As the Sister of Harry Potter

A week later, I kept my promise. Professor McGonagall was kind enough to let us use her room after dinner, unless she had a detention. The first night, I was supposed to be hanging out with Cedric.

“Look,” I told him, “I’m really sorry, but I have to help Harry. And I promised we’d start tonight.”

He looked a little put out, but kissed my cheek anyways. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow in class then?”

“Yeah,” I said, and we parted.

I walked into Transfiguration to find Harry, Ron and Hermione had beaten me there. I Spellotaped my list to the blackboard next to a list written by Hermione.

Spells
-Stupify
-Reducto
-Jelly-Legs
-Impedimenta
-Knee-Reversal
-Protego
-Phillimungus
-Glacius
-Melefores

Spells for Tournament
-Petrificus Totalus
-Point Me
-Stupify
-Protego

My list was considerably longer than Hermione’s.

“Alright, looks like we both thought of Stunning and Shield Charms, so we’ll start with shields.” Wands were out, Harry and I on one side, Ron and Hermione on the other. “So, the incantation is Protego. It’ll deflect most spells and the stronger the shield, the more powerful of a spell you can deflect. So Ron, try and disarm me.”

“Okay, Expelliarmus!”

“Protego!” My shield deflected his spell, which sent it back to him, and Ron ended up disarming himself. I smirked a little. “Try Harry.”

Hermione waved her wand. “Expelliarmus!”

“Protego!”

Nothing happened apparently, because Harry’s wand flew through the air.

I sighed. I really hoped that Harry could learn this stuff. It had taken me forever. “Alright, try again…”

Within a week or two, a routine was established. Lunch and dinner was grabbed on-the-go, and we went up to McGonagall’s. Occasionally, one of them would find a new hex, and we’d learn it. On the weekends, they would usually go off by themselves and I spent the time either with my friends or Cedric and his mates. The only day I took off was April Fools, because we needed a pranking day, it was the Twin’s birthdays, and we had been planning this since February. Oh, and I took off the detentions with resulted from said pranks, but I’m not counting those.

The morning started off innocently enough. Ophilia and I were tired from finalizing pranks until midnight, but we were ready. First off, we all rolled up our sleeves and inked smiley faces on our left arms. It hurt a bit, but hey, it was the best we could do with quills. Then I skipped off to see Cedric at the Hufflepuff table. Ernie Macmillan was the first person to greet me.

“What are you doing over here? You’re a Gryffindor!” he said in his regular pompous attitude.

“Well spotted Ernie. So the question is… where did Bert go?”

Ernie looked confused, but Colin Parker was laughing his head off.

Jared was the first to notice my “tattoo.” “What’s up with the happy face?”

“Oh, it’s the new Dark Mark. Didn’t you know I’m a Death Eater?”

Pumpkin juice dribbled out his mouth. “What?”

“April Fools mates,” I said, and everyone groaned. Our April Fools pranks had gotten quite famous over our years at Hogwarts.

“Oh no… don’t tell me you lot are going on a prank spree?” Cedric asked, his face in his hands.

“Of course love! Just don’t stop us; we’re already planning on a few detentions, we wouldn’t want to have to take you out as well.”

He looked up at me, worried.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think we have many Hufflepuffs down on the target list…”

“Just don’t get expelled.”

“Oh, no, we’re saving the ‘we’re gonna get expelled if we get caught’ pranks for next year.” I said, winking. Then I kissed his cheek and skipped back to the Gryffindor table. I was in such a good mood, it seemed criminal.

OPHILIA

After breakfast, I began my long walk up to the Divination tower. I loved the subject, but the people in the class would have been better. My brother’s current girlfriend, Julia Chaksic, was in my class, and I really didn’t like her. I mean, I’m girly, but she takes it way too far. She was a brat whose only talent seemed to be keeping her hair and nails perfect. She, however, had decided that we were “buddy-buddy,” and constantly pestered me in Divination.

‘Well, not today…’ I thought evilly, pulling out an old Magic 8 Ball Jennifer had found in Hogsmead. Yes, we plan that far ahead for a day like this. I climbed up into Trelawney’s room and set the Magic 8 Ball in front of said Professor.

“What’s this Ophilia dear?”

“I dunno, I found it. Looks like some sort of fortune-telling device. Someone told me if you ask it a question and shake it, it’ll give you an answer. They also said they’re wicked accurate.”

