– Chapter Thirteen –

Mad-Eye Moody

The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy. Heavy clouds of pewter grey swirled overhead as Romi, Neville and Ginny examined their new timetables at breakfast, near to Ron, Harry and Hermione. A few seats along, Fred, George and Lee Jordan were discussing magical methods of ageing themselves and bluffing their way into the Triwizard Tournament.

"Today's not bad… outside all morning," said Romi, scanning her Monday column in her timetable. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures, still with the Slytherins of course…"

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down.

Romi glanced into the afternoon of her schedule and saw at the slot after lunch was double Divination. Divination. It was her least favourite subject. Part of her deal with Dumbledore was that she take that class; Dumbledore believed that Romi was a true Seer, and despite the fact that she was, the class itself was almost unbearable.

"You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."

"You're eating again, I notice," Romi said, watching Hermione add liberal amounts of jam to her buttered toast.

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yeah… and you were hungry," said Ron grinning.

There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows, carrying the morning mail. Romi looked up into the sky as the owls swooped in, circling the tables looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville and deposited a parcel in his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something.

On the other side of the Hall, Draco's eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. A ruffled looking barn owl landed in front of Romi dropped his letter and took off again quickly. She turned it over to see that it was a letter from her parents, who were apparently in New Zealand again.

They left shortly afterwards, heading down to the Greenhouses, Romi and Neville promised to meet up with Ginny at lunchtime.

To start the class off, Professor Sprout showed the class the ugliest plants that Romi had ever seen. Indeed they looked less like plants than thick black giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.

"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus–"

"That what?" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted.

"Pus, Finnigan, Pus," said Professor Sprout, "and it's extremely valuable so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon hide gloves, it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, Bubotuber pus."

Squeezing the Bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped a large amount of thick yellowish green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints.

"This'll keep Madam Pomfrey happy," said Professor Sprout, capping the last bottle with a cork. "An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, Bubotubers pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples."

"Like poor Eloise Midgen," said Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff, is a hushed voice. "She tried to curse hers off."

"Silly girl," said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end."

A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signalling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Romi and Neville looked towards the lake as they walked. About half way to Hagrid's cabin, they saw what they were searching for, and a large tentacle popped out of the water and waved ecstatically. Romi and Neville waved back, grinning widely.

The Giant Squid had become a friend of their since first year, and both Romi and Neville were quite fond of him.

Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous back boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at the class. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins. They won' want ter miss this," Hagrid continued. "Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Come again?" said Ron.

Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"Any one for lunch?" Romi said, looking into the crate with a look of disgust.

"No, thank you," Neville replied.

The Blast-Ended Skrewts looked like deformed, shell less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over each other, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a Skrewt and with a small phut it would be propelled forwards several inches.

"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we want to raise them?" said a cold voice.

The Slytherins had arrived and the speaker was none other than Draco. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words.

"He has a valid question," Romi whispered. Harry punched her in the arm.

Hagrid looked stumped at the question.

"I mean, what do they do?" asked Draco. "What is the point of them?"

Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds' pause, then he said roughly. "Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things – I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer – I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a but o' grass snake – just try 'em out with a bit of each."

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus.

Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, Romi and Hermione pick up squelchy handful of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. That was almost not enough for Romi, but with a violent look from her brother, she did. Romi couldn't suppress the idea that the whole thing was entirely pointless, as it looked quite clear that the Skrewts had no mouths.

"Ouch!" yelled Dean Thomas, after about ten minutes. "It got me!"

"With what?" Romi asked, staring at the Skrewts.

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown, "Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically. Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box. "I reckon they're the males… the females've got a sorta sucker things on their bellies… I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Draco sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting and bite all at once?"

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Draco sneered at her, and turned away. Romi couldn't help but agree with him. The Skrewts at six inches didn't seem too lethal, but she was betting they wouldn't stay that way.

She glanced at Neville, he kept rubbing his arms as invisible Skrewts were climbing up them.

"What did we get ourselves into?" Neville muttered. "First Hippogriffs, now this?"

Romi didn't reply, but put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Well at least the Skrewts are small," said Ron, as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later.

"They are now," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, "but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long."

"Well, that's something to look forward too," Romi said, sarcastically, glancing at Neville.

"Well, that won't matter if they tuned out to cure sea sickness or something, will it?" said Ron, grinning slyly at Hermione.

"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up," said Hermione. "As a matter of fact I think he's right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."

"Sounds like a good plan," Romi said, sitting down between Hermione and Neville at the Gryffindor table, and helped herself to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that the other four just stared at her.

