" His cheek earned him a couple of extra jabs with the Sensor, and Taranee scolded him while Irma and Hay Lin laughed openly upon exiting the castle.
The cold air whipped across their faces not soon after, and the group immediately began wrapping scarves tighter and pulling hats lower over their faces. The walk down to the village of Hogsmeade was not altogether enjoyable, despite the freedom from school and new sights for the five Guardians. The road was full of students bent double against the bitter cold and sharp wind, and Irma managed to resolutely press forward only due to her excitement to see George.
They finally arrived at the little village, and Irma had to admit it was definitely worth the trip, in spite of the cold. It was a picturesque little cluster of thatched cottages, shops, and pubs. Irma remembered Hermione mentioning to them earlier that Hogsmeade is the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain. They meandered past a couple of shops down High Street, noticing that the place seemed rather less busy than expected.
"Zonko's is closed!" Harry exclaimed upon their reaching the village center, and the group turned their attention to the joke shop which was boarded up and rather sad looking. Irma squinted at the shop, feeling disappointed. If anywhere, George would be hanging around this particular shop while he waited for her. She turned away, only to be elbowed sharply in the ribs by Hay Lin. The door to the joke shop opened, and George stepped easily out from inside it, closing and locking it up behind him. Irma's eyes met his, and she grinned.
"Milady! At last, I see thine angelic features once more!" George called out dramatically, rushing towards her and scooping her up in a hug. He twirled her around a few times as she laughed, forgetting to feel cold and all traces of disappointment abandoning her.
"Good sir, the pleasure is all mine! I was wasting away in that lonely castle without thee!" she played along, and George's returning smile was dazzling.
"What were you doing in Zonko's? It's closed up!" Ron cut across their happy reunion, to Irma's grand annoyance. George did not seemed bothered, and merely waved him off.
"Never you mind, brother dear, go spend time with your friends while you can! I have a date with a fetching lass and will not allow another moment to be wasted!" he tutted, shooing Ron away and grabbing Irma's gloved hand within his own. Ron rolled his eyes but turned the rest of the group's attention to a colorful shop called Honeydukes across the way, which looked to be open. They headed off into the cozy looking store, leaving Irma with George.
"Well, alone at last!" she grinned at him, and he squeezed her hand as he began leading her down the street a ways towards a pub called the Three Broomsticks.
"I figured you'd prefer a place like this over Madam Puddifoot's!" George said with a wink as they made their way into the pub. It was decently populated with witches, wizards, and students enjoying a pint or a spot of lunch, and Irma liked the atmosphere immediately. It was warm, crowded, and a bit smoky but pleasant to be in; a large mirror behind the bar reflected the room back to the occupants, and a variety of interesting drinks could be seen on the shelf. George ushered Irma towards a booth table near the fireplace, where she settled in and took off her coat. George slid in next to her and did the same.
"Mr. Weasley! Joke shop going strong, then? And I'm sure I've never seen you before, dearie, what might be your name?" a busty woman with a kindly face was immediately upon them, greeting George and smiling at Irma. "I'm Madam Rosmerta, manager of this little ol' pub!"
"Irma Lair, transferred to Hogwarts this year, actually," Irma replied with a smile. "Looking forward to being here, the food looks fantastic!" she said truthfully, eyeing a plate of fish and chips hungrily. Madam Rosmerta laughed heartily and suggested she order a butterbeer to go along with her lunch, which Irma promptly did. Once their drinks had arrived (George had also gotten a butterbeer despite being of age to order something stronger), they settled into a comfortable sort of chatter.
"-and my charm was so forceful it knocked him right onto his back!" Irma finished, George laughing heartily at the image she painted of Professor Flitwick toppled onto the floor rolling around until the other students helped him up. "I felt bad, but he seemed pleased and decided to advance me to fifth-year charms! I'm finally caught up in four of my subjects, and it's only halfway through October!" Irma was extremely pleased with her progress; who'd have thought she of all people would be enjoying school? But in fact, she was caught up to fifth-year O.W.L. level in Charms, Divination, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures. Her other classes were coming along, but she still had a ways to go before getting fully caught up by Christmas break as Professor Dumbledore expected.
"That's fantastic! It's really bizarre that you lot haven't been to a magical school before and all, though... care to elaborate?" George asked curiously, and Irma gulped due to a mixture of nerves and butterflies at his gaze.
