Magnolia Crescent
Chapter Forty-Seven
The Amazing Bouncing Ferret
"So, why are we here again?" Ron asked, sitting down next to Leo. Harry was on Leo's other side, looking at the commencing duels in interest. It was a rare change to be in the audience for once. "I mean, this is the junior level. Even Sirius said that it would be pointless to watch. We should be practicing instead."
"Well, all work and no play," Leo started, leaning back on the bench.
"We are here to show support," Hermione amended, glancing over in disapproval at the boys.
"That and to see a bunch of kids trip over each other. Or did you forget how much fun it was the last time they had a dueling club for second years?" Leo asked, smirking when Hermione blushed.
"That's not the point," she said sternly. Leo took out his wand and pointed it at the ground, simply going over a motion. "Not now," Hermione said when she saw his wand. Leo merely glanced back at her.
"Just getting in a little bit of practice. Besides, it hasn't even started yet," he replied casually.
"Again, beside the point," she retorted. Leo smirked as if amused by her comment, but put his wand away all the same.
"Too bad Ginny couldn't join up with them," Ron commented, causing Hermione to wince at his tactlessness. "Oh well. Hey, Leo, I was having some trouble with my homework again. Could you…." He stopped when he saw that Hermione was glaring at him.
"No copying," she said sternly.
"What class?" Leo asked, talking right over her.
"Potions," Ron replied. But Leo appeared as if he hadn't heard him.
"Potions, really?" Leo asked after a few moments. "Look, I don't know what to tell you on that. It's all about following directions and knowing the properties of your ingredients. I mean, it's pretty cut and paste. I can't really help you with it."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, face falling.
"I can't help you in potions. I suck at explaining it, despite my good marks in class," he replied, frowning.
"Sounds like you're cheating then," Hermione stated mildly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
"The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components. Which means that the sum of the parts is not as great as its whole. But the process is hard and, in most cases, impractical. Even in the best of situations since most poisons can be countered with a bezoar. The first rule in dealing with preparation is what is the most effective way to get the most out of a single ingredient. The second rule is…" Leo listed off, showing a level of malice that Hermione had never seen before.
"Wow," Ron said, staring at Leo while he sighed in annoyance.
"I also know spells to help inform me of substances. That way, I can work out some antidotes," Leo said, suddenly looking tired.
"That's not even been touched on in our class," Hermione breathed, purely shocked with their Slytherin friend.
"I know. Mum is a big potions user and I seem to have a talent for it myself," Leo admitted, absently adjusting his ponytail.
"You don't sound too thrilled about that," she noted, frowning ever so slightly. Leo just waved his wand and brushed it off.
"I hate potions," he replied simply. Then he focused again on the dueling arena in front of them.
"Huh," Neville said, looking over at him. "If you are as good as you claim, it seems weird that you dislike the class."
"Not everyone is good at what they love to do," Leo replied with a smirk. "Oh, looks like they are finally starting." Harry shrugged nonchalantly while Sirius stepped onto the platform. He called the younger groups together and most of their heads barely cleared Sirius's elbow. He watched most of the first years struggle in disarming their opponents. The wands seemed to make a little wiggle before remaining where they were.
"This is going to be so boring," Ron remarked with a sigh, slumping in his seat. Hermione let out a small sigh as well and Harry noticed that even she seemed to be regretting her decision.
"There is another reason we are here, isn't there?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her bushy hair. She appeared to have found something interesting on a far wall. He glanced down, noting from the corner of his eye that Colin Creevey was waving at him. He groaned, forcing himself to wave back then turned to glare at Hermione.
"I'm sorry, he was pleading with me," she apologized. Harry merely gave an exhausted shrug and a heavy sigh.
"Can you sit next to me in potions?" Ron asked Leo in a stage whisper. Hermione shoved him further down the bench, eliciting a chuckle from Harry at their antics. On the floor, Sirius kept the rounds moving at a decent pace and each group passed through rather quickly. Harry smiled when Colin's group advanced to the next round as well. Colin waved excitedly while Sirius made some notes on the chart before him.
"So, it looks like we'll have an easy match unless Chang and the rest of her team manage to get better," Leo said, scanning the parchment Sirius had just pinned to a bulletin board in the Entrance Hall.
