Hello again.
Not all that much this time, just really bringing Luna and Ginny officially into Hogwarts, as well as revealing a little issue Jasmine has with those that overdo the coloring for Valentine's Day.
Don't own Harry Potter
The new year is NOT shocking pink!
"Gryffindor/Ravenclaw!"
The students were quite animated over the new students. Well, as a loose term, seeing as they came start of the second half of the school year, and are roughly a year younger than the normal First Years.
The pair definitely had their work cut out for them.
However, even with the knowledge they had behind Luna's and Ginny's addition, Jasmine was quick to lead the group in accepting them (though Moony wasn't exactly forthcoming when she felt him stare at Ginny in particular, confusing her).
When Moony growled lightly from his spot on Jasmine's head at a lightly sneering student (looking at Luna), any public discrimination was dropped instantly (no one was really planning on angering the living toy animal, despite not really knowing the exacts as to why).
The two girls (especially Luna), on the other hand, weren't really caring about what others thought. Ginny was just happy to not be floundering around upon arrival at Hogwarts, while Luna was much more focused on Moony, fascinated by the living toy.
The topic quickly switched when, after the meal, Dumbledore introduced a new blond man as Professor Lockhart, who will be the new DADA Teacher.
Right afterwards, Jasmine innocently asked Moony "Why are you calling him a sissy, Moony? He's not a girl."
"What's he saying, Jasmine?" Hermione asked.
Jasmine looked at her. "He's saying that that Professor Blonky – his words – hasn't done a thing in his books. Still don't know how that makes him a sissy, though."
Blonky? Hermione wasn't the only one who sweatdropped at the nickname, but she was the one who answered Jasmine. "Well, considering that you said that he hasn't done a thing in his books, then Moony's just really calling him a scaredy cat, preferring to run screaming instead of actually take things head on."
Jasmine looked at her for a moment, then towards Moony. "You know, you could have just said that he was a scaredy cat."
Hermione thought that was the end of it, until Jasmine blurted out "Assume the po-zi-shun? What are you talking ab-"
This is getting ridiculous. She couldn't help but think as Jasmine pouted behind her hand on the younger girl's mouth, red-faced at the possible implications of what she just heard. Hermione lightly glared at Moony for bringing it up in the first place, no matter how silly it seemed.
Too bad for Lockhart, though, his reputation was going to bite the dust by morning. Or at least, by lunchtime the next day.
XXXXX
As it turned out, it was by first class, though a part of it was because the students had wanted to confirm/deny Jasmine's words and/or write home about it.
Thankfully, though, Jasmine was actually able to attend the class now, which led to DADA temporarily becoming DACA (Defense Against Comedic Attack).
Translation: see how many times it takes before Lockhart figures out where the pranks are coming from while Draco and Hermione took charge in teaching the First Years actual DADA lessons with the other Professors' permission/supervision.
The man hasn't figured out a single one since, though on occasion he does take it in stride (not really understanding just what they were laughing at).
Though it certainly didn't help his reputation during his first class.
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"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 – but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
Jasmine tilted her head for a moment, then asked out loud to no one real particular. "How would a little girl's screams get rid of a banshee?"
The class had to stifle snickering and a few laughs while Lockhart that turned thoughtful. "Maybe if it loud enough, it could."
Both Neville and Hermione could swear Moony sweat-dropped at that.
The man then changed course and started the class, if you could call the test about himself a start. With questions like 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?' and 'When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday and what would his ideal gift be?' across three pages...let's put it this way: Jasmine got into a bit of a childish argument with Moony over him keeping her do the 'waste of space' in front of her.
She wasn't the only one having trouble thanks to that, and it showed when Lockhart finally took the test papers and looked at them, only to stumble to the ground in front of his desk and somehow bounce into a seating position on top of one of the cabinets by the wall.
He blinked owlishly as the students couldn't help but laugh, until about a minute later when he tried to take advantage of the display for the rest of the lesson.
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But for the moment, let us turn from Lockhart.
Needless to say, it had gotten the attention of a pair of red-headed twin boys who finally managed to officially meet Jasmine about a week and a half into the term during lunch.
"Our sincerest apologies, dear lady-" one started.
"for how long we took-" the other continued.
