57 ch 57 Halloween
October 31, 1991, Thursday, Potion class 10:10 am
Snape walked behind me while I'm finishing brewing my potion. He sarcastically said, "Why don't you try... tasting your concoction first, ...Witcherly. It might not be up to your standard."
"No need, Professor. I'm confident that there's no mistake," I replied with a smile, but in my I was saying, 'Yeah, right! Why don't you try taking a sip. I would rather not spend the whole day with a pumpkin as a head!'
Since it was Halloween, we are making Pompion Potion today. If you drink this stuff, then your head will turn into a pumpkin and my Potion master is insisting for me to taste it! Not going to happen. This potion is technically not poison, so it will still affect me.
Snape just walked away while mumbling, "Oh... too bad."
My fellow Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws just held in their laughter.
Thank Merlin! Snape didn't give us homework, and we quickly finished class. We all made our way to Quirrell's class.
On the way, we bumped into the group of Slytherin and Gryffindor first years coming from DADA class and on their way to the dungeon for Potion.
We all just gave each other simple greetings and continued on. Everyone would rather not be late for any class and be deducted points.
All students are in agreement that being late for Snape's Potion and Quirrell's DADA class are the worst.
Snape will target those who came late for his class and bombard them with questions.
On the other hand, in DADA, the class where the seats at the back are the most coveted. You will have to sit near the front of the class, where Quirrell's garlic stench is the strongest if you're late.
I yelled, "Com'on, everyone! Run! Run like your life depends on it."
"Not this time, Witcherly!" smirked the running Terry Boot.
Ernie complained, "No pushing, Goldstein!"
Antony laughed, "Haha, don't be a wuss, MacMillan!"
"I don't want to breathe garlic.. I don't want to breathe garlic,.." chanted Lisa Turpin.
Adeline said, "You boys don't know how to be gentlemen! How could you let girls suffer that horrendous smell..."
"Désolé, ma dame ! Je crois en l'égalité des sexes !" I rebutted. (Fr. Sorry, My Lady! I believe in gender equality!")
"Hah... hah... hah... can't we just do a rotating schedule? Haa... ha... haaaa," asked Kevin who is hyperventilating.
Morag suggested, "Ha..hu...hu... Or Flip a coin? Why do we always have to make it a race?"
Susan called me, "Marshall lend me an air freshener!"
"Yeah, make it two. Anything to mask Quirrell's smell!" said Hannah.
We finally reach the DADA classroom. Except for me, everyone was sweating and trying to catch their breath.
Even though we were racing, the boys eventually gave in to the girls and sat near the front.
During Quirrell's lesson, I could already see he had an exciting expression. Just to make sure, I asked Siri...
Me: What is this guy thinking?
Siri: He plans to go to the forest and catch two trolls.
'Two trolls?'
Me: What does he plan to use the trolls for?
Siri: The school tasked him to get a troll to be a guard for the stone. He planned to get another one to let loose in the castle to cause a distraction.
'Oh. Then that's still in line with the story.' I stopped probing for information and just waited 'til the end of class.
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11:35 am, History of Magic Class
-Hermione's POV-
'Ugh, I have to see that Witcherly again!' After learning, Marshall knows how to speak in Mermish and Gobbledegook. I search for any book in the library for anything related to learning them, but I can't find any.
Seeing him in class just irritates me. I'm finding the wizardry world and Hogwarts to be unfair to muggle borns like me.
Taking my seat near the window, quietly waiting for our ghost professor to show up, I observe my fellow Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs laughing and joking around.
My eyes zoned in to my fellow muggle borns: Naomi, Justin and Kevin. They seem to had adjusted well in school. Not alienate by their peers like me.
I know that I'm not the easiest person to get along with. Even back in primary school, I never had any friends. I thought coming to Hogwarts will change that, but, I guess the change must come from me first.
"Marshall, I just remembered something. Harry said that you're part of a choir and perform at town events," asked Adeline.
Marshall proudly nodded and said, "Yes, I am."
Adeline requested, "Can you sing us a song while we wait for Professor Binns? Please!"
Justin said, "Oh yeah.. I thought you were going to sing back in your barbecue party, but you just charmed the guitar to play background music."
"Because the main objective of the party was to have first years mingle with each other. If I sing, it will appear I just planned the party to showcase myself," explained Marshall.
'Ha! As if you avoided being the center of attention back then. With how lavish it was, you showcase how wealthy you are!' I get annoyed remembering that night. Witcherly just let his poor little elf do all the work... he's such a slave driver!
"Anyway, sing a song... come on. Please." Adeline insist.
Witcherly took out his guitar from his pouch and said, "Ok...."
He began to strum his guitar and play the intro.
🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵
An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
🎵🎶🎵
Isn't it ironic,
don't you think
🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
The beginning was great but when I heard he described it as 'ironic', I immediately interrupted him, "Wait! That's not Irony! The old man who died... That's Tragedy. And the fly on the drink, that's just disgusting."
