Chapter Nineteen
The Prank
After the funeral, they stopped by the Longbottoms. There were plate of casseroles and beefy hams. There were mouth water puddings and soft cakes. It seemed the wizarding world paid respects as to spending food also. Neville came down stair about five minutes later with his bag, and the shoe box. He also had a broom stick Algie had given him, a new chess set, a book on Herbology and a mouse stuff animal. He turned red when Dean pointed at it and chuckled, but Ron kicked him in the shin. It also became clear that Neville received a lot of gifts.
After they swallowed every bite Mrs. Longbottom nearly shoved down their throat they were on their way to the Order (Neville with them, they were giving him a lift to the Hogwarts Express. He wanted to get back as soon as possible.)
"Where were you during the service?" Ginny asked Neville.
He turned to Harry, his eyes wide. "He, err. he got sick, so we sat in the back." Harry answered for him. Neville smiled at the side of his mouth, grateful.
"Oh, well, why didn't you say so, I would have sat with you." Hermione said. Neville turn pink.
They stopped at the Order. Neville fell back into tears when he saw Moody, and for the first time, Moody was actually sympathetic. He draped his arm over Neville's porky shoulders and led him into the living room, handing him the picture he showed Harry last summer of the first Order. He didn't know why, but Harry suddenly wanted to tell Neville everything about the Prophecy. but his gut told him no.
Harry left the boy's dorm with his bag on his shoulder when he heard voices. Sirius's bed room door was cracked open. He crept toward it. Angel was leaning against the wall holding her arm, looking away. Krum stood front of her.
"Vou can't do this Angelica!" Krum shouted.
"Why can't I?" Angel said softly.
"He's dead."
"No he's not."
"Vou can't go in there! Vhat if you don't come back?" Krum demand. Angel was silent. "And stop doing dirty vork. Vou're safe now, don't screw it up!"
"Leave me alone!" Angel screamed. "I am not your responsibility! I can do what ever I want, and I'd like to see some crocked nose, half ass quidditch God stop me!" Her face turned on Krum. Her eyes were stern and hard.
"ANGELICA! I don't care vhere you got this story from, but you are a Malfoy!" Krum yelled. "How can anyone trust you? You lie about everything!"
"I don't lie!"
"Then vhy didn't you tell Mark, Harry at least!"
"Because. it's not time." Angel said, he voice softening.
"Stop, stop playing dress up and goofing around with these people, they're dangerous. You lie to everyone but me!"
"I tell Charlie.." Angel trailed off.
"VOV! The vonderful Charlie Veasley knows.!" Krum said, throwing his hands in the air. "Look, I don't care about Harry, or any of those Veasley brats, and I don't see vhy you do. But look me in the eye." He took his fingers and directed Angel's face into his. "If anything happens to Miley I'll kill you."
"You won't need to." Angel said shortly. She pushed Krum away from her and stomped to the door. Harry jumped and sprinted down the stairs.
On the train, they mostly slept, at least Hermione, Ginny, Dean, Seamus and Ron did. Harry, Neville and Angel couldn't sleep. Neville kept re-gripping his old shoe box and Angel kept smiling outside the window. When they finally saw the castle, rising up above the mountains, it was dark. They made their up to the castle, the lot of them still yawning and scratching from the nap. And as soon as the five boys felt the pillow against their head, they drifted off to sleep, Neville sniffing every now and again.
The next morning the five boys went down the breakfast together. The weather had somewhat been gracious enough to give Hogwarts a couple of inches of snow, which made the down pour about the earliest snow Hogwarts had ever seen. To top off the abnormity, it was as though time had been tampered with and everything got messed up. As normal, Harry would be followed around by whispers, but today it was Neville.
"Did you see him?"
"Yeah, by the kid with the red hair."
"Did you see his face?"
Whispered flooded the Great Hall and everyone seemed to be talking about nothing else. Neville was pink in the cheek all morning. Hermione finally, pulled him out of his arms and drug him to Herbology. He was holding his chin in his chest and staring at everyone through the corner of his eyes.
"Poor Neville," Ron said, leaning back.
"Haha, kinda like what Harry goes through every time something big happens." Seamus teased.
"It's not funny. makes you feel like your naked. actually." Harry said.
"Truthfully, I love you and all mate, but seeing you naked. bad mental picture." Dean chuckled. Harry threw a roll at him.
"Anyway," Ron said shaking his head in discus of what Dean just said, "I say we do it today."
"What today?"
"The prank bird brain. Everyone needs a little tuning up." Ron said, slapping Seamus on the back of the head.
"I knew that."
