Disclaimer: We don't own Harry Potter. However, we are holding Ron
Weasley hostage until he comes.
Puck's Children
Masterharper: Are you sure they'll get it?
Jade: Only a Huffiepuffie wouldn't get it.
Masterharper: Anyone who doesn't understand anything in this chapter, REVIEW and we'll give you answers.
Jade: Or call 1-800-IMA-BADGER
Masterharper: Please excuse Jade, it's a Slytherin thing.
Chapter 7
The Howlers from No One
The candle was flickering again. All the magic in Hogwarts, some of the smartest and most powerful wizards in the world, and they still couldn't get a candle to give constant light. Patrick sighed, longing for the light bulbs back home. It was too bad really, that electronics could not work at Hogwarts. He hated candles. Causing shadows to move where there was no movement. It was very unsettling. Especially when all it would take is one shadow being real and you would be in serious trouble. Or they would think you were crazy while they watched you talk to yourself at eleven o'clock at night in an empty classroom. Neither was a good thing.
Patrick stopped murmuring long enough to look over what the Quick Quotes Quill had written. He had gotten the idea off Rita Skeeter, someone he remembered less then fondly; she had pushed him into the mud while she was trying to get another quote from Colin. Unlike hers, this one was not green, it was royal purple, and it did not twist everything that was said, merely wrote the content of what he said but with someone else's tone and manner of speaking. At the moment it was writing in a rather regal sounding manner.
Once the letter was completed, Patrick picked up the quill and placed it in a small box. Closing the box, he tapped the family crest that was on the lid. The box shrank to a third of its size, perfect for fitting in a pocket. His task completed, he placed the parchment he had been writing on onto a pile of similar parchments, picked up the whole stack and left the classroom.
After walking for a bit he came to a door, knocked twice, then opened the door slowly. The classroom was empty. Entering, he sealed the door behind him with a spell. He began to lay the parchments down, side by side, onto the desks. After the front row was covered, he sat down in the corner that would be impossible to see if someone just opened the door and looked around without stepping into the room. Five minutes later two knocks came from the door. He went to the door, unsealed it, and opened it. Fay bustled in, holding a smaller pile of parchment and a flask of something green.
"What took you so long?" he asked as she started to set the parchments onto the tables.
She glared at him. "Miss Norris was patrolling. I had to hide in the secret compartment behind the large suit of armor on the fourth floor for ten minutes before she left." She finished setting down the papers and started to look over the ones Patrick had laid down. "Ouch, this one's harsh. Why did you drag Potter into this one? Just write a separate one to him."
"We're writing to the prefects only remember. Besides," he shrugged, "I can't think of anyone that would write to him at all except the Ministry of Magic."
"The Ministry sends howlers," Fay said with an air of authority.
"Not often." He smiled reminiscently. "They only sent one to you because you kept on sending howlers to Minister Fudge telling him what an idiot he was. You know, his secretary still hasn't recovered all of his hearing." He shook his head in what seemed to be amazement.
Fay grinned evilly. "He deserved it."
"Probably. Did you make the potion?"
She held up the flask with the green liquid. "No, I just carry around bottles with stuff in them for the heck of it," she answered patronizingly. She began to pour drops onto each paper. "Did you finish the envelopes?"
Patrick pulled out another small box with a crest. After the crest was tapped, the box grew to the size of a small trunk. "Thank goodness for Uncle Robin's boxes." He opened the box and pulled out a small pile of red envelopes. "They are timed to go off at different times in the day. Some of them will go off during class times, so we won't get to see them, but you can bet we'll hear about them." He began to fold the parchments and stuff them into the envelopes. After each letter had been given it's dose of potion and had been put into envelopes, they gathered the red envelopes and placed them into the box. Patrick tapped the crest again and after it had shrunk, gave it to Fay. "By the way, what did you write for Zack and Ginny?" He looked at her suspiciously.
"You'll see." With that she left the classroom and headed for the owlery.
***
Patrick was tired of waiting. He still had five more minutes until the first one arrived. The students were eating their breakfasts in the normal fashion, noisily and half-asleep.
"Fools," he couldn't help but whisper. They would be awake soon enough. The first target of the day came in, sat down, and began her vapid conversations with her so called 'friends.' Of course, the first letter had two targets. The other sat on the other side of the room, with people that had stuck with him through everything, which for him was considerable. It would be interesting to see how they reacted.
The owls flew in for the morning's post. He spotted the large owl holding a red envelope head straight for Pansy Parkinson. The owl dropped the Howler right in front of her. Partly in confusion, partly because of her stupidity, Pansy didn't realize it was hers.
"Three.Two." Patrick whispered.
The Howler opened itself.
"PANSY PARKINSON!" it yelled in a regal, feminine voice. All attention in the Great Hall focused on Pansy and the Howler. Several students grinned at the unexpected treat.
"HOW DARE YOU! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WHEN I GOT THE LETTER FROM PROFESSOR SNAPE!" Focus shifted briefly to Professor Snape at the head table. He cocked his head to the side and looked on in puzzlement. He hadn't sent a letter to anyone about any student this year. "HE FOUND YOU TWO IN ONE OF THE DUNGEON CLASSROOMS! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, PANSY, YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST DONE IT SOMEWHERE PRIVATE!" Students started to giggle and send Draco, who was confused, glances. They were starting to guess what was going on. Whispered conversation started, mainly betting on how far the two had gone before Snape stopped them. "COULD YOU HAVE FOUND SOMEONE MORE REVOLTING?!" The betting stopped. No Parkinson would ever say a Malfoy was revolting.
