Fall was definitely in the air, October was here and it meant one of few things; students playing in the leaves when classes were over, pumpkin spiced goodies, watching nature change with the season, pumpkin spiced goodies, Halloween would be around the corner, pumpkin spiced goodies, horror movies, and pumpkin spiced goodies! What more could anyone ask for – especially if they were born at midnight when Halloween began! Chrys had decided to celebrate the beginning of fall with Draco and his posse in the dungeons, he was very thankful for the bag of holding; especially since he was able to have tennis rackets and tennis balls with him.
This is what fall was about; enjoying the pumpkin spiced goodies while hitting a tennis ball back and forth down the darkened corridor of the dungeons, letting the neon green ball bounce off walls and ceilings, running around to catch up before it got too far or before it got into another room. The four were just laughing and having a time that eventually the rest of the Slytherin house came out to investigate; a new game was formed: Four-Way Tennis and the rules were simple enough that even a Weasley could figure it out (Draco's words, not Chrys')
Two sides with two players each
The court is the dungeon halls; the out of bounds areas are the classrooms, the stairs, or the far back wall.
The ball would be hit back and forth until the side fails to brings the ball back from the 'court'
Players had fifteen seconds to get the ball back to the court. Failure to do so results in an elimination of a player. The game continues until the team lost both players.
Do not let the ball enter Potions class at all cost.
Do not let Snape or the other students in that class hear you at all cost.
Please for the love of Merlin do not let Snape find out about this.
The wonderful thing about what they had going on so far was that it wasn't hard to get someone to replace the fallen player to keep a team from falling; it was Team Draco and Team Chrys and with the house elves keeping score, it was tied right now. Not only that, they even brought little snacks from time to time for when people were ready for a break. Fall was off to a great start!
"Alright, after this round I'm going to need to take Chrys off to the Quidditch fields." Marcus announced. "That includes the rest of the Slytherin team!"
And the good feeling was gone.
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Chrys handed his racket over to a Slytherin girl named Pansy before walking off with the six Slytherin Quidditch players. The walk there was mostly in silence with the exception of the team talking about plays and whatnots, Chrys did get a letter saying that a broom would be coming soon – but given the speed of which owl mail was, it would be a little bit, he would have to settle with a borrowed broom for the time being. Aside from that, the team did have an idea of how to get the new boy used to the game before their official match of the year began; it would be Quaffle rounds day and it was mostly to see how well the kid can truly stay on his broom for it. Even if he wasn't the greatest, they still had six amazing players as is, they'll be fine no matter what!
Strange enough – at least, for Chrys, after everyone got into their Quidditch gear and made it to the pitch, they watched as the Hufflepuff team were starting to leave. Marcus kept trying to get a look over them, even getting on his broom to raise up to look over the crowd. He cursed lightly and returned to the others with a shake of his head, when Chrys tried to ask about it all he got was 'There's rumors that the Hufflepuffs got a first-year beater' and Marcus wanted to see if that was true or not.
Whatever that team was doing to keep the supposed mystery student a…well a mystery until game time, it was working, and it was pissing Marcus off greatly. And to take his frustrations out, he made the entire team fly laps.
"Hold it!" Marcus flew over to Chrys and looked him over; the boy was sitting sideways on the broom, it was a strange sight to see, especially since only witches of old did that as it wasn't considered ladylike in those days. "What the hell are you doing sitting like that?"
"I have better control like this." Chrys explained, he moved to lay on his side and even pulled his legs up. "It's easier to get speed," He moved back to sitting position without much trouble. "Among other things."
Marcus was still sour over the Hufflepuff players. "Right…" He whistled to get everyone's attention. "Alright! Listen up, to get this new kid used to how things are done around here, we're going to give this kid a proper Slytherin Quidditch welcome."
There was the hidden 'no warning' line, meaning Chrys would have to be on his toes at all cost. The Quaffel was thrown up and sure enough, it was one thing to be flying left and right trying to catch the Quaffel mid-air, he stumbled to get a good grip on the ball whenever it was thrown at him – maybe a little too rough that would throw him off the broom if he didn't have a good balance.