After breakfast the four of them slowly went to the Gryffindor Tower and pulled out their Defense Against the Dark Arts book and silently, hoping Angel was in a better mood, whisked away to find Neville and Hermione. They found the pair wrapped in heavy coats, fighting through the inching snow
Together once again, they left for Angel's classroom. Just as the last class they had with her, no one was in there. They took their seats and everyone was seen crossing their fingers under their wooden desks.
The bell rang and with it the door opened. Angel can in. She was wearing a big, tan, fur coat that swept the floor. It looked exactly like Durmstrang's when they were at Hogwarts the first time, which Harry guessed is where she got it; underneath that were her normal Black family robes and more oddly than the coat, was her face. A rejuvenating smile and a slit spark of joy hidden in her dead beastly eyes.
She jumped on the desk. "What kind of kid would I be if I didn't fulfill the student dream of playing in the snow?"
The class was in awe of her. She paced her desk from one end to the other. "You have ten minutes. get your coats and meet me out side. bring only your wand." The class stayed still, not daring to believe what she was saying. "You have been on your way to get you coat for about.." She looked at her wrist, "45 second now." The class, in one big clatter, stood and ran from the room. Angel giggled softly and jumped down.
And as she said, ten minutes later, the whole sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class was outside. "Now, we are going to have a Snow War!" Angel announced. The class cheered. "All houses for themselves!" And in one mad rush, the class divided into four groups. Harry grinned and whispered a handy little spell Fred and George taught him. Five or ten freshly made snow balls followed Malfoy around the grounds.
After an hour of a furious snow ball fight, Gryffindor won, only because Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were too nice to throw a snow ball anywhere around Neville. Laughing and having a good time, they all retired from the cold to the warmth of the Great Hall.
"Now?" Ron said, shaking the snow out of his hair.
"Now." Harry grinned.
Seamus and Dean looked like a child in a candy store, boyish grins grew on their faces.
Harry ran to the owlery, and tied and note to one of the school owl's legs. Ron sniggered and they both met Seamus and Dean at the table.
"All set?"
"Just big git and grease face to show up."
"Good." Harry said before poking a piece of pie into his mouth.
Minutes later Draco Malfoy, along with his sticking little crowd, entered the Great Hall and sat down. Harry grinned. But Ron nudged him. "Harry. Miley." He pointed a shaking finger at her, she was sitting right next to Malfoy.
"She's got to learn if she hangs out with that prat, she's asking for it." Harry shrugged.
"But Harry. Miley.." Ron pleaded.
"It won't hurt her, promise. She'll think it a nice game." Dean said merrily. "Oie! Snape!" And sure enough Professor Snape entered the Great Hall, taking a seat next to the grinning Angel.
"Everyone in position?" Harry said, lowering his voice.
"Yes sir!" Dean, Seamus and Ron said in unison, saluting Harry.
"Wait for the owl." Harry mouthed and they nodded. No sooner did the bushy school owl come sweeping in. Everyone's eyes fell upon it.
It landed right in Snape's kidney pie. Angel giggled slightly and picked the owl up. Furious, Snape ripped the note from the owl. He tore it open and his face sunk as he read it. Harry beamed.
"What the?" Snape said out loud. The hall turned to him. He shook the note in the air. "I demand to know who sent this!"
Angel shook her head and jerked the note from him. She fell into her arms shaking with laughter. "I'm glad you enjoyed that Professor Black." He sneered.
"I did. Snivellus." She said before snorting.
Snape turned red.
And just when he gained enough strength to yell again, Dean, Seamus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville (only because Harry pulled him up) stood on their seats. Some people in Gryffindor followed suit, not sure what they were doing, but no one in another house stood, except for Luna, who had jumped onto of the table. Ron grinned broadly and started singing the Hogwarts song.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Teach us something please
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff
For now they're bare and full of air
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest
And learn until Snevellus's nose is rot".
By the time they ended to song the hole Great Hall was standing up and singing along. Snape, by now was steaming from the ears. Angel was dancing around on the teachers table with Professor Flickwick.
Dean had slipped out of his seat in the middle of the song and had been sneaking across the Great Hall. They stole seats before the Slytherins sat down. Dean plopped down in-between Miley and Draco and stretched his arms over them. "Hello ladies!" The color washed away from his face.
"Get away from me you dirty Mudblood." Malfoy hissed.
"Now, now, I thought that was SO second year." Dean exclaimed, taking his arm off of Miley. He slipped something into Malfoy's drink before he stood.
Cheers somehow just began and Dean's face twisted in a smile as he took his seat. "Well, let's see if it worked." Ron said, ripping a bun with his teeth.