"DO YOU REALIZE HOW UPSET YOUR FATHER IS? HE DARE NOT SHOW HIS FACE IN RESPECTABLE SOCIETY BECAUSE OF IT!" Murmurs began around the room, all wanting to know whom it was. Pansy stared at the Howler in horror and confusion. The Gryffindors, especially Hermione, were having a hard time holding their laughter, not because they thought they would get in trouble, but because they wanted to hear every word.
"WHY PANSY? TELL ME WHY! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE OUT WITH..." Their was a collective intake of breath. "...HARRY POTTER?!!" The letter stopped and began to burn. The silence was deafening. All of Slytherin stared at Pansy. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also stared at her, slack-jawed. The head table all stared at Snape, who was staring at the Howler. Every single Gryffindor was staring at Harry in shock and horror. Except Ron and Harry. Harry seemed not able to decide on an emotion, horror, shock, or confusion, and tried to mix them all on his face. It made him look guilty instead. Ron had taken that moment to stuff a forkful of waffles in his mouth and started to choke. That was the only sound heard for almost a minute.
Fay couldn't take it anymore. She started to laugh, a chuckle at first, but it became very loud soon. Patrick joined her, laughing until there were tears coming out of his eyes. The fact that they were laughing at something different was lost on the others as they came out of their shock. Most laughed. Draco's face went as pale as his hair. Pansy looked at the letter with horror as it burned. At the Gryffindor table, it was hard to say who had the best face. Almost all of them, Hermione and Ginny especially, looked hurt and betrayed. Harry, recovering from the shock, began to protest his innocence. Ron, after getting pounded on the back by Neville, was staring at Harry in horror.
People began to eat again, talking and laughing about what had just happened. Patrick felt a little guilty about Harry. He would be despised by most of his house for the day, or until people figured out what was going on. Of course with Hermione Granger as a friend, that shouldn't take too long.
Things had almost settled down when a large barn owl flew in. Patrick elbowed Zack and gestured toward it. The owl flew straight to the Slytherin table and dropped a red envelope in front of Draco Malfoy. Draco stared at it. He had already received his letters for today. The rest of the school focused on him, anticipation rising at the prospect of three humiliations at one meal. To his credit, Draco reacted with far more intelligence than Pansy. He picked it up and ran for the door. He almost made it.
"DRACO!" A shrill voice pierced the silence. If anything it sounded more snobbish then the last letter. "DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY! SCOURGE OF MY FLESH! SHAME OF MY BLOOD! YOU LET THAT LITTLE MUDBLOOD DO BETTER THAN YOU! AGAIN!" All of Gryffindor and most of the sixth years smiled. They knew exactly whom Draco's mother was referring to. "TIME AFTER TIME SHE DOES BETTER THAN YOU! BY MERLIN DRACO, YOU'RE A PUREBLOOD! ACT LIKE IT!" At this point Draco just stared at his feet, as if he had been expecting this for some time. Hermione began to blush.
"THANK THE STARS THAT YOUR FATHER IS AT AZKABAN!" A few murmurs went around at that. Most had forgotten that Lucius Malfoy was currently in prison. "IF HE KNEW THAT A MUGGLEBORN WAS BESTING YOU EVERY YEAR, IN EVERY SUBJECT...!" The voice trailed off as if it were too angry to go on.
"FOR SIX YEARS SHE HAS BESTED YOU! YOU SHAME THE FAMILY NAME! YOUR FATHER WOULD BE EVEN MORE ANGRY THEN HE WAS WHEN YOU DEVELOPED THAT STUPID CRUSH ON THE WEASLEY BRAT!
"NOW SHAPE UP OR THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!"
For a moment there was silence. Most of the hall turned to Ginny, who's skin was currently the color of her hair. A collective "Ooooohh," came from almost every table. Pansy, partially recovered from her letter, put her head in her arms and began to sob. More than one girl looked at Ginny with jealousy. Also, more than one boy, particularly the fifth years and especially Zack, looked at Draco with loathing. The sixth year Gryffindor boys, including Harry looked at Ginny in shock and betrayal, as if she had somehow caused this. Ron's face was starting to turn green. He put a hand over his mouth and ran from the Hall. By the sounds coming from outside the door, it was obvious that he didn't make it to the bathroom.
After a little while, Draco ran from the hall. People began to chuckle and make snide remarks about the incident. Ron returned a little paler, but otherwise fine. Ginny was busy trying to hide herself under the table as people asked her questions about her 'boyfriend.'
Patrick looked over at Zack, who looked furious. "Well, that was interesting," he said conversationally. "Pass the mash please."
***
Ginny slammed the classroom door behind her, partially dimming the noise of laughter on the other side. Her face was as red as her hair for the second time today. She hated when that happened. Whether it was out of humiliation or anger, even she wasn't sure. Barely noticing that the red envelope in her hand was on fire, she ran down the hall.
After running for what seemed like forever, but really was less then two minutes, she reached a courtyard. Sitting down on the edge of a fountain, after she threw the now almost gone letter in it, glad that none of the classes where out yet, she started to cry. The tears had just begun to flow when she heard someone coming.
"Hey, Ginny. What's wrong?" Patrick looked down at her as she wiped her eyes with her robe.
"Nothing," she said adamantly. She looked up at him and a thought occurred. "Why aren't you in class?"
Patrick grinned, "Professor McGonagall let the class go early. Zack got a Howler from his mom demanding to know why he got a P on one of his assignments. It went on and on about how important it was for him to get top marks and how he was shaming the family by doing so badly. After that, the class couldn't concentrate, so McGonagall let us go." Ginny frowned. It was not like McGonagall to let a class go early for any reason. She told Patrick so. Patrick snorted. "She gave us plenty of homework to make up for it." Ginny laughed too. It sounded a little forced but it was a laugh. That sounded like something McGonagall would do. It also made her feel better that she was not the only one that was humiliated in class today.
