Chapter Forty-One
Lucy followed Argus into a room on the third-floor corridor one afternoon. Inside this room stood a large stool, chair and desk for the half-giant boy coming in September. The girl was stunned as she came closer to it, sitting down onto the chair to test it out for size. It was big enough for her feet to come off the ground and large enough to fit both her and Argus. As the squib sat besides her.
"Now do you believe me?" Argus asked her with his arms crossed.
"Yes. This is quite extraordinary and look at his desk! It could fit so much stuff on it" Lucy replied with a wide grin.
Though she did wonder how a half-giant was going to do in Hogwarts. They could hardly enlarge the tables and chairs in the great hall. He couldn't fit onto a broomstick either. He was going to have some issues she thought as she inspected the giant stool next. Standing on top of it as she put her arms out as if she was about to walk the plank. Argus watched her for a a few moments as she jumped back down. Climbing on top of the desk and doing the same thing as she looked down with a giggle.
"I hope he's not in Hufflepuff" Argus remarked; making her look towards him again.
"Why ever not? A half-giant might be fun" Lucy answered.
"Because if he's a brute. You might be in danger"
"Aww...Well you can protect me, can't you?" Lucy asked with a small smile.
Making him blush slightly as he looked away. The girl jumped back down as she sat back besides Argus. He looked around one last time before getting up as he led her back outside the room. She locked arms with him as the children made their way back out into the hallway and onto where the staircase was. Peeves floating over them as he chanted...
"Squibby loves witchy! Squibby loves witchy!"
"Go away!" Argus snapped at the poltergeist.
Lucy giving him a glare herself as he carried on the chant. Argus just having to grit his teeth as he and Lucy tried to walk away from him. They briefly bumped into Eileen on the way down. The black-haired girl looked very pale as she gave a brief sorry. About to make her way past them as she just wanted to find somewhere without students present.
"I'm sorry about your father, Eileen" Lucy suddenly said. Making the girl pause as she turned back around.
"Thank you. It's been rough" Eileen answered quietly.
"I imagine. I couldn't cope if it happened to me...You are so brave. Having to deal with the awful newspaper and gossip-"
"What gossip?"
"Oh...Erm...You know, the gossip. Of cause I would never talk about gossip, my mother says gossip is just for the small-minded" Lucy nervously spoke.
"Your mother's a wise woman. Look I'm going now...Let's keep this chat to ourselves, yes?" Eileen asked.
Getting nods back from the pair of them. She breathed in before walking past them again and going up the staircase. Argus giving her a playful nudge before they began walking downwards again. Lucy still had her arm locked in his as they returned to the main hallway near the great hall.
...
"Goodbye kittens. Hello freedom" Ruth spoke on one early May weekend morning.
As today was the day where the kittens were finally going to be given away. The girls' dormitory would consist of only two cats once again. Lucy was already up and dressed as she carefully picked up the basket of kittens. Making her way out the common room and upstairs. She gave a gentle knock on the caretaker's office, Argus telling her to come in. He was given first choice as promised as she brought the dust-coloured and yellow-eyed kittens inside. Argus giving a small smile as his pet cat was here at last.
"Mrs Norris...Who looks like a Mrs Norris?" Argus asked rhetorically.
"My mother is Mrs Norris. I'm Miss Norris" Lucy tried to say.
"Shh...No talking. I think she acts a bit like you, Lucy. All the others are looking too keen. She meanwhile is quietly observant" Argus insisted.
Picking up the quiet female kitten which he named 'Mrs Norris'. The cat gave a small meow as he placed her onto his desk. Lucy giving a small smile as she gave her a small pet. Argus knew it would take a few more weeks for her to be trained but at least he could now begin it. Mrs Norris leaned back down as she stretched out on his desk with her paws pointing forwards.
"Well. That's it...Be good Mrs Norris" Lucy cooed. She was still not overjoyed at the name choice.
Nonetheless the girl left without a fuss and went straight into the great hall. Going firstly to the Slytherin table. Orford Umbridge being the second person to get early choice. The boy was stared at by some of his unamused peers but he didn't care, he was a cat person through and through. Something he would pass onto his daughter in the future. He had a look at them all and picked out one of the male kittens. The small cat giving a small meow as he placed him onto his lap, giving him a couple of strokes.
"Thank you, Lucy" Orford spoke quietly; putting his head back down to avoid the frosty gazes he was getting.
She thus went over to the Ravenclaw table to allow an excited Fiona Appleton third choice. Today the girl was wearing pink tights to go along with her pink pigtails. She looked a bit like wrapping paper. Fiona picked up one of the girl cats, she did hope for a fluffy black one but a fluffy dusty one would have to do. Once this was done, Lucy pulled up a seat at the front as she announced as loud as she could that any other student who wishes for a kitten can now have one. Some of the professors looking on amused. A couple of students from different houses soon came over to look for themselves.
