Pairings: Cedric/Hilda, Possible Hermione/Jasper
Warnings: Dumbledore bashing, Weasley bashing save for Bill, Charlie and the twins, siding with Voldemort-fic
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me
Chapter Fourteen: A Problematic First Day
Starlight's Hall
Knockturn Alley
"Ethan! I heard from Seth," said Hilda after rushing into Starlight's Hall, with one of the house elves taking her load off of her, and disappearing with a loud crack. "What's going on?"
Ethan glanced up calmly only to see the rest of Hilda's friends standing behind her, all watching on with interest, a furry purring cat cuddled in Hermione's arms. His – Ethan is pretty sure that it's a he at least – face was squashed like it had an unfortunate run-in with a wall, and it's ginger fur was quite unkempt as well. Draco was keeping well away from Hermione for some odd reason, and judging by the fact that he kept eyeing the cat in Hermione's arms warily, Ethan can take a guess why.
"In the guestroom, Hilda." Ethan stated. "It isn't something that they must know." Hilda nodded, and Ethan then turned towards Sirius and Remus who were both watching on with interest. "Can you both handle the bar for a few hours?"
Sirius and Remus both nodded.
"Of course."
Ethan then steered Hilda around by the shoulders before pushing her up the stairs to a room on the second level of the inn where all of their bedrooms were. Ethan then pushed her into a room that Hilda recognised as Voldemort's bedroom. The man (or currently teenager) is in the room, and the cover story that they've used whenever anyone asks is that Voldemort is a distant cousin of Sirius', as they both looked a little alike, and as Dumbledore knew of Voldemort's true name, Voldemort had to use the name of 'Thomas Black' as his alias.
Surprisingly enough, Voldemort doesn't seem to mind using that name, as the further that he kept away from his bastard father's name, all the better.
"Ethan?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, what's going on here?" asked Hilda as she sat down at the edge of the bed. "Seth came by earlier and told me some things. What's going on?"
"I know. Senna came by as well," said Ethan with a sigh, leaning against the door, keeping the door closed with his weight. "Eric sent both Seth and her to give us a message as he couldn't trust anyone else with that task."
Hilda narrowed her eyes dangerously.
Senna and Seth were twins who both served as Eric's most trusted attendants and assistants. The High Prince had saved them both from sharing the rest of their clan's fate when their clan had committed treason against the Nightwing clan, and as both Senna and Seth were only mere younglings at that time – young vampires not yet of adult age, Eric had pleaded their case with his father, and Elton Nightwing had spared them both on the condition that they both serve Eric faithfully.
This isn't something that both twins have any objections about, and when they have reached adulthood, both Senna and Seth proved to be one of the most powerful vampires serving in the ruling vampire clan of the east, the Nightwing clan. The twins had also proved time and time again that they would willingly give their lives up if it meant that it could keep Eric safe.
Even among the vampire community, vampire twins are pretty rare, as vampire twins tend to be very powerful. Twins are like one single entity – merely halves of the same soul, and most in the Midnight Society think that that's why they are so powerful. Vampire twins are also extremely rare, as the fact that most vampire twins never managed to survive their birth, with only one managing to survive, probably had something to do with it.
Senna and Seth both have Eric's full trust, along with Ethan and Hilda's, as well as Elton's. If Eric had sent both Senna and Seth all the way out here from the Dark Forest when most vampires never liked contact with humans much, it must be something of significance.
"What's going on?" asked Hilda, suspicion growing in her. Voldemort was looking from one to the other as well with some confusion.
"Senna told me the full story," said Ethan seriously. "Hilda, two weeks ago, Lakra broke out from the rune imprisonment at Mist Isle."
Hilda paled, and Voldemort looked on in confusion. "Who's Lakra?" he questioned.
Ethan studied Voldemort for several moments before answering. "She's a Dark Priestess – a vampire who is highly skilled with runes and Black Magic. A vampire on the same standing as Jessica herself when it comes to Black Magic and runes," he explained. "She is also the right-hand of Orlando Darkenwing…the vampires' mortal enemy."
"Who is he?"
Ethan and Hilda exchanged looks before turning back towards Voldemort. "I've only ever met him once a few years ago when Ethan and Jessica battled him, and I barely managed to put him in eternal sleep with use of a powerful rune," said Hilda. "I was about seven or eight at that time. Orlando is an extremely powerful vampire. He is to the Midnight Society what you are to the wizarding community."