After a bit Patrick looked at her in concern. "Unless you were trying to cause more waterworks than the fountain you're sitting on, something is wrong. If you won't tell me then could you at least tell Luna?"
"Luna isn't here."
"I'm not?" a dreamy voice came from behind Ginny. "I should probably go find myself then, shouldn't I?" Ginny managed to turn a laugh into a cough. If it had been anyone other then Luna, it would have been meant as a joke. But Luna would be expecting an honest answer.
"You are here, Luna. I just didn't see you," Ginny said apologetically.
Luna nodded, as if it all made sense now. She then stared at Patrick with that stare of hers that creeped most people out. "You know," she said in a way that reminded Ginny distantly of Hermione, "Zack got a Howler from his mom. He seemed upset. She was angry over his bad grades."
"I heard," said Patrick, even though he had been there when it happened. He was the only person who Ginny had met that talked to Luna this way. "I was looking for him when I found Ginny here." Luna nodded.
"You were crying," she said to Ginny as if Ginny hadn't known. Over the years Ginny had learned that this was Luna's way of asking what was wrong.
"Yeah, I was. I got a Howler in class too. It was embarrassing." She thought she heard Patrick say 'of course' under his breath. Luna stared at her with her head cocked to one side. It was hard to tell if it was a look of confusion, pity, or surprise. Luna's facial expressions were always hard to read.
"Why did Zack's mother write to you?" Luna asked dreamily. It took a bit for Ginny to follow Luna's thought pattern on this. The fact that she could surprised her, for usually no one could.
"It wasn't from Zack's mum, it was from mine. She was upset about me being on the Quidditch team." Ginny hung her head. She didn't see Patrick look at the sky with an amused grin and shake his head. If Luna did she didn't let on. "She was angry that I would place myself in physical danger and that it would interfere with studying for OWLs."
That was what the letter had said. She could still hear some of it in her head. "YOU COULD BE HURT! FLYING IS TOO DANGEROUS! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STUDY IF YOU'RE OFF FLYING INTO BLUDGERS! I THOUGHT YOU HAD MORE SENSE THAN THAT!"
Her thoughts were interupted by Patrick. "Ginny." His tone sounded like a teacher leading a student through the steps to figure out a problem while trying to get that student to figure it out themselves. "You were on the team last year. Playing seeker of all things, the most dangerous position. Was your mother mad then?"
Ginny thought back. "No." She wondered where he was going with this. "No, she wasn't." That realization caused the sadness to go away and to be replaced by confusion.
Luna interrupted, "I heard Ernie MacMillian got a Howler from the Ministry of Magic. It asked him to stop sending letters of advice." Ginny looked at her for a moment, wondering what in the world that had to do with anything. Then it hit her.
Ernie got a Howler about not sending advice, which he might have done, but the Ministry rarely sent Howlers.
Zack got a Howler about low grades, but he usually got top marks.
Draco got a Howler about not getting better grades then Hermione, which was true and his mother being angry about that was entirely feasible. But it had also said he had a crush on her, which she hoped wasn't true.
Pansy got a Howler about making out with Harry, which he claimed wasn't true, and she hoped desperately wasn't true.
She had heard the Head Boy and Girl had gotten howlers. Howlers were rare, and never had such a high concentration of them come on the same day. Most definitely not to most of the prefects. Ron and Hermione hadn't gotten one but the day wasn't over yet. But who would send fake Howlers to all the prefects?
It was Friday. Someone had been playing pranks every week since the start of school. Nothing else had happened that week that could be considered a prank.
"If I find them, I'm going to kill them," she said through clenched teeth.
Patrick looked at her with amusement. Luna, apparently forgetting what was happening, was staring up at the sky, murmuring things like, "a rabbit with one ear," or, "Snorkack foot."
"Thanks guys, I feel much better." She got up and marched back into the castle.
Patrick watched her go and then turned to Luna. Seeing that she was occupied, he left without saying good bye. Five steps into the castle he came across his sister, putting a helmet back on a suit of armor, backwards.
"You messed up," he informed her. Fay looked at him like he had just told her he had "tinkled."
"What do you mean, I messed up?" she asked, not believing him.
"Ginny was on the Quidditch team last year. Her mother wouldn't be mad about it if she was on it again."
Clearly confused, Fay asked, "But I thought she was the new chaser on the Gryffindor team?"
"She is. Potter got suspended last year, so she filled in as Seeker." He grinned. It wasn't often that Fay made such a huge error.
"You could have told me."
"You could have told me what you were going to write. But you didn't." He continued walking down the corridor, giving himself one point in the continuing game he and his sister played. According to his memory, the score was now 107 to 105. A two point lead. That was rare. He walked down to the kitchens to celebrate.
***
The Great Hall was full of noise and laughter at supper. Everyone was talking about the plague of Howlers and their Prefect recipients. Some, mostly at the Hufflepuff table, felt sorry for the prefects. It didn't stop them from laughing about it though. The Gryffindors were used to laughing at others' humiliation, almost of them had known the Weasley twins after all. Ravenclaws found the little tidbits of information in the letters the funniest. And no house enjoyed other people's disgrace more than Slytherin.
The prefects and the head of houses were all in the transfiguration classroom. Desks were to the sides and the professors were leaning on them, or in Flitwick's case, standing on them. The prefects, all twenty-four, sat in the rows of chairs, talking among themselves.
It wasn't missed by many that several of the prefects seemed to be avoiding each other. Ginny was sitting as far from Draco as she could. Hermione was sitting as far from Ron as she could. Draco was sitting as far as possible from Ginny and Hermione. He was also sitting away from Ron, who had gotten over his sickness and was currently looking as if he wanted to punch someone. That was made more difficult because Ron was trying to sit far away from Hermione, for two reasons.
