Chapter 111: Year Five - Chapter Seven
If there was one thing I loved to say, was that I was right. I was right, and the rest of the students were fools. "Do not point the Fire Crabs' butts at someone else!" I yelled with a snarl in my voice, "Keep them like you would a gun! Butt down, pincers tied, and whatever else you want to do, do not kick them!" I growled as I twisted my wand into a pattern, the soil hardening and compressing while the flaming butts of the crabs exploded against it. "Neville!" I bellowed next, "Do not near from behind!"
"B-But they have pincers on the front!" Neville blurted back.
"Then let them hurt you with their pincers, or would you rather have your face torn off by Crab butt shrapnel?" I growled back, my eyes scanning the horizon for any wounded, or in need of help. "Suffer through the pain! Grow as a man!"
"Ohh, can I-" someone whose voice I immediately recognized made me snap my gaze towards her, and she giggled in reply, staying at a really safe distance away from the Crab. "Kidding, Shade," Amanda winked in my direction, before sticking out her tongue playfully. I grumbled something under my breath and then swung my wand as fast as I could, a blazing shield of metal spinning through the air to impact, and deflect, a burning Crab Butt.
"Thank you!" a Hufflepuff girl said, gasping from fright. "It-It just turned so quickly!"
"Use Transfiguration to turn the ground into sand, and when they attempt to stick beneath it, re-harden it to rock!" I yelled at her. Then, I turned towards the Professor of the class, Rubeus Hagrid, who was actually holding on to a crab for some students to look at. He needed but a hand to hold on to the feisty bugger, and as he explained about this or that property that their carapace or innards had, I heard a yelp.
I spun, I saw, I flung the offending Fire Crab into the bottom of the lake, where it sizzled and emitted a fiery explosion, before sailing up sky-high like a rocket and landing somewhere on a tree of the Forbidden Forest.
I didn't even bother warning Hagrid about it. One more Fire Crab in the wilderness of the forest, one more chance for a forest fire. I'm sorry Grisù the Firefighting Dragon, but I will not follow the wise words against fire. I must become Fire's friend, because fire's better than the deadly monsters in the forest.
"What's the situation?" I asked as I neared the girl, whose right hand looked scalded, "Burns, wounds, deep or light?" I knelt in the meantime, glancing at the hand and pulling out from one of my pockets a handkerchief.
"Its...its behind turned on fire suddenly!" the girl exclaimed, before angrily snarling in the direction of the professor, "That good for nothing oaf is doing nothing about this, is he?" she added with enough disdain that clearly marked her as a Slytherin.
"I'm doing something about this," I said dryly, folding the handkerchief around her burn as I pulled from another of my pockets a small vial. "Asked professor Snape for permission to bring out some salves and potions just for Care for Magical Creatures," I said with a smile, "All will be back like it was in a jiffy," I doused the handkerchief in the solution, pressed it against the burn gently, and then sighed as I made a small jab motion with my index and middle finger in the general direction of two more dunderheads, sending them both to sprawl on the ground and avoid having their backs hit by a treacherous attack from two Fire Crabs.
"I have to go," I continued with a gentle smile. "Hold on to it till the burn goes away."
Then I stood up, and moved to get more Fire Crabs quarantined. Why we had to move neck-deep into enemy territory and not just enjoy capturing the stragglers was anyone's guess, but I suspected Hagrid wanted to speak about the life cycle of the Crab, the gentle creature of fire and pincers that clearly was just a misunderstood little fella.
I was going to kill the Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest first, though.
By the end of the lesson, I had been singed, bitten and pincer-struck a good dozen or so times, but the students were largely unscathed barring trifling wounds that would easily heal with a good walk back to the safety of the castle.
The next lesson involved the not so peaceful translation of ancient runes for our OWLs, and as my mark remained on a steadfast Exceeding Expectations, I presumed all was right in the world. Even as I doubted that the ancient wizard was hiding his cow beneath his pillow while his wife was out laboring to get in the good graces of the sun, the crux of the matter was that ancient wizards did strange things.
Like the wizard of Constantinople that bought cheese, cooled it, and then sold cheese-flavored cold smoothies to the nobles. I had to double-check the meaning of the runes, because wizards could be that damn nonsensical when they got down to it.