"Erm, well... the five of us have kind of all known we had powers of sorts since we were 13 or so? But we learned how to control and work them on our own... Hay Lin's grandma was a really good teacher, but she passed shortly after we discovered our magic..." she trailed off, hoping her story was vague enough but still answered his questions fairly. She really liked this guy, and hated keeping things from him...
"Huh, that's still pretty unusual. I'm sure there's an explanation, but if anyone'd know how to make sense of it I suppose Dumbledore'll get to the bottom of it," George reasoned, taking a large swig of his butterbeer. Their food arrived at that moment, and Irma was glad as she was both hungry and looking for a way to steer clear of this topic.
After enjoying their food and another round of butterbeer, Irma was feeling full and content, warmed by the drink and their proximity to the fireplace. At one point during their meal, they saw the rest of their group file in (accompanied by Fred, who George had told her was with him earlier finalizing some paperwork). They waved, and though Ron and Harry seemed to start making their way over to the booth, Cornelia and Hermione yanked on their jackets and steered them towards the other side of the pub; Irma sent a mental thank you to the girls as they had the sense to offer some privacy on this date. George then slid closer to her in the booth, wrapping his arm gently around her waist.
"I've had a great time out here today with you, Irma," he said seriously, though smiling at her. She bit the inside of her cheek, heart hammering in her chest. "I'd really like to see you again next Hogsmeade trip if I can, that is, if you want...?
"Yes!" she blurted out quickly, flushing a bit. "I'd... I'd really like that, George..." she added a bit softly. His smile widened, and he seemed to turn a bit red for a moment before he spoke again.
"Would you... want to be my girlfriend, then?" he asked, striking an air of confidence despite it all. Irma felt her heart stutter for a moment before a smile split across her features.
"Absolutely, yes! I thought you'd never ask!" she grinned, and George's eyes sparked with something before he pulled her close and settled his lips gently over hers. Irma felt her knees go weak despite the fact that she sitting down; she had never been kissed like this before, and never wanted anything less than George's kisses ever again.
o.O.o.O.o
Taranee figured she didn't really have a sweet tooth, but upon entering Honeydukes sweet shop she might have changed her mind. The warm, toffee-scented air invited even her to satisfy her sugar craving as soon as possible. She browsed quietly as the others seemed to scatter a bit, staring in wonder at the various wizarding candies and confections.
There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-coloured toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizzbees, levitating sherbet balls; along yet another wall were 'Special Effects' sweets: Drooble's Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice ('hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!') , fragile sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons.
"Harry, m'boy!" a booming voice shattered Taranee out of her observations, and she turned to see the opulent form of Professor Slughorn turning towards Harry and a few others from their group. He was wearing a huge furry hat, complete with an overcoat that sported a matching furry collar. In his hand he clutched a large bag of crystallized pineapple; his presence occupied at least a quarter of the whole shop, and Taranee was surprised that they hadn't noticed him earlier.
"Harry, that's three of my little suppers you've missed now! It won't do, I'm determined to have you! Miss Granger, Miss Hale, and Miss Cook all love them, don't you?" he questioned jovially. Taranee winced at the expression on Ron's face.
"Yes," Hermione said helplessly, "they're really-"
"So, why don't you come along to my next one, eh Harry?" demanded Slughorn.
"I've had Quidditch practice, sir," Harry replied truthfully; Will had confided in Taranee that he'd been scheduling their practices every time Slughorn had sent out invitations to his dinner parties, in order to appease Ron as a strategy to not leave him out. In this way, she, Harry, Ron, and Ginny managed to have a bit of a laugh imagining the rest of them shut up with Zabini, McLaggen, and the like. Taranee rolled her eyes at the memory, and crossed her arms across her chest to see how Harry planned to get out of this one now.
"Well, I certainly expect a stunning victory from your team, what with all this practicing you've been doing!" Slughorn stated, "but nothing wrong with a little harmless recreation once in a while! Now, how about Monday night, you can't possibly want to practice in this weather-"
"I can't, Professor, I've got an - er - appointment with Professor Dumbledore that evening." Taranee actually gaped at Harry, shaking her head amusedly as he had managed to incredulously skive off another dinner.
