"I thought Sirius Black would have asked his date by now," Winnie grumbles
to Lily and me after Wednedsay's Charms lesson. "It's been five whole days
since James Potter asked his date."
"What a tragedy. You know, they haven't even started to put up the Christmas decorations," I say. Lily gives me the evil eye. Now that she likes Potter, it seems that she has to like his imbecile friend too.
"Erm- Winnie dear?" Lily says delicately, "If you're so keen on going with Sirius black, why don't you ask him yourself?"
"I couldn't do that!" Winnie exclaims, "What if he turns me down?"
"Then you never speak to him again as I jump for joy," I mutter under my breath.
"Lily?" Winnie asks. "Do you think you could ask James if Sirius likes me?"
"I'll try," Lily says. Traitor.
* * *
I sigh as I stretch myself out on the big chair in front of the Gryffindor common room fire, reading my book, waiting for it to be time to go to Astronomy. I don't know where Lily went off to. Somewhere with Potter, I'd imagine. They've become quite the item lately. Potter's carried her books all week, which annoyed me to the extent that I asked him to carry my books too. He said they were too heavy, and then Black offered to carry them. I didn't let him carry my books. In less than an hour, I finish my book. If it weren't for the gushy parts, it would have been more than a decent book. The love potion part was way overdone.
I check the due date. Tomorrow. Madam Pince must have taken her revenge on me by not letting me get the full two weeks.
I go to drop the book off, as there is nothing better to do, since Lily's out. I manage to do so and avoid Madam Pince's evil eyes, but as I am about to crawl behind a tapestry to go down to the seventh floor, Veronica Engerton stands in my way.
"Where's my boyfriend?" she demands.
"He's not your boyfriend, nor is he-"
"Remember this?" Veronica pulls my Renée out of her pocket.
"Give it here!" I screech as I reach into my robes for my want.
"Not whole," She snaps Renée in half, right in the privates.
"Why you little.." I have the urge to tear Veronica to shreds then and there, but fighting's against school rules. "You're going to pay for that, Engerton," I say simply. A very familiar tabby cat passes my by. McGonagall! "But not right now."
I slip behind the tapestry, then run back to the portrait hole. "Bitter Pies!" I pant.
"Rosalind!" Lily exclaims, "where were you?"
"I went to return a library book," I explain, "where were YOU?"
"Flitwick wanted to show me some new materials he ordered for our class. He's got some great ideas planned for next term. We might be doing memory charms, or maybe even the Confundus Charms, the really advanced ones the Ministry uses," Lily gushes. She's really thrilled that Flitwick took her aside considering how much she adores the subject.
"That's swell!" I say, "I'd figured you were with Potter."
"James?" Lily laughes, "I haven't seen him at all this afternoon."
"No clue where he might be?"
"None," Lily says, "Flitwick says that we're going to get to protection charms too! He says our year is one of the most talented he's ever seen. We might even reach the Fidelius charm, though I'm not exactly sure what that would do!"
* * *
Neither Potter nor Black show up for astronomy, so I don't get a chance to talk with him about Veronica at all. In fact, I don't see him again until Thursday morning's double potions.
"Should I talk to him now?" I ask Lily.
"He looks a bit occupied." Lily says. True enough. Potter and his friends have unpacked their frog brains and are busy running around the dungeons chasing each other, trying to slip the frog brains down each other's robes. It has to be one of the most immature things they've done in a while.
"Why isn't the professor here? This shouldn't be happening!" I hiss.
"If you try to stop them, then YOU'LL be the one running around the dungeons like a shmuck," Lily warns.
"What do you SEE in him anyway?" I ask.
"Well. he's sensitive, mature, and intelligent," Lily says fondly. Mr. "Sensitive, Mature and Intelligent" tackles his Slytherin pal, Pettigrew, and smears frog brains all over his face and in his hair, while laughing hysterically.
The dungeon door handle jiggles. "Effacitus!" Potter whispers, and the frog brains dissapear entirely. He and Pettigrew rush to their seats, and all four troublemakers fold their hands on top of their desks.
A tall witch with long black hair and a menacing look on her face enters. She looks frightening in all white robes, as her expression is far from angelic.