My fingers tapped on the table's surface, Megan's pursed lips telling me to cease or receive a kick in the shins. Well, she wouldn't actually kick me in the shins, but she'd probably huff and puff and I'd have to apologize. Two more had joined our table for Ancient Runes' translations. One was Hermione, as I had promised, so I had made real, and the other was Padma Patil, my fellow prefect.
"We have to patrol the upper fourth and fifth corridor later tonight," Padma said in a whisper, her own translation done.
"The stairways from the fifth to the fourth are peculiarly fickle during full moon nights," I muttered back. "Do you think-"
"Are you doing Ancient Runes too?" a polite voice asked, and caught my attention. She was clutching on to her own book, and seemed hesitant to near. She had her red hair in a braid running along her back till shoulder-length. The Hufflepuff tie was around her neck, and as I gave her a small smile, I nodded. "Can I join?"
"Sure," I said in a whisper, "Just know that in my humble opinion it's cow and not wealth."
"Oh," she blinked as she took a seat, "Thanks for-"
"Wait," Hermione whispered, suddenly catching my attention. "All I had to do was ask?"
Everyone else looked at her not really understanding her question, but I did, and thus I chuckled as I gave her the answer she needed. "At Hogwarts any who are in need of help will find it, Miss Granger," I said, my eyes probably twinkling at twice the intensity. "Provided they ask for it politely, why would I ever refuse to help those who want to be helped?" I winked at her, and then calmly glanced at the new arrival's homework. "I'm Shade, by the way," I said.
"Oh, right," the girl blushed ever so slightly, "I'm Susan, we haven't talked much, but it's nice to meet you."
We scribbled and scrabbled our way through more of the assigned homework, and as we came to a satisfying conclusion, I walked off. It took me a while to realize Megan was following me. Well, rather than a while, it took me until I reached for the kitchens' portrait to realize it, since technically we were going the same way until there.
"Shade," Megan said quite simply, "could you show me where you practice?"
She asked that innocently enough. She asked that without reproach, without second reasons, without anything but the most honest of curiosities in her eyes. She wanted to know where her friend spent some of his free time, and so she naturally asked.
I looked at her, and then tickled the pear. "It's a dangerous road," I said. "Are you sure you want to see how deep and dark the white rabbit hole goes, Alice?"
The portrait swung aside, and Megan simply giggled. "As long as you're there, shadows aren't really all that scary now, aren't they?"
I smiled. "Very well then," I said. "If the others ask, tell them to ask me. What's fair is fair, and if they want to see where I practice, then they need to ask me themselves. I won't say no, of course."
Megan giggled once more, following me into the kitchen, "I know that-" and then she gasped at the sight of the House Elves. "There are so many!"
The House Elves, unfortunately, looked sad.
They looked up at me, with wide, tear-filled eyes. "M-Mister Um-Umbrus sir," one of them found the courage to speak through gurgled sad cries, "M-Mister Um-Umbrus sir!" he began to cry loudly.
"O-Oddment? What's going on?" I asked, recognizing the House Elf and nearing him. "Why are you all crying?"
"We-We can't follow Mister Umbrus' orders any more!" another sniffled, "this Ness is not fair!" he stomped his tiny feet on the ground, "Bad Ness! Bad Ness!"
I blinked. "Ness not fair? Wait," I sighed, "Fairness, right? It's the Headmaster's order then?"
The House Elves nodded, tearful and sad. "No more coffee in the morning," one of the elves whispered, "I liked brewing Mister Umbrus' coffee in the morning and late at night. Made me feel happy and cozy and worky," he began to grab hold of his knees, rocking back and forth.
"Can't even have Mister Umbrus in the kitchen," another said, in a tiny, whisper-like voice. The other House Elves turned to look at him, and he whimpered too, big, fat tears in his eyes. "H-Headmaster Dumbledore said so!" he wailed.
"No food to prepare, no snacks," another mumbled. "No answering at a finger snap."
"Less work," another mouthed, "Less work!" he shrilly cried, and something akin to a group hug soon ensued. Megan looked at me, wide-eyed in surprise, and I instead returned a nervous smile.
"What can I say," I muttered, "I try my best to make everyone happy, and this was a win-win situation."
Megan sighed, "Next time?"
"Next time," I agreed.
Seriously, Headmaster, before blocking my access to the Hall of Shadows...
...at least wait until I get the secret entrance ready by the lakeside!
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