Chapter 16: Getting to Know
The next weeks leading up to Christmas break was very nerve racking. Lupin had gotten Harry and I to get a swirly mist to come out of our wands with the Patronus lesson, but no animal like Lupin said a real Patronus had.
I didn't know what Patronus I wanted. I kind of wanted to have a Lion, for my house pride, or maybe a panther, to show I'm fierce. I don't know.
I had promised to show Crystal, Stephanie and Cameron how to do a Patronus when I learned how to do one properly myself. So after every "Anti-Dementor lesson" I would go to Nightshade's to wait for the girls (I'd tell them beforehand that I had a lesson that day from such a time to such a time).
That night, however, I learned a little too much about She-Cat that I would have liked to know. I was waiting in Nightshade's, skimming a book, waiting for the girls to show up when She-Cat slid in and stood overtop of me.
"What's up?" She-Cat squeaked, smiling down at me.
"A meeting." I said bitter at her tardiness "Where were you?" I asked.
"Getting food." She-Cat said, holding up a large tray of food and…Coke!
"Nice!" I shouted, making a swig for a can of my favourite soda "You're forgiven, as long as you share with everyone."
She-Cat pulled the tray away and set it in front of her "No way, this is mine!" she said, laughing before she bit into a sandwich.
"Were you born this weird, or did you learn how?" I asked, sneaking a bag of chips and a pop from the platter and munching on them quietly.
"Oh, I don't know." She-Cat said, smiling as she took a swig of my stolen pop "I guess I learned. I don't know that much about my parents."
My eyebrows widened "I really don't know you all that much, do I?" I asked, stretching over the couch.
She-Cat shrugged "I guess not. You should know about me then. My name's Cameron Geraldine Locke, but you guys call me She-Cat, because I turn into a cat whenever I want."
I smirked "I know what your name is, tell me-wait a minute, your middle name's Geraldine?" I asked.
She-Cat nodded before she continued "Yeah, my middle name's Geraldine. Anyways, I was raised in an orphanage from when I was a baby up until I turned ten. That's when my adoptive parents…adopted me. My mum's a psychiatrist and my dad's a fast food worker. He can't find another job after he was fired."
I nodded "I know what you mean." I lied. Truth was, I didn't know what she meant. I didn't have parents that are alive, let alone get canned from a job. "But…why can you turn into a cat?" I asked, curious to know.
"Well, in my orphanage, there was this cat the orphans would play with, her name was Deanna. I loved that cat more than anything in the world, I'd play with her every day, I'd want to be her. So one day I wished I could be like Deanna, and poof," She-Cat snapped her fingers to prove her point. "I became a cat. I never really lost that talent, because I could change when I wanted. I never really knew I was magic until when my adoptive parents got the letter from Hogwarts. They took one look at me and said 'Cameron, you're going to that school.'. They thought it would help me become 'normal'" she added air quotes around "normal" "but they don't know is I'm learning so much more than when what I can do."
"And when you met me…" I started, smiling.
"I found out I was Gryffindor's and Nightshade's love child!" She-Cat exclaimed with joy.
"Oh, She-Cat, I gotta know. When you were in Diagon Alley ever, did you ever meet Percy?"
She-Cat nodded. I squealed and clapped my hands together.
"What happened? Did you talk to him? What was he wearing? What were you wearing? What did you talk about? Tell me! Don't leave out any details!"
"Well, we didn't talk. He walked down the street from me with his father in summer before my second year, he actually was headed for Madam Malkin's. He was wearing a…pink bikini…No, that was Snape. Percy wore a pair of dress shorts and a black t-shirt. And I wore…a pink dress with a cat on the sleeve."
I smiled. "What were you thinking when you saw him?" I asked.
"Well…I thought Wow, he has really curly hair. Who knew that you'd be dating someone who suffered from chronic curly-headedness." She-Cat said, chomping down on another sandwich.
I groaned as I covered my head with my arms "She-Cat, for the last time, Percy and I aren't dating! And we probably never will!"
"Come off it!" She-Cat said, turning into a cat and biting me on the arm "I heard your bumph about you falling asleep with Percy that night. I'm not an idiot. I may be crazy. But I'm not an idiot. Crazy…yes. Odd…yes. Scary…yes. But an idiot? No."
I gaped as She-Cat bit me again "Ok, I get it!" I shouted, pulling my hand away from the cat and nursing the bite marks.
She-Cat laughed as she turned back into herself. Stephanie and Crystal slid down right after.
"Hey." Crystal and Stephanie said together, each dropping themselves on a couch. "What'd we miss?"
