Chapter 6 - A Feast of OWLs
By the end of the holidays, Harry felt more full of food than he ever had, and Mrs Weasley announced, ignoring Harry's groaning, that she was cooking an extra big feast on the second to last night of holidays. She also said that although Bill, Charlie, and Percy (she stammered Percy's name, looking like she was about to cry) were not present, she still expected the rest of them to leave absolutely no leftovers from her cooking, or she would take it as a personal insult.
Hermione was avidly staring out at the sky every day, waiting for her OWL results to be owl posted to her. Ron, on the other hand, could wait much longer without his results. He started hoping that maybe his had been swapped with Hermione's by accident.
Fred and George, of course, were not going back to Hogwarts, and their mother spent many hours reprimanding them for leaving, and asking them exactly what they thought they were going to do with their lives. They were happy enough, and rich enough, however, to tell her that their main goal in life was to turn the world into one large joke shop. Harry caught them putting an advertisment for their joke shop into everyone's bag the other day, along with a galleon to encourage them to spread the word about Fred and George's pranks.
April turned out to be a very good flier, and she spent a lot of time playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. At every opportunity, she asked to borrow Harry's firebolt, and she seemed absolutely taken with it's speed. She herself didn't have a broomstick, but said that she used to fly Maria's old broom over the mountainside. When Ron asked her what model Maria's broomstick was, April replied that she had no idea, it was so old that the model type had been scratched off, and half the twigs were ones that Maria herself had entwined into the broom for sweeping her hut.
On the second to last night of holidays, all the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and April were gathered around the large table outside under the stars, talking. Mr Weasley was talking to Harry about how cellular phones worked, and Fred and George were telling April about the numerous pranks they played on the ex-Professor Umbridge before they spectacularly left Hogwarts.
The dessert dishes came out, with puddings and cakes of all sorts. Harry felt too full to eat, but Mrs Weasley had hiim under a quelling glare, and he quickly took two helpings of pudding and a slice of cake.
"Ron," said Harry, suddenly thinking of something. "What's Lupin up to? The last time I heard from him he said he was on some secret mission for Dumbledore but he wanted me to keep sending Moody and Tonks owls so that they knew I was safe..."
"Oh yeah," Ron replied through a mouthful of pudding. "I was going to tell you about that, I forgot. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I heard Dad talking... He's doing something with... Percy."
"Percy?!" Harry thought hard. What would Lupin be doing with Percy for Dumbledore?
"Yeah," said Ron. "It sounded very hush hush... I only heard that it was something to do with the Order, that's about all... See, mum confiscated the Extendable Ears that Fred and George gave me, so I couldn't hear much... They gave me a new pair yesterday though."
Fred and George turned.
"Yeah," said Fred. "We give our brother free products... Harry, would you like to buy something? Our Extendable Ears are very well priced! Or you could try our latest product - Furious Filch."
Ginny turned around. "Is that the one you eat and the more you walk, the more muck and grime your shoes leave?"
Fred grinned. "We named it after our good friend Argus Filch. Such a special friend, he was."
Just then, two owls soared over head, each carrying several letters. Two letters dropped into Harry, Ron, and Hermione's laps, one from the Ministry with their OWL results, and one from Hogwarts, with the usual booklist of things he would need that year. Fred and George each recieved a letter in a black envelope from Hogwarts, and Ginny recieved a Hogwarts booklist too.
Abandoning the other letters, Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up with their OWL results.
"Shall we open them at the same time?" Ron said nervously, and Harry was surprised to see him shaking slightly.
"Yeah," said Harry. "One... Two... Three... Open!"
They all ripped open their envelopes. Instead of a letter, a small flat black stone in the shape of a wizards hat came out of the envelope. Inscribed upon the stone were three large letters - O.W.L. - and their results were set in the back of the stone.
Hermione squealed. "I got FOURTEEN OWL's!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"But Hermione," pointed out Fred. "The hightest amount of OWL credits you can recieve is 13."
"It says I got an extra OWL for showing knowledge of NEWT level!" she said joyfully.
Harry hadn't looked at his, he was waiting to see what Ron had gotten before looking at his own. Ron looked ghastly.
"I...," Ron started. "I got 11 OWL's!" He grinned proudy. "What'd you get Harry?"
