I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.
Ministry Issues Formal Statement on Purgatorium Incident
After much speculation and public debate, the Ministry of Magic has finally released a formal statememt regarding the terrible events which took place in London.
"When an unusual situation like this arises, emotions run high and it is very easy to jump to conclusions." A Ministry spokesperson told the Prophet. "We have approached the matter with the intense scrutiny it deserves to separate fact from fiction. While we cannot say that we approve of the extreme measures the Hellsing Organization is known for using, our investigation shows that their relation of events was accurate and they were in no way responsible for what happened to the young victims."
Our readers will remember that in our initial reporting of the incident, an anonymous witness expressed concern that Miss Syn Newsom - a Hellsing agent - either did not take appropriate action action to save the children's lives, or may have been responsible for them being there in the first place.
"This is entirely false." the Ministry offical said. "When we first learned about the tragedy, the Ministry took the allegations against Miss Newsom very seriously. She was privately interviewed by two aurors - one of whom was Rufus Scrimgeour himself, who is well known for his talent at interrogating difficult subjects. They both utilized powerful lie detection charms which she was not made aware of to prevent any tampering or blocking of the spells. Though she was clearly upset at being questioned, Miss Newsom was very precise and clear with her responses and neither Mr. Scrimgeour nor the other auror who interviewed her could detect any signs of deception."
Hellsing's claims are further backed up by the revelation of a key witness - a young girl who was one of those held captive and survived the raid. Mr. Scrimgeour recently released a report stating that this child provided irrefutable evidence that werewolves were indeed involved. The identities of the girl and her family are being withheld for their safety and wellbeing.
When questioned as to whether this was an isolated incident or if it may be tied to the escape of Sirius Black, the Ministry spokesperson responded:
"At this point in time, we can't say. Our investigation is ongoing and we have yet to determine what the purpose of the kidnappings was or who the mastermind behind them may be. However, many of the children were held captive for several months and in a few cases, more than a year. Knowing that, we strongly suspect there may be others out there. We are working closely with the Hellsing Organization and the muggle authorities to figure out where they are so that they may be safely returned to their families. We urge all parents to keep a close watch on their children and if anyone notices any suspicious activity - especially involving known werewolves - do not hesitate to report it. By working together, we hope to prevent another tragedy like the one in London from occuring again."
Mihnea wrinkled his nose and tossed the newspaper onto his bedside table in disgust. Printing crap like that was a foolproof way to start a panic. The Ministry of Magic needed to mind its own business and stay the hell out of it. The situation was mucked up enough without them making it worse.
His father's expedition to Germany had pretty much been a waste of time. From what he gathered from his mother's letters, Alucard and Seras had found Goeth, but couldn't get any useful information out of him due to his memories being erased. Either someone obliviated him before they arrived, or the man had done it to himself. Whichever it was, one thing was blatantly clear: someone had been tipped off that Hellsing was coming.
Given that the only ones who knew their plans were the British and German Ministries of Magic, that meant they had a big problem. If someone in the local Ministry was responsible, Hellsing was going to have trouble getting their hands on them without an enormous backlash from the magical world. If it was the German Ministry, then the situation was suddenly an international one.
Mihnea figured it was probably the damn Germans. The whole lot of them were nothing but trouble.
The boy's thoughts were interrupted by a tentative knock on the door. He went very still and pushed himself upright from where he had been comfortably sprawled across his bed. No one ever came to his room to bother him. He couldn't imagine what was going on unless... Bassarab furrowed his brow and sniffed at the air.
Damn it. he swore internally. It was a girl. This was getting rediculous. He was beginning to entertain the idea of giving them exactly what they were asking for in the most violent, unpleasant way possible. Maybe then the mindless twits would learn that he wasn't the sort of guy they wanted to mess around with. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge that doing that would probably leave the girl in question permanently damaged and he would be outed.
A second, more insistent knock rang out and Mihnea shoved a hand back through his hair. Part of him wanted to ignore it. Another part realized that it wouldn't stop unless he faced the issue head on. With a heavy sigh, he slid himself off the bed and trudged over to the door to pull it open.
It was Verity Selwyn, a Slytherin girl in his year. She was the sort that was easy to overlook because of how quiet and unobtrusive she was. The boy hadn't even known she existed until their first class in Arithmancy third year where she showed herself to be a whiz with numbers. Her hand was raised as if about to knock a third time, but the moment she saw him she lowered it and took a small step back.
