max artemis potter: Thanks
hAdesLythErinmadrigalX: She didn't need to. Don't underestimate the kitty!
Masterofbugs123: Don't worry, he does.
Unnamed-Anonymous-Reviewer: That's what I thought too
ChickWithThePurpleGuitar: I'm glad you liked it.
ButterflyFlyToMe: She does.
miller123456: I agree. The movies were really well casted.
After the spell was said, everything happened rather quickly. Felix pounced on Bletchley's face and began tearing it to ribbons, while Montague screamed like a little girl and ran away, leaving his poor friend clutching his bloody face, howling in agony.
"Felix!" Rose called, "Come here, boy!" The cat's ears perked up at the sound of his name, and ran over to her happily. Rose embraced the animal in a tight hug, while Felix purred affectionately. After the cuddly reunion, Rose stood up and walked over to Bletchley. She bent down and picked up an object that was lying near him. It was Finnigan's wand. She walked over to Seamus, smiling sheepishly, "I believe this belongs to you," she said, blushing.
Seamus took back his wand a bit awkwardly, trying to find the part with the least amount of blood on it. He cleared his throat, "Yes, well . . . um, that concludes our lesson for today!" he said quickly.
After the incident Rose had decided that Annabeth was her best friend. She began to follow her places, and would often sit next to her in class. Annabeth was not pleased to say the least. She could not wait for Vaisey to get back so that she could have someone worth her company.
And Vaisey did come back. The Slytherin boy returned on Wednesday, October 6. By this time, of course, Annabeth had found out the reason why he had left, but all she knew were the basics. Annabeth wanted to be mad at him. He should have told her! She would have understood. But no matter how much she tried, Annabeth knew that she wasn't really angry with him. After all, she could sympathize. Annabeth had never told him about Thalia. . . but should she? No, Annabeth decided, as least not yet.
"Hey," Annabeth said, meeting up with her friend during their free period.
Vaisey looked up, only half paying attention. "Hi," he said, forcing a sad smile.
Annabeth sat down next to him. Vaisey had a photograph in his hands. It was a picture of five people, two adults and three kids. The oldest was a boy around their age. He stood with his arms folded, and head up in the air, as if he were trying to look as important as possible. Next to him stood a slightly younger boy, he stood with a look of haughtiness only one child could muster. Annabeth knew that must've been Vaisey a couple years back. Standing in front of them, was a little girl, no older than five or six. She had long, dark hair that was in two pigtails. She waved frantically at the camera as if it were a long, lost relative. The girl was grinning so widely that it almost didn't look real.
It was then Annabeth noticed yet another figure, a small dog was bouncing up and down happily. The dog's tongue was sticking out, giving him an even more adorable appearance. It made her think of her own dog.
Annabeth pointed to the girl. "Is that her?" she asked Aleron. "Is that Kayla?"
Yeah," Vaisey said, trying not to sound too miserable. "This was around two and a half years ago, when we first got our Crup, Canis."
"You named your dog, 'dog'?" said Annabeth incredulously, "because that's what canis means in Latin."
The two looked at each other, and then, without warning, began laugh hysterically. It wasn't even that funny, but they laughed anyway. They laughed until they were tearing, and gripping their aching sides. It felt good, especially for Aleron. He needed a good laugh, and he knew it, too.
"Yeah . . . " said Aleron, barely stifling another giggle. "Yeah, my dad is not the world's most creative person." He looked back at the picture longingly. "She really did love that dog. We all did, but she was his favorite. They would play together for hours. That's why I had to do it."
Annabeth blinked in confusion. What was he talking about?
"Come with me," Vaisey said.
Annabeth, still unsure of what was going on, cautiously followed. Vaisey led her down many long, twisted corridors. There was no way Annabeth could have found her way back even if she wanted to.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, she said, "Okay, Vaisey. I've been following you around for twenty minutes. What kind of game is this; where are we going?"
Aleron opened his mouth to respond, but then quickly closed it again. Vaisey grabbed Annabeth by her sleeve, and the two of them ducked under a table.
"What the - -"
Vaisey put a finger to his lips, indicating that she should be quiet. "Someone's coming," he mouthed silently.
