A Rough Start
Dinner in the Great Hall later that night wasn't all that pleasant after enduring Umbridge and her lesson.
Arthur still hears whispering from practically everyone, Arthur getting glimpses of what they're saying, that they don't believe Arthur and that Cedric died in an accident.
"Honestly…" He said, placing his knife and fork down on the table. "...how could they not believe it all after Dumbledore told them back in June?"
"Because they didn't believe it back in June." Chrys said grimly. "Let's just get out of here."
She slammed her knife and fork on the table before the trio all left, people staring at them as they walked out.
"How could they not believe Dumbledore of all people?" Arthur asked as they reached the first floor landing, thinking that Seamus and his mother were bad enough.
"Understand it from everyone else's perspective." Chrys said quietly. "You chrome back in the middle of the maze clutching Cedric's dead. No one saw what happened there. We only had Dumbledore's word that Voldemort came back, killed Cedric and fought against you."
"Which is the truth!" Arthur spat.
"I know. Before the truth could sink in, everyone went back home for the summer and spent two months reading that you're just a nutjob and that Dumbledore's going senile."
Rain was pounding the window panes as they all strode the empty corridor to Gryffindor Tower. The first day back felt more like a whole week, partly thanks to the homework, which he'll have to start on before bed.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia." Chrys said before the Fat Lady could say a word and the portrait swung open to reveal the hole behind it and the trio climbed through it.
The common room was currently almost empty as nearly everyone was still down at dinner.
Crookshanks uncoiled himself from an armchair, trotting over to meet them, purring loudly. The trio all went and sat at the couch in front of the fire where Crookshanks leapt lightly onto Chrys' lap and curled up like a fury ginger cushion.
Arthur gazed right into the fire, feeling very drained and tired.
"How in the hell could Dumbledore hire that ugly toad?" Chrys cried out suddenly, making the two boys jump and Crookshanks to leap off her, looking very affronted. She pounded the chair of the couch she sat next to in fury, making some stuffing to leak out from a hole. "How could he have that twat teach us in our O.W.L. year?"
"Perhaps he didn't have a choice, thanks to the Ministry." Arthur said. "Though, the only good thing is that something will happen to have her quit, since the job's jinxed after all." He now found himself in delight, thinking of the various ways she'd lose the job, including becoming an actual toad permanently and suffering memory loss.
"Now that you say that, I wouldn't be surprised if Fudge made her a teacher, especially to keep an eye on you and Dumbledore." David said, frowning at the idea.
"And she just might end up using people to spy for her." Chrys said.
After that, the three all grabbed their school bags from a corner and returned to the couch just as people came back from dinner. Arthur averted his face from the portrait hole, though he sensed the stares that came his way.
"Let's do Snape's stuff first." David requested as he dipped his quill into his ink.
Arthur noticed that Chrys was squinting over at the far corner of the common room. He looked and saw that the twins and Lee Jordan were sitting at the centre of a knot of first years, all chewing stuff from a large paper bag that Jack held.
"That's it, they've gone too far." Chrys said, standing up, looking furious.
Arthur knew that they were testing out their joke candy from their Skiving Snackboxes. In particular, Fainting Fancies.
One by one, the first years slumped unconsciously in their seats, some sliding onto the floor, others hanging over the arms of their chairs, tongues lolling out. Most of those that watched were laughing, which further irked Chrys as she squared her shoulders and marched over to where the twins now stood with clipboards, closely observing the unconscious first years.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" She shrieked at the twins, who looked up in shock. "You can't just test your stuff on students!"
"But we're paying them!" Jack said indignantly.
"It doesn't matter, this can be dangerous!"
"Oh, calm down, Chrys, they're perfectly fine!" Kevin said as Lee walked from one first year to another, inserting purple sweets into their open mouths.
"They're coming round now." Lee said as a few of the first years were stirring. Several looked shocked to find themselves lying on the floor, or dangling off their chairs. Arthur would've thought that the twins would've warned them about what the sweets would do.
"Do you feel alright?" Kevin said kindly to a small dark haired girl that lay at his feet.
"I - I think so." She said shakily.
"Great." Jack said happily but then Chrys snatched his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fancies from him.
"IT IS NOT GREAT!"
"They're still alive!" Kevin said angrily.
"You still can't do this! Any one of them could've had an allergic reaction, for all you know!"
"For goodness sake, Chrys, we've tested this stuff on ourselves, we're only seeing if everyone else reacts the same -"
"If you don't stop doing this on first years, I'll destroy all your joke candy and tell your mother what you've been doing!" Chrys warned the twins, who looked horrified at the idea of how their mother could react, having known how scary she can be. And they don't want their hard work destroyed.
So after they promised they would stop testing on first years, Chrys handed back the clipboard and the bag full of Fainting Fancies before walking back to the couch.
"Thanks for the support, David." Chrys said coolly.
