Eggnog
Hi mom,
can you send me a bottle of whisky?
Henry
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Hello Henry,
I’m glad to hear from you after so long. How have you been? I hope there are no problems with your classmates. Is your preparation for NEWTs going smoothly?
I know you’ll tell me you don’t care but I’ll tell you anyway – Elizabeth won the drawing competition and they printed it in the newspaper, so I have it framed. It looks much better than the prices the rest of you usually get. Colourful, not dull and formal. Fridrich might think his trophies are the best looking, but who likes gold?
Dad sends his thanks for the Wicked Sisters CD; I think it’s better than the others.
Please, write again.
Love,
Mom
PS: To answer your question, no. <3
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Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
PS: I’ve been good, nobody is giving me any problems – the separate dorm room helps, I think. And my preparations couldn’t go smoother. And yes, I truly don’t fucking care.
PPS: I don’t want it for drinking it, you know? I wanted to poison Flitwick as a Christmas present for myself.
Your favourite non-blood-related child,
Henry
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Hello, my favourite non-blood-related child,
At first, I was worried you sent poor Galileo with only the MOM part, but I was delighted to read answers to my questions. Maria found your dedication to the letter ‘o’ hilarious and got a cramp from laughing so hard (she looked over my shoulder, the poor child).
Please, don’t kill your teachers. Which means no, I won’t send you any alcohol in the near future – and by that I mean until you are eighteen. And I don’t care about the fact that wizards have a different age limit. What I did pack you is non-alcoholic chocolate eggnog. I found a recipe and was interested in what you think about it, my little chocolate addict.
Love,
Mom
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Hello Mrs Bundy,
Your eggnog is heavenly. Henry bit most of us, but we managed to get a sip or two despite that. Could you send me a recipe, please? I need leverage against Henry.
Best wishes,
Daphne Greengrass
***
It was an interesting experience to know Flint more personally and listen to Oliver dragging the big Slytherin through the mud. For once I knew what is slander and what a cruel truth – for example, I knew Flint is not stupid, he’s just an asshole who knows when to quit.
No wonder he didn’t want to play in this weather – I certainly don’t.
“…And we’ve been practising all those moves assuming we’re playing Slytherin, and instead it’s Hufflepuff, and their style’s quite different. They’ve got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory-“ Angelina, Alicia and Katie giggled, calling him tall and handsome. I heard he was one of the most popular Hufflepuffs, smart besides good looking.
“I’m sure Ginny will fly circles around him,” George one-arm hugged our little sister who turned red and stepped on his shoe. She tried out for the team and Oliver let her join with excitement. She was the best seeker we had in… well, forever.
Still, Wood panicked and yelled at us we need to keep our focus, never relax – he forgot to say we shouldn’t get murderous tendencies towards our captain. We should prank him after the match. George looked at me and nodded – he could read me as well as I could him so he knew exactly my thoughts.
Oliver was especially difficult that training session, which we all expected. Thankfully, our best healer Henry was reading on the stands with his new friend by his side. Daphne was doing her Arithmancy homework, sometimes asking for help. She’s surprisingly adamant about the partnership she suggested – not even his great personality moved her from that stance. I understand, but I’ve always had weird tastes.
The whole team sat on the benches level above his and waited their turn to get fixed up. Scrapes, bruises, concussion or two and Angelina had a sprained wrist after a nasty throw from Oliver. That dickhead himself was already gone, fresh as a daisy. I hate him so much right now. And Henry wasn’t on a much different note, as he was in his ‘Poppy mode’ which meant he hated any unreasonable person, especially Quidditch players and their captains.
“Is there even a fucking sliver of a fucking brain in his fucking head or does he have a fucking Quaffle in there?!”
“Some guys think with their junk, some with their Quaffle,” Katie laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“In that case, I consider myself an alien,” Henry deadpanned and covered another bruise with a bit of bruise cream. “I should make more if those cunts won’t call the fucking game off. Poppy already plans on splitting the work between us two.”
“She trusts you a lot,” Daphne put down her homework and her sharp eyes showed interest.
“I work in the infirmary. Have been doing that for a while.”
“I thought you want to create – be it potions, runes or spells. You’re not very caring.”
“I can do both – and doctors are not for caring, but for curing.” Ginny winced when he squeezed her wound a little too hard. “Which is another reason why I can’t get married! I won’t have time!”
“Do I look like I would need you for more than the ceremony and occasional dinner?” she snorted. Henry hissed (probably something very nasty) and whipped his wand so hard he almost poked out George’s eye.
“We can get rid of her,” I stage-whispered. “We can be quiet and nobody would pin it on us!”
“Yeah, they would fucking pin it on ME. No thanks.”
“Henry, wouldn’t you know a water-repulsive spell?” Ginny pulled his attention to her. “If it’s supposed to rain so much, wouldn’t it be better to have some goggles?”
“It would – I can look into that. I even have safety glasses on which I can try it on. Can you get goggles?”
