Book 2: Hermione Granger and The Butterfly Threat
Chapter 3: What We Think We Know
"You're just going to have to unlearn some of what you know."
"The moment of truth." said Harry.
"The defining moment." said Marcus.
"Our destiny manifest." said Draco.
"So, what's on your schedule?" asked Ron.
The five of them were gathered at the end of the Hufflepuff table closest to the staff table. Marcus and Ron had gotten into the habit of sitting at Harry's table given their house's unfriendly environment. Draco and Hermione had no issue with their houses, but they preferred each other's company. The Hufflepuff house was perfectly happy to host a few guests.
They had just been given their schedules for the first half of term. They were coordinating when they're paths were going to cross to maximize the time they could spend goofing off or combating evil, whatever was going on that day.
"We have History of Magic after lunch." said Harry to Draco.
"We have a free period mid-morning." Draco told Ron and Marcus.
"I have Defense Against The Dark Arts with Slytherin first thing in the morning." said Hermione.
"I will enjoy that class." said Marcus.
"Really?" asked Ron.
"Of course," said Marcus. "It will be a refreshing change to have all the girls in class drooling over someone besides me."
"More importantly," said Hermione trying to look stern while unsuccessfully suppressing a smile, "we can benefit from his wealth of knowledge."
"His exploits are extensive." agreed Marcus. "He managed to successfully cure a man of Lyncanthropy using a variation of the Homorphus charm. Only a handful of people in the world can do that."
"That's amazing." said Draco. "Exactly what was it he did?"
"He zapped a werewolf back to being human." said Marcus.
"I wonder if I can use that charm on Justin Finch-Fletchley." said Harry.
"He's a werewolf?" asked a startled Hermione. All the heads nearby turned to listen in.
"No." said Harry quickly. "But he snores so loudly, I swear he's howling at the moon."
"You think your room mate's bad?" asked Marcus. "Ron snores like a roaring lion. I've had to put silencing charms around his bed."
"You're no better." said Ron, shoving him playfully. "You talk in your sleep."
"That's not as bad as snoring." said Hermione.
"He speaks Russian when he sleeps." Ron added.
"That's way worse than snoring." said Harry, laughing.
"Russian is a very rich and vibrant language." said Hermione. "It's the language of Tolstoy and the wizard Rasputin."
"Can't be as bad as Neville Longbottom." said Draco. "When he isn't snoring he's thrashing in his bed."
"Isn't he that kid that's afraid of his own shadow." said Ron.
"He is not." said Draco, defensively. "He's just … unsure of himself."
"Grace Augustine keeps her side of the room clean, gives me equal space in the closet, and does not hog the bathroom." said Hermione.
"The idea of the game was to complain about our roommates." said Marcus.
"You loose Hermione." said Ron.
"At least the people in my house aren't trying to lynch me." Hermione shot back.
They all had a laugh at this.
"The sad thing is," said Marcus, pulling out a copy of the Daily Prophet, "those nutjobs are part of a larger community." He handed the article to Hermione.
GERMAN WIZARD SUPREMACISTS ORGANIZE
Helmut Rohr, a prominent German
warlock has started a society of pure-
blood wizards to support what he calls
'A Reform of Wizarding Integrity'. The
main objectives of his organization,
says their manifesto, are the institu-
tion of ordinances that will limit ac-
cess to the knowledge of magic to
'worthy individuals' and to instan-
tiate departments within the minis-
try that will actively control the
muggle governments and their
citizenry. The German Minister
for Magic was...
"Oh, for Heaven's sake." said Hermione, not bothering to read any more. She felt distinctly nauseous.
"It was Voldemort's reappearance last year." said Marcus. "The Wizard Supremacists have had their hopes rekindled. They were waiting for the wizard that would lead them out of hiding and to world domination."
"Then we better get to Defense Against The Dark Arts." said Ron, getting up. "When the nutjobs do rise up I wanna be able to put them back down."
~o!o~
"Good morning, class." said Professor Lockhart to the joint class of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. "I am Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League. Five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award."
He handed a stack of lavender parchment to Pansy Parkinson in the front row.
"Pass those out, please." he asked her. "In this classroom, you will come in contact with some of your worst fears. However, as long as I am with you, you have nothing to fear. We're going to take a short quiz over my books to see how much you've learned already."
Hermione looked down at her Quiz, which Pansy threw at her.
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
Hermione completed all the questions to her satisfaction before anyone else. Lockhart collected all the quizzes after their half an hour was up.