Professor Trelawney picked up the ball. “Magical Black Ball! Will there be roast beef at dinner?” She shook the ball, and it said, “Certainly.” Amazed, Trelawney took the ball around the room, showing the other students its amazing powers. Snorting, I shifted through her desk until I found her Tarot card set, which she would be predicting each of our futures with today. Working quickly, I made the first five cards The Devil, The Tower, The Hanged Man, Judgment, and Death. Then I hurried over to my seat before Trelawney saw me.

Stacey Fires hi-fived me as I sat down. “Brilliant with the Magic 8 Ball, but what were you doing to her cards?”

“You’ll see,” I said coolly. As Trelawney started class, Julia sat down between us, thereby blocking our conversation.

“Hi Ophilia!” she said in her high, fake voice.

“Hi Julia,” I replied, flipping to the Tarot card section in our books.

“So, Cormac told me you’re, like, dating Fred Weasley!” she whispered excitedly.

“Yes, we have been for a while now.”

She practically screamed, “Oh my goodness, no way! That’s so cute!”

“Glad you think so,” I said with raised eyebrows, flipping aimlessly through my Divination book.

“…so I’ll call you up one at a time. Julia, you’re first. The rest of you, read the section in Advanced Divination.”

Julia looked a bit put-out, but she went up the Trelawney’s desk.

A few minutes later, she came back and Stacey left. Julia looked about to cry. “What did she say?” I asked in false concern.

“S-She told me I was going to die from a deadly disease soon,” Julia wailed.

“Holy Fizzing Whizbees! Julia, I know a bit of medical stuff, I can check real quick to see if you have any diseases that are serious…”

“Please! I don’t want to die!”

I studied her arms and immediately picked out the large mole on her left forearm.

‘Perfect,’ I thought evilly. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to it.

“It’s a mole of course!”

“No, I don’t think it is…” I said, pretending to examine the mole. “Yup, it is. Julia, that’s a cancerous spot,” I said seriously.

“A what?”

“Julia, you have cancer.”

“And that’s…?”

“A very deadly disease. Hardly anyone lives through it… judging by the size, I’d say you have about four days to live.”

“FOUR DAYS?!”

“Tops. But then again, I’m not a Healer, so you might have less…”

And that did it. Julia burst into tears and booked it out of the tower for the Hospital Wing. I snickered. Maybe I should consider an acting career.

JENNIFER

“No Miss Potter, I don’t know what the square root of negative one is! Now stop asking!”

I was silent for about ten minutes, before another question came to mind.

“Professor Vector?”

“Yes Miss Potter?”

“…then do you know the square root of zero?”

“TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!!!”

I sank even further into my seat, laughing. Jared was trying really hard not to laugh.

WITH FRED AND GEORGE

“Ready Fred?”

“Ready George.”

The twins grinned evilly as they put their prank into action. They were making Skele-Grow, or something close to it anyways. They found the potion and went bottom to top, following the directions in reverse order. Sure enough, by the time they had finished, the entire room was filled with smoke, and the sludge-green potion was beginning to melt the cauldron. In the chaos and smoke, George began circling the room, charming every vial, glass, and jar her could. He got back just as Snape came over to their cauldron and addressed Fred once he had cleared all the smoke and vanished their potion.

“WEASLEY! What happened? I don’t think the directions said the potion should smoke!”

“I’m sorry Professor, must’ve been a bad ingredient. We followed the directions to the letter.”

“There are no bad ingredients, and you know it! 30 points from Gryffindor for disrupting class and lying!” Luckily, the bell rang for lunch, so they practically ran out of the dungeons, cackling. When Snape turned around, he discovered that every container in the room bared the words “DRINK ME!”

SARLANDA

I’ve done this a few times, and it’s a wonder they never figure out who does it. My brothers must be really thick.

I borrowed the Marauder’s Map from Jennifer between Charms and her Arithmancy class, and since I had a free period before lunch, I decided to pull an April Fools prank of my own. Making sure no one was around, I broke into the broom closet and stole two of Filch’s favorite sweeping brooms. I charmed one to look like a Nimbus 2001 and one to look like a Firebolt, then sped off to the Slytherin common room.

Checking the Map occasionally, I snuck into Draco’s dorm first, and found his broomstick. I replaced it with the sweeping broom, then charmed his Nimbus to look like an ordinary broom. I did the same to Lance’s Firebolt. Then I ran back up to the broom closet, put the brooms inside, and locked it.

