Giddy Brew
Chapter 5: Hufflepuff is Synonymous with Horny
By: The Brat Prince
A/N: Revised Chapter five. Read and Review!
Everyone seemed to have completely forgotten their dislike of dueling by the end of their first class. Casey especially mentioned how he'd have to tell Cerulean how great the class was.
Prue frowned, "Cerulean already had this class. He gained one hundred points, remember?"
"Oh. Right, it was Cherridy who hasn't taken it yet," Casey cheered, "I get them mixed up."
"Wait, you don't know the difference between your own brothers.
Looking scandalized, Casey replied, "Why should I? They don't have any uses, except to make music with me."
As for the actual class, it was different. Very different. They'd been forced to break up into assigned groups, which weren't a picnic, considering that Ravenclaw was sharing their time with Slytherin. Four people were in each group. Serendipity was assigned group one, with Antoinetta, Dirk, and Joshua. Predictably, Joshua and Dirk acted like bloody pricks to Serendipity until they lost interest all together. And this was only because Antoinetta had turned on her feminine charms. Seriously, that girl reeked pheromones out of every pore of her porcelain skin, and possibly kept a bottle of hairspray containing them. It would explain why her hair was always slicked into perfect midnight colored ringlets past her chin, even when she slept.
Elanore's group consisted of her, Sylvester, a large, burly Slytherin boy with somewhat greasy hair named Arick Lamb, and Gethsemane. The latter glowered at Elanore all through class, still miffed about the incident in the Great Hall concerning her underwear. Seprie and Bobby ended up with a Slytherin girl who was even smaller than Elanore, making her approximately the height of an anorexic five year old. Tisiphone Grant was her name, and she loved to illustrate her youthful appearance by tying her fine silvery hair into little pompom pigtails. However, she acted more like a dominatrix in the making. Their other partner was a guy named Bradley Sykes, and he was actually quite civil, if not handsome. He seemed to be missing all his hair, which accented his brilliant crystalline eyes. Still, it was a wonder he'd ended up in Slytherin.
The last group, naturally containing Casey and Prue because the teachers seemed to love tormenting her, also contained a Slytherin couple named Peregrine Vandalia (whom Prue knew from Quidditch) and Cardinal Briallen. After he had grouped them, Professor Laedere assigned them a simple task, which was to learn the swapping spell, which removed your opponent's wand from their hand and put it in yours.
"It's quite simple," he told them. Prue liked Professor Laedere's whimsical voice, but she didn't see eye to eye with him on the meaning of simple. The spell involved some tricky wand work along with the incantation, "Vicisstudo!" Try pronouncing that three times fast.
Peregrine and Cardinal wanted nothing to do with the spell. They were very, very involved in each other, so much so that even Casey was a bit revolted. Although he didn't fail to mention the irony of them having the same first initials as Prue and himself. He pointed this out while poking bits of Peregrine's long ginger hair spreading out from beneath the row of chairs they were seated at.
"Well, they have to come up for air sometime," Prue observed, trying not too watch.
"You haven't really kissed anyone, have you? Some people can do without air for a very long time," Casey winked suggestively.
"Grow up," she replied.
"Seriously, though Prue," Casey's entire demeanor changed, "Why would you even think of going to Leo?"
"Oh! Would you just drop it already? It's none of your business if I decided to go."
Casey frowned, "But-"
"Drake, Gelliston!" Professor Laedere chirped, "Would you like to demonstrate the swapping spell for us? Oh my, where did Ms. Vandalia and Mr. Briallen go?"
Prue heard a low moan from beneath her chair, and jumped up, blushing.
"They're occupied," Casey put in smoothly.
Professor Laedere shrugged, "Now just climb up on the stage, that's right, and take your positions." The stage was a long table with the phases of the moon plastered across it. Professor Stellae, the astronomy teacher, called it the labores solis or eclipse of the sun. Some ancestor of hers had crafted it.
Dirk faced Prue with a smirk on his face, "This should be a cinch. Taking a wand from a girl."
How arrogant can you get? Prue put on a brave smile, "You said it. I'll have an easy time taking it from you, although I didn't know you really were a girl. I just thought you were queer."
"Now kids, play nice. Remember, swapping spell only. Whoever gets the other's wand first wins their house fifty points," Professor Laedere flashed them a grin that made all the girls in the room sigh, even Tisiphone, "Wands at the ready!"
