The author would like to publicly apologize for the lack of tangible
relevancy to the story in Chapter Six: The Hair-Dying Hex. Unfortunately,
the author was experiencing a rare, more dangerous form or writer's block.
This lack of creativity is due to the death of the author's favorite
teacher.
Mr. Jimmy Baker passed away June 2nd, 2002 after having a stroke two weeks earlier. He had been in a coma from the time of the stroke until the time of his death. The author was one of seven witnesses to Mr. Baker's stroke. His 9th grade Biology students will all miss him and value the time that they had Mr. Baker as their teacher. This story is dedicated to him.
- Elemmírë
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: Everything that is even remotely good or imaginative belongs to JK Rowling, Goddess of Writing. I own all the crappy stuff :-).
CHAPTER SEVEN: Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Riley was bored. It had been a week since her last prank and schoolwork kept her busy until Friday night. She'd done some extra O.W.L. review, but once Riley could name every major accomplishment of Aquilus the Artful and make a Scintillation Solution in her sleep, she'd decided that she'd done enough studying for one day. The only remorse Riley felt for her old school were the loud parties the students had every Friday night. To bad Hogwarts doesn't have a tradition like that, she thought regretfully. Stretched out on her favorite scarlet couch in the deserted Gryffindor common room, Riley stared at the ceiling and tried vainly to think of something to do.
The portrait hole blew open. Looking up, Riley saw Fred and George fly into the common room. The twins collapsed, laughing, onto the heavily carpeted floor.
"Hey guys, what's up?" George finally stopped wheezing long enough to spot the pretty girl.
"Alright, Riles?" said Fred. "Budge up, we want a seat too." Riley sat up obediently and arranged herself in the corner of the couch.
"So, what are you two up to?"
"Up to?" One look at the twins 'innocent' faces confirmed Riley's hunch.
"Yeah, up to." She raised an elfin brow.
Fred began to laugh, tears pouring down his face. George looked a bit disgruntled. "It's not that funny, Fred, really it isn't."
Fred, shaking, pointed at his brother. "We were coming out of the one-eyed witch – went to Zonko's," he choked. George snorted sullenly. "George fell out of the witch and landed right on top of that Ravenclaw prefect. The short-haired blonde one, you know."
"Sabrina Newton?"
Fred nodded. "That's the one. She took twenty points." At this statement, both boys lost all control. The common room rang with their almost-painful laughs.
Riley furrowed her brow. "What's funny about losing House points?"
"Well –" George grinned demonically "– in the dark, it was next to impossible to see our robes. She assumed we were Slytherins –" more giggles "– so we 'accidentally' protested the punishment, and ended up with her taking a round twenty points from 'our' House."
"Stroke of brilliance, I must admit," gasped Riley between screams of laughter. "I had no idea Sabrina Newton could be so ditzy."
George's impassioned retort greatly surprised both Riley and Fred. "She's not a bit ditzy! It was dark, that's all. She's very smart, really . . . and pretty . . ." Riley shot Fred a look and both smiled.
"Hey George, why don't you go on up to bed? It's alright, I'll be up in a minute." Fred prodded his twin in the direction of the boys' dormitories.
George frowned. "But I haven't finished my Transfiguration homework yet."
"Tomorrow's Saturday, George," Riley sighed. "We don't have classes. God, you'd be dangerous with a brain."
"Oh. Right. Well, night, then." He waved vaguely and set off for bed. As soon as George was out of immediate sight, Riley sprang to her feet and began to pace excitedly as an amused Fred looked on.
"Before you get too deep in thought . . . want to share whatever brilliant plan you have in mind?"
She paused and turned to him. "I've had problems with that prefect you mentioned – Sabrina Newton?" Fred nodded. "Ever since she became a prefect, she's been walking around like she's got a quill up her butt. Her own friends have seen it; I was talking to Mandy Brocklehurst and Sally- Anne Perks, and Sabrina took five points off both of them for whistling in the corridors. They'd probably be willing to help us."
"Help us what?" Fred looked confused.
"It's obvious that George, um – what is it that you Brits say? Fancies her?" Fred nodded. "If George and Bree started going out, George might regain some of his sanity and Sabrina would lighten up!" Riley gave him a perfect imitation of George's earlier demonic grin. "Plus, it'll be fun for us."