I went on, "Seriously, I thought you were smart!"
Marshall was surprised by my sudden outburst. He said, "It's just a song, Hermione. Just chill. Let me finish my song."
Everyone looked at me and some of them gave me an annoyed expression. I quietly return to my seat. But in my mind, I was screaming, 'Then don't call it ironic?!'
Marshall continued to sing again..
🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵
It's like rain on your wedding day
...
.....
And who would've thought? It figures
🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵
He didn't say the word ironic. So I calmed down.
🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down
He thought, "Well, isn't this nice?"
🎶🎵🎶
And isn't it ironic?
Don't you think?
🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵
*BAM!*"No, I don't think so. That's not irony! If you said the man was an airplane mechanic, then that's irony. Get your figure of speech straight!!" I just can't control myself.
"Ehem.. I think that's enough singing for today..." Witcherly awkwardly returned his guitar back in his pouch and took his seat.
Everyone look at me with an annoyed look. I sigh,'Sorry. But that's really was not irony.'
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-Marshall's POV-
'Uhm... Oops!' I didn't expect Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" would get such a reaction from Hermione. And it happened today, of all days!
What am I supposed to do?
To be honest, I'm getting fed up with everything 'Hermione'.
Being friendly doesn't work. So I tried to interact with her less when I'm with Harry and Ron, but she always nitpicks on me or cuts into our conversation.
When I'm not with the Gryffindors, it appears she still finds a reason to hate me.
I just sighed,closed my eyes and spent the whole class in my mindscape. It became like this every H of M class. This way, I can at least forget my sour mood.
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Great Hall, 1:08 pm Gryffindor table
-Third-person POV-
"Oh, Marshall didn't sit with us?" Fred asked, noticing Witcherly's absence.
George looked at Harry and Ron, "That's rare. He always stop by.. ."
The twin finally noticed Harry and Ron's faces. Especially Ron's expression. It has been a while since they saw that frown. They asked, ""What happened?""
"Nothing..." Harry answered. He still remembers Marshall's request to not say anything bad about Hermione. Though he really finds her annoying. They were just having fun on their own and she just cuts in rudely.
Ron let out an exasperated sigh, "Yeah. NOTHING!!" Then he stabbed his roasted pork on his plate with a bit of force. He glared a bit at Hermione but didn't say anything more.
The rest of the first years were quiet. Hermione had a guilty look and she don't know what to do.
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1:36 pm, Girls' Bathroom
Tracy was fixing her uniform in front of the mirror, "Daph, Is my back alright?" She turns to her side so that Daphne can check.
Daphne, "It looks fine." She then fixed her hair to make sure it wouldn't be all over the place during the flying lesson.
"...she was so rude, right!" an irritated Adeline came in with Megan and Naomi. They were surprised to find the two Slytherin girls in the bathroom.
Tracy greeted, "Hello. Who are you talking about?"
The Hufflepuff first years actually get along with Tracy, Daphne, and Millicent. But as of late, even the other Slytherin first years rarely butt heads with them.
"Hermione," said Adeline with a sigh.
"I thought you guys get along with the Gryffindors?" asked Tracy.
Megan walked in font of the mirror and checked if her face was clean and replied, "We do, except for her. She has some kind of beef with Marshall, which we don't get? It's Marshall, for goodness's sake."
Tracy got curious and asked, "What happened?"
Adeline said, "We were waiting for Professor Binns ..." She then told what happened earlier before H of M class.
The two Slytherin frown, hearing the whole story. It was obvious that Marshall was just being silly and playful with the song. Does it elicit such a violent reaction, and from someone who was not even part of the conversation?
Tracy remembered how Granger always raised her voice when talking to or about Marshall. She asked, "What's Marshall's reaction?"
Naomi answered, "Well.. It's Marshall, so he just brushed it off. But we could tell he's in a bad mood. It was not the first time Hermione cut in on our conversation and berates him for no reason."
"Woah! That serious?" said Tracy.
Adeline nodded, "But the most annoying part is that Hermione never apologized for her outbursts. It's like she doesn't see what she did wrong."
Tracy and Daphne realized the time and excused themselves. On their way back to the Great Hall they kept thinking about their conversation with Megan's group about Marshall and Hermione.
They got curious how the Gryffindors felt about Granger. Well, they don't have to wait long as they have the upcoming flying lesson with them.
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1:50pm Flying Class Lawn
Davis and Greengrass immediately could tell that the Gryffindors were isolating Granger. They were not saying anything, but how they were not talking to her and keeping their distance says it all.
"What's their problem?" asked Millicent.
Tracy retold the story about Granger berating Witcherly for such a simple reason. Millicent shouted, "What! Such a thing happened… and she didn't have the decency to apologize!"