Mihnea narrowed his eyes. "What do you wa..."
"I'm just delivering a message." Selwyn interrupted swiftly, throwing up both hands like she already knew how he'd react to the intrusion. "Professor Snape sent me. He wants to see you in his office."
The boy blinked at her. Of all the things he expected, that was pretty low on the list. Mihnea supposed he should be thankful he wasn't immediately tackled to the floor. He cleared his throat.
"Did he say why?" he questioned.
The girl shook her head and tucked a lock of honey blonde hair behind one ear. "No, but he's been giving out schedules for next year, so it may have something to do with that."
Oh sure, the Potions Master might use that as an excuse, but Mihnea knew better than to think that was the only reason he wanted to see him. Great. he mused. Just what I need right now. He shook his head and turned his attention back to his visitor.
"Is that it, Selwyn?"
Her nose turned up in dislike. "Yes." she confirmed, then hesitated. "But please don't call me that."
Mihnea arched a brow at the odd request. "Why not? It's your name, isn't it?"
"My father's name." Selwyn corrected. "He's a terrible person and I want to have as little to do with him as I can. I already have to live with being sorted into the same house he was in and hearing the teachers call me that day in and day out. I'd rather not have to deal with it outside of class if you don't mind." she paused to glance sideways, making sure the hallway was empty before going on. "Not all of us think that being related to people who have done horrible things is something to be proud of." she whispered. "After what you did when Black broke into the castle last time, I thought... you might understand that."
The boy was stunned. Slytherin house was filled to the brim with people indocrinated to believe their pureblood status made them better than everyone else and that the terrible acts comitted by others of their stock were to be celebrated. To encounter one who didn't think that way was surprising. He figured there had to be a handful of fellow housemates who weren't 'bad', but none that would speak their views openly. He couldn't really begrudge them for it either. It would be a stupid thing to do unless you were prepared for the backlash of the entire house turning against you. Suddenly, he felt a twinge of understanding and perhaps even sympathy. While he hadn't experienced her exact situation, the notion of feeling strongly about something and not being able to say why... he knew all about that. Mihnea inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"Fine." he told her. "Verity."
The girl before him blew out a long, slow sigh of relief. "Thank you." she breathed, then her expression quickly shifted to one of nervousness. "You wont... tell anyone what I said, will you?"
"Of course not." he replied with a shake of his head.
Verity brightened and gave him another relieved 'thank you', then apologized for bothering him before going off on her way. Mihnea watched her go, then stepped out into the hallway himself and pulled the door shut behind him. If Snape wanted to see him, it was best not to keep him waiting for too long.
When he reached the Potions Master's office and knocked on the door, it didn't take long for his presence to be acknowledged.
"Enter."
Mihnea deftly opened the door and slid inside the office before pushing it closed behind him.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
Snape was at his desk scribbling on various pieces of parchment. Grading homework assignments most likely. Without looking up from his work, he retrieved a document from a stack of papers off to the side and slid it across the desk.
"Your schedule for next year." he said as he went back to his writing. "Contengent upon your OWL scores, of course. Look it over to make sure no changes need to be made."
The boy stepped forward to retrieve the parchment. Looking down, he saw all of his requested classes were listed. The man hadn't tried to shove him off into any 'practical' classes he thought were more suitable. Even more surprising was the fact that he hadn't attempted to bring it up again. But maybe that's what the whole 'making sure no changes needed to be made' thing was about. He was giving Mihnea one last chance to change his mind before making the schedule official. The boy glanced up and cleared his throat.
"Everything looks right, sir."
The Potions Master made a gruff sound in the back of his throat. "Keep that for your records and I'll send a copy to the Headmaser for final approval."
Was... that it? Mihnea blinked at his Head of House in befuddlement. The man still had yet to look up from his desk and didn't appear to have anything more to say. Perhaps today was his lucky day after all. However, when he turned to leave, this was proven to not be the case.
"You have been neglecting your stocking duties in my storeroom, Mr. Bassarab." Snape called out from behind him.
Mihnea halted mid-step and slumped his shoulders. He knew it was too good to be true. He hadn't been doing his usual job in the Potions storeroom partially because be hadn't been sure if Snape would let him continue after their last argument. That, and he'd been trying to avoid another conflict by staying away from the classroom as much as possible. He'd be damned if he'd admit that to him though. With a heay sigh, he turned back around to find Snape sitting upright, studying him intently with his hands clasped in front of him.