"Hardly any of you remember my favorite color is lilac." Lockhart admonished. "Most of you need to read my books more carefully. Ms. Granger is the only one to get full marks."
As he flashed her a smile, Hermione felt the room get distinctly warmer. It resembled the sensation she felt after looking into Diego's eyes for too long.
"Whoever signed their names 'Snark' and 'Boojum'" he said frowning, "will be severely punished for answering all the questions with swear words."
There was tittering all over the classroom. Marcus looked as peaceful as always, but Ron's shoulders were shaking slightly.
He walked behind his desk and pulled out from under the table a large cage, shrouded in dark fabric. They could hear buzzing and screeching within. The class went quite and everyone leaned forward slightly.
"Again, I remind you," said Lockhart with a flourish, "you have nothing to fear while I am with you."
"I must ask you not to scream." he said as he laid a hand on the shroud. "You may provoke them." and the shroud was ripped off.
The cage was full of hundreds of black hairy beetles. Doxies.
Blaise Zabini gave a laugh.
"Something amuses you Mr. Zabini?" asked Lockhart.
"Well," he said, still smiling, "They aren't exactly...terrifying."
"Oh, really?" asked Lockhart, fingering the catch on the cage door. Hermione noticed Marcus grab for his wand.
"Why don't we just see how dangerous they are?" asked Lockhart. He opened the cage door and stood back.
The Doxies swarmed out of the cage. The students in the front row were running over desks to get to the back of the room.
Hermione took cover under her desk. From thereunder she could see people's ankles running around frantically. There were a few people laying on the ground, breaking out in purple boils where they had been bitten.
"No worries," said Lockhart. "Watch closely now," He pulled out his wand and: "Dodjidoksi Dewabunc!"
Nothing happened. Save for a Doxy flew into his open mouth. He ran around the room and eventually out the classroom door. More people followed him out of the room. A few people were jumping out of portholes.
"In light of his credentials, I pictured his first class going differently." came Marcus's voice from beside her.
She turned to see him crouching behind her. His entire body was covered in a shimmering blue film.
"Don't worry." he told her. "I'll keep you safe." He was employing his mother's comforting tones. Hermione imagined she must have looked frantic if he was being overtly supportive. He pointed his wand directly between her eyes. If any other Slytherin were doing that, she would have been concerned for her life.
"Rita Repulsa." Marcus incanted. Hermione saw a wave of light pass over her field of vision. Everything took on a blue tint. She looked down at her hand and saw the same force field covering her as Marcus. She flexed her fingers and the field around her fingers bent with her.
"It's a mosquito net charm." said Marcus, backing away while Hermione got out from under the table. "As long as you don't touch anyone and don't go near water, it repels any pests."
A Doxy flew at Hermione's head. It bounced back with a zap.
Hermione looked around at the carnage. The people that hadn't made it out were rolled up on the floor in pain. Remembering what Marcus said about not touching anyone, she resisted the impulse to drag them out of the classroom.
"Hermione." called Marcus as he administered the charm to Ron, whom he had left flailing in the corner to help her first. "Can I beg you to go get one of the Emmas then find Professor Flitwick? Madame Pomfrey if you can manage it. Ron and I will stay here and levitate people out of the room."
"Why don't you send Ron to get help?" Hermione asked, as she pulled out her wand. "I'm better at levitation charms."
"We're sending you out of harms way because you're a girl." said Marcus. The straight face made it impossible to tell if he was joking.
"I may be a girl, but you two are Slytherins." said Hermione as she levitated Pansy Parkinson.
"Very true." said Marcus. "I'm very surprised that I didn't jump out the window the minute I saw the Doxies. Some of Draco's Gryffindor bravery must be rubbing off on me."
~o!o~
Groundskeeper Stanton looked out over the field of Yorkshire stadium. He then looked behind him at the bleaches and benches full of angry spectators.
They had come here for a cricket game. Burwick v Glasgow. This match would determine the heir apparent to the World Cricket Championship. The game would not be played today. Due to inclement conditions, the game had been postponed after only three men at wicket.
As Stanton looked over the field again, he could not recall a stranger reason for a rain check. The air was thick with bright red butterflies. There were so many of them that the space between two butterflies was occupied by another butterfly. They had lost seventeen of the cricket balls and four wickets because they couldn't see the end of their own nose through the atmosphere of flapping insects.
As bizarre as this was, Stanton knew the management was going to find a way to blame him for it. He walked off to the main gate. If he got to the hobby shop, they might have a butterfly net he could use. If they did, he was going to need all of them.