Cornish Pixies
"Miss Clock, where is your essay?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly, looking at the Slytherin girl.
"Err... I think I forgot it." Andy replied.
"Five points from Slytherin." Andy groaned quietly. It was the third day of school and she had already lost points for Slytherin. "Today we will be looking at transfiguring dormice into snuff-boxes. The incantation is Snuerto Minerto." McGonagall demonstrated on a mice the was sitting on her desk. It transformed into a snuffbox with red velvet lining and swirls engraved on the lid. Andy turned to the dormouse in front of her and pictured a circular silver snuffbox with golden rims, a tree engraved on the lid, with leaves along the sides, and a blue velvet lining. It was much more tricky to do, and Andy knew she should have gone for an easier design. She shut her eyes and made the image clear in her mind, before opening them.
"Snuerto Minerto." Andy pointed her wand at the mouse and focused all her magic into the spell. She didn't know how long she held the position, but it was quite a while. The mouse was slowly changing. Andy was one of the last ones to complete the task.
"I'm finished, Professor," called Andy.
"It's nice you finally mastered the spell. Take a point for Slytherin," McGonagall said as she came over to the desk.
"I could have done it in a minute, Professor. I just decided to go for a more challenging design." McGonagall, if possible, seemed to look even more hawk-like at Andy's statement.
"By all means, Clock," McGonagall summoned a mouse from her desk, "show us what you can do." The class trained their eyes on Andy. McGonagall had thrown down the gauntlet. And Andy decided to pick it up. She pointed her wand at the mouse and hesitated. She never liked transfiguring animals. It was taking away a life, or creating one. Andy pictured a plain rectangular bronze snuffbox with stars on the lid and a green leather lining in her mind.
"Snuerto Minerto."
~|~
Andy strolled down the empty corridor, keeping an eye out for Peeves. "Percival!" She called upon seeing him writing rude words on one of the blackboards in a classroom. He turned around, became solid-looking, and flew over. Peeves, or Percival as he was known to Andy, changed his clothes to regular school robes with a thought, and slung his arm over Andy's shoulder.
"How was class?" Percival questioned.
"I forgot my essay in Transfig. McGonagall was McGonagall and took points away for it. It's only the third day of classes," replied Andy, groaning, "and then I was the one of the last to finish transfiguring my snuffbox, and it was one of the best, and she only gave me one point! And after I proved her wrong by transfiguring a mouse into a snuffbox in under a minute, she gave me an hour's detention for talk-back!"
"Want to prank her?" Percival asked as they rounded a corner.
"You read my mind," Andy said grinning, "I was thinking dying everything she owns pink. But maybe we should wait till after Time's start-of-year prank." Time was Andy's pranking alias. She would have wanted to reveal herself, but being a known trouble-maker in Hogwarts has it's downsides when you're older and trying to find a job.
"What's you're plan for that anyway?"
"Oh, you'll see. I'll just say it involves the Gryffindor Common Room. Can you get the password?"
"Already have it. It's wattlebird."
"Thanks Percival. Mind pranking Spinnet for me?" Andy waved as she turned down the hallway and climbed up the ladder to Divination.
"Did you hear?" Daphne asked the moment Andy sat down next to her, "Harry Potter and that Weasley kid flew a car to Hogwarts!"
"You've told me that about twenty times, Daph," Andy pointed out as she placed her textbook with a loud thump on the table.
"Yeah, I have. But, it's so amazing and cool!"
"They're Gryffindors. One of them is a Weasley, and the other is Harry Potter. They're loving the attention, so ignore them."
"Welcome," their professor said as the class quieted. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last. Welcome to Divination. My name is Professor Trelawny. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my inner eye."
"My Mum says I might be a Seer," Daphne whispered to Andy. "It normally skips three generations, you know. And my Great Grandfather was one."
"So you have chosen to study the art of Divination," Trelawny continued, "the most difficult of the magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field." Daphne's hand shot up.
"Yes, dear?"
"Mum says I might have the Sight. I even predicted something once." Trelawny grasped one of Daphne's hands.
"Ah, yes, I see it. You will grow to be a powerful seer, dear. What is your name?"
"Daphne Greengrass, Professor." Daphne was grinning. Andy wondered what she might have predicted.
~|~
"Hey, Andy." A familiar voice said behind Andy, startling her. She looked to the side as Percival sat down on the bench next to her.
"Hey Perce. Got any ideas for the next Quidditch match?" Percival usually used Quidditch matches to set up pranks because nearly everybody was out of the castle.
"Of course. What's your next class?"
"DADA with Lockheart. We need to prank him..." an idea crossed Andy's mind. "You don't suppose you know how to brew Veritaserum, do you? I would like to know just exactly how much of what he says is true."
"I don't know the recipe off the top of my head, but there has to be a book on it somewhere."
"I'll ask Professor Snape after Potions later today." Andy stood up from the bench and left the Great Hall. She had not been looking forward to DADA ever since she found out that Gilderoy Lockheart would be teaching. Andy wondered why he might leave this year. In her first year, the Vampire Professor was burnt by the sun; and in her second year the professor had Voldemort on the back of his head. The DADA position did not have a good run streak.
Once the class had settled down, Lockheart held up somebody's book and pointed to the winking photograph on the cover. "Me, Gilderoy Lockheart, 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!"
"I think he could have," Andy muttered to Daphne, who was looking dreamily at Lockheart. Daphne ignored her.
"I see you've all bought a complete collection of my books –" Andy lifted her hand into the air.
"Yes, Miss..."
"Clock, Sir."
"Yes, Miss Clock?"
"I didn't buy all of your books, just Voyages with Vampires."
"Well, you can always share with Miss Greengrass." How did Lockheart know Daphne? "As I was saying, I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just check how well you've read the books, how much you've taken in..." Lockheart handed out the papers. "You have thirty minutes, start – now!" Andy looked down at the quiz, and used her wand to duplicate it. On the top of the first one, she wrote 'Andy Clock', and on the second she wrote 'Time'. On the quiz labeled 'Time', she wrote the stupidest answers she could think of.
1. What is Gilderoy Lockheart's favourite colour? The blonde of his badly styled hair.
2. What is Gilderoy Lockheart's secret ambition? To become the most annoying person in the world.
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockheart's greatest achievement to date? Not getting killed. Up to:
54. When is Gilderoy Lockheart's Birthday, and what would his ideal gift be? He was born on Friday the 13th of October. His ideal gift would be a brain.
On the quiz labeled 'Andy Clock', she answered the questions as best as she could.
1. What is Gilderoy Lockheart's favourite colour? Violet.
2. What is Gilderoy Lockheart's secret ambition? To rid the world of evil and market his own range of hair-care potions. It had said so in Voyages with Vampires, which Andy had actually read when she went through her Vampire-fascination phase.
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockheart's greatest achievement to date? Discovering a potion that allows Vampires to walk in the sun for an hour. Up to:
54. When is Gilderoy Lockheart's Birthday, and what would his ideal gift be? 26th January, 1964. His ideal gift would be Firewhisky. Andy had overheard a group of Gryffindors telling each other facts about Lockheart the previous day.
Half an hour later, when Lockheart collected the papers, Andy slid 'Time' underneath 'Andy Clock' so Lockheart wouldn't notice. Lockheart rifled through them in front of the class.
"Tut, tut, hardly any of you remembered my favourite colour is lilac. I say so in Year with a Yeti. And a few of you need to read Weekend with a Werewolf more carefully – I clearly state that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"
Lockheart gave the class yet another roguish wink. Slytherin had DADA with the Ravenclaws, and nearly all of them had disbelief on their face. Some were shaking with silent laughter, and the boy in front of Andy let out a laugh before covering it up with a cough. There were a few, like Daphne, who were still staring at Lockheart in adoration and listen to him with rapt attention.
"But Miss Andy Clock knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions – good girl! In fact –" Lockheart flipped Andy's paper over. "Nearly full marks! Only two questions wrong. Where is Miss Clock?" Andy raised her hand in suprise. How had she picked up all that information up about Lockheart?
"Excellent!" Lockheart beamed, "and after only reading one of the books as well! Take ten points for Slytherin! And..." He trailed off as he looked at the next paper. Lockheart was clearly surprised at the answers. He must have gotten to Time's sheet. "Who is Time?" Murmurs spread around the class. They all knew who Time was. "Who is Time?" Lockheart repeated.