"I've had a lot on my mind lately." the boy told him.
The Potions Master's expression remained bland. "I see." he drawled. "It is unusual for a student to be allowed to return home outside of holiday breaks. Would you care to share why you and Miss Stryker were called away so suddenly two weeks ago?"
Having half-expected the question to come up, he didn't hesitate in offering a response.
"My little sister was in the hospital." he said.
The man arched a brow. "I wasn't aware you had a sister."
"I have two sisters actually." Mihnea replied. "And you never asked, sir."
Snape hummed pensievely. "What happened?"
"She had an accident."
"Ah ha." The Potions Master said with a sneer. "An accident." he leaned back in his chair and shot a pointed look at Mihnea's left arm. "It's beginning to seem that your family is particularly prone to having these 'accidents'."
So it was back to this. Gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists, Mihnea spat out something he probably shouldn't have said, but was too angry to hold back.
"Have you read today's newspaper, Professor?" he asked hotly.
The man sitting before him looked confused only for a moment. "What does that ha..."
His words trailed off as realization dawned across his features. Mihnea had just revealed something incredibly imporant to him, and neither of them had really expected it. The boy took his reaction as a sign that maybe, just maybe, he'd take him more seriously now.
"See?" he asked. "You already know what happened. My sister had a very bad accident. It happened, she's alive, and that's all I have to say about it."
Snape studied him for a long time, first stunned, then thoughtful. "I'm sorry to hear that." he said after a long silence. His eyes narrowed keenly. "I understand you have been talking to Professor Lupin on a regular basis."
The subject change was so swift that it took Mihnea a minute to recognize what he was saying.
"I have." he admitted. No point in lying about it.
"What about?" the man prodded.
Mihnea immediately bristled. "Is there a secret rule somewhere about not talking to other teachers without your Head of House's permission?"
Snape scowled and pointed a figure in his direction. "Watch the attitude, Mr. Bassarab." he warned. "You aren't the sort of student who would have to speak to a teacher about grades, so I can only assume these talks you're having are of a personal nature. It would be in your best interests to realize that there are things about Professor Lupin you don't know and he might not be the type of person you should trust."
"Why is that, Professor?" he challenged. "Is it because he's a Gryffindor or a werewolf?"
The man didn't look the least bit surprised that Mihnea named Lupin's condition out loud. He was smart enough to know he had figured out a long time ago. Hell, he had dropped enough hints that it would be shocking if Snape didn't think he already knew. The Potions Master's only response to his outburst was to take a deep breath.
"I would think after what you just revealed about your sister, the answer to that would be obvious." he said.
"Professor Lupin isn't the one who nearly killed her." Mihnea retorted. "You act like Lupin is a bloodthirsty monster who will hurt anyone he gets his hands on just because of what he is. I don't believe that. Those bastards who kidnapped my sister and tortured her for months on end while in human form... those are the monsters. Professor Lupin is a man who has issues he can't help and has no control over. He isn't a monster."
Snape sniffed derisively. "And I suppose you know all about monsters, given your vast wealth of personal experience with them."
Mihnea could see what he was doing. Spitting a jab like that at him in an attempt to beat into his brain how wrong he was and that he didn't know what he was talking about. There was no way to express how much he wanted to shout back: As a matter of fact, sir, I do know all about monsters. I happen to be one, and I've killed more than my fair share of them. But instead, he only grit his teeth and glared at him angrily.
"You can think whatever you want." he said. "But I disagree with you on this. And I will talk to whoever I damn well please, even if it pisses you off. Sir." he tacked on to the end as an afterthought.
His Head of House quirked a brow. "I'm not 'pissed off', Mr. Bassarab." he told him. "If I were angry with you, I assure you, you would know it. But if you choose to continue with your association even after being given a fair warning, then I will not stop you." he leaned back in his chair again. "Your temper is going to get you into trouble one day, but I appreciate your attempt to reign it in now." When Mihnea just blinked at him, he picked up his quill as if to return to his grading. "I expect you to report for work immediately after class tomorrow. If you don't come, I will take that as an indication that you no longer wish to continue and I will dismiss you from your responsibilities."