In this high-pressure scenario, Chrys drew upon his experiences from his time with his father's quidditch team, employing unexpected maneuvers and deceptive techniques to outwit his opponents. His ability to disappear from the radar of his opponents, repositioning himself strategically, allowed him to create openings and surprise his teammates with unexpected passes. With each challenge thrown his way, Chrys demonstrated his resilience and determination, refusing to let the intense practice session overwhelm him. He adapted to the pace and aggression, growing more confident with each successful play.
The rest of the Slytherin team observed Chrys's performance, impressed by his skills and his ability to hold his own in such a demanding practice. Marcus's frustrations, though still present, were momentarily overshadowed by the display of teamwork and resilience from his newest teammate.
Now, Marcus had to admit that he was impressed with the boy's reflex skills when the other members on the team were hurling the ball towards him. There had been times he was worried that the boy would fall off his broom while trying to catch it; to his surprise, Chrys would find ways to recover. One such was when it looked like he was being thrown back upon impact, he laid back on his broom and held his arms in the air, catching the quaffle like some weird clamp before pulling his arms down and hugging it close while using his legs to steer the broom to the goals!
Every quidditch fan – even the hardcore ones – knew this to be both Cadeyrn Krait's and Alister Lindsay's play style! Marcus shouldn't be surprised, the boy probably was taught how to do that by his father, yet, he was still surprised to see it in action by a child! If this was how he handled catching a quaffle and getting to a goal post with little resistance, he was now dying to see how he would be able to dodge bludgers. Would it be like Alex Viper's barrel rolls? There were so many plays this kid was probably exposed to and trained to do growing up that he just wanted to see him perform!
Still, even he knew there was a limit in cases like this. He whistled for them to stop and to start the group practice to get everyone an equal run of everything; no surprise that everyone was going all out with their plays. Eventually, once everyone was at the height they were supposed to be, they were able to coordinate their plays as one big team; one such play they had in mind was to have one player stay close to Lindsay as he was their ace – the boy was trained by professionals, they need to keep him in the field as long as possible.
"And Terence!" Marcus shook his shoulder lightly. "We're counting on that sharp eye of yours, you got this!"
He gently shoved Marcus and grinned. "Nothing gets past me, it'll be a cold day in hell before I let anyone else get the snitch."
"That's what I like to hear!" Marcus went up to their keeper. "Miles, you know the drill, do whatever you have to do to keep the other team from scoring a point, sneak your wand onto the field if you have to."
"Isn't that cheating?" Chrys asked, a hint of fear in his eyes. "If it were to get out."
"It's only cheating if you get caught, besides…it's a rough game out there." Marcus patted Chrys' shoulder. "You, me, and Adrian winning this year." He grinned at their two beaters. "Besides, if you're our ace, our beaters are our kings. There's no way we're going to lose."
Chrys just stared up at him. "I'll drop out if we resort to cheating." He cried out when he felt his arm being held tightly.
Marcus just laughed as he held him. "Guys," he turned to the team. "I love this kid, he's just so damn funny!" he tightened his hold slightly. "Dropping out because we're 'cheating'! We'd never cheat, would we?"
"Okay! You've made your point!" Chrys cried out. "I'm sorry for assuming!" he was relieved when he was let go and his hair was ruffled in response.
"Nah! You're good, kiddo." Marcus patted his back with a grin. "A'right, everyone hit the showers, we'll meet up next week for practice again. And Chrys…can't wait to see you really perform against our first match with Gryffindor, buddy."
Why was there a feeling of dread welling up inside of him? Chrys wasn't going to stay around and figure out the minor details. He just wanted to hurry up and get changed so he could meet his friend group for dinner that night. He definitely needs the cool down period after the rough training that Marcus had him and the team do.
If you ever needed a pumpkin for the holidays, it was always best to ask the Groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. At least, that's what a lot of teachers and some of the older students had said, and Chrys was going to take their word for it. From writing to his parents, he had found some things would get to him faster than others; such as the case of the broom that should've been here yesterday, honestly, Chrys was really starting to agree with his mother about a lot of things when it came to the wizarding world – they seriously needed to stop relying on owls for mail! At least he was able to get a pumpkin carving kit that he was excited to put to good use and in return he did thank her and also asked for a weekly box of peanut butter cookies.
