Wicked Ways

Chapter 8 – “Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff”

“You nervous?” Harry asked, sitting down at the breakfast table next to Tuardae.

She looked up at him from the other side of her toast and blinked. “Why would I be nervous? This isn’t Quadpot or anything, I mean, it’s not like anything is going to explode right?”

Harry snickered and looked around the hall at everyone eating breakfast. The Ravenclaw house had divided and were making posters, half of the house supporting the Badgers, the other half supporting the Lions. The Slytherin table was quiet, eating silently. Avari walked in and right past her table, ignoring her table and walking straight to her sister. Sitting down, straddling the bench next to Tuardae, she looked at her sister and said, “Please win.”

Tuardae grinned. “Why would we lose?”

“I don’t know,” Avari said, standing up and looking around. Shanedaned over and plucked a little triangle flag out of Collin Crevey’s hand that had a small lion on a red field on it. “But you better not.” She walked back over to the Slytherin table, placing the flag pole down on the table where she was eating, magically making the flag stand up and wave in an invisible breeze. The Slytherin table looked at her with wide eyes and scooted away.

After breakfast the Gryffindor Quidditch team left the hall early, Avari waving energetically to Tuardae and called out her good luck. The entire hall stopped and went dead silent, turning to stare at Avari.

Waiting for the match to start Ron and Harry went over stories from their younger days in Hogwarts. After about a half an hour Ginny and Tuardae had to ask them to shut up. Dean and Seamus were laughing, remembering the stories of Fred and George in their own positions as Beaters. A sixth year named Daniel smiled and added in bits they’d probably left out. Dean hadn’t given up his love of soccer, but had found a lof tof the Bludger’s Bat.

The teams were called out and Madam Hooch started the game.

Tuardae watched Ron, Ginny and Daniel swoop around, out flying the Hufflepuffs. The Quaffle never even came near her end of the field, and after realizing she couldn’t stare at Harry the entire time (he would just end up staring back) she looked out in the crowd and spotted something odd. There was a small green dot jumping up and down in the giant red sea of Gryffindors. Adjusting her eyesight Tuardae spotted her sister, waving around the same little flag she’d stolen from Collin earlier that morning.

Now that she was paying attention, she could hear Avari as well.

“WHOO! GO GRYFFINDOR! YEAH!”

Hermione was standing next to Avari, half cheering, half keeping an eye on the Slytherin. There was a small circle around the black-haired girl dressed in green, the Gryffindor fans not sure how to take the zealous fans. Looking across the stadium she saw that the Slytherin fans didn’t know how to take it either. They were all dead silent, and not even paying attention to the game, but instead watching the overzealous Avari dance around, waving her tiny bit of Gryffindor pride.

“Why is she doing that?” Tuardae heard Crabbe ask stupidly.

“Because if Gryffindor looses to the Hufflepuffs the House Cup game is going to be very boring you towering ape,” Draco spat venomously.

‘Well, at least he’s not totally stupid,’ Tuardae thought.

She head a deafening scream from the Gryffindor side of the stadium and looked up to see Harry climbing after a small golden ball. The Hufflepuff Seeker wasn’t even close to Harry, and in fact was on the wrong side of the field. Harry caught the snitch and the game ended with the score of 170 to zero. Tuardae flew down, a bit upset she hadn’t gotten the chance to show her worth, but trotted over, jumping in with the Gryffindor team who were dancing wildly.

“That was the fastest game since your first year Harry!” someone called.

“Congratulations!” came a shout in her ear, and an arm slung around her neck. Tuardae smiled at her sister. “Isn’t your House gonna kill you for rooting us on dear sister?”

Avari just laughed. “I would love to see them try. Seriously. Especially Pansy. She just pisses me off.”

The Gryffindor House moved like a giant mass through the hallways and back up to the tower where Hermione was waiting with food and the largest cache of butterbeer Tuardae had ever seen. Avari was stopped out in the hallway by Harry and Ron, who just grinned and said “Nuh uh, Gryffindor’s only.” Avari crossed her arms and was about to yell at them when Harry just grinned and winked, saying “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Tuardae.” He closed the door just as Avari opened her mouth.