"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?" asked Ron. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No," said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. "I just want to get to the library."

"What?" said Ron in disbelief. "Hermione, it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, "See you at dinner!" and departed at high speed.

"If she eats like that at dinner, we won't see her for long," Romi said and scooped up some potatoes onto her fork.

Ginny arrived seconds after Hermione had left, taking her place. They exchanged stories of their first couple of classes through the rest of lunch.

When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry, Ron, Romi and Neville, set off for the North Tower, while Ginny departed to the Charms corridor.

The four travelled up the North Tower to the top of a tightly spiralling staircase, where a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling and the room where Professor Trelawney lived.

The familiar sweet perfume emanating from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim, reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Romi and Neville walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and pouffes that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table as Ron and Harry.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. Romi tried hard not to giggle.

A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with a tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight.

"You are preoccupied, my dear," she said mournfully to Harry. "My Inner Eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas… most difficult… I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass… and perhaps sooner that you think…"

Her voice dropped to a whisper. Romi rolled her eyes and slouched in her chair. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on pouffes very close to her.

"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she said. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle…"

Romi stopped paying attention and placing her head on her hand stared off into the depths of the table. She looked up to Neville and saw that he was watching Professor Trelawney, but the expression in his eyes told her that he was far from the Divination Class.

"Harry!" Ron said somewhat loudly, and Romi looked to him. Professor Trelawney was standing near them.

"What?" Harry said.

Romi looked around; the entire class was staring at Harry. He sat up straight and pushed his glasses up his nose again.

"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn," said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words.

"Born under – what, sorry?" said Harry.

"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!" said Professor Trelawney sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news. "I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth… your dark hair… your mean stature… tragic losses so young in life… I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in mid-winter?"

"No," said Harry glancing over the table at his twin, "I was born in July."

Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough.

"Fascinating," Professor Trelawney replied and then turned away.

Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles.

"I've got two Neptunes here," said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"

"Aaaaah," said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney's mystical whisper, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry…"

Romi and Neville sniggered loudly.

"Hey, Romi, if you finish first, can I copy you?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Romi answered, with a yawn, her head propped up on the table by her arm. "But if you end up finishing first, I'm copying you."

"You have a deal."

"But you two aren't born the same minute, were you?" Neville said.

"Psh," Romi answered, waving a hand impatiently, "minor details."

Romi stared down at the chart again, and feeling exhausted, it just blurred in front of her. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

Fire licked at her cheeks.

A cry from a horse.

The charging figures.

The war-cry.

A cyclone in a dusty midnight world.

Someone holding her hand.

Romi's eyes snapped open, her heart pounding. She lifted her head off of her hand, and looked around. There seemed to be nothing different. It was still the sleepy silence, filled with perfume. Romi glanced to Neville, he was staring straight down at his chart, his expression betraying that he was completely confused.

There was suddenly excited squeals from Lavender Brown across the hall, causing Romi to jump.

"Oh, Professor look! I think I've got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor!"

"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart.

"Can I have a look at Uranus, too, Lavender?" said Ron.

Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, which made her give them so much homework at the end of the class.

"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart," she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. "I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses."

"Miserable old bat," said Ron bitterly, as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall for dinner. "That'll take all weekend that will…"

"Lots of Homework?" said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. "Professor Vector didn't give us any at all!"

"Well, bully for Professor Vector," said Ron moodily. Romi pulled Neville a little to the side.

"I think I saw Hell again," she whispered directly into his ear. Neville looked startled.

"Really?" he said, concerned. "What… what happened there?"

"Nothing, it was fast, just like a couple of images, then it was gone," Romi replied.

They reached the Entrance Hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, behind Ron, Harry and Hermione, when a loud whisper rang out behind them.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Romi and Neville turned. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"You're dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Draco, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet, and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed Entrance Hall could hear. "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 Artefacts Office.

Draco looked up.

"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley, it's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed. Everyone in the Entrance Hall was listening.

"If they didn't get his name right, how can you trust them to get anything else right?" Romi said viciously.

Draco glared at her, and then straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:

Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved with 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 there's a picture, Weasley!" said Draco, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! You mother could do with losing a bit weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with fury, and everyone was staring at him.

"It's a summer house," Romi said lightly and snatched the paper from Draco's hands.

"Hey!" he said and reached for it, she moved it out of view.

"What are you going to do, fight for it?" she asked. Draco narrowed his eyes and retreated his hands before turning his eyes to Harry.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry, "Come on, Ron…"

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Draco. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy," said Harry, both he and Neville had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him launching himself at Draco. "That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

Draco went slightly pink. "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry and he turned away, just missing that Draco pulled out his wand.

