The Journey to the Shrieking Shack
By Ron Weasley
"Hermione! Please! I've got better things to do than write in this stupid journal thing"
"Like what? Stealing food from the kitchens?"
"Fine! But remember, I'm only doing this thing because of the essay. Nothing else. Now will you just go back to your dormitory and leave me in peace?"
"No, because I have to see Lavender about something"
"Well don't talk to me!"
"I won't if you are busy writing"
Fine. So I'm Ron Weasely. Though I guess people would know be better as:
Fred and George's Little brother,
The weasel (by the Slytherin common room), '
That tight head boy; Percy's brother,
Another Weasley,
Brother of that girl, who got taken by Tom Riddle,
Red Head,
Best friend of the boy-who-lived,
Weasley the king (again, by the Slytherns),
Friend of the smartest witch in the school,
Or, the boy-who-flew-to-school-in-the-car in second year. Take your pick, really.
So, what to write about. Why did you force me to do this, Hermione? I mean honestly. What is there to write about? How the flesh-eating slug repellent is not working on Hagrid's cabbages as Collin Creevy found out at dinner? How Dean Thomas has beaten Neville thirty seven times at wizard chess this year already? Hang on, Neville. Well I guess that whole thing with Neville and the Whomping Willow….
Oh wait, Seamus is looking for someone to play gob stones with. Lavender and Parvati refused to play with him after they got squirted because of losing. This whole writing thing will have to wait.
Fine, I'm writing again. Though really, only because if Hermione found that I wasn't she wouldn't let me copy her notes for charms.
I won gobstones by the way, if anyone cares. I guess not, since Percy was the Gob stones champion when he was in third year at Hogwarts
Anyway, it all started when a colossal blast was heard from the direction of our seventh year boy's dormitory. Everyone was used to these bangs whilst Fred and George were at Hogwarts, but after they left, everything got quiet.
The entire lot for Gryffindors peered into our room. Standing there was Neville with a sheepish look on his face, wand in his hand and a shell on his back. I looked at Harry, who was paying one of his usual visits to the common room, and said
"You find out what happened, I'll get Hermione."
-^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -
"Come on Neville, so far all you have told us, is that you tried to transfigure your self into a snail" Said Hermione
"And we can see you have failed" Harry said
"If I tell you, you have to promise to help me, Hermione especially" Whispered Neville
Hermione looked sceptical; however, Harry and I persuaded Neville to speak.
"I got this letter delivered this morning, by this great tawny owl while I was eating my breakfast. It was a very nice breakfast, I might add. I do love sausages and eggs, don't you? Just the meal to start the day"
"Yes, Neville, breakfast was jolly good, but what did the letter say?" Interrupted Harry
"Oh yes, the letter. It was quite strange, really, as I rarely, as I don't normally get letters, useless my gran is sending on something that I forgot. Do you remember that rememberball? I got given it in first year. Then Whathizname stole it, and hid it somewhere, then someone fought him, and then did something, and…oh, I've forgotten"
"Neville, can we see the actual letter?"
"Oh, sure. Now where did I put it?
Finally, we got the letter. It read
Dear Mr Neville Longbottom
I have vital information concerning your parents. Meet me in the shrieking shack at 8 pm tonight. Enter through the whoomping willow, and come alone. Totally alone.
There was not signature on the note.
"OK, Neville, so someone wants to meet you in the shrieking shack, I get that part, but why are you trying to transform your self into a snail?" I asked
"I was trying to sneak out of the common room without being noticed, and to get to the shrieking shack, I need to get under the Whomping willow."
"But, why a snail?" Harry questioned "People hate snails!"
"Yeah," I added "Imagine what would happen if Archie Fitzpatrick had seen you? You know how paranoid he is about his geraniums"
"Why, just the other day, when I was looking out the window, he came running across the common room, and yelled at me for casting a shadow over Gerhard, his red geranium. I got a lecture about how geraniums need no less than 6 hours, and 43 minutes of sunlight per day."
