Chapter 22
Winter is coming
Autumn came and went quickly and soon it was winter. All of Hogwarts was now covered in a carpet of snow. Their Potions class, the one that the Gryffindors shared with the Slytherins, had become sheer torture...torture for the Slytherins, it seemed.
It appeared that Professor Snape wanted to continue to be Professor Bat´s boyfriend...very badly. As that was the case, that meant that he handed out to the Slytherins a nearly equal share of punishment as he did for the Gryffindors. But the true icing on the cake for Harry and his friends came one day when Malfoy maliciously threw some mouse entrails at Harry.
"Who's responsible for this, Potter?" Snape asked, his dark eyes narrowing in anger.
"It was Malfoy, sir," Harry said truthfully as he swept up the entrails from his table.
Snape rounded maliciously on a very troubled and surprised Draco Malfoy. "Detention, Malfoy! As well as fifty points from Slytherin, just to make certain such a revolting display never happens again."
After class, as they walked in the corridor for their next lesson, the trio remarked upon this new development. "You know what?" Ron threw out in happiness. "I hope that Professor Bat stays on until we graduate from school. I mean, if that´s what it takesto make Snape treat us fairly, I don´t ruddy care how disgusting it is."
Not surprisingly, the topic of discussion led once again to the Hogwarts Sisters. "I still mean what I say," Ron proclaimed to both Harry and Hermione. "I don´t care that Tabby really is McGonnagal, she's still better than Hawkeye."
"I wouldn't keep saying that aloud with Amelia nearby, mate," Harry cautioned Ron. Once they arrived, the Great Hall was nearly deserted yet, so they put on their Hogwarts Sisters CD, and played the song "Gummi Bears". As it played, the three were soon singing right along.
Gummi Bears! Bouncing here and there and everywhere, High adventures that are beyond compare, They are the Gummi Bears!
The three smiled at one another as the song came to an end, looking up when Amelia and Mariah showed up, book bags in hand. As the two joined their friends, the next song began to play, which was "Ghostbusters". The song blared loudly as Hermione had put the player under the "Sonorus" spell. Before long, the Great Hall was packed, teachers and students alike enjoying the impromptu concert.
"Look, you can see they're all remembering back to when they sang those songs," Amelia pointed out, pointing up to the head table where the four Hogwarts Sisters now sat.
"What do you mean by that, Amelia?" Ron asked.
"Don't you see my Aunt Min singing quietly to herself?" Mariah observed.
"Yes, and there's Mum nodding her head to the rhythm. Look, there's Professor Sprout drumming her fingers on the tabel as if they were drums," Amelia added. That song ended, and the next began. This one was titled "Hakuna Matata", and soon had fingers and toes to tapping.
Much to everyone's surprise---and delight--- the Hogwarts Sisters could bear it no longer, and broke out into song, singing:
Hakuna Matata, What a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matata, Ain't no passing craze! It means no worries, for the rest of your days. It´s a problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata!
While the faculty stared at them in surprise, the student body broke into cheering and applause.
Noticing the stares of her fellow instructors, Madam Hooch glared back at them, her golden hawk-like eyes shining. "What?" Xiomara asked. "Is it suddenly against the law to sing?"
The abashed faculty was forced look away, and took up awkward conversation while the Trio, with Amelia and Mariah tried very hard not to laugh.
Later on in the day...when they headed off toward their beds for the night (which, by the way, was the last day before the much anticipated Christmas holidays), they had no idea of the series of events awaiting them the very next day.
This whole episode began when Dobby and a few other House Elves arrived to clean up the Gryffindor common room. Unbeknownst to the kind-hearted and diligent House Elves, they unwittingly let a totally white ferret into the common room. The ferret, slinking slyly along the wall, ducked beneath a display stand, where it smiled before curling up and falling sound asleep...
Winter is coming
Autumn came and went quickly and soon it was winter. All of Hogwarts was now covered in a carpet of snow. Their Potions class, the one that the Gryffindors shared with the Slytherins, had become sheer torture...torture for the Slytherins, it seemed.
It appeared that Professor Snape wanted to continue to be Professor Bat´s boyfriend...very badly. As that was the case, that meant that he handed out to the Slytherins a nearly equal share of punishment as he did for the Gryffindors. But the true icing on the cake for Harry and his friends came one day when Malfoy maliciously threw some mouse entrails at Harry.
"Who's responsible for this, Potter?" Snape asked, his dark eyes narrowing in anger.
"It was Malfoy, sir," Harry said truthfully as he swept up the entrails from his table.
Snape rounded maliciously on a very troubled and surprised Draco Malfoy. "Detention, Malfoy! As well as fifty points from Slytherin, just to make certain such a revolting display never happens again."
After class, as they walked in the corridor for their next lesson, the trio remarked upon this new development. "You know what?" Ron threw out in happiness. "I hope that Professor Bat stays on until we graduate from school. I mean, if that´s what it takesto make Snape treat us fairly, I don´t ruddy care how disgusting it is."
Not surprisingly, the topic of discussion led once again to the Hogwarts Sisters. "I still mean what I say," Ron proclaimed to both Harry and Hermione. "I don´t care that Tabby really is McGonnagal, she's still better than Hawkeye."
"I wouldn't keep saying that aloud with Amelia nearby, mate," Harry cautioned Ron. Once they arrived, the Great Hall was nearly deserted yet, so they put on their Hogwarts Sisters CD, and played the song "Gummi Bears". As it played, the three were soon singing right along.
Gummi Bears! Bouncing here and there and everywhere, High adventures that are beyond compare, They are the Gummi Bears!
The three smiled at one another as the song came to an end, looking up when Amelia and Mariah showed up, book bags in hand. As the two joined their friends, the next song began to play, which was "Ghostbusters". The song blared loudly as Hermione had put the player under the "Sonorus" spell. Before long, the Great Hall was packed, teachers and students alike enjoying the impromptu concert.
"Look, you can see they're all remembering back to when they sang those songs," Amelia pointed out, pointing up to the head table where the four Hogwarts Sisters now sat.
"What do you mean by that, Amelia?" Ron asked.
"Don't you see my Aunt Min singing quietly to herself?" Mariah observed.
"Yes, and there's Mum nodding her head to the rhythm. Look, there's Professor Sprout drumming her fingers on the tabel as if they were drums," Amelia added. That song ended, and the next began. This one was titled "Hakuna Matata", and soon had fingers and toes to tapping.
Much to everyone's surprise---and delight--- the Hogwarts Sisters could bear it no longer, and broke out into song, singing:
Hakuna Matata, What a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matata, Ain't no passing craze! It means no worries, for the rest of your days. It´s a problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata!
While the faculty stared at them in surprise, the student body broke into cheering and applause.
Noticing the stares of her fellow instructors, Madam Hooch glared back at them, her golden hawk-like eyes shining. "What?" Xiomara asked. "Is it suddenly against the law to sing?"
The abashed faculty was forced look away, and took up awkward conversation while the Trio, with Amelia and Mariah tried very hard not to laugh.
Later on in the day...when they headed off toward their beds for the night (which, by the way, was the last day before the much anticipated Christmas holidays), they had no idea of the series of events awaiting them the very next day.
This whole episode began when Dobby and a few other House Elves arrived to clean up the Gryffindor common room. Unbeknownst to the kind-hearted and diligent House Elves, they unwittingly let a totally white ferret into the common room. The ferret, slinking slyly along the wall, ducked beneath a display stand, where it smiled before curling up and falling sound asleep...