The two of them watched as a couple pairs of shoes made their way down the hall. The feet ever-so-conviniently decided to stop just in front of their hiding spot. Luckily, the owners of the shoes had their backs turned. They spoke in hushed whispers, as if they didn't want anyone to overhear.
"Honestly, Nott. I don't understand why you are being so difficult," said a voice. Aleron recognized it to be the voice of Draco Malfoy.
"I already told you everything I knew. Father only lets me in on so much, after all."
"Yeah," Malfoy agreed, "my father never tells me anything, either. He says it's not my place, and that I should just keep quiet. I mean, how can he say that? Look at us, nearly of age, and our parents still treat us like children!" Draco stamped his foot like a five-year-old. "It's not fair!" he whined. Malfoy stopped, noticing his friend's smug expression. "Why are you smirking like that, Nott? What aren't you telling me?"
"I would love to share, Draco. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't like you," and with that, he left.
"Hey!" Malfoy called. "Hey, what are you - - you can't - - get back here, Theodore! I'm not done with you, yet! You will show me some respect! I am your superior!" He ran after the boy.
Vaisey and Annabeth waited until the footsteps died. Then, they got up and dusted themselves off. "That was close."
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "Now, what were you going to show me?"
"Oh yeah," Vaisey smirked. He turned around, and pushed a painting aside, behind it, was a secret room.
"Cool!" Annabeth said excitedly. She followed her friend inside of the chamber eagerly.
Aleron sighed. "My brother told me about this place. Few students know about it. I thought it would be the best place to . . . to . . . well, see for yourself." He pulled out something from the corner of the room. It was so dark that Annabeth couldn't see.
"What is it?"
Vaisey brought the cage closer, slowly Annabeth began to make out the shape. "Is that a cage?"
He nodded, and opened the latch, and a small dog stepped out. Annabeth guessed a Jack Russell. It was white with brown patches. The dog's ears were folded in cute little V-shapes. It ran up to them, tails wagging madly.
Wait, tails?
"Um . . . why does he . . . ?"
"I already told you: Canis is a Crup," he met Annabeth blank expression. "A Crup is a wizard-bred dog. They resemble a Jack Russell Terrier in appearance, but have a forked tail. Most of the time it's docked at a very young age. My dad doesn't believe in doing that, though. He said it takes away their identity."
Annabeth scowled at him. How could he be so irresponsible? "Why did you bring him here?" she hissed angrily.
"Look, I didn't want to!" he said, defensively. "But I couldn't let the Ministry take him! They've been after my dad for months. You need a license to own them, you see. They need to be controlled in muggle areas, because they're naturally aggressive towards them. Dad told them that it was okay. We never go in muggle-populated places, anyways. But the Ministry took none of it. They showed up two days after the funeral. Can you believe it? Two days! That's all the time they gave us! You don't just get over something like that in two days!" Vaisey felt his yes become very wet. He turned away quickly and wiped them. He turned back to Annabeth and continued. "They told us we could have a couple more days with him, but then they would take him away. I couldn't let them do that! I had to bring him with me! If I didn't, Canis would be put in holding, and if no one adopted him within a week, they'll put him down."
Annabeth was not usually one to confide in others, or have them confide in her, for that matter. She sighed. "My dad and I used to have a dog," she said quietly. "He was a Doberman Pinscher named Rex."
"Then you, of all people, would know what I mean!" his eyes were pleading with her.
"Why do you want me to help you?" she asked.
There was a pause. "Because you're the smartest person I know," he whispered.
Annabeth was taken aback by the compliment. It was true, of course. She hesitated. "Alright, I'll help you. First we need to think of a dog's basic needs: food, water, shelter, a place to relieve himself, ect."
"Food's no problem," answered Vaisey confidently, "Crups are scavengers. They'll eat almost anything. I can feed him scraps from meals."
Annabeth nodded, "but he'll need a place to stay. We obviously can't keep him in our dorms, and someone is bound to notice if we keep him here."
Aleron opened his mouth to speak, but it was someone else who answered. "Perhaps I can be of assistance." Theodore Nott stepped out from the shadows.
Fun fact: Teenagers are impulsive, and Harry Potter is no exception. This is because the part of the brain that helps you think things through is one of the last parts to develop. It takes longer for boys than for girls - - which might explain why Hermione is always more prepared than her partners in crime.