“Ugh,” she said. “Fine. Don’t listen to me when I’m about to tell you something. But nooooo, you don’t want to hear that my sister will fall asleep if you give her butterbeer. Oh, no, that information wouldn’t be useful to you at all.”

Five minutes later Tuardae was passed out on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry completely clueless as to why, and Avari was sitting in her room, three bottles of butterbeer (one open) sitting on her side table while she was pinning the three inch Gryffindor flag underneath the two foot Slytherin one on the wall over her bed. She was humming cheerfully, sipping on her opened butterbeer as she flopped down on her bed. Pansy looked up from where she was studying on her bed. “I can’t believe you put that piece of trash up in our room.”

Avari growled softly uneatheath her breath thinking, ‘I need to get a new room.’ Aloud she said, “That trash as you call them, is the only team who is worth our time for the House Cup. And besides, my sister is on that team.”

Pansy sneered. “Like I said, trash.”

Avari’s ears turned red underneath her black hair. “Did you just call my sister trash?”

“If it fits,” Pansy said.

“YAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGH!” came the shout, echoing through the open door and into the Slytherin Common Room. Avari lunged from her own bed, her hands fisting into Pansy’s hair while the other girl tried scratching at her skin. Avari started banging Pansy’s head against the wooden trunk at the end of her bed, liking the sound. Before she could do any real damage a group of people came in through the door.

“What is going on here?” demanded Professor Snape, looking surprised.

“It makes a cool sound,” Avari said, banging her head against the trunk again. “See?”

Behind Snape, Draco, Blaise and a few other Slytherin boys, in addition to the entirety of the Slytherin girls, were staring at Avari with wide eyes. Snape took out his wand and shouted a spell, blasting Avari off of Pansy, who’s nose was bleeding and she had a large bump on her head that was starting to turn purple. Professor Snape looked furious. “Muggle fighting in Hogwarts! How dare you! To the Headmaster’s office immediately!” he said, pointing out the door, livid.

“Oh, it’s not like I cursed her or anything,” Avari mumbled, picking herself up from where she’d landed on the floor.

“OUT!”

* * * * * *

“Avari, why did you bang Pansy’s head against a trunk?” Dumbledore asked calmly while sipping on tea.

“Oh, Uncle Albus, it made the most beautiful noise,” Avari said, inspecting one of the instruments on Dumbledore’s shelf. It was a silver device with a golden switch, and while her finger itched to flip it, she knew she’d get bopped, and possibly detention if she did. So she just stared at it with great interest. “Like those nifty little wooden blocks we heard when Mother and Father took us to visit the Cackles in Africa.”

“You’ve met Cackles?”

“I attendebirtbirthing,” she said, standing up slightly and turning away from the instrument, her finger halfway stretched to flipping the switch. “It was . . . gross.”

Dumbledore chuckled. “I can imagine so. That is why not most creatures, even magical ones, give birth through the knee joint. Get away from my Time Expansion Halter.”

Avari shivered and lowered her arm. “So, do I get my own room now?”

The Headmaster shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to give you detention.”

“What?” she shrieked. “Why?”

“Because Pansy will be in the Hospital wing for a week Avari,” he said, steepling his fingers and his blue eyes suddenly looking very serious. A look that Avari did not enjoy. “You’ll be with Professor McGonagall every night this week.”

Avari twitched. “But I did Slytherin House a service putting that little gutter snipe into the Hospital wing!
Du
Dumbledore lowered gaz gaze, looking at her with a stern visage.

“Fine, fine, fine!”

* * * * *

“You got detention for beating up Pansy Parkinson?” Tuardae asked as they sat on the front steps early in the morning on Saturday.

“Hey, I’m not the one who passed out after two butterbeers. Poor Harry,” Avari growled.

“Oh, shut up,” mumbled Tuardae, pulling knees up to her chest and hugging them. “So what do you want to do today?”

“Want to go bewitch coats of armor to chase people?”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Tuardae said.


* * * * *


Avari growled and walked down the hallway towards the Transfiguration classroom Monday afternoon. After class Draco had called out for her to have fun in detention. Luckily he didn’t see the curse coming, but he had to get to the Hospital wing before anyone saw what she’d done to him. Poor little Draco couldn’t stand anyone to see his little face messed up.

“You’re late,” Professor McGonagall said sternly as Avari pushed her way through the door.