"Good one, Riles!" Fred high-fived her, much to the astonishment of both. "I think you're rubbing off on me. This should be a challenge, though. George and Sabrina Newton are about as different as two people can be." For some reason, Fred's latter comment made Riley think of Malfoy. She shook her head rapidly, as if to rid herself of the thought.
"Yeah . . ." she yawned. "But right now, I think I'd better go to bed. Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow. G'night Fred." She gave him a quick, affectionate hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Night, Riles."
* * *
It was raining in Hogsmeade but that didn't dampen the students' spirits. Honeydukes was packed, surprising no one. Riley pushed her way through a bunch of Hufflepuffs and made her way to Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, and Sally-Anne Perks, who were standing in front of the Chocolate Frogs display. She accidentally bumped into a tall, blonde figure.
"Watch it, I'm walking here – Malfoy."
"O'Connor." He raised a devious eyebrow. "You might want to be a bit more polite to those who know about the skeletons in your closet."
They stared at each other, neither willing to break eye contact. Finally, Malfoy turned and left. Riley shook her head and continued swimming through the masses of people until she reached the Ravenclaws.
"Morning Mandy, Lisa, Sally-Anne."
"Morning Riley, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks. I think I may have a little solution to Sabrina's problem." Riley went on to explain her (rather one-sided) conversation with Fred the night before. Both girls nodded thoughtfully.
"George Weasley, though?" said Mandy. "Do you really think she'd go for that?"
"Oh, come on," Riley cajoled. "Who better to get Bree less up-tight than one of Hogwarts' leading pranksters?"
"It'll be tricky, but it's worth a shot."
After recruiting the three Ravenclaws, Riley went to fetch Erin Kingsberry and Jamie Baker, some of Sabrina's Hufflepuff friends. The six girls met up with Fred Weasley and Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw, in The Three Broomsticks. Carefully, quietly, they began to outline their plan of action.
* * *
In two hours, the plot had become considerably simpler. Erin and Jamie were to be in charge of writing admirer notes to George, while Terry and Lisa ('Ravenclaw's Cutest Couple') sent love letters to Bree. Riley had a much more complicated job, unfortunately.
"Remember," Riley whispered to Mandy and Sally-Anne as they walked back to the castle, "Trophy room at ten o'clock."
"Bree won't pass up a chance to catch students out of bed. With a plan like this, how could we lose?"
Mr. Jimmy Baker passed away June 2nd, 2002 after having a stroke two weeks earlier. He had been in a coma from the time of the stroke until the time of his death. The author was one of seven witnesses to Mr. Baker's stroke. His 9th grade Biology students will all miss him and value the time that they had Mr. Baker as their teacher. This story is dedicated to him.
- Elemmírë
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: Everything that is even remotely good or imaginative belongs to JK Rowling, Goddess of Writing. I own all the crappy stuff :-).
CHAPTER SEVEN: Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Riley was bored. It had been a week since her last prank and schoolwork kept her busy until Friday night. She'd done some extra O.W.L. review, but once Riley could name every major accomplishment of Aquilus the Artful and make a Scintillation Solution in her sleep, she'd decided that she'd done enough studying for one day. The only remorse Riley felt for her old school were the loud parties the students had every Friday night. To bad Hogwarts doesn't have a tradition like that, she thought regretfully. Stretched out on her favorite scarlet couch in the deserted Gryffindor common room, Riley stared at the ceiling and tried vainly to think of something to do.
The portrait hole blew open. Looking up, Riley saw Fred and George fly into the common room. The twins collapsed, laughing, onto the heavily carpeted floor.
"Hey guys, what's up?" George finally stopped wheezing long enough to spot the pretty girl.
"Alright, Riles?" said Fred. "Budge up, we want a seat too." Riley sat up obediently and arranged herself in the corner of the couch.
"So, what are you two up to?"
"Up to?" One look at the twins 'innocent' faces confirmed Riley's hunch.
"Yeah, up to." She raised an elfin brow.
Fred began to laugh, tears pouring down his face. George looked a bit disgruntled. "It's not that funny, Fred, really it isn't."
Fred, shaking, pointed at his brother. "We were coming out of the one-eyed witch – went to Zonko's," he choked. George snorted sullenly. "George fell out of the witch and landed right on top of that Ravenclaw prefect. The short-haired blonde one, you know."
"Sabrina Newton?"