"I learned that She-Cat's an orphan." I said simply, taking the final swig of Coke and using my telekinesis to crush the can.
After about twenty minutes of blabbing about She-Cat's life, Crystal cut in.
"Ok, we get that She-Cat's life is messed up, but still cool because of the being raised by Muggles thing-"
"Hi!" I shouted, waving my arm up "I was raised by Muggles!" I protested.
"Whatever." Crystal said, rolling her eyes "I heard rumours going around the school that I should tell you guys. But you can't say this to anyone else, understand?"
We all nodded as Crystal continued.
"I heard that Percy was planning to dump Penelope. I heard from Oliver that Percy actually wrote what he was going to say to Penelope on a card. He plans to crush her into a million pieces."
My heart skipped a beat. "No way!" I shouted, almost a little too happily.
"That's the rumour. The other rumour is that the reason Percy's dumping Clearwater is because there's another girl that Percy wants."
I gasped "Who!" I shouted, blanching.
Crystal turned to me "Not you." Crystal said coldly before changing the subject. "Did you hear about what happened with that new Gryffindor Tower guardian, you know the one, Harls. He helped us get to Divination that first day."
I nodded "Yeah, Sir Cadogen. What about him?"
"Well," Crystal started, slipping onto the floor, starting a trend. I followed Crystal, then Stephanie and She-Cat followed me. "Harls, You remember when Ron woke up the other night and freaked out"
I nodded
Well here's the rumour. Ron said that Sirius Black snuck into the Tower and was holding a knife over him."
Crystal said all of this as if she was happy that a murderer tried to kill Ron.
"What's Cadogen got to do with this?" I asked, swallowing.
"Well, he said that Black read all of the week's passwords off of a card…Neville's card. McGonagall was so pissed that she banned him from Hogsmeade and from knowing future passwords."
I snickered "Idiot, doesn't even know how to remember the passwords. Anyhow, the Fat Lady back?" Crystal nodded, smiling. I mirrored the smile.
"Good. I didn't like Cadogen, he was always changing the passwords. Idiocy, that's what he was painted with. Pure idiocy."
Everyone laughed as I leaned back and wrapped my arms around my head. I zoned out from the conversation as I contemplated the other rumour Crystal spread to us.
Percy was going to ditch Penelope…for someone else. Who? Me? I hoped so. I mean, everyone knew of what had happened in sixth year, with Crystal asking Penelope to ask Percy out. A little scream threatened to come through my lips, but I held my tongue. Nothing was more important to me at that moment then getting what I wanted.
And that thing was my old Percy back. That Percy that called me Oreo in fifth year, kissed me in sixth year and star gazed with me in seventh.
I don't care how long it takes I thought evilly Percy's going to be all mine. No matter what I have to do to Penelope.
"HARLS!" Stephanie shouted, smacking me hard over the head, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"What?" I asked shaking my head.
"What are you gonna do now that Percy could be ditching Penny." Stephanie asked, getting back onto the couch.
She-Cat smirked "I think she should snog him as I play the ukulele!" She-Cat said, taking out her ukulele and starting to play it, singing all the way:
Love him, love him. Say that you love him. Fool him fool him. Oh, how you do him! Kiss him, kiss him. Say that you missed him. Tell him what he wants to hear! Tell him you love him!
"Shut up, She-Cat!" I snapped, rolling my eyes as I grabbed my Invisibility Cloak "Ok, guys." I said, wrapping myself in the Cloak "We'd better get back to our dorms. Lest you forget, we leave for Christmas tomorrow."
"I'm staying." Crystal said, getting up "I found your birthday gift, so now I'm giving it to you for Christmas."
"Me too!" Stephanie said, grabbing her cloak "I didn't want to be alone for the holidays!"
"I'm staying to cause some mayhem with the Slytherins!" She-Cat said, rubbing her hands in a mockingly evil fashion.
"Watch it, She-Cat. If you want to prank someone, first, get the Weasley twins. They're the masters of pranks. Two, prank Team Penelope. That'll make life easier. So, let's head to bed. See you guys tomorrow." I said, walking up the separate staircase out to the grounds.
"Night!" The girls said as we all walked our separate ways.
I had to plan. I had to plan how to get Percy to dump Penelope. No, wait, not just dump the bitch. I want Percy to destroy her, humiliate her and make her life hell!
But before I could make that happen and take Percy for myself. I had to get Percy pushed over the edge with jealousy.
Good thing I have Damian. I thought as I fell asleep.