"What did you do?" Neville squeaked.
But before anyone could answer, Malfoy came up to them with Crabbe and Goyle behind them. Malfoy's face was a high pitched orange his voice was low and cracking. "What did you do to me Thomas?" He croaked.
"Nothing," Dean snorted.
"You loving man." Malfoy said, putting his hand in from over his mouth. "What did you do to me Potter?" Malfoy said, oddly sweetly.
"Nothing you filth git." Harry retorted.
"You smart sweet head." Malfoy jeered his face up, turned on heal and stomped out of sight.
Hermione was holding her stomach for laughter. "What did you do?"
"Slip him on of Fred and George's Nice Slice. Doesn't let him say anything mean." Seamus said thought laughter.
"It's in the improvement stage, probably why he turned orange." Ron added.
"And what was in the note to Snape?" Ginny asked giggling.
"That was Harry's business. I don't know what it said." Seamus admitted, "We just agreed to send Snape a letter to start the sparks."
They all turned to Harry for the load down. "Well it went on about Snivellus and how."
"Okay, where Snivellus come from?" Seamus cut in.
Ron grinned and gave Harry a side-ways glance. "That's what my dad and my godfather call him in school." He said simply. Seamus's mouth dropped in awe. "Anyway, I just told him he was a greasy nosed git that had the brain to fill one finger of my dad's Quidditch glove."
"HARSH!" Dean said loudly.
Harry nodded, not wanting to say the rest of the letter. He had put the note together after every foul feeling and thought that ever crossed his mind about Servus Snape and some how put them into words.
"Alright Snivellus?
"Well, just thought you'd like to know you don't have half the brain to fill a finger of my Quidditch glove. ~Prongs
"Whip the grease off your nose; I think it's getting in your hair. ~Padfoot
"It's hard to think an unreasonable git such as yourself ever became a teacher. ~Moony
"I'll see you at the next inter-circle meeting Servus. ~Wormtail
"So Snivellus, enjoying living in their shadows? Never get away from them do you?"
But Harry couldn't tell any of them this. because he sympathized with Snape, even though he did send him such a letter. Snape was living in the horrible memory of his two worst enemies and Harry was struggling to escape from the shadow of his own father. which was very difficult since he knew little next to nothing about him.
After the funeral, they stopped by the Longbottoms. There were plate of casseroles and beefy hams. There were mouth water puddings and soft cakes. It seemed the wizarding world paid respects as to spending food also. Neville came down stair about five minutes later with his bag, and the shoe box. He also had a broom stick Algie had given him, a new chess set, a book on Herbology and a mouse stuff animal. He turned red when Dean pointed at it and chuckled, but Ron kicked him in the shin. It also became clear that Neville received a lot of gifts.
After they swallowed every bite Mrs. Longbottom nearly shoved down their throat they were on their way to the Order (Neville with them, they were giving him a lift to the Hogwarts Express. He wanted to get back as soon as possible.)
"Where were you during the service?" Ginny asked Neville.
He turned to Harry, his eyes wide. "He, err. he got sick, so we sat in the back." Harry answered for him. Neville smiled at the side of his mouth, grateful.
"Oh, well, why didn't you say so, I would have sat with you." Hermione said. Neville turn pink.
They stopped at the Order. Neville fell back into tears when he saw Moody, and for the first time, Moody was actually sympathetic. He draped his arm over Neville's porky shoulders and led him into the living room, handing him the picture he showed Harry last summer of the first Order. He didn't know why, but Harry suddenly wanted to tell Neville everything about the Prophecy. but his gut told him no.
Harry left the boy's dorm with his bag on his shoulder when he heard voices. Sirius's bed room door was cracked open. He crept toward it. Angel was leaning against the wall holding her arm, looking away. Krum stood front of her.
"Vou can't do this Angelica!" Krum shouted.
"Why can't I?" Angel said softly.
"He's dead."
"No he's not."
"Vou can't go in there! Vhat if you don't come back?" Krum demand. Angel was silent. "And stop doing dirty vork. Vou're safe now, don't screw it up!"
"Leave me alone!" Angel screamed. "I am not your responsibility! I can do what ever I want, and I'd like to see some crocked nose, half ass quidditch God stop me!" Her face turned on Krum. Her eyes were stern and hard.
"ANGELICA! I don't care vhere you got this story from, but you are a Malfoy!" Krum yelled. "How can anyone trust you? You lie about everything!"
"I don't lie!"
"Then vhy didn't you tell Mark, Harry at least!"