During a morning class, Hermione had received a Howler. Ron had planned on being supportive like a good friend. Until he had heard who it was from. The thick accent made it clear who had sent it, Viktor Krum. Then to the amazement of everyone, including Hermione, Krum broke up with her. It had hurt Ron deeply, for despite Hermione's frequent denials, he had always had a suspicion that there was something between those two. It didn't help that during a class after lunch he had received a Howler.
It had been from Bill. The words still rang in his mind. "JUST TELL THE GIRL YOU LIKE HER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO HEAR LETTER AFTER LETTER ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS, HOW SMART, HOW UNDERSTANDING! I DON'T CARE IF IT MIGHT RUIN YOUR FRIENDSHIP, JUST TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL!" He had been so embarrassed he had spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in the Owlery. He was about to run and hide again out of shame when Dumbledore called for attention.
"Are you all here? If you are not please raise your hand." He waited for a moment and glanced around, searching for a hand. "Good." He was beaming. Very few people in the room were in the mood for Dumbledore's usual antics. If he knew that, he didn't care. "Now, I understand this meeting was called to discuss the letters you all have been receiving," he gestured toward the prefects, "I also understand that these must make you upset-" Draco was not the only one to snort in frustration. Dumbledore held his hand up for patience. "However, unless the letters start to threaten your life, there is little I can do. Especially since many of you received them from you families."
"And the Ministry of Magic," added Ernie Macmillian dejectedly.
"The Ministry doesn't send Howlers," said Zack from the back row.
Dumbledore commented, "The Ministry does send Howlers, but rarely. They have only sent two in the past year. One of them, I'm pleased to say, I had the joy of receiving. The minister never choose to tell me who received the other." He said the last sentence with more than the usual twinkle in his eye.
There was silence for a moment except for the sound of cloth on cloth as Hermione's hand shot up into the air. The sixth years and some of teachers couldn't help but roll their eyes and smile at the familiar sight. Dumbledore looked at Hermione over the bridge of his glasses, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Yes Miss. Granger."
Hermione hesitated for a moment, not sure whether to stand or remain seated, and then stood so all could see her. "Professor," she began, "I have reason to believe that none of us received letters from our families today."
"What do ya mean we didn't?" asked a fifth year Hufflepuff who had received a rather humiliating Howler from his mother about wearing dirty underwear two days in a row. "I know what me mum sounds like, and that was definitely her." There were murmurs of agreement from around the room. Dumbledore held up his hand for quiet for a third time.
"Would you be so kind as to enlighten us, Miss Granger? Explain to us your reasoning."
"Of course Professor." She turned to face the other prefects. "Every single," she stressed the word, "one of us has received a Howler today."
"I didn't!" the youngest Slytherin Prefect interrupted.
Before anyone else could react, Draco Malfoy, who happened to behind the boy, spoke up. "Yes you did, you moron! You got it in the common room before lunch." He seemed to gain confidence. Picking on someone was the fastest way for him to do that, especially when they were weaker. "It announced to the whole house you had a muggle grandfather. Now shut up and listen to Granger." He returned his attention to Hermione.
"Thank you-" Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she paused, "Malfoy. Now as I was saying, we all got Howlers. Most of us, if not all, got them for things we never did." There wear murmurs of agreement and some shuffling of feet of those that wasn't true for. Fortunately, no one noticed who had moved their feet. "So does it not strike you as odd that we all get untrue Howlers the same day?" She stopped, waiting for them to understand.
"What do you mean? That someone got our families and others to write to us all on the same day?" Ernie Macmillian asked. Every Slytherin, and some other students, rolled their eyes at the stupidity of the Hufflepuff.
Ginny stood up and turned to face the crowd. "Every week for the last month, a huge prank has been pulled on the school."
"That's not true," the youngest Slytherin spoke up again. "There hasn't been one this week." The statement hung in the air for a bit. Five seconds later the boy was rubbing the back of his head where Draco had hit him. Even the Hufflepuffs now understood what was happening.
"We've got to find them." Ernie stood and faced the crowd. Small groans emerged from some of the students. Ernie was in speech mode. "It is our duty as prefects to find the students responsible for these interruptions of the school. And I promise you, from this day forward, I will not shrink from my responsibilities and will devote every waking moment to their capture. I urge you all to join me in the fight against these anarchists that are trying to destroy authority at Hogwarts." He paused, expecting a chorus of cheers. No one even clapped. Ginny thought she saw even Dumbledore roll his eyes.
"Very nice, Ernie." Hermione tried to sound supportive but was not do a convincing job so she changed tactics, and addressed the group again. "Does anyone have any idea who might be responsible for these pranks?"
Anthony Goldstein held up his hand half-heartedly. "Fred and George Weasley." Several laughed while Hermione and Ernie just look disgusted.
"Seriously. Does anyone have any clues at all?" There was much looking around the room, but no one spoke.
Dumbledore chose that moment to take back control of the meeting. "I suggest we all keep our eyes and ears open for any possible clues. If you find anything, please tell either Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape. Thank you for your time. I suggest we return to the Great Hall to see if the others have left any food for us."
They started to file out of the room. Only Dumbledore remained where he was. Since Ginny had been in the first row, she was among the last to leave. She thought she heard behind her, "This ought to be interesting." But when she turned around to see the speaker she only saw Professor Dumbledore, eyes twinkling, staring back at her.
***
Fay entered the Great Hall a minute before the prefects arrived. Ignoring her brother's questioning look, she went to her table. Soon a paper airplane was heading over to the Ravenclaw table. Patrick caught it and read.
It said: ERNIE MACMILLIAN IS AFTER US. RUN FOR THE HILLS. P.S: SO ARE THE OTHER PREFECTS.
The first thing Zack asked when he sat down was why Patrick was laughing so hard.
A/N: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. PRESS THE LITTLE BUTTON AND YOU CAN REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Masterharper: Shut up Jade.