Voldemort's face dawned in realisation. "Oh."
Ethan sighed, massaging his temples. "The rune that Hilda used to put him in eternal sleep, also being reinforced by Jessica's runes, are powerful ones. It put him to sleep for eternity, though there is always the chance that the runes will break if a rune mistress like Jessica figured out a way to break it. Lakra, the one that I was talking about, was one of those with the ability to do that. After Orlando was sealed away, all his followers scattered, all of them bidding their time. Waiting for the day when their lord awakens."
"There is a legend among the vampire community," said Hilda, exchanging looks with Ethan. "'He who is the Lord of Pandemonium, will either bring about eternal darkness or unite both humans and non-humans'. The war that the vampires had with Orlando, though it's something that I've only heard about from Ethan, is one of those tales of some ambitious vampire trying to become the Lord of Pandemonium."
"Anyway, Jessica and some of the warriors from the Silverstein clan are now trying to track Lakra down," said Ethan. "But meanwhile, be on your guard, Hilda."
Hilda nodded. "Alright."
XXXXXX
September the first dawned bright and clear, with birds chirping and with the sun shining in the sky…
"Hilda, are you ready yet?" Remus poked his head into Hilda's bedroom. "Ethan is asking if you plan to leave today or tomorrow."
"I'm coming!" Hilda grunted as she pulled on a dark blue jacket whilst struggling with her trunk. Remus finally took pity on her, and took the heavy trunk off of her. Hedwig, Hilda's snowy white owl familiar hooted from her perch before the owl flew to her mistress and perched on her arm. "Come on, girl. Another year at Hogwarts. Looking forward to it?"
Hedwig hooted in answer, and Hilda laughed.
A loud and annoyed shout from downstairs just then had Hilda running at once like a pack of werewolves were at her heels, and Hedwig hooted frantically with fright, almost getting knocked off Hilda's arm.
"HILDA! ARE YOU COMING OR NOT? IF THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS LEAVE WITHOUT YOU, I'M NOT TAKING YOU ALL THE WAY TO SCOTLAND!"
"Coming!"
Platform 9¾
King's Cross Station
Hedwig hooted disgruntling at Hilda whilst being balanced in her cage atop of Hilda's trunk as the dark haired girl pushed the trolley towards the scarlet train where steam was billowing from the funnel.
"Come on, girl. Just a few hours. You'll be out of that cage before you knew it." Hilda tried to coax her grumpy owl.
"Hilda! Hilda! Over here!"
Hilda's head snapped up just then only to see Hermione jumping up and down, waving at Hilda where she had been standing with Padma by the train, with Padma loading all of their things onto the train, with the help of a few of the older students who were kind enough to help Padma.
"Hermione! Padma!"
"The boys aren't here yet." Padma informed Hilda. "They'll probably be here in a little while. And then again, we're early anyway."
"So how do you girls feel about having Lockhart as your teacher this year?" Ethan asked with a grin, and he was met with three disgusted looks. Yes, even from Hermione. It took Hilda a little over three hours, but she somehow managed to convince Hermione that Lockhart is indeed a fraud.
"Don't even mention that name around me." Padma muttered warningly. "I've been hearing things from my parents that Parvati can go on and on about how wonderful and amazing he is, and how he is Merlin's gift to women. Dear Merlin…" She shook her head. "How can that idiot sister of mine be so easily taken in?"
"Nearly ninety percent of the female population worships him." Hermione pointed out. "Even I did until a little while ago when Hilda nearly lost her temper when I've praised him to the skies to her face."
Hilda smiled at that memory whilst Padma tried to hide a smile. Remus smiled at the girls before turning towards Padma. "You still not talking to your twin?" he asked gently, and Padma sighed.
"More like she's nottalking to me," said Padma sadly. "I hadn't even back home for more than a month ever since starting at Hogwarts just because of the tension. And no, it's not your fault, Hilda." Padma cut in, seeing Hilda about to open her mouth. "If Parvati is dumb enough to believe the lies of that Ronald Weasley, then she's no better than the rest of the Gryffindorks in her House. I hadn't seen you feeding on anyone yet. And all of us knew for sure that you'll probably prefer feeding on Ethan's cooking than on humans anyway."