Mihnea blinked again. Was he really doing this? He cleared his throat. "Should I expect a detention if I don't show up?"
Snape glanced up at him. "Only if you give me a reason, Mr. Bassarab." he replied. With that note of finality, he made a shooing motion toward the door. "You may go."
To say the boy was bewildered when he left was an understatement. He felt an important shift had just occured between him and his professor, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was a good or bad one. The best thing for him to do was to just ride it out and see where it led. He would return to his usual stocking duties the next day and go back to his normal schedule. To allow Professor Snape to dismiss him from his job would deny him access to valuable information he might need later. But the idea of him doing things the Potions Master didn't approve of and him not trying to stop him or argue with him about it any more... he wasn't sure what that meant.
When Mihnea got back to his room in the dormitory, Pixie was sitting directly under the doorknob, giving him the feline equivalent of a glare. She was probably pissed that he'd locked the door where she couldn't get in. Knowing that he'd sent her to stay with Luna until it was time for the thestral to give birth, the boy figured he knew why she was there. He unlocked and opened the door, then followed the cat inside.
"You have something for me, girl?" he asked.
Pixie leapt up onto his bed and meowed, pawing at a slip of paper tucked into the back of her collar. Mihnea smirked at her attempts to remove it and scratched the top of her head before pulling it free himself. He unfolded the paper and saw only two words.
It's time.
Without wasting any time, he grabbed a fresh slip of parchment to write a note to Constance, then held it out to his cat. Pixie glanced at it and made an unhappy sound, as if complaining that she was a cat and not an owl.
"Come on, Pixie." Mihnea told her. "This is the last one. After this, you can come back down here lay around like the queen of the castle all you want. I'll even let you go out and kill something if you like."
Pixie's rounded ears picked up at the sound of that and she meowed hopefully.
Mihnea chuckled and extended the paper again. "Take this to Connie, then you can go. But if you bring something dead back here, don't get blood everywhere."
His cat purred happily, rubbed her head against his arm in approval, then snatched the note out of his hand with her teeth. After she darted out of his room to deliver the message, Mihnea set about gathering up a few things. It was already getting dark outside, so he'd have to pick up the girls soon.
"Wow." Constance said after hearing Mihnea relate his encounter with Snape. "So... what does this mean, exactly?"
"I have no idea." he replied. "The whole thing was weird as hell."
"Well, I think it might be a good thing." Luna commented helpfully. "Maybe Professor Snape is just giving you your space. If he's letting you make your own decisions without getting involved, it shows that he respects you, doesn't it?"
Connie watched as her cousin turned to regard the blonde girl walking next to him. "Maybe so." he said. "But it's still odd."
Luna made a face at him. "You're always so suspicious, Mihnea. Look on the bright side. This is one less thing for you to worry about! Be happy!"
Constance couldn't help but giggle at the younger girl's enthusiasm at trying to get him to lighten up. It was cute. Mihnea seemed to think so too because he was fighting back a smile of his own. She shook her head at the two of them, then coughed.
"So anyway..." she said, looking at Luna. "Did you bring that thing I talked to you about?"
"Of course I did." the girl replied. She opened the bag slung over her shoulder and lifted up a parcel just enough for her to see it. "I did a few final experiments this afternoon to make sure it was working right. Mihnea and I haven't actually used the spell on anything before now, so I wanted to make sure it wouldn't do anything wonky." she paused a moment. "And I'm sorry for it being a bit late."
Connie waved at her. "It's not a problem! I'd rather wait longer and know it works than get something that will go haywire." she told her. "And honestly, with something like this, I really don't want to find out what happens if the spell doesn't do right."
Mihnea snorted. "As if something I made wouldn't work."
Luna glanced at him sideways. "I helped." she pointed out placidly. "And I've seen what can happen when new magic isn't tested for safety and I'd rather not go through it again."
The girl's tone was perfectly nonchalant, but the boy still winced. "I didn't mean it that way." he said apologetically.
"I know you didn't." she replied with a kind-hearted smile. "I was only pointing it out."
Constance didn't know what they were talking about or what she could add to the conversation, so she remained quiet. It didn't much matter anyway because they had nearly reached Hagrid's hut. The groundskeeper was outside, lit by flickering torches, trying to coerce a large creature near his pumpkin patch into eating. As they drew closer, they saw it was Buckbeak.
