Chapter 57: A Prank to the Rescue

I immediately told McGonagall about it and she praised me for my good judgment. She advised me to monitor the two closely. I bet that Pansy had no clue that the Aurors patrolling the castle were also Order members. They really haven't got a clue as McGonagall turned out to be too sly to have been a Gryffindor. I kinda see myself in her. She's only sterner and more uptight. I also relayed what I learned to my father and he told me the same thing. Viktor is still often followed by groups of girls around and I did my part to reprimand them and take off points. In effect, I earned the reputation of being as strict and as uptight as dear old Minnie McG. The twins are still the same, they are still coming up with a plan to prank Romilda and her group, but the F&G society came first…. under my supervision, that is…

"Cuz, everything's ready… Let's give those mad girls a lesson they would never forget…" Jeremiah Turner told Ianthé during one of the F&G society's secret meetings.

He had became the prankster-in-chief as Ianthé and Nikki were too busy with school work. He also knew the truth about Ianthé's relationship with Professor Viktor Krum so he took the prank as a personal vendetta.

"Goody…" Ianthé imitated Professor Slughorn.

The group laughed at her.

"Guys, I know that pranking is our main agenda here, but we need to change our tactic a bit…"

The group listened in closely.

"Due to the conditions we are in right now, as Head Girl I must say that Hogwarts needs to be protected."

A murmur of assent rose.

"I suggest that we put our pranking to good use."

A cheer erupted inside the locked and heavily-Silencioed classroom.

"I planned to reform the DA, together with Ginny Weasley and other original members. We are their pranking affiliates."

"It's good, because we not only enjoy pranking but also we learn defensive spells to protect ourselves," a Hufflepuff commented.

"Rina is quite right," Nikki stood up.

"So who needs to stock up?" Ianthé pulled out a large crate full of goods from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes.

The group dug into the crate.

Early breakfast in the Great Hall found Romilda Vane wearing a balaclava. Rumor has it that she had a pimple the other day and because of her sheer desperation to remove it, she used bubotuber pus. She did not knew that it was undiluted. Some who belonged to her group imitated her and found themselves being sorted by Madam Pomfrey and the Head Girl.

"This is one of the worst cases I have ever seen…" Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

Romilda Vane dissolved in tears.

Ianthé handed Madam Pomfrey a thick and long gauze wet with yellowish green paste.

Romilda saw Ianthé and started shouting, "It's all your fault! You!" She cried hysterically along with the other girls that were included in the undiluted bubotuber pus incident.

"Miss Vane, as you know, Miss Herze here is Head Girl and she would not do such thing. She is almost a certified assistant Healer under my supervision. You will not accuse her of your own stupidity!" Madam Pomfrey dabbed the gauze on Romilda's face.

Ianthé was rejoicing inside. The war between her and these girls were over before it started. She had won.

"Remind me never to anger you…" Viktor said as Ianthé lay on his chest.

Ianthé smiled, "I just have a lot of secret friends here and there…"

Viktor propped his head on a pillow and looked at Ianthé, "Seriously, tell me who did it?"

"Did you know that I have a cousin here?"

"Jeremiah Turner?"

Ianthé pulled the blanket closer as she snuggled to Viktor, "I never mentioned anyone…"

"So he's behind all of this?"

"Let's just say, he's extremely loyal to the family…"

"Do you really think they would not follow me anymore?"

Ianthé shrugged, "For the time being? Nope…"

"I heard from the headmistress that Madam Pomfrey already wanted to certify you as her assistant Healer."

"Yeah, I guess I'm not that bad in Healing…"

"I spoke to your father… We could get married in Christmas…"

Ianthé looked at him, "Really? But what about your being my professor?"

"The wedding would be our little secret," Viktor gently nipped Ianthé's nose with his thumb and index finger.

"Ianthé! Ianthé!"

There was someone shouting outside.