"Anyway" Hermione said interrupting Harry "Something needs to be done about Neville. If you are truly determined to meet this person, we have to figure out something. There is no way that I'm helping Neville into a snail, so any other ideas?
"A lady bug?" Neville asked
"NO!" Harry Hermione and I shouted at the same time. No transfiguring into bugs. Or any animals. Or anything at all" I said firmly
"You could just use my invisibility cloak you know…" Harry suggested
"So there is another point to him being the boy who lived than just defeating lord Voldemort" I said grinning, and then stopped as Harry hit me
"So are we going, to get this over and done with?" Hermione asked "I'd hate to be expelled before I handed that history of magic essay in, I'm quite proud of how I've argued that one"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
"Ouch, that was my foot!" Harry exclaimed
"This cloak was not made for four people" I commented
"This would've been so much easier if you had just transfigured me into a snail!" Neville sighed
"Well, here we are at the Whomping Willow" Hermione said, relieved.
A few moments silence passed. "What are we waiting for?" I asked
"If we try to crawl under now, we will obtain multiple injuries, and that would not be of benefit to us." Hermione explained
"If you had just transformed me in a snail…" Neville muttered
"As if a snail could push the button to stop the tree" I scoffed
We were quiet for a few moments more, when we suddenly heard a rustling, and foot prints were appearing in the dirt very close to where we were standing. All of a sudden, the foot prints ceased, and claw indents could be seen, and a few seconds later, the branches of the Whomping Willow came to a halt."
"Well that was easy," Stated Neville
"Easy, maybe. But don't you see?" Hermione was looking at us with wide eyes "Whoever that just was then, in an invisibility cloak, is probably who sent that note to you Neville, who is meeting you tonight."
~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*
"Gosh it's dark in here" Neville exclaimed
"Where's your wand? Don't you know lumos?" Hermione snapped.
"Oh wand. Yes. Uh wand. Where's my wand? Seriously dude, where's my wand?"
"Neville! You are absolutely hopeless. Accio Neville's wand"
No one knew where from no one knew how, but Neville's wand came zooming into his hand.
"Thanks" Neville said sheepishly
The four of us crept further along the dark passageway, and then finally into a shadow filled room. Suddenly, I heard rapid breathing coming from my left. Hermione looked at us, her eyes filled with fear.
"Hermione?" I asked urgently
"I have Blennophobia" strutted in a whispered voice
Seriously, she has to be the only person who would use big words like that when she's about to faint.
"Fear of what, Hermione?" Asked Harry
"Sl-slime!" She whispered
"Slime?" Harry, Neville, and I all exclaimed at once
"Hermione?" Neville asked, concerned
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" She yelled
"So that's what would've appeared if you faced that boggart." Harry said, thinking
"AND THERE IS SLIME IN HERE!" Hermione yelled, on the edge of being hysterical
After my eardrums had stopped exploding from her screaming, Harry figured out a way to turn the slime into jelly, and once again, we were off, down the dark passage way, to the shrieking shack.
-^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -
"Mr Neville Longbottom?" A voice from the shadows spoke
Neville Jumped. I of course was perfectly calm, and in contr…
"You were so not!"
"Hermione, stop reading over my shoulder! I'm doing this stupid writing thing, aren't I?"
"The only other time I've heard you scream louder than that was with Aragog in Defence against the Dark arts last week
"Shut up! You would have screamed too if a great big dirty spider was trying to curse you!"
"Ron, Aragog was teaching us how to block those spells"
"If you don't mind, Hermione, You are blocking my writer's brain at the moment, if you would kindly excuse me, I have a journal to finish writing"
I'd recognise that voice anywhere.
"Malfoy!" I shouted "What are you doing here?"
"Lumos" Hermione muttered, and Harry, Neville and I followed suit.
The light reached around all corners of the room, but there was still no sign of Malfoy. What the hell?