Clearing his mind, he approached the hut that was near the Forbidden Forest. It didn't really look like much from the outside, but that was okay in his book; sometimes simplicity was always the best in these cases, he made his way up the steps and knocked on the door before backing off to give the man enough door opening space – assuming it was the kind of door that pushed outward. It wasn't, and when the door opened, the giant from night one was standing before him! So, the giant that Harry was on familiar terms with was the groundskeeper of the school, talk about a small world!
"Hello there, what can I do for ya lad?" he asked
Chrys turned his gaze to the nearby garden by the hut. "I was told if I wanted a pumpkin for the holidays to ask you for one?"
"Gettin' ready for the Halloween spirit are ya?" Hagrid chuckled. "Of course, come along then."
The two made their way to the pumpkin patches and upon seeing the plethora of pumpkins, Chrys now understood why the teachers had said to talk to Hagrid about obtaining one for Jack-o-Lantern making. The two walked around the pumpkin patch and looked them over, some were pretty huge, big enough for a student to hide out in them – this would be a good place for hide and seek if one were ready to trespass.
After looking for a good one, they came upon a good medium sized one – well, medium in Hagrid's eyes; Chrys was having a little hard time getting a good grip on it so he could get this back to the castle's dungeons. He didn't have to struggle much longer as coming up the ways was a familiar raven-haired girl…or she would have her normal black hair, today however her hair was bright orange with highlights of red and yellow streaks to give her an autumn appearance. Cora was skipping down the way, tapping Chrys' shoulder as she got close enough, and upon the boy turning she took the pumpkin from his arms and smiled at him. Assuring him she would carry the massive fruit to the castle for him.
"Thank you, Hagrid!" Chrys smiled up at him.
"Anytime, kiddo." Hagrid ruffled his hair. "And 'ey, if you ever want to stop by sometime to say to Fang or just to enjoy a nice brew to warm your bones, you're always welcomed over! I keep tellin' Harry to bring the rest of his friend group over."
Chrys let a light laugh out. "I'll keep that in mind and accompany him next time." He promised. "Right now, this pumpkin's not gonna carve itself."
"Not with that attitude it won't." he teased him. "A'right, off with ya then."
"I'll see you soon." Chrys promised, he turned and hurried after Cora. "Hey, wait up!"
Cora laughed. "Not my fault you're slow." She continued her way to the castle with Chrys beside her. "He's super nice, isn't he? Vera says he's 'Dad Shaped' and I can totally get that, Vera's cousin said that he always makes sure that the students who stay here during the holidays would always get something – usually treacle fudge."
"He definitely seems like the type who would be a great father." Chrys agreed. "So, I know you by now…why are you helping me with my pumpkin?"
"I want to make pumpkin goodies, and since you're only using the shell it's only fair I get the insides for treats, right?"
She does make a compelling argument. Chrys just nodded and followed her into the castle and down the stairs towards the dungeons where not only the Hufflepuff dorm was located but also the kitchen. This would be the first time Chrys would be seeing what the kitchen was like in this kitchen – probably old fashioned, medieval at best, if he had to take a guess.
Chrys' eyes went wide with shock at the sight that greeted him. Swarming throughout the kitchen was an army of House Elves, all very busy getting ready for dinner. Cora took notice and giggled at his expression as he took in the sights, she knew that one of the downsides of being on the Muggle side of things was not being used to seeing house elves doing the work to keep Hogwarts running from behind the scene. She just patted his head and set the pumpkin on one of the four long tables, moving to the side so Chrys could work on carving out the pumpkin.
Trying to cut the pumpkin was easier said than done; the good news, Chrys did get a good sized knife to jab it into the pumpkin so he could stab the carving knife in easier to cut around the 'Handle' of the pumpkin; the bad news was that it took a lot of convincing to the little house elves that he had this and he didn't need help. That part was easier said than done. Cora wasn't much help as she just stood to the side with one of her cherry lollipops, grinning as Chrys had to constantly assure the elves that he was able to do this without help, she nearly snorted with laughter when one of them said something about how Slytherin boys were stuck up in not needing help. Oh, she was so glad to have brought Chrys down here with her!