Hilda smiled at that before a loud shout caught their attention, and all of them turned only to see Cedric coming towards them with Jasper, both of them pushing their trolleys. Neville was rushing towards them as well with Luna by his side, pushing a trolley on which was loaded all their things, with his grandmother scolding him to not run. Draco was approaching them from another direction, with Lucius Malfoy pushing his son's trolley.
"Our parents have appointments today, that's why they aren't here." Cedric answered the unasked question. "And what are you girls talking about earlier?"
"About Lockhart and why majority of the female population seems to like him." Sirius answered with a grin.
Jasper nearly groaned. "Oh Merlin… My mother kept harping on about him that I practically camped out at Cedric's house the entire holiday just to get away from it," he muttered. "And I do hope that we're not going to have to deal with that pompous ass of a peacock all year."
"Don't let your mother hear you say that, Jasper," said Augusta Longbottom, trying to hide a smile.
Jasper grinned at the elderly witch. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he said.
Ethan chuckled. "Alright. Get a move on, kids. It's almost time," he said. "Have a good year, and I'll see all of you at Christmas at Starlight's Hall again?"
The kids grinned at him. "Of course!"
"Have a safe year, Neville. And keep an eye on your sister," said Augusta, hugging Neville first before hugging Luna. "And stay out of trouble. I don't want another letter from Minerva, telling me that your dorm mates have kicked you out of the Tower."
"Gran…" Neville nearly whined. "It won't happen this year. I'm in Hufflepuff after being resorted at the end of last year, after all. I have friends in there. Justin, Ernie, Susan and Hannah are nice to me in there."
"And thank Merlin for that." Augusta muttered. "But you both keep safe, you hear me?" She said sternly. "I don't want any letters from you, hearing about mountain trolls or…or wandering into the Forbidden Forest or anything. This is to be a safe year. Don't take more years off my life, Neville. And look after your sister. Any trouble coming your way, inform one of the professors."
Neville nodded his head. "Okay!"
Luna surprised everyone by hugging Augusta. "I'll see you at Christmas, Gran," she said softly.
Augusta smiled at her before patting her head. "I'll look forward to it."
"Alright, time to go, Hilda," said Ethan, giving Hilda a quick hug. "And be careful, do you hear me?" He added sternly before lowering his voice. "I'll be looking into the Lakra affair, so don't worry too much about it. But keep your guard up. You and Jessica were the only ones who knew the exact rune pattern used to keep Orlando sealed after all."
Hilda nodded, her face serious. "Alright."
XXXXXX
Several of Hilda's friends popped by their carriage to say hi, including most of their friends from Hufflepuff like Ernie, Justin, Susan and Hannah. The Weasley twins popped by as well, though they were saying something about being unable to find their brother, and have came by Hilda's compartment in case that he is stirring up trouble for her again. Daphne Greengrass, her best friend, Tracey Davies, as well as Blaise Zabini came by to visit as well before going off again.
It was unnoticeable to most of Hilda's friends but only to the most observant like Cedric and Hermione, but the two have noticed that Hilda seemed a tad bit jumpy as compared to the previous year, and they wondered what Ethan had said to her. They knew that something had happened in the vampire community, but Hilda had said nothing about it, and they knew better than to ask.
If Hilda doesn't want to tell you something, you'll be better off talking to a brick wall than getting her to spill the beans.
XXXXXX
The dinner at the Great Hall was as great as before, though with the absence of one Ronald Weasley.
Hermione had remarked out loud where the redhead had been, though she was glad that he wasn't there, as she didn't have to endure his glares the entire feast. Severus wasn't at his seat as well, and Montague, the Slytherin Quidditch captain had said something about the Potions master dealing with a late student who had crashed a flying car into the Whomping Willow in the school grounds – the most violent tree to ever exist in Hogwarts.
Luna had ended up being sorted into Ravenclaw, and Neville had made Hilda and Hermione promise to look after his sister, though Luna is currently chatting up a storm with a Ravenclaw first year by the name of Chelsea Chase, a Muggleborn, and both seemed to be best friends already.
XXXXXX
As usual, Hilda was the first one up the next morning, and as such, she was surprised to see Hermione in the Ravenclaw common room, already dressed. "Crookshanks demanded to be let out of the room two hours ago to hunt mice." Hermione answered tiredly.
