Well, this is the next chapter of my story, hope you like! Thank-you jadestar and sami, my only devoted reviewers, this chapter wouldn't have been up if it weren't for you guys!
Chapter 6: Breakfast and Beyond
"Do you think we should wake her up?" I heard, the voice floating threw my head.
Are the talking about me? I wondered, slowly waking up. I then shot straight up in my bed. "What time is it? I muttered, still half asleep, peering though slitted eyes.
"7 o'clock," said the voice I now knew to belong to Lucy.
"Isn't breakfast at 8:00?" I asked, a little more awake.
"It is, but we need time to get ready," said Tori.
Might as well, I thought. So I stood up, put my cold feet on the ground and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I took a quick three minute shower , then grabbed a towel off the rack, wrapping it around my body, and walked out of the bathroom. I put on my school robes, shoved my books into my bag, and hauled it onto my shoulder. I then did a quick sweep of the, fondled Lily's ears, and went out the door.
At the bottom of the steps, I saw Tyler and Hermione waiting for me. "Where are Ron and Harry?" I queried.
"They're not awake yet," said Tyler, impishly.
"Should we wait for them?"
"No, they know there way to the Great Hall," said Hermione, looking up the boy's dormitory stairs, then looking at Tyler and me. "You don't."
So we followed the sixth year threw the portrait hole and down a corridor. Then into a secret passage way behind a tapestries that held a knight fighting a dragon. We climbed down the stairs and ended up in a passage not far from the Entrance Hall. We strode down that corridor, across the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall.
I had walked into a massive hall; it was about the size of a basketball court! Hermione lead Tyler and I to the Gryffindor table. We sat on one of the side of the table and Hermione sat on the other. Breakfast was displayed as: scrambled eggs and bagels on the table along with a large variety of fruits and juices. I scooped up a small mound of eggs on my plate. I gave it a dash of salt and pepper and dug in. Harry and Ron came in a minute later. Harry's hair was, if possible, messier then usual, and Ron's was damp, apparently he had tried to tame it. They both skidded into spots on either side of Hermione and sat down. Hermione was calmly nibbling a piece of toast. Harry and Ron made their selections and dug in with vigor.
"You'd think they hadn't seen food in days," I muttered to no one in particular. Tyler grinned and Hermione snorted into her pumpkin juice.
Ron looked up and blushed but then said, "Hey, breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Harry nodded earnestly as he chewed his eggs. I giggled and returned my attention to my eggs. I finished them and poured myself a goblet of apple juice, taking a sip of it and sighing.
Professor McGonagall had been walking down, along the Gryffindor and handed us our schedules. "Thank-you," I murmured, glancing at the schedule. She nodded in reply.
I looked at it for a second time and saw that today I had Care of Magical Creatures first today, then Herbology, and then Defense against the Dark Arts. That reminded me of something. "Who is the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher this year?" I asked Hermione. (Ron and Harry's mouth was full.)
"Here name is Professor Tharanld," said Hermione. "She used to be a muggle school teacher but she really is a witch, she just always wanted to be a teacher." I nodded, Okay, I guess that makes sense.
"My mum mentioned her once," said Ron who had been listening. "She said that Professor Tharanld was one of the best muggle teachers in England. She had been planning to retire but Dumbledore asked her if she wanted the job."
"How do you know so much about her?" asked Hermione, looking at Ron.
Ron shrugged."My mum read an article about her in the 'Daily Prophet'." Hermione raised her eyebrows in an expression that clearly said, "Oh". I tapped Tyler, who had listening. We were both finished with our breakfasts.
"Let's go to class." I said, standing. He nodded eagerly and we stood up.
"See you guys around," he said to the three older students who were now thinking about going to their classes.
Tyler and I walked out into the Entrance Hall. Its doors were wide open to tempt any breeze that might come by. We walked out the doors and onto the castle grounds. The ground was sprinkled with dew so it shined in the early morning light. I took a deep breath and could almost taste the slight crisp in the air. Tyler hummed a part of a song as we walked down the lawn to Hagrid's hut, where already two small crowds were gathered. I recognized Tori, Lucy, and Rachel, my dorm mates. I noticed some boys in Gryffindor school robes, Tyler's room mates. I made a mental note to ask Tyler who they were. I looked over to the other clump and saw two Slytherin girls, one with black hair and the other with brown, surrounded by Slytherin boys. I was wary of them so I went over to the Gryffindor group. But the two girls saw Tyler and me.
"Oh muggles," one of them called, as if I were a dog. I got tense but didn't turn around.Stay calm, I thought.
"Muggles," cawed the other one.
"Don't Hilary," Tyler muttered into my ear. Yeah, clam down! I scolded myself, breathing deeply. I felt a tap on my shoulder and whipped around, there stood one of the Slytherin girls.
Now that I saw her up close, I could tell that she was a beauty, with raven-black hair and sapphire eyes. She had a small delicate nose and high cheekbones. The girl grinned at me, showing perfect straight teeth. I gave a mental grimace, feeling my braces on my definitely not perfect teeth.