"An infamous prankster, Professor." Charles replied. He was a Slytherin and the twin of one of Andy's dorm-mates. "Nobody knows who they are, but there are quite a few theories around school as to their identity. They started pranking three yeas ago, so they're probably in our year."
"Well, when Time's identity is found, I shall take ten points away from their house."
"Good luck with that, Professor. Nobody's been able to do it yet," Lily added. She was Charles's twin.
"Let's get to business then, shall we..." Lockheart bent down and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.
"Now – be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm." Lockheart placed a hand on the cover. People had stopped laughing, and Lily was looking fearful.
"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockheart in a low voice, "it might provoke them." As the whole class held its breath, he whipped of the cover.
"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies." At this everybody apart from the Lockheart-Lovers burst out laughing. Charles raised a hand, wiping tears from his eyes. "Yes?"
"Well, they're not – they're not very – dangerous, are they?"
"Don't be so sure!" Said Lockheart, trying to gain control of the class, "devilishly tricky little blighters they can be! Right then! Let's see what you make of them!" He opened the cage. Lockheart expected the class to fall in pandemonium. Yet this class was Ravenclaws and Slytherins, the Wise and the Cunning. A few people dived under tables, but the others simply stood up and brandished their wands. The pixies were creating carnage everywhere, smashing windows and knocking ink pots over.
"After 3!" Charles shouted over the shrill voices of the pixies.
"1!" The Ravenclaws roared.
"2!" The Slytherins hollered.
"3!" They bellowed together.
"Immobulus!" Thirty-four spells shot into the air, freezing all the pixies. Everybody directed their wands towards the cage and the pixies flew in.
"Colloportus!" Charles said, locking the cage with a flick of his wand.
"Riverte," the boy in front of Andy cast, and all the objects in the room returned to their usual positions, fixing themselves in the process. Lockheart looked at them all in suprise.
"Like Charles said," Lily began, "they're not very dangerous."
"Colour me impressed. Tell me, how did you know what to do?" Lockheart asked.
"In first year, our Defense professor unleashed a swarm of Willison Wasps on us. Afterwards we came up with a protocol just in case something like that happened again," Daphne explained.
"Fascinating. That was the plan for the rest of the lesson, so I suppose you can all leave early." The whole class scrambled to leave as soon as they could, Slytherins needed time to get to Potions as it was in the dungeons, and Ravenclaws needed time to get to Transfiguration as it was on the sixth floor and they were only on the first. Just as she was about to leave, Andy called out to Lockheart, who was putting the pixies under his desk.
"Professor! I heard of a charm for dealing with pixies. It's 'Peskipiksi Pesternomi'," Andy left, lifting her satchel onto her shoulder.
"That's not a real spell, is it." said a voice next to Andy, more statement than question. She looked to the side and saw the boy who had sat in front of her. He had green eyes, wavy black hair that was shoulder-length and lightly-tanned skin. His Slytherin tie was loose and his shirt un-tucked.
"Nah, I just made it up. I wish I could see the look on his face when he realizes it doesn't work." They turned down a corridor.
"Do you like making trouble?"
"Not normally, but Lockheart just gets under my skin."
"I'm Magnus Dragon," the boy held out his hand.
"Andy Clock," they shook hands awkwardly since it was sideways and they were still walking towards the dungeons.
"Hey Andy!" Andy heard Percival call from behind her.
"Yeah, Perce?" She asked as he came up on the other side of her. He had done the solid-looking thing again as the hallway was crowded.
"Don't forget to ask Snape about the potion."
"Thanks for reminding me." Percival turned around and slid into the nearby classroom so he could emerge as Peeves. It was to risky to turn in front of all the students.
"Who was that?" Magnus asked.
"Percival. He's my best mate. It's a shame we don't share classes." They talked about school and their hobbies and before the two Slytherins knew it, they were waiting outside the door the the Potions Classroom.
"Hey, Andy, want to be my Potions partner?" Magnus asked.