I laughed, “Just wait and see their faces next time they play Quidditch…”

JENNIFER

Sarlanda and I had just one little prank we had to pull before going to lunch.

We met up on the fifth floor and hid in a secret passage until almost everyone was at lunch. She gave me the Map back and we walked down the passage to the fourth floor corridor.

“You’re sure you know how to do this?” I asked as we came to the Prefect’s Bathroom.

“Yeah, I’ve changed Slytherin’s loads of times.”

“Okay…” She knocked on the door.

“Password?” it asked.

“Actually, it’s a Prefect, and I have orders from Dumbledore to change the password.”

“And you are?”

“Sarlanda Malfoy, Sixth Year, Slytherin.”

“Indeed, you are a Prefect Miss Malfoy. What is it to be changed to?” I whispered the new password in her ear, and Sarlanda repeated it to the door.

“Makes getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty.”

“Okay, password changed,” said the door.

I grabbed the knob.

“Password?”

“Makes getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty,” I said, and the door opened. Sar and I slapped high-fives and shut the door. Then we ran down to lunch.

“Mischief Managed!”

LEE JORDAN

Lucky Harry doesn’t like his old socks.

Fred and I had made a pair of Harry’s old socks into snake sock puppets and were entertaining a very large group of first years with a story about how George, (Fred’s clone as we called him) was eaten by the Giant Squid when he was a firsty.

“…so that’s why you never swim in the Lake,” Fred concluded.

“Um, but isn’t that your clone right there?” a little Ravenclaw girl asked, pointing to George. George grinned wickedly, and pulled on an Invisible Hat, and his head disappeared.

“No, I’m the Boogieman! RAWR!” He leaped at them, and a few midget firsties screamed and ran away.

Sarlanda and Jen came over to join us. Sarlanda a box of marshmallow Peeps and Jennifer had a bag of coins. She laid out the Muggle money on a bench and started selling.

“Ancient priceless coins! A Sickle each! You’ll never get a bargain like this!” she called out, attracting quite a few first and second years. Ophilia collected money and Jen passed out the “priceless coins.”

The first years came back holding pennies triumphantly, and Sarlanda started into her bit of the Lunch performance. She unwrapped the Peeps and waved her want, animating them. In squeaky voices, she told them all a story about Moody the Magical Pirate. Fred and I added on with the socks. It was really hard not to burst out laughing at the insanity of it all.

SARLANDA

As we left the Great Hall for Transfiguration, a little first year Slytherin girl tugged on my sleeve.

“Are you Sarlanda Malfoy?”

“Yes…?”

“Lucius Malfoy’s daughter?”

“No sweetie,” I said, setting my hand on her head, “My father is Michael Jackson.”

GEORGE

“Eighteen bottles of potion on the wall, eighteen bottles of-”

“MR. WEASLEY! STOP SINGING THAT SONG!” McGonagall screeched.

I continued to hum.

“10 points from Gryffindor!”

LEE JORDAN

Finally, it was evening. We sat in a circle, me, Fred, George, Jennifer, Ophilia, and Sophia, playing Exploding Snap. McGonagall silently approached us, and the common room went silent. Steam could almost be seen streaming out of our Head’s
emerald hat, and her lips were drawn tight.

“Which one of you did it?”

“Did what Professor?” Ophilia asked innocently.

“Don’t give me that, Miss McLaggen, you know perfectly well what I’m talking about!”

“Actually, we don’t Professor,” said Fred.

“Then who changed the Prefect’s Bathroom password to ‘Makes getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty?’” We didn’t even dare to blink. I stood up and bravely passed my hand in front of McGonagall’s eyes.

“These are not the Droids you are looking for.”

Her eyes flashed and I swore she was going to bite my head off. “Headmaster’s office. NOW.” She marched me out of the common room and into the corridor.

JENNIFER

The laughter broke out when the portrait hole closed behind McGonagall.

“Lee’s brilliant!” George roared, rolling in his seat.

“I owe Lee big time,” I said, wiping tears out of my eyes.

“Wait, you changed the password?” Sophia asked.

“Me and Sarlanda.”

“Wow Jen… nice password,” Ophilia said, grinning. I grinned too, and we continued the game of Snap.

Little did I know this would be one of the last cheery days I would have in a long time.