“Sorry,” she said. “I was detained.”

“Next time, don’t hex him. He remembers words a lot better than spells,” she said, her face pinched but her eyes twinkling.

Avari raised an eyebrow at McGonagall. “But – ”

“Your sister is one of my star pupils, and you would be too if it wasn’t for those cows,” she said. “Now there are a pile of teacups over there from all of my classes. You’re to turn them back fully into tea cups and put them away. I trust you can do that. Make sure you put the tea cups on the floor before you transfigure them back. I don’t want a cow to break one of my desks.”

Avari grumbled and walked over to the waist-high pile of teacups that grew up from the floor. Some of them had whiskers, others ears. There were a few that were the shape of teacups but fuzzy and squeaking. Avari shivered and told herself she would never drink tea again. One by one she put the teacups on the floor and changed them, then put them up in the cabinet. After a while she fell into a routine.

“Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Cow.”

She glared at the black and white milk cow that was looking at her with big doe-ful eyes and said sternly, “Teacup.” She picked it up with a sniff and put the offensive teacup back in the cabinet.

“Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Hmmm. Teacup. Teacup. Python.”

“Avari,” Professor McGonagall said, not bothering to turn around. “I do not require snakes in my cabinet.”

Avari sighed and looked at the snake, which was flicking its tongue around, smelling the room. “Teacup.”

“Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Hmmm. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Teacup. Panda.”

“Avari,” McGonagall said, turning around with a frustrated look on her face. She looked at the panda and raised an eyebrow, removing her spectacles. “I’ll erase your low grade because of the cow on Thursday as long as you turn that panda back into a teacup. No more fun, this is supposed to be detention. Now hurry, those teacups are squeaking and it’s getting on my nerves.” She thrust her glasses back on her nose and started going over papers again.

Avari put her hands on her hips and looked at the older woman. ‘Well now, she’s not that bad. For the Old one anyway.’ She went back to her work.

“Teacup. Teacup. Teacup.”


* * * * *

It was her last day of detention. So far, after the teacups, she’d turned soup bowls back into turtles, sponges into ducks and flamingos back into crocket mallets. God, how she’d hated the flamingos. So stupid. And pink.

“So, prof, what am I doing today?” she said, slinging her backpack into a chair.

“You’ll be turning ladybugs back into buttons.”

“So,” she said, looking around. “Where’s the little box holding the bugs?”

“That seems to be a probl McG McGonagall said, looking at Avari over her glasses. “One of the first years seems to have left the box open. You’ll have to find most of them.”

Avari looked at McGonagall with a blank face. Arguing would do no good. Most of them were easy to find, a lot of them were just giant black buttons with very tiny wings. By the end of the night she’d dropped the last button down on McGonagall’s desk. “Can I go now?” she said, her eyebrow twitching as she looked at the offending black button.

“Yes, thank you Avari.”

She stopped, her hand reaching down to pick up her bag. She wrinkled her nose before saying, “You’re welcome,” and walked out the door.

Back in the Common Room she slid down into a black leather couch and sighed, shaking out her wand hand. “If I ever Transfigure anything ever again, it will be too soon.”

The next morning dawned slightly chilly and the leaves were slowly turning bright hues. Tuardae had managed to wheedle her sister ontoonto the grounds for ‘quality family’ time. She’d gone, donning a black sweater and dark jeans, unlike her sister who only wore another one of her Kenmare Kestrels shirt and a pair jean shorts. Avari was sprawled out on the grass on her back staring up at the clouds while Tuardae was reading steadily.

“If I ever see another lady bug,” Avari said, “I do believe I’d squish it.”

A little red flicker flew over her visions and Avari startled Tuardae out of her book with a scream. The brown-haired girl watched her younger sister chase what seemed to be nothing across the grounds and beat it into the grass. She came back calmly and lay out quietly, Tuardae holding the book to her chest with wide eyes, still staring at Avari.

“Do you feel better now?” Tuardae asked, still staring.

Avari closed her eyes with a satisfied smile and said, “Yes.”

Tuardae went back to reading, glancing back at Avari on the occasion, making sure her sister was in fact sane. When no more ladybugs flew over Avari Tuardae finally calmed down and continued reading her book.