"to introduce ourselves-"
That was about as far as they got before they found themselves drenched with a giggling Jasmine and a deadpanning Moony looking at them (or was the toy sweat-dropping at their introduction? The onlookers couldn't tell whether it was one or both.).
When she calmed down, Jasmine said, "Nice act, but I don't like jokes that hurt. So don't go after me or my friends unless you want to show up to class without your clothes."
Moony growled for punctuation, prompting a unified nod from them.
"Though I'm happy to help with jokes that everyone can laugh at, Fred, George." She added with a nod to each respective twin, getting just about everyone to stare at them in shock.
Ginny was the first to say something after a few moments. "How did you figure that out? Even our parents have trouble with that!"
Jasmine could only shrug, clueless this time because though Moony knew which one was which, he didn't tell her. So she truly had no idea how she knew.
Needless to say, the twins were quickly brought into the fold of the group.
Of course, people like Lockhart never liked it when they were stuck out of the spotlight, so when he FINALLY figured out who Jasmine was (despite saying her name before, multiple times), he tried to get close as well, claiming 'Birds of a feather' (at least until Moony caught his attention and chased him off with a look each time).
That always left Jasmine cutely confused, wondering just why the man was running off every time he got her attention.
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A more pressing issue came up on the first Saturday of February (at least in the group's opinion), when other girls of their year group in Gryffindor seemingly all woke up bit more tired than normal, a bit less magic, and nothing but a light scar on a finger.
Jasmine was easily able to handle the scars, but it still left them wondering just what happened to caused the whole thing overnight.
It didn't help things when Draco saw Moony look pointedly at Ginny for no forthcoming reason.
The blond Slytherin was trying to figure out the connection (or if there was any) by the time Valentine's Day came about.
That particular morning was also the first time any of them saw Jasmine get dizzy (and too be honest, the others were getting a little bit affected as well. Especially once they hit the Great Hall Valentine's Day morning.
The walls were all covered with large lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling.
Jasmine had to be helped into a seat at the Gryffindor with how much her head was moving. "So dizzy."
"Just try and eat something, then we'll get you out of here." Hermione told her, very concerned.
And she wasn't the only one, seeing as Professor McGonagall quickly noticed and moved over to the scene. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Longbottom, I suggest you take Ms. Potter to Madam Pomfrey to try and find out just what is causing her current reaction. She can easily call breakfast for you there."
"Yes, Professor, though I think it might have something to do with the decorations." Hermione said as they helped Jasmine up. "This only truly started after we arrived for breakfast."
Moony growled a little just as Jasmine hiccuped. "Excuse me."
McGonagall stuck to moving back to the staff table and laying into Lockhart, the man responsible for the decorations.
Hermione was correct, as by the time the three had gotten to the Hospital Wing, Jasmine's dizzy spell was as good as over. Even so, they still wanted to be sure of it.
Madam Pomfrey agreed as she called a meal for them.
"While, I admit, Professor Lockhart has overdone things," She told them as she went through the examination. "this is honestly the first time I've come across someone who had trouble with just seeing Valentine's Day decorations."
When she switched to color ID, however, they found just what was the cause: the fact that it was lurid pink instead of a more soothing pink.
"I'll be sure to alert the staff of this development." The woman said, "In the meantime, just stick to wishing the color to something much more suitable. Though, to be honest, I don't understand just how anyone would truly think lurid pink is suitable for Valentine's Day, anyways."
Pomfrey then left them alone to their meal.
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"A few strange things happened today, Teresa."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. First off, for some reason, most of the first year Gryffindor girls, me included, woke up more tired than expected, and with a small cut on a finger each. And arriving at the Great Hall for breakfast made Jasmine incredibly dizzy."
"How?"
"According to Hermione at least, the lurid pink decorations were the cause. But they were quickly dealt with."
"That's good. It's always concerning when a friend is in trouble."
And now I know better than to bring Jasmine in contact with anything of that horrid color.
For the record, Fred and George will always appear with (facing them from the front) Fred on the left and George on the right unless specifically stated otherwise. That ties into how Jasmine and Moony knew which was which. Hehehe...
Before anyone gets up in arms about it, I don't have a problem with the color PINK. LURID, on the other hand...yeah, I just don't understand outside of maybe night club neon pink or something similar.
Until next time. Please let me know what you think.