Somewhere in the process of getting the handle cut, Chrys paused and turned towards the door; he could hear a very faint voice singing a song, straining his hearing. It sounded like a gentleman singing the lyrics were there, which is what he was looking for. "I know this dream of life is never ending, it goes around and round and round again. You know the sun is rising while descending, it goes on and on and never ends."
Had Chrys' attention been on his surroundings instead of the strange disembodied voice, he would've seen one of the many hidden passageways throughout the school opening up. But, he didn't he slowly returned to the pumpkin and was assuring the elves that he had it under control; Cora noticed, her grin grew as she watched the set of twins creep in from the said secret passageways; oh, this was going to be good, Chrys was going to regret not meeting them back at Diagon Alley when Cora gave him the chance.
"Well well well. What have we here, Fred?" A hand planted itself on either side of him and Chrys startled at the feeling of two bodies looming over him from behind. He let out a yelp and nearly dropped the knife if it wasn't stuck inside the pumpkin.
"Mighty good question there, George. It seems to be a pair of ickle firsties. Carving a pumpkin, too."
"Indeed. A Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, quite the duo. Don't you agree, Gred?" Two matching grins and pairs of mischievous eyes met his shocked ones as he looked up.
"Agree I do, Forge. Oh look, it seems we've startled him. Our sincere apologies baby snake,"
"Mind if we join you?" they asked in unison.
Cora finally burst out laughing at the appearance of the Weasley twins and how they managed to frighten Chrys, who looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. Oh these twins were always a riot. With his heart starting to settle down, Chrys was able to get a better look at them; he did recognize the red-head duo from the Weasley family from Diagon Alley and from seeing the family run through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, and now looking at their mischievous grins, he was able to put together that these were likely the duo that Cora was about to introduce him to back in the aforementioned alley.
"You two are…" Chrys started out. "The Weasley Twins right? Some of Ron's older brothers?" The growing grins confirmed it for him. "Uh…how did you get here?"
"That's for us to know and you to find out." The first one spoke. "And you must be Malfoy's latest obsession." He looked Chrys over. "It's nice to meet one of Ronny's friends, I'm Fred."
The other leaned on Fred and grinned at him. "I'm George, and together the two of us make…"
"Mischief Managed." The two introduce themselves with a bow. Fred pointed to himself. "I'm Mischief." He pointed to George. "He's Managed."
George tapped his chin and hummed. "Or was it the other way around?" He shrugged. "We're the go-to for pranks, cards, and all sorts of goodies you could ever imagine. But for now."
The two leaned on Chrys' shoulders. "You didn't say if we could join or not~" they said in perfect unison.
Finally coming from her laughter, Cora sighed and grinned at them. "Of course! Chrys is just getting the pumpkin ready for me to make goodies with! He can keep the shell for his jack-o-lantern."
Well, the more the merrier so the saying went. Chrys gave a light shrug as he went back to getting the handle part off and to make a good sized hole to make scooping out the insides easier. It took a while but he managed, and the kit his mother sent came with a pumpkin shaped scooper – he really enjoyed that and got to work getting the 'guts', seeds, and whatever else Cora might've needed. Or rather, he would've had the girl in question hadn't suddenly appeared beside him and taken the scoop from his hand and made quick work; separating what she needed before handing the shell back to Chrys.
Now, it's not that Fred and George weren't helpful, they were when it came to Cora and helping her around where she needed it. Whenever she needed something from the kitchen to make her pumpkin treats, they were quick to help alongside the house elves. However, when Chrys was making progress on carving a bat in the pumpkin, they would be quick with the wands and end up using the reparo charm, claiming they were trying to help Chrys making an accurate bat in the pumpkin. Anytime he tried shooing them away, they were back within a second and back at it with the wands – Cora had teased saying that he had looked adorable whenever he pouted at the twins.
"So, we heard you're going to be a chaser for the Slytherin team." Fred patted Chrys' shoulder. "Harry's our new seeker and best part? He's got us as the beaters to keep him safe."
"That's…good to hear?" Chrys looked at him. "I didn't really peg you two as Quidditch players…"
"We are." George ruffled his hair. "We could also say the same for you, Lindsay…You don't look like a player, but hey! World's full of surprises." He tapped the pumpkin with his wand and grinned when Chrys had to start on the wing again. "Like how your pumpkin keeps correcting your wings."