"Come now, you great beast." Hagrid said as he dangled what looked like a dead weasel in front of his face. "You need ter eat somm'at."
The hippogriff looked at the food with disinterest and lowered his head to rest it on his clawed feet. It was the very picture of depression. Luna frowned as Hagrid shook his head and sighed.
"Hagrid?" she questioned.
With a start, the groundskeeper turned to look in their direction.
"Oh! Didn't expect you ter come so fast." he said, then glanced past them toward the castle. "Yer sure you weren't followed? You lot will get in 'o lot 'o trouble if someone finds out yer out here."
Mihnea shook his head as the three of them approached. "No, I made sure. We're clear."
Constance focused her attention on the hippogriff who looked so downtrodden. "Is he not eating anymore?"
"Not as much as he should be." Hagrid replied. He looked over at Buckbeak with a sad expression of his own. "Wicked smart creatures, hippogriffs are. He knows he's not got much time left." It appeared that he was about to start crying at the thought, but the massive man quickly wiped at his eyes and changed the subject. "Best ter leave him alone fer now. We've got a baby thestral ter birth!"
Hagrid stepped inside his hut to grab a few things they would need and came back out with a mass of lanterns in his arms. One was passed out to each of them and after they were lit, he began explaining how their encounter would go.
"We're not going far into the forest, but it'd be best ter stay close. No wandering off. An' mind mind yerselves when we get there. This is Misty's first, so she'll be a bit skittish." he paused for a moment, as if considering something. "An' I'd stay away from her head an' rear until she's comfortable with all 'o us being there if I were you. She may be in labor, but she can still bite and kick."
Good lord. Constance thought. If the thestral was in pain, she'd be more likely to lash out at someone, and being bitten or kicked by such a creature was the last thing any of them wanted to happen.
The excursion into the forest was rather uneventful. After a short walk, Hagrid led them toward an open place amongst all the trees. A thick bed of fresh hay had been laid out and the dark shape of a thestral could be seen laying upon it. However, the moment they came within a few feet of her, the beast's head shot up nervously to sniff at the air. With an uncomfortable sounding knicker, she jumped to her feet and bolted off into the darkness. Skittish indeed.
"Whoa there Misty!" Hagrid called out. "They're here ter help." he held out a hand to push them backwards. "Back up an' give her some space. She's nervous."
The three of them stepped back a good foot or so whilst Hagrid slowly inched forward with his hand outstretched soothingly. They all watched in silence as a black, skeletal head poked around a tree trunk to regard him suspiciously.
"There now." Hagrid crooned softly. "Calm down. They're friends. You know them, don't you?" He glanced back at their little group. "Two 'o them anyway."
Very slowly, the thestral inched out from behind the tree she was using as a shield and came closer. Mihnea and Luna had played around in the forest enough for her to recognize them, but Constance was a new face. With Hagrid keeping a close eye on her every movement, Misty cautiously trotted toward the brown haired girl. She stopped less than a foot away and blew a huff of air through her nostrils at her. Connie was struck by how much she looked like an ordinary horse. Well... the head, neck, and other limbs were still skeletal, but the trunk of the body was very similar to how an ordinary horse's would be. Maybe that's how one could tell she was pregnant.
The groundskeeper had slowly inched his way over so that he was standing off to the side of them. He put a hand on the thestral's flank to calm her.
"Hold yer hand up Connie." he instructed.
While Constance wasn't really afraid of the beast, she definitely didn't want to push her luck after recieving his earlier warning to be careful. She looked sideways at him.
"She wont bite me, will she?" she asked.
Hagrid shook his head. "Not as long as you stay still. Let her come ter you. If she likes you, she'll let you rub her nose."
Instinctively glancing back toward Mihnea and Luna for confirmation, Connie took a deep breath and held up her hand without moving it forward. If those two could get along with half-wild thestrals, then so could she. But she swore if the damn thing bit her, she was going to be pissed at somebody. Misty gave a hard look at her hand, pranced in place for a bit, then inched closer to sniff at it. Finally, she seemed to decide that Constance was trustworthy and lowered her head toward her until her nose touched her fingertips. Once she saw she had the animal's acceptance, the girl moved her hand upward to gently rub the front of her face. The skin felt rather like warm suede and was surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
"Very good." Hagrid praised, then waved the others over. "Alright, you two come on, but careful not ter crowd her. We don't need her running off again."
