Chapter 3
Queen Sierra
Carly, Cameron, Jade, Laura, and Shayla all ran out of their house's door, and down the hall to their first class, Transfiguration. Though it wasn't their favorite class, the girls really liked Professor Halo Dunken, who always tried to make lessons fun with a trick or two up his sleeve. Transfiguration was somewhat difficult because of what they had to change objects into. All five girls feared their seventh year because it is the year where they had to turn a frog into a working wand, and they have to perform three moderate charms with it.
The girls all turned to the door that said "Room 4232" and pushed it open. Professor Dunken had already begun the lesson on turning rats into irons.
"Ladies, you are very late!" Professor Dunken, a young, tall wizard with light brown hair, pointed to the crooked clock on the left wall. The students in the room turned to see the five standing at the doorway. "I will talk to you after class, girls."
The five girls sat down in their usual right corner farthest away from the Professor, sweating excessively. Professor Dunken continued with the lesson, turning another rat into a working iron with a "Rattus Wrinktollis" spell. Carly turned to page two hundred and fifty seven, when she heard a ripple of usual snickering.
Across the room, in the corner, sat a group of three girls and two boys, all quietly laughing and snearing so Professor Dunken wouldn't hear. Sierra Pomatress was one of the most popular girls in Serpentine, mostly for her money, her deathly beauty, and her selfish ways of recruiting followers. Sierra's father, Luden Pomatress, was the prosecuter for witches and wizards who find themselves in Askaban. Her slanted,emerald green eyes and full-lipped mouth smirked at the five. She flipped her pin-straight strawberry blond hair over her shoulder after every little secret she told and scrunched her pointed nose at every laugh. Next to Sierra sat Malfichio Raiderstrong, the rudest most inconsiderate boy in the school, and that was how Sierra liked her men. Malfichio had dark brown hair that was clean cut all the time. He had the same smirk on his pale, freakled face as Sierra did, only his eyes were as black and as cold as the night time sky would be without stars. Next to Malfichio was his best friend, Cale Pierce, a tall, muscular bully with dark blond spiked hair who beats up people for Sierra and Malfichio who they don't like. Sitting in front of Sierra, Malfichio, and Cale was Yayo Coaltrain and Michelle Dulan, Sierra's best friends and loyal followers. Yayo was a short blond girl who was mean, angry, and somewhat violent. Her eyes pierced into the souls she hated and many avoided her. Michelle was a tall black haired girl with cold blue eyes and ghostly white skin that made her appear dead. As judgemental as Sierra and as bitter as Yayo, she was like any other Serpentine student, sly and cunning with hints of evil. None of the five Serpentines ever payed the slightest bit of attention in Transfiguration, spending most of their time making up rumors and jokes about Carly, Cameron, Jade, Laura, and Shayla.
Off and on during the lesson, Carly, who sat closest to Sierra and her friends, heard snipets of their conversation. Some was the usual rumor creating stuff about Carly and her friends, like how they think Carly and Micheal Price, a good friend of Carly's, who is in Falcolnfury, are dating each other, and a very crude rumor about Laura and Adam Singer, another good friend of the girls in Foxestress, have snuck off together and done some unmentionable things together. Carly learned how to ignore Sierra's torturous rumors with a swift brush off the shoulder. Once Sierra got bored, she started on students in the class, who didn't just brush these sort of things off their shoulder.
"I wonder how many times Gregory Grepe is going to end up in detention, he's such a loser." Somebody whispered from Sierra's group. Gregory Grepe was a tall, black haired boy in Falconfury who had a bit of a nag of getting in trouble. "I wonder if we could count every time he twitches his eye, but it's so freaky, I can't even watch."
"What about that stupid fourth year girl, Caitlin Trellis? She needs to go back to a special class. I heard she can't even do a lumos charm without exploding a few glasses and mugs. At least she's not a stupid mudblood like Jade Lumino. I can't stand anybody who is even half-blood. Why did we even start to marry into muggle families. It makes our wizards terrible as magic is squeezed out of families. It's just too sad." The word 'mudblood', made Carly cringe, alot because the snearing was about her friend. Carly ignored them until the end of the lesson, which Professor Dunken ended with turning his desk into a bear. He dismissed class, and Carly, Cameron, Jade, Laura, and Shayla all went to the desk, which he just changed to it's original form.