Hilda nodded. "Ah."
"Padma still asleep?" Hermione asked as the two girls walked out of the common room, heading to the Great Hall for some breakfast.
"Nope. I woke her after I washed up at the bathroom," said Hilda with a slight roll of her eyes. "If I don't wake her, she'll probably sleep through the wake up bell." Hermione giggled slightly. "Come on, let's get some breakfast. Though I dread having to see Lockhart in there."
"Get used to it. He'll be here for an entire year at least," said Hermione, wrapping one arm around Hilda's shoulders. "Did Draco say anything about that? He said that Mr Malfoy was talking about speaking to the school board about this."
"Yeah. The school board doesn't have any authority over the hiring of teachers. That fell to Dumbledore. Thus, he can't do anything," said Hilda, and Hermione 'ohhed'. They entered the Great Hall just then and headed over to their house table where Cedric and Jasper were seated.
The entire school were used to the fact by now that students from the other Houses would often be sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and Professor Flitwick had actually charmed the house table so that it could seat all of them. The rest of the student body came filling in just then, with Neville and Padma sitting themselves just as the papers and the mail arrived.
Hilda who had been keeping a sharp eye on the Gryffindor table as several of the Gryffindor second years were casting them sour looks, especially at Neville, raised an eyebrow as a brown owl fell into the bowl of milk in front of Ronald Weasley, splashing the contents of the bowl everywhere. Hilda's vampire sight allows her to see further and clearer than a normal human, and the sides of her lips tilted in amusement.
"Close your ears, guys," said Hilda, covering her own ears, ready for the screech that she is sure would come later on. Her friends stared at her. "Weasley got himself a Howler."
Hermione looked on in confusion. "A what?"
"Just close your ears, Hermione," said Padma, covering her own ears. "You'll need it."
Before Hermione could ask why, a loud and thundering scream echoed throughout the Great Hall, and all throughout Hogwarts, causing everyone to feel as if the walls of Hogwarts is about to fall down around their ears. The voice of Molly Weasley was magnified nearly a thousand times as she screeched at her son in that loud banshee-like voice of hers.
"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH YOU! I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY HAD EXPELLED YOU! YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU! I DON'T SUPPOSE THAT YOU'VE STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW THAT IT HAD GONE!"
Hilda who had remarkably sensitive hearing because of her vampire blood winced and ducked down into her seat, still unable to block out that insane volume of the voice because of her vampire senses. Another pair of hands covered her ears, and she looked up only to see that Cedric had covered her ears with his hands, wincing slightly as the voice got to his eardrums. He then winked at her. "You're more affected than me," he mouthed.
"LETTER RECEIVED FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT. I THOUGHT THAT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME. WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS! YOU COULD HAVE DIED! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH YOU!"
Over at the Gryffindor table, Hilda saw Oliver Wood trying to block out the loud volume, looking as if he was about to pass out anytime soon, and felt for him. He is right at the table where the Howler is at after all, and is bound to have more of the backlash than she did. Elves' senses aren't as sharp and profound like vampires, but it is also better than that of a human's. And with that insane volume of that Howler…it must be agony for the poor elf-in-disguise-as-a-human.
"YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN ENQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE BETWEEN NOW AND GRADUATION, I'LL GROUND YOU TILL YOU ARE A HUNDRED! OF ALL THE FOOLISH THINGS TO DO, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE!"
The Howler then burst into flames, and the Gryffindor table burst into laughter at the embarrassed boy. Padma giggled and leaned over to whisper to Hilda and Hermione. "Looks like Draco's father might have the revenge that he wanted on Mr Weasley sooner than anticipated," she whispered.
The two girls giggled. All conversation stopped as Professor Flitwick made his way over to his house table, giving out the timetables for that year. The rest of the Heads of Houses were doing the same thing as well.
"Timetables, students." Professor Flitwick squeaked as he handed the second years their timetables. Much to the non-Ravenclaws' surprise, Professor Flitwick handed them theirs as well. "Professors Snape and Sprout handed your timetables to me." He explained before moving on.
Hermione was examining her timetable. "Oh good. We have Herbology first thing in the morning," she said cheerfully. "We're with Hufflepuff this year instead of Gryffindor. Thank goodness for that." She muttered.