“My roommate has a few pairs. She wears them instead of headdresses. I think I can steal one or two!”
“Ginny, you shouldn’t steal!” George yelled at the same time as Henry grinned: “That’s the spirit!”
***
It was raining – or like Henry said: ‘the clouds were fucking pissing on us after chugging a whole fucking ocean’. Even Poppy snorted at that, before composing herself. It was quite the truthful description because I was thinking that I wouldn’t be able to see a Bludger (let alone the Snitch).
Ginny had her big bug-like goggles that they charmed to hell and back, on. I heard something about water-repelling spells, anti-breaking runes and zooming runes (which should be considered cheating, according to Hermione). She looked cute – George pinched her cheeks and cooed at her enough for us both. Her freckled cheeks were red with embarrassment but couldn’t run away – Luna was braiding her hair into a tight French braid so it wouldn’t get into my little sister’s face.
Wood fretted over us all – I wasn’t far from punching him. He told us to do well, to crush the Puffs – like usually. After coming out of the changing room, we got sopping wet before the game even started. Wood shook hands with Diggory, who had his hair plastered to his face. No goggles to be seen, which might be the reason why we win. I hope Ginny finds the golden ball quickly,
We rose to the air and started the match after Mrs Hooch blew her whistle and released all the balls we might need. It was easy to make people fall off their slick brooms – several teachers were catching them with cushioning and levitating spells. I felt spikes of Henry’s magic when some players got hurt.
Ginny kept herself close to us, I saw she was scared of what was happening. Neither she nor Diggory could find the Snitch, and people got tired. Which meant they slipped more often. And when I say, slipped, I mean it literary. I accidentally threw my bat at the Bludger even though I meant to hit it and then I had to duck quickly. Hufflepuff keeper went after a Quaffle and fell off his broom, victoriously holding his ball. Chasers lost their ball due to moist fingers and slippery gloves.
Poppy’s going to kill somebody.
Ginny flew away with a short yelp of excitement – I went after her, to guard her against Quaffles and other players. Diggory was on our broom bristles in an instant, eyes squinted. Ginny was less experienced and her broom was worse, but those goggles gave her enough upper hand that she was clearly winning the chase. George pushed the Quaffle to me, so I could hit Diggory. It only slowed him down – he obviously used sticking charm. Smart of him.
My little sister stretched out her hand – for a second I saw a golden speck between the raindrops. Lee was screaming in excitement, the whole Griffindor stand was scandaling her name. Diggory had no chance.
“Ginevra Weasley caught the Snitch!” everybody started yelling – some in victory, others in defeat. But I stiffened – I felt the air turn freezing and got goosebumps. “Fred! Dementors!” Lee yelled in warning. I was up high with the two seekers so we were the closest to a horde of Dementors who were circling above us.
“Down!” I yelled at Ginny who was trained well enough by Wood to react in a second and dived as quickly as her broom allowed. Diggory took longer, his eyes wide with horror, but after I lightly smacked him with my bat he unfroze and dived down with us. The dark creatures followed us down, drawn to our terror and dark memories. We fell down after we reached the ground – they were still behind us! Some went to the stands where most teachers protected the students, but we were alone.
“Expecto Patronum!” Henry’s voice was unmistakable. Only a faint mist came from his wand but the creatures went back a few steps. His eyes were wide and skin paler than usual, hands shaking, but Henry managed to hold it long enough for us to get to our feet and run. I grabbed his arm and dragged him away with us. He almost fell victim to gravity but managed to stand up and sprinted with us. The closest teacher to us was Hook, whose eagle Patronus flew above her and other students’ heads – so we joined. I hugged Ginny and Henry, both of them shaking. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Henry muttered under his breath. “Fucking spell depending on fucking emotions. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
George came to us, elbowing several people who were in his way and hugged the younger ones from the other side. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, Henry helped us,” Ginny grinned weakly, her goggles still on, but crooked. Then she pushed her fist into our faces and showed us her fist caught the snitch. “We won!”
“Fucking Gryffindors,” moaned Henry and kicked me in the shin so I let him have his personal space. “I have chocolate,” he offered chocolate stick to us, and then let them circle through the group. “Is anyone injured?!” someone yelled affirmatively, so he disappeared just like the chocolate sticks and left us alone.
“I heard Tom,” Ginny muttered into my chest. “I heard him speak and hiss.”
“Oh Ginny,” George cooed and squished her harder.
“You don’t have to be scared of him,” I added, hugging them closer.
“I know, but when I heard him – I thought for a second he was up there with us.” I exchanged a look with my twin – what are we supposed to say to that?
***
When the dementors went feral, I turned into a frozen statue and just looked at my friends up in the air, getting surrounded by the dark creatures who brought fear and coldness with them. I saw how Fred led them to the ground and I ran towards them – I could help them, even if it was with a burst of pure magic. Of course, I tried the fucking Patronus spell – thought about a happy memory (when I got my first prize ever).