BANG!

Several people screamed as Draco's spell shot past Romi, ruffling her hair. A moment later there was a second loud Bang, and a roar, which echoed through the Entrance Hall.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Romi looked around bewildered. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Draco had just been standing.

There was a terrified silence in the Entrance Hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry, at least his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.

"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravely.

"No," replied Harry, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

"Leave – what?" Harry said bewildered.

"Not you – him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head.

Moody started to limp towards Crabbe, Goyle and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking towards the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again, it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor and then bounced upwards once more.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody, as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"

The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.

"Never – do – that – again -" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upwards again. Romi was watching astonished, unsure if she wanted to stop Professor Moody or laugh.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice.

Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.

"What – what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.

"Teaching," replied Moody.

"Teach– Professor Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall the books spilling out of her arms.

"Technically it's a ferret," Moody answered. Professor McGonagall whipped out her wand, and a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had re-appeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face.

"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall angrily, pointing her wand at Moody. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it," said Moody, scratching his chin, eyeing her wand.

"You would do well to remember that! We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of house!"

"I'll do that, then," said Moody, staring at Draco with great dislike.

Draco, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody, and muttered something in which the words 'my father' were distinguishable.

"Oh, yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk 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 for me… now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"

"Yes," said Draco resentfully, glancing to Romi.

"Another old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape… come on, you…" and he seized Draco's upper arm and marched him off towards the dungeons.

Professor McGonagall stared angrily after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.

"Move along," she snapped to the crowd. "Shoo!"

"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly to Harry, Hermione, Romi and Neville, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened.

"Why not?" said Hermione in surprise.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory for ever," said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret…"

Harry, Romi and Hermione laughed and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates.

"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," she said. "It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it–"

"Hermione!" said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again. "You're ruining the best moment of my life!"

"You need more moments," Romi said confidently.

Ginny sat down seconds later, "What just happened?" she asked, smiling slightly, looking at them.

Ron started to tell her what had occurred in the Entrance Hall as Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again.

"Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?" said Harry, watching her.

"Got to," said Hermione thickly, "loads to do."

"But you told us Professor Vector-"

"It's not schoolwork," she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed.

No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by one of the Weasley twins.

"Moody!" he said, "How cool is he?"

"Beyond cool," said the other twin sitting down opposite the first.

"Supercool," said the twins' best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. "We had him this afternoon," he told Harry, Romi, Neville and Ron.

"What was it like?" said Harry eagerly.

"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.

"He knows, man," said Lee.

"Knows what?" asked Ron leaning forwards.

"Knows what it's like to be out there doing it," said George impressively.

"Doing what?" Romi questioned, exchanging a curious glance with Ginny.

"Fighting the Dark Arts," replied Fred.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee.

Ron dived into his bag for his timetable.

"We haven't got him 'til Thursday!" he said in a disappointed voice.

Romi, Ginny and Neville met up with Luna after dinner and headed towards the study hall. Romi wanted to have a chance to explain what she'd seen in Divination, and also to discuss with Luna about the Triwizard Tournament.

They spent a few hours in there, chatting before it was time to go to bed again. Luna went off to her own House common room, and Romi, Neville and Ginny left for the Gryffindor Tower. Barely five minutes after they had left the study hall, someone called Romi's name.

The three turned to see Draco coming up to them.

"Hey, what's up?" Romi asked as he arrived.

"Come with me," he replied, gently taking her arm, "I promise she'll come back in one piece," he added, snapping at Neville and Ginny.

"We'll see you later, Romi," Neville said, and he guided Ginny away, who was still looking a little worried.

"What's up?" Romi asked again. Draco pulled her to an empty classroom and shut the door behind them. Draco let go of her arm and started pacing back and forth.

"What's on your mind?" Romi asked, watching him walk around.

"You know perfectly well what!" he said.

"I couldn't have done anything," Romi answered, evenly, crossing her arms.

"I know," answered Draco, "it's just ridiculous! I just need to hear you say it was unfair – stop laughing!"

Romi was having difficulty breathing from laughing so hard. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, then dissolved into giggles, "I'm really not…"

"Romi! You're my girlfriend! You are not supposed to laughing at the fact that I got turned into a ferret!"

"It was a very cute ferret, though," Romi replied, still grinning and sitting on a desk.

Draco tried to look angry.

"Come on," Romi said, soothingly, taking his hands and drawing him closer. "I can think of a multitude of other things that will get your mind off of ferrets."

"A multitude, eh?" Draco replied smiling and wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.