"Hey, you would've handled it well on your own. And I don't want to be on bad terms with them." David defended himself.
The trio then continued working on Snape's homework until they all felt tired and went to bed.
Arthur ended up passing Seamus on the way to the door to the dormitories, but he didn't bother even glancing at him as he sped up and reached the peace of the stone spiral staircase without enduring any kind of provocation.
The following day dawned just as leaden and rainy as the previous and Hagrid was still absent from the staff table during breakfast.
"At least we don't have Snape today." David pointed out.
Chrys yawned as she poured herself some coffee, looking a bit tired.
Arthur was downing his bacon sandwiches, feeling hungry.
Double Charms was followed by double Transfiguration. Both Professors Flitwick and McGonagall spent the first fifteen minutes of their lessons lecturing the class on how important O.W.L.s are.
"What you must remember…" Flitwick said squeakily, perched on top of a pile of books to see over the top of his desk as always. "...is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so. And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!"
The class spent over an hour revising Summoning Charms, which according to Flitwick were bound to come up in their O.W.L., and he rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest amount of Charms homework they ever had.
It was arguably worse in Transfiguration.
"You cannot pass an O.W.L…." McGonagall said grimly. "...without serious application, practice and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work." Neville made a sad disbelieving noise. "Yes, you too, Longbottom." McGonagall said. "There's nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So… today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L."
She was right, Arthur found the Vanishing Spells to be difficult, but the challenge was so worth it when he was able to vanish the snail he used to practise by the end of the lesson, along with David, Chrys and Mike, all four earning Gryffindor five points each from McGonagall. Everyone else got homework, which was to practise the spell overnight, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails the following afternoon.
Even without homework from Transfiguration, the amount of homework they had was becoming a slight struggle. The trio spent lunch in the library to finish up Snape's homework on moonstones until they left for Care of Magical Creatures.
The day was cool and breezy as they walked down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, occasionally feeling a drop of rain on their faces.
Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class ten yards away from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with what looked like twigs, but Arthur knew instantly what they were and was excited.
Upon reaching her, the trio heard a loud shout of laughter from behind them, turning to see Draco striding towards them with his usual gang of Slytherin cronies. He had to have said something 'amusing' because Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and the rest all continued sniggering as they gathered around the trestle table, and since they keep looking over at Arthur, it's easy to know what Draco joked about.
"Everyone here?" Grubbly-Plank barked once all the Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived. "Let's crack on then. Who can tell me what these things are called?"
Arthur shot his hand up before she could finish the question and before Chrys had the chance to raise her hand up.
The Slytherins all laughed, Pansy in particular making a shriek of laughter until it became a scream as the 'twigs' on the table leapt into the air revealing how they're tiny pixie-ish creatures made of wood, each with knobbly brown arms and legs, two twig-like fingers at the end of each hand and had a flat, bark-like face where beetle brown eyes glittered.
"Oooooh!" Both Parvati and Lavender said, which irritated Arthur slightly. They acted like Hagrid hadn't shown them any impressive creatures before, excluding the Flobberworms. The Salamanders and Hippogriffs alone were great, though the Blast Ended Skrewts weren't appealing in any way.
"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" Grubbly-Plank said sharply, scattering a handful of what Arthur knew to be woodlice as they resembled moving brown rice among the little stick creatures, that all immediately fell upon the food. "So, anyone know the names of these creatures? Mr Pendergast?"
"They're Bowtruckles. They normally live in wand trees, acting as tree guardians." Arthur explained.
"Five points for Gryffindor." Grubbly-Plank said. "Yes, these are Bowtruckles, and as Mr Pendergast rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"
"Woodlice, which can be used to placate them long enough for someone to grab wand wood from their trees." Arthur explained once more. "But also fairy eggs if they can get them."
"Good boy, take another five points. So, as Mr Pendergast said, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a Bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a Bowtruckle, I have enough here for one between three, you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labelled by the end of the lesson."
The class all surged forwards around the trestle table.
Arthur managed to get a Bowtruckle for him, David and Chrys to sketch and he found the little guy to be cute.
Draco ended up leaning across Arthur, seizing the largest Bowtruckle with a smirk on his pointed face.
"That stupid oaf, Hagrid, has been messing with stuff that's too big for him, Pendergast, if you're wondering where he is."
"I already know where he is, you git, now shut up and go away." Arthur hissed venomously, watching him walk away.
Of course Draco would know that Hagrid's off to try and ally with the giants, his father would've told him.
He walked around the table to David and Chrys and placed the Bowtruckle down for them to sketch as he whispered to them what Draco said and how Arthur knows what Hagrid's mission is.
"Of course… it makes sense. And besides, Draco clearly doesn't know how smart you are to figure things out. All he does is use his father to get information, like a lazy brat." Chrys said as she was sketching the Bowtruckle's face.
"Yes." Draco's clear drawl came from the group nearest them. "Father was talking to the Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on substandard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron does show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straightaway."