"Muggle," she demanded of me.
"I have a name, you know," I told her, keeping a tight rein on my temper. She raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question.
"Oh really," she said sarcastically.
"Really, really," I replied just as sarcastically.
"I know what it is!" said a Slytherin boy, whom I later learned was not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, if you know what I mean. "I bet it is Mug El."
I arched an eyebrow of my own. That was the worst comeback I had ever heard. He even put my littlest sister to shame, and that was saying something.
"Boy," I said, looking at the moron in green. "You need some serious 'comeback lessons.' Come see me when your brain gets rewired. And no," I said, turning to the Slytherin girl, "my name is not Mug El. My name is Hilary, Hilary Dolch….Great," I said when I peeked around the crowd and saw the patiently waiting Hagrid. "Now that introductions are done, I believe it's time for class." I nodded my head to where the Care of Magical Creatures teacher stood, and the Slytherin girl whipped her head around.
She obviously saw the half-giant thumping his foot on the ground, because she whipped back around and muttered, "This isn't over, Hilary!" She said my name as if it were poison, and marched off.
"Okay," said Hagrid once everyone was settled. "I 'ave 'ere a special surprise fer you today." He nodded and said for everyone to follow him as he led his way around the Forbidden Forest. I swallowed. Last time Hagrid had said something like that, Malfoy's arm had gotten savaged, not that that was a bad thing, I reminded myself. I pushed that thought away, and found that Rachel was walking next to me.
"Oh," I said, casting my mind for a topic of conversation.
"That was really brave what you did," she murmered.
"No, it wasn't,"
"Yes, it was.That girl is mean to everyone, even some of the Slytherins."
"Who is she, anyway," I queried, curious.
"Her name is Kelsey Schace. She is a pure-blood to the bone. That's why I don't understand why she can be so rotten." I giggled at the pun and she grinned. I had a hunch nobody had laughed at her jokes for a while. "Her crony," Rachel continued, "the one with the brown hair, her name is Sadie Lionee. She's not pure-blood, but she's just as rotten."
I looked at Sadie; all I could see of her was her shoulder-length brown hair swinging back and forth as she walked until she turned around and sneered at me. She had cold hazel eyes and a snub nose. She turned back around, her hair whirling. Sadie was a beauty, too, but did not hold a candle to Kelsey's radiance. I sighed. I did not hold a candle to either of them.
We reached a sizable pen that was under a giant oak tree. The whole class surrounded the pen. I looked in and saw what looked to be a litter of Jack Russell terriers, and young ones at that. They had button-black eyes, pointy little ears and white fur. Some had little brown eye patches. Others were just lightly speckled on the face.
They can't be Jack Russell terriers, I thought. This is Care of Magical Creatures. Then something tickled my mind. Wait a minute, that one book I... Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, It described something like this...I know what these are...
"Does anyone know what these creatures are," Hagrid bellowed over the quiet mutter of conversation. I waited a couple of seconds. It looked like no one else knew. I slowly raised my hand. He looked at me.
"Sorry, I don' know yer name," he said in his gruff voice.
"It's 'Hilary'," I said. "Those are crufs, wizard-bred dogs that are vicious toward Muggles and have forked tails. But these don't have forked tails," I added, picking up the nearest puppy who instantly began to lick my face.
"These aren't pure crufs," said Hagrid. "The other half is Jack Russell Terrier." I nodded my head and scratched the puppy behind the ear.
"It's not as ferocious toward Muggles and it don't have a forked tail. Your job is to raise, feed and train these crufs. It will be yer main project for this term. When they get older, the Ministry will find good homes for them." I put the puppy down as Hagrid paused and a small buzz of conversation came to life. "Now get into groups of two or three and pick a puppy."
Tyler, Rachel, and I looked at each other. "Well?" I said raising my eyebrows. Tyler nodded and Rachel nodded also, but slower than Tyler. We looked back at the pen. I saw the puppy I had held earlier and picked it up. It, again, proceeded to lick my face. I giggled and passed the puppy too Tyler, who, after a few minutes of cleaning, passed it to Rachel. Rachel cuddled the puppy, it was finally calmer.
"I wonder what sex it is." Rachel murmured to herself. "Does anyone know how to check?" she asked our small group.
I nodded and Rachel gave the puppy. I flipped it over on its stomach and, yep, it was defiantly a boy. Hagrid had been going around to the different groups, handing out different colored strings. I took a crinkled blue one and tied it around the puppy's neck.
"What should we call it?" I asked.
"How about Bennie?" asked Tyler, cocking head at the half cruf.
"Um…," said Rachel, thinking, "how about Amero?" she said after a moment.
"I like it." I said. "What do you think?" I asked the puppy. It yipped joyfully and tried to lick my chin. All of us laughed.
"Amero it is," said Tyler, scratching the puppy behind the ear.
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