He forced them to bow, then pace the few steps backwards required. Prue had to count, which was a disadvantage because it wasted breath, "One, two, three."
At her last word, both yelled, "Vissistudo!" Sparks shot from Dirk's wand, and for a second she was blinded. She felt her wand's smooth beech sheath tear free from her hands, despite the sparks emerging from its tip.
When her vision came back, Dirk was smiling smugly, tapping her wand against his thigh and offering her a hand up, "Shove off," she told him.
"Be that way. Do I get fifty points Professor?" Dirk asked.
"No," Professor Laedere stated firmly.
"That's not fair," Dirk protested, and the rest of the Slytherins, excepting Peregrine and Cardinal, hissed.
"Oh, its perfectly fair. Mr. Drake, may I ask where your wand is?"
Dirk looked at him as though he'd gone nutters and glanced at his hand. That was when the smirk on his face vanished, replaced by astonishment. His wand was lying next to Prue's hand.
"Good job Prudence," Professor Laedere smiled and helped her off the table. She didn't bother to tell him not to call her that.
They had been reintroduced to the rest of their classes quickly, because of the huge workload all their teachers assigned. Only Professor Laedere and Professor Flavian, from Berkley left them relatively homework free, aside from memorization, and this was only because of the beatings they were putting them through in class. Professor Berkeley had a dangerous curriculum in store, and had already warned them they'd face anything from manticores to vampires to dreadful winged serpents called amphipteres.
Elanore started spending lots of time with Rufus in one of the empty classrooms on the fifth floor. She claimed they were working on their costumes for the Masquerade, but the pink flush on her cheeks didn't allow Prue or Serendipity put much store in her claim.
Also, Quidditch practices were really kicking into gear in preparation for their first game. They hadn't had any more run-ins with the Gryffindor team, but one with the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins at the same time. This lead Whitney to lock the Ravenclaw team into the locker room for an hour one morning so that they could analyze the strengths and weak points of the other team.
"All right, Serendipity, do you know who you're up against?" She demanded as soon as Prue and Serendipity had entered the room.
Promptly, Serendipity responded, "Rowan, January, and Barnaby." She had just named the three opposing teams' keepers. Yetings, Farrigan, and Roderick.
"Right. Yetings isn't much competition, because of her height she's no gymnast. The acrobatic tricks are difficult for her. January isn't big on them either, but he's fast. He'll be able to catch that quaffle quickly, and Barnaby's got a nasty defense. Bobby, are you listening? These are the keepers you'll have to get by, you too Cherridy. Now, Sere, do you know who you're defending the hoops from? Actually, Cherridy, you answer that one."
Serendipity had reddened at the mention of January's name, but the rest of the team was kindly ignoring it.
"Umm," Cherridy had been lightly snoozing in Radovan's lap, "Oh, there's umm…"
"Apollo, for one," Bobby put in, "And Dana and Polaris."
"Right!" Whitney exclaimed, "Apollo's a bit arrogant, wave something shiny in front of him and he'll go for it. Thinks he can see his reflection. Wingate you might have to watch out for- she's a new player, but fairly good. Morgan's the one I'm worried about. He's tricky, that one. How about the Hufflepuffs?"
"Well, there's Franscesca," Prue said, "Antoinetta's sister. I reckon she's just as ditzy as Antoinetta."
"Don't make that mistake. Franscesca's in Hufflepuff for a reason. She works hard, and flies hard, I want you all to look out for her. She's got a nasty streak. Now Cephied I wouldn't be as worried about. They say he's only on the team because of his brother." Maxwell Cephied was a sixth year Hufflepuff who could be called scatter brained. His brother had been on the Hufflepuff team two years ago.
"And Durret?" Serendipity asked.
"Oh, Caroline. She's got style, I'll give her that. Who I'm worried about though, is the Slytherins. They never used to let girls on the team, but that's all changed since Joshua Kenth was made captain. He's got an eye for the ladies, and skill. We've never played any of these girls before. Belinda Knell, she's that big one, right? With the funny eye?"
"It's called a lazy eye, Whitney. And yeah, she's got weird hair too. It's really short," Matilda informed her.
"And Vandalia is the redhead. She's got a fiery temper, I hear."
"But not much of an attention span," Prue scoffed, "Spends most of dueling making out with her boyfriend. I wouldn't worry about her."
"Do you ever worry? And the last one, Sadaline Young. I know her, she takes Advanced Arithmancy with me. She flies dangerously, but again, not big in the brains section."