Puck's Children
Masterharper: Are you sure they'll get it?
Jade: Only a Huffiepuffie wouldn't get it.
Masterharper: Anyone who doesn't understand anything in this chapter, REVIEW and we'll give you answers.
Jade: Or call 1-800-IMA-BADGER
Masterharper: Please excuse Jade, it's a Slytherin thing.
Chapter 7
The Howlers from No One
The candle was flickering again. All the magic in Hogwarts, some of the smartest and most powerful wizards in the world, and they still couldn't get a candle to give constant light. Patrick sighed, longing for the light bulbs back home. It was too bad really, that electronics could not work at Hogwarts. He hated candles. Causing shadows to move where there was no movement. It was very unsettling. Especially when all it would take is one shadow being real and you would be in serious trouble. Or they would think you were crazy while they watched you talk to yourself at eleven o'clock at night in an empty classroom. Neither was a good thing.
Patrick stopped murmuring long enough to look over what the Quick Quotes Quill had written. He had gotten the idea off Rita Skeeter, someone he remembered less then fondly; she had pushed him into the mud while she was trying to get another quote from Colin. Unlike hers, this one was not green, it was royal purple, and it did not twist everything that was said, merely wrote the content of what he said but with someone else's tone and manner of speaking. At the moment it was writing in a rather regal sounding manner.
Once the letter was completed, Patrick picked up the quill and placed it in a small box. Closing the box, he tapped the family crest that was on the lid. The box shrank to a third of its size, perfect for fitting in a pocket. His task completed, he placed the parchment he had been writing on onto a pile of similar parchments, picked up the whole stack and left the classroom.
After walking for a bit he came to a door, knocked twice, then opened the door slowly. The classroom was empty. Entering, he sealed the door behind him with a spell. He began to lay the parchments down, side by side, onto the desks. After the front row was covered, he sat down in the corner that would be impossible to see if someone just opened the door and looked around without stepping into the room. Five minutes later two knocks came from the door. He went to the door, unsealed it, and opened it. Fay bustled in, holding a smaller pile of parchment and a flask of something green.
"What took you so long?" he asked as she started to set the parchments onto the tables.
She glared at him. "Miss Norris was patrolling. I had to hide in the secret compartment behind the large suit of armor on the fourth floor for ten minutes before she left." She finished setting down the papers and started to look over the ones Patrick had laid down. "Ouch, this one's harsh. Why did you drag Potter into this one? Just write a separate one to him."
"We're writing to the prefects only remember. Besides," he shrugged, "I can't think of anyone that would write to him at all except the Ministry of Magic."
"The Ministry sends howlers," Fay said with an air of authority.
"Not often." He smiled reminiscently. "They only sent one to you because you kept on sending howlers to Minister Fudge telling him what an idiot he was. You know, his secretary still hasn't recovered all of his hearing." He shook his head in what seemed to be amazement.
Fay grinned evilly. "He deserved it."
"Probably. Did you make the potion?"
She held up the flask with the green liquid. "No, I just carry around bottles with stuff in them for the heck of it," she answered patronizingly. She began to pour drops onto each paper. "Did you finish the envelopes?"
Patrick pulled out another small box with a crest. After the crest was tapped, the box grew to the size of a small trunk. "Thank goodness for Uncle Robin's boxes." He opened the box and pulled out a small pile of red envelopes. "They are timed to go off at different times in the day. Some of them will go off during class times, so we won't get to see them, but you can bet we'll hear about them." He began to fold the parchments and stuff them into the envelopes. After each letter had been given it's dose of potion and had been put into envelopes, they gathered the red envelopes and placed them into the box. Patrick tapped the crest again and after it had shrunk, gave it to Fay. "By the way, what did you write for Zack and Ginny?" He looked at her suspiciously.
"You'll see." With that she left the classroom and headed for the owlery.
***
Patrick was tired of waiting. He still had five more minutes until the first one arrived. The students were eating their breakfasts in the normal fashion, noisily and half-asleep.
"Fools," he couldn't help but whisper. They would be awake soon enough. The first target of the day came in, sat down, and began her vapid conversations with her so called 'friends.' Of course, the first letter had two targets. The other sat on the other side of the room, with people that had stuck with him through everything, which for him was considerable. It would be interesting to see how they reacted.
The owls flew in for the morning's post. He spotted the large owl holding a red envelope head straight for Pansy Parkinson. The owl dropped the Howler right in front of her. Partly in confusion, partly because of her stupidity, Pansy didn't realize it was hers.
"Three.Two." Patrick whispered.
The Howler opened itself.
"PANSY PARKINSON!" it yelled in a regal, feminine voice. All attention in the Great Hall focused on Pansy and the Howler. Several students grinned at the unexpected treat.
"HOW DARE YOU! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WHEN I GOT THE LETTER FROM PROFESSOR SNAPE!" Focus shifted briefly to Professor Snape at the head table. He cocked his head to the side and looked on in puzzlement. He hadn't sent a letter to anyone about any student this year. "HE FOUND YOU TWO IN ONE OF THE DUNGEON CLASSROOMS! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, PANSY, YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST DONE IT SOMEWHERE PRIVATE!" Students started to giggle and send Draco, who was confused, glances. They were starting to guess what was going on. Whispered conversation started, mainly betting on how far the two had gone before Snape stopped them. "COULD YOU HAVE FOUND SOMEONE MORE REVOLTING?!" The betting stopped. No Parkinson would ever say a Malfoy was revolting.
"DO YOU REALIZE HOW UPSET YOUR FATHER IS? HE DARE NOT SHOW HIS FACE IN RESPECTABLE SOCIETY BECAUSE OF IT!" Murmurs began around the room, all wanting to know whom it was. Pansy stared at the Howler in horror and confusion. The Gryffindors, especially Hermione, were having a hard time holding their laughter, not because they thought they would get in trouble, but because they wanted to hear every word.