Ianthé quickly jumped from her bed and grabbed her night gown and wore it over her head. She then wore her dark green dressing gown. She quickly stowed her wand in the pocket.

"Disillusion yourself for a moment!"

Viktor nodded and tapped his wand on top of his head. He disappeared from sight but he was inside the bedroom.

Ianthé quickly opened the door and ran to the living room. She swung the portrait door open.

It was George Weasley.

"What is it?"

"We need your help now!" George grabbed her and sprinted towards the corridor going to the Entrance Hall.

"Why?"

"They contacted me because Ron was injured and so is Harry."

They sprinted towards a very large tree.

"George?"

"What?" George Weasley snapped.

"Isn't that the Whomping Willow?"

The trunks almost hit them, but George was faster. He prodded the knot on the middle and the tree froze.

"How…..?"

"Ask questions later. We need to get to them."

Ianthé and George walked towards what seemed to be an endless dark tunnel.

"Where are we going?"

"The Shrieking Shack."

"But that place is haunted!"

"Yeah, by Lupin… He stayed there every full moon when he was still a student."

They opened the trapdoor and Ianthé found herself standing on a floor with several inches of dust.

"Come on!" George pulled her upstairs.

He opened the door to a room.

Ianthé gasped at the sight. Hermione had small cuts on her arms, while Ron has a very large gash on his leg. His leg seemed to be broken. He was lying on a bed that was already cleaned by Hermione.

There was blood trickling from Harry's face. His glasses were broken and the blood seemed to have come from his scar. His scar looked raw and open.

Ianthé quickly rushed towards Ron. She got two pieces of wood and cleaned it with her wand. She tore the bottom part of her dressing gown and wrapped Ron's leg. She then put the two planks on both sides of his leg and wrapped it with another long piece of cloth.

"I cannot possibly heal you here… We need supplies from the hospital wing…"

Ianthé walked towards Harry. She pointed her wand on Harry's forehead, "Episkey!"

Nothing happened.

"It won't work. I tried it many times," Hermione commented.

Harry took out a thick yellowing parchment, "Here."

Ianthé looked at the familiar parchment, "George, a little help, please…"

George tapped his wand on the parchment, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

Soon, the blank parchment turned to the map of Hogwarts.

"I was meant to steal this from you during third year…" Ianthé smiled at George, "Let's go back for supplies and stuff."

Ianthé sprinted towards the hospital wing.

"All clear," George whispered.

Ianthé nodded and walked quietly towards the cabinet where all the potions and dressings were kept.

"We needed essence of pickled murtlap to alleviate the bleeding of Harry's scar," Ianthé whispered to herself.

"There," George pointed to a large jar.

"Do you still have that bruise remover?"

George nodded.

"I have Blood Replenishing Potion on my room. Let's get them and head to the kitchens and get some food for them."

"Okay," he checked the map again, "Coast is clear but we need to avoid Peeves on the second floor on the way out of the kitchens."

Ianthé nodded and they walked to the Professors Wing.

She and George entered her room and found Viktor pacing back and forth.

"Ianthé, what happened?" Viktor rushed to give her a hug.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are injured and they're in Hogsmeade. George and I went back to the hospital wing to get more supplies. George, get your bruise remover. We need to get back fast."

George nodded and left them.

"Do you need help?"

Ianthé nodded, "Get my Invisibility Cloak and Grubanthian fire."

Viktor nodded and went inside the bedroom.

The three of them met up outside the Head Girl's room.

"You guys ready?" George asked.

Viktor gave a nod.

Ianthé wore her Invisibility Cloak while clutching Viktor's hand.

They immediately went to the kitchens. George tickled the pear and the door opened.

There was a sleeping elf near the door and Ianthé gently shook the house elf.

The elf saw that there were two professors standing in front of him, "What can I do, Professors?"

"We need food enough for three people to last for a week. Can you do that?"

The elf looked affronted, "Certainly, Professor!"

The elf left and got food while George impatiently tapped his foot.

The elf returned with three large baskets.