"Is she Dante Young's sister? He's dreamy." Matilda asked.
"Yeah. Speaking of Dante, you'll have to deal with him and Kiddy Bolton accordingly. Ever since those two started dating, they've been a pain in my ass. Supposedly they're actually moving in synch now. Prue, Matilda, you watch out for them. I'm not as worried about Noah and Frank, you've beaten them before, but don't let it go to their heads. Same with Kenth and Dibson."
"What about me?" Radovan finally asked, looking a bit surly.
"You have Carter, of course, and we know she hasn't got the speed, but her eyes beat yours. Quince, he's got the speed and the eyes, so you'll have to be careful around him. He's easily confused though, maybe if you loop him a few times, we'll get past him. I'm worried about Yaeko Niwa, the new Slytherin seeker. Damn these females. She's pretty shrewd, and a little thing too. One of those crazy Asian girls."
"Whitney! That was racist!"
"No it wasn't. She is a crazy Asian girl. And a smart one," Whitney looked at them all desperately, "I need you all to win for me. This is my last chance to get the cup…we've won it before of course, but not for three years now, since I've thrown you sorry lot together. And not since I've been captain. Prove to me you can do it, please."
"We'll do it," Radovan told her sympathetically.
"Of course we will," Matilda put in soothingly, "We've got a great team. We may be a bit violent at times, but we've got what none of the rest has. Spirit!" She giggled.
Perhaps it was the stress. Perhaps it was the fact that everyone else was busy. Either way, Prue and Serendipity found themselves inside the Hufflepuff common room on Sunday night. Reese O'Malley, the gossipy honey-haired third year who spread rumors like wildfire, let them in. This caused Prue to worry very much about the secrecy of their visit. The last thing she needed was the entire school teasing her because of her total lack of snogging skill.
Serendipity was already freaking out, hoping that January wouldn't see or hear of their visit to Quince. The Hufflepuff common room was decorated in cheery gold banners and black leather couches; much cozier. It wasn't as stately as the green silk and red velvet of the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms, but it sure beat the blue satin couches in Ravenclaw. Easier to hide the stains from dungbombs or whatever else you might accidentally drop on the couch.
"Hey," Caroline Durret, one of the Hufflepuff chasers said to them in a high, squeaky voice, her copper tresses flouncing behind her as she bounced around. She was alternately watching a game of exploding snap between seventh years Elizabeth Golden and a pretty pink haired girl named Lanolin George, and a game of wizard's chess between Oriole Toole and another seventh year with long, plaited, dark hair named Patricia Connery.
"If you're looking for Quince," Elizabeth said absently, not bothering to look up, "He's in the boys' dorm with Franscesca."
Timidly, Prue and Serendipity climbed the stairs to the boys dorm. Elliot Page, from Divination, was wandering down, and greeted them, "Going to see Quince? Don't worry, I won't tell. Although what pretty girls like you need snogging lessons for is beyond me. I'll teach you anytime, if you change you're mind about him," he winked and continued on down the stairs.
"Geez, are all Hufflepuffs pervy?" Serendipity asked.
"Nah, just the males," Prue replied, then giggled, "Watch out for January."
The knocked on the door of the boy's dormitory, which was hard oak. Muffled noises were emerging from behind the door, and a few minutes later, Franscesca Feehan opened the door trying very hard to look composed. A warm breeze filtered through her heavily tousled hair as her piercing black eyes bored into each of them in turn, "You're here for Leo, right? Hold on a second."
She disappeared behind the door, and came back out with Leonardo Quince. He was gorgeous, of course, like most of the boys in Hogwarts. Prue had told Serendipity in their first year that they picked the boys out of gardens. That was before she met guys like Arick Lamb and Jacob Dibson, both greasy pricks. Quince's hair was sun bleached, but naturally brunette, and his eyes were warm and hazel. He smiled at them with a sensuous mouth that seemed to light up the room.
And in about five seconds he had leaned down and kissed both Serendipity and Prue lightly. Prue had to fight her first instinct, which was to kick him in the shins and run, followed by her second instinct, which was to whip out her beloved wand, recently dubbed 'Ziggy' and curse him with every jinx she knew. Instead, she went with her third instinct, which was to resort to sarcasm. Always a crowd pleaser.
"Well, it's nice to see you too."
Quince smiled again, although not so good-naturedly, and said, "Did Kip tell you my asking price?"
