Harry Potter Halloween Collection Prompt: (creature/being) zombie
Honest Opinion
"How do you think I'd fare if a zombie apocalypse started at Hogwarts?"
Marlene pushed a few strands of hair out of her face and continued writing. "Shouldn't you be writing about zombies instead of bugging me about them?" She wondered for what felt like the millionth time why she'd agreed to help Sirius with his essay. She had her own to do, after all, and they were writing about two totally different creatures. They'd all been assigned a different dark creature or being to write about in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She'd been given dementors and Sirius had been given zombies. While she did occasionally help him with some of their assignments, she was beginning to wonder why she didn't just tell him to do his own homework for a change and leave her in peace.
"But isn't it interesting to think about?" Sirius continued as though she hadn't spoken. "We're all stuck in here together. It wouldn't take much for something like that to spread. I'd like to see just how many of the Slytherins would become zombie food. Not many brains there, though, so maybe they'd be alright."
Marlene suppressed a frustrated sigh as she gently set her quill on top of her parchment and looked up at him. He'd got started on this train of thought and she knew there was no stopping him until she played along for a while. "I don't think that's quite fair, Sirius. The Slytherins aren't stupid. They're known for being cunning, which requires at least a certain amount of intelligence. Besides, zombies don't just eat brains."
Sirius looked thoughtfully at her. "Fine, I'll let you have that one. But back to the original question – do you think I'd survive a zombie apocalypse?"
Marlene shook her head. "No. You'd do something reckless and get yourself killed and probably end up getting someone else killed in the process."
"Now wait a minute," Sirius huffed, "when have I ever done something reckless?"
Marlene raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"I've never – " Sirius stopped mid-sentence. "But there was that time – " He tapped his chin with a finger, looking thoughtful again. "But I – " Whatever events he was remembering, Sirius finally seemed to discover he had been defeated. He wordlessly picked up his quill and went back to work his essay.
"That's what I thought," Marlene said, smirking and returning to her own work. She felt accomplished. For once in her short acquaintance with him, she'd finally left Sirius Black speechless.