"Unlucky again!" cried Slughorn dramatically, shaking his head and moving past them. "Ah, well... you can't evade me forever, Harry!" he called, waving at them regally and passing by Ron, Will, and Hay Lin as if they were not even there.
"I can't believe you've managed to wriggle out of another one," Hermione muttered.
"Yeah, they're not that bad, you know... even quite fun sometimes..." Cornelia added, paying little mind to the look Ron was giving her. The group then purchased a few sweets that interested them, noting that no matter what was said Ron's mood seemed glum.
"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer, yeah?" Harry suggested.
"What's a Butterbeer?" Hay Lin asked curiously, and Harry grinned at her.
"Oh, you're in for a treat! Come on, guys," he ushered them back out into the cold, windy street and they began trekking quickly towards their next destination.
"Oi, you lot!" a familiar voice called out to them, and Taranee turned to see Fred Weasley rushing towards them from the other end of the street; she suspected he had also been inside Zonko's doing who knows what. "Fancy a pint?" he asked upon catching up with them, throwing his arm casually around Will. "Fancy running into you here, hm? I suppose my brother has dashed off with a certain brunette?"
"You'd be correct," Will replied with a small laugh, though Taranee could tell she was flushing a bit. They turned towards the pub, noticing a short, raggedy man standing off to the side in front of it.
"Mundungus!" Harry exclaimed, and the squat, bandy-legged man jumped about a foot into the air, dropping his suitcase. He had straggly ginger hair and smelled of liquor, making Taranee wrinkle her nose in disgust. The suitcase had fallen onto the group and burst open, releasing onto the pavement what looked like the entire contents of a junk shop.
"Oh, 'ello 'Arry!" said Mundungus, in a tone that was unconvincingly pleased to see him. "Well, don't let me keep ya, go on!" he bustled about, scrambling in order to retrieve the fallen items from his suitcase as if his life depended on getting out of there as quickly as possible.
"Are you selling this stuff, Dung?" Fred asked, leaning over to peer at some of the contents that had escaped the case.
"Gotta scrape a living some'ow," Mundungus replied. "Gimme that!" Hay Lin had stooped over to pick some stuff up as an attempt to help the man, and he rudely snatched the thing out of her hand.
"Hang on," Ron now had stooped to pick up a silver looking goblet from the ground. "This looks familiar..."
"Thank you!" said Mundungus, now snatching the goblet from Ron's fingers and stuffing it back into his suitcase. "Well, best be going, now... OUCH!" Harry had barreled forward and pinned Mundungus to the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, with the other he drew his wand.
"Harry!" squealed Hermione, gripping onto Cornelia's arm tightly.
"You took this stuff from Sirius's house," said Harry in a dangerous voice. He was very close to Mundungus, their noses almost touching. "That had the Black family crest on it."
"I - no - what - ?" Mundungus attempted to get out, spluttering. He was slowly turning a deep shade of purple.
"What did you do, go back the night he died and strip the place?" snarled Harry.
"Fred, do something!" whimpered Hermione, now tugging onto Fred's arm desperately. Fred, however, was also glaring at Mundungus.
"Serves him right, Hermione, he's a crook," he muttered with a shrug. "I'm leaving Harry to handle this one, though I wouldn't mind helping." Hermione moaned quietly as she glanced around the street and Taranee noticed many people who previously rushing quickly to their destinations were slowing to watch the spectacle. Even those within the pub had begun to press their noses to the windows to see what was going on.
"Harry, you mustn't!" Cornelia finally shouted at him, as Mundungus was starting to turn blue. There was a loud bang and Harry's hands flew off of Mundungus's throat. Gasping, the short man grabbed his suitcase and spun on the spot, disapparating with a CRACK! Harry swore loudly, turning to see where he had gone.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU THIEVING -" he shouted, but was cut off.
"There's no point, Harry."
Taranee nearly gave a start as she almost did not recognize the newcomer as Tonks. She was sullen, her normally bright colored hair now a mousy brown and covered with sleet. She looked much more serious, with a gloomy expression on her heart-shaped face. Taranee wondered what had happened to cause this drastic personality change.
"Tonks! What're you doing here?" she asked, thinking it best not to say anything about her appearance.
"Stationed here to help patrol Hogwarts. New assignment and all," she replied curtly. "Harry, leave it be and get inside, now."