Constance stepped back and gave the others their turn at greeting the animal. They had a much faster, easier time of it because of Misty's recognition of them. Once they all were sure that she had decided it was okay for them to be there, the three of them took up positions on the ground around the mass of hay. The only thing they could really do at that point was keep the thestral comfortable and calm until it was time. Luna wound up letting Misty rest her head in her lap and petting her nose. When she asked Hagrid how long it would be, he replied that there was really no way of telling. Thestrals, like horses, could somewhat control when they gave birth. Out in the wild, they had to in order to ensure they had their babies in a safe, quiet place. When the baby came would depend entirely on how safe the mother felt.
They spent nearly half an hour there, just sitting, talking, and saying soothing words, until they noticed Misty looking more tense than she had before. She would raise and lower her head and every muscle in her body - especially the hindquarters - trembled at the slightest touch.
"Is that..." Luna began, looking down the thestral's body. Her eyes widened and her voice became more excited. "I see a foot!"
Sure enough, there was a foot. Two very slimy hooved feet, to be exact. At that moment, Hagrid began handing out responsibilities to everyone. Since Luna was so excited about seeing the baby, she was put in charge of tending to the foal once it was born. Mihnea, being the strongest, would help pull the baby out. Constance took over holding the mother's head in her lap and keeping her calm. Mihnea and Luna had more interest in the whole 'birthing' thing than she did and, to be perfectly honest, she didn't want to be too involved in the messy side of it. So it was that she petted the side of Misty's face and said soft, soothing words while Luna held a blanket and Mihnea recieved his instructions.
"Just grab the feet an' pull out, then down toward her legs." Hagrid told him. "Don't force it though. Only pull when she pushes. An' keep a good grip 'cause they'll be slippery."
Mihnea nodded and took hold of the foal's legs to pull. Hagrid had to get involved to get the hindquarters and shoulders out safely, then out popped the head and they had a baby. It was shockingly simple and went by faster than Connie expected. Luna quickly jumped into action, rubbing as much of the slimly fluids off of it with the blanket as she could without touching it with her hands. They had been warned not to touch the baby bare handed until the mother accepted it. Once it was relatively cleaned off, the girl helped the foal crawl up toward Misty's head. The thestral lifted it's head from Constance's lap, sniffed at the foal, and after a few moments' inspection, began licking it. The foal made this tiny, adorable sound that brought a smile to Connie's lips. For something so tiny and... well, ugly, it was actually quite cute in a weird sort of way.
Seeing that Misty was far more interested in her new baby than being petted, the girl scooted out from under her head and crawled around to where the others were sitting. Luna was clutching the wet, bloody blanket, staring at the scene with wide eyes like she thought it was the most touching thing in the world, while Mihnea was wiping what was left of the goo off of his hands and shirt.
"I'm going to need a bath after this." he said, tossing the rag he was using to the side. He looked over at the two thestrals and grinned. "But that was kind of cool."
"It's so beautiful..." Luna sighed, then shook her head and glanced toward Hagrid. "What will it's name be?"
"Well, we'll have ter pick one, won't we?" the groundskeeper replied with a smile. "It looks like we've got ourselves a wee filly. What do you think?"
The blonde girl blinked at him like she thought the news was wonderful. "It's a girl?" she asked. "Hmm... her eyes are a very pretty pink. How about Coral?"
Knowing how the girl was, Constance had expected her to come up with a more unusual name than that. However, if she thought about it, it was a fitting name. The foal's eyes were a striking shade of pink that could be called coral...
"I like it." Connie said.
Both Hagrid and Mihnea agreed that they liked the name as well, so it stuck. There would be a new thestral in the herd named Coral. It was a little odd, considering what the animals looked like, but at least she'd be recognizable.
Constance thought the whole experience was a pretty amazing thing to witness. Not earth-shattering or soul-moving, of course, but still interesting. They had just helped bring a new life into the world. And seeing Misty and her baby bonding and getting to know one another was touching.