"WHY PANSY? TELL ME WHY! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE OUT WITH..." Their was a collective intake of breath. "...HARRY POTTER?!!" The letter stopped and began to burn. The silence was deafening. All of Slytherin stared at Pansy. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also stared at her, slack-jawed. The head table all stared at Snape, who was staring at the Howler. Every single Gryffindor was staring at Harry in shock and horror. Except Ron and Harry. Harry seemed not able to decide on an emotion, horror, shock, or confusion, and tried to mix them all on his face. It made him look guilty instead. Ron had taken that moment to stuff a forkful of waffles in his mouth and started to choke. That was the only sound heard for almost a minute.
Fay couldn't take it anymore. She started to laugh, a chuckle at first, but it became very loud soon. Patrick joined her, laughing until there were tears coming out of his eyes. The fact that they were laughing at something different was lost on the others as they came out of their shock. Most laughed. Draco's face went as pale as his hair. Pansy looked at the letter with horror as it burned. At the Gryffindor table, it was hard to say who had the best face. Almost all of them, Hermione and Ginny especially, looked hurt and betrayed. Harry, recovering from the shock, began to protest his innocence. Ron, after getting pounded on the back by Neville, was staring at Harry in horror.
People began to eat again, talking and laughing about what had just happened. Patrick felt a little guilty about Harry. He would be despised by most of his house for the day, or until people figured out what was going on. Of course with Hermione Granger as a friend, that shouldn't take too long.
Things had almost settled down when a large barn owl flew in. Patrick elbowed Zack and gestured toward it. The owl flew straight to the Slytherin table and dropped a red envelope in front of Draco Malfoy. Draco stared at it. He had already received his letters for today. The rest of the school focused on him, anticipation rising at the prospect of three humiliations at one meal. To his credit, Draco reacted with far more intelligence than Pansy. He picked it up and ran for the door. He almost made it.
"DRACO!" A shrill voice pierced the silence. If anything it sounded more snobbish then the last letter. "DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY! SCOURGE OF MY FLESH! SHAME OF MY BLOOD! YOU LET THAT LITTLE MUDBLOOD DO BETTER THAN YOU! AGAIN!" All of Gryffindor and most of the sixth years smiled. They knew exactly whom Draco's mother was referring to. "TIME AFTER TIME SHE DOES BETTER THAN YOU! BY MERLIN DRACO, YOU'RE A PUREBLOOD! ACT LIKE IT!" At this point Draco just stared at his feet, as if he had been expecting this for some time. Hermione began to blush.
"THANK THE STARS THAT YOUR FATHER IS AT AZKABAN!" A few murmurs went around at that. Most had forgotten that Lucius Malfoy was currently in prison. "IF HE KNEW THAT A MUGGLEBORN WAS BESTING YOU EVERY YEAR, IN EVERY SUBJECT...!" The voice trailed off as if it were too angry to go on.
"FOR SIX YEARS SHE HAS BESTED YOU! YOU SHAME THE FAMILY NAME! YOUR FATHER WOULD BE EVEN MORE ANGRY THEN HE WAS WHEN YOU DEVELOPED THAT STUPID CRUSH ON THE WEASLEY BRAT!
"NOW SHAPE UP OR THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!"
For a moment there was silence. Most of the hall turned to Ginny, who's skin was currently the color of her hair. A collective "Ooooohh," came from almost every table. Pansy, partially recovered from her letter, put her head in her arms and began to sob. More than one girl looked at Ginny with jealousy. Also, more than one boy, particularly the fifth years and especially Zack, looked at Draco with loathing. The sixth year Gryffindor boys, including Harry looked at Ginny in shock and betrayal, as if she had somehow caused this. Ron's face was starting to turn green. He put a hand over his mouth and ran from the Hall. By the sounds coming from outside the door, it was obvious that he didn't make it to the bathroom.
After a little while, Draco ran from the hall. People began to chuckle and make snide remarks about the incident. Ron returned a little paler, but otherwise fine. Ginny was busy trying to hide herself under the table as people asked her questions about her 'boyfriend.'
Patrick looked over at Zack, who looked furious. "Well, that was interesting," he said conversationally. "Pass the mash please."
***
Ginny slammed the classroom door behind her, partially dimming the noise of laughter on the other side. Her face was as red as her hair for the second time today. She hated when that happened. Whether it was out of humiliation or anger, even she wasn't sure. Barely noticing that the red envelope in her hand was on fire, she ran down the hall.
After running for what seemed like forever, but really was less then two minutes, she reached a courtyard. Sitting down on the edge of a fountain, after she threw the now almost gone letter in it, glad that none of the classes where out yet, she started to cry. The tears had just begun to flow when she heard someone coming.
"Hey, Ginny. What's wrong?" Patrick looked down at her as she wiped her eyes with her robe.
"Nothing," she said adamantly. She looked up at him and a thought occurred. "Why aren't you in class?"
Patrick grinned, "Professor McGonagall let the class go early. Zack got a Howler from his mom demanding to know why he got a P on one of his assignments. It went on and on about how important it was for him to get top marks and how he was shaming the family by doing so badly. After that, the class couldn't concentrate, so McGonagall let us go." Ginny frowned. It was not like McGonagall to let a class go early for any reason. She told Patrick so. Patrick snorted. "She gave us plenty of homework to make up for it." Ginny laughed too. It sounded a little forced but it was a laugh. That sounded like something McGonagall would do. It also made her feel better that she was not the only one that was humiliated in class today.
After a bit Patrick looked at her in concern. "Unless you were trying to cause more waterworks than the fountain you're sitting on, something is wrong. If you won't tell me then could you at least tell Luna?"