"Okay you two." Cora came over. "Leave his pumpkin alone or you won't be getting any treats." She giggled at their pout before sitting in front of them. "Say, I don't think I've asked but when's your birthday, Chrys?"
Chrys looked up, pausing in his carving. "Why do you want to know?" He watched her shrug, she was a strange girl. "It's October 31st…I was born during an eclipse."
Wait…right, this would be his first birthday away from his family. It was exciting and somewhat depressing at the same time, especially since their tradition had always included trick or treating for extra treats aside from the birthday treats. Chrys made sure to not let the feeling show, he wasn't the only Hogwarts student to have a birthday away from home, why should he be depressed about it? Especially when it came to Muggle traditions, his best bet was to just continue through the school life with a new set of traditions to follow while staying at Hogwarts.
"I'm a Halloween baby too!" Cora grinned. "Oh my gosh, this is totally destiny." She looked up at Fred and George. "He's my twin now, we're totally siblings! He dyed his hair because 'it's not a phase, dad!'" Clearly the twins were all for the joke as they started laughing alongside her. "And because we share a birthday, we get double presents!" She folded her hands together. "I want blood lollipops from Honeydukes and a screaming yoyo!"
"Two blood pop packages and two screaming yoyos." George nodded. "You got it!"
Fred poked Chrys' shoulder. "And what about you?"
"Uh…I guess just treats?"
The two looked at each other, grins growing wide before turning back to Chrys. "Just treats?" They repeated, watching him nod. Cora recognized the gleam in their eyes, it was taking everything to not laugh or anything at Chrys' future.
"Alright, just treats it is~" Fred patted the boy's head. "So…how much longer on the pumpkin cookies?"
"They should be ready just about…" Cora waited for the ding of a timer, when it came she got her wand out and gave it a flick to bring the tray out. "Now! Now before you get your hands on them, they need to cool down!"
"That's what wind spells are for." George grinned. "Speaking of…what classes do you guys have next?"
Chrys set his tools down and held up his jack-o-lantern with a prideful smile on his face. "Muggle Studies, I'm curious about how the wizarding world sees us." He turned it and nodded in approval; now to set this up in his dorm and light it up and he was mostly ready for Halloween!
"Hey what a coincidence!" Cora grinned. "Ferret and I are going to be in that class too, what a funny coincidence!" she snapped her fingers. "So is Vera and Izanami…Say, Fred? George? Didn't you once tell me you guys and our lions will be there too?"
The twins had that glint in their eyes again as they nodded to confirm it. "We did, didn't we, Gred?"
"Indeed we did, Forge…And I could be remembering wrong, but didn't the lesson plan say that they were going to have some half-bloods and muggleborns help teach the class?" Their eyes were on Chrys now. "That means we get to learn from our dear first-years like our Baby Snake!"
"…I suddenly feel sick." Chrys said in a flat tone. "Shame that I'll be in the hospital wing for the entirety of the class."
"Hey." Fred called to one of the house elves. "Could you see that Chrys' pumpkin gets to his room in one piece?" He picked Chrys up and held him like he was nothing more than a doll. "Come one, Baby Snake, we have class to get to."
"What the-!" Chrys struggled. "Hey put me down!"
"George, grab his legs!"
"I'll make sure the basket of cookies is ready, see you in class!" Cora waved the boys off. "Don't worry, I'll bring everyone's books!"
This class was probably one of the most useless ones in the entire school. But Draco was going to go through it; it would give him a better chance of understanding Harry and Chrys in a better light and what sort of life the two lived! He was going to impress his cousin, she was going to start praising him for going the extra mile in learning about his favorite people by taking a class all about the Muggle side and he picked this class of his own free will, no need for having a freak of a cousin strongarming him into it.
Of course, it was taking him every bit of restraint to not try going after the Weasley twins; everyone in the wizarding community knew that those two were nefarious tricksters within the halls of Hogwarts, and he'd actually would rather be spared of the chaos that would come soon after if he challenged them. But they were carrying Chrysanthos like he was some kind of new toy! He just glared at the two as they laid him on top of a desk before going to their seats, and okay, Draco will be honest, seeing Chrys stumbling to get up without falling to the ground was pretty funny in itself. He only started frowning a bit when Izanami came by to help him back up, he wasn't upset with her – after all, she was the 'pet rabbit' the group took care of, but he'd rather see Chrys get up on his own two feet – however long that would take.
