Disclaimer: Athena and all children during Athena's time belong to me. The
rest belongs to J.K Rowling.
Note: Athena's owl, Bubo, belongs to creators of the movie "Clash of the Titans" (I think)
Thank you for all your reviews!
Chapter 8: The Yearbook
"Say, does any of you know where Madam Hooch's office is?" Athena asked the Wood twins the next morning during breakfast.
"On first floor, I think. I only heard Dad talking about it once." James said as he munched on his bacon. "Why? Did you receive a detention from her because you look like your mother?" He teased.
"No." Athena said, smiling.
"Then why are you asking?" Elizabeth asked, taking her goblet for a drink.
"I can't say." Athena said simply.
***
When she arrived at Madam Hooch's office, Athena smiled in amusement at what were hanging on Madam Hooch's door: a pair of small Bludger bats crossing each other.
"How cute." She thought and knocked the door.
"Who is it?" Madam Hooch called from inside.
"It's me, Athena."
"Just a minute." And a minute later, Madam Hooch opened her door, smiling cheerfully. "Hi there, I am just wondering when are you coming. Come in." She stood aside and let Athena in.
The moment Athena stepped in Madam Hooch's office, she felt as if she stepped into a Quidditch supplies shop. Madam Hooch's referee robes were hanging behind the door, posters of various Quidditch teams were pasted on the walls, and the players were seen passing the Quaffle to each other in the posters. Brooms were put neatly in a straight row beside Madam Hooch's desk and there were labels on them: "Tinderblast" "Nimbus" "Shooting Star" "Silver Arrow" "Firebolt" "Comet"..and so on. In the glass cupboard at the other side of Madam Hooch's desk, lay trophies and medals that Madam Hooch had won during Quidditch matches. A model of a small bird with red eyes and small wings sat on a small table beside the cupboard and beside the bird; there was a model of the school Quidditch pitch.
"Here you are, my own Hogwarts yearbook. I made it myself." Madam Hooch said proudly as she handed a red leather-bound book with a golden Hogwarts coat of arms printed on it to Athena and dropped down on her chair.
Athena ran her fingers across the coat of arms and flipped open it. She saw the words "Hogwarts: A History" in bold letters and then "In Mandy Hooch's version" in smaller letters. Then she saw a picture of young Madam Hooch, another girl, Professor Sprouts and a familiar girl drinking in straws from a large glass of Butterbeer below the words.
"Hey, that's Mom!" Athena said excitedly, pointing at the picture.
"Yep, it's your mom all right. Wonder why we are not moving in this picture? That's because the person who took this photo used my Muggle camera. In fact, all the pictures in this yearbook are not magical."
"That's all right, I am used to Muggle unmoving pictures." Athena said and flipped the page. She saw a big picture of the Gryffindor lion and words beneath: "Gryffindor, the best house in Hogwarts."
Then a Slytherin Snake with the words: "Slytherin, the worst house in my opinion. And the Slytherins are all slimeballs."
Then a Ravenclaw eagle with the words: "Ravenclaw, the house with all the boring but smart students."
And finally the Hufflepuff badger with the words: "Hufflepuff, the house with the most loyal students."
She flipped the page and saw the word "Schoolmates" on top of the page. She saw a picture of young Professor Sprouts, her mother, Madam Hooch and the girl with their arms around each other's shoulders and the words: "Hogwarts Angels" on the bottom of the page.
"Hogwarts Angels?" Athena asked, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I didn't think up of that stupid name, Malfoy did." Madam Hooch protested.
"Malfoy?" Athena asked again.
"Aidoneus Malfoy, Narcissus' ancestor. That idiot knew that the four of us likes to be with each other so he thought up of that name for us for fun. And since then, everyone started to call us that." Madam Hooch said, putting her elbows on her desk and rested her chin on her hands. "But the four of us managed to get used to it. And your mom suggested that since Malfoy wanted to play, we would play along with him so we thought up of nicknames for ourselves. I am Quidditch Queen, your mom is Transfiguration Princess, Madam Pomfrey, the girl in the picture, is Gryffindor Angel and Professor Sprouts is Nature's Girl."