Viktor placed a Lightening and Unbreakable Charm on the baskets and they quickly left.

"Peeves left the kitchens, coast is still clear."

They walked quickly towards the still frozen Whomping Willow.

They reached the Shrieking Shack.

"Thank Merlin!" Hermione gushed as she saw Viktor and George, "Where's Ianthé?"

Ianthé removed her Invisibility cloak.

Hermione gasped.

"Thought I disappeared, did you?" Ianthé smiled and walked towards Ron to check his leg.

She slowly removed the dressings and splint she had applied earlier. Hermione clutched Ron's hand to keep him from wincing.

"I know you can't tell me everything but I can assume this has something to do with what you asked me last summer…"

Hermione nodded.

"Did you destroy it, though?"

Hermione nodded again while Ianthé cleaned Ron's wound. She tapped her wand gently on the wound and it closed. She then wrapped the leg with an elastic bandage.

"I know this tastes really foul but you should drink this," Ianthé gave Ron a bottle of Skele-Gro.

Ron gave a disgusted face as he took a sip from the bottle.

Viktor handed them the baskets and Harry murmured thanks.

After Ron, Ianthé looked at Harry's scar. She handed him a thick dressing dampened with essence of pickled murtlasp essence.

"Here, you should bring this with you…" she gave Harry the large jug.

"What is it?"

"Blood Replenishing Potion. Anyways, I learned that Pansy joined the Death Eaters."

Hermione gasped.

"But she did it for Draco…"

"How is Malfoy doing?"

"Still hiding… Voldy wants his hide apparently…."

Ron gave a weak laugh but he winced because of his broken leg.

Ianthé whispered something to Viktor. He took out a small wooden box and gave it to Ianthé.

"Hermione?" Ianthé tapped her wand on Hermione's cuts and they healed instantly.

"Yeah?"
Ianthé opened the box and there was a solitary blue flame inside.

"I reckon you know what this is… I think you will need this more than I do…"

"But… this is everlasting fire…"

Ianthé closed the box and pushed it towards Hermione, "You need this for your quest."

"Thanks…"

"The food should last a week," Ianthé got up and wrapped Harry's head with long thin gauze.

"We could never thank you guys enough… for helping us…"

"By the way, Hermione, do you still have the list of the DA?"

The trio looked at Ianthé as if she sprouted another head.

"My best friend and I sneaked in… disguised as Fred and George… with their permission, of course…"

Hermione's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that the recently-made Head Girl often sneaked out.

"That's why Fred and George became prankster legends…"

"That's because of a fat lot of help from her and Nikki…" George pointed his thumb towards Ianthé's direction.

"Nikki? Isn't she Charlie's girlfriend?" Ron asked.

Ianthé nodded, "We often do pranks together with the twins, but we came as a Polyjuiced pair. Hermione here almost caught us one time…"

"So it was you?" Hermione seemed to have remembered it.

Ianthé nodded.

"I believe we're getting off topic here," George commented.

"I gave the list to Ginny. Why do you ask?"

"Viktor and I suggested to McGonagall that the castle should have an escape plan just in case anything happens. We also need people to defend the castle and I think the Order isn't enough so we need the DA…"

Harry nodded in comprehension.

"I also wanted a part of the DA to train for emergency Healing… also just in case…"

"That's a brilliant idea!" Hermione gushed, "Mind if I ask you who is Head Boy?"

"Ernie McMillan. The Slytherins dropped the defense class. Almost all of the students who dropped out were Slytherins. The Patil twins also did not come back. Seamus managed to come back… Apart from that…. Fred and George are, as you know, Transfiguration professors, quite a shock if you asked me… Slughorn misses Harry…" Ianthé smiled.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"But Ianthé here managed to replace you as a Slughorn favorite…"

"It's because I forgot to put a Notice-Me-Not spell on the old man…" Ianthé slapped George's arm.