Harry turned over his stone. Inscribed at the back was a long list of the credits he had been given, and at the bottom was a total.
"12 OWL's!" He said, feeling happier than ever. "I didn't get any OWL's for Divination... But that's not surprising is it?" He wondered how the hell he had gotten an OWL for History of Magic, after his episode in the exam? He looked carefully at the stone. He had gotten an extra OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts for his Patronus, he assumed, because inscribed was "Shows NEWT level knowledge for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I missed out on Divination and History of Magic, and I only got one OWL in Potions, instead of 2," said Ron, staring at his stone.
"Can I borrow one of your owls?" asked Hermione. "I want to tell my parents my results."
"Of course, dear," said Mrs Weasley. "I'm very proud of all of you."
Fred and George had opened the letters in black envelopes, and it was an official letter saying that they had left Hogwarts and had completed their OWLs but not their NEWTs. Harry now opened his booklist, and read through the list of things he would need.
"Same old books," muttered Harry. "Look, they've got three new Defense Against the Dark Arts books. Does this mean that we have a new teacher?"
"I wonder who it is," said Hermione thoughtfully, now looking down her list of essential items. "There's not too many new books though, thank goodness."
That night, Harry fell asleep as soon as his head touched his soft pillow. Even Hedwig hooting from eating too much couldn't keep him awake.
The next day, Mr Weasley made sure to have at least two people stick by Harry for protection at all times. Hermione and Ron were happy to do this, and they walked down Diagon Alley together, with April tagging along behind them, quiet in awe of Diagon Alley. Harry wished Mr Weasley would stop being so overprotective, but he knew it was for the best.
After buying their books, they showed April around Diagon Alley. Just around the corner from Flourish and Blotts, they bumped into their least favorite person - Draco Malfoy. He was carrying a brand new owl and a smirk played around his face as he saw Ron's tattered clothes.
"How long have those clothes been in the family, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. "Passed them down from father to son I suppose?"
Ron turned purple, and Hermione said "No, Ron, ignore him!"
Harry turned to face Malfoy. "Where's your dad, Malfoy? Out partying with the Death Eaters?"
"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy snarled, and looked around, and for the first time, noticed April.
"Who are you?" Malfoy asked, and his voice seemed to soften a bit.
"April Dumbledore... I'm the Headmaster's daughter," said April smoothly. Malfoy held out his hand to shake hers, but she looked at it and said bluntly, "You're not very nice, are you?"
"Excuse me, but what are you going to do - Run off and tell your Daddy on me?" Malfoy retorted, a hint of danger in his voice.
"Excuse me, but judging by that new owl and your posh clothes I'd say you were a bit more of a 'lets go tell Daddy' person than me," April shot back.
Malfoy ignored her, and turned to Harry. "I believe you have heard about our aquiring a new house? My mother inherited the Ancient House of Black. It is now the new Black Experience - We've turned it into a glass case filled with artifacts from the Black family history. No more Mudbloods allowed in that house." Malfoy sneered at Hermione, who glared back.
"Yeah, I heard," said Harry casually. He didn't particularly care, after all, Sirius had hated that house, he probably would have loved to get rid of it. Malfoy narrowed his eyes and directed his attention back to April.
"I haven't seen you around Hogwarts," Malfoy said. "My name's Draco, by the way. I'm in Slytherin House at Hogwarts."
April replied, "I'm just starting at Hogwarts this year, so I have no idea what house I'll be in. My dad was in Gryffindor though..." She looked at Malfoy. Just that moment, Malfoy's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle came up the street, and Malfoy took a last look at April, and left with Crabbe and Goyle beside him like bodyguards.
Ron was looking at April thoughtfully too. "He fancies you," he grinned. "You're going to have a tough year if Malfoy chases you around."
"He seemed quite insulting," said April, although she was blushing slightly at the thought of someone fancying her.
"Perhaps...," began Ron, looking hopeful. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."
Harry laughed. "How do you know Malfoy likes her?" he questioned.
"It's obvious," said Hermione briskly. "He didn't shoot an insult at her."
"Maybe he just wanted to get on Dumbledore's good side through her," said Harry. It seemed ridiculous that Malfoy would like a down to earth, caring girl like April.
"Why don't we go find your parents Ron?" said April, who was flaming at the cheeks, her face identical color to Ron's hair.
