Chapter Three: Betsey Lou
Back at the castle, Filch was removing his dirty caretaker clothes and he looked in the mirror.
"Good God man! How do you expect to meet nice witches with a face like that?" he chuckled to himself and cracked a smile.
"That's better!" He got into his warm tub filled with warm water and bubbles and he closed his eyes. He heard Mrs. Norris tiptoe up to the tub.
"What is it love?" he asked her. She meowed and licked his fingers that were dangling off the side of the tub.
"Your hungry? In a minute. Can't a man clean himself in peace?" he asked and scratched her behind her ear. She purred affectionately. Filch grabbed a rubber duck that was sitting on the side of the tub and squeezed it. It squeaked a little sound.
"Hullo Mr. Squeaky," Filch said to the Muggle inanimate object. He squeezed it again for a reply.
"Havin' a nice day are ya? That's good." Squeakum came another reply.
"What's that you say? I'm a good lookin' son of a bitch? You really think so?" A happy squeak came from Mr. Squeaky.
"Thanks Squeaky, you're a real pal!" The next moment half of the water was displaced and Filch leapt out of the tub startled. A young girl with dirty blonde pigtails wearing overalls had landed in his bathtub. Her eyes glistened and then widened when she saw Filch's.um.package. She caught her breath as Filch hastily covered himself. She smiled.
"Sorry, I thought I said Hogwarts' Bathroom but I must've said Bathtub. Um, are you Mr. Dumbledore? And can I use your toilet, I gotta take a leak?" she asked. Horrified, Argus bellowed,
"Git the Hell out!" The girl ran quickly dripping water as she went. She received many strange looks from teachers and even one from Snape. She found Dumbledore after finding Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He greeted her warmly with a dry Hogwarts cloak. She put them on and sat in his office to talk. Dumbledore chuckled merrily.
"I see you've met our caretaker, Mr. Filch." She shuffled her feet, blushed, and smiled sheepishly.
"I guess I recited things wrong. Must be an American thing, you know we don't pranounce things right!" Dumbledore nodded.
"Too true." He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! I had totally forgot about your record and letter of recommendation. You were to accompany Miss Johnson. Betsey Lou, isn't it? It seems I knocked it off my desk somehow, it happens." He shrugged.
"Oh well, no problem. We are glad to have you and you will be in Gryffindor house with your friend Savannah, she will be your room mate."
"Hot damn!" Betsey Lou replied before quickly covering her mouth," Sorry!" Dumbledore smiled and bid her farewell.
Hagrid was bustling around happily with Madame Maxime. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys had found them and they had lunch at the WanderSpells Café. Fred and George were playing a game of pocket wizard's chess. Fred was winning and Savannah laughed as a pile of broken chess pieces were piling up by George.
"Checkmate!" said Fred. Savannah held up his hand.
"I announce the winner of the InterDiagon Alley Pocket Wizard's Chess Champion Fred Weasley." Fred blushed while George folded his arms and pouted. Savannah spotted Betsey Lou and she ran to meet her arms outstretched.
"Betsey Lou!" she practically screamed while embracing her friend.
"I done missed yew!" Betsey Lou said. Savannah introduced Betsey Lou to the Weasleys and they met up with Angelina who was with her new vomit-inducing boyfriend and Slytherin quidditch captain Marcus Flint. Fred and George halted in their footsteps when they saw them holding hands. Angelina let go of his hand and gave her cousin a hug.
"Good to see you again cousin!" she exclaimed.
"Same here," Savy began and then noticed Flint's ominous, not-so- attractive-looking face. She paused, smiled weakly and continued.
"Quidditch cap'n right?"
"Yeah," Flint replied quickly.
"Oh Savy, this is Marcus Flint. He's a really good Quidditch player too." Savy interrupted,
"Whoa chil'! Wasn't he that boy that done knocked Wood off his broom? But isn't Wood your former Quidditch cap'n?" Savy shrugged trying to fathom their union.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too!" Fred and George said in unison. Marcus began to blush slightly and Angelina smiled.