"Because. it's not time." Angel said, he voice softening.
"Stop, stop playing dress up and goofing around with these people, they're dangerous. You lie to everyone but me!"
"I tell Charlie.." Angel trailed off.
"VOV! The vonderful Charlie Veasley knows.!" Krum said, throwing his hands in the air. "Look, I don't care about Harry, or any of those Veasley brats, and I don't see vhy you do. But look me in the eye." He took his fingers and directed Angel's face into his. "If anything happens to Miley I'll kill you."
"You won't need to." Angel said shortly. She pushed Krum away from her and stomped to the door. Harry jumped and sprinted down the stairs.
On the train, they mostly slept, at least Hermione, Ginny, Dean, Seamus and Ron did. Harry, Neville and Angel couldn't sleep. Neville kept re-gripping his old shoe box and Angel kept smiling outside the window. When they finally saw the castle, rising up above the mountains, it was dark. They made their up to the castle, the lot of them still yawning and scratching from the nap. And as soon as the five boys felt the pillow against their head, they drifted off to sleep, Neville sniffing every now and again.
The next morning the five boys went down the breakfast together. The weather had somewhat been gracious enough to give Hogwarts a couple of inches of snow, which made the down pour about the earliest snow Hogwarts had ever seen. To top off the abnormity, it was as though time had been tampered with and everything got messed up. As normal, Harry would be followed around by whispers, but today it was Neville.
"Did you see him?"
"Yeah, by the kid with the red hair."
"Did you see his face?"
Whispered flooded the Great Hall and everyone seemed to be talking about nothing else. Neville was pink in the cheek all morning. Hermione finally, pulled him out of his arms and drug him to Herbology. He was holding his chin in his chest and staring at everyone through the corner of his eyes.
"Poor Neville," Ron said, leaning back.
"Haha, kinda like what Harry goes through every time something big happens." Seamus teased.
"It's not funny. makes you feel like your naked. actually." Harry said.
"Truthfully, I love you and all mate, but seeing you naked. bad mental picture." Dean chuckled. Harry threw a roll at him.
"Anyway," Ron said shaking his head in discus of what Dean just said, "I say we do it today."
"What today?"
"The prank bird brain. Everyone needs a little tuning up." Ron said, slapping Seamus on the back of the head.
"I knew that."
After breakfast the four of them slowly went to the Gryffindor Tower and pulled out their Defense Against the Dark Arts book and silently, hoping Angel was in a better mood, whisked away to find Neville and Hermione. They found the pair wrapped in heavy coats, fighting through the inching snow
Together once again, they left for Angel's classroom. Just as the last class they had with her, no one was in there. They took their seats and everyone was seen crossing their fingers under their wooden desks.
The bell rang and with it the door opened. Angel can in. She was wearing a big, tan, fur coat that swept the floor. It looked exactly like Durmstrang's when they were at Hogwarts the first time, which Harry guessed is where she got it; underneath that were her normal Black family robes and more oddly than the coat, was her face. A rejuvenating smile and a slit spark of joy hidden in her dead beastly eyes.
She jumped on the desk. "What kind of kid would I be if I didn't fulfill the student dream of playing in the snow?"
The class was in awe of her. She paced her desk from one end to the other. "You have ten minutes. get your coats and meet me out side. bring only your wand." The class stayed still, not daring to believe what she was saying. "You have been on your way to get you coat for about.." She looked at her wrist, "45 second now." The class, in one big clatter, stood and ran from the room. Angel giggled softly and jumped down.
And as she said, ten minutes later, the whole sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class was outside. "Now, we are going to have a Snow War!" Angel announced. The class cheered. "All houses for themselves!" And in one mad rush, the class divided into four groups. Harry grinned and whispered a handy little spell Fred and George taught him. Five or ten freshly made snow balls followed Malfoy around the grounds.
After an hour of a furious snow ball fight, Gryffindor won, only because Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were too nice to throw a snow ball anywhere around Neville. Laughing and having a good time, they all retired from the cold to the warmth of the Great Hall.
"Now?" Ron said, shaking the snow out of his hair.
"Now." Harry grinned.
Seamus and Dean looked like a child in a candy store, boyish grins grew on their faces.
Harry ran to the owlery, and tied and note to one of the school owl's legs. Ron sniggered and they both met Seamus and Dean at the table.
"All set?"
"Just big git and grease face to show up."
"Good." Harry said before poking a piece of pie into his mouth.
Minutes later Draco Malfoy, along with his sticking little crowd, entered the Great Hall and sat down. Harry grinned. But Ron nudged him. "Harry. Miley." He pointed a shaking finger at her, she was sitting right next to Malfoy.
