Sorry for the long wait. Been back at school and have had no time to do much of anything!
Magnolia Crescent
Chapter Forty-Nine
Resorting to Tricks
Neville grimaced, rolling his wand between his fingers and continuing to look as if it held all the answers to life in its core. He barely even flinched when a barn owl suddenly crashed into a nearby glass of pumpkin juice. The juice spilled over everyone nearby, soaking their laps. Neville barely even noticed when the owl righted itself, shook out it's feathers and took awkwardly into the air. Harry merely frowned, removing his glasses to remove the juice splatters.
"Have you noticed that Hogwarts has turned into a zoo lately?" Ginny asked offhandedly, cleaning the covers of her books. "I swear I saw a fox napping under a tree in the courtyard before I had Potions class the other day."
"Really? I never noticed that," Hermione admitted, barely looking up from her book. She flicked her wand and the juice staining the cover disappeared. Harry gazed across the Great Hall, watching as the owl seeming to blend in with all of the others. It would have been indistinguishable had it not crashed back down on the staff table. He winced, watching the poor creature skid along and spill everything in it's path. The owl spun on it's back, knocking a platter of food directly into Professor Sprout, thus startling her. Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, merely picked up his plate and goblet, allowed the owl to slide underneath and set them back down with an amused smirk. The bird finally came to rest at the far side of the table, right in front of Professor Snape, who proceeded to glare hotly at it.
"It's like having another Errol," Ron sighed. The poor bird seemed terrified, backing away slightly before leaping back into the sea of owls.
"Appears so," Hermione agreed, still appearing not even remotely interested. Harry pulled a face, noticing that everyone seemed to be off in their own worlds this morning.
"Well, I wish you luck in the tournament," he said, allowing himself to smirk a bit. "It's nice not being in the hot seat for a change."
"I'm sure we'll knock them de – " Leo began, getting cut off by a large yawn midsentence.
"You look like you're more ready for bed than a dueling tournament," Ginny remarked, watching him stretch his arms behind everyone at the breakfast table.
"I could beat half of the guys here," Leo said confidently. "In my sleep, no less."
"Exactly," Ron agreed in a tone that perfectly matched Leo's.
"I think we are all going to die," Luna chimed in cheerfully. Everyone gave her looks that were equal measures of horrified and confused. "Well, not today, perhaps. You can never be too sure on this."
"That's…nice, Luna," Hermione said, pausing to search for the right word and avoid offending her. Leo shifted on his seat, letting out another loud yawn. "Late night?" she asked, causing Leo to smirk at her comment for some reason.
"I've been getting in lots of practice," Leo mentioned, pulling a small brown book from the bag at his feet. He studied the cover, making a face as if something was off about it.
"So, who are we going against on the first day?" Neville asked, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Seamus and few other Gryffindor students. The duel will be after Herbology class in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom," Hermione replied.
"That shouldn't be too difficult for you guys," Harry commented. "But, we really should be getting to class now."
"Right," Leo admitted, standing from the table and stretching. "I need to get moving or else I'm going to be late. I do believe that class is the best place to catch up on my sleep," he added, smirking at Hermione. She glanced up over her book, raising one eyebrow and glaring at him. Her look said everything she needed to say and she otherwise remained silent.
"Teach me your ways!" Ron cried, clasping his hands in front him and looking at Leo imploringly.
"Look, I like you, Ron, you're a good friend, but for your own wellbeing, do not follow in my footsteps," Leo told him, briefly adopting the voice of a sage. He dropped it a moment later to add, "Well, see you all later."
Neville inhaled deeply, following the group to the Herbology greenhouses on the edge of the grounds. It was his favorite and best class, but today he seemed to merely be moving through the motions and repeatedly glancing at the clock. But no matter how often he looked, it barely seemed to move more than the slowest speed. When class was finally dismissed, he was in such a daze about the upcoming tournament that the other students rushed by him in their eagerness to get back to the castle.
"Good luck, Neville," many of the Gryffindors said, clapping him on the shoulder as they passed by. Part of him thought that they were being sarcastic but another part of him really wanted to believe that they were truly honest.
"You're kidding, right?" Dante exclaimed to Leo while Neville brushed past them. "I had hoped you had worked that bug out of your arse during first year."
"Look, it's not – oh, Neville, nice to see you," Leo replied, pausing his conversation with Dante.
'Two Slytherins,' Neville noted in his mind. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Leo was a good person. "Um, hello, Leo," he replied, giving a very shaky wave.
