Chapter 38
Madam Hooch's Most Difficult Task
That very evening found both Madam Hooch and Professor McGonnagal heading up the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room. As the two ladies walked side-by-side, the inevitable topic of conversation came up.
"Just what do you think they have in mind of us, Min?" Madam Hooch asked, not really wanting to know, but unable not to ask.
"Sorry, Xiomara, but I simply do not have a clue," McGonnagal answered a bit gruffly.
As the two finally stepped through the portrait hole to the Common Room, the students working there looked up at them.
"Mind you studies, and quit your staring," McGonnagal said sharply. "I have no say in what Potter wants me to do."
"Now, now, Professor...do calm down," Ron said as he and Harry made their way over toward them.
"I will give you 'calm down', Ronald Weasley," growled McGonnagal, her eyes blazing with indignation. Ron paled and moved behind Harry to before Madam Hooch.
"That's enough, Professor. Do come along...Minerva," Harry said and motioned towards the table beside the window. McGonnagal's lips thinned in frustration, but she said nothing.
"Madam Hooch, Xiomara...come over here, please," Ron instructed. Madam Hooch complied, but her golden eyes made Ron feel just a bit nervous somehow. "So," Ron said, briefly clearing his throat. "Have I got a job for you..."
"Lovely," Madam Hooch observed.
Ron pulled out his wand, which caused Madam Hooch to eye him warily. "Not to worry now," he said quickly. He then made a peculiar twisting gesture with his wand, which then produced a stream of white light that soon coalesced into a bucket full of soap and water, a mop, and rag upon the floor. "Right. Your task is to scrub the whole common room down, mind you...spotlessly," Ron said.
McGonnagal's eyebrows went up, and she looked toward Harry, asking, "Is Mr. Weasley asking what I think he´s asking?"
"Yep. He wants her to wash down the whole common room, from top to bottom," Harry said.
"Why? Don't we have house elves to do that sort of thing?" McGonnagal asked.
Harry sighed, then explained about Hermione and her involvement with the S.P.E.W. movement.
"So, let me see if I have this straight or not. Mr. Weasley has put Madam Hooch to work so that he can make his girlfriend happy, is that about right?" McGonnagal said.
"Yeah, I reckon that's right," Harry said. "What do you say, Ron? That sound about right to you?"
"Um, yeah. That's about it, then," Ron agreed.
"Hawkeye's in for a tough night," McGonnagal observed quietly. She then turned back to Harry. "So...may I ask what I am going to doing this evening?" she asked.
"Well, you'll be helping me with my Transifugration homework first off," Harry told her. He sat down, indicating the chair across from him for McGonnagal to sit in. "Hermione has been trying to help...but, well, Hermione's notes are sort of like reading Japanese. When you don't know any."
Harry withdrew his portable CD player, put on "Tabby's Favorites", and soon the common room was filled with the sounds of the song
"Survivor" from Destiny´s Child...as sung by McGonnagal herself.
Professor McGonnagal tutored Harry, while Madam Hooch scrubbed the wooden floors and paneling with her mop and rag. When Madam Hooch finally reached the window where Harry and McGonnagal were sitting, McGonnagal couldn't resist. "I say, Xiomara...I believe you missed a spot there," she quipped, pointing out a spot on the window. Xiomara scowled...but plied her rag to remove the spot.
"I simply cannot understand how our house elves can do this, day after day, night after night," Xiomara complained.
Just then the player switched songs, and began playing "Whistle While You Work" from Disney's Snow White. McGonnagal found herself whistling softly along with the CD, which caused a tired and most irritated Xiomara to looked as if she'd liked to have strangled her.
"Right. I think I've got it now," Harry declared and deftly transfigured an empty chair into a piano.
"I do think you have at that, my boy," McGonnagal said, smiling and putting her fingers to the keys, playing a few of notes they were listening to on the CD player before she turned the piano back into a chair once more with her own wand.
"Well, that's done. Now, just hang on...I'll be back in a moment," Harry told her. Madam Hooch laid down her rag a moment to stretch her aching back.
