𝕭𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝕾𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖘 || Fred Weasley

09

"I swear, Lockhart's an old geezer," said Viola as she hopped off the carriage in front of the entrance to Hogwarts. "I doubt he's done any of that stuff he says he does in his books. My mum and dad think he's a fraud."

"I couldn't agree more," said Cassie.

During the feast, Cassie couldn't help but pay attention to the Gryffindors. She didn't spot Potter anywhere among them and the twins were joking around as usual. Oliver had given her a small wave, then Angelina had scowled at him before glaring at Cassie.

Then, there were rumors of Potter crashing into the Whomping Willow in a flying Muggle vehicle. The students in the common room slowly went up to their dorms one by one. Cassie had stayed up late that night, writing another letter to Mrs. Tonks with the hope that she'd write back.

In the morning, Viola and Addy accompanied Cassie to the Great Hall for lunch. In the middle of their meal, the school's owls came flying in. One owl landed on the table with a letter to Cassie. She attached her letter to the owl, then it left.

"Who wrote to you?" Viola asked.

"My mum," replied Cassie slowly as she opened the letter.

"What does it say?" Addy asked.

Cassie read it over briefly. "She's mad I'm playing Chaser... Goes on about being disappointed... Oh! And I have to go to Hogsmeade with Adrian. Great!"

"Your parents scare me a little," said Addy.

There was a loud yell that made the plates and spoons rattle on the table and echo deafeningly off the stone walls. There was no doubt that someone had received a Howler. Viola turned around to look at Ron at the Gryffindor table.

"— STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE—

"— LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED— "

"— ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT, AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

The three girls laughed at Ron who was a crimson red. Howlers were always embarrassing. In earlier years, there had been quite a handful of Howlers and they were all such an amusement to them.

"Least I didn't receive a Howler."

Cassie sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Once again, she shared this class with Gryffindor. She took a seat beside Adrian and waited for Lockhart to come in.

"Me," said Lockhart, pointing at his portrait and winking as well. "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!"

He waited for them to laugh, but no one had. Viola had whispered something to Addy and they both burst into silent giggles.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books — well done. Today, we'll start with a little quiz. Do not worry, it's just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in." When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes. Start... now!"

Cassie looked down at her paper and read:

"1. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫?