(A/N) Wow…it's been about two years since I've last written on this…oh well, here goes!)
Chapter 6
A Slightly More Tender Moment in Which Harry takes a vow and the author makes a title that is far too long
All that could be heard ringing through the stone corridors was the echo wheezing. Students collapsed in the hallways; they writhed around on the floors. They twitched during classes. The very tapestries on the walls seemed to melt, and if one were to look very closely at a patch of nearby ground, silvery puddles seemed to form.
'I can't take it anymore!' Hermione finally cried one day, slamming her fist down on the table. 'I can't stand it!' Harry, sitting right next to her, nodded sympathetically and sipped on his milkshake. Not that he had taken in a word she was saying. Ron, on the other hand, was still watching them beadily from the balcony above, rocking back and forth and cradling a bucket of dried shrimp peelings. He vaguely sniffed it until a look of complete and utter contentment and disorientation slid onto his face, and he began to giggle.
'Ron, stop that," Hermione commanded. She reached over and threw a nearby owl at him, forcing him to retreat to the shadows. Hermione cocked an eyebrow and continued reading the enormous book sitting in her lap, which was entitled, How to Transfigure Prawns, and Other Useful Things to Know. Though she had needed visit the restricted section of the library to get it, she thought the effort was well worth it. Already she knew how to turn Harry into a crustacean, if the need arose.
Harry finished his milkshake and slammed it down on the table with relish. He smacked his lips and stared out the window at the first years, who were practicing with broomsticks. It brought a smile to his face. They were all hovering in the air, taking gravity by the neck and blowing raspberries in its face. They hovered just above the treetops, much the way a brick wouldn't, unless it were under the influence of a wingardium leviosa spell, in which case it might.
'Harry, what are we going to do about this?' Hermione muttered, joining him to stare at the fist years. 'People are dying, Harry. They need shrimp.' Harry nodded seriously, and pondered the problem for a moment.
'Lord Voldemort's behind it,' he said finally. 'I just know it. Only he would do something this cruel, this twisted, this'-
'Well,' Hermione interrupted. 'I kind of thought it was because we had been eating shrimp so much.'
'What are the odds that shrimp are the only food that the wizarding world can't transfigure?' Harry cried, bringing his fist down on the windowsill.
'Wait a minute!' Hermione said suddenly, lighting up. 'I know how we can do it, I read it in a book once!'
'Really?' Harry gasped.
'Nah, I'm just kidding,' said Hermione. 'We're pretty much doomed to be shrimpless forever. Unless we convert to prawns.'
'NEVER!' yelled Harry. 'That's just what Lord Voldemort wants us to do. We must never give in, Hermione!' He looked so passionate and forceful, that, for a split second, Hermione thought him to be attractive. But then she remembered how short he was, and pushed the thought from her mind.
'Harry, Lord Voldemort is gone,' Hermione told him. 'Remember? Dumbledore destroyed him.'
'Well, then, he must have somehow survived. I'm sure of it. Call it woman's intuition, but I'm bloody well sure of it.'
'Um, Harry, you don't have woman's intuition,' Hermione pointed out.
'Eer, yes, of course," Harry muttered. Then, quickly changing the subject, he declared, 'I plan to get those shrimps back. I promise.'
'Pinky promise?' Hermione asked, with a tear in her eye. Harry nodded severely, and locked his pinky with hers. They both shuddered at the contact. Then, without further ado, Harry leapt through the window, because he was too eccentric to use the door. He screamed as the shards of glass embedded themselves into his arms, and accio'd his broomstick before he fell to his death.
'What a messed up child,' Hermione sighed, watching Harry fly off into the distance.
(A/N: I'm sorry if it's not up to par, but it's been a while. Cheers to all the people who have reviewed!)