Cedric grinned. "I think Professor Sprout is getting tired of having to protect her 'babies' from the scuffles created whenever you lot ended up fighting with Weasley and his goons." He pointed out.
"Hey, it's not our fault that that creep kept picking on Hilda!" Padma protested. "We Ravenclaws protect our own! There is no way that we would simply let Weasley pick on Hilda with us around!"
"Sure, whatever you say," said Jasper with a grin.
Hilda nearly groaned as she looked at her timetable, and everyone turned towards her with confusion. The blue-red eyed girl was glaring at her timetable as if trying to burn it with sheer willpower alone. And then again, she probably could do it anyway.
"What's up, Hilda?" asked Neville in confusion.
"We have DADA after lunch with Slytherin," said Hilda sourly. "Can I skip that lesson? I don't feel like sitting through an hour listening to that fraud and his high tales."
Hermione looked horrified at the idea of Hilda skipping a lesson. "You can't skip class!" she said, horrified. "What if he complains about it to Professor Flitwick or even to Professor Dumbledore?"
Hilda sighed. "Fine. I'll go then. But don't expect me to keep my hands to myself if that fraud starts on one of his nonsense," she warned.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," said Neville, grinning. "Come on, let's go. We have class." He then turned to where Luna was seated with Chelsea. "Luna, will you be okay on your own?"
"Don't worry, Neville. One of the prefects will show them to class," said Padma before Luna could answer. "They did so for us last year. It's nice to see that you care so much for your sister, but at least let her walk on her own." She teased, and Neville blushed. "Come on, Planter Boy. Let's get to class."
The Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff then parted ways with Draco and the two older Hufflepuffs before they then headed out of the Great Hall and towards the school grounds where the greenhouses were, heading straight for Greenhouse Three.
Neville was almost skipping as he led the way, and the huge grin on his face was enough to give Padma, Hermione and Hilda an idea of just what kind of plants were being held in said greenhouse. Whenever the once shy boy was free, he usually helped Professor Sprout with her plants, and for some reason, Neville is really good with the plants. Even the dangerous Devil's Snare seemed to calm down with him around.
Padma had latched onto Neville's arm, proclaiming him as her partner for Herbology for the rest of the year, as only Neville had the skill to manage those plants to avoid getting burned, bitten or walking away from Herbology with some sort of injury on their person. Hilda doesn't count, as it is almost like the plants are scared stiff of her. Sure, she can manage those plants easily like Neville. But when the plants start to react in a way that she doesn't like, Hilda just glared at them, and they became almost as meek as kittens.
Hermione was laughing about it for an entire day after their first Herbology lesson the previous year when she was Hilda's partner.
Padma seemed to be a prime target for those plants the previous year that she decided to have Neville as her Herbology partner that year, as she could probably escape any unnecessary injuries brought about by those 'innocent and beautiful creations of the Lord' (1), as Neville had phrased them.
"Uh oh. Professor Sprout doesn't look too happy." Hilda remarked as Greenhouse Three came into view, and she saw the pair of figures just outside the greenhouse.
"Why?" asked Hermione, squinting to take a clearer look, to no avail. No one had Hilda's sight. She soon got her answer when they approached the greenhouse and saw Lockhart following an annoyed Professor Sprout.
"Very well, thank you, Professor Lockhart," said Professor Sprout through tightly clenched teeth. "But I have a class to teach. Good day." She sounded as if she wished him the exact opposite instead. "Second years, into Greenhouse Three! And get yourselves ready."
Hilda couldn't wait to get into the greenhouse fast enough, as the looks that Lockhart is giving her made her want to plant a fist into his stupid face.
Everyone knew that all vampires are extremely beautiful. Even Ethan is, and the fact that nearly all the witches in Knockturn Alley squealed like a fan-girl as he walked past is proof enough. As a part-vampire, Hilda had those traits as well, and most of the boys in school were attracted to her because of this. It is only because of her 'guard dog' – one Draco Malfoy, that all of them backed off from her. Cedric, Jasper and Neville, along with a few of the others boys were the only exceptions.
