IV

COD THE MAGNIFICENT

She made some acquaintances on the train. There was that Beasley girl; there was also Millicent, Derwent, Vincent; there was also Cod, the Magnificent.

At first he objected quite strongly to that moniker, thinking it quite a shame to sully his family's name. But Katie worn him out in the end. After all, what sane parent would name their kid Ophiucus Loweland! And it was Ophiucus Loweland III—yes, he pronounced it, that nerd.

But you may be thinking: Cod? That's his nickname? How odd!

He had that kind of silky long dark hair; he had the magnificent poise of a royal knight; he had the ego of an empire's heir; he had two luminous grey eyes, almost white.

Arrogant, confident, graceful, almost like a demigod—according to himself! To Katie he just looked like a freshly caught cod—yes, the fish—with his vague expression and open-mouthed stare.

Well, it was not his fault. Katie did give them quite a scare.

Millicent and Derwent and Vincent were now sporting some quite charming tails as they left the compartment—all of the three tails charmed to look like that of a rat. And just like that, they sat on one of Hagrid's boats.

O, them asking the giant why did he smell like goats did not make the situation any less dire. And so, rather than be startled by the ghosts, they had frightened the Friar!

They were the first in their year to be on the receiving end of Prof McGonagall's ire; and of her counter-spell, much to the chagrin of our little Katie Bell.

It was an impressive transfiguration though, which maybe explained the glow in the professor's eyes when she addressed her in the next day.

"Wonderful transfiguration, Miss Bell—but this is not something to play," the professor had said.

The Slytherins—of course they were sorted there!—didn't find it fair that Katie had apparently no detention or even some glowering mention to deter her again. Not even from Professor Snape—it was all in vain.

Maybe calling that gentle Beasley girl a 'filthy little mudblood' had something to do with that. But, hey bud, I'm too unreliable to tell, so just trust the cat:

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Bell," said Professor McGonagall. "For standing up for your housemates," she said in a blatant display of favouritism. But bear with the professor, she was just tired of all that elitism—her late husband was, after all, nothing but a splash of snot to that lot. Better nip that in the bud while there was time—and truly, the fact that Slytherin had won the House Cup for the sixth time in a row was frankly a crime; perhaps she would just go with Severus's flow, now.

The Cod, though, was a bit slow, and did not know they had to stop there.

"I know a spell to make them permanently lose their hair!"

Katie stared at him unimpressed. She knew that idiot's viciousness would have to be addressed. Cod was a great bloke, but—oh Merlin—sometimes Katie wanted just to choke him for his terrible concept of what should be a joke. She had some ideas, though, to keep him in check.

Whack!

"Stop moidering, skeleton man, and just go and help Leanne, haven't you got a clue?" She said pointing at the girl.

Oh, there was Leanne too. But you already know her, don't you?

…

Leanne Beasley, the discount Weasley? Doesn't it ring a bell? What about the Cod? Nothing? How odd!

Well, now you know them. Wouldn't do to have a Katie Bell story without her henchmen.

Notes:

"stop moidering": the meaning of this seems to change according to the region, the person you're speaking to. It is used here as "stop talking rubbish"

Thank you for reading. I appreciate any and all feedback.