"Have I given you a break yet, Madam Hooch? Back to work," Ron told her. Xiomara grumbled under her breath. "What was that?" Ron asked loudly.
"What was what?" Xiomara said and continued to work.
Harry finally returned, this time bearing a chessboard and pieces with him. He laid the board down, then eyes McGonnagal. "Feel like a game, Professor?"
"Beats scrubbing walls, Potter," she declared with a sidelong grin at Hooch, who grumbled.
"How about I offer you a chance to make your punishment easier, Professor?" Harry suggested.
"Oh? What have you in mind?" McGonnagal asked, wondering.
"Well, if I win," he began. "Then the Hogwarts Sisters shall tell the whole school just who they all are. Plus, they'll consent to give us all a concert each and every Saturday for the three months."
"Very well. And, should I win our match," McGonnagal said. "Then I may wear my usual robes, and be done with these vulgar tattoos and 'body art'?" McGonnagal returned.
"You've got a deal," Harry said and they gave each other a handshake to seal the bargain.
They played a complex and grueling match, until such time that Mariah and Amelia appeared and took the role as interested audience. McGonnagal was playing her heart out, and was only a few moves away from beating Harry. Harry knew it, she knew it, and he was just beginning to sweat.
"Harry. Wait a minute," Mariah said when Harry was about to do his move. McGonnagal eyed her niece like a lion eyeing a fresh piece of meat. Mariah gulped, but leaned over to speak to Harry a moment earnestly.
"Look, Harry...if you let her knight take your rook, your queen then has a shot at mating the king," Mariah explained in a bare whisper.
Harry frowned in concentration, then moved his rook to where Mariah had suggested. Which prompted McGonnagal to take the piece...just as Mariah had said she would. That caused Harry to smile a satisified grin. "Check...and mate," he declared.
McGonnagal's face froze, then became pale. "No. Mariah...how could you?" she demanded quietly of her niece, scowling at her. Now it was Mariah's turn to pale, and step back from her obviously agitated aunt.
"Now, now...fair's fair, Professor. It looks as if the famous Hogwarts Sisters will holding a few concerts before retiring completely," Harry said.
"Mr. Weasley. Ron," Xiomara whined. "Please tell me that this is clean enough now, yes?"
"Oh! Quite. Well done, Xiomara," Ron said, hardly paying attention at first. "It´s clean enough...well, at least for today. But, look on the bright side...you get to come back again and do tomorrow night. That'll be all, thanks."
A dispirited McGonnagal and an aching Hooch walked slowly away from the Common Room, when Xiomara said, "Well, Potter was right, Minerva. It wasn't anything like what he'd done to you but it wasn't exactly easy either."
"Oh, goody. Stop whining, Xiomara. We are going to have far more challenging tasks ahead of us than what we've done this night. Oh, believe you me," McGonnagal said.
"Oh? Like what, pray tell?" a doubting Xiomara asked, twisting her head to try to alleviate a kink in her neck.
McGonnagal then explained just what had happened in that ill-fated Wizard Chess match.
"YOU WHAT?" Madam Hooch screeched. "Minerva, are you---have you lost your mind?"
"Shhh!" McGonnagal returned, irritated with both her and her own foolishness. "You're going to wake up the entire castle with your screeching!"
"I do not screech!" Xiomara replied indignantly. Then she wheeled on Minerva, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. "Minerva Tabitha Evans McGonnagal!" she hissed irately, "you are insane! Do you know that?"
"Nonsense! I am not. It was a simple game of Wizard chess," McGonnagal explained. "I was winning too. How was I supposed to know my own niece would turn on me?"
"Fine!" Xiomara said in a huff, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. "But it's up to you, Minerva, to tell Badger and Dr. Florens this fabulous news..."
Minerva gulped, then squared her shoulders. "Fine. I'll tell them...tomorrow morning."
"You do that, Min," Xiomara replied, her golden eyes narrowed, her nostrils flaring in her anger. "Now, I'm off for a bath, and some well-deserved rest. Good night."