"I'll take one then" a Gryffindor third-year girl called Augusta said.
"Augusta!"
"No. I'm having one" Augusta replied with a glint in her eye.
Lucy gently passing Augusta a female kitten. Watching as she argued with a third-year boy about it as they returned to their table. As the morning got later, more students took a kitten. By ten o clock, all were gone as Lucy looked down upon the empty basket.
...
"Accio shampoo" Druella was heard saying quietly later that night.
She and two of her friends Lucretia and Penelope were currently in the Slytherin common room bathroom. Purposefully playing a nasty trick on the recently orphaned Eileen Prince. The girl was behind the curtain having a wash in the bath when her shampoo zoomed over the curtain and landed in Druella's hand.
"Accio shampoo!" Eileen shouted back in frustration however Druella's grip was too tight.
An unimpressed Jean Tiller popped her head in as she hissed..."Leave her alone now, she's washing"
"Who made you my mother? Go away" Druella hissed back.
The other two girls got out their wands again and before anyone could react. An angry looking Eileen was heard saying some sort of spell. Before getting out and drying herself off. Quickly getting into her nightgown before opening the curtain to reveal what she had done. Her once long black hair was now short, as short as a typical boy's hairstyle in fact. She was tired of people making a mess out of her hair and thus she cut it this short in anger.
"Eileen. I tried to make them stop" Jean briefed her quickly.
The other girls could barely speak in shock of what she has done. Her heavy brows being the only part uncut. Eileen just shoved past them as she made her way down to the common room. Getting more stares from her peers, she briefly paused as she stared right at Tom. The boy just staring back in silence as he could sense she was angry and way past the point of caring about their judgement. The girl just went up to her common room, got out a piece of parchment and began writing...
Dear Abraxas,
It's getting worse here. I just cut my hair like a boy's to avoid having them mess it up even more. Don't tell Agnes, she will go spare. I just miss my parents so much, I just know they wouldn't have let this get so far. I should have told father when I had the chance. Tom is just filling their head with poison, if we purebloods are being treated like this just because we disagree with his so-called cause. Imagine what he will do to muggle-borns, squibs and half-breeds. As for muggles, well we already know the answer to that. I'm thinking of going to Slughorn but Tom has a way of getting inside his head so I have no doubt that will make it worse. I'm on my own, Abraxas. I'm surviving like a cockroach, seconds away from being stepped on for good. I'm sorry for ranting like this, I'm just beyond exhausted.
From Eileen
The other girls in her dormitory walked in moments later. They did look slightly guilty for pushing her to this point. Druella was a friend of hers once upon a time after all. They use to play as very young children but that all changed when they met Tom Riddle.
"We were only joking about the shampoo, Eileen. We were only going to steal your nightgown afterwards. A bit of a joke" Druella nervously spoke up.
"It stopped being a joke a long time ago" Eileen replied with a tear falling down.
"I just don't understand why you're so intent on being against us. We never had any complaints with you. You just made it so difficult. I know Tom's difficult to like sometimes but he's the only one making a stand against the mudblood loving faculty"
"And you're willing to let people die for this, are you?" Eileen asked in disgust.
Turning her head fully around to see the girls' reactions. Druella shaking her head as she sat on the nearest bed. That wasn't how she saw it but she understood that will eventually happen. She wasn't stupid when it came to Tom, she was under no impression people would have to die (noble sacrifices in the words of Tom for the greater good of the wizarding world). He made no secret to she and Walburga about what would have to entail for the cause to suceed.
"We already lost so many people. You use to read about the witch hunts and things before we were forced into hiding. Tom doesn't think that's fair and neither do I" Druella answered firmly.
"That was centuries ago, Druella" Eileen replied; recalling those stories.
"Centuries of hiding...Those filthy muggles and their offspring who plague the school did this to us. Now we are just mere props and jokes to those muggles who many of us have died protecting already. All those memory charms and resources which could have gone into something else...like the dragon pox cure"
"Don't you dare bring up dragon pox! Don't think I don't know what you're doing right now. Alchemists had already made a cure, it just doesn't work on everybody"
"Our resources are being spent on making sure the dirty muggles don't see us. That's the issue"
"Two wrongs don't make a right, Druella. Besides, I just want to live in peace"
"That's the problem. Too many of us just like to lie down and take it. Let the muggles burn us at the stake. It doesn't matter. Let them scare us into hiding while they have their muggle war. Grindelwald and Tom Riddle are trying to do something about it meanwhile. And you know what, good for them" Druella finished.
Eileen looking back down upon her letter with a sigh. She quickly ripped it apart and chucked the ripped page out the window into the open air. Getting into her own bed as she turned away from the other girls. Listening as the four girls began to talk about lessons and whatnot.
...
TBC