Chapter 6: Gitroy Lookhard
James used the Trip Jinx on Snape today while we were walking to Potions. Everyone laughed except the Evans twins, myself, and Remus. I tried to help him up, but he slapped my hand away and said that he 'didn't need the help of someone like you'. Whatever that means. Sirius took offense to this and was about to curse him when Rose scolded Snape for being rude. I don't think I've ever seen her look so irritated. While she was doing that, Lily was yelling at James for attacking Snape. Those two are quite the pair.
Leo was glad he had cast the Muffliato Spell around his bed before going to sleep that night. He had woken up, screaming and covered in sweat but no one had heard him. It was early in the morning, the sky was just barely tinged pink as Leo went off to shower and change into his school robes before grabbing the Map, his books – with the exception of Lockhart's garbage – and attaching his wand to his holster. He set off down the stairs into the common room before exiting the portrait of the Fat Lady and making his way down the Grand Staircase toward the Great Hall.
He stopped on the third floor, staring down the corridor before shaking himself and continuing onward and into the empty Hall. He sat down at the Gryffindor table with a small sigh, resting his head on his arms as he waited for breakfast to appear. While he waited, he took out his wand and conjured up flames, making them take the shape of tiny winged dragons that chased each other around.
"You are becoming quite proficient in your abilities, Mr. Black," spoke a voice behind him.
Leo didn't bother turning around to look at Dumbledore.
"Figured I probably should, given that they're a part of me, sir," Leo replied, frowning in concentration before a small owl joined the fray, out flying the dragons by a considerable amount.
"I am glad to hear that, Mr. Black. I was quite worried that – given the events involving Professor Quirrell last year – you would abandon your gift and neglect it altogether."
Leo was quiet for a moment before he said, "I thought about it but, then I realized, the fire saved me – saved Harry. And, in the end, what happened to Quirrell is on me, I can't blame the fire for it."
"Nor should you blame yourself," Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did what you had to in order to protect someone you love. No one can fault you for that, Mr. Black."
He gave Leo a single pat on the shoulder before walking away and taking his place at the High Table. Food appeared on the tables after that, with people trickling into the Hall shortly after. Hermione greeted Leo as she sat down beside him, taking out Voyages with Vampires and propping it open against the milk jug to read while she ate. Harry and Ron appeared not long after.
"I can't believe you two went off and had an adventure without me," Leo scolded the pair as he spooned oatmeal into a bowl. "Talk about rude..."
"Not exactly like we planned it, Leo," Harry rolled his eyes. "The barrier closed, and we didn't think we had a choice."
"You forgot you had a magical bird that can deliver messages anywhere, didn't you?"
"Shut up."
Leo gave a small snort of laughter before he started eating his oatmeal. He had only taken a few bites and pushed his bowl away when there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. A big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head and, a second later, something large and gray fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers.
"Errol!" said Ron, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. Errol slumped, Unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.
"Oh, no —" Ron gasped.
"It's all right, he's still alive," said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger.
"It's not that — it's that." Ron was pointing at the red envelope.
It looked quite ordinary to Harry and Leo, but Ron and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode. As Apollo soared down to land on Leo's head, the blonde couldn't help but hope that it would. If exploding letters existed, he wanted to send one to Lockhart. Or Zabini. Either way.
"What's the matter?" said Harry.
"She's — she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly.
"You'd better open it, Ron," said Neville in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't. My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and" — he gulped —"it was horrible."
Harry looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope.
"What's a Howler?" he said.
But Ron's whole attention was fixed on the letter, which had begun to smoke at the corners.
"Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes —"
Ron stretched out a shaking hand, eased the envelope from Errol's beak, and slit it open. Leo looked on with bated breath. Neville stuffed his fingers in his ears. A split second later, Leo knew why. He thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking the dust from the ceiling. Leo was then sorely disappointed but still amused by what the letter did.
"— STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE —"
Mrs. Weasley's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the table and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swiveling around to see who had received the Howler, and Ron sank so low in his chair that only his crimson forehead could be seen.
"— LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED —"
Leo felt that was being a bit dramatic. They had only hit a giant, violent tree after all.
"— ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."
A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. Leo, amongst a few others, laughed and, gradually, a babble of talk broke out again. The letter didn't explode, but he thought that sending a Howler was brilliant. He made a mental note to send one to the Dursleys at some point.
Hermione closed Voyages with Vampires and looked down at the top of Ron's head.
"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you —"
"Don't tell me I deserved it," snapped Ron.
"You sort of did," Leo commented, receiving a glare from the ginger. "You stole your parent's car, crashed it into a tree, and lost it in a forest. You should feel lucky that all that happened was you getting yelled at."
Ron opened his mouth to respond but was unable to form any words as they spotted Professor McGonagall moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules. Leo took his and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first. Excellent. Out of the castle on day one. Leo sagged with relief.