Athena flipped a page and saw a picture of her mother thinking deeply with a quill in her hand. She read the words below: "Minerva McGonagall, my best friend, a die-hard Quidditch fan and a very studious and boring star student. But she is quite interesting sometimes."
"That's odd." Athena said slowly.
"What?"
"I thought that when a woman is married to a man, she must takes after his surname." Athena said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, so?" Madam Hooch asked, examining her whistle.
"Then why is my surname is McGonagall?" Athena asked and showed the picture to Madam Hooch. "See, my mother's surname is McGonagall, why Mom let me to take her surname instead of Dad's?"
"Maybe she likes her own surname?" Madam Hooch suggested, trying to keep her voice as natural as possible. "Who knows?"
"Mandy, are you and my mother best friends?" Athena asked.
"Of course. I know everything about your mother, even things that Professor Sprouts and Madam Pomfrey don't know." Madam Hooch said proudly and grinned.
"So do you know what's my dad like?" Athena asked excitedly.
"No." Madam Hooch said quickly. "I...err..didn't attend your parents' wedding. So I don't even know what does he look like." She said without meeting Athena's eyes.
Athena narrowed her eyes a little and flipped through the pages. She stared in amazement at a picture of her mother, Madam Pomfrey, Madam Hooch in Quidditch robes. "I don't know Mom used to be a Quidditch player." She said slowly.
"She was, and a good Chaser in my opinion." Madam Hooch said proudly and sighed. "Those are the days. Playing Quidditch, studying for our exams all the way until 1am, chatting during breakfast..." She trailed off.
"Mandy? Do you know why Mom doesn't live in the wizarding world? Why is she living in Muggle London ever since I can remember?"
"I don't know." Madam Hooch lied. "Err...listen Athena, why don't you bring this book back to the common room and read it there? You can return it to me when you are finish with it." Madam Hooch suggested. "I still have a lot of things to do.."
"Sure." Athena said and pick up the book. "Bye Mandy."
"Bye Athena." Madam Hooch waved and when the door closed behind Athena, she sighed in relief. This secret was too difficult to keep. Athena was too curious about her father and sooner or later, either her, Poppy, Sprouts, Snape or Hagrid will spill the beans.
***
Madam Hooch's worries were confirmed when Athena walked pass Hagrid's hut. She stared at the hut. "Maybe Hagrid knows something about Dad." Athena said to herself and walked to the hut. She knocked on the wooden door.
"Who's it?" Hagrid asked from inside.
"It's me, Hagrid, Athena. Do you remember me?" Athena asked, hoping that Hagrid remembers her.
"Back, Fang." Hagrid ordered from inside and opened the door. "'Lo Athena. Come in."
Athena stepped into the hut as Hagrid said: " Make yerself at home. This is Fang, he's harmless." He indicated at the enormous black boarhound, who waved his tail happily when Athena scratched his ears. "So, what can I do fer yeh?"
"Hagrid...do you mind if I call you Hagrid?" Athena asked uncertainly.
"No." Hagrid said cheerfully.
"Hagrid, I remember you said that you know my father." Athena started.
Hagrid froze and said slowly, "Yeah..."
"The point is, you, Mandy, I mean, Madam Hooch and the Sorting Hat seems to know him very well. Madam Hooch seems to be keeping something from me about my father. I take my mother's surname instead of my father's. When the Sorting Hat talks about my father, Professor Snape cut it off. Something must be wrong. So do you know who exactly my father is?"
"Yes." Hagrid said. "But I am not saying anything." He added.
"What?! Why?" Athena exclaimed and caught hold of Hagrid's arm.
"I can't." Hagrid said helplessly and trying to concentrate on examining his crossbow. "Why do yeh wan' ter find out 'bout yer father fer?" He asked.
"Hagrid, please! I can't ask my mother, she will be too upset if I just mention about Dad, Madam Hooch probably lied to bail her way out. And I can't ask the Sorting Hat, it is in the Professor Sprouts' office and I don't even know the password!" Athena said desperately, shaking Hagrid's arm.
"I can't!" Hagrid said loudly, "Yeh will die if yeh know who's yer father is!"
Athena stopped shaking Hagrid's arm. "Die?" She whispered, her voice shaking.