"Well we decided to put our differences aside and we realized we were in love!" Angelina said awestruck. Savy rolled her eyes and sighed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided had left the kids before Betsey Lou, Angelina, and Marcus. After that interesting conversation between Savy and her cousin, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left to find Hagrid. On their way they bumped into Neville Longbottom who was leading his grandmother to Flourish and Blotts to get his new schoolbooks. They also found Seamus Finnigan who was with his Muggle father and his witch mother; they were taking him to Olivander's to get a new wand after his backfired and gave him elephant ears. Ron grew jealous after looking at his pathetic wand, which was held together by a piece of Spell-O tape. He frowned.
"I wish I wasn't poor then I could get a new want too!" he whined. Hermione kissed Ron on the cheek.
"Cheer up Ron. I'll look after you." Ron looked at Hermione and smiled. But his spirit broke when Draco Malfoy appeared on the scene. He eyed Ron and Hermione.
"Oh isn't that sweet! A Mudblood and a wizard." Harry clinched his fist and held Ginny's with the other.
"Hey Potter, I guess you can afford a pureblood girlfriend unlike Weasley who can get the next best thing for free!" Ron held up his fists, his freckled face was red with anger.
"Alright Malfoy! I'm gonna knock that little smirk off ya rotten face!" Ron swung and Malfoy ducked. Savannah, who was nearby, saw this and stood in the middle of them.
"Yo Ron, sit down and chill boy!"
"Yes ma'am!" he replied. She looked at Malfoy and questioned.
"Who the Hell is this kid?" Harry opened his mouth but Malfoy spoke.
"I'm Draco Malfoy." Before he could get another word out, Savy had grabbed him by the collar and was lifting him off the ground. Many looked in shock. Savy narrowed her eyes and looked into his.
"I'm Savannah Johnson, Mr. Malfoy. And if you mess with my friends, I'm going to mess with you!"
"You go girlfriend!" Betsey Lou cheered from the sidelines.
"Savannah Banana! Eh? Wait till my father-"he started, she pulled him closer. He blushed slightly.
"Didn't your Mama teach you to treat others as you want to be treated son? Hell, I'm pureblood too and I sure as heck know if you were my chil', I'd get a switch and beat yer tail! Now git!" She dropped him to the ground; he stumbled to his feet and ran away into the crowd.
"Bastard!" Savy said to herself. Harry spoke up.
"Actually he has a father unlike me." Harry looked sadly at his feet. Savannah pulled him into a hug.
"Sorry hon, I didn't mean any harm but that kid done looked right evil if ya ask me."
"He is." Ginny said softly. Savy leaned closer to them.
"Hey-uh I'd appreciate it if y'all don't repeat what I said 'cause I don't want to git in trouble with y'all's principal."
"Schoolmaster." Fred corrected her.
"Schoolmaster is cool and I'm on good terms with him right now."
"Okay," they all replied. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gathered the kids and invited Savy and Betsey Lou to dinner.
At Hogwarts, Filch was changing Mrs. Norris's litter box when there was a knock on his door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"For Heaven's sake Argus! Open the damn door!" Filch shrugged and opened the door. Snape rushed in. He took Filch by the shoulders and shook him as he talked.
"I am deeply troubled Argus!" Snape stopped shaking him when he was done talking.
"Well, what's the problem man?"
"That girl!" Filch raised an eyebrow and shifted his eyes.
"What girl?" he questioned hoping it wasn't the one that crash-landed into his bathtub.
"The new girl. Savannah Johnson. I feel she's poisoned me!"
"Poisoned?"
"She's cursed me!"
"Cursed?" asked Filch sipping his coffee.
"I fell--," he paused; his chest heaving," I fell in love with her!" Filch choked and spit out his coffee.
"Good God man! She's a child compared to you! What'd ya plan on, rockin' the cradle?" Filch exclaimed. Snape frowned and plopped in the vacant chair. Filch leaned closer and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's jus' a crush. You'll get over it. Ya always do." Snape arose to his feet and walked away.
"Bye Severus. Don't let it hang over you head lad." Filch chuckled.
"I always do," Snape whispered to himself," That's why I lost her."