Since it was getting rather late and there wasn't much left for them to do, Hagrid said that they should probably pack up and head back to the castle. The longer they were out, the more likely it was that someone would notice they were gone - and with times being the way they were, it wasn't safe for them to be out anyway. They all made their way out of the forest and back to Hagrid's hut to return the lanterns, then began quietly sneaking back. Gryffindor tower was the closest to the entrance they used, so they went there first, then Mihnea and Luna left to go to the Ravenclaw dormitories. Once Constance entered the common room, she found that all of her housemates had already gone up to bed. She hadn't been keeping close track of the time, but she hadn't thought it was quite that late. Figuring she should probably go upstairs and get ready for bed herself, Connie sat the package she had gotten from Luna down on the nearest sofa and moved to take off her jacket. She had just gotten it off and was neatly folding it up when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.
"Boo!"
Connie squealed and jumped, whirling around to see who her attacker was. It was none other than George, in pajamas and messed up hair, nearly doubled over in laughter at her reaction.
"You should have seen your face!" he declared between guffaws.
Constance grit her teeth and stomped her foot. "Damn it, George!" she exclaimed. She balled up her jacket and hit him in the face with it. "That wasn't funny! You scared me half to death!"
He just grinned. "I didn't think I'd be able to scare you after what you've been out doing..." he winced when she hit him again and skipped backwards. "Hey, watch it! That thing has buttons!"
"Serves you right for frightening people in the middle of the night." Connie huffed, though she did put her jacket down. "What are you doing up anyway?"
"I was waiting for you." he replied. "I've got to show you something. You, miss 'I can start fires without a wand', have been found out."
The girl froze where she stood and stared at him in horror. "Excuse me?"
George laughed at her and motioned for her to calm down. "No, not that way." he said. "It's not bad, I promise. Check this out."
Without another word, George produced a candle from the pocket of his robe and held it out in front of him. He focused his gaze on the wick and blew out a long, slow stream of air. The tip of the wick burst into flame immediately and Connie's eyes widened. In sorcery, fire was one of the most difficult elements to control because of how persnickity it could be. The fact that he had figured out how to produce it from nothing so soon after beginning to learn was amazing.
"Wow!" she said. "That's awesome George! How long have you been able to do that?"
George puffed up proudly. "A couple of days." he replied, rubbing his knuckles against his shoulder. "It was just today that I figured out how to make it appear where I wanted it to though. I can't do the snapping thing like you yet, but I can do this."
He then lifted his left hand and wiggled his fingers at the candle. The fire began rapidly shifting through various colors of the rainbow - first blue, then purple, then green, before returning to it's normal orange.
"How awesome is that!?" he asked. "Fred hates me now."
Constance couldn't hold back a laugh at how enthusiastic he was about it. She could imagine that Fred was sickened by the thought of his brother being able to do something he couldn't. George had a great way to one-up him now. She clapped her hands together and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss.
"That's wonderful!" she proclaimed when she leaned back. "That's not an easy thing to do. I'm proud of you."
George looked like she had just said the most beautiful thing in the world, but didn't want to let on how much he liked hearing it. He blew out the candle and gave it a jaunty toss in the air before slipping it back into his pocket.
"So what's up with the box?" he asked.
Connie blinked at him for a moment, then realized what he was talking about. "Oh!" she exclaimed, moving to pick it up. "It's for you. I was going to wait and give it to you tomorrow, but I guess you can open in now, since you're up."
He studied the box in her hands curiously. "What is it?"
"I can't tell you, silly." she replied. "It's a birthday present."`
"You already gave me a birthday present, Connie." he reminded her.
The girl lifted a brow. "A snog doesn't count as a present."
"The hell it doesn't." George said with a scoff. "I thought it was an awesome present."
Connie felt her cheeks grow warm. "That was payment because I knew this would be late." she said matter-of-factly. She readjusted the package in her arms and acted like she was going to walk off with it. "But if you don't want it, I can just give it to Fred. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
Before she could take even half a step, George's eyes widened and he grabbed her to make her stop.
"I never said that!" he protested, snatching the box away from her. "That's not even fair. I just wasn't expecting it, is all."
She figured he'd straighten up if she threatened to give his gift to someone else. They both sat down on the sofa and George began tearing through the brown paper wrapping. Once it was off and the lid of the box opened, he sat and stared at the simple rucksack laying inside.
"Uh..." he began, carefully clearing his throat. "It's... um... nice."
Constance made a face at him. "Try not to look so excited, George." When it looked like he was trying to figure out what he could say without hurting her feelings, she had to suppress a giggle. "Why don't you take it out and look inside of it before you decide you don't like it."