"Who's Kip?" Serendipity wondered aloud.
"Kip Bolton. He's Kiddy's twin brother. We didn't see him," answered Prue.
"So you don't have an appointment?"
"What are you, a doctor?" Prue snapped.
"Ah, muggle borns. So temperamental. Well, it's ten sickles a piece, for half an hour. I'll take the redhead first," with that said, Quince grabbed Serendipity's hand and dragged her into the dormitory.
Not caring to hear the events inside, Prue went back downstairs, to watch the games with Caroline. Patricia and Oriole had finished up, and now Kip Bolton was playing with his sister Kiddy. Lanolin and Elizabeth were still going on with the exploding snap, and Caroline had taken up a game of gobstones with Elliot. Reese was in the corner with Trudy Swann, talking to her with a deceivingly menacing look on her face. Probably blackmailing the poor girl.
Seconds passed like minutes, and Prue couldn't help glancing nervously at her watch. What on earth were they doing up there? Well, that was obvious, snogging. Still, she hadn't thought it would take this long. Finally she became so nervous that something in her mind just snapped like a twig. Or a wand, which happened to be in her hand at the time.
"Oh, that doesn't look good," Kip told her. Caroline was laughing her head off. Poor, poor Ziggy had met his demise. Which was quite sad, actually. He'd been such a cute wand, decorated with a leather cord and two golden eagle feathers. So much simpler than Serendipity's want, which was black cherry wood and covered in silver glitter. Unfortunately, Serendipity's wand had a tip, and now hers didn't.
It was the final straw in a largely unsatisfying day. Prue walked out of the common room without another word, despite Kip's protests that Quince was going to beat him for her departure. She called back, although more to herself than anyone else, "Tell Serendipity that I've gone to give Orpheus my love."
Smirking because she knew this would aggravate Serendipity greatly, Prue left. Being approximately nine, which was technically after curfew according to the caretaker, very few people were wandering the halls. She did bump into Peregrine and Cardinal from Dueling smooching near one of the third floor staircases, but by now they sort of blended into the scenery.
When she reached the Ravenclaw entrance way, which was in the middle of a darkened staircase leading down to the dungeons, she found she'd forgotten the password. The entrance way was guarded by an old, crusty knight known to the students as Sir Hannigan. He liked to sleep, for the most part, and was extremely cranky when she disturbed him without any idea of what the password was.
"Eh, is it Fragile Buttercrumbs?" Prue guessed half-heartedly. The prefects, one of which was Seprie, liked to think up ridiculously hard passwords. The other, Winston Taft, was a tall, pale, skinny muggle born boy with a taste for things like Japanese video games. Either way, Prue was screwed until a kind passer by decided to gift her with the night's password.
She didn't have to wait long, "Hey, aren't you my little brother's friend?" This question was asked by none other than Cerulean Hargrove. Like Casey, he was tall, with red hair and dark, stormy gray eyes. But not a single freckle stained his skin, and his hair hung to the nape of his neck in a loose ponytail.
Cerulean was with a small group of friends. There was Loupe Barkley, a short Hispanic girl who spoke with a slightly offbeat accent, Radovan Glass, and Gislaine Ranfree, a beautiful redhead who could have graced the cover of a few fashion magazines.
"You mean Casey? I don't like to consider us friends," Prue replied indignantly.
Gesturing for his friends to go on in, using the password (which was oddly simplistic; Gryffindors Bite), Cerulean put an arm around her shoulders.
"You know, Casey has told me some things about you. And since hearing them, I have one question…" He paused dramatically.
"What?"
"Would you sleep with me for a million Galleons?"
"In a heartbeat," Prue replied without hesitation. Cerulean looked like he could be blown over with a feather, and she chuckled, "He obviously didn't tell you I joke a lot. But I wish he wouldn't' tell people I'm easy. I might have to hurt him."
"Oh? Too bad. I wanted to do this." And with that said, he pulled her face towards his. Absently, Prue wondered if all the Hargrove brothers had such soft lips. When he pulled away, he said , "Don't blame Casey. All he told me was that you have a cute temper and I should try annoying you some time. Did it work?"
Without waiting for an answer, Cerulean ducked under Sir Hannigan's raised arm, into the common room.
Prue touched her fingers to her lips. That kiss had been much slower and much gentler than Leonardo Quince's.
"Wait a second," she said to the now motionless knight, "Casey thinks I'm cute?"
R+R is much appreciated.