"Uh oh. I shouldn' have told you that." Hagrid said slowly.
Note: Athena's owl, Bubo, belongs to creators of the movie "Clash of the Titans" (I think)
Thank you for all your reviews!
Chapter 8: The Yearbook
"Say, does any of you know where Madam Hooch's office is?" Athena asked the Wood twins the next morning during breakfast.
"On first floor, I think. I only heard Dad talking about it once." James said as he munched on his bacon. "Why? Did you receive a detention from her because you look like your mother?" He teased.
"No." Athena said, smiling.
"Then why are you asking?" Elizabeth asked, taking her goblet for a drink.
"I can't say." Athena said simply.
***
When she arrived at Madam Hooch's office, Athena smiled in amusement at what were hanging on Madam Hooch's door: a pair of small Bludger bats crossing each other.
"How cute." She thought and knocked the door.
"Who is it?" Madam Hooch called from inside.
"It's me, Athena."
"Just a minute." And a minute later, Madam Hooch opened her door, smiling cheerfully. "Hi there, I am just wondering when are you coming. Come in." She stood aside and let Athena in.
The moment Athena stepped in Madam Hooch's office, she felt as if she stepped into a Quidditch supplies shop. Madam Hooch's referee robes were hanging behind the door, posters of various Quidditch teams were pasted on the walls, and the players were seen passing the Quaffle to each other in the posters. Brooms were put neatly in a straight row beside Madam Hooch's desk and there were labels on them: "Tinderblast" "Nimbus" "Shooting Star" "Silver Arrow" "Firebolt" "Comet"..and so on. In the glass cupboard at the other side of Madam Hooch's desk, lay trophies and medals that Madam Hooch had won during Quidditch matches. A model of a small bird with red eyes and small wings sat on a small table beside the cupboard and beside the bird; there was a model of the school Quidditch pitch.
"Here you are, my own Hogwarts yearbook. I made it myself." Madam Hooch said proudly as she handed a red leather-bound book with a golden Hogwarts coat of arms printed on it to Athena and dropped down on her chair.
Athena ran her fingers across the coat of arms and flipped open it. She saw the words "Hogwarts: A History" in bold letters and then "In Mandy Hooch's version" in smaller letters. Then she saw a picture of young Madam Hooch, another girl, Professor Sprouts and a familiar girl drinking in straws from a large glass of Butterbeer below the words.
"Hey, that's Mom!" Athena said excitedly, pointing at the picture.
"Yep, it's your mom all right. Wonder why we are not moving in this picture? That's because the person who took this photo used my Muggle camera. In fact, all the pictures in this yearbook are not magical."
"That's all right, I am used to Muggle unmoving pictures." Athena said and flipped the page. She saw a big picture of the Gryffindor lion and words beneath: "Gryffindor, the best house in Hogwarts."
Then a Slytherin Snake with the words: "Slytherin, the worst house in my opinion. And the Slytherins are all slimeballs."
Then a Ravenclaw eagle with the words: "Ravenclaw, the house with all the boring but smart students."
And finally the Hufflepuff badger with the words: "Hufflepuff, the house with the most loyal students."
She flipped the page and saw the word "Schoolmates" on top of the page. She saw a picture of young Professor Sprouts, her mother, Madam Hooch and the girl with their arms around each other's shoulders and the words: "Hogwarts Angels" on the bottom of the page.
"Hogwarts Angels?" Athena asked, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I didn't think up of that stupid name, Malfoy did." Madam Hooch protested.
"Malfoy?" Athena asked again.
"Aidoneus Malfoy, Narcissus' ancestor. That idiot knew that the four of us likes to be with each other so he thought up of that name for us for fun. And since then, everyone started to call us that." Madam Hooch said, putting her elbows on her desk and rested her chin on her hands. "But the four of us managed to get used to it. And your mom suggested that since Malfoy wanted to play, we would play along with him so we thought up of nicknames for ourselves. I am Quidditch Queen, your mom is Transfiguration Princess, Madam Pomfrey, the girl in the picture, is Gryffindor Angel and Professor Sprouts is Nature's Girl."