He wrinkled his nose at her words as he removed the bag from it's box. "I said it was nic... Whoa!" he gasped in suprise when he glanced inside. "Merlin's beard, you could fit a whole Quiddich pitch in here! What is this thing?"
"It's enchanted." Connie explained. "Mihnea and Luna invented a spell that increases the space inside of objects. When I found out about it, I asked them to make this for me. As long as it fits through the opening, you can put as much of anything you want inside of it. The bag will never be any heavier than it is now and the spell is undetectable, so no one will ever be able to tell it's not perfectly ordinary." she paused to take a breath. "I know how you have to keep all the stuff you work on hidden so your mother doesn't destroy it, and now that you and Fred have supplies again... well, I'd hate for you to have to start from stratch if something happened. This will help you keep everything safe."
George's eyes grew wider and wider with understanding as he listened to her explanation. When she finished, he took a long, deep breath and looked down at the rucksack in his lap.
"Wow." he said. "I think this might be the best present anyone's ever given me."
Constance blinked at him. It was touching that he said something so nice, but she couldn't resist the chance to tease him. "And there you were going on about how awesome the snog was. Doesn't that count for anything?"
He grinned at her. "Okay, so maybe it's the second best present." he admitted. He watched as she laughed at him, then cleared his throat. "So... you really think this is going to work? The joke shop thing?"
She had never heard him question the idea or show doubt about it before, so she was unsure how to take it. "Why wouldn't it?" she asked. "Isn't it what you've always wanted to do?"
"Well, yeah, but it seems like no one else takes it seriously." he said. "Everyone else thinks it's stupid or that we're just joking around. But you really think it could happen?"
Connie took a minute to work out exactly what she wanted to say. "I think that you and Fred can do anything you set your minds to." she said at last. "I think... maybe people don't see how serious you are because you're so famous for your pranks. But you are so much smarter than everyone gives you credit for. You guys come up with some really amazing things - like the ears - that no one else has ever thought of before. When it comes right down to it, most people spend all their lives trying to figure out what they want to do. You and Fred already know. So... I mean, I don't think it will be easy, but once you do get a store up and running, I think it's going to be amazingly successful because it's something you really love and are good at."
Her words seemed to perk him up a bit, but he still looked thoughtful. "And it's not going to be weird that the vampire hunter is dating the joke shop guy? 'Cause that just sounds... weird."
Constance gave him a light punch to the shoulder. "Will you shut up about that? Fun things are just as important as the serious ones. Who was it giving you all those tips on how to start a business? My daddy. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, and if someone has a problem with it, they can go screw themselves."
George immediately burst out laughing. "You know, you can be really cute sometimes, but then you can turn as mean as a bulldog."
"I'm not that bad."
"Yes you are. It's adorable."
Connie hit him again. "Shut up, George."
A.N: Guys, I am sorry for how long it's taken me to update, but I've had some pretty big life changes going on. My dad died back in October. I realize that it's been several months since then, but my dad never fully recovered from his heart transplant and I was pretty much taking care of him full time. He had a stroke, and I was the one who found him. This has hit me extremely hard. I was a daddy's girl and I always considered my dad to be my best friend. I don't know if I'll ever really get over losing him. When he died, it felt like a big part of me died with him. It was a bad time of year too, since there were so many holidays and birthdays in my family that came right after, so... yeah. It's been rough.
Anyway, I'm writing this to let everyone know that I can no longer say when updates will be. This story, while it has its lighthearted, fun moments, is very dark. I usually try to get inside of characters' heads to explain what's going on internally when the dark stuff happens, and that is very difficult for me to do right now because it hits so much closer to home than it used to. I will say that I am working on the next chapter now. Depending on how long it winds up being, I may split it into two pieces. If that's the case, one will come out a few days after the other. Aside from that, I honestly don't know when the next update will be. All I can promise is that chapters will come out as soon as I finish them.
P.S: Just as an aside, while I love Hagrid to death, I write writing the way he talks. So if it doesn't sound right, please don't hate me.
P.P.S: I hate coming up with chapter names. Sometimes they're easy, and other times I have no idea what the hell to call something. So if one day I come out with a chapter titled 'Supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious Super Fun Times #&%$!' don't be surprised. -_-
With that out of the way, you guys are awesome readers and I appreciate all of you so much! Please leave a review if you liked the chapter (Or if you didn't like it. That's cool too.) and let me know what you think.