Chapter 64: Totally Bad News
"Are you sure about this?" Ianthé asked her friend.
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Yeah… This will work. Charlie tried out the two dragons already. Mum freaked out at first."
"Wait. I know Procyon is the almost-domesticated one. Who'su the other one?"
Nikki smiled, "Remember Minnie?"
"No…. No…. Everyone's gonna freak!"
"Hey, my mum freaked out, but Dad was absolutely thrilled with what Charlie did."
"And what are you planning with the two, especially that Hungarian Horntail Minnie?"
"I still have to owl Charlie about that…. I plan to have Minnie guard the side facing the Forbidden Forest and Procyon on the side facing Hogsmeade."
"Nice plan…"
Nikki smiled.
Ianthé got a thick notebook from her bag.
"You have got to be kidding me! You've got a planner?" Nikki said unbelievingly.
"Hey! I'm Head Girl! Tons of responsibilities here!"
Ianthé scanned a page carefully.
"What's that?" Nikki peeked into the planner.
"It's the course of the moon for the whole year. The next full moon will be….. erm…" Ianthé scanned the page again, "Dear Merlin!"
"What?"
"It's on the fortnight!" Ianthé exclaimed. She ran as fast as she could towards the Headmistress's office.
"Wait up for me!" Nikki sprinted to follow her friend.
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Ianthé knocked on the door, "Professor McGonagall! Professor McGonagall!"
The door opened.
"What causes your distress, Miss Herze?"
"I checked the next full moon and it's in fourteen days, professor! It could be the marked day…."
Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared, resembling her to an attentive hawk.
"I will inform the necessary people about this. However, we have to be prepared. Call for an emergency meeting tonight to all professors and senior prefects."
"Erm…. Professor? Nikki here has a suggestion. We almost forgot the total security of the castle itself as we prioritized the students. Go on, Nikki…" Ianthé nudged her companion.
"I offered my help to the Head Girl, ma'am. I suggested to her that we use the almost-domesticated dragons our family owns…"
"But we have a problem, professor, regarding how would the school's board of governors react to this…."
Professor McGonagall nodded.
"Listen closely, the two of you… It's a great idea, despite my doubts on using dragons to guard the castle… I do trust your judgment, Miss Herze. Regarding the governors…. They wouldn't react to what they do not know…" the headmistress winked and almost smiled at the two girls.
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"We've got a few hours to inform everyone of this…" Nikki sighed.
Ianthé took out a parchment. She scribbled hurriedly and rolled it.
"There's an easier way to inform this," Ianthé gave Nikki the rolled parchment, "Just tie this on my neck after I transform…"
"Excuse me? Did I hear it correctly? Transform?"
Ianthé's body suddenly sprouted white and grey furs. She hunched on all fours and fully transformed into a Siberian husky.
"Okay… right….transform…" Nikki looked at the Siberian husky beside her. She tied the rolled parchment on the dog's neck.
The dog nudged Nikki with her muzzle and ran away.
The Siberian husky reached the door of a classroom. She scratched the door and barked.
A student was surprised when he opened the door and let the dog in.
The dog imperiously walked towards the professor's desk. It was the Defense against the Dark Arts class.
Viktor chuckled, "Forgive my beloved dog… She tends to be needy sometimes…"
The class giggled.
The dog signaled the note tied to its neck. Viktor opened the note and looked at the dog.
"And this was just being noted now?"
The dog barked and nudged Viktor.
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Razilia, Ianthé's eagle owl, flew towards the Ravenclaw table during dinner.
"Late post?" Nikki asked.
Ianthé untied the letter from the owl's outstretched leg and read the letter.
"Oh bloody crap………" she said out flat.
Nikki nudged Ianthé, "Other people might hear you…"
"Just totally bad news….. I mean, the worst ever news… Have you contacted Charlie?"
Nikki nodded, "Let's just say, we are in dire need to go to Hogsmeade secretly tomorrow. Hey, looks like Professor Krum also received a letter…."
Ianthé looked at the staff table. Viktor shown George Weasley the parchment and the latter managed to cough out a gobletful of pumpkin juice.
"Is it that bad?" Nikki asked as they gauged the reaction of the two professors.
"Bad is an understatement."