Pansy and the other Slytherins got curious and what's Millicent was yelling about. Under their insistence, Millicent told them what happened.
After hearing the story, all the Slytherin's gazes landed on Hermione.
Hermione, being perceptive, realized what they were talking about and, under the pressure of their stares, finally couldn't take it anymore and ran back to the castle. Her eyes starting to tear up, and she just wants to be alone.
She bumped into Madam Hooch. The instructor asked, "Where are you off to, Ms. Granger?" She realized that the girl was crying.
"Uhm.. I'm not feeling well today, Ma'am. Can I be excused from class?" There were a few sniffs while Hermione said that.
Madam Hooch, who knows that flying under distress would just lead to accidents, said yes.
Hermione was about to enter the west tower when she passed by the place the barbecue party was held.
Her eyes caught sight of a large tentacle reaching out from the water, and she noticed a red — head boy tossing bread to it. It was Marshall feeding the Giant Squid.
Hermione mustered some courage and took in a deep breath. She walked toward the boy feeding the squid and yelled, "I'M SORRY!"
The boy got startled and turned around to find a crying girl. A moment later, he smiled and said, "Oh, Sure. Just don't yell at me every time you're going to say something."
"That's it?!" She was stumped. It was that easy.
"Yah, that's it. But you have to apologize to the others as well. Just try to keep calm about everything. Also, loosen up a bit and just have fun sometime. I mean besides learning stuff, for you, of course. " Marshall said as he tosses another toast to the squid. He asked, "Don't you have a flying lesson at this time?"
Hermione became quiet. She would rather not tell him that she left class because she felt suffocated with everyone staring at her.
"Oh my, how many points would Madam Hooch deduct from your house because you were late?" Marshall playfully asked.
"No that's not…"
"Oh, so you have to go to the bathroom. LBM?"
"No, you're gross!" She was embarrassed by what he said.
"Oh then it's probably nothing. So go back to your lesson. If you're still feeling unwell, just stay on the ground and wait for your fellow Gryffindors to finish, then apologize." Witcherly suggested with a relaxed smile.
She hesitated a bit. It will be awkward with all the stares.
"Come now, I'll accompany you," said Marshall after tossing the last piece of bread and waving the squid goodbye. He then walked toward the flying class lawn.
Hermione just quietly followed him.
At the flying lesson, some students were flying high up, while the others were just cruising a few feet above the ground.
Marshall yelled, "Madam Hooch, I found a Gryffindor loitering around!"
The instructor glanced at Hermione and asked, "Are you fine now, Ms. Granger? Do you want to fly?"
"Yes Ma'am. I'm alright, but can I just sit this one out." Hermione asked.
The instructor nodded. Then she looked at Marshall, "Mr. Witcherly, would you like to join the class? You seem free."
"Oh, can I?" Marshall got excited but looked at Hermione for permission. Granger just smiled and nodded.
"Thanks!" He extended his hand toward the broom on the ground and said, "Get over here!" He caught and immediately mounted it and flew up into the air.
He yelled, "WHO WANTS TO RACE!!!"
All the students quickly approached him. They were surprised to see the red head Hufflepuff and looked at Hermione on the ground.
Harry asked, "What happened?"
Witcherly just smiled and said, "Oh, she already apologized to me, so don't give her a hard time. Ok." He looked everyone in the eye. Though some of them were reluctant, they still gave a nod.
He added, "Madam Hooch allowed me to use her broom. So anyone up for a race?"
Most of the Gryffindors said, "Sure!"
Marshall looked at the Slytherins and teased them, "How about you guys? Scared?"
The Slytherins were fuming and were ready to go.
Back on the ground.
Hermione asked Madam Hooch, "Ma'am, aren't you going to stop them. You always said no racing."
Rolanda smiles at what she's seeing. Gryffindors, Slytherins and a lone Hufflepuff racing around the open area. Just kids having fun, flying on their brooms.
She turns to Hermione and said, "Ms. Granger loosen up a bit, will you? Sometimes... rules are just made to be broken."
Hermione was surprised but then she remembers it was the same thing Marshall said, 'just loosen up a bit.'
She looked at her fellow first years who were racing around with smiles on their faces. She thought, 'Maybe a little...'
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4:20 Forbidden Forest
"Dornröschen!" Quirrell cast a Bewitching Sleep spell at a troll. "Finally. That's the second one..."
He grabbed his Nab-Sac, and it instantly sucked in the troll without resistance.
Finally done with his task, he was about to turn around and head back to the castle. It was finally time to proceed with their plan to snatch the Philosopher's stone while the castle was in chaos.
"Ggeet Moorre..." Words were spoken by someone from behind him.
Quirrell asked, "Mm..My lord?"
The voice again said, "GeetT MmorRe!!!"
Knowing he couldn't disobey the order, Quirrell sighed and said, "Yy..Yes, My Lord…" He then proceeded to look for more trolls.
~end chapter ~
