Disclaimer: The Students are my creation, but Hogwarts and the Original characters are JKR's. Get over it.
Thanks to you all for reading and reviewing! I appologize if this chapter is slow... it's just setting some things up for the next chapter.
Man, I wish I could say that Bailey was expelled for what she’d done, but I guess food-fights weren’t expulsion material. Or maybe her Daddy had a lot of money. I dunno.
Either way, it was still funnier than anything I’d ever heard of before.
And I love Deanne, she just rocks. Did I mention that before? Well, she does. McGonagall ordered that the students be given their belated dinner in their common rooms and she took Bailey Broccoli-Purse “ that is SO much easier to say than Brocklehurst, or whatever “ out of the hall. What a coward, she didn’t even have food on her! I had gravy in my hair, chicken on my face, and miscellaneous slop on my robes, Deanne was smothered in something that smelled like fish, Andran was obviously wearing Shepard’s Pie… but Bailey was clean as a whistle. And no wonder. I’d bet anything that she shouted food fight and then ducked under the table to hide. That wimp.
But then Deanne took my hand and motioned for me to follow her, along with the rest of the Ravenclaws, and we headed out of the Great Hall and… away. I didn’t know the castle at all. I held onto Deanne’s hand for dear life! And there were so many Ravenclaw students… no way were things going to be like Salem.
In Salem, there were only about two handfuls of us all, and we knew each other by name, face, smell… well, that last one wasn’t much to brag about, but still… and we knew Salem better than anything. Closing my eyes, I could almost see the street corners we’d go romping through at night. Part of me still felt like I was in the US, and not in Great Britain at all, like if I took off on my broom and flew a few miles east, I’d see the lights of Salem again in the distance. Deanne was awesome and all, but I still missed my home.
We followed a shorter Witch with wavy-blonde hair and a somewhat faraway expression on her face down corridors and up some stairs. Deanne was constantly whispering things to me, like to be watchful of the stairs, and certain steps, and certain suites of armor. Honestly, I zoned out after awhile because I couldn’t remember it all anyway. I tried, really, but I was more concerned about where I was going.
After three turns and a staircase and a tapestry, we found our destination. It was like a door, I guess, but it was hard to see from where I was, being as most people are taller than me. I turned to ask Deanne what was happening, when without warning, something hit my head and threw me into the wall. Well, it wasn’t hard or anything, since I was standing beside the wall, but my head conked on the wall, and then I couldn’t get it off.
“Aaack! Deanne! What’s happened?!”
“Oh, Marti,” she cooed, trying to get me away from the wall “ which wasn’t working, by the way, “It’s Peeves… again.”
I brushed as much hair out of my face as I could and looked up. Sure enough, there was that Poltergeist hovering above us. Several students were grabbing at their hair and at their clothes, and the dreamy-eyed teacher was brandishing her wand.
“Go on!” she shouted, “Shoo! Shoo!” Uh, yeah, like that was going to work. He was a Poltergeist, for crying out loud, not a stray dog.
Peeves grinned wickedly and stuck out his tongue. Then, oh man I don’t think I wanted to see it, but he winked at me. Me. I swear. And I wasn’t the only one. Deanne’s eyes widened and she leaned over to me and whispered, “I think he knew what happened to his water balloons.”
I was too angry to care, though, because whatever that crap was in my hair, it was pulling and hurting. “Whatever “ what is this in my hair?”
“Hold still…” she pulled my head down, something that made a few more hairs pull and me scream, “Sorry… I think it’s glue. Sticky glue… and it’s got your hair stuck to the wall…”
“Well,” I muttered grumpily from beneath my hair, “As if my day couldn’t get any better…”
“Professor Lovegood!” Deanne shouted for me, “Over here! Marti’s got her head glued to the wall!” My face went red, but no one laughed. I mean, I thought that people would laugh at me for getting my mass of hair glued to the stone wall, but to my surprise, most everyone seemed to think it was a terrible thing “ which it was “ and was rather sympathetic. Eh, they probably thought I was a little first year.
“Oh my,” said Professor Lovegood, (I guessed it was her, only because she was wearing odd shoes… I couldn’t see more than her feet) “Are you Martina Owlsten?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I said meekly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Professor Lovegood, your Head of House. Well, I guess we’ll meet in a minute here…” she muttered a spell and there was a faint pop, and I hit the floor. Then I felt her hands take mine and lift me to my feet.
Wow, in a way she reminded me of me. Lots of hair, big eyes, a little short… she was still taller than me, but you know what I mean.
Ah, I couldn’t help but like her right away.
“Hello,” I said, and she smiled.
“Nice to really meet you,” she said, her voice somewhat distant. Then she tucked her wand over her right ear. I tried not to pull an odd face… even though I wanted to. “You are now glue free. I guess you already know Deanne? Good. Deanne will be showing you around to your classes, until things get straightened out a little better around here. Alright, now that we are mostly glue free, let us all head into the Common Room. In we go!”