Arthur took deep breaths to calm himself as Crabbe and Goyle guffawed at the idea of Hagrid being sacked.
When the bell echoed in the distance over the grounds, Arthur rolled up his Bowtruckle picture and marched off to Herbology, hearing Draco's derisive laughter ringing in his ears.
"If that git calls Hagrid a moron again…." Arthur snarled.
"Remember, Arthur, he's a Prefect… he's just trying to make you do something and take points and make you go into detention." Chrys warned him.
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder that my life's more difficult than it has any right to be." Arthur spat darkly as they walked across the vegetable patch, the sky still conflicted on whether to rain or not.
"If only Hagrid's mission was over. I'd feel a bit better once he's back." Arthur said.
The door of the nearest greenhouse opened up and some fourth years spilled out, which included Mary.
"Hi." She said brightly as she passed them. A few seconds later, Luna Lovegod emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class with a smudge of earth on her nose and her hair tied into a knot on top of her head.
Upon seeing Arthur, her prominent eyes seemed to have bulged excitedly and made a beeline straight for him. Many of his classmates all turned curiously to watch.
She took a great breath before saying without a hello "I believe He Who Must Not Be Named is back and I believe you fought him and escaped from him."
"Uh… thanks." Arthur said awkwardly, seeing that she was wearing what looked like a pair of orange radishes for earrings, which Parvati and Lavender noticed, as they were giggling and pointing at her earlobes.
"You can laugh…" Luna said, her voice rising, under the impression that they were laughing at her for what she said, instead of what she was wearing. "...but people used to believe there were no such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple Horned Snorkack!"
"No offence, Luna, but they don't believe they're real because there's no proof of their existence." Chrys pointed out, trying to not sound uptight and offensive.
"Perhaps, but I'll prove them wrong." Luna said dreamily before she flounced off, the radishes swinging madly. Both Parvati and Lavender weren't the only ones now that laughed.
After they made their way into class, Arthur saw that Ernie Macmillan was stepping up to him.
"I want you to know, Pendergast…" He said in a loud, carrying voice. "...that it's not only weirdos who support you. I personally believe you one hundred percent. My family have always stood firm behind Dumbledore, and so do I."
"Thanks, Ernie." Arthur said, taken aback yet pleased. He may be pompous on occasions such as this, but the fact that a Hufflepuff believed him meant a lot, considering Cedric's death. Ernie's words also wiped the smile off Lavender's face when he turned to talk to David and Chrys, and Arthur saw Seamus' expression, which was one of confusion and defiance.
No one was surprised when Sprout started the lesson with a lecture about the importance of O.W.L.s, making Arthur wish every teacher stopped this because they all already knew the importance of it all, and because it was all making Arthur anxious.
Sprout ended up giving them the latest essay for them all do to and being tired and smelling of dragon dung, Sprout's preferred fertiliser, the Gryffindors all trooped back up to the castle, none of them talking much, being another long day.
The trio all dumped their bags up in Gryffindor Tower before heading for dinner in the Great Hall.
For the next two days, whenever he had any free time, Arthur would be writing the essays from Fltiwick and Sprout, filling in his dream diary with made up dreams, as well finishing off his Bowtruckle drawing.
And during such time, McGonagall, Grubbly-Plank and Sinestra gave them all more homework, which Arthur thought was overkill.
Friday then dawned sullen and sodden like the rest of the week.
Arthur was glad that the weekend followed after today, as it allowed him to spend as much time as possible finishing off his essays and homework. And he was excited to partake in Keeper tryouts later, hoping David joins the team.
Once five o'clock was approaching, Arthur went down to the Quidditch pitch with David and their brooms to the tryouts.
Upon arriving, the rest of the team was there, including Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, Angelina's fellow Chasers and the twins, who were the Beaters.
The tryouts made Arthur feel joy and freedom for the first time since coming back to Hogwarts as Angelina made everyone warm up and Arthur proved yet again that he's a brilliant Seeker.
At some point, his scar ended up hurting, and Arthur was worried about what it meant, but he didn't focus on it.
Gratefully, David was among the top contenders for being Keeper, partly thanks to his Nimbus Two Thousand and One and when the other two saved one or two goals while David ended up saving almost every single goal.
Everyone, especially Arthur and the twins, cheered that David was assigned as Keeper by Angelina and after changing out of their uniforms, they all went up to the common room and celebrated with some Butterbeer.
"You did it!" Chrys embraced David before she kissed him on the cheek upon being informed of the news. "You've made the team."
David looked speechless and stunned by her kiss but was snapped out of it when Mike congratulated him.
Arthur felt that this was the only bright spot of the rather rough and brutal start of this school year, giving a sense of some fun before he'd have to get back into the tough hurdles after the weekend.
A bit shorter than other chapters, but I did find it a bit hard to try and write what Arthur would do since he doesn't have those detentions with Umbridge which took up significant chunks of the chapter in the book.