"Where's Professor McShane?" I call out.
"Professor - McShane did you say - is no longer teaching at this school," the witch explains curtly. She seems rather unpleasant.
"That can't be true! They can't just sack him!" I exclaim. Professor McShane- SACKED? That can't possibly be! I bet it was because of Black and Potter and the Veritaserum? I can't believe this! One incident and my favorite teacher is gone. for good!
"It is true, girl. My name is Professor Pugsley, and I will be teaching Potions from now on. I've heard that this group is quite a handful. and I can see why. Girl!" Professor Pugsley looks straight at me. "What's your name?"
"Rosalind Perry," I say, not meeting her eye.
"Well, Rosalind Perry, you've just lost your house ten points for speaking without being recognized."
I can't believe this. In all my years at this school, I've never lost a single point for Gryffindor, ever, and now I have. All because of Potter and Black trying to protect themselves.
The lesson doesn't go much better for me at all. I spend half the class fighting back tears as I try to make a mandrake restorative draught. I not only manage to cut my finger and the mandrakes improperly (Professor Pighead Pugsley took off a further ten points as she had bought the mandrakes pre-silenced at a steep price because most mandrakes are home grown for about a year and it's a messy pain as they're killers), but for the first time in my life, melt a cauldron which only idiots like Pettigrew usually do. Not just any cauldron, my family's heirloom silver cauldron, with designs carved around the outside. My mum only trusted me with it at the beginning of the term, because I swore it would be in good hands and now it's ruined, completely ruined.
"Look at this mess!" Professor Pugsley yells. "Ah, Perry, I should have known. That's twenty you've lost for Gryffindor, and you've got yourself a detention."
Today has to be the very first time I've ever looked forward to leaving potions. Now I know why other students have said doubling up the class is painful, as opposed to eliminating the set-up and take down time.
"Look on the bright side, Rosalind," Lily says after I emerge from Hell to discover that I shall be cleaning bedpans with my toothbrush on Tuesday night. "At least Dumbledore restored Professor McShane's five hundred points!"
"And gave them another FIFTY for getting him sacked!" I fume. "Doesn't Pugsley realize that people who are ILL use those bedpans when they are ILL? I don't mean vomit either. This is my toothbrush we're talking here!"
"We'll get you a new one, okay?" Lily says soothingly.
"It's stupid Black and Potter's fault that this witch is charge!" I gripe. "She hates me! Those two, they've taken everything from me! First Renée, then you, and now my potions!"
"Look, Rosalind- if you're that upset, why don't you talk to James about this. He'd at least do something!" Lily says impatiently.
"What's he going to do? Bring him back? He can't do that! His daddy died, so he's can't run the school. Ow!" My foot sinks knee deep into the trick step.
"I know he can't bring Professor McShane back. But if he can't at least help you with Veronica, or anything, he'd apologize to you at the very least," Lily says matter-of-factly as she puts down her bag and helps me out.
"Why would he do a thing like that? Oh, all right," I grumble "I'll only talk to him because you want me to, all right?"
"That's good enough for me. I'm Lily, not Juliet Capulette. I don't need a mess between the people I care about."
"Lily, who's Juliet Capulette?" I ask as we reach the Entrance Hall.
"Well, she's a character in this really famous muggle play called, Romeo and Juliet. It's about these two people, Romeo and Juliet, whose familes hate each other, so they were too thick to admit they got hitched, even though you can tell from the story the parents wouldn't have been angry. Instead, they attempt to run off with each other, and then they wind up dead," Lily explains.
I stop short. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Not really, but now that you mention it, be civil with James. For me?" Lily asks.
"Just for you, Lily," I say as we enter the noisy hall. "Wonder what's for lunch?" "Smells like turkey curry- I can't really tell, " Lily says sniffing. Her nose is all stuffed up, she should go see Madam Pomfrey. "Hey, look, Potter's already here. You can talk to him NOW."
Lily pushes me in the back all the way up to Potter and his friends, who are busy shoveling in their lunch like the immature idiots they are. "Oy, Potter, we need to talk," I say.
Potter looks up at me, and then gives Black a very sharp elbow in the ribs.