"She's got to learn if she hangs out with that prat, she's asking for it." Harry shrugged.
"But Harry. Miley.." Ron pleaded.
"It won't hurt her, promise. She'll think it a nice game." Dean said merrily. "Oie! Snape!" And sure enough Professor Snape entered the Great Hall, taking a seat next to the grinning Angel.
"Everyone in position?" Harry said, lowering his voice.
"Yes sir!" Dean, Seamus and Ron said in unison, saluting Harry.
"Wait for the owl." Harry mouthed and they nodded. No sooner did the bushy school owl come sweeping in. Everyone's eyes fell upon it.
It landed right in Snape's kidney pie. Angel giggled slightly and picked the owl up. Furious, Snape ripped the note from the owl. He tore it open and his face sunk as he read it. Harry beamed.
"What the?" Snape said out loud. The hall turned to him. He shook the note in the air. "I demand to know who sent this!"
Angel shook her head and jerked the note from him. She fell into her arms shaking with laughter. "I'm glad you enjoyed that Professor Black." He sneered.
"I did. Snivellus." She said before snorting.
Snape turned red.
And just when he gained enough strength to yell again, Dean, Seamus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville (only because Harry pulled him up) stood on their seats. Some people in Gryffindor followed suit, not sure what they were doing, but no one in another house stood, except for Luna, who had jumped onto of the table. Ron grinned broadly and started singing the Hogwarts song.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Teach us something please
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff
For now they're bare and full of air
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest
And learn until Snevellus's nose is rot".
By the time they ended to song the hole Great Hall was standing up and singing along. Snape, by now was steaming from the ears. Angel was dancing around on the teachers table with Professor Flickwick.
Dean had slipped out of his seat in the middle of the song and had been sneaking across the Great Hall. They stole seats before the Slytherins sat down. Dean plopped down in-between Miley and Draco and stretched his arms over them. "Hello ladies!" The color washed away from his face.
"Get away from me you dirty Mudblood." Malfoy hissed.
"Now, now, I thought that was SO second year." Dean exclaimed, taking his arm off of Miley. He slipped something into Malfoy's drink before he stood.
Cheers somehow just began and Dean's face twisted in a smile as he took his seat. "Well, let's see if it worked." Ron said, ripping a bun with his teeth.
"What did you do?" Neville squeaked.
But before anyone could answer, Malfoy came up to them with Crabbe and Goyle behind them. Malfoy's face was a high pitched orange his voice was low and cracking. "What did you do to me Thomas?" He croaked.
"Nothing," Dean snorted.
"You loving man." Malfoy said, putting his hand in from over his mouth. "What did you do to me Potter?" Malfoy said, oddly sweetly.
"Nothing you filth git." Harry retorted.
"You smart sweet head." Malfoy jeered his face up, turned on heal and stomped out of sight.
Hermione was holding her stomach for laughter. "What did you do?"
"Slip him on of Fred and George's Nice Slice. Doesn't let him say anything mean." Seamus said thought laughter.
"It's in the improvement stage, probably why he turned orange." Ron added.
"And what was in the note to Snape?" Ginny asked giggling.
"That was Harry's business. I don't know what it said." Seamus admitted, "We just agreed to send Snape a letter to start the sparks."
They all turned to Harry for the load down. "Well it went on about Snivellus and how."
"Okay, where Snivellus come from?" Seamus cut in.
Ron grinned and gave Harry a side-ways glance. "That's what my dad and my godfather call him in school." He said simply. Seamus's mouth dropped in awe. "Anyway, I just told him he was a greasy nosed git that had the brain to fill one finger of my dad's Quidditch glove."
"HARSH!" Dean said loudly.
Harry nodded, not wanting to say the rest of the letter. He had put the note together after every foul feeling and thought that ever crossed his mind about Servus Snape and some how put them into words.
"Alright Snivellus?
"Well, just thought you'd like to know you don't have half the brain to fill a finger of my Quidditch glove. ~Prongs
"Whip the grease off your nose; I think it's getting in your hair. ~Padfoot
"It's hard to think an unreasonable git such as yourself ever became a teacher. ~Moony
"I'll see you at the next inter-circle meeting Servus. ~Wormtail
"So Snivellus, enjoying living in their shadows? Never get away from them do you?"
But Harry couldn't tell any of them this. because he sympathized with Snape, even though he did send him such a letter. Snape was living in the horrible memory of his two worst enemies and Harry was struggling to escape from the shadow of his own father. which was very difficult since he knew little next to nothing about him.