Chapter 10
Prank of the Month
FF Oct 1st
They hadn't pranked for a while and there was a rumor going around that they'd prank at the days Quidditch game. Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor. The rumor was right.
"And how are we going to distract them?" Rachel asked. Artemis bit her lip.
"There's something I haven't told you," she began.
"It's about where you sneak off isn't it!" Rachel accused.
"Well yes… see I have this pet right and well, umm, I go to the forbidden forest and cut— don't interrupt— and umm my pet heals the cuts so no one ever sees them and" she was cut off.
"It's a Phoenix," Rachel said. Artemis nodded guiltily.
"That is sooooo cool!" Rachel exclaimed. "And you're going to use the phenix to distract everyone while we cast the spells! What's its name?" Rachel asked.
"Well its name is Moonlight on account of it having a black beak and instead of the gold, red and orange it also has silver feathers." Artemis said.
"Ok well let's go and see it!" Rachel exclaimed and grabbed Artemis' hand and literally dragged her out of there dorm and outside.
"Ok but listen; it's, umm, well not exactly like a normal Phoenix, let's say it has a tendency to bite and claw people." Artemis warned. Rachel nodded absent mindedly and plodded on until they reached the edge of the forbidden forest.
From there on Artemis took the lead and led her to a large clearing. Rachel stopped dead the second she heard hooves.
"Centaurs," she whispered.
"Nah don't worry I got permission, as do you as long as your with me now I suggest you put your hands over your ears," Artemis advised. She put her fingers in her mouth and did a high pitched whistle before Rachel had a chance. She most certainly put her hands over her ears after.
Suddenly a melodious song began and she looked into the sky to see streaks of color. It looked like a shooting star except with streaks of silver. Suddenly the shooting star was sitting on Artemis' shoulder.
"Oh, Moonlight," Artemis cooed. Her gentleness surprised Rachel. This wasn't the Artemis she knew. No, it was.
The bird sang a tune before going over to Rachel and hovering in front of her. They stayed that way for a few minutes, though to Rachel it felt like hours. Suddenly, startling Rachel out of her hypnotized state, Moonlight gave a small trill before taking to the air. Artemis whistled something and Moonlight came back down and a bright silver enveloped Rachel.
"What did she do?" she demanded. She felt weird.
"Noticed when I whistled it seemed like I could talk to her. Well the ability to speak with a Phoenix through whistles is its most precious gift and it will only give it to those who it deems worthy. That last whistle was a whole conversation. There time passes differently. Remember the first time we were called to Dumbledores' office I whistled slightly in the middle of the conversation. I was talking to Fawkes," Artemis explained.
Suddenly Rachel thought of Fawkes as such a big creature compared to Moonlight. The realization came upon her in minutes. "She can't be more then a decade old!"
"Actually she's exactly sixteen and very special, I was born on a new moon though the tattoo on my back is a full moon red eclipse, she was born near the same time and I found her in the woods near my adoptive parent's homes," Artemis explained.
"When were you adopted?" Rachel asked.
"I was adopted when my adoptive mother had a stillbirth. I was only a years old and I was left with them. They were Muggle's and didn't understand when I set things on fire or levitated or shook the house. I learned to control my power and have never used a wand because when I was little I always just used my hands. How 'bout you?" Artemis asked.
"Well I don't know the moon cycle but my birthday's May 16. I was adopted before the defeat of Voldemort, when's your birthday?" Rachel asked.
"Halloween 11:59 at night if it was midnight then it would be November 1st, seems my mother died the night of my first birthday and I never knew my father," Artemis explained.
"That's sad; my mother was killed on Halloween too, according to the agency. Even they didn't know who they were," Rachel added.
"Hmmm, this is screwed. Well we have a Quidditch match to orchestra," Artemis said with a smirk that beat both Voldemorts', Dracos' and Snapes' with flying colors. Rachel smirked a smirk near identical to Artemis' though it wasn't evil or malicious, it was mischievous.
Together they set off towards the Quidditch pitch and took there places in the stands directly across from each other. This way any blind spots were covered by the other. Suddenly the game started and within minutes Hufflepuff was losing. Then stuff started happening that began shocking people. Hufflepuff chasers got four goals, the snitch was circling around the Hufflepuff seeker, bludgers never went anywhere near the Hufflepuff team, only the Gryffindor.
In seconds, after the changes occurred, the game was won. For the first time in centuries (besides the cheat time in there third year) Hufflepuff won against Gryffindor in a game of Quidditch. The school was in chaos. Nobody knew how to react. Most of the school was sure that the game was fixed. It was. The few minutes it lasted it was fixed. Troublemakers in chief Trouble and Rogue were responsible for it, as they seemed to be for everything else.
"So how long do you think it will be until the houses realize what's in there dorms and common rooms?" Trouble asked. Suddenly a dozen shrieks came form the dungeons followed by ones from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff towers.
"No time at all," Rogue replied with a grin. A loud coursing roar went through the castle.
"ARTEMIS! RACHEL!"
