AUTHORS NOTE :P
Hi guys! Here's the newest chapter, and I hope everyone likes it :D
Now to answers some reviews...
Arkell26 (and also Annie Bell, because you pointed it out too): Sorry, I never realized I wrote that. Oops. I did mean the Hogwarts Quidditch matches. Sorry again :)
Bethzilla: I know, I didn't put much Maximum Ride into the last three, but I will try my best to put more in. And there will be a lot more in this story.
PhoenixAshr4: Yup, I'm doing all 7 books :D
And now Annie Bell again, to answer the other question: I'm not entirely sure yet, but most likely not everyone in the flock will go. And I hate when that happens too. Here's my own example.
Me: Sir, could you explain that again? I don't understand it.
Maths teacher: ... Now, let's continue onto the next question.
Me:... :/
My friends: o.O
Okay, now on with the next chapter!
Max's POV
The storm was over the next morning, but the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy and cloudy. We all sat down, examining our class schedules at breakfast. A few seats along, Fred, George and Lee were discussing all the different ways to enter the Triwizard Tournament.
"Today isn't so bad," Ron said, "Outside all morning. Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures."
"Dammit, we're still with the Slytherins," I said, scowling.
"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking further down his schedule. "Double? Ah, we're all going to die!" Iggy moaned, putting his head in his arms. "I won't," Hermione said, grinning. Luckily for her, she dropped Divination last year. Divination was my least favorite subject. Professor Trelawney kept predicting me and Harry's death, and it was really annoying. And there was always a fire on in her attic classroom, making everyone feel sleepy.
"You should have given it up," Hermione said, buttering some toast, "Then you could do something sensible like Arithmancy."
"You're eating again, I notice," Fang said, watching her put jam on the toast as well.
"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand against elf rights," Hermione said haughtily.
"Yeah, that...and you were hungry," Ron said, smirking. Hermione shared a look with me and we grinned. We stayed up late into the night, talking and eating my secret stash of sweets.
There was a sudden rustling noise from above us, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows, carrying the morning mail. I looked up, but I didn't see my dark brown owl, Freedom. Owls circled around the tables, looking for their owners. A large tawny owl soared over to Neville and dropped a package onto his lap- Neville always forgot something at home. On the other side of the hall, Malfoy had just gotten his usual supply of sweets from home. I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach when I didn't see Freedom, or even Hedwig. Could something of happened to them?
I was preoccupied all the way over to the greenhouses, but then I was distracted by what Professor Sprout was showing us. They had to be the ugliest plants I've ever seen. They looked like thick, black, giant slugs, producing from the soil more than plants. Each one was squirming slightly and had a few large, shiny swellings on it, that was full of liquid. I felt sick just looking at them.
"Bubotubers," Sprout told us, "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus-"
"That what?" Seamus asked, looking as disgusted as I felt.
"Pus, Finnigan, pus," Sprout said, "and it's very valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves. Bubotuber pus does funny things to your skin."
Squeezing the pus was horribly disgusting, but strangely satisfying. As each swell popped, a large amount of yellow green liquid burst forth, which smelled like petrol. We caught it in the bottles Sprout had given us, and when the class was over there were several pints of Bubotuber pus in the greenhouse.
"This will keep Madam Pomfrey happy," Sprout said. "An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne. Should stop students from resorting to desperate measures to get rid of spots."
"Like poor Eloise Midgen," Hannah Abbott said, "She cursed hers off."
I was suddenly reminded of a girl that was in the School when we were. It had seemed like her entire body was covered in spots, and they seemed to be hurt her every time she moved. I never actually talked to her, but I remember feeling very upset when she never came back to her cage one day.
"Silly girl," Sprout said. "But Madam Pomfrey had her nose fixed in no time."
