Me; I am back (slightly) from the veil…just joking. But talking seriously, it took me to re-re-re-read this story for finally get some ideas back and some new ones. I'm sorry it too this long for this updated chapter but I promise I'll try to update the best I can.
I pray I don't go back to the ER in the beginning of the new year, but it's a 50/50.
Talking about the new year, I hope everyone of you will enjoy the New Year's with family and friends. And let's all hope 2024 is a bit better than this year.
Well, that is my rant for today, enjoy the new chapter and have a great happy New Year!
-Headmaster's Office-
Petunia and Severus were glaring down at Iris and Ron, who were rubbing their ears.
The flying car crashed into the Whomping Willow, and the two young Gryffindors were thrown out from the car along with their belongings. Then the car just drove itself into the forest.
Quickly, they gathered their luggage's and headed to the castle, but were stopped by an amused Filch.
Never in her life had Iris seen her aunt and uncle so furious. That's when she noticed the newspaper her uncle was holding.
"You were seen! By no less than ten muggles!" Severus slammed the newspaper onto Albus' desk, "Do you have any idea how serious this is?! You have risked the exposure of our world! Not to mention the damage you inflicted on the Whomping Willow that has been on these grounds for hundreds of years!"
"Honestly Professor, I think it did more damage to us," murmured Ron, but received an elbow hit by Iris.
"Silence!" Petunia snapped, causing the two to flinch. "How dare you two do something so reckless?! What if something happened during your little car ride? Then, you crashed into the Whomping Willow – almost getting killed! How dare you risk your lives like that!"
Iris looked down with dread, remembering falling out from the car as they were too close to the train. Ron pulled her in just in time.
"If you two were in my house, you two would be on the train home – tonight!" Severus snapped.
"But they're not," said Albus.
Severus sighed, "Headmaster, these two have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. As such…"
Albus held up his hand, "I'm aware of our bylaws, Severus, having written more than a few myself. However, as Head House of Gryffindor, it's Professor McGonagall's decision to determine the appropriate action."
Ron sighed, "We'll go and get our stuff."
"What are you talking about, Mr. Weasley?" Minerva asked.
"Aren't you going to expel us?" Iris asked, sadly.
"… not this time," Minerva crossed her arms, "But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what you have done. I'll be sending an owl to your parent's tonight, Mr. Weasley, and as for you Miss Potter, your aunt will deal with you. And you will each get two days of detention."
Iris and Ron nodded in misery, but relief they got to stay.
"Splendid!" Albus said, happily. "Now, I suggest we return to the feast. There's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample."
As everyone left, Iris spotted an envelope on the floor. She picked it up and saw that it was a Kwikspell letter for Argus Filch.
Iris walked over to the caretaker, "Here Mr. Filch, you drop this."
Filch looked down, causing his eyes to widened before snatching the letter from Iris' hand. He left the office quickly without saying a word.
"Rude. Not even a thanks," murmured Iris.
-Greenhouse three, next day-
Iris and Ron sat next to Harry and Draco with some Gryffindors standing around them.
"I can't believe you two got detentions on your first day," stated Neville.
Seamus grinned, "Some record. I don't even think the Weasley twins have ever done it."
"Well, I think you should count yourselves lucky that's all you two got," scolded Hermione.
"And I think you'd mind your own business," snapped Ron.
"Will those two ever stop?" Draco murmured as Harry shrugged.
That's when Professor Sprout walked in front of them and tapped her wand on a stack of pots. "Welcome to Greenhouse Three. Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"
Hermione raised her hand and was about to answer, but Professor Sprout picked Harry instead.
"Mandrake is used to return those who have been transfigured to their original state. They're quite dangerous as their cries are fatal to anyone who hears it, but seedlings cries will only knock you out for a few hours," Harry answered.
"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin," said Sprout. "Now if you will all pick up the provided earmuffs and follow me."
Ron and Draco glared down at the bright pink fluffy earmuffs before putting them on and followed Sprout to the garden area.
Hermione was slightly annoyed that she wasn't picked to answer the question and slowly sees Harry as a rival each day.
Sprout walked over to the tufty plant and grasped it before pulling it out. Instead of roots, a small, muddy, extremely ugly baby like plant pops out of the earth with leaves growing right out of its head.
Despite wearing the earmuffs, Neville could still hear the cry, and was about to faint when Iris caught him. She adjusted the earmuffs as they had been placed wrong.
"Thanks," Neville whispered, and Iris smiled.