Back at the castle, Filch was removing his dirty caretaker clothes and he looked in the mirror.
"Good God man! How do you expect to meet nice witches with a face like that?" he chuckled to himself and cracked a smile.
"That's better!" He got into his warm tub filled with warm water and bubbles and he closed his eyes. He heard Mrs. Norris tiptoe up to the tub.
"What is it love?" he asked her. She meowed and licked his fingers that were dangling off the side of the tub.
"Your hungry? In a minute. Can't a man clean himself in peace?" he asked and scratched her behind her ear. She purred affectionately. Filch grabbed a rubber duck that was sitting on the side of the tub and squeezed it. It squeaked a little sound.
"Hullo Mr. Squeaky," Filch said to the Muggle inanimate object. He squeezed it again for a reply.
"Havin' a nice day are ya? That's good." Squeakum came another reply.
"What's that you say? I'm a good lookin' son of a bitch? You really think so?" A happy squeak came from Mr. Squeaky.
"Thanks Squeaky, you're a real pal!" The next moment half of the water was displaced and Filch leapt out of the tub startled. A young girl with dirty blonde pigtails wearing overalls had landed in his bathtub. Her eyes glistened and then widened when she saw Filch's.um.package. She caught her breath as Filch hastily covered himself. She smiled.
"Sorry, I thought I said Hogwarts' Bathroom but I must've said Bathtub. Um, are you Mr. Dumbledore? And can I use your toilet, I gotta take a leak?" she asked. Horrified, Argus bellowed,
"Git the Hell out!" The girl ran quickly dripping water as she went. She received many strange looks from teachers and even one from Snape. She found Dumbledore after finding Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He greeted her warmly with a dry Hogwarts cloak. She put them on and sat in his office to talk. Dumbledore chuckled merrily.
"I see you've met our caretaker, Mr. Filch." She shuffled her feet, blushed, and smiled sheepishly.
"I guess I recited things wrong. Must be an American thing, you know we don't pranounce things right!" Dumbledore nodded.
"Too true." He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! I had totally forgot about your record and letter of recommendation. You were to accompany Miss Johnson. Betsey Lou, isn't it? It seems I knocked it off my desk somehow, it happens." He shrugged.
"Oh well, no problem. We are glad to have you and you will be in Gryffindor house with your friend Savannah, she will be your room mate."
"Hot damn!" Betsey Lou replied before quickly covering her mouth," Sorry!" Dumbledore smiled and bid her farewell.
Hagrid was bustling around happily with Madame Maxime. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys had found them and they had lunch at the WanderSpells Café. Fred and George were playing a game of pocket wizard's chess. Fred was winning and Savannah laughed as a pile of broken chess pieces were piling up by George.
"Checkmate!" said Fred. Savannah held up his hand.
"I announce the winner of the InterDiagon Alley Pocket Wizard's Chess Champion Fred Weasley." Fred blushed while George folded his arms and pouted. Savannah spotted Betsey Lou and she ran to meet her arms outstretched.
"Betsey Lou!" she practically screamed while embracing her friend.
"I done missed yew!" Betsey Lou said. Savannah introduced Betsey Lou to the Weasleys and they met up with Angelina who was with her new vomit-inducing boyfriend and Slytherin quidditch captain Marcus Flint. Fred and George halted in their footsteps when they saw them holding hands. Angelina let go of his hand and gave her cousin a hug.
"Good to see you again cousin!" she exclaimed.
"Same here," Savy began and then noticed Flint's ominous, not-so- attractive-looking face. She paused, smiled weakly and continued.
"Quidditch cap'n right?"
"Yeah," Flint replied quickly.
"Oh Savy, this is Marcus Flint. He's a really good Quidditch player too." Savy interrupted,
"Whoa chil'! Wasn't he that boy that done knocked Wood off his broom? But isn't Wood your former Quidditch cap'n?" Savy shrugged trying to fathom their union.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too!" Fred and George said in unison. Marcus began to blush slightly and Angelina smiled.
"Well we decided to put our differences aside and we realized we were in love!" Angelina said awestruck. Savy rolled her eyes and sighed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided had left the kids before Betsey Lou, Angelina, and Marcus. After that interesting conversation between Savy and her cousin, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left to find Hagrid. On their way they bumped into Neville Longbottom who was leading his grandmother to Flourish and Blotts to get his new schoolbooks. They also found Seamus Finnigan who was with his Muggle father and his witch mother; they were taking him to Olivander's to get a new wand after his backfired and gave him elephant ears. Ron grew jealous after looking at his pathetic wand, which was held together by a piece of Spell-O tape. He frowned.
"I wish I wasn't poor then I could get a new want too!" he whined. Hermione kissed Ron on the cheek.
"Cheer up Ron. I'll look after you." Ron looked at Hermione and smiled. But his spirit broke when Draco Malfoy appeared on the scene. He eyed Ron and Hermione.
"Oh isn't that sweet! A Mudblood and a wizard." Harry clinched his fist and held Ginny's with the other.
"Hey Potter, I guess you can afford a pureblood girlfriend unlike Weasley who can get the next best thing for free!" Ron held up his fists, his freckled face was red with anger.
"Alright Malfoy! I'm gonna knock that little smirk off ya rotten face!" Ron swung and Malfoy ducked. Savannah, who was nearby, saw this and stood in the middle of them.
"Yo Ron, sit down and chill boy!"
"Yes ma'am!" he replied. She looked at Malfoy and questioned.
"Who the Hell is this kid?" Harry opened his mouth but Malfoy spoke.
"I'm Draco Malfoy." Before he could get another word out, Savy had grabbed him by the collar and was lifting him off the ground. Many looked in shock. Savy narrowed her eyes and looked into his.
"I'm Savannah Johnson, Mr. Malfoy. And if you mess with my friends, I'm going to mess with you!"
"You go girlfriend!" Betsey Lou cheered from the sidelines.
"Savannah Banana! Eh? Wait till my father-"he started, she pulled him closer. He blushed slightly.
"Didn't your Mama teach you to treat others as you want to be treated son? Hell, I'm pureblood too and I sure as heck know if you were my chil', I'd get a switch and beat yer tail! Now git!" She dropped him to the ground; he stumbled to his feet and ran away into the crowd.
"Bastard!" Savy said to herself. Harry spoke up.
"Actually he has a father unlike me." Harry looked sadly at his feet. Savannah pulled him into a hug.
"Sorry hon, I didn't mean any harm but that kid done looked right evil if ya ask me."
"He is." Ginny said softly. Savy leaned closer to them.
"Hey-uh I'd appreciate it if y'all don't repeat what I said 'cause I don't want to git in trouble with y'all's principal."
"Schoolmaster." Fred corrected her.
"Schoolmaster is cool and I'm on good terms with him right now."
"Okay," they all replied. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gathered the kids and invited Savy and Betsey Lou to dinner.
At Hogwarts, Filch was changing Mrs. Norris's litter box when there was a knock on his door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"For Heaven's sake Argus! Open the damn door!" Filch shrugged and opened the door. Snape rushed in. He took Filch by the shoulders and shook him as he talked.
"I am deeply troubled Argus!" Snape stopped shaking him when he was done talking.
"Well, what's the problem man?"
"That girl!" Filch raised an eyebrow and shifted his eyes.
"What girl?" he questioned hoping it wasn't the one that crash-landed into his bathtub.
"The new girl. Savannah Johnson. I feel she's poisoned me!"
"Poisoned?"
"She's cursed me!"
"Cursed?" asked Filch sipping his coffee.
"I fell--," he paused; his chest heaving," I fell in love with her!" Filch choked and spit out his coffee.
"Good God man! She's a child compared to you! What'd ya plan on, rockin' the cradle?" Filch exclaimed. Snape frowned and plopped in the vacant chair. Filch leaned closer and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's jus' a crush. You'll get over it. Ya always do." Snape arose to his feet and walked away.
"Bye Severus. Don't let it hang over you head lad." Filch chuckled.
"I always do," Snape whispered to himself," That's why I lost her."