"Oh, that reminds me, Neville. I haven't seen Hermione; I was hoping to run into her, but…" he trailed off, digging into his pocket. He pulled out a pocket watch that looked as if it had seen some better days. "Crap, look, Neville, I don't know if you'd be willing to help me out on this, but I've got to cut this short. Could you run back to class and try to find her? All the same, I've got to get moving myself."
"That seems more important than what we were discussing," Dante noted coldly with a sarcastic note in his voice.
"Get off my back. It was a simple question that rolled into something distracting, damn it," Leo snapped, rushing off to the castle. Dante glanced over at Neville just long enough to make him uncomfortable. Neville nodded awkwardly and turned back towards the Herbology greenhouses. He nearly skidded to a halt in one of the outdoor hallways when he spotted two looming and familiar figures ahead of him. "Crabbe and Goyle," he whispered, swallowing past the lump in his throat.
"Get out of my way, Malfoy," Hermione demanded. Neville could feel a cold sweat beginning to trickle down the back of his neck.
"Feel free to go around," his oily voice replied. Neville crawled around a corner, hoping hard that he hadn't been spotted. He craned his neck around a corner, noticing that Malfoy and his goons were standing in a wide circle around Hermione. She was glancing out of the corner of her eye at the two students behind her. With a steely gaze, she took a step to the right in an attempt to walk around Malfoy, but he simply mirrored her actions and kept her from advancing. Neville's hand twitched towards his wand, noticing that Hermione seemed to want to do the same thing. But they both kept their hands still, fisted at their sides.
"You better hurry up or you're going to be late," Malfoy said smugly, while Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.
"You passive aggressive bastard," she growled, gritting her teeth. Neville crouched behind his corner while the seconds trickled by. He held up his wand, unsure of when he drew it or what he was going to do but time was slowly ticking away and he really should act sooner rather than later.
"Move, Neville, you stood up to Harry, you've knocked Leo around. You just need to hit them with a stunning spell and run. That's it," he told himself, swallowing nervously. It wasn't much of a plan but it would work.
"Oh, just get over it!" Hermione shouted loud enough to make Neville jump from his hiding spot. He ended up making enough noise to be noticed and he spun around, wand held tightly in front him. But everyone else was just as surprised by his action. Hermione seized the distraction and rammed into Malfoy with a hard elbow check. She ran by Crabbe and Goyle who were still reeling from the shock of everything. Grabbing Neville as she ran, she dragged him through the corridor, just barely managing to keep him upright. Skidding to a sudden halt, she ducked down a corner and pressed against the wall. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Malfoy skidded into view.
"I found her!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Petrificus totalis!" he cried, pointing his wand at them. All that happened was a few papers stirring on the ground.
"How does he get away with all this?" Neville asked, staring at Malfoy while Hermione dragged him down the corridor again.
"I am convinced it's karma," she replied. "I don't even want to know how many rules we've broken over the last three years."
"Huh?" Neville said, confusion written all over his face.
"Found you," Crabbe said, pudgy fingers reaching for his wand. But this time, Neville reacted first.
"Stupify!" he called, sending the bully sailing down the corridor. A stupid smirk spread across Neville's face at his small victory.
"Not another step, Granger," Millicent said smugly, pointing her wand at Hermione.
"This is so petty," Hermione whined.
"Somebody's got to take you down a peg or two," Millicent replied.
"I didn't even want to be part of this stupid tournament," Hermione hissed back.
"What in heavens in going on here?" Professor McGonagall cried out. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle skidded to a halt on the other end of the corridor, eyes locked on the professor. McGonagall glared at each of them in turn, causing a look of horror at being caught cross their faces.
"Granger, Longbottom, don't you have some place to be?" she asked. "I can understand you being in a hurry, but why are you three running around so close to each other? That's very dangerous, even more so than just running," she scolded. "Make sure that it doesn't happen again," she ordered. Malfoy shoved Crabbe and Goyle when he realized how uncomfortably close they were.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom?" McGonagall called before the two Gryffindors could take off.
Leo growled, glaring at the Gryffindor standing against him. A smug grin threatened to creep on his face but he fought it back. It would be just too easy to knock him off his feet. He glanced back at the door; Hermione and Neville had still not appeared and the longer this kept up, the more likely it was that he might slip up and lose.
"Keep it up, Leo! You've got him on the ropes!" Luna cheered on. Leo merely rolled his eyes while Seamus flicked his wand.