"Luna isn't here."
"I'm not?" a dreamy voice came from behind Ginny. "I should probably go find myself then, shouldn't I?" Ginny managed to turn a laugh into a cough. If it had been anyone other then Luna, it would have been meant as a joke. But Luna would be expecting an honest answer.
"You are here, Luna. I just didn't see you," Ginny said apologetically.
Luna nodded, as if it all made sense now. She then stared at Patrick with that stare of hers that creeped most people out. "You know," she said in a way that reminded Ginny distantly of Hermione, "Zack got a Howler from his mom. He seemed upset. She was angry over his bad grades."
"I heard," said Patrick, even though he had been there when it happened. He was the only person who Ginny had met that talked to Luna this way. "I was looking for him when I found Ginny here." Luna nodded.
"You were crying," she said to Ginny as if Ginny hadn't known. Over the years Ginny had learned that this was Luna's way of asking what was wrong.
"Yeah, I was. I got a Howler in class too. It was embarrassing." She thought she heard Patrick say 'of course' under his breath. Luna stared at her with her head cocked to one side. It was hard to tell if it was a look of confusion, pity, or surprise. Luna's facial expressions were always hard to read.
"Why did Zack's mother write to you?" Luna asked dreamily. It took a bit for Ginny to follow Luna's thought pattern on this. The fact that she could surprised her, for usually no one could.
"It wasn't from Zack's mum, it was from mine. She was upset about me being on the Quidditch team." Ginny hung her head. She didn't see Patrick look at the sky with an amused grin and shake his head. If Luna did she didn't let on. "She was angry that I would place myself in physical danger and that it would interfere with studying for OWLs."
That was what the letter had said. She could still hear some of it in her head. "YOU COULD BE HURT! FLYING IS TOO DANGEROUS! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STUDY IF YOU'RE OFF FLYING INTO BLUDGERS! I THOUGHT YOU HAD MORE SENSE THAN THAT!"
Her thoughts were interupted by Patrick. "Ginny." His tone sounded like a teacher leading a student through the steps to figure out a problem while trying to get that student to figure it out themselves. "You were on the team last year. Playing seeker of all things, the most dangerous position. Was your mother mad then?"
Ginny thought back. "No." She wondered where he was going with this. "No, she wasn't." That realization caused the sadness to go away and to be replaced by confusion.
Luna interrupted, "I heard Ernie MacMillian got a Howler from the Ministry of Magic. It asked him to stop sending letters of advice." Ginny looked at her for a moment, wondering what in the world that had to do with anything. Then it hit her.
Ernie got a Howler about not sending advice, which he might have done, but the Ministry rarely sent Howlers.
Zack got a Howler about low grades, but he usually got top marks.
Draco got a Howler about not getting better grades then Hermione, which was true and his mother being angry about that was entirely feasible. But it had also said he had a crush on her, which she hoped wasn't true.
Pansy got a Howler about making out with Harry, which he claimed wasn't true, and she hoped desperately wasn't true.
She had heard the Head Boy and Girl had gotten howlers. Howlers were rare, and never had such a high concentration of them come on the same day. Most definitely not to most of the prefects. Ron and Hermione hadn't gotten one but the day wasn't over yet. But who would send fake Howlers to all the prefects?
It was Friday. Someone had been playing pranks every week since the start of school. Nothing else had happened that week that could be considered a prank.
"If I find them, I'm going to kill them," she said through clenched teeth.
Patrick looked at her with amusement. Luna, apparently forgetting what was happening, was staring up at the sky, murmuring things like, "a rabbit with one ear," or, "Snorkack foot."
"Thanks guys, I feel much better." She got up and marched back into the castle.
Patrick watched her go and then turned to Luna. Seeing that she was occupied, he left without saying good bye. Five steps into the castle he came across his sister, putting a helmet back on a suit of armor, backwards.
"You messed up," he informed her. Fay looked at him like he had just told her he had "tinkled."
"What do you mean, I messed up?" she asked, not believing him.
"Ginny was on the Quidditch team last year. Her mother wouldn't be mad about it if she was on it again."
Clearly confused, Fay asked, "But I thought she was the new chaser on the Gryffindor team?"
"She is. Potter got suspended last year, so she filled in as Seeker." He grinned. It wasn't often that Fay made such a huge error.
"You could have told me."
"You could have told me what you were going to write. But you didn't." He continued walking down the corridor, giving himself one point in the continuing game he and his sister played. According to his memory, the score was now 107 to 105. A two point lead. That was rare. He walked down to the kitchens to celebrate.
***
The Great Hall was full of noise and laughter at supper. Everyone was talking about the plague of Howlers and their Prefect recipients. Some, mostly at the Hufflepuff table, felt sorry for the prefects. It didn't stop them from laughing about it though. The Gryffindors were used to laughing at others' humiliation, almost of them had known the Weasley twins after all. Ravenclaws found the little tidbits of information in the letters the funniest. And no house enjoyed other people's disgrace more than Slytherin.
The prefects and the head of houses were all in the transfiguration classroom. Desks were to the sides and the professors were leaning on them, or in Flitwick's case, standing on them. The prefects, all twenty-four, sat in the rows of chairs, talking among themselves.
It wasn't missed by many that several of the prefects seemed to be avoiding each other. Ginny was sitting as far from Draco as she could. Hermione was sitting as far from Ron as she could. Draco was sitting as far as possible from Ginny and Hermione. He was also sitting away from Ron, who had gotten over his sickness and was currently looking as if he wanted to punch someone. That was made more difficult because Ron was trying to sit far away from Hermione, for two reasons.