"Sure. If they let us pick." Andy replied. "Hey, Daph." Daphne had pulled Andy to the side. Andy sent Magnus an apologetic look.
"Is that who I think it is?" Daphne hissed.
"Who do you think it is?"
"Magnus Dragon of course!"
"Yeah, he's Magnus. I started talking to him after DADA. What's the big deal?" Daphne rolled her eyes.
"You really don't know anything, do you. The Dragons are a very rich and very powerful half-blood family. They were once pure-bloods, but they mixed with Muggles a few generations ago. And have you seen his looks? Magnus is going to be the next Cedric Diggory! Dragons generally don't go to Hogwarts, they're home tutored. That's why Magnus only joined this year."
"How do you know all this!" Andy whisper-shouted.
"I have my sources. The point is, you were talking to a Dragon. Are we still up for being Potion partners?" Andy noted the subject changed, but ignored it. She had completely forgotten her promise to Daphne.
"Oh, Daph! Magnus asked me if I wanted to be his partner and I agreed. I'll go tell him sorry. I promised you first."
"Magnus Dragon asked you do be his Potions partner! I'll ask Lily instead. You go and be a partner with him." Daphne practically pushed Andy towards Magnus as she left to find Lily. The door opened and the class filed in, Andy and Magnus opting to get a table near the back. Daphne and Lily were at the desk next to them, and Daniel and Charles were at the desk in front of them.
~|~
"Professor?" Andy asked at the end of Potions.
"Yes, Andy?" Professor Snape said. He always addressed Slytherins by their first names.
"I was wondering if you knew where I could find a book about Veritaserum. It came up in my reading last night and I wanted to do a bit more researching." Andy felt a small probing at her mind, and let Professor Snape enter to see the real reason she wanted to know about it. She had guessed long ago that he was a Legilimens, since everytime she was in class, a faint throbbing would invade her mind. Being an Occlumens was handy in Hogwarts. Especially since it can be used to counter a truth potion. If Andy never told Snape out loud the reason she wanted to learn about Veritaserum, he wouldn't need to report her. Professor Snape left her mind and Andy slammed her walls back up.
"There is a book in the restricted section that should allow you to find what you need." He handed her a slip, "I ask you to make sure I am there when you do it."
"Thank you, Professor," Andy said before leaving.
"What was that about?" Magnus asked. He had been waiting outside for her.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just please don't tell anybody when you do."
~|~
Andy walked up to the front desk of the Library with Magnus in tow. "Madam Pince?" the Librarian looked up from her desk, "I would like to take out a book from the Restricted Section." Andy explained, handing her the signed slip. After examining it thoroughly, Madam Pince left and returned several minutes later carrying a large, moldy-looking book.
"There you go, Andy. Moste Potente Potions." Andy carefully put the book in her bag.
"Thank you, Madam Pince." Andy and Magnus left.
"You're brewing a potion to give to Lockheart, aren't you?" Magnus asked the moment they were out of the Library. "Which one is it?"
"How'd you figure that one out?" Andy asked, surprised.
"It was just a hunch that you confirmed. Want some help with it?"
"Depends. How good are you at finding rare potion ingredients?"
"I love potions, and have quite a few rare ingredients stashed in my trunk. We might not need to find the ingredients if I have them."
"Okay, let's work on it together. And look at the recipe tonight in the Common Room."
"I know somewhere better to work," Magnus countered, "meet me in the Common Room after dinner."
"'K. I told Percival I'd meet him after I got the book. See you later." Andy and Magnus went their separate ways. Magnus towards the Great Hall, and Andy towards the Kitchens.
Percival greeted Andy as she stepped through the hole behind the painting. "Did you get it?" he asked.
"Yep. And Professor Snape wants me to do it while he's there, so I was thinking the Great Hall. Magnus also offered to help me brew it, he has some really rare ingredients."
"Was he the bloke you were with earlier?"
"Yeah, his name's Magnus Dragon."
"Dragon," Percival whispered.
"How is it everybody apart from me knows about this family!"
"They're famous in the Wizarding world, Andy. Especially Toby." Off Andy's questioning look, Percival added, "You'll know him as Tobias Dragon."
"Him, I've heard of."
“You can’t turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again.”
-- Bonnie Prudden