Athena flipped a page and saw a picture of her mother thinking deeply with a quill in her hand. She read the words below: "Minerva McGonagall, my best friend, a die-hard Quidditch fan and a very studious and boring star student. But she is quite interesting sometimes."
"That's odd." Athena said slowly.
"What?"
"I thought that when a woman is married to a man, she must takes after his surname." Athena said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, so?" Madam Hooch asked, examining her whistle.
"Then why is my surname is McGonagall?" Athena asked and showed the picture to Madam Hooch. "See, my mother's surname is McGonagall, why Mom let me to take her surname instead of Dad's?"
"Maybe she likes her own surname?" Madam Hooch suggested, trying to keep her voice as natural as possible. "Who knows?"
"Mandy, are you and my mother best friends?" Athena asked.
"Of course. I know everything about your mother, even things that Professor Sprouts and Madam Pomfrey don't know." Madam Hooch said proudly and grinned.
"So do you know what's my dad like?" Athena asked excitedly.
"No." Madam Hooch said quickly. "I...err..didn't attend your parents' wedding. So I don't even know what does he look like." She said without meeting Athena's eyes.
Athena narrowed her eyes a little and flipped through the pages. She stared in amazement at a picture of her mother, Madam Pomfrey, Madam Hooch in Quidditch robes. "I don't know Mom used to be a Quidditch player." She said slowly.
"She was, and a good Chaser in my opinion." Madam Hooch said proudly and sighed. "Those are the days. Playing Quidditch, studying for our exams all the way until 1am, chatting during breakfast..." She trailed off.
"Mandy? Do you know why Mom doesn't live in the wizarding world? Why is she living in Muggle London ever since I can remember?"
"I don't know." Madam Hooch lied. "Err...listen Athena, why don't you bring this book back to the common room and read it there? You can return it to me when you are finish with it." Madam Hooch suggested. "I still have a lot of things to do.."
"Sure." Athena said and pick up the book. "Bye Mandy."
"Bye Athena." Madam Hooch waved and when the door closed behind Athena, she sighed in relief. This secret was too difficult to keep. Athena was too curious about her father and sooner or later, either her, Poppy, Sprouts, Snape or Hagrid will spill the beans.
***
Madam Hooch's worries were confirmed when Athena walked pass Hagrid's hut. She stared at the hut. "Maybe Hagrid knows something about Dad." Athena said to herself and walked to the hut. She knocked on the wooden door.
"Who's it?" Hagrid asked from inside.
"It's me, Hagrid, Athena. Do you remember me?" Athena asked, hoping that Hagrid remembers her.
"Back, Fang." Hagrid ordered from inside and opened the door. "'Lo Athena. Come in."
Athena stepped into the hut as Hagrid said: " Make yerself at home. This is Fang, he's harmless." He indicated at the enormous black boarhound, who waved his tail happily when Athena scratched his ears. "So, what can I do fer yeh?"
"Hagrid...do you mind if I call you Hagrid?" Athena asked uncertainly.
"No." Hagrid said cheerfully.
"Hagrid, I remember you said that you know my father." Athena started.
Hagrid froze and said slowly, "Yeah..."
"The point is, you, Mandy, I mean, Madam Hooch and the Sorting Hat seems to know him very well. Madam Hooch seems to be keeping something from me about my father. I take my mother's surname instead of my father's. When the Sorting Hat talks about my father, Professor Snape cut it off. Something must be wrong. So do you know who exactly my father is?"
"Yes." Hagrid said. "But I am not saying anything." He added.
"What?! Why?" Athena exclaimed and caught hold of Hagrid's arm.
"I can't." Hagrid said helplessly and trying to concentrate on examining his crossbow. "Why do yeh wan' ter find out 'bout yer father fer?" He asked.
"Hagrid, please! I can't ask my mother, she will be too upset if I just mention about Dad, Madam Hooch probably lied to bail her way out. And I can't ask the Sorting Hat, it is in the Professor Sprouts' office and I don't even know the password!" Athena said desperately, shaking Hagrid's arm.
"I can't!" Hagrid said loudly, "Yeh will die if yeh know who's yer father is!"
Athena stopped shaking Hagrid's arm. "Die?" She whispered, her voice shaking.
"Uh oh. I shouldn' have told you that." Hagrid said slowly.