By the end of the holidays, Harry felt more full of food than he ever had, and Mrs Weasley announced, ignoring Harry's groaning, that she was cooking an extra big feast on the second to last night of holidays. She also said that although Bill, Charlie, and Percy (she stammered Percy's name, looking like she was about to cry) were not present, she still expected the rest of them to leave absolutely no leftovers from her cooking, or she would take it as a personal insult.
Hermione was avidly staring out at the sky every day, waiting for her OWL results to be owl posted to her. Ron, on the other hand, could wait much longer without his results. He started hoping that maybe his had been swapped with Hermione's by accident.
Fred and George, of course, were not going back to Hogwarts, and their mother spent many hours reprimanding them for leaving, and asking them exactly what they thought they were going to do with their lives. They were happy enough, and rich enough, however, to tell her that their main goal in life was to turn the world into one large joke shop. Harry caught them putting an advertisment for their joke shop into everyone's bag the other day, along with a galleon to encourage them to spread the word about Fred and George's pranks.
April turned out to be a very good flier, and she spent a lot of time playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. At every opportunity, she asked to borrow Harry's firebolt, and she seemed absolutely taken with it's speed. She herself didn't have a broomstick, but said that she used to fly Maria's old broom over the mountainside. When Ron asked her what model Maria's broomstick was, April replied that she had no idea, it was so old that the model type had been scratched off, and half the twigs were ones that Maria herself had entwined into the broom for sweeping her hut.
On the second to last night of holidays, all the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and April were gathered around the large table outside under the stars, talking. Mr Weasley was talking to Harry about how cellular phones worked, and Fred and George were telling April about the numerous pranks they played on the ex-Professor Umbridge before they spectacularly left Hogwarts.
The dessert dishes came out, with puddings and cakes of all sorts. Harry felt too full to eat, but Mrs Weasley had hiim under a quelling glare, and he quickly took two helpings of pudding and a slice of cake.
"Ron," said Harry, suddenly thinking of something. "What's Lupin up to? The last time I heard from him he said he was on some secret mission for Dumbledore but he wanted me to keep sending Moody and Tonks owls so that they knew I was safe..."
"Oh yeah," Ron replied through a mouthful of pudding. "I was going to tell you about that, I forgot. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I heard Dad talking... He's doing something with... Percy."
"Percy?!" Harry thought hard. What would Lupin be doing with Percy for Dumbledore?
"Yeah," said Ron. "It sounded very hush hush... I only heard that it was something to do with the Order, that's about all... See, mum confiscated the Extendable Ears that Fred and George gave me, so I couldn't hear much... They gave me a new pair yesterday though."
Fred and George turned.
"Yeah," said Fred. "We give our brother free products... Harry, would you like to buy something? Our Extendable Ears are very well priced! Or you could try our latest product - Furious Filch."
Ginny turned around. "Is that the one you eat and the more you walk, the more muck and grime your shoes leave?"
Fred grinned. "We named it after our good friend Argus Filch. Such a special friend, he was."
Just then, two owls soared over head, each carrying several letters. Two letters dropped into Harry, Ron, and Hermione's laps, one from the Ministry with their OWL results, and one from Hogwarts, with the usual booklist of things he would need that year. Fred and George each recieved a letter in a black envelope from Hogwarts, and Ginny recieved a Hogwarts booklist too.
Abandoning the other letters, Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up with their OWL results.
"Shall we open them at the same time?" Ron said nervously, and Harry was surprised to see him shaking slightly.
"Yeah," said Harry. "One... Two... Three... Open!"
They all ripped open their envelopes. Instead of a letter, a small flat black stone in the shape of a wizards hat came out of the envelope. Inscribed upon the stone were three large letters - O.W.L. - and their results were set in the back of the stone.
Hermione squealed. "I got FOURTEEN OWL's!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"But Hermione," pointed out Fred. "The hightest amount of OWL credits you can recieve is 13."
"It says I got an extra OWL for showing knowledge of NEWT level!" she said joyfully.
Harry hadn't looked at his, he was waiting to see what Ron had gotten before looking at his own. Ron looked ghastly.
"I...," Ron started. "I got 11 OWL's!" He grinned proudy. "What'd you get Harry?"