Shortly after, the teacher entered the room; her wavy blond hair wild and messy and bounded with each step, she was dressed in a white shirt with a yellow vest and a dark brown skirt with various vine-like patterns. She didn't really look like a traditional teacher for Hogwarts, but that's what made Professor Charity Burbage a perfect candidate for the role of Muggle Studies' teacher. But that wasn't what made her stand out today, she was a laptop in her arms. She smiled as she approached the chalkboard and got her wand out, gently tapping it with a spark of a lightning spell before she tapped something on the side to make it illuminate and surprising the majority of the students. She did the same with the laptop and even hooked it up to the lit up board, whatever image was on the device was now shown on the board for everyone.
"We're getting power outlets for this school one way or another, even if I have to hire the electricians behind Dumbledore's back." She said with a light sharp tone. "And I will award each house one hundred points if they keep their mouths shut about what I just said." Solemn agreement, free points to keep things from the headmaster? Everyone could get on board with that.
Charity went and opened a file before pulling up an image of London, how much the city had advanced over the years. She folded her hands and looked at the class. "Now! I think it's very fair to say that muggles have been advancing over the years while the Wizarding World…not so much. Now that isn't to say one side is superior over the other, but it means that while yes, we can keep to tradition, it's also time for us to say we need to coexist rather than keeping sides." She pointed to the desks. "Which is why, first and foremost, while you're here in my class, we're doing away with quills and ink pots and instead using pens or pencils, you will find a packet of them in front of you."
Oh thank the stars! Chrys and Harry smiled at each other, they were finally able to return to normalcy; even if it was just for this class. Charity was going through the guidelines of her class and how things would operate while in the room with her; as she was doing this, Harry took the time to take in the classroom itself. While it looked like every other classroom in the school; it actually was like returning to a muggle shop; the walls were decorated with posters of what Charity thought would get everyone's attention (it did). Posters from musicals, anime, bands, or even just a cute picture of a dog.
One interesting thing about the classroom was how spacious it was; at first some were confused about it, until they got to their desks where they were met with the reason why. Instead of the shared benches at the desks, everyone had what looked like massage chair. Something told him that Charity enchanted them to work without plugging them into something – at least until she got electricity in the school; some students were trying them out on low settings and were even shocked at the wonder! He was nervous that this would cause a distraction, but Charity was surprisingly okay with it, even off-handedly mentioning there's a heating option for when winter came!
Outside the chairs, there were shelves that held some Muggle items throughout the years, even some models of cars and planes for discussions and what not. Heck, there were a good number of muggle things that needed electricity to run like the 'chalk board' screen that was showing the syllabus for the course they would be going through; History, Technology, Holidays, and Science to name a few. And of course, at the bottom said that muggleborns and half-bloods were encouraged to assist where needed. Somewhere in his heart, he knew he would have to explain some things that would be popping up in the curriculum.
"Now! Let's talk about the latest craze, I'm sure some of our students have them." Charity said with a smile. "Portable music devices!"
Well, partially true, Harry has a cassette player that he brought with, it ran on a single AA battery and some of the tapes included Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins. True, they had CD's and Digital now, but…he didn't really have access to those. He looked over at Chrys who just winced and quietly took out his I-pod, it was no surprise he would have one, but the issue was…there was no place to plug it in so no doubt his friend had to be conscious with his usage of it. That still didn't stop Harry from writing a note and sliding it over to him.
H: So, what do you have on that?
C: Birthday Massacre, ABBA, Green Day, to name a few…if I list everything we're going to need another sheet of paper
H: LOL. So a variety pack huh? I just have cassette tapes. Alice in Chains, Nirvana, to name a few.
C: Seriously? Okay, I am upgrading you on your birthday. No arguing, nothing against the tapes of old – my dad has them too, but we're getting you into the future.
H: Blame my uncle. Can I trust you won't put memes on my new device?
C: No promises!
"I'd like to bring up now, just because you now have an easier time writing notes and everything, doesn't mean you get to pass personal notes in class." Charity looked over at Harry and Chrys. "Well? Care to share with the class what you two find important enough to tune out my lesson?"