A bell echoed from the castle across the grounds, signalling that the class was over, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs going back to the castle for Transfiguration and the Gryffindors walking across the grounds, down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's hut, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand holding onto his huge boarhound, Fang (funny, right?) There were several open crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang the dog was whimpering and straining against his collar, eager to investigate the open crates. As we drew closer, a strange rattling noise reached our ears, mixed by what sounded like small explosives.
"Mornin'!" Hagrid said brightly, grinning at the six of us. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins. Don't want them ter miss out on the Blast-Ended Skrewts!"
"Come again?" Iggy said, looking at the crates. Hagrid pointed down to the crates.
"Eurgh!" Lavender squealed, jumping back. And that pretty much summed up the Black-Ended Skrewts. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, pale and slimy looking, with legs sticking out in every odd place, and it looked like they didn't have heads. There was about a hundred of them in every crate, each one around six-foot, crawling over one another, bumping into the sides of the crates. They smelled like rotting fish. Every few seconds, sparks would fly out from the end of the Skrewts, and with a small phut, they propelled a few inches.
"On'y just hatched," Hagrid said proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em! Thought we'd make a project out of it!"
"And why would we want to do that?" came a cold drawling voice from behind us. Malfoy.
The Slytherins had arrived. Crabbe and Goyle were laughing stupidly at what Malfoy had said. Hagrid looked stumped by his question. "I mean, what do they do?" Malfoy asked. "What's the point in them?"
"I think the question is, what's the point in you? What do you do, except make stupid comments?" I said, turning around to face Malfoy. He ruined Hagrid's first lesson last year, I wasn't going to let him do it again.
"No one asked you, freak!" Malfoy sneered.
"And yet, that didn't stop me," I said, grinning.
"You little-"
"That's enough!" Hagrid called. "Malfoy, tha's next lesson. Today, yer just feeding 'em. You'll want ter try them out on a few diff'rent things. I've never had 'em before, you see, not sure what they'll go fer- I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake- just ter try 'em out."
"First pus now this," I muttered darkly, walking over to the little table where all the Skrewts food was. Nothing but deep affection and respect for Hagrid could have made the six of us pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates of Skrewts. I couldn't help thinking how this was completely pointless, because the Blast-Ended Skrewts didn't seem to have mouths.
"Ouch!" shouted Dean Thomas ten minutes later, "It got me!"
Hagrid hurried over, looking worried. "It's end exploded!" Dean said angrily, showing Hagrid the burn on his hand.
"Ah, yeah that can happen when they blast off," Hagrid said.
"Eurgh!" Lavender said again. I really wanted to throw some frog liver at her. That would be funny. "Hagrid, what is that pointy thing on it?"
"Ah, some of 'em have stings," Hagrid explained. Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box. "I reckon they're the males...The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies...I think they might be ter suck blood."
"Well I can certainly see why we want to keep them alive," Malfoy said sarcastically. "Who doesn't want a pet that can bite, sting and burn all at once?"
"Just because they aren't pretty doesn't mean they aren't useful," Hermione said furiously. "Dragon's blood is extremely useful, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"
We turned to grin at Hagrid, who gave us a small smirk behind his massive beard. We all knew too well that Hagrid wanted nothing more than to have a pet dragon- he had owned one for a small time during our first-year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid loved monstrous creatures- the deadlier, the better.
"Well, at least they're small," I said as we made our way up to the castle for lunch.
"They are now," Hermione said, "But once Hagrid finds out what they eat, they'll probably be six-feet long."
"Well, that wouldn't matter if they have the cure to seasickness or something, will it?" Ron said, grinning.
"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up," Hermione said, "As a matter of face, I think he's right. The best thing we can do would be to stamp on them all before they start attacking us all."
We sat down at the Gryffindor table and started helping ourselves to lamp chops and potatoes. Hermione began eating so fast that me, Harry, Ron, Iggy and Fang stared at her with our eyes wide.
"Is this a new stand on elf rights?" Fang asked, "Make yourself puke?"
