By Emo Tuesday
Chapter Three – Chants,
Trips, Quips and Falls
Matt
woke up bright and early the next morning. He looked out his window to see a
clear grey sky; the rain had stopped and the air in the room was cold
yet refreshing. He got out of bed and dressed. Matt pulled on his robes, grabbed
his book bag, and left for the Great Hall.
The
Hall was already filled with noise when he entered. Matt seated himself at the
Hufflepuff table next to Linus, across from Cedric and Branaugh.
Branaugh
handed Matt his schedule. “We have four classes together.”
“Muggle
Studies,” Matt read his schedule aloud, “Herbology, Potions and
Transfiguration? Tough classes today. Glad I brought an extra bottle of ink.
Branaugh, what do you have today?”
“Arithmancy
with Oliver Wood. Herbology with you, Cedric and the Gryffindors. Potions and
Transfiguration with you.” She smiled, “I hope Arithmancy is as fun as everyone
says it is.”
“Branaugh’s
only saying that because she has the class with Oliver Wood,” Cedric teased.
“Oh
come off it, Cedric! Why would I fancy Oliver? He’s two years older than me and
in a different house!” Branaugh gave Cedric a shove.
“Come
off what? You fancy him! I saw the way your eyes lit up when he gave you that
note!” Cedric grinned broadly and shoved her back.
“Bet
you she’ll never get the Quaffle past him because she doesn’t want to watch her
boyfriend lose!” Linus smiled, “Branaugh loves Oliver!”
Soon
enough, Cedric and Linus had begun chanting ‘Branaugh loves Oliver’. It almost
seemed like they had given it a tune.
Branaugh
was beginning to turn red. “Shut up! I do not!” she yelled through her
laughter.
Cedric
started speaking in a high pitched voice, “Oh Oliver! I love you!”
Linus,
taking the part of Oliver, added, “I love you too, Branaugh!” with a
deepened voice.
Branaugh
picked up a piece of toast. “I think I’ll just get to class early. Matt, I’ll
see you in Herbology.”
“She
wants to get there early so she can watch her dearest Oliver enter!” Cedric
squealed.
Linus
sighed and rested his chin in his hands, “How romantic!”
Branaugh
made a gesture with her hand that would have made Fairchild gasp. “I’ll
see you two in Herbology, too. She turned and picked up her book bag and walked
off.
*
* *
Oliver
sat down at the Gryffindor table and dropped his bag in the center of the walkway.
Andrew
turned to him. “Oliver, you should pick that up. Someone might tri-” He
was interrupted by a girl stumbling over the bag. Luckily Oliver caught her
arm. “Like I was saying, someone might trip.”
The
girl looked over to the Hufflepuff table where a few students were laughing.
She blushed furiously.
Oliver
turned to Andrew, “Okay, I’ll move it.” He turned back to the girl, “I’m sor-”
He began but she had already left.
“Say,
Oliver, Wasn’t that your friend?” Andrew asked, pointing his finger to
the girl running towards the doors.
“Yeah,
that’s Branaugh,” Oliver said nodded.
“She’s
a clumsy git isn’t she?” Andrew laughed. Oliver gave him a rude look. “She is a
Hufflepuff, right?” Oliver nodded but still had the rude look on his face. “Why
isn’t she in Herbology with us?” he asked standing up.
“She’s
a fifth year,” Oliver answered, standing up and following Andrew through the
doors.
“What?
Seriously? She doesn’t look it,” he paused, “Isn’t she on the Hufflepuff
Quidditch team?”
Oliver
nodded. “Chaser.”
“Is
she any good?” he asked.
“Very.”
Oliver continued, “She was originally a Beater but Maxwell Stone was bigger so
they went with him instead. She can play everything but Seeker. Says it’s too
boring for her.”
“How
do you know so much about her?” Andrew grinned wide. “Are you stalking her?”
“Of
course not. We’re just good friends,” he answered back.
“Alright
Oliver, if you say so.” Andrew stopped and looked around. “What floor is
Arithmancy on again?”
“Fourth
floor,” Oliver answered starting up another flight of stairs.
*
* *
When
Oliver and Andrew reached the Fourth floor classroom, Hermione and
Branaugh were standing outside, leaning on a wall.
“Professor
Vector isn’t here yet but I can imagine she’s on her way,” Hermione assured the
boys. Just then a thin Wizard in crimson robes with a matching hat came running
up the stairs.
“Sorry
to make the lot of you wait. I had to speak with Professor Lupin,” she informed
the students. “Very important matters.”
The
bell rang signaling the start of the class. Professor Vector unlocked the door
and let the students inside.
*
* *
Branaugh
quickly took the seat next to Oliver while Andrew sat at the table in front of
them. Suddenly, Branaugh heard that unmistakable voice.
“I
have to spend a year with her?” Ford said loudly as he entered the room.
“Oh,
hello Ford. I see you’re looking quite ghastly today. Not much out of the
ordinary.” She gave him a forced smile and turned back to her book.
“Well,
Miss Diggory. I only look ghastly because I’m staring at you,” he retorted.
Branaugh jumped from her seat and started towards Ford when Oliver grabbed the
back of her robes.
“Come
on, Branaugh. Ignore him,” he said calmly.
“Jonathon,
please be respectful to my fellow housemate’s friends.” Andrew stood
up.
“What?
You know this nasty git?” Branaugh asked still struggling to break free and
Oliver’s grip.
“That
nasty git is my brother,” Andrew noted. Branaugh stopped thrashing and
turned around to sit down but tripped over her Arithmancy book, which had
fallen on the floor. She got back to her feet.