Harry turned over his stone. Inscribed at the back was a long list of the credits he had been given, and at the bottom was a total.
"12 OWL's!" He said, feeling happier than ever. "I didn't get any OWL's for Divination... But that's not surprising is it?" He wondered how the hell he had gotten an OWL for History of Magic, after his episode in the exam? He looked carefully at the stone. He had gotten an extra OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts for his Patronus, he assumed, because inscribed was "Shows NEWT level knowledge for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I missed out on Divination and History of Magic, and I only got one OWL in Potions, instead of 2," said Ron, staring at his stone.
"Can I borrow one of your owls?" asked Hermione. "I want to tell my parents my results."
"Of course, dear," said Mrs Weasley. "I'm very proud of all of you."
Fred and George had opened the letters in black envelopes, and it was an official letter saying that they had left Hogwarts and had completed their OWLs but not their NEWTs. Harry now opened his booklist, and read through the list of things he would need.
"Same old books," muttered Harry. "Look, they've got three new Defense Against the Dark Arts books. Does this mean that we have a new teacher?"
"I wonder who it is," said Hermione thoughtfully, now looking down her list of essential items. "There's not too many new books though, thank goodness."
That night, Harry fell asleep as soon as his head touched his soft pillow. Even Hedwig hooting from eating too much couldn't keep him awake.
The next day, Mr Weasley made sure to have at least two people stick by Harry for protection at all times. Hermione and Ron were happy to do this, and they walked down Diagon Alley together, with April tagging along behind them, quiet in awe of Diagon Alley. Harry wished Mr Weasley would stop being so overprotective, but he knew it was for the best.
After buying their books, they showed April around Diagon Alley. Just around the corner from Flourish and Blotts, they bumped into their least favorite person - Draco Malfoy. He was carrying a brand new owl and a smirk played around his face as he saw Ron's tattered clothes.
"How long have those clothes been in the family, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. "Passed them down from father to son I suppose?"
Ron turned purple, and Hermione said "No, Ron, ignore him!"
Harry turned to face Malfoy. "Where's your dad, Malfoy? Out partying with the Death Eaters?"
"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy snarled, and looked around, and for the first time, noticed April.
"Who are you?" Malfoy asked, and his voice seemed to soften a bit.
"April Dumbledore... I'm the Headmaster's daughter," said April smoothly. Malfoy held out his hand to shake hers, but she looked at it and said bluntly, "You're not very nice, are you?"
"Excuse me, but what are you going to do - Run off and tell your Daddy on me?" Malfoy retorted, a hint of danger in his voice.
"Excuse me, but judging by that new owl and your posh clothes I'd say you were a bit more of a 'lets go tell Daddy' person than me," April shot back.
Malfoy ignored her, and turned to Harry. "I believe you have heard about our aquiring a new house? My mother inherited the Ancient House of Black. It is now the new Black Experience - We've turned it into a glass case filled with artifacts from the Black family history. No more Mudbloods allowed in that house." Malfoy sneered at Hermione, who glared back.
"Yeah, I heard," said Harry casually. He didn't particularly care, after all, Sirius had hated that house, he probably would have loved to get rid of it. Malfoy narrowed his eyes and directed his attention back to April.
"I haven't seen you around Hogwarts," Malfoy said. "My name's Draco, by the way. I'm in Slytherin House at Hogwarts."
April replied, "I'm just starting at Hogwarts this year, so I have no idea what house I'll be in. My dad was in Gryffindor though..." She looked at Malfoy. Just that moment, Malfoy's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle came up the street, and Malfoy took a last look at April, and left with Crabbe and Goyle beside him like bodyguards.
Ron was looking at April thoughtfully too. "He fancies you," he grinned. "You're going to have a tough year if Malfoy chases you around."
"He seemed quite insulting," said April, although she was blushing slightly at the thought of someone fancying her.
"Perhaps...," began Ron, looking hopeful. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."
Harry laughed. "How do you know Malfoy likes her?" he questioned.
"It's obvious," said Hermione briskly. "He didn't shoot an insult at her."
"Maybe he just wanted to get on Dumbledore's good side through her," said Harry. It seemed ridiculous that Malfoy would like a down to earth, caring girl like April.
"Why don't we go find your parents Ron?" said April, who was flaming at the cheeks, her face identical color to Ron's hair.