The two looked at each other and then at her before unanimously saying. "Music." Her eyes lit up and she invited them over to the front of the classroom. Knowing it was inevitable, the two took out their devices from their school bags. For the longest time, they were able to sneak a listen to some of their favorite songs when the teachers would let them listen to something while silently studying. Chrys was somewhat confident that he had enough battery power in his device for this class, Harry was fortunate he didn't have to worry about that problem since he carried spare batteries in his bag as well.
"Oh! We have two eras of portable music!" Charity clapped her hands and bounced in her flats. "Wonderful! This is perfect to showcase how far things had evolved, Harry, yours seems to be the oldest of the two. Can you tell the class about it?"
"So we're in the clear, this is what my Uncle gave to me, I'm actually planning to get something…newer." Harry started off. "This is a tape recorder and it plays cassette tapes; this came out in the 60's so when our parents were most likely teenagers." He could hear the groans. "Yeah, I know…but it was still something at the time." He proceeded to explain the science of how it worked to the class. Surprisingly, this got his fellow classmates to hone in on the device in question.
Harry just shrugged and started to play Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins, after taking the headphones out and making sure the volume was loud enough for everyone to listen to the song in question. The lyrics were a little strange to them, but they were just at full attention – Harry was just slightly nodding along to the song.
Freak out
And give in
Doesn't matter what you believe in
Stay cool
And be somebody's fool this year
Cause they know
Who is righteous and what is bold
So I'm told.
Yeah, strange song. But the students really didn't mind, they just continued listening and nodding along. Even going as far as to asking Harry what the song was so they could work on getting something similar. Chrys was up next with the more modern version of what he had; and like Harry explained how the device worked and how one could get songs onto it – and even going down the painful process of explaining it to them. Like Harry, he had a little bit of metal in his soul and he showcased it with The Birthday Massacre and their song Unfamiliar.
Lately, nothing passes lightly
A heavy hand is holding me down
A breeze is just an unfamiliar sound to me
Just close the door
(It's all coming back to me)
Be still, my heart
(Cause it's all coming back to me)
A little more morbid than the song Harry had, actually, everyone stared at the Lindsay heir in surprise. The boy who would rather embroider in the afternoon sun, the one who'd keep a distance from his fellow Slytherins in the common room and stay in the shadows, and even go as far as to hide himself in his robes to avoid detection whenever Cora got a little too excited. This very boy was listening to songs like this? And it didn't stop there, every song from The Birthday Massacre had this air of macabre beauty to it.
Some eyes turned to Hermione, unlike the two, she left any and all muggle items back home. There were probably some other Muggleborns that did the same as they didn't want to be seen as different from their peers, and then you had Cordelia Tonks, the strange Hufflepuff girl not only had her own box of muggle items, but unlike Chrys and Harry, she was holding a flash drive that looked like strawberry. Upon seeing it, Draco grew nervous, he knew his cousin was up to something that was going to cause chaos. And he was right, she raised her hand and showed it, and even offered to play something with a cheery tone for everyone.
Charity agreed, and that was when Cora had mentioned that some songs became jokes on social media – a lesson for another day – it could be because the music video that came with the song, maybe it was how the song was itself. Whatever the case, the song could become popular and used for a variety of jokes around social media. She bounded over to the computer that the projector was hooked up to and slid the drive in. It took a little bit of searching before she found the one she was looking for.
"My fellow students." Cora started out. "Allow me to say now, that thanks to the wonders of the internet, we are able to listen to music from other countries." She folded her hands. "And now, without further adieu, one of the most wonderful songs from Korea…Gangnam Style"
Chaos. That was all that could be described when she started the video. Draco just hid his face in his arms, there was something about the absurdity of that music video that always confused someone into staring into the void as they tried to process everything. Still, as confusing as the music video may be, the song itself was pretty good and even got a good number of the classmates dancing to it with some trying to copy the dance.
Still a slightly useless class, but Draco was able to brainstorm some holiday gifts with this in mind. He just had to bring himself to ask his dear cousin for help in that department. Damn, and he was doing so well with trying to do things his way without help from her! I-pods shouldn't cost more than a few galleons, right? It won't be too much to pay her back for this.