Leo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the castle together, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept. As they neared the greenhouses they saw the rest of the class standing outside, waiting for Professor Sprout. The four had only just joined them when she came striding into view across the lawn, accompanied – much to Leo's irritation - by Gilderoy Lockhart. Sprout's arms were full of bandages, and Leo found himself curious as to what exactly she had been bandaging. He didn't have time to dwell on it as Lockhart spotted them all.
"Oh, hello there!" he called, beaming around at the assembled students. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..."
Should've gotten a closer look, you daft git.
"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" said Sprout, who was looking distinctly disgruntled, not at all her usual cheerful self.
There was a murmur of interest. They had only ever worked in greenhouse one before — greenhouse three housed far more interesting and dangerous plants. Leo felt positively giddy at the prospect. Sprout took a large key from her belt and unlocked the door. He and Harry were about to head in when Lockhart's hand shot out.
"Harry! I've been wanting a word — you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?"
"Yes, yes she does," Leo stated before she could answer, pushing past Lockhart's hand and dragging Harry into the greenhouse.
Lockhart, stunned at Leo's abruptness, was unable to stop them as they ran inside, shutting the door behind them and walking over to Ron and Hermione. Sprout was standing behind a trestle bench in the center of the greenhouse. About twenty pairs of different-colored earmuffs were lying on the bench.
When the two had taken their places between Ron and Hermione, she said, "We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"
To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was first into the air.
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," said Hermione, sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."
"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"
Leo leaned forward eagerly at the mention of danger whilst Hermione's hand narrowly missed Harry's glasses as it shot up again.
"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," she said promptly.
"Precisely. Take another ten points," said Sprout. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."
She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke, and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish-green in color, were growing there in rows. They looked quite unremarkable to Leo, who didn't have the slightest idea what Hermione meant by the "cry" of the Mandrake. He wondered for a moment if he should consider actually opening a textbook at some point, but ultimately decided against it.
"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," said Sprout.
There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't pink and fluffy. Leo wasn't too bothered by it, and promptly grabbed the pinkest, fluffiest pair of earmuffs he could get his hands on.
"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered," said Sprout. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right — earmuffs on."
Leo snapped the earmuffs over his ears. They shut out sound completely. He briefly wondered if he could get away with stealing a pair in preparation for Lockhart's class. Sprout put a pink, fluffy pair over her ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robes, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled hard.
Leo recoiled in mild horror before leaning forward in fascination when he recalled that Sprout had called the thing 'dangerous.'
Instead of roots, a small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth. The leaves were growing right out of his head. He had pale green, mottled skin, and was bawling at the top of his lungs.
Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it, burying him in dark, damp compost until only the tufted leaves were visible. Sprout dusted off her hands, gave them all the thumbs-up, and removed her own earmuffs.
"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she said calmly, ignoring Leo's sigh of mild disappointment. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up.
"Four to a tray — there is a large supply of pots here — compost in the sacks over there — and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething."
She gave a sharp slap to a spiky, dark red plant as she spoke, making it draw in the long feelers that had been inching sneakily over her shoulder. Leo wondered if he could get away with sending one to Lockhart. He didn't think the smiley twit would be able to recognize a Venemous Tentacula even if one bit him in the arse – which Leo was hoping would happen.
After that, they didn't have much chance to talk. Their earmuffs were back on and they needed to concentrate on the Mandrakes. Sprout had made it look extremely easy, but it wasn't. The Mandrakes didn't like coming out of the earth but didn't seem to want to go back into it either. They squirmed, kicked, flailed their sharp little fists, and gnashed their teeth; Harry spent ten whole minutes trying to squash a particularly fat one into a pot as Leo roared with unheard laughter. At least until his own Mandrake tried to bite him, prompting him to stuff it in its pot as swiftly as possible.
By the end of the class, Leo, like everyone else, was sweaty, aching, and covered in earth. Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Gryffindors hurried off to Transfiguration – which happened to be one of Leo's favorite classes. Right up there with Charms. Anything that involved actual magic was alright in his book.
That day, McGonagall had them transfiguring beetles into buttons. Leo had transfigured about five of them successfully before growing bored and deciding to try out the color-changing charm Remus had told him about. McGonagall came by as he was turning one button fluorescent green.
"Getting ahead in our studies are we, Mr. Black?" she asked, picking up a button he had turned hot pink and examining it closely.
"Just got bored, Professor," Leo shrugged. "Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. Ten points to Gryffindor – keep up the good work," she gave him a small smile before returning the button and walking away.
When the lunch bell rang, everyone filed out of the classroom except him, Harry, and Ron, who was whacking his wand furiously on the desk.
"Stupid — useless — thing —"
"Write home for another one," Harry suggested as the wand let off a volley of bangs like a firecracker.