"Rosalind, will you go to the Noël Night with me?"
The entire hall goes silent at Black's words.
"What a tragedy. You know, they haven't even started to put up the Christmas decorations," I say. Lily gives me the evil eye. Now that she likes Potter, it seems that she has to like his imbecile friend too.
"Erm- Winnie dear?" Lily says delicately, "If you're so keen on going with Sirius black, why don't you ask him yourself?"
"I couldn't do that!" Winnie exclaims, "What if he turns me down?"
"Then you never speak to him again as I jump for joy," I mutter under my breath.
"Lily?" Winnie asks. "Do you think you could ask James if Sirius likes me?"
"I'll try," Lily says. Traitor.
* * *
I sigh as I stretch myself out on the big chair in front of the Gryffindor common room fire, reading my book, waiting for it to be time to go to Astronomy. I don't know where Lily went off to. Somewhere with Potter, I'd imagine. They've become quite the item lately. Potter's carried her books all week, which annoyed me to the extent that I asked him to carry my books too. He said they were too heavy, and then Black offered to carry them. I didn't let him carry my books. In less than an hour, I finish my book. If it weren't for the gushy parts, it would have been more than a decent book. The love potion part was way overdone.
I check the due date. Tomorrow. Madam Pince must have taken her revenge on me by not letting me get the full two weeks.
I go to drop the book off, as there is nothing better to do, since Lily's out. I manage to do so and avoid Madam Pince's evil eyes, but as I am about to crawl behind a tapestry to go down to the seventh floor, Veronica Engerton stands in my way.
"Where's my boyfriend?" she demands.
"He's not your boyfriend, nor is he-"
"Remember this?" Veronica pulls my Renée out of her pocket.
"Give it here!" I screech as I reach into my robes for my want.
"Not whole," She snaps Renée in half, right in the privates.
"Why you little.." I have the urge to tear Veronica to shreds then and there, but fighting's against school rules. "You're going to pay for that, Engerton," I say simply. A very familiar tabby cat passes my by. McGonagall! "But not right now."
I slip behind the tapestry, then run back to the portrait hole. "Bitter Pies!" I pant.
"Rosalind!" Lily exclaims, "where were you?"
"I went to return a library book," I explain, "where were YOU?"
"Flitwick wanted to show me some new materials he ordered for our class. He's got some great ideas planned for next term. We might be doing memory charms, or maybe even the Confundus Charms, the really advanced ones the Ministry uses," Lily gushes. She's really thrilled that Flitwick took her aside considering how much she adores the subject.
"That's swell!" I say, "I'd figured you were with Potter."
"James?" Lily laughes, "I haven't seen him at all this afternoon."
"No clue where he might be?"
"None," Lily says, "Flitwick says that we're going to get to protection charms too! He says our year is one of the most talented he's ever seen. We might even reach the Fidelius charm, though I'm not exactly sure what that would do!"
* * *
Neither Potter nor Black show up for astronomy, so I don't get a chance to talk with him about Veronica at all. In fact, I don't see him again until Thursday morning's double potions.
"Should I talk to him now?" I ask Lily.
"He looks a bit occupied." Lily says. True enough. Potter and his friends have unpacked their frog brains and are busy running around the dungeons chasing each other, trying to slip the frog brains down each other's robes. It has to be one of the most immature things they've done in a while.
"Why isn't the professor here? This shouldn't be happening!" I hiss.
"If you try to stop them, then YOU'LL be the one running around the dungeons like a shmuck," Lily warns.
"What do you SEE in him anyway?" I ask.
"Well. he's sensitive, mature, and intelligent," Lily says fondly. Mr. "Sensitive, Mature and Intelligent" tackles his Slytherin pal, Pettigrew, and smears frog brains all over his face and in his hair, while laughing hysterically.
The dungeon door handle jiggles. "Effacitus!" Potter whispers, and the frog brains dissapear entirely. He and Pettigrew rush to their seats, and all four troublemakers fold their hands on top of their desks.
A tall witch with long black hair and a menacing look on her face enters. She looks frightening in all white robes, as her expression is far from angelic.
"Where's Professor McShane?" I call out.