During a morning class, Hermione had received a Howler. Ron had planned on being supportive like a good friend. Until he had heard who it was from. The thick accent made it clear who had sent it, Viktor Krum. Then to the amazement of everyone, including Hermione, Krum broke up with her. It had hurt Ron deeply, for despite Hermione's frequent denials, he had always had a suspicion that there was something between those two. It didn't help that during a class after lunch he had received a Howler.
It had been from Bill. The words still rang in his mind. "JUST TELL THE GIRL YOU LIKE HER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO HEAR LETTER AFTER LETTER ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS, HOW SMART, HOW UNDERSTANDING! I DON'T CARE IF IT MIGHT RUIN YOUR FRIENDSHIP, JUST TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL!" He had been so embarrassed he had spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in the Owlery. He was about to run and hide again out of shame when Dumbledore called for attention.
"Are you all here? If you are not please raise your hand." He waited for a moment and glanced around, searching for a hand. "Good." He was beaming. Very few people in the room were in the mood for Dumbledore's usual antics. If he knew that, he didn't care. "Now, I understand this meeting was called to discuss the letters you all have been receiving," he gestured toward the prefects, "I also understand that these must make you upset-" Draco was not the only one to snort in frustration. Dumbledore held his hand up for patience. "However, unless the letters start to threaten your life, there is little I can do. Especially since many of you received them from you families."
"And the Ministry of Magic," added Ernie Macmillian dejectedly.
"The Ministry doesn't send Howlers," said Zack from the back row.
Dumbledore commented, "The Ministry does send Howlers, but rarely. They have only sent two in the past year. One of them, I'm pleased to say, I had the joy of receiving. The minister never choose to tell me who received the other." He said the last sentence with more than the usual twinkle in his eye.
There was silence for a moment except for the sound of cloth on cloth as Hermione's hand shot up into the air. The sixth years and some of teachers couldn't help but roll their eyes and smile at the familiar sight. Dumbledore looked at Hermione over the bridge of his glasses, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Yes Miss. Granger."
Hermione hesitated for a moment, not sure whether to stand or remain seated, and then stood so all could see her. "Professor," she began, "I have reason to believe that none of us received letters from our families today."
"What do ya mean we didn't?" asked a fifth year Hufflepuff who had received a rather humiliating Howler from his mother about wearing dirty underwear two days in a row. "I know what me mum sounds like, and that was definitely her." There were murmurs of agreement from around the room. Dumbledore held up his hand for quiet for a third time.
"Would you be so kind as to enlighten us, Miss Granger? Explain to us your reasoning."
"Of course Professor." She turned to face the other prefects. "Every single," she stressed the word, "one of us has received a Howler today."
"I didn't!" the youngest Slytherin Prefect interrupted.
Before anyone else could react, Draco Malfoy, who happened to behind the boy, spoke up. "Yes you did, you moron! You got it in the common room before lunch." He seemed to gain confidence. Picking on someone was the fastest way for him to do that, especially when they were weaker. "It announced to the whole house you had a muggle grandfather. Now shut up and listen to Granger." He returned his attention to Hermione.
"Thank you-" Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she paused, "Malfoy. Now as I was saying, we all got Howlers. Most of us, if not all, got them for things we never did." There wear murmurs of agreement and some shuffling of feet of those that wasn't true for. Fortunately, no one noticed who had moved their feet. "So does it not strike you as odd that we all get untrue Howlers the same day?" She stopped, waiting for them to understand.
"What do you mean? That someone got our families and others to write to us all on the same day?" Ernie Macmillian asked. Every Slytherin, and some other students, rolled their eyes at the stupidity of the Hufflepuff.
Ginny stood up and turned to face the crowd. "Every week for the last month, a huge prank has been pulled on the school."
"That's not true," the youngest Slytherin spoke up again. "There hasn't been one this week." The statement hung in the air for a bit. Five seconds later the boy was rubbing the back of his head where Draco had hit him. Even the Hufflepuffs now understood what was happening.
"We've got to find them." Ernie stood and faced the crowd. Small groans emerged from some of the students. Ernie was in speech mode. "It is our duty as prefects to find the students responsible for these interruptions of the school. And I promise you, from this day forward, I will not shrink from my responsibilities and will devote every waking moment to their capture. I urge you all to join me in the fight against these anarchists that are trying to destroy authority at Hogwarts." He paused, expecting a chorus of cheers. No one even clapped. Ginny thought she saw even Dumbledore roll his eyes.
"Very nice, Ernie." Hermione tried to sound supportive but was not do a convincing job so she changed tactics, and addressed the group again. "Does anyone have any idea who might be responsible for these pranks?"
Anthony Goldstein held up his hand half-heartedly. "Fred and George Weasley." Several laughed while Hermione and Ernie just look disgusted.
"Seriously. Does anyone have any clues at all?" There was much looking around the room, but no one spoke.
Dumbledore chose that moment to take back control of the meeting. "I suggest we all keep our eyes and ears open for any possible clues. If you find anything, please tell either Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape. Thank you for your time. I suggest we return to the Great Hall to see if the others have left any food for us."
They started to file out of the room. Only Dumbledore remained where he was. Since Ginny had been in the first row, she was among the last to leave. She thought she heard behind her, "This ought to be interesting." But when she turned around to see the speaker she only saw Professor Dumbledore, eyes twinkling, staring back at her.
***
Fay entered the Great Hall a minute before the prefects arrived. Ignoring her brother's questioning look, she went to her table. Soon a paper airplane was heading over to the Ravenclaw table. Patrick caught it and read.
It said: ERNIE MACMILLIAN IS AFTER US. RUN FOR THE HILLS. P.S: SO ARE THE OTHER PREFECTS.
The first thing Zack asked when he sat down was why Patrick was laughing so hard.
A/N: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. PRESS THE LITTLE BUTTON AND YOU CAN REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Masterharper: Shut up Jade.