"You did what? First, you were in league with Fred and George. Then, you placed a spell on a professor!" Hermione said shockingly.

Ianthé put both hands up as if surrendering, "Slughorn was really a need. I couldn't give out that there was a Herze inside his classroom. With Fred and George? It's my way of rebelling at first… but I really had fun…"

Viktor chuckled, "You should see what she did to Romilda Vane…"

Harry smiled, "What did you do?"

"Honestly! It wasn't me! It was a cousin of mine who is now prankster-in-chief of the F&G society, in memory of Fred and George… We were the ones who keep dropping Dungbombs after they left."

Ron smiled, "So what happened to the poor girl?"

"Let's say Eloise Midgen is now far prettier than her… Romilda gave in to panic at a large pimple on her face and put on undiluted bubotuber pus…"

Hermione smiled ruefully, "It's really dangerous, you know…"

"You should see them, crowding outside Viktor's classroom! It's annoying! And with Harry gone, I reckon all of his fan club became Viktor's!"

Viktor shook his head while laughing. Ron was laughing hysterically despite of his broken leg.

George checked his watch, "Blimey! It's nearly four in the morning! We need to get back!"

Ianthé slipped her cloak on again, "You should stay here for a few days to recuperate. If wee could just sneak you inside the castle…"

Hermione shook her head, "It's better to stay here."

"I'll come visit you guys and check on your wounds, okay?"

Hermione nodded, "Could you do me a favor?"

Ianthé nodded.

Hermione gave her a thick parchment, "Could you owl these to my parents? I think they need to hear from me… The address is placed on the envelope."

Ianthé nodded and took the letter from Hermione.

"You guys take care of yourselves," George smiled.

Ianthé put the hood on and she disappered.

"Wait!" Harry said.

The three turned around.

"I think, in exchange for the supplies and the Grubanthian fire thingy, you should have the map to monitor Hogwarts."

Ianthé smiled and gave a small thank you kiss on Harry's cheek, "I'll take care of this or maybe leave this to Ginny, alright?"

Harry nodded.

Viktor, George and Ianthé quickly walked back to the castle.

Morning came and news spread that the Head Girl had fainted out of exhaustion. She, in fact, was brought to the hospital wing by Professor Krum himself, after she fainted inside his class.

"You should not have gone to class today. We only had a couple of hours sleep," Viktor rearranged a pillow.

"Get me a few hours of shut eye and I'll be fine…" Ianthé smiled weakly.

"I excused Nikki from her classes to be with you, okay?"

Ianthé nodded, "Thanks. She just needed a reason to skive off…"

"I also told McMillan to cover tonight's patrol…"

"Okay, Healer Krum…"

Madam Pomfrey was a witness to their light banter and was shocked.

Viktor and Ianthé noticed that the school nurse was already with them and they looked guiltily.

"Is this anything I should report to the Headmistress?" she asked inquiringly.

"Professor McGonagall knows, Madam Pomfrey," Ianthé tried to get up but Viktor prevented her.

"Professor Krum? Care to explain?"

Viktor walked towards the door and locked it. He also placed a Silencing charm.

"We were already engaged when the headmistress hired me. She told me it was okay for her if my student was my fiancée but told me to keep it under wraps."

Madam Pomfrey accepted defeat and sighed, "Very well… I trust Miss Herze…"

"I should leave. Madam Pomfrey, take care of her for me, will you?"

"Of course!"

Madam Pomfrey smoothened Ianthé's blanket.

"We're getting married in December…"

"What about school?"

"I'll definitely finish school but we really wanted to get married…"

"What about your plans as Healer?"

"I guess I'll continue with that. I mean, I'm too young to have children and the situation's not getting better…."

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "You're doing contraceptive spells, right?"

Ianthé nodded. She felt like her head was splitting into two and she rubbed her temples.

"You should get to sleep… Honestly, you should not be going around with sleep deprivation!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Madam Pomfrey…"

Soon, Ianthé fell into a deep sleep.