"Malfoy! Show your self" Harry demanded
"Make me" He drawled back
"I'll curse you" Harry threatened
"Oh, I'm so scared"
"Fine. Have it your way then. Just go away, we've got a meeting to attend" I said sternly"
"Yes, a secret meeting" Neville added. "So go away"
Hermione groaned and muttered "If he was going to get lost, all chance of that is spoilt now."
The four of us stood facing Malfoy.
"So are you going?" I asked
"Does it look like I am?" He answered back
"Fine then. I'll make you move"
"Just try" He Sneered
Harry smirked. "What about this?" He asked "I've waiting for ages to try this out on you" He muttered something, and smirked again. A patch of Malfoy's hair turned to powder, and fall out
"You're going to pay for that" Snarled Malfoy, who looked like he was about to explode with anger
"Spice up your life" He said with his wand pointing at Harry
"Arh" Harry coughed. "My mouth, my mouth! Water" He choked
"What's the matter?" Asked Malfoy, as innocently as possible for him.
"Taste buds are being set on fire" Harry managed to cough out
"Don't you like spicy food?" He asked
"NO!" He sputtered
"Careful, Scarhead, your face is turning as red as a Weasley's hair
Both Harry and I glared at him, Harry looking particularly dangerous, as smoke was coming out of his ears and mouth.
"Take it off him!" Shouted Neville
"What's the counter curse?" I asked
"Weasley, haven't you been paying attention in Defence against the dark arts?" Malfoy asked with one eyebrow raised "Oh that's right, ickle Ronnikins is afraid of the big bad spider"
"Shut up" I said firmly
"Yeah." Added Neville "Stop right now, thank you very much. I need somebody with the human touch"
"Too much of something is bad enough but something's coming over to make me wonder Too much of nothing is just a tough. Meaning, give Harry some oxygen!" Exclaimed Hermione
"I don't wannabe a sook, but please take it off me. I want to have some taste buds left to taste the next feast"
"Take it off you? God, you're boring"
"Malfoy, you don't take that curse off Harry, I'll turn all of your hair to powder!" Said Hermione firmly
"Fine!" Shouted Malfoy, and removed the curse from Harry.
"Damn, I wanted to wreak your hair" muttered Hermione
Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a roar came from behind. All five of us, including Malfoy, sharply turned around. Staring at us through the shadows, were two big, green eyes. Flames appeared, lighting up that corner of the room. A scaly face with a snout was illuminated, A dragon was standing before us.
"Quick! Run" I yelled. We all up the dark passage, not really noticing the lack of light anymore
"Faster!" Harry shouted "it's getting closer'
"Come on, you Gryffindors are so slow! If there was going to one time to put effort into running, this would be the time! "Malfoy drawled
"I can see the light! Puffed Hermione
"Finally!" Said Harry
Hermione crawled out first, followed by Harry, then it should have been me, but of course being a Slytherin, Malfoy pushed in front of me, and slithered out. Finally, I got myself through the hole. I crawled under the braches of the tree, but suddenly, the branches started moving! With the lightening quick reflexes I have…
Hermione, would you like me to get you some cough lollies?
I jerked my leg out just as the branch slammed down. Unfortunately, it slammed down on my little toe.
Wouldn't that just be my luck! The only time something interesting to make me more special than my brothers has happened to me, Madam Pomfrey fixed it up in a flick of her wand. How totally not fair is that!
-^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -^\_v -
YAY! I finally finished this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, review, and tell me. If not, review and tell me how to improve. Now for review replies
Ali ~ Yes I am perfectly aware that you like this fic, you tell me almost every time you come on MSN. And you should be very happy I've finally updated
Sam ~ I've put it in the humour genre now. Thanks. You should be grateful I've updated, since I'm actually meant to be doing my textiles assignment atm….
Zek Majiri ~ That was an interesting & amusing review….
_April_ ~ I've upDATEed!! Glad you like it!