"He was nicking Sirius's stuff! Nicked it!" Harry shouted.
"Mundungus will probably be in London by now, there's no point in shouting." Tonks seemed completely untroubled and unhelpful at Harry's distress. "You lot should get out of the cold." She watched them all file in to the pub. After a brief scuffle in order to find enough seats together, they were all settled in around a few tables.
"I'll go get drinks. Hermione, care to help?" Fred asked, pulling her to her feet as they headed towards the bar. Harry seemed to still be fuming, his hands in fists on the table. Taranee, sitting between Ron and Cornelia, exchanged a look with them both.
"Harry, I know you're upset," began Hay Lin out of nowhere; she was seated on his other side, and she gently placed a hand on his back. "It seems like that man was stealing stuff from someone important to you, but... I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. But we are here for you, okay?" she finished, and Harry looked up at her, seeming to calm marginally.
"Yeah... thanks, Hay Lin." He seemed to still be fuming slightly, even after Fred and Hermione returned with their drinks.
"Okay, try this! It'll knock your socks off," Fred grinned, handing the Guardians each a foamy mug of warm butterbeer. Taranee tentatively held it to her lips and took a sip. It tasted of butterscotch, with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla, and warmed Taranee down to her toes. She smiled and took a larger sip.
"This is amazing!" Will gushed, and Fred grinned at her.
"Best part is that you can enjoy it hot in the winter and cold in the summer," Fred explained, and the girls all murmured their appreciation for the drink even more.
"Can't the Order control Mundungus?" Harry burst out suddenly in a furious whisper. "Can't they stop him from stealing everything that isn't fixed with a permanent sticking charm when he's at Headquarters?"
"Shhh!" Hermione hissed back frantically. Taranee was unsure as to what he was talking about, but from what she had read in her research on the first war, the Order was the organization that banded together to counter the Death Eaters. Was this Mundungus person a part of the new Order? And how did they, students, know so much about it?
'Do you think he really is the Chosen One, then?' she couldn't help thinking aloud to the girls through her telepathic link. 'I mean, to know things about the Order of the Phoenix and all... they must all have a pretty good inside knowledge.'
'I'm not sure, but even if he is, he's our friend and we have to help in whatever way we can,' was Hay Lin's immediate reply. Cornelia nodded imperceptibly, while Will looked troubled but in agreement all the same.
"Harry, you mustn't talk about this in here anymore," Hermione whispered, glancing around the room. In fact, there were many who sat nearby that were gazing at Harry with great interest, and Zabini was lolling against a pillar not too far away. "I'd be annoyed too," she continued, "I know it's your things he's stealing-" Harry gagged on the butterbeer he had been drinking, seemingly just now realizing the implications of her words.
"Yeah, it's my stuff!" he replied angrily. "No wonder he wasn't pleased to see me! Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore about it during our meeting on Monday, if anyone can handle it, he can... he's the only one who scares Mundungus."
"Good idea," Hermione replied, relaxing as Harry seemed to deflate his anger upon making this decision.
"Ron, what are you staring at?" Cornelia asked, eyes narrowing at Ron's dreamy-eyed gaze directed away from their table.
"Nothing," he replied hastily, looking away from the bar. Taranee moved her own gaze towards the bar to see a curvy barmaid disappear into the back room, and she felt a pang of jealousy and annoyance course through her suddenly. Surprised with herself, she took another long swig of the drink in front of her.
"I expect "nothing"'s in the back getting more Firewhisky," Hermione retorted waspishly, and though Ron seemed to ignore the jibe, Fred snickered. Cornelia rolled her eyes and stood up, muttering something about the bathroom. Taranee watched her go, feeling an odd sensation as she left, a sense of foreboding, but she pushed it aside and eyed her butterbeer strangely.
"You say there's alcohol in these?" she asked the table at large, squinting at the drink. Maybe it was responsible for her odd sentiments just now. Ron waved a hand dismissively.
"Nah, it's not enough to matter. Unless you're a house-elf..." he trailed off with a small chortle, proceeding to tell them about the story of Winky the drunken house-elf, much to Hermione's disapproval.
Chapter Ten: Complete!
And here we are, up to date and with a NEW chapter! I hope anyone reading this story is pleased with this outcome so far, and I'd appreciate some feedback!
Reviews are always welcome!