Professor Sprout closed the door of Greenhouse Three behind her, and made sure to lock it firmly before she walked towards the teacher's table and stood behind it. "Good morning, class, and welcome to your first Herbology lesson of the year," she greeted. "Today, we are going to be repotting Mandrakes. Who can tell me what are the properties of a Mandrake?"
Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot up into the air, narrowly missing Hilda by mere inches, and the blue-red eyed girl glared at Hermione, and she smiled back apologetically.
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is most commonly used to return people who have either been transfigured, cursed or petrified to their original states." Hermione stated, sounding as if she had just swallowed the textbook whole as usual. "A Mandrake's cry is also fatal to anyone who hears it."
Sprout nodded. "Excellent. Ten points to Ravenclaw," she said, and Hermione beamed. "Now, the Mandrakes that we would be repotting today are only babies, so their cries won't kill you yet. However, they will knock you out for a few hours, so make sure that all of you have your earmuffs on good and tight." Everyone placed their earmuffs onto their ears just then. "Grasp the Mandrake firmly by the leaves—" And she then grasped the Mandrake by the leaves and yanked it out of the pot, revealing a muddy and baby-like creature instead of roots.
And judging by the opened mouth and screwed up eyes, the Mandrake is letting out a loud wail. Hilda winced as she tightened her earmuffs onto her ears. She could still hear a little of the Mandrake's cry. One of the bad side effects for having enhanced senses, it seems like.
"Alright, get a move on!" Sprout told them, clapping her hands.
Everyone then reached forward and grasped a Mandrake, pulling them out of the original pots that held them. Hermione was practically hiding behind Hilda as the red-blue eyed girl yanked the Mandrake out. The Mandrake wailed at the top of its lungs. Most of the people in the greenhouse can't hear because of the earmuffs, but unfortunately, Hilda can still hear the Mandrake's cries, and it is a marvel that she hadn't been knocked out cold like Ernie McMillan, much to Justin's amusement who had been his partner.
Hilda glared at the Mandrake, and is it Hermione's imagination, but did the Mandrake whimper as Hilda poured soil over it?
Soon, the lesson was over, and everyone were making their way out of the greenhouse, tired out.
Hilda was especially grumpy, as her ears were still ringing after having to hear hundreds of Mandrakes screaming over each other for three hours straight, even with her earmuffs on. As such, all her friends have to endure hearing Hilda speaking louder than normal until her hearing returned to normal.
Lunch was a silent affair, and after that was DADA. Hermione and Padma have to practically drag Hilda to class with them, as the look on her face looks as if she would rather be anywhere but anywhere near Lockhart. And judging by the look that Lockhart had given Hilda earlier on, no one could blame her.
Most of the girls in Ravenclaw and Slytherin seemed excited as they made their way into the classroom, much to Hilda's disgust. Draco took his seat next to Hilda in the middle of the classroom with Padma sitting with Hermione in front of them. Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies took a seat behind them, with the two Slytherin girls being one of the rare few to not worship Lockhart like he's Merlin himself.
There was a loud creak of a door opening just then, and Lockhart stepped out of his room at the top of the stairs before making his way down.
"Me," Lockhart started with a blinding smile that showed off his brilliant white teeth, waving his hands about, dressed in that ridiculous outfit of his. "Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League, and also five time winner of the Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award. But I don't talk about that. I mean, I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
He gave out a fake laugh, and Hilda dropped her head onto her arms, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like curses beneath her breath. Draco gulped next to her. He had a bad feeling about this…
"Just kill me now…" Hilda muttered into her arms, and Draco bit back a snigger.
"Now. You all would have a test to see how well that you've read my books," said Lockhart, passing around a bunch of parchments around the classroom. Draco took two sheets before passing the rest of the stack to Daphne and Tracey behind him, poking Hilda in the side.
Hilda sighed before taking the sheet from Draco and reading over the paper, her eyebrows rising further and further until it almost disappeared into her hair when she saw the questions. She stared in disbelief, reading it again and again as if hoping she was reading wrong.
"What test? They are all about him!" Draco snorted.
Hilda tuned out the rest of Lockhart speaking after they've handed in their tests, being content to just look out of the window where she could see the lake from where she is seated. The tentacles of the giant squid were just visible where the giant squid was sunbathing lazily. A jab from Draco brought her back to Mother Earth only to realise that Lockhart was talking again.