"He's had him on the ropes," Ron griped, glaring at the door. Part of Leo wanted to turn around and snap at the ginger but he forced himself to keep his eyes on the prize. He needed to draw out this first match as long as possible.
"Holmes, do try and finish this off. I don't have all day," Snape drawled, appearing ready to fall asleep. Leo grinned slightly, ready to finish this fight himself when the door burst open and his missing team members rushed in.
"Longbottom, Granger, late as ever," Snape commented evenly. Leo turned his head to see the door, giving Seamus an opening to cast a stunning spell. It deflected off his shield and sent the Gryffindor rolling to the floor. With a casual flick of his wrist, Seamus' wand landed easily in Leo's opposite hand.
"It's about time," he mentioned, tossing the wand back to his opponent.
"How did you do that?" Seamus asked.
"I found my ambition," Leo replied, an air of superiority about him and walked over to Hermione. "Basic shield spell," he told her, winking.
"So, how was the match?" Neville asked while Leo sat down.
"That was the first one. I figured something was up so I stalled for time," he replied while Ron walked up to the stage. "Malfoy?"
"Yes," Hermione agreed with a heavy sigh. She also looked irritable; whatever Malfoy did must have really gotten under her skin.
"I figured as much. After all, his motto is 'if you can't beat them, cheat," Leo commented. "Him and half of the Slytherin house," he added wryly.
"Yours as well?" Hermione asked, mouth tugging down at the corners.
"I will admit that there are some advantages to having access to a pure blood family library," he said, smiling. "Do you honestly think Crabbe and Goyle get by purely on their good looks?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
"They would have a better time of it than you," Hermione retorted, a bit of ice in her tone. Leo couldn't tell if it was because of him or from Malfoy earlier.
"I feel I have offended you. If I teach you the spell I use, would it be enough to get back in your good graces?" Leo asked, looking at her with pleading eyes.
"Sorry, I don't take bribes," she replied.
"How about a book?" Leo asked casually, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back on his seat. Hermione sat up straighter, body tensing but she remained otherwise impassive. Neville sat beside them, eyes locked on the match where Ron sent a disarming spell towards a Ravenclaw student that he wasn't familiar with.
"That sounds interesting," Luna chimed in. "Would you care for a Quibbler?" she asked. Leo and Hermione glanced over at her holding up her own copy, albeit upside-down.
"Maybe later," they replied together. The group fell silent while Ron got knocked to the ground and the other team began to whoop with glee. Neville stood up to take his spot on the stage.
"Soooo," Ron drawled, sitting down and not at all bothered by his loss. "Malfoy?" he asked and Leo nodded. "Are we going to do something about it?" he asked, watching Neville being disarmed for the second time.
"I plan on it," Leo replied evenly, eyes on the stage where Neville had successfully disarmed his opponent.
"Tonight?" he asked but Leo shook his head. Neville managed to stun his opponent and grab up the wand, effectively winning his round.
"No, I've got some late night activities planned already. We can wait until February; around then, things get easier to move around." Hermione glanced over at the both of them and Ron surreptitiously rubbed his hands together.
"I want in," Ron said. Leo turned to give her a wide smile.
"You want in?" Leo asked incredulously while Hermione eyed him cautiously.
"What are you up to?" she asked in a slightly demanding tone.
"Oh, just adding to the monthly chaos quota. I feel rather left out, letting you lions get all the fun," he replied.
"So, what are you doing that requires you to push back a bit of revenge?" Ron asked curiously.
"I've got a plate full of more important things than petty payback," Leo admitted.
"Such as?" Hermione demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he retorted with a wink. Hermione huffed, digging through her bag for a book.
"What are you up to?" Ron whispered.
"Animagus lessons," he whispered back. "I can't let an opportunity like this pass by," he admitted in a hushed voice.
"You took his offer?" Hermione asked, eyes going wide as she tried to keep her voice from reaching a shrill tone.
"Did you?" Leo asked instead.
"What offer?" Ron asked slightly too loudly. They both shushed him, glancing over to where Professor Snape was eyeing them.
"We'll talk about it later," Leo said, effectively putting an end to the conversation. He was beginning to regret his decision to say anything. The remainder of the match passed without a hitch and surprisingly, Snape gave them no grief as they celebrated their way through the halls.
What's this? Leo and Ron teaming for a change? Shocking!
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even though you had to wait some time for it. Apologies. Vet tech school is kicking my butt and I haven't been able to do anything besides study. Christmas break's been a welcome change.
~LE