"Even still, her group can't be too much trouble," Ron mused, looking over Leo's shoulder.
"Hmm, sadly it looks like Malfoy is on the other side of the chart. If we want a shot against him, we have to meet him in the championship," Leo noted.
"Well, with the way things have worked out between us, it wouldn't surprise me if you made it that far," Harry commented, giving a slight sigh.
"That and with the way he is, Malfoy would probably just try and buy the tournament," Ron joked, grinning when the gathered crowd laughed with him.
"Do you think he could do that?" Luna asked in a semi-serious voice. The laughter died eerily and Harry shared a glance with Hermione.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Leo said, waving it off. "In any case, I think we should put more practice in," he advised. By now, even Hermione was eager to get going. Harry turned back to grab a daydreaming Luna. She moved with him easily until they ran into Ron's back. He was standing not even five feet from the board, back stiff with tension and he was radiating displeasure.
"Well, well, are the Phoenixes looking to improve their skills?" Malfoy sneered. Harry released Luna's arm, feeling the urge to simply blast his sneering face out of the way. It didn't help any that his group – consisting of Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini – were taking up almost the entire hall behind Malfoy.
"Just get out of the way," Harry growled, clearly wanting to be on his way. Malfoy didn't respond, instead fingering the button on his robe. It shifted from 'Support Cedric Diggory – the Real Hogwarts Champion' to 'Potter Stinks' in bright green letters. Hermione scoffed.
"Oh, how mature. Harry has already shown that he has the skill. I am shocked that you haven't tried to buy your way up in this school. Since your skills have clearly always been subpar," she spat. Malfoy glared at her, looking downright livid.
"What did you say, you filthy little mudblood?!" he shouted, shooting a spell right at her. As if someone had flipped a switch, nearly everyone on both sides had their wands out and ready with three of them being pointed right at Malfoy's throat.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Luna asked, gently trying to pull her hands away from her face. "Oh my, you're teeth are growing, aren't they? But I think they look much prettier now," Luna said dreamily. Hermione squeaked, huddling in on herself at Luna's innocent comment.
"What would be the most fitting?" Leo snarled, glaring at his fellow Slytherin. "A rat? I think that would work," he decided.
"He does have a very rat-like face," Ron admitted, standing shoulder to shoulder with Leo and narrowing his eyes. Harry refused to reply, but silently scowled at Malfoy who was beginning to look very pale.
"You know, for a guy who brags so much, he sure does turn into a little chicken-shit whenever someone points a wand at him," Leo noted. At this point, he noticed that he wasn't the only one who had his wand out.
"Luna, can you take Hermione to see Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked, never looking over his shoulder. He was doing his best to ignore the growing crowd.
"Why?" she asked easily, cocking her head in confusion.
"Harry, as much as I would love to continue this, I think it's for the best if we leave it for now," Leo decided, lowering his wand a smidge. Harry's eye twitched while Ron scowled.
"Back down from Malfoy? This little git has had it coming," Ron growled, tightening his grip on his wand. Leo sighed, lowering his wand and stepping away to help get Hermione to the hospital wing. At Leo's movement, Harry sighed as well. When Ron refused to move, Leo hung back in case he needed to be dragged away.
"I agree, Ron, but we really shouldn't," he said, suddenly feeling a bit more self-conscious of the situation. Ron frowned, glancing over at Harry warily. When he looked back at Malfoy, he smirked a tiny bit when he noticed that he was quivering. "Besides, he's not worth it, Ron," Harry added, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He sighed, turning around to glance at the rest of them but everyone else seemed to be nervous about getting caught at this point.
Harry smiled when Ron lowered his wand and they turned to walk away. But something happened as they reached the edge of the circle. A roar burst from the other side of the gathered crowd. Startled, everyone turned to see what was causing the newest commotion.
"How dare you try to hex someone when their back is turned!" a voice roared. Everyone jumped and a few girls shrieked when they saw a red-eyed white ferret where Malfoy had just been standing. Harry couldn't stop the smile on his face while everyone else appeared to be in a daze.