I smiled at Deanne and followed her into the Ravenclaw… common room? Had that been what she’d said? Looked more like a Living Room instead, but I guess that’s what they called it in Britain. Whatever.
*** *** ***
“Any idea what’s in your hair, Zin?” I asked her on our way to Gryffindor Tower. Of all the students, I’m pretty sure that Zinny got the worst of the food fight. As soon as I’d gotten hit with the pie, she’d leapt into action. Her front was covered in potatoes and gravy; she had tripe on her face, and more stuff in her hair than I could count. Thinking about it, I decided that she looked like she’d been dipped in a casserole.
“Not yet,” she muttered absently, picking at the front of her robes. I don’t know if it was more horrifying or humorous, but either way, I gaped at her as she reached down the front of her robes and withdrew a drumstick.
“Zin… was that there during…” and it was a large drumstick, “during the whole meeting?”
She looked up at me, “Well I couldn’t very well take it out in front of Malfoy and the others? Just because I do these things in front of you doesn’t mean I’d do it in front of the snarkiest teacher we’ve got?”
“But… but…” and it was all greasy, too.
“Oh get over it,” she snapped, tossing it aside. “It’s not like I enjoyed having it there, this is just the soonest I could retrieve it.”
I shook my head, trying not to think about how she was able to hide it. “How’d it get there anyway?”
She paused for a moment, thinking. Then she shrugged, “I don’t really know, to tell you the truth. I had launched some salad at the Slytherin table and then it was there… and what’s that face for?”
I shook my head as we resumed our way towards Gryffindor Tower. “That’s just flatly disgusting.”
She stopped and put on hand on her hip, leaning to the side. “You got just as creamed as I did back there. At the moment, you are just as disgusting as I am.”
“I doubt that, Zin. Between the two of us, you are the only one with food on the inside of your clothes as well as the outside.”
She drew her wand and grinned at me wickedly, “I can fix that.”
*** *** ***
Deanne mentioned something about Ravenclaw being in a tower of a sort, with the Girls Dorms going up a spiral staircase and the Boys going down another. She also mentioned that Gryffindor also had a tower, but Slytherin had a dungeon and she wasn’t sure what Hufflepuff had. The living room, Common Room, was beautiful. It had arm chairs and a couple of couches, most of them were blue, but there were a few tan colored ones as well. The stone walls had a few paintings on them, mostly of birds (well, duh) flying over oceans and forests, but it also had blue drapes hung here and there. Now, I still missed Salem, but even I had to admit it was beautiful.
Deanne took me up the stairs and showed me the sixth-year girls’ room. We shared the room with, well I guess being the newbie I should say that I shared the room with Deanne, Bailey (yuck!), and three other girls: Alice Longbottom, Jean Fitzgerald, and Amber Moore. I recognized Amber as one of the girls who stuck to Broccoli-purse like that glue Peeves got my hair with. She didn’t seem to like me much.
My things were sitting on the bed beside the window. I smiled, for two reasons. One, as we girls filed into the room, it was apparent that Deanne had the bed next to me “ first of all “ and then Deanne said with a nod toward the bed nearest the door (and farthest from my bed), “That’s Bailey’s bed. I guess she won’t be with us until later. Oh well.” So that was where the demon-child slept. I mean, on one hand, I had to sleep in the same room as baby-Jane, but on the other hand I would be in her room while she slept. Ha-ha, there were so many possibilities….
But I was more excited to see my things had all arrived safely. I had my trunk with my clothes and broom, extra books that wouldn’t fit in my trunk without smashing my broom, and there was my most prized item. It had its own case, as it didn’t fit properly in the trunk. I ran to my bed and flopped on it. Deanne went primly to her trunk and began to unpack her books and things. Then she noticed my extra case and books.
She smiled, “I didn’t take you for much of a reader, Marti.”
I snorted, “Everyone says that, once they’ve met me. But, let me just say, the more you read, the better.”
Ah, Deanne didn’t know what I meant, but she smiled anyway. Then she spotted my extra case. “What’s that?” she asked.
I sat up and smiled at her, my hair bouncing around me as I did so. “It’s my Secrete.”
“Oh,” she said politely, but I could tell she was disappointed.
I shook my head and bounced up and down a few times, “No, no, I mean it’s special. I had to get special permission from the Headmistress to bring it here, since it wasn’t on the list of things for me to pack. It was a tough thing to get her to let me, but she finally agreed. Want to see it?”
Deanne’s face lit up, “Oh, I’d love to! What is it?”
Alice Longbottom, who had the bed to the right of mine (Deanne was on the left “ well, when you entered the room. When lying on the bed, it switched because you were facing the other direction) perked up and smiled at me. “Could I see, too?” she asked timidly.
“Sure,” I shrugged and grabbed the case, pulling it across my lap. It was only about a foot wide, but it was near three and a half feet long, and about six inches deep. A zipper ran along the length of it. I unzipped it and cracked the case open. The familiar smell of rosin met my nose.
