Chapter 18 - Morning Howler's
The next morning the three of us were greeted with cheers when we came down the stairs to the common room. Everything that had happened the previous night had gotten out, even the comment I made to Snape, and everyone loved that one. We made our way to breakfast quickly, we were met by glares from Slytherin and their beloved head of year. Everything got worse when the morning owls came. Errol, the Weasley family owl, came with a little red letter as did my mum's owl Starryce.
"Oh no." Ron said as they landed in fronted of us. I whimpered.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"They've sent us Howlers." I whimpered.
"You'd better open them." Neville said.
"You first. Petrificus Totalus." I said tapping my howler while Ron slowly opened his.
"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU! I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT HAD GONE! WHEN WE RECIEVED THAT LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DID NOT BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS! YOU, HARRY AND ASH COULD HAVE DIED! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED, YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!" Mrs Weasley angry shrieks had finally stopped.
"It's best if you do yours now." Harry whispered.
"Finite Incantatem." I whispered before pulling open the howler.
"I CAN NOT BELIEVE HOW IRRESPONSIBLE YOU HAVE BEEN, AURORA-SHAW LILY HYDE! DO YOU EVEN REALISE HOW YOU COULD HAVE JEPORDISED THE SECRET OF THE WIZARDING WORLD LAST NIGHT? HOW DARE YOU LEAVE YOUR UNCLE REMUS'S HOUSE TO STAY AT YOUR FRIENDS AND LET HIM LIE FOR YOU! YOU DON'T EVEN REALISE HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU WILL BE IN WHEN YOU GET HOME! WE WILL BE TAKING YOUR NEW BROOM OFF YOU FOR THE SUMMER AS PUNISHMENT! ME AND YOUR MOTHER ARE INCREDIBLY DISSAPOINTED IN YOU AURORA! IF YOU GET IN ANY MORE TROUBLE THIS YEAR YOU WILL BE OUT OF THAT SCHOOL BEFORE YOU CAN SAY GRYFFINDOR! Your Uncle would like to say something to you." Dad's trilling voice ended and then was replaced by an equally angry Uncle Moony. "YOU FLEW A BLOODY FLYING CAR OVER BRITIAN! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME POSSESED YOU TO DO SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT! SEVEN MUGGLE'S SAW THAT INFERNAL CONTRAPCION! RONALD'S FATHER IS IN SO MUCH TROUBLE AT THE MINISTRY, HE COULD LOOSE HIS JOB! YOU, YOUNG LADY, WILL HAVE TO SUFFER THE GUILT OF WHAT YOU MAY CAUSE THAT FAMILY, DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW THIS WILL HAVE BEEN ALL YOUR IDEA! RESCUING HARRY DEFINATELY WAS! AND THE WHOMPING WILLOW! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT TREE MEANS! IF YOU EVER, EVER DO SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT YOU WONT BE ALOUD TO STAY WITH ME AGAIN! YOUR MOTHER IS BESIDE HERSELF, YOU WILL BE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY! I KNOW YOUR PARENT'S! I MEAN IT NINE LIVES!" The howler ripped itself up in front of me. I knew for a fact that I had gone ghostly pale and both of them had been deadly serious. I looked up to see Allie's eye's wide with shock while Abe was shaking his head in disappointment, I saw Ced looking similar, and Addy was actually laughing with the fucking Slytherin's. I sent him a glare saying 'I will kill you', he just continued laughing. All of the Gryffindor table and the teacher's table were staring at me and Ron while the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's were chuckling quietly. Ron was as pale as me then Harry sighed.
"At least it's over now." Harry said. At that moment McGonagall came round handing out this years' time tables saving Ron from the stares of everyone in the Hall. We had double Herbology first and we were in greenhouse three, somewhere we had never worked before.
"Morning, everyone! Good morning, everyone!" Sprout called everyone to attention
"Good morning, Professor Sprout!" We all replied
"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years. Now, gather around, everyone." She picked up a heavy looking pot and dumped it down in front of her. "Today, we are going to repot Mandrakes. Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" Only Hermione put her hand up having been the only one who read the textbooks. "Yes, Miss Granger."
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." Hermione replied.
"Excellent! Ten points to Gryffindor!" I grinned at her from across the table and she beamed from ear to ear. "Now, as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings their cries won't kill you yet. But they could knock you out for several hours, which is why I have given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. So, could you please put them on, right away?"
I grabbed my ear muffs and stuffed them on my head. I put my hands over the flaps just in case. Once they were on I could hear nothing so I just watched closely. I felt a gust of wind next to me and turned seeing Neville lying on the floor unconscious.
"Uh, Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs." said Sprout.
"No, ma'am, he's just fainted." said Seamus.
"Yes, well, just leave him there." Professor Sprout just waved him off. "Right! On we go! Plenty of pots to go around. Grasp your Mandrake, and pull it up!"
I did as she said and managed to pull the ugly plant out of the ground. I giggled at everyone's plants. Ron's was extremely fat and had difficulty fitting his into a pot, mine was tiny and quite cute, Hermione's was long and lanky and Malfoy was currently having his finger bitten off by his.
That afternoon we had Defence Against the Dark Arts and Hermione was ecstatic. We didn't actually know he was that Lockhart was the new teacher until Hermione said his name as they had missed the feast. I couldn't believe that incompetent twit would be our teacher.
"Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher... me!" He shouted in an overly jovial voice when our lesson started. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award- but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." He actually laughed at his joke while the other stupid girls giggled. Even bloody Hermione! "Now- be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind. You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. I must ask you not to scream. It might... provoke them!" He pulled the cloth of the cage to reveal the most pathetic excuse for scary creatures in the known world.
"Cornish pixies?" laughed Seamus. I was laughing my face off as was Ron.
"Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnigan, but pixies can be devilish tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them, ha!" The bloody fool opened the cage and immediately they shot out in all directions grabbing anything and everything in sight. The class was in chaos. The pixies began hurling books at people and some went round lifting up girls skirts. A lot of people saw my underwear, I went bright red before I attempted to stand on the stupid thing. "Come on now- round them up, round them up, they're only pixies!" It was easy for him to say. Two grabbed Neville by each ear and hung him from the chandelier. I got ambushed by loads and they all began tugging at my hair and clothes.
"Get off me!" I shrieked.
"Stop! Stop! Hold still!" said Harry bashing some with a book, effectively stunning them. Ron was doing the same to the pixies on Hermione. Everyone began running out the classroom leaving the four of us and Neville who was still stuck on the chandelier. Lockhart, the coward that he is, ran off back into his office, stopping just to shout at us.
"I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage!" We battled with them for another ten minutes before Hermione pulled out her wand.
"Immobulus!" She cried. They froze in mid-air and began floating round.
"I can't believe that idiot of a man!" I shrieked. The three of them agreed that Lockhart was a complete coward. We left the pixies floating around for him and, after helping Neville down, ran out of the classroom locking the door tightly.