Sprout plunges the bawling creature deep into a pot before removing her earmuffs, and the others followed suit. "Come now, four to a tray, plenty of pots to go around…"
In lunch, at the Gryffindor table, Hermione's nose was buried in Lockhart's 'Travels with Trolls' book while Ron was rolling gobs of Spellotape over his broken wand.
"A bloody new wand and…it's already broken," Ron dropped his head on the table, "Just say it. I'm doomed."
"You're doomed," the Potter twins repeated.
That's when Azalea, Luna and Winter sat down, and they looked like a bloody mess.
Iris widened her eyes, "What happened to you three?"
Harry snorted, "Looks like you three were hit by a tornado."
"Might as well be! I knew he's full of bull crap!" Azalea snapped.
Hermione gasped, "Azalea! Show some respect! He's an excellent duelist! He fought off many dark creatures and saved many lives!"
"Oh please. He's a joke. His class is a joke," argued Winter.
"I have nothing to say about Loony Lock-fraud," said Luna, seriously.
Hermione huffed angrily before returning to read Lockhart's book.
"So, what happened?" Ron asked.
Draco snorted, "It was horrible, wasn't it?"
"It. Was," said Winter, darkly.
It took a few minutes for the three Ravens to tell their friends what happened.
Suddenly, there's a bright flash that blinded the Potter twins along with a clicking sound. They had to blink a few times to adjust their eyes back from the flash. Once they were able to see normally, they noticed a small boy standing before them with what looked to be a muggle camera.
"Hiya, I'm Colin Creevey. I'm a Gryffindor, just like Iris."
"Um, well, nice to meet you Colin," greeted Iris while her brother glared. "But was it necessary…"
"They're for my dad – the pictures!" Colin stated excitedly. "He's a milkman, you know, a muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental."
"Shocker," murmured Draco before getting elbowed by Iris.
"Say, could one of your friends take a photo of the three…"
Before Colin could finish, the owls came flying into the Great hall for their daily delivery.
The Potter twins were relieved that the owl mail interrupted the excitable first year. One by one, the birds swoop gracefully down, clutching letters from home.
All except one, who plops beak-first into Ron's soup.
"Bloody bird's a menace," murmured Ron before his face turned pale. "Oh…bloody…no!"
"What's wrong? Is he alright?" Hermione asked, looking away from her book again to look at the bird with worry.
"Ronnie's gotten himself a howler," replied Azalea while Draco smirked.
"Go on. I ignored one from my gran once…it was horrible," said Neville.
"Can't compare to the one I got from my mother when I was in Germany," stated Winter.
Ron grabbed ahold of the damp red envelope from the owl's beak. His hands were shaking as he opened it, and his mother's voice thundered, sending plates and spoons rattling.
"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! NOW YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQURY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BE BRINGING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!" then the letter turned towards the female Weasley and the voice softened, "Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making to Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud."
Ginny blushed from embarrassment before hiding her face in the small thin, black book she had in her hands.
Ron watched in horror as the red envelope whipped back around to him before ripping itself to pieces. Within seconds, howls of laughter from all over the Great hall exploded.
Iris looked at Ron sympathetically, "At least you don't have a relative as a professor. Aunt Petunia grounded me for an entire month! Banning me from Quidditch tryouts and…she spanked me with her hairbrush!"
Ron and Draco winced.
"That wouldn't have happened if you'd listened," murmured Harry.
Iris glared at her twin, "Shut it Ry!"
After lunch, they headed towards their next class…Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Most girls were sitting in the front rows, even Hermione who sat next to Lavender. Iris sat with Neville and Harry sat with Daphne, who wasn't fooled by Lock-fraud. Leaving Draco to sit next to Ron.
Harry looked up to see Lockhart entering the classroom from where his private quarters were more than likely located. Lockhart sent a warm smile to the students, causing all the girls, minus Daphne and Iris, to swoon in awe.
"Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher – me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and… five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award," he introduced himself with a superstar grin. He leaned over to his desk, "But I don't like talking about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her, you know."
Hermione and the girls sigh, love struck, while the boys looked annoyed. However, Iris had a disgust face while Daphne just rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, I see you've all bought my complete collection of books," started Lockhart.
"Not like we wanted to," whispered Draco to a sniggering Ron.
"Well done. Now, I thought we'd start today off with a little… quiz," Lockhart informed the class, taking out some parchments from his desk. "Nothing to worry about. Just to check how well you've read them and how much you've taken in…"
Lockhart passed the parchments to Hermione who smiled before giggling with Lavender. When he gave some to Iris, she looked at them with disgust and just snatched them.