The man had moved over to the teacher's table where a cloth covered cage was on it. Hilda narrowed her eyes as she could hear fluttering and frightened squeaking coming from it. Those sounds sounded almost like faeries or…pixies. Many of those tiny but harmless creatures lived around the Dark Forest, and they often played with her when she was little.
"Now, be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures ever known to wizard kind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I'm here. All I ask is that you remain calm."
With that last statement, the cloth was pulled off, and several small blue pixies could be seen within the cage, all trying to escape from the small enclosure. The girls let out little screams, whilst several of the boys laughed.
Daphne raised an eyebrow. "Cornish pixies?"
Hilda glared at Lockhart, tightening her hands into fists so tightly that cracks actually formed on the desk beneath her fists. As a part vampire, she can understand the language of the other non-humans, as all vampires are Speakers. The pixies are all frightened, and they couldn't breathe properly as well, as the cage that they were in wasn't large enough to hold them all.
Like faeries, pixies are playful and mischievous little creatures that are free like the wind, and loved playing tricks on people. They never liked to be locked up. Several pixies and faeries lived in the Dark Forest where she had grown up, and she had often played with them when she was little.
"Be careful now. They can be dangerous when they want to be." Lockhart said before he opened the cage. "Now, defend yourselves!"
With loud screeches, the pixies flew out and started wrecking havoc, trying to get away as far from their captor as possible. This caused everyone to try to get away from them.
"Relax everyone!" Lockhart shouted as he raised his wand. "Peskipikdi Pesternomi!" He shouted, waving his wand…only for nothing to happen.
A pixie grabbed his wand and brought it up to where the large skeleton dragon was hovering, and used the wand to unlatch the metal hook, sending it crashing to the ground. Hilda narrowly rolled out of the way as the skeleton dragon collapsed into pieces on the ground, and she narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, for the love of…!" Hilda almost groaned. What did she do to deserve this? She kind of wished that she had stayed home after all. First the Mandrakes in Herbology class and now this? She raised the index and middle fingers of her right hand and took a swipe in thin air. A faint aura of magic lingered in the air at that, and all the pixies perked up at this. Faeries and pixies tend to be very sensitive to the changes of magic. "Impedimentum!"
The pixies froze in mid-air, and all watching students, even Lockhart, shivered at the murderous look on Hilda's face before she closed her right hand into a fist, and the windows of the classroom flew opened. The next moment, the pixies have all flown out of the windows.
Lockhart gulped and took a step back as Hilda turned and glared at him. That murderous glare could have reduced him to cinders faster than a fire spell could, and combine that with Hilda's blue-red eyes, and Lockhart suddenly wished that he is far FAR away from Hilda.
"Rethink your lesson plan in the near future, you bumbling idiot." Hilda told him coldly. "And if you don't mind, I'm going to head back to the common room where it is safer. Whoever thinks that you could actually teach must be smoking pot."
She then stormed out of the classroom.
Several moments later, Draco, Padma and Hermione chased after Hilda out of the Defence classroom. For someone so small, she sure could walk fast. The three finally found her at the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room, taking in deep breaths to try to calm herself down.
By now, all her friends knew that something must have happened back home, as Hilda had been awfully touchy ever since the previous day, and all of them have taken care to not set her off.
"Feeling better?" Hermione asked, and Hilda glanced at her friend before nodding. "Good."
There was a loud hoot just then, and everyone turned only to see Hedwig flying down the hallway before perching herself on Hilda's shoulder, nibbling at her ear, sticking out her leg where a letter was tied to it.
"Hedwig?" Hilda blinked before taking the letter and unfolding it, reading it. She then paled instantly.
Hilda,
Orlando's followers are on the move.
Jessica had gone to reinforce the runes holding Orlando in place, whilst a few others and me were tracking down Lakra. Apparently, several of Orlando's old followers are gathering. They're planning something, that's for sure.
Be careful, and don't do anything stupid or reckless. I'll get back to you soon.
-Ethan
(1) Quote from Plush's Fallen and Risen, Chapter 11
Upcoming Stories:
Different Beginnings: Vampire Redux (Harry Potter)
Set in DB Universe. Hilda and Draco never went to Hogwarts School. Instead, they attended Nightshades Academy, an elite school where races of all kinds attended. How will life turn out for Hilda?