"No," Hermione said, her cheeks bulging with sprouts, "I just want to go to the library."
"What?" Ron asked, "Hermione- it's our first day! We haven't even gotten homework yet!"
Hermione shrugged, continued shoveling food into her mouth, then she jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag and called, "See you at dinner!" over her shoulder as she walked out of the Hall.
"She is so strange sometimes," Iggy said, shaking his head.
When the bell rang to signal the start of the afternoon classes, me and the boys left the Great Hall and made our way up to the North Tower, where at the top of a spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to the circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and to the room where Professor Trelawney lived.
The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met our nostrils as we emerged at the top of the stepladder. Like always, the curtains and windows were closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim, reddish light cast by the many lamps, that were draped with scarves and shawls. We walked through the mass of poufs that cluttered the room and sat down at a small circular table.
"Good day," said a misty voice as Professor Trelawney appeared out of nowhere behind Harry, making him jump. I grinned at him and he just looked away, acting as if nothing happened.
A thin woman with enormous glasses that magnified her eyes to twice their size, Trelawney was staring at Harry with the same tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. That was when I noticed that she never once looked at me, not even a glance. Fang noticed this as well, and he frowned at me. I just shrugged. Maybe she thought I wasn't going to die today.
"You are preoccupied, my dear," Trelawney said to Harry. "My inner eye sees past your brave face and into your troubled mind. And I regret to say your troubles are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you...most difficult...I fear what you dread to happen will come to pass...and perhaps sooner than you think."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, and I rolled my eyes and looked over at Harry. He stared stonily back. Trelawney swept away from us and sat down in a large arm chair by the fire facing the class. Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil, who admired Trelawney more than anyone else in the castle, sat on little poufs beside her.
"My dears, it is time we consider the stars," Trelawney said in her misty voice. I put my head in my hands on the table, already feeling sleepy. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance..."
My thoughts started drifting to other things. Trelawney's ramblings about fortune-telling had never exactly been intriguing. Instead, I thought of what Trelawney had said to Harry, "I fear what you dread to happen will come to pass..."
But of course, I believed that Trelawney that an old fraud. The only thing that I knew of that Harry was dreading was that Sirius had somehow gotten caught, but that was impossible because if Sirius Black got caught by the Ministry, it would be all over the newspapers. Bu what was Trelawney thinking about? I had long since come ot the conclusion that Trelawney's brand of fortune telling was no more than lucky guessing in a spooky manner.
Except for that time at the end of last year, before we found out that Sirius was my father, when she made the prediction about Voldemort rising again...and even Dumbledore himself had said it was most likely a real prediction.
I raised my head slightly at looked at my watch. I stopped paying attention twenty minutes ago. But when I looked at Harry, I had to cover my face with my hands so I wouldn't make any noise. He was actually asleep, and he was snoring! But what made it better was that Trelawney just asked Harry a question.
"Harry!" I said, kicking his shin under the table. He jerked upright and said, "What?" The whole class was staring at him, and by the look on his face he only realized that he had fallen asleep now.
"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn," Trelawney said, a note of resentment in his voice.
"Born under what?" Harry said.
"Saturn, dear, Saturn!" Trelawney said, sounding very irritated, "I was saying that Saturn was in the position in the heavens at the moment of your birth... Your dark hair...your mean stature...tragic looses so early in your life...I think I'm right in saying that you were born in midwinter?"
"No," Harry said, "I was born in July."
Me, Fang, Iggy and Ron started laughing, but when Trelawney glared at us, we hastily turned it into violent coughing fits.
Half an hour later, we were all given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the positions of the plants at the moments of our birth. It was boring work, requiring consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. I just wanted to throw the whole thing into the fire.
"I've got two Neptune's here," Harry said after a few minutes, frowning at his parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"
"Aaaah," I said, imitating Trelawney's misty whisper, "when two Neptune's are together, it is a sure sign that a midget with glasses will be born, Harry."