"What in the – these questions are all about him!" Iris hissed.
Neville read the first question, "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?"
"What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date? When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday and what would be his ideal gift be?" Iris continued, annoyedly.
Neville had a disgruntled look on his face as he continued reading the questions silently.
"Can't I just burn it?" Iris murmured then a thought came to her. "Or…have a little bit of fun…answering these bloody questions."
"You have thirty minutes, starting – now!" Lockhart said.
'Note to self, never be in Iris' bad side,' Neville thought, reading the first few answers that his friend wrote.
After thirty minutes, Lockhart collected the quizzes and began reading them. He shook his head, "Tut, tut. Hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is Lilac…Iris, my dear, I believe you've mistaken what my ideal birthday gift will be."
Iris smirked, "No, I believe you do need some new brain cells…or an entirely new brain because the one you have currently isn't working. Is it because of all the beauty potions you're using?"
Lockhart's face turned red, whether be from embarrassment or anger, Iris doesn't know. This gained snickering sounds from the boys while the girls glared at her.
Lockhart cleared his throat, "Right – ah! But I see that Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair potions. Good girl."
Hermione beamed at the praise, blushing.
Harry snorted, "Does that include the side effect of becoming an idiot?"
There was more laughter from the boys and the girls were ready to kill, no matter who he is.
"Ah, um, of course not…Mr. Potter," said Lockhart before becoming…serious? "Now, be warned. It's my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You…may find yourself facing your own worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I'm here…"
"My hero," murmured Daphne, sarcastically.
"…however, I must ask you not to scream. It may – provoke them!" Lockhart said, placing his hand on top of a covered cage on his desk.
Neville became pale as the cage began to move sporadically. He started to draw back when Iris gave him a calming pat on the back. Harry, Ron and Draco, however, were slightly curious of which creature they were going to see that could be so dangerous.
Lockhart uncovered the cage, revealing several electric blue creatures. Eight inches tall, with pointed faces and wings, they were rattling the bars of the cage and pulling bizarre faces at the students.
Seamus burst into laughter, "Cornish pixies?!"
"Freshly caught Cornish pixies!" Lockhart corrected.
Seamus snorted, trying to cover his laughter and several other boys.
Lockhart shook his head, "Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but these pixies can be…devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them – now!"
He flung open the cage door and instantly, the pixies rocketed about, spraying the students with ink bottles, braking beakers and shredding books. Two seize Neville by the ears; lifting him into the air and leaving him hung on the chandelier by his robes.
"Come now, round them up, round them up. They're just pixies," encouraged Lockhart, taking out his wand. "Like so – Peskipiski Pesternomi!"
The spell had no effect, instead one of the pixies made a face at him before seizing his wand, tossing it across the room.
Lockhart ran upstairs to his quarters, but before going in, he leaned over the railing towards the Potter twins. "Ah, children, you wouldn't mind…if you would gather the pixies back into their cage," he said before dashing into his office, slamming the door behind him.
"Bastard!" Iris said, hitting one of the pixies with Lockhart's book. "What do we do now?"
"Hermione!" Harry shouted, taking out his wand. The brunette nodded and both pointed their wands where many pixies had gathered, "Immobilus!"
Within seconds, all the pixies were frozen in midair.
At that moment, Neville's robes tore causing him to fall onto one of the desks. He sighed as he sat up, "Why is it always me?"
"Lucky," joked Draco as Ron helped him down from the desk. "Let's get out of here before that idiot comes out and have us clean the classroom."
The Potter twins and the others nodded, minus Hermione who was starting to clean up the mess. Iris and Daphne stopped their friend by dragging her out of the classroom.
"What was Dumbledore thinking?! Hiring that fraud! Wait until my father hears about this!" Draco ranted.
"I'm sure Professor Lockhart just wanted to give us some hands on-experience…" argued Hermione with slight doubt.
"Oh, Merlin. Mione, he didn't have a bloody clue what he was doing," said Iris.
"And I've never heard of the spell he tried to use to capture the pixies," Harry crossed his arms, "Azalea's right – he's full of bull!"
"Rubbish. Read his books. You'll know all the amazing things he's done," said Hermione.
"Authors will write anything even lies to gain attention and fame," said Harry, seriously.
"Recall those greedy authors and reporters we told you about last year," said Iris.
Hermione opened her mouth but couldn't find the words to speak. What the Potter twins said gave the brunette second thoughts about their DADA professor.
-Break Line-
What you guys think?
Next chapter: The Chamber Opens