"Oh, yeah, and get another Howler back," said Ron, stuffing the now hissing wand into his bag. "' It's your own fault your wand got snapped — '"
"Which isn't an untrue statement," Leo commented.
"You know what, Leo -"
The two bickered all the way down to lunch, where Ron's mood was not improved by Hermione's showing them the handful of perfect coat buttons she had produced in Transfiguration. Leo showed off his own multi-colored buttons, prompting Hermione to demand how and where he had learned to change them into different colors. He merely made a zipping motion over his mouth and winked at her.
"What've we got this afternoon?" said Harry, hastily changing the subject.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione at once, eliciting a loud groan from Leo.
"Why," demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"
Hermione snatched the schedule back, blushing furiously before hitting Leo over the head with it when he said that he thought she had had more class than that.
They finished lunch and went outside into the overcast courtyard. Hermione sat down on a stone step and buried her nose in Voyages with Vampires again. Harry, Ron, and Leo stood talking about Quidditch for several minutes before Harry became aware that he was being closely watched. Noticing his cousin's look, Leo glanced up to see a very small, mousy-haired boy staring at Harry as though transfixed. He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera, and the moment Harry looked at him, he went bright red.
"All right, Harry? I'm — I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think — would it be all right if — can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.
"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.
"A picture is something that captures someone's likeness and puts it -" Leo began to explain.
"I know what a picture is, Leo," Harry replied crossly.
Colin gave a small squeal.
"You're Leo?! The Leo Black?"
"That's what they tell me. They could be lying though," Leo replied with faint amusement, somewhat flattered that someone knew his name.
"I heard about you – almost everyone in your family is famous! I'd love to get a picture with you – and Harry too, of course," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead" (his eyes raked Harry's hairline) "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of the two of you" — he looked imploringly at Harry and Leo, who was starting to feel quite awkward — "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand between you two? And then, could you sign it?"
"Not happening, kiddo," Leo replied in a very dry tone at the same time as an obnoxiously familiar voice began yelling.
"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Black?"
Loud and scathing, Blaise Zabini's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as he always was at Hogwarts nowadays, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Leo spotted Draco not far behind him looking as though he was severely regretting being put in the same house as Zabini.
"Everyone line up!" Zabini roared to the crowd. "Harry Potter and Leo Black are giving out signed photos!"
"No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching.
"If you wanted my autograph, all you had to do was ask," Leo informed him, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "No need to follow me around like some crazed fangirl."
"That's not – I don't -" Zabini spluttered.
"Careful, Zabini, keep your mouth open long enough and you'll attract flies," Draco snickered, approaching the group.
Harry and Ron visibly tensed at his appearance.
"So that's why there are always flies when what's-his-face is around," Leo said, smacking his forehead. "Thanks for clearing that up, Draco."
Draco gave a small shrug before smirking and saying, "Maybe you should give him a signed photo, Black, maybe then he won't stalk you as much -"
Zabini whipped out his wand, but Hermione shut Voyages with Vampires with a snap and whispered, "Look out!"
"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially, "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!"
Zabini slunk into the crowd with a glare at Leo, who blew him a kiss and waved in return. Draco snorted at this before going after his housemate and heading to his next class.
Leo managed to grab Harry's arm and pull him out of Lockhart's grasp, almost falling to the ground as he did so. Lockhart gave a small frown, perhaps a bit upset at Leo's constant need to foil his attempts at using Harry to put him further in the spotlight.
"Come now, Mr...?"
"Evans," Leo rolled his eyes, unimpressed that the man had already forgotten the name he had given him in Flourish and Blotts.
"Come now, Mr. Evans, if your friend wants to hand out signed photos -"
"He doesn't," Leo interrupted rudely. "Now, if you don't mind, Harry and I have to get to class."
He dragged Harry away, much to his cousin's relief, and brought him back inside the castle and up the Grand Staircase to the third floor. They opened the door to Lockhart's classroom and Harry stepped inside before frowning when he noticed Leo hadn't followed him. He turned, spotting Leo standing in the doorway, his eyes unfocused and his breathing rapid. He strode over, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder and shaking him lightly, jarring him out of his memories.
Leo closed his eyes and took deep, steadying breaths like Sirius had told him before calming down enough to open his eyes, nod at Harry, and take a seat in the classroom as close to the door as possible. He ran his hands through his hair anxiously before placing his head down and keeping his gaze firmly locked on the door. Lockhart strode in not long after that.
When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville Longbottom's copy of Travels with Trolls, and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front. Leo felt the sudden urge to bolt.
"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense 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 her!"
He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly and Leo blurted out, "You're not funny!"
A few people in the class chortled at this, and Lockhart's face turned bright red before he elected to ignore Leo and hope he would go away. Leo was disappointed. He'd hoped that, at the very least, Lockhart would send him out of the classroom. Guess I'll have to try harder.