Fred nodded. "That's the one. She took twenty points." At this statement, both boys lost all control. The common room rang with their almost-painful laughs.
Riley furrowed her brow. "What's funny about losing House points?"
"Well –" George grinned demonically "– in the dark, it was next to impossible to see our robes. She assumed we were Slytherins –" more giggles "– so we 'accidentally' protested the punishment, and ended up with her taking a round twenty points from 'our' House."
"Stroke of brilliance, I must admit," gasped Riley between screams of laughter. "I had no idea Sabrina Newton could be so ditzy."
George's impassioned retort greatly surprised both Riley and Fred. "She's not a bit ditzy! It was dark, that's all. She's very smart, really . . . and pretty . . ." Riley shot Fred a look and both smiled.
"Hey George, why don't you go on up to bed? It's alright, I'll be up in a minute." Fred prodded his twin in the direction of the boys' dormitories.
George frowned. "But I haven't finished my Transfiguration homework yet."
"Tomorrow's Saturday, George," Riley sighed. "We don't have classes. God, you'd be dangerous with a brain."
"Oh. Right. Well, night, then." He waved vaguely and set off for bed. As soon as George was out of immediate sight, Riley sprang to her feet and began to pace excitedly as an amused Fred looked on.
"Before you get too deep in thought . . . want to share whatever brilliant plan you have in mind?"
She paused and turned to him. "I've had problems with that prefect you mentioned – Sabrina Newton?" Fred nodded. "Ever since she became a prefect, she's been walking around like she's got a quill up her butt. Her own friends have seen it; I was talking to Mandy Brocklehurst and Sally- Anne Perks, and Sabrina took five points off both of them for whistling in the corridors. They'd probably be willing to help us."
"Help us what?" Fred looked confused.
"It's obvious that George, um – what is it that you Brits say? Fancies her?" Fred nodded. "If George and Bree started going out, George might regain some of his sanity and Sabrina would lighten up!" Riley gave him a perfect imitation of George's earlier demonic grin. "Plus, it'll be fun for us."
"Good one, Riles!" Fred high-fived her, much to the astonishment of both. "I think you're rubbing off on me. This should be a challenge, though. George and Sabrina Newton are about as different as two people can be." For some reason, Fred's latter comment made Riley think of Malfoy. She shook her head rapidly, as if to rid herself of the thought.
"Yeah . . ." she yawned. "But right now, I think I'd better go to bed. Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow. G'night Fred." She gave him a quick, affectionate hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Night, Riles."
* * *
It was raining in Hogsmeade but that didn't dampen the students' spirits. Honeydukes was packed, surprising no one. Riley pushed her way through a bunch of Hufflepuffs and made her way to Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, and Sally-Anne Perks, who were standing in front of the Chocolate Frogs display. She accidentally bumped into a tall, blonde figure.
"Watch it, I'm walking here – Malfoy."
"O'Connor." He raised a devious eyebrow. "You might want to be a bit more polite to those who know about the skeletons in your closet."
They stared at each other, neither willing to break eye contact. Finally, Malfoy turned and left. Riley shook her head and continued swimming through the masses of people until she reached the Ravenclaws.
"Morning Mandy, Lisa, Sally-Anne."
"Morning Riley, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks. I think I may have a little solution to Sabrina's problem." Riley went on to explain her (rather one-sided) conversation with Fred the night before. Both girls nodded thoughtfully.
"George Weasley, though?" said Mandy. "Do you really think she'd go for that?"
"Oh, come on," Riley cajoled. "Who better to get Bree less up-tight than one of Hogwarts' leading pranksters?"
"It'll be tricky, but it's worth a shot."
After recruiting the three Ravenclaws, Riley went to fetch Erin Kingsberry and Jamie Baker, some of Sabrina's Hufflepuff friends. The six girls met up with Fred Weasley and Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw, in The Three Broomsticks. Carefully, quietly, they began to outline their plan of action.
* * *
In two hours, the plot had become considerably simpler. Erin and Jamie were to be in charge of writing admirer notes to George, while Terry and Lisa ('Ravenclaw's Cutest Couple') sent love letters to Bree. Riley had a much more complicated job, unfortunately.
"Remember," Riley whispered to Mandy and Sally-Anne as they walked back to the castle, "Trophy room at ten o'clock."
"Bree won't pass up a chance to catch students out of bed. With a plan like this, how could we lose?"