Seamus and Dean, who were working in front of us, started sniggering loudly, but not loud enough to mask the squeals from Lavender, "Oh, Professor, look! I think I have an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one is that, Professor?"
"It is Uranus, my dear," Trelawney said, looking down at the chart.
"Can I have a look at Uranus too?" said Ron.
Unfortunately, Trelawney heard him. Maybe that was why she gave us so much homework at the end of class.
"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming months will affect you, and reference to your personal chart," she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall. "I want it to be ready to hand in next Monday, no excuses!"
"Miserable old git," Iggy said as we walked down the stairs towards the Great Hall for dinner, "That'll take all weekend, that will!"
"Lot's of homework?" Hermione asked as she caught up with us, with Nudge behind her. They must of bumped into each other on the way down. "Professor Vector didn't give us any at all!"
"Yeah, and Professor Flitwick gave us some, but then he let us start it in class, and I finished it there so I don't have any Charms homework. But McGonagall gave us a short essay, but it'll be really easy," Nudge rambled.
"Well how great for you," Ron said sulkily.
"The Divination homework should be easy. We can just make it up," Fang said as we reached the entrance hall and started queuing up for dinner. We just reached the end of the line when a loud voice yelled out behind us.
"Weasley! Hey Weasley!"
We turned around. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing there, looking thoroughly pleased about something.
"What?" Ron snapped.
"Your dads in the paper, Weasley!" Malfoy said, brandishing the Daily Prophet in front of Ron's face and speaking so loudly that everyone could hear what he was saying.
"Listen to this!"
"Further mistakes at the Ministry of Magic. It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
Malfoy stopped reading and looked up.
"Imagine, they didn't even get his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's completely useless, isn't it?" Everyone in the Entrance Hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper and read on:
"Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene."
"And look, there's a picture!" Malfoy said. I felt Nudge tensing beside me, but put a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't do anything. Malfoy was all mine.
"A picture of your parents outside their house- if you call that thing a house," Malfoy went on, holding the paper out for everyone to see. "Your mother could do with losing some weight, couldn't she?"
Me, Ron, Nudge, Fang and Iggy were shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at us, but I didn't see anything else other than Malfoy's face, grinning with glee and malice.
"Get stuffed, Malfoy," Harry said, "C'mon, let's go..."
"Oh, yeah you were staying with them over the summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy. "Tell me, if his mother really as fat as she looks in the picture?"
I made to jump at Malfoy, ready to rearrange his face, but Harry grabbed me around the waist and pulled me behind him, and Hermione grabbed onto Ron. The others seemed quite under control for the minute. "Yeah, you know your mother, Malfoy?" Harry said, keeping a hand on me so I didn't kill Malfoy. Although I didn't see anything wrong with that. "That expression she's got- does she always look like that, or is it just when you're with her?"
Malfoy's face when slightly pink.
"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter!"
"So then you better keep your fat mouth shut," Harry said, turning away.
BANG!
Several people screamed- I felt something white-hot graze the side of my face, flipping my hair into my eyes. At the same time me, Harry, Ron, Fang and Iggy all went for our wands, but before I even touched mine I heard a second loud BANG and a roar that echoed around the entrance hall.
"OH NO YOU DON'T LADDIE!"
I spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the staircase. He had his wand out and was pointing it at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing.
There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at all of us- well, his normal eye turned to look at us- the other one was pointing out of the back of his head.
"Did he get you?" he asked, looking between me and Harry. His voice was low and gravelly.
"No. He missed," I said.
"LEAVE IT!" Moody suddenly shouted. I jumped and looked at Harry, who was looking bewildered.
"Leave-what?" I asked.
"Not you- him," Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen in the act of picking up the white ferret. It seemed like Moody could see out of the back of his head with his magical eye.
Moody started limping towards Crabbe, Goyle and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and tried to scuttle away towards the dungeons.