Ford
sniggered. “She can barely even stand upright. And just look at
the state of her. A fifth year with pigtails?” He scoffed. “It looks to me like
someone seems to have trouble identifying with her age.” Ford sat down at the
table in front of Branaugh, directly in front of her and next to his brother.
Branaugh sat down and sighed.
“I
hate him,” she said covering her pigtails.
“Don’t
let him get to you,” Oliver gave her a smile, “Andrew, his brother, can’t stand
him either. He says the whole family thinks it odd that he became a Slytherin.
The rest of his family is all from Gryffindor.”
“I
still hate him.” She finally let her hands relax. “He’s a bloody awful person
and I can’t stand him.”
“Well,”
Oliver said with a bright smile, “I happen to like the pigtails.”
*
* *
Fred
and George shared their table with James and Branaugh during Herbology. Fred
sniggered and looked around the greenhouse.
“Hmm...”
Fred turned to his brother, “George, I think this class needs a bit more
colour. What do you think?”
“Perhaps
a Filibuster would do the trick?” George replied with a mischievous sparkle in
his eye.
“Indeed
my dear brother!” Fred cried and pulled a Filibuster’s Wet Start Firework from
his cloak pocket. “Such a spiffing idea!” He poured a small amount of water on
to the wick and tossed it into Linus and Cedric’s pot.
Soon
the pot began to shoot sparks every which way. Matt and Lee, who were sitting
next to Linus and Cedric, howled with laughter. Fred doubled over and lay on
the floor laughing with delight. James had his head resting in his arms on the
table, no doubt laughing so hard he could barely breathe. George fell on to
Branaugh laughing until he cried. Branaugh giggled and her face was turning
such a bright red she could have been a relative of the Weasleys.
Linus
and Cedric were also amused. They seemed to be laughing at the others’
appearance. Linus seemed to be missing his eyebrows, which were most likely
singed off during the eruption. Cedric’s face was covered in dirt. Both were laughing
uncontrollably.
Fred
pulled himself up from the ground and saw shoes. Women’s shoes. Attached to
those shoes were slacks. Dress slacks. As he rose higher he noticed those
slacks were attached to a shirt and cloak and connected to that, was a head. Professor
Sprout’s head, to be exact.
“Mr.
Weasley. I do hope you’re finished with your fun because my lesson is still in
progress,” she said coolly.
Fred
jumped up and sat himself back in his seat. The others also sat upright again
and became very silent.
“Thank
you.” She continued, “As I was saying. The Maori Lily is a very helpful plant.
It is mostly known for being the key ingredient in Love Charms. What most don’t
know is that it is also a gre-” Just then, the bell rang. “Alright then. I want
you all to read Chapter 3. It’s all about the Maori Lily. I’d like a summary of
the chapter by next Monday. Class dismissed.”
Everyone
grabbed their book bags and ran out before Professor Sprout had a chance to
assign any of them detention.
*
* *
By
lunch, Cedric and Linus had grown tired of chanting “Branaugh loves Oliver” and
instead were working on their History of Magic homework. Fairchild was sitting
at the Ravenclaw table discussing the Latin lesson she had just had with Cho
Chang, a Fourth year. Fred and George were still laughing every time they
peered over to the Hufflepuff table and caught a glimpse of Cedric or Linus.
Oliver was looking through a Quidditch playbook and scribbling things down
furiously.
Matt
and Branaugh were nowhere near the Great Hall. They had grabbed their lunch and
headed back to the common room. They stopped at a large statue of founder Helga
Hufflepuff.
“Password?”
the statue asked kindly.
“Felix
felicis,” Matt replied. The statue then stepped away from the door it was
guarding and allowed them through.
“I’ll
meet you back up here in about 10 minutes, alright?” Branaugh asked before
hurrying down the stairs to her dorm room.
Amabelle
Kensington was on her bed writing a letter as Branaugh entered the room. “Hey,
Bee.”
“’Lo,
Belle,” she opened her trunk then looked back to Amabelle. “Say, you
wouldn’t happen to have Transfiguration at 3:00, would you?”
“I
don’t, sorry. I had it at 9:00 this morning,” she answered back.
“Oh.
Right then,” Branaugh grabbed her cauldron, and her second book bag. “I’ll see
you at dinner tonight then.” She hurried back out the door and up the stairs to
find that Matt had not arrived downstairs yet. She sat down on a squashy yellow
armchair and caught her breath.
She
didn’t have to wait long for Matt; about a minute later he came rushing
down the stairs that lead up to the boy’s dormitories.
“Sorry,
I had trouble finding my cauldron,” he said quickly, gasping for air.
“You
should really get a little more organized, Matt,” Branaugh replied munching on
an apple. “Anyway, the bell should be ringing soon. We might as well just get
there a little early.” Branaugh stood up and grabbed her bag. “Maybe Snape
will be a little more courteous if we aren’t late.” She stood up and exited
with Matt right behind her.
*
* *
As
the students walked into the Great Hall for dinner, everyone seemed more antsy
then usual. Maybe it had been the classes or the curiosity surrounding the new
Professor. Either way, the Hall was much louder than usual.
Cedric
and Linus had rekindled their love for the ‘Branaugh loves Oliver’ chant and
were yet again putting it to music. Branaugh walked into the Hall exhausted
from the notes she had been taking in Potions and Transfiguration and began
walking to her table. Ford casually stuck his foot out and allowed Branaugh to
trip over it. She fell with a thud. Many students looked up to see Branaugh
standing up quickly and reddening. Others like Linus, Cedric, Fred, George and
Lee gave her a standing ovation which only made her blush more furiously.
She hurried to the Hufflepuff table and sat down, hiding her face with her hands. Cedric and Linus started up the chant again. She hoped it all wouldn’t become a habit.
~ * ~
Chapter Two :: Contents :: Chapter Four ::