Madam Hooch's Most Difficult Task
That very evening found both Madam Hooch and Professor McGonnagal heading up the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room. As the two ladies walked side-by-side, the inevitable topic of conversation came up.
"Just what do you think they have in mind of us, Min?" Madam Hooch asked, not really wanting to know, but unable not to ask.
"Sorry, Xiomara, but I simply do not have a clue," McGonnagal answered a bit gruffly.
As the two finally stepped through the portrait hole to the Common Room, the students working there looked up at them.
"Mind you studies, and quit your staring," McGonnagal said sharply. "I have no say in what Potter wants me to do."
"Now, now, Professor...do calm down," Ron said as he and Harry made their way over toward them.
"I will give you 'calm down', Ronald Weasley," growled McGonnagal, her eyes blazing with indignation. Ron paled and moved behind Harry to before Madam Hooch.
"That's enough, Professor. Do come along...Minerva," Harry said and motioned towards the table beside the window. McGonnagal's lips thinned in frustration, but she said nothing.
"Madam Hooch, Xiomara...come over here, please," Ron instructed. Madam Hooch complied, but her golden eyes made Ron feel just a bit nervous somehow. "So," Ron said, briefly clearing his throat. "Have I got a job for you..."
"Lovely," Madam Hooch observed.
Ron pulled out his wand, which caused Madam Hooch to eye him warily. "Not to worry now," he said quickly. He then made a peculiar twisting gesture with his wand, which then produced a stream of white light that soon coalesced into a bucket full of soap and water, a mop, and rag upon the floor. "Right. Your task is to scrub the whole common room down, mind you...spotlessly," Ron said.
McGonnagal's eyebrows went up, and she looked toward Harry, asking, "Is Mr. Weasley asking what I think he´s asking?"
"Yep. He wants her to wash down the whole common room, from top to bottom," Harry said.
"Why? Don't we have house elves to do that sort of thing?" McGonnagal asked.
Harry sighed, then explained about Hermione and her involvement with the S.P.E.W. movement.
"So, let me see if I have this straight or not. Mr. Weasley has put Madam Hooch to work so that he can make his girlfriend happy, is that about right?" McGonnagal said.
"Yeah, I reckon that's right," Harry said. "What do you say, Ron? That sound about right to you?"
"Um, yeah. That's about it, then," Ron agreed.
"Hawkeye's in for a tough night," McGonnagal observed quietly. She then turned back to Harry. "So...may I ask what I am going to doing this evening?" she asked.
"Well, you'll be helping me with my Transifugration homework first off," Harry told her. He sat down, indicating the chair across from him for McGonnagal to sit in. "Hermione has been trying to help...but, well, Hermione's notes are sort of like reading Japanese. When you don't know any."
Harry withdrew his portable CD player, put on "Tabby's Favorites", and soon the common room was filled with the sounds of the song
"Survivor" from Destiny´s Child...as sung by McGonnagal herself.
Professor McGonnagal tutored Harry, while Madam Hooch scrubbed the wooden floors and paneling with her mop and rag. When Madam Hooch finally reached the window where Harry and McGonnagal were sitting, McGonnagal couldn't resist. "I say, Xiomara...I believe you missed a spot there," she quipped, pointing out a spot on the window. Xiomara scowled...but plied her rag to remove the spot.
"I simply cannot understand how our house elves can do this, day after day, night after night," Xiomara complained.
Just then the player switched songs, and began playing "Whistle While You Work" from Disney's Snow White. McGonnagal found herself whistling softly along with the CD, which caused a tired and most irritated Xiomara to looked as if she'd liked to have strangled her.
"Right. I think I've got it now," Harry declared and deftly transfigured an empty chair into a piano.
"I do think you have at that, my boy," McGonnagal said, smiling and putting her fingers to the keys, playing a few of notes they were listening to on the CD player before she turned the piano back into a chair once more with her own wand.
"Well, that's done. Now, just hang on...I'll be back in a moment," Harry told her. Madam Hooch laid down her rag a moment to stretch her aching back.