"I don't think so!" Moody roared, pointing his wand at the ferret again- it flew ten feet into the air, feel with a loud smack to the floor, then bounced up to the ceiling again.
"I don't like people who attack others when their backs are turned!" Moody shouted as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. It was horrible, yet hilarious, to watch.
"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."
The ferret flew through the air, legs and tail flailing helplessly.
"Never-do-that-again!" Moody said, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor.
"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice.
Professor McGonagall was coming down the staircase, her arms full with books, looking deeply shocked at what she was seeing.
"Hello Professor McGonagall," Moody said calmly, bouncing the ferret even higher.
"What-what are you doing?" she asked, her eyes following the ferret. "Teaching," Moody said simply.
"Is that- is that a student?" McGonagall shrieked, the books spilling out of her arms.
"Sure is," Moody said.
"No!" McGonagall ran forward, pulling out her wand. A moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy haad reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor, breathing heavily, with his sleek hair all over his bright pink face. He slowly got to his feet, wincing. I grinned happily.
"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" McGonagall said shrilly. "Surely Dumbledore told you that!"
"Could of said something like that, yeah," Moody said, scratching his chin, "but I thought a good shock-"
"We give detentions! Or speak to the students Head of House!"
"Well I'll do that then," Moody said, looking at Malfoy with great dislike.
Malfoy, who's pale grey eyes were watering with pain and humiliation, looked at Moody and muttered, "My father will hear about it," but many people probably didn't hear the whole thing. Clearly Moody did because he said, "Your father?" and he took a few steps towards Malfoy, the dull thunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well I know your father of old, boy...You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son...you tell him that from me. Now, your Head of House would be Snape, am I correct?"
"Yes," Malfoy said.
"Another old friend," growled Malfoy, "I've been looking forward to a good old chat with Snape. Come on, you..." And he seized Malfoy's arm and dragged him towards the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few minutes before waving her wand at her fallen books, and they flew up into her arms.
"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly as we sat at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by people talking excitedly about what just happened.
"Why not?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Because I want to fix that in my mind forever," Ron said, closing his eyes and a happy expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret."
We all laughed and Hermione started lopping beef casserole onto all of our plates.
"He really could of hurt him though," Hermione said. "It was a good thing McGonagall stopped him when he did."
"Hermione!" Ron said furiously, his eyes snapping open, "You're ruining the best moment of my life!"
Hermione made an impatient noise and started eating a fifty miles an hour again. "Don't tell me you're going to the library again this evening," I said.
"Got to," Hermione said thickly around a mouth full of food, "I've got loads to do."
"But you said Professor Vector didn't give you any homework," Nudge said.
"It's not schoolwork," was all Hermione said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and left. No sooner had Hermione left that her seat was taken again by Fred.
"Moody! How cool is he?" he said.
"Beyond cool," George said, sitting down opposite Fred.
"Supercool," said the twins friends, Lee, sliding into the seat beside George. "We had him this afternoon."
"What was it like?" Iggy asked eagerly.
Fred, George and Lee shared looks full of meaning.
"Never had a lesson like it," Fred said.
"He knows, dude," Lee said.
"Knows what?" Fang asked, leaning forward.
"Knows what it's like to be out there doing it," George said.
"Doing what?" Harry asked.
"Fighting the Dark Arts," Fred said.
"He's seen it all," George said.
"Unbelievable," Lee said.
I looked through my bag for my timetable and looked at it.
"We haven't got him till Thursday!" I said in a disappointed voice.
And here is the next chapter. I hope everyone liked reading it :)
My tests are from next Monday to Thursday, then I have my holidays, so updating will be slow up till then. I hope everyone understands.
We're nearly at 100 reviews already! I love you all so much! Can we get 100 before the next chapter? Please? It's only ten more reviews till 100, so please I'd love if everyone that read this chapter will review. I know everyone won't, but I really hope most people will.
If you review, you get butterbeer and cookies, so...
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