"Professor - McShane did you say - is no longer teaching at this school," the witch explains curtly. She seems rather unpleasant.
"That can't be true! They can't just sack him!" I exclaim. Professor McShane- SACKED? That can't possibly be! I bet it was because of Black and Potter and the Veritaserum? I can't believe this! One incident and my favorite teacher is gone. for good!
"It is true, girl. My name is Professor Pugsley, and I will be teaching Potions from now on. I've heard that this group is quite a handful. and I can see why. Girl!" Professor Pugsley looks straight at me. "What's your name?"
"Rosalind Perry," I say, not meeting her eye.
"Well, Rosalind Perry, you've just lost your house ten points for speaking without being recognized."
I can't believe this. In all my years at this school, I've never lost a single point for Gryffindor, ever, and now I have. All because of Potter and Black trying to protect themselves.
The lesson doesn't go much better for me at all. I spend half the class fighting back tears as I try to make a mandrake restorative draught. I not only manage to cut my finger and the mandrakes improperly (Professor Pighead Pugsley took off a further ten points as she had bought the mandrakes pre-silenced at a steep price because most mandrakes are home grown for about a year and it's a messy pain as they're killers), but for the first time in my life, melt a cauldron which only idiots like Pettigrew usually do. Not just any cauldron, my family's heirloom silver cauldron, with designs carved around the outside. My mum only trusted me with it at the beginning of the term, because I swore it would be in good hands and now it's ruined, completely ruined.
"Look at this mess!" Professor Pugsley yells. "Ah, Perry, I should have known. That's twenty you've lost for Gryffindor, and you've got yourself a detention."
Today has to be the very first time I've ever looked forward to leaving potions. Now I know why other students have said doubling up the class is painful, as opposed to eliminating the set-up and take down time.
"Look on the bright side, Rosalind," Lily says after I emerge from Hell to discover that I shall be cleaning bedpans with my toothbrush on Tuesday night. "At least Dumbledore restored Professor McShane's five hundred points!"
"And gave them another FIFTY for getting him sacked!" I fume. "Doesn't Pugsley realize that people who are ILL use those bedpans when they are ILL? I don't mean vomit either. This is my toothbrush we're talking here!"
"We'll get you a new one, okay?" Lily says soothingly.
"It's stupid Black and Potter's fault that this witch is charge!" I gripe. "She hates me! Those two, they've taken everything from me! First Renée, then you, and now my potions!"
"Look, Rosalind- if you're that upset, why don't you talk to James about this. He'd at least do something!" Lily says impatiently.
"What's he going to do? Bring him back? He can't do that! His daddy died, so he's can't run the school. Ow!" My foot sinks knee deep into the trick step.
"I know he can't bring Professor McShane back. But if he can't at least help you with Veronica, or anything, he'd apologize to you at the very least," Lily says matter-of-factly as she puts down her bag and helps me out.
"Why would he do a thing like that? Oh, all right," I grumble "I'll only talk to him because you want me to, all right?"
"That's good enough for me. I'm Lily, not Juliet Capulette. I don't need a mess between the people I care about."
"Lily, who's Juliet Capulette?" I ask as we reach the Entrance Hall.
"Well, she's a character in this really famous muggle play called, Romeo and Juliet. It's about these two people, Romeo and Juliet, whose familes hate each other, so they were too thick to admit they got hitched, even though you can tell from the story the parents wouldn't have been angry. Instead, they attempt to run off with each other, and then they wind up dead," Lily explains.
I stop short. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Not really, but now that you mention it, be civil with James. For me?" Lily asks.
"Just for you, Lily," I say as we enter the noisy hall. "Wonder what's for lunch?" "Smells like turkey curry- I can't really tell, " Lily says sniffing. Her nose is all stuffed up, she should go see Madam Pomfrey. "Hey, look, Potter's already here. You can talk to him NOW."
Lily pushes me in the back all the way up to Potter and his friends, who are busy shoveling in their lunch like the immature idiots they are. "Oy, Potter, we need to talk," I say.
Potter looks up at me, and then gives Black a very sharp elbow in the ribs.
"Rosalind, will you go to the Noël Night with me?"
The entire hall goes silent at Black's words.