"Have I given you a break yet, Madam Hooch? Back to work," Ron told her. Xiomara grumbled under her breath. "What was that?" Ron asked loudly.
"What was what?" Xiomara said and continued to work.
Harry finally returned, this time bearing a chessboard and pieces with him. He laid the board down, then eyes McGonnagal. "Feel like a game, Professor?"
"Beats scrubbing walls, Potter," she declared with a sidelong grin at Hooch, who grumbled.
"How about I offer you a chance to make your punishment easier, Professor?" Harry suggested.
"Oh? What have you in mind?" McGonnagal asked, wondering.
"Well, if I win," he began. "Then the Hogwarts Sisters shall tell the whole school just who they all are. Plus, they'll consent to give us all a concert each and every Saturday for the three months."
"Very well. And, should I win our match," McGonnagal said. "Then I may wear my usual robes, and be done with these vulgar tattoos and 'body art'?" McGonnagal returned.
"You've got a deal," Harry said and they gave each other a handshake to seal the bargain.
They played a complex and grueling match, until such time that Mariah and Amelia appeared and took the role as interested audience. McGonnagal was playing her heart out, and was only a few moves away from beating Harry. Harry knew it, she knew it, and he was just beginning to sweat.
"Harry. Wait a minute," Mariah said when Harry was about to do his move. McGonnagal eyed her niece like a lion eyeing a fresh piece of meat. Mariah gulped, but leaned over to speak to Harry a moment earnestly.
"Look, Harry...if you let her knight take your rook, your queen then has a shot at mating the king," Mariah explained in a bare whisper.
Harry frowned in concentration, then moved his rook to where Mariah had suggested. Which prompted McGonnagal to take the piece...just as Mariah had said she would. That caused Harry to smile a satisified grin. "Check...and mate," he declared.
McGonnagal's face froze, then became pale. "No. Mariah...how could you?" she demanded quietly of her niece, scowling at her. Now it was Mariah's turn to pale, and step back from her obviously agitated aunt.
"Now, now...fair's fair, Professor. It looks as if the famous Hogwarts Sisters will holding a few concerts before retiring completely," Harry said.
"Mr. Weasley. Ron," Xiomara whined. "Please tell me that this is clean enough now, yes?"
"Oh! Quite. Well done, Xiomara," Ron said, hardly paying attention at first. "It´s clean enough...well, at least for today. But, look on the bright side...you get to come back again and do tomorrow night. That'll be all, thanks."
A dispirited McGonnagal and an aching Hooch walked slowly away from the Common Room, when Xiomara said, "Well, Potter was right, Minerva. It wasn't anything like what he'd done to you but it wasn't exactly easy either."
"Oh, goody. Stop whining, Xiomara. We are going to have far more challenging tasks ahead of us than what we've done this night. Oh, believe you me," McGonnagal said.
"Oh? Like what, pray tell?" a doubting Xiomara asked, twisting her head to try to alleviate a kink in her neck.
McGonnagal then explained just what had happened in that ill-fated Wizard Chess match.
"YOU WHAT?" Madam Hooch screeched. "Minerva, are you---have you lost your mind?"
"Shhh!" McGonnagal returned, irritated with both her and her own foolishness. "You're going to wake up the entire castle with your screeching!"
"I do not screech!" Xiomara replied indignantly. Then she wheeled on Minerva, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. "Minerva Tabitha Evans McGonnagal!" she hissed irately, "you are insane! Do you know that?"
"Nonsense! I am not. It was a simple game of Wizard chess," McGonnagal explained. "I was winning too. How was I supposed to know my own niece would turn on me?"
"Fine!" Xiomara said in a huff, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. "But it's up to you, Minerva, to tell Badger and Dr. Florens this fabulous news..."
Minerva gulped, then squared her shoulders. "Fine. I'll tell them...tomorrow morning."
"You do that, Min," Xiomara replied, her golden eyes narrowed, her nostrils flaring in her anger. "Now, I'm off for a bath, and some well-deserved rest. Good night."