It didn’t work. It fucking didn’t work! It kept the Dementors away for long enough, but it didn’t fucking work! I wanted to rip them apart with my bare hands but I wasn’t that suicidal so I ran with Weasleys and Diggory to the closest group.
Fred tugged on me and I fell into a hug without my usual resentment for physical touch – it helped to have the imaginary safety around me. It calmed my nerves. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Somewhat. “Fucking spell depending on fucking emotions. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I refuse to try a sappy memory. I will find a normal memory that will work.
I tried to distract myself by helping others with their small wounds but not even in the safety of my dorms my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Fucking Dementors – this is even worse than the last time. Luna was much calmer but mirrored my curled up position with a drink of choice – she preferred hot chocolate, which is a viable option. I had my Earl Grey and chewed cookies brought by one of the school elves Luna befriended. Her soft plush was between us, used as an armrest – and it wasn’t the only soft thing we used for personal comfort. I had two fluffy blankets thrown over me and Luna was cocooned in a dull blue one.
“Sleepover!” Hermione barged into our dorm with a big smile, twins burdened with a mountain of blankets, pillows and food behind her Majesty who carried only the music player I left in the Griffin tower last week. “Prefered music?” I had all my CDs on the fireplace mantel, so she didn’t have to go through my very organized trunk to find it. Only trusted people could get here, so I didn’t fear somebody might steal my collection from me.
“Not really.” I shrugged.
“Iron Maiden!“
“The Number of the Beast!”
“We like that one.”
“A classic,” Luna nodded sagely. “Henry says it is one of the biggest masterpieces in the heavy metal genre.” I shrugged – it’s a good album but those words were originated from some magazine about music dad subscribes to. “And skip to the pièce de resistance. I like the second part of the album most.” I snorted at that. It was a kind way of saying she likes two songs out of all of them – The Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills.
Luna prefers rock – Queen, for example. I bet she would like pop, thankfully I have no CD so she can’t blast that kind of hell in the morning.
Twins made impromptu beds on the floor and brought additional pillows and blankets from our rooms. Food was laid out buffet style and they tried to make the ground look softer than the couch by lounging around like kings, while Hermione worked on her little mission of looking for a specific album and then the song.
I couldn’t help myself when it started to play and I monologued together with the taping.
“Woe to you, oh earth and sea
For the Devil sends the beast with wrath
Because he knows the time is short
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast
For it is a human number
Its number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
They tried to talk too and even though they made mistakes here and there, it wasn’t annoying. Twins spring up to sing with dramatic movements, bottles used as microphones. It elevated my mood and laughed with the rest of the audience before the end of the second verse. After a long Yeahhhhh, I couldn’t help myself, jumped up and joined them. Hermione got into the whirlwind of chaos thanks to George who dragged her up and started to wildly dance with her in big turns – her curls worked wonderfully with headbanging. Luna dragged me into a similar carousel dance, laughing more than singing. Fred joined and before long, all of us were in a big circle dancing to Run to the Hills. It didn’t really go with the music – it was fun tho.
“Run to the hills,
Run for your life!
Run to the hills,
Run for your life!”
Good thing nobody can come and yell at us. Our singing was bordering on screaming and when we ended, our laughter was ear-piercing. My voice jumped up and down several octaves, which made us giggle harder. “My lungs,” Hermione brayed hysterically.
Our laughter turned into small giggles until we calmed down and got into comfortable laying positions in our nest of pillows and blankets. I was partially laying on Fred and Hermione, their bony shoulders under my head but I was comfortable. I pulled out my prosthetic eye before curling up with Luna so I didn’t need to take it out before falling asleep. Luna took my glasses and then laid on my front, hugging her sea lion. “And where do I go?” George wondered before curling behind Hermione and throwing his hand over us.
“You don’t want to cuddle with me, brother of mine?”
“I couldn’t get to the cute ones over you,” he stuck his tongue out. I looked at Hermione who was rolling her eyes hard.
“Idiot,” I snorted at him. I wonder how long will I manage to stay like that. “Did you put stasis charm on the food?” I yowled.
“Yes, I wasn’t sure if we would get to eating it, raven.” Luna was already snoring and Fred wasn’t far from slumber, judging by his deep breathing. Hermione yowled and George followed her. “Don’t worry and wake us up when you want personal space,” the still-living ginger mumbled before snuggling Hermione’s hair and fastly falling asleep.
I turned the music off, so it wouldn’t jolt somebody awake. “Thanks for lifting my mood up,” I mumbled to Hermione.
“Thank you for being this soft, I think we all needed to comfort and be comforted,” she grinned sleepily. I waited for her to fall asleep and summoned my wand from where it fell when I threw it.
“Expecto Patronum,” I whispered and almost screamed in anger when almost corporal Patronus jumped out of my wand. This is such a sappy moment – does it have to really be a fucking sappy moment?! I threw the fucking stick away again and summoned a fluffy blanket instead. The familiar smell and warmth coming from my personal heaters lulled me to sleep, even though I was still aggravated by the fucking spell.