"Alistor Moody, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall's voice shouted shrilly. She pushed her way through the crowed, clearly having some idea of what was going on.
"He was defending Harry," Leo immediately supplied. McGonagall paused, scrutinizing Leo as if she didn't recognize him. But then she swiftly remembered that he was a Slytherin, not one of her students.
"Like the lad said," Moody replied gruffly, grunting to himself in amusement while he made ferret Malfoy bounce around, much to the crowd's delight.
"Is that a student?" she demand in a shocked voice, staring wide-eyed at the ferret now disappearing down the front of Crabbe's pants.
"Technically, it's a ferret," Moody replied, finally allowing the struggling ferret to escape the pants of a panicking Crabbe. Malfoy dropped the ground, returning to his human form and glancing around nervously.
"Wait until my father hears about this!" Malfoy declared.
"Is that a threat?" Moody countered. "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!" he shouted gleefully, watching as Malfoy scampered off across the hall with his cronies right behind him.
"What part of cunning and ambition does the sorting hat not understand?" Leo asked, shaking his head as they disappeared.
"Don't seem so beat up. It's always been like that," Ron said, grinning from ear to ear. Leo, however, wasn't reflect the Gryffindor sentiment.
"Alastor!" Professor McGonagall shouted. The Auror turned to look at her, disgruntled with her tone. "We never use transfiguration as a punishment. Surely you should have known that," she snapped, pointing her finger right in his face.
"Someone might have mentioned it," he sniffed, staring cross-eyed at her finger.
"Regardless, I shall be having words with Professor Dumbledore on this matter, at once. How dare you take disciplinary actions into your own hands."
"Is there a problem?" Snape asked smoothly, sweeping silently into the hall. Harry watched as Professor McGonagall's color seemed to drain.
"What in the world is going on?" Brom asked, hot on Snape's heels.
"Well, Malfoy," McGonagall started with a huff, turning to see where Malfoy had vanished.
"What did you do, Potter?" Snape hissed instantly, turning to glare at him. Harry immediately went on the defense.
"I didn't do anything. And Hermione still needs to be taken to the Hospital Wing!" Harry shouted impatiently, throwing his hands in the air. Brom immediately spun around, eyes-wide when he saw the damage. Malfoy's spell had forced her front teeth to grow profusely and they were currently past her chin, though she was trying her damnedest to hide them with her hands.
"Come with me, Miss Granger," he said, quickly ushering her away from the crowd and up the stairs. Leo noted with a pang that she was sobbing.
"Potter didn't do anything. But if I hadn't stepped when I had, Malfoy would have put Potter in the Hospital Wing as well," Moody growled.
"I very much doubt that it's as simple as that," Snape said, eyeing Harry dubiously.
"I'm leaving," Leo huffed, turning in the direction of the Slytherin common rooms.
"Holmes, you are to remain here," McGonagall snapped. Leo sighed melodramatically as he rejoined the group. He wasn't interested in the situation at all. "Well then, you four. Someone fetch Malfoy."
"Those are my students," Snape said coldly. Leo's interest peaked and they all watched the two heads of House banter.
"Your point being?" she asked, crossing her arms and staring at him. They remained silent while Moody's eye swiveled about in it's socket. "Bring your students; this is a matter for the headmaster. After all, this is a school year where we have more than just Hogwarts to think of," she finally said calmly.
The silence that stretched on became thick enough to cut with a knife while they glared at each other. McGonagall raised one eyebrow in challenge and Snape relented.
"Fine, I will go and find Mr. Malfoy and meet you in the headmaster's office," he sneered, spinning around and stalking away.
"Well, what are you all doing here? Get back to your studies!" McGonagall snapped at the remaining crowd. They quickly scampered off, with Moody trying to escape with them. "Just where do you think you're going, Alistor?" she said, narrowing her eyes at the Auror as he froze. "You are coming as well."
"Remind me again why Snape is the most feared teacher?" Leo asked. Harry and Ron hastily nodded their heads in agreement.
Honestly, did you guys think we were gonna forget about humiliating Malfoy? XD Hah, as if!
"Somebody needs to keep that greasy slimeball in his place."
Thank you for the commentary, Ron.
~LE