“This,” I said, just a little proud to be showing it off, “Is my Violin.” It was a full-sized, golden hued instrument that I had owned since I could remember.
“Oh, wow,” Deanne said.
“It’s beautiful,” Alice whispered. Jean had been eyeing it a little, but she didn’t seem too interested in anything except getting chicken bits out of her hair. Amber, who hadn’t been listening to me at all, puffed up defensively.
“You can’t have that here,” she said haughtily, “It’s against school rules.”
I rolled my eyes at her, shutting the case since we were all still covered in our dinner. “Well I ain’t sending it home, and I wasn’t going to leave it behind, Miss-I-wasn’t-listening-because-I-like-to-be-snooty. This goes were I do. And, I have permission from McGonagall to have it here. And,” I laughed, “No where in the rules does it say specifically that Musical Instruments aren’t allowed.”
She turned her nose up at me and turned away. Whatever. If she wanted to be a snoot, she could go ahead and be one. No skin off my back.
Alice grinned up at me, “You play that?” she asked, and I nodded, “Oh, that is so impressive! I wanted to play when I was younger, but my parents couldn’t find any non-Muggle tutors. Not that being Muggle was a problem or anything, but they would have a hard time in our house if they were!”
“Tell me about it,” I said, gently putting the case under my bed. “My Aunt was the only Witch who taught it in Salem, and she taught it to both Magic and Muggle kids. She had to be careful when teaching the Muggle students, but she was in such a demand that she did it anyway. If I hadn’t of grown up with them, I don’t think I would have been able to have gotten an appointment with her at all!”
Alice laughed, and then went back to her trunk. “I’m going to go take a shower. I know that Food fight wasn’t funny but…” she turned to me and gave me a huge grin, “That sure was an exciting Feast!”
“I’ll say,” Deanne muttered, looking over her shoulder as the door opened and in stormed Bailey.
I, as opposed to the rest of my dorm-mates, chose to ignore her. “Hey, how about we all go take a shower, then head down to the Common Room to see what the Lovegood has down there for us to eat? Any takers?”
Ah, everyone was watching Bailey. Her face was bright pink, and she was giving both me and Deanne dagger-glares. Under my robe, where she couldn’t see, I drew my wand “ just in case. I mean, you never know when you might need to throw a hex or two.
“Don’t “ either “ of “ you “ EVER “ speak “ to “ me “ again,” she growled.
Deanne took a step backward, but I wouldn’t give in to that wench.
“Really?” I asked excitedly. She frowned at me, confused. “Do you really mean it?” I waited another second, and when she didn’t answer, I jumped up and down and squealed, “Yes! Oh yeah! I don’t have to talk to her! I don’t have to talk to her!”
Alice looked scandalized and Jean was just plain shocked, but Deanne laughed and then joined me as I began a conga line out of the room, chanting “No-no talk to Bail-EE! No-no talk to Bail-EE!”
*** *** ***
“Mr. Audierus, will you please refrain from trying to conjure stewed spinach in Miss Pearson’s pants?” Professor Granger sighed.
I dropped Zinny, who had again managed to climb half-way up me “ much like on the platform, and faced the Head of my House. “You have my apologies, Professor, but Zinny started it. She conjured creamed corn in mine, first!”
Everyone in the room began to laugh. Really, I didn’t see the humor in it. Corn does not feel good in one’s pants, and creamed corn is worse. Much worse.
Professor Granger’s cheeks went pink and she tucked in the corners of her mouth, trying to cover a smile with a scowl. “Mr. Audierus, the Common Room is not the best place to discuss what is in your pants,”
Everyone laughed harder.
Professor Granger scowled, for real, “That’s enough, everyone. That’s enough! Now,” she waved her wand, bringing trays of food (almost exactly like those at the Feast) around the room. “While I am very pleased that it was not a Gryffindor who started the skirmish at the Welcome Feast, I want you all to know that I am very upset that members of the Gryffindor house participated in it. That being said, I am glad to see you all back again this year. Please eat your dinners, there will be more than enough for you all, clean up, and get a good night’s rest. I expect to see you all at the breakfast table tomorrow morning to receive your class schedules. Good night!”
Everyone smiled as she left through the portrait hole. Zinny and I nabbed a tray of roast beef and a tray of biscuits and plopped into a corner of the Common room together. I hadn’t realized it, but I was starving.
And I say ‘plopped’ because that’s the sound you hear when you sit down with your pants filled with creamed corn. Zinny snickered, but was nice enough to Vanish them with her wand, and then we tucked into our trays.
“Tho,” she asked around a mouthful of beef, “Wha’ you gonna do ‘bout tha’ Rathenclaw gurl, Mari?”
“You mean Marti?”
“Tha’s wha’ I said,” she mumbled.
It was a good question. I wasn’t about to let her get away with what she did. Oh, sure, maybe she’d tripped and knocked that pie my way on accident, but that was still a crime to me. A smile widened on my face as I thought about it.
“Here’s what I had in mind, Zin…”
Next chapter should be soon... and better! Please Review!