"Girls, I need to talk to you." Professor Dunken sat in his chair on the opposite side. "As you know, he-who-must-not-be-named has returned, and the wizarding world is no longer as safe as it used to be. He may not be after you specifically, but he is trying to rid magic of all good." A lump formed in Carly's throat, did he know about last night? "Death eaters are everywhere, and many good wizards have died in battles by the unforgivable curses they use. Tell me girls, has anything suspicious happened since you've gotten school," Carly started thinking about the letter, "Anybody wanting you to meet them in private or wanting secrets to the school or the ministry." Carly wanted to say yes, but the letter couldn't of been from somebody evil. Evil cannot love. "Anything, girls?"
"No sir," Carly felt a pain in her side, like she just made a terrible mistake that could cost her life.
"Cameron? Anything?" Cameron was staring at Carly.
"No." Cameron responded. Professor Dunken continued to question the other girls, all responded with the same answer.
"OK, then your detention for being late, again, will be next Friday night. An owl will be sent to each of you for your individual assignments." The girls all headed for the door. "Wait, I'm not done! Girls, I do have to say I am not impressed of you this year. You have been late every day since school has begun. Your detentions will not be as strenuous as usual because this is only tardiness, but if you keep this up, I will have to start deducting your grades. This year you have O.W.L.S and if you miss any part of your lessons, you won't have very good job opportunities because of test scores. You may go, and girls!" The girls had darted to the door, "Please, be very cautionous, Death Eaters are not forgiving, unless you join them." The five nodded and headed towards lunch.
The lunch hall was already full of hungry witches and wizards. They approached their table where two boys, both in different houses and not in Cougarfang, sat on either side of five seats covered with bags and books they saved for the five girls. Micheal Price and Adam Singer stood up to greet them. Micheal was an average sized boy with long, dark wavy hair, with bleached tips. Micheal had a very bad past with his family. He never talks about it, but he as to live with foster parents. He has alwas had a sort of a crush on Carly, but hid his feelings to avoid teasing from Sierra. Adam Singer was much smaller than Micheal. He had dark blond hair and was a charmer with the girls, especially Laura.
The seven sat down. "Where were you five?" Micheal asked.
"We were late to Professor Dunken's class." Carly told him.
"Again?" Adam said joining in. "What did he give you?"
"A long speech and detention." Cameron said.
"What did he tell you?" The girls all told about Professor Dunken's warning, and what had happened last night.
"Do you think he knows?" said Micheal, who was in shock about the letter.
"We don't know." Carly said. The table went silent as a group of Serpentines passed, Sierra leading, all stairing at the seven. Sierra raised her eyebrow at Carly and Jade and smirked. As she passed, she did a fake cough, along with the word "mudblood".
"THAT'S IT!" Jade yelled as she stood up, ready to fight Sierra, "I AM SICK OF THIS! HOW ABOUT YOU GET BACK OVER HERE YOU COWARDLY BIT-" she called Sierra a rude name, though it totally described her. The hall was silent. Sierra turned back and walked calmly to Jade.
"What did you call me, Mudblood?"
"You heard me," Jade calmed her voice down, "I am sick of you making up rumors about people who don't desearve to be treated like sh-" Jade cursed again, "HOW ABOUT WE END THIS NOW, YOU AND ME!."
"I don't know about you, but the mudblood hurt my feelings. When and Where, Lumino?"
"Tonight at six, in the dueling room, Carly's my back up, you pick your back up."
"What about winning? What do I get, since I am going to win?"
"You decide yours, I'll decide mine, we sign both tonight in front of everybody, and seal it with blood, to make sure none of us go back on it. Deal?"
"Meet you there, loser." She skipped back to the Serpentine table. Jade sat down, shocked at what she just did. The group was silent.
"Where did that come from?" asked Shayla.
"I don't know, did I just make a mistake?"
"No!" Cameron said, "You can beat her!"
"I-I wasn't thinking! I'm sorry, Carly, I d-didn't mean to..." Jade buried her face in her hands.
"It's okay," Carly said. Jade looked up, "I can't wait until we embaress her in front of the entire school!"