"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books — well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about — just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in —"
When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes — start —now!"
Leo read through his paper, rolling his eyes as he wrote down answers:
1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
I dunno – probably something stupid like lilac or whatever.
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
To actually be a halfway decent wizard and not the incompetent loon he currently is.
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
He's achieved something? That's news to me. Surprising me, I guess, would be his greatest achievement.
On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:
54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?
In order: Who cares? And talent.
Leo wrote his name – his real name – in big letters on the top of the page.
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class. Leo noticed he seem to pale considerably when he read one of the papers. He looked around furiously, stopping and staring at Leo when he gave a small waggle of his fingers before resuming staring at the door, his leg bouncing up and down. Lockhart gulped before placing the paper on his desk and continuing to rifle through the rest.
"Tut, tut — hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac." Leo took a moment to feel disappointed in himself that he had gotten at least one right. "I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully — I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples — though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"
Neither would I right about now. Leo thought dryly as Lockhart gave them another roguish wink. Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name.
"...but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions — good girl! In fact" — he flipped her paper over — "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"
Hermione raised a trembling hand.
"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so — to business —"
He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.
"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. All I ask is that you remain calm."
Leo kept his expectations quite low and was expecting the cage to be full of blind mice or butterflies. Despite his rather low expectations, he turned his head away from the door to observe whatever tragedy was about to unfold.
"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."
As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover. In the cage were many little electric blue creatures with wings. They pulled on the bars of the cage, pressing their faces against it and snickering mischievously at them all.
"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."
Seamus and Leo couldn't control themselves. They let out snorts of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for screams of terror. Despite the nervousness and anxiety that flooded through his body the moment he set foot in the classroom, Leo couldn't help but find the concept of pixies unbelievably ridiculous.
"Pixies?" he managed to choke out over his bouts of laughter. "You had them scared to face a cage full of Tinker Bells?"
Leo fell out of his seat, clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh, prompting others in the class to join him. While most of the class didn't seem to know who Tinker Bell was, it was quite clear that Lockhart did – if his face was anything to judge by. Lockhart's face had turned bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment, no one was quite sure.
"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.
It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering Leo - who quickly ducked and covered his neck and head with his hands - and others in the back row with broken glass. Now that's just rude. Leo mentally complained, ruffling his hair in an attempt to get pieces of glass out. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, up-ended the wastebasket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.
"Come on now — round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted, his gaze meeting Leo's - who had the sudden desire to throw him out the window.
Lockhart rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
As Leo expected, it had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Close enough. Leo decided as Lockhart gulped and dived under his desk, narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way. Leo managed to cast a Softening Charm on the ground just before Neville landed.
The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Leo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, "Well, I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.
"Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.
"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," said Hermione, immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.
"Hands-on?" said Harry, who was trying to grab a pixie dancing out of reach with its tongue out.
"Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing —"
"Rubbish," said Hermione. "You've read his books — look at all those amazing things he's done —"
"He says he's done," Ron muttered.
After a pixie chucked one of Lockhart's books at his head, Leo had enough. He pointed his wand into the air, shouted Incendio and conjured a long rope of flame with which he used to scare and herd the remaining pixies into their cage. When this was done, he retracted his wand and looked at the other three, who were staring at him, mouths agape.
"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Ron asked weakly.
"I wasn't motivated to," Leo shrugged before walking over and grabbing the cage. "Now, you three can either leave or help me while I release the pixies in Lockhart's office."
Hermione stared at him appalled while Ron and Harry gleefully followed him down the corridor and down the stairs to Lockhart's office. Very quickly, Leo opened the cage door, opened Lockhart's door, threw the pixies in and closed the door. He took off down the corridor very quickly with the other two on his heels, Lockhart's screams following them out.
Uncle Siri,
Lockhart released a bunch of pixies in class today and had no clue how to get rid of them. He made me, Harry, and a couple of our friends collect them. Pretty sure he regretted that decision after I let the pixies loose in his office.
I could use some other ideas for pranks if you have any. I already have something in the works involving a color-changing potion, but other ideas would be nice in the meantime.
I think I'm less ready than I was before, how is that possible?
Hope you haven't gone too mad.
Love,
Leo
P.S.: Please?
Dear Remus,
Pulled a wicked prank on Lockhart involving pixies today. He deserved it after setting them loose in the class. And for trying to leech off of Harry's fame. That's starting to get really annoying.
Granted, him releasing the pixies was probably my fault. I did, after all, laugh at him for believing pixies are scary – and for getting other people to laugh too. Not sure if his face was red from anger or embarrassment. Either way, it was hilarious.
Hope you're doing well,
Leo
P.S.: Thanks. McGonagall was impressed with the charm, and I already have a plan in motion for the potion. Hey, that